Feed Anaplan Data into FineReport

The CData JDBC Driver for Anaplan fully implements the JDBC standard and can provide Anaplan data connectivity to a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools and custom applications. In this article, we explain how to set Anaplan data as JDBC data source in FineReport and view Anaplan data as a table in the Report Designer.

Set Up a JDBC Data Source of Anaplan Data

Follow the instruction below to set Anaplan data as a FineReport database connection.

1. Copy the cdata.jdbc.anaplan.jar file from the lib folder in the CData JDBC Driver for Anaplan installation directory to the lib folder of the FineReport installation directory. You will need to copy the cdata.jdbc.anaplan.lic file as well.
2. From the Server tab, select Define Data Connection, click to add a new connection, and click JDBC.

Next we will set up the data connection definition in the window.

1. Database: Others
2. JDBC Driver: cdata.jdbc.anaplan.AnaplanDriver
3. URL: A standard JDBC connection string using semicolon-separated connection properties.

   Authenticating to Anaplan

   The driver supports authenticating with Basic, Certificate, or OAuth. In every case, set Region to the region where your Anaplan account data is hosted (e.g., US1, which is the default).

   Using Basic Authentication

   Set AuthScheme to Basic, then supply your Anaplan User and Password. If your workspace uses single sign-on (SSO), you must be assigned as an Exception User to use Basic authentication.

   Using Certificate Authentication

   Set AuthScheme to Certificate, then supply the Certificate, CertificateType, and PrivateKey properties (and the matching CertificatePassword / PrivateKeyPassword if either is encrypted). The certificate must be a CA-issued X.509 certificate registered with your Anaplan tenant administrator.

   Using OAuth Authentication

   Register a custom OAuth application in Anaplan, then set the following properties:

   • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
   • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
   • CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your application.
   • InitiateOAuth: Set to GETANDREFRESH to have the driver manage the OAuth token exchange and refresh automatically.

   See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to creating a custom OAuth app and using OAuth.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

   For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Anaplan JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.anaplan.jar
   

   Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

   

   When you configure the JDBC URL, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

   A typical JDBC URL is below:

       jdbc:anaplan:OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=your_callback_url;Region=US1;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;
     


4. Click Connection pool attributes and set Test before getting connections to No.

Click Test connection to ensure you have configured the connection properly. With the connection to Anaplan set up, you can use it as FineReport data source.

Select Anaplan Data in the Report Designer.

1. Click to add a new template data set and select DB query to open the database query window.

2. Choose the JDBC connection that you created from the dropdown list.
3. The Anaplan entities will appear as tables on the left pane.
4. Write a SELECT statement for the Anaplan data tables and columns that you want to load.

5. Click preview and data is shown as table.

With these simple steps, Anaplan can be used as a JDBC data source in FineReport.