Zoho CRM Connector for C# In this article you will learn how to integrate Zoho CRM data in C# (live / bi-directional connection to Zoho CRM). Zoho CRM Connector can be used to integrate Zoho CRM API in your App / BI Tools. You can exchange data on Accounts, Leads, Contacts and many other modules.. Using Zoho CRM Connector you will be able to connect, read, and write data from within C#. Follow the steps below to see how we would accomplish that. Download Documentation The driver mentioned above is part of ODBC PowerPack which is a collection of high-performance Drivers for various API data source (i.e. REST API, JSON, XML, CSV, Amazon S3 and many more). Using familiar SQL query language you can make live connections and read/write data from API sources or JSON / XML / CSV Files inside SQL Server (T-SQL) or your favorite Reporting (i.e. Power BI, Tableau, Qlik, SSRS, MicroStrategy, Excel, MS Access), ETL Tools (i.e. Informatica, Talend, Pentaho, SSIS). You can also call our drivers from programming languages such as JAVA, C#, Python, PowerShell etc. If you are new to ODBC and ZappySys ODBC PowerPack then check the following links to get started. ODBC PowerPack - System Requirements and Installation Getting Started - Using ODBC PowerPack ODBC API Driver Help File

Connect to Zoho CRM in other apps Connect to Zoho CRM in SSIS Connect to Zoho CRM in SQL Server Connect to Zoho CRM in Power BI Connect to Zoho CRM in SSRS Connect to Zoho CRM in Informatica Connect to Zoho CRM in MS Access Connect to Zoho CRM in MS Excel Connect to Zoho CRM in SSAS Connect to Zoho CRM in Python Connect to Zoho CRM in JAVA Connect to Zoho CRM in Tableau Connect to Zoho CRM in SAP Crystal Reports Connect to Zoho CRM in Azure Data Factory (Pipeline) Connect to Zoho CRM in Azure Data Factory (SSIS) Connect to Zoho CRM in Talend Studio Connect to Zoho CRM in UiPath Connect to Zoho CRM in PowerShell Connect to Zoho CRM in ODBC

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from Zoho CRM using C# we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from Zoho CRM. We will later be able to read data using C#. Perform these steps:

1. Install ZappySys ODBC PowerPack.

2. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
   

3. Create a User Data Source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

   ZappySys API Driver

   
   You should create a System DSN (instead of a User DSN) if the client application is launched under a Windows System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. If the client application is 32-bit (x86) running with a System DSN, use ODBC Data Sources (32-bit) instead of the 64-bit version.

4. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Zoho CRM" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Zoho CRM" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

   ZohoCrmDSN

   Zoho CRM

   

5. Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

    OAuth [OAuth]

   OAuth Connection for Zoho CRM API [API Help..]

   Steps to get Zoho CRM Credentials : OAuth [OAuth]
   To register custom App, perform the following steps (Detailed steps found in the help link at the end)

   1. Go to Zoho API Console
   2. Click Add Client link
   3. Select Server-based Applications option
   4. Enter desired client name (Display purpose only)
   5. Enter some URL for Company homepage
   6. For Authorized Redirect URI enter https://zappysys.com/oauth (Or enter your own but we recommend using ZappySys one if possible). This URL must match on Zoho Connector UI.
   7. Click CREATE.
   8. Copy Client ID and Secret and paste on Zoho Connector UI.

   Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

   ZohoCrmDSN

   Zoho CRM

   OAuth [OAuth]

   https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/[$Version$]

   Required Parameters
   Optional Parameters
   ClientId	Fill in the parameter...
   ClientSecret	Fill in the parameter...
   Permissions	Fill in the parameter...
   AccountUrl	Fill in the parameter...
   RedirectUrl	Fill in the parameter...
   API Version	Fill in the parameter...
   RetryMode	Fill in the parameter...
   RetryStatusCodeList	Fill in the parameter...
   RetryCountMax	Fill in the parameter...
   RetryMultiplyWaitTime	Fill in the parameter...

   

6. Once the data source has been configured, you can preview data. Select the Preview tab and use settings similar to the following to preview data:
   

7. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Video instructions

Read data in C#

Using ODBC DSN

1. Create a new Console project and use this code to read the data:
   

   "ZohoCrmDSN";

   

2. Press F5 to run the code and read the data:
   

3. Here is the code in text format:

   using System;
   using System.Data.Odbc;
   
   namespace ConsoleApp {
       class Program {
           static void Main() {
               var dsn = "ZohoCrmDSN";
               using (var conn = new OdbcConnection(String.Format("DSN={0}", dsn)))
               {
                   conn.Open();
                   var cmd = new OdbcCommand("SELECT * FROM Products", conn);
                   
                   //Increase the timeout duration from the default 30 seconds, which may be insufficient in certain scenarios
                   cmd.CommandTimeout=600; // 600-Seconds
                   
                   var rdr = cmd.ExecuteReader();
                   while (rdr.Read())
                   {
                       for (int i = 0; i < rdr.FieldCount; i++)
                       {
                               Console.Write("{0}\t", rdr[i]);
                       }
                       Console.WriteLine();
                   }
               }
               Console.ReadKey();
           }
       }
   }
   

Using a full ODBC connection string

If you want to avoid being dependent on a DSN and creating multiple DSNs for each platform (x86, x64), then you can use a fully qualified connection string. Simply go to your DSN and copy the Connection String:

1. Open ODBC data source configuration and click Copy settings:
   

   ZappySys API Driver - Zoho CRM

   Zoho CRM Connector can be used to integrate Zoho CRM API in your App / BI Tools. You can exchange data on Accounts, Leads, Contacts and many other modules.

   ZohoCrmDSN

   
2. The window opens, telling us the connection string was successfully copied to the clipboard:

3. Then in your C# code, pass the connection string as an argument when calling the OdbcConnection object's constructor, for example:

   var connectionString = "DRIVER={ZappySys API Driver};SomeProperty=12345;AnotherProperty=some_value;";
   
   using (var conn = new OdbcConnection(connectionString))
   {
       // your code goes here
   }

Limitations of using a full connection string

Despite using a full ODBC connection string may be very convenient it comes with a limitation: it's length is limited to 1024 symbols. It usually happens when API provider generates a very long Refresh Token when OAuth is at play. If it happens you use such API, you may get this error:

"Connection string exceeds maximum allowed length of 1024"

But there is a solution to this by storing the Refresh Token in a file instead of directly in ODBC connection string. Follow the steps below to achieve this.

1. Open your ODBC data source
2. Hit Advanced tab and enter a file path:
   

   ZappySys API Driver - Zoho CRM

   Zoho CRM Connector can be used to integrate Zoho CRM API in your App / BI Tools. You can exchange data on Accounts, Leads, Contacts and many other modules.

   ZohoCrmDSN

   
   If you cannot find the Advanced tab, try looking for Click to Configure link in Properties tab, under URL text box. Click it, and then configure the file path in OAuth Grant Options tab.
3. Then click Copy settings button to copy a full connection string and paste it into your script.
4. Proceed by pasting the connection string into your C# code as an argument when calling the OdbcConnection object's constructor.
5. Remove long AccessToken and RefreshToken properties from the connection string, and leave RefreshTokenFile property intact together with all the other properties:

   var connectionString = "Driver={ZappySys API Driver};RefreshTokenFile=C:\Users\john\Documents\tokens.txt;SomeProperty=12345;AnotherProperty=some_value;[AllOtherProperties=...]";
       using (var conn = new OdbcConnection(connectionString))
       {
           // your code goes here
       }

   AccessToken and RefreshToken will be stored in C:\Users\john\Documents\tokens.txt, specified by RefreshTokenFile property.
6. Our troubles are over, now you should be able to execute the script with no problems.

Advanced topics

Create Custom Stored Procedure in ZappySys Driver

You can create procedures to encapsulate custom logic and then only pass handful parameters rather than long SQL to execute your API call.

Steps to create Custom Stored Procedure in ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here

1. Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Procedure:
   

2. Enter the desired Procedure name and click on OK:
   

3. Select the created Stored Procedure and write the your desired stored procedure and Save it and it will create the custom stored procedure in the ZappySys Driver:
   Here is an example stored procedure for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here
   

   CREATE PROCEDURE [usp_get_orders]
       @fromdate = '<<yyyy-MM-dd,FUN_TODAY>>'
    AS
       SELECT * FROM Orders where OrderDate >= '<@fromdate>';
   

   
   

4. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your Stored Procedure using Exec Command. In this example it will extract the orders from the date 1996-01-01:
   

   Exec usp_get_orders '1996-01-01';

   
   

5. Let's generate the SQL Server Query Code to make the API call using stored procedure. Go to Code Generator Tab, select language as SQL Server and click on Generate button the generate the code.
   As we already created the linked server for this Data Source, in that you just need to copy the Select Query and need to use the linked server name which we have apply on the place of [MY_API_SERVICE] placeholder.
   

   SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([MY_API_SERVICE], 'EXEC usp_get_orders @fromdate=''1996-07-30''')

   
   

6. Now go to SQL served and execute that query and it will make the API call using stored procedure and provide you the response.
   

Create Custom Virtual Table in ZappySys Driver

ZappySys API Drivers support flexible Query language so you can override Default Properties you configured on Data Source such as URL, Body. This way you don't have to create multiple Data Sources if you like to read data from multiple EndPoints. However not every application support supplying custom SQL to driver so you can only select Table from list returned from driver.

If you're dealing with Microsoft Access and need to import data from an SQL query, it's important to note that Access doesn't allow direct import of SQL queries. Instead, you can create custom objects (Virtual Tables) to handle the import process.

Many applications like MS Access, Informatica Designer wont give you option to specify custom SQL when you import Objects. In such case Virtual Table is very useful. You can create many Virtual Tables on the same Data Source (e.g. If you have 50 URLs with slight variations you can create virtual tables with just URL as Parameter setting.

1. Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Table:
   

2. Enter the desired Table name and click on OK:
   

3. And it will open the New Query Window Click on Cancel to close that window and go to Custom Objects Tab.

4. Select the created table, Select Text Type AS SQL and write the your desired SQL Query and Save it and it will create the custom table in the ZappySys Driver:
   Here is an example SQL query for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders also. Read more about placeholders here
   

   SELECT
     "ShipCountry",
     "OrderID",
     "CustomerID",
     "EmployeeID",
     "OrderDate",
     "RequiredDate",
     "ShippedDate",
     "ShipVia",
     "Freight",
     "ShipName",
     "ShipAddress",
     "ShipCity",
     "ShipRegion",
     "ShipPostalCode"
   FROM "Orders"
   Where "ShipCountry"='USA'

   
   

5. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your custom virtual table query. In this example it will extract the orders for the USA Shipping Country only:
   

   SELECT * FROM "vt__usa_orders_only"

   
   

6. Let's generate the SQL Server Query Code to make the API call using stored procedure. Go to Code Generator Tab, select language as SQL Server and click on Generate button the generate the code.
   As we already created the linked server for this Data Source, in that you just need to copy the Select Query and need to use the linked server name which we have apply on the place of [MY_API_SERVICE] placeholder.
   

   SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([MY_API_SERVICE], 'EXEC [usp_get_orders] ''1996-01-01''')

   
   

7. Now go to SQL served and execute that query and it will make the API call using stored procedure and provide you the response.
   

Actions supported by Zoho CRM Connector

Zoho CRM Connector Examples for C# Connection

This page offers a collection of SQL examples designed for seamless integration with the ZappySys API ODBC Driver under ODBC Data Source (36/64) or ZappySys Data Gateway, enhancing your ability to connect and interact with Prebuilt Connectors effectively.

SELECT * from Accounts

UPDATE Accounts 
SET Owner='{email: "bob-the-salesman@abc.com"}'
--SET Owner='{id: "1558554000186378001"}' --you can also use Id
Where Id='1558554000137221573'

UPDATE Deals 
SET Account_Name='{"name": "Company ABCD"}',    --by name or id 
    Contact_Name='{"id": "1558554000186378001"}'  --by id 
Where Id='1558554000137221573'

INSERT INTO Deals(
	Deal_name,
	Amount,
	Lead_Source,
	Account_Name,
	Contact_Name,
	Owner
	)
VALUES
   (
   'My Test Deal Creatyed on <<FUN_NOW>>', --deal name
   1000.50, --amount
   'Cold Call', --lead source
   '{name:"ZappySys"}', --account name or use id '{id:"1558554000030180013"}'
   '{id:"1558554000089352998"}' --contact id 
   '{id:"1558554000089352912"}' --owner id or use email {email: "bob-the-salesman@abc.com"}
   )

SELECT * from Accounts Where Id=1558554000105110008

SELECT * from Accounts WITH(ModifiedSince = '2020-01-07T00:00:00')

SELECT * from get_module_data_coql WITH(sql_query= 'select Last_Name, First_Name, Company from Leads where Company like ''Test'' limit 200')

Update Leads SET Designation='VP Sales', Company='Test' Where id=1558554000012181009

Update Leads SET id='1558554000012181009' /* id must be supplied */, Designation='VP Sales', Company='Test'

SELECT * from Accounts Where Account_Name LIKE 'Test%' WITH(ModifiedSince = '2020-01-07T00:00:00')

SELECT * FROM search_Accounts WITH(criteria='Account_Name:starts_with:test')

INSERT INTO Accounts(Account_Name, Phone) VALUES('Company ABC','111-567-8888')

INSERT INTO Accounts(Account_Name, Phone) VALUES('Company ABC','111-567-8888') WITH(Output=1)

DELETE FROM Accounts WHERE id=11111111111

DELETE FROM Accounts WITH(Id='11111,22222,33333')

UPSERT INTO Accounts(Account_Name, Phone) VALUES('Company ABC','111-567-8888') WITH(Output=1)

UPSERT INTO Leads(Last_Name, Email) VALUES('Patel','zpatel@abc.com') WITH(Output=1)

INSERT INTO Accounts
SOURCE(
  'MSSQL' --ODBC or OLEDB
  ,'Data Source=localhost;Initial Catalog=Test;Integrated Security=true'
  ,'select ''Test Account-A'' as Account_Name,''111-111-1111'' as Phone
    UNION
    select ''Test Account-B'' as Account_Name,''222-222-2222'' as Phone
   '
)

UPSERT INTO Accounts
SOURCE(
  'MSSQL' --ODBC or OLEDB
  ,'Data Source=localhost;Initial Catalog=Test;Integrated Security=true'
  ,'select ''Test Account-A'' as Account_Name,''111-111-1111'' as Phone
    UNION
    select ''Test Account-B'' as Account_Name,''222-222-2222'' as Phone
   '
)

SELECT * FROM post_tags
WITH(
	  module='Accounts'
	, ids='1558554000105151002'
	, tag_names='mytag1,mytag2'
  , over_write='true'
)

Conclusion

In this article we discussed how to connect to Zoho CRM in C# and integrate data without any coding. Click here to Download Zoho CRM Connector for C# and try yourself see how easy it is. If you still have any question(s) then ask here or simply click on live chat icon below and ask our expert (see bottom-right corner of this page).

Download Zoho CRM Connector for C# Documentation 

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