Edit and Search External REST Objects in Salesforce Connect

CData Connect Cloud, enables you to access REST 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 REST objects alongside standard Salesforce objects.

Connect to REST from Salesforce

To work with live REST data in Salesforce Connect, we need to connect to REST from Connect Cloud, provide user access to the connection, and create OData endpoints for the REST data.

(Optional) Add a New Connect Cloud User

As needed, create Users to connect to REST through Connect Cloud.

1. Navigate to the Users page and click Invite Users
2. Enter the new user's email address and click Send to invite the user
3. 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.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your 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.

Connect to REST from Connect Cloud

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

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "REST" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to REST.

   See the Getting Started chapter in the data provider documentation to authenticate to your data source: The data provider models REST APIs as bidirectional database tables and XML/JSON files as read-only views (local files, files stored on popular cloud services, and FTP servers). The major authentication schemes are supported, including HTTP Basic, Digest, NTLM, OAuth, and FTP. See the Getting Started chapter in the data provider documentation for authentication guides.

   After setting the URI and providing any authentication values, set Format to "XML" or "JSON" and set DataModel to more closely match the data representation to the structure of your data.

   The DataModel property is the controlling property over how your data is represented into tables and toggles the following basic configurations.

   • Document (default): Model a top-level, document view of your REST data. The data provider returns nested elements as aggregates of data.
   • FlattenedDocuments: Implicitly join nested documents and their parents into a single table.
   • Relational: Return individual, related tables from hierarchical data. The tables contain a primary key and a foreign key that links to the parent document.

   See the Modeling REST Data chapter for more information on configuring the relational representation. You will also find the sample data used in the following examples. The data includes entries for people, the cars they own, and various maintenance services performed on those cars.

   
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add REST Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Configure REST Endpoints for Salesforce Connect

After connecting to REST, create a workspace and virtual dataset for your desired table(s).

1. Navigate to the Virtual Datasets 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 REST connection (e.g. REST1) 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 and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to REST data from Salesforce Connect.

Connect to REST Data as an External Data Sources

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

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 Cloud: 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 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 REST Objects

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

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

Access REST Data as Salesforce Objects

After adding REST data as an external data source and syncing REST tables as external objects, you can use the external REST 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 REST objects from the Salesforce dashboard:

  

Simplified Access to REST Data from Cloud Applications

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