After Installing the Connector you can connect and create a Data Source for data in Zendesk.

Setting Up a Data Source

Complete the following steps to connect to the data:

1. Under Connect | To a Server, click More....
2. Select the data source called Zendesk by CData.
3. Enter the information required for the connection.
4. Click Sign In.
5. If necessary, select a Database and Schema to discover what tables and views are available.

Using the Connection Builder

The connector makes the most common connection properties available directly in Tableau. However, it can be difficult to use if you need to use more advanced settings or need to troubleshoot connection issues. The connector includes a separate connection builder that allows you to create and test connections outside of Tableau.

There are two ways to access the connection builder:

• On Windows, use a shortcut called Connection Builder in the Start menu, under the CData Tableau Connector for Zendesk folder.
• You can also start the connection builder by going to the driver install directory and running the .jar file in the lib directory.

In the connection builder, you can set values for connection properties and click Test Connection to validate that they work. You can also use the Copy to Clipboard button to save the connection string. This connection string can be given to the Connection String option included in the connector connection window in Tableau.

Connecting to Zendesk

To connect to Zendesk, set the URL (Zendesk Support URL), using the format https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com. Once connected, user authenticate as described in the following section.

In addition, users who work with archived data for the TicketMetrics table must set the UseIncrementalAPI property to True.

Authenticating to Zendesk

Zendesk supports two types of authentication, depending on whether the user is connecting directly to their own local data (basic authentication) or connecting to shared data via a browser (OAuth authentication).

Basic Authentication

To use Basic authentication, specify an email address and either a Password or an ApiToken. Set User to your email address, and then use the Zendesk Support admin interface to do the following:

1. Enable password access.
2. Set AuthScheme to Basic while using APIToken Authentication.
3. At Admin > Channels > API, manage API tokens. Only one token can be active at a time. Deleting a token deactivates it permanently.

OAuth Authentication

Zendesk supports OAuth authentication for all instances where the user is accessing shared data via the network. This means that, regardless of whether authentication originates at the Web, a Desktop, or a Headless Server, you must set AuthScheme to OAuth, and you must create a custom OAuth application.

The following subsections describe how to authenticate to Zendesk from three common authentication flows:

• Desktop: a connection to a server on the user's local machine, frequently used for testing and prototyping.
• Web: access to data via a shared website.
• Headless Server: a dedicated computer that provides services to other computers and their users, which is configured to operate without a monitor and keyboard.

For information about how to create a custom OAuth application, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application. For a complete list of connection string properties available in Zendesk, see Connection.

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 connector opens Zendesk's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.

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

1. The connector obtains an access token from Zendesk 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 connector refreshes it automatically.

Automatic refresh of the OAuth access token:

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

1. Before connecting to data for the first time, 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 connector to save the OAuth values, which persist across connections.
2. On subsequent data connections, set the following:
   • InitiateOAuth
   • OAuthSettingsLocation

Next Step

See Using the Connector to create data visualizations.