The RSSBus Data Providers for ADO.NET include out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch. In this demo, we will show you how to create a LightSwitch application that connects with QuickBooks and displays QuickBooks account data through the QuickBooks ADO.NET Data Provider. This exact same procedure outlined below can be used with any RSSBus ADO.NET Data Providers to integrate data with LightSwitch applications.

Before We Begin

QuickBooks provides no connectivity to its data over a network. RSSBus provides a utility called the Remote Connector that allows our QuickBooks ADO.NET Data Provider to communicate with QuickBooks across remotely. The Remote Connector must be installed and running on the host QuickBooks machine before completing this tutorial. Find more about setting up the Remote Connector at this help page on our website.

• Step 1: Open Visual Studio and create a new LightSwitch Project.
• Step 2: Add a new Data Source of type "Database".
• Step 3: Change the data source to an RSSBus QuickBooks Data Source.
• Step 4: Enter the connection details for your QuickBooks machine. In this example, we are using a separate machine to host QuickBooks on.

• Step 5: Once you have your connection details set, select the tables and views you would like to add to the project.
• Step 6: Now add a screen to the project. While adding the screen, select which table or view to associate with the screen. In our example we are using a Grid screen and the Accounts table.

• Step 7: Run the LightSwitch application. The screen will automatically execute and populate with data.

LightSwitch Sample Project

To help you with getting started using the QuickBooks Data Provider within Visual Studio LightSwitch, download a sample project. You will also need the QuickBooks ADO.NET Data Provider to make the connection. You can download a free trial here.

Note: Before running the demo, you will need to change your connection details. Right-click on the QuickBooks Data Source and select Update Data Source. In the wizard window that pops up, click the Previous button, and enter the connection details for your QuickBooks host.