VOOZH about

URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/sugarcrm-odbc-coldfusion.rst

⇱ Import Real-Time Sugar CRM Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

Import Real-Time Sugar CRM Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

👁 Dibyendu Datta
Dibyendu Datta
Lead Technology Evangelist
Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use Sugar CRM data in ColdFusion.

Adobe ColdFusion is a web and mobile application development platform. It uses its own scripting language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), to create data-driven websites as well as generate remote services, such as REST. When ColdFusion is paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Sugar, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Sugar CRM data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to create a table populated with Sugar CRM data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData ODBC Driver for Sugar and Adobe ColdFusion.

Configuring the Connection

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 process. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

The User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid SugarCRM user credentials. This will use the default OAuth token created to allow client logins. OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret are required if you do not wish to use the default OAuth token.

You can generate a new OAuth consumer key and consumer secret in Admin -> OAuth Keys. Set the OAuthClientId to the OAuth consumer key. Set the OAuthClientSecret to the consumer secret.

Additionally, specify the URL to the SugarCRM account.

Note that retrieving SugarCRM metadata can be expensive. It is advised that you store the metadata locally as described in the "Caching Metadata" chapter of the help documentation.

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After creating a DSN, follow the steps below to add a new data source, test our connection to it, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, import Sugar CRM Data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

  1. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services. 👁 Selecting Data & Services
  2. Here, click "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our ODBC driver, choose "ODBC Socket", then click the "Add" button. 👁 Adding Data Source Name
  3. From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData Sugar CRM Sys. Under the Advanced Settings section, leave the Connection String blank. Note that any properties specified in this input field will override the ones specified in the DSN Configuration. 👁 Populating driver properties
  4. Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataSugar CRMODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use. 👁 Testing the connection
  5. Next, create a new ColdFusion Markup file (.cfm) and place it in the wwwroot directory ("C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot") for ColdFusion.

    The following code queries the data source: 

     
 <cfquery name="Sugar CRMQuery" dataSource="CDataSugar CRMODBC"> 
 SELECT * FROM Accounts 
 </cfquery>
    And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML: 
     
 <cftable 
 query = "Sugar CRMQuery" 
 border = "1" 
 colHeaders 
 colSpacing = "2" 
 headerLines = "2" 
 HTMLTable 
 maxRows = "500" 
 startRow = "1"> 

 <cfcol header="<b>Name</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Name"/> 

 <cfcol header="<b>AnnualRevenue</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="AnnualRevenue"/> 

 ...

 </cftable>
    Full code, including the HTML portion is available below: 
     
 <html> 
 <head><title>CData Software | Sugar CRM Accounts Table Demo </title></head> 
 <body> 
 <cfoutput>#ucase("Sugar CRM Accounts Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
 <cfquery name="Sugar CRMQuery" dataSource="CDataSugar CRMODBC"> 

 SELECT * FROM Accounts 

 </cfquery> 
 <cftable 
 query = "Sugar CRMQuery" 
 border = "1" 
 colHeaders 
 colSpacing = "2" 
 headerLines = "2" 
 HTMLTable 
 maxRows = "500" 
 startRow = "1"> 
 <cfcol header="<b>Name</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Name"/> 

 <cfcol header="<b>AnnualRevenue</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="AnnualRevenue"/> 

 ...

 </cftable> 
 </body> 

 </html>
  6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with Sugar CRM data! 👁 Running the code

As a note, the CData ODBC Drivers also support parameterized queries using the cfqueryparam element. For example: 

SELECT * FROM Account WHERE name =

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for Sugar CRM and start building Sugar CRM-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

Ready to get started?

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

 Download Now

Learn more:

👁 Sugar Icon
Sugar ODBC Driver

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

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