Use the CData ODBC Driver for PingOne from SharePoint Excel Services



This article demonstrates how to use the CData ODBC Driver for PingOne to connect to PingOne data from Excel in on-premises editions of SharePoint. This technique allows SharePoint users to create reports, scorecards, and dashboards featuring PingOne data in Excel.

The CData ODBC Driver for PingOne can be accessed using the built-in data access tools in Excel. This article demonstrates how to use the CData ODBC Driver for PingOne to connect to PingOne data from Excel spreadsheets in on-premises editions of SharePoint.

Connect to PingOne 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.

To connect to PingOne, configure these properties:

  • Region: The region where the data for your PingOne organization is being hosted.
  • AuthScheme: The type of authentication to use when connecting to PingOne.
  • Either WorkerAppEnvironmentId (required when using the default PingOne domain) or AuthorizationServerURL, configured as described below.

Configuring WorkerAppEnvironmentId

WorkerAppEnvironmentId is the ID of the PingOne environment in which your Worker application resides. This parameter is used only when the environment is using the default PingOne domain (auth.pingone). It is configured after you have created the custom OAuth application you will use to authenticate to PingOne, as described in Creating a Custom OAuth Application in the Help documentation.

First, find the value for this property:

  1. From the home page of your PingOne organization, move to the navigation sidebar and click Environments.
  2. Find the environment in which you have created your custom OAuth/Worker application (usually Administrators), and click Manage Environment. The environment's home page displays.
  3. In the environment's home page navigation sidebar, click Applications.
  4. Find your OAuth or Worker application details in the list.
  5. Copy the value in the Environment ID field. It should look similar to:
    WorkerAppEnvironmentId='11e96fc7-aa4d-4a60-8196-9acf91424eca'

Now set WorkerAppEnvironmentId to the value of the Environment ID field.

Configuring AuthorizationServerURL

AuthorizationServerURL is the base URL of the PingOne authorization server for the environment where your application is located. This property is only used when you have set up a custom domain for the environment, as described in the PingOne platform API documentation. See Custom Domains.

Authenticating to PingOne with OAuth

PingOne supports both OAuth and OAuthClient authentication. In addition to performing the configuration steps described above, there are two more steps to complete to support OAuth or OAuthCliet authentication:

  • Create and configure a custom OAuth application, as described in Creating a Custom OAuth Application in the Help documentation.
  • To ensure that the driver can access the entities in Data Model, confirm that you have configured the correct roles for the admin user/worker application you will be using, as described in Administrator Roles in the Help documentation.
  • Set the appropriate properties for the authscheme and authflow of your choice, as described in the following subsections.

OAuth (Authorization Code grant)

Set AuthScheme to OAuth.

Desktop Applications

Get and Refresh the OAuth Access Token

After setting the following, you are ready to connect:

  • InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. To avoid the need to repeat the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken each time you connect, use InitiateOAuth.
  • OAuthClientId: The Client ID you obtained when you created your custom OAuth application.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The Client Secret you obtained when you created your custom OAuth application.
  • CallbackURL: The redirect URI you defined when you registered your custom OAuth application. For example: https://localhost:3333

When you connect, the driver opens PingOne's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application. The driver then completes the OAuth process:

  1. The driver obtains an access token from PingOne and uses it to request data.
  2. The OAuth values are saved in the location specified in OAuthSettingsLocation, to be persisted across connections.

The driver refreshes the access token automatically when it expires.

For other OAuth methods, including Web Applications, Headless Machines, or Client Credentials Grant, refer to the Help documentation.

Configure Excel Services

Once the ODBC DSN is configured, you can configure Excel Services to use the DSN to connect. To do this, you will need to set up the OLE DB provider as a trusted data source. You will also want to decide if you want to use a Secure Store Service to enable single sign-on functionality with the ODBC driver. If you prefer, you can use the Excel Services Unattended account and skip to step 3 below.

  1. First, set up a secure store application to use single sign-on. In SharePoint Central Administration, go to Application Management -> Manage Service Applications. Select your secure store service application or create a new one. Click Manage on the Edit menu to begin editing the application.
  2. Create a new target application. You will be able to set the list of users who have access to this application. After the application is created, you will need to set the credentials on the application so that you can use this later for single sign-on.
  3. Navigate to Application Management -> Manage Service Applications in SharePoint Central Administration. Select the Excel Services application used by your organization or create one if it does not already exist. Click Manage. If you create a new app, check the option to add the service application's proxy to the farm's default proxy list.
  4. Click on Trusted Data Providers and add a new trusted provider. Set 'MSDASQL.1' for the Provider ID and leave the type as 'OLE DB'. Click OK to add this new provider to the list of trusted providers.

Connect to and Import PingOne Data in Excel

After you have enabled and secured access to the DSN, you can access the data source from the ribbon in Excel.

  1. In an Excel spreadsheet, open the Data tab and click From Other Sources -> From Data Connection Wizard.
  2. Select 'Other/Advanced' for the type and on the next screen, select the 'Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers'. On the Connection tab, select CData PingOne Sys, the system DSN. The driver installation automatically creates matching user and system DSNs: The system DSN is needed to connect from SharePoint.
  3. Select the table you would like to connect to.
  4. On the last step of the wizard, click the 'Authentication Settings' button. Select the 'Use a stored account' and enter the name of the secure store target application you created earlier. Or, if you want to use the Unattended Service Account, select None.
  5. After you finish the wizard, the data is imported into the spreadsheet. You can now update and save PingOne data directly in SharePoint.

Ready to get started?

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The PingOne ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from PingOne, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access PingOne data like you would a database - read, write, and update PingOne 0, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.