Jira Connector for MS Access

Jira Connector can be used to integrate Jira and your defined data source, e.g. Microsoft SQL, Oracle, Excel, Power BI, etc. Get, write, delete Issues, Users, Worklogs, Comments just in a few clicks!

In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Jira data in MS Access without coding. We will use high-performance Jira Connector to easily connect to Jira and then access the data inside MS Access.

Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that!

Download Documentation

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

Step-by-step instructions

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

  1. Download and install ODBC PowerPack.

  2. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):

    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
    • Create and use User DSN if the client application is run under a User Account. This is an ideal option in design-time, when developing a solution, e.g. in Visual Studio 2019. Use it for both type of applications - 64-bit and 32-bit.
    • Create and use System DSN if the client application is launched under a System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. Usually, this is an ideal option to use in a production environment. Use ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit), instead of 64-bit version, if Windows Service is a 32-bit application.
  4. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Jira" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Jira" 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:

    JiraDSN
    Jira
    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 how to get and use Jira credentials
    Firstly, login into your Atlassian account and then go to your Jira profile:

    1. Go to Profile > Security.
    2. Click Create and manage API tokens.
    3. Then click Create API token button and give your token a label.
    4. When window appears with new API token, copy and use it in this connection manager.
    5. That's it!

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

    JiraDSN
    Jira
    API Key based Authentication [Http]
    https://[$Subdomain$].atlassian.net/rest/api/3
    Required Parameters
    Subdomain Fill-in the parameter...
    Atlassian User Name (email) Fill-in the parameter...
    API Key Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    CustomColumnsRegex
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration
    Steps how to get and use Jira credentials
    Follow official Atlassian instructions on how to create a PAT (Personal Access Token) for JIRA

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

    JiraDSN
    Jira
    Personal Access Token (PAT) Authentication [Http]
    https://[$Subdomain$].atlassian.net/rest/api/3
    Required Parameters
    Subdomain Fill-in the parameter...
    Token (PAT Bearer Token) Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    CustomColumnsRegex
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

    OAuth App must be created in Atlassian Developer Console. It is found at https://developer.atlassian.com/console/myapps/ [API reference]

    Steps how to get and use Jira credentials
    Firstly, login into your Atlassian account and then create Jira application:

    1. Go to Atlassian Developer area.
    2. Click Create and select OAuth 2.0 integration item to create an OAuth app:

      Create OAuth integration app in Atlassian
    3. Give your app a name, accept the terms and hit Create:

      Name OAuth app in Atlassian
    4. To enable permissions/scopes for your application, click Permissions tab, then hit Add button, and click Configure button, once it appears:

      Enable scopes in OAuth app in Atlassian
    5. Continue by hitting Edit Scopes button to assign scopes for the application:

      Edit scopes in OAuth app in Atlassian
    6. Select these scopes or all of them:

      Add Jira scopes in OAuth app in Atlassian
    7. Then click Authorization option on the left and click Add button:

      Add authorization in OAuth app in Atlassian
    8. Enter your own Callback URL (Redirect URL) or simply enter https://zappysys.com/oauth, if you don't have one:

      Set callback URL for OAuth app in Atlassian
    9. Then hit Settings option and copy Client ID and Secret into your favorite text editor (we will need them in the next step):

      Get Jira data via REST API and OAuth
    10. Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and in OAuth authentication set these parameters:

      • For ClientId parameter use Client ID value from the previous steps.
      • For ClientSecret parameter use Secret value from the previous steps.
      • For Scope parameter use the Scopes you set previously (specify them all here):
        • offline_access (a must)
        • read:jira-user
        • read:jira-work
        • write:jira-work
        • manage:jira-project
        • manage:jira-configuration
        NOTE: A full list of available scopes is available in Atlassian documentation.
      • For Subdomain parameter use your Atlassian subdomain value (e.g. mycompany, if full host name is mycompany.atlassian.net).
    11. Click Generate Token to generate tokens.
    12. Finally, select Organization Id from the drop down.
    13. That's it! You can now use Jira Connector!

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

    JiraDSN
    Jira
    OAuth (**Must change API Base URL to V3 OAuth**) [OAuth]
    https://[$Subdomain$].atlassian.net/rest/api/3
    Required Parameters
    ClientId Fill-in the parameter...
    ClientSecret Fill-in the parameter...
    Scope Fill-in the parameter...
    ReturnUrl Fill-in the parameter...
    Organization Id (Select after clicking [Generate Token]) Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    Custom Columns for output (Select after clicking [Generate Token])
    ODBC DSN Oauth Connection Configuration

  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 - Jira
    Jira Connector can be used to integrate Jira and your defined data source, e.g. Microsoft SQL, Oracle, Excel, Power BI, etc. Get, write, delete Issues, Users, Worklogs, Comments just in a few clicks!
    JiraDSN
    Open Query Builder in API ODBC Driver to read and write data to REST API
  7. Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in MS Access to retrieve data from Jira. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.

    SELECT * FROM Issues
    Configure table/endpoint parameters in ODBC data source based on API Driver
    Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Jira API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.
  8. Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in MS Access:

    ZappySys API Driver - Jira
    Jira Connector can be used to integrate Jira and your defined data source, e.g. Microsoft SQL, Oracle, Excel, Power BI, etc. Get, write, delete Issues, Users, Worklogs, Comments just in a few clicks!
    JiraDSN
    SELECT * FROM Issues
    API ODBC Driver-based data source data preview
    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 Jira 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 Jira servers).
  9. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Video Tutorial

Read data in Microsoft Access from the ODBC data source

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

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

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

    JiraDSN
    DSN selection

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

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

Using Linked Table for Live Data (Slow)

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

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

Let's create the linked table.

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

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

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

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

    JiraDSN
    DSN selection

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

  6. When prompted to select Unique Key column DO NOT select any column(s) and just click OK: MS Access Linked Table - Key selection

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

Guide to Effectively Addressing Known Issues

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

Fewer Rows Imported

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

To address this, we can adjust the Query Timeout by following the steps below.
WOW6432NodeODBCQueryTimeout

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

\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Jet\4.0\Engines\ODBC
\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Jet\4.0\Engines\ODBC
\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\REGISTRY\MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Access Connectivity Engine\Engines\ODBC

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

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

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

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

Make sure to re-create Linked Table and DO NOT select any key column when prompted (Just click OK) MS Access Linked Table Mode - #Deleted Error
How to Fix
MS Access Linked Table Mode - Do not select Key column

Table Selection UI Opening Delays

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

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

Enhancing Performance through Metadata Addition (Reduces Query Time)

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

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

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

Optimize Workflow with Automated Import

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

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

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

To initiate the import process, follow these steps:

  • Perform the data import using the standard manual steps.
  • In the final step, we'll encounter a checkbox labeled 'Save Import Steps.' Ensure to check this option.
  • After saving the steps, we can locate their name in the Save Imports UI. Identify the name associated with the saved steps.
  • "Now, we can execute the code as shown below:"
Private Sub cmdYes_Click()
    Label0.Visible = True
    DoCmd.RunSavedImportExport "Import-DATA.products"
    Label0.Visible = False
End Sub

Actions supported by Jira Connector

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

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to Jira in MS Access and integrate data without any coding, saving you time and effort. It's worth noting that ZappySys API Driver allows you to connect not only to Jira, but to any Java application that supports JDBC (just use a different JDBC driver and configure it appropriately).

We encourage you to download Jira Connector for MS Access and see how easy it is to use it for yourself or your team.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact ZappySys support team. You can also open a live chat immediately by clicking on the chat icon below.

Download Jira Connector for MS Access Documentation

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