Installing the Power BI Desktop Connector

TeamDynamix Power BI Desktop Connector Setup

Microsoft Power BI Desktop allows a user to manipulate data from a wide variety of data sources. It allows for shaping of the data and generating custom reports according to individual needs. The custom TeamDynamix Power BI connector allows you to securely incorporate your work management data into the Power BI ecosystem. This document outlines the installation of a custom Power BI connector that allows for integration with TeamDynamix. Although this document is focused on Microsoft Power BI Desktop, this custom connector can be used to provide data for reports in the following Power BI hosts:

  • Microsoft Power BI Desktop - report writer and custom connector are both running in your on-prem environment
  • Microsoft Power BI Gateway - the custom TeamDynamix connector is configured and executed in your on-prem environment
  • Microsoft Power BI Online - the online service retrieves your on-prem data through your registered on-prem gateway (configured in conjunction with the custom connector)

Not supported

Although not explicitly stated, the following hosts do not appear to be supported. Reference: Microsoft Power BI section on this link. These hosts are not listed as being supported.

  • Power BI Report Server
  • Power Query / Excel

Security

The custom connector operates using TeamDynamix Web API and requires the same levels of security and privilege. Therefore, to access client data via the custom connector you will need to provide one of the following sets of valid credentials:

Security Authentication Requirements
Authentication Method Authentication Requirements Comments
Service Account BEID/WebServicesKey

Operates as a service account.
Cannot access User specific resources such as Saved Searches or Projects.
User Account Username/Password Respects security on the given User account.

Power BI Desktop

Installation of Power BI Desktop

Microsoft Power BI Desktop is a free application available for Microsoft Windows. At the time of this writing, there is no Apple Mac product offering.

Download Microsoft : Power BI Desktop from the Microsoft App store.  

Installation can be performed by following the above link. For more information on getting started with Microsoft Power BI Desktop, please refer to Microsoft : Get started with Power BI Desktop

Downloading the TeamDynamix Custom Connector for Power BI

The TeamDynamix connector is packaged as a single .mez file and is available as a download link from your TDX Next Portal. This single .mez file is an archive that contains all the resources required for the connector to execute.

To download the connector and documentation:

  1. Login to your account in the TDX Next portal and go to the View Applications | Downloads section
  2.  Under the Downloads section, click on TeamDynamix Power BI Integration area.
  3.  The connector file is part of the Download package on this page. Follow the instructions provided on this page to download and unzip the custom connector.

Installation of the Custom Connector

 This documentation focuses on installing the connector for use in Power BI Desktop, but separate instructions are provided for setting up the Power BI Gateway.

  • Make sure Microsoft Power BI Desktop (or Gateway1) is installed
  • Copy the .mez file into the current Windows user's [Documents]\Microsoft Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors directory
    • If this sub directory does not exist under [Documents], then you will need to ensure \Microsoft Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors exists by manually creating it.
    • NOTE: Some users report that the directory for their setup is [Documents]\Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors (note: there is no Microsoft in the folder name)
    • NOTE: Depending on your corporate IT setup, [Documents] folder might exist in a network location. Please check with your IT department if Microsoft Power BI Desktop cannot locate the .mez file. For example, the location might be: \\<domain>\users\{{user}}\Microsoft Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors
  • Open Power BI Desktop (or restart the Gateway1)

1A separate instruction document is provided for setting up and configuring the Power BI Gateway. The gateway is intended for automated refresh of reports published to the Power BI Cloud Service.

  • Note, to load custom extensions you will need to change the security level for extensions in Power BI Desktop to enable loading unsigned/uncertified connectors
    • Go to File | Options and settings | Options
    • Go to the Security tab
    • Under Data Extensions, select Allow any extension to load without warning or validation
    • Restart Power BI Desktop

  • Once Power BI Desktop restarts...
  • Either Create a new report or simply select Get Data
  • From the Get Data dialog you will be presented your list of connectors.
  • Search for the TeamDynamix datasources by entering tdx into the filter box.
    • If searching does not display any connectors, make sure you have installed the .mez file in the proper folder.
    • If still no tdx connectors are listed, make sure you have allowed custom data extensions to load and restarted Power BI Desktop.
  • You will be presented with several TeamDynamix data sources segregated into two authorization categories.
    • Service Account - Those marked with TDX Service require credentials for a Service Account BEID/WebServicesKey
    • User - Those marked with User can be accessed with a typical TeamDynamix user account credentials Username/Password.
    • Some functionality is available to a Service account and not a User account, and vice versa.

  • Click on the TeamDynamix data source you wish to retrieve
  • For example, the main entry point is the All Entities data source. This provides you with an "explorer" view of your data.
  • Whichever data source you select, you will be prompted for your TeamDynamix Instance ID.
    • This unique ID identifies the unique instance of your work management setup.
    • The instance ID is different between your Production and Sandbox environments. You will need to obtain each instance ID if you plan to switch between the two.
    • To find your TeamDynamix Instance ID, follow these steps:
      1.  Login to TDX Next and Go to the View Applications | Downloads section
      2.  Under the Downloads section, click on TeamDynamix Power BI Integration section
      3.  You will see the unique ID listed at the bottom near the Get Started button.
  • Next you will be asked to provide your credentials depending on which data source  you selected
    • For Service Accounts

    • For User Accounts

  • Once it successfully authenticates, you will be presented with either retrieved data or a query screen (depending upon the data source you selected).
  • At this point your custom connector is installed and working!

 

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