Hi Overstock flow peoples,
I've been in the startup/digital marketing scene and know some things on analytics, html/css, and marketing automations and have recently picked up some SQL/Tableau. Im coming here looking for possibly help/recs on connecting a marketing system/inflow that uses Fare Harbor/Mighty Call/Life 360 and I'm wondering if I could automate things with Zapier (or some other platform), or if I'd have to do it all with development or using APIs or something.
I work with a company that does some travel taxiing/luggage help for travelers. Im looking to see if Zapier (or any other system) would be able to automate some tasks.
So clients book through Fare Harbor, their data goes into our system through Mighty Call, and we give updates to the clients on the drivers ETAs manually through Life360 (like the owner actually TEXTS people directly).
Would anyone here know if there's a way to use Zapier to automate the ETA/communication updates of Life360 through Zapier? (Or would I have to develop something completely on its own to do this?). Or know if there's any other type of software to do this immediately off the top of your head? (etc). Otherwise we have to text all these updates manually and we're trying to get away from doing things that way.
Sorry if this comes off as a rookie post, as its my first direct post on Stack Overflow, although I've used this website a number of times to configure CSS before and other ish (and this isnt my first rodeo). Any advice or direction that could be given would be IMMENSELY helpful.
Related
This is my first post/question. If I missed an existing thread that answers my question, I missed that thread in my search and definitely appreciate you linking me! Please let me know if I should be posting/asking this elsewhere....
My question relates to Salesforce.
I have a use case where a client has a monthly batch of files that need to be made available on various cloud-based storage/distribution platforms like Box and Dropbox but also other less ubiquitous tools specific to the sector. Currently, the client is logging into each distribution platform, one-at-a-time, and uploading the files; then, if at any point any files need to be updated or removed/restricted, the client logs into each platform one-by-one and takes the necessary action. Obviously the process being described is tedious/laborious and leaves multiple gaps for error. The client and I are discussing a solution that would allow for create/read/update/delete actions in all of the distribution platforms without having to leave their Salesforce org. I am aware of existing AppExchange integrations for Box, Dropbox, etc. but they don’t quite do everything we need (to my knowledge)—they tie-in nicely and there are use cases where they are powerful tools...but—my understanding of those existing integration is that they would still each require dedicated tabs within the Object and repeated ‘drags’ and ‘drops’ of the same files to each tab. Again, the end goal here is that, for example, the client wants to drag and drop one time and have it pushed to the various platforms, etc. Or another example is they would like to choose "delete" one time from within Salesforce and have the file removed/restricted on all distribution platforms.
I am a certified SF Admin 1, so...perhaps this should be in my wheelhouse but...I feel unsure how to approach. My feeling is this is asking for a combination of integrations via API and Process/Flow work, but I am hoping for some ideas/input/guidance. Any insight or help any of you have to offer would be so greatly appreciated!!
Thanks so much!
Over the years I have written many apps for myself and for customers using VB.NET, most of these were standalone apps which worked on workstations and servers and didn't involve much if anything to do with networking, client/server or a backend.
I want to evolve and learn more, and specifically am interested in creating a "backend" for some of my apps so that the data from the client app, whether it be error information or custom data for a client can be sent from the "client" to whatever is the best option for the "backend". I would then store the received data in a database I assume and then have ability to view it, and parse the data to show specific results etc
This is a new area to me but one I want to learn more about, so I am hoping that others who have this knowledge / experience can give me some pointers as to the best route to take etc, especially covering the points below and anything else you think I need to know but have missed
What to use for the "backend"? I prefer to have it in the cloud rather than having my own server, so do I use something like Azure? if so what? or do I sign up for hosting with a company which provided ASP and .NET Core hosting and create something there? if so what would I use?
What are the best methods for sending data from a to b - I notice most services I currently use for my apps e.g. for sending mail or error reports etc often use JSON? is that best option?
How do I send the data, any built in or suggested frameworks or API's to use to "post / send" information from my client to my backend / remote endpoint?
Hope this all make sense, please ask if not, all comments appreciated, as I say I want to use this both as a way to create / modernize some of my existing apps, but also as a learning exercise to learn areas I don't know and hopefully also make user of newer / evolving technologies and solutions.
Thanks
I've had a Nest thermostat for a little over a year and it works well. I also have many other Home Automation devices. I'm a Software Engineer and I enjoy making my life easier by programming my own, personalized, solutions to Home Automation issues. For example, I have my own weather station which reports information to Weather Underground using my own custom software. I also have my own, home grown, web interface which integrates both the X10 devices in my house and also the Wink devices, on one page.
I would like to gather temperature readings from my Nest thermostat and integrate that information into my home temperature information, in order to get a better idea of what is happening in my house. I signed up to be a Nest Developer and jumped through all of the hoops to get an access token in order to use the REST API. They turned me down!
So, it sounds as if Nest is not allowing their customers to access the information from your own thermostat in your own house! I find this closed system unacceptable! If Nest will not allow me access, then I guess my only alternative is to replace my thermostat with some other model which is more open and accessible?
Have others run into this closed system? Is there a way to deal with it, or is Nest simply saying, "we want your personal temperature information history, but we're not allowing you to have it, yourself."
Apparently, you don't need to get approval. Just proceed with describing the program, etc., and get the pincode. It works fine for a small number of users (50, I think) without approvals.
I want to make an app where the users can post messages that will be displayed on a website. The users would need to create a username and password to be able to post.
The app would be like a twitter, but only be able to post through the app and read the last few posts and not be able to write private messages.
The website would function like a huge cloud of thoughts where everyone could go and read what others have written. Once the post hit the cloud, they can't be deleted. Only me could delete posts.
All posts would have different color and font size, it would look like a huge tag cloud on the website.
How do I make an app and a website like this?
David H
The tutorial application for Google Application Engine is an unstyled version of what you describe. They'll even host it for you for free (up to a non-trivial level of usage).
The tag cloud creation is not so very hard but without knowing your preferred language it is hard to point you to helpful libraries (there are plenty out there).
Getting people to use it will be the hard part.
added in response to comment:
Good luck on your endeavor. I would be surprised if you weren't able to learn everything you need to know and have a working web app by the time school starts. I found a simple stand alone web cloud creation library that explains what it does and will run on GAE. So now even that part is in place for you.
I'm tempted to make some pathetic reference to the sorts of computing that I did prior to high school, but I expect that you probably have SD data cards have more computational power than I had available to me. Kids these days! ;)
I'm building a utility that will hopefully keep my wife in tune with how much money we have available.
I need a simple secure way of logging into my bank account and retrieving the balance.
Something like mechanize is the only method I can think of. I'm not even sure if that would work given the properly authenticated https that banks use.
Any ideas?
Write a perl script using LWP::UserAgent. It supports HTTPS connections. The only issue might be if the site requires javascript.
Web Client Programming with Perl has a few examples to get you started if you're not too familiar with perl.
If you really want to go there, get these extensions for Firefox: Live HTTP Headers, Firebug, FireCookie, and HttpFox. Also download cURL and a scripting language that can run cURL command-line tasks (or a scripting language like PHP or Perl that has access to cURL libraries directly).
I've started down this road for some idempotent GET tasks like getting PDFs of the S&P reports (of the stocks I track) from my online brokerage, and downloading the check images for my bank account. Both tasks are repetitive and slow ways of downloading data to my computer that the financial institutions don't provide any way of making it easier.
Here's why you shouldn't: (as a shortcut I'm going to call the archetypal large bank, brokerage, or other financial institution "BloatBank")
BloatBank is not likely to make public their API for accessing this kind of information. So it can change any time and all your hard work will be for naught. Whenever they change their mechanism, you'll have to adapt.
If BloatBank finds out you've been using automatic scripting to try to access your account information, they may ban you because you've violated their terms of service.
You might screw up, and the interaction between the hodgepodge of scripts on BloatBank's server, and your scripts that access your account, might cause a Bad Thing like closing your account. Testing this kind of script is tremendously difficult because you don't have any documentation about how their online service works, and you don't have a test account you can mess with.
(a variant of the above) You think you're safe because you're issuing GET requests. But BloatBank is just a crazy bank that doesn't know anything about REST, so there are some GET requests that can mess up your account.
If someone else does use your script to maliciously sniff your online password or mess with your account, any liability coverage from BloatBank may disappear because you've opened a security hole.
Why don't you teach your wife how to login to the bank herself? Or use Quicken (or Mint, etc) and teach her how to use the auto-download feature?
Have you checked out Watir? It is fantastic for automating web-browser actions. And since it's written in Ruby, you can take the results and store them in a DB (or email them to yourself) if needed.
If you are open to AIR, I'd say build an AIR app. I have worked with mechanize and I think it's cool. AIR gives you similar features with a richer GUI (see HTMLLoader and DOM manipulation of webpage).
If I were you, I'd simply pull the page and manipulate the DOM to suit my visual needs.
Please, if you find this easy to do for your bank please post your bank's name. If I have the same one I'll be closing my account.
More to your question. The process of loading a web page inside of your code rather than in a browser can be a black art, especially if their is any javascript involved. Your best bet would probably be embedding the IE Web Browser control in your app and then simulating key strokes and mouse clicks to arrive at your balance page. Then scrape the HTML for the balance.
I could try paying for Quicken and letting it do the balance downloading. Then I'd just need to find a way to get the number out of the software automatically.
This way I'm not violating any terms of service and I'm also reducing security risk since all "hacking" goes on locally.