You can create and manage connections with the Data Explorer and the FireDAC Connection Editor wizards. See Connection Definitions for more information on creating connections from code and creating persistent, private, or temporary connections.

Connecting to Mailchimp

Mailchimp supports the following authentication methods:

• APIKey
• OAuth

API Key

The easiest way to connect to Mailchimp is to use the API Key. The APIKey grants full access to your Mailchimp account. To obtain the APIKey:

1. Log into Mailchimp.
2. Navigate to Account > Extras > API Keys.
3. Note the value of the API Key.

Once you have the value of the API Key:

1. Set APIKey to the value of the API Key.
2. Set AuthScheme to APIKey.

OAuth

Desktop Applications

To authenticate with the credentials for a custom OAuth application, you must get and refresh the OAuth access token. After you do that, you are ready to connect.

Get and refresh the OAuth access token:

• InitiateOAuth = GETANDREFRESH. Used to automatically get and refresh the OAuthAccessToken.
• OAuthClientId = the client Id assigned when you registered your application.
• OAuthClientSecret = the client secret that was assigned when you registered your application.
• CallbackURL = the redirect URI that was defined when you registered your application.

When you connect, the component opens Mailchimp's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.

After you grant permissions to the application, the component then completes the OAuth process:

1. The component obtains an access token from Mailchimp and uses it to request data.
2. The OAuth values are saved in the path specified in OAuthSettingsLocation. These values persist across connections.

When the access token expires, the component refreshes the access token automatically.

Web Applications

Authenticating via the Web requires you to create and register a custom OAuth application with Mailchimp, as described in Creating a Custom OAuth Application. You can then use the component to get and manage the OAuth token values.

This section describes how to get the OAuth access token, and how to have the driver refresh the OAuth access token automatically.

Get the OAuth access token:

1. Set the following connection properties to obtain the OAuthAccessToken:
   • OAuthClientId = the client Id in your application settings.
   • OAuthClientSecret = the client secret in your application settings.

2. Call stored procedures to complete the OAuth exchange:
   • Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. Set the AuthMode input to WEB and the CallbackURL to the Redirect URI you specified in your application settings. The stored procedure returns the URL to the OAuth endpoint.
   • Navigate to the URL that the stored procedure returned in Step 1. Log in and authorize the web application. You are redirected back to the callback URL.
   • Call the GetOAuthAccessToken stored procedure. Set the AuthMode input to WEB. Set the Verifier input to the code parameter in the query string of the redirect URI.

After you obtain the access and refresh tokens, you can connect to data and refresh the OAuth access token automatically.

Automatic refresh of the OAuth access token:

To have the component automatically refresh the OAuth access token, do the following:

1. The first time you connect to data, set the following connection parameters:
   • InitiateOAuth = REFRESH.
   • OAuthClientId = the client Id in your application settings.
   • OAuthClientSecret = the client secret in your application settings.
   • OAuthAccessToken = the access token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
   • OAuthSettingsLocation = the path where you want the component to save the OAuth values, which persist across connections.
2. On subsequent data connections, set the following:
   • InitiateOAuth
   • OAuthSettingsLocation

Headless Machines

If you need to log in to a resource that resides on a headless machine, you must authenticate on another device that has an internet browser. You can do this in either of the following ways:

• Option 1: Obtain the OAuthVerifier value.
• Option 2: Install the component on a machine with an internet browser and transfer the OAuth authentication values after you authenticate through the usual browser-based flow.

After you execute either Option 1 or Option 2, configure the driver to automatically refresh the access token on the headless machine.

Option 1: Obtaining and Exchanging a Verifier Code

To obtain a verifier code, you must authenticate at the OAuth authorization URL. Do the following:

1. Authenticate from the machine with an internet browser, and obtain the OAuthVerifier connection property.

   Set the following properties:

   • InitiateOAuth = OFF.
   • OAuthClientId = the client Id assigned when you registered your application.
   • OAuthClientSecret = the client secret assigned when you registered your application.

2. Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. The stored procedure returns the CallbackURL established when the custom OAuth application was registered. (See Creating a Custom OAuth Application.)

   Copy this URL and paste it into a new browser tab.

3. Log in and grant permissions to the component. The OAuth application redirects you the redirect URI, with a parameter called code appended. Note the value of this parameter; you will need it later, to configure the OAuthVerifier connection property.

4. Exchange the OAuth verifier code for OAuth refresh and access tokens. On the headless machine, set the following connection properties to obtain the OAuth authentication values:

   • InitiateOAuth = REFRESH.
   • OAuthVerifier = the noted verifier code (the value of the code parameter in the redirect URI).
   • OAuthSettingsLocation = persist the encrypted OAuth authentication values to the specified file.
   • OAuthClientId = the client Id in your custom OAuth application settings.
   • OAuthClientSecret = the client secret in the custom OAuth application settings.

5. Test the connection to generate the OAuth settings file.

6. After you re-set the following properties, you are ready to connect:

   • InitiateOAuth = REFRESH.
   • OAuthSettingsLocation = the file containing the encrypted OAuth authentication values. To enable the automatic refreshing of the access token, be sure that this file gives read and write permissions to the component.
   • OAuthClientId = the client Id assigned when you registered your application.
   • OAuthClientSecret = the client secret assigned when you registered your application.

Option 2: Transferring OAuth Settings

Prior to connecting on a headless machine, you must install and create a connection with the driver on a device that supports an internet browser. Set the connection properties as described above in "Desktop Applications".

After completing the instructions in "Desktop Applications", the resulting authentication values are encrypted and written to the path specified by OAuthSettingsLocation. The default filename is OAuthSettings.txt.

Test the connection to generate the OAuth settings file, then copy the OAuth settings file to your headless machine.

To connect to data via the headless machine, set the following connection properties:

• InitiateOAuth = REFRESH
• OAuthSettingsLocation = the path to the OAuth settings file you copied from the machine with the browser. To enable automatic refreshing of the access token, ensure that this file gives read and write permissions to the component.
• OAuthClientId = the client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
• OAuthClientSecret = the client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

Using the FireDAC Connection Editor

Complete the following steps to use the FireDAC Connection Editor to assign a Mailchimp connection to a TFDConnection object:

1. Open a project and drop a TFDPhysCDataMailChimpDriverLink from the Tool Palette onto the Form Designer.
2. Drop a TFDConnection object onto the Form Designer.
3. Double-click the TFDConnection and select CDataMailChimp in the Driver Id menu.
4. Define the necessary connection properties.
5. To execute ad-hoc SQL statements based on this connection, enter SQL commands on the SQL Script tab.
6. In the Form Designer, select the TFDConnection object and set the Connected property to true.

Using the Data Explorer

Complete the following steps to use the Data Explorer to define persistent connections that can be shared across applications and projects:

1. Click View > Tool Windows > Data Explorer in RAD Studio and expand the FireDAC node.
2. Right-click the CData Mailchimp Data Source node and click Add New Connection.
3. Enter a name for the connection. The FireDAC Connection Editor opens.

Working with Persistent Connections

The connections you define in the Data Explorer can be assigned to a TFDConnection object by specifying the connection name in the TFDConnection object's ConnectionDefName property.

Browsing Data and Metadata

The Data Explorer also provides options for browsing Mailchimp objects at design time:

• Expand the CData Mailchimp Data Source node in the Data Explorer to view the defined connections.
• Expand a connection node to find the database objects available for a connection.
• Drill down to a database object to find metadata such as primary keys.
• To display data, double-click a table or view or right-click and click View.