What is a Data Connector?
Understand what a Data Connector is and how ProcessMaker designers can interact with a data source from within their ProcessMaker assets such as Screen Builder and Process Modeler.
In ProcessMaker, a Data Connector connects your ProcessMaker assets to a data source. Data sources may include Collections and third-party data sources such as Application Program Interfaces (APIs). After a Data Connector is created, ProcessMaker designers can reference the data source via the Data Connector from within their ProcessMaker assets. Each Data Connector is configured with which data source that Data Connector interacts, making it easy for ProcessMaker designers to interact with technical data sources such as APIs. Incorporating data from external data sources helps you make business decisions from information outside of your ProcessMaker instance.
Below are a few ways to use Data Connectors:
- In Screen Builder, use the response from a third-party API endpoint as Select List control options in a Screen. See an example.
- While modeling a Process, place a Data Connector connector into your Process model to automatically access records from a Collection records or access external data from a third-party data source to incorporate new information into Requests started from your Process. After this external data has been incorporated into Requests, make business decisions based on that data.
See how Data Connectors call third-party Application Program Interfaces (APIs), and then use that data in Processes.
Video demonstration of a ProcessMaker Data Connector using an API as a data source