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Custom Connector as a Portable Library of Functions

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Miguel's profile image

Miguel on 24 Aug 2017 09:40:54

Currently, a custom connector requires a Data Source and a Authentication record associated to a function in order to be Published or exposed in the 'Get Data' dialog/window.
This is perfectly fine for data sources, but if I want to create a custom connector that creates data using native M functions, like. List.Generate or List.Dates, then I shouldn't have to define a Data Source nor an Authentication which complicates things and is an unnecessary step for the end user.

Here are 2 videos showcasing 2 functions that do not need any sort of authentication, but due to the way custom connectors currently need to be constructed, they get prompted for credentials as an "Anonymous" user:
https://youtu.be/76W1Cu1qSfw
https://youtu.be/Q06NKl8A4eI

The idea: to remove the need for a DataSource/Authentication record for custom connectors that act as library of functions so they can be published on the 'Get Data' dialog and not only shared as environment variables.

Comments (11)
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Taylor Clark on 16 Aug 2020 03:42:01

RE: Custom Connector as a Portable Library of Functions

Allow connecting to / sharing of M functions and libraries. For example, I've been keeping a set of useful "utility" functions here: https://github.com/tnclark8012/power-query-extentions/blob/master/power-query-extensions.m

It would be great if I could share or import them in a convenient way, and perhaps reference them without the table syntax.