An OData service can be created in apps that have reporting enabled (e.g. Scrum). The OData service contains the definition of the object classes and properties that are exposed via the OData API.
Depending on where you create the OData service, various source objects can be used. For example, in order to gain access to your contracts, create an OData service inside your Contract Manager app.
Having created an OData service, you receive a URL which can then be used to access the data via a client like Microsoft Power BI. The OData protocol is a standardized protocol which is understood by any client - even a web browser.
Aside from the OData URL, you require the “Access for Applications” password for authentication.
Once reporting has been enabled in the app of your choice, you need to create the OData service in the context where your data is stored so that it can be queried.
To create an OData service, proceed as follows:
For each entity you can select between found objects and referenced objects. For “Found Objects” a query is defined where these objects are searched for. Referenced Objects are just objects referenced by another attribute.
You could for example, search for (“Referenced Objects”) your documents and add there an attribute “Created by”. These users can then be found in the “User” entity.
There the following restrictions are applied: for the object classes #Object, #User and #Group only “Referenced Objects” is possible. In general, also the permission #AccTypeSearch must be given to be able to select “Found Objects”.
Examples Found Objects vs. Referenced Objects
These examples should demonstrate the decision between “Found Objects” and “Referenced Objects”. In general, if you are unsure, “Found Objects” can be a good start as you will get data there. Only if you want to restrict the found objects, switch to the option “Referenced Objects”.
Example 1: Books used by Machines
Imagine there are 10 000 registered books in my organization. Some books (like manuals, about 100) are for maintaining my machines.
I want to find with OData my machines and the books used for their maintenance.
So, I define an OData Service with restriction to my whole organization with two entities:
The outcome is that the “Machine” entity contains all my machines and the “Book” contains all manuals referenced in my machines (about 100).
Example 2: Full list of Books and Machines
In comparison to the first example, I want to do statistics on my inventory. For that I need all machines and all books I have in the Fabasoft Cloud.
So, I define both entities with the option “Found Objects”. The result will be all my machines and all my books (about 10 000). Further filters I could apply with my Business Intelligence Tool like Microsoft Power BI.
You need a password for applications to access your OData service. Create a password by opening the account menu (your user name) and clicking “Advanced Settings” > “Access for Applications”. Create a password valid for “Open Data Protocol (OData)”.
OData licenses are available in 10M and 100M versions.
OData volume licenses are checked when
The overview does not lower the number of available objects but the overview is not shown if there is no amount of any OData volume left.
When retrieving rows for a certain entity the OData volume is lowered by the number of rows retrieved. That means you are charged exactly by the number of rows retrieved no matter which filters are applied and how many data rows there are in original.