Build Visualizations of Live xBase Data in Power BI (through CData Connect)

Power BI transforms your company's data into rich visuals for you to collect and organize so you can focus on what matters to you. When paired with CData Connect (on-premise or in the cloud), you get access to xBase data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to use CData Connect to create a virtual database for xBase, connect to xBase data into Power BI and then create reports on xBase data in Power BI.

Create a Virtual SQL Database for xBase Data

CData Connect Server uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.

1. Login to Connect Server and click Connections.
2. Select "xBase" from Available Data Sources.
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to xBase.

   The DataSource property must be set to the name of the folder that contains the .dbf files. Specify the IncludeFiles property to work with xBase table files having extensions that differ from .dbf. Specify multiple extensions in a comma-separated list.

4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions.

With the virtual database created, you are ready to connect to and visualize xBase from Power BI.

Query xBase Tables

Follow the steps below to build a query to pull xBase data into the report:

1. Open Power BI Desktop and click Get Data -> Other -> SQL Server and click "Connect"
2. Set Server to the address and port of your CData Connect instance (localhost:8033 by default) and set Database to the name of the virtual database you just created (xBase1)
3. Use "Database" authentication, enter the credentials for a CData Connect user and click "Connect"
4. Select tables in the Navigator dialog
5. Click Load to import the data into Power BI

Create xBase Data Visualizations

After connecting to the data into Power BI, you can create data visualizations in the Report view by dragging fields from the Fields pane onto the canvas. Select the dimensions and measures you wish to visualize along with the chart type.

Click Refresh to synchronize your report with any changes to the data.

SQL Access to xBase Data from Data Applications

With CData Connect you have a direct connection to xBase data from Power BI. You can import more data, create new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating xBase data.

To get SQL data access to 200+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources (including xBase) directly from your on-premise BI, reporting, ETL and other data applications, visit the CData Connect page and download a free trial.