OL Connect Automate

Node-RED is a programming tool for wiring together hardware devices, APIs and online services. It was originally developed by IBM as an open source project and evolved into a general purpose IoT/IIoT (Internet of Things/Industrial Internet of Things) programming tool. It provides a browser-based editor that makes it easy to wire together flows using the wide range of nodes in the palette.

Automate vs. Workflow

The OL Connect Automate stack for Node-RED was born out of the need to provide users of OL Connect with a modern, web-based, cloud-friendly, unicode-aware automation tool.
For years, this job has been handled by OL Connect Workflow (aka Workflow), whose first version dates back to the turn of the century.
However, as powerful and efficent as Workflow is, its evolution is somewhat hampered by its original design: a native-code, 32-bit, on-premise application that only partially supports unicode. Consequently, we decided to explore other automation methods that could, at first complement, and ultimately replace Workflow. The packages that are part of the OL Connect Automate stack are the first step in this direction.

Note: The OL Connect Automate stack is a technology preview. The stack is not (yet) a replacement for OL Connect Workflow; in its current inception, it should be considered a complement to it.

The information in this chapter will help you get started with OL Connect Automate. It focuses on the OL Connect nodes, the settings that need to be made to communicate with the OL Connect server, and the most common flows in OL Connect solutions with Node-RED.
Tips and techniques regarding standard nodes in such solutions can be found in another topic: Node-RED: nodes and common techniques.

For general information about Node-RED, please refer to Node-RED's website: nodered.org.

Installing and updating nodes

For newcomers to OL Connect Automate, utilize the Windows installer available on OL Resource Center (https://olresourcecenter.uplandsoftware.com/downloads/?olc-product=olconnect). This installer streamlines the process by automatically installing necessary components and the latest collection of OL Connect Automate nodes.

1. Follow the instructions on Downloading and installing Node.js and npm | npm Docs (npmjs.com).

2. Start the Node-RED editor.

3. Download and install the OL Connect nodes and other Automate nodes that you wish to use.

   You can do this using the Palette Manager: in the right-hand sidebar, click Manage Palette and look for @objectif-lune.

   Tip: You can also use the Palette Manager to update nodes.

   Or, run a command in your Node-RED user directory - typically ~/.node-red. For example, to install the OL Connect package:
   npm install @objectif-lune/node-red-contrib-connect

   For a complete overview of all OL Connect Automate packages, see OL Connect Automate packages.

   See also: https://flows.nodered.org/search?term=objectif-lune.

Note: Obviously, you must have OL Connect installed on a server that can be reached from the one where Node-RED is installed, otherwise you won't be able to perform any automation tasks.

Tip: Example flows are provided by OL Connect Automate, once installed. The examples appear in the flows folder in the Import dialog in Node-RED which allows you to import an example flow into a new or existing flow; see Importing and Exporting Flows in the Node-RED documentation.
Each example comes with a Comment node (Read me) with instructions.

Connection settings for OL Connect Server

In order to setup an OL Connect Server connection:

1. Add one of the OL Connect nodes to a flow.

2. Double-click the node to open its Properties window and click the Edit Server icon (a pencil).

3. Enter the URL, user name and password to use to connect to the OL Connect Server.

4. Click Done.

The next time you add an OL Connect node to this flow, the server will appear in the list of servers in that node's Properties window.

OL Connect resources in Node-RED

OL Connect resources are files created with the Designer or DataMapper. In order to use them in the OL Connect nodes in a flow in Node-RED they need to be deployed to the OL Connect Server first.

Deployed resources are registered in the OL Connect database and saved in the File Store. OL Connect nodes can either refer to them by name or by using the internal database ID (also referred to as the managed file ID). The simplest approach is to use the resource name in the respective field of the node.

There are two ways to deploy OL Connect resources to the File Store: using the Designer or from within a flow in Node-RED's editor.

• For instructions on sending files to the File Store from the Designer, see Sending files to Connect Server or to another server.

• OL Connect's file upload node sends files to the File Store from within a flow. When used in a Startup flow the uploaded files will be available to all flows in the project. See: OL Connect startup flow.

Flows in an OL Connect application

These are some of the typical flows in a Node-RED OL Connect solution.

• Startup flow

  A Startup flow initializes variables in Node-RED's context - through which information is shared between nodes without using the messages that pass through a flow - and deploys Connect resources for the project. See OL Connect startup flow for a detailed description.

• Print flow

  A print flow creates and outputs paginated content. See An OL Connect print flow in Node-RED.

• Email flow

  An email flow creates email content and stores it in the File Store or sends it immediately using an email service provider. See An OL Connect email flow in Node-RED.

• Web (form) flow

  A web flow creates web content and stores it in the File Store or serves it immediately. See An OL Connect web flow in Node-RED.

• PDF preview flows

  A PDF preview flow provides a PDF preview, usually at the request of a browser. See An OL Connect preview PDF flow in Node-RED.