Azure DevOps Connector for MS Excel

In this article you will learn how to integrate Azure DevOps data in MS Excel without coding in just a few clicks (live / bi-directional connection to 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..

Using Azure DevOps 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 Azure DevOps using MS Excel 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 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 "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
    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 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.
    3. Select Create Application and then the Application Settings page will be displayed.
    4. Record the application settings that are displayed for us to use later, especially the App ID and the Client Secret.
    5. Visit https://aex.dev.azure.com. Once you are logged in, record your organization name in the URL that is displayed on the page. For example, if your organization is called "acmeinc", the URL on the page would be acmeinc.visualstudio.com.
    6. Back at the connector screen, enter the App ID that was recorded in step 4 into the Client Id (App ID) field.
    7. Enter the client secret that was recorded in step 4 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.
    8. Enter the organization that was recorded in step 5 into the Organization name or Id for url field.
    9. 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.
    10. Select the project you want to connect to by default from the Default Project (Choose after Generating Token) field.
    11. Select the Security tab.
    12. Enter https://auditservice.dev.azure.com,https://almsearch.dev.azure.com into the Additional Trusted Domains field.
    13. Select the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Azure DevOps account.
    14. If the connection test succeeds, select OK.

    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...
    Scope Fill in the parameter...
    API Version Fill in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    Default Project Name (Choose after Generating Token) 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
    Steps to get Azure DevOps Credentials
    To connect to Azure DevOps using a Personal Access Token (PAT), you must first create a valid PAT:
    1. Go to your Azure DevOps home page: https://dev.azure.com/{your organization name}.
    2. On the home page, select the User Settings menu dropdown (looks like a person icon with a small gear over it), and then select Personal access tokens.
    3. Select the New Token button.
    4. Enter a name for the new personal access token.
    5. Select the appropriate organization for the new personal access token.
    6. Select the expiration date for the new personal access token.
    7. Select the scopes for this token. (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.)
    8. Select the Create button.
    9. The new Personal Access Token (PAT) is created and displayed. Copy and save this token, since it is as sensitive as a password.
    10. Visit https://aex.dev.azure.com. Once you are logged in, record your organization name in the URL that is displayed on the page. For example, if your organization is called "acmeinc", the URL on the page would be acmeinc.visualstudio.com.
    11. Back at the connector screen, enter the token you recorded from step 9 into the Personal Access Token (PAT) field.
    12. Enter the organization that was recorded in step 10 into the Organization name or Id for url field.
    13. Enter the name or Id of the project you want to connect to by default in the Default Project (Choose after above fields) field.
    14. Select the Security tab.
    15. Enter https://auditservice.dev.azure.com,https://almsearch.dev.azure.com,https://analytics.dev.azure.com into the Additional Trusted Domains field.
    16. Select the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Azure DevOps account.
    17. If the connection test succeeds, select OK.

    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 Fill in the parameter...
    AuthHeader Fill in the parameter...
    UserName Fill in the parameter...
    Default Project Name (Choose after Generating Token) 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

  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:

    AzureDevOpsDSN
    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:

    AzureDevOpsDSN
    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 Azure DevOps 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 Azure DevOps Connector

Azure DevOps 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 Query Fileds
Gets query fields for work items.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Name The Name of the project.
Team Id or Name Id or name of the team associated with the query.
Use time precision Whether or not to use time precision.
Option Value
false false
true true
Wiql Query The WIQL query (refer Azure DevOps Help to learn Wiql syntax.
 Get Work Items for Specified Query Id
Get work items associated with the specified project, organization and query. (A team can optionally be specified as well.). Read more about this API here https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/azure/devops/wit/wiql/query-by-id?view=azure-devops-rest-7.1    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Name The Name of the project.
Query Id The Id of the predefined Query.
Team Id or Name Id or name of the team associated with the query.
Use time precision Whether or not to use time precision.
Option Value
false false
true true
 Query Work Items
Get work items associated with the specified project and organization that are filtered by a Wiql query. (A team can optionally be specified as well.). Read more about this API here https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/azure/devops/wit/wiql/query-by-wiql?view=azure-devops-rest-7.0 and here https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/queries/query-operators-variables?view=azure-devops    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Name The Name of the project.
Team Id or Name Id or name of the team associated with the query.
Use time precision Whether or not to use time precision.
Option Value
false false
true true
Wiql Query The WIQL query (refer Azure DevOps Help to learn Wiql syntax.
 Query Work Item Comments
Get work item comments associated with the specified project and organization that are filtered by a Wiql query. (A team can optionally be specified as well.). Read more about this API here https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/azure/devops/wit/wiql/query-by-wiql?view=azure-devops-rest-7.0 and here https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/queries/query-operators-variables?view=azure-devops    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Name The Name of the project.
Team Id or Name Id or name of the team associated with the query.
Use time precision Whether or not to use time precision.
Option Value
false false
true true
Wiql Query The WIQL query (refer Azure DevOps Help to learn Wiql syntax.
 Get Work Item Comments (by WorkItem Id)
Get work item comments associated with WorkItem Id    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
WorkItemId WorkItem Id for which you like to get comments
Project Name The Name of the project.
api-version For this API you must set 7.0-preview for now
 Get Work Item Comment by Comment Id and Work Item Id
Get work item comment by its Comment Id (for specific WorkItem Id)    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Id Comment Id
WorkItemId WorkItem Id for which you like to get comments
Project Name The Name of the project.
api-version For this API you must set 7.0-preview for now
 Create Work Item Comment
Creates work item comment for a specific WorkItem Id    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Id Comment Id
WorkItemId WorkItem Id for which you like to get comments
Project Name The Name of the project.
Comment Text
api-version For this API you must set 7.0-preview for now
 Update Work Item Comment
Update work item comment for a specific Work Item Id and Comment Id    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Id Comment Id
WorkItemId WorkItem Id for which you like to get comments
Project Name The Name of the project.
Comment Text
api-version For this API you must set 7.0-preview for now
 Delete Work Item Comment
Delete work item comment for a specific Work Item Id and Comment Id    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Id Comment Id
WorkItemId WorkItem Id for which you like to get comments
Project Name The Name of the project.
api-version For this API you must set 7.0-preview for now
 Get Work Item Column Fields
Get work item column fields in the default project within the organization. Read more about description on each field here https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/work-items/guidance/work-item-field?view=azure-devops    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Name The Name of the project.
Expand Parameters The expand parameters for work item attributes. Possible options are 'None', 'Relations', 'Fields', 'Links', and 'All'.
Option Value
None None
Relations Relations
Fields Fields
Links Links
All All
 Get Work Items by Ids
Get work items in the default project within the organization by their work item Ids.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Name The Name of the project.
Work Item Id List (comma separated) The comma-separated list of requested work item ids. (Maximum 200 ids allowed).
As-Of Date AsOf UTC date time string.
Expand Parameters The expand parameters for work item attributes. Possible options are 'None', 'Relations', 'Fields', 'Links', and 'All'.
Option Value
None None
Relations Relations
Fields Fields
Links Links
All All
Error Policy The flag to control error policy in a bulk get work items request. Possible options are 'Fail' and 'Omit'.
Option Value
Fail Fail
Omit Omit
Fields Comma-separated list of requested fields.
 Get Work Item Types
Get work item types in the default project within the organization.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Name The Name of the project.
 Create Work Item
Creates a new work item in the default project within the organization.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Name The Name of the project.
WorkItemType
ByPassRules Set this to true to allow setting values for some fields which otherwise wont work due to certain rules
Option Value
true true
false false
 Update Work Item
Updates an existing work item in the default project within the organization.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Name The Name of the project.
Work Item Id
Operation Some operation requires you to supply 'add' rather than 'replace' (e.g. adding new tag)
Option Value
replace replace
add add
remove remove
copy copy
move move
test test
 Delete Work Item
Deletes an existing work item in the default project within the organization.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Name The Name of the project.
Work Item Id
 Get List of Queries
Gets a list of predefined queries within the organization.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Name The Name of the project.
Max Depth (items inside nested folders)
 Get List of Projects
Gets a list of projects within the organization.    [Read more...]
 Get Project Details
Gets the details of the specified project within the organization by its project Id.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Id
 Create Project
Create a new project within the organization.    [Read more...]
 Update Project
Update an existing project within the organization.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Id The ID of the project to update.
 Delete Project
Delete an existing project within the organization.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Id The ID of the project to delete.
 Get List of Teams
Gets a list of teams in the default project within the organization.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Name The Name of the project.
 Get Team Details
Gets the details of the specified team in the default project within the organization by its team Id or team name.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
API Version
Option Value
7.0-preview 7.0-preview
7.1-preview.2 7.1-preview.2
Team Id or Name
Project Name The Name of the project.
 Create Team
Creates a new team in the default project within the organization.    [Read more...]
 Update Team
Updates the details of the specified team in the default project within the organization by its team Id.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
API Version
Option Value
7.0-preview 7.0-preview
7.1-preview.2 7.1-preview.2
Team Id
 Delete Team
Deletes the specified team in the default project within the organization by its team Id.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
API Version
Option Value
7.0-preview 7.0-preview
7.1-preview.2 7.1-preview.2
Team Id The ID of the team to delete.
 Search for Work Items by Text
Search for specific text within work items in the default project of the organization.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Text to Search For
 Get Team Members
Lists all members part of a specified Team in the project within the organization (by team Id or team name).    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
API Version
Option Value
7.0-preview 7.0-preview
7.1-preview.2 7.1-preview.2
Project Name The Name of the project.
Team Id or Name
 Get Team Iterations
Lists Team iterations for a specified project / team.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
API Version
Option Value
7.0-preview 7.0-preview
7.1-preview.2 7.1-preview.2
Project Name The Name of the project.
Team Id or Name
 Get Team Iteration Capacities
Lists capacity for all team members in a specified project / team / iteration.    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
Project Name The Name of the project.
Team Id or Name
Itertation Id or Name
API Version
Option Value
7.0-preview 7.0-preview
7.1-preview.2 7.1-preview.2
 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

Azure DevOps 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.

Get work items for the default project(specified by connection settings).    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM WorkItems

Get work items for the specific project.    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM WorkItems WITH (Project='ProductTesting')

Get a specific work item by its Id.    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM WorkItems WHERE Id=1001

Get multiple work items by their Ids (Comma-separated)    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM get_workitems_by_ids WITH (ids='6444,5578,9467')

Search for work items by text contained within the work item.    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM search_workitems_by_text WITH (SearchText='Text that I want to search for')

Get a specific work item by its Id, but halt the process if a 404 error is encountered.    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM WorkItems WHERE Id='8563' WITH (ContineOn404Error='False')

Create a query to get work items by the Id of the work items in the default project for the organization.    [Read more...]

To learn more about Query syntax refer to this link https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/queries/wiql-syntax?view=azure-devops and this link https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/queries/query-operators-variables?view=azure-devops

SELECT * FROM WorkItems WITH (Query='SELECT * FROM WorkItems 
WHERE [System.Id] > 2000 AND [System.Id] < 7050 
	AND [System.TeamProject]=''ProductTesting''
	AND [System.ChangedDate] < @Today
	AND [System.CreatedDate] > @StartOfYear
	AND [System.WorkItemType]=''Task'' 
	AND [System.State]=''Resolved'' 
	AND [Microsoft.VSTS.Common.Priority] >= 1
	ORDER BY [System.ChangedDate] DESC
	')

Create a query to get work items by the Id of the work items in the specified project for the organization.    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM WorkItems WITH (Project='PosProject', Query='SELECT * FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.Id] = 2819')

Create a query to get work items by the types of work items in the default project for the organization.    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM WorkItems WITH (Query='SELECT * FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.WorkItemType] = ''Task''')

Create a new work item in the default project for the organization.    [Read more...]

INSERT INTO WorkItems (WorkItemType, Title, [CustomFieldText], [CustomFieldDate], [CustomFieldNumber])
VALUES ('task', 'Fix Issues in System', 'My Custom Text', '2021-01-01T23:59:59.123', 1000)

Create a new work item in a specific project.    [Read more...]

INSERT INTO WorkItems (WorkItemType, Title, [CustomFieldText], [CustomFieldDate], [CustomFieldNumber])
VALUES ('task', 'Fix Issues in System', 'My Custom Text', '2021-01-01T23:59:59.123', 1000)
WITH(Project='MyProject')

Create a new work with many fields in a specific project.    [Read more...]

INSERT INTO WorkItems  (   
      [WorkItemType]   
    , [Title] 
	, [Description] 
	, [Tags]
	, [AreaPath]  
	, [IterationPath] 
	, [AssignedTo] 
	, [Priority]
    , [Triage] 	
  --, [StackRank]  
	, [Blocked]  
	, [TaskType] 
	, [RequiresReview]
	, [RequiresTest] 
	, [IntegrationBuild] 
	, [FoundIn] 
	, [OriginalEstimate] 
	, [RemainingWork] 
	, [CompletedWork] 
	, [Size] 
	, [Effort] 
	, [TargetDate] 
	, [StartDate] 
	, [FinishDate] 
	, [DueDate] 
	, [StoryPoints] 
  --, [Discipline] 
	, [SystemInfo] 
	, [Steps] 
	, [ReproSteps] 
	--, [CustomFieldText]  --custom field prefix with CustomYOUR_FIELD_NAME_WITHOUT_SPACE_OR_DASH_OR_DOT
	--, [CustomFieldDate] 
	--, [CustomFieldNumber] 
	--, [CustomFieldDecimal] 
	--, [CustomFieldPickListString] 
	--, [CustomFieldPickListNum] 
)
VALUES (
      'Bug' -- Task, User Story -- WorkItemType
    , 'My Task Title - Created on <<FUN_NOW>>'  --Title
    , 'Some Description - Created on <<FUN_NOW>>' --Description
    , 'odata; api' --Tags
    , 'ProductTesting\SSISPowerPack' --AreaPath
    , 'ProductTesting\2021.6' --IterationPath
    , 'build@mycompany.com' --AssignedTo
    , 1 --Priority
    , 'Pending' --Triage
  --, ??? --[StackRank]
	, 'No' --Blocked
	, 'Planned' --TaskType
	, 'No' --RequiresReview
	, 'No' --RequiresTest
	, '101.1.2.3' --IntegrationBuild
	, '100.1.2.3' --FoundIn
	, 9999.111 --OriginalEstimate
	, 9999.222 --RemainingWork
	, 9999.333 --CompletedWork
	, 9999.444 --Size
	, 9999.555 --Effort
	, '2021-01-31' --TargetDate
	, '2022-01-31' --StartDate
	, '2023-01-31' --FinishDate
	, '2024-01-31' --DueDate
	, 100.5 --StoryPoints
  --, 'Some Discipline' --Discipline
	, 'Windows 10' --SystemInfo
	, 'Here are steps' --Steps
	, 'Here are steps to reproduce' --ReproSteps
	--, 'abcd'  --CustomFieldText
	--, '2021-01-31' --CustomFieldDate
	--, 9999  --CustomFieldNumber 
	--, 9999.123 --CustomFieldDecimal
	--, 'BBB' --CustomFieldPickListString
	--, '2' --CustomFieldPickListNum
)
WITH(Project='ProductTesting')

Update a specific work item by its Id.    [Read more...]

UPDATE WorkItems SET
Title = 'Renamed Work Item Title',
CustomMyField = 'New Custom Text'
WHERE Id = 7455

Update a work item by its Id (many columns).    [Read more...]

UPDATE WorkItems
SET   [Title] = 'Update-QA Task <<FUN_NOW>>'
	, [Description] = 'Updated desc <<FUN_NOW>>'
  --, [WorkItemType]='Bug' -- Task
	, [State] = 'Active'
	, [Tags] = 'odata; api'
	, [Revision] = 1
	, [AreaPath] = 'ProductTesting\SSISPowerPack'
	, [TeamProject] = 'ProductTesting'
	, [IterationPath] = 'ProductTesting\2021.6'
	, [Reason] = 'Reactivated'
	, [AssignedTo] = 'build@mycompany.com'
	, [Priority] = 1
  --, [Triage] = 'Pending'	
  --, [StackRank] = ???
	, [Blocked] = 'No'
	, [TaskType] = 'Planned'
	, [RequiresReview] = 'No'
	, [RequiresTest] = 'No'
	, [ActivatedDate] = '2021-01-31'
  --, [ResolvedReason] = 'Complete and Requires Review/Test'
	, [IntegrationBuild] = '101.1.2.3'
	, [FoundIn] = '100.1.2.3'
	, [OriginalEstimate] = 9999.123
	, [RemainingWork] = 9999.123
	, [CompletedWork] = 9999.123
	, [Size] = 9999.123
	, [Effort] = 9999.123
	, [TargetDate] = '2021-01-31'
	, [StartDate] = '2021-01-31'
	, [FinishDate] = '2021-01-31'
	, [DueDate] = '2021-01-31'
	, [StoryPoints] = 100.5
--	, [Discipline] = 'abcd'
	, [SystemInfo] = 'abcd'
	, [Steps] = 'abcd'
	, [ReproSteps] = 'abcd'
--	, [CustomFieldText] = 'abcd' 
--	, [CustomFieldDate] = '2021-01-31' 
--	, [CustomFieldNumber] = 9999  
--	, [CustomFieldDecimal] = 9999.123 
--	, [CustomFieldPickListString] = 'BBB' 
--	, [CustomFieldPickListNum] = '2' 
WHERE [Id] = 6455

Add Tags to an exising workitem.    [Read more...]

UPDATE WorkItems
SET   Tags = 'newtag1; newtag2'
WHERE Id = 6455
WITH(
	   Project='ProductTesting'
	  ,Operation='add'
)

Delete a specific work item by its Id.    [Read more...]

DELETE FROM WorkItems WHERE Id = 7455

Delete work items match with Wiql Query.    [Read more...]

DELETE FROM WorkItems
Where 1=1 
WITH(Query='SELECT * FROM WorkItems Where [System.TeamProject]=''MyProject'' AND ([System.Id]=6469 OR [System.Id]=6468) ')

Update work items match with Wiql Query.    [Read more...]

UPDATE WorkItems
Set Title='New Title - Updated on <<FUN_NOW>>'
Where 1=1 
WITH(Query='SELECT * FROM WorkItems Where [System.TeamProject]=''MyProject'' AND ([System.Id]=6469 OR [System.Id]=6468) ')

Get all comments for all work items    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM WorkItemComments

Get all comments for a work item    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM WorkItemComments 
WHERE WorkItemId=6455

Get a comment by Id for a work item    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM WorkItemComments 
WHERE WorkItemId=6455 and Id=5283490

Query work items using Wiql.    [Read more...]

This example shows how to use WIQL language to query Azure DevOps WorkItems. To learn more about WIQL Syntax you can refer this link https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/queries/wiql-syntax?view=azure-devops

SELECT 
	  Id
	, Title
	, Description
	, CreatedDate
	, Url
FROM WorkItems 
--WHERE Id=5283490 -- get just one comment for specific WorkItem Id
WITH(Query='SELECT * FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.TeamProject]=''ProductTesting'' and [System.Id]=6455 ORDER BY [System.Id] DESC')

Query work items using Wiql (with #DirectSQL Tag).    [Read more...]

This example shows how to use WIQL language to query Azure DevOps WorkItems using #DirectSQL pre processor to invoke server side query engine. This one is same as previous example except simplified SQL. To learn more about WIQL Syntax you can refer this link https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/queries/wiql-syntax?view=azure-devops

#DirectSQL SELECT * FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.TeamProject]=''ProductTesting'' and [System.Id]=6455 ORDER BY [System.Id] DESC')

Query Sprint Hours by Team Member - Esimated vs Actual Completed    [Read more...]

This query shows how to query total time spent by team members during a specific Sprint (i.e. Iteration Path). This query only works if your team is updating Original Estimate and Completed Hours on work item after they are done with the task.

SELECT 
	  IterationPath as Sprint
	, AssignedToUniqueName as AssignedTo
	, SUM(OriginalEstimate) as OriginalHours_Total
	, SUM(RemainingWork) as RemainingWork_Total
	, SUM(CompletedWork) as CompletedHours_Total
FROM WorkItems
GROUP BY IterationPath,AssignedToUniqueName
WITH(
	  Project='ProductTesting'
	  
	  --//On Preview UI Change [Max Rows] to use more sample rows - else it will use only 100 rows
	  ,Query='SELECT * FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.IterationPath] UNDER ''ProductTesting\Sprint 1'' and State IN(''Resolved'', ''Closed'')'
	  
	  --Use below to query all sprints for this Product
	  --,Query='SELECT * FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.IterationPath] UNDER ''ProductTesting\'' and State IN(''Resolved'', ''Closed'')'
)

Read more than 20000 work items (UNION ALL).    [Read more...]

By default Azure DevOps API returns max 20000 items. If you want more than 20000 items then you can try below technique. Run enire query at once. Basically it creates many temp table each consisting 20000 rows each and then in final query we do UNION ALL

SELECT * INTO #t1 FROM WorkItems WITH(Project='ProductTesting', Query='SELECT * FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.Id]>=1 and [System.Id]<20000');
SELECT * INTO #t2 FROM WorkItems WITH(Project='ProductTesting', Query='SELECT * FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.Id]>=20000 and [System.Id]<40000');
SELECT * INTO #t3 FROM WorkItems WITH(Project='ProductTesting', Query='SELECT * FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.Id]>=40000 and [System.Id]<60000');
--//....
--//add more temp tables above and update UNION ALL too

SELECT * FROM #t1 
UNION ALL 
SELECT * FROM #t2
UNION ALL 
SELECT * FROM #t3
;

Query work item comments using Wiql.    [Read more...]

SELECT 
	  Id
	, WorkItemId
	, Text
	, RenderedText
	, Format
	, CreatedDate
	, CreatedByUniqueName
	, CreatedById
	, CreatedByDisplayName
	, ModifiedDate
	, ModifiedByUniqueName
	, ModifiedById
	, ModifiedByDisplayName
	, Url
FROM WorkItemComments 
--WHERE Id=5283490 -- get just one comment for specific WorkItem Id
WITH(Query='SELECT [System.Id] FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.TeamProject]=''ProductTesting'' and [System.Id]=6455 ORDER BY [System.Id] DESC')

Create work item comment    [Read more...]

INSERT INTO WorkItemComments(WorkItemId, Text)
VALUES(6455, 'Adding <b>html comment</b> - created on <<FUN_NOW>>')
WITH(Project='ProductTesting')

Update work item comment    [Read more...]

UPDATE WorkItemComments
SET Text='Updating <b>html comment</b> - updated on <<FUN_NOW>>'
Where WorkItemId=6455 and Id=5284411
WITH(Project='ProductTesting')

Delete a specific work item by its Id.    [Read more...]

DELETE FROM WorkItemComments WHERE WorkItemId=6455 and Id=5284411

Upload file (attachment).    [Read more...]

SELECT *
FROM generic_request
WITH(
	  Url='YOUR_ORGANIZATION/YOUR_PROJECT/_apis/wit/attachments?api-version=7.0',
	  RequestMethod='POST',
	  RequestContentTypeCode='ApplicationOctetStream', --//Binary upload
	  --Headers='Content-Type: application/octet-stream', --//same as above
	  Body='@c:\temp\screeenshot-1.png',
	  IsMultiPart=1,
	  Meta='id:string(100);url:string(500)' --response columns you like to display
)

Add link to an exising WorkItem (add attachment as reference link).    [Read more...]

If you know the attachment file URL you can use that in below query and attach a link to an exising WorkItem

SELECT *
FROM generic_request
WITH(
	  Url='YOUR_ORGANIZATION/YOUR_PROJECT/_apis/wit/workitems/WORK_ITEM_NUMBER?api-version=7.0',
	  RequestMethod='PATCH',
	  Headers='Content-Type: application/json-patch+json',
	  Meta='id:int; fields.System.Title:string; fields.System.State:string; fields.System.WorkItemType:string; relations:string(4000)',
	  Body='
[
  {
    "op": "add",
    "path": "/fields/System.History",
    "value": "Adding the necessary spec"
  },
  {
    "op": "add",
    "path": "/relations/-",
    "value": {
      "rel": "AttachedFile",
      "url": "https://dev.azure.com/YOUR_ORGANIZATION/YOUR_PROJECT/_apis/wit/attachments/ATTACHMENT_ID?fileName=Screenshot.png",
      "attributes": {
        "comment": "Error screenshot"
      }
    }
  }
]
'
)

Get a list of projects associated with your Azure DevOps organization.    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM Projects

Get specific columns from a list of projects associated with your Azure DevOps organization.    [Read more...]

SELECT Id, Name, Description, Url, State, Revision, Visibility, LastUpdateTime FROM Projects

Get details about a specific project by its Id.    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM Projects WHERE Id='a80fb082-f7c4-4345-911d-1c05ad1b1fc9'

Create a new project for your organization.    [Read more...]

INSERT INTO Projects (Name, Abbreviation, Description, SourceControlType, Visibility)
VALUES
('My New Project', 'MNP',
'The system we use for implementing point-of-service walk-in payment systems.',
'Git', 'private')

Update an existing project for your organization by referencing its Id.    [Read more...]

UPDATE Projects SET Description = 'The system we use for implementing point-of-service walk-in payment systems and phone payments.'
WHERE Id='1be9ccef-45d7-4574-af67-7dc6c0699b6a'

Delete the specified project from your organization.    [Read more...]

DELETE FROM Projects WHERE Id='85kd1641-5555-49b1-9c5e-22c22a61d4c4'

Get a list of all teams associated with your organization and default project.    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM Teams

Get a list of all teams associated with your organization and the specified project Id.    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM Teams WITH (Project='841e1641-325d-49b1-9c5e-22c11a61d4c4')

Get specific columns of a list of all teams associated with your organization and default project.    [Read more...]

SELECT Id, Name, ProjectId, ProjectName, Url, Description, IdentityUrl FROM Teams

Get details about a specific team within your default project by its team Id.    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM Teams WHERE Id='a0aa750f-1550-44af-a056-223696077df6'

Create a team within the default project for the organization.    [Read more...]

INSERT INTO Teams (Name, Description) VALUES
('PosProject Team', 'This is the team who will be working on the Point of Service project.')

Create a team within the specified project for the organization.    [Read more...]

INSERT INTO Teams (Name, Description) VALUES
('PosProject Team', 'This is the team who will be working on the Point of Service project.')
WITH (ProjectId='85kd1641-5555-49b1-9c5e-22c22a61d4c4')

Update a team within the default project for the organization by its team Id.    [Read more...]

UPDATE Teams SET	Name = 'PointOfServiceProject Team' WHERE Id='8djr4d07-5555-5555-9552-0b6d7je99w7f'

Delete the specified team by its Id.    [Read more...]

DELETE FROM Teams WHERE Id='8djr4d07-5555-5555-9552-0b6d7je99w7f'

Get a list of audit records for the organization.    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM AuditRecords

Get specific columns from a list of audit records for the organization.    [Read more...]

SELECT Id, CorrelationId, ActivityId, ActorCUID, ActorUserId, AuthenticationMechanism,
Timestamp, ScopeType, ScopeDisplayName, ScopeId, IpAddress, UserAgent, ActionId, ProjectId, ProjectName,
ProcessTemplate, ProjectVisibility, StartTime, EndTime, BatchSize, EventSummary, Details, Area, Category,
CategoryDisplayName, ActorDisplayName, ActorImageUrl FROM AuditRecords

Get a list of predefined queries    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM get_queries
WITH(
	Project='Odbc'
)

Get workitems for a predefiended query id    [Read more...]

If you created a shared query for team or your private query then you can get result of that by query id

SELECT * FROM get_workitems_by_query_id
WITH(
	  Query='e5150e18-1323-485d-8937-6991bf09ab1c' --see get_queries endpoint
	, Project='Odbc'
)

Conclusion

In this article we discussed how to connect to Azure DevOps in MS Excel and integrate data without any coding. Click here to Download Azure DevOps 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 Azure DevOps Connector for MS Excel Documentation 

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  • How to connect Azure DevOps in MS Excel?

  • How to get Azure DevOps data in MS Excel?

  • How to read Azure DevOps data in MS Excel?

  • How to load Azure DevOps data in MS Excel?

  • How to import Azure DevOps data in MS Excel?

  • How to pull Azure DevOps data in MS Excel?

  • How to push data to Azure DevOps in MS Excel?

  • How to write data to Azure DevOps in MS Excel?

  • How to POST data to Azure DevOps in MS Excel?

  • Call Azure DevOps API in MS Excel

  • Consume Azure DevOps API in MS Excel

  • Azure DevOps MS Excel Automate

  • Azure DevOps MS Excel Integration

  • Integration Azure DevOps in MS Excel

  • Consume real-time Azure DevOps data in MS Excel

  • Consume real-time Azure DevOps API data in MS Excel

  • Azure DevOps ODBC Driver | ODBC Driver for Azure DevOps | ODBC Azure DevOps Driver | SSIS Azure DevOps Source | SSIS Azure DevOps Destination

  • Connect Azure DevOps in MS Excel

  • Load Azure DevOps in MS Excel

  • Load Azure DevOps data in MS Excel

  • Read Azure DevOps data in MS Excel

  • Azure DevOps API Call in MS Excel