FileMaker Pro is a cross-platform relational database application that allows users to visually modify a database.
When paired with CData Connect AI, FileMaker Pro gets access to live Freshdesk data. This article demonstrates
how to connect to Freshdesk using Connect AI and query Freshdesk data in FileMaker Pro.
CData Connect AI provides a pure SQL Server interface for Freshdesk, allowing you to query data from
Freshdesk without replicating the data to a natively supported database.
Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations
(filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to Freshdesk, leveraging server-side processing to return the
requested Freshdesk data quickly.
Configure Freshdesk Connectivity for FileMaker Pro
Connectivity to Freshdesk from FileMaker Pro is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Freshdesk data from FileMaker Pro, we start by creating and configuring a Freshdesk connection.
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Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
👁 Adding a Connection
- Select "Freshdesk" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source
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Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Freshdesk.
FreshDesk makes use of basic authentication. To connect to data, set the following connection properties:
- Domain: Set this to the domain associated with your FreshDesk account. For example, in your URL: https://my_domain.freshdesk.com.
- APIKey: Set this to the API key associated with your FreshDesk account. To retrieve your API key, Log into your support Portal -> Click on profile picture in the top right corner -> profile settings page. The API key will be available below the change password section to the right.
👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
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Click Save & Test
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Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Freshdesk Connection page and update the User-based permissions.
👁 Updating permissions
Add a Personal Access Token
When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.
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Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
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On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
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Give the PAT a name and click Create.
👁 Creating a new PAT
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The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.
With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Freshdesk data from Filemaker Pro.
Connect to Freshdesk from FileMaker Pro using Connect AI
To establish a connection from FileMaker Pro to the CData Connect AI Virtual SQL Server API, follow these steps.
Configure the ODBC Connection to CData Connect AI
- Download and install the Actual ODBC Driver for SQL Server (actualtech.com)
- Configure a DSN for the Actual ODBC driver by setting the following properties:
- URL: tds.cdata.com
- Port: Change the port from 1433 to 14333
- Username: Your Connect AI email address
- Password: the PAT you created earlier
Query Freshdesk from FileMaker Pro
- In the SQL Query Builder "SELECT" tab, select the columns to include as part of the query.
👁 Configuring the query by selecting columns.
- Open the "WHERE" tab of the SQL Query Builder and select "Show only selected columns."
- In "Table.Column,"" select a table and a column name.
- Set the "Operator" to =.
- Select "Column," and then select the same table and column name as "Table.Column."
- Click "Insert into SQL Query."
👁 Configuring the query by setting the WHERE clause.
- If no other modifications to the SQL query are required, click "Execute."
Get CData Connect AI
To get live data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your SQL Server database,
try CData Connect AI today!
