Connect Power BI to FieldOps BI API¶

Power BI can connect directly to the FieldOps BI API using an authenticated Web connection.

This allows organizations to create dashboards and reports from FieldOps operational data without providing direct database access.

Power BI connects to FieldOps using:

FieldOps BI API endpoints
BI Access Tokens
Bearer token authentication
JSON data responses

Before you begin¶

You need:

A valid FieldOps BI Access Token
Access to a FieldOps organization with BI access enabled
Microsoft Power BI Desktop

If you have not created a BI Access Token, complete this first:

Create a BI Access Token

Important

Power BI does not connect directly to the FieldOps application database.

All reporting connections should use the FieldOps BI API.

BI API endpoint¶

The BI API endpoint follows this format:

https://app.fieldopsafrica.com/api/bi/tables/{table}

Replace {table} with the BI table you want to retrieve.

For example:

https://app.fieldopsafrica.com/api/bi/tables/bi_visits

Authentication¶

FieldOps uses Bearer token authentication.

The BI Access Token is sent through the HTTP Authorization header.

The header format is:

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_BI_ACCESS_TOKEN

Example:

Authorization: Bearer fldops_bi_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Warning

Never publish a real BI Access Token in screenshots, documentation, source code repositories, or public messages.

Connect Power BI¶

Step 1: Open Get Data¶

Open Power BI Desktop.

From the ribbon select:

Home
→ Get Data
→ Get data from other sources
→ Get data from another source

Step 2: Select Web connector¶

Under available connectors select:

Other
→ Web

Select:

Connect

Step 3: Select Advanced mode¶

In the Web connection window select:

Advanced

Do not add the BI Access Token to the URL.

The token must be supplied as an HTTP request header.

Step 4: Enter the FieldOps BI endpoint¶

Under URL Parts enter:

https://app.fieldopsafrica.com/api/bi/tables/bi_visits

This example connects to the visits BI table.

Other BI tables can be used by replacing the table name.

Examples:

https://app.fieldopsafrica.com/api/bi/tables/bi_visit_responses

https://app.fieldopsafrica.com/api/bi/tables/bi_daily_visit_metrics

Step 5: Add Authorization header¶

Under HTTP Request Header Parameters add:

Field	Value
Header name	Authorization
Value	Bearer YOUR_BI_ACCESS_TOKEN

Example:

Header name	Value
Authorization	Bearer fldops_bi_xxxxxxxxx

Replace the example token with your actual BI Access Token.

Step 6: Authentication selection¶

Power BI may display an authentication method selection screen.

Select:

Anonymous

This does not make the FieldOps BI API public.

The request is authenticated using the Authorization header containing your BI Access Token.

Note

Power BI's Anonymous option means that Power BI itself is not managing the authentication. The FieldOps BI API validates the Bearer token provided in the request header.

Step 7: Load the data¶

After successful connection, Power BI will display the API response.

Select either:

Load

or:

Transform Data

Use Transform Data if you want to modify or expand the response before loading it.

Working with FieldOps BI responses¶

The FieldOps BI API response contains metadata and the actual reporting data.

The main sections include:

meta

data

query_guard

pagination

The reporting records are contained inside:

data

Power BI can expand this into a normal table structure.

Expanding data¶

If Power BI displays a record or list:

Select:

Expand

Continue expanding until the table rows are visible.

The final table may contain fields such as:

organization_name

program_name

project_name

site_name

visit_date

status

These fields can then be used in Power BI visuals.

Transforming data with Power Query¶

After connecting Power BI to FieldOps, you can select Transform Data to open Power Query Editor.

Power Query allows you to prepare FieldOps data before creating reports.

Common transformations include:

Expanding the data field from the API response
Removing unnecessary columns
Renaming fields
Changing data types
Filtering records

For most FieldOps reports:

Expand the data column.
Select the fields required for reporting.
Confirm data types.
Select Close & Apply to load the data into Power BI.

Tip

For large datasets, apply filters through the FieldOps BI API query parameters before loading the data into Power Query. This improves refresh performance.

Creating your first visual¶

After loading the data:

Open the Report view.
Select a visual type.
Drag FieldOps fields into the visual.

Examples:

Visits by Programme¶

Visual:

Column chart

Axis:

program_name

Values:

Count of visit_id

Visits by Site¶

Visual:

Bar chart

Axis:

site_name

Values:

Count of visit_id

Visits over time¶

Visual:

Line chart

Axis:

visit_date

Values:

Count of visit_id

Refreshing Power BI data¶

When the report refreshes, Power BI sends requests to the FieldOps BI API again.

Ensure:

The BI Access Token is still valid
The token has not been revoked
The organization still has BI access enabled

Using filters¶

For larger datasets, use filtered BI queries.

Example:

https://app.fieldopsafrica.com/api/bi/tables/bi_visits?status=eq:approved

Example:

https://app.fieldopsafrica.com/api/bi/tables/bi_visits?program_id=eq:1

Filters reduce the amount of data transferred and improve report performance.

Learn more:

Query BI Data

Common problems¶

Power BI cannot connect¶

Check:

The URL is correct
The Authorization header name is exactly:

Authorization
The header value starts with:

Bearer
There is a space between Bearer and the token
The BI Access Token is valid

Unauthorized response¶

Check:

The token was copied completely
The token has not been revoked
No extra spaces were added
The correct organization token was used

Data loads but columns are missing¶

Use:

Dataset discovery
Schema discovery

to confirm available fields.

See:

Discover BI Datasets and Schemas

Best practices¶

For production reporting:

Create separate BI tokens for separate Power BI reports
Use descriptive token names
Keep BI Access Tokens secure
Do not embed tokens in public files
Request only the data required
Use filters for large datasets

What to do next¶

After connecting Power BI you can:

Create dashboards
Add charts and KPIs
Build operational reports
Add filters and slicers
Schedule data refreshes

Query BI Data

Review BI API