Use the API Server and Klipfolio ADO.NET Provider to Access Klipfolio Data in Microsoft PowerPivot



Use the API Server to connect to live Klipfolio data in the PowerPivot business intelligence tool.

This article will explain how to use the API Server and the ADO.NET Provider for Klipfolio (or any of 200+ other ADO.NET Providers) to provide Klipfolio data as OData services and then consume the data in Microsoft Excel's PowerPivot business intelligence tool. Follow the steps below to retrieve Klipfolio data in Power Pivot.

Set Up the API Server

Follow the steps below to begin producing secure Klipfolio 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 Klipfolio

After you deploy the API Server and the ADO.NET Provider for Klipfolio, provide authentication values and other connection properties needed to connect to Klipfolio 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 Klipfolio Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\Klipfolio.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Klipfolio (see below).

Klipfolio API Profile Settings

In order to authenticate to Klipfolio, you'll need to provide your API Key. You can generate an API key from the Klipfolio Dashboard app through either the My Profile page or from Users if you are an administrator (you must have the user.manage permission). Set the API Key in the ProfileSettings property to connect.

You can then choose the Klipfolio 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 Klipfolio Tables in Power Pivot

Follow the steps below to import tables that can be refreshed on demand:

  1. In Excel, click the PowerPivot Window icon in the PowerPivot tab to open PowerPivot.
  2. Click Home -> Get External Data -> From Data Service -> From OData Data Feed.
  3. 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.

  4. In the Base URL box, enter the OData URL of the CData API Server. For example, http://localhost:8032/api.rsc.

  5. Select which tables you want to import and click Finish.

  6. You can now work with Klipfolio data in Power Pivot.

Ready to get started?

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CData API Server