---
schema_version: "1"
id: 001f68870aa6b964e56f2a4e38f9a2af2b632e0cf064664d334be79bb6aea980
title: Enable Direct Data in CRM Analytics
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/analytics/264-0-0/bi_setup_direct_data_external_sources.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=analytics.bi_setup_direct_data_external_sources.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: e0c9fcd0a30c8a6ba90e373218aa5bffdecf99f2544d97d06cf26131bc468e69
description: Run queries directly against external data sources with Direct Data.
products:
  - CRM Analytics
  - Cross Cloud
release: "264"
---
# Enable Direct Data in CRM Analytics

Run queries directly against external data sources with Direct Data.

### Required Editions

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small edition"><colgroup><col></colgroup><tbody><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience.</td></tr><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available for an extra cost in: <strong>Enterprise</strong>, <strong>Performance</strong>, and <strong>Unlimited</strong> Editions. Also available in: <a href="https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=bi_tutorials.htm&amp;language=en_US" target="_blank"><strong>Developer</strong> Edition</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small permission">
        <colgroup>
          <col style="width:50%">
          <col style="width:50%">
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        <thead class="slds-text-title_caps ">
          <tr class="">
            <th scope="colgroup" class="slds-cell-wrap" colspan="2" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:top;" id="d21194e54">User Permissions Needed</th>
          </tr>
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            <td data-label="User Permissions Needed" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d21194e54 ">To view CRM Analytics Dashboards and lenses:</td>
            <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d21194e54 ">Use CRM Analytics</td>
          </tr>
        </tbody>
      </table>

To run queries against external data sources with Direct Data, first enable **Explore External Data Directly** for your Salesforce org. Then complete these steps.

1. From Setup, enter Analytics in the Quick Find box, and select **Settings**.
2. Select Enable Analytics Direct Data for external sources.
3. Click **Save**.

When you make a direct data reference, no data is stored in CRM Analytics. Each time a recipe uses direct data, a query gets the current data. In Data Manager, SFDC\_Local connections represent data stored in CRM analytics. Therefore, direct data references aren’t included in SFDC\_Local connections.