Application wizard

info

The Application Workbench is currently available to CMA administrators only.

What the wizard is for

The application wizard (Workbench > Applications, then Add new application or Edit; see Applications list) is where you teach Canvas to work with a third-party application, so that your users can connect it once and then use it in their workflows.

You describe four things, step by step:

1. What the application is (name, logo, links).
2. What users must enter to connect it (user name, API key, ...).
3. How Canvas signs in to the application, and how the sign-in is kept alive.
4. How Canvas signs every later request (which address and headers to use).

When the wizard is finished, users find the application in the list and connect it with a simple form. Everything else (sign-in, renewing tokens, adding the token to each request) is done by Canvas for them.

The steps

#	Step	What you do	Guide
1	Basic Information	Name the application and add its logo, description and links.	Step 1
2	Credentials Configuration	Design the form users fill in to connect the application.	Step 2
3	Authentication	Describe how to sign in, and how to renew the sign-in. Test it.	Step 3
4	Context Configuration	Ask users for extra choices after sign-in (for example a workspace). Optional.	Step 4
5	Authorization	Describe the address and headers added to every request.	Step 5
6	Versions	Compare your draft with the committed version, edit it as text, and commit it.	Step 6
7	Access	Choose who can use the application and publish it.	Step 7

Open the steps in the menu on the left. A step you have not finished is not lost: you can come back at any time.

How the steps work together

Step 2: user fills the form        ->  config
Step 3: sign in, save the result   ->  appVault / appVaultSecret
Step 4: user makes extra choices   ->  appVault / appVaultSecret
Step 5: build address and headers  <-  appVault / appVaultSecret

• config holds the answers from step 2. It is available only in step 3.
• appVault is the application's settings storage. appVaultSecret is its secret storage (tokens, passwords, keys), kept encrypted.
• Steps 3 and 4 write to the two vaults. Steps 3, 4 and 5 read from them.
• Workflow and block scripts can read appVault with api.GetAppVault(). They cannot read appVaultSecret.

Rule of thumb: put anything secret into appVaultSecret, never into appVault.

Buttons at the bottom of each page

Button	What it does
Save & Continue	Saves the step and opens the next one.
Save & Exit / Save as Draft	Saves what you have and leaves the wizard. You can continue later.
Back / Cancel	Goes back a step, or leaves without saving the changes of the page.

Run with AI, if no configuration

The switch at the bottom of the menu lets Canvas try to write the scripts for you with AI for steps you left empty. Always check the generated scripts and use the Test tab before you rely on them. The terms of use link next to the switch applies to this feature. If you do not agree, configure the steps manually.

Typical order of work

1. Fill in Basic Information.
2. Add the fields users need to connect, in Credentials Configuration.
3. Write the Authentication script and the Post Handler; press Test until it works.
4. If sign-in expires, set up Token Refresh.
5. Add Context questions only if the user must choose something after sign-in.
6. Write the Authorization script and test it.
7. Commit the draft in Versions.
8. Choose who can use the application in Access and publish it.

Tips

• Test each step before you move on. A mistake in step 3 shows up as a problem in all following steps.
• Keep short names (ShortName of fields, names in the vault) stable once users have connected the application. The application's own ShortName (see Basic information) is used by workflow scripts as the first parameter of the api module methods.
• If the application needs a client certificate (TLS / mTLS), it is added on the connected application's page, not in the wizard.