Authenticate with Microsoft

You can authenticate with Microsoft to create your own instance of the Outlook Email element through the UI or through APIs. Once authenticated, you can use the element instance to access the different functionality offered by the Microsoft platform.

Authenticate Through the UI

Use the UI to authenticate with Microsoft and create a Outlook Email element instance. Microsoft authentication follows the typical OAuth 2.0 framework and you will need to sign in to Microsoft as part of the process.

If you are configuring events, see the Events section.

To authenticate an element instance:

1. Sign in to Cloud Elements, and then search for Outlook Email in our Elements Catalog.
2. Hover over the element card, and then click Authenticate.
3. Enter a name for the element instance.
4. Click Create Instance.
5. Log in to Microsoft, and then allow the connection.

After successfully authenticating, we give you several options for next steps. Make requests using the API docs associated with the instance, map the instance to a virtual data resource, or use it in a formula template.

Authenticate Through API

Authenticating through API is similar to authenticating via the UI. Instead of clicking and typing through a series of buttons, text boxes, and menus, you will instead send a request to our /instances endpoint. The end result is the same, though: an authenticated element instance with a token and id.

Authenticating through API follows a multi-step OAuth 2.0 process that involves:

• Getting a redirect URL. This URL sends users to the vendor to log in to their account.
• Authenticating users and receiving the authorization grant code. After the user logs in, the vendor makes a call back to the specified url with an authorization grant code.
• Authenticating the element instance. Using the authorization code from the vendor, authenticate with the vendor to create an element instance at Cloud Elements.

Getting a Redirect URL

Use the following API call to request a redirect URL where the user can authenticate with the service provider. Replace {keyOrId} with the element key, outlookemail.

curl -X GET /elements/{keyOrId}/oauth/url?apiKey=<Microsoft Application Id>&apiSecret=<Microsoft Password/PublicKey> &callbackUrl=<Microsoft Redirect URL>&scope=offline_access https://outlook.office.com/mail.send https://outlook.office.com/mail.read https://outlook.office.com/mail.readwrite

Query Parameters

Example Request

curl -X GET \
'https://api.cloud-elements.com/elements/api-v2/elements/outlookemail/oauth/url?apiKey=Rand0MAP1-key&apiSecret=fak3AP1-s3Cr3t&callbackUrl=https:%3A%2F%2Fwww.mycoolapp.com%2auth&scope=offline_access%20https://outlook.office.com/mail.send%20https://outlook.office.com/mail.read%20https://outlook.office.com/mail.readwrite' \

Example Response

Use the oauthUrl in the response to allow users to authenticate with the vendor.

{
    "oauthUrl": "https://login.microsoftonline.com/common/oauth2/v2.0/authorize?scope=offline_access+https%3A%2F%2Foutlook.office.com%2Fmail.send+https%3A%2F%2Foutlook.office.com%2Fmail.read+https%3A%2F%2Foutlook.office.com%2Fmail.readwrite&response_type=code&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fhttpbin.org%2Fget&state=outlookemail&client_id=Rand0MAP1-key",
    "element": "outlookemail"
}

Authenticating Users and Receiving the Authorization Grant Code

Provide the oauthUrl in the response from the previous step to the users. After users authenticate, Microsoft provides the following information in the response:

• code
• state

Authenticating the Element Instance

Use the code from the previous step and the /instances endpoint to authenticate with Microsoft and create an element instance. If you are configuring events, see the Events section.

To authenticate an element instance:

1. Construct a JSON body as shown below (see Parameters):

   {
     "element": {
       "key": "outlookemail"
     },
     "providerData": {
       "code": "<AUTHORIZATION_GRANT_CODE>"
     },
     "configuration": {
       "oauth.api.key": "<Microsoft app Application Id>",
       "oauth.api.secret": "<Microsoft app Password/PublicKey>",
       "oauth.callback.url": "<Microsoft app Redirect URL >"
     },
     "tags": [
       "<Add_Your_Tag>"
     ],
     "name": "<INSTANCE_NAME>"
   }
   

2. Call the following, including the JSON body you constructed in the previous step:

   POST /instances
   

   Note: Make sure that you include the User and Organization keys in the header. See the Overview for details.

3. Locate the token and id in the response and save them for all future requests using the element instance.

Example Request

curl -X POST \
  https://api.cloud-elements.com/elements/api-v2/instances \
  -H 'authorization: User <USER_SECRET>, Organization <ORGANIZATION_SECRET>' \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{
  "element": {
    "key": "outlookemail"
  },
  "providerData": {
    "code": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
  },
  "configuration": {
    "oauth.api.key": "Rand0MAP1-key",
    "oauth.api.secret": "fak3AP1-s3Cr3t",
    "oauth.callback.url": "https;//mycoolapp.com"
  },
  "tags": [
    "Docs"
  ],
  "name": "API Instance"
}'

Authentication Parameters

API parameters in the UI are bold, while parameters available in the instances API are in code formatting.

Example Response for an Authenticated Element Instance

In this example, the instance ID is 12345 and the instance token starts with "ABC/D...". The actual values returned to you will be unique: make sure you save them for future requests to this new instance.

{
  "id": 12345,
  "name": "Instance via API",
  "createdDate": "2017-11-30T21:53:35Z",
  "token": "ABC/D...xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
  "element": {
      "id": 6410,
      "name": "Outlook Email",
      "key": "outlookemail",
      "description": "Add an Outlook Email Instance to connect your existing Outlook account to the general Hub, allowing you to manage your emails across multiple general Elements.You will need your Outlook account information to add an instance ",
      "image": "elements/custom-element-default-logo.png",
      "logo": "outlookemail",
      "active": true,
      "deleted": false,
      "typeOauth": false,
      "trialAccount": false,
      "resources": [ ],
      "transformationsEnabled": true,
      "bulkDownloadEnabled": true,
      "bulkUploadEnabled": true,
      "cloneable": true,
      "extendable": true,
      "beta": false,
      "authentication": {
          "type": "oauth2"
      },
      "extended": false,
      "useModelsForMetadata": true,
      "hub": "general",
      "protocolType": "odata",
      "parameters": [  ],
      "private": false
    },
    "elementId": 6410,
    "tags": [
        "Docs"
    ],
    "provisionInteractions": [],
    "valid": true,
    "disabled": false,
    "maxCacheSize": 0,
    "cacheTimeToLive": 0,
    "providerData": {
        "code": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
    },
    "configuration": {    },
    "eventsEnabled": false,
    "traceLoggingEnabled": false,
    "cachingEnabled": false,
    "externalAuthentication": "none",
    "user": {
        "id": 123456,
        "emailAddress": "claude.elements@cloud-elements.com",
        "firstName": "Claude",
        "lastName": "Elements"
    }
}