Connect Microsoft Dynamics to Experience Platform using the Flow Service API

Last update: 2025-02-17
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  • Sources
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  • Developer

Read this guide to learn how you can connect your Microsoft Dynamics source to Adobe Experience Platform using the Flow Service API.

Get started

This guide requires a working understanding of the following components of Adobe Experience Platform:

  • Sources: Experience Platform allows data to be ingested from various sources while providing you with the ability to structure, label, and enhance incoming data using Platform services.
  • Sandboxes: Experience Platform provides virtual sandboxes which partition a single Platform instance into separate virtual environments to help develop and evolve digital experience applications.

Using Platform APIs

For information on how to successfully make calls to Platform APIs, see the guide on getting started with Platform APIs.

The following sections provide additional information that you will need to know in order to successfully connect Platform to a Dynamics account using the Flow Service API.

Gather required credentials

In order for Flow Service to connect to Dynamics, you must provide values for the following connection properties:

Credential Description
serviceUri The service URL of your Dynamics instance.
username The user name for your Dynamics user account.
password The password for your Dynamics account.
Credential Description
servicePrincipalId The client ID of your Dynamics account. This ID is required when using service principal and key-based authentication.
servicePrincipalKey The service principal secret key. This credential is required when using service principal and key-based authentication.

For more information on getting started, refer to this Dynamics document.

Create a base connection

TIP

Once created, you cannot change the authentication type of a Dynamics base connection. To change the authentication type, you must create a new base connection.

A base connection retains information between your source and Experience Platform, including your source’s authentication credentials, the current state of the connection, and your unique base connection ID. The base connection ID allows you to explore and navigate files from within your source and identify the specific items that you want to ingest, including information regarding their data types and formats.

To create a base connection ID, make a POST request to the /connections endpoint while providing your Dynamics authentication credentials as part of the request parameters.

API format

POST /connections

To create a Dynamics base connection using basic authentication, make a POST request to the Flow Service API while providing values for your connection’s serviceUri, username, and password.

Request

The following request creates a base connection for a Dynamics source using basic authentication.

 Select to view request example
curl -X POST \
  'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/connections' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
  -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
  -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
  -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
      "name": "Dynamics connection",
      "description": "Dynamics connection using basic auth",
      "auth": {
          "specName": "Basic Authentication for Dynamics-Online",
          "params": {
              "serviceUri": "{SERVICE_URI}",
              "username": "{USERNAME}",
              "password": "{PASSWORD}"
          }
      },
      "connectionSpec": {
          "id": "38ad80fe-8b06-4938-94f4-d4ee80266b07",
          "version": "1.0"
      }
  }'
Property Description
auth.params.serviceUri The service URI associated with your Dynamics instance.
auth.params.username The username associated with your Dynamics account.
auth.params.password The password associated with your Dynamics account.
connectionSpec.id The Dynamics connection specification ID: 38ad80fe-8b06-4938-94f4-d4ee80266b07

Response

A successful response returns the newly created base connection, including its unique identifier (id).

 Select to view response example
{
    "id": "4cb0c374-d3bb-4557-b139-5712880adc55",
    "etag": "\"9e0052a2-0000-0200-0000-5e35tb330000\""
}

To create a Dynamics base connection using service principal key-based authentication, make a POST request to the Flow Service API while providing values for your connection’s serviceUri, servicePrincipalId, and servicePrincipalKey.

Request

The following request creates a base connection for a Dynamics source using basic service principal key-based authentication.

 Select to view request example
curl -X POST \
  'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/connections' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
  -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
  -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
  -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
      "name": "Dynamics connection",
      "description": "Dynamics connection using key-based authentication",
      "auth": {
          "specName": "Service Principal Key Based Authentication",
          "params": {
              "serviceUri": "{SERVICE_URI}",
              "servicePrincipalId": "{SERVICE_PRINCIPAL_ID}",
              "servicePrincipalKey": "{SERVICE_PRINCIPAL_KEY}"
          }
      },
      "connectionSpec": {
          "id": "38ad80fe-8b06-4938-94f4-d4ee80266b07",
          "version": "1.0"
      }
  }'
Property Description
auth.params.serviceUri The service URI associated with your Dynamics instance.
auth.params.servicePrincipalId The client ID of your Dynamics account. This ID is required when using service principal and key-based authentication.
auth.params.servicePrincipalKey The service principal secret key. This credential is required when using service principal and key-based authentication.
connectionSpec.id The Dynamics connection specification ID: 38ad80fe-8b06-4938-94f4-d4ee80266b07

Response

A successful response returns the newly created connection, including its unique identifier (id).

 Select to view response example
{
    "id": "4cb0c374-d3bb-4557-b139-5712880adc55",
    "etag": "\"9e0052a2-0000-0200-0000-5e35tb330000\""
}

Explore your data tables

To explore your Dynamics data tables, make a GET request to the /connections/{BASE_CONNECTION_ID}/explore endpoint and provide your base connection ID as part of the query parameters.

API format

GET /connections/{BASE_CONNECTION_ID}/explore?objectType=root
Query parameters Description
{BASE_CONNECTION_ID} The ID of the base connection. Use this ID to explore the contents and structure of your source.

Request

The following request retrieves the list of available tables and views for a Dynamics source with the base connection ID: dd668808-25da-493f-8782-f3433b976d1e.

 Select to view request example
curl -X GET \
  'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/connections/dd668808-25da-493f-8782-f3433b976d1e/explore?objectType=root' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
  -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
  -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
  -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \

Response

A successful response returns the Dynamics tables and views directory at the root level.

 Select to view response example
[
    {
        "type": "table",
        "name": "systemuserlicenses",
        "path": "systemuserlicenses",
        "canPreview": true,
        "canFetchSchema": true
    },
    {
        "type": "table",
        "name": "Process Dependency",
        "path": "workflowdependency",
        "canPreview": true,
        "canFetchSchema": true
    },
    {
        "type": "view",
        "name": "accountView1",
        "path": "accountView1",
        "canPreview": true,
        "canFetchSchema": true
    },
    {
        "type": "view",
        "name": "Inactive_ACC_custom",
        "path": "Inactive_ACC_custom",
        "canPreview": true,
        "canFetchSchema": true
    }
]

Inspect the structure of a table

To inspect the structure of a specific table, make a GET request to /connections/{BASE_CONNECTION_ID}/explore and provide the path to the specific table as a query parameter.

API format

GET /connections/{BASE_CONNECTION_ID}/explore?object={TABLE_PATH}&objectType=table
Query parameter Description
{BASE_CONNECTION_ID} The ID of the base connection. Use this ID to explore the contents and structure of your source.
{TABLE_PATH} The path to the particular table that you want to explore.

Request

The following request retrieves the structure and contents of a Dynamics table with path workflowdependency.

 Select to view request example
curl -X GET \
  'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/connections/dd668808-25da-493f-8782-f3433b976d1e/explore?object=workflowdependency&objectType=table' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
  -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
  -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
  -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \

Response

A successful response returns the contents of path workflowdependency.

 Select to view response example
{
    "format": "flat",
    "schema": {
        "columns": [
            {
                "name": "first_name",
                "type": "string",
                "meta": {
                    "originalType": "String"
                }
            },
            {
                "name": "last_name",
                "type": "string",
                "meta": {
                    "originalType": "String"
                }
            },
            {
                "name": "email",
                "type": "string",
                "meta": {
                    "originalType": "String"
                }
            }
        ]
    }
}

Inspect the structure of a view

In Dynamics, a view refers to the columns to display, the width of each column, the default system in which a list of records are sorted, and the default filters applied to restrict which records will appear in the list.

To inspect the structure of a view, make a GET request to /connections/{BASE_CONNECTION_ID}/explore and specify the view path in your query parameters. Additionally, you must specify objectType as view.

API format

GET /connections/{BASE_CONNECTION_ID}/explore?object={VIEW_PATH}&objectType=view
Query parameter Description
{BASE_CONNECTION_ID} The ID of the base connection. Use this ID to explore the contents and structure of your source.
{VIEW_PATH} The path to the view that you want to inspect.

Request

The following request retrieves accountView1.

 Select to view request example
curl -X GET \
  'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/connections/dd668808-25da-493f-8782-f3433b976d1e/explore?object=accountView1&objectType=view' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
  -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
  -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
  -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \

Response

A successful response returns the structure of accountView1.

 Select to view response example
{
    "format": "flat",
    "schema": {
        "columns": [
            {
                "name": "name",
                "type": "string",
                "meta": {
                    "originalType": "string"
                },
                "xdm": {
                    "type": "string"
                }
            },
            {
                "name": "fetchxml",
                "type": "string",
                "meta": {
                    "originalType": "string"
                },
                "xdm": {
                    "type": "string"
                }
            },
            {
                "name": "querytype",
                "type": "integer",
                "meta": {
                    "originalType": "int"
                },
                "xdm": {
                    "type": "integer",
                    "minimum": -2147483648,
                    "maximum": 2147483647
                }
            },
            {
                "name": "userqueryid",
                "type": "string",
                "meta": {
                    "originalType": "guid"
                },
                "xdm": {
                    "type": "string"
                }
            }
        ]
    }
}

Preview entity type view

To preview the contents of a view, make a GET request to /connections/{BASE_CONNECTION_ID}/explore and include the view path as well as preview=true in your query parameters.

API format

GET /connections/{BASE_CONNECTION_ID}/explore?object={VIEW_PATH}&preview=true&objectType=view
Query parameter Description
{BASE_CONNECTION_ID} The ID of the base connection. Use this ID to explore the contents and structure of your source.
{VIEW_PATH} The path to the view that you want to inspect.

Request

The following request previews the contents of accountView1.

 Select to view request example
curl -X GET \
  'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/connections/dd668808-25da-493f-8782-f3433b976d1e/explore?object=accountView1&preview=true&objectType=view' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
  -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
  -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
  -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \

Response

A successful response returns the contents of accountView1.

 Select to view response example
{
    "format": "flat",
    "schema": {
        "columns": [
            {
                "name": "emailaddress1",
                "type": "string",
                "meta": {
                    "originalType": "string"
                },
                "xdm": {
                    "type": "string"
                }
            },
            {
                "name": "contactid",
                "type": "string",
                "meta": {
                    "originalType": "guid"
                },
                "xdm": {
                    "type": "string"
                }
            },
            {
                "name": "fullname",
                "type": "string",
                "meta": {
                    "originalType": "string"
                },
                "xdm": {
                    "type": "string"
                }
            }
        ]
    },
    "data": [
        {
            "contactid": "396e19de-0852-ec11-8c62-00224808a1df",
            "fullname": "Tim Barr",
            "emailaddress1": "barrtim@googlemedia.com"
        }
    ]
}

Create a source connection to ingest view

To create a source connection and ingest a view, make a POST request to the /sourceConnections endpoint, provide the table name, and specify entityType as view in the request body.

API format

POST /sourceConnections

Request

The following request creates a Dynamics source connection and ingests views.

 Select to view request example
curl -X POST \
  'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/sourceConnections' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
  -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
  -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
  -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
      "name": "Dynamics Source Connection",
      "description": "Dynamics Source Connection",
      "baseConnectionId": "dd668808-25da-493f-8782-f3433b976d1e",
      "data": {
          "format": "tabular",
          "schema": null,
          "properties": null
      },
      "params": {
          "tableName": "Contacts with name TIM",
          "entityType": "view"
      },
      "connectionSpec": {
          "id": "38ad80fe-8b06-4938-94f4-d4ee80266b07",
          "version": "1.0"
      }
  }'

Response

A successful response returns the newly generated source connection ID and its corresponding etag.

 Select to view response example
{
    "id": "e566bab3-1b58-428c-b751-86b8cc79a3b4",
    "etag": "\"82009592-0000-0200-0000-678121030000\""
}

Next steps

By following this tutorial, you have created a Microsoft Dynamics base connection using the Flow Service API. You can use this base connection ID in the following tutorials:

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