Cmdlets for Zoho Creator

Build 24.0.9060

Establishing a Connection

With the CData Cmdlets users can install a data module, set the connection properties, and start scripting. This section provides examples of using our ZohoCreator Cmdlets with native PowerShell cmdlets, like the CSV import and export cmdlets.

Installing and Connecting

If you have PSGet, installing the cmdlets can be accomplished from the PowerShell Gallery with the following command. You can also obtain a setup from the CData site. 

Install-Module ZohoCreatorCmdlets

The following line is then added to your profile, loading the cmdlets on the next session: 

Import-Module ZohoCreatorCmdlets;

You can then use the Connect-ZohoCreator cmdlet to create a connection object that can be passed to other cmdlets: 

$conn = Connect-ZohoCreator -InitiateOAuth "GETANDREFRESH"

Connecting to Zoho Creator

Zoho Creator provides two ways to connect to data:

  • To connect to your own local data via the desktop (non-browser connection), use the CData-supplied embedded OAuth application.
  • To connect to shared data over the network (browser connection), use a custom OAuth application.

To enable this authentication from all OAuth flows (embedded or custom), you must set AuthScheme to OAuth.

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

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

For information about how to create a custom OAuth application, and why you might want to create one even for auth flows that have embedded OAuth credentials, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application.

For a complete list of connection string properties available in Zoho Creator, see Connection.

Desktop Applications

CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop. You can also authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Zoho Creator console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application.

Before you connect, set the following variables:

  • InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. Used to automatically get and refresh the OAuthAccessToken.
  • Custom OAuth applications only:
    • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
    • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
    • CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your custom OAuth application.

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

When the access token expires, the cmdlet refreshes it automatically.

Automatic refresh of the OAuth access token:

To have the cmdlet 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 cmdlet to save the OAuth values, which persist across connections.
  2. On subsequent data connections, set the following:
    • InitiateOAuth
    • OAuthSettingsLocation

Manual refresh of the OAuth access token:

The only value needed to manually refresh the OAUth access token is the OAuth refresh token.

  1. To manually refresh the OAuthAccessToken after the ExpiresIn period (returned by GetOAuthAccessToken) has elapsed, call the RefreshOAuthAccessToken stored procedure.
  2. Set the following connection properties:

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

  3. Call RefreshOAuthAccessToken with OAuthRefreshToken set to the OAuth refresh token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
  4. After the new tokens have been retrieved, set the OAuthAccessToken property to the value returned by RefreshOAuthAccessToken. This opens a new connection.

Store the OAuth refresh token so that you can use it to manually refresh the OAuth access token after it has expired.

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 cmdlet 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.

    If you are using the embedded OAuth application, call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. Open the URL returned by the stored procedure in a browser.

    If you are using a custom OAuth application, 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 cmdlet. 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.
    • Custom OAuth applications only:
      • 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 cmdlet.
    • Custom OAuth applications only:
      • 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 cmdlet.
  • Custom OAuth applications only:
    • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
    • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

Retrieving Data

The Select-ZohoCreator cmdlet provides a native PowerShell interface for retrieving data: 

$results = Select-ZohoCreator -Connection $conn -Table "[CData].[Employee Management].Leave_Types" -Columns @("ID, Leave_Type") -Where "Leave_Type='Sick'"
The Invoke-ZohoCreator cmdlet provides an SQL interface. This cmdlet can be used to execute an SQL query via the Query parameter.

Piping Cmdlet Output

The cmdlets return row objects to the pipeline one row at a time. The following line exports results to a CSV file: 

Select-ZohoCreator -Connection $conn -Table [CData].[Employee Management].Leave_Types -Where "Leave_Type = 'Sick'" | Select -Property * -ExcludeProperty Connection,Table,Columns | Export-Csv -Path c:\my[CData].[Employee Management].Leave_TypesData.csv -NoTypeInformation

You will notice that we piped the results from Select-ZohoCreator into a Select-Object cmdlet and excluded some properties before piping them into an Export-CSV cmdlet. We do this because the CData Cmdlets append Connection, Table, and Columns information onto each row object in the result set, and we do not necessarily want that information in our CSV file.

However, this makes it easy to pipe the output of one cmdlet to another. The following is an example of converting a result set to JSON: 

 
PS C:\> $conn  = Connect-ZohoCreator -InitiateOAuth "GETANDREFRESH"
PS C:\> $row = Select-ZohoCreator -Connection $conn -Table "[CData].[Employee Management].Leave_Types" -Columns (ID, Leave_Type) -Where "Leave_Type = 'Sick'" | select -first 1
PS C:\> $row | ConvertTo-Json
{
  "Connection":  {

  },
  "Table":  "[CData].[Employee Management].Leave_Types",
  "Columns":  [

  ],
  "ID":  "MyID",
  "Leave_Type":  "MyLeave_Type"
}

Deleting Data

The following line deletes any records that match the criteria: 

Select-ZohoCreator -Connection $conn -Table [CData].[Employee Management].Leave_Types -Where "Leave_Type = 'Sick'" | Remove-ZohoCreator

Modifying Data

The cmdlets make data transformation easy as well as data cleansing. The following example loads data from a CSV file into Zoho Creator, checking first whether a record already exists and needs to be updated instead of inserted. 

Import-Csv -Path C:\My[CData].[Employee Management].Leave_TypesUpdates.csv | %{
  $record = Select-ZohoCreator -Connection $conn -Table [CData].[Employee Management].Leave_Types -Where ("Id = `'"+$_.Id+"`'")
  if($record){
    Update-ZohoCreator -Connection $conn -Table [CData].[Employee Management].Leave_Types -Columns @("ID","Leave_Type") -Values @($_.ID, $_.Leave_Type) -Where "Id  = `'$_.Id`'"
  }else{
    Add-ZohoCreator -Connection $conn -Table [CData].[Employee Management].Leave_Types -Columns @("ID","Leave_Type") -Values @($_.ID, $_.Leave_Type)
  }
}

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Build 24.0.9060