Populate Dropdown Fields from External APIs

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Overview

API-powered dropdown fields retrieve their selection options from external APIs at runtime, rather than from a static list of values maintained within Elementum. This enables use cases where dropdown options need to reflect data from third-party systems such as ERPs, CRMs, or custom internal services. In Elementum, an API-powered dropdown is a Dynamic dropdown field that references an API Element. The API Element is built on top of an API CloudLink and exposes one or more API Actions that fetch data from the external system. The dropdown calls a selected API Action at runtime to populate its options.

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Prerequisites

Before configuring API-powered dropdown fields, ensure the following:

• Admin access to the app where you want to add the field
• API endpoint details for the external system:
  • Endpoint URL
  • HTTP method (GET, POST, or PUT)
  • Authentication credentials (if required)
  • Response format (JSON)

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Step 1: Create an API CloudLink

Follow Connect a REST API via CloudLink to set up the connection. In short:

1. Navigate to Organization Settings > CloudLinks.
2. Click + CloudLink and choose API.
3. Enter a Name and Base URL, select an Authentication method, and provide the credentials.
4. Click Save.

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Step 2: Create an API Element

Create a new Element connected to the API CloudLink you created in Step 1, and define the Element’s fields to match the structure of the API response. The Element’s data is populated by the API at runtime rather than being stored in Elementum’s database.

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Step 3: Configure API Actions on the Element

Configure the API Actions required to interact with the API CloudLink through the Element. Each API Action defines how to call the external system — the endpoint path, HTTP method, request parameters, and how the response maps to the Element’s fields. At minimum, configure one API Action that returns the list of records used to populate the dropdown’s options.

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Step 4: Add a Dynamic Dropdown Field to a Record Layout

1. In your app’s Configuration > Record Details Layout, add a new Dropdown or Multi-Select field.
2. In the field configuration, set Dropdown Type to Dynamic.
3. In the related object selector on the right side of the page, choose the API Element you created in Step 2.
4. Select the API Action to use for populating the dropdown.
5. Fill out the remaining field options, including any variable mappings the selected API Action requires (see below).

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Variable mappings

If the selected API Action requires input parameters, map them to fields on the current record or to static values: This allows the dropdown options to change based on other field values on the record.

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Supported configurations

The following dynamic-dropdown configurations are supported: When configuring a parent/child relationship, the child dropdown must be mapped to a field on the current record (typically the parent dropdown’s value) under Variable Mappings, so that the API Action retrieves child options scoped to the parent’s selection.

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Cloud Credentials for API Connections

API-powered features store authentication credentials securely through the CloudLink system. To manage API credentials:

1. Navigate to Organization Settings > CloudLinks
2. Select or create an API CloudLink
3. Configure credentials in the credential editor:
   • Basic Auth: Username and password
   • Bearer Token: API token
   • OAuth 2.0: Token URL, client ID, client secret, and optional scope

Credentials are encrypted at rest and are never exposed in the UI after initial configuration.

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Considerations

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Troubleshooting