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Get the Report →Create SharePoint-Connected Enterprise Applications in OutSystems
Use CData Connect Cloud to connect to SharePoint Data from OutSystems and build custom enterprise apps using live SharePoint data.
OutSystems is a low-code platform which provides the tools for companies to developer, deploy, and manage omnichannel enterprise applications. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to SharePoint data for business applications. This article shows how to create a virtual database for SharePoint in Connect Cloud and build a simple app from SharePoint data in OutSystems.
The CData Connect Cloud provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for SharePoint, allowing you to build reports from live SharePoint data in OutSystems — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you create applications to work with data, OutSystems generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to SharePoint, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested SharePoint data.
About SharePoint Data Integration
Accessing and integrating live data from SharePoint has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:
- Access data from a wide range of SharePoint versions, including Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and above, and SharePoint Online.
- Access all of SharePoint thanks to support for Hidden and Lookup columns.
- Recursively scan folders to create a relational model of all SharePoint data.
- Use SQL stored procedures to upload and download documents and attachments.
Most customers rely on CData solutions to integrate SharePoint data into their database or data warehouse, while others integrate their SharePoint data with preferred data tools, like Power BI, Tableau, or Excel.
For more information on how customers are solving problems with CData's SharePoint solutions, refer to our blog: Drivers in Focus: Collaboration Tools.
Getting Started
Configure SharePoint Connectivity for OutSystems
Connectivity to SharePoint from OutSystems is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with SharePoint data from OutSystems, we start by creating and configuring a SharePoint connection.
- Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
- Select "SharePoint" from the Add Connection panel
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Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SharePoint.
Set the URL property to the base SharePoint site or to a sub-site. This allows you to query any lists and other SharePoint entities defined for the site or sub-site.
The User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid SharePoint user credentials when using SharePoint On-Premise.
If you are connecting to SharePoint Online, set the SharePointEdition to SHAREPOINTONLINE along with the User and Password connection string properties. For more details on connecting to SharePoint Online, see the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation
- Click Create & Test
- Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add SharePoint 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.
- Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
- On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
- Give your 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.
With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to SharePoint data from OutSystems.
Connect to SharePoint from OutSystems
The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Cloud from OutSystems to create a new SharePoint database connection.
- Open OutSystems Service Studio
- Click the gear icon to open Environment Management in the Service Center
- Click Administration and select "Database Connections"
- Click "New Database Connection"
- Configure the database connection:
- Name: name the connection (e.g. CData Connect Cloud SharePoint)
- DBMS: SQL Server / Azure SQL
- Username: a Connect Cloud user (e.g. [email protected])
- Password: the PAT for the Connect Cloud user
- Server: tds.cdata.com,14333
- Schema: the name of your SharePoint connection (e.g. SharePoint1)
- Click "Test Connection"
- Click "Create"
Map SharePoint Tables or Views to Entities in an Extension Module
Once you create the database connection for SharePoint, you can create an extension that maps the tables or views to OutSystems entities. If you have not already done so, create an Application in Service Studio.
- Open the Service Studio and open the existing Application
- Click "Add Module," set the "Module Name" (e.g. sharepoint_db_extension), set "Module Type" to "Extension," and click "Create Module"
- In Integration Studio, connect to your environment
- Right-click "Entities" in the extension tree and select "Connect to External Table or View..."
- Follow the steps in the wizard, selecting the tables and views you wish to work with
- In the Integration Studio, click "1-Click Publish"
- In the "1-Click Publish" wizard, click "Configure" when the process completes
- In the Service Center, associate the logical database name of the extension to the database connection that the extension will use and click "Apply"
- In your application, click "Manage Dependencies..."
- Add a dependency to the Extension and select the Entities that you will use in your application
At this point, you can access and work with SharePoint data just like you would with the standard OutSystems entities.
More Information & Free Trial
With Connect Cloud and OutSystems, you can easily build SharePoint-connected applications. Request a free trial of Connect Cloud and start working with SharePoint data in OutSystems today.