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How to set up the TIBCO Spotfire OData connector to be used with Microsoft SharePoint.

Rich Talbot
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Product: TIBCO Spotfire®

Problem:

How to set up the TIBCO Spotfire OData connector to be used with Microsoft SharePoint.


Solution:

Setting up the Spotfire OData connector to be used with Microsoft SharePoint. Note: This article does not apply for Office 365 SharePoint.
Note 2: Starting from TIBCO Spotfire version 10.10, there is a separate connector specifically for Microsoft SharePoint Online that you can use.   

The OData connector supports getting data through Web Services using the OData protocol. As long as the service meets all the requirements for the OData protocol, it should work with Spotfire. Microsoft is the vendor for the SharePoint web service, so we recommend that you contact Microsoft to find out what URL to use when you need to get data from Excel workbooks through SharePoint and OData. These are some useful references on the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) site:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/jj163874.aspx
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/jj163211.aspx


Make sure your SharePoint REST WCF interface is enabled on your SharePoint site. We recommend building the URLs and testing them directly in a web browser. You should see it bringing up data in the browser. If you see that, then try the URL in Spotfire. 

 
Copy and paste the URL of the ListData.svc into an Internet Explorer browser. This will show you the list in XML format. To load data from SharePoint you need to construct the URL in the following manner before pasting it into the Service URL field: http://<server>/<sharepoint-site-url>/_vti_bin/listdata.svc

Example:

Your workplace may have a SharePoint site for each current project, and each project site may include a list describing the tasks that should be handled in the project, as well as which person is responsible for the task and the current status of the task.

The URL may be similar to this: http://MySharePointServer/ProjectSite/ListOfProjectTasks/default.aspx

To load this list into Spotfire, modify the URL to appear as follows: http://MySharePointServer/ProjectSite/ListOfProjectTasks/_vti_bin/ListData.svc

When the URL has been modified, paste it into the Service URL field of the OData Connection dialog. The ListData is based on the Default.aspx, not the AllItems.aspx. Find the Default.aspx URL, then add the _vti_bin/ListData.svc to that directory and test.
 

If you have the correct URL, the following procedure should help to establish the connection in Spotfire:

 - Download the Spotfire Connectors package, and deploy it on your Spotfire Server.

 - Once the Connectors package is deployed, you should see the OData Connector listed in the deployment as shown in the screenshot at the following URL: http://www.tibco.com/blog/2015/05/28/odata-and-spotfire/     
 - From the main menu in the Spotfire Analyst desktop client, click "File> Add Data table > Add > Connection to OData". Enter your OData credentials, along with the URL.
 

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