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URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/salesforce-odbc-heidisql.rst

⇱ Access Salesforce Data from MySQL in HeidiSQL

Access Salesforce Data from MySQL in HeidiSQL

👁 Mohsin Turki
Mohsin Turki
Technical Marketing Engineer
Use CData ODBC Driver and SQL Gateway to connect and query live Salesforce data from HeidiSQL.

HeidiSQL is an open-source database administration tool that natively supports MariaDB, MySQL, SQL Server, and PostgreSQL. When paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Salesforce and SQL Gateway, HediSQL's reach extends to include access to live Salesforce data. This article demonstrates how to connect to on-premise Salesforce and query Salesforce data in HeidiSQL.

About Salesforce Data Integration

Accessing and integrating live data from Salesforce has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:

  • Access to custom entities and fields means Salesforce users get access to all of Salesforce.
  • Create atomic and batch update operations.
  • Read, write, update, and delete their Salesforce data.
  • Leverage the latest Salesforce features and functionalities with support for SOAP API versions 30.0.
  • See improved performance based on SOQL support to push complex queries down to Salesforce servers.
  • Use SQL stored procedures to perform actions like creating, retrieving, aborting, and deleting jobs, uploading and downloading attachments and documents, and more.

Users frequently integrate Salesforce data with:

  • other ERPs, marketing automation, HCMs, and more.
  • preferred data tools like Power BI, Tableau, Looker, and more.
  • databases and data warehouses.

For more information on how CData solutions work with Salesforce, check out our Salesforce integration page.


Getting Started


Connect to Salesforce Data

If you have not already done so, provide values for the required connection properties in the data source name (DSN). You can use the built-in Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to configure the DSN. This is also the last step of the driver installation. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for a guide to using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure a DSN.

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.

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.

Configure the SQL Gateway

See the SQL Gateway Overview to set up connectivity to Salesforce data as a virtual MySQL database. You will configure a MySQL remoting service that listens for MySQL requests from clients. The service can be configured in the SQL Gateway UI.

👁 Creating a MySQL Remoting Service in SQL Gateway (Salesforce is shown)

To connect to the SQL Gateway from HeidiSQL, you will need to run the SQL Gateway on a web-facing machine. After configuring the SQL Gateway, make note of the following information:

  • The IP address or domain name of the machine hosting the SQL Gateway
  • The data source name (likely CData Salesforce Sys) of the MySQL service
  • The port number of the MySQL service
  • The credentials of a SQL Gateway user with access to the service

Configure Remote Access

If your ODBC Driver and the remoting service are installed on-premise (and not accessible from HeidiSQL), you can use the reverse SSH tunneling feature to enable remote access. For detailed instructions, read our Knowledge Base article: SQL Gateway SSH Tunneling Capabilities.

Connect to Salesforce in HeidiSQL

Once you have a MySQL Service configured for the CData ODBC Driver for Salesforce, you are ready to connect to the data in HeidiSQL. Start by creating a new connection Session in HeidiSQL, then choose the MySQL library type.

Configure the data set using the values for the MySQL service for Salesforce you configured in SQL Gateway (be sure to use the DSN for the database name). Validate your connection and click Open.

👁 Configure the connection to SQL Gateway.


Query Salesforce from HeidiSQL

  1. In the database listing on the left, find your connection to Salesforce configured earlier.
  2. In the database listing on the left, expand the appropriate connection and to view individual tables or data objects present within Salesforce.
  3. Write custom SQL queries targeting these tables, treating the data source like any SQL Server database, or visually explore each tabular data set by selecting the relevant tables 👁 Querying within HeidiSQL.

With the CData ODBC Driver for Salesforce and SQL Gateway, you are able to easily query data from Salesforce data in HeidiSQL. If you have any questions, such as needing to access your on-premises data from HeidiSQL, let our Support Team know.

Ready to get started?

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

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Learn more:

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Salesforce ODBC Driver

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

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