Feed ApprovalMax Data into FineReport

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

Set Up a JDBC Data Source of ApprovalMax Data

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

1. Copy the cdata.jdbc.api.jar file from the lib folder in the CData JDBC Driver for ApprovalMax installation directory to the lib folder of the FineReport installation directory. You will need to copy the cdata.jdbc.api.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.api.APIDriver
3. URL: A standard JDBC connection string using semicolon-separated connection properties.

   Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the ApprovalMax Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\ApprovalMax.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for ApprovalMax (see below).

   ApprovalMax API Profile Settings

   To authenticate to ApprovalMax and connect to your own data or to allow other users to connect to their data, the ApprovalMax Public API requires the OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow.

   First, you will need to register an OAuth application with ApprovalMax. Sign in to the ApprovalMax Developer Portal (https://developer.approvalmax.com/applications) and create a new application. Your OAuth application will be assigned a Client ID and a Client Secret, and you must register at least one Redirect URI (Callback URL).

   A Premium ApprovalMax subscription (or active trial) is required to use the Public API.

   After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
   • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage the process to obtain the OAuthAccessToken.
   • OAuthClientId: Set this to the Client ID that is shown in your application settings on the ApprovalMax Developer Portal.
   • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the Client Secret that is shown in your application settings on the ApprovalMax Developer Portal.
   • CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI that is registered in your application settings.
   • Scope: (Optional) Override the default OAuth scopes. The default value openid offline_access https://www.approvalmax.com/scopes/public_api/read grants read-only access to all tables in this profile and enables refresh tokens. Use the principle of least privilege when narrowing this scope.

   The OAuth Authorization URL is https://identity.approvalmax.com/connect/authorize and the Token URL is https://identity.approvalmax.com/connect/token. Both authorization_code and refresh_token grant types are supported.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

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

   
   java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.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:api:Profile=C:\profiles\ApprovalMax.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=your_callback_url;
     


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 ApprovalMax set up, you can use it as FineReport data source.

Select ApprovalMax 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 ApprovalMax entities will appear as tables on the left pane.
4. Write a SELECT statement for the ApprovalMax data tables and columns that you want to load.

5. Click preview and data is shown as table.

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