dotConnect for Zoho CRM

Connect Zoho CRM Data With .NET Application Easily

dotConnect for Zoho CRM is an ADO.NET provider for working with Zoho CRM data through the standard ADO.NET or Entity Framework interfaces. It allows you to easily integrate Zoho CRM data into your .NET applications, and integrate Zoho CRM services with widely used data-oriented technologies.

dotConnect for Zoho CRM has the same standard ADO.NET classes as other standard ADO.NET providers: SugarConnection, SugarCommand, SugarDataAdapter, SugarDataReader, SugarParameter, etc. This allows you quickly get started with it and eliminates the need to study any Zoho CRM data access specificities.

dotConnect for Zoho CRM makes it simple to create .NET applications in C#, VB, or other languages, working with Zoho CRM data. It's powerful design-time editors together with seamless Visual Studio integration allow you to work with Zoho CRM data with less efforts and less code writing. See how easy it is with dotConnect for Zoho CRM.

Features

Access live Zoho CRM store data
Perform aggregations & JOINs for data analysis
Encrypted connections protect your data
Improves performance by processing queries locally
Simplifies data access with Entity Framework integration
Design EF models visually in your IDE
Streamlines development with design-time features
Simplifies data access and manipulation in Visual Studio

Compatibility

The following table show which version of this package to use with which version of frameworks.

Frameworks	Version support
Entity Framework Core	8, 7, 6, 5, 3, 2, 1
.NET	8, 7, 6, 5
.NET Core	3, 2, 1
.NET Framework	4.8, 4.7, 4.6, 4.5

More information here

Usage

To establish a connection to server you have to provide the required connection parameters to dotConnect for Zoho CRM. This information is used by ZohoConnection component to connect to Zoho CRM. The parameters are represented as a connection string. You can compose the connection string manually or have dotConnect for Zoho CRM construct it for you.

The following connection string parameters are required:

Zoho domain - if your Zoho CRM is hosted in EU, India, Australia, or China, you need to specify the corresponding domain. Domain can be crm.zoho.com, crm.zoho.eu, crm.zoho.in, crm.zoho.com.au, or crm.zoho.com.cn.

Zoho CRM API version to use - v1 or v2. depending on the API version used, different connection parameters are required. Note that API v1 has already reached End-of-Life.

Security Token - The automatically generated key that is used for logging in to Zoho CRM from an untrusted network. For generating authentication token, you must have the permission to access the API service. If you do not have permission, please contact your CRM administrator. This parameter is required for Zoho CRM API v1.

Zoho time zone - the timezone that is specified in your Zoho CRM account settings. This parameter is required for Zoho CRM API v1.

Client Id - a unique identifier provided to every Zoho CRM client application when a Zoho CRM client application is registered with Zoho. This parameter is required for Zoho CRM API v2.

Client Secret - a secret code, mapped to a Zoho CRM client application. This parameter is required for Zoho CRM API v2.

Refresh Token - the Zoho CRM OAuth 2.0 token to retrieve access tokens automatically.

API v1 have already reached End-of-Life, and new API v1 tokens cannot be generated any more. As for obtaining parameters for API v2, see the following links:

https://www.zoho.com/crm/help/developer/api/register-client.html

https://www.zoho.com/crm/help/developer/api/auth-request.html

https://www.zoho.com/crm/help/developer/api/access-refresh.html

This snippet directly configures a Zoho CRM connection using a connection string.

zohoConnection.ConnectionString = "API Version=V2;Refresh Token=1000.a6fde76542bfbb5244a7e539d4390e72.87e34ea57023c2d0e7dcb9ce55e3e7f3;ClientId=1000.M4FJLKYTSED90LJHUTVMKKAA432RUK;ClientSecret=89a0ed79957808814cdb20b9765423efffa767d1d0";

Read the full documentation for connection here.

Creating Connection in Server Explorer

To create a Server Explorer connection, you just need to:

1. Click Connect to Database on the Server Explorer toolbar 2. If the Zoho CRM Data Source is not selected by default, click the Change button. 3. Select Zoho CRM Data Source (dotConnect for Zoho CRM) and click OK. 4. Specify the Zoho CRM API Path, your user id and authentication token.

Power of SQL

dotConnect for Zoho CRM allows you to perform SQL queries against your Zoho CRM data. Use SQL statements to work with Zoho CRM accounts, contacts, leads, contracts, products, campaigns opportunities, and other objects.

Our provider offers full CRUD (Create, Read, Update, and Delete) support and allows you to get Zoho CRM data with SELECT statements and manage data with INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements.

No need to study and use complex Zoho CRM API, just use familiar SQL statements. You may use complex JOINs, WHERE conditions, etc. - all the SQL benefits, not available with Zoho CRM API.

Entity Framework Support

dotConnect for Zoho CRM allows you to access Zoho CRM data via Entity Framework - Microsoft's recommended data access technology. It supports Entity Framework and Entity Framework Core, and enables you to use the following Entity Framework features with Zoho CRM data:

LINQ to Entities (no need for Zoho CRM API)
Entity relations with lazy/eager loading
No need to post each edited/created object separately - a single SaveChanges() call to persist all the changed objects

dotConnect for Zoho CRM provides enhanced Entity Framework support for Zoho CRM data with a bundled visual designer for ORM models with Visual Studio integration - Entity Developer. Standard Visual Studio Entity Data Model designer is also supported.

Zoho CRM Data Binding

Build your data access layer without writing code manually
Configure dotConnect for Zoho CRM components in powerful design-time editors
Bind data grids and other controls to Zoho CRM data just by configuring the smart tags
Work with Zoho CRM data just like with a database

License

See pricing options for ordering.

Trial Limitations

The dotConnect for Zoho CRM Evaluation License lets you try dotConnect for Zoho CRM Trial Edition for a period of 30 days. You may not use applications developed using Trial versions of the Software for any commercial purposes.

Support Area

Documentation Request form Feedback page Product history

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