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URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/netsuite-odbc-visio.rst

⇱ How to create Visio diagrams from NetSuite Data

How to create Visio diagrams from NetSuite Data

👁 Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Automatically update NetSuite data with the changes you make to Visio master shapes.

Automate the process of entering data into Visio diagrams and keeping your diagrams up to date with the CData ODBC Driver for NetSuite. The driver surfaces NetSuite 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 NetSuite data.

About NetSuite Data Integration

CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from Oracle NetSuite. Customers use CData connectivity to:

  • Access all editions of NetSuite, including Standard, CRM, and OneWorld.
  • Connect with all versions of the SuiteTalk API (SOAP-based) and SuiteQL, which functions like SQL, enabling easier data querying and manipulation.
  • Access predefined and custom reports through support for Saved Searches.
  • Securely authenticate with Token-based and OAuth 2.0, ensuring compatibility and security for all use cases.
  • Use SQL stored procedures to perform functional actions like uploading or downloading files, attaching or detaching records or relationships, retrieving roles, getting extra table or column info, getting job results, and more.

Customers use CData solutions to access live NetSuite data from their preferred analytics tools, Power BI and Excel. They also use CData's solutions to integrate their NetSuite data into comprehensive databases and data warehouse using CData Sync directly or leveraging CData's compatibility with other applications like Azure Data Factory. CData also helps Oracle NetSuite customers easily write apps that can pull data from and push data to NetSuite, allowing organizations to integrate data from other sources with NetSuite.

For more information about our Oracle NetSuite solutions, read our blog: Drivers in Focus Part 2: Replicating and Consolidating ... NetSuite Accounting Data.


Getting Started


Connect to NetSuite 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 User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid NetSuite user credentials. In addition, the AccountId must be set to the ID of a company account that can be used by the specified User. The RoleId can be optionally specified to log in the user with limited permissions.

See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for more information on connecting to NetSuite.

Connect NetSuite 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 NetSuite, select the table you want to import, and finish the wizard. This article uses SalesOrder as an example.
👁 A table imported into a diagram based on the Brainstorming stencil. (Salesforce is shown.)

Link NetSuite 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 NetSuite entities to shapes:

  1. Click Brainstorming Shapes and drag a main topic onto the drawing page. Enter SalesOrder 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 NetSuite entities onto the drawing page and add association lines back to the main topic, SalesOrder. New topics have the same configuration: Numeric columns displayed in data bars stand out in contrast to other SalesOrder entities. 👁 Brainstorming with external data. (Salesforce is shown.)

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

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the NetSuite ODBC Driver to get started:

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Learn more:

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NetSuite ODBC Driver

The NetSuite ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live NetSuite data, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access NetSuite like you would a database - read, write, and update Leads, Contacts, Opportunities, Accounts, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.