Create Typeform-Connected Nintex Workflows

Nintex Workflow Cloud is a cloud-based platform where you can design workflows to automate simple or complex processes using drag-and-drop interactions — without writing any code. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to Typeform data for business applications. This article shows how to create a virtual database for Typeform in Connect AI and build a simple workflow from Typeform data in Nintex.

CData Connect AI provides a pure, cloud-to-cloud interface for Typeform, allowing you to build workflows from live Typeform data in Nintex Workflow Cloud — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. Nintex allows you to access data directly using SQL queries. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to Typeform, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested Typeform data.

Configure Typeform Connectivity for Nintex

Connectivity to Typeform from Nintex is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Typeform data from Nintex, we start by creating and configuring a Typeform connection.

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

2. Select "Typeform" from the Add Connection panel

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

   Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the TypeForm Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\TypeForm.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for TypeForm (see below).

   TypeForm API Profile Settings

   Authentication to TypeForm uses the OAuth standard.

   To authenticate to TypeForm, you must first register and configure an OAuth application with TypeForm here: https://admin.typeform.com/account#/section/tokens. Your app will be assigned a client ID and a client secret which can be set in the connection string. More information on setting up an OAuth application can be found at https://developer.typeform.com/get-started/.

   Note that there are several different use scenarios which all require different redirect URIs:

   • CData Desktop Applications: CData desktop applications (Sync, API Server, ArcESB) accept OAuth tokens at /src/oauthCallback.rst. The host and port is the same as the default port used by the application. For example, if you use http://localhost:8019/ to access CData Sync then the redirect URI will be http://localhost:8019/src/oauthCallback.rst.
   • CData Cloud Applications: CData cloud applications are similar to their desktop counterparts. If you access Connect AI at https://1.2.3.4/ then you should use the redirect https://1.2.3.4/src/oauthCallback.rst.
   • Desktop Application: When using a desktop application, the URI https://localhost:33333 is recommended.
   • Web Application: When developing a web application using the driver, use your own URI here such as https://my-website.com/oauth.

   After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
   • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage the process to obtain the OAuthAccessToken.
   • OAuthClientId: Set this to the Client Id that is specified in your app settings.
   • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to Client Secret that is specified in your app settings.
   • CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI you specified in your app settings.
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Typeform 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.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Typeform data from Nintex Workflow Cloud.

Connect to Typeform from Nintex

The steps below outline creating a new connection to Typeform data from Nintex (via Connect AI).

1. Log into Nintex Workflow Cloud
2. In the Connections tab, click "Add new"
3. Select "Microsoft SQL Server" as the connector and click "Connect"
4. In the SQL Server connection wizard, set the following properties:
   • Connection Name: Connect AI
   • Username: a Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected])
   • Password: the Connect AI user's PAT
   • Database Host: tds.cdata.com:14333
   • Database Name: the Typeform connection (a.g., API1)
   
5. Click "Connect"
6. Configure the connection permissions and click "Save permissions"

Create a Simple Typeform Workflow

With the connection to CData Connect AI configured, we are ready to build a simple workflow to access Typeform data. Start by clicking the "Create workflow" button.

Configure the Start Event Action

1. Click the start event task and select the "Form" event
2. Click "Design form"
3. Drag a "Text - Long" element onto the Form and click the element to configure it
   • Set "Title" to "Enter SQL query"
   • Set "Required" to true
4. Drag a "Text - Short" element onto the Form and click the element to configure it
   • Set "Title" to "Enter desired result column"
   • Set "Required" to true

Configure an "Execute a Query" Action

1. Add an "Execute a query" action after the "Start event: Form" action and click to configure the action
2. Set "SQL Script" to the "Enter SQL Query" variable from the "Start event" action
3. Set "Column to retrieve" to the "Enter desired result column" variable from the "Start event" action
4. Set "Retrieved column" to a new variable (a.g., "values")

Configure a "Send an Email" Action

1. Add a "Send an email" action after the "Execute a query" action and click to configure the action
2. Set the "Recipient email address"
3. Set the "Subject"
4. Set the "Message body" to the variable created for the retrieved column

Once you configure the actions, click "Save," name the Workflow, and click "Save" again. You now have a simple workflow that will query Typeform using SQL and sand an email with the results.

To learn more about live data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, check out the CData Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.