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Intro

Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a simple, very flexible text format. The Domo XML Advance Connector allows you to access XML files that you have uploaded to a SFTP server. You can also import files via HTTP or HTTPS calls. For more information about XML, see https://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/ You connect to your XML account in the Data Center. This topic discusses the fields and menus that are specific to the XML connector user interface. General information for adding DataSets, setting update schedules, and editing DataSet information is discussed in Adding a DataSet Using a Connector.

Primary Use Cases

Pulling XML data formatted as rows and columns into Domo.

Primary Metrics

N/A

Primary Company Roles

IT

Average Implementation Time

2 hours

Ease of Use (on a 1-to-10 scale with 1 being easiest)

3

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Best Practices

Make sure the XML is valid before using the connector.

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Prerequisites

To connect to your XML account and create a DataSet, you must have credentials for the server in which the XML file is found. You must also whitelist a number of IP addresses on your database server on the port you want to connect to. For the full list of IP addresses, see Whitelisting IP Addresses.

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Connecting to Your XML Account

This section enumerates the options in the Credentials and Details panes in the XML Connector page. The components of the other panes in this page, Scheduling and Name & Describe Your DataSet, are universal across most connector types and are discussed in greater length in Adding a DataSet Using a Connector.

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Credentials Pane

This pane contains fields for entering credentials to connect to your XML account. The following table describes what is needed for each field:

Field

Description

Domain Enter your domain name. For example, s ftp://hostname , then enter only the hostname.
Username Enter the username for the server where the XML file is located.
Password Enter the password for the server where the XML file is located.
Once you have entered valid XML credentials, you can use the same account any time you go to create a new XML DataSet. You can manage connector accounts in the Accounts tab in the Data Center. For more information about this tab, see Manage Connector Accounts.

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Details Pane

In this pane you specify the server/SFTP site to connect to, the name of the XML file, and other configuration settings.

Menu

Description

What Is The Connection Method To Access The Xml File?

SFTP is used when your XML file is on a SFTP server.

HTTP Request is used when you want to access your XML file using a HTTP GET request. The request is triggered by a unique URL Parameter defined by the service providing the XML file.

Enter The Path To Your XML File

Enter the path to your XML file.

You must provide the complete qualified path including the file name.
Example (SFTP):
/home/test/file.xml

You can also specify the file to process by using our date function and name your file using the following date format.
Example for specific date:
file_[yyyyMMdd]_suffix.xml

Also you can select the most recent file by using this naming convention.
Example:
[latest].xml

Enter Your Data Tag Enter the tag containing your data in the XML text.
Do You Require Additional Options? Select Yes , if you need to exclude specific fields or use XPath.
Do You Require Attributes In Data? Select Yes , if you require attributes values as part of data.
Enter Fields To Exclude Provides a comma separated list of fields you want to exclude from the XML import.
Enter XPath Expression Enter your XPath query using standard XPath syntax as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium. ( http://www.w3.org/TR/2014/REC-xpath-30-20140408/ ).
HTTPS Headers Enter additional headers for the HTTPS XML URL. Provide in the following format: headerName1 = ‘headerValue1’ and headerName2 = ‘headerValue2’.
HTTPS Body Enter additional request body for the HTTPS XML URL. Provide in the following format: name1 = ‘Value1’ and name2 = ‘Value2’.
Query Parameter Format Normal : Allows multiple parameters to be sent.

Select RAW if you need to send a string of parameters as the value of one single parameter.

Select Plain , and provide the value to be appended to the end of the provided URL. Note that if Plain is selected, the provided value will be appended as it is, and URL encoding will occurs.
Query Parameters Enter additional query parameters for XML URL. Provide in the following format: paramName1 = ‘paramValue1’ and paramName2 = ‘paramValue2’.
Date Query Parameters Enter additional date query parameters for the XML URL and provide the detail in the following format: paramName1 = ‘paramValue1’ and paramName2 = ‘paramValue2’. Specify paramValue as X, XDay or XDays, where X is a positive integer. For example: 30Days.
Date Format For Date Query Parameters Enter the required date format for date query parameters.

Parser

Select Parser to parse XML. By default, Recursive XML Parser is used. If Recursive Parser parse fails, then try XML Parser or Easy XML parser.

Is Pagination Required?

Select Yes if your xml response is paginated.

Type Of Pagination

Select Pagination using next page URL from response if the XML response contains the URL to the next page. Select Pagination using page parameter if pagination is achieved using page parameter.

Response Tag For Next Page URL

Refer the table below to find the expected value to be entered in this field for the next page URL tag format.

Possible URL Tag Format Expected Input Value
<link rel=“next” href=” https://someurl.com ” /> link:rel=next:href
<nextUrl> https://someurl.com </nextUrl> nextUrl
<nextLink href=” https://someurl.com ” /> nextLink:href
<url rel=“next”> https://someurl.com </url> url:rel=next

Tag For Page Parameter

Enter the tag where you can find the page parameter.
For example, If your page parameter resides in < data > tag of your xml response then enter ‘data’ here.

Name Of The Page Parameter

Enter the name of the page parameter you want to use for pagination.

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Other Panes

For information about the remaining sections of the connector interface, including how to configure scheduling, retry, and update options, see Adding a DataSet Using a Connector.

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Troubleshooting

  • Make sure the XML data is valid and that the credentials are up-to-date.
  • Whitelist necessary IP addresses.

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FAQs

If you are retrieving an XML file from an SFTP server, you will need the username, password, and host name. If you are importing an XML file from a URL, you will need the URL, and optionally, a username and password.
Datasets should be set to update no more than once every hour.
While the data provider may enforce call rate limits, you should not have to worry about them.