Azure DevOps Connector for SAP Crystal ReportsAzure 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 SAP Crystal Reports without coding. We will use high-performance Azure DevOps Connector to easily connect to Azure DevOps and then access the data inside SAP Crystal Reports. Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that! Azure DevOps Connector for SAP Crystal Reports 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
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Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver
Step-by-step instructions
To get data from Azure DevOps using SAP Crystal Reports 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 SAP Crystal Reports. Perform these steps:
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Download and install ODBC PowerPack.
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Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
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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.
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Create and use User DSN
if the client application is run under a User Account.
This is an ideal option
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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:
AzureDevopsDSNAzure DevOps -
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 Azure DevOps credentials
Connecting to your Azure DevOps data requires you to authenticate your REST API access. Follow the instructions below:- Go to https://app.vsaex.visualstudio.com/app/register to register your app.
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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). - Select Create Application and then the Application Settings page will be displayed.
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Record the App ID for us to use later:
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And do the same with Client Secret:
- Then go to https://aex.dev.azure.com and select relevant organization on the left.
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Then copy Organization's host name part (e.g.
acmeinc
, if full host name isacmeinc.visualstudio.com
), save it to a file, and click it: - Back at the connector screen, enter the App ID into the Client Id (App ID) field that was recorded in the previous step.
- 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.
- Enter the organization that was recorded in step 5 into the Organization name or Id for url field.
- 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.
- Select the project you want to connect to by default from the Default Project (Choose after Generating Token) field.
- Select the Security tab.
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Enter
https://auditservice.dev.azure.com,https://almsearch.dev.azure.com
into the Additional Trusted Domains field. - Select the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Azure DevOps account.
- If the connection test succeeds, select OK.
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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:
AzureDevopsDSNAzure DevOpsOAuth [OAuth]https://dev.azure.comRequired 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 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:- Start by by going to https://aex.dev.azure.com and selecting relevant organization on the left.
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Then copy Organization's host name part (e.g.
acmeinc
, if full host name isacmeinc.visualstudio.com
), save it to a file, and click it: -
Next, click User settings icon and then click Personal access tokens:
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Then click New Token button to create a new personal access token:
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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.
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Now click Copy button and save the newly created token into a file for quick access later:
- Go back to the connector screen, input the token you saved in a previous step into the Personal Access Token (PAT) field.
- Then enter the Organization host name part that you noted recorded in previous step into Organization name or Id for url field.
- Enter the name or Id of the project you want to connect to by default in the Default Project (Choose after above fields) field.
- Select the Security tab.
- Enter
https://auditservice.dev.azure.com,https://almsearch.dev.azure.com,https://analytics.dev.azure.com
into the Additional Trusted Domains field. - Select the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Azure DevOps account.
- Done!
Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:
AzureDevopsDSNAzure DevOpsPersonal Access Token (PAT) [Http]https://dev.azure.comRequired 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 -
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 DevOpsAzure 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 -
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 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 datamuch faster . -
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 - Azure DevOpsAzure 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.AzureDevopsDSNSELECT * FROM Projects
You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.AWHERE
clause,LIMIT
keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that thewhole 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). -
Click OK to finish creating the data source.
Video Tutorial
Read data in SAP Crystal Reports from the ODBC data source
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First of all, open SAP Crystal Reports and create the new Crystal Report.
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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 AzureDevopsDSN which we created in upper section. And Click on Next.
AzureDevopsDSN -
Expand the Connection and under the data select the desired table(s) or view(s) and click Add > button and click on Next.
AzureDevopsDSNAzureDevopsDSN -
Add the desired Fields to Display in the Reports. Here we are adding all fields and click on Finish.
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That's it and you will be able to load the data in the Report.
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 AzureDevopsDSN Data Source you can use the custom view in SQL Crystal Report.
Using Custom Stored Procedure in the SAP Crystal Report
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First of all, create the custom stored procedure in the ZappySys Driver. Please refer to this article to create the custom stored procedure.
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After establishing the connection with AzureDevopsDSN 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.
AzureDevopsDSN
Actions supported by Azure DevOps Connector
Learn how to perform common Azure DevOps actions directly in SAP Crystal Reports 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 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 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 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 Azure DevOps Connector for SAP Crystal Reports Documentation
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