Embed and link Anaplan XL Web reports into Power BI visuals

Anaplan XL Reporting Web users can embed and link Anaplan XL Web reports into Power BI reports.

• The custom visual package from Anaplan
• The Anaplan XL Web server must be running as HTTPS
• Using Power BI cloud or Power BI Report Server (March 2018 or later)
• Ensure you are running the latest Windows updates

As Power BI and Anaplan XL Web will be hosted on different servers, you need to enable cross-domain access (CORS) on Anaplan XL Web. This'll enable Power BI to integrate correctly with Anaplan XL Web. In the Anaplan XL Web config application, enable Power BI Visual Support on the Advanced tab.

1. In IIS (Internet Information Services) Manger on the Anaplan XL Web server, select the Anaplan XL Web Application, and then select Handler Mappings.
2. Under Actions, click View Ordered List....
3. Ensure OPTIONSVerbHandler appears above all the *.svc entries.

Note that after changing the order, we recommend that you go back to Unordered List and then Ordered List to ensure it's in the correct place. You may need to do this a few times to ensure it saves.

In IIS, under HTTP Response Headers, add:

Access-Control-Allow-Origin * Access-Control-Allow-Headers Accept,X-Requested-With,X-Prototype-Version,Content-Type,Cache-Control,Pragma,Origin,Set-Cookie,Cookie Access-Control-Request-Method POST Access-Control-Allow-Methods GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, OPTIONS Access-Control-Allow-Credentials true

Or via web.config:

<system.webServer> <defaultDocument /> <httpProtocol> <customHeaders> <remove name="X-Powered-By" /> <add name="Access-Control-Allow-Origin" value="*" /> <add name="Access-Control-Allow-Headers" value="Accept,X-Requested-With,X-Prototype-Version,Content-Type,Cache-Control,Pragma,Origin,Set-Cookie,Cookie" /> <add name="Access-Control-Request-Method" value="POST" /> <add name="Access-Control-Allow-Methods" value="GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, OPTIONS" /> <add name="Access-Control-Allow-Credentials" value="true" /> </customHeaders> </httpProtocol>

Update web.config with: 

<system.web> <httpCookies … requireSSL="true" httpOnlyCookies="true" sameSite="None" /> 

<sessionState … cookieSameSite="None" />

If the setting exists, add the new attributes. Otherwise, create a new entry (excluding the ...).

To support Windows authentication with the custom visual, additional changes are needed. It'll also only work fully in Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome. The web browser will send a pre-flight OPTIONS request to check the server can accept the Windows credentials. Anaplan XL Web must allow anonymous OPTIONS requests. To do this:

1. Update the header:
   Access-Control-Allow-Origin null
<add name="Access-Control-Allow-Origin" value="null" />
2. In IIS, enable Anonymous Authentication.
3. In web.config, update:
   <authentication mode="Windows" />
to:
   <authentication mode="Windows" /> <authorization> <allow verbs="OPTIONS" users="*" /> <deny users="?" /> </authorization>

This allows the pre-flight request to return without credentials but leaves the rest of the requests and the website to require authentication.

Edit the Power BI report and, under Visualizations, select Import a custom visual to import the custom visual package. This gives you a new icon under Visualizations that you can use to insert the report. Once inserted, you can add parameters.

You can now choose a report from your web server. Note that you need to be editing the report in Power BI online, not on Desktop, to choose a report with the ... button.

When linking to fields on the report, the values will be passed to the report via any Web parameters that match the attribute name.

You can set other options for the visual in Power BI, such as the server name, and whether to show sheet tabs.

• Only one member for each parameter is passed to the report. If several members are picked, then a blank is passed, and any range-driven items revert to the default member.
• Power BI connected reports prompt for a login when opening for the first time.
• When setting up the report in Power BI Report Server using the desktop version of Power BI, you have to enter the report path manually. The report will only be shown once viewed in the browser.