OData Connector for UiPath

In this article you will learn how to integrate OData data in UiPath without coding in just a few clicks (live / bi-directional connection to OData). OData Connector can be used to integrated any REST API which supports OData Standard. You can view tables, read data from tables using this connector. It also comes with some example OData Services to get started..

Using OData Connector you will be able to connect, read, and write data from within UiPath. 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 OData using UiPath we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from OData. We will later be able to read data using UiPath. 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 "OData" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "OData" 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:

    ODataDSN
    OData
    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.

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

    ODataDSN
    OData
    No Authentication [Http]
    https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc
    Required Parameters
    Optional Parameters
    RetryMode Fill in the parameter...
    RetryStatusCodeList Fill in the parameter...
    RetryCountMax Fill in the parameter...
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime Fill in the parameter...
    IgnoreSSLCertificateErrors Fill in the parameter...
    SslVersion Fill in the parameter...
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

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

    ODataDSN
    OData
    Windows Authentication [Http]
    https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc
    Required Parameters
    Optional Parameters
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

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

    ODataDSN
    OData
    Basic Authentication [Http]
    https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc
    Required Parameters
    UserName Fill in the parameter...
    Password Fill in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    RetryMode Fill in the parameter...
    RetryStatusCodeList Fill in the parameter...
    RetryCountMax Fill in the parameter...
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime Fill in the parameter...
    IgnoreSSLCertificateErrors Fill in the parameter...
    SslVersion Fill in the parameter...
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

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

    ODataDSN
    OData
    NTLM Authentication [Http]
    https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc
    Required Parameters
    UserName (i.e. Domain\UserName) Fill in the parameter...
    Password Fill in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    RetryMode Fill in the parameter...
    RetryStatusCodeList Fill in the parameter...
    RetryCountMax Fill in the parameter...
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime Fill in the parameter...
    IgnoreSSLCertificateErrors Fill in the parameter...
    SslVersion Fill in the parameter...
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

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

    ODataDSN
    OData
    Token Authentication [Http]
    https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc
    Required Parameters
    Token Fill in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    AuthScheme Fill in the parameter...
    AuthHeader Fill in the parameter...
    RetryMode Fill in the parameter...
    RetryStatusCodeList Fill in the parameter...
    RetryCountMax Fill in the parameter...
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime Fill in the parameter...
    IgnoreSSLCertificateErrors Fill in the parameter...
    SslVersion Fill in the parameter...
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

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

    ODataDSN
    OData
    OAuth Connection for OData API [OAuth]
    https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc
    Required Parameters
    Optional Parameters
    GrantType Fill in the parameter...
    OAuthVersion Fill in the parameter...
    ClientId Fill in the parameter...
    ClientSecret Fill in the parameter...
    UserName Fill in the parameter...
    Password Fill in the parameter...
    Scope Fill in the parameter...
    AuthUrl Fill in the parameter...
    TokenUrl Fill in the parameter...
    ReturnUrl Fill in the parameter...
    ExtraAttributesForTokenRequest Fill in the parameter...
    ExtraAttributesForAuthRequest Fill in the parameter...
    RetryMode Fill in the parameter...
    RetryStatusCodeList Fill in the parameter...
    RetryCountMax Fill in the parameter...
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime Fill in the parameter...
    IgnoreSSLCertificateErrors Fill in the parameter...
    SslVersion 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.

Video instructions

Read OData data in UiPath Studio (workstation)

Here we will be reading OData data on your workstation. To accomplish that we will create and run UiPath process package locally. Later on, we'll explore how to publish the package to Orchestrator and run it remotely. For now, let's focus on working locally and get started!

  1. Open UiPath Studio.
  2. Before we really begin the work, make sure UiPath Studio is set as your profile (blue application icon).
  3. In case, it is set to UiPath StudioX, you can change it in UiPath StudioX Settings: Choosing UiPath Studio profile Simply select UiPath Studio option: Choosing UiPath Studio profile
  4. Start by creating a new project based on UiPath Process template: Creating new process in UiPath Studio to import ODBC data
  5. Add Run Query activity in Main Sequence box: Adding ODBC data source in UiPath Studio
  6. Click Configure Connection... button to create an ODBC connection: Configuring ODBC data source in UiPath in Run Query activity
  7. Continue by clicking Connection Wizard: Using connection wizard to setup ODBC source in UiPath Studio
  8. When the window opens, select ODBC-based driver, provider, and then choose ODBC data source:
    ODataDSN
    ODataDSN
    Choosing ODBC DSN in UiPath Studio connection wizard
    You can also select Use connection string option and use whole ODBC connection string instead. Obtain the connection string by pressing Copy Settings button in your data source configuration.
  9. Once you do that, it's time to configure a SQL query: Inputting SQL query for ODBC data source in UiPath Studio
    Make sure, you enclose the query in double quotes!
  10. Proceed by adding a Write CSV activity after Run Query: Adding Write CSV activity to write ODBC data in UiPath
    In this article we are using Write CSV, but you can freely add any other destination of your choice, e.g. Write DataTable to Excel.
  11. Once you do that, configure the added Write CSV, this will write OData data to a CSV file: Configuring Write CSV activity to write ODBC data in UiPath
  12. It's time for fun! Which means it's time for debugging! Just run the package locally to debug: Running UiPath process package to get ODBC data
  13. Finally, ensure there are no execution errors! Successful UiPath package debugging

Run UiPath package using Orchestrator (via robot)

UiPath also offers the ability to execute packages remotely using Orchestrator and a robot. This is achieved by publishing the package to UiPath Orchestrator, installing UiPath Assistant on the remote machine, connecting it to Orchestrator, enabling us to run the package remotely. It may sound complicated at first glance, but further steps will clear things out. Let's not waste our precious time and delve into the details!

Publish process package from UiPath Studio

  1. First of all, open the UiPath process package we created in the previous step
  2. Set the option that our process package Starts in Background: Marking UiPath process package to start in background
  3. We are ready to Publish it: Publishing UiPath process package to read ODBC data
  4. Make sure, you publish it to the Shared folder in UiPath Orchestrator Tenant workspace: Setting package publishing path in UiPath Studio
  5. Finally, success! We are ready for the next step - creating UiPath robot - so we can automate the job: Great news! The UiPath package is now published

Create robot in UiPath Orchestrator

  1. First of all, let's open UiPath Orchestrator from UiPath Automation Cloud console: Opening UiPath Orchestrator
  2. It's time to create a robot, which will run unattended packages: Creating unattended setup in UiPath Orchestrator
  3. But first we have to create a runtime. Choose to host our robot on-premise, not in UiPath infrastructure: Creating self-hosted robot in UiPath Orchestrator
  4. Let's move along and Create new machine template, this will create a machine in UiPath Orchestrator: Creating new machine template in UiPath Orchestrator
  5. Configure the machine to run in Production environment: Adding machine template in UiPath Orchestrator
  6. We are ready to Create new robot account in the new machine: Creating new robot account in UiPath Orchestrator
  7. Let's make our robot to work only on background automations: Configuring new robot account in UiPath Orchestrator
  8. Continue by selecting newly created robot: Selecting robot account in UiPath Orchestrator
  9. Select Shared folder, so that everyone in the team can benefit from it: Selecting folder for robot in UiPath Orchestrator
    This is the folder where we published our UiPath process package "MyProcess"
  10. We are almost done! We are given machine Client ID and Client secret which we will use to connect UiPath Assistant to our created machine in Orchestrator. Let's leave this open for a while and see how we can do it in the next step. Configuring machine template, Client ID, and Secret in UiPath Orchestrator

Connect UiPath Assistant to Orchestrator

We are ready to connect UiPath Assistant to the machine we created in Orchestrator. UiPath Assistant will run our package in a remote machine. Let's connect it and give it some work!

  1. Connect to a remote machine (where your UiPath process package will be running).
  2. Install UiPath Studio there.
  3. Then configure ODBC data source:

    If you chose Use user or system data source option in connection configuration, when creating UiPath process package, then create an identical ODBC data source on the same remote machine. Use the same configuration as the one created in your workstation in the first step.

    Use Copy Settings and Load Settings buttons to make your life easier. They will help you to transfer settings between different ODBC data sources.

    If you chose Use connection string option, then you don't have to do anything. However, you still have to install ODBC PowerPack on the remote machine.

  4. Continue by opening UiPath Assistant and going to Preferences: Configuring UiPath Assistant to read ODBC data
  5. Find Orchestrator Settings menu item and click it: Configuring Orchestrator settings in UiPath Assistant
  6. And here even bigger fun begins! But fear not, all you have to do is open your web browser window with Client ID & Client secret we obtained in the previous step and simply copy and paste those values into UiPath Assistant. Also, don't forget to configure Orchestrator URL: Configuring Client ID and Secret in UiPath Assistant
  7. Finally, we get rewarded for the hard work with the Connected as Unattended status: Successfully connecting UiPath Assistant to get ODBC data

Create and run UiPath process in Orchestrator

We are at the finish line! Let's create and run UiPath process. This will execute the package on your remote machine using the UiPath Assistant configured earlier.

  1. First of all, open UiPath Orchestrator from UiPath Automation Cloud console.
  2. Then proceed by going to Process in Shared folder: Going to Processes to create UiPath process
  3. Continue by simply clicking on Add process button: Creating UiPath process in UiPath Orchestrator
  4. Select the process package we created in UiPath Studio: Selecting UiPath package in UiPathp process
  5. Rest a while, and just hit Next, unless your package has requirements: Configuring UiPath package requirements (optional)
  6. Then simply hit Create button: Naming UiPath process and setting priority
  7. But let's not stop here and Start the process by creating a job right away: Finishing creating UiPath process to get OData Data
  8. Use the same Production runtime we created before and hit Start: Starting UiPath job
  9. We've reached the final step! In the CSV destination file or destination of your choice you should see OData data: Successfully running UiPath job

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 OData Connector

OData 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 Tables (JSON API)
   [Read more...]
 List Tables (XML API)
   [Read more...]
 Generic Read Data (JSON API)
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
TableName Read data from specified module (Json Format API)
 Generic Read Data (XML API)
   [Read more...]
Parameter Description
TableName Read data from specified module (Xml Format API)
 Read [$parent.name$]
   [Read more...]
 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

OData Connector Examples for UiPath 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.

Read all records from an JSON OData Service Table    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM Customers

Read all records from an XML OData Service Table    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM read_data_xml WITH(TableName='MyTable')

Filter records using server side criteria    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM Customers WITH( SearchCriteria='Country -eq ''USA'' ')

Filter records using client side criteria    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE Country = 'USA'

List all Tables (JSON Based Format)    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM list_tables_json

List all Tables (XML Based Format)    [Read more...]

SELECT * FROM list_tables_xml

Conclusion

In this article we discussed how to connect to OData in UiPath and integrate data without any coding. Click here to Download OData Connector for UiPath 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 OData Connector for UiPath Documentation 

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