Asana Connector for SAP Crystal Reports

Read and write data related to Tasks, Projects, Workspaces, Portfolios, TimeEntries, Memberships and more.

In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Asana data in SAP Crystal Reports without coding. We will use high-performance Asana Connector to easily connect to Asana and then access the data inside SAP Crystal Reports.

Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that!

Download Documentation

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

Step-by-step instructions

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

  1. Download and install 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
    • Create and use User DSN if the client application is run under a User Account. This is an ideal option in design-time, when developing a solution, e.g. in Visual Studio 2019. Use it for both type of applications - 64-bit and 32-bit.
    • Create and use System DSN if the client application is launched under a System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. Usually, this is an ideal option to use in a production environment. Use ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit), instead of 64-bit version, if Windows Service is a 32-bit application.
  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 how to get and use Asana credentials
    Here is how to obtain a Personal Access Token (PAT) in Asana:
    1. Open My apps in Asana portal and click Create new token button: Create Personal Access Token in Asana
    2. Once a popup opens, name your new token: Name Personal Access Token in Asana
    3. Then click Copy button to copy the token: Use Personal Access Token to get Asana data via REST API
    4. Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and use this token in Personal Access Token authentication configuration.
    5. Choose Default Workspace and Default Project to work with.
    6. Click Test Connection to confirm the connection is working.
    7. Done! Now you are ready to use Asana Connector!

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

    AsanaDSN
    Asana
    Personal Access Token [Http]
    https://app.asana.com/api/1.0
    Required Parameters
    Enter Token (Personal Access Token - PAT) Fill-in the parameter...
    Default Workspace Fill-in the parameter...
    Default Project Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
    RetryStatusCodeList 429
    RetryCountMax 5
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime True
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration
    Steps how to get and use Asana credentials
    Here is how to register an OAuth app in Asana:
    1. Open My apps in Asana portal and click Create new app button: Create new OAuth app in Asana
    2. Once a popup opens, name your app and check two options, and click Create app button: Name OAuth app in Asana
    3. Then copy Client ID and Client secret and save them in a file (we will need them for authentication): Use OAuth app to get Asana data via REST API
    4. Continue by selecting OAuth menu item on your left and click Add redirect URL button (you can have your own or use https://zappysys.com/oauth): Add redirect URL to Asana OAuth app
    5. Proceed by clicking on the Manage distribution section on your left.
    6. Then specify workspaces your app needs to access (use Any workspace to access them all): Choose distribution method in Asana OAuth app
    7. Once you do that, click Save changes button.
    8. Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and use Client ID, Client Secret, and Redirect URL in OAuth app authentication configuration.
    9. When you are done with that, click Generate Token button to generate Access and Refresh Tokens.
    10. Choose Default Workspace and Default Project to work with.
    11. Click Test Connection to confirm the connection is working.
    12. Done! Now you are ready to use Asana Connector!

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

    AsanaDSN
    Asana
    OAuth app [OAuth]
    https://app.asana.com/api/1.0
    Required Parameters
    ClientId Fill-in the parameter...
    Client Secret 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...
    Optional Parameters
    Permissions default
    Redirect URL https://zappysys.com/oauth
    RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
    RetryStatusCodeList 429
    RetryCountMax 5
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime True
    ODBC DSN Oauth Connection Configuration

  6. Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:

    ZappySys API Driver - Asana
    Read and write data related to Tasks, Projects, Workspaces, Portfolios, TimeEntries, Memberships and more.
    AsanaDSN
    Open Query Builder in API ODBC Driver to read and write data to REST API
  7. Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in SAP Crystal Reports to retrieve data from Asana. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.

    SELECT * FROM Workspaces
    Configure table/endpoint parameters in ODBC data source based on API Driver
    Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Asana API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.
  8. Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in SAP Crystal Reports:

    ZappySys API Driver - Asana
    Read and write data related to Tasks, Projects, Workspaces, Portfolios, TimeEntries, Memberships and more.
    AsanaDSN
    SELECT * FROM Workspaces
    API ODBC Driver-based data source data preview
    You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.
    A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the Asana API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in Asana servers).
  9. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Video Tutorial

Read data in SAP Crystal Reports from the ODBC data source

  1. First of all, open SAP Crystal Reports and create the new Crystal Report.
    Create New Crystal Report

  2. And it will open the new data source selection window. Under ODBC(RDO) double click on the Make New Connection and Select the desired ODBC DSN, in our case we need to select AsanaDSN which we created in upper section. And Click on Next.

    AsanaDSN
    SAP Crystal Report - Select ODBC AsanaDSN DSN

  3. Expand the Connection and under the data select the desired table(s) or view(s) and click Add > button and click on Next.

    AsanaDSN
    AsanaDSN
    SAP Crystal Report - Add ODBC AsanaDSN DSN Tables

  4. Add the desired Fields to Display in the Reports. Here we are adding all fields and click on Finish.
    SAP Crystal Report - Add Display Fields

  5. That's it and you will be able to load the data in the Report.
    SAP Crystal Report - AsanaDSN Data Output

Using ZappySys Driver Custom Views and Stored Procedure in SAP Crystal Report

You can create parameterized Stored Procedure and Virtual Tables on the same Data Source (ODBC DSN or Data Gateway Data Source). Please refer to this article for the same. You can create procedures to encapsulate custom logic and then only pass handful parameters rather than long SQL to execute your API call.

Using Custom Views in the SAP Crystal Report

After establishing the connection with AsanaDSN Data Source you can use the custom view in SQL Crystal Report.
AsanaDSN
AsanaDSN
SAP Crystal Report - Custom Views

Using Custom Stored Procedure in the SAP Crystal Report

  1. First of all, create the custom stored procedure in the ZappySys Driver. Please refer to this article to create the custom stored procedure.
    ZappySys Driver Custom Stored Procedure
  2. After establishing the connection with AsanaDSN Data Source you can use the custom Stored Procedure in SQL Crystal Report. Same way you can write custom queries also in the query box.
    AsanaDSN
    SAP Crystal Report - Custom Views

Actions supported by Asana Connector

Learn how to perform common Asana actions directly in SAP Crystal Reports with these how-to guides:

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to Asana in SAP Crystal Reports and integrate data without any coding, saving you time and effort. It's worth noting that ZappySys API Driver allows you to connect not only to Asana, but to any Java application that supports JDBC (just use a different JDBC driver and configure it appropriately).

We encourage you to download Asana Connector for SAP Crystal Reports and see how easy it is to use it for yourself or your team.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact ZappySys support team. You can also open a live chat immediately by clicking on the chat icon below.

Download Asana Connector for SAP Crystal Reports Documentation

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