Asana Connector for MS Excel

In this article you will learn how to integrate Asana data in MS Excel without coding in just a few clicks (live / bi-directional connection to Asana). Read and write data related to Tasks, Projects, Workspaces, Portfolios, TimeEntries, Memberships and more..

Using Asana Connector you will be able to connect, read, and write data from within MS Excel. Follow the steps below to see how we would accomplish that.

Download Documentation

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from Asana using MS Excel we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from Asana. We will later be able to read data using MS Excel. Perform these steps:

  1. Install ZappySys ODBC PowerPack.

  2. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
    Open ODBC Data Source

  3. Create a User Data Source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

    ZappySys API Driver
    Create new User DSN for ZappySys API Driver
    You should create a System DSN (instead of a User DSN) if the client application is launched under a Windows System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. If the client application is 32-bit (x86) running with a System DSN, use ODBC Data Sources (32-bit) instead of the 64-bit version.
  4. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Asana" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Asana" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

    AsanaDSN
    Asana
    ODBC DSN Template Selection

  5. Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

    Steps to get Asana Credentials
    Here is how to obtain PAT (Personal Access Token). .
    1. Follow this link and click to Create new token.
    2. Once token generated copy it enter in Token field on this UI. Treat Token like a Password, keep it secure.

    Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

    AsanaDSN
    Asana
    Token [Http]
    https://app.asana.com/api/1.0
    Required Parameters
    Optional Parameters
    Enter Token (Personal Access Token - PAT) Fill in the parameter...
    Default Workspace (** Select after Token is entered **) Fill in the parameter...
    Default Project (** Select after Token is entered **) Fill in the parameter...
    RetryMode Fill in the parameter...
    RetryStatusCodeList Fill in the parameter...
    RetryCountMax Fill in the parameter...
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime Fill in the parameter...
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration
    Steps to get Asana Credentials
    Here is how to register OAuth App.
    1. Follow this link and click to Create new app under My Apps.
    2. Give your app a name e.g. My Integration. Check one of the options | Check I Agree | Click Create app
    3. Copy Client Id and Secret. Keep it secure, we will use it later on API Connection UI.
    4. Click on the OAuth section (Under Configure) on your left. Under the Redirect URLs Click [Add redirect URL] button. Enter URL like this https://zappysys.com/oauth. Do not use any random URL otherwise it may not work.
    5. Click on the Manage distribution section (Under Test & distribute) on your left. Here you can add specific workspaces you like to access using this App. If you like to access any workspace then choose [Any workspace] option
    6. Click [Save changes] button. Might be located all the way bottom right on your screen.
    7. Now go back to connection UI and enter ClientId, Client Secret and Redirect URL (match exactly).
    8. Click Generate Token and follow the login prompts. If everything goes well you will see Refresh Token generated.
    9. Choose Default Workspace and Default Project.
    10. Click Test connection to confirm. Now you are ready to use this connection.

    Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

    AsanaDSN
    Asana
    OAuth [OAuth]
    https://app.asana.com/api/1.0
    Required Parameters
    ClientId Fill in the parameter...
    Client Secret Fill in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    Permissions Fill in the parameter...
    Redirect URL Fill in the parameter...
    Default Workspace (** Select after Token is generated **) Fill in the parameter...
    Default Project (** Select after Token is generated **) Fill in the parameter...
    RetryMode Fill in the parameter...
    RetryStatusCodeList Fill in the parameter...
    RetryCountMax Fill in the parameter...
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime Fill in the parameter...
    ODBC DSN Oauth Connection Configuration

  6. Once the data source has been configured, you can preview data. Select the Preview tab and use settings similar to the following to preview data:
    ODBC ZappySys Data Source Preview

  7. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Video instructions

Read data in Excel from the DSN

  1. In Excel click Data, then select Get Data, proceed with From Other Sources and choose From ODBC item. This will get data from ODBC data source we created:
    Create ODBC data source in Excel

  2. A small window opens, then simply select the data source you created in previous steps:

    AsanaDSN
    Select DSN data source in Excel

  3. Most likely, you will be asked to authenticate to a newly created DSN. Just select Windows authentication option together with Use my current credentials option:

    AsanaDSN
    Excel DSN Authentication

  4. Finally, you will be asked to select a table or view to get data from. Select one and load the data!
    Excel DSN Authentication

  5. Finally, finally, use data extracted from Asana API in an Excel worksheet:
    Excel Select DSN Table

Advanced topics

Create Custom Stored Procedure in ZappySys Driver

You can create procedures to encapsulate custom logic and then only pass handful parameters rather than long SQL to execute your API call.

Steps to create Custom Stored Procedure in ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here

  1. Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Procedure:
    ZappySys Driver - Add Stored Procedure

  2. Enter the desired Procedure name and click on OK:
    ZappySys Driver - Add Stored Procedure Name

  3. Select the created Stored Procedure and write the your desired stored procedure and Save it and it will create the custom stored procedure in the ZappySys Driver:
    Here is an example stored procedure for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here

    CREATE PROCEDURE [usp_get_orders]
        @fromdate = '<<yyyy-MM-dd,FUN_TODAY>>'
     AS
        SELECT * FROM Orders where OrderDate >= '<@fromdate>';
    

    ZappySys Driver - Create Custom Stored Procedure

  4. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your Stored Procedure using Exec Command. In this example it will extract the orders from the date 1996-01-01:

    Exec usp_get_orders '1996-01-01';

    ZappySys Driver - Execute Custom Stored Procedure

  5. Let's generate the SQL Server Query Code to make the API call using stored procedure. Go to Code Generator Tab, select language as SQL Server and click on Generate button the generate the code.
    As we already created the linked server for this Data Source, in that you just need to copy the Select Query and need to use the linked server name which we have apply on the place of [MY_API_SERVICE] placeholder.

    SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([MY_API_SERVICE], 'EXEC usp_get_orders @fromdate=''1996-07-30''')

    ZappySys Driver - Generate SQL Server Query

  6. Now go to SQL served and execute that query and it will make the API call using stored procedure and provide you the response.
    ZappySys Driver - Generate SQL Server Query

Create Custom Virtual Table in ZappySys Driver

ZappySys API Drivers support flexible Query language so you can override Default Properties you configured on Data Source such as URL, Body. This way you don't have to create multiple Data Sources if you like to read data from multiple EndPoints. However not every application support supplying custom SQL to driver so you can only select Table from list returned from driver.

If you're dealing with Microsoft Access and need to import data from an SQL query, it's important to note that Access doesn't allow direct import of SQL queries. Instead, you can create custom objects (Virtual Tables) to handle the import process.

Many applications like MS Access, Informatica Designer wont give you option to specify custom SQL when you import Objects. In such case Virtual Table is very useful. You can create many Virtual Tables on the same Data Source (e.g. If you have 50 URLs with slight variations you can create virtual tables with just URL as Parameter setting.

  1. Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Table:
    ZappySys Driver - Add Table

  2. Enter the desired Table name and click on OK:
    ZappySys Driver - Add Table Name

  3. And it will open the New Query Window Click on Cancel to close that window and go to Custom Objects Tab.

  4. Select the created table, Select Text Type AS SQL and write the your desired SQL Query and Save it and it will create the custom table in the ZappySys Driver:
    Here is an example SQL query for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders also. Read more about placeholders here

    SELECT
      "ShipCountry",
      "OrderID",
      "CustomerID",
      "EmployeeID",
      "OrderDate",
      "RequiredDate",
      "ShippedDate",
      "ShipVia",
      "Freight",
      "ShipName",
      "ShipAddress",
      "ShipCity",
      "ShipRegion",
      "ShipPostalCode"
    FROM "Orders"
    Where "ShipCountry"='USA'

    ZappySys Driver - Create Custom Table

  5. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your custom virtual table query. In this example it will extract the orders for the USA Shipping Country only:

    SELECT * FROM "vt__usa_orders_only"

    ZappySys Driver - Execute Custom Virtual Table Query

  6. Let's generate the SQL Server Query Code to make the API call using stored procedure. Go to Code Generator Tab, select language as SQL Server and click on Generate button the generate the code.
    As we already created the linked server for this Data Source, in that you just need to copy the Select Query and need to use the linked server name which we have apply on the place of [MY_API_SERVICE] placeholder.

    SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([MY_API_SERVICE], 'EXEC [usp_get_orders] ''1996-01-01''')

    ZappySys Driver - Generate SQL Server Query

  7. Now go to SQL served and execute that query and it will make the API call using stored procedure and provide you the response.
    ZappySys Driver - Generate SQL Server Query

Actions supported by Asana Connector

Asana Connector support following actions for REST API integration. If some actions are not listed below then you can easily edit Connector file and enhance out of the box functionality.
 Get Workspaces
   [Read more...]
 Get Workspace (Single)
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Workspace Id
 Get Projects
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Workspace Id
Team Id
 Get Project (Single)
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Id
 Get Tasks
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
QueryBy
Option Value
project project
tag tag
section section
user_task_list user_task_list
assignee_and_workspace assignee_and_workspace
Project Id The project to filter tasks on.
Workspace Id The workspace to filter tasks on. Note: If you specify workspace, you must also specify the assignee to filter on.
Assignee Id The assignee to filter tasks on. If searching for unassigned tasks, assignee.any = null can be specified. Note: If you specify assignee, you must also specify the workspace to filter on.
Section Id The section to filter tasks on.
Tag Id
UserTaskListId
Completed Since Only return tasks that are either incomplete or that have been completed since this time.
Option Value
2023-12-31 2023-12-31
2023-12-31T00:00:00 2023-12-31T00:00:00
now now
now-24h now-24h
today today
yesterday yesterday
yearstart-10y yearstart-10y
monthstart monthstart
monthend monthend
yearstart yearstart
yearend yearend
weekstart weekstart
weekend weekend
yearstart-1y yearstart-1y
yearend-1y yearend-1y
monthstart-1d monthstart-1d
monthend+1d monthend+1d
monthend+1d-1y monthend+1d-1y
Modified Since Only return tasks that have been modified since the given time. Note: A task is considered “modified” if any of its properties change, or associations between it and other objects are modified (e.g. a task being added to a project). A task is not considered modified just because another object it is associated with (e.g. a subtask) is modified. Actions that count as modifying the task include assigning, renaming, completing, and adding stories.
Option Value
2023-12-31 2023-12-31
2023-12-31T00:00:00 2023-12-31T00:00:00
now now
now-24h now-24h
today today
yesterday yesterday
yearstart-10y yearstart-10y
monthstart monthstart
monthend monthend
yearstart yearstart
yearend yearend
weekstart weekstart
weekend weekend
yearstart-1y yearstart-1y
yearend-1y yearend-1y
monthstart-1d monthstart-1d
monthend+1d monthend+1d
monthend+1d-1y monthend+1d-1y
 Get Task (Single)
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
TaskId
 Get Workspace Teams
Returns records for all teams in the workspace visible to the authorized user.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Workspace Id
 Get Project Sections
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Id
 Get Project Section
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Id
Section Id
 Get Users
   [Read more...]
 Get User (Single)
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
User Id
 Get Allocations
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Workspace Id
Project Id
User Id
 Get Attachments
There are three possible parent values for this request: project, project_brief, and task. For a project, an attachment refers to a file uploaded to the [Key resources] section in the project Overview. For a project brief, an attachment refers to inline files in the project brief itself. For a task, an attachment refers to a file directly associated to that task. Note that within the Asana app, inline images in the task description do not appear in the index of image thumbnails nor as stories in the task. However, requests made to GET /attachments for a task will return all of the images in the task, including inline images.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Parent Id (e.g. Id of Project, Task or ProjectBrief) Globally unique identifier for object to fetch statuses from. Must be a GID for a project, project_brief, or task.
 Download Attachment
Download a specific attachment by Id.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Attachment ID The attachment Id for the attachment to get.
Fields
Option Value
name name
resource_subtype resource_subtype
connected_to_app connected_to_app
created_at created_at
download_url download_url
host host
parent parent
parent.name parent.name
parent.resource_subtype parent.resource_subtype
permanent_url permanent_url
size size
view_url view_url
 Download Multiple Attachments
Download Multiple Attachments for a specified parent.There are three possible parent values for this request: project, project_brief, and task. For a project, an attachment refers to a file uploaded to the [Key resources] section in the project Overview. For a project brief, an attachment refers to inline files in the project brief itself. For a task, an attachment refers to a file directly associated to that task. Note that within the Asana app, inline images in the task description do not appear in the index of image thumbnails nor as stories in the task. However, requests made to GET /attachments for a task will return all of the images in the task, including inline images.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Parent Id (e.g. Id of Project, Task or ProjectBrief) Globally unique identifier for object to fetch statuses from. Must be a GID for a project, project_brief, or task.
OverwriteFile
Option Value
True True
False False
SaveFolder Specify a disk folder path to save file(s) to
Fields
Option Value
name name
resource_subtype resource_subtype
connected_to_app connected_to_app
created_at created_at
download_url download_url
host host
parent parent
parent.name parent.name
parent.resource_subtype parent.resource_subtype
permanent_url permanent_url
size size
view_url view_url
 Get Portfolios
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Workspace Id
Owner Id
 Get Goals
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Workspace Id
Project Id
Portfolio Id
Team Id
Is Workspace Level
Option Value
true true
false false
Time Periods (e.g. Id1,Id2)
 Get Workspace Custom Fields
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Workspace Id
 Get Project Custom Fields
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Id
 Get Portfolio Custom Fields
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Portfolio Id
 Get User Task Lists
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
User Id
Workspace Id
 Get Memberships
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Id
PortfolioId
GoalId
Member or Team Id (Use with Project OR Portfolio OR Goal)
 Get Tags
   [Read more...]
 Get Time Tracking Entries
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Task Id
 Generic Request
This is generic endpoint. Use this endpoint when some actions are not implemented by connector. Just enter partial URL (Required), Body, Method, Header etc. Most parameters are optional except URL.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Url API URL goes here. You can enter full URL or Partial URL relative to Base URL. If it is full URL then domain name must be part of ServiceURL or part of TrustedDomains
Body Request Body content goes here
IsMultiPart Set this option if you want to upload file(s) (i.e. POST RAW file data) or send data using Multi-Part encoding method (i.e. Content-Type: multipart/form-data). Multi-Part request allows you to mix key/value and upload files in same request. On the other hand raw upload allows only single file upload (without any key/value) ==== Raw Upload (Content-Type: application/octet-stream) ===== To upload single file in raw mode check this option and specify full file path starting with @ sign in the Body (e.g. @c:\data\myfile.zip ) ==== Form-Data / Multipart Upload (Content-Type: multipart/form-data) ===== To treat your Request data as multi part fields you must specify key/value pairs separated by new lines into RequestData field (i.e. Body). Each key value pair is entered on new-line and key/value are separated using equal sign (=). Preceding and trailing spaces are ignored also blank lines are ignored. If field value has some any special character(s) then use escape sequence (e.g. For NewLine: \r\n, For Tab: \t, For at (@): \@). When value of any field starts with at sign (@) its automatically treated as File you want to upload. By default file content type is determined based on extension however you can supply content type manually for any field using this way [ YourFileFieldName.Content-Type=some-content-type ]. By default File Upload Field always includes Content-Type in the request (non file fields do not have content-type by default unless you supply manually). For some reason if you dont want to use Content-Type header in your request then supply blank Content-Type to exclude this header altogather [e.g. SomeFieldName.Content-Type= ]. In below example we have supplied Content-Type for file2 and SomeField1, all other fields are using default content-type. See below Example of uploading multiple files along with additional fields. If some API requires you to pass Content-Type: multipart/form-data rather than multipart/form-data then manually set Request Header => Content-Type: multipart/mixed (it must starts with multipart/ else will be ignored). file1=@c:\data\Myfile1.txt file2=@c:\data\Myfile2.json file2.Content-Type=application/json SomeField1=aaaaaaa SomeField1.Content-Type=text/plain SomeField2=12345 SomeFieldWithNewLineAndTab=This is line1\r\nThis is line2\r\nThis is \ttab \ttab \ttab SomeFieldStartingWithAtSign=\@MyTwitterHandle
Filter Enter filter to extract array from response. Example: $.rows[*] --OR-- $.customers[*].orders[*]. Check your response document and find out hierarchy you like to extract
Headers Headers for Request. To enter multiple headers use double pipe or new line after each {header-name}:{value} pair

Asana Connector Examples for MS Excel Connection

This page offers a collection of SQL examples designed for seamless integration with the ZappySys API ODBC Driver under ODBC Data Source (36/64) or ZappySys Data Gateway, enhancing your ability to connect and interact with Prebuilt Connectors effectively.

Read Workspaces    [Read more...]

Read all workspaces

SELECT * FROM Workspaces

Read Projects    [Read more...]

Read all projects

SELECT * FROM Projects

Read Tasks (default project)    [Read more...]

Read all tasks (default project)

SELECT * FROM Tasks

Read Tasks for a specific project    [Read more...]

Read all tasks for a specified project

SELECT * FROM Tasks WITH (ProjectId='1200652735638082')

Download Attachment to Local Disk    [Read more...]

Download Attachment to Local Disk File.

SELECT * FROM download_attachment 
WITH (
   AttachmentId='1208216218258030'
 , TargetFilePath='c:\temp\1208216218258030_AWS-refund-request.png' 
 , FileOverwriteMode=0 --0=AlwaysOverwrite, 1=FailIfExists, 2=SkipIfExists
)

Download Multiple Attachments to Local Disk    [Read more...]

Download Multiple Attachments for a specified Parent (e.g. Task, Project, ProjectBrief) to Local Disk Folder. Saved file name syntax is {AttachmentId}_{FileName}.

SELECT * FROM download_attachments
WITH (
   ParentId='1206673375982078' --Id of Task , Project or ProjectBrief
 , SaveFolder='c:\temp' 
 , OverwriteFile=1
)

Read Portfolios for a specified Owner    [Read more...]

Read Portfolios for a specified Owner (Default Workspace).

SELECT * FROM Portfolios WITH(OwnerId='1200442904128317')

Read Portfolios for a specified Owner and Workspace    [Read more...]

Read Portfolios for a specified Owner Id and Workspace id.

SELECT * FROM Portfolios WITH(OwnerId='1200442904128317', WorkspaceId='1200442900140748')

Read Project Goals    [Read more...]

Read Goals for a specified Project Id.

SELECT * FROM Goals WITH(Project='1206673375982078')

Read Workspace Goals    [Read more...]

Read Goals for a specified Workspace Id.

SELECT * FROM Goals WITH(Workspace='1200442900140748')

Read Team Goals    [Read more...]

Read Goals for a specified Team Id.

SELECT * FROM Goals WITH(Team='1200442900140748')

Read Memberships for a project    [Read more...]

Read Memberships for a specific project.

SELECT * FROM Memberships WITH(ProjectId=1206673375982078)

Read Memberships for a project    [Read more...]

Read Memberships for a specific project.

SELECT * FROM Memberships WITH(PortfolioId=1206673375982077)

Read Time Entries for a Task    [Read more...]

Read Time Entries for a specific task.

SELECT * FROM TimeTrackingEntries WITH(TaskId=1207150837043133)

Conclusion

In this article we discussed how to connect to Asana in MS Excel and integrate data without any coding. Click here to Download Asana Connector for MS Excel and try yourself see how easy it is. If you still have any question(s) then ask here or simply click on live chat icon below and ask our expert (see bottom-right corner of this page).

Download Asana Connector for MS Excel Documentation 

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