Standard connectors are tools installed on the Self Help server and are available to all Self Help projects and domains. They are used to exchange information between a Self Help procedure and third-party applications, e.g. email server, Excel, etc.

      See List of standard connectors

• Each standard connector offers one or more methods, each of which is used to run different processing and access different information.
• You implement a standard connector using a dedicated Connector resource that will call one of the connector methods. The connector method will subsequently be inserted in a procedure step.
• Each method has input and output parameters. These are used to modify the behavior of the connector based on input conditions and to retrieve values.

List of standard connectors

Email sending connector

This connector is used to send emails, in HTML or with file attachments, from a Self Help procedure.

      See the description

Excel connector

This connector enables you to manipulate Excel files, write cell contents, read one or more cells or a range of cells and manage sheets in a workbook.

      See the description

HTTP connector (REST)

This connector is used to send HTTP requests and retrieve the response in one of the following formats: raw text, document (JSON) or binary (file).

• It enables exchanges with third-party applications providing REST Web services, to retrieve remote binary files or, more generally, to communicate with HTTP servers.
• This connector is commonly used in Self Help Connection Package templates.

      See the description

Form utils connector

This connector is used to upload a file from a form field. It is usually an intermediate connector used together with other connectors, e.g. the uploaded file will subsequently be processed by another connector.

      See the description

Notes

• The creation of a Connector resource will not create a connector. It is used to configure the implementation of one of the connector methods.

• Input parameters for methods:
  • Input parameters can be general parameters common to all methods, or parameters specific to each method. 
  • Their default values are selected when creating the Connector resource. You can modify these values when inserting the resource in a procedure step.

• Output parameters for methods:
  • Output parameters are identical for all connectors.
  • There are two output parameters for each method.
    • error: Returns an error code when the call to the connector method fails.
    • result: Result returned by the connector method.

Caution

• Each Connector resource must be associated with one connector method. This method is selected when creating the resource and cannot be modified subsequently. If you want to use another connector method, you must create a new resource.

• Order in which connector methods are run:
  • If a procedure includes a step containing a Connector resource, the connector method will be run before any graphic elements in the step are displayed. It will also be run before any macro associated with this step.
  • You can insert multiple connector methods in a given procedure step. If this is the case, they will run in the order in which they were inserted.

Best Practice

• If you use several Connector resources within the same procedure, you should give meaningful names to the output variables of each connector, i.e. result and error, so that you can identify them easily.

• If you use several Connector resources within the same procedure step, you should start by creating one step for each resource to check that they work correctly. You can then combine the different steps into a single step.

Procedures

See detailed step by step on Self Help portal

How to configure and use a standard connector

Step 1: Create a new Connector resource

1. Go to the Resources folder of your Self Help project.

2. Right-click the folder and select New > Connector from the contextual menu and select the type of connector you want.

3. Click Next and select the relevant connector method.

4. Click Finish.
 

Step 2: Configure the connector method

1. Click and drag the new Connector resource to a step in the procedure and click Next.

The window for configuring input and output parameters for the method will appear.

2. Specify the input parameters for the connector method and click Next.

3. Specify the output parameters for the connector method.

• Select the New variable checkboxes next to the result and error output variables to create them.

4. Click Finish and click OK in the Parameters Refactoring window.

The connector method will be configured in the procedure step.