How to integrate Metabase with Microsoft Planner Data

Metabase is an open source data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, users can easily create visualizations and dashboards linked to live Microsoft Planner data. This article describes how to connect to Microsoft Planner and build a simple visualization using Microsoft Planner data.

CData Connect provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Microsoft Planner, allowing you to easily integrate with live Microsoft Planner data in Metabase — without replicating the data. Connect looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Metabase and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Microsoft Planner, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Microsoft Planner data.

Configure Microsoft Planner Connectivity for Metabase

Connectivity to Microsoft Planner from Metabase is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Microsoft Planner data from Metabase, we start by creating and configuring a Microsoft Planner connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "Microsoft Planner" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Microsoft Planner.

   You can connect without setting any connection properties for your user credentials. Below are the minimum connection properties required to connect.

   • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
   • Tenant (optional): Set this if you wish to authenticate to a different tenant than your default. This is required to work with an organization not on your default Tenant.

   When you connect the Driver opens the MS Planner OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the Driver. The Driver then completes the OAuth process.

   1. Extracts the access token from the callback URL and authenticates requests.
   2. Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
   3. Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation to be persisted across connections.
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Microsoft Planner Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Microsoft Planner data from Metabase.

Connect to CData Connect from Metabase

After creating the virtual database, navigate to your Metabase instance. Use the SQL Server interface to connect to Connect Cloud.

1. Navigate to the administration screen (Settings -> Admin) and click "Add Database" from the "Databases" tab
2. Configure the connection to Connect Cloud and click "Save"
   • Database type: Select "SQL Server"
   • Name: Name the connection (e.g. "Microsoft Planner (Connect Cloud)")
   • Host: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Database name: The name of the connection you just created (e.g. MicrosoftPlanner1)
   • Username: A Connect Cloud username (e.g. user@mydomain.com)
   • Password: The PAT for the above Connect Cloud user
   • Click to Use a secure connection (SSL)

Execute Microsoft Planner Data with Metabase

Once you configure the connection to Connect Cloud, you can query Microsoft Planner and build visualizations.

1. Use the "Write SQL" tool to retrieve the Microsoft Planner data
2. Write a SQL query based on the Microsoft Planner connection in CData Connect Cloud, e.g.
   
   

   SELECT TaskId, startDateTime FROM Tasks WHERE TaskId = 'BCrvyMoiLEafem-3RxIESmUAHbLK'

3. Navigate to the "Visualization" screen, choose a visualization, and configure the visualization

More Information & Free Trial

At this point, you have built a simple visualization from Microsoft Planner data in Metabase. You can continue to work with live Microsoft Planner data in Metabase just like you would any SQL Server database. For more information on creating a live connection to Microsoft Planner (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect Cloud page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Microsoft Planner data in Metabase today.