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status5009's avatar
status5009
Frequent Visitor
1 year ago

Using Custom Data Connector to read Local .txt File

I am trying to read the contents of a local text, but when I try to use my custom connector in Power BI, it keeps giving me the error "Please specify how to connect". I have tried the different authentication types but none of them have worked.

 

[DataSource.Kind = "LocalFile", Publish = "LocalFile.Publish"]
shared LocalFile.Contents  = () =>
    let
    path = "C:\Users\User\Documents\key.txt",
    ttemp = File.Contents("C:\Users\User\Documents\key.txt"),
    token = Text.FromBinary(ttemp),
    headers = [#"Content-Type"="application/json", #"Authorization"=token],
    result = Json.Document(Web.Contents(url, [Headers = headers])),
    in
        result;

LocalFile = [
    Authentication = [
        UsernamePassword = [],
        Windows = [],
        Anonymous = []
    ]
];

 

I'm not sure how to resolve this issue. I am able to read a local file by creating a Windows credential with the path to the file for use in the .pq file, but I can't find this option in the data connector itself. 

 

 

 

13 Replies

  • Are you planning to run this only on Power BI Desktop or do you eventually want to use your custom connector in the service?

    • status5009's avatar
      status5009
      Frequent Visitor

      I want to use my custom connector in Power BI Desktop to make calling the API I plan on using easier. 

       

      I have gotten it to work normally in Power BI using the query editor inside it or the import Text/CSV data source, but I wanted to see if I could have this custom connector read a text file to get a user's authentication token without having to do those other ways.

      • lbendlin's avatar
        lbendlin
        Super User

        Would placing these files on a SharePoint or OneDrive instead be an option for you?  It would save you enormous amounts of future headaches.