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Use the API Server and Basecamp ADO.NET Provider to Access Basecamp Data in Microsoft PowerPivot
Use the API Server to connect to live Basecamp data in the PowerPivot business intelligence tool.
This article will explain how to use the API Server and the ADO.NET Provider for Basecamp (or any of 200+ other ADO.NET Providers) to provide Basecamp data as OData services and then consume the data in Microsoft Excel's PowerPivot business intelligence tool. Follow the steps below to retrieve and edit Basecamp data in Power Pivot.
Set Up the API Server
Follow the steps below to begin producing secure Basecamp OData services:
Deploy
The API Server runs on your own server. On Windows, you can deploy using the stand-alone server or IIS. On a Java servlet container, drop in the API Server WAR file. See the help documentation for more information and how-tos.
The API Server is also easy to deploy on Microsoft Azure, Amazon EC2, and Heroku.
Connect to Basecamp
After you deploy the API Server and the ADO.NET Provider for Basecamp, provide authentication values and other connection properties needed to connect to Basecamp by clicking Settings -> Connections and adding a new connection in the API Server administration console.
Basecamp uses basic or OAuth 2.0 authentication. To use basic authentication you will need the user and password that you use for logging in to Basecamp. To authenticate to Basecamp via OAuth 2.0, obtain the OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL connection properties by registering an app with Basecamp.
See the Getting Started section in the help documentation for a connection guide.
Additionally, specify the AccountId connection property. This can be copied from the URL after you log in.
You can then choose the Basecamp entities you want to allow the API Server access to by clicking Settings -> Resources.
Additionally, click Settings -> Server and set the Default Format to XML (Atom) for compatibility with Excel.
Authorize API Server Users
After determining the OData services you want to produce, authorize users by clicking Settings -> Users. The API Server uses authtoken-based authentication and supports the major authentication schemes. Access can also be restricted based on IP address; by default, only connections to the local machine are allowed. You can authenticate as well as encrypt connections with SSL.
Import Basecamp Tables in Power Pivot
Follow the steps below to import tables that can be refreshed on demand:
- In Excel, click the PowerPivot Window icon in the PowerPivot tab to open PowerPivot.
- Click Home -> Get External Data -> From Data Service -> From OData Data Feed.
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Add authentication parameters. Click Advanced and set the Integrated Security option to Basic. You will need to enter the User Id and Password of a user who has access to the CData API Server. Set the password to the user's authtoken.
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In the Base URL box, enter the OData URL of the CData API Server. For example, http://localhost:8032/api.rsc.
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Select which tables you want to import and click Finish.
You can now work with Basecamp data in Power Pivot.
