Views and screens are the foundation for the Siebel CRM user interface. In this chapter, we will learn how to create and configure both object types. The chapter is structured as follows:
Understanding views and screens
Creating and modifying views
Adding a view to a screen
Registering a new view
From the discussion of Siebel Repository objects in Chapter 1, we know that a screen is a set of views and a view is a container for one or more applets. To deepen our understanding of views and screens, we will discuss these object definitions and their related objects in greater detail in the following sections.
Views define the largest visible area in the Siebel UI. The following screenshot shows the preconfigured All Service Request List View. The two applets in the view consume most of the screen estate:
From a business process perspective, a view is the UI element that must be available to the end user at a certain step in the process. Only then can a user accomplish the tasks defined in that step.
Views are made available to end users by administering responsibilities. A responsibility is a group of users who must execute the same business processes. A responsibility also defines a list of views that its associated users have access...
Siebel Tools provides developers with the New View wizard to quickly create views. The View Editor allows us to inspect and modify existing views. We will use both utilities in the following section. The high level process of creating a new view can be laid out as follows:
Create the view using the New View wizard
Arrange the applets on the view layout as needed
Set the applet mode property as needed
Set the thread bar properties
Add the view to a screen
Compile all new and modified repository objects
Register the view in the web client
Associate the view with one or more responsibilities
Test the view
In Chapter 5, we introduced the requirements around the new AHA Customer Process Start View and created a form and a list applet to be placed in that view. The basic view layout has been designed by the business analyst team as shown in the following diagram:
As we have only created two applets so far, we will use preconfigured applets...
To be able to test the view in the Mobile or Developer Web Client, we must add it to a screen and register it with at least one of the responsibilities we hold. We will describe these processes in this and the following section.
The following procedure explains how to add the AHA Customer Process Start View to the Accounts screen:
1. Navigate to the Accounts Screen object definition in the Object List Editor.
2. Check out or lock the Accounts Screen.
3. Expand the Screen object type in the Object Explorer and select the Screen View object type.
4. In the list of screen view object definitions, use Ctrl+N to create a new record.
5. Set the following properties (using the Tab key to navigate to the right in the list):
View: AHA Customer Process Start View
Parent Category: Account List
Viewbar Text - String Override: Process Start Page
Menu Text - String Override: Process Start Page
6. Right-click the Accounts Screen object definition in the upper list and select Edit Screen...
The process of registering a view is executed in the Administration - Application screen in the Siebel Web Client. The following procedure describes how to register and test the AHA Customer Process Start View. Note that during the process we will create a new responsibility named AHA Prototype, which will hold all new views created in the case study examples. This is a typical procedure during early development phases and only needs to be carried out once:
1. In Siebel Tools, copy the name of the view (AHA Customer Process Start View) to the clipboard.
2. Ensure that all new and modified object definitions (screens, views, and applets) are compiled to the local client's SRF file.
3. Start the Siebel Mobile Web Client and log in with your developer account to the local database. When you use the Siebel Sample Database, log in as SADMIN.
4. Navigate to the Site Map.
5. Navigate to Administration - Application | Responsibilities.
6. In the Responsibilities list, create a new...
Views are the major user interface element of Siebel CRM applications. They serve as a container for applets and support the end users in their daily tasks by providing the functionality for the business process steps.
Screens define a hierarchical order of views so that end users can quickly navigate from one view to the other if needed.
In this chapter, we discussed how to create and modify views, add them to a screen, and register them with a responsibility in the Siebel Client.
In the next chapter, we will learn how to configure business components and their fields.
© 2011 Packt Publishing Limited All Rights Reserved
