Forum Discussion
Using FRED Data
API can be tough. Basically, it's like getting from a web source. Check out these instructions: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/charles_sterling/2016/05/25/how-to-call-rest-apis-and-parse-json-with-power-bi/
Solution SpecialistLooks like they have an API. https://research.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/fred/
I saw that. I know this is a very newbie question, but how do I use an API with PBI?
- Aron_Moore
API can be tough. Basically, it's like getting from a web source. Check out these instructions: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/charles_sterling/2016/05/25/how-to-call-rest-apis-and-parse-json-with-power-bi/
this url is broken
- In this case, you use Power BI's Web connector (Get Data/Web) and then paste in text per this model:
https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/series/observations?series_id=GNPCA&api_key=abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456
- Replace GNPCA with the ID code for the data series you want to retrieve.
- Replace abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456 with an API key you get from FRED by requesting it in your user account at the API keys link.
- Then paste the edited string into the Web connector and load the data.
- Power BI will initially show a list of attributes and descriptive data such as the data series' start and end date. To get to the observations, in query editor, choose transform, then expand.
I was using Python to pull FRED data series, but after discovering the web connector has a refresh advantage, I'm switching.
I tried using the example it does connect and get a reply but it only returns three columns to query editor :
Series, Attibute:realtime_start, Attribute:realtime_end.
It does not return data and it only has the same date for start and end .
There has to be a way to get data and specify dates
