How to connect to Postmark Data in DBVisualizer

The CData API Driver for JDBC implements JDBC standards to provide connectivity to Postmark data in applications ranging from business intelligence tools to IDEs. This article shows how to establish a connection to Postmark data in DBVisualizer and use the table editor to load Postmark data.

Create a New Driver Definition for Postmark Data

Follow the steps below to use the Driver Manager to provide connectivity to Postmark data from DBVisualizer tools.

1. In DBVisualizer, click Tools -> Driver Manager.
2. Click the plus sign "" to create a new driver.
3. Select "Custom" as the template.
4. On the Driver Settings tab:
   • Set Name to a user-friendly name (e.g. "CData Postmark Driver")
   • Set URL Format to jdbc:api: 👁 Setting the Driver Settings (Salesforce is shown).
     
   • In Driver artifacts and jar files (jars are loaded in order from top):
     1. Click the plus sign "" -> "Add Files"
     2. Navigate to the "lib" folder in the installation directory (C:\Program Files\CData API Driver for JDBC XXXX\)
     3. Select the JAR file (cdata.jdbc.API.jar) and click "Open"
     👁 Loading the driver JAR file.
     
5. The Driver Class should populate automatically. If not, select class (cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver).

👁 The configured JDBC driver. (Salesforce is shown.)

Define the Connection to the JDBC Data Source

Close the "Driver Manager" and follow the steps below to save connection properties in the JDBC URL.

1. In the "Databases" tab, click the plus sign "" and select the driver you just created.

2. In the "Connection" section, set the following options:

   • Database Type: If you selected the wizard option, the database type is automatically detected. If you selected the "No Wizard" option, select the Generic or Auto Detect option in the Database Type menu.
   • Driver Type: Select the driver you just created.

   • Database URL: Enter the full JDBC URL. The syntax of the JDBC URL is jdbc:api: followed by the connection properties in a semicolon-separated list of name-value pairs.

     Using API Key Authentication

     Postmark uses server API tokens to authenticate requests. Each Postmark server has its own API token, which controls access to messages, bounces, templates, and statistics associated with that server.

     To obtain your Server API Token, log in to your Postmark account and navigate to the server you want to connect to. Go to API Tokens under the server settings and copy the token labeled Server API token.

     After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

     • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
     • APIKey: Set this to your Postmark Server API Token. This value is sent as the X-Postmark-Server-Token header on every request.

     Example connection string:

     Profile=C:\profiles\Postmark.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings="APIKey=your-server-api-token"
     

     Connecting to Postmark

     Once the authentication is configured, you can connect to Postmark and query data from any of the available tables such as OutboundMessages, Bounces, and Templates.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Postmark JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.jar
     

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

     👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
     

     When you configure the JDBC URL, 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.

     A typical connection string is below:

     jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Postmark.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings="APIKey=your-server-api-token"
     

   • NOTE: Since Postmark does not require a User or Password to authenticate, you may use whatever values you wish for Database Userid and Database Password.
3. On the Connection tab, click Connect. 👁 A newly configured Database Connection. (Salesforce is shown.)
   

To browse through tables exposed by the Postmark JDBC Driver, right-click a table and click "Open in New Tab."

To execute SQL queries, use the SQL Commander tool: Click SQL Commander -> New SQL Commander. Select the Database Connection, Database, and Schema from the available menus.

See the "Supported SQL" chapter in the help documentation for more information on the supported SQL. See the "Data Model" chapter for table-specific information.

👁 The results of a query in DBVisualizer. (Salesforce is shown.)

More Information & Free Trial

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for JDBC and start working with your live Postmark data in DbVisualizer. Join the CData Community or reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.