Azure DevOps Connector for MS Access Azure DevOps Connector can be used to integrate Azure DevOps data in your App / BI Tools. You can create, read, query, modify, and delete WorkItems, Projects, Teams and more. In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Azure DevOps data in MS Access without coding. We will use high-performance Azure DevOps Connector to easily connect to Azure DevOps and then access the data inside MS Access. Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that! Download Documentation Azure DevOps Connector for MS Access is based on ZappySys API Driver which is part of ODBC PowerPack. It is a collection of high-performance ODBC drivers that enable you to integrate data in SQL Server, SSIS, a programming language, or any other ODBC-compatible application. ODBC PowerPack supports various file formats, sources and destinations, including REST/SOAP API, SFTP/FTP, storage services, and plain files, to mention a few.

Connect to Azure DevOps in other apps Connect to Azure DevOps in SSIS Connect to Azure DevOps in SQL Server Connect to Azure DevOps in Power BI Connect to Azure DevOps in SSRS Connect to Azure DevOps in Informatica Connect to Azure DevOps in MS Excel Connect to Azure DevOps in SSAS Connect to Azure DevOps in C# Connect to Azure DevOps in Python Connect to Azure DevOps in JAVA Connect to Azure DevOps in Tableau Connect to Azure DevOps in SAP Crystal Reports Connect to Azure DevOps in Azure Data Factory (Pipeline) Connect to Azure DevOps in Azure Data Factory (SSIS) Connect to Azure DevOps in Talend Studio Connect to Azure DevOps in UiPath Connect to Azure DevOps in PowerShell Connect to Azure DevOps in ODBC

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

Step-by-step instructions

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

1. Download and install ODBC PowerPack.

2. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):

   

3. Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

   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 "Azure DevOps" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Azure DevOps" 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:

   AzureDevopsDSN

   Azure DevOps

   

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.

    OAuth [OAuth]

   Steps how to get and use Azure DevOps credentials
   Connecting to your Azure DevOps data requires you to authenticate your REST API access. Follow the instructions below:

   1. Go to https://app.vsaex.visualstudio.com/app/register to register your app.
   2. Fill in your application and company's information as required, and then select the scopes that your application needs. This should typically be Project and team (read and write) and Work items (read and write).
      Your selected scopes when registering your app must match the scopes you enter here on the connector screen. If they don't match, the connector will not be able to work with your Azure DevOps account!

      If you need further information about the scopes used in Azure DevOps, or need to see what to enter into the connector screen to match up with your selected scopes, visit https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/integrate/get-started/authentication/oauth?view=azure-devops.
      

      NOTE: For Authorization callback URL use your company's OAuth Redirect URL (if IT administrator provides you one) or you can use https://zappysys.com/oauth (it's safe).

   3. Select Create Application and then the Application Settings page will be displayed.
   4. Record the App ID for us to use later:
   5. And do the same with Client Secret:
   6. Then go to https://aex.dev.azure.com and select relevant organization on the left.
   7. Then copy Organization's host name part (e.g. acmeinc, if full host name is acmeinc.visualstudio.com), save it to a file, and click it:
   8. Back at the connector screen, enter the App ID into the Client Id (App ID) field that was recorded in the previous step.
   9. Enter the Client Secret that was recorded in the previous step into the Client Secret field. In order to edit the text in this field, select the ellipses (...) button that appears when the textbox is clicked, and edit the Client Secret with the dialog box that appears.
   10. Enter the organization that was recorded in step 5 into the Organization name or Id for url field.
   11. Click Generate Token. If proper authentication occurs, you will see a notice saying so. You can click Yes to save a backup file of your generated tokens.
   12. Select the project you want to connect to by default from the Default Project (Choose after Generating Token) field.
   13. Select the Security tab.
   14. Enter https://auditservice.dev.azure.com,https://almsearch.dev.azure.com into the Additional Trusted Domains field.
   15. Select the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Azure DevOps account.
   16. If the connection test succeeds, select OK.
   17. To edit previously created app you can visit https://app.vsaex.visualstudio.com/me and see Applications and services section. Click on your desired app name.

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

   AzureDevopsDSN

   Azure DevOps

   OAuth [OAuth]

   https://dev.azure.com

   Required Parameters
   Client Id (App ID)	Fill-in the parameter...
   Client Secret	Fill-in the parameter...
   Organization name or Id for url (e.g. mycompany)	Fill-in the parameter...
   Return URL	Fill-in the parameter...
   Scopes (Must match with App Registration)	Fill-in the parameter...
   API Version	Fill-in the parameter...
   Optional Parameters
   Default Project Name (Choose after Generating Token)
   RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
   RetryStatusCodeList	429
   RetryCountMax	5
   RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

   

    Personal Access Token (PAT) [Http]

   Steps how to get and use Azure DevOps credentials
   To connect to Azure DevOps using a Personal Access Token (PAT), you must first create a valid PAT:

   1. Start by by going to https://aex.dev.azure.com and selecting relevant organization on the left.
   2. Then copy Organization's host name part (e.g. acmeinc, if full host name is acmeinc.visualstudio.com), save it to a file, and click it:
   3. Next, click User settings icon and then click Personal access tokens:
   4. Then click New Token button to create a new personal access token:
   5. Continue by...
      • naming your token
      • selecting the right Organization
      • setting token's Expiration date (it's recommended to use Custom defined option and make it expire after one year or later)
      • and setting the Scopes:
      

      NOTE: You may be restricted from creating full-scoped PATs. If so, your Azure DevOps administrator in Azure AD has enabled a policy which limits you to a specific custom defined set of scopes.

   6. Now click Copy button and save the newly created token into a file for quick access later:
   7. Go back to the connector screen, input the token you saved in a previous step into the Personal Access Token (PAT) field.
   8. Then enter the Organization host name part that you noted recorded in previous step into Organization name or Id for url field.
   9. Enter the name or Id of the project you want to connect to by default in the Default Project (Choose after above fields) field.
   10. Select the Security tab.
   11. Enter https://auditservice.dev.azure.com,https://almsearch.dev.azure.com,https://analytics.dev.azure.com into the Additional Trusted Domains field.
   12. Select the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Azure DevOps account.
   13. Done!

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

   AzureDevopsDSN

   Azure DevOps

   Personal Access Token (PAT) [Http]

   https://dev.azure.com

   Required Parameters
   Personal Access Token (PAT)	Fill-in the parameter...
   Organization name or Id for url	Fill-in the parameter...
   API Version	Fill-in the parameter...
   Optional Parameters
   AuthScheme	Bearer
   AuthHeader	Authorization
   UserName
   Default Project Name (Choose after Generating Token)
   RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
   RetryStatusCodeList	429
   RetryCountMax	5
   RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

   

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 - Azure DevOps

   Azure DevOps Connector can be used to integrate Azure DevOps data in your App / BI Tools. You can create, read, query, modify, and delete WorkItems, Projects, Teams and more.

   AzureDevopsDSN

   

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 MS Access to retrieve data from Azure DevOps. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.

   SELECT * FROM Projects

   
   Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Azure DevOps 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 MS Access:

   

   ZappySys API Driver - Azure DevOps

   Azure DevOps Connector can be used to integrate Azure DevOps data in your App / BI Tools. You can create, read, query, modify, and delete WorkItems, Projects, Teams and more.

   AzureDevopsDSN

   SELECT * FROM Projects

   
   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 Azure DevOps 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 Azure DevOps servers).

9. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Video Tutorial

Read data in Microsoft Access from the ODBC data source

1. First of all, open MS Access and create a new MS Access database.

2. In the next step, start loading ODBC data source we created:

3. Then click next until data source selection window appears. Select the data source we created in one of the previous steps and hit OK:

   AzureDevopsDSN

   

4. Continue with tables and views selection. You can extract multiple tables or views:
   

5. Finally, wait while data is being loaded and once done you should see a similar view:

Using Linked Table for Live Data (Slow)

Linked tables in Microsoft Access are crucial for online databases because they enable real-time access to centralized data, support scalability, facilitate collaboration, enhance data security, ease maintenance tasks, and allow integration with external systems. They provide a flexible and efficient way to work with data stored in online databases, promoting cross-platform compatibility and reducing the need for data duplication.

1. Real-Time Data Access:
   Access can interact directly with live data in online databases, ensuring that users always work with the most up-to-date information.
2. Centralized Data Management:
   Online databases serve as a centralized repository, enabling efficient management of data from various locations.
3. Ease of Maintenance:
   Updates or modifications to the online database structure are automatically reflected in Access, streamlining maintenance tasks.
4. Adaptability to Changing Requirements:
   Linked tables provide flexibility, allowing easy adaptation to changing data storage needs or migration to different online database systems.

Let's create the linked table.

1. Launch Microsoft Access and open the database where you want to create the linked table.

2. Go to the "External Data" tab on the Ribbon. >> "New Data Source" >> "From Other Sources" >> "ODBC Database"

3. Select the option "Link to Data Source by creating a linked table:

4. Continue by clicking 'Next' until the Data Source Selection window appears. Navigate to the Machine Data Source tab and select the desired data source established in one of the earlier steps. Click 'OK' to confirm your selection.

   AzureDevopsDSN

   

5. Proceed to the selection of Tables and Views. You have the option to extract multiple tables or views:
   

6. When prompted to select Unique Key column DO NOT select any column(s) and just click OK:

7. Finally, Simply double-click the newly created Linked Table to load the data:

Guide to Effectively Addressing Known Issues

Discover effective strategies to address known issues efficiently in this guide. Get solutions and practical tips to streamline troubleshooting and enhance system performance, ensuring a smoother user experience.

Fewer Rows Imported

The reason for this is that MS Access has a default query timeout of 60 seconds, which means it stops fetching data if the query takes longer than that. As a result, only a limited number of rows are fetched within this time frame.

To address this, we can adjust the Query Timeout by following the steps below.

The path may vary depending on the MS Access bitness, such as 32-bit versus 64-bit.

\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Jet\4.0\Engines\ODBC

\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Jet\4.0\Engines\ODBC

\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\REGISTRY\MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Access Connectivity Engine\Engines\ODBC

We can identify this issue by examining the Fiddler Log, as MS Access doesn't display any error regarding partial import, which is quite unusual

Please refer to this link : How to use Fiddler to analyze HTTP web requests

#Deleted word appears for column value in MS Access for Linked Table mode

If you used Linked Table mode to get external data and it shows #deleted word rather than actual value for column after you open then most likely its following issue.

Make sure to re-create Linked Table and DO NOT select any key column when prompted (Just click OK)
How to Fix

Table Selection UI Opening Delays

The Table selection UI takes a significant amount of time to open after clicking the 'New Data Source' -> 'Other Data Sources' -> 'ODBC'

The reason for this issue is that MS Access sends a dummy query, leading to several unnecessary pagination cycles before an error is thrown. To mitigate this, we can prevent wasted cycles by configuring the 'Throw error if no match' setting on the Filter Options Tab.

Enhancing Performance through Metadata Addition (Reduces Query Time)

We can optimize query performance by creating Virtual Tables (i.e. views with custom SQL) on Datasource and incorporating META=static columns. Learn how to capture static metadata in this guide.
Performance Options - Generate Metadata Manually

Execute the query initially, save the metadata by selecting 'Save to Meta' (choose Compact Format), and then click 'Save to Clipboard.' Utilize the resulting list by pasting it into the META attribute as follows: 'META=paste here.'

SELECT * FROM products
    WITH(
        META='id:String(20); title:String(100);  description:String(500);'
    )

Optimize Workflow with Automated Import

Employ Automated Import when Linked Tables are not feasible, and we need to depend on Imported Tables with static data.

While using Linked Tables sometime it encounter errors, and we are left with no alternative but to utilize Imported Tables, Automatic Refresh becomes crucial in such scenarios.

Here's a guide on automating refreshes. We can set up automatic refresh on different events, such as when the database opens, a form is opened, or a button is clicked.

To initiate the import process, follow these steps:

• Perform the data import using the standard manual steps.
• In the final step, we'll encounter a checkbox labeled 'Save Import Steps.' Ensure to check this option.
• After saving the steps, we can locate their name in the Save Imports UI. Identify the name associated with the saved steps.
• "Now, we can execute the code as shown below:"

Private Sub cmdYes_Click()
    Label0.Visible = True
    DoCmd.RunSavedImportExport "Import-DATA.products"
    Label0.Visible = False
End Sub

Actions supported by Azure DevOps Connector

Learn how to perform common Azure DevOps actions directly in MS Access with these how-to guides:

• Create Project
• Create Team
• Create Work Item
• Create Work Item Comment
• Delete Project
• Delete Team
• Delete Work Item
• Delete Work Item Comment
• Get List of Projects
• Get List of Queries
• Get List of Teams
• Get Project Details
• Get Query Fileds
• Get Team Details
• Get Team Iteration Capacities
• Get Team Iterations
• Get Team Members
• Get Work Item Column Fields
• Get Work Item Comment by Comment Id and Work Item Id
• Get Work Item Comments (by WorkItem Id)
• Get Work Item Types
• Get Work Items by Ids
• Get Work Items for Specified Query Id
• Query Work Item Comments
• Query Work Items
• Search for Work Items by Text
• Update Project
• Update Team
• Update Work Item
• Update Work Item Comment
• Generic Request
• Generic Request (Bulk Write)

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to Azure DevOps in MS Access 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 Azure DevOps, but to any Java application that supports JDBC (just use a different JDBC driver and configure it appropriately).

We encourage you to download Azure DevOps Connector for MS Access 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 Azure DevOps Connector for MS Access Documentation

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