How to integrate Smartsheet using Java

Learn how to quickly and efficiently connect Smartsheet with Java for smooth data access.

Read and write Smartsheet data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate sheets, rows, and reports — almost no coding required. You can do it all using the high-performance Smartsheet ODBC Driver for Java (often referred to as the Smartsheet Connector). How is this possible? You will connect to the ZappySys Data Gateway, which acts as a seamless bridge between the ODBC and JDBC layers. We'll walk you through the entire setup.

Ready to dive in? Download the product to jump right in, or follow the step-by-step guide below to see how it works.

Smartsheet ODBC Driver Powering this integration

High performance
Bidirectional
Low-code / No-code
Easy to use

Built on the ZappySys API Driver, the Smartsheet ODBC Driver is a high-performance, low-code / no-code solution. It enables you to connect to Smartsheet data without any coding right in your SQL Server, or any ODBC/JDBC application. Part of the ODBC PowerPack.

Documentation

Create data source in ZappySys Data Gateway

In this section we will create a data source for Smartsheet in the Data Gateway. Let's follow these steps to accomplish that:

Download and install ODBC PowerPack (if you haven't already).
Search for gateway in the Windows Start Menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway Configuration:
Go to the Users tab and follow these steps to add a Data Gateway user:
- Click the Add button
- In the Login field enter a username, e.g., john
- Then enter a Password
- Check the Is Administrator checkbox
- Click OK to save
Now we are ready to add a data source:
- Click the Add button
- Give the Data source a name (have it handy for later)
- Then select Native - ZappySys API Driver
- Finally, click OK
SmartsheetDSN

ZappySys API Driver
When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Smartsheet" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Smartsheet" 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:

SmartsheetDSN

Smartsheet

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.

OAuth (Dynamic Token)

Smartsheet authentication

OAuth Walkthrough

Apps connect to Smartsheet using OAuth 2.0 to authenticate and authorize users. If you are building an app, this documentation will walk you through the steps you need to authenticate your users. The Smartsheet SDKs contain APIs for OAuth 2.0.

NOTE: For users of apps like AWS AppFabric, you will need a Tenant ID. You can find your Tenant ID in Admin Center under Security & Controls. There is a Smartsheet Tenant ID pane.

First Steps

Before you can start using OAuth 2.0 with your app, Smartsheet needs the following information:

You must register with Smartsheet to get a developer account*. The developer account gives you access to "Developer Tools", which is where you manage your app.
In "Developer Tools", complete any required fields in your developer profile.
In "Developer Tools", register your app so Smartsheet can assign a client Id and a client secret to the app.
Review the list of access scopes. You'll need to choose which ones your app needs to get to a user's Smartsheet data, and then ask the user to consent to that access.
After you've worked through these steps, you'll be ready to implement the OAuth Flow.

Open Developer Tools

Log in to Smartsheet with your developer account.
Click the "Account" button in the lower-left corner of your Smartsheet screen, and then click "Developer Tools".
Do one of the following:
- If you need to register an app, click "Create New App".
- If you need to manage an app, click "view/edit" for the app.

Register Your App Using Developer Tools

Log in to Smartsheet with your developer account.
Click the "Account" button in the upper-right corner of your Smartsheet screen, and then click "Developer Tools".
In the "Create New App" form, provide the following information:
- Name: the name the user sees to identify your app
- Description: a brief description intended for the user
- URL: the URL to launch your app, or the landing page if not a web app
- Contact/support: support information for the user
- Redirect URL: also known as a callback URL. The URL within your application that will receive the OAuth 2.0 credentials After you click "Save", Smartsheet assigns a client Id and secret to your app. Make a note of these Ids for the next steps; however, you can always look them up again in "Developer Tools".

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to OAuth (Dynamic Token) [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
Finally, hit OK button:

SmartsheetDSN

Smartsheet

OAuth (Dynamic Token) [OAuth]

https://api.smartsheet.com/2.0

Required Parameters
ClientId	Fill-in the parameter...
ClientSecret	Fill-in the parameter...
Scope	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429\|503
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

Static Token

Smartsheet authentication

Raw Token Requests

If you want to get started quickly, or are developing a standalone application that can run with your credentials, follow these instructions:

Click the "Account" button in the lower-left corner of the Smartsheet screen, and then click "Personal Settings".
Click the "API Access" tab.
Click the "Generate new access token" button to obtain an access token.

The access token must be sent with every API call in an HTTP authorization header (except for therequests to Get Access Token or Refresh Access Token). Once you have an access token, include it in the Authorization header for every request you make:

Authorization: Bearer JKlMNOpQ12RStUVwxYZAbcde3F5g6hijklM789

The header name is Authorization and the value of the header is Bearer JKlMNOpQ12RStUVwxYZAbcde3F5g6hijklM789. Since the access token is being transmitted in clear text, all API calls are done over HTTPS.

NOTE: A best practice is to use a shared account, such as ticket-processor@example.com, rather than your individual work account.

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to Static Token [Http]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Finally, hit OK button:

SmartsheetDSN

Smartsheet

Static Token [Http]

https://api.smartsheet.com/2.0

Required Parameters
Access Token	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429\|503
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 - Smartsheet

Read and write Smartsheet data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate sheets, rows, and reports — almost no coding required.

SmartsheetDSN
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 Java to retrieve data from Smartsheet. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.
```
SELECT * FROM Sheets --Where Id='5815807987847055'
```
Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Smartsheet 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.
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 Java:
ZappySys API Driver - Smartsheet

Read and write Smartsheet data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate sheets, rows, and reports — almost no coding required.

SmartsheetDSN
```
SELECT * FROM Sheets --Where Id='5815807987847055'
```
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 Smartsheet 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 Smartsheet servers).
Click OK to finish creating the data source.
Once done, go to the Network Settings tab and Add a firewall rule for inbound traffic:
- This will initially allow all inbound traffic.
- Click Edit IP filters to restrict access to specific IP addresses or ranges.
Crucial Step: After creating or modifying the data source, you must:
- Click the Save button to persist your changes.
- Hit Yes when prompted to restart the Data Gateway service.
This ensures all changes are properly applied:

Skipping this step may cause the new settings to fail, preventing you from connecting to the data source.

Read data in Java from the DSN

Java code to get the data:

"jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=SmartsheetDSN;user=john;password=test"
When you run the code it will make the API call and read the data:

Here is Java program's code in text format:


//Step-1: Install ZappySys ODBC PowerPack and Configure Data Gateway

//Step-2:Assuming the Microsoft SQL Server JDBC Driver is in below folder
//C:\Program Files\Microsoft Jdbc Driver 6.0 for SQL Server\sqljdbc_6.0\enu\auth\x64
package padaone;

import java.sql.*;

public class zappy {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        // Create a variable for the connection string.
        String connectionUrl = "jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=SmartsheetDSN;user=test;password=test";

        // Declare the JDBC objects.
        Connection con = null;
        Statement stmt = null;
        ResultSet rs = null;

            try {
                // Establish the connection.
                Class.forName("com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerDriver");
                con = DriverManager.getConnection(connectionUrl);

                // Create and execute an SQL statement that returns some data.
                String SQL = "SELECT Country , SUM(UnitPrice * Quantity) Total " 
                           + "FROM value " 
                           + "GROUP BY Country "
                           + "WITH (SRC='https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Invoices?$format=json')";
                stmt = con.createStatement();
                rs = stmt.executeQuery(SQL);

                // Iterate through the data in the result set and display it.
                while (rs.next()) {
                    System.out.println(rs.getString(1) + " " + rs.getString(2));
                }
            }

        // Handle any errors that may have occurred.
        catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        } 
        
        finally {
            if (rs != null) try { rs.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
            if (stmt != null) try { stmt.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
            if (con != null) try { con.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
        }
    }
}

Supported Smartsheet Connector actions

Got a specific use case in mind? We've mapped out exactly how to perform a variety of essential Smartsheet operations directly in Java, so you don't have to figure out the setup from scratch. Check out the step-by-step guides below:

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to Smartsheet in Java and integrate data without writing complex code — all of this was powered by Smartsheet ODBC Driver.

Download ODBC PowerPack now or ping us via chat if you have any questions or are looking for a specific feature (you can also reach out to us by submitting a ticket):

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