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Use CData Connect Cloud to Access Facebook Data in Microsoft Power Pivot
Use CData Connect Cloud to connect to live Facebook data in the Power Pivot business intelligence tool.
This article will explain how to use CData Connect Cloud to present Facebook data as OData services and then consume the data in Microsoft Excel's Power Pivot business intelligence tool. Follow the steps below to retrieve and edit Facebook data in Power Pivot.
Connect to Facebook from Power Pivot
To work with Facebook data from Power Pivot, we need to connect to Facebook from Connect Cloud, provide user access to the connection, and create a Workspace for the Facebook data.
Connect to Facebook from Connect Cloud
CData Connect Cloud uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.
- Log into Connect Cloud, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
- Select "Facebook" from the Add Connection panel
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Facebook uses OAuth to authenticate. Click "Sign in" to authenticate with Facebook.
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Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Facebook Connection page and update the User-based permissions.
Add a Personal Access Token
When connecting to Connect Cloud through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect Cloud. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.
- Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect Cloud app to open the settings page.
- On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
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Give the PAT a name and click Create.
- The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.
Configure Facebook Endpoints for Power Pivot
After connecting to Facebook, create a workspace for your desired table(s).
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Navigate to the Workspaces page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace).
- Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
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Select the Facebook connection (e.g. Facebook1) and click Next.
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Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm.
- Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
With the connection, PAT, and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to Facebook data from Power Pivot.
Import Facebook 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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Fill out the OData feed URL (e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name})
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On the next screen, select Basic and configure the username and password. Password will be your PAT.
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Select the tables that you would like to import into Excel
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After selecting your table(s) and clicking Load, you should see the data appear in an Excel spreadsheet
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Now, click the Power Pivot tab on the ribbon, and then select Add to Data Model.
This can now work with your Facebook data in Power Pivot.
Free Trial & More Information
If you are interested in connecting to your Facebook data (or data from any of our other supported data sources) from Power Pivot, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect Cloud today! For more information on Connect Cloud and to see what other data sources we support, refer to our CData Connect Cloud page.
