This section describes how to edit the DSN configuration and then authenticate and connect to Google Ads APIs.

DSN Configuration

You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to edit the DSN configuration. Note that the installation process creates a both a user DSN and a system DSN, as described in Installing the Connector.

Note: The connector stores connection information in the Windows registry. To ensure that the connector can write to the registry, either run Power BI as an administrator or use a User DSN for your connection instead of a System DSN.

User DSN

Complete the following steps to edit the DSN configuration:

1. Select Start > Search, and enter ODBC Data Sources in the Search box.
2. Choose the version of the ODBC Administrator that corresponds to the bitness of your Power BI Desktop installation (32-bit or 64-bit).
3. Select the system data source and click Configure.
4. Edit the information on the Connection tab and click OK.

System DSN

Configure the system DSN the same way as the user DSN, except you will need to switch to the System DSN tab before performing Step 3.

If you're using Power BI's On-Premises Data Gateway with Standard mode, you must use the system DSN.

You must also specify a valid location for OAuthSettingsLocation (a path where OAuth credentials are locally stored to avoid repeated OAuth prompts).

This is because the Standard mode runs on service mode and can only access permitted locations, such as C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\PBIEgwService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\On-premises data gateway.

Connecting to Google Ads

Before you can add the properties needed to authenticate, you must provide the following connection properties:

• DeveloperToken: The account developer token.
• ClientCustomerId: Your Google Ads customer ID. To find your ClientCustomerId, click the Help icon at the upper right corner of the Google Ads UI, then look at the bottom of the help menu.

Retrieving Data from Multiple Accounts

A common use for the driver is retrieving data from multiple customer Ids. This is useful when you have a Google Ads MCC account that includes numerous accounts/ClientCustomerIds. You can query and get data from the accounts you want by specifying CustomerId in the WHERE clause. For example:

SELECT * FROM AdGroupAd WHERE CustomerId='3333333333'
SELECT * FROM AdGroupAd WHERE CustomerId IN ('1111111111', '2222222222')

When you specify the CustomerId in WHERE clauses, the driver ignores the ClientCustomerId connection property.

Authenticating to Google Ads

All connections to Google Ads are authenticated using OAuth. The connector supports using user accounts, service accounts and GCP instance accounts for authentication.

User Accounts (OAuth/OauthPKCE)

Google Ads provides embedded OAuth credentials that simplify connection from a Desktop application or a Headless machine. To connect from a Web application, you must create a custom OAuth application, as described in Creating a Custom OAuth Application.

To connect via OAuth from all authentication flows, you must set AuthScheme to OAuth.

The following subsections describe how to authenticate to Google Ads from the available oauth flows. For information about how to create a custom OAuth application, and why you might want to create one even for auth flows that already have embedded OAuth credentials, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application.

For a complete list of connection string properties available in Google Ads, see Connection.

Desktop Applications

CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop. You can also authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Google Ads console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application.

Before you connect, set these properties:

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

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

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

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.

   If you are using the embedded OAuth application, call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. Open the URL returned by the stored procedure in a browser.

   If you are using a custom OAuth application, set these properties:

   • InitiateOAuth: OFF.
   • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
   • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth 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 OAuthAccessToken, set these connection 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.
   • Custom OAuth applications only:
     • 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.
   • Custom OAuth applications only:
     • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
     • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth 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.
• Custom OAuth applications only:
  • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

Service Accounts (OAuthJWT)

To authenticate using a service account, you must create a new service account and have a copy of the account's certificate.

For a JSON file, set these properties:

• AuthScheme: Set this to OAuthJWT.
• OAuthJWTCertType: Set this to GOOGLEJSON.
• OAuthJWTCert: Set this to the path to the .json file provided by Google.
• OAuthJWTSubject:The service account should be part of a GSuite domain, with delegation enabled. The value of this property should be the email address of the user whose data you want to access.

For a PFX file, set these properties:

• AuthScheme: Set this to the email address of the service account. This address usually includes the domain iam.gserviceaccount.com.
• OAuthJWTSubject: The service account must part of a GSuite domain, with delegation enabled. The value of this property is the email address of the user whose data you want to access.

If you do not already have a service account, you can create one by following the procedure in Creating a Custom OAuth Application.

GCP Instance Accounts

When running on a GCP virtual machine, the connector can authenticate using a service account tied to the virtual machine. To use this mode, set AuthScheme to GCPInstanceAccount.