Configure a data source connector from the user interface
Experience Manager Guides comes with the Data Sources tool that helps you configure out-of-the-box connectors for data sources. You can set up the JIRA, SQL (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, SQLite, MariaDB, H2DB), AdobeCommerce, ElasticSearch, and Generic REST Client connectors.
Besides these out-of-the-box connectors, Experience Manager Guides provides the connectors for Salsify, Akeneo, and Microsoft Azure DevOps Boards (ADO) data sources. You can download and install these open-source connectors from the Maven Central repository. The users can then configure these connectors.
Learn how to install an open-source connector.
You can also connect to JSON data files using a file connector. Upload the JSON file from your computer or browse it from the Adobe Experience Manager assets. Then, create content snippets or topics using the generators.
To configure a connector, perform the following steps:
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Select the Adobe Experience Manager link at the top and choose Tools.
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Select Guides from the list of tools.
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Select the Data Sources tile. The Data Sources page is displayed. You can view the connected data sources.
You can toggle between the List View or Tile View to view the various connected data sources as a list or as tiles.
View or Create a data source connector.
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Click Create.
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Select the database for which you want to create the connector. For example, the ElasticSearch connector.
note note NOTE All the available out-of-the-box databases are listed. -
Click Next.
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Enter the configuration and connection details as per the database.
note tip TIP - Hover over
- Fields with * are mandatory. For example, you can enter the following details for the ElasticSearch connector.
- Name: Enter the name of the data source.
- Authentication type: Select the type of authentication from the drop-down. For example, Basic username-password authentication
- Username: Enter your username.
- Password: Enter your username and password.
- URL: Add the API URL.
- Hover over
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Select the Exclude factory templates option to exclude the factory templates from being used for topic and snippet generation. They will not appear under the Data mapping template dropdown in the Add content snippet generator or the Add topic generator dialog box.
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Select Test connection. You can view the Test Connection button enabled only after you add the required details. View a success message if the connection details are correct. Otherwise, you might view an error message.
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Select Save on the top to save the connector. View the Save button enabled after you fill in all the details and the connection is successful.
If the connector is saved successfully, you can view the connected data source on the page.
Connect to multiple resources
You can add or use multiple resources based on different URLs for some connectors like Generic REST Client, Salsify, Akeneo, and Microsoft Azure DevOps Boards (ADO). Then, connect with them to create content snippets or topics using the generators for them.
Perform the following steps to create a resource:
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Select
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Configure all the details in the Add resource dialog box.
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Click Add.
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You can edit
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You can also use the default resources available for data sources like Salsify, Akeneo, and Microsoft ADO. Toggle the options OFF for the resource you don’t want to configure for a data source.
This helps you to quickly fetch data from any of the resources for a particular data source in a single content snippet or topic.
Install an open-source connector install-open-source-connector
To publish a dependency present on the Maven Central repository to the Cloud Services, you need to include and embed the dependency for an open-source connector.
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Add the dependency in
all/pom.xml
in your cloud manager Git project code. For example, you can add the following dependency for Microsoft Azure DevOps Boards data source connector.code language-none <dependency> <groupId>com.adobe.aem.addon.guides</groupId> <artifactId>konnect-azure-devops</artifactId> <version>1.0.0</version> <type>jar</type> </dependency>
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Embed the added dependency.
code language-none ``` <embedded> <groupId>com.adobe.aem.addon.guides</groupId> <artifactId>konnect-azure-devops</artifactId> <type>jar</type> <target>/apps/aemdoxonaemcsstageprogram-vendor-packages/content/install</target> </embedded> ```
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Run the pipeline to apply the changes in the Cloud Services.
The connector is installed in your environment.
Features available for a connector
- Toggle between the List View or Tile View to view the various connected data sources as a list or as tiles.
- Select the checkbox for a single connector. Click Select All to select all connectors. You can click Deselect All when all the connectors are selected.
Edit, reconnect, duplicated, or delete a data source connector.
You can use the following features for the connector on the Data Sources page:
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Edit: Edit the configuration details for the selected connector.
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Reconnect: Reconnect to a disconnected connector.
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Duplicate: Create a new duplicate connector using the current connector as the base. The duplicate connector is created with a suffix (like connectorname_1) by default. For example, sample-elastic-search_1.
You view an error if the connector with the same name exists. -
Delete: Delete the selected connector.
Once you have configured the data source, the connector is listed under the Data Sources panel in the Web Editor. You can then connect to the data source and insert a content snippet into your topics. For more details, view Insert a content snippet from your data source.