Census
This guide walks you through the steps required to create a Census sync using Materialize.
Before you begin
In order to build a sync with Census you will need:
- A table, view, materialized view or source within your Materialize account that you would like to export.
- A Braze account. Census supports a number of possible destinations, we will use Braze as an example.
Step 1. Set up a Materialize Source
To begin you will need to add your Materialize database as a source in Census.
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In Census, navigate to Sources and then click New Source.
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From the list of connection types, choose Materialize.
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Set the connection parameters using the credentials provided in the Materialize console. Then click the Connect button.
Step 2. Set up a Destination
Next you will add a destination where data will be sent.
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In Census, navigate to Destinations and then click New Destination.
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From the list of destinations types, choose Braze.
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You will need to supply your Braze URL (which will most likely be
https://rest.iad-03.braze.com
) and a Braze API key. The Census guide for Braze will explain how to create an API key with the correct permissions. Then click the Connect.
Step 3. Create a Sync
After successfully adding the Materialize source, you can create a sync to send data from Materialize to your downstream destination.
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In Census, navigate to Syncs and then click New Sync.
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Under Select a Source choose Select a Warehouse Table. Using the drop-down, choose the Materialize source that was configured in step 1 as the Connection. Using the Schema and Table drop-downs you can select the Materialize object you would like to export.
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Under Select a Destination choose the Braze destination configured in step 2 and select “User” as the Object.
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Under Select Sync Behavior can be set to “Update or Create”. This will only add and modify new data in Braze but never delete users.
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Under Select a Sync Key select an id column from the Materialize object.
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Under Set Up Braze Field Mappings set any of the columns in the Materialize object to their corresponding fields in the Braze User entity.
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Click Next to see an overview of your sync and click Create to create the sync.
Step 4. Add a Schedule (Optional)
Your Census sync is created and ready to run. It can be invoked manually but a schedule will ensure all new data is sent to the destination.
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In Census navigate to Syncs and select the sync that was just created.
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Within your sync toolbar click Configuration. In Sync Trigger > Schedule you can select from a number of difference schedules. If you are using a source or materialized view as your source object, you can choose “Continuous” and Census will retrieve new data as soon as it exists within Materialize.