Configuring a Salesforce.com Data Source
Contents
Introduction
Explore Analytics can report on data directly from Salesforce.com. There's no need to copy data from Salesforce to another platform. Explore Analytics can directly access any table and field in Salesforce.com and Force.com to produce live reports.
Explore Analytics allows you to report on data from multiple tables in the same way that it does for databases and other data sources, simply using reference fields.
Setup
The integration with Salesforce.com is implemented using a service called DataDirect Cloud from Progress Software. You will need to setup a subscription (or free evaluation).
No setup is needed in Salesforce.com. We'll use your Salesforce.com email and password to connect. You may also need to get the API security token in Salesforce.com and then append it to your password when you enter it in DataDirect Cloud. See Salesforce.com documentation about using the security token to log in using the API. The integration between DataDirect Cloud and Salesforce.com uses the Salesforce.com API.
You can then create a Salesforce.com data source in DataDirect Cloud by providing your Salesforce.com email, password, and security token. Once this is setup, create a data source in Explore Analytics by selecting "Add a new Data Source" from the "Data" menu.
Select DataDirect Cloud and click OK. The Dialog comes up. It's shown with sample data already entered. The fields are explained below.
Data Source Name
This is a name for your data source in Explore Analytics.
Description
This is a description that would be displayed next to the data source name in list of data sources.
DataDirect Cloud User
This is the email addressed used for logging in to DataDirect Cloud.
DataDirect Cloud Password
Enter the password for the DataDirect User that you just entered.
DataDirect Cloud Database Name
This is the database name or data source name in DataDirect Cloud. It’s whatever you named it when you created the data source in DataDirect Cloud.
OK
Click OK to create the data source. Explore Analytics will get the list of your Salesforce.com tables with their fields. It will discover reference fields and reflect them in Explore Analytics. When it's done, you're ready to create new views using this data source.
Refreshing the Data Source
If changes are made to the data model within Salesforce.com, the data source should be refreshed. This will discover any new tables or fields. To refresh the configuration:
- Navigate to the New Data > Browse Data Sources and Tables.
- Click the row for the data source you'd like to refresh.
- Select Refresh data source configuration.
This will take a similar amount of time as the initial set-up of the data source.
Refreshing a Single Table
If you added a field to a Salesforce.com table and only wish to refresh that table, then from the list of tables click the row for the table you'd like to refresh and select "Refresh table configuration".
