Integration Guide

Getting Started With the PayPal Name-Value Pair API
NVP Format
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80 April 2012 PayPal Payments Pro Integration Guide
8. Rename this file to something familiar, such as paypal_live_cert.pem.
It is not necessary to keep the .txt file extension. Be sure to remember where you save the
file.
After Completing This Task:
 If you use the PayPal SDK for Java, the PayPal SDK for .NET, or the PayPal SDK for
Classic ASP, you must encrypt your certificate in PCKS12 format.
 If you use the PayPal SDK for .NET or Classic ASP, you must take additional steps to
import the certificate.
NVP Format
NVP is a way of specifying names and values in a string. NVP is the informal name for the
query in the URI specification. The NVP string is appended to the URL.
An NVP string conforms to the following guidelines:
 The name is separated from the value by an equal sign (=). For example:
FIRSTNAME=Robert
 Name-value pairs are separated by an ampersand (&). For example:
FIRSTNAME=Robert&MIDDLENAME=Herbert&LASTNAME=Moore
 The values for each value in an NVP string are URL-encoded.
Creating an NVP Request
The Name-Value Pair request format specifies the API operation to perform, credentials that
authorize PayPal to access your account, and fields containing additional information to be
used in the request.
Specifying the PayPal API Operation
For the NVP version of the PayPal API, you must specify the name of the PayPal API
operation to execute in each request along with the version of the API operation.
The following diagram shows the API operation part of an NVP request: