Connect to and Query Sage 300 Data in QlikView over ODBC

The CData ODBC drivers expand your ability to work with data from hundreds of data sources. QlikView is a business discovery platform that provides self-service BI for all business users in an organization. This article outlines simple steps to connect to Sage 300 data using the CData ODBC driver and create data visualizations in QlikView.

The CData ODBC drivers offer unmatched performance for interacting with live Sage 300 data in QlikView due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from QlikView to Sage 300, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Sage 300 and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can visualize and analyze Sage 300 data using native QlikView data types.

Connect to Sage 300 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.

Sage 300 requires some initial setup in order to communicate over the Sage 300 Web API.

• Set up the security groups for the Sage 300 user. Give the Sage 300 user access to the option under Security Groups (per each module required).
• Edit both web.config files in the /Online/Web and /Online/WebApi folders; change the key AllowWebApiAccessForAdmin to true. Restart the webAPI app-pool for the settings to take.
• Once the user access is configured, click https://server/Sage300WebApi/ to ensure access to the web API.

Authenticate to Sage 300 using Basic authentication.

Connect Using Basic Authentication

You must provide values for the following properties to successfully authenticate to Sage 300. Note that the provider reuses the session opened by Sage 300 using cookies. This means that your credentials are used only on the first request to open the session. After that, cookies returned from Sage 300 are used for authentication.

• Url: Set this to the url of the server hosting Sage 300. Construct a URL for the Sage 300 Web API as follows: {protocol}://{host-application-path}/v{version}/{tenant}/ For example, http://localhost/Sage300WebApi/v1.0/-/.
• User: Set this to the username of your account.
• Password: Set this to the password of your account.

When you configure the DSN, 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.

Populate a Chart with Sage 300 Data

The steps below supply the results of an SQL query to a visualization in QlikView. In this article, you will create a bar chart with the query below:

SELECT InvoiceUniquifier, ApprovedLimit FROM OEInvoices WHERE AllowPartialShipments = 'Yes'

1. Click File -> Edit Script (or click the Edit Script button in the Toolbar).
2. On the Data tab, select ODBC in the Database menu and click Connect. 👁 Connecting to an ODBC data source.
   
3. Select the DSN (CData Sage300 Sys) in the resulting dialog. 👁 Selecting a DSN (Salesforce is shown).
   A command like the following is generated:

   ODBC CONNECT TO [CData Sage300 Sys];
   

4. Enter the SQL query directly into the script with the SQL command (or click Select to build the query in the SELECT statement wizard).

   SQL SELECT InvoiceUniquifier, ApprovedLimit FROM OEInvoices WHERE AllowPartialShipments = 'Yes';
   

   Where possible, the SQL operations in the query, like filters and aggregations, will be pushed down to Sage 300, while any unsupported operations (which can include SQL functions and JOIN operations) will be managed client-side by the CData SQL engine embedded in the driver.

   👁 A script that connects and executes an SQL query. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
5. Close the script editor and reload the document to execute the script.
6. Click Tools -> Quick Chart Wizard. In the wizard, select the chart type. This example uses a bar chart. When building the chart, you have access to the fields from Sage 300, typed appropriately for QlikView, thanks to built-in dynamic metadata querying.
7. When defining Dimensions, select InvoiceUniquifier in the First Dimension menu.
8. When defining Expressions, click the summary function you want and select ApprovedLimit in the menu.

9. Finish the wizard to generate the chart. The CData ODBC Driver for Sage 300 connects to live Sage 300 data, so the chart can be refreshed to see real-time changes. Live connections are possible and effective, thanks to the high-performance data processing native to CData ODBC Drivers.

   👁 A chart populated with the results of a query. (Salesforce is shown.)