CData Python Connector for Microsoft Project

Build 24.0.9060

Establishing a Connection

The objects available within our connector are accessible from the "cdata.microsoftproject" module. To use the module's objects directly:

  1. Import the module as follows: 
    import cdata.microsoftproject as mod
  2. To establish a connection string, call the connect() method from the connector object using an appropriate connection string, such as: 
    mod.connect("user=myuseraccount;password=mypassword;URL=http://myserver/myOrgRoot;")

Connecting to Microsoft Project

To connect to the Microsoft Project data source, set these connection properties:

  • Url: A valid Microsoft Project Web App URL, such as http://contoso.com/sites/pwa/.
  • Schema: Either ODataV1 or ODataV2 (default). While ODataV2 can be used for full CRUD operations, ODataV1, which provides more granular data and exposes the custom fields, is superior for reporting purposes. For more information about the available functionality in each Schema, see Data Model.
  • ProjectId (optional): If the Schema is ODataV2, you can use this property to specify a default Project Id for all the operations that require one.

Authenticating to Microsoft Project

There are several authentication methods available for connecting to Microsoft Project, including the SharePoint Online Cookie Service, ADFS, OAuth, and SSO. The supported SSO identity providers are Azure AD, OneLogin, and OKTA.

SharePoint Online Cookie Service

To use your login credentials to connect to Microsoft Project on SharePoint Online, set the AuthScheme to SharePointOnlineCookies, User to your user login, and Password to your user login password.

OAuth

To enable this authentication from all Microsoft Project OAuth flows, you must create a custom OAuth application, and set AuthScheme to OAuth.

The following subsections describe how to authenticate to Microsoft Project from three common authentication flows. For information about how to create a custom OAuth application, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application. For a complete list of connection string properties available in Microsoft Project, see Connection.

Desktop Applications

To authenticate with the credentials for a custom OAuth application, you must get and refresh the OAuth access token. After you do that, you are ready to connect.

Get and refresh the OAuth access token:

  • InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. Used to automatically get and refresh the OAuthAccessToken.
  • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your application.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret that was assigned when you registered your application.
  • CallbackURL: The redirect URI that was defined when you registered your application.

When you connect, the connector opens Microsoft Project's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.

After you grant permissions to the application, the connector completes the OAuth process:

  1. The connector obtains an access token from Microsoft Project and uses it to request data.
  2. The OAuth values are saved in the path specified in OAuthSettingsLocation. These values persist across connections.

When the access token expires, the connector refreshes it automatically.

Web Applications

Authenticating via the Web requires you to create and register a custom OAuth application with Microsoft Project, as described in Creating a Custom OAuth Application. You can then use the connector to get and manage the OAuth token values.

This section describes how to get the OAuth access token, how to have the driver refresh the OAuth access token automatically, and how to refresh the OAuth access token manually.

Get the OAuth access token:

  1. To obtain the OAuthAccessToken, set these connection properties :
    • OAuthClientId: The client Id in your application settings.
    • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret in your application settings.

  2. Call stored procedures to complete the OAuth exchange:
    • Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. Set the AuthMode input to WEB and the CallbackURL to the Redirect URI you specified in your application settings. The stored procedure returns the URL to the OAuth endpoint.
    • Navigate to the URL that the stored procedure returned in Step 1. Log in and authorize the web application. You are redirected back to the callback URL.
    • Call the GetOAuthAccessToken stored procedure. Set the AuthMode input to WEB. Set the Verifier input to the code parameter in the query string of the redirect URI.

After you obtain the access and refresh tokens, you can connect to data and refresh the OAuth access token automatically.

Automatic refresh of the OAuth access token:

To have the connector automatically refresh the OAuth access token:

  1. Before connecting to data for the first time, set these connection parameters:
    • InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
    • OAuthClientId: The client Id in your application settings.
    • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret in your application settings.
    • OAuthAccessToken: The access token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
    • OAuthSettingsLocation: The path where you want the connector to save the OAuth values, which persist across connections.
  2. On subsequent data connections, set:
    • InitiateOAuth
    • OAuthSettingsLocation

Manual refresh of the OAuth access token:

The only value needed to manually refresh the OAuth access token is the OAuth refresh token.

  1. To manually refresh the OAuthAccessToken after the ExpiresIn period (returned by GetOAuthAccessToken) has elapsed, call the RefreshOAuthAccessToken stored procedure.
  2. Set these connection properties:

    • OAuthClientId: The Client Id in your application settings.
    • OAuthClientSecret: The Client Secret in your application settings.

  3. Call RefreshOAuthAccessToken with OAuthRefreshToken set to the OAuth refresh token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
  4. After the new tokens have been retrieved, set the OAuthAccessToken property to the value returned by RefreshOAuthAccessToken. This opens a new connection.

Store the OAuth refresh token so that you can use it to manually refresh the OAuth access token after it has expired.

Headless Machines

If you need to log in to a resource that resides on a headless machine, you must authenticate on another device that has an internet browser. You can do this in either of the following ways:

  • Option 1: Obtain the OAuthVerifier value.
  • Option 2: Install the connector on a machine with an internet browser and transfer the OAuth authentication values after you authenticate through the usual browser-based flow.

After you execute either Option 1 or Option 2, configure the driver to automatically refresh the access token on the headless machine.

Option 1: Obtaining and Exchanging a Verifier Code

To obtain a verifier code, you must authenticate at the OAuth authorization URL as follows:

  1. Authenticate from the machine with an internet browser, and obtain the OAuthVerifier connection property.

    Set these properties:

    • InitiateOAuth: OFF.
    • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your application.
    • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your application.

  2. Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. The stored procedure returns the CallbackURL established when the custom OAuth application was registered. (See Creating a Custom OAuth Application.)

    Copy this URL and paste it into a new browser tab.

  3. Log in and grant permissions to the connector. The OAuth application redirects you the redirect URI, with a parameter called code appended. Note the value of this parameter; you will need it later, to configure the OAuthVerifier connection property.

  4. Exchange the OAuth verifier code for OAuth refresh and access tokens. On the headless machine, to obtain the OAuth authentication values, set these properties:

    • InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
    • OAuthVerifier: The noted verifier code (the value of the code parameter in the redirect URI).
    • OAuthSettingsLocation: Persist the encrypted OAuth authentication values to the specified file.
    • OAuthClientId: The client Id in your custom OAuth application settings.
    • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret in the custom OAuth application settings.

  5. Test the connection to generate the OAuth settings file.

  6. You are ready to connect after you re-set these properties:

    • InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
    • OAuthSettingsLocation: The file containing the encrypted OAuth authentication values. To enable the automatic refreshing of the access token, be sure that this file gives read and write permissions to the connector.
    • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your application.
    • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your application.

Option 2: Transferring OAuth Settings

Prior to connecting on a headless machine, you must install and create a connection with the driver on a device that supports an internet browser. Set the connection properties as described above in "Desktop Applications".

After completing the instructions in "Desktop Applications", the resulting authentication values are encrypted and written to the path specified by OAuthSettingsLocation. The default filename is OAuthSettings.txt.

Test the connection to generate the OAuth settings file, then copy the OAuth settings file to your headless machine.

To connect to data via the headless machine, set these connection properties:

  • InitiateOAuth: REFRESH
  • OAuthSettingsLocation: The path to the OAuth settings file you copied from the machine with the browser. To enable automatic refreshing of the access token, ensure that this file gives read and write permissions to the connector.
  • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

ADFS

To connect to ADFS, set the AuthScheme to ADFS, and set these properties:

  • User: The ADFS user.
  • Password: The ADFS user's password.
  • SSOLoginURL: The SSO provider's login url.

Example connection string: 

AuthScheme=ADFS;User=username;Password=password;SSOLoginURL='https://sts.company.com';

ADFS Integrated

The ADFS Integrated flow indicates you are connecting with the currently logged in Windows user credentials. To use the ADFS Integrated flow, do not specify the User and Password, but otherwise follow the same steps in the ADFS guide above.

Supported SSO Providers

Okta

To connect to Okta, set the AuthScheme to Okta, and set these properties:

  • User: The Okta user.
  • Password: The Okta user's password.
  • SSOLoginURL: The SSO provider's login URL.

If you are using a trusted application or proxy that overrides the Okta client request OR configuring MFA, you must use combinations of SSOProperties to authenticate using Okta. Set any of the following, as applicable:

  • APIToken: When authenticating a user via a trusted application or proxy that overrides the Okta client request context, set this to the API Token the customer created from the Okta organization.
  • MFAType: If you have configured the MFA flow, set this to one of the following supported types: OktaVerify, Email, or SMS.
  • MFAPassCode: If you have configured the MFA flow, set this to a valid passcode.
    If you set this to empty or an invalid value, the connector issues a one-time password challenge to your device or email. After the passcode is received, reopen the connection where the retrieved one-time password value is set to the MFAPassCode connection property.
  • MFARememberDevice: True by default. Okta supports remembering devices when MFA is required. If remembering devices is allowed according to the configured authentication policies, the connector sends a device token to extend MFA authentication lifetime. If you do not want MFA to be remembered, set this variable to False.

Example connection string: 

AuthScheme=Okta;SSOLoginURL='https://example.okta.com/home/appType/0bg4ivz6cJRZgCz5d6/46';User=oktaUserName;Password=oktaPassword;

OneLogin

To connect to OneLogin, set the AuthScheme to OneLogin, and set these properties:

  • User: The OneLogin user.
  • Password: The OneLogin user's password.

To authenticate to OneLogin, set these SSOProperties:

  • OAuthClientId: The OAuthClientId, which can be obtained by selecting Developers > API Credentials > Credential > ClientId.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The OAuthClientSecret, which can be obtained by selecting Developers > API Credentials > Credential > ClientSecret.
  • Subdomain: The subdomain of the OneLogin user accessing the SSO application. For example, if your OneLogin URL is splinkly.onelogin.com, splinkly is the subdomain value.
  • AppId: The Id of the SSO application.
  • Region (optional): The region your OneLogin account resides in. Legal values are US (default) or EU.

The following example connection string uses an API key to connect to OneLogin: 

AuthScheme=OneLogin;User=OneLoginUserName;Password=OneLoginPassword;SSOProperties='OAuthClientID=3fc8394584f153ce3b7924d9cd4f686443a52b;OAuthClientSecret=ca9257fd5cc3277abb5818cea28c06fe9b3b285d73d06;Subdomain=OneLoginSubDomain;AppId=1433920';

Azure AD

This configuration requires two separate Azure AD applications:

  • The "Microsoft Project" application used for single sign-on, and
  • A custom OAuth application with user_impersonation permission on the "Microsoft Project" application. (See Creating a Custom OAuth Application.)

To connect to Azure AD, set the AuthScheme to AzureAD, and set these properties:

  • OAuthClientId: The application Id of the connector application, listed in the Overview section of the app registration.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret value of the connector application. Azure AD displays this when you create a new client secret.
  • CallbackURL: The redirect URI of the connector application. For example: https://localhost:33333.
  • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH.

To authenticate to Azure AD, set these SSOProperties:

  • Resource: The application Id URI of the Microsoft Project application, listed in the app registration's Overview section. In most cases this is the URL of your custom Microsoft Project domain.
  • AzureTenant: The Id of the Azure AD tenant where the applications are registered.

Example connection string: 

AuthScheme=AzureAD;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=3ea1c786-d527-4399-8c3b-2e3696ae4b48;OauthClientSecret=xxx;CallbackUrl=https://localhost:33333;SSOProperties='Resource=;AzureTenant=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx';

Copyright (c) 2024 CData Software, Inc. - All rights reserved.
Build 24.0.9060