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Get the Report →Use the CData ODBC Driver for Facebook in Microsoft Power Query
You can use the CData Facebook ODBC Driver with Microsoft Power Query. In this article, you will use the ODBC driver to import Facebook data into Microsoft Power Query.
The CData ODBC Driver for Facebook enables you to link to Facebook data in Microsoft Power Query, ensuring that you see any updates. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to import Facebook data into Microsoft Power Query.
Connect to Facebook as an ODBC Data Source
If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.
Most tables require user authentication as well as application authentication. Facebook uses the OAuth authentication standard. To authenticate to Facebook, you can use the embedded OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL or you can obtain your own by registering an app with Facebook.
See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.
Import Facebook Data
Follow the steps below to import Facebook data using standard SQL:
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From the ribbon in Excel, click Power Query -> From Other Data Sources -> From ODBC.
- Enter the ODBC connection string. Below is a connection string using the default DSN created when you install the driver:
Provider=MSDASQL.1;Persist Security Info=False;DSN=CData Facebook Source
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Enter the SELECT statement to import data with. For example:
SELECT FromName, LikesCount FROM Posts
Enter credentials, if required, and click Connect. The results of the query are displayed in the Query Editor Preview. You can combine queries from other data sources or refine the data with Power Query formulas. To load the query to the worksheet, click the Close and Load button.