1. Connection types - Based on how it is created
2. Connection modes - Based on how OAuth credentials are managed

2. Use cases 

1. In your organization's hiring process, you utilize Zoho Recruit, a cloud-based hiring platform, along with an employee recruitment Creator application. The Creator application collects candidate data, allowing them to fill in their details and apply for job openings, while Zoho Recruit helps streamline the overall recruitment process. Using integration actions in the form workflow, the collected data such as First Name, Last Name, and Email can be automatically pushed to the Candidates module in your Zoho Recruit account. The system generates a Zoho Recruit system connection, which the super admin, admins or developers can authorize to enable data transfer from Zoho Creator to Zoho Recruit. This integration enhances efficiency and facilitates seamless synchronization of candidate data between the two platforms.
2. Consider a customer support Creator application where the user raises support tickets or files a request for support in your organization. The customer data is stored in your Zoho CRM account. To enhance the user experience, you can establish an admin connection with Zoho CRM. When a user logs in to raise a support ticket, the application can fetch the customer's data from the Zoho CRM account by matching their email. This allows for auto-population of the user's data wherever necessary within the application. By establishing this admin connection with Zoho CRM, you ensure seamless access to customer information and improve support ticket management.
3. Consider a task management application where team members collaborate on work items. To enhance communication and keep everyone updated, you can establish a logged-in user connection with Zoho Cliq account through the Zoho OAuth connector. With this integration, whenever a task is completed or sent for team's review, an automated notification message will be posted in the designated Zoho Cliq team group from the task owner's Zoho Cliq account.

3. Navigation guide to connections

4. Connection types

• System connections

• User connections
  

• Installed connections
  

4.1. System connection

Note: 

1. Ideally, the administrator can create more than one connection for the same service.
   
2. Connections created using locally hosted connectors depend on a configured databridge. To use or manage these connections, ensure that Qntrl is configured under System Integrations and associated with an active databridge. If the databridge is unavailable or stopped, connections using locally hosted connectors will not function.
   

Primary account

For creating datasources and schedulers using logged-in user connections, the primary account is necessary to channelize integrated services through a single account. For example, consider a scheduler workflow that automatically pushes data from a Creator application to Zoho CRM every day. In such cases, the scheduler runs independently without requiring user or admin actions. The scheduler utilizes the authorization of the primary account to perform its tasks.

In the case of datasource, lets us consider a Zoho CRM integration form where the data is pushed to the accounts module of the Zoho CRM through a connection. In order to create a datasource, it is necessary to have a primary account. Here, the integration form will be created with the fields based on the fields in the specified Zoho CRM module of the primary account. Each logged-in user can authorize this connection individually and add the data to the integration form, which will be added to the specified module of their Zoho CRM.

When an admin authorizes a logged-in user connection for the first time, that account will be designated as a primary account. However, any administrator has the authority to change the primary account status and assign it to another administrator's account if needed. If you have not chosen to use the same authorizations for all environments during the creation of a connection, you can set different primary accounts for each environment. 

Click here to learn how to mark an account as primary.

Note: Portal users and shared users can also authorize the logged-in user connections directly from the live mode of the application. Click here to know more about accessing connection in live mode of the application.

4.3. Installed connection

5. Connection modes