How to get data in Tableau using Envizi API

To get Envizi data from Tableau, you would need to use a Web Data Connector. A web data connector is an HTML file that includes JavaScript code that can be launched within Tableau. It usually should have API URL embedded in the code. Most Web Data Connector would have a simple interface to allow you to make selections and specify API parameters, and it also hides technical details from the end user.

You can write your own Tableau Web Data Connector to work with Envizi API. Envizi also provides a generic Tableau Web Data Connector for general use.

The followings steps are based on the generic Envizi Web Data Connector we have produced to demonstrate the steps required to establish Envizi API connection within Tableau Desktop.

Open Tableau Desktop, Data → New Data Source, and choose Web Data Connector
Enter the Web Data Connector URL in the pop up form and press Enter. In the example here, we use the generic Envizi-Tableau Web Data Connector:

- https://auapi.envizi.com/wdc/EnviziWDC.html if you are based in Australia, or
- https://usapi.envizi.com/wdc/EnviziWDC.html if you are based in US and Canada, or
- https://ukapi.envizi.com/wdc/EnviziWDC.html if you are based in UK
Depending on the design of your Web Data Connector, you would need to follow the prompt in the web page to get the API data. For example, enter your Envizi user name and password, choose an API report, select API report parameters, etc. Below are the steps involved when using the generic Envizi-Tableau Web Data Connector.

Step 1: Enter your credentials for API connection

Step 2: Choose Associate and an API Report

Step 3: Select report parameters
Similar to running the report on Envizi's main user interface, you would need to specify the reporting parameters for the API report
If the API query is designed to be run recurrently every month, you can use the special End_Period parameters such as 'CURRENT_MONTH' to avoid re-programming the API connection every time. The platform will automatically adjust the reporting end period date based on the time the API query is run.

Step 4: Establish the API connection
After all the desired report parameters have been selected, click the 'Get Report Data!' button.
Once the API request has been sent and established, Tableau would pop up an empty table with column headers of the API report. Click Update Now or Automatically Update to get the API data.
After all data has been loaded into Tableau, it can be used as one of the Data Sources for further BI analysis, just per other data sources.

Further Readings