How to Use a Microsoft Access Database to Update Act CRM Data in Real Time

CData ODBC drivers connect your data to any database management tool that supports Open Database Connectivity (ODBC). This includes many of the most popular productivity tools, adding new capabilities for document sharing and collaboration. Using the CData ODBC driver for Act CRM, you can update live Act CRM data in Microsoft Access; for example, you can make updates that can be immediately seen by other users.

Connect to Act CRM as an ODBC Data Source

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

The and properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid Act! user credentials. In addition to the authentication values, see the following:

• Connecting to Act! Premium

  In addition to the authentication values, the to Act! is also required; for example https://eup1-iis-04.eu.hosted.act.com/.

  Additionally, you must specify the you will connect to. This is found by going to the About Act! Premium menu of your account, at the top right of the page, in the ? menu. Use the Database Name in the window that appears.

• Connecting to Act! Premium Cloud

  To connect to your Act! Premium Cloud account, you also need to specify the property. This property is found in the URL address of the Cloud account; for example https://eup1-iis-04.eu.hosted.act.com/ActCloudName/.

Note that retrieving ActCRM metadata can be expensive. It is advised that you set the property to store the metadata locally.

Create a Linked Table to Activities Data

Follow the steps below to create a linked table, which enables you to access live Activities data.

1. On the External Data tab in Access, click ODBC Database. 👁 Use the Get External Data wizard to work with ODBC data sources in Access.
   
2. Select the option to link to the data source. A linked table will enable you to read from and write data to the Activities table. 👁 Linked Tables enable you use the live connection to Act CRM that is provided by the driver.
   

3. Select the CData Act CRM data source from the Machine Data Source tab.

   👁 DSNs listed in the Get External Data wizard.
   
4. Select the Activities table. For more information on this table, see the "Data Model" chapter in the help documentation. 👁 Available tables. (Google is shown.)
   

5. Double-click the linked table to make edits. The linked table will always have up-to-date data and any changes will be reflected back to the underlying table.

   👁 A linked table to the live data. (Google is shown.)