Microsoft Ads SubmitGenerateReport operation as AdPerformanceReportRequest returns RequiredColumnsNotSelected

I am trying to get ads metrics through microsoft ads api, such as costs, impressions, clicks, and more. I am not used to using SOAP APIs, but I haven't found any documentations other then the api SDK and SOAP.

I was able to get my User info through the SOAP api, the campaigns of the customer account and the ad groups, because I understand that I need the campaign ids and the adgroups ids, right?

Okay, to get the metrics that I want, I found the SubmitGenerateReport and PollGenerateReport operations, and since I want daily metrics per ads, I think the best report for me is the AdPerformanceReportRequest.

Now let's get to the point where I'm stuck. When I call the SubmitGenerateReport operation, I am getting as response this error:

<s:Envelope xmlns:s="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/">
    <s:Body>
        <s:Fault>
            <faultcode>s:Server</faultcode>
            <faultstring>Invalid client data. Check the SOAP fault details for more information. TrackingId: 0182f18c-cad8-4497-8e81-9a63f6f42055.</faultstring>
            <detail>
                <ApiFaultDetail xmlns="https://bingads.microsoft.com/Reporting/v13" xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
                    <TrackingId xmlns="https://adapi.microsoft.com">0182f18c-cad8-4497-8e81-9a63f6f42055</TrackingId>
                    <BatchErrors/>
                    <OperationErrors>
                        <OperationError>
                            <Code>2015</Code>
                            <Details>No Dimension selected.</Details>
                            <ErrorCode>RequiredColumnsNotSelected</ErrorCode>
                            <Message>The specified report request does not specify all the required columns for this report type. Please submit a report request with the required columns for this report type, and optionally additional columns that are to be included in the report.</Message>
                        </OperationError>
                    </OperationErrors>
                </ApiFaultDetail>
            </detail>
        </s:Fault>
    </s:Body>
</s:Envelope>

As you can see, I am unnable to see which column is missing through the response, and that's why I am here.

This is my request:

url: https://reporting.api.bingads.microsoft.com/Api/Advertiser/Reporting/v13/ReportingService.svc

headers:

Content-Type:text/xml
SOAPAction:SubmitGenerateReport

body:

<s:Envelope xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:s="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/">
    <s:Header xmlns="https://bingads.microsoft.com/Reporting/v13">
        <AuthenticationToken i:nil="false">$token</AuthenticationToken>
        <CustomerAccountId i:nil="false">$accountId</CustomerAccountId>
        <CustomerId i:nil="false">$customerId</CustomerId>
        <DeveloperToken i:nil="false">$developerToken</DeveloperToken>
    </s:Header>
    <s:Body>
        <SubmitGenerateReportRequest xmlns="https://bingads.microsoft.com/Reporting/v13">
            <ReportRequest i:nil="false" i:type="AdPerformanceReportRequest">
                <ExcludeColumnHeaders i:nil="false">false</ExcludeColumnHeaders>
                <ExcludeReportFooter i:nil="false">false</ExcludeReportFooter>
                <ExcludeReportHeader i:nil="false">false</ExcludeReportHeader>
                <Format i:nil="false">Csv</Format>
                <FormatVersion i:nil="false">2.0</FormatVersion>
                <ReportName i:nil="false">Ad Report</ReportName>
                <ReturnOnlyCompleteData i:nil="false">false</ReturnOnlyCompleteData>
                <!--These fields are applicable if the derived type attribute is set to AdPerformanceReportRequest-->
                <Aggregation>Daily</Aggregation>
                <Columns i:nil="false">
                    <AdPerformanceReportColumn>Clicks</AdPerformanceReportColumn>
                </Columns>
                <Filter i:nil="false">
                    <AccountStatus i:nil="false">Active Paused Inactive</AccountStatus>
                    <AdDistribution i:nil="false">Search Audience</AdDistribution>
                    <AdGroupStatus i:nil="false">Active Deleted Expired Paused</AdGroupStatus>
                    <AdStatus i:nil="false">Active Rejected Deleted Pending Paused</AdStatus>
                    <AdType i:nil="false">AppInstall DynamicSearchAd ExpandedText Product ResponsiveAd ResponsiveSearchAd Text</AdType>
                    <CampaignStatus i:nil="false">Active BudgetPaused Deleted Paused Suspended</CampaignStatus>
                    <DeviceType i:nil="false">Computer NonSmartPhone SmartPhone Tablet</DeviceType>
                    <Language i:nil="false">Portuguese English</Language>
                </Filter>
                <Scope i:nil="false">
                    <AccountIds i:nil="false" xmlns:a1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/Arrays">
                        <a1:long>$accountId</a1:long>
                    </AccountIds>
                    <AdGroups i:nil="false">
                        <AdGroupReportScope>
                            <AccountId>$accountId</AccountId>
                            <CampaignId>518735525</CampaignId>
                            <AdGroupId>1323813659647082</AdGroupId>
                        </AdGroupReportScope>
                    </AdGroups>
                    <Campaigns i:nil="false">
                        <CampaignReportScope>
                            <AccountId>$accountId</AccountId>
                            <CampaignId>518735525</CampaignId>
                        </CampaignReportScope>
                    </Campaigns>
                </Scope>
                <Time i:nil="false">
                    <CustomDateRangeEnd i:nil="false">
                        <Day>30</Day>
                        <Month>05</Month>
                        <Year>2024</Year>
                    </CustomDateRangeEnd>
                    <CustomDateRangeStart i:nil="false">
                        <Day>01</Day>
                        <Month>01</Month>
                        <Year>2024</Year>
                    </CustomDateRangeStart>
                    <ReportTimeZone i:nil="false">Brasilia</ReportTimeZone>
                </Time>
            </ReportRequest>
        </SubmitGenerateReportRequest>
    </s:Body>
</s:Envelope>

I usually test the api endpoint through Postman and when I understand how it works I start coding the integration, so this is just me testing how the api works, does someone what I'm missing?

Solution

Okay, I have spoken to Microsoft Ads support, and this is the answer:

Since I'm using Daily Aggregation, there is a Column that is expected called "TimePeriod", and this is true for all aggregation types except Summary. as is described here

I have added the TimePeriod column and now I can submit a AdPerformanceReport!

Addind this column fix the error, and now I'm getting the id of the report as a response, YAY!

This answers my question, BUT, since I have to download the report now, I need to test that, and I did test it.

The result? I call PollGenerateReport request passing de id from the report that I just generated, and I get a url to download my report. Sadly, that's not the end of the story.

When I try to request the report with the url that was given to me, that looks like this: https://bingadsappsstorageprod.blob.core.windows.net/hpr-reportdataapi.../Ad_Report.zip?...
I am getting a <404 The specified resource does not exist.> error.

So, to get a valid download URL, you have to replace "amp;" with "" (empty), just like the example below:

Initial URL

https://bingadsappsstorageprod.blob.core.windows.net:443/hpr-reportdataapi-24-06-17/bb74e670-f6f3-4463-bdf4-57b89379d76d/Ad_Report.zip?sv=2018-03-28&sr=b&sig=R1npske0kxLK2S9s0FkfJkJ9PKRyCmN3LVyL6Birr0E%3D&st=2024-06-17T113A20%3A29Z&se=2024-06-17T11%3A353A29Z&sp=r

Download URL