Zendesk Connector for SSIS : Read ticket attachments

Integrate SSIS and Zendesk
Integrate SSIS and Zendesk

Learn how to read ticket attachments using the Zendesk Connector for SSIS. This connector enables you to read and write Zendesk data effortlessly. Manage tickets, users, and organizations — almost no coding required. We'll walk you through the exact setup.

Let's dive in!

Video tutorial

Watch this quick video to see the integration in action. It walks you through the end-to-end setup, including:

  • Installing the SSIS PowerPack
  • Configuring a secure connection to Zendesk
  • Working with Zendesk data directly inside SSIS
  • Exploring advanced API Source features
While this video uses the OData Connector as an example, the core concepts and setup process are exactly the same for the Zendesk Connector.

Once you are done watching, simply follow the step-by-step written guide below to configure your data source.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure the following prerequisites are met:

  1. SSIS designer installed. Sometimes it is referred as BIDS or SSDT (download it from Microsoft).
  2. Basic knowledge of SSIS package development using Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services.
  3. SSIS PowerPack is installed (if you are new to SSIS PowerPack, then get started!).

Read ticket attachments in SSIS

  1. Open Visual Studio and click Create a new project.

  2. Select Integration Services Project. Enter a name and location for your project, then click OK.

  3. From the SSIS Toolbox, drag and drop a Data Flow Task onto the Control Flow surface, and double-click it:

    Drag Data Flow Task onto Control Flow to use SSIS PowerPack Data Flow components

  4. Make sure you are in the Data Flow Task designer:

    Make sure you are in Data Flow designer in SSIS package

  5. From the SSIS toolbox drag and API Source (Predefined Templates) on the data flow designer surface, and double click on it to edit it:

    SSIS API Source (Predefined Templates) - Drag and Drop

  6. Select New Connection to create a new connection:

    API Source - New Connection

  7. Use a preinstalled Zendesk Connector from Popular Connector List or press Search Online radio button to download Zendesk Connector. Once downloaded simply use it in the configuration:

    Zendesk
    Zendesk Connector Selection

  8. Select your authentication scenario below to expand connection configuration steps to:

    • Configure the authentication in Zendesk.
    • Enter those details into the API Connection Manager configuration.

    Token Authentication

    Zendesk authentication

    Authenticate using Static Token instead of userid / password ([Token Access] option must be enabled under Admin Console > Channel > API > Settings and then Click [ADD API Token] to generate new token. These settings typically found here https://YOUR-SUB-DOMAIN.zendesk.com/agent/admin/api/settings [API reference]

    Please refer to external API reference

    API Connection Manager configuration

    Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

    1. Set Authentication Type to Token Authentication [Http]
    2. Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
    3. Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
    4. Finally, hit OK button:
    Zendesk
    Token Authentication [Http]
    https://[$Domain$].zendesk.com/api/v2
    Required Parameters
    Sub Domain (e.g. mycompany) Fill-in the parameter...
    UserId Fill-in the parameter...
    Token Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
    RetryStatusCodeList 429
    RetryCountMax 5
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime True
    ZappySys Http Connection
    Find full details in the Zendesk Connector authentication reference.

    OAuth Authentication

    Zendesk authentication

    OAuth App must be created under Admin Console > Channel > API > Settings. These settings typically found here https://YOUR-SUB-DOMAIN.zendesk.com/agent/admin/api/oauth_clients [API reference]

    Please refer to external API reference

    API Connection Manager configuration

    Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

    1. Set Authentication Type to OAuth Authentication [OAuth]
    2. Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
    3. Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
    4. Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
    5. Finally, hit OK button:
    Zendesk
    OAuth Authentication [OAuth]
    https://[$Domain$].zendesk.com/api/v2
    Required Parameters
    Sub Domain (e.g. mycompany) Fill-in the parameter...
    ClientId Fill-in the parameter...
    ClientSecret Fill-in the parameter...
    Permissions Fill-in the parameter...
    RedirectUrl Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
    RetryStatusCodeList 429
    RetryCountMax 5
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime True
    ZappySys OAuth Connection
    Find full details in the Zendesk Connector authentication reference.

    UserID/Password Authentication (2FA must be OFF)

    Zendesk authentication

    Authenticate using your userid / password (2FA must be OFF and [Password Access] option must be enabled under Admin Console > Channel > API > Settings. These settings typically found here https://YOUR-SUB-DOMAIN.zendesk.com/agent/admin/api/settings [API reference]

    Please refer to external API reference

    API Connection Manager configuration

    Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

    1. Set Authentication Type to UserID/Password Authentication (2FA must be OFF) [Http]
    2. Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
    3. Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
    4. Finally, hit OK button:
    Zendesk
    UserID/Password Authentication (2FA must be OFF) [Http]
    https://[$Domain$].zendesk.com/api/v2
    Required Parameters
    Sub Domain (e.g. mycompany) Fill-in the parameter...
    UserName (2FA Must be OFF) Fill-in the parameter...
    Password Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
    RetryStatusCodeList 429
    RetryCountMax 5
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime True
    ZappySys Http Connection
    Find full details in the Zendesk Connector authentication reference.

  9. Select Read Ticket Attachments endpoint from the dropdown and hit Preview Data:

    API Source - Zendesk
    Read and write Zendesk data effortlessly. Manage tickets, users, and organizations — almost no coding required.
    Zendesk
    Read Ticket Attachments
    Required Parameters
    Ticket ID Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    Sort Order
    Include inline images
    SSIS API Source - Read from table or endpoint

  10. That's it! We are done! Just in a few clicks we configured the call to Zendesk using Zendesk Connector.

    You can load the source data into your desired destination using the Upsert Destination , which supports SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and Amazon Redshift. We also offer other destinations such as CSV , Excel , Azure Table , Salesforce , and more . You can check out our SSIS PowerPack Tasks and components for more options. (*loaded in Trash Destination)

    Execute Package - Reading data from Zendesk and load into target

Conclusion

And there you have it — a complete guide on how to read ticket attachments in SSIS without writing complex code. All of this was powered by Zendesk Connector, which handled the REST API pagination and authentication for us automatically.

Download the trial now or ping us via chat if you have any questions or are looking for a specific feature (you can also reach out to us by submitting a ticket):

Download Chat

More actions supported by Zendesk Connector

Got another use case in mind? We've documented the exact setups for a variety of essential Zendesk operations directly in SSIS, so you can skip the trial and error. Find your next step-by-step guide below:

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