Many companies, including Smart Church Solutions, provide Open API requests for external developers, partners, or customers to use. The types of requests that are offered and the information included in them vary from company to company, as different companies allow their customers to interact with their software in different ways. These requests are designed to enable interaction with the company's software, services, or data in a controlled and standardized manner beyond what the native features or products made by the company offer.
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- For example, many customers use our open API requests to get event information so they can plug it into a more customized public calendar for their website (beyond what our native Public Calendar feature offers).
- Different eSPACE Subscription Tiers include Different Features Including Access to Our API's
- Viewing Your Subscription Details
- Each eSPACE admin with access to Billing can view what subscription tier your organization currently has and everything that is included in their account under Settings > Other > Billing > Manage.
API Key Version
- This article helps you setup API Keys for use with Version 2 (v2) of eSPACE API
- Version 2 uses JWT (Java Web Token) for authentication instead of Basic Authentication (HTTP based) which is used in Version 1.
HVAC, Door Access, & Digital Signage
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- However, if you are looking for a way to connect your eSPACE account to your HVAC, doors or digital signage displays, please see our integration modules that are part of FACILITeSPACE: Getting Started with FACILITeSPACE
Training & Support
- Using our open API requests is recommended for those who already have a good working knowledge of API requests, as there is no training available on this subject.
- We recommend that customers work with someone who is knowledgeable on how API calls work both for the initial setup, long-term use, and for any troubleshooting that may need to happen down the road.
- If you need help beyond this article, please contact support and we will respond in the time allotted based on which Customer Care plan you have on your eSPACE subscription: Billing :: Customer Care Plan Options
- In order for support to help troubleshoot, please email us the exact API call you are using along with the response you are getting when you test in Swagger from within your eSPACE account (see more below).
Generating an API Key to Test/Use API Calls
1. An admin can navigate to their "Profile" by going to the left side navigation bar or by going to the top right of your dashboard and selecting "Profile" from the person icon drop-down menu.
2. Then, scroll to the bottom and expand API Keys
3. Once you have read the information on our API Keys, you can choose to Create New Key:
4. After clicking Create New Key, you can do the following:
a. Copy the new key and keep it somewhere secure
b. Enter Description (i.e. a name for the key you will understand, like "HR" or "Website")
c. Click Save | REMEMBER, you can no longer see the full key after save, so be sure to copy it first!
You can create as many API keys as you desire. We recommend creating one for each system that needs to make API calls with the same level of access as your specific login!
Testing API Calls in Your eSPACE Account
1. Admins can go to the left side navigation bar > Settings > Other > Developer. There they will see the list of API calls that we provide.
2. After reading the Welcome information, scroll down to where you see "swagger" and you can...
- Click on the selector
- Choose either Version 2 (v2) or Version 1 (v1) of our API
3. As you can see Version 2 uses JWT (Java Web Token) for authentication instead of Basic Authentication (HTTP based) which is used in Version 1
4. Once you have made your selection, you can then confirm what each service does:
Reminder:
- Using our open API requests is recommended for those who already have a good working knowledge of API requests, as there is no training available on this subject.
- We recommend that customers work with someone who is knowledgeable on how API calls work both for the initial setup, long-term use, and for any troubleshooting that may need to happen down the road.