Automating Coloring with Tacton CPQ API Integration

Let’s face it: interpreting complex data in spreadsheets can be a chore. But what if your Excel file could automatically fetch data from a Tacton CPQ instance, understand it, and visually present it in a color-coded format? That’s precisely what we achieved with a smart integration of Excel, Power Automate, and the Tacton CPQ CSS API. This seamless automation turns raw configuration data into an intuitive, visually appealing spreadsheet.

The objective was simple but transformative: automate the coloring of cells in Excel based on real-time data fetched from Tacton CPQ. Using the Tacton CPQ CSS API as the data source, the project automated the visualization of configuration states directly in Excel.

Here’s how we did it.

How It Works: The Technical Breakdown

Step 1: Connecting to the Tacton CPQ CSS API via Power Automate

The backbone of this solution is a Power Automate flow. Acting as the intermediary, Power Automate initiates a POST request to the Tacton CPQ CSS API. This setup required:

• Defining Power Automate endpoint details:
  A unique URL for Excel's Office Script to call.

• Configuring the request payload:
  The payload included:

  • baseUrl: Tacton CPQ instance URL.
  • ticketId: Session/transaction identifier.
  • catalog, productId, externalId: To ensure the returned data was highly relevant.
  • apiVersion: Indicating the specific Tacton API version.

The flow was designed to handle authentication securely while maintaining flexibility for different API endpoints and datasets.

Step 2: Calling the API from Office Scripts

The Office Script handled the API call using Excel’s integration with JavaScript. Key tasks here included:

• Issuing the API request: The script fetched JSON data by calling Power Automate’s endpoint.
• Parsing and validating the response: The returned data was checked for errors and structured hierarchically for downstream processing.

Step 3: Extracting and Mapping Data

From the JSON response, we focused on two key elements:

• name: Unique identifiers for configuration items.
• state: Indicators of the current state (e.g., green, orange, red).

The script used this data to construct a dictionary (stateColorMap) that linked each item name to its corresponding state.

Step 4: Defining the Color Mapping

Next, we associated states with Excel-compatible color codes:

• Green for success or completion.
• Orange for warnings or intermediate states.
• Red for errors or critical statuses. This is actually not provided by the API.

These mappings ensured that users could instantly interpret the status of items without diving into details.

Step 5: Matching Data with Excel Column A

The script scanned Column A of the active Excel sheet, looking for matches with the name elements retrieved from the API. For each match:

1. The corresponding state was identified.
2. The predefined color was applied to the matching cell’s background.

This created a real-time, dynamic link between Excel and Tacton CPQ.

Step 6: Applying Conditional Formatting

Finally, Excel’s formatting APIs were used to apply the appropriate background color dynamically. Users could immediately visualize the data in an intuitive way.

Overcoming Challenges

While the project delivered impressive results, it wasn’t without hurdles:

• Office Script Limitations: Type restrictions in Office Scripts required precise declarations to avoid errors during execution.
• Complex JSON Parsing: The Tacton CPQ API response often contained deeply nested data, requiring a systematic approach to extract the necessary information.
• Dynamic Data Handling: Ensuring Excel dynamically matched and updated cells based on API responses demanded a robust and adaptable script design.

Why This Solution Matters

This integration isn't just a cool demonstration of automation—it's a practical tool for businesses using Tacton CPQ. Here’s why it stands out:

• Real-Time Integration: Seamlessly fetch and visualize live configuration data from Tacton CPQ without manual intervention.
• Scalable Design: The modular approach means you can expand it to handle more states, columns, or even different datasets.
• Enhanced Visualization: Color-coding enables users to quickly grasp the state of configurations, reducing errors and boosting efficiency.
• Workflow Efficiency: By automating tedious tasks, the solution frees up time for more strategic activities.

The Outcome: Automation That Works

The final solution marries the power of Tacton CPQ with Excel's widespread familiarity, making it easy to bring API-driven data to life.

• Integration: Reliable and secure connection with Tacton CPQ.
• Automation: Data retrieval, processing, and visualization—all automated.
• Intuition: Color-coded cells provide immediate insights.

This workflow doesn’t just eliminate manual steps; it sets a new standard for how businesses can integrate CPQ systems with everyday tools like Excel.

Get Started with Tacton CPQ Automation

Are you ready to unlock the power of seamless integrations like this? Let our experts at cpq.se help you connect the dots between Tacton CPQ, Power Automate, and other business-critical tools.

Book a virtual coffee with Magnus Fasth or Patrik Skjelfoss today to discuss your automation goals: Meet CPQ.se.

Or why don't sign up for our online Power Automate Training, specifically targeted to Tacton CPQ? What's outlined above might be an upcoming chapter...