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Data Source

Follow the instructions below to create a new data flow that ingests data from a SharePoint source in Nexla.
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SharePoint APIs

Create a New Data Flow​

  1. To create a new data flow, navigate to the Integrate section, and click the New Data Flow button. Then, select the desired flow type from the list, and click the Create button.

  2. Select the SharePoint connector tile from the list of available connectors. Then, select the credential that will be used to connect to your SharePoint account, and click Next; or, create a new SharePoint credential for use in this flow.

  3. In Nexla, SharePoint data sources can be created using pre-built endpoint templates, which expedite source setup for common SharePoint endpoints. Each template is designed specifically for the corresponding SharePoint endpoint, making source configuration easy and efficient.
    • To configure this source using a template, follow the instructions in Configure Using a Template.

    SharePoint sources can also be configured manually, allowing you to ingest data from SharePoint endpoints not included in the pre-built templates or apply further customizations to exactly suit your needs.
    • To configure this source manually, follow the instructions in Configure Manually.

Configure Using a Template​

Nexla provides pre-built templates that can be used to rapidly configure data sources to ingest data from common SharePoint endpoints. Each template is designed specifically for the corresponding SharePoint endpoint, making data source setup easy and efficient.

Endpoint Settings​

  • Select the endpoint from which this source will fetch data from the Endpoint pulldown menu. Available endpoint templates are listed in the expandable boxes below. Click on an endpoint to see more information about it and how to configure your data source for this endpoint.

    Get File

    This endpoint template retrieves a file from your SharePoint account. Use this template when you need to download files from SharePoint, including documents, images, and other file types.

    • Enter the item URL in the Item URL field. This should be the complete URL to the SharePoint file you want to retrieve (e.g., https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/sites/{site-id}/drive/items/{item-id}/content). The item URL determines which file will be retrieved from SharePoint.
    • Select the file format from the File Format pulldown menu (optional). Available options include PDF, CSV, XML, AVRO, JSON, Parquet, XLSX, and other file formats. The file format determines how the file will be processed and converted. Leave this field empty to use the original file format.

    This endpoint retrieves a file from your SharePoint account and downloads it as a file. The endpoint uses the item URL to identify and retrieve the specific file from SharePoint. You can optionally specify a file format to convert the file to a different format during the download process.

    For detailed information about file retrieval, API response structures, file formats, and available file properties, see the Microsoft Graph API documentation.

Endpoint Testing​

Once the selected endpoint template has been configured, Nexla can retrieve a sample of the data that will be fetched according to the current settings. This allows users to verify that the source is configured correctly before saving.

  • To test the current endpoint configuration, click the Test button to the right of the endpoint selection menu. Sample data will be fetched & displayed in the Endpoint Test Result panel on the right.

  • If the sample data is not as expected, review the selected endpoint and associated settings, and make any necessary adjustments. Then, click the Test button again, and check the sample data to ensure that the correct information is displayed.

Configure Manually​

SharePoint data sources can be manually configured to ingest data from any valid SharePoint API endpoint. Manual configuration provides maximum flexibility for accessing endpoints not covered by pre-built templates or when you need custom API configurations.

With manual configuration, you can also create more complex SharePoint sources, such as sources that use chained API calls to fetch related data or sources that require custom query parameters or filters.

API Method​

  1. To manually configure this source, select the Advanced tab at the top of the configuration screen.

  2. Select the API method that will be used for calls to the SharePoint API from the Method pulldown menu. SharePoint API (Microsoft Graph API) typically uses GET method for retrieving data from endpoints.

API Endpoint URL​

  1. Enter the URL of the SharePoint API endpoint from which this source will fetch data in the Set API URL field. This should be the complete URL to your SharePoint endpoint (e.g., https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/sites/{site-id}/drive/items/{item-id}/content, https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/sites/{site-id}/lists/{list-id}/items). Include any required path parameters in the URL.

Ensure the API endpoint URL is correct and accessible with your current credentials. The SharePoint API endpoint URL should use the Microsoft Graph API format (https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/) and include the appropriate resource path. You can test the endpoint using the Test button after configuring the URL.

Response Data Path​

  1. Enter the JSONPath expression in the Response Data Path field to specify which part of the API response should be treated as the relevant data by Nexla. For SharePoint API responses, use $[*] to extract all items from the response array, $.value[*] to extract all items from the value array, or $ to extract the entire response for single record endpoints, depending on your endpoint. For file downloads, the response is typically the file content itself.

The JSONPath expression must correctly reference the structure of your SharePoint API response. SharePoint API responses may have different structures depending on the endpoint. Ensure your JSONPath expression matches the structure returned by your specific endpoint. The JSONPath expression determines which data will be extracted and processed by Nexla.

Save the Data Source​

  1. Once all of the relevant steps in the above sections have been completed, click the Next button to proceed with the rest of the data flow configuration, or click Save to save the data source configuration for later use.