Build Act CRM-Connected Apps in Bubble

Bubble is a no-code platform that simplifies the process of developing and launching apps and businesses. When coupled with CData Connect AI, you gain effortless no-code access to Act CRM data for streamlined app development. This article guides you through the integration process from Bubble to Act CRM using CData Connect AI.

CData Connect AI provides a pure cloud-to-cloud OData interface for Act CRM data that allows you to integrate from Bubble to Act CRM data in real time.

Connect to Act CRM from Bubble

To work with Act CRM data from Bubble, we need to connect to Act CRM from Connect AI, provide user access to the connection, and create a Workspace for the Act CRM data.

Connect to Act CRM from Connect AI

CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
👁 Adding a Connection

2. Select "Act CRM" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Act CRM.

   The and properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid Act! user credentials. In addition to the authentication values, see the following:

   • Connecting to Act! Premium

     In addition to the authentication values, the to Act! is also required; for example https://eup1-iis-04.eu.hosted.act.com/.

     Additionally, you must specify the you will connect to. This is found by going to the About Act! Premium menu of your account, at the top right of the page, in the ? menu. Use the Database Name in the window that appears.

   • Connecting to Act! Premium Cloud

     To connect to your Act! Premium Cloud account, you also need to specify the property. This property is found in the URL address of the Cloud account; for example https://eup1-iis-04.eu.hosted.act.com/ActCloudName/.

   Note that retrieving ActCRM metadata can be expensive. It is advised that you set the property to store the metadata locally.

   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Act CRM Connection page and update the User-based permissions. 👁 Updating permissions
   

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create. 👁 Creating a new PAT
   
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

Configure Act CRM Endpoints for Bubble

After connecting to Act CRM, create a workspace for your desired table(s).

1. Navigate to the Workspaces page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace). 👁 The Workspaces page.
   👁 Adding a new Workspace.
   
2. Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
3. Select the Act CRM connection (e.g. ActCRM1) and click Next. 👁 Selecting an Asset (Salesforce is shown).
   
4. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm. 👁 Selecting Tables (Salesforce is shown).
   
5. Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}

With the connection, PAT, and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to Act CRM data from Bubble.

Build a Act CRM-Connected App

With OData endpoints added to Connect AI, you can build an app in Bubble with live access to Act CRM data.

Configure the Bubble API Connector

To start, Configure the API Connector for accessing CData Connect AI from Bubble.

1. In your app, click the Plugins tab and click Add plugins
2. Search for "API Connector" and click Install 👁 Installing the API Connector plugin
   
3. After installation, click the "Add another API" button and configure the API:
   • Name the API
   • Set Authentication to "HTTP Basic Auth"
   • Set Username to a Connect AI user (e.g. [email protected])
   • Set Password to the PAT for the user
   • Expand the API Call, select the "GET" command and set the URL to a Workspace endpoint you previously configured (e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}/Activities)
   👁 Configuring the API Call
   
4. Click the "Initialize call" button to adjust data types in the response (as needed) 👁 Initializing the call
   
5. After making any necessary changes, click "Save" 👁 Saving the data types
   

Configure the App UI

With the API Connector configure, you are ready to retrieve Act CRM data in your Bubble app. In this article, we request the data with a UI component that can display an Excel-like table.

1. On the Plugin tab, install the "Excel-like HandsonTable" 👁 Adding the Excel-like HandsonTable plugin
   
2. On the Design tab, add an "Excel Table" to the workspace 👁 Adding an Excel Table to the app
   
3. In the Excel Table, in Data source, select "Get data from an external API"
4. Set Type of content to "API Call value"
5. Set Data source to "CData Connect AI - API Call's value" (or equivalent) 👁 Binding the Excel Table to the API Call
   
6. Click "Preview" to ensure the data was retrieved from Act CRM. 👁 Previewing the app
   

At this point, you can develop applications with live access to Act CRM data without needing to know the complexities of the back-end API.

Live Access to Act CRM Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct connection to live Act CRM data from Bubble. You can create more Act CRM-connected apps — all without writing any code or replicating Act CRM data.

To get live data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, see the CData Connect AI.