Gmail Connector for UiPath

Read / search Gmail messages, download attachments, send mail and more using Gmail REST API.

In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Gmail data in UiPath without coding. We will use high-performance Gmail Connector to easily connect to Gmail and then access the data inside UiPath.

Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that!

Download Documentation

Gmail Connector for UiPath is based on ZappySys API Driver which is part of ODBC PowerPack. It is a collection of high-performance ODBC drivers that enable you to integrate data in SQL Server, SSIS, a programming language, or any other ODBC-compatible application. ODBC PowerPack supports various file formats, sources and destinations, including REST/SOAP API, SFTP/FTP, storage services, and plain files, to mention a few.

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from Gmail using UiPath we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from Gmail. We will later be able to read data using UiPath. Perform these steps:

Download and install ODBC PowerPack.
Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

ZappySys API Driver
- Create and use User DSN if the client application is run under a User Account. This is an ideal option in design-time, when developing a solution, e.g. in Visual Studio 2019. Use it for both type of applications - 64-bit and 32-bit.
- Create and use System DSN if the client application is launched under a System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. Usually, this is an ideal option to use in a production environment. Use ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit), instead of 64-bit version, if Windows Service is a 32-bit application.
When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Gmail" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Gmail" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

GmailDSN

Gmail

Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

User Account

Gmail authentication

To make this work you will have to create a Google Cloud project. This project forms the basis for creating, enabling, and using all Google Cloud services, including managing APIs, enabling billing, adding and removing collaborators, and managing permissions.

Go to the Google Cloud Console
In the Google Cloud console, go to menu IAM & Admin, and then Create a Project.
Enter the name of the new project into the Project Name field and select the appropriate organization, then click Create.
The console navigates to the Dashboard page and your project is created within a few minutes.
In the Google Cloud console, go to menu More products, Google Workspace, and then Product Library.
Now we need to enable the Gmail API.
Search for Gmail API. Select it and then click ENABLE.
Select the Credentials tab on the left side of the screen.
Select the + CREATE CREDENTIALS link to reveal a drop down menu.
In the dropdown menu, select OAuth client ID.
If presented, click the CONFIGURE CONSENT SCREEN button and then elect the appropriate User Type based on your business needs. Otherwise, continue to step 16.
In the OAuth consent screen tab fill in your app's website and domain information, and then click SAVE AND CONTINUE.
In the Scopes section of the app registration, click ADD OR REMOVE SCOPES and add the following scopes:
- openid
- https://mail.google.com/
- https://www.googleapis.com/auth/userinfo.email
- https://www.googleapis.com/auth/userinfo.profile
- https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.labels
- https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.send
- https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.modify
- https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.compose
- https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.readonly
After the scopes have been added, click SAVE AND CONTINUE.
Complete the wizard setting up scopes.
Select the Credentials tab on the left side of the screen.
Select the + CREATE CREDENTIALS link to reveal a drop down menu.
In the dropdown menu, select OAuth client ID.
In the Application type drop down, select Desktop application and then give your app client a name.
Select the CREATE button.
A popup window will appear that provides important information you should record for your records:
- Client ID
- Client secret
And then click OK.
Go to OAuth Consent Screen tab. Under Publishing Status click PUBLISH APP to ensure your refresh token doesnt expire often. If you planning to use App for Private use then do not have to worry about Verification Status after Publish.
Back to Connection UI, Enter the client ID and client secret into the required parameters.

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to User Account [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
Finally, hit OK button:

GmailDSN

Gmail

User Account [OAuth]

https://gmail.googleapis.com/

Required Parameters
UseCustomApp	Fill-in the parameter...
Authorization URL	Fill-in the parameter...
Token URL	Fill-in the parameter...
Default API Version	Fill-in the parameter...
Default User Id	Fill-in the parameter...
Scope	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
Client Id
Client Secret
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True
Redirect URL (Only for Web App)

Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:

ZappySys API Driver - Gmail

Read / search Gmail messages, download attachments, send mail and more using Gmail REST API.

GmailDSN
Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in UiPath to retrieve data from Gmail. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.
```
SELECT * FROM Messages
```
Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Gmail API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.
Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in UiPath:
ZappySys API Driver - Gmail

Read / search Gmail messages, download attachments, send mail and more using Gmail REST API.

GmailDSN
```
SELECT * FROM Messages
```
You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.

A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the Gmail API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in Gmail servers).
Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Video Tutorial

Read Gmail data in UiPath Studio (workstation)

Here we will be reading Gmail data on your workstation. To accomplish that we will create and run UiPath process package locally. Later on, we'll explore how to publish the package to Orchestrator and run it remotely. For now, let's focus on working locally and get started!

Open UiPath Studio.
Before we really begin the work, make sure UiPath Studio is set as your profile (blue application icon).
In case, it is set to UiPath StudioX, you can change it in UiPath StudioX Settings: Simply select UiPath Studio option:
Start by creating a new project based on UiPath Process template:
Add Run Query activity in Main Sequence box:
Click Configure Connection... button to create an ODBC connection:
Continue by clicking Connection Wizard:
When the window opens, select ODBC-based driver, provider, and then choose ODBC data source:

GmailDSN

GmailDSN

You can also select Use connection string option and use whole ODBC connection string instead. Obtain the connection string by pressing Copy Settings button in your data source configuration.
Once you do that, it's time to configure a SQL query:
Make sure, you enclose the query in double quotes!
Proceed by adding a Write CSV activity after Run Query:
In this article we are using Write CSV, but you can freely add any other destination of your choice, e.g. Write DataTable to Excel.
Once you do that, configure the added Write CSV, this will write Gmail data to a CSV file:
It's time for fun! Which means it's time for debugging! Just run the package locally to debug:
Finally, ensure there are no execution errors!

Run UiPath package using Orchestrator (via robot)

UiPath also offers the ability to execute packages remotely using Orchestrator and a robot. This is achieved by publishing the package to UiPath Orchestrator, installing UiPath Assistant on the remote machine, connecting it to Orchestrator, enabling us to run the package remotely. It may sound complicated at first glance, but further steps will clear things out. Let's not waste our precious time and delve into the details!

Publish process package from UiPath Studio

First of all, open the UiPath process package we created in the previous step
Set the option that our process package Starts in Background:
We are ready to Publish it:
Make sure, you publish it to the Shared folder in UiPath Orchestrator Tenant workspace:
Finally, success! We are ready for the next step - creating UiPath robot - so we can automate the job:

Create robot in UiPath Orchestrator

First of all, let's open UiPath Orchestrator from UiPath Automation Cloud console:
It's time to create a robot, which will run unattended packages:
But first we have to create a runtime. Choose to host our robot on-premise, not in UiPath infrastructure:
Let's move along and Create new machine template, this will create a machine in UiPath Orchestrator:
Configure the machine to run in Production environment:
We are ready to Create new robot account in the new machine:
Let's make our robot to work only on background automations:
Continue by selecting newly created robot:
Select Shared folder, so that everyone in the team can benefit from it:
This is the folder where we published our UiPath process package "MyProcess"
We are almost done! We are given machine Client ID and Client secret which we will use to connect UiPath Assistant to our created machine in Orchestrator. Let's leave this open for a while and see how we can do it in the next step.

Connect UiPath Assistant to Orchestrator

We are ready to connect UiPath Assistant to the machine we created in Orchestrator. UiPath Assistant will run our package in a remote machine. Let's connect it and give it some work!

Connect to a remote machine (where your UiPath process package will be running).
Install UiPath Studio there.
Then configure ODBC data source:
If you chose Use user or system data source option in connection configuration, when creating UiPath process package, then create an identical ODBC data source on the same remote machine. Use the same configuration as the one created in your workstation in the first step.

Use Copy Settings and Load Settings buttons to make your life easier. They will help you to transfer settings between different ODBC data sources.

If you chose Use connection string option, then you don't have to do anything. However, you still have to install ODBC PowerPack on the remote machine.
Continue by opening UiPath Assistant and going to Preferences:
Find Orchestrator Settings menu item and click it:
And here even bigger fun begins! But fear not, all you have to do is open your web browser window with Client ID & Client secret we obtained in the previous step and simply copy and paste those values into UiPath Assistant. Also, don't forget to configure Orchestrator URL:
Finally, we get rewarded for the hard work with the Connected as Unattended status:

Create and run UiPath process in Orchestrator

We are at the finish line! Let's create and run UiPath process. This will execute the package on your remote machine using the UiPath Assistant configured earlier.

First of all, open UiPath Orchestrator from UiPath Automation Cloud console.
Then proceed by going to Process in Shared folder:
Continue by simply clicking on Add process button:
Select the process package we created in UiPath Studio:
Rest a while, and just hit Next, unless your package has requirements:
Then simply hit Create button:
But let's not stop here and Start the process by creating a job right away:
Use the same Production runtime we created before and hit Start:
We've reached the final step! In the CSV destination file or destination of your choice you should see Gmail data: