Import Microsoft Planner Data into the Power BI Service for Visualizations

Power BI transforms your company's data into rich visuals for you to collect and organize so you can focus on what matters to you. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get access to Microsoft Planner data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to Microsoft Planner in CData Connect AI, publish a dataset from Power BI Desktop to the Power BI Service and then create reports on Microsoft Planner data in the Power BI service.

Configure Microsoft Planner Connectivity for Power BI Service

Connectivity to Microsoft Planner from Power BI Service is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Microsoft Planner data from Power BI Service, we start by creating and configuring a Microsoft Planner connection.

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

2. Select "Microsoft Planner" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Microsoft Planner.

   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.
   • 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 Driver opens the MS Planner OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the Driver. The Driver then completes the OAuth process.

   1. Extracts the access token from the callback URL and authenticates requests.
   2. Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
   3. Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation to be persisted across connections.
   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Microsoft Planner Connection page and update the User-based permissions. 👁 Updating permissions
   

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Microsoft Planner data from the Power BI service.

Publish a Dataset from Power BI Desktop

Once you connect to Microsoft Planner in Connect AI, you can create a dataset in Power BI desktop and publish the dataset to the Power BI service.

1. Open Power BI Desktop and click Get Data -> Online Services -> CData Connect AI and click "Connect"
2. Click "Sign in" and authenticate with your CData Connect AI account 👁 Authenticating with Connect AI
   
3. After signing in, click "Connect" 👁 Connecting to Connect AI
   
4. Select tables in the Navigator dialog 👁 The available tables. (Salesforce tables are shown)
   
5. Click Load to establish the connection to your Microsoft Planner data from Power BI
6. Define any relationships between the selected entities on the Relationships tab.
7. Click Publish (from the Home menu) and select a Workspace.

Build Reports and Dashboards on Microsoft Planner Data in the Power BI Service

Now that you have published a dataset to the Power BI service, you can create new reports and dashboards based on the published data:

1. Log in to PowerBI.com.
2. Click Workspaces and select a workspace.
3. Click Create and select Report.
4. Select the published dataset for the report. 👁 Select a dataset
   
5. Choose fields and visualizations to add to your report. 👁 Visualizing Microsoft Planner data in the Power BI service
   

Live Access to Microsoft Planner Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct connection to live Microsoft Planner data from the Power BI service. You can create more data sources and new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating Microsoft Planner data.

To get live data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect AI.