PRB: Access Denied When You Access OLAP Server Over HTTP with Office Web Components (325617)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office XP Web Components
This article was previously published under Q325617

SYMPTOMS

You can use the Office XP Web Components to access online analytical processing (OLAP) data sources using HTTP. If the Web server that processes the OLAP request cannot authenticate the user, the Web Components respond with the following error message:
The query could not be processed:
* Access Denied
NOTE: The error message can occur with Basic Authentication or NTLM.

CAUSE

The Microsoft OLAP Provider communicates with the OLAP server through an Active Server Pages (ASP) page (msolap.asp) on the Web server. Information is sent to the ASP page using a POST request, and is then forwarded to the OLAP server. Likewise, OLAP returns information to the ASP page, which is then forwarded to the client. If the client computer does not have access to msolap.asp, the Web server returns Error 401 that is listed in the "Symptoms" section. The Office Web Components display the error message instead of prompting for authentication.

RESOLUTION

If the client cannot be authenticated on the Web server, the only way around the error message is to supply the authentication information in the connection string for the Web Components.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce the Behavior

  1. In Notepad, paste the following HTML:
    <html>
<body>
<object classid="clsid:0002E552-0000-0000-C000-000000000046" id="PivotTable1"></object>
<br>
<input type="button" id=button1 value="Populate">
<script language="vbscript">
  sub button1_onclick()
    PivotTable1.ConnectionString = "Provider=MSOLAP.2;Integrated Security=SSPI;" + _
      "Data Source=http://<OLAP server>;Initial Catalog=FoodMart 2000"
    PivotTable1.DataMember = "Sales"
  end sub
</script>
</body>
</html>
    NOTE: Where <OLAP server> is the name of an OLAP server that is accessible with HTTP.

  2. Save the file as follows: C:\PivotTest.htm.
  3. Verify that the Web server requires only Basic Authentication to access the OLAP server.
  4. Start Internet Explorer, and then locate C:\PivotTest.htm. A page is displayed that contains a PivotTable and a button. When you click the button, the error that is listed in the "Symptoms" section appears in the PivotTable.
  5. To work around the problem, supply the user name and password for a valid account on the connection string:
        PivotTable1.ConnectionString = "Provider=MSOLAP.2;UID=TestUser;Password=Test;" + _
      "Data Source=http://<OLAP server>;Initial Catalog=FoodMart 2000"
    NOTE: In this code, change TestUser and Test to reflect the valid user name and password, respectively.

REFERENCES

For additional information about accessing an OLAP server with HTTP, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

279489 INF: How to Connect to Analysis Server 2000 with HTTP Connection

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:8/27/2002
Keywords:kbDSupport kbOfficeWebPivot kbprb KB325617
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.