Smoke-Test Your Power BI OData Connection

Prerequisites Checklist

Before you start, confirm all three items:

Step 1 — Install Power BI Desktop

Power BI Desktop is a free Windows app. The Microsoft Store version auto-updates, which keeps the OData connector current without manual upgrades.

1. Open the Microsoft Store.
   Press Win and type Microsoft Store, then press Enter. The Store opens to its home page.
2. Search for Power BI Desktop.
   Click the search box at the top of the Store and type Power BI Desktop. Press Enter. Select the result published by Microsoft Corporation — it should be the first result.
3. Click Get (or Install).
   The app is free. Click Get or Install. You may be prompted to sign in with a Microsoft account — a free personal account is sufficient for local use. Installation takes 2–5 minutes depending on your connection.
4. Launch Power BI Desktop.
   After installation, click Open in the Store, or find Power BI Desktop in the Start menu. Dismiss any splash screen or sign-in prompt — a blank report canvas will appear. You are ready for Step 2.

Step 2 — Get Your CID and API Key

Every OData request requires two pieces of information: your Customer ID (CID) passed in the URL, and your API Key passed in the request header. Collect both before you open Power BI.

Finding your CID

Your CID is the unique identifier that tells the OData server which Standard Time® account to read from. The OData URL pattern is:

https://stcloud67.com/?cid=YOUR_CID_HERE

To find your CID:

• Open Standard Time® and click Help → About. The CID is listed on the About screen.
• Or, log into the Standard Time® web interface — the CID appears after ?cid= in the browser address bar.
• If you are not sure, ask your Standard Time® administrator.

Generating your API Key

The API key authenticates your OData requests without exposing your login credentials. Generate it once inside Standard Time® and reuse it across all your Power BI queries.

1. Open the View menu in Standard Time®.
   Click View in the top menu bar. Scroll down to Generate API Key and click it.
2. Generate and copy the key.
   The dialog shows your current key. If none exists yet, click Generate. Click the key string to select it, then press Ctrl+C to copy. Paste it somewhere safe — a text file or password manager — before closing this dialog.

Step 3 — Open the Power Query Editor

You will enter the smoke-test M query in the Power Query Advanced Editor. Here is how to get there from a blank report.

1. On the Home ribbon, click Get Data → Blank Query.
   In Power BI Desktop, click the Home tab. Click the small dropdown arrow on Get Data. In the menu that opens, look under New Source for Blank Query — or choose More… to open the full connector list and select Blank Query there.
2. The Power Query Editor opens with Query1.
   A new window appears — the Power Query Editor. You will see Query1 in the Queries pane on the left. The main area shows an empty preview. This is where you will paste the smoke-test query.
3. Right-click Query1 → Advanced Editor.
   In the Queries pane, right-click the Query1 item. In the context menu, click Advanced Editor. This opens the M formula editor — a dark text box where you can type or paste raw M code.

Step 4 — Run the Entity List Smoke-Test Query

The simplest possible smoke test is to call the OData service root — the base endpoint with no entity name appended. It returns a two-column table listing every available entity set by name. No data rows are loaded, it is instant, and it works even when the database is completely empty.

1. In the Advanced Editor, select all and delete.
   Press Ctrl+A to select the placeholder text, then press Delete.
2. Paste the service-root query below.
   Copy the entire block, paste it into the Advanced Editor, then replace YOUR_CID_HERE with your actual CID and YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with your API key. M — entity list smoke test (paste into Advanced Editor)

   let
       Source = OData.Feed(
           "https://stcloud67.com/odata/?cid=YOUR_CID_HERE",
           null,
           [Headers = [#"X-Api-Key" = "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"]]
       )
   in
       Source

3. Click Done.
   Power BI evaluates the query and displays a preview. If the connection is successful you will see a two-column table — Name and Url — with one row for each of the 11 Standard Time® entity sets.

Step 5 — Run the TimeLogs Smoke-Test Query

Once Users works, confirm that your primary data table — TimeLogs — is also reachable. This is the table that drives most dashboards. Add a new Blank Query and run this in its Advanced Editor:

let
    Source = OData.Feed(
        "https://stcloud67.com/odata/TimeLogs?cid=YOUR_CID_HERE&$top=10",
        null,
        [Headers = [#"X-Api-Key" = "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"]]
    )
in
    Source

For completeness, here is the Projects smoke test as well:

let
    Source = OData.Feed(
        "https://stcloud67.com/odata/Projects?cid=YOUR_CID_HERE&$top=10",
        null,
        [Headers = [#"X-Api-Key" = "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"]]
    )
in
    Source

Step 6 — Verify the Result

After clicking Done in the Advanced Editor, Power BI runs the query and shows a preview. Here is what to look for:

Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized

404 Not Found

Power BI prompts for credentials

M syntax errors

Connection works but data is stale

Next Steps — All OData Guides

Your connection is confirmed. Now you are ready to load all 11 entity sets, build relationships, write DAX measures, and publish production dashboards. Every guide below picks up where this smoke test leaves off.