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Get the Report →Visualize Excel Online Data in TIBCO Spotfire through OData
Integrate Excel Online data into dashboards in TIBCO Spotfire.
OData is a major protocol enabling real-time communication among cloud-based, mobile, and other online applications. The CData Connect Server provides Excel Online data to OData consumers like TIBCO Spotfire. This article shows how to use the Connect Server and Spotfire's built-in support for OData to access Excel Online data in real time.
Configuring Connect Server
To work with live Excel Online data in TIBCO Spotfire, we need to connect to Excel Online from Connect Server, provide user access to the new virtual database, and create OData endpoints for the Excel Online data.
Add a Connect Server User
Create a User to connect to Excel Online from TIBCO Spotfire through Connect Server.
- Click Users -> Add
- Configure a User
- Click Save Changes and make note of the Authtoken for the new user
Connect to Excel Online from Connect Server
CData Connect Server uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.
- Open Connect Server and click Connections
- Select "Excel Online" from Available Data Sources
- Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Excel Online.
You can connect to a workbook by providing authentication to Excel Online and then setting the following properties:
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Workbook: Set this to the name or Id of the workbook.
If you want to view a list of information about the available workbooks, execute a query to the Workbooks view after you authenticate.
- UseSandbox: Set this to true if you are connecting to a workbook in a sandbox account. Otherwise, leave this blank to connect to a production account.
You use the OAuth authentication standard to authenticate to Excel Online. See the Getting Started section in the help documentation for a guide. Getting Started also guides you through executing SQL to worksheets and ranges.
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- Click Save Changes
- Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions (SELECT is all that is required for Reveal).
Add Excel Online OData Endpoints in Connect Server
After connecting to Excel Online, create OData Endpoints for the desired table(s).
- Click OData -> Tables -> Add Tables
- Select the Excel Online database
- Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Next
- (Optional) Edit the resource to select specific fields and more
- Save the settings
(Optional) Configure Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS)
When accessing and connecting to multiple domains from an application such as Ajax, there is a possibility of violating the limitations of cross-site scripting. In that case, configure the CORS settings in OData -> Settings.
- Enable cross-origin resource sharing (CORS): ON
- Allow all domains without '*': ON
- Access-Control-Allow-Methods: GET, PUT, POST, OPTIONS
- Access-Control-Allow-Headers: Authorization
Save the changes to the settings.
Create Data Visualizations on External Excel Online Data
- Open Spotfire and click Data -> Add data...
- Then, click "Connect to" -> OData -> New Connection. In the OData Connection dialog, enter the following information:
- Service URL: Enter the Connect Server's OData endpoint. For example:
http://localhost:8080/odata.rsc
- Authentication Method: Select Username and Password.
- Username: Enter the username of a Connect Server user. You can create API users on the Security tab of the administration console.
- Password: Enter the authtoken of a Connect Server user.
- Service URL: Enter the Connect Server's OData endpoint. For example:
- Select the tables and columns you want to add to the dashboard. This example uses Test_xlsx_Sheet1.
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If you want to work with the live data, click the Keep Data Table External option. This option enables your dashboards to reflect changes to the data in real time.
If you want to load the data into memory and process the data locally, click the Import Data Table option. This option is better for offline use or if a slow network connection is making your dashboard less interactive.
- After you have selected a table, Spotfire uses the data to detect number, time, and other categories. You are now on your way to creating new visualizations for analytics, reporting, and more.
Free Trial & More Information
If you are interested in connecting to your Excel Online data (or data from any of our other supported data sources) from TIBCO Spotfire, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect Server today! For more information on Connect Server and to see what other data sources we support, refer to our CData Connect page.