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Get the Report →Build Automated OData-Connected Workflows in Zapier
Use CData Connect Cloud to connect to live OData services and build automated workflows in Zapier.
Zapier is an online automation tool that connects your apps and services. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, you get access to live OData services for your workflows. This article shows how to connect to OData and build workflows with live OData services in Zapier.
About OData Data Integration
CData simplifies access and integration of live OData services data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:
- Access OData versions 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0, working with legacy services and the latest features and capabilities.
- Leverage advanced query options, including $filter, $select, and $expand, enhancing data retrieval from 3rd party tools.
- Use Server-side execution of aggregation and grouping to minimize data transfer and boost performance.
- Authenticate securely using a variety of schemes, including Azure AD, digest, negotiate, NTLM, OAuth, and more means secure authentication with every connection.
- Use SQL stored procedures to manage OData service entities - listing, creating, and removing associations between entities.
Customers use CData's solutions to regularly integrate their OData services with preferred tools, such as Power BI, MicroStrategy, or Tableau, and to replicate data from OData services to their databases or data warehouses.
Getting Started
Connect to OData from Zapier
To work with OData in Zapier, we need to connect to OData from Connect Cloud, provide user access to the connection, and create OData endpoints for the OData services.
(Optional) Add a New Connect Cloud User
As needed, create Users to connect to OData 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 OData 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 "OData" from the Add Connection panel
-
Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to OData.
The User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid OData user credentials. In addition, you will need to specify a URL to a valid OData server organization root or OData services file.
- Click Create & Test
- Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add OData Connection page and update the User-based permissions.
Configure OData Endpoints for Zapier
After connecting to OData, 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 OData connection (e.g. OData1) 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 OData services from Zapier.
Connect to OData Services in Zapier Workflows
To establish a connection from Zapier to CData Connect Cloud using the OData protocol, follow these steps.
- Log into Zapier.
- Click Create Zap.
- In the dialog that appears, search for "Webhooks by Zapier", and click the option underneath.
- Under Event, select Retrieve Poll.
- Fill in the connection details:
- URL: Enter the OData URL (e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}).
- Key: Enter "value.name."
- Authentication details: Fill in the Basic Auth or Headers. The basic option requires a user (your Connect Cloud username, e.g. [email protected]) and password (the PAT you've previously created) separated by a pipe symbol: |. The headers option requires a request type header with encoded credentials.
- Click Test. If the connection is set up properly, sample records will appear.
Simplified Access to OData Services from Cloud Applications
At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live OData services from Zapier. For more information on gaining simplified access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources in cloud applications like Zapier, refer to our Connect Cloud page.