Edit and Search External Certinia Objects in Salesforce Connect

CData Connect AI, enables you to access Certinia 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 Certinia objects alongside standard Salesforce objects.

Connect to Certinia from Salesforce

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

Connect to Certinia 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 "Certinia" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Certinia.

   There are several authentication methods available for connecting to Certinia: login credentials, SSO, and OAuth.

   Authenticating with a Login and Token

   Set the User and Password to your login credentials. Additionally, set the SecurityToken. By default, the SecurityToken is required, but you can make it optional by allowing a range of trusted IP addresses.

   To disable the security token:

   1. Log in to Certinia and enter "Network Access" in the Quick Find box in the setup section.
   2. Add your IP address to the list of trusted IP addresses.

   To obtain the security token:

   1. Open the personal information page on certinia.com.
   2. Click the link to reset your security token. The token will be emailed to you.
   3. Specify the security token in the SecurityToken connection property or append it to the Password.

   Authenticating with OAuth

   If you do not have access to the user name and password or do not want to require them, use the OAuth user consent flow. See the OAuth section in the Help for an authentication guide.

   Connecting to Certinia Sandbox Accounts

   Set UseSandbox to true (false by default) to use a Certinia sandbox account. Ensure that you specify a sandbox user name in User.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Certinia 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 Certinia Endpoints for Salesforce Connect

After connecting to Certinia, 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 Certinia connection (e.g. Certinia1) 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 Certinia data from Salesforce Connect.

Connect to Certinia 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 the Writable External Objects option.
5. Select JSON in the Format menu.
6. 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 Certinia Objects

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

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

Access Certinia Data as Salesforce Objects

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

• Create a new tab with a filter list view:

  

• Create reports of external objects:

  

• Create, update, and delete Certinia objects from the Salesforce dashboard:

  

Simplified Access to Certinia Data from Cloud Applications

At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live Certinia 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.