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Define an External Data Source for Salesforce Connect OData 4.01 Adapter

Connect your Salesforce org to data that’s stored in an external system, such as SAP® NetWeaver Gateway, Microsoft Dynamics® NAV, or IBM WebSphere®.

Required Editions

Available in: both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience (not for high-data-volume external objects)

Available in: Developer Edition

Available for an extra cost in: Enterprise, Performance, and Unlimited Editions

User Permissions Needed
To create and edit external data sources: Customize Application
  1. From Setup, enter External Data Sources in the Quick Find box, then select External Data Sources.
  2. Click New External Data Source, or click Edit to modify an existing external data source.
  3. Complete the fields.
    Field Description
    External Data Source A user-friendly name for the external data source. The label is displayed in the Salesforce user interface, such as in list views.
    Name

    A unique identifier that’s used to refer to this external data source definition through the API.

    The name can contain only underscores and alphanumeric characters. It must be unique, begin with a letter, not include spaces, not end with an underscore, and not contain two consecutive underscores.
    Type Select Salesforce Connect: OData 4.01.
    Named Credential Enter the named credential URL defined for the data source exposed via OData 4.01. To know how to create an external credential and named credential, see Named Credentials.
    Connection Timeout (Seconds) Number of seconds to wait for a response from the external system before timing out. By default, the value is set to the maximum of 120 seconds.
    Writable External Objects Lets the Lightning Platform and users in this org create, update, and delete records for external objects associated with the external data source. The external object data is stored outside the org. By default, external objects are read only.
    Server Driven Pagination Select this option to have the external system control the paging behavior. See Client-Driven and Server-Driven Paging for Salesforce Connect OData Adapters.
    Enable Search

    Determines whether SOSL and Salesforce global searches also query the external objects that are associated with this external data source.

    When selected, you can control which external objects are searchable by selecting or deselecting Allow Search on each external object.

    Only text, text area, and long text area fields on external objects can be searched. If an external object has no searchable fields, searches on that object return no records.

    Select this option to allow the external data source’s associated external objects to appear in Salesforce for iOS and Salesforce mobile web when used on iOS devices.
    Use Free-Text Search Expressions

    Available for the OData 4.0 and 4.01 adapters for Salesforce Connect. Select this option to use the $search system query option instead of $filter in search requests that are sent to the external system. Make sure that the OData producer is set up to support the $search system query option.

    This field has no effect when Enable Search is deselected.

    See OData 4.0 and 4.01 Query Options.
    Eligible for External Change Data Capture Select to track changes to external data. See Use External Change Data Capture to Track Data Changes on External Objects.
    Batch DML Select this option to be able to send multiple DML requests to the external data source in JSON batch format. See batch requests.
    Metadata Control Information Select Full or Minimal as per your client application and device requirements.
    Display Server Errors Select to specify whether to display error messages from an external system in the user interface.
  4. Click Save.
  5. Click Validate and Sync, select the tables, and click Sync. Before you sync, make sure that you understand the considerations described in Sync an External Data Source for Salesforce Connect and Sync Considerations for Salesforce Connect OData Adapters
    Note
    Note To leverage Named Credentials and Private Connect with OData 4.0 data sources, use the OData 4.01 adapter for Salesforce Connect.