VTEX Read Activity¶

Introduction¶

A VTEX Read activity, using its VTEX connection, retrieves object data from VTEX and is intended to be used as a source to provide data in an operation.

Custom Actions¶

The VTEX Read activity has a custom action (Read Feed and Order Details) for the Orders object > Feed v3 sub-object that implements both the Retrieve Feed Items and Get Order APIs, allowing you to retrieve feed items and orders together in the same activity instead of creating multiple activities.

VTEX API Limitation¶

The VTEX Read activity is unable to retrieve custom prices from the Price Simulation object due to a limitation present in the VTEX REST API.

Create a VTEX Read Activity¶

An instance of a VTEX Read activity is created from a VTEX connection using its Read activity type.

To create an instance of an activity, drag the activity type to the design canvas or copy the activity type and paste it on the design canvas. For details, see Creating an Activity Instance in Component Reuse.

An existing VTEX Read activity can be edited from these locations:

The design canvas (see Component Actions Menu in Design Canvas).
The project pane's Components tab (see Component Actions Menu in Project Pane Components Tab).

Configure a VTEX Read Activity¶

Follow these steps to configure a VTEX Read activity:

Step 1: Enter a Name and Select an Object
Provide a name for the activity and select the object containing the data.
Step 2: Select a Sub-object
Select the sub-object containing the data.
Step 3: Select an Action
Select an action to perform on the sub-object.
Step 4: Review the Data Schemas
Any request or response schemas are displayed.

Step 1: Enter a Name and Select an Object¶

In this step, provide a name for the activity and select the object containing the data. Each user interface element of this step is described below.

VTEX Read Activity Configuration Step 1

Tip

Fields with a variable icon support using global variables, project variables, and Jitterbit variables. Begin either by typing an open square bracket [ into the field or by clicking the variable icon to display a list of the existing variables to choose from.

Name: Enter a name to identify the activity. The name must be unique for each VTEX Read activity and must not contain forward slashes / or colons :.
Select an Object: This section displays objects available in the VTEX endpoint.
- Selected Object: After an object is selected, it is listed here.
- Search: Enter any part of the object name into the search box to filter the list of objects. The search is not case-sensitive. If objects are already displayed within the table, the table results are filtered in real time with each keystroke. To reload objects from the endpoint when searching, enter search criteria and then refresh, as described below.
- Refresh: Click the refresh icon or the word Refresh to reload objects from the VTEX endpoint. This may be useful if objects have been added to VTEX. This action refreshes all metadata used to build the table of objects displayed in the configuration.
- Selecting an Object: Within the table, click anywhere on a row to select an object. Only one object can be selected. The information available for each object is fetched from the VTEX endpoint:
  - Name: The name of the object.
  - Description: The description of the object.
Tip

If the table does not populate with available objects, the VTEX connection may not be successful. Ensure you are connected by reopening the connection and retesting the credentials.
Account Name: Enter an account name to override the store specified in the configuration of the VTEX connection(optional).

Note

This is an optional field that can be used if you have more than one VTEX account and want to override the Account Name specified in the configuration of the VTEX connection. The account must be compatible for use with the App Key and App Token specified in the connection.
Continue on Error: Select to continue the activity execution if an error is encountered for a dataset in a batch request. If any errors are encountered, they are written to the operation log.
Save & Exit: If enabled, click to save the configuration for this step and close the activity configuration.
Next: Click to temporarily store the configuration for this step and continue to the next step. The configuration will not be saved until you click the Finished button on the last step.
Discard Changes: After making changes, click to close the configuration without saving changes made to any step. A message asks you to confirm that you want to discard changes.

Step 2: Select a Sub-object¶

In this step, select the sub-object containing the data. Each user interface element of this step is described below.

VTEX Read Activity Configuration Step 2

Select a Sub-object: This section displays sub-objects available in the VTEX endpoint.
- Selected Object: The object selected in the previous step is listed here.
- Select a Sub-object: After a sub-object is selected, it is listed here.
- Search: Enter any part of the sub-object name into the search box to filter the list of sub-objects. The search is not case-sensitive. If sub-objects are already displayed within the table, the table results are filtered in real time with each keystroke. To reload sub-objects from the endpoint when searching, enter search criteria and then refresh, as described below.
- Refresh: Click the refresh icon or the word Refresh to reload sub-objects from the VTEX endpoint. This may be useful if sub-objects have been added to VTEX. This action refreshes all metadata used to build the table of sub-objects displayed in the configuration.
- Selecting a Sub-object: Within the table, click anywhere on a row to select a sub-object. Only one sub-object can be selected. The information available for each sub-object is fetched from the VTEX endpoint:
  - Name: The name of the sub-object.
  - Description: The description of the sub-object.
Tip

If the table does not populate with available sub-objects, the VTEX connection may not be successful. Ensure you are connected by reopening the connection and retesting the credentials.
Back: Click to temporarily store the configuration for this step and return to the previous step.
Next: Click to temporarily store the configuration for this step and continue to the next step. The configuration will not be saved until you click the Finished button on the last step.
Discard Changes: After making changes, click to close the configuration without saving changes made to any step. A message asks you to confirm that you want to discard changes.

Step 3: Select an Action¶

In this step, select an action to perform on the sub-object. Each user interface element of this step is described below.

VTEX Read Activity Configuration Step 3

Select an Action: This section displays actions available in the VTEX endpoint.
- Selected Sub-object: The sub-object selected in the previous step is listed here.
- Select Action: After an action is selected, it is listed here.
- Search: Enter any part of the action name into the search box to filter the list of actions. The search is not case-sensitive. If actions are already displayed within the table, the table results are filtered in real time with each keystroke. To reload actions from the endpoint when searching, enter search criteria and then refresh, as described below.
- Refresh: Click the refresh icon or the word Refresh to reload actions from the VTEX endpoint. This may be useful if actions have been added to VTEX. This action refreshes all metadata used to build the table of actions displayed in the configuration.
- Selecting an Action: Within the table, click anywhere on a row to select an action. Only one action can be selected. The information available for each action is fetched from the VTEX endpoint:
  - Name: The name of the action.
  - Description: The description of the action.
Tip

If the table does not populate with available actions, the VTEX connection may not be successful. Ensure you are connected by reopening the connection and retesting the credentials.
Back: Click to temporarily store the configuration for this step and return to the previous step.
Next: Click to temporarily store the configuration for this step and continue to the next step. The configuration will not be saved until you click the Finished button on the last step.
Discard Changes: After making changes, click to close the configuration without saving changes made to any step. A message asks you to confirm that you want to discard changes.

Step 4: Review the Data Schemas¶

Any request or response schemas are displayed. Each user interface element of this step is described below.

VTEX Read Activity Configuration Step 4

Data Schemas: These data schemas are inherited by adjacent transformations and are displayed again during transformation mapping.

Note

Data supplied in a transformation takes precedence over the activity configuration.

The VTEX connector uses the VTEX REST API. Refer to the API documentation for information on the schema nodes and fields.

Important

In the response, there is a schema_request field (in the error node) that is returned when a non-successful status code is returned and Continue on Error is enabled (in Step 1). The schema_request field contains a string of the input provided in the unsuccessful request.
Refresh: Click the refresh icon or the word Refresh to regenerate schemas from the VTEX endpoint. This action also regenerates a schema in other locations throughout the project where the same schema is referenced, such as in an adjacent transformation.
Edit: Click the edit icon above each data schema to enter the editor for that data schema. The editor allows you to add, delete, and reorganize nodes and fields and change their data types. All newly added nodes and fields are set to [0, 1] cardinality. Changes made to the data schemas must be acceptable to the endpoint and should be made only after consulting any available documentation for the endpoint.
Back: Click to temporarily store the configuration for this step and return to the previous step.
Finished: Click to save the configuration for all steps and close the activity configuration.
Discard Changes: After making changes, click to close the configuration without saving changes made to any step. A message asks you to confirm that you want to discard changes.

Next Steps¶

After configuring a VTEX Read activity, complete the configuration of the operation by adding and configuring other activities, transformations, or scripts as operation steps. You can also configure the operation settings, which include the ability to chain operations together that are in the same or different workflows.

Menu actions for an activity are accessible from the project pane and the design canvas. For details, see Activity Actions Menu in Connector Basics.

VTEX Read activities can be used as a source with these operation patterns:

Transformation Pattern
Two-target Archive Pattern (as the first source only)
Two-target HTTP Archive Pattern (as the first source only)
Two-transformation Pattern (as the first or second source)

To use the activity with scripting functions, write the data to a temporary location and then use that temporary location in the scripting function.

When ready, deploy and run the operation and validate behavior by checking the operation logs.