Configuring a Connection

After Installing the Connector you can connect and create a Data Source for data in Act! CRM.

Setting Up a Data Source

Complete the following steps to connect to the data:

Under Connect | To a Server, click More....
Select the data source called Act! CRM by CData.
Enter the information required for the connection.
Click Sign In.
If necessary, select a Database and Schema to discover what tables and views are available.

Using the Connection Builder

The connector makes the most common connection properties available directly in Tableau. However, it can be difficult to use if you need to use more advanced settings or need to troubleshoot connection issues. The connector includes a separate connection builder that allows you to create and test connections outside of Tableau.

There are two ways to access the connection builder:

On Windows, use a shortcut called Connection Builder in the Start menu, under the CData Tableau Connector for Act! CRM folder.
You can also start the connection builder by going to the driver install directory and running the .jar file in the lib directory.

In the connection builder, you can set values for connection properties and click Test Connection to validate that they work. You can also use the Copy to Clipboard button to save the connection string. This connection string can be given to the Connection String option included in the connector connection window in Tableau.

Connecting to Act! CRM

You can connect to either Act! CRM or Act! Premium Cloud. Set the following to connect:

User: The username used to authenticate to the Act! database.
Password: The password used to authenticate to the Act! database.
URL: The URL where the Act! CRM account is hosted. For example: http://serverName/.
ActDatabase: The name of the Act! database you want to connect to. This is found by going to the About Act! Premium menu of your account, found at the top right of the page, in the ? menu. Use the Database Name in the window that appears.
ActCloudName (Act! Premium Cloud only): The handle assigned to the Act! Premium Cloud account. It is found in the browser's address field when opening the online account, in the form https://eup1-iis-04.eu.hosted.act.com/ActCloudName.

Caching Metadata

Note that retrieving ActCRM metadata can be expensive. It is advised that you set the CacheMetadata property to store the metadata locally.

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