Linkedin

Connecting to LinkedIn

The LinkedIn CompanyId is a string of numbers, usually 6 to 9 digits long, that is unique to your company. You can find this ID in the URL of the search results page when you click on See All Jobs on your LinkedIn Page. The CompanyId is often required in queries for company data. While this may be set directly in the criteria of a query, the CompanyId may be set globally to avoid issues where the query is not so easily modified.

Authenticating to LinkedIn

OAuth

LinkedIn supports OAuth authentication only.

Create a Custom OAuth App

1. Log in to your LinkedIn developers dashboard and click Create New App. Enter information to be displayed to users when they are prompted to grant permissions to your application.

2. Select your application and select the following in Default Application Permissions: w_share, r_basicprofile, and rw_company_admin.

3. Set the RedirectURI:

   • For desktop applications, set the Redirect URI to http://localhost:33333 or a port number of your choice. When you connect must set the CallbackURL connection property to this exact URL.

   • For web applications, set the Redirect URI to a page on your Web app that you would like the user to be returned to after they have authorized your application.

   • For headless machines, set the Redirect URI to http://localhost:33333 or a port number of your choice.

   The OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret are also displayed in the same page.

After setting the following, you are ready to connect:

• InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.

• OAuthClientId (custom applications only): Set this to the client Id assigned when you registered your application.

• OAuthClientSecret (custom applications only): Set this to the client secret assigned when you registered your application.

• CallbackURL (custom application only): Set this to the redirect URI defined when you registered your application.

When you connect, the provider opens LinkedIn's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application. The provider then completes the OAuth process:

• The provider obtains an access token from LinkedIn and uses it to request data.

• Extracts the access token from the callback URL and authenticates requests.

• Saves OAuth values in the path specified in OAuthSettingsLocation. These values persist across connections.

The provider refreshes the access token automatically when it expires.