Import Real-Time Anaplan Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

Adobe ColdFusion is a web and mobile application development platform. It uses its own scripting language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), to create data-driven websites as well as generate remote services, such as REST. When ColdFusion is paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Anaplan, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Anaplan data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to create a table populated with Anaplan data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData ODBC Driver for Anaplan and Adobe ColdFusion.

Configuring the Connection

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 process. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Authenticating to Anaplan

The driver supports authenticating with Basic, Certificate, or OAuth. In every case, set Region to the region where your Anaplan account data is hosted (e.g., , which is the default).

Using Basic Authentication

Set AuthScheme to , then supply your Anaplan User and Password. If your workspace uses single sign-on (SSO), you must be assigned as an Exception User to use Basic authentication.

Using Certificate Authentication

Set AuthScheme to , then supply the Certificate, CertificateType, and PrivateKey properties (and the matching CertificatePassword / PrivateKeyPassword if either is encrypted). The certificate must be a CA-issued X.509 certificate registered with your Anaplan tenant administrator.

Using OAuth Authentication

Register a custom OAuth application in Anaplan, then set the following properties:

• OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
• OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
• CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your application.
• InitiateOAuth: Set to to have the driver manage the OAuth token exchange and refresh automatically.

See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to creating a custom OAuth app and using OAuth.

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After creating a DSN, follow the steps below to add a new data source, test our connection to it, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, import Anaplan Data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

1. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services. 👁 Selecting Data & Services
   
2. Here, click "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our ODBC driver, choose "ODBC Socket", then click the "Add" button. 👁 Adding Data Source Name
   
3. From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData Anaplan Sys. Under the Advanced Settings section, leave the Connection String blank. Note that any properties specified in this input field will override the ones specified in the DSN Configuration. 👁 Populating driver properties
   
4. Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataAnaplanODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use. 👁 Testing the connection
   
5. Next, create a new ColdFusion Markup file (.cfm) and place it in the wwwroot directory ("C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot") for ColdFusion.

   The following code queries the data source:

    
    <cfquery name="AnaplanQuery" dataSource="CDataAnaplanODBC"> 
    SELECT * FROM Sales 
    </cfquery> 
    

   And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML:

    
    <cftable 
    query = "AnaplanQuery" 
    border = "1" 
    colHeaders 
    colSpacing = "2" 
    headerLines = "2" 
    HTMLTable 
    maxRows = "500" 
    startRow = "1"> 
   
    <cfcol header="<b>Region</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Region"/> 
   
    <cfcol header="<b>Product</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Product"/> 
   
    ...
   
    </cftable> 
    

   Full code, including the HTML portion is available below:

    
    <html> 
    <head><title>CData Software | Anaplan Sales Table Demo </title></head> 
    <body> 
    <cfoutput>#ucase("Anaplan Sales Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
    <cfquery name="AnaplanQuery" dataSource="CDataAnaplanODBC"> 
   
    SELECT * FROM Sales 
   
    </cfquery> 
    <cftable 
    query = "AnaplanQuery" 
    border = "1" 
    colHeaders 
    colSpacing = "2" 
    headerLines = "2" 
    HTMLTable 
    maxRows = "500" 
    startRow = "1"> 
    <cfcol header="<b>Region</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Region"/> 
   
    <cfcol header="<b>Product</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Product"/> 
   
    ...
   
    </cftable> 
    </body> 
   
    </html> 
    

6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with Anaplan data! 👁 Running the code
   

As a note, the CData ODBC Drivers also support parameterized queries using the cfqueryparam element. For example:

SELECT * FROM Account WHERE name = 

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for Anaplan and start building Anaplan-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.