Power BI Google Calendar Connector

In this article you will learn how to integrate Google Calendar data to Power BI without coding in just a few clicks (live / bi-directional connection to Google Calendar). Read / write Google Calendar data inside your app; perform many Google Calendar operations without coding, just using easy to use high performance API Connector for Google Calendar.

Using Google Calendar Connector you will be able to connect, read, and write data from within Power BI. Follow the steps below to see how we would accomplish that.

Download  Help File  Buy 

Video Tutorial - Integrate Google Calendar data in Power BI

This video covers following and more so watch carefully. After watching this video follow the steps described in this article.

  • How to download / install required driver for Google Calendar integration in Power BI
  • How to configure connection for Google Calendar
  • Features about API Driver (Authentication / Query Language / Examples / Driver UI)
  • Using Google Calendar Connection in Power BI

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

To get data from GoogleCalendar using Power BI we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from GoogleCalendar. We will later be able to read data using Power BI. 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 System 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 "Google Calendar" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Google Calendar" 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:

    GoogleCalendarDSN
    Google Calendar
    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 Google Calendar Credentials

    To make this work you will have to create an OAuth application. To register an App, perform the following steps (Detailed steps found in the help link at the end):

    1. Go to Google API Console
    2. From the Project Dropdown (usually found at the top bar) click Select Project
    3. On Project Propup click CREATE PROJECT
    4. Once project is created you can click Select Project to switch the context (You can click on Notification link or Choose from Top Dropdown)
    5. Click ENABLE APIS AND SERVICES
    6. Now we need to enable Google Drive API.
    7. Search Google Drive API. Select and click ENABLE
    8. Go to back to main screen of Google API Console
    9. Click OAuth Concent Screen Tab. Enter necessary details and Save.
    10. Click Credentials Tab
    11. Click CREATE CREDENTIALS (some where in topbar) and select OAuth Client ID option.
    12. When prompted Select Application Type as Desktop App and click Create to receive your ClientID and Secret. You can use this information now to configure Connection with UseCustomApp=true.

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

    GoogleCalendarDSN
    Google Calendar
    User Account [OAuth]
    https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/
    Required Parameters
    UseCustomApp Fill in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    ClientId Fill in the parameter...
    ClientSecret Fill in the parameter...
    Scope 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 Google Calendar Credentials
    Use these steps to authenticate as service account rather than Google / GSuite User. Learn more about service account here

    Basically to call Google API as Service account we need to perform following steps listed in 3 sections (Detailed steps found in the help link at the end)

    Create Project

    First thing is create a Project so we can call Google API. Skip this section if you already have Project (Go to next section)
    1. Go to Google API Console
    2. From the Project Dropdown (usually found at the top bar) click Select Project
    3. On Project Propup click CREATE PROJECT
    4. Once project is created you can click Select Project to switch the context (You can click on Notification link or Choose from Top Dropdown)
    5. Click ENABLE APIS AND SERVICES
    6. Now we need to enable API - Google Calendar API
    7. Search Drive. Select and click ENABLE

    Create Service Account

    Once Project is created and APIs are enabled we can now create a service account under that project. Service account has its ID which looks like some email ID (not to confuse with Google /Gmail email ID)
    1. Go to Create Service Account
    2. From the Project Dropdown (usually found at the top bar) click Select Project
    3. Enter Service account name and Service account description
    4. For Role, do not select anything for now and Click Continue and then click Done. Next we will create Key.

    Create Key

    Once service account is created we need to create key file (i.e. credentials).
    1. In the Cloud Console, click the email address for the service account that you created.
    2. Click Keys.
    3. Click Add key, then click Create new key.
    4. Click Create and select P12 format. A P12 key file is downloaded to your computer. We will use this file in our API connection.
    5. Click Close.
    6. Now you may use downloaded *.p12 key file as secret file and Service Account Email as Client ID (e.g. some-service-account-name@your-project-id.iam.gserviceaccount.com ).

    Add Permission

    Now last thing is give read/write permission to Service Account for Calendar you like to access using API.
    1. Copy the email address of your service account we created in previous step (its usually like this some-service-account-name@your-project-id.iam.gserviceaccount.com).
    2. Login to https://calendar.google.com/calendar and make sure you see the calendar you like to access via API
    3. On the left, find the "My calendars" section. To expand it, click the Down arrow Down arrow.
    4. Hover over the calendar you want to share, and click 3 dots next to it. Click "Settings and sharing".
    5. Find "Share with specific people", Click Add people button and enter the service account email id we obtained in the previous section.
    6. Select correct permission you like to give for sharing. Click Send button to share. Thats it now we can read / write Calendar Events using Service account approach.
    7. For more information check this link https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37082?hl=en

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

    GoogleCalendarDSN
    Google Calendar
    Service Account (Using Private Key File) [OAuth]
    https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/
    Required Parameters
    Service Account Email Fill in the parameter...
    Service Account Private Key Path (i.e. *.p12) Fill in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    Scope 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

  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.

Read Google Calendar data in Power BI from ODBC

  1. Once you open Power BI Desktop click Get Data to get data from ODBC:
    Power Bi Get Data

  2. A window opens, and then search for "odbc" to get data from ODBC data source:
    Power Bi ODBC Get Data

  3. Another window opens and asks to select a Data Source we already created. Choose GoogleCalendarDSN and continue:

    GoogleCalendarDSN
    Power Bi Select ZappySys Driver DSN

  4. 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:

    GoogleCalendarDSN
    Power Bi DSN Authenticaation

  5. Finally, you will be asked to select a table or view to get data from. Select one and load the data!
    Power Bi Load DSN Table Data

  6. Finally, use data extracted from Google Calendar API in Power BI reports:
    Power Bi Extracted DSN Table Data

Import Google Calendar data into Power BI from SQL Query

If you wish to import Google Calendar data from SQL query rather than selecting table name then you can use advanced options during import steps (as below). After selecting DSN you can click on advanced options to see SQL Query editor.

Import Google Calendar data into Power BI using SQL Query (ODBC Data source)

Import Google Calendar data into Power BI using SQL Query (ODBC Data source)

Edit Query / Using Parameters in Power BI (Dynamic Query)

In the real world, many values of your REST / SOAP API call may be coming from Parameters. If that's the case for you can try to edit script manually as below. In below example its calling SQL Query with POST method and passing some parameters. Notice below where paraAPIKey is Power BI Parameter (string type). You can use parameters anywhere in your script just like the normal variable.

Import Google Calendar in Power BI - Using parameters in SQL Query (Edit code - Advanced Mode)

 

let
    vKey=paraAPIKey,
    Source = Odbc.Query(
    "dsn=ZS-OData Customers", 
    "SELECT * FROM value WITH (SRC='http://httpbin.org/post'," 
    & "METHOD='POST'," 
    & "HEADER='Content-Type:application/json'," 
    & "BODY=@'{""CallerId"":1111, ""ApiKey"":""" & vKey & """}')")
in
Source

Edit Query Settings after Import

There will be a time you need to change initial Query after dataset import in Power BI. Not to worry, just follow these steps to edit your SQL.

Edit Power BI Data Source SQL after SOAP Web Service Import

Edit Power BI Data Source SQL after REST / SOAP Web Service Import

Using DirectQuery Option rather than Import

So far we have seen how to Import Google Calendar data into Power BI but what if you have too much data and you dont want to import but link it. Power BI Offers very useful feature for this scenario. Its called DirectQuery Option. In this section we will explore how to use DirectQuery along with ZappySys Drivers. Out of the box ZappySys Drivers wont work in ODBC Connection Mode so you have to use SQL Server Connection rather than ODBC if you wish to use Live data using DirectQuery option. See below step by step instructions to enable DirectQuery mode in Power BI for Google Calendar data. Basically we will use ZappySys Data Gateway its part of ODBC PowerPack. We will then use Linked Server in SQL Server to Link API Service and then we will issue OPENROWSET queries from Power BI to SQL Server and it will then call Google Calendar via ZappySys Data Gateway.

Step-By-Step - How to query Google Calendar API in SQL Server

  1. First read this article carefully, How to query Google Calendar API in SQL Server.
  2. Once linked server is configured we are ready to issue API query in Power BI.
  3. Click Get Data in Power BI, select SQL Server Database
  4. Enter your server name and any database name
  5. Select Mode as DirectQuery
  6. Click on Advanced and enter query like below (we are assuming you have created Google Calendar Data Source in Data Gateway and defined linked server (Change name below).
    Select * from OPENQUERY([GOOGLE CALENDAR_LINKED_SERVER],'SELECT * FROM Customers')
    Select * from OPENQUERY(
    [GOOGLE CALENDAR_LINKED_SERVER],
    'SELECT * FROM Customers'
    )
    DirectQuery option for Power BI (Read Google Calendar Data Example using SQL Server Linked Server and ZappySys Data Gateway)


    DirectQuery option for Power BI (Read Google Calendar Data Example using SQL Server Linked Server and ZappySys Data Gateway)

  7. Click OK and Load data ... That's it. Now your Google Calendar API data is linked rather than imported.

Working with Gateways in Power BI (Schedule Import)

If the data needs to be updated, it is necessary to create a gateway on-premises. In this new section, we will install a Power BI Gateway and in the next section schedule it to update the Google Calendar information.
  1. In the last section, we Published the report. Power BI may ask you to SIGN IN.
    Sign in Power BI

    Sign in Power BI

  2. Select the Workspace and select Datasets
    Go do workspace and select dataset

    Go to workspace and dataset

  3. Right-click the report and select Settings.
    Define settings for Power BI report

    Specify settings for the report

  4. The system will ask for a Gateway. Stay here.
    add power bi gateway

    Add Power BI Gateway

  5. Use the following link to install a Data Gateway:
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/service-gateway-onprem
  6. Run the installer and press Next
    Initial gateway window for installation

    Gateway installer

  7. Select the option On-premises data gateway (recommended). This option allows access to multiple users and can be used by more applications than Power BI.
    Choose Power BI gateway

    Choose Power BI option

  8. The installer will show a warning message.
    Warning message gateway installation

    Warning message during installation

  9. Select the path to install and check the I accept the terms.
    accept terms

    Accept terms

  10. Specify the email address to use the gateway.
    Register email in gateway installation

    Register email address

  11. After entering the email, write the gateway name and a recovery key. Make sure to confirm the recovery key.
    Specify name and recovery key

    Enter recovery key

Manage gateways and configure the schedule

Once that the gateway is installed we will configure it and add the connection strings.
  1. The next step is to go to manage gateway
    Power BI - Manage Gateway Setting

    Power BI - Manage Gateway Setting

  2. In order to get the connection string, we will need the connection string of the ZappySys API Driver. In the first section of this post, we explained how to configure it. Press Copy Connection String
    ZappySys connection properties

    Connection properties

  3. Once that the data is copied, add a New data Source. In Data Source Name, enter the Data Source Name of the ZappySys API Driver in step 13 and in Data Source Type, select ODBC. In connection string copy and paste from the clipboard of the step 13 and press Add.
    Zappy connection properties

    ZappySys connection properties in Power BI

  4. Once added the gateway. You can see the schedule refresh to On and Add another time to add the time where you want to refresh the data.
    Schedule gateway

    Schedule gateway

Create Custom Store 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 Store 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 Store Procedure

  2. Enter the desired Procedure name and click on OK:
    ZappySys Driver - Add Store Procedure Name

  3. Select the created Store Procedure and write the your desired store procedure and Save it and it will create the custom store 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 Store Procedure

  4. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your Store 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 Store Procedure

  5. Let's generate the SQL Server Query Code to make the API call using store 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 store 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 store 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 store procedure and provide you the response.
    ZappySys Driver - Generate SQL Server Query

Conclusion

In this article we discussed how to connect to Google Calendar in Power BI and integrate data without any coding. Click here to Download Google Calendar Connector for Power BI 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 Google Calendar Connector for Power BI Documentation 

Actions supported by Google Calendar Connector

Google Calendar 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.
 List calendars
Lists calendars    [Read more...]
 List events
Lists events    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
CalendarId
 Get event
Gets event    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
CalendarId
EventId
 Create event
Creates event    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
CalendarId
 Delete event
Deletes event    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
CalendarId
EventId
 Move event to another calendar
Moves event from one calendar to another    [Read more...]
Parameter Description
SourceCalendarId
TargetCalendarId
EventId
 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 Check 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

Google Calendar Connector Examples for Power BI 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.

List calendars    [Read more...]

Lists calendars

SELECT * FROM Calendars

List events    [Read more...]

Lists events

SELECT * FROM Events
  WITH (CalendarId='MyCalendarId')

Get event    [Read more...]

Gets event

SELECT * FROM get_event
  WITH (CalendarId='MyCalendarId'
       ,EventId='MyEventId')

Create event    [Read more...]

Creates event

INSERT INTO Events(StartsAt, StartsInTimeZone, EndsAt, EndsInTimeZone, Summary,
  Attendees, Description, Location, Status, Transparency, Visibility)
  VALUES ('2021-11-26T16:30:50', 'Europe/Vilnius', '2021-11-27T16:30:50','Europe/Vilnius', 'This is an event',
          null, 'My Description', 'Vilnius', 'confirmed', 'opaque', 'default')
  WITH (CalendarId='YourCalendarId')

Get event    [Read more...]

Gets event

DELETE FROM Events
    WITH (CalendarId='MyCalendarId',
    EventId='MyEventId')

Move event to a different calendar    [Read more...]

Moves event to a different calendar

UPDATE move_event
  WITH (SourceCalendarId='MySourceCalendarId',
  TargetCalendarId='MyTargetCalendarId',
  EventId='MyEventId'
  )

Other App Integration scenarios for Google Calendar

Other Connectors for Power BI


Download Google Calendar Connector for Power BI Documentation 

  • How to connect Google Calendar in Power BI?

  • How to get Google Calendar data in Power BI?

  • How to read Google Calendar data in Power BI?

  • How to load Google Calendar data in Power BI?

  • How to import Google Calendar data in Power BI?

  • How to pull Google Calendar data in Power BI?

  • How to push data to Google Calendar in Power BI?

  • How to write data to Google Calendar in Power BI?

  • How to POST data to Google Calendar in Power BI?

  • Call Google Calendar API in Power BI

  • Consume Google Calendar API in Power BI

  • Google Calendar Power BI Automate

  • Google Calendar Power BI Integration

  • Integration Google Calendar in Power BI

  • Consume real-time Google Calendar data in Power BI

  • Consume realtime Google Calendar API data in Power BI

  • Google Calendar ODBC Driver | ODBC Driver for Google Calendar | ODBC Google Calendar Driver | SSIS Google Calendar Source | SSIS Google Calendar Destination

  • Connect Google Calendar in Power BI

  • Load Google Calendar in Power BI

  • Load Google Calendar data in Power BI

  • Read Google Calendar data in Power BI

  • Google Calendar API Call in Power BI