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Google Sheets

Connect one Google Sheets spreadsheet to Fresco BI. Each sheet (tab) of the spreadsheet is listed as a table, and Fresco BI imports the sheets you pick into Data Tables. Fresco BI only reads.

Feature Supported
Import Yes
DirectQuery No
SSL/TLS Always on and verified
SSH tunnel No
Cloud Yes
On-premises (via Gateway) No

Prerequisites

Section titled “Prerequisites”
  • A Google account that can open the spreadsheet (owner, editor or viewer).
  • The spreadsheet’s ID.
  • Google sign-in must be set up on your Fresco BI server. If it is not, the connector cannot be used; ask your Fresco BI administrator.

Step 1: Give Fresco BI read access

Section titled “Step 1: Give Fresco BI read access”

Google Sheets does not use a database user. You sign in with Google instead, and Fresco BI reads the spreadsheet as that Google account:

  1. When you add the source, Fresco BI sends you to Google’s sign-in page.
  2. Pick the Google account that can open the spreadsheet.
  3. Allow read access to Google Sheets. Fresco BI asks for one permission only: read-only access to your spreadsheets (spreadsheets.readonly). It cannot change, create or delete any spreadsheet.

If you do not allow that permission, the sign-in is refused with “Allow read access to Google Sheets.” and nothing is saved.

To keep access narrow, you can use a separate Google account that has only Viewer access to the spreadsheet: share the spreadsheet with that account (Share in Google Sheets, role Viewer) and sign in with it.

To remove access later, remove Fresco BI from the account’s third-party access in your Google Account settings.

Step 2: Allow network access

Section titled “Step 2: Allow network access”

Nothing to open. Fresco BI calls only Google’s own API hosts (sheets.googleapis.com and oauth2.googleapis.com) over verified TLS. There is no SSH tunnel and no On-premises (Gateway) option for Google Sheets.

Step 3: Fill in the form

Section titled “Step 3: Fill in the form”

The web form for Google Sheets is not available yet. The source takes these settings:

  1. Spreadsheet ID: the part of the spreadsheet URL between /d/ and /edit. For https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AbC.../edit, the ID is 1AbC.... It is 25 to 128 letters, digits, - or _. Fresco BI never takes a full URL.
  2. Header row: the row that holds the column names, 0 to 100 (default 1). Data starts on the row below it; rows above it are skipped. With 0, there is no header row and the columns are named Column 1, Column 2 and so on.
  3. Sample rows: how many rows are read to guess each column’s type, 100 to 1,000 (default 1,000).

After sign-in, the source shows which Google account it is connected as. The sign-in token is stored encrypted on the server and is never shown.

How the data is read

Section titled “How the data is read”
  • Empty header cells become Column N; repeated names get _2, _3.
  • Column types (whole number, decimal, true/false, date, date and time, time, text) are guessed from the sample rows and the cell number formats.
  • Error cells such as #N/A or #REF! read as blank.
  • A sheet can have at most 1,000 columns and 5,000,000 cells (rows × columns).
  • Fresco BI sends at most one request per second per source and retries when Google says the quota is used up.

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”
  • The server rejected the user name or password. Google refused the sign-in token, for example because access was removed in the Google Account settings. Sign in with Google again.
  • The database user cannot read this object. The signed-in Google account cannot open this spreadsheet. Share it with that account, or sign in with an account that has access.
  • The database or object was not found on the server. Check the spreadsheet ID, and that the sheet (tab) was not renamed or deleted.
  • A size or concurrent-connection limit was exceeded. The sheet has more than 1,000 columns or 5,000,000 cells, or Google’s request quota was used up. Split the sheet, or try again later.
  • The source table no longer matches the data table. A column the Data Table reads is gone from the sheet’s header row (renamed or deleted). Put the column name back, or check the header row setting.
  • No connection could be opened to this host and port. Check the host, the port, and that the firewall allows Fresco BI’s IP. Google answered with a server error. Try again later.
  • The server did not answer in time. Usually a firewall that drops packets, or a wrong host or port. Google was slow to answer; try again.

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