Building a Custom API Connector for SAP Crystal Reports Read / write Custom API data in SAP Crystal Reports without coding. In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Custom API data in SAP Crystal Reports without coding. We will use high-performance Custom API Connector to easily connect to Custom API and then access the data inside SAP Crystal Reports. Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that! Download Documentation Building a Custom API 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 Custom API Connector in other apps Custom API Connector for SSIS Custom API Connector for SQL Server Custom API Connector for Power BI Custom API Connector for SSRS Custom API Connector for Informatica Custom API Connector for MS Access Custom API Connector for MS Excel Custom API Connector for SSAS Custom API Connector for C# Custom API Connector for Python Custom API Connector for JAVA Custom API Connector for Tableau Custom API Connector for Azure Data Factory (Pipeline) Custom API Connector for Azure Data Factory (SSIS) Custom API Connector for Talend Studio Custom API Connector for UiPath Custom API Connector for PowerShell Custom API Connector for ODBC

Create Custom API Connector

First of all, you will have to create your own API connector. For demonstration purposes, in this section we will create a simple Hello-World API connector that calls ZappySys Sandbox World API endpoint https://sandbox.zappysys.com/api/world/hello. When developing your Custom API Connector, just replace it with your real API method/endpoint. Let's dive in and follow these steps:

1. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):

   

2. Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ZappySys JSON Driver

   ZappySys JSON Driver

   

3. Once the data source configuration window opens, enter this URL into the text box:

   https://sandbox.zappysys.com/api/world/hello

   

4. Then go to the Preview tab and try to say "Hello!" to the World!

   

5. Since the test is successful, you are ready to create the Hello-World Connector:

   

6. The API Connector File Wizard opens, click Next:

   

7. Leave the default option, and click Next again:

   

8. Just click Next in the next window:

   

9. Let's give our new custom connector a name it deserves:

   

10. Then just click Next in the Connection Types window:

    

11. Let's name the hello endpoint (it deserves a name too!):

    

12. When the next window opens, delete the default table (we won't need it for now):

    

13. Finally, specify a path, where you want to save the newly created API Connector:

    

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

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from Custom API using SAP Crystal Reports we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from Custom API. 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):

   

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

   ZappySys API Driver

   

4. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already. Then set the path to your created Custom API Connector (in the example below, we use Hello-World Connector). Finally, click Continue >> to proceed:

   

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). Check your Custom API reference for more information on how to authenticate.

   

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 - Custom API Connector

   Read / write Custom API data in SAP Crystal Reports without coding.

   CustomApiConnectorDSN

   

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 Custom API Connector. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.

   SELECT * FROM Orders

   
   Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Custom API Connector 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 - Custom API Connector

   Read / write Custom API data in SAP Crystal Reports without coding.

   CustomApiConnectorDSN

   SELECT * FROM Orders

   
   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 Custom API Connector 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 Custom API Connector 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.
   

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 CustomApiConnectorDSN which we created in upper section. And Click on Next.
   

   CustomApiConnectorDSN

   

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

   CustomApiConnectorDSN

   CustomApiConnectorDSN

   

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

5. 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

Using Custom Views in the SAP Crystal Report

CustomApiConnectorDSN

CustomApiConnectorDSN

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.
   
2. After establishing the connection with CustomApiConnectorDSN 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.
   CustomApiConnectorDSN

   

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to Custom API 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 Custom API Connector, but to any Java application that supports JDBC (just use a different JDBC driver and configure it appropriately).

We encourage you to download Custom API 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 Custom API Connector for SAP Crystal Reports Documentation

More integrations

Other connectors for SAP Crystal Reports

Amazon Ads

Amazon Athena

Amazon Selling Partner (SP-API)

Apache Derby

Apache Hive

Apache Spark

Asana

Azure DevOps

Cosmos DB

DropBox

ElasticSearch

FastSpring

Google Ads

Google BigQuery

Google Calendar

Google Drive

Google Sheets

Hubspot

Infor Data Lake

Jira

Mailchimp

ManagedEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)

MariaDB

OData

OneDrive

Outlook Mail (Office 365)

Power BI

ServiceNow

SharePoint Online

Shopify

Smartsheet

Starburst

Stripe

Trino

YouTube

Zendesk

Zoho CRM

Zoho SalesIQ

Zoom

REST API

JSON

JSON File

XML

SOAP

XML File

JDBC-ODBC Bridge

Salesforce

CSV

Amazon S3 JSON File

Amazon S3 XML File

Amazon S3 CSV File

Azure Blob JSON File

Azure Blob XML File

Azure Blob CSV File

FTP/SFTP JSON File

FTP/SFTP XML File

FTP/SFTP CSV File

Build your own Custom API Connector

Other application integration scenarios for Custom API

SSIS

SQL Server

Power BI

SSRS

Informatica

MS Access

MS Excel

SSAS

C#

Python

JAVA

Tableau

Azure Data Factory (Pipeline)

Azure Data Factory (SSIS)

Talend Studio

UiPath

PowerShell

ODBC

Common Searches: