Deep Linking into SAML Integrations Plugin

Deep linking takes users to a page or a specific part of a website using a custom URL. In the case of a SAML Integrations plugin, the user is directed to the content in the plugin after successful SAML authentication. To create a deep link, you need to append an additional path to the app URL of the plugin. The format for appending the URL differs based on your business use case.

To create deep links, the service provider for SAML content should support the RelayState parameter. The RelayState parameter indicates the page that the user is trying to access.

When a user accesses a page using a custom URL, the SAML Integration plugin instance generates a SAML response as the identity provider and sends it to the service provider. This response includes the RelayState parameter. The service provider then responds with the authorized content.

Prerequisite: Ensure that the service provider of the content supports the RelayState parameter for SAML. Learn more about it here.

The URL to the SAML embedded content has two parts:

• Base URL: The URL that directs users to their employee app or intranet.
  For example, https://mycompany.com
• Base URL with Parameters: The parameters in the URL that directs users to the specific instance of the SAML Integrations plugin.
  For example, https://mycompany.com/content/{pluginID}/{pluginInstanceID}

To create a custom URL for deep linking, you need to append the main URL with the additional path to the content to which you want to direct users.

You can use one of the following schemes for deep linking, depending on your business use case:

• To direct users to content that is located in a sub-page or same domain as the rest of the content in the SAML Integrations plugin: https://mycompany.com/content/{pluginID}/{pluginInstanceID}/{deeplinking} For example, if the path is /custom/page, this path needs to be appended to the main URL. The resulting URL will look like this: https://mycompany.com/content/{pluginID}/{pluginInstanceID}/custom/page

• To direct users to content that is located in a different domain or a website as the rest of the content in the SAML Integrations plugin https://mycompany.com/content/{pluginID}/{pluginInstanceID}/?redirect={deeplinking}

• To direct users into the app from an external source: https://mycompany.com/openlink/content/{pluginID}/{pluginInstanceID}/{deeplinking}

Additionally, you can also add query parameters to the custom URL. These parameters will be appended to already existing parameters in the URL. For example, https://mycompany.com/content/{pluginID}/{pluginInstanceID}/content/page?utm_source=”app”