Create Reports from XML Data in Looker Studio

Looker Studio, formerly known as Google Data Studio, empowers users to craft customized reports featuring data visualizations that can be shared with clients while reflecting your brand identity. When combined with CData Connect AI, you gain immediate cloud-to-cloud access to XML data to create visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article provides step-by-step instructions on establishing a virtual database for XML and generating reports from XML data within Looker Studio.

CData Connect AI offers a seamless cloud-to-cloud interface tailored for XML, making it straightforward to construct reports directly from live XML data within Looker Studio without the need for data replication. As you create visualizations, Looker Studio generates queries to retrieve data. With its inherent optimized data processing capabilities, CData Connect AI efficiently channels all supported query operations, including filters, JOINs, and more, directly to XML. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly provide the requested XML data.

Configure XML Connectivity for Looker Studio

Connectivity to XML from Looker Studio is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with XML data from Looker Studio, we start by creating and configuring a XML connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "XML" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to XML.

   Connecting to Local or Cloud-Stored (Box, Google Drive, Amazon S3, SharePoint) XML Files

   CData Drivers let you work with XML files stored locally and stored in cloud storage services like Box, Amazon S3, Google Drive, or SharePoint, right where they are.

   Setting connection properties for local files

   Set the URI property to local folder path.

   Setting connection properties for files stored in Amazon S3

   To connect to XML file(s) within Amazon S3, set the URI property to the URI of the Bucket and Folder where the intended XML files exist. In addition, at least set these properties:

   • AWSAccessKey: AWS Access Key (username)
   • AWSSecretKey: AWS Secret Key

   Setting connection properties for files stored in Box

   To connect to XML file(s) within Box, set the URI property to the URI of the folder that includes the intended XML file(s). Use the OAuth authentication method to connect to Box.

   Dropbox

   To connect to XML file(s) within Dropbox, set the URI proprerty to the URI of the folder that includes the intended XML file(s). Use the OAuth authentication method to connect to Dropbox. Either User Account or Service Account can be used to authenticate.

   SharePoint Online (SOAP)

   To connect to XML file(s) within SharePoint with SOAP Schema, set the URI proprerty to the URI of the document library that includes the intended XML file. Set User, Password, and StorageBaseURL.

   SharePoint Online REST

   To connect to XML file(s) within SharePoint with REST Schema, set the URI proprerty to the URI of the document library that includes the intended XML file. StorageBaseURL is optional. If not set, the driver will use the root drive. OAuth is used to authenticate.

   Google Drive

   To connect to XML file(s) within Google Drive, set the URI property to the URI of the folder that includes the intended XML file(s). Use the OAuth authentication method to connect and set InitiateOAuth to GETANDREFRESH.

   The DataModel property is the controlling property over how your data is represented into tables and toggles the following basic configurations.

   • Document (default): Model a top-level, document view of your XML data. The data provider returns nested elements as aggregates of data.
   • FlattenedDocuments: Implicitly join nested documents and their parents into a single table.
   • Relational: Return individual, related tables from hierarchical data. The tables contain a primary key and a foreign key that links to the parent document.

   See the Modeling XML Data chapter for more information on configuring the relational representation. You will also find the sample data used in the following examples. The data includes entries for people, the cars they own, and various maintenance services performed on those cars.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add XML Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to XML data from Looker Studio.

Visualize Live XML Data from Looker Studio

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect AI from Looker Studio to create a new XML data source and build a simple visualization from the data.

1. Log into Looker Studio, click data sources, create a new data source, and choose CData Connect AI Connector.

2. Click Authorize and allow access to your Google account.
3. Click Authorize to authenticate with your CData Connect AI instance
4. In the CData Connect AI Connector in Looker Studio select Connections to import from the dropdown and click Next

5. Now select a Connection (e.g. XML1) and click Next
6. Select a Table (e.g. people) or use a Custom Query and click Connect to continue
7. If needed, modify columns, click Create Report, and add the data source to the report.

8. Select a visualization style and add it to the report.
9. Select Dimensions and Measures to customize your visualization.

Live Access to XML Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live XML data from your Looker Studio workbook. You can create more data sources and new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating XML data.

Try CData Connect AI and get real-time data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications.