Create Datasets from Airtable in Domo Workbench and Build Visualizations of Airtable Data in Domo

Domo helps you manage, analyze, and share data across your entire organization, enabling decision makers to identify and act on strategic opportunities. Domo Workbench provides a secure, client-side solution for uploading your on-premise data to Domo. The CData ODBC Driver for Airtable links Domo Workbench to operational Airtable data. You can build datasets from Airtable data using standard SQL queries in Workbench and then create real-time visualizations of Airtable data in the Domo service.

The CData ODBC Drivers offer unmatched performance for interacting with live Airtable data in Domo due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from Domo to Airtable, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Airtable and utilizes the embedded SQL Engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can visualize and analyze Airtable data using native Domo data types.

Connect to Airtable 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.

APIKey, BaseId and TableNames parameters are required to connect to Airtable. ViewNames is an optional parameter where views of the tables may be specified.

• APIKey : API Key of your account. To obtain this value, after logging in go to Account. In API section click Generate API key.
• BaseId : Id of your base. To obtain this value, it is in the same section as the APIKey. Click on Airtable API, or navigate to https://airtable.com/api and select a base. In the introduction section you can find "The ID of this base is appxxN2ftedc0nEG7."
• TableNames : A comma separated list of table names for the selected base. These are the same names of tables as found in the UI.
• ViewNames : A comma separated list of views in the format of (table.view) names. These are the same names of the views as found in the UI.

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

After creating a DSN, you will need to create a dataset for Airtable in Domo Workbench using the Airtable DSN and build a visualization in the Domo service based on the dataset.

Build a Dataset for Airtable Data

You can follow the steps below to build a dataset based on a table in Airtable in Domo Workbench using the CData ODBC Driver for Airtable.

1. Open Domo Workbench and, if you have not already, add your Domo service server to Workbench. In the Accounts submenu, click Add New, type in the server address (i.e., domain.domo.com) and click through the wizard to authenticate. 👁 Connecting to the Domo Service.
   
2. In the DataSet Jobs submenu, click Add New.
3. Name the dataset job (i.e., ODBC Airtable SampleTable_1), select ODBC Connection Provider as the transport method, and click through the wizard. 👁 Configuring the DataSet Job.
   
4. In the newly created DataSet Job, navigate to Source and click to configure the settings.
5. Select System DSN for the Connection Type.
6. Select the previously configured DSN (CData Airtable Sys) for the System DSN.
7. Click to validate the configuration. 👁 Configuring the Source Settings.
   
8. Below the settings, set the Query to a SQL query:

   SELECT * FROM SampleTable_1

   NOTE: By connecting to Airtable data using an ODBC driver, you simply need to know SQL in order to get your data, circumventing the need to know Airtable-specific APIs or protocols.
9. Click preview. 👁 Querying Airtable Data.
   
10. Check over the generated schema, add any transformations, then save and run the dataset job. 👁 Save and Run the Configured DataSet Job (Salesforce is shown).
    

With the dataset job run, the dataset will be accessible from the Domo service, allowing you to build visualizations, reports, and more based on Airtable data.

Create Data Visualizations

With the DataSet Job saved and run in Domo Workbench, we are ready to build visualizations of the Airtable data in the Domo service.

1. Navigate to the Data Center. 👁 Accessing the Data Center (Salesforce is shown).
   
2. In the data warehouse, select the ODBC data source and drill down to our new dataset. 👁 Selecting the Airtable Dataset (Salesforce is shown).
   
3. With the dataset selected, choose to create a visualization.
4. In the new card:
   • Drag a Dimension to the X Value.
   • Drag a Measure to the Y Value.
   • Choose a Visualization.
   👁 Visualizing Airtable Data in Domo (Salesforce is shown).
   

With the CData ODBC Driver for Airtable, you can build custom datasets based on Airtable data using only SQL in Domo Workbench and then build and share visualizations and reports through the Domo service.