SalesforceReader
Short Description
SalesforceReader reads records from Salesforce using SOAP API.
Which Salesforce reader?
If you need to read a small number of records, read attachments or use functions and subqueries, use SalesforceReader. If you need to read a large number of records, use SalesforceBulkReader. |
Component | Data source | Input ports | Output ports | Each to all outputs | Different to different outputs | Transformation | Transf. req. | Java | CTL | Auto-propagated metadata |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SalesforceReader |
database |
0 |
1 |
⨯ |
⨯ |
✓ |
⨯ |
⨯ |
✓ |
⨯ |
Ports
Port type | Number | Required | Description | Metadata |
---|---|---|---|---|
Output |
0 |
✓ |
SOQL query results |
output0 |
Metadata
SalesforceReader does not propagate metadata.
SalesforceReader has no metadata templates.
SalesforceReader has no special requirements on metadata names or field data types.
SalesforceReader Attributes
Attribute | Req | Description | Possible values |
---|---|---|---|
Basic |
|||
Connection |
yes |
A Salesforce connection. See Salesforce Connections. |
e.g. MySFConnection |
SOQL query |
yes |
A query for retrieving data from Salesforce. The component allows you to use subset of the SOQL language. If you query the records, you should use API names for objects and fields. The API name can differ from the name of an object in Salesforce web GUI. You can use graph parameters in SOQL query. |
e.g. SELECT Name, Website FROM Account WHERE Industry = 'Energy' |
Output mapping |
Mapping from query fields to output metadata fields |
Map by name (default) |
|
Read mode |
Defines in what way records are read from Salesforce.
You can enable reading deleted records, and then such records will be returned by the component.
To distinguish deleted and not deleted records, query the |
Do not return deleted or archived records (default) | Return also deleted or archived records |
Details
SalesforceReader reads records from Salesforce using SOAP API, which performs the operations synchronously making it suitable for retrieving small datasets.
To use the component, create a Salesforce connection, enter an SOQL query and specify the output mapping. If you perform the steps in this order, the transform editor can provide you with metadata extracted from the SOQL query. Therefore, you will be able to map the fields with drag and drop.
SOQL
SalesforceReader uses Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) to query data in Salesforce.
List of Supported SOQL Functions
Due to different implementation of almost each function in API, we support the following functions.
Aggregate Functions
The table shows returned data type for particular argument data type.
Function |
Parameter type |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boolen |
Decimal |
Integer |
Date |
String |
|
|
- |
Decimal[1] |
Decimal[1] |
- |
- |
|
- |
Integer |
Integer |
Integer |
Integer |
|
no |
Integer |
Integer |
Integer |
Integer |
|
- |
Decimal[2] |
Integer |
Date |
String |
|
- |
Decimal[2] |
Integer |
Date |
String |
|
- |
Decimal[3] |
Integer |
- |
- |
See also the Salesforce documentation on Aggregate Functions.
Date functions
Function | Result type | Note |
---|---|---|
|
Integer |
|
|
Integer |
|
|
Integer |
|
|
Integer |
|
|
Integer |
|
|
Integer |
|
|
Date |
|
|
Integer |
|
|
Integer |
|
|
Integer |
|
|
Integer |
|
|
Integer |
|
|
Integer |
|
|
Date |
Must be used in a date function.
For example See also documentation on convertTimezone() |
See also Salesforce documentation on Date Functions.
Subqueries and Join Type
When the SOQL query contains a subquery, LEFT OUTER JOIN is performed to provide flat data structure.
If no records have been returned by the subquery, null
values are returned for subquery fields.
For example, if you select opportunities in a subquery and an account from a root query has no opportunity, a single record with null
subquery fields is returned for this account.
If the account has multiple opportunities, multiple records are produced.
Order of Output Records
The output records come out in arbitrary order unless you use ORDER BY in your query.
SOAP or Bulk API
If you read less than 10-15,000 records, it is generally better to use SOAP API because it will use less API requests.
Notes and Limitations
Address and Geolocation Compound Fields
Compound fields group together several fields to represent a complex data type, such as addresses or locations. SalesforceReader does not support reading compound fields as a whole, you need to read their separate parts. The dialog for defining SOQL shows the individual fields of compound fields, e.g. BillingStreet, BillingCity, etc.
For example, to read BillingAddress it is not possible to use the following SOQL:
SELECT BillingAddress FROM Account
Instead you need to read its individual component fields:
SELECT BillingStreet, BillingCity, BillingPostalCode FROM Account
See Compound Fields.
Aggregate functions
In subqueries, you cannot read data from binary fields or use aggregate functions. This is a limitation of the SOAP API.
Reading deleted records details
When a Salesforce record is deleted it is first moved to Recycle Bin, from where it can be restored. Then automatically after a time interval, or after manually emptying the Recycle Bin, the record will be marked to be permanently deleted. Records marked to be permanently deleted cannot be restored, and are wiped from the database automatically by a background process.
If a record is deleted using the Hard Delete operation, it skips the Recycle Bin and is immediately ready to be permanently deleted.
Reading deleted records returns records which are not wiped yet, including those that are not in the Recycle Bin anymore but were not permanently deleted yet.
API Requests
SalesforceReader uses multiple API calls during its run. All of them count towards your Salesforce API request limit. The precise call flow is:
-
Login
-
Extract metadata of an expected result of a query. The number of requests depends on complexity of the query. In general, every unique Salesforce object used in the query will result in 1 API request.
-
Send the query and iterate over the result. An API request must be sent for every 2,000 returned records, so the number of requests depends on the number of records in the result. This is a limitation of the SOAP API.
Examples
Reading records from Salesforce
This example shows the basic functionality of SalesforceReader.
Select FirstName, LastName and Email from Contact.
Solution
Create a Salesforce connection.
In SalesforceReader, set up the Connection, SOQL query and Output mapping parameters.
Attribute | Value |
---|---|
Connection |
Connection from the first step |
SOQL query |
SELECT FirstName, LastName, Email FROM Contact |
Output mapping |
|
Query on multiple objects (tables)
This example shows the way to query records from two objects (tables) with a parent-child relationship. The solution of this example and the following ones shows only the SOQL query as the rest of the configuration has already been shown in the first example.
Select an account name and corresponding parent account name from Account.
Solution
SELECT Name, Parent.Name FROM Account
Query on multiple objects (tables) II
Select an account name and details of corresponding opportunities: name, type, amount, description.
Solution
SELECT Account.Name, (SELECT Opportunity.Name, Opportunity.Type, Opportunity.Amount, Opportunity.Description FROM Opportunities) FROM Account
Using aggregate functions
This example shows the way to use Salesforce aggregate functions.
Select account names and for each account count the sum from opportunities we won. The result should be sorted according to the sum in descending order.
Solution
SELECT Account.Name, SUM(Amount) FROM Opportunity WHERE IsWon = true GROUP BY Account.Name ORDER BY SUM(Amount) DESC
Reading deleted records
This example shows how to read deleted records. For more details on how records are deleted in Salesforce, see Reading deleted records details. Reading deleted records can be used for backup or for synchronization with a data warehouse where you need to mirror the delete operations.
Solution
Set the SalesforceReader attribute Read mode to Return also deleted or archived records.
Read the records and their IsDeleted field to distinguish deleted and not deleted records:
SELECT Name, IsDeleted FROM Account
Compatibility
Version | Compatibility Notice |
---|---|
4.4.0-M2 |
SalesforceReader is available since 4.4.0-M2. It uses Salesforce SOAP API version 37.0. |
4.5.0-M2 |
SalesforceReader uses Salesforce SOAP API version 39.0. |
5.2.0 |
SalesforceReader uses Salesforce SOAP API version 45.0. |
5.3.0 |
SalesforceReader uses Salesforce SOAP API version 46.1. |