This Tuesday we are taking a look at a feature that can be used within scripting to help improve the security of any tasks that you create. Secure global variables have been added to SmartConnect to allow users to store data in a variable that encrypts the value to prevent others from looking at the value while inside the interface.

Overall, secure global variables operate in the same manner that standard global variables do. Users can create new ones, assign default values to them, and use them in any scripts/tasks they create. The main difference between the 2 types of global variables is that the secure variables encrypt any default values that are entered into them.This allows users to put nonstandard connection strings into them (standard ODBC and SQL connections should be set using the Saved Connection options), authentication keys, GUIDs, or any other value that users do not want to be displayed within a script.

To create a new secure global variable, we need to go to the Maintenance tab and click the “Secure Global Variable” menu item in the Generic Connector section. From this window you can enter in additional secure variables as needed using the Add button.

If you enter a default value, it will encrypt it as the characters are typed in. Any default value that is entered and saved will be what value the variable starts with during a map run. The secure variables can then be accessed within a script by expanding the Global Variables – User Variables list within any scripting window. The standard and secure variables will both be available from that section.