Integration for Zapier – How to Create a Custom Trigger

Zapier allows seamless integration with dozens of APIs. In this post I’ll explain how to create an integration with the GroupDocs Storage API. Put simply the process of integration with Zapier is Read -> Process -> Write. The left side of the integration is called a trigger and the right side is an action. The central process simply converts your API response to a format suitable for the write action. We are going to create a trigger for new files. When you upload files to your GroupDocs account, a Zap (Zapier app) gets the file details and sends them (the write action) to one of the supported services. In this example, we’ll simply send an email using Gmail. Here is the brief overview of what needs to be done:

1. Create GroupDocs Storage service.
2. Add Auth Fields to support GroupDocs URL Signing based authentication.
3. Create a trigger for the Storage.ListEntities operation.
4. Use Zapier’s Javascript API to implement GroupDocs URL Signing.
5. Test.

1. Create GroupDocs Storage Service

1. Go to https://zapier.com/developer/app/create/.
2. Fill in the form with following information:
   • Title: GroupDocs Storage
   • Description: Create/Read/Update/Delete users’ files and folders.
3. Click Save. A new page is loaded, with the name of the app.

2. Add Auth Fields

1. In Zapier, click Add a new auth field in the Auth Fields section.
2. Fill in the form with the following information:
   • Label: Client ID
   • Key: client_id
   • Type: Unicode
   • Required: Yes
   • Help text: Get it from http://apps.groupdocs.com/My/Manage
3. Click Save button.
4. Now repeat the same steps to add an Auth Field for the API key:
   • Label: API Key
   • Key: private_key
   • Type: Password
   • Required: Yes
   • Help text: Get it from http://apps.groupdocs.com/My/Manage
5. Click Save.

3. Create a Trigger

The trigger recognizes that files have been uploaded and passes them to the process. Setting up a trigger involves several steps: adding a new trigger, adding polling info, adding a trigger field and, finally, adding sample results.

1. Still in Zapier, click Add a new trigger. in the Triggers section.
2. Fill in the form with following information:
   • Label: New File
   • Key: new_file
   • Help text: New file uploaded to GroupDocs.
   • Important: On
   • Data Source: Polling
3. Click Save. The Trigger page is updated so you can enter polling info.
4. Paste the following into the Polling: URL Route field: client_id/folders/path?order_by=CreatedOn&order_asc=False
5. Click Save.

3a. Add Trigger Field for the path Placeholder

1. Click Add a new trigger field. .
2. Fill in the form with following information:
   • Label: Folder
   • Key: path
   • Help text: Folder path such as “myFolder”, also supports nesting as in “my/nested/folder”. To get contents of root folder use “/”.
   • Type: Unicode
   • Required: Yes

3b. Add sample result

1. Click the sample link in the Trigger Data Sources section.
2. Add the following json:

   {
     "guid": "1a4e925807950d82b4bf55dc86f736b9123a4409fa1ab3583cf69bc4d1d5dd1a",
     "name": "another_interactiveform.pdf",
     "url": "https://api.groupdocs.com/v2.0/shared/files/1a4e925807950d82b4bf55dc86f736b9123a4409fa1ab3583cf69bc4d1d5dd1a",
     "thumbnail": null,
     "supported_types": null,
     "access": "Private",
     "file_type": "Pdf",
     "created_on": 1352273011483,
     "version": 1,
     "modified_on": 1352273011483,
     "owner": null,
     "sharers": null,
     "type": "Pdf",
     "id": 18731,
     "dir": false,
     "size": 91134
   }

3. Click Save.
4. Mark the following fields as important: created_on, file_type, guid, id, name and size.

4. Implement GroupDocs URL Signing

1. Click the Edit Your Code button.
2. Add the following JavaScript code:

   Check how to implement GroupDocs URL Signing with JS.

   As there is no way to include external JS files from within a JavaScript code, we had to copy the SHA-1 implementation from https://github.com/Caligatio/jsSHA/blob/release-1.41/src/sha1.js.

We also had to change the Content-Type header from “application/json” to “text/html” or the GroupDocs API would try to parse the request body and fail because the GET request doesn’t have a body payload.

Test the Service

Our service is ready, now we can test it.

1. Go to your dashboard and create new zap.
2. Type “GroupDocs” in the search box.
3. Select the New File trigger.
4. As the action, choose Gmail – Send Email.

Once you are done with testing you can submit your service for global activation or enable invite only activation. In the next post I’ll describe how to create an action for the GroupDocs Storage API. That is, we’ll implement the right side of integration. Please talk to us using our Live Chat support or official feedback forum. Stay connected with our blog and newsletter to get updates regarding all GroupDocs enhancements.