Create Power BI XMLA-Connected Business Apps in AppSheet

Google AppSheet is a no-code development platform for application software, enabling users to design mobile, tablet, and web applications. When combined with CData Connect Cloud, you gain immediate cloud-to-cloud access to Power BI XMLA data for business applications. This article outlines the process of connecting to Power BI XMLA using Connect Cloud and constructing a basic app from Power BI XMLA data within AppSheet.

CData Connect Cloud offers a dedicated cloud-to-cloud interface for Power BI XMLA, enabling the creation of reports directly from live Power BI XMLA data within AppSheet, all without the need for data replication to a native database. When you design applications that interact with data, AppSheet formulates SQL queries to retrieve the required information. With its inherent optimized data processing capabilities, CData Connect Cloud efficiently channels all supported SQL operations, including filters and JOINs, directly to Power BI XMLA. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested Power BI XMLA data.

Configure Power BI XMLA Connectivity for AppSheet

Connectivity to Power BI XMLA from AppSheet is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Power BI XMLA data from AppSheet, we start by creating and configuring a Power BI XMLA connection.

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

   By default, use Azure AD to connect to Microsoft Power BI XMLA. Azure AD is Microsoft’s multi-tenant, cloud-based directory and identity management service. It is user-based authentication that requires that you set AuthScheme to AzureAD.

   For more information on other authentication schemes, refer to the Help documentation.

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Power BI XMLA 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 Power BI XMLA data from AppSheet.

Connect to Power BI XMLA from AppSheet

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Cloud from AppSheet to create a new Power BI XMLA data source.

1. Log into AppSheet
2. Click "My account" in the menu
3. Click the Sources tab and add a new data source
4. Select Cloud Database and set the connection information
   • Type: Sql Server
   • Server: tds.cdata.com,14333
   • Database: the Power BI XMLA connection, for example, PowerBIXMLA1
   • Username: a Connect Cloud user, for example, user@mydomain.com
   • Password: the PAT for the above Connect Cloud user
   • SSL: Require SSL
5. Click "Test Connection"
6. Click "Authorize Access"

Create an App

Once you create the data source for Power BI XMLA, you can start building apps on Power BI XMLA data. Start by clicking "My apps" in the menu.

1. Click to create a new app and select "Start with your own data"
2. Name the app and select an appropriate category, based on your data
3. Select the newly created data source
4. Select the table or view with the data you want

At this point, you can configure the design of your app, selecting which columns from the selected table to display, use as labels, and more. Preview the app in the preview panel and then publish or share it when ready.

To get live data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, try CData Connect Cloud today!