SharePoint & Alteryx Guide
- edited by
AYXAcademy
Table of Contents
- Prerequisites
- How Designer Users Connect to SharePoint
- Establishing the Connection
- Outputting to Sharepoint
- Official Documentation for SharePoint Tool
- Additional Learning Resources
- How Server Admins Configure SharePoint on Server
- Server Integration Guideline
- Running Sharepoint Workflows in Gallery
- Resources for SharePoint Admin in Your Organization
- Site Setup and Management
- Community Resources
- Common Troubleshooting and Workarounds
- Service Principal and Authentication Issues
- Data Output and Truncation Issues
- Display and Data Import Challenges
- Authentication and Connectivity Errors
- List and Metadata Specific Issues
- Additional Tips
- Need Help?
Integrating SharePoint with Alteryx enables data connectivity, allowing users to automate workflows, streamline data processing, and enhance collaboration. By connecting directly to SharePoint, teams can access and manipulate real-time data without manual downloads, ensuring more efficient reporting and analysis. Additionally, this integration maintains SharePoint’s security and compliance controls, ensuring data integrity while reducing manual effort. This guide will walk you through the steps to connect SharePoint to Alteryx and optimize your data processes.
Prerequisites
Visit the Alteryx Marketplace to download and install a tool version compatible with your version of Designer/Server.
Review the Release Notes for the connector version.
The user must have required access to the specific Sites and Folders within SharePoint. Please see the Administration section for details and resources to provide your organization’s Microsoft/SharePoint admin.
How Designer Users Connect to SharePoint
Designer users rely on a series of connection and tool–specific steps to integrate SharePoint data into their workflows. These resources cover the connection process from initial setup to integration within workflows, ensuring Designer users can reliably work with SharePoint data.
Establishing the Connection
Use the SharePoint Input tool to read data from your CSV, XLSX, and YXDB files as well as lists from your SharePoint site:
- Designer: The SharePoint Input Tool help documentation covers how to sign in and read Files or Lists SharePoint via the connector.
- Designer Cloud: Create a connection to Sharepoint provides detailed, practical guidance on creating and testing a connection within Designer Cloud.
- Alternative Method with OneDrive: The article on How to Sync with SharePoint using Input Data Tool and OneDrive explains an alternate option for setting up a connection to SharePoint (without using the SharePoint Connector tools).
Outputting to Sharepoint
Use the SharePoint Output tool to write data to your CSV, XLSX, and YXDB files as well as lists in your SharePoint site:
- Designer: The SharePoint Output Tool help documentation covers how to sign and write Files or Lists into SharePoint via the connector.
- Designer Cloud: Create a connection to Sharepoint provides detailed, practical guidance on creating and testing a connection within Designer Cloud.
- Alternative Method with OneDrive: The article on How to Sync with SharePoint using Output Data Tool and OneDrive explains an alternate option for setting up a connection to SharePoint using the same method as the Input method except with the Output Tool (without using the SharePoint Connector tools).
Official Documentation for SharePoint Tool
The Alteryx Help pages provide detailed reference material for each tool:
- SharePoint Input Tool
- SharePoint Output Tool
- SharePoint List Input Tool (Deprecated)
- SharePoint List Output Tool (Deprecated)
Additional Learning Resources
The Interactive Lesson SharePoint Connector Tools for Designer Desktop is a great place to understand the tool better, as it walks users through examples and tool usage.
How Server Admins Configure SharePoint on Server
For environments managed on Alteryx Server, configuration involves ensuring that server‐side processes can interact correctly with SharePoint. These articles help Server admins configure their environments to support secure, reliable connections and data flows between Alteryx Server and SharePoint.
Server Integration Guideline
- Installing the SharePoint Connectors: You have to install a matching version of a connector on Alteryx Server to publish a workflow that uses the connector. Connectors are released independently from Server and require manual updates for new version releases.
- Alternative Method with OneDrive (without using the SharePoint Connector tools):
- Have the SharePoint files replicate to a UNC location that both local Designer and Server can access. "Run As" in both cases needs permissions to the UNC path.
- Have the SharePoint files replicate to the user's folder on the Server. Publish the workflow to use the user's credentials. The Server will then be able to access the files via its C: drive.
Running Sharepoint Workflows in Gallery
As of SharePoint Tools v2.2.0, DCM must be used for workflows containing this tool to run successfully in Gallery.
How to Run SharePoint Workflows in Gallery with DCM explains how to share SharePoint workflows on the Alteryx Gallery using DCM, outlining the necessary setup and configuration steps. It also provides guidance on prerequisites and troubleshooting tips to ensure workflows are correctly published and easily accessible.
Resources for SharePoint Admin in Your Organization
SharePoint administrators can leverage various resources to set up, maintain, and optimize SharePoint integrations. These resources help SharePoint admins stay current with configuration requirements, adopt best practices, and resolve common challenges through community knowledge and official documentation.
Site Setup and Management
The SharePoint connector allows you to use Service Principal for downloading and uploading files, but it requires the "Sites.All" permission, which gives the user access to all the Sites in the tenant. To avoid this, SharePoint can work with "Sites.Selected" permission, i.e., the Azure admin can limit the scope of Sites the app has access to.
- How to use the Sites.Selected API permission for SharePoint Tools offers guidance on configuring SharePoint sites for integration.
- Understanding Azure Applications, for Alteryx outlines how Alteryx Designer integrates with Azure Active Directory to securely retrieve your data from various Microsoft technologies; Azure manages access and identity, and Alteryx plugs into this to securely pull your data.
Community Resources
These Community discussions provide additional insights and best practices shared by users:
Common Troubleshooting and Workarounds
Many articles and community posts address frequent issues encountered when integrating SharePoint with Alteryx, along with workarounds to resolve them. By consulting these resources, users can diagnose and resolve the common pitfalls encountered during SharePoint integration.
Service Principal and Authentication Issues
Address challenges with using service principals on Designer setups, including troubleshooting tips when expected site data isn’t loading:
- SharePoint version 2.6.0 Using Service Principal will not load Sites
- Unable to Use the Service Principal for Sharepoint tools
Data Output and Truncation Issues
- SharePoint Output Tool is not outputting full data describes scenarios where not all data is output and offers troubleshooting steps.
- SharePoint Output: Not loading all available Lists highlights issues with list loading.
- TPM-282: SharePoint Files Input Tool Truncates Data of XLSX Files focuses on XLSX file truncation during input.
Display and Data Import Challenges
- SharePoint Lists Not Displaying in SharePoint Files Input Tool and CSV not importing all the data from Sharepoint address incomplete data displays or import issues.
- Excel file from Connector (Sharepoint) data only partially read discusses scenarios where Excel files aren’t fully read.
Authentication and Connectivity Errors
- Sharepoint Input Tool: The IDCRL response header from server is not valid details header and connectivity errors that can occur during authentication.
- SharePoint Input (1): Failed to start process: %1 is not a valid Win32 application provides error messaging insights related to process startups.
List and Metadata Specific Issues
Community discussions that offer workarounds for errors and advice related to list updates and metadata handling, such as:
- SharePoint List Output (8): Error while updating records: Item does not exist
- ListItem ID cannot be added in SharePoint List Output
Additional Tips
A discussion on Convert data type from string to float highlights potential data type conversion challenges when handling SharePoint data.
Need Help?
Post your SharePoint connector question in the Designer Desktop discussion forum to get a response from our active community of Alteryx users. You can also search the Knowledge Base for error resolutions.
If your question seems to be an opportunity for Alteryx to make improvements, please submit your idea to Alteryx Ideas. Some of our best features are based on feedback from users.
A final option for Sharepoint issue resolution is to submit a case in MyAlteryx to engage the Alteryx Customer Support team. Check out this how-to guide on case creation to get started.
