Connecting Microsoft Power BI to Your ShareVision Site

Overview

This article provides you with two methods for connecting Microsoft Power BI to you ShareVision site. Note: These types of connections can be complicated and time consuming to troubleshoot. If this is your first time using Microsoft Power BI, we strongly encourage you to work with someone who has experience. 

Requirements/Dependencies

• Microsoft Power BI installed in your environment
• Knowledge and expertise using Microsoft Power BI 
• ShareVision account with Site Administrator access

Method 1: owssrv.dll

Using this method, you can connect to your ShareVision Administration site from Power BI to a specific list and view on the list. This method requires:

1. the specific URL which includes owssrv.dll (explained below) 
2. the List ID which is a unique alphanumeric identifier for each list you would like to connect to from Power BI

How to Find the List ID

The first part of using this method is to locate and copy the List ID for the list that you want to report on in Power BI. 

1. Login to ShareVision with a user account that has Site Administrator permissions. 
   
   
2. Select the gear in the upper right hand corner and then select Site Administration:
   
   
   
3. When prompted, enter your ShareVision Administrator username and password and select Sign In.
4. Next, select View All Lists and Libraries
5. Search for a list.
   
   
   
6. Select List Settings for the list you would like to report on in Power BI.
   
   
   
7. In the browser address bar at the top of the screen of the list you selected in the previous step, you will need to select everything after List= in the URL.
   
   
   
   
8. Copy the section of the URL that you highlighted. You can either press CTRL C on your keyboard or right click on the URL and select Copy. 
   
   
   
9. You will need this List ID in the next section. You can paste in a notepad or document to use it later. 
   
   

Format Required for the URL to Connect Power BI to your ShareVision Site

Next, you will need to use the List ID that you copied in the section above and add it to the URL that Power BI will use to connect to ShareVision. 

1. The format of the URL that Power BI will need in order to connect to the list is:
   
   

   
   

   • This is the most basic URL you can build but there are all sorts of other parameters you can add to filter the data more before you pull it into Power BI.
   • You can also filter the data in Power BI itself. For example, in Power BI you can create separate data sets by adding Filter parameters to the query string in the URL as per this article: http://sharepointfordeveloper.blogspot.com/2012/03/sharepoint-rpc-protocols-examples-using.html
2. When you enter the URL in your browser's address bar, you will be prompted to login. Enter your ShareVision username and password. 
   Note: The account must have ShareVision Administrator access. 
   
   
3. The process will run and an .xml file will be created. It will appear in the bottom left of your browser window and a copy of the file will be available in Downloads on your computer. 

Method 2: listdata.svc

You can connect by using a modified URL from your ShareVision Administration site. Once the URL is modified as per the steps below, the information from your ShareVision site will be available in XML format for use in Power BI. 

1. Login to ShareVision with a user account that has Site Administrator permissions. 
   
   
2. Select the gear in the upper right hand corner and then select Site Administration:
   
   
   
3. When prompted, enter your ShareVision Administrator username and password and select Sign In.
   
   
   
4. Copy the following: _vti_bin/listdata.svc
   
   
5. While on your ShareVision Site Administration site, go to the address bar in your browser and highlight everything that comes after: sharevision.ca/ in the URL.
   
   
6. Press delete.
   
   
7. In the address bar in your browser, paste: _vti_bin/listdata.svc after sharevision.ca/ in the URL.
   
   
8. Press enter.
   
   
9. The XML for your ShareVision site will be displayed in the browser if there are no issues preventing the connection. 
   
   
   

Watch this to see how it is done!

How to tell if there is a Connection Issue

If there is a connection issue in Microsoft Power BI, follow the above steps to see if this connection works. If there is an issue, the XML will not be displayed (see above). Instead, the following message will appear:

One known cause of this error is if two lists, or a list and a document library have the exact same name. While the list and/or document library URLs are different, if the name is the same, the URL connection with not work.

To resolve the issue, locate the lists or document libraries with the same name and in list settings for one of them, select: List name, description and navigation:

Enter a new name:

Select Save.