Search External Adobe Experience Manager Objects in Salesforce Connect

CData Connect AI, enables you to access Adobe Experience Manager data from cloud-based applications like the Salesforce console and mobile applications like the Salesforce Mobile App. In this article, you will use CData Connect AI and Salesforce Connect to access external Adobe Experience Manager objects alongside standard Salesforce objects.

Connect to Adobe Experience Manager from Salesforce

To work with live Adobe Experience Manager data in Salesforce Connect, we need to connect to Adobe Experience Manager from Connect AI, provide user access to the connection, and create a Workspace for the Adobe Experience Manager data.

Connect to Adobe Experience Manager from Connect AI

CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "Adobe Experience Manager" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Adobe Experience Manager.

   The driver connects to Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) instances that expose the JCR repository over WebDAV. It supports both on-premises AEM and AEM as a Cloud Service deployments.

   To establish a connection, set the following properties:

   • URL: The WebDAV-enabled JCR server URL.
     • AEM as a Cloud Service: https://author-pXXXXX-eXXXXX.adobeaemcloud.com/crx/server
     • Local development: http://localhost:4502/crx/server
   • User: Your AEM username.
   • Password: Your AEM password.

   Note: Tables are dynamically generated based on the JCR repository structure. Ensure that the configured user has sufficient permissions to access the required content paths in the AEM repository.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Adobe Experience Manager Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

Configure Adobe Experience Manager Endpoints for Salesforce Connect

After connecting to Adobe Experience Manager, create a workspace for your desired table(s).

1. Navigate to the Workspaces page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace).
2. Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
3. Select the Adobe Experience Manager connection (e.g. AdobeExperienceManager1) and click Next.
4. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm.
5. Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}

With the connection, PAT, and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to Adobe Experience Manager data from Salesforce Connect.

Connect to Adobe Experience Manager Data as an External Data Sources

Follow the steps below to connect to the feed produced by Connect AI.

1. Log into Salesforce and click Setup -> Integrations -> External Data Sources.
2. Click Now External Data Sources.
3. Enter values for the following properties:
   • External Data Sources: Enter a label to be used in list views and reports.
   • Name: Enter a unique identifier.
   • Type: Select the option "Salesforce Connect: OData 4.0".
   • URL: Enter the URL to the OData endpoint of Connect AI: https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
4. Select JSON in the Format menu.
5. In the Authentication section, set the following properties:
   • Identity Type: If all members of your organization will use the same credentials to access Connect AI, select "Named Principal". If the members of your organization will connect with their own credentials, select "Per User".
   • Authentication Protocol: Select Password Authentication to use basic authentication.
   • Certificate: Enter or browse to the certificate to be used to encrypt and authenticate communications from Salesforce to your server.
   • Username: Enter a CData Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected]).
   • Password: Enter the user's PAT.

Synchronize Adobe Experience Manager Objects

After you have created the external data source, follow the steps below to create Adobe Experience Manager external objects that reflect any changes in the data source. You will synchronize the definitions for the Adobe Experience Manager external objects with the definitions for Adobe Experience Manager tables.

1. Click the link for the external data source you created.
2. Click Validate and Scan.
3. Select the Adobe Experience Manager tables you want to work with as external objects.

Access Adobe Experience Manager Data as Salesforce Objects

After adding Adobe Experience Manager data as an external data source and syncing Adobe Experience Manager tables as external objects, you can use the external Adobe Experience Manager objects just as you would standard Salesforce objects.

• Create a new tab with a filter list view:

  

• Create reports of external objects:

  

Simplified Access to Adobe Experience Manager Data from Cloud Applications

At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live Adobe Experience Manager data from Salesforce. For more information on gaining simplified access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources in cloud applications like Salesforce, refer to our Connect AI page.