Toad Data Point 6.0 - Installation Guide

About Oracle BI Enterprise Data Sources

Create PostgreSQL ODBC Connections

Toad Data Point allows you to easily create a connection to a PostgreSQL database using ODBC connectivity. You can connect with or without using a data source name (DSN).

Download and install the necessary ODBC driver to use for your PostgreSQL connection prior to creating the new connection in Toad.

Prerequisites

To create a successful ODBC connection, the architecture (bitness) of the driver in the specified DSN must match the architecture (bitness) of Toad. For example, 64-bit Toad requires an applicable 64-bit driver and 32-bit Toad requires an applicable 32-bit driver.

To create a PostgreSQL ODBC connection

Click on the toolbar (ALT+F+N+O).
Select PostgreSQL from the Group list box.
Use data source name
- To create the connection using a data source, select this option to display data source names.
- To create the connection without using a data source, clear this check box to display driver names. Select a driver and enter a server name, port number, and a database. Or select a driver and enter a ConnectionString.
To create a data source to use in this connection, click in the Data Source Name field. Then click Add.
1. Select a PostgreSQL ODBC driver from the list, and click Finish.
2. Specify the configuration properties required for the database in the Windows driver setup dialog. Save your settings when finished.

Specify the remaining connection properties in the Create New Connection dialog. Review the following for additional information:

Note: Specify a user that has been granted SELECT privilege in pg_catalog schema.

General
Data source name	Select the driver or data source name you added in the previous steps.
User	Enter the user name to use when connecting.
Password	Enter the password to use when connecting. Tip: After connecting, you can set a master password to further secure your connection in Tools \| Options\| Environment \| Security.
Database	Select a database or schema. Click to create a temporary connection and display available databases/schemas in the drop-down list.
Information
Data Source Name	Displays the selected driver or data source name.
Driver	Displays the ODBC driver associated with the data source.
Advanced
Default Table Column	Specify default options to use when creating a new table. Column type—Select the default data type to use when creating a table. Column length—For the selected column type, enter a default column length to use.
Advanced Options	Block Cursor Size—Specify the number of rows to return in a single fetch of data from the result set. Disable multi-threading—Multi-threading is disabled by default. Enable multi-threading only if supported by the driver. Multi-threading can improve performance, but can also result in unpredictable behavior if not supported by the driver. Default: Selected
Category	(Optional) Select an existing category or create a new one. See Set Connection Categories for more information.

Click Connect to connect immediately while saving the connection information. Optionally, click Save to save the connection without connecting.

Tip: Connections are stored in the connections.xml file and can be found by clicking the Application Data Directory link in Help | About.

Considerations and Limitations for PostgreSQL ODBC Connections

Consideration/Limitation	Details
User must have pg_catalog privilege	To use a PostgreSQL ODBC connection in Toad, the connecting user must have the SELECT privilege in the pg_catalog schema. This privilege is required as it enables viewing PostgreSQL objects in the Object Explorer, as well as other features and functionality in Toad. If you attempt to connect using a user account that does not have the SELECT privilege in the pg_catalog schema, you will encounter the following error message: "User's privileges are insufficient to connect using Toad."

Consideration/Limitation

Details

User must have pg_catalog privilege

To use a PostgreSQL ODBC connection in Toad, the connecting user must have the SELECT privilege in the pg_catalog schema. This privilege is required as it enables viewing PostgreSQL objects in the Object Explorer, as well as other features and functionality in Toad.

If you attempt to connect using a user account that does not have the SELECT privilege in the pg_catalog schema, you will encounter the following error message:

"User's privileges are insufficient to connect using Toad."

Tips for Working with ODBC Connections

Tip	Description
Filter DSN by bitness	To filter Data Source Names displayed in the New Connection dialog by the bitness of Toad, go to Tools \| Options \| Database \| ODBC.
Cache object metadata	To cache object metadata for ODBC connections and retain it between sessions, go to Tools \| Options \| Database \| ODBC and select to enable disk caching. Cached object metadata is retained until manually refreshed.
Refresh object metadata	To refresh object metadata for all ODBC connections, in the Object Explorer right-click an object and select Refresh All. Right-click an object and select Refresh Schema to refresh only objects in that schema.

Tip

Description

Filter DSN by bitness

To filter Data Source Names displayed in the New Connection dialog by the bitness of Toad, go to Tools | Options | Database | ODBC.

Cache object metadata

To cache object metadata for ODBC connections and retain it between sessions, go to Tools | Options | Database | ODBC and select to enable disk caching.

Cached object metadata is retained until manually refreshed.

Refresh object metadata

To refresh object metadata for all ODBC connections, in the Object Explorer right-click an object and select Refresh All.

Right-click an object and select Refresh Schema to refresh only objects in that schema.

ODBC Features

Feature	Description
Bypass schema/instance selection in SQL Editor	For ODBC connections, in the SQL Editor you can bypass selecting a schema/instance and specify this information through the script instead. This is useful if your script executes SQL against multiple schemas. To use this method, select I will set schema/instance in the script from the schema/instance drop-down list in the SQL Editor window. Then specify the schema/instance through your script. Note: When this option is selected, some code completion features, object actions, and object information tool tips are unavailable for this SQL Editor window.

Feature

Description

Bypass schema/instance selection in SQL Editor

For ODBC connections, in the SQL Editor you can bypass selecting a schema/instance and specify this information through the script instead. This is useful if your script executes SQL against multiple schemas.

To use this method, select I will set schema/instance in the script from the schema/instance drop-down list in the SQL Editor window. Then specify the schema/instance through your script.

Note: When this option is selected, some code completion features, object actions, and object information tool tips are unavailable for this SQL Editor window.

Click here to view a video about creating connections in Toad Data Point

Related Topics

Create Salesforce Connections

Toad allows you to connect directly to Salesforce.com, one of the business intelligence data sources supported by Toad. Toad supports authentication using either a Salesforce security token or single sign-on with your corporate credentials.

Note: This feature is available in the Toad Data Point Professional Edition only.

To create a Salesforce connection

Click on the Connections toolbar (ALT+F+N).
Select Salesforce from the Group list. The Create New Connection dialog opens.

To create a Salesforce connection using your Salesforce email login, select the Credentials tab.

Enter the connection information. Review the following for additional information:

URL	Enter the Salesforce.com URL to which you want to connect. Note: An example is https://login.salesforce.com.
Username	Enter your email login. Note: You must have a Salesforce email login to create this type of connection to Salesforce.com from Toad.
Password	Enter the password to use when connecting. Tip: After connecting, you can set a master password to further secure your connection in Tools \| Options\| Environment \| Security.
Security token	Enter your Security Token provided by Salesforce. Note: You must have a Salesforce security token to create this type of Salesforce.com connection from Toad. See Important Notes about Salesforce Connections for more information.
Category	(Optional) Select an existing category or create a new one. See Set Connection Categories for more information.

After entering the connection information, click Connect to connect immediately while saving the connection information. Optionally, click Save to save the connection without connecting.

To create a Salesforce connection using your corporate credentials (single sign-on), select the Corporate Credentials tab.
1. Enter your company's custom Salesforce URL. An example is https://company.my.salesforce.com or http://salesforce.servername.
  
  Note: If you authenticate and request login to Salesforce through your company's server (e.g., http://salesforce.servername), you may need to contact your IT department to obtain the full URL to enter in this step.
2. If the Salesforce log-in page displays, enter your corporate credentials (user name and password) and click Log in to Salesforce.
  
  Note: The Salesforce log-in page does not display when authenticating through your company's server.
3. The Salesforce consent page displays. Click Allow to allow Toad access to your Salesforce data.
Upon creating an initial connection, Toad automatically maps the data source objects. This process runs in the background, and until it is finished, you may experience a delay when attempting to access these objects.

Note: In NoSQL and Business Intelligence connections, Toad automatically saves the password in the connections.xml file as obfuscated text, as well as in Toad. To add additional password security, use Toad's Master Password feature. See Security Options for more information.

Manual Single Sign-On

Use the manual single sign on method when you want to create a Salesforce connection using your corporate credentials but you are having problems accessing Salesforce from Toad, for example, if Toad does not have access to the Internet.

Create a Salesforce.com connection - manual single sign-on

In the Create New Connection dialog, select the Manual Single Sign On tab.
Log-in to your Salesforce.com account using your browser. After you log-in, copy the full URL from the browser's address bar and paste it into the text box under Step 1 in the Manual Single Sign On tab.
A URL appears in the text box under Step 2. Copy this URL and then paste it into the address bar in your browser.
The Salesforce consent page displays. Click Allow.
A page displays containing the authorization code. Copy the code and paste it into the text box under Step 3. Then click Connect.

Reauthorizing a Connection (If Using Corporate Credentials)

If you encounter an error message when attempting to connect to Salesforce using your corporate credentials connection, Toad's authorization (access) to Salesforce may be lost. Use the following procedure to re-establish authorization for the connection.

To Reauthorize

In the Navigation Manager, disconnect from the connection. You must disconnect before you can re-authorize.
After disconnecting, right-click the connection and select Properties.
In the Connection Properties dialog, click Reauthorize in the Corporate Credentials tab.
If the Salesforce log-in page displays, re-enter your corporate credentials.

Note: The Salesforce log-in page does not display when authenticating through your company's server.

Important Notes about Salesforce Connections

If you connect to Salesforce using a proxy, you must define the proxy server in Toad. See Data Services Options for more information.
A Security Token is required to log on to Salesforce.com from Toad, using your Salesforce email login.
For information about how to generate a new security token, see the Salesforce documentation at https://login.salesforce.com/help/doc/en/user_security_token.htm.
You may need to have your IP address included in your organization's list of trusted IP addresses. For more information, see the Salesforce documentation at http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/api/Content/sforce_api_concepts_security.htm.

Tips:

For more information about working with Salesforce.com in Toad, see About Salesforce.com Data Sources.
Connections are stored in the connections.xml file and can be found by clicking the Application Data Directory link in Help | About.
You can specify a proxy server to use for Business Intelligence and NoSQL connections at Tools | Options | Database | Data Services.

Related Topics

About Salesforce.com Data Sources

Create Snowflake Connections

Toad allows you to create a native Snowflake connection, which provides you with a full-featured Object Explorer, Query Builder and SQL Editor.

Note: You must have a Snowflake ODBC driver 2.24.2 (or later) installed before a native connection is created.

To install the Snowflake ODBC Driver

Download and install the ODBC Driver from the Snowflake Web site.

To create a new connection

Click on the Connections toolbar (ALT+F+N).

Select Snowflake from the Group list box.
Enter the connection information in the Create New Connection dialog. Review the following for additional information:

Review the following for additional information:

General Tab	Description
Host	Enter the name of the server hosting the database to which you want to connect.
Authentication	There are four types of authentication that you can use to connect to Snowflake in Toad. The required Login fields will change according to the type of authentication you select. All the authenticators are located in a dropdown list: Snowflake – User account authentication SSO – Single Sign-On via external browser OAuth – Token-based authentication MFA - Multi-Factor Authentication
User	Enter the username for your Snowflake account
Password	Enter the password for your Snowflake account
Token	Enter your authentication token (Only visible when connecting via OAuth)
Port	The default port number for Snowflake is 443
Optional	A connection can be made without providing this information
Role	Enter the user role that you would like to connect to
Database	Enter the name of the database you would like to connect to
Warehouse	Enter the name of the Warehouse you would like to connect to

Click Connect to save the connection and immediately connect to the database.

or

Click Save to save the connection without connecting to the database.

Authentication Notes

When using SSO or MFA, there is a way to maintain continuous and secure connectivity without needing to enter login credentials for each connection attempt to Snowflake (as well as to prevent additional browser loading whenever a new module is started in Toad Data Point). To achieve this, check whether the correct parameters have been set in your account by executing the query below in your Snowflake cloud interface:

SHOW PARAMETERS IN ACCOUNT;

The output that will secure login credentials caching will have these values:

For SSO

allow_id_token = true;

For MFA

allow_client_mfa_caching = true;

If these values are set to false, then the following queries need to be executed:

For SSO:

ALTER ACCOUNT

SET allow_id_token = true;

For MFA:

ALTER ACCOUNT

SET allow_client_mfa_caching = true;

Note: If a Role or Warehouse isn’t chosen, the default settings from the Snowflake User account will be applied (it is considered best practice that a user sets a default Role and a default Warehouse in their Snowflake user account).

Tip: It is strongly advised to use only the Snowflake user account authentication when creating Automation scripts to avoid unnecessary workflow interruptions.

Limitations of Snowflake Native Connections

Connecting to Snowflake through Programmatic SSO (Okta only) or by using key pair authentication with JSON Web Token (JWT) is not currently supported.
Semi-structured data types can be used for storing and analyzing purposes in Snowflake connections, but are not supported in the Data Compare/Sync Wizard because Toad will not be able to generate valid sync scripts unless they are modified before execution
At the moment, there is no support for Code Snippets in Snowflake connections
Publishing Snapshots, Views, Automation scripts, and Workbooks to Toad Intelligence Central cannot be performed when using SSO, MFA, OAuth authentication

Tip: Connections are stored in the connections.xml file and can be found by clicking the Application Data Directory link in Help | About.

Related Topics

Manage Connections