Use the Connect Server to Access Sage 50 UK Data in Microsoft Power Pivot

This article will explain how to use the Connect Server to provide Sage 50 UK data as OData services and then consume the data in Microsoft Excel's Power Pivot business intelligence tool. Follow the steps below to retrieve and edit Sage 50 UK data in Power Pivot.

Connect to Sage 50 UK from Power Pivot

To work with live Sage 50 UK data in Power Pivot, we need to connect to Sage 50 UK from Connect Server, provide user access to the new virtual database, and create OData endpoints for the Sage 50 UK data.

Add a Connect Server User

Create a User to connect to Sage 50 UK from Power Pivot through Connect Server.

1. Click Users -> Add
2. Configure a User
3. Click Save Changes and make note of the Authtoken for the new user

Connect to Sage 50 UK from Connect Server

CData Connect Server uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.

1. Open Connect Server and click Connections
2. Select "Sage 50 UK" from Available Data Sources
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Sage 50 UK.

   Note: Only Sage 50 UK 2012 and above are supported.

   The User and Password properties, under the Connection section, must be set to valid Sage 50 UK user credentials. These values will be the same used to log in to the Sage 50 UK software.

   Additionally, the URL property, under the Connection section, will need to be set to the address of the company dataset desired. To obtain the address, do the following:

   1. If you have not already done so, open the Sage 50 UK software.
   2. Click Tools -> Internet Options.
   3. Select the SData Settings tab.
   4. Click the Details button next to Sage 50 Accounts. A window is displayed containing a list of company names along with the address to their corresponding datasets.
   5. Set the URL property to the value in the address field next to the company desired.
4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions (SELECT is all that is required for Reveal).

Add Sage 50 UK OData Endpoints in Connect Server

After connecting to Sage 50 UK, create OData Endpoints for the desired table(s).

1. Click OData -> Tables -> Add Tables
2. Select the Sage 50 UK database
3. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Next
4. (Optional) Edit the resource to select specific fields and more
5. Save the settings

(Optional) Configure Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS)

When accessing and connecting to multiple domains from an application, there is a possibility of violating the limitations of cross-site scripting. In that case, configure the CORS settings in OData -> Settings.

• Enable cross-origin resource sharing (CORS): ON
• Allow all domains without '*': ON
• Access-Control-Allow-Methods: GET, PUT, POST, OPTIONS
• Access-Control-Allow-Headers: Authorization

Save the changes to the settings.

Import Sage 50 UK Tables in Power Pivot

Follow the steps below to import tables that can be refreshed on demand:

1. In Excel, click Data -> Get Data -> From Other Sources -> From OData Feed
2. Fill out the OData feed URL (e.g. http://localhost:8080/odata.rsc)
3. On the next screen, select Basic and configure the username and password. Password should be your auth token.

4. Select the tables that you would like to import into Excel

5. After selecting your table(s) and clicking Load, you should see the data appear in an Excel spreadsheet

6. Now, click the Power Pivot tab on the ribbon, and then select Add to Data Model. This can now work with your Sage 50 UK data in Power Pivot.

Free Trial & More Information

If you are interested in connecting to your Sage 50 UK data (or data from any of our other supported data sources) from Power Pivot, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect Server today! For more information on Connect Server and to see what other data sources we support, refer to our CData Connect page.