How To
.NET Class Library for PayPal SOAP API

Click Here for a Video Demo

See "Video Documentation" in the left column menu for more videos

Not Just a Demo

This web application is more than just a demonstration of the Encore PayPal Class Library. With this application, you can completely test every parameter of each SOAP API call.

Get Started

The first step is to go to the API Setup page to enter your PayPal Sandbox API credentials. Your credentials will not be stored permanently or used in any way other than the API calls you make during this session. As soon as you close your browser, your API credentials will be cleared. If you download this demo and run it on your own computer, you can permanently store your API credentials in the web.config file.

In the online version, you must use 3-token signature authentication. If you download the demo, you can also use API certificate authentication. From the setup page, you can select the API version you wish to test against. You can also select either the normal Sandbox environment or the Beta Sandbox environment. If you purchase the class library, you can also select the Live environment.

Try It Out

Once you have entered your API credentials, you are ready to try any of the API calls. Each API call has an associated page in the menu which is grouped by related transactions. On each page, all possible parameters for that API call are presented as text boxes, check boxes, or drop down lists as appropriate. Each parameter has popup help text explaining what it's for and which values are appropriate. At the top of the page is a button, labeled appropriately, to initiate the API call. Once the API call completes, the results will be displayed at the bottom of the page.

For API calls such as Express Checkout that require multiple calls, the application will pause between each call, displaying the results and prompting you to initiate the next call.

For payments such as Express Checkout and Direct Payment, there is a dummy shopping cart with various items, some taxable and some not. This can be used to test the item details on these payments.

See the Results

After the API call completes, the parameter fields will be disabled and the response properties will display at the bottom of the page. The response display shows properties, such as error codes, that are common to all API calls as well as any properties specific to the API call being made.

What's Going On Behind the Scenes?

.NET hides the XML communication between the application and the web service. Sometimes, the best way to troubleshoot a problem is to see exactly what's being sent to and received from the API. Below the response display are two links that pop up a window showing the raw XML SOAP envelopes sent to and received from the API.