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Extend Google Sheets with Harvest Data
Make calls to the API Server from Google Apps Script.
Interact with Harvest data from Google Sheets through macros, custom functions, and add-ons. The CData API Server, when paired with the ADO.NET Provider for Harvest (or any of 200+ other ADO.NET Providers), enables connectivity to Harvest data from cloud-based and mobile applications like Google Sheets. The API Server is a lightweight Web application that produces OData services for Harvest and any source supported by the CData ADO.NET Providers.
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 Invoices data.
Set Up the API Server
Follow the steps below to begin producing secure Harvest 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 Harvest
After you deploy the API Server and the ADO.NET Provider for Harvest, provide authentication values and other connection properties needed to connect to Harvest by clicking Settings -> Connections and adding a new connection in the API Server administration console.
Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the Harvest Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\Harvest.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Harvest (see below).
Harvest API Profile Settings
To authenticate to Harvest, you can use either Token authentication or the OAuth standard. Use Basic authentication to connect to your own data. Use OAuth to allow other users to connect to their data.
Using Token Authentication
To use Token Authentication, set the APIKey to your Harvest Personal Access Token in the ProfileSettings connection property. In addition to APIKey, set your AccountId in ProfileSettings to connect.
Using OAuth Authentication
First, register an OAuth2 application with Harvest. The application can be created from the "Developers" section of Harvest ID.
After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:
- ProfileSettings: Set your AccountId in ProfileSettings.
- AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
- OAuthClientId: Set this to the client ID that you specified in your app settings.
- OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the client secret that you specified in your app settings.
- CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI that you specified in your app settings.
- InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage how the driver obtains and refreshes the OAuthAccessToken.
You can then choose the Harvest entities you want to allow the API Server to access by clicking Settings -> Resources.
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: Connections from all addresses except localhost are blocked by default, so you will need to allow connections from Google's servers for this article. You can authenticate as well as encrypt connections with SSL.
Retrieve Harvest 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/Invoices?select=Id,Id,ClientName,State";
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 invoices = JSON.parse(json).value;
var cols = [["Id","Id","ClientName","State"]];
sheet.getRange(1,1,1,4).setValues(cols);
row=2;
for(var i in invoices){
for (var j in invoices[i]) {
switch (j) {
case "Id":
a1.offset(row,0).setValue(account[i][j]);
break;
case "Id":
a1.offset(row,1).setValue(account[i][j]);
break;
case "ClientName":
a1.offset(row,2).setValue(account[i][j]);
break;
case "State":
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:
- Click Resources -> Current Project's Triggers -> Add a New Trigger.
- Select retrieve in the Run menu.
- Select From Spreadsheet.
- 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.
