Search External Sage 300 Objects in Salesforce Connect

CData Connect Server, enables you to access Sage 300 data from cloud-based applications like the Salesforce console and mobile applications like the Salesforce1 Mobile App. In this article, you will use CData Connect Server and Salesforce Connect to access external Sage 300 objects alongside standard Salesforce objects.

Configuring Connect Server

To work with live Sage 300 data in Salesforce Connect, we need to connect to Sage 300 from Connect Server, provide user access to the new virtual database, and create OData endpoints for the Sage 300 data.

Add a Connect Server User

Create a User to connect to Sage 300 from Reveal through Connect Server.

1. Click Users -> Add
2. Configure a User
3. Click Save Changes and make note of the Authtoken for the new user

Connect to Sage 300 from Connect Server

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

1. Open Connect Server and click Connections
2. Select "Sage 300" from Available Data Sources
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Sage 300.
   
   

   Sage 300 requires some initial setup in order to communicate over the Sage 300 Web API.

   • Set up the security groups for the Sage 300 user. Give the Sage 300 user access to the option under Security Groups (per each module required).
   • Edit both web.config files in the /Online/Web and /Online/WebApi folders; change the key AllowWebApiAccessForAdmin to true. Restart the webAPI app-pool for the settings to take.
   • Once the user access is configured, click https://server/Sage300WebApi/ to ensure access to the web API.

   Authenticate to Sage 300 using Basic authentication.

   Connect Using Basic Authentication

   You must provide values for the following properties to successfully authenticate to Sage 300. Note that the provider reuses the session opened by Sage 300 using cookies. This means that your credentials are used only on the first request to open the session. After that, cookies returned from Sage 300 are used for authentication.

   • Url: Set this to the url of the server hosting Sage 300. Construct a URL for the Sage 300 Web API as follows: {protocol}://{host-application-path}/v{version}/{tenant}/ For example, http://localhost/Sage300WebApi/v1.0/-/.
   • User: Set this to the username of your account.
   • Password: Set this to the password of your account.
4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions (SELECT is all that is required for Reveal).

Add Sage 300 OData Endpoints in Connect Server

After connecting to Sage 300, create OData Endpoints for the desired table(s).

1. Click OData -> Tables -> Add Tables
2. Select the Sage 300 database
3. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Next
4. (Optional) Edit the table definition to select specific fields and more
5. Save the settings

(Optional) Configure Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS)

When accessing and connecting to multiple different domains, there is a possibility of violating the limitations of cross-site scripting. In that case, configure the CORS settings in OData -> Settings.

• Enable cross-origin resource sharing (CORS): ON
• Allow all domains without '*': ON
• Access-Control-Allow-Methods: GET, PUT, POST, OPTIONS
• Access-Control-Allow-Headers: Authorization

Save the changes to the settings.

Connect to Sage 300 Data as an External Data Source

Follow the steps below to connect to the feed produced by the API Server.

1. Log into Salesforce and click Setup -> Integrations -> External Data Sources.
2. Click New External Data Source.
3. Enter values for the following properties:
   • External Data Source: 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 the API Server. The format of the OData URL is CONNECT_SERVER_URL/api.rsc/

4. Select JSON in the Format menu.

5. In the Authentication section, set the following properties:
   • Identity Type: If all members of your organization will use the same credentials to access the API Server, 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 the username for a user known to CData Connect Server.
   • Password: Enter the user's authtoken.

Synchronize Sage 300 Objects

After you have created the external data source, follow the steps below to create Sage 300 external objects that reflect any changes in the data source. You will synchronize the definitions for the Sage 300 external objects with the definitions for Sage 300 tables.

1. Click the link for the external data source you created.
2. Click Validate and Sync.
3. Select the Sage 300 tables you want to work with as external objects.

Access Sage 300 Data as Salesforce Objects

After adding Sage 300 data as an external data source and syncing Sage 300 tables as external objects, you can use the external Sage 300 objects just as you would standard Salesforce objects.

• Create a new tab with a filter list view:

• Create reports of external objects:

Simplified Access to Sage 300 Data from Applications

At this point, you have a direct connection to live Sage 300 data from Salesforce. For more information on gaining simplified access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources in applications like Salesforce, refer to our Connect Server page.