Introduction

In this article we will delve deeper into Salesforce and Tableau integration, and will learn how to make generic api request. We are continuing from where we left off. By this time, you must have installed ODBC PowerPack, created ODBC Data Source, and configured authentication settings in your Salesforce account .

So, let's not waste time and begin.

Use Query Builder to generate SQL query

1. The first thing you have to do is open Query Builder:

   

   ZappySys API Driver - Salesforce

   Amazon Ads Connector can be used to get Amazon advertisements using Amazon Advertisements API, download various advertisement-related reports.

   SalesforceDSN

   

2. Then simply select the Make Generic API Request endpoint (action).

3. Continue by configuring the Required parameters. You can also set optional parameters too.

4. Move on by hitting Preview Data button to preview the results.

5. If you see the results you need, simply copy the generated query:

   Make Generic API Request

   Required Parameters
   HTTP - Url or File Path	Select the value from the dropdown
   Optional Parameters
   HTTP - Request Body
   HTTP - Is MultiPart Body (Pass File data/Mixed Key/value)
   HTTP - Headers (e.g. hdr1:aaa || hdr2:bbb)	Accept: */* || Cache-Control: no-cache
   Parser - Filter (e.g. $.rows[*] )
   Download - Enable reading binary data	False
   Download - File overwrite mode	AlwaysOverwrite
   Download - Save file path
   Download - Enable raw output mode as single row	False
   Download - Raw output data RowTemplate	{Status:'Downloaded'}
   Download - Request Timeout (Milliseconds)
   Advanced Properties
   HTTP - Request Method	GET
   HTTP - Request Format (Content-Type)	ApplicationJson
   Parser - Response Format (Default=Json)	Default
   Parser - Encoding
   Parser - CharacterSet
   General - Enable Custom Search/Replace
   General - SearchFor (e.g. (\d)-(\d)--regex)
   General - ReplaceWith (e.g. $1-***)
   General - File Compression Type
   General - Date Format
   General - Enable Big Number Handling	False
   General - Wait time (Ms) - Helps to slow down pagination (Use for throttling)	0
   JSON/XML - ExcludedProperties (e.g. meta,info)
   JSON/XML - Flatten Small Array (Not preferred for more than 10 items)
   JSON/XML - Max Array Items To Flatten	10
   JSON/XML - Array Transform Type
   JSON/XML - Array Transform Column Name Filter
   JSON/XML - Array Transform Row Value Filter
   JSON/XML - Array Transform Enable Custom Columns
   JSON/XML - Enable Pivot Transform
   JSON/XML - Array Transform Custom Columns
   JSON/XML - Pivot Path Replace With
   JSON/XML - Enable Pivot Path Search Replace	False
   JSON/XML - Pivot Path Search For
   JSON/XML - Include Pivot Path	False
   JSON/XML - Throw Error When No Match for Filter	False
   JSON/XML - Parent Column Prefix
   JSON/XML - Include Parent When Child Null	False
   Pagination - Mode
   Pagination - Attribute Name (e.g. page)
   Pagination - Increment By (e.g. 100)	1
   Pagination - Expression for Next URL (e.g. $.nextUrl)
   Pagination - Wait time after each request (milliseconds)	0
   Pagination - Max Rows Expr
   Pagination - Max Pages Expr
   Pagination - Max Rows DataPath Expr
   Pagination - Max Pages	0
   Pagination - End Rules
   Pagination - Next URL Suffix
   Pagination - Next URL End Indicator
   Pagination - Stop Indicator Expr
   Pagination - Current Page
   Pagination - End Strategy Type	DetectBasedOnRecordCount
   Pagination - Stop based on this Response StatusCode
   Pagination - When EndStrategy Condition Equals	True
   Pagination - Max Response Bytes	0
   Pagination - Min Response Bytes	0
   Pagination - Error String Match
   Pagination - Enable Page Token in Body	False
   Pagination - Placeholders (e.g. {page})
   Pagination - Has Different NextPage Info	False
   Pagination - First Page Body Part
   Pagination - Next Page Body Part
   Csv - Column Delimiter	,
   Csv - Has Header Row	True
   Csv - Throw error when column count mismatch	False
   Csv - Throw error when no record found	False
   Csv - Allow comments (i.e. line starts with # treat as comment and skip line)	False
   Csv - Comment Character	#
   Csv - Skip rows	0
   Csv - Ignore Blank Lines	True
   Csv - Skip Empty Records	False
   Csv - Skip Header Comment Rows	0
   Csv - Trim Headers	False
   Csv - Trim Fields	False
   Csv - Ignore Quotes	False
   Csv - Treat Any Blank Value As Null	False
   Xml - ElementsToTreatAsArray

   SELECT * FROM __DynamicRequest__

   

6. That's it! You can use this query in Tableau.

Let's not stop here and explore SQL query examples, including how to use them in Stored Procedures and Views (virtual tables) in the next steps.

SQL query examples

Use these SQL queries in your Tableau data source:

How to Get __DynamicRequest__

SELECT * FROM __DynamicRequest__

Make Generic API Request in Tableau

1. Open Tableau Desktop and click File > New.

2. To create new Connection click More > Microsoft SQL Server > Enter your credentials to connect to SQL Server (in our example before we used john):

   

3. Once connection is created for SQL Server we can read Salesforce data 3 different ways:

   1. Query View which contains OPENQUERY to Linked Server for Salesforce data
   2. Use direct SQL Query using OPENQUERY
   3. Use Stored Procedure (Mostly useful to parameterize calls

4. See below example to pull data from Salesforce in Tableau using SQL View approach:

   

5. Once your data sources are created you can click on Sheet1 and drag fields to create visualizations for Tableau Dashboard:

   

More actions supported by Salesforce Connector

Learn how to perform other actions directly in Tableau with these how-to guides:

• Get Beta Report
• Get Profiles
• Get Report
• Test Connection
• Make Generic API Request (Bulk Write)

More integrations