2009

Submitting Transaction Data to the Payflow Link Server
Returning Data to Your Web Site
B
54 Payflow Link User’s Guide
Returning Data to Your Web Site
You can use the Post or Silent Post feature to configure the Payflow Link server to send
transaction data to a URL that you specify. These “behind the scenes” HTTP Post operations
deliver information that you can use for purposes such as keeping a log of transactions or
updating a database.
You must create a CGI or ASP script to capture the Posted information. For outbound Post
processes, Payflow Link servers support only port 80 for HTTP and port 443 for HTTPS.
NOTE: PayPal recommends that you use PayPal Manager reports to verify each order and the
dollar amount of each transaction when using the Silent Post and Forced Silent Post
features.
If you enable Post or Silent Post, then, for each completed transaction, PayPal sends a
response string made up of name/value pairs. The values are a combination of the results of
your transaction request and the original transaction data that was submitted. This example is a
response to a credit card Sale transaction request:
PONUM Purchase Order number. This alphanumeric string value cannot include
spaces.
25
SHIPAMOUNT The cost of shipping. Decimal number with two decimal places.
STATE Billing state. 20
STATETOSHIP Shipping state. 20
TAX The amount of tax on a transaction. 12
USER1
through
USER10
These ten string type parameters are intended to store temporary data
(for example, variables, session IDs, order numbers, and so on). These
parameters enable you to return the values to your server by using the
Post or Silent
Post feature.
Note: USER1 through USER10 are not displayed to the customer and
are not stored in the PayPal transaction database.
255
ZIP Billing ZIP (postal) code.
Required if you use the AVS feature. Required if you turn off the
Payflow Link Order form.
10
ZIPTOSHIP Shipping ZIP (postal) code. 10
TABLE B.3 Optional parameters(Continued)
Field Name Description Max Length