Microsoft Power BI XMLA Connection Details¶

Introduction¶

Connector Version

This documentation is based on version 23.0.8895 of the connector.

Get Started¶

Microsoft Power BI XMLA Version Support

The connector wraps the complexity of connecting to Microsoft Power BI XMLA in a standard driver: execute SQL-92 queries or pass through MDX queries from relational tools.

Establish a Connection¶

Connect to Microsoft Power BI XMLA¶

To connect, set the Workspace property to a valid PowerBIXMLA workspace (ex: ).

Authenticate to Microsoft Power BI XMLA¶

Azure AD¶

Azure AD is Microsoft’s multi-tenant, cloud-based directory and identity management service. It is user-based authentication that requires that you set AuthScheme to AzureAD.

Authentication to Azure AD over a Web application always requires the creation of a custom OAuth application. For details, see Creating a Custom OAuth App.

Desktop Applications¶

provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies connection to Azure AD from a Desktop application.

You can also authenticate from a desktop application using a custom OAuth application. (For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth App.) To authenticate via Azure AD, set these parameters:

• AuthScheme: AzureAD.
• Custom applications only:
  • OAuthClientId: The client ID assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
  • CallbackURL: The redirect URI you defined when you registered your custom OAuth application.

When you connect, the connector opens Microsoft Power BI XMLA's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.

The connector completes the OAuth process, obtaining an access token from Microsoft Power BI XMLA and using it to request data. The OAuth values are saved in the path specified in OAuthSettingsLocation. These values persist across connections.

When the access token expires, the connector refreshes it automatically.

Azure Service Principal¶

Service principals are security objects within an Azure AD application that define what that application can do within a particular Azure AD tenant. Service Principals are created in the Azure service portal.

As part of the creation process we also specify whether the service principal will access Azure AD resources via a client secret or a certificate.

Instead of being tied to a particular user, service principal permissions are based on the roles assigned to them. The application access to the resources is controlled through the assigned roles' permissions.

When authenticating using an Azure Service Principal, you must register an application with an Azure AD tenant, as described in Creating an Azure AD Application with Service Principal.

You are ready to connect after setting the properties described in this subsection. These vary, depending on whether you will authenticate via a client secret or a certificate.

Authentication with Client Secret¶

• AuthScheme: AzureServicePrincipal.
• AzureTenant: The Azure AD tenant to which you wish to connect.
• OAuthGrantType: CLIENT.
• OAuthClientId: The client ID in your application settings.
• OAuthClientSecret: The client secret in your application settings.

Authentication with Certificate¶

• AuthScheme: AzureServicePrincipalCert.
• AzureTenant: The Azure AD tenant to which you wish to connect.
• OAuthGrantType: CLIENT.
• OAuthClientId: The client ID in your application settings.
• OAuthJWTCert: The JWT Certificate store.
• OAuthJWTCertType: The JWT Certificate store type.

Create an Azure AD Application¶

Create an Azure AD Application¶

Microsoft Power BI XMLA supports user-based authentication using Azure AD. This authentication is OAuth-based.

embeds OAuth Application Credentials with branding that can be used when connecting to Microsoft Power BI XMLA via a desktop application or a headless machine. To connect to Microsoft Power BI XMLA via the Web, you must always create a custom application, as described here.

However, since custom Azure AD applications seamlessly support all three commonly-used authentication flows, you might want to create a custom application (use your own Azure AD Applications Credentials) for those other authentication flows.

Custom OAuth applications are useful if you want to:

• Control branding of the authentication dialog.
• Control the redirect URI that the application redirects the user to after the user authenticates.
• Customize the permissions that you are requesting from the user.

Authenticate With Azure AD¶

In <https://portal.azure.com>:

1. In the left-hand navigation pane, select Azure Active Directory > App registrations.

2. Click New registration.

3. Enter a name for the application.

4. Specify the types of accounts this application should support:

   • For private use applications, select Accounts in this organization directory only.
   • For distributed applications, select one of the multi-tenant options.

1. Set the redirect URI to http://localhost:33333 (default) OR, if you want to

   specify a different port, specify the desired port and set CallbackURL to the exact reply URL you just defined.

2. To register the new application, click Register. An application management screen displays. Record these values for later use. (You will use the Application (client) ID value to set the OAuthClientId parameters, and the Directory (tenant) ID value to set the AzureTenant parameter.)

3. Navigate to Certificates & Secrets. Select New Client Secret for this application and specify the desired duration. After the client secret is saved, the Azure App Registration displays the key value. This value is displayed only once, so record it for future use. (You will use it to set the OAuthClientSecret.)

4. Select Power BI Service -> Delegated Permissions -> Dataset.Read.All and Workspace.Read.All.

5. If you have specified the use of permissions that require admin consent (such as the Application Permissions), you can grant them from the current tenant on the API Permissions page.

Grant Admin Consent¶

Some custom applications require administrative permissions to operate within an Azure Active Directory tenant. Admin consent can be granted when creating a new custom Azure AD application, by adding relevant permissions that are already marked with "Admin Consent Required". Admin consent is also required to use Client Credentials in the authentication flow.

To grant admin consent:

1. Have an admin log in to https://portal.azure.com.
2. Navigate to App Registrations and find the custom Azure AD application you created.
3. Under API Permissions, click Grant Consent and follow the wizard.

This gives your application permissions on the tenant under which it was created.

Create an Azure AD Application¶

Microsoft Power BI XMLA supports user-based authentication using Azure AD. This authentication is OAuth-based.

embeds OAuth Application Credentials with branding that can be used when connecting to Microsoft Power BI XMLA via a desktop application or a headless machine. To connect to Microsoft Power BI XMLA via the Web, you must always create a custom application, as described here.

However, since custom Azure AD applications seamlessly support all three commonly-used authentication flows, you might want to create a custom application (use your own Azure AD Applications Credentials) for those other authentication flows.

Custom OAuth applications are useful if you want to:

• Control branding of the authentication dialog.
• Control the redirect URI that the application redirects the user to after the user authenticates.
• Customize the permissions that you are requesting from the user.

Authenticate With Azure AD¶

In <https://portal.azure.com>:

1. In the left-hand navigation pane, select Azure Active Directory > App registrations.

2. Click New registration.

3. Enter a name for the application.

4. Specify the types of accounts this application should support:

   • For private use applications, select Accounts in this organization directory only.
   • For distributed applications, select one of the multi-tenant options.

1. Set the redirect URI to http://localhost:33333 (default) OR, if you want to

   specify a different port, specify the desired port and set CallbackURL to the exact reply URL you just defined.

2. To register the new application, click Register. An application management screen displays. Record these values for later use. (You will use the Application (client) ID value to set the OAuthClientId parameters, and the Directory (tenant) ID value to set the AzureTenant parameter.)

3. Navigate to Certificates & Secrets. Select New Client Secret for this application and specify the desired duration. After the client secret is saved, the Azure App Registration displays the key value. This value is displayed only once, so record it for future use. (You will use it to set the OAuthClientSecret.)

4. Select Power BI Service -> Delegated Permissions -> Dataset.Read.All and Workspace.Read.All.

5. If you have specified the use of permissions that require admin consent (such as the Application Permissions), you can grant them from the current tenant on the API Permissions page.

Grant Admin Consent¶

Some custom applications require administrative permissions to operate within an Azure Active Directory tenant. Admin consent can be granted when creating a new custom Azure AD application, by adding relevant permissions that are already marked with "Admin Consent Required". Admin consent is also required to use Client Credentials in the authentication flow.

To grant admin consent:

1. Have an admin log in to https://portal.azure.com.
2. Navigate to App Registrations and find the custom Azure AD application you created.
3. Under API Permissions, click Grant Consent and follow the wizard.

This gives your application permissions on the tenant under which it was created.

Create a Custom OAuth App¶

Create an Azure AD Application¶

Microsoft Power BI XMLA supports user-based authentication using Azure AD. This authentication is OAuth-based.

embeds OAuth Application Credentials with branding that can be used when connecting to Microsoft Power BI XMLA via a desktop application or a headless machine. To connect to Microsoft Power BI XMLA via the Web, you must always create a custom application, as described here.

However, since custom Azure AD applications seamlessly support all three commonly-used authentication flows, you might want to create a custom application (use your own Azure AD Applications Credentials) for those other authentication flows.

Custom OAuth applications are useful if you want to:

• Control branding of the authentication dialog.
• Control the redirect URI that the application redirects the user to after the user authenticates.
• Customize the permissions that you are requesting from the user.

Authenticate With Azure AD¶

In <https://portal.azure.com>:

1. In the left-hand navigation pane, select Azure Active Directory > App registrations.

2. Click New registration.

3. Enter a name for the application.

4. Specify the types of accounts this application should support:

   • For private use applications, select Accounts in this organization directory only.
   • For distributed applications, select one of the multi-tenant options.

1. Set the redirect URI to http://localhost:33333 (default) OR, if you want to

   specify a different port, specify the desired port and set CallbackURL to the exact reply URL you just defined.

2. To register the new application, click Register. An application management screen displays. Record these values for later use. (You will use the Application (client) ID value to set the OAuthClientId parameters, and the Directory (tenant) ID value to set the AzureTenant parameter.)

3. Navigate to Certificates & Secrets. Select New Client Secret for this application and specify the desired duration. After the client secret is saved, the Azure App Registration displays the key value. This value is displayed only once, so record it for future use. (You will use it to set the OAuthClientSecret.)

4. Select Power BI Service -> Delegated Permissions -> Dataset.Read.All and Workspace.Read.All.

5. If you have specified the use of permissions that require admin consent (such as the Application Permissions), you can grant them from the current tenant on the API Permissions page.

Grant Admin Consent¶

Some custom applications require administrative permissions to operate within an Azure Active Directory tenant. Admin consent can be granted when creating a new custom Azure AD application, by adding relevant permissions that are already marked with "Admin Consent Required". Admin consent is also required to use Client Credentials in the authentication flow.

To grant admin consent:

1. Have an admin log in to https://portal.azure.com.
2. Navigate to App Registrations and find the custom Azure AD application you created.
3. Under API Permissions, click Grant Consent and follow the wizard.

This gives your application permissions on the tenant under which it was created.

Create an Azure AD Application¶

Microsoft Power BI XMLA supports user-based authentication using Azure AD. This authentication is OAuth-based.

embeds OAuth Application Credentials with branding that can be used when connecting to Microsoft Power BI XMLA via a desktop application or a headless machine. To connect to Microsoft Power BI XMLA via the Web, you must always create a custom application, as described here.

However, since custom Azure AD applications seamlessly support all three commonly-used authentication flows, you might want to create a custom application (use your own Azure AD Applications Credentials) for those other authentication flows.

Custom OAuth applications are useful if you want to:

• Control branding of the authentication dialog.
• Control the redirect URI that the application redirects the user to after the user authenticates.
• Customize the permissions that you are requesting from the user.

Authenticate With Azure AD¶

In <https://portal.azure.com>:

1. In the left-hand navigation pane, select Azure Active Directory > App registrations.

2. Click New registration.

3. Enter a name for the application.

4. Specify the types of accounts this application should support:

   • For private use applications, select Accounts in this organization directory only.
   • For distributed applications, select one of the multi-tenant options.

1. Set the redirect URI to http://localhost:33333 (default) OR, if you want to

   specify a different port, specify the desired port and set CallbackURL to the exact reply URL you just defined.

2. To register the new application, click Register. An application management screen displays. Record these values for later use. (You will use the Application (client) ID value to set the OAuthClientId parameters, and the Directory (tenant) ID value to set the AzureTenant parameter.)

3. Navigate to Certificates & Secrets. Select New Client Secret for this application and specify the desired duration. After the client secret is saved, the Azure App Registration displays the key value. This value is displayed only once, so record it for future use. (You will use it to set the OAuthClientSecret.)

4. Select Power BI Service -> Delegated Permissions -> Dataset.Read.All and Workspace.Read.All.

5. If you have specified the use of permissions that require admin consent (such as the Application Permissions), you can grant them from the current tenant on the API Permissions page.

Grant Admin Consent¶

Some custom applications require administrative permissions to operate within an Azure Active Directory tenant. Admin consent can be granted when creating a new custom Azure AD application, by adding relevant permissions that are already marked with "Admin Consent Required". Admin consent is also required to use Client Credentials in the authentication flow.

To grant admin consent:

1. Have an admin log in to https://portal.azure.com.
2. Navigate to App Registrations and find the custom Azure AD application you created.
3. Under API Permissions, click Grant Consent and follow the wizard.

This gives your application permissions on the tenant under which it was created.

Retrieve PowerBI Data¶

Microsoft Power BI XMLA is an OLAP database that exposes data as cubes, which you query with MDX (multidimensional expressions). The connector models these cubes in relational views that you can query with SQL-92. The following mapping is for the layout of the model:

• Catalog - Displayed in the connector as a Catalog.
• Cube - Displayed in the connector as a Schema.
• Measure - Available in the connector under the special Measures view.
• Dimension - Each dimension is exposed as a view.
• Level - Each individual level of a hierarchy is exposed as a column on the appropriate dimension view.

Join Measures and Dimensions¶

In order to retrieve measures per specific level value, issue a join between the Measure view and any Dimension or set of dimensions. For example, issuing the following will retrieve the number of customers in each city:

SELECT m.[Customer Count], c.[City]
FROM [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Customer AS c
INNER JOIN [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Measures AS m

Note that there is no ON condition necessary. That is because tables are already related appropriately in Microsoft Power BI XMLA. If you are using a tool that requires ON conditions, set IncludeJoinColumns to true. This will append a number of foreign key columns to each view which will relate them to one another another. These columns will not return data on their own, but may be picked up on automatically with tools to construct the ON conditions for joins where needed.

Aggregate Data¶

Data stored in Microsoft Power BI XMLA is already aggregated. In many cases, attempting to retrieve an aggregate may be syntactically equivalent to not specifying anything. For example, the following query will return the exact same data as the previous:

SELECT SUM(m.[Customer Count]), c.[City]
FROM [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Customer AS c
INNER JOIN [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Measures AS m
GROUP BY c.[City]

The exception to this rule is when an aggregation of filtered results is requested. In such cases, a calculation will be requested from Microsoft Power BI XMLA. For example, to calculate the sum and average of customers in France and Germany:

SELECT SUM(m.[Customer Count]), AVG(m.[Customer Count]), c.[Country]
FROM [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Customer AS c
INNER JOIN [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Measures AS m
WHERE c.[Country] IN ('France', 'Germany')
GROUP BY c.[Country]

Select Multiple Hierarchies¶

In Microsoft Power BI XMLA, individual dimensions are made up of hierarchies which may have one or more levels. For instance, the AdventureWorks Customers table has City, Country and Gender. City and Country are part of the same hierarchy while Gender is its own hierarchy.

When selecting multiple hierarchies, the method to support this is to cross join the values in MDX. While not obvious from a relational table model of the data as the connector presents, this can cause for very expensive queries to be executed. For example, executing the following:

SELECT c.[Country], m.[Customer Count]
FROM [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Customer AS c
INNER JOIN [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Measures AS m

Will result in 6 rows. However, selecting Gender as well:

SELECT c.[Country], c.[Gender], m.[Customer Count]
FROM [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Customer AS c
INNER JOIN [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Measures AS m

Will now result in 12 rows. It is because Gender and Country are on different hierarchies, thus a crossjoin is required in order to return both together. Each additional hierarchy added to the SELECT will multiply the total results by the number of available values in that hierarchy. Thus to get a count of how many rows to expect, one can execute the following:

SELECT (COUNT(c.[Country])*COUNT(c.[Gender])) AS totalrows
FROM [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Customer AS c 

Response Row Limit¶

Due to how selecting multiple hierarchies will multiply the total number of result rows, it is possible to balloon the number of response rows very quickly, which will result in timeouts. In order to try and give some visibility into what queries will be very expensive, the ResponseRowLimit connection property has been added as a mechanism to guide users into an ideal configuration. When set, it will calculate how many rows to expect before any query is executed. If the number of predicted rows exceeds the limit, an error will be thrown indicating how many rows to expect back with the query.

It is recommended to select only the columns required or to apply a WHERE criteria. Both can significantly reduce the number of response rows, which will have a huge impact on performance. If you are already familiar with the connector and what queries may be expensive, ResponseRowLimit may be disabled by setting it to 0.

Fine-Tuning Data Access¶

Fine Tuning Data Access¶

The following are properties that allow for more granular control over data access:

• UseMDX: Indicates if MDX queries are being submitted. By default this is false, which will cause the driver to accept only SQL-92 compliant queries. Setting this property to true will cause all queries to be passed through directly to Microsoft Power BI XMLA.

• ExtraProperties: Additional properties to submit along with an MDX query. Only meaningful if UseMDX is true.

• IncludeJoinColumns: Boolean indicating if extra columns used to make ON conditions with joins should be added.

  These do not come back with any values - they are added purely to enable tools that require them in order to automatically set up relationships between tables when creating joins.

• ResponseRowLimit: Sets a calculated limit on the number of rows to allow the user to select before returning an error.

  Because queries are being translated to MDX, selecting only a few columns may exponentially multiply the number of expected results.

  For this reason, ResponseRowLimit is available to try and give some guidance on what types of queries are likely to result in a Timeout. May be disabled by setting to 0.

Important Notes¶

Configuration Files and Their Paths¶

• All references to adding configuration files and their paths refer to files and locations on the Harmony Agent where the connector is installed. These paths are to be adjusted as appropriate depending on the agent and the operating system. If multiple agents are used in an agent group, identical files will be required on each agent.

Advanced Features¶

This section details a selection of advanced features of the Microsoft Power BI XMLA connector.

User Defined Views

The connector allows you to define virtual tables, called user defined views, whose contents are decided by a pre-configured query. These views are useful when you cannot directly control queries being issued to the drivers. See User Defined Views for an overview of creating and configuring custom views.

SSL Configuration

Use SSL Configuration to adjust how connector handles TLS/SSL certificate negotiations. You can choose from various certificate formats; see the SSLServerCert property under "Connection String Options" for more information.

Proxy

To configure the connector using private agent proxy settings, select the Use Proxy Settings checkbox on the connection configuration screen.

Query Processing

The connector offloads as much of the SELECT statement processing as possible to Microsoft Power BI XMLA and then processes the rest of the query in memory (client-side).

See Query Processing for more information.

User Defined Views¶

The Microsoft Power BI XMLA connector allows you to define a virtual table whose contents are decided by a pre-configured query. These are called User Defined Views, which are useful in situations where you cannot directly control the query being issued to the driver, e.g. when using the driver from Jitterbit. The User Defined Views can be used to define predicates that are always applied. If you specify additional predicates in the query to the view, they are combined with the query already defined as part of the view.

There are two ways to create user defined views:

• Create a JSON-formatted configuration file defining the views you want.
• DDL statements.

Define Views Using a Configuration File¶

User Defined Views are defined in a JSON-formatted configuration file called UserDefinedViews.json. The connector automatically detects the views specified in this file.

You can also have multiple view definitions and control them using the UserDefinedViews connection property. When you use this property, only the specified views are seen by the connector.

This User Defined View configuration file is formatted as follows:

• Each root element defines the name of a view.
• Each root element contains a child element, called query, which contains the custom SQL query for the view.

For example:

{
    "MyView": {
        "query": "SELECT * FROM [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Customer WHERE MyColumn = 'value'"
    },
    "MyView2": {
        "query": "SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE Id IN (1,2,3)"
    }
}

Use the UserDefinedViews connection property to specify the location of your JSON configuration file. For example:

"UserDefinedViews", "C:\Users\yourusername\Desktop\tmp\UserDefinedViews.json"

Define Views Using DDL Statements¶

The connector is also capable of creating and altering the schema via DDL Statements such as CREATE LOCAL VIEW, ALTER LOCAL VIEW, and DROP LOCAL VIEW.

Create a View¶

To create a new view using DDL statements, provide the view name and query as follows:

CREATE LOCAL VIEW [MyViewName] AS SELECT * FROM Customers LIMIT 20;

If no JSON file exists, the above code creates one. The view is then created in the JSON configuration file and is now discoverable. The JSON file location is specified by the UserDefinedViews connection property.

Alter a View¶

To alter an existing view, provide the name of an existing view alongside the new query you would like to use instead:

ALTER LOCAL VIEW [MyViewName] AS SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE TimeModified > '3/1/2020';

The view is then updated in the JSON configuration file.

Drop a View¶

To drop an existing view, provide the name of an existing schema alongside the new query you would like to use instead.

DROP LOCAL VIEW [MyViewName]

This removes the view from the JSON configuration file. It can no longer be queried.

Schema for User Defined Views¶

User Defined Views are exposed in the UserViews schema by default. This is done to avoid the view's name clashing with an actual entity in the data model. You can change the name of the schema used for UserViews by setting the UserViewsSchemaName property.

Work with User Defined Views¶

For example, a SQL statement with a User Defined View called UserViews.RCustomers only lists customers in Raleigh:

SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE City = 'Raleigh';

An example of a query to the driver:

SELECT * FROM UserViews.RCustomers WHERE Status = 'Active';

Resulting in the effective query to the source:

SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE City = 'Raleigh' AND Status = 'Active';

That is a very simple example of a query to a User Defined View that is effectively a combination of the view query and the view definition. It is possible to compose these queries in much more complex patterns. All SQL operations are allowed in both queries and are combined when appropriate.

SSL Configuration¶

Customize the SSL Configuration¶

By default, the connector attempts to negotiate SSL/TLS by checking the server's certificate against the system's trusted certificate store.

To specify another certificate, see the SSLServerCert property for the available formats to do so.

Data Model¶

Overview

This section shows the available API objects and provides more information on executing SQL to Microsoft Power BI XMLA APIs.

The connector models dimensions as tables, cubes as schemas, and a combination of the Workspace and DataSet Catalog as the Catalog. The connector supports connecting to multiple workspaces at the same time by supplying a comma-separated list of workspaces in the Workspace property. The result is that each workspace shows up in the catalogs as WorkspaceName_CatalogName.

Key Features

• The connector models Microsoft Power BI XMLA entities like documents, folders, and groups as relational views, allowing you to write SQL to query Microsoft Power BI XMLA data.
• Stored procedures allow you to execute operations to Microsoft Power BI XMLA.
• Live connectivity to these objects means any changes to your Microsoft Power BI XMLA account are immediately reflected when using the connector.

Measure Attributes

By default, all measure attributes are listed in a 'Measures' view. However, you can set SplitMeasures to 'true' to split the measures view; the result is each measure attribute is included in its respective view based on the Measure Group value. Further classification based on 'Measure Directories' is not included.

Stored Procedures

Stored Procedures are function-like interfaces to Microsoft Power BI XMLA. Stored procedures allow you to execute operations to Microsoft Power BI XMLA, including downloading documents and moving envelopes.

Stored Procedures¶

Stored procedures are function-like interfaces that extend the functionality of the connector beyond simple SELECT operations with Microsoft Power BI XMLA.

Stored procedures accept a list of parameters, perform their intended function, and then return any relevant response data from Microsoft Power BI XMLA, along with an indication of whether the procedure succeeded or failed.

Microsoft Power BI XMLA Connector Stored Procedures¶

GetAdminConsentURL¶

Gets the admin consent URL that must be opened separately by an admin of a given domain to grant access to your application. Only needed when using custom OAuth credentials.

Input¶

Result Set Columns¶

GetOAuthAccessToken¶

Gets the auth token used to authenticate to the service.

Input¶

Result Set Columns¶

GetOAuthAuthorizationUrl¶

Gets an authorization URL from the data source. The authorization URL can be used to generate a verifier required to obtain the OAuth token.

Input¶

Result Set Columns¶

RefreshOAuthAccessToken¶

Obtains an updated OAuthAccessToken if passed a token to refresh.

Input¶

Result Set Columns¶

System Tables¶

You can query the system tables described in this section to access schema information, information on data source functionality, and batch operation statistics.

Schema Tables¶

The following tables return database metadata for Microsoft Power BI XMLA:

• sys_catalogs: Lists the available databases.
• sys_schemas: Lists the available schemas.
• sys_tables: Lists the available tables and views.
• sys_tablecolumns: Describes the columns of the available tables and views.
• sys_procedures: Describes the available stored procedures.
• sys_procedureparameters: Describes stored procedure parameters.
• sys_keycolumns: Describes the primary and foreign keys.
• sys_indexes: Describes the available indexes.

Data Source Tables¶

The following tables return information about how to connect to and query the data source:

• sys_connection_props: Returns information on the available connection properties.
• sys_sqlinfo: Describes the SELECT queries that the connector can offload to the data source.

Query Information Tables¶

The following table returns query statistics for data modification queries:

• sys_identity: Returns information about batch operations or single updates.

sys_catalogs¶

Lists the available databases.

The following query retrieves all databases determined by the connection string:

SELECT * FROM sys_catalogs

Columns¶

sys_schemas¶

Lists the available schemas.

The following query retrieves all available schemas:

SELECT * FROM sys_schemas

Columns¶

sys_tables¶

Lists the available tables.

The following query retrieves the available tables and views:

SELECT * FROM sys_tables

Columns¶

sys_tablecolumns¶

Describes the columns of the available tables and views.

The following query returns the columns and data types for the [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Customer table:

SELECT ColumnName, DataTypeName FROM sys_tablecolumns WHERE TableName='Customer' AND CatalogName='AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE' AND SchemaName='Adventure Works'

Columns¶

sys_procedures¶

Lists the available stored procedures.

The following query retrieves the available stored procedures:

SELECT * FROM sys_procedures

Columns¶

sys_procedureparameters¶

Describes stored procedure parameters.

The following query returns information about all of the input parameters for the SelectEntries stored procedure:

SELECT * FROM sys_procedureparameters WHERE ProcedureName='SelectEntries' AND Direction=1 OR Direction=2

Columns¶

sys_keycolumns¶

Describes the primary and foreign keys.

The following query retrieves the primary key for the [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Customer table:

SELECT * FROM sys_keycolumns WHERE IsKey='True' AND TableName='Customer' AND CatalogName='AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE' AND SchemaName='Adventure Works'

Columns¶

sys_foreignkeys¶

Describes the foreign keys.

The following query retrieves all foreign keys which refer to other tables:

SELECT * FROM sys_foreignkeys WHERE ForeignKeyType = 'FOREIGNKEY_TYPE_IMPORT'

Columns¶

sys_primarykeys¶

Describes the primary keys.

The following query retrieves the primary keys from all tables and views:

SELECT * FROM sys_primarykeys

Columns¶

sys_indexes¶

Describes the available indexes. By filtering on indexes, you can write more selective queries with faster query response times.

The following query retrieves all indexes that are not primary keys:

SELECT * FROM sys_indexes WHERE IsPrimary='false'

Columns¶

sys_connection_props¶

Returns information on the available connection properties and those set in the connection string.

When querying this table, the config connection string should be used:

jdbc:cdata:powerbixmla:config:

This connection string enables you to query this table without a valid connection.

The following query retrieves all connection properties that have been set in the connection string or set through a default value:

SELECT * FROM sys_connection_props WHERE Value <> ''

Columns¶

sys_sqlinfo¶

Describes the SELECT query processing that the connector can offload to the data source.

Discovering the Data Source's SELECT Capabilities¶

Below is an example data set of SQL capabilities. Some aspects of SELECT functionality are returned in a comma-separated list if supported; otherwise, the column contains NO.

The following query retrieves the operators that can be used in the WHERE clause:

SELECT * FROM sys_sqlinfo WHERE Name = 'SUPPORTED_OPERATORS'

Note that individual tables may have different limitations or requirements on the WHERE clause; refer to the Data Model section for more information.

Columns¶

sys_identity¶

Returns information about attempted modifications.

The following query retrieves the Ids of the modified rows in a batch operation:

SELECT * FROM sys_identity

Columns¶

sys_information¶

Describes the available system information.

The following query retrieves all columns:

SELECT * FROM sys_information

Columns¶

Advanced Configurations Properties¶

The advanced configurations properties are the various options that can be used to establish a connection. This section provides a complete list of the options you can configure. Click the links for further details.

Authentication

Azure Authentication

OAuth

JWT OAuth

SSL

Schema

Miscellaneous

Authentication¶

This section provides a complete list of authentication properties you can configure.

AuthScheme¶

The type of authentication to use when connecting to Microsoft Power BI XMLA.

Possible Values¶

AzureAD, AzureServicePrincipal, AzureServicePrincipalCert

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

AzureAD

Remarks¶

• AzureAD: Set this to perform Azure Active Directory OAuth authentication.
• AzureServicePrincipal: Set this to authenticate as an Azure Service Principal using client credentials.
• AzureServicePrincipalCert: Set this to authenticate as an Azure Service Principal using a certificate.

Azure Authentication¶

This section provides a complete list of Azure authentication properties you can configure.

AzureTenant¶

The Microsoft Online tenant being used to access data. If not specified, your default tenant is used.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

The Microsoft Online tenant being used to access data. For instance, contoso.onmicrosoft.com. Alternatively, specify the tenant Id. This value is the directory ID in the Azure Portal > Azure Active Directory > Properties.

Typically it is not necessary to specify the Tenant. This can be automatically determined by Microsoft when using the OAuthGrantType set to CODE (default). However, it may fail in the case that the user belongs to multiple tenants. For instance, if an Admin of domain A invites a user of domain B to be a guest user. The user will now belong to both tenants. It is a good practice to specify the Tenant, although in general things should normally work without having to specify it.

The AzureTenant is required when setting OAuthGrantType to CLIENT. When using client credentials, there is no user context. The credentials are taken from the context of the app itself. While Microsoft still allows client credentials to be obtained without specifying which Tenant, it has a much lower probability of picking the specific tenant you want to work with. For this reason, we require AzureTenant to be explicitly stated for all client credentials connections to ensure you get credentials that are applicable for the domain you intend to connect to.

AzureEnvironment¶

The Azure Environment to use when establishing a connection.

Possible Values¶

GLOBAL, CHINA, USGOVT, USGOVTDOD

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

GLOBAL

Remarks¶

In most cases, leaving the environment set to global will work. However, if your Azure Account has been added to a different environment, the AzureEnvironment may be used to specify which environment. The available values are GLOBAL, CHINA, USGOVT, USGOVTDOD.

OAuth¶

This section provides a complete list of OAuth properties you can configure.

InitiateOAuth¶

Set this property to initiate the process to obtain or refresh the OAuth access token when you connect.

Possible Values¶

OFF, GETANDREFRESH, REFRESH

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

OFF

Remarks¶

The following options are available:

1. OFF: Indicates that the OAuth flow will be handled entirely by the user. An OAuthAccessToken will be required to authenticate.
2. GETANDREFRESH: Indicates that the entire OAuth Flow will be handled by the connector. If no token currently exists, it will be obtained by prompting the user via the browser. If a token exists, it will be refreshed when applicable.
3. REFRESH: Indicates that the connector will only handle refreshing the OAuthAccessToken. The user will never be prompted by the connector to authenticate via the browser. The user must handle obtaining the OAuthAccessToken and OAuthRefreshToken initially.

OAuthClientId¶

The client ID assigned when you register your application with an OAuth authorization server.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

As part of registering an OAuth application, you will receive the OAuthClientId value, sometimes also called a consumer key, and a client secret, the OAuthClientSecret.

OAuthClientSecret¶

The client secret assigned when you register your application with an OAuth authorization server.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

As part of registering an OAuth application, you will receive the OAuthClientId, also called a consumer key. You will also receive a client secret, also called a consumer secret. Set the client secret in the OAuthClientSecret property.

OAuthAccessToken¶

The access token for connecting using OAuth.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

The OAuthAccessToken property is used to connect using OAuth. The OAuthAccessToken is retrieved from the OAuth server as part of the authentication process. It has a server-dependent timeout and can be reused between requests.

The access token is used in place of your user name and password. The access token protects your credentials by keeping them on the server.

OAuthSettingsLocation¶

The location of the settings file where OAuth values are saved when InitiateOAuth is set to GETANDREFRESH or REFRESH . Alternatively, you can hold this location in memory by specifying a value starting with 'memory://'.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

%APPDATA%\PowerBIXMLA Data Provider\OAuthSettings.txt

Remarks¶

When InitiateOAuth is set to GETANDREFRESH or REFRESH, the connector saves OAuth values to avoid requiring the user to manually enter OAuth connection properties and to allow the credentials to be shared across connections or processes.

Instead of specifying a file path, you can use memory storage. Memory locations are specified by using a value starting with 'memory://' followed by a unique identifier for that set of credentials (for example, memory://user1). The identifier can be anything you choose but should be unique to the user. Unlike file-based storage, where credentials persist across connections, memory storage loads the credentials into static memory, and the credentials are shared between connections using the same identifier for the life of the process. To persist credentials outside the current process, you must manually store the credentials prior to closing the connection. This enables you to set them in the connection when the process is started again. You can retrieve OAuth property values with a query to the sys_connection_props system table. If there are multiple connections using the same credentials, the properties are read from the previously closed connection.

The default location is "%APPDATA%\PowerBIXMLA Data Provider\OAuthSettings.txt" with %APPDATA% set to the user's configuration directory. The default values are

• Windows: "register://%DSN"
• Unix: "%AppData%..."
• Mac: "%AppData%..."

where DSN is the name of the current DSN used in the open connection.

The following table lists the value of %APPDATA% by OS:

OAuthVerifier¶

The verifier code returned from the OAuth authorization URL.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

The verifier code returned from the OAuth authorization URL. This can be used on systems where a browser cannot be launched such as headless systems.

Authentication on Headless Machines¶

See to obtain the OAuthVerifier value.

Set OAuthSettingsLocation along with OAuthVerifier. When you connect, the connector exchanges the OAuthVerifier for the OAuth authentication tokens and saves them, encrypted, to the specified location. Set InitiateOAuth to GETANDREFRESH to automate the exchange.

Once the OAuth settings file has been generated, you can remove OAuthVerifier from the connection properties and connect with OAuthSettingsLocation set.

To automatically refresh the OAuth token values, set OAuthSettingsLocation and additionally set InitiateOAuth to REFRESH.

OAuthRefreshToken¶

The OAuth refresh token for the corresponding OAuth access token.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

The OAuthRefreshToken property is used to refresh the OAuthAccessToken when using OAuth authentication.

OAuthExpiresIn¶

The lifetime in seconds of the OAuth AccessToken.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

Pair with OAuthTokenTimestamp to determine when the AccessToken will expire.

OAuthTokenTimestamp¶

The Unix epoch timestamp in milliseconds when the current Access Token was created.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

Pair with OAuthExpiresIn to determine when the AccessToken will expire.

JWT OAuth¶

This section provides a complete list of JWT OAuth properties you can configure.

OAuthJWTCert¶

The JWT Certificate store.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

The name of the certificate store for the client certificate.

The OAuthJWTCertType field specifies the type of the certificate store specified by OAuthJWTCert. If the store is password protected, specify the password in OAuthJWTCertPassword.

OAuthJWTCert is used in conjunction with the OAuthJWTCertSubject

field in order to specify client certificates. If OAuthJWTCert has a value, and OAuthJWTCertSubject is set, a search for a certificate is initiated. Please refer to the OAuthJWTCertSubject field for details.

Designations of certificate stores are platform-dependent.

The following are designations of the most common User and Machine certificate stores in Windows:

In Java, the certificate store normally is a file containing certificates and optional private keys.

When the certificate store type is PFXFile, this property must be set to the name of the file. When the type is PFXBlob, the property must be set to the binary contents of a PFX file (i.e. PKCS12 certificate store).

OAuthJWTCertType¶

The type of key store containing the JWT Certificate.

Possible Values¶

USER, MACHINE, PFXFILE, PFXBLOB, JKSFILE, JKSBLOB, PEMKEY_FILE, PEMKEY_BLOB, PUBLIC_KEY_FILE, PUBLIC_KEY_BLOB, SSHPUBLIC_KEY_FILE, SSHPUBLIC_KEY_BLOB, P7BFILE, PPKFILE, XMLFILE, XMLBLOB

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

USER

Remarks¶

This property can take one of the following values:

OAuthJWTCertPassword¶

The password for the OAuth JWT certificate.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

If the certificate store is of a type that requires a password, this property is used to specify that password in order to open the certificate store.

OAuthJWTCertSubject¶

The subject of the OAuth JWT certificate.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

*

Remarks¶

When loading a certificate the subject is used to locate the certificate in the store.

If an exact match is not found, the store is searched for subjects containing the value of the property.

If a match is still not found, the property is set to an empty string, and no certificate is selected.

The special value "*" picks the first certificate in the certificate store.

The certificate subject is a comma separated list of distinguished name fields and values. For instance "CN=www.server.com, OU=test, C=US, E=support@jitterbit.com". Common fields and their meanings are displayed below.

If a field value contains a comma it must be quoted.

SSL¶

This section provides a complete list of SSL properties you can configure.

SSLClientCert¶

The TLS/SSL client certificate store for SSL Client Authentication (2-way SSL).

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

The name of the certificate store for the client certificate.

The SSLClientCertType field specifies the type of the certificate store specified by SSLClientCert. If the store is password protected, specify the password in SSLClientCertPassword.

SSLClientCert is used in conjunction with the SSLClientCertSubject field in order to specify client certificates. If SSLClientCert has a value, and SSLClientCertSubject is set, a search for a certificate is initiated. See SSLClientCertSubject for more information.

Designations of certificate stores are platform-dependent.

The following are designations of the most common User and Machine certificate stores in Windows:

In Java, the certificate store normally is a file containing certificates and optional private keys.

When the certificate store type is PFXFile, this property must be set to the name of the file. When the type is PFXBlob, the property must be set to the binary contents of a PFX file (for example, PKCS12 certificate store).

SSLClientCertType¶

The type of key store containing the TLS/SSL client certificate.

Possible Values¶

USER, MACHINE, PFXFILE, PFXBLOB, JKSFILE, JKSBLOB, PEMKEY_FILE, PEMKEY_BLOB, PUBLIC_KEY_FILE, PUBLIC_KEY_BLOB, SSHPUBLIC_KEY_FILE, SSHPUBLIC_KEY_BLOB, P7BFILE, PPKFILE, XMLFILE, XMLBLOB

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

USER

Remarks¶

This property can take one of the following values:

SSLClientCertPassword¶

The password for the TLS/SSL client certificate.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

If the certificate store is of a type that requires a password, this property is used to specify that password to open the certificate store.

SSLClientCertSubject¶

The subject of the TLS/SSL client certificate.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

*

Remarks¶

When loading a certificate the subject is used to locate the certificate in the store.

If an exact match is not found, the store is searched for subjects containing the value of the property. If a match is still not found, the property is set to an empty string, and no certificate is selected.

The special value "*" picks the first certificate in the certificate store.

The certificate subject is a comma separated list of distinguished name fields and values. For example, "CN=www.server.com, OU=test, C=US, E=support@company.com". The common fields and their meanings are shown below.

If a field value contains a comma, it must be quoted.

SSLServerCert¶

The certificate to be accepted from the server when connecting using TLS/SSL.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

If using a TLS/SSL connection, this property can be used to specify the TLS/SSL certificate to be accepted from the server. Any other certificate that is not trusted by the machine is rejected.

This property can take the following forms:

If not specified, any certificate trusted by the machine is accepted.

Certificates are validated as trusted by the machine based on the System's trust store. The trust store used is the 'javax.net.ssl.trustStore' value specified for the system. If no value is specified for this property, Java's default trust store is used (for example, JAVA_HOME\lib\security\cacerts).

Use '*' to signify to accept all certificates. Note that this is not recommended due to security concerns.

Schema¶

This section provides a complete list of schema properties you can configure.

Location¶

A path to the directory that contains the schema files defining tables, views, and stored procedures.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

%APPDATA%\PowerBIXMLA Data Provider\Schema

Remarks¶

The path to a directory which contains the schema files for the connector (.rsd files for tables and views, .rsb files for stored procedures). The folder location can be a relative path from the location of the executable. The Location property is only needed if you want to customize definitions (for example, change a column name, ignore a column, and so on) or extend the data model with new tables, views, or stored procedures.

If left unspecified, the default location is "%APPDATA%\PowerBIXMLA Data Provider\Schema" with %APPDATA% being set to the user's configuration directory:

BrowsableSchemas¶

This property restricts the schemas reported to a subset of the available schemas. For example, BrowsableSchemas=SchemaA,SchemaB,SchemaC.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

Listing the schemas from databases can be expensive. Providing a list of schemas in the connection string improves the performance.

Tables¶

This property restricts the tables reported to a subset of the available tables. For example, Tables=TableA,TableB,TableC.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

Listing the tables from some databases can be expensive. Providing a list of tables in the connection string improves the performance of the connector.

This property can also be used as an alternative to automatically listing views if you already know which ones you want to work with and there would otherwise be too many to work with.

Specify the tables you want in a comma-separated list. Each table should be a valid SQL identifier with any special characters escaped using square brackets, double-quotes or backticks. For example, Tables=TableA,[TableB/WithSlash],WithCatalog.WithSchema.`TableC With Space`.

Note that when connecting to a data source with multiple schemas or catalogs, you will need to provide the fully qualified name of the table in this property, as in the last example here, to avoid ambiguity between tables that exist in multiple catalogs or schemas.

Views¶

Restricts the views reported to a subset of the available tables. For example, Views=ViewA,ViewB,ViewC.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

Listing the views from some databases can be expensive. Providing a list of views in the connection string improves the performance of the connector.

This property can also be used as an alternative to automatically listing views if you already know which ones you want to work with and there would otherwise be too many to work with.

Specify the views you want in a comma-separated list. Each view should be a valid SQL identifier with any special characters escaped using square brackets, double-quotes or backticks. For example, Views=ViewA,[ViewB/WithSlash],WithCatalog.WithSchema.`ViewC With Space`.

Note that when connecting to a data source with multiple schemas or catalogs, you will need to provide the fully qualified name of the table in this property, as in the last example here, to avoid ambiguity between tables that exist in multiple catalogs or schemas.

Catalog¶

The Power BI workspace and dataset to use.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

The connector combines each Power BI workspace and dataset into a single catalog name. For example, if you have a workspace called MyWorkspace and a dataset called MyDataset then its catalog name will be MyWorkspace_MyDataset.

By default the connector will report all workspaces and datasets as separate catalogs. A query can either use the catalog directly, or leave off the catalog to have the connector search for a matching table.

-- Use this specific catalog
SELECT ... FROM MyWorkspace_MyDataset.Model.MyDimension

-- Search for a catalog containing this table
SELECT ... FROM Model.MyDimension

However, if you have enabled UseMDX then you may want to set this value so that MDX queries go to the correct workspace and dataset. The connector cannot determine the workspace and dataset automatically from an MDX query.

IncludeJoinColumns¶

Set this to true to include extra join columns on each table.

Data Type¶

bool

Default Value¶

false

Remarks¶

Some tools may require an ON condition (or generate them automatically) based on foreign key references. By setting IncludeJoinColumns to true, every table will include a foreign key reference to the other tables. These columns will not return any data and are not useful for anything other than passing as ON conditions to perform joins upon.

In Microsoft Power BI XMLA, the dimensions and measures making up the tables are already related naturally. There is no context on which to join them provided. Therefore, the Microsoft Power BI XMLA connector supports joining without specifying an ON condition, so they are optional to specify.

Miscellaneous¶

This section provides a complete list of miscellaneous properties you can configure.

CustomHeaders¶

Other headers as determined by the user (optional).

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

This property can be set to a string of headers to be appended to the HTTP request headers created from other properties, like ContentType, From, and so on.

The headers must be of the format "header: value" as described in the HTTP specifications. Header lines should be separated by the carriage return and line feed (CRLF) characters.

Use this property with caution. If this property contains invalid headers, HTTP requests may fail.

This property is useful for fine-tuning the functionality of the connector to integrate with specialized or nonstandard APIs.

ExposeMemberKeys¶

Determines if each level should be converted into a measure, allowing calculations to be performed on the measure.

Data Type¶

bool

Default Value¶

false

Remarks¶

By default, all levels are of type String. Enabling this option allows a level to be resolved down to its key property, creating a measure that has the level's DBType data type. Calculations can then be performed on the measure.

ExpressionInDescription¶

Set this to true to report expressions as part of the description on measure columns.

Data Type¶

bool

Default Value¶

false

Remarks¶

The connector reports the remarks for several types of entities (dimensions, measures, measure groups and heirarchies) as table and column descriptions. By default, the connector will include only the remarks in measure column descriptions.

If this option is enabled, then the measure expression is included in the measure column description, along with the remarks. The descriptions on other types of entities are not affected.

ExtraProperties¶

Additional properties to submit on each MDX request to Microsoft Power BI XMLA.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

When setting UseMDX to true, properties may be specified using this connection property to fill out extra values in the PropertiesList of the XMLA request. Use name=value pairs separated by a semicolon to submit the properties. For example, Catalog=MyCatalog;Cube=MyCube;.

A list of properties may be found by executing SELECT * FROM $System.DISCOVER_PROPERTIES.

MaxRows¶

Limits the number of rows returned when no aggregation or GROUP BY is used in the query. This takes precedence over LIMIT clauses.

Data Type¶

int

Default Value¶

-1

Remarks¶

Limits the number of rows returned when no aggregation or GROUP BY is used in the query. This takes precedence over LIMIT clauses.

Other¶

These hidden properties are used only in specific use cases.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

The properties listed below are available for specific use cases. Normal driver use cases and functionality should not require these properties.

Specify multiple properties in a semicolon-separated list.

Integration and Formatting¶

ResponseRowLimit¶

The number of response rows to allow before triggering an error. Set to 0 for no limit.

Data Type¶

int

Default Value¶

100000

Remarks¶

Selecting a lot of columns results in a number of crossjoins occurring under the hood when translated to something that is acceptable for Microsoft Power BI XMLA. This is not intuitive if you are not familiar with MDX. It can easily result in very large responses that time out. The ResponseRowLimit is designed to alert the user to very expensive requests.

ShowHiddenEntities¶

Set this to true to include hidden dimensions, measures and levels.

Data Type¶

bool

Default Value¶

false

Remarks¶

By default the connector does not report entities that Microsoft Power BI XMLA marks as hidden. Enabling this option allows you to query them.

SplitMeasures¶

Set this to true to split Measures table into individual tables.

Data Type¶

bool

Default Value¶

false

Remarks¶

All measures are currently grouped into a single table 'Measures'. Set this to true to split Measures table into individual tables (if a table only contains measures) and include measures into respective dimensions tables.

SplitMeasuresOn¶

Use this property in conjunction with SplitMeasures to set the priority for how measures should be organized into tables.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

MeasureGroup

Remarks¶

This property controls the order in which measure storage attributes are used to sort them into subtables when SplitMeasures is true. Provide a comma-delimited list of storage methods in the order they should be prioritized. Available values are:

• MeasureGroup
• DisplayFolder

Split-Measure tables will be named according to whichever attribute comes first in the list, or sorted into a generic 'Measures' table if none of the values in the list are populated for the measure.

Timeout¶

The value in seconds until the timeout error is thrown, canceling the operation.

Data Type¶

int

Default Value¶

60

Remarks¶

If Timeout = 0, operations do not time out. The operations run until they complete successfully or until they encounter an error condition.

If Timeout expires and the operation is not yet complete, the connector throws an exception.

UseMDX¶

Set this to true to pass MDX queries to Microsoft Power BI XMLA as-is.

Data Type¶

bool

Default Value¶

false

Remarks¶

You can execute SQL-92 SELECT queries to the views modeled by the connector; set this property to instead execute MDX queries directly to Microsoft Power BI XMLA.

UserDefinedViews¶

A filepath pointing to the JSON configuration file containing your custom views.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

User Defined Views are defined in a JSON-formatted configuration file called UserDefinedViews.json. The connector automatically detects the views specified in this file.

You can also have multiple view definitions and control them using the UserDefinedViews connection property. When you use this property, only the specified views are seen by the connector.

This User Defined View configuration file is formatted as follows:

• Each root element defines the name of a view.
• Each root element contains a child element, called query, which contains the custom SQL query for the view.

For example:

{
    "MyView": {
        "query": "SELECT * FROM [AdventureWorksDW2012Multidimensional-SE].[Adventure Works].Customer WHERE MyColumn = 'value'"
    },
    "MyView2": {
        "query": "SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE Id IN (1,2,3)"
    }
}

Use the UserDefinedViews connection property to specify the location of your JSON configuration file. For example:

"UserDefinedViews", C:\Users\yourusername\Desktop\tmp\UserDefinedViews.json

Note that the specified path is not embedded in quotation marks.

Workspace¶

The comma separated PowerBI workspace(s) to connect to.

Data Type¶

string

Default Value¶

""

Remarks¶

The comma separated PowerBI workspace(s) to connect to. If not specified, objects from all workspaces will be available. This will cause extra requests to be executed to list objects from all workspaces.