Visualize Live Microsoft Planner Data in Power BI (via CData Connect AI)

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 use CData Connect to create a live connection to Microsoft Planner, connect to Microsoft Planner data from Power BI and then create reports on Microsoft Planner data in Power BI.

Configure Microsoft Planner Connectivity for Power BI

Connectivity to Microsoft Planner from Power BI is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Microsoft Planner data from Power BI, 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 Power BI.

Query Microsoft Planner Tables

Follow the steps below to build a query to pull Microsoft Planner data into the report:

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

Create Microsoft Planner Data Visualizations

After connecting to the data into Power BI, you can create data visualizations in the Report view by dragging fields from the Fields pane onto the canvas. Select the dimensions and measures you wish to visualize along with the chart type.

Click Refresh to synchronize your report with any changes to the data.

Live Access to Microsoft Planner Data from Data Applications

With CData Connect AI you have a direct connection to Microsoft Planner data from Power BI. You can import more data, create new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating Microsoft Planner data.

To get SQL data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources (including Microsoft Planner) directly from your on-premise BI, reporting, ETL and other data applications, visit the CData Connect AI page and start a free trial.