Bidirectional Access to Salesforce Data from FileMaker Pro

This article shows how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Salesforce to integrate with the External SQL Sources (ESS) feature in FileMaker Pro, which allows you to link records in FileMaker Pro with related records in your other operational data stores.

You will use the MySQL Remoting feature to access Salesforce as a remote MySQL database. The CData JDBC Driver for Salesforce implements both the JDBC and MySQL standards to integrate with applications like FileMaker Pro that support connections to traditional databases like MySQL but not generic JDBC connections.

Getting Started

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Selecting a FileMaker Pro Integration

There are two data access modes in FileMaker Pro:

• Data Import: Salesforce data is copied into a FileMaker Pro database and can be refreshed on demand. To streamline this solution, use the CData ODBC driver, as FileMaker Pro supports ODBC natively, but it does not support JDBC. To use this approach, see ODBC Salesforce Integration in FileMaker Pro.
• ESS: Instead of working with a local copy of the data, you can use the JDBC driver to create an external SQL source. The remote data can be modified in FileMaker Pro and tables can be used in the relationships graph like standard FileMaker Pro tables.

Outlining the ESS Setup

The JDBC driver is part of a data access chain. Compared to a native ODBC integration, FileMaker Pro integrations that use MySQL remoting have several additional components. This article shows how to link each of the following components with FileMaker Pro:

1. The CData JDBC driver.
2. The CData MySQL Remoting daemon (included with the driver).
3. An ODBC driver for MySQL.

   On Windows, FileMaker Pro requires the official MySQL driver, the MySQL Connector\ODBC (currently, the best option is Connector\ODBC 8.0.11).

   On macOS, FileMaker Pro requires the Actual Technologies Open Databases ODBC driver.

4. An ODBC driver manager.

   On Windows, the driver manager is built in. On macOS, you will need to install a driver manager before installing the ODBC driver; install the iODBC driver manager.

Start the Remoting Daemon

Follow the steps below to enable the MySQL Remoting feature:

1. Open Terminal and change to the lib subfolder in the installation folder.

   $ cd "/Applications/CData/CData JDBC Driver for Salesforce/lib"
   

2. Edit the configuration file (cdata.jdbc.salesforce.remoting.ini by default):
   • Update the [databases] section with the JDBC Connection URL for Salesforce:

     	salesforce = "InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;MFACode=YourMFACode"
     	

     There are several authentication methods available for connecting to Salesforce: OAuth, Login (or basic), and SSO. The Login method requires you to have the username, password, and security token of the user.

     OAuth Authentication (default)

     The default authentication mechanism (and the one preferred by Salesforce) is OAuth. To use OAuth with CData's embedded OAuth application, leave the connection properties blank. If you have configured your own custom OAuth application with Salesforce (see the Help documentation for more information), set OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL to the properties for you application. Set InitiateOAuth to the desired OAuth flow ("GETANDREFRESH" will have the connector manage the entire OAuth flow).

     Login (or Basic) Authentication

     If you do not wish do not wish to use OAuth authentication, you can use Login (or basic) authentication. Set AuthScheme to Basic, and set the User, Password, and SecurityToken properties. You can configure your security token in Salesforce.

     SSO (single sign-on) Authentication

     SSO (single sign-on) can be used by setting the SSOProperties, SSOLoginUrl, and SSOExchangeURL connection properties, which allow you to authenticate to an identity provider. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the Help documentation for more information.

     Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

     If your Salesforce org has MFA enforcement enabled, set MFACode to the time-based one-time passcode (TOTP) generated by your authenticator app (such as Salesforce Authenticator or Google Authenticator). MFACode applies to both OAuth and Login authentication flows.

     See the help documentation for more information about the available connection properties and other configuration options for remoting.

3. Start the MySQL daemon by specifying the configuration file or settings on the command line. The example below uses the included sample configuration file.

   $ java -jar cdata.jdbc.salesforce.jar -f "cdata.jdbc.salesforce.remoting.ini"
   

Create the DSN

After connecting successfully to Salesforce and starting the MySQL daemon, create a MySQL ODBC data source. When working with ODBC data sources, you specify connection properties in a DSN (data source name).

If you have not already obtained an ODBC driver and driver manager, refer to "Outlining the ESS Setup" to determine the components supported for your platform.

macOS

Follow the steps below to use the iODBC graphical administrator tool:

1. Open iODBC by searching in the launchpad.
2. On the System DSN tab, click Add and select Actual Open Source Databases.
3. Provide the following information to complete the wizard:
   • Name: Enter the DSN.
   • Server: Enter 127.0.0.1 or the address of the machine where the MySQL daemon is running.
   • Port: Enter the port that the daemon is listening on. For example, 3306.
   • Database: Enter the name of a database specified in the config file for the daemon. For example, Salesforce.
   • In the Metadata tab, check the boxes for:
     • "Ignore schema in column specifications"
     • "Don't use INFORMATION_SCHEMA for metadata"
4. Click Test Connection and enter your credentials in the dialog.

Windows

You can use the built-in Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create the ODBC DSN.

1. From the Control Panel, select Set Up Data Sources (ODBC). The ODBC Data Source Administrator is displayed.
2. On the System DSN tab, click Add and select the MySQL ODBC driver.
3. Provide the following information to complete the wizard:
   • Name: Enter the DSN.
   • Server: Enter 127.0.0.1 or the address of the machine where the MySQL daemon is running.
   • Port: Enter the port that the daemon is listening on. For example, 3306.
   • Database: Enter the name of a database specified in the config file for the daemon. For example, Salesforce.
   • In the Metadata tab, check the boxes for:
     • "Ignore schema in column specifications"
     • "Don't use INFORMATION_SCHEMA for metadata"
4. Click Test Connection and enter your credentials in the dialog.

Create Salesforce Shadow Tables

Shadow tables exist in an external SQL source but can be used in much the same way as other tables in your FileMaker database; you can add them in the relationships graph, browse data, and create layouts on them.

1. Click File -> Manage -> Database.
2. On the Relationships tab of the resulting dialog, click the Add a Table button in the Table/Relationships section.
3. In the Data Source menu, select Add ODBC Data Source and then select the DSN you created in the previous section.

After specifying the username and password for the DSN, you can add Salesforce tables to the relationships graph. You can now scroll through, sort, edit, and summarize Salesforce data by clicking View -> Browse Mode, just as you would a remote MySQL database.