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Use the CData API Server to Access Microsoft Dataverse Data in Microsoft PowerPivot
Use the CData API Server to connect to live Microsoft Dataverse data in the Power Pivot business intelligence tool.
The CData API Server enables you to use REST, OData, JSON, or Open APIs to connect to and query Microsoft Dataverse data. The OData standard enables real-time access to the live data, and support for OData is integrated into Power Pivot. This article details how to import an OData feed of Microsoft Dataverse data into Microsoft Excel's PowerPivot business intelligence tool.
About Microsoft Dataverse Data Integration
CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from Microsoft Dataverse (formerly the Common Data Service). Customers use CData connectivity to:
- Access both Dataverse Entities and Dataverse system tables to work with exactly the data they need.
- Authenticate securely with Microsoft Dataverse in a variety of ways, including Azure Active Directory, Azure Managed Service Identity credentials, and Azure Service Principal using either a client secret or a certificate.
- Use SQL stored procedures to manage Microsoft Dataverse entities - listing, creating, and removing associations between entities.
CData customers use our Dataverse connectivity solutions for a variety of reasons, whether they're looking to replicate their data into a data warehouse (alongside other data sources)or analyze live Dataverse data from their preferred data tools inside the Microsoft ecosystem (Power BI, Excel, etc.) or with external tools (Tableau, Looker, etc.).
Getting Started
Set Up the API Server
If you have not already done so, download the CData API Server. Once you have installed the API Server, follow the steps below to begin producing secure Microsoft Dataverse OData services:
Connect to Microsoft Dataverse
To work with Microsoft Dataverse data from Microsoft Power Pivot, we start by creating and configuring a Microsoft Dataverse connection. Follow the steps below to configure the API Server to connect to Microsoft Dataverse data:
- First, navigate to the Connections page.
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Click Add Connection and then search for and select the Microsoft Dataverse connection.
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Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Microsoft Dataverse.
- After configuring the connection, click Save & Test to confirm a successful connection.
Configure API Server Users
Next, create a user to access your Microsoft Dataverse data through the API Server. You can add and configure users on the Users page. Follow the steps below to configure and create a user:
- On the Users page, click Add User to open the Add User dialog.
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Next, set the Role, Username, and Privileges properties and then click Add User.
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An Authtoken is then generated for the user. You can find the Authtoken and other information for each user on the Users page:
Creating API Endpoints for Microsoft Dataverse
Having created a user, you are ready to create API endpoints for the Microsoft Dataverse tables:
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First, navigate to the API page and then click
Add Table
.
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Select the connection you wish to access and click Next.
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With the connection selected, create endpoints by selecting each table and then clicking Confirm.
Gather the OData Url
Having configured a connection to Microsoft Dataverse data, created a user, and added resources to the API Server, you now have an easily accessible REST API based on the OData protocol for those resources. From the API page in API Server, you can view and copy the API Endpoints for the API:
Import Microsoft Dataverse Tables in Power Pivot
Follow the steps below to import tables that can be refreshed on demand:
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In Excel, click Data -> Get Data -> From Other Sources -> From OData Feed
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In the OData feed connection, set the URL property to the OData Endpoint URL previously copied and click OK (e.g. "http://localhost:8080/api.rsc"):
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In the next step of the wizard, define the authentication credentials. Select Basic and then enter the credentials for a user authorized to make requests. Specify the User name and enter the user's authtoken in the Password field:
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Select the tables that you would like to import into Excel and click Load
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After selecting and loading your table(s), you should see the data appear in an Excel spreadsheet. Now, click the Power Pivot tab on the ribbon, and then select Add to Data Model.
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You can now work with your Microsoft Dataverse data in Power Pivot.
Free Trial & More Information
If you are interested in connecting to your Microsoft Dataverse data (or data from any of our other supported data sources) from Microsoft Power Pivot, download API Server to begin creating flexible and customizable REST, OData, JSON and Open APIs from any database or data store! As always, our world-class support team is ready to answer any questions you may have.
