XML File Connector for SAP Crystal Reports In this article you will learn how to integrate XML File data in SAP Crystal Reports without coding in just a few clicks (live / bi-directional connection to XML File). XML File Connector can be used to extract and output XML data stored in local XML files or direct XML String (variables or DB columns). XML Connector also supports Path expression to extract data from any level. This Connector is optimized to work with very large files.. Using XML File Connector you will be able to connect, read, and write data from within SAP Crystal Reports. Follow the steps below to see how we would accomplish that. Download Documentation The driver mentioned above is part of ODBC PowerPack which is a collection of high-performance Drivers for various API data source (i.e. REST API, JSON, XML, CSV, Amazon S3 and many more). Using familiar SQL query language you can make live connections and read/write data from API sources or JSON / XML / CSV Files inside SQL Server (T-SQL) or your favorite Reporting (i.e. Power BI, Tableau, Qlik, SSRS, MicroStrategy, Excel, MS Access), ETL Tools (i.e. Informatica, Talend, Pentaho, SSIS). You can also call our drivers from programming languages such as JAVA, C#, Python, PowerShell etc. If you are new to ODBC and ZappySys ODBC PowerPack then check the following links to get started. ODBC PowerPack - System Requirements and Installation Getting Started - Using ODBC PowerPack ODBC API Driver Help File

Connect to XML File in other apps Connect to XML File in SSIS Connect to XML File in SQL Server Connect to XML File in Power BI Connect to XML File in SSRS Connect to XML File in Informatica Connect to XML File in MS Access Connect to XML File in MS Excel Connect to XML File in SSAS Connect to XML File in C# Connect to XML File in Python Connect to XML File in JAVA Connect to XML File in Tableau Connect to XML File in Azure Data Factory (Pipeline) Connect to XML File in Azure Data Factory (SSIS) Connect to XML File in Talend Studio Connect to XML File in UiPath Connect to XML File in PowerShell Connect to XML File in ODBC

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

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from XML File using SAP Crystal Reports we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from XML File. We will later be able to read data using SAP Crystal Reports. Perform these steps:

1. Install ZappySys ODBC PowerPack.

2. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
   

3. Create a User Data Source (User DSN) based on ZappySys XML Driver

   ZappySys XML 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. You can use pass single file or multiple file path using wildcard pattern in path and you can use select single file by clicking [...] path button or multiple file using wildcard pattern in path.
   

   Note: If you want to operation with multiple files then use wild card pattern as below 
   (when you use wild card pattern in source path then system will treat target path as folder regardless you end with slash)
   
   C:\SSIS\Test\reponse.xml (will read only single reponse.xml file)
   C:\SSIS\Test\j*.xml (all files starting with file name j)
   C:\SSIS\Test\*.xml (all files with .xml Extension and located under folder subfolder)
   

5. Now enter Path expression in Array Filter textbox to extract only specific part of XML file as below ($.feed.entry[*] will get content of entry attribute from XML document. Entry attribute is array of XML documents so we have to use [*] to indicate we want all records of that array)
   

   NOTE: Here, We are using our desired filter, but you need to select your desired filter based on your requirement.
   
   Click on Test Connection button to view whether the Test Connection is SUCCESSFUL or Not.
   $.feed.entry[*]
   

6. Once you configured a data source, you can preview data. Hit Preview tab, and use similar settings to preview data:
   

7. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

8. That's it; we are done. In a few clicks we configured the call to XML File using ZappySys XML File Connector.

Video instructions

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

   XmlFileDSN

   

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

   XmlFileDSN

   XmlFileDSN

   

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

You can create parameterized Stored Procedure and Virtual Tables on the same Data Source (ODBC DSN or Data Gateway Data Source). Please refer to this article for the same. You can create procedures to encapsulate custom logic and then only pass handful parameters rather than long SQL to execute your API call.

Using Custom Views in the SAP Crystal Report

After establishing the connection with XmlFileDSN Data Source you can use the custom view in SQL Crystal Report.

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 XmlFileDSN 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.
   XmlFileDSN

   

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:
   

2. Enter the desired Procedure name and click on OK:
   

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>';
   

   
   

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';

   
   

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''')

   
   

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.
   

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:
   

2. Enter the desired Table name and click on OK:
   

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'

   
   

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"

   
   

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''')

   
   

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.
   

Conclusion

In this article we discussed how to connect to XML File in SAP Crystal Reports and integrate data without any coding. Click here to Download XML File Connector for SAP Crystal Reports 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 XML File Connector for SAP Crystal Reports Documentation 

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