Setting up Action Network

The Action Network sync to mCommons requires that user records include a mobile number. To subscribe users, the mobile opt-in status must be true.

Note: You must have Administrator access to work with data syncs in mCommons. For assistance, contact Technical Support.

To set up the Action Network data sync:

• Prepare for setup

• Configure the Action Network integration

• Log in to Action Network

• Review required and supported fields

• Activate the Action Network sync

Preparing for setup

Before you begin, gather the log-in credentials and set up any other key connection settings for your Action Network CRM system.

1. In mCommons, create or designate a web opt-in path, which will serve as the default opt-in path for any new users pulled from the Action Network data set. For more information, see Adding a new web opt-in path.

   New subscribers will receive the Welcome message associated with the selected opt-in path. For more information, see Data sync paths.

2. Make a note of the following credentials from your Action Network system:

   • Existing Action Network login or API user name (email address) and password

     Tip: Create a new set of credentials exclusively for use with mCommons (recommended).

   • Action Network OSDI API token

Configuring the Action Network integration

To sync data between your Action Network database and mCommons:

1. Select  Home in the left pane, and then select Data Sync.

2. From the Integration Type drop-down list, select Action Network.

3. Select Create.

   The Action Network configuration form opens.

   

   For assistance, select Help next to the field label.

The OSDI API Token (your ActionNetwork API token) is required. No username, password, or host name is required. ActionNetwork uses a single API endpoint (<https://actionnetwork.org/api/v2)> and authenticates solely via the API token in the request headers.

4. Web Opt-In Path: If you want new records coming from Action Network to subscribe to a specific campaign, select a web opt-in path from the dropdown menu. If you do not select a web opt-in path, new records from Action Network will remain unsubscribed in mCommons.

5. Enter the OSDI API Token from your Action Network system.

6. Enter the source code identifying mCommons to your Action Network system. The default entry is mCommons.

7. In the Mobile opt-in Boolean field name field, enter the name of the Action Network checkbox field that identifies the constituent as a mCommons subscriber.

8. (Optional) Enter your notes for internal use only.

9. When you are done, select Update.

Logging in to Action Network

After you set up your Action Network integration, you can log in to Action Network directly from mCommons.

To log in to Action Network:

1. Select  Home in the left pane, and then select Data Sync.

   The home page for your Action Network sync opens.

2. In the Integration Actions panel on the right, select Login to Action Network.

   The Action Network log-in page opens.

Reviewing required and supported fields

The Action Network data sync supports all standard profile fields; it does not sync custom fields. After you configure your Action Network integration with mCommons, review your Action Network system and mCommons user records (profiles) to ensure required and supported fields are available in both data sets.

The following fields are required:

• Phone number

• Email

• Opt-in status

Use custom field mappings to specify field names in Action Network.

To set up custom field mappings:

1. Select  Home in the left pane, and then select Data Sync.

   The home page for your Action Network sync opens.

2. In the Integration Actions panel on the right, select Edit Field Mappings.

   

3. Review the field names to ensure that they are correct.

   • The Field column contains the mCommons field name.

   • The API Field Name column contains the API field name in Action Network.

4. To limit the sync to records that contain data in specific fields, select the Required? checkbox next to the field name. When a field is required, it must contain a value in order to be synced. Empty fields are not synced.

   Caution: Do not select Required for Phone number, Email, or Opt-in status fields, which must by default exist in both databases in order to sync data. Use caution if you change the field name for any of these three fields; if the custom field name is incorrect, the data sync will fail.

   Caution: Do not select Required for Constituent as this ID is provided by Action Network. If it is set to Required, mCommons profiles will not have this ID, causing the sync from mCommons to Action Network to fail.

5. When you are done, select Save.

Activating the Action Network sync

Before you begin, review the configuration settings for your sync:

1. Select  Home in the left pane, and then select Data Sync.

   The home page for your Action Network sync opens.

2. In the Integration Actions panel on the right, select Configure Integration.

3. Review the configuration settings, making adjustments as needed.

4. When you are done, select Update.

5. To activate the Action Network integration sync, in the Integration Actions panel on the right, select Activate Integration.

   The indicator in the upper-right corner is Active. The first data sync will run the following morning.

   Note: When syncing records, mCommons pushes records to Action Network to add the identifier to the profile, which will keep both records in sync. mCommons can match a record based on the mobile phone number and acquires the email address from Action Network.

Data sync updates

After activation, the mCommons data set and your Action Network database are both updated on a regular basis:

• mCommons checks for updates nightly, processing all recent updates from Action Network during overnight hours or updates to any of the supported fields within the past 48 hours.

• Any new opt-ins or opt-outs from mCommons are synced to Action Network  every five minutes during the day.

  • For users whose profile records contain an email address, new opt-ins are added to Action Network as a new record with an opt-in status of true.

  • For users with a matching record in Action Network, new opt-outs update their opt-in status to false.

  Note: Once user records are synced, the record number from the Action Network system is added to the Constituent ID field in mCommons user profile and serves to identify records across both of your systems.

After your data sync runs, you can open the Synchronization report. For more information, see Working with the Synchronization report.

Tip: If you need to shut off the data sync with your CRM system, whether temporarily or permanently, you can deactivate it. For more information, see Deactivating the integration.