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Version: Version 22

Connectors

Introduction​

What is the BI connectivity app?
The BI connectivity app brings data from Fortes Change Cloud to a BI solution, such as Microsoft Power BI or a data warehouse. The app enables the creation of links based on OData: per connector, FCC provides an OData link and authentication keys with which external tools can retrieve the data securely.

Who uses it?

  • Administrators and BI specialists, who create connectors and manage keys.
  • Report builders, who use the OData link in Power BI or other tools.

What value does it deliver?

  • FCC data (portfolios, projects, hours, costs) available in your own BI tooling.
  • Controlled access: per connector members and expiring authentication keys.
  • A standard protocol (OData) supported by many tools.

The Connectors overview​

The start page of the app shows all connectors as cards. From here you can:

  • Add Connector: create a new connector.
  • Archived Connectors: consult archived connectors.
  • Members: manage who has access to the app.
  • Open a connector to manage its OData link and keys; see the Connector article.

This interactive guide explains how to add a BI connector to create an OData link and authentication key. The OData link and authentication key can be used to connect FCC to other systems.

Many reporting tools can retrieve data using the OData protocol.
This guide shows how to connect Fortes Change Cloud (FCC) to Microsoft Power BI Desktop.
The same OData link can also be used for other systems, such as data warehousing tools.

Steps​

  1. In Power BI Desktop, click Retrieve Data → OData Feed.

  2. Paste the OData link into the URL (see previous section for the OData link).

  3. In the authentication dialog:

    • Select Basic.
    • Leave the Username field empty.
    • Paste the API Key into the Password field.
    • Click Connect.

  4. Power BI will display a list of available tables.

    • Preview the data by selecting a table.
    • Check the boxes for the tables you want to import.

  5. Click Load to import the selected tables.

    • Both the data and table relationships are automatically imported into your report.

Best practices​

  • Retrieve only the necessary columns: use $select to select the appropriate columns.
  • Pick up only the necessary rows: use $filter to select rows. A filter on SystemModificationDate can be used to retrieve only objects modified as of a certain date.
  • Treat API keys as secrets: store them in a credential store, not in shared documents, and replace them before they expire.

See Connector for the full query options (filtering, pagination, entry endpoints).

FAQ​

Why do I see so many error values in my data?
To keep the size of the data as low as possible, the OData service does not send empty/null values in the OData feed toward Power BI Desktop. When these values are not sent along, they appear as ‘Error’ in Power BI.

The appearance of this ‘Error’ is not a problem because Power BI assigns the value null to fields containing ‘Error’. However, if desired, these ‘Error’ fields can be manually modified using the ‘Transform Data’ and then ‘Replace Errors’ buttons to replace these error fields with an empty string or with the value null.

You can now get started creating reports in Power BI Desktop with the data coming from your portfolio. When changes are made to the portfolio, you can refresh the data in the report by clicking the Refresh button in the ribbon on the Home tab.

Can I have multiple connectors?
Yes. Use separate connectors per purpose or consumer, so access and keys can be managed (and revoked) independently.

Need more support?​

For step-by-step instructions or troubleshooting, contact your Fortes Change Cloud administrator or consult in-app help.