VOOZH about

URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/dataverse-odbc-powerpivot.rst

⇱ Analyze Microsoft Dataverse Data with Power Pivot

Analyze Microsoft Dataverse Data with Power Pivot

👁 Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
This article walks you through the process of using the CData ODBC Driver for Microsoft Dataverse from Power Pivot. You will use the Table Import Wizard to load Microsoft Dataverse data. You can visually build the import query or use any SQL supported by the driver.

👁 The data source modeled as tables.

The ODBC protocol is used by a wide variety of Business Intelligence (BI) and reporting tools to get access to different databases. The CData ODBC Driver for Microsoft Dataverse brings the same power and ease of use to Microsoft Dataverse data. This article uses the driver to import Microsoft Dataverse data into Power Pivot.

About Microsoft Dataverse Data Integration

CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from Microsoft Dataverse (formerly the Common Data Service). Customers use CData connectivity to:

  • Access both Dataverse Entities and Dataverse system tables to work with exactly the data they need.
  • Authenticate securely with Microsoft Dataverse in a variety of ways, including Azure Active Directory, Azure Managed Service Identity credentials, and Azure Service Principal using either a client secret or a certificate.
  • Use SQL stored procedures to manage Microsoft Dataverse entities - listing, creating, and removing associations between entities.

CData customers use our Dataverse connectivity solutions for a variety of reasons, whether they're looking to replicate their data into a data warehouse (alongside other data sources)or analyze live Dataverse data from their preferred data tools inside the Microsoft ecosystem (Power BI, Excel, etc.) or with external tools (Tableau, Looker, etc.).


Getting Started


Connect to Microsoft Dataverse 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.

You can connect without setting any connection properties for your user credentials. Below are the minimum connection properties required to connect.

  • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
  • OrganizationUrl: Set this to the organization URL you are connecting to, such as https://myorganization.crm.dynamics.com.
  • Tenant (optional): Set this if you wish to authenticate to a different tenant than your default. This is required to work with an organization not on your default Tenant.

When you connect the Common Data Service OAuth endpoint opens in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions. The OAuth process completes automatically.

Connect from Power Pivot

Follow the steps below to connect to the DSN in Power Pivot.

  1. In Excel, click the Power Pivot Window icon on the Power Pivot tab to open Power Pivot.
  2. Launch the Table Import Wizard: Click the Get External Data from Other Data Sources button.
  3. Select the OLEDB/ODBC source option.
  4. Click Build to open the Data Link Properties dialog.
  5. In the Provider tab, select the Microsoft OLEDB Provider for ODBC Drivers option.
  6. In the Connection tab, select the Use Data Source Name option and then select the Microsoft Dataverse DSN in the menu.

Select and Filter Tables and Views

Follow the steps below to use the wizard to import Microsoft Dataverse tables. As you use the wizard to select, filter, and sort columns of Microsoft Dataverse tables, Power Pivot generates the query to be executed.

  1. After selecting the DSN in the Table Import Wizard, select the option to select from a list of tables.

  2. Click Preview & Filter to select specific columns, sort data, and visually build filters. To include or exclude columns, select and clear the option next to the column name.

    To filter based on column values, click the down arrow button next to the column name. In the resulting dialog, select or clear the column values you want to filter. Alternatively, click Number Filters or Text Filters and then select a comparison operator. In the resulting dialog, build the filter criteria.

  3. Return to the Select Tables and Views page of the wizard. You can access filters by clicking the Applied Filters link in the Filter Details column.
👁 The data source modeled as tables.

Import and Filter with SQL

You can also import with an SQL query. The driver supports the standard SQL, allowing Excel to communicate with Microsoft Dataverse APIs.

  1. After selecting the DSN in the Table Import Wizard, select the option to write a query.

  2. In the SQL Statement box, enter the query. Click Validate to check that the syntax of the query is valid. Click Design to preview the results and adjust the query before import.

    👁 The query to be used to import the data.
  3. Finish the wizard to import the data for your chosen query.
👁 The imported data.

Refresh On Demand

Connectivity to Microsoft Dataverse APIs enables real-time analysis. To immediately update your workbook with any changes, click Refresh.

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Microsoft Dataverse ODBC Driver to get started:

 Download Now

Learn more:

👁 Microsoft Dataverse Icon
Microsoft Dataverse ODBC Driver

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

Access Microsoft Dataverse like you would a database - access entities through a standard ODBC Driver interface.