Looker Studio API Integration for Data Visualization

Looker Studio API allows you to connect various data sources to create custom visualizations. With over 200 data sources supported, you can connect your data from different platforms.

To get started, you'll need to create a Looker Studio account and set up a project. This will give you access to the API and allow you to create custom visualizations.

The API provides a range of tools and features to help you integrate data from different sources. This includes data modeling, data transformation, and data visualization tools.

By integrating data from multiple sources, you can create a more comprehensive view of your data, allowing you to make more informed business decisions.

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To start working with API data in Looker Studio, you need to configure the connector. Type in "lighthouse" in the text input area and click Connect in the top right.

First, log into Connect Cloud, click Connections, and click Add Connection to create a new API connection. Select "API" from the Add Connection panel to proceed.

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Next, enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to your API. This includes configuring the Global Settings page and updating the User-based permissions.

The configuration process might vary depending on the API you're using. For example, if you're using TMR, you'll need to provide the Base URL of the API and enter the Authorization credentials if needed.

Here's a step-by-step guide to setting up your API connection:

Note that the Base URL should not end with a forward slash (/). Also, make sure to toggle Test Before Saving and select a method (GET/POST/PUT) from the Method dropdown to check if the connection strings are valid.

To use the Looker Studio API, you'll need to authorize the app for an organization. This involves setting up domain-wide delegation in the Google Admin console.

First, sign in to your Google Admin console and navigate to domain-wide delegation. Then, in API clients, click Add new and enter the Client ID of the app to authorize. Next, enter all OAuth scopes required by the app, such as those used to manage assets.

The scopes required by the app will depend on what you're trying to accomplish with the Looker Studio API. But as a general rule, if you're using the API to manage assets, you'll need to enter scopes like those listed in the example.

If a user receives an Error 400: invalid_scope message when attempting to authorize the app, then the user's organization has not or incorrectly authorized the app. To resolve the issue, the user will have to request that their organization authorize the app.

Here are the steps to authorize the app:

Note that after authorizing the app, any Workspace user belonging to the organization will automatically be authorized to use the app with the Looker Studio API.

The getAuthType() function is a crucial part of the authentication process in Looker Studio, and it's called when the system needs to know the authentication method used by the connector.

This function should return the authentication method required by the connector to authorize the 3rd-party service, but in some cases, like the npm download connector, authentication isn't needed since the API doesn't require any authentication.

For the npm download connector, you don't need to authenticate with any 3rd-party service, so you can simply copy the provided code and add it to your Code.gs file.

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To authorize an app for an organization, you'll need to configure domain-wide delegation in the Google Admin console. This is a crucial step to ensure that users can authenticate and authorize the app using the Looker Studio API.

First, sign in to your Google Admin console and navigate to domain-wide delegation. From there, click on API clients and then Add new. Enter the Client ID of the app that uses the Looker Studio API.

You'll also need to enter all the OAuth scopes required by the app. Some common scopes for using the Looker Studio API to manage assets include:

Click Authorize to complete the process. After authorizing the app, any Workspace user belonging to the organization will automatically be authorized to use the app with the Looker Studio API.

If you encounter an Error 400: invalid_scope message, it means that the user's organization has not or incorrectly authorized the app. In this case, the user will need to request that their organization authorize the app.

Once the authorization is complete, it will show the configuration screen, where you'll need to type in the necessary information to connect to your API.

To configure the connector, you'll need to provide the necessary authentication properties, such as the Base URL of the API, and enter the Authorization credentials if needed. This includes either of the three options: API Key, OAuth, or Basic Auth.

You can toggle Test Before Saving and select a method (GET/POST/PUT) from the Method dropdown and give a Suffix URL (For example: /public-api/products or /products).

Configuring the Connector involves defining the getConfig() function, which determines the configuration options users will see. This function is called by Looker Studio to get the connector's configuration details.

The getConfig() function response defines the configuration options users will see, and based on this response, Looker Studio will render the connector configuration screen and change certain connector behavior.

You can provide information or get user input using various form elements, including TEXTINPUT, TEXTAREA, SELECT_SINGLE, SELECT_MULTIPLE, CHECKBOX, and INFO. The INFO element can be used to provide user instructions, while the TEXTINPUT element can be used to get the input package name from the user.

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In the getConfig() response, you will group these form elements under the configParams key. You should also set dateRangeRequired to true if your data source requires date as a parameter, as this tells Looker Studio to provide date ranges with all data requests.

Here are some common form elements you can use in the getConfig() response:

Once the authorization is complete, it will show the configuration screen. Type in "lighthouse" in the text input area and click Connect in the top right.

You can group form elements under the configParams key in the getConfig() response. This includes TEXTINPUT, TEXTAREA, SELECT_SINGLE, SELECT_MULTIPLE, CHECKBOX, and INFO elements.

To configure your connector, you need to provide necessary authentication properties to connect to your API. This includes entering the Base URL of the API, providing Authorization credentials, and entering Header fields if needed.

Here are the steps to configure your API connection:

You can toggle Test Before Saving and select a method (GET/POST/PUT) from the Method dropdown and give a Suffix URL. And then click on the Test and Save button to check if the connection strings are valid and Save the Data Source.