Quickbase
Power BI is a powerful business intelligence tool that allows users to connect to various data sources, including Quickbase. Quickbase is a low-code platform that enables businesses to build custom applications and workflows. In this article, we will explore how to connect to a Quickbase data source from inside Power BI using Power Query M language code.
Understanding Power Query M Language
Power Query is a data transformation and analysis tool that is integrated with Power BI. Power Query M language is a functional programming language used to query and transform data from various sources. It is a case-sensitive language that supports a wide range of data types and functions.
Steps to Connect to Quickbase Data Source using Power Query M Language
1. Open Power BI Desktop and click on the “Get Data” button on the Home tab.
2. In the “Get Data” window, select “Quickbase” from the list of available data sources.
3. Enter the URL of the Quickbase application you want to connect to and click “OK”.
4. In the “Quickbase Navigator” window, select the table you want to import data from and click “Load”.
5. Once the data is loaded, click on the “Transform Data” button to open the Power Query Editor.
6. In the Power Query Editor, click on the “Advanced Editor” button to open the M language code editor.
7. In the M language code editor, you will see the M code that was generated by Power Query to connect to the Quickbase data source. You can modify this code to customize your data import process.
8. To modify the M language code, you need to understand the syntax and functions used in the code. Refer to the Power Query M function reference for more information.
9. Once you have made the necessary changes to the M language code, click “Done” to save your changes and close the editor.
10. Back in the Power Query Editor, click on the “Close & Apply” button to import the data into Power BI.
Examples of Power Query M Language Code for Quickbase
Here are some examples of Power Query M language code for connecting to Quickbase data source:
let
Source = Quickbase.Tables(“https://yourcompany.Quickbase.com/db/yourtableid?act=API_DoQuery&usertoken=yourtoken&fmt=structured”)
in
Source
This code connects to the Quickbase data source using the URL of the table and the user token.
let
Source = Quickbase.Tables(“https://yourcompany.Quickbase.com/db/yourtableid?act=API_DoQuery&usertoken=yourtoken&fmt=structured”),
#”Filtered Rows” = Table.SelectRows(Source, each ([#”Created At”] > #datetime(2022, 1, 1)))
in
#”Filtered Rows”
This code filters the data to only include records created after January 1, 2022.
Conclusion
Power Query M language code is a powerful tool for connecting to Quickbase data source from inside Power BI. With a basic understanding of the syntax and functions used in M language, you can customize your data import process to meet your specific needs. By following the steps outlined in this article, you should be able to easily connect to Quickbase data source from inside Power BI and create custom reports and dashboards for your business.
