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Build Charts with USPS Data in Clear Analytics

Create dynamic charts and perform analytics based on USPS data in Clear Analytics.

The CData ODBC Driver for USPS enables access to live data from USPS under the ODBC standard, allowing you work with USPS data in a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools and directly, using familiar SQL queries. This article shows how to use Clear Analytics, a Microsoft Excel Add-In, to connect to USPS as an ODBC source and create queries, tables, and charts (including PivotTables) based on USPS data.

Connect to USPS Data

Configure the ODBC Data Source Name


To authenticate with USPS, set the following connection properties.

  • PostageProvider: The postage provider to use to process requests. Available options are ENDICIA and STAMPS. If unspecified, this property will default to ENDICIA.
  • UseSandbox: This controls whether live or test requests are sent to the production or sandbox servers. If set to true, the Password, AccountNumber, and StampsUserId properties are ignored.
  • StampsUserId: This value is used for logging into authentication to the Stamps servers. This value is not applicable for Endicia and is optional if UseSandbox is true.
  • Password: This value is used for logging into Endicia and Stamps servers. If the postage provider is Endicia, this will be the pass phrase associated with your postage account. It is optional if UseSandbox is true.
  • AccountNumber: The shipper's account number. It is optional if UseSandbox is true.
  • PrintLabelLocation: This property is required to use the GenerateLabels or GenerateReturnLabels stored procedures. This should be set to the folder location where generated labels should be stored.

The Cache Database

Many of the useful task available from USPS require a lot of data. To ensure this data is easy to input and recall later, utilize a cache database to make requests. Set the cache connection properties in order to use the cache:

  • CacheLocation: The path to the cache location, for which a connection will be configured with the default cache provider. For example, C:\users\username\documents\uspscache

As an alternative to CacheLocation, set the combination of CacheConnection and CacheProvider to configure a cache connection using a provider separate from the default.


Configure the Data Source in Clear Analytics

  2. Select Database as the data source.
  12. Review the summary of your data and click Finish.

Create a Chart with USPS Data

You are now ready to create a chart with USPS data.

Create a New Query

  1. Click Repository in the CLEAR ANALYTICS ribbon.
  2. Create a new query.
  3. Select the columns you wish to retrieve.
  6. Name your query and click Save.

Build a Chart Based on a Query Report

  1. Click Report Explorer in the CLEAR ANALYTICS ribbon.
  3. Select the query you just created.
  5. Click the Results tab within the Report Explorer

With a new data source in Clear Analytics established and a chart created, you are ready to begin analysis of USPS data. With the ODBC Driver for USPS and Clear Analytics, you can perform self-service analytics in Excel with live data, directly from USPS.