Extend Google Sheets with PhantomBuster Data

Interact with PhantomBuster data from Google Sheets through macros, custom functions, and add-ons. The CData API Server enables connectivity to PhantomBuster data from cloud-based and mobile applications like Google Sheets. The API Server is a lightweight Web application that produces OData services for PhantomBuster.

Google Apps Script can consume these OData services in the JSON format. This article shows how to create a simple add-on that populates a Google Spreadsheet with Agents data.

Set Up the API Server

If you have not already done so, download the CData API Server. Once you have installed the API Server, follow the steps below to begin producing secure PhantomBuster OData services:

Connect to PhantomBuster

To work with PhantomBuster data from Google Sheets, we start by creating and configuring a PhantomBuster connection. Follow the steps below to configure the API Server to connect to PhantomBuster data:

1. First, navigate to the Connections page.
2. Click Add Connection and then search for and select the PhantomBuster connection. 👁 Selecting a data source (SQLite is shown)
   
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to PhantomBuster.

   Using API Key Authentication

   To use the Phantombuster API, you need to obtain an API key from your Phantombuster account settings. Navigate to phantombuster.com, click your profile icon, select Settings, and copy the API key from the API section.

   After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
   • APIKey: Set this to your Phantombuster API key from the account settings page.

   Multi-Organization Accounts

   If your API key is associated with multiple organizations, you can target a specific organization by setting the OrganizationId connection property to the desired organization identifier. When set, it is sent as the X-Phantombuster-Org request header.

   Example connection string:

   Profile=C:\profiles\Phantombuster.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings="APIKey=your_api_key_here"
   

   👁 Connecting to a datasource (SQLite is shown)
   
4. After configuring the connection, click Save & Test to confirm a successful connection.

Configure API Server Users

Next, create a user to access your PhantomBuster data through the API Server. You can add and configure users on the Users page. Follow the steps below to configure and create a user:

1. On the Users page, click Add User to open the Add User dialog.
2. Next, set the Role, Username, and Privileges properties and then click Add User. 👁 Configure a new user
   
3. An Authtoken is then generated for the user. You can find the Authtoken and other information for each user on the Users page: 👁 API Server user settings
   

Creating API Endpoints for PhantomBuster

Having created a user, you are ready to create API endpoints for the PhantomBuster tables:

1. First, navigate to the API page and then click Add Table . 👁 Add tables
   
2. Select the connection you wish to access and click Next. 👁 Select the connection (SQLite is shown)
   
3. With the connection selected, create endpoints by selecting each table and then clicking Confirm. 👁 Adding tables from the connection (SQLite is shown)
   

Gather the OData Url

Having configured a connection to PhantomBuster data, created a user, and added resources to the API Server, you now have an easily accessible REST API based on the OData protocol for those resources. From the API page in API Server, you can view and copy the API Endpoints for the API:

Retrieve PhantomBuster Data

Open the Script Editor from your spreadsheet by clicking Tools -> Script Editor. In the Script Editor, add the following function to populate a spreadsheet with the results of an OData query:

function retrieve(){
 var url = "https://MyUrl/api.rsc/Agents?select=Id,,,";
 var response = UrlFetchApp.fetch(url,{
 headers: {"Authorization": "Basic " + Utilities.base64Encode("MyUser:MyAuthtoken")}
 }); 
 var json = response.getContentText();
 var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
 var a1 = sheet.getRange('a1');
 var index=1;
 var agents = JSON.parse(json).value;

 var cols = [["Id","","",""]]; 
 sheet.getRange(1,1,1,4).setValues(cols);

 row=2;
 for(var i in agents){
 for (var j in agents[i]) {
 switch (j) {
 case "Id":
 a1.offset(row,0).setValue(account[i][j]);
 break;
 case "":
 a1.offset(row,1).setValue(account[i][j]);
 break;
 case "":
 a1.offset(row,2).setValue(account[i][j]);
 break;
 case "":
 a1.offset(row,3).setValue(account[i][j]);
 break;
 } 
 }
 row++;
 }
}

Follow the steps below to add an installable trigger to populate the spreadsheet when opened:

1. Click Resources -> Current Project's Triggers -> Add a New Trigger.
2. Select retrieve in the Run menu.
3. Select From Spreadsheet.
4. Select On open.

After closing the dialog, you are prompted to allow access to the application.

You can test the script by clicking Publish -> Test as Add-On. Select the version, installation type, and spreadsheet to create a test configuration. You can then select and run the test configuration.