Custom actions and connections

Custom remote actions

A custom remote action can either be directly created within the Execute remote action post function or within the Remote actions page in the Manage apps administration. On the Remote actions page, you can furthermore copy, edit and delete custom actions.

Create an action

Name

Define the name of the action. The name must be unique across all remote actions.

Method

Select the HTTP method type used while connecting to the remote service.

Default connection

Select either the current instance or one of the already connections to a remote service already configured. Learn more about creating a connection!

REST path

Define the path to the endpoint to be called by the action. This path will be appended to the configured base URL in the connection.

To make it easier and more powerful to work with the REST path, you can use placeholders for path and query parameters. A path needs to conform the following pattern:

/path/to/my/endpoint/{pathParameter}?{queryParameter1}&{queryParameter2}

A path parameter is any placeholder before the first found question mark character. It will be replaced at runtime with the value set in the further configuration. 

If a placeholder is found after the first question mark, it will be treated as a query parameter. You can configure the placeholder in the further configuration and set a custom value. At runtime, it will get replaced by the default query parameter pattern:

With the configuration 

pathParameter : "extended"
queryParameter1 : "my"
queryParameter2 : "value"

the example above will get evaluated to: 

/path/to/my/endpoint/extended?queryParameter1=my&queryParameter2=value

Parameter

If you have defined any placeholders in the REST path, you need to configure how they will be replaced when executing the action. You can set a value by either passing the value of a field to the placeholder or by setting it manually using a Parser expression. 

Action body

A JSON-based action body can be defined and configured if one of the methods POST or PUT is configured as a method type for the action. You can insert usual field codes and Expression parser functions within the body.

Edit an action

On the Remote actions page in the Manage apps administration, you are able to edit an action by just clicking the edit icon of the remote action that you want to update.

Copy an action

On the Remote actions page in the Manage apps administration, you are able to copy an action by just clicking the copy icon of the remote action that you want to copy. All configurations are taken over. As the name has to be unique across all remote actions, you have to at least update the action name parameter. 

Delete an action

On the Remote actions page in the Manage apps administration, you are able to delete an action by just clicking the delete icon of the remote action that you want to delete. Please keep in mind that deleting an action might result in an invalid workflow configuration if it is still in use.

Connections

Each remote action uses a connection to which the request is sent. This can either be an internal connection that helps to overcome some platform limitations or an external one. These connections can be created directly within the Execute remote action post function or on the Remote actions page at the Connections tab in the Manage apps administration. There, you can furthermore copy, edit and delete the connections or get information on whether they are used or not.

Create a connection

Name

Define the name of the connection. The name must be unique across all configured connections.

Connection type

Select whether to create an internal or an external connection. Although there is a usable default internal connection authenticated as the logged-in user, you can create further internal connections with a dedicated authentication.

Base URL

If the connection is configured as external, the base URL of the remote service needs to be defined. The base URL has to start with http or https and will be concatenated with the REST path configured in the action when executing the action.

To keep your instance safe, the base URL is validated before the connection is saved SINCE 3.5.11

Blocked address ranges

While internal addresses are not allowed, a base URL is rejected if any of the resolved IP addresses falls into one of the following ranges:

Internal addresses are blocked by default. Learn more about allowing internal addresses

The base URL is validated again every time the action is executed, and on every redirect the remote service returns. A connection that was saved successfully can therefore still fail at runtime.

Authentication

Select the authentication used for the connection.

Custom headers

Add custom headers for the connection.

Validation messages

If a base URL cannot be used, the reason is displayed directly on the Base URL field.

Edit a connection

On the Remote actions page at the Connections tab in the Manage apps administration , you are able to edit a connection by just clicking the edit icon on the connection that you want to update.

Copy a connection

On the Remote actions page at the Connections tab in the Manage apps administration , you are able to copy a connection by just clicking the copy icon on the connection that you want to copy. Most configurations are taken over except the credentials in case of an external connection. As the name has to be unique across all remote connections, you have to update at least the connection name parameter.

Delete a connection

On the Remote actions page at the Connections tab in the Manage apps administration , you are able to delete a connection by just clicking the delete icon on the connection that you want to delete. If the connection is used in any connection as a default connection, you need to update the affected actions first. Please keep in mind that deleting a connection might result in an invalid workflow configuration in case it is still in use.