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Get the Report →Create Workday-Connected Business Apps in AppSheet
Connect to Workday Data via CData Connect Cloud in Google AppSheet and create custom business applications with real-time access to Workday data.
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 Workday data for business applications. This article outlines the process of connecting to Workday using Connect Cloud and constructing a basic app from Workday data within AppSheet.
CData Connect Cloud offers a dedicated cloud-to-cloud interface for Workday, enabling the creation of reports directly from live Workday 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 Workday. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested Workday data.
About Workday Data Integration
CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from Workday. Customers use CData connectivity to:
- Access the tables and datasets you create in Prism Analytics Data Catalog, working with the native Workday data hub without compromising the fidelity of your Workday system.
- Access Workday Reports-as-a-Service to surface data from departmental datasets not available from Prism and datasets larger than Prism allows.
- Access base data objects with WQL, REST, or SOAP, getting more granular, detailed access but with the potential need for Workday admins or IT to help craft queries.
Users frequently integrate Workday with analytics tools such as Tableau, Power BI, and Excel, and leverage our tools to replicate Workday data to databases or data warehouses. Access is secured at the user level, based on the authenticated user's identity and role.
For more information on configuring Workday to work with CData, refer to our Knowledge Base articles: Comprehensive Workday Connectivity through Workday WQL and Reports-as-a-Service & Workday + CData: Connection & Integration Best Practices.
Getting Started
Configure Workday Connectivity for AppSheet
Connectivity to Workday from AppSheet is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Workday data from AppSheet, we start by creating and configuring a Workday connection.
- Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
- Select "Workday" from the Add Connection panel
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Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Workday.
To connect to Workday, users need to find the Tenant and BaseURL and then select their API type.
Obtaining the BaseURL and Tenant
To obtain the BaseURL and Tenant properties, log into Workday and search for "View API Clients." On this screen, you'll find the Workday REST API Endpoint, a URL that includes both the BaseURL and Tenant.
The format of the REST API Endpoint is: https://domain.com/subdirectories/mycompany, where:
- https://domain.com/subdirectories/ is the BaseURL.
- mycompany (the portion of the url after the very last slash) is the Tenant.
Using ConnectionType to Select the API
The value you use for the ConnectionType property determines which Workday API you use. See our Community Article for more information on Workday connectivity options and best practices.
API ConnectionType Value WQL WQL Reports as a Service Reports REST REST SOAP SOAP
Authentication
Your method of authentication depends on which API you are using.
- WQL, Reports as a Service, REST: Use OAuth authentication.
- SOAP: Use Basic or OAuth authentication.
See the Help documentation for more information on configuring OAuth with Workday.
- Click Create & Test
- Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Workday 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 Workday data from AppSheet.
Connect to Workday from AppSheet
The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Cloud from AppSheet to create a new Workday data source.
- Log into AppSheet
- Click "My account" in the menu
- Click the Sources tab and add a new data source
- Select Cloud Database and set the connection information
- Type: Sql Server
- Server: tds.cdata.com,14333
- Database: the Workday connection, for example, Workday1
- Username: a Connect Cloud user, for example, [email protected]
- Password: the PAT for the above Connect Cloud user
- SSL: Require SSL
- Click "Test Connection"
- Click "Authorize Access"
Create an App
Once you create the data source for Workday, you can start building apps on Workday data. Start by clicking "My apps" in the menu.
- Click to create a new app and select "Start with your own data"
- Name the app and select an appropriate category, based on your data
- Select the newly created data source
- 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!