Connecting to Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT

Before establishing a connection, supply the SubscriptionKey, found in the Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT Profile.

Authenticating to Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT

Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT provides embedded OAuth credentials that simplify connection from a Desktop application or a Headless machine. To connect from a Web application, you must create a custom OAuth application, as described in Creating a Custom OAuth Application.

To connect from all authentication flows, you must:

• set AuthScheme to OAuth
• set the SubscriptionKey to your Subscription Key
• enable Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT on an authorization account to retrieve results

The following subsections describe how to authenticate to Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT from all available OAuth flows. For information about how to create a custom OAuth application to connect via the Web, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application. For a complete list of connection string properties available in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT, see Connection.

Desktop Applications

If you are connecting from a Desktop Application, you can either connect via the embedded OAuth application, or authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application.

Before you connect, set these properties:

• InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. This instructs the adapter to automatically attempt to get and refresh the OAuth access token.
• Custom applications only:
  • CallbackURL: The Redirect URL specified in your custom OAuth application settings.
  • OAuthClientId: The Client Id specified in your custom OAuth application settings.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The Client Secret specified in your custom OAuth application settings.

When you connect, the adapter opens the OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application. The adapter then completes the OAuth process as follows:

• Extracts the access token from the callback URL.
• Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
• Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation that persist across connections.

Web Applications

When connecting via a Web application, you must create and register a custom OAuth application with Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT. You can then use the adapter to acquire and manage the OAuth token values. For information about how to create a custom OAuth application and set it up so that it connects properly to your Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT environment, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application.

Get an OAuth Access Token

To obtain the OAuthAccessToken, set these properties:

• OAuthClientId: The Client Id specified in your custom OAuth application settings.
• OAuthClientSecret: The Client Secret specified in your custom OAuth application settings.

Then call stored procedures to complete the OAuth exchange:

1. Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. Set the AuthMode input to WEB and set the CallbackURL input to the Redirect URI you specified when you configured your custom OAuth application. If necessary, set the Permissions parameter to request custom permissions. The stored procedure returns the URL to the OAuth endpoint.
2. Navigate to the URL that the stored procedure returned in Step 1. Log in to the custom OAuth application and authorize the web application. Once the application has been authenticated, the browser redirects you to the callback URL.
3. Call the GetOAuthAccessToken stored procedure. Set AuthMode to WEB and the Verifier input to the "code" parameter in the query string of the callback URL. If necessary, set the Permissions parameter to request custom permissions.

To connect to data, set the OAuthAccessToken connection property to the access token returned by the stored procedure. When the access token expires after ExpiresIn seconds, call GetOAuthAccessToken again to obtain a new access token.

Headless Machines

To configure the driver to use OAuth with a user account on a headless machine, you must authenticate on another device that has an internet browser.

1. Choose one of the following options:
   • Option 1: Obtain the OAuthVerifier value as described in Obtain and Exchange a Verifier Code, below.
   • Option 2: Install the adapter on a machine with an Internet browser and transfer the OAuth authentication values after you authenticate through the usual browser-based flow, as described in Option 2: Transfer OAuth Settings, below.
2. Then configure the adapter to automatically refresh the access token on the headless machine.

Option 1: Obtain and Exchange a Verifier Code

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

Follow the steps below to authenticate from the machine with an Internet browser and obtain the OAuthVerifier connection property.

1. Choose one of these options:
   • If you are using the Embedded OAuth Application click Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT OAuth endpoint to open the endpoint in your browser.
   • If you are using a custom OAuth application, create the Authorization URL by setting the following properties:
     • InitiateOAuth: Set to OFF.
     • OAuthClientId: Set to the client Id specified in your custom OAuth application.
     • OAuthClientSecret: Set to the client secret specified in your custom OAuth application.
     Then call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure with the appropriate CallbackURL. Open the URL returned by the stored procedure in a browser.
2. Log in and grant permissions to the adapter. You are then redirected to the callback URL, which contains the verifier code.
3. Save the value of the verifier code. Later you will set this in the OAuthVerifier connection property.

Next, you must exchange the OAuth verifier code for OAuth refresh and access tokens.

On the headless machine, to obtain the OAuth authentication values, set these connection properties:

• InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
• OAuthVerifier: The verifier code.
• OAuthSettingsLocation: Persist the encrypted OAuth authentication values to the specified location.
• Custom applications only:
  • OAuthClientId: The Client Id specified in your custom OAuth application settings.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The Client Secret specified in your custom OAuth application settings.

After the OAuth settings file is generated, you must re-set the following properties to connect:

• InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
• OAuthSettingsLocation: The location containing the encrypted OAuth authentication values. Make sure this location gives read and write permissions to the adapter to enable the automatic refreshing of the access token.
• Custom applications only:
  • OAuthClientId: The client Id specified in your custom OAuth application settings.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret specified in your custom OAuth application settings.

Option 2: Transfer OAuth Settings

Before you can connect on a headless machine, you need to create and install a connection with the driver on a device that supports an Internet browser. Set the connection properties as described in Desktop Applications, above.

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

Once you have successfully tested the connection, copy the OAuth settings file to your headless machine, then set the following connection properties to connect to data:

• InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
• OAuthSettingsLocation: Set this to the location of your OAuth settings file. Make sure this location gives read and write permissions to the adapter to enable the automatic refreshing of the access token.
• Custom applications only:
  • OAuthClientId: The client Id specified in your custom OAuth application settings.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret specified in your custom OAuth application settings.