How to create Visio diagrams from MySQL Data

Automate the process of entering data into Visio diagrams and keeping your diagrams up to date with the CData ODBC Driver for MySQL. The driver surfaces MySQL data as an ODBC data source that can be accessed by applications with built-in ODBC support like Microsoft Office. This article shows how to create a simple diagram to start brainstorming about Visio projects linked to MySQL data.

Connect to MySQL 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 CData Provider supports connecting to on-premises and cloud-hosted versions of MySQL such as Amazon RDS for MySQL, Google Cloud SQL for MySQL, Azure Database for MySQL, or Oracle MySQL HeatWave. The Server and Port properties must be set to a MySQL server. If IntegratedSecurity is set to false, then User and Password must be set to valid user credentials. Optionally, Database can be set to connect to a specific database. If not set, tables from all databases will be returned.

SSH Connectivity for MySQL

You can use SSH (Secure Shell) to authenticate with MySQL, whether the instance is hosted on-premises or in supported cloud environments. SSH authentication ensures that access is encrypted (as compared to direct network connections).

SSH Connections to MySQL in Password Auth Mode

To connect to MySQL via SSH in Password Auth mode, set the following connection properties:

• User: MySQL User name
• Password: MySQL Password
• Database: MySQL database name
• Server: MySQL Server name
• Port: MySQL port number like 3306
• UserSSH: "true"
• SSHAuthMode: "Password"
• SSHPort: SSH Port number
• SSHServer: SSH Server name
• SSHUser: SSH User name
• SSHPassword: SSH Password

SSH Connections to MySQL in Public Key Auth Mode

To connect to MySQL via SSH in Password Auth mode, set the following connection properties:

• User: MySQL User name
• Password: MySQL Password
• Database: MySQL database name
• Server: MySQL Server name
• Port: MySQL port number like 3306
• UserSSH: "true"
• SSHAuthMode: "Public_Key"
• SSHPort: SSH Port number
• SSHServer: SSH Server name
• SSHUser: SSH User name
• SSHClientCret: the path for the public key certificate file

Connect MySQL Data to Diagrams

Follow the steps below to use the Data Selector Wizard to import data into your diagram.

1. Open Visio and click File -> New. Open the Brainstorming template.
2. On the Data tab, click Custom Import and select Other OLEDB or ODBC data source. 👁 Selecting a data source
   
3. Select the ODBC option and select ODBC DSN.
4. Select the DSN for MySQL, select the table you want to import, and finish the wizard. This article uses Orders as an example.

Link MySQL Entities to Shapes

Follow the steps below to create a simple diagram that shows how to create shapes from your data, one of the ways to link MySQL entities to shapes:

1. Click Brainstorming Shapes and drag a main topic onto the drawing page. Enter Orders as the text of the main topic.
2. Click Topic.
3. Select a row in the External Data window and drag it onto the drawing page.
4. Right-click the Topic shape and click Data -> Edit Data Graphic.
5. Click New Item.
6. In the Data Field menu, select a column. In the Displayed As menu, select how to display them. 👁 A data graphic for a column.
   
7. Drag a few other MySQL entities onto the drawing page and add association lines back to the main topic, Orders. New topics have the same configuration: Numeric columns displayed in data bars stand out in contrast to other Orders entities. 👁 Brainstorming with external data. (Salesforce is shown.)
   

You can refresh your diagram from the Data tab, synchronizing your shapes with the external MySQL data.