Integrate Salesforce Data Cloud Data in the Pentaho Report Designer

The CData JDBC driver for Salesforce Data Cloud data enables access to live data from dashboards and reports. This article shows how to connect to Salesforce Data Cloud data as a JDBC data source and publish reports based on Salesforce Data Cloud data in Pentaho.

Connect and Create a Report

1. Copy the JAR file of the driver, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory, to the \Report-Designer\lib\jdbc\ folder in the Pentaho directory.
2. Run the report-designer.bat file in the \Report-Designer\ folder to open the Report-Designer UI.

3. Create a new data source with the driver by clicking Data -> Add Data Source -> Advanced -> JDBC (Custom) and then creating a new Salesforce Data Cloud connection. In the resulting dialog, configure the connection properties as shown below.

   • Custom Connection URL property: Enter the JDBC URL. This starts with jdbc:salesforcedatacloud: and is followed by a semicolon-separated list of connection properties.

     Salesforce Data Cloud supports authentication via the OAuth standard.

     OAuth

     Set to OAuth.

     Desktop Applications

     CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop.

     You can also authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Salesforce Data Cloud console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth App in the Help documentation.

     Before you connect, set these properties:

     • : GETANDREFRESH. You can use to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the .
     • (custom applications only): The Client ID assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
     • (custom applications only): The Client Secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

     When you connect, the driver opens Salesforce Data Cloud's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.

     The driver then completes the OAuth process as follows:

     • Extracts the access token from the callback URL.
     • Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
     • Saves OAuth values in so that they persist across connections.

     For other OAuth methods, including Web Applications and Headless Machines, refer to the Help documentation.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.salesforcedatacloud.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.

     Below is a typical JDBC URL:

     jdbc:salesforcedatacloud:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

   • Custom Driver Class Name: Enter cdata.jdbc.salesforcedatacloud.SalesforceDataCloudDriver.
   • User Name: The username to authenticate with.
   • Password: The password to authenticate with.
   👁 Required connection properties defined in the JDBC URL. (Salesforce is shown.)
   

Add Salesforce Data Cloud Data to a Report

You are now ready to create a report with Salesforce Data Cloud data.

1. Add the Salesforce Data Cloud source to your report: Click Data -> Add Data Source -> JDBC and select the data source.

2. Configure the query. This article uses the one below:

   SELECT [Account ID], [Account Name] FROM Account WHERE EmployeeCount > 250

   👁 The query to retrieve data, specified in the JDBC data source configuration wizard. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
3. Drag a chart onto your report and double-click it to edit the chart. Run the report to display the chart. You can use the results of this query to create a simple chart for the Account table.
4. Finally, run the report to see the chart.