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Get the Report →Edit and Search External Freshdesk Objects in Salesforce Connect
Use CData Connect Cloud to securely provide OData feeds of Freshdesk data to smart devices and cloud-based applications. Use the CData Connect and Salesforce Connect to create Freshdesk Data objects that you can access from apps and the dashboard.
CData Connect Cloud, enables you to access Freshdesk 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 Cloud and Salesforce Connect to access external Freshdesk objects alongside standard Salesforce objects.
Connect to Freshdesk from Salesforce
To work with live Freshdesk data in Salesforce Connect, we need to connect to Freshdesk from Connect Cloud, provide user access to the connection, and create OData endpoints for the Freshdesk data.
(Optional) Add a New Connect Cloud User
As needed, create Users to connect to Freshdesk through Connect Cloud.
- Navigate to the Users page and click Invite Users
- Enter the new user's email address and click Send to invite the user
- You can review and edit users from the Users page
Add a Personal Access Token
If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.
- Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
- On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
- Give your PAT a name and click Create.
- The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.
Connect to Freshdesk from Connect Cloud
CData Connect Cloud uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.
- Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
- Select "Freshdesk" from the Add Connection panel
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Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Freshdesk.
FreshDesk makes use of basic authentication. To connect to data, set the following connection properties:
- Domain: Set this to the domain associated with your FreshDesk account. For example, in your URL: https://my_domain.freshdesk.com.
- APIKey: Set this to the API key associated with your FreshDesk account. To retrieve your API key, Log into your support Portal -> Click on profile picture in the top right corner -> profile settings page. The API key will be available below the change password section to the right.
- Click Create & Test
- Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Freshdesk Connection page and update the User-based permissions.
Configure Freshdesk Endpoints for Salesforce Connect
After connecting to Freshdesk, create a workspace and virtual dataset for your desired table(s).
- Navigate to the Virtual Datasets page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace).
- Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
- Select the Freshdesk connection (e.g. FreshDesk1) and click Next.
- Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm.
- Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
With the connection and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to Freshdesk data from Salesforce Connect.
Connect to Freshdesk Data as an External Data Sources
Follow the steps below to connect to the feed produced by Connect Cloud.
- Log into Salesforce and click Setup -> Integrations -> External Data Sources.
- Click Now External Data Sources.
- 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 Cloud: https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
- Select the Writable External Objects option.
- Select JSON in the Format menu.
- In the Authentication section, set the following properties:
- Identity Type: If all members of your organization will use the same credentials to access Connect Cloud, 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 Cloud username (e.g. [email protected].
- Password: Enter the user's PAT.

Synchronize Freshdesk Objects
After you have created the external data source, follow the steps below to create Freshdesk external objects that reflect any changes in the data source. You will synchronize the definitions for the Freshdesk external objects with the definitions for Freshdesk tables.
- Click the link for the external data source you created.
- Click Validate and Scan.
- Select the Freshdesk tables you want to work with as external objects.

Access Freshdesk Data as Salesforce Objects
After adding Freshdesk data as an external data source and syncing Freshdesk tables as external objects, you can use the external Freshdesk objects just as you would standard Salesforce objects.
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Create a new tab with a filter list view:
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Create reports of external objects:
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Create, update, and delete Freshdesk objects from the Salesforce dashboard:
Simplified Access to Freshdesk Data from Cloud Applications
At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live Freshdesk 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 Cloud page.