Create a Connection for Use by Interview Extensions

An interview extension data connection allows calls to be brokered from an interview extension to some other web service via the Intelligent Advisor server. This allows authentication details for the connection to be securely stored on the server. Interview extension data connections are created by Connections administrators.

To create a new interview extension data connection:

  1. In Intelligent Advisor Hub, navigate to the Connections Page.
  2. Click Create. The New connection page opens.
  3. In the CONNECTION SETTINGS section:
    • In the Name field, enter a name for the connection. This is what will be used to call the connection from your extension.
    • In the connection Type drop-down list, select Interview extension.
    • In the Workspace access options, select the check boxes for the workspaces that you want to have access to the connection. This connection will only be callable from deployments in the same workspace.
  4. In the INTERVIEW EXTENSION DETAILS section:
    • In the URL field, enter the URL of the web service endpoint.
    • (Optional) Select the option Requires custom root certificate to use a custom root certificate defined in Intelligent Advisor Hub. These custom root certificates will be recognized by outbound https calls made by an Intelligent Advisor site. If not selected, the connection will only trust the built-in root certificates.
    • (Optional) In the Present this client certificate drop-down list, select a client certificate. This client certificate will be presented to the server if requested by the HTTPS connection. Note that if the connection is configured with a client certificate that doesn't exist, the connection will ignore it.
  5. In the HEALTH CHECK section:
    • (Optional) In the Health Check URL field, enter a URL which will be used to check the status of the connection.
  6. In the AUTHENTICATION section:

    • In the Method drop-down list, select:

      • HTTP basic authentication - if you want the connection to be secured via HTTP basic authentication.

      • Use access token from authorization provider - if you want access tokens obtained for interviews in secured workspaces (those which have an authorization provider) to be used in the authorization header request. Note that the workspace that contains the interviews that you want to control access to using Identity Cloud Service must have an authorization provider assigned to it. If an interview is not in a secured workspace and an interview extension uses the connection, then the request sent to the connection's URL/endpoint will not include any authorization headers (even if the interview extension JavaScript specifies a header). A server debug message will be logged but the interview will not be stopped.

      • Pass through authorization header from interview extension (if supplied) - if you want the interview extension to pass an Authorization header via the headers property in your fetch request.

    • If using HTTP basic authentication:
      • In the Username field, enter a username.
      • In the Password field, enter a password.
  7. Click Apply.

    New Connection dialog for an interview extension type connection showing typical settings

Once the interview extension data connection has been created, it can be invoked securely from JavaScript interview extensions using the fetch() method that passes the call request to the Intelligent Advisor server. For more information, see Perform Web Service Calls From Within an Interview.

Tip: The Intelligent Advisor Hub REST API can also be used to add, edit and remove interview extension connections. For more information, see Overview of Managing Connections.