Setting Up Outbound Messaging

It is possible to create circular changes with outbound messaging. For example, if a user is performing integrations that trigger workflow, and the workflow actions trigger account updates, those account updates trigger new workflow, and so on. In order to prevent these circular changes, you can disable a user's ability to send outbound messages.

To disable outbound message notifications for a user, deselect “Send Outbound Messages” in the user's Profile. We recommend specifying a single user to respond to outbound messages, and disabling this user's ability to send outbound messages.

To define outbound messages, use this procedure in the Salesforce user interface:

1. Click Your Name | Setup | Create | Workflow & Approvals | Outbound Messages.
2. Click New Outbound Message.
3. Choose the object that has the information you want included in the outbound message, and click Next.
4. Configure the outbound message.
   1. Enter a name and description for this outbound message.
   2. Enter an endpoint URL for the recipient of the message. Salesforce sends a SOAP message to this endpoint.

      For security reasons, Salesforce restricts the outbound ports you may specify to one of the following:

      • 80: This port only accepts HTTP connections.
      • 443: This port only accepts HTTPS connections.
      • 1024–66535 (inclusive): These ports accept HTTP or HTTPS connections.
   3. Select the Salesforce user to use when sending the message by specifying a username in the User to send as field. The chosen user controls data visibility for the message that is sent to the endpoint.
   4. Select Include Session ID if you want a sessionId to be included in the outbound message. Include the sessionId in your message if you intend to make API calls back to Salesforce from your listener. The sessionId represents the user defined in the previous step and not the user who triggered the workflow.
   5. Select the fields you want included in the outbound message and click Add.
5. Click Save, and review the outbound message detail page:
   • The API Version field is automatically generated and set to the current API version when the outbound message was created. This API version is used in API calls back to Salesforce using the enterprise or partner WSDLs. The API Version can only be modified by using the Metadata API.
   • Click the Click for WSDL link to view the WSDL associated with this message.

     The WSDL is bound to the outbound message and contains the instructions about how to reach the endpoint service and what data is sent to it.

Note

If you do not have these options, your organization does not have outbound messaging enabled. Contact salesforce.com to enable outbound messaging for your organization.

Your application (endpoint) server's SSL/TLS may be configured to require client certificates (two-way SSL/TLS), in order to validate the identity of the Salesforce server when it takes the role of client to your server. If this is the case, you can download the Salesforce client certificate from the Salesforce application user interface. This is the client certificate that Salesforce sends with each outbound message for authentication.

Note

Your application (endpoint) server must send any intermediate certificates in the certificate chain, and the certificate chain must be in the correct order. The correct order is:

1. Server certificate.
2. Intermediate certificate that signed the server certificate if the server certificate was not signed directly by a root certificate.
3. Intermediate certificate that signed the certificate in step 2.
4. Any remaining intermediate certificates. Do not include the root certificate authority certificate. The root certificate is not sent by your server. Salesforce already has its own list of trusted certificates on file, and a certificate in the chain must be signed by one of those root certificate authority certificates.

To view existing outbound messages, click Your Name | Setup | Create | Workflow & Approvals | Outbound Messages in the Salesforce user interface.

• Click New Outbound Message to define a new outbound message.
• Click View Message Delivery Status to track the status of an outbound message.
• Select an existing outbound message to view details about it or view workflow rules and approval processes that use it.
• Click Edit to make changes to an existing outbound message.
• Click Del to delete an outbound message.