Configure a Connection Profile

From the CData ribbon, click Get Data and select From Zoho Inventory connection/s to launch the CData Query window. To setup a new connection, you will have to click the New Zoho Inventory Connection button. Here you can set the connection settings, test the connection, and save the connection profile.

Connecting to Zoho Inventory

The add-in leverages OAuth for authentication.

Desktop Applications

When connecting with a desktop application (when the add-in is running on the same machine as your web browser), you can connect using either your own OAuth app or the embedded OAuth app provided by CData.

CData provides an OAuth app that has been preregistered with Zoho Inventory, saving you the step of having to create your own OAuth app. To use the embedded app, proceed without creating a custom OAuth app and omit any connection properties designated as "custom applications only".

Alternatively, you can create a custom OAuth application. See Creating a Custom OAuth App for information about creating custom applications and reasons for doing so.

After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

• OAuthClientId (custom applications only): Set this to the Client Id that was displayed upon creation of your custom OAuth app.
• OAuthClientSecret (custom applications only): Set this to the Client Secret that was displayed upon creation of your custom OAuth app.

When you connect, the add-in opens the OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application. The add-in 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 (when the add-in is not running on the same machine as your web browser), you need to create and register a custom OAuth application with Zoho Inventory. You can then use the add-in to acquire and manage the OAuth token values. See Creating a Custom OAuth App for more information about custom applications.

Get an OAuth Access Token

Set the following connection properties to obtain the OAuthAccessToken:

• OAuthClientId: Set this to the Client Id that was displayed upon creation of your custom OAuth app.
• OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the Client Secret that was displayed upon creation of your custom OAuth app.

Then call stored procedures to complete the OAuth exchange:

1. Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. Set the CallbackURL input to the Authorized Redirect URI you specified in your custom OAuth application's settings. The stored procedure returns the URL to the OAuth endpoint.
2. Navigate the user to the URL that the stored procedure returned in Step 1. After the user authenticates and authorizes to the custom OAuth application, the browser redirects the user to the callback URL with a "code" parameter appended to the end.
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.

Once you have obtained the access and refresh tokens, you can connect to data and refresh the OAuth access token either automatically or manually.

Automatic Refresh of the OAuth Access Token

To have the driver automatically refresh the OAuth access token, set the following on the first data connection:

• InitiateOAuth: Set this to REFRESH.
• OAuthClientId: Set this to the Client Id that was displayed upon creation of your custom OAuth app.
• OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the Client Secret that was displayed upon creation of your custom OAuth app.
• OAuthAccessToken: Set this to the access token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
• OAuthRefreshToken: Set this to the refresh token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
• OAuthSettingsLocation: Set this to the location where the add-in saves the OAuth token values that persist across connections.

On subsequent data connections, the values for OAuthAccessToken and OAuthRefreshToken are taken from OAuthSettingsLocation.

Manual Refresh of the OAuth Access Token

The only value needed to manually refresh the OAuth access token when connecting to data is the OAuth refresh token.

Use the RefreshOAuthAccessToken stored procedure to manually refresh the OAuthAccessToken after the ExpiresIn parameter value returned by GetOAuthAccessToken has elapsed, then set the following connection properties:

• InitiateOAuth: Set this to the OFF.
• OAuthClientId: Set this to the Client Id in your application settings.
• OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the Client Secret in your application settings.

Then call RefreshOAuthAccessToken with OAuthRefreshToken set to the OAuth refresh token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken. After the new tokens have been retrieved, open a new connection by setting the OAuthAccessToken property to the value returned by RefreshOAuthAccessToken.

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

Headless Machines

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

1. Choose one of two options:
   • Option 1: Obtain the OAuthVerifier value as described in "Obtain and Exchange a Verifier Code" below.
   • Option 2: Install the add-in 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 "Transfer OAuth Settings" below.
2. Then configure the add-in 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, call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure with the appropriate CallbackURL. Open the URL returned by the stored procedure in a 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 assigned when you registered your application.
     • OAuthClientSecret: Set to the client secret assigned when you registered your 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 add-in. 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 need to exchange the OAuth verifier code for OAuth refresh and access tokens. Set the following properties:

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

• InitiateOAuth: Set this to REFRESH.
• OAuthVerifier: Set this to the verifier code.
• OAuthClientId (custom applications only): Set this to the Client Id that was displayed upon creation of your custom OAuth app.
• OAuthClientSecret (custom applications only): Set this to the Client Secret that was displayed upon creation of your custom OAuth app.
• OAuthSettingsLocation: Set this to persist the encrypted OAuth authentication values to the specified location.

Attempt a connection. If the add-in reports a successful connection, the OAuth settings file will have been generated in the location specified in OAuthSettingsLocation.

Clear the OAuthVerifier from your add-in settings:

• InitiateOAuth: Set this to REFRESH.
• OAuthClientId (custom applications only): Set this to the Client Id that was displayed upon creation of your custom OAuth app.
• OAuthClientSecret (custom applications only): Set this to the Client Secret that was displayed upon creation of your custom OAuth app.
• OAuthSettingsLocation: Set this to the location containing the encrypted OAuth authentication values. Make sure this location gives read and write permissions to the add-in to enable the automatic refreshing of the access token.

Option 2: Transfer OAuth Settings

Prior to connecting 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.

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

• InitiateOAuth: Set this to REFRESH.
• OAuthClientId: (custom applications only) Set this to the client Id assigned when you registered your application.
• OAuthClientSecret: (custom applications only) Set this to the client secret assigned when you registered your application.
• OAuthSettingsLocation: Set this to the path to your OAuth settings file. Make sure this path gives read and write permissions to the add-in to enable the automatic refreshing of the access token.

Connection Properties

The Connection properties describe the various options that can be used to establish a connection.

Managing Connections

After successfully authenticating to Zoho Inventory you will be able to customize the data you are importing. To learn more about this, see Managing Connections.

See Also

• Querying Data: Use the data selection wizard to pull data into a spreadsheet. You can also configure scheduled data refresh here.
• Using the Excel Add-In: Find other ways to interact with Zoho Inventory data, such as using the available CData Excel Functions.