Teamcenter 8.

Rich Client Customization

Programmer’s Guide

Publication Number
PLM00075 F
Proprietary and restricted rights notice

This software and related documentation are proprietary to Siemens Product

Lifecycle Management Software Inc.
© 2010 Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. All Rights Reserved.
All trademarks belong to their respective holders.

2 Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide PLM00075 F

Contents

Proprietary and restricted rights notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Before you begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Enable rich client customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Basic concepts about rich client customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Basic tasks for rich client customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-31

Sample customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Common customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Miscellaneous customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-61

Customizing forms and properties display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Communication with the server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-1
Form user interface display components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-2
Displaying a form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-2
Teamcenter form types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-3
Developing automatic forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-4
Developing forms by extending the abstract class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-5
Developing forms using JavaBeans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-11
Developing forms and customizing the properties display using XML style
sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-13

Performing advanced customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

Customize the rich client properties files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Customizing Command Suppression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Registering user service functions on the server side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
Register run-time properties for Teamcenter business objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
Displaying files in the viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Customizing the data tabs display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14
Customizing the rich client to perform additional validations on a file . . . . . . . 4-16
Creating pre- and post-actions in Resource Manager and Classification . . . . . . 4-18
Writing headless programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-24

Tips for rich client customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

Using color within the rich client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Localization of rich client customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Updating your rich client customizations from previous versions . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Hide perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Changing the rendering property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Define global properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3

Troubleshooting rich client customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1

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Common problems in rich client customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1

Rich client debugging tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Enabling client-side logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Listener leaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Rich client customization reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1

Command line options for rich client startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1

Coding standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4
User interface components documented in Javadoc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-6
Application Integration Framework (AIF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-49

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Index-1

Figures

Starting the search for style sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14

Searching for XMLRenderingStylesheet datasets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15
Viewing the search results for XMLRenderingStylesheet datasets . . . . . 1-15
Viewing the style sheet contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16
Viewing the business object type that the style sheet is registered to . . . 1-17
Viewing the style sheet type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
Viewing the REGISTEREDTO preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
Types of available style sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Properties dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Property style sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21
Sample form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Summary tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23
Summary style sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
Creation dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-25
Create style sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-26
Summary tab in the My Teamcenter (2007) perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27
Summary 2007 style sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
Create a custom style sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-30
Viewing the <dataset_name>.REGISTEREDTO and
<type_name>.RENDERING preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-31
Adding a property to the Summary pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Adding a property to the Properties pane on the Summary tab . . . . . . . 2-4
The User Data boxes on the Item Master form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
The Item Master Form with the User Data boxes removed . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Selecting the item master form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Default item master form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Customized layout of the form’s General properties page . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Customized layout of the form’s Advanced properties page . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
New graphic in the logon window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
New icon used for folder business objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Custom menu command on the menu bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Custom button on the tool bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Action launched from the custom menu command or button . . . . . . . . . 2-15

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Custom menu command moved to the Tools menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17

Custom menu command added to the shortcut menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Custom button on the tool bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Action launched from the custom button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Custom button location moved on the toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22
Custom view in the list of available views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-27
Custom menu command displayed when the custom view is open . . . . . 2-27
Custom view in the list of available views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-33
Custom view displaying the contents of the selected object . . . . . . . . . . 2-33
Launching the custom application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-39
New SendTo application in the navigation pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-45
New SendTo application added to the Send To menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-46
Message box resulting from the command override . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-50
Custom form in the item creation wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-55
Choosing the custom menu command in the Spanish user interface . . . . 2-58
Untranslated custom message box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-59
Translated custom message box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-60
Exit command button on the view toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-64
Menu button on the view toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-64
Exit command on the view menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-64
TableViewer menu command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-71
TableViewer button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-71
TableViewer dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-72
TreeViewer menu command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-76
TreeViewer button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-76
Tree viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-77
Error Level toggle menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-81
Toggle state dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-82
Criteria for the Find PDFs query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-82
Adding a new search type to the quick search list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-83
Changed color for read-only properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-86
Assigning a workflow process template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-87
Viewing the assigned workflow process template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-88
Custom filtering applied to the assigned workflow process template . . . . 2-92
Form model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Form user interface display panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Form displayed in a dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Form displayed in the rich client viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Basic user interface form and components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Style sheet viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
Form rendering example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
Form rendering example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
OneColumn display format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
TwoColumn display format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Headed rendering style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Titled rendering style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
User properties dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Item properties dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
PropertyNameLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
PropertyTextField . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
TitledPropertyTextField . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
PropertyTextArea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
TitledPropertyTextArea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-39
PropertyButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-39

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TitledPropertyButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
TitledPropertyLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
PropertySlider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
TitledPropertySlider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
PropertyCheckbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
TitledPropertyCheckbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-43
PropertyRadioButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
TitledPropertyRadioButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
PropertyToggleButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
TitledPropertyToggleButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
LOVPopupButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
TitledPropertyLOVButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
PropertyLOVPopupButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47
TitledPropertyLOVCombobox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47
PropertyCheckboxOptionLov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
TitledPropertyCheckboxOptionLov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
PropertyRadioButtonOptionLov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
TitledPropertyRadioButtonOptionLov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49
PropertyToggleButtonOptionLov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49
TitledPropertyToggleButtonOptionLov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49
PropertyObjectLink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50
TitledPropertyObjectLink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50
PropertyLongText . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51
TitledPropertyLongText . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
TitledPropertyLogicalPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
PropertyArray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
TitledPropertyArray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-54
PropertyImage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-54
Directory structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
Delete dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-8
Expanded Delete dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-8
Progress indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-8
Completion indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-9
LOV dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11
LOV panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-12
LOVPopupButton with no arguments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-13
LOVPopupButton with arguments and popup window . . . . . . . . . . . . B-14
OrgSelectionDialog component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-15
Organization dialog box search feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-16
Referencers panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-17
Referencers reverse horizontal node layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-17
Referencers tree look node layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-18
Referencers vertical node layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-18
Item revision UI component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-19
Role panel in the Organization Selection dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-20
Group panel in the Organization Selection dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-21
User panel in the Organization Selection dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-22
Usage of the TCTypeRenderer class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-23
Initial state of an AbstractPopupButton component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-24
AbstractPopupButton component popup window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-24
Table created using GenericTableModel component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-25
Horizontal button layout with center alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-27
Results of resizing the dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-27
Horizontal button layout with left alignment and a 20-unit gap . . . . . . B-28

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Results of resizing the dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-28

Horizontal button layout with right alignment and a 20-unit gap . . . . B-29
Results of resizing the dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-29
Vertical button layout with center alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-30
Vertical button layout with top alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-31
Vertical button layout with bottom alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-31
Horizontal layout with center alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-32
Results of resizing the dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-33
Horizontal layout with components added . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-33
Horizontal layout with components added . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-34
Horizontal layout with parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-35
Vertical layout with components added . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-36
Results of resizing the dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-36
Horizontal layout with components added . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-37
Results of resizing the dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-37
Results of resizing the dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-37
Vertical layout with components added . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-38
Vertical layout with margin setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-38
Property layout with components added . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-39
Results of resizing the dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-40
Property layout with components added . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-40
Results of resizing the dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-41
PropertyLayout Manager with margin setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-41
Results of resizing the dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-42
Results of resizing the dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-42
MessageBox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-43
MessageBox produced from sample code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-43
MLabel component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-44
MLabel component produced from sample code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-44
Hierarchy of the com.teamcenter.rac.util package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-45
Separator in New Item dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-46
Separator produced from sample code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-47
SplitPane component used in a dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-47
StringViewerDialog component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-48
Validation report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-48
Context Sensitivity object model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-51

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1 Getting started

Before you begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Enable rich client customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

Install Eclipse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Set the project preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Run the rich client from Eclipse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Basic concepts about rich client customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Siemens PLM Software customization support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Teamcenter rich client perspectives and views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Understanding the Eclipse rich client platform framework . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Adding menus and toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Menu contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Handler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Teamcenter extension points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Introduction to style sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Search for style sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14
Register a style sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16
Types of style sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
Property style sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Form style sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21
Summary style sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Create style sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
Summary 2007 style sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-26
Create a custom style sheet based on an existing style sheet . . . . . . . . 1-28

Basic tasks for rich client customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-31

Export your custom plug-in to the rich client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-32
Ensure your customizations appear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-32
Distributing rich client customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-33
Distributing customizations to four-tier rich clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-33
Creating a solution file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-33
Distribute a solution file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-34
Distributing customizations to two-tier rich clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-36
Package custom files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-36
Install the customized files with Updates Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-36
Install new client-side only customized files with a feature file and
Configuration Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-37
Install new client and server customized files with a feature file and
Configuration Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-38

PLM00075 F Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide

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1 Getting started

The Teamcenter rich client is based on a client-server architecture. Both the client
and server layers can be customized. The client is the user interface (UI) layer and is
built and customized using the Java language. The server layer can be customized
using the Integration Toolkit (ITK) and the C++ programming language. This
manual describes the rich client extensibility features and how to extend the rich
client and the user services technique used to customize the server. It describes
what you need to set up a customization environment, develop customizations, and
deploy the customizations.
Because the rich client is based on Eclipse, your customizations have access to all
Eclipse extension points and OSGi services. They can also use Teamcenter-developed
customization techniques. To customize the rich client, you can use:
• Base Eclipse extension points and services (for example, the
org.eclipse.ui.menus extension point).

• Teamcenter extension points and services (for example, the application extension
points).

• Teamcenter customization mechanisms (for example, style sheets).

The basic customization technique is to create a plug-in that contains the

customizations and deploy the custom plug-in to the rich client install. To effectively
customize the rich client, you must be comfortable working with Eclipse.

Before you begin

Prerequisites You must have the following installed on your machine to
customize the rich client:
• The rich client itself.
For more information, see the Installation on UNIX and
Linux Clients Guide or the Installation on Windows Clients
Guide.

• The Java software development kit (SDK).

For more information, see this Web site:

http://java.sun.com

• The Eclipse integrated development environment (IDE).

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For more information, see this Web site:

http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/
Enable To enable rich client customization, you must install Eclipse and
rich client configure it to run the rich client.
customization
For more information, see Enable rich client customization.
Configure Once you install the prerequisites and set up the Eclipse IDE,
rich client you do not have to do anything else to configure rich client
customization customization.

Enable rich client customization

To enable rich client customization, you must install Eclipse and configure it to
run the rich client.
Note
The Teamcenter rich client must be installed on your machine first.

The following steps are required to customize the rich client with Eclipse for the
first time:
1. Install Eclipse.

2. Set the project preferences.

3. Run the rich client from Eclipse.

Install Eclipse
1. If you have not already downloaded and installed the Java 2 Software
Development Kit (SDK) version 1.6.0_14, do so before proceeding further. You
can download this version from the following Web site:
http://java.sun.com

2. Download the Eclipse 3.5 Software Development Kit (SDK) kit for your platform
from the following Web site:
http://download.eclipse.org/eclipse/downloads/drops/R-3.5-200906111540/
index.php

3. After you download the kit, extract the ZIP file to a directory on your machine.
The eclipse directory is automatically created below the installation directory.

4. Create a batch file that sets the environment, starts the server, and launches
Eclipse using the JDK command line parameters. Use the following template to
create your batch file:
set FMS_HOME=TC_ROOT\fcc
set JAVA_HOME=TC_ROOT\portal\jre
set JRE_HOME=TC_ROOT\portal\jre
set CLASSPATH=TC_ROOT\portal
set PATH=%FMS_HOME%\bin;%FMS_HOME%\lib;TC_ROOT\portal;%PATH%

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start "TAO ImR" /min cmd /c "TC_ROOT\iiopservers\start_imr.bat"

Eclipse-install-directory\eclipse.exe -vm jdk-install-directory\bin\javaw

Note
You can use the portal.bat file as template for this batch file.

5. Run the batch file you just created.

Eclipse displays the Workspace Launcher dialog box.

6. Use the default location for the workspace. This location is used by Eclipse to
store the project related information. Click OK.
Eclipse displays the welcome window. You can close it.

Set the project preferences

1. In Eclipse, choose Window→Preferences to open the Preferences dialog box.
In the tree on the left, double-click the Java node, then select the Installed JREs
node.
Verify that the correct Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version is listed and
checked. If the correct version is not listed, follow these steps:

a. Next to the Installed JREs list, click the Add button.

b. In the JRE Type dialog box, select Standard VM and click Next.

c. In the JRE Definition dialog box, type the JRE directory in the JRE home
box. It is the jre directory under the Java SDK installation directory.

d. Type the name of the JRE in the JRE name box.

e. Click Finish to save the new definition and close the dialog box.

f. In the Preferences dialog box, select the new JRE.

2. In the Preferences dialog box, double-click the Plug-in Development node, then
select the Target Platform node.

3. In the Target Platform dialog box, click Add.

4. In the Target Definition box, ensure Nothing is selected and click Next.

5. In the Target Content dialog box, click Add.

6. In the Add Content dialog box, select Directory and click Next.

7. Navigate to the TC_ROOT\portal directory and click Finish.

The target platform is loaded.

8. Click the Finish button.

The Target Platform dialog box appears.

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9. In the Target Platform dialog box, select the target you just set and click OK.

Run the rich client from Eclipse

1. In Eclipse, choose Run→Debug Configurations.

2. In the tree on the left of the Create, manage, and run configurations dialog box,
double-click Eclipse Application, then select the New_configuration node.

3. In the Name box, type RichClient and ensure the correct JRE appears in the
Runtime JRE box.
Also ensure that Run a product is selected and the product is
com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp.product.

4. Click the Arguments tab and type the following in the VM arguments box:
-Xms256m -Xmx1024m

5. Click the Debug button.

Ensure that the rich client logon dialog box appears. When it does, either click
Cancel or log on the rich client.

Basic concepts about rich client customization

Before customizing the rich client, you must understand the Eclipse framework
on which it is built.

Siemens PLM Software customization support

Siemens PLM Software is committed to maintaining compatibility between
Teamcenter product releases. If you customize functions and methods using
published APIs and documented extension points, be assured that the next
successive release will honor these interfaces. On occasion, it may become necessary
to make behaviors more usable or to provide better integrity. Our policy is to notify
customers at the time of the release prior to the one that contains a published
interface behavior change.
As Teamcenter evolves and advances, leveraging newly available technologies,
Teamcenter will make the ability to extend and tailor Teamcenter as flexible and
simple as possible. The direction is to fully leverage the developing Eclipse paradigm
to consolidate the thin client and rich client frameworks. A single client framework
allows extending both the thin client and rich client with a single extension. Note
that this consolidation will change the current extension model for the thin client
in the future.
Siemens PLM Software does not support code extensions that use unpublished and
undocumented APIs or extension points. All APIs and other extension points are
unpublished unless documented in the official set of technical manuals and help files
issued by Siemens PLM Software Technical Communications.
The Teamcenter license agreements prohibit reverse engineering, including:
decompiling Teamcenter object code or bytecode to derive any form of the original
source code; the inspection of header files; and the examination of configuration

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 Getting started

files, database tables, or other artifacts of implementation. Siemens PLM Software

does not support code extensions made using source code created from such reverse
engineering.
If you have a comment or would like to request additional extensibility, contact
the Siemens PLM Software customer support representatives at GTAC for further
assistance.

Teamcenter rich client perspectives and views

Within the Teamcenter rich client user interface, functionality is provided
in perspectives and views. Use perspectives and views to rearrange how the
functionality is presented.
Perspectives
Are containers for a set of views and editors that exist within the perspective.
• A perspective exists in a window along with any number of other
perspectives, but only one perspective can be displayed at a time.

• You can add and rearrange views to display multiple sets of information
simultaneously within a perspective.

• You can save a rearranged perspective with the current name, or create a
new perspective by saving the new arrangement of views with a new name.

Note
Your administrator can use the HiddenPerspectives preference to
prevent the display of some Teamcenter perspectives in the rich client.
For information about editing preference values, see the Preferences and
Environment Variables Reference.

Views
Enable you to navigate a hierarchy of information, display information about
selected objects, open an editor, or display properties.
• Views that work with related information typically react to selection changes
in other views.

• Changes to data made in a view can be saved immediately.

• Any view can be opened in any perspective, and any combination of views
can be saved in a current perspective or in a new perspective.

• Objects selected in a view may provide context for a shortcut menu. The
shortcut menu is usually displayed by right-clicking.
For more information about using the shortcut menu, see the Rich Client
Interface Guide.

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Note
If your site has online help installed, you can access application and view
help from the rich client Help menu or by pressing F1. Some views, such as
Communication Monitor, Print Object, Outline, Palette, and Progress, are
not specifically associated with a particular perspective.
For more information about unassociated views, see Rich client debugging
tools.

For more information about perspectives and views and changing the layout of your
rich client window, see the Rich Client Interface Guide.

Understanding the Eclipse rich client platform framework

When the rich client is installed, Java archive (JAR) files are installed that are
Eclipse plug-in files. They are located in the TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory,
and the file names start with com.teamcenter. These files comprise rich client and
the resources required to run it. When you add a new custom plug-in, you deploy it
into this directory.
The Teamcenter rich client is hosted within the Eclipse rich client platform (RCP)
framework. The RCP is a general purpose application framework which provides
strong support for modular and extensible component-based development through
the use of plug-ins.
You can find more information about the RCP’s features, advantages, and use at the
Eclipse Web site:
http://www.eclipse.org/
For more information about using Eclipse, see the Platform Plug-in Developer Guide:
http://help.eclipse.org/helios/index.jsp
To customize the RCP, you need to use the Eclipse IDE.
For more information about the IDE, see Enable rich client customization.

Adding menus and toolbars

To add menu bars, toolbars, and shortcut menus, use the declarative approach
provided by Eclipse. The definition of the menu bar, toolbar, and context menus
are provided in the individual plugin’s plugin.xml file. Menus and the resulting
application logic they call can be placed in a Model-View-Controller (MVC) paradigm.
The three parts to the MVC paradigm are:
• Command

• Menu contribution

• Handler

For more information and full examples about how to use the Eclipse declarative
approach to menus and toolbars, see the following links:
• http://wiki.eclipse.org/Menu_Contributions

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• http://wiki.eclipse.org/Platform_Command_Framework

• http://wiki.eclipse.org/Command_Core_Expressions

For examples about how to use the Eclipse approach to add menus and toolbar items,
see Adding menu commands to a menu, toolbar, and shortcut menu.

Command

Command has a globally unique ID and represents the abstract semantic concept of
a behavior, such as copy, paste, and save. A command is not the implementation of
that behavior nor is it the visual representation of that behavior.
<command id="com.teamcenter.rac.command"
name="%com.teamcenter.rac.command.name">
</command>

Menu contributions

Menu contributions represent a particular view or visual representation of a

command. The menu contributions create the menu and toolbar structures and
insert them into the correct Eclipse location. The location is specified as an Uniform
Resource Identifier (URI) and can be any one of the following:

• Main menu

• Main toolbar

• View toolbar

• View menu

• Context (popup) menu

• Trim area

The menu contribution can define a menu label, mnemonic, or icon. It contains
visual references to already defined commands. The visual representations of
commands may include labels, icons, and mnemonics. Menu contributions also may
include separators. Separators are only visible if there are visible commands before
and after a separator. The menu contribution can define when it will be visible
with a visibleWhen clause. The visibleWhen clause refers to all standard Eclipse
expressions. This expression can be very simple or very complex and evaluates to
either true or false which determines whether a menu is visible or not.
<menuContribution locationURI="menu:org.eclipse.ui.main.menu">
<menu id="file" label="%menu.file.label" mnemonic="%menu.file.mnemonic">
<command commandId="org.eclipse.ui.file.refresh"
mnemonic="%command.refresh.mnemonic"
style="push">
</command>
<separator name="sep1" visible="true"/>
<command commandId="org.eclipse.ui.file.exit"
mnemonic="%command.exit.mnemonic"
style="push">
</command>
</menu>
</menuContribution>

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Note
You can define the icon for a menu toolbar item by specifying a URL. The URL
is case sensitive (for example, icon.PNG is not the same as icon.png). If you
give an incorrect icon URL, a warning is logged to the log file and the Console
view, if displayed. The menu or toolbar item with the incorrect URL definition
is not visible until it is corrected and the rich client is restarted.
If you run in development mode inside the IDE and pull the icon files from a
source folder, Windows is not case sensitive and finds the icons. However, once
you run the rich client from the command line where the icons are packaged
in the plug-in’s JAR file, the Java API does not find the icons since those
APIs are case sensitive.
Always verify the case is correct for image icons.

A command can also be bound to a key sequence using the org.eclipse.ui.bindings

extension point.

Handler
A handler implements one particular behavior for a given command. For any given
command, there can be zero or several handlers defined. However only none or
one handler may be active for a given command. The active handler controls the
command’s enabled state.
Handlers most commonly extend the AbstractHandler class. Handlers are
provided an application context in their execute(*) method. If a command has no
active handlers defined, any menu contributions defined for a command are not
visible. A command can also define a default handler ensuring that a command
always has an active handler. The handler can be declaratively activated via the
ActiveWhen clause or programmatically activated. The handler also defines
declaratively when a command appears enabled in any menu contribution with the
enabledWhen expression for the handler.

Teamcenter extension points

To see the available extension points, open a project in Eclipse and click the Add
button in the project’s Extensions tab.
For more information about using extension points, see topics in Sample
customizations. Some topics show detailed use of Teamcenter extension points, such
as Add a new rich client application and Add or change a business object icon.
The following Teamcenter extension points are available for your use.

Extension point Description

ActionSetAIFApplicationAssociation Limits the display of given
actionsets based on the selected
AIF application.
Application Adds an application to the rich
client. All new applications are
plugged in from this extension
point.

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Extension point Description

ApplicationTaskPane Adds an application task pane to
an application. Each application
task pane can be comprised of
one or more application task pane
sections. An application task pane
is associated with:
• ID
Unique ID of the application
task pane.

• title
Application task pane title.

• class
Application task pane
implementation class.

• ApplicationTaskPaneSectionID
Sequence of section
component IDs that
contribute to the application
task pane. Each of the
ApplicationTaskPaneSectionID
defined should correspond
to the ID attribute on the
extensions defined for the
ApplicationTaskPaneSection
extension point.
ApplicationTaskPaneSection Adds an application
task pane section to an
application task pane. Each
ApplicationTaskPaneSection
can be composed of zero or
more section components. An
application task pane section is
associated with:
• ID
Unique ID of the application
task pane section.

• title
Application task pane section
title.

• iconBundleName

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Extension point Description

Location of the icons if they are

located in a different bundle.

• icon
Application task pane section
icon.

• class
Application task pane section
implementation class.

• secondaryTitle
Application task pane section
secondary title.

• secondaryActionClass
Secondary action
implementation class.

• SectionComponentID
Sequence of section component
IDs that contribute to the
application task pane
section. Each of the
SectionComponentID
defined should correspond
to the ID attribute on
the extensions defined for
the SectionComponent
extension point.
SectionComponent Adds a section component to an
application task pane section. A
section component is associated
with:
• ID
Unique ID of the section
component.

• title
Section component title.

• iconBundleName
Location of the icons if they are
located in a different bundle.

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Extension point Description

• icon
Section component icon.

• class
Section component
implementation class.

• secondaryTitle
Section component secondary
title.

• secondaryActionClass
Secondary action
implementation class.

• SectionComponentID
Sequence of section component
IDs that contribute to the
application task pane
section. Each of the
SectionComponentID
defined should correspond
to the ID attribute on
the extensions defined for
the SectionComponent
extension point.
boTypesLoader Contributes extensions used to
load types. The types loader class
decides which base type and its
subtypes to load, the types to be
excluded, and if the most recently
used list (MRU) is enabled.
boTypesPage Contributes extensions that
add custom panels to the types
selection page in New Other dialog
box.
buttonProvider Registers the button providers
with the Clipboard composite area.
extWizard Registers wizards.
extWizardPage Registers pages with the specified
wizard.
extWizardRef Registers pages with the specified
wizard.

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Extension point Description

filesSelector Defines a custom implementation
for the file selection dialog box
displayed when the user creates
a dataset or imports files to an
existing dataset and performs
any additional validations on the
imported files.
health Registers the
IHealthCheckControl Factories for
the health check status bar area.
Kernel_Components Controls the mapping of the server
side schema type definitions to the
client.
Kernel_Services Defines the ICCT-based services
used by the kernel. ICCT
is deprecated so you should
not use this extension. Use
service-oriented architecture
(SOA) for client-server
communication instead of ICCT.
navigatorRoots Adds root node objects to the
Navigator view.
openConfiguration Contributes extensions used when
the File→Open menu is chosen.
• typeName
Teamcenter type name

• perspectiveId
Perspective ID that should
be the same as the ID in the
org.eclipse.ui.perspectives
extension point or in
the perspective_id
attribute of the
com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp.
application extension point.

• applicationId
The id attribute on
the aif_app_item
element under the
com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp.
application extension point.

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Extension point Description

openWithConfiguration Matches editors with Teamcenter
types in the Open With menu.
• typeName
Teamcenter type name.

• editorId
Editor ID that is
registered using the
org.eclipse.ui.editors
extension point.

• perspectiveId
If specified, the perspective
is posted prior to opening the
editor in the perspective. If
the specified perspective does
not have an editor area visible,
then a default perspective
(metadata-editing perspective)
is posted prior to opening the
editor.
operation Contributes extensions that are
used to perform an operation from
a wizard or dialog box.
ProjectSections Supports associating sections
within a view.
tcOpenConfiguration Allows the extenders to specify
a perspective ID to open with
in conjunction with the Eclipse
core expressions. When the core
expression evaluates to true, the
perspective ID registered against
it is used to open the selected
object.
tc_properties Defines the entry point where
the customer can plug in their
override properties file.

Introduction to style sheets

Style sheets are the easiest way to codelessly customize the rich client. You can use
them to change the layout of pages such as forms, the Properties dialog box, the
Summary view, and the creation wizard dialog boxes.
Style sheets are defined in XMLRenderingStylesheet datasets. To see all the
available style sheets, search for all the XMLRenderingStylesheet datasets.

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For more information about searching for style sheets, see Search for style sheets. For
sample customizations using style sheets, see Customizations using style sheets. For
more detailed information about style sheets, see Developing forms and customizing
the properties display using XML style sheets.

Search for style sheets

To find style sheets in the rich client, search for XMLRenderingStylesheet

datasets.
1. Click the Open Search View button .

2. Click the arrow on the Select a Search button and choose General.

Starting the search for style sheets

3. In the Type box, type XMLRenderingStylesheet.

If you are looking for style sheets for a particular kind of object, enter a string in
the Name box to look for those kinds of style sheets. For example, if you want to
find all style sheets for items or item revisions, type *Item* in the Name box.

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Searching for XMLRenderingStylesheet datasets

4. Press the Enter key or click the Execute the Search button .
The results are displayed in the Search Results view.

Viewing the search results for XMLRenderingStylesheet datasets

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5. In the Search Results tab, select the style sheet you want to view. Click the
Viewer tab to see the style sheet.

Viewing the style sheet contents

Register a style sheet

Each commonly used business object type (such as item, folder, and dataset) has
style sheets that define the layout of its properties in the user interface.
1. To see the business object that a style sheet is registered to, first search for
XMLRenderingStylesheet datasets.
For more information, see Search for style sheets.

2. Select the style sheet, and in the Viewer tab, see the business object listed in the
Registered Type box on the style sheet

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Viewing the business object type that the style sheet is registered to

3. To specify how the style sheet is to be used, select it in the Stylesheet Type box
(for example, for properties display, form rendering, Summary view, or creation
dialog boxes).

Viewing the style sheet type

4. When the Registered Type box in the Viewer tab is used to register a new
property type style sheet with a business object type, a new REGISTEREDTO
preference and a new RENDERING preference are created. These preferences
apply the XML rendering style sheet dataset type to the business object type so
that the style sheet is displayed in the situation you set it for (for example, for
display of the business object’s property, summary, form, or create information).
To see preferences, choose Edit→Options and click Search at the bottom of the
dialog box.

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Viewing the REGISTEREDTO preferences

For example, the
<dataset_name(dataset-UID)>.REGISTEREDTO=<type-name> preference
indicates the business object type that an XML rendering dataset is
registered to for use as a property type style sheet. Therefore, the
Item.REGISTEREDTO=Item preference means that the Item XML
rendering style sheet dataset is registered as a property type style
sheet to the Item business object type.
Similarly, the <type_name>.RENDERING=<dataset_name(dataset-UID)>
preference indicates the XML rendering dataset used to render the
properties shown on a particular business object type. Therefore, the
Item.RENDERING=Item preference means that for Item business objects,
the Item XML rendering style sheet dataset is used to render the properties
in the user interface.
Note
The UID (unique ID) is set in the preferences when custom XML rendering
datasets or custom business objects are used. The UID ensures that the
correct style sheet is applied to the correct business object.

When you register a style sheet, the preferences that are created depend on the
type of style sheet that is registered:

• Property
<dataset_name(dataset-UID)>.REGISTEREDTO=<type-name>
<type_name>.RENDERING=<dataset_name(dataset-UID)>

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• Form
<dataset-name(dataset-uid)>.FORM_REGISTEREDTO=<type-name>
<type-name>.FORMRENDERING=<dataset-name(dataset-uid)>

• Summary
<dataset-name(dataset-uid)>.SUMMARY_REGISTEREDTO=<type-name>
<type-name>.SUMMARYRENDERING=<dataset-name(dataset-uid)>

• Create
<dataset-name(dataset-uid)>.CREATE_REGISTEREDTO=<type-name>
<type-name>.CREATERENDERING=<dataset-name(dataset-uid)>

Types of style sheets

Following are the available types of style sheets:

• Property
Defines the layout of the Properties dialog box.
For more information, see Property style sheet.

• Form
Defines the layout of forms, such as the Item Master form or the Item
RevisionMaster form.
For more information, see Form style sheet.

• Summary
Defines the layout of the Summary tab.
For more information, see Summary style sheet.

• Create
Defines the layout of dialog boxes used in the creation wizard when you
choose File→New→Other and some portions of dialog boxes when you choose
File→New→object.
For more information, see Create style sheet.

• Summary 2007
Defines the layout used in the My Teamcenter (2007) perspective.
For more information, see Summary 2007 style sheet.

These types are set on a style sheet using the Stylesheet Type box.

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Types of available style sheets

Property style sheet

The Property style sheet type defines the layout of the Properties dialog box. To view
the Properties dialog box, right-click an object and choose View Properties.

Properties dialog box

To set a style sheet to the Property type, open the style sheet dataset in the Viewer
tab and in the Stylesheet Type box, select Property.

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Property style sheet

Notice how this Item style sheet defines the layout of the Properties dialog box for
the selected item.

Form style sheet

The Form style sheet defines the layout of forms, such as the Item Master form or
the Item RevisionMaster form. To view a form, select an instance of a form and
click the Viewer tab.

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Sample form
To set a style sheet to the Form type, open the style sheet dataset in the Viewer tab
and in the Stylesheet Type box, select Form.

Summary style sheet

The Summary style sheet type defines the layout of the Summary tab.

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Summary tab
To set a style sheet to the Summary type, open the style sheet dataset in the Viewer
tab and in the Stylesheet Type box, select Summary.

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Summary style sheet

Notice how this ItemSummary style sheet defines the layout of the Summary
tab for the selected item.
For a sample customization using the Summary style sheet type, see Modify the
Summary view in My Teamcenter.

Create style sheet

The Create style sheet type defines the layout of dialog boxes used in the creation
wizard when you choose File→New→Other (and some portions of dialog boxes when
you choose File→New→object).

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Creation dialog box

To set a style sheet to the Create type, open the style sheet dataset in the Viewer tab
and in the Stylesheet Type box, select Create.

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Create style sheet

Notice how this ItemCreate style sheet defines the layout of the creation dialog
boxes for the Item business object.
For a sample customization using the Create style sheet type, see Modify the item
create panels in the New Business Object wizard.

Summary 2007 style sheet

The Summary 2007 style sheet type defines the layout of the Summary tab in the My
Teamcenter (2007) perspective. By default, the My Teamcenter (2007) perspective
is hidden. To view the perspective, remove MyTeamcenterLegacy from the
HiddenPerspectives preference.

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Summary tab in the My Teamcenter (2007) perspective

To set a style sheet to the Summary 2007 type, open the style sheet dataset in the
Viewer tab and in the Stylesheet Type box, select Summary 2007.

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Summary 2007 style sheet

Notice how this ItemSummary2007 style sheet defines the layout of the Summary
tab for the selected item.

Create a custom style sheet based on an existing style sheet

You can create your own custom style sheet.

For example, you create a custom business object in the Business Modeler IDE
and install it to the rich client, and you want to create a unique style sheet to
display the custom business object properties. To create the style sheet, search for
XMLRenderingStylesheet datasets, save one as your own custom style sheet
dataset, and then register the custom style sheet for use with the custom business
object.
For more examples of creating a custom style sheet, see Customizations using style
sheets.

1. Search for a style sheet you can base your new style sheet on.
For more information, see Search for style sheets.

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2. In the Search Results view, select the style sheet you want to use, choose
File→Save As, and rename it. For example, if you want to create a style sheet to
be used with a custom A5_MyItem business object, you could name the style
sheet A5_MyItem.
The new style sheet dataset is saved in your Newstuff folder in the Home view
and is still displayed in the Viewer tab.

3. Edit the style sheet.

a. In the Viewer tab, click the arrow in the Registered Type box and select the
business object type you want to register it to. For example, if you have a
custom A5_MyItem business object added to your server, select A5_MyItem
from the list.

b. Edit the style sheet in the Viewer tab to include the elements you want
displayed in the layout.

c. To change the style sheet type, click the arrow in the Stylesheet Type box.
You can choose one of the following types:
Property
Form
Summary
Create
Summary 2007

For more information about the style sheet types, see Types of style sheets.

4. When you are done making changes, click the Apply button in the lower right
corner of the view.

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Create a custom style sheet

Because you used the Registered Type box on the Viewer tab to register
the style sheet with a business object type, two new preferences are created
(a REGISTEREDTO preference and a RENDERING preference). These
preferences apply the style sheet to the business object so that the style sheet is
displayed in the situation you set it for (for example, for display of the business
object’s property, summary, form, or create information).
For more information, see Register a style sheet.

5. To see the two new preferences, choose Edit→Options and at the bottom of the
dialog box, click Search.

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Viewing the <dataset_name>.REGISTEREDTO and

<type_name>.RENDERING preferences
Notice how in the Current Values box of the <type_name>.RENDERING
preference there is a number in parentheses after the name of the business object.
That is a GUID number that identifies that unique business object, and that
GUID number is set in the <dataset_name(dataset-UID)>.REGISTEREDTO
preference. This ensures that the style sheet is applied to the correct business
object.

Basic tasks for rich client customizations

When you create a rich client customization, follow this general process to create,
test, and distribute the customization:
1. Set up your Eclipse environment for rich client customization.
For more information, see Enable rich client customization.

2. Create the desired customization.

For sample customizations, see Sample customizations.

3. If you create a custom rich client plug-in, export the plug-in to the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.
For more information, see Export your custom plug-in to the rich client.

4. Clear cache and register any new plug-in to ensure the customization appears
in the rich client.

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For more information, see Ensure your customizations appear.

5. Run the rich client to verify the customization.

6. After testing is successful, distribute the customization to your organization.

For more information, see Distributing rich client customizations.

Export your custom plug-in to the rich client

A typical customization involves creating a new rich client plug-in using Eclipse.
To test your custom plug-in, you must first export it as a JAR file to the rich client
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.
1. In Eclipse, right-click the customization project and choose Export.

2. In the Export dialog box, choose Plug-in Development→Deployable plug-ins

and fragments.

3. Click Next.

4. Click the Browse button to the right of the Directory dialog box and browse to
the TC_ROOT\portal directory.

5. Click Finish.
The JAR file is automatically generated into the TC_ROOT\portal\plugins
directory.

Before running the rich client to verify the customization, run the
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in with the rich
client, and clear the rich client cache.
For more information, see Ensure your customizations appear.

Ensure your customizations appear

For both codeless and codeful customizations, after you create a customization, you
must perform the following steps to ensure it appears in the rich client when it
is run outside the Eclipse IDE:
1. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml.bat file to register new
plug-ins and other changes with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml script
to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts. This
enhances performance because it caches the properties so they can
be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates a
RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry directory.

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2. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home directory
on the client. This directory is automatically created again when the user starts
the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

3. Edit the portal.bat file to add the -clean and -initialize arguments between
start Teamcenter.exe command and %*. Run the rich client once and then
remove the -initialize argument. (Remove the -clean argument after you finish
developing and testing your customization.)

Distributing rich client customizations

There are two different methods you use to distribute rich client customizations,
depending if the rich client is a two-tier or four-tier client.
• For four-tier clients, use a solution file and the Web Application Manager
(insweb).
For more information, see Distributing customizations to four-tier rich clients.

• For two-tier clients, use Teamcenter Environment Manager (TEM) Updates

Manager.
For more information, see Distributing customizations to two-tier rich clients.

Distributing customizations to four-tier rich clients

If you used Over-the-Web Installer (OTW) to initially install a rich client, you can
use OTW to distribute your customized files to it.
1. Package your customized files into a JAR file.

2. Create an installable component descriptor (ICD) file that defines your custom
solution.
For more information creating a solution file, see Creating a solution file.

3. Run the Web Application Manager (insweb) to create a distribution instance for
your custom solution.
For more information, see Distribute a solution file.

Creating a solution file

The following code shows a sample solution file named sample.icd. This file deploys
the sample.jar file to the RC_ROOT\plugins directory on the rich client machine.
#The name of the solution. It appears on the solution list in the Web
#Application Manager.
[NAME]
Sample Solution for Rich Client 4-Tier
#The description of the solution that appears in a tooltip when the user
#hovers the mouse over the solution name in the solution list. You can use
#HTML code to format the text.
[DESCRIPTION]
This installs the sample.jar file.
#Specify the jar file. If you have more than one jars, you need to repeat
#this section for each file like this:
#[COPYFILE]
#{
# [FROM]

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# sample.jar
#
# [TO]
# plugins
#}
#[COPYFILE]
#{
# [FROM]
# sample2.jar
#
# [TO]
# plugins
#}
#[COPYFILE]
#{
# [FROM]
# sample3.jar
#
# [TO]
# plugins
#}
[COPYFILE]
{
[FROM]
sample.jar
[TO]
plugins
}
#The version of this Sample Solution.
[VERSION]
11
#This file defines a Solution.
[SOLUTION]
Y
#It’s a Distribution Instance Solution.
[SOLUTION_TYPE]
DS_INSTANCE
#Install information
[MANIFEST_INFO]
{
#This is the RC_ROOT.
[SUBDIR]
rac
[TARGETS]
<target name="file_download_unix">
</target>
<target name="new_solution_unix">
</target>
<target name="file_download_win">
</target>
<target name="new_solution_win">
</target>
[DOWNLOAD_FILES]
{
#This section tells the OTW installer to download the jar.
#The location is subfolder to [SUBDIR] from above.
#If you have more than one jar, you need to list them here like this:
#[COMMON]
#plugins/sample.jar:1.0
#plugins/sample2.jar:1.0
#plugins/sample3.jar:1.0
[COMMON]
plugins/sample.jar:1.0
[SOLARIS]
[HPUX]
[AIX]
[NT_INTEL]
}
[PACKAGED_FILES]
{
[SOLARIS]
[HPUX]
[AIX]
[NT_INTEL]
}
}

Distribute a solution file

1. Launch the Web Application Manager:

a. Open the WEB_ROOT directory.

This is the directory in which you installed the Web Application Manager on
your hard drive.

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b. In Windows, double-click the insweb.bat file. In UNIX, type the following

command:
insweb

The Web Application Manager displays the Teamcenter Web Application

Manager dialog box.

2. Click Copy ICDs.

The Web Application Manager displays the Copy ICD Files dialog box.

3. Enter the path to your solution file and click OK.

The Web Application Manager displays a Progress dialog box and copies the
ICD file.

4. When copying is complete, click OK.

The Web Application Manager displays the Teamcenter Web Application
Manager dialog box.

5. In the Web Applications list, select the rich client instance and click Modify.
The Web Application Manager displays the Modify Web Application dialog box.

6. Click Modify Disk Locations.

The Web Application Manager displays the Modify Disk Locations dialog box.

7. Ensure the path to your solution files is listed in the Disk Locations for Install
Images box. If it is not, click Add.

8. Click Add Solutions.

The Web Application Manager displays the Add Solutions dialog box.

9. Select your solution and click OK.

The Web Application Manager begins installation of the solutions and displays a
Progress dialog box.

10. When installation is complete, click OK to close the Progress dialog box.
The Web Application Manager displays the Modify Web Application dialog box.

11. Click OK.

12. Deploy the distribution instance as described in the appropriate Teamcenter

server installation guide (either the Installation on UNIX and Linux Servers
Guide or the Installation on Windows Servers Guide).

13. Launch the Over-the-Web-installed rich client or the local otw.bat file
to download and use the sample.jar file. You can verify the JAR file
was downloaded to the designated installation location by looking in the
RC_ROOT\plugins directory.

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Note
Once you install a customization using a solution file, you cannot remove it
using Over-the-Web Installer.

Distributing customizations to two-tier rich clients

1. Package your customized files.

2. Use one of the following methods to install your files:

• If your customized files modify rich client files that have been already
installed, use Updates Manager to install them.

• If your customization includes one or more files that are not already on the
rich client, you must create a feature file using XML code to install the
custom files.

Package custom files

1. To create a plug-in JAR file of your customization, in Eclipse right-click the
project and choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable plug-ins and
fragments.

2. Zip your custom JAR file into a rac_feature-name.zip file (for example,
rac_samplecust.zip) with the root path for the JAR file set to \plugins.
The use of rac_ in the name signifies that the ZIP file contains a rich client
feature. For examples of these files, see the portal\compressed_files directory
on the Teamcenter installation source.

3. Create a directory structure to hold the ZIP files, for example,

portal\compressed_files\.
You can use any directory structure you want. For convenience, this structure is
the same used on the Teamcenter installation source.

4. Copy your ZIP files to the portal\compressed_files\ directory.

Install the customized files with Updates Manager

Note
If you created a feature file and installed the custom files, you do not need to
follow these steps. Your files are already installed.

1. Open the TC_ROOT\install directory and run Teamcenter Environment

Manager (TEM).

2. Click Updates Manager and click Next.

3. Click Browse, navigate to the directory that contains your ZIP file, select it,
and click Select.

4. In the Confirm Selections panel, click Next.

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Install new client-side only customized files with a feature file and Configuration
Manager
If your customization includes one or more files that are not already on the rich
client and customize the client only, you must create a feature file using XML code
to install the custom files. If your customized files modify rich client files that have
been already installed, do not create the feature file; see Install the customized files
with Updates Manager instead.
1. In a text editor, create an XML file with the following code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<feature>
<name value="New Customization Files"/>
<size value="21"/>
<os value="windows" version="5.1"/>
<os value="sunos" version="5.10"/>
<os value="hp-ux" version="11.11"/>
<root value="true"/>
<group value="clientadd"/>
<singular value="true"/>
<guid value="7560C67ED5B01B65C39B8DF7364066C8"/>
<relation>
<depends>
<or value="FF18D25DA73019F880BCFFBC0029CA28"/>
<or value="E2564104E1B964BB23D78078DBA34EEA"/>
<or value="A2564824E1B434AC23D70178DBA34BCA"/>
</depends>
</relation>
<files>
<code>
<unzip file="portal/compressed_files/rac_samplecust.zip"
todir="portal"/>
</code>
</files>
</feature>

2. In the file, change the following lines:

• In the size tag, change the value text to the approximate size (in megabytes)
of your customization files.

• Add or remove os tags to match the platforms where you use rich client.

• In the guid tag, change the value text to a unique value exactly 32
characters in length and composed of any combination of the numbers 0–9
and the letters A–F.

• In the unzip tag, change the file text to the name of the ZIP file that
contains your customizations.
To ensure that the todir="portal" line correctly unzips to the
portal\plugins directory, ensure that \plugins is set as the location in
the ZIP file.

3. Save the file as feature_rac_mycust.xml.

For other examples of feature_rac_feature-name.xml files, see the
install\modules directory on the installation source.

4. Copy the XML file to the TC_ROOT\install\\install\modules directory.

5. Open the TC_ROOT\install directory and run Teamcenter Environment

Manager (TEM).

6. Click Configuration Manager and click Next.

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7. Click Perform maintenance on an existing configuration and click Next.

8. Ensure the correct configuration is selected and click Next.

9. Ensure Add/Remove Features is selected and click Next.

10. Under the Client Enhancements node, select the check box for your new files.
The name of the box is the one you gave it in the feature file. Click Next.

11. In the Confirm Selections panel, click Next to start installing your customization
files.

Install new client and server customized files with a feature file and Configuration
Manager
If your customization includes one or more files that are not already on the rich
client and you customize both the client and server sides, you must modify the server
(Business Modeler IDE template project) feature file.
1. Open the template project in Business Modeler IDE, and in the Navigator view,
open the feature_template-name.xml file under the installation folder. Add the
following code directly at the same level as the data model feature:
<feature>
<name value="feature-display-name"/>
<property name="feature_id" value="rac"/>
<property name="bmide_optional" value="true"/>
<relation>
<depends>
<or value="FF18D25DA73019F880BCFFBC0029CA28"/>
<or value="E2564104E1B964BB23D78078DBA34EEA"/>
<or value="A2564824E1B434AC23D70178DBA34BCA"/>
</depends>
</relation>
<size value="0"/>
<singular value="true"/>
<guid value="85B3827CD5A0FA61220398F6C60C21AB"/>
<files>
<code>
<unzip file="portal/compressed_files/rac_feature-name.zip"
todir="portal"/>
</code>
</files>
</feature>

In the file, change the following lines:

• In the name tag, change the value text to the feature name you want
displayed in TEM.

• In the size tag, change the value text to the approximate size (in megabytes)
of your customization files.

• In the guid tag, change the value text to a unique value exactly 32
characters in length and composed of any combination of the numbers 0–9
and the letters A–F.

• In the unzip tag, change the file text to the name of the ZIP file that
contains your customizations.
To ensure that the todir="portal" line correctly unzips to the
portal\plugins directory, ensure that \plugins is set as the location in
the ZIP file.

2. Package the template.

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3. Open the TC_ROOT\install directory and run Teamcenter Environment

Manager (TEM).

4. Select Configuration Manager and click Next.

5. Select Perform maintenance on an existing configuration and click Next.

6. Ensure the correct configuration is selected and click Next.

7. Ensure Add/Remove Features is selected and click Next.

8. In the Select Features panel, click Browse to locate the template.

The template is added to the Select Features panel.

9. Under Base Install, select Teamcenter Rich Client 2-tier and under the
Extensions node, select the check box for your new files. Click Next.

10. In the Confirm Selections panel, click Next to start installing your customization
files.

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2 Sample customizations

Common customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Common codeless customization tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Customizations using style sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Modify the Summary view in My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Modify the Properties pane on the Summary view . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Modify the item create panels in the New Business Object wizard . . 2-4
Modify a form’s rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Customize the Teamcenter rich client splash window and logon
window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Add or change a business object icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Common customization tasks that require writing code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Adding menu commands to a menu, toolbar, and shortcut menu . . . . . 2-14
Add a menu command to a menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Add a menu command to the shortcut menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Add a button to the toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Adding views and applications to the rich client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-23
Add a view to the rich client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-23
Create a view that uses the Selection Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-28
Add a new rich client application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-34
Add an application to the Teamcenter Send To menu . . . . . . . . . . 2-40
Override Teamcenter commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-47
Create a custom Java form assigned to the ItemRevisionMaster
form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-50
Localize your customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-56

Miscellaneous customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-61

Add a command to a menu or toolbar in a view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-61
Add a table viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-65
Add a tree viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-72
Add a toggle menu item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-77
Add a quick search item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-82
Change the display color of read-only properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-83
Customize the workflow template filter list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-86

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2 Sample customizations

Sample customizations show you step-by-step how to create customizations

for the rich client, from commonly-performed customizations to miscellaneous
customizations.

Common customizations
Commonly performed customizations run the gamut from changing icons all the way
to adding applications to the rich client.

Common codeless customization tasks

Codeless customization allows you to alter the appearance or functionality of the
rich client without the need to write Java code. Codeless customization tasks require
you to change Teamcenter preference values, change XML files, modify properties
files, and implement Eclipse plug-ins. You should be familiar with XML and Eclipse
before performing codeless customization.

Customizations using style sheets

Style sheets are the easiest and most powerful way to change the appearance the
rich client user interface. Use them to change everything from the properties that
are displayed for a selected object to the layout of the Summary view.
For an overview of style sheets, see Introduction to style sheets. For more detailed
information about style sheets, see Developing forms and customizing the properties
display using XML style sheets.

Modify the Summary view in My Teamcenter

You can modify what appears in the Summary view and its layout by codelessly
changing the rendering using Teamcenter style sheets.

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

Note
Only three <views> elements are supported on the Summary view:
impactanalysis, viewer, and properties.
• impactanalysis is for where-used/referenced information.

• viewer is for an image preview.

• properties is for any combination of properties.

The style sheet contains <page> elements, and each <page> can contain
multiple views. If a user right-clicks the Summary view, a shortcut menu with
the view list is displayed; the user can hide or display views. The viewer view
can be used for items, item revisions, and datasets, but not folders or forms.
The other two views can be used for any object.

This example adds the checked_out property to the FolderSummary header

rendering.
1. Find all XMLRenderingStylesheet datasets using the rich client search
capability by removing all search criteria except for Type and setting it to
XMLRenderingStylesheet.

2. Select the FolderSummary dataset and choose File→Save As. Type

MyFolderSummary in the Name box.

3. Select MyFolderSummary and the Viewer pane.

The XML style sheet is displayed in the viewer.

4. Edit the MyFolderSummary style sheet to add the checked_out property to the
header area. The following is an example of the modified header area:
<header>
<image source="type"/>
<property name="owning_user" />
<property name="last_mod_date" />
<property name="checked_out" />
<property name="release_status_list" />
<property name="object_type" />
</header>

5. Click the Apply button.

6. Choose Edit→Options→Index and change the setting of the

Folder.SUMMARYRENDERING preference from Folder to MyFolderSummary.

7. Exit the rich client and restart it using the -clean command argument to remove
the old configuration from cache.

8. Select a folder and select the Summary pane.

You see the checked_out property displayed as Checked-Out.

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 Sample customizations

Adding a property to the Summary pane

The Properties dialog box and the item create panes in the New Business Object
wizard also use style sheet rendering and can be similarly customized. You can also
use this technique to create custom renderings for new custom business objects.
For more information about using style sheets, see Developing forms and customizing
the properties display using XML style sheets.

Modify the Properties pane on the Summary view

You can modify what appears in the Properties pane and its layout by codelessly
changing the rendering using Teamcenter style sheets. This example adds the
protection property to the folder general rendering.
1. Find all XMLRenderingStylesheet datasets using the rich client search
capability by removing all search criteria except for Type and setting it to
XMLRenderingStylesheet.

2. Select the FolderSummary dataset and choose File→Save As. Type

MyFolderSummary in the Name box.
The MyFolderSummary style sheet is saved in the Newstuff folder.

3. Select MyFolderSummary and the Viewer pane.

The XML style sheet is displayed in the viewer.

4. Edit the MyFolderSummary style sheet to add a separator and the protection
property to the general area. The following is an example of the modified general
area:
<column>
<section text="properties">
<property name="object_name"/>
<property name="object_desc"/>
<property name="object_type"/>
<separator/>
<property name="owning_user" renderingHint="objectlink" modifiable="false"/>
<property name="owning_group" renderingHint="objectlink" modifiable="false"/>
<property name="last_mod_user"/>
<separator/>
<property name="protection" />
<separator/>
<command commandId="com.teamcenter.rac.properties" text="moreProperties"/>
</section>
</column>

5. Click the Apply button.

6. Choose Edit→Options→Index and change the setting of the

Folder.SUMMARYRENDERING preference from Folder to MyFolderSummary.

7. Exit the rich client and restart it using the -clean command argument to remove
the old configuration from cache.

8. Select a folder and click the Summary tab.

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

The protection property is displayed.

Adding a property to the Properties pane on the Summary tab

The Summary view and item create panels in the New Business Object wizard also
use style sheet rendering and can be similarly customized. You can also use this
technique to create custom renderings for new custom business objects.
For more information about using style sheets, see Developing forms and customizing
the properties display using XML style sheets.

Modify the item create panels in the New Business Object wizard

You can modify what appears in the New Business Object wizard when you choose
the File→New→Other menu command and its layout by codelessly changing the
rendering using Teamcenter style sheets. This example modifies the item creation
panes by removing the user_data boxes from the Additional Item Information dialog
box (which uses the Item Master form) and the Item Revision Information dialog box
(which uses the ItemRevision Master form).

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The User Data boxes on the Item Master form

1. Find all XMLRenderingStylesheet datasets using the rich client search
capability by removing all search criteria except for Type and setting it to
XMLRenderingStylesheet.

2. Select the ItemCreate dataset and choose File→Save As. Type MyItemCreate
in the Name box.
The MyItemCreate style sheet is saved in the Newstuff folder.

3. Select MyItemCreate and the Viewer pane.

The XML style sheet is displayed in the viewer.

4. Edit the MyItemCreate style sheet to remove the user_data elements shown in
bold in the following sample:
<page title="Additional Item Information" titleKey="AdditionalItemInformation">
<view name="properties">
<property name="IMAN_master_form:project_id" />
<property name="IMAN_master_form:previous_item_id" />
<property name="IMAN_master_form:serial_number" />
<property name="IMAN_master_form:item_comment" />
<property name="IMAN_master_form:user_data_1" />
<property name="IMAN_master_form:user_data_2" />
<property name="IMAN_master_form:user_data_3" />
</view>
</page>
<page title="Item Revision Information" titleKey="ItemRevisionInformation">
<view name="properties">
<property name="revision:IMAN_master_form_rev:project_id" />
<property name="revision:IMAN_master_form_rev:previous_version_id" />
<property name="revision:IMAN_master_form_rev:serial_number" />
<property name="revision:IMAN_master_form_rev:item_comment" />
<property name="revision:IMAN_master_form_rev:user_data_1" />
<property name="revision:IMAN_master_form_rev:user_data_2" />
<property name="revision:IMAN_master_form_rev:user_data_3" />
</view>
</page>

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For more information about using compounding (for example,

revision:IMAN_master_form:item_comment in the preceding sample code),
see the property element description.

5. Click the Apply button.

6. Choose Edit→Options→Index and change the setting of the

Item.CREATERENDERING preference from ItemCreate to MyItemCreate.

7. Exit the rich client and restart it using the -clean command argument to remove
the old configuration from cache.
When you choose File→New→Other and select Item, you see that the user_data
boxes are removed from the new item create panes.

The Item Master Form with the User Data boxes removed

The Summary view and Properties pane also use style sheet rendering and can be
similarly customized. You can also use this technique to create custom renderings
for new custom business objects.
For more information about using style sheets, see Developing forms and customizing
the properties display using XML style sheets.

Modify a form’s rendering

You can modify how a Teamcenter-provided form is rendered by codelessly changing
the Teamcenter style sheets. This example modifies the item master form.
1. Choose File→New→Item to create a new item.

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To see the default item master form, open the form just under the item.

Selecting the item master form

The default item master form appears:

Default item master form

2. Find all XMLRenderingStylesheet datasets using the rich client search

capability by removing all search criteria except for Type and setting it to
XMLRenderingStylesheet.

3. Select any XMLRenderingStylesheet dataset and choose File→Save As. Type

MyItemMasterRenderer in the Name box.
The MyItemMasterRenderer style sheet is saved in the Newstuff folder.

4. Select MyItemMasterRenderer and the Viewer pane.

The XML style sheet is displayed in the viewer.

5. Edit the MyItemMasterRenderer style sheet. The following is an example of

the modified rendering area:
<rendering>
<page format="OneColumn" title="general" titleKey="general">
<property name="project_id" />
<property name="serial_number" renderingHint="textfield" column="25" />
<property name="item_comment" renderingHint="textarea" column="10"
row="5" />
<property name="owning_user" />
</page>
<page title="Advanced" format="TwoColumn">
<firstcolumn>
<property name="user_data_1" renderingHint="lovbutton"
renderingStyle="titled" border="true" />
<separator />
<property name="user_data_2" renderingStyle="titled" />
</firstcolumn>
<secondcolumn>

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<property name="user_data_3" renderingStyle="titled"

border="true" />
<property name="previous_item_id" renderingStyle="titled" />
</secondcolumn>
</page>
</rendering>

Note
Notice how this code adds an Advanced link to the form.

6. Click the Apply button.

7. Choose Edit→Options→Index→New, add the Item Master.FORMRENDERING

preference as a site preference, and set its value to MyItemMasterRenderer.

8. Exit the rich client and restart it using the -clean command argument to remove
the old configuration from cache.

9. Open the item master form to see the new layout.

Customized layout of the form’s General properties page

Click the Advanced link at the bottom of the form to open the additional
properties on the form.

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 Sample customizations

Customized layout of the form’s Advanced properties page

You can also use this technique to create custom renderings for new custom business
objects forms. You can also create the XMLRenderingStylesheet dataset and
then import an XML style sheet.
For more information about using style sheets, see Developing forms and customizing
the properties display using XML style sheets.

Customize the Teamcenter rich client splash window and logon window

1. To customize the splash window that appears when you start Teamcenter, open
the TC_ROOT\portal\plugins\com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp_version.jar file
and replace the current splash.bmp file with a new splash.bmp file that
contains your customized splash window graphic.

2. To customize the logon window that appears after the splash window, open the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins\com.teamcenter.rac.kernel_version.jar file and
replace the current background.png file with a new background.png file
that contains your customized logon window graphic. Ensure you include the
\icons path when replacing the file.

3. Delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home directory on the client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

4. Run the rich client to verify the changes.

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New graphic in the logon window

Add or change a business object icon

You can change the default icon for an existing business object or add an icon to a
newly created business object.
You associate icons with business objects using properties files. To replace the icon
for an existing business object, create a user properties file and wrap it in an Eclipse
plug-in. The user properties file contains a name/value pair that binds the icon to
the business object. The format of the user properties file entry is:
business-object.ICON=image-directory/image-file-name

Note
The icon file name is case sensitive (for example, icon.PNG is not the same as
icon.png). Always verify the case is correct for image icons.
The recommended size for icons is 16 x 16 pixels. Icons become distorted when
they are much larger than 16 x 16 pixels.

The Teamcenter registry looks for entries in properties files in the following order:
1. customer.properties

2. component_user.properties

3. component.properties

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 Sample customizations

Entries in the component_user.properties file override entries in the

component.properties file.
To add or change the icon, create a custom plug-in that extends the
com.teamcenter.rac.util.tc_properties extension point and deploy it to the
plugins directory:
1. Create a new business object.
If you are adding an icon for a new business object, first add the business object
using the Business Modeler IDE.
For more information, see the Business Modeler IDE Guide.
If you are changing the icon for an existing business object, skip this step and go
to the next step.

2. Create the project.

a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Then click Next.

c. In the Project name box, type com.mycom.myicon. Clear the text in the
Source folder box. Click Next.

d. Under Options, ensure the Generate an activator and This plug-in will make
contributions to the UI check boxes are selected.
Under Rich Client Application, click the No button next to Would you like
to create a rich client application?. Click Next.

e. Clear the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box. Click
Finish.

3. Update the project tabs.

a. In Eclipse, click your project tab and click its Dependencies tab.

b. Under Required Plug-ins, click the Add button.

c. Select the following plug-ins from the list by holding down the Ctrl key while
you click them:
• com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp

• com.teamcenter.rac.common

• com.teamcenter.rac.external

• com.teamcenter.rac.kernel

• com.teamcenter.rac.neva

• com.teamcenter.rac.tcapps

• com.teamcenter.rac.util

d. Click OK.

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e. Click your project’s Runtime tab.

f. Under Exported Packages, click the Add button.

g. Select your project and click OK.

h. Click your project’s Extensions tab.

i. Click the Add button.

j. Select the com.teamcenter.rac.util.tc_properties extension point.

k. Click Finish.

l. Click the plugin.xml tab. The text in the tab should look like the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.5"?>
<plugin>
<extension
point="com.teamcenter.rac.util.tc_properties">
</extension>
</plugin>

If the text is different, edit it in the tab to resemble the example.

m. Save the project by choosing File→Save All.

4. Create the project files.

a. Open WinZip, navigate to the TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory, and
open the com.teamcenter.rac.common plug-in.

b. Extract the common.properties file.

c. Change the name of the extracted common.properties file to

common_user.properties.

d. In a text editor, open the common_user.properties file and delete all

entries.

e. Type the icon entry in the file. It has the following format:
business-object-name.ICON=images/icon-file-name

For example, if you want to use a myFolder.png file as the icon for your
folders, use the following entry:
Folder.ICON=images/myFolder.png

Note
You can extract the folderexpanded_16.png file from
the com.teamcenter.rac.common plug-in to use for your
myFolder.png file. Change the image file as you like and save it
as the myFolder.png file.

f. Save and exit the common_user.properties file.

g. In Package Explorer, right-click your project and choose New→Package.

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h. In the Name box, type the path name where the properties file was originally.
For icons, it is com.teamcenter.rac.common.

i. Click Finish.

j. From Windows Explorer, drag your modified common_user.properties file

and drop it on the com.teamcenter.rac.common package.

k. In Package Explorer, right-click your project and choose New→Package.

l. In the Name box, type the path name where the properties file was originally.
For icons, it is com.teamcenter.rac.common.images.

m. Click Finish.

n. From Windows Explorer, drag your new icon image file (for example,
myFolder.png) and drop it on the com.teamcenter.rac.common.images
package.

o. Click the MANIFEST.MF tab and type the com.teamcenter.rac.common

package name at the end of the Export-Package line. For example, if your
project name is com.mycom.myicon, the line should read:
Export-Package: com.mycom.myicon, com.teamcenter.rac.common

p. Click your project’s Runtime tab. If one or more of the items listed in the
Export-Package line in the previous step are missing, add the missing ones
by clicking the Add button, selecting the missing packages, and clicking OK.

q. Save the project by choosing File→Save All.

5. Package the project.

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable
plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

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c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

6. Verify the customization.

Run the rich client.
You should see the myFolder.png icon rendered for the Folder business object.

New icon used for folder business objects

If you see the original folder icon, there is an error. The most common errors are
incorrect package names, package names not exported in the MANIFEST.MF
file, and incorrect entries in the common_user.properties file.

Common customization tasks that require writing code

Many common customization tasks require that you write Java code and implement
Eclipse plug-ins. You should be familiar with Java and Eclipse before performing
this kind of customization.

Adding menu commands to a menu, toolbar, and shortcut menu

You can add a menu command to a menu or shortcut menu or add it as a button to a
toolbar using the Eclipse menus, commands, and handlers mechanism.

Add a menu command to a menu

The rich client uses the Eclipse menus, commands, and handlers mechanism for
menus. This example adds the Sample Command menu command to the end of the
Tools menu in the My Teamcenter perspective only.
1. Create the project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Then click Next.

c. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Plug-in Project pane, type
com.mycom.addmenuitem in the Project name box. Click Next.

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d. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Content pane, do the following:
A. Under Options, ensure the This plug-in will make contributions to the
UI check box is selected.

B. Click the No button next to Would you like to create a rich client
application?.

C. Click Next.

e. Ensure the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box is
selected and select Hello, World Command in the list. Click Finish.

f. To verify the configuration so far, choose Run→Run Configurations to start

the rich client from your Eclipse environment. Clear the workspace by
selecting the Clear check box in the launch configuration dialog box.
For information about how to set up Eclipse to run the rich client, see Enable
rich client customization.
When you run the rich client from Eclipse, the new Sample Menu menu
appears on the menu bar.

Custom menu command on the menu bar

At the far right of the toolbar, there is also a new button.

Custom button on the tool bar

Selecting either the new menu or new button opens the following dialog box.

Action launched from the custom menu command or button

2. Edit the com.mycom.addmenuitem plug-in’s plugin.xml file to place the

menu command at the bottom of the Tools menu. Replace the entire contents of
the plugin.xml file with the following code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.5"?>
<plugin>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.commands">
<command

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name="Sample Command"
id="com.mycom.addmenuitem.commands.sampleCommand">
</command>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.handlers">
<handler
commandId="com.mycom.addmenuitem.commands.sampleCommand"
class="com.mycom.addmenuitem.handlers.SampleHandler">
</handler>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.menus">
<menuContribution locationURI="menu:tools?after=additions">
<command
commandId="com.mycom.addmenuitem.commands.sampleCommand"
mnemonic="S"
icon="icons/sample.gif"
id="com.mycom.addmenuitem.menus.sampleCommand">
<visibleWhen>
<reference
definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.ui.inMainPerspective">
</reference>
</visibleWhen>
</command>
</menuContribution>
</extension>
</plugin>

The visibleWhen clause uses the com.teamcenter.rac.ui.inMainPerspective

definition to control visibility. This definition is in the
com.teamcenter.rac.common plug-in’s plugin.xml file. Each Teamcenter
perspective has an inMainPerspective definition, usually in the plug-in’s
plugin.xml file.
For example, the inMainPerspective definition for Structure Manager is in
the plugin.xml file in the com.teamcenter.rac.pse plug-in. If you want the
menu command to be visible in Structure Manager, change the visibleWhen
clause to the following:
<visibleWhen>
<reference
definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.pse.inMainPerspective">
</reference>
</visibleWhen>

To add the menu to the menu bar instead of the Tools menu, change the
locationURI attribute to the following:
locationURI="menu:org.eclipse.ui.main.menu?after=additions"

3. To verify the configuration, choose Run→Run Configurations to start the rich

client from your Eclipse environment. Clear the workspace by selecting the
Clear check box in the launch configuration dialog box.
The menu command is inserted at the bottom of the Tools menu in the My
Teamcenter perspective.

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Custom menu command moved to the Tools menu

4. Package the project.

If you want to package the project for distribution, export it to a JAR file and
place it in the TC_ROOT\portal directory.

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable

plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

Add a menu command to the shortcut menu

The rich client uses the Eclipse menus, commands, and handlers mechanism for the
shortcut menu (the right-click menu). This example adds the Sample Command
button to the shortcut menu in the My Teamcenter perspective only.

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1. Create the project.

a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Then click Next.

c. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Plug-in Project pane, type
com.mycom.addshortcut in the Project name box. Click Next.

d. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Content pane, do the following:
A. Under Options, ensure the This plug-in will make contributions to the
UI check box is selected.

B. Click the No button next to Would you like to create a rich client
application?.

C. Click Next.

e. Ensure the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box is
selected and select Hello, World Command in the list. Click Finish.

2. To verify the configuration so far, choose Run→Run Configurations to start the

rich client from your Eclipse environment. Clear the workspace by selecting the
Clear check box in the launch configuration dialog box.
For information about how to set up Eclipse to run the rich client, see Enable
rich client customization.
When you run the rich client from Eclipse, the new Sample Menu menu appears
on the menu bar.

3. Edit the com.mycom.addshortcut plug-in’s plugin.xml file to place the menu

command on the shortcut menu. Replace the entire contents of the plugin.xml
file with the following code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.5"?>
<plugin>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.commands">
<command
name="Sample Command"
id="com.mycom.addshortcut.commands.sampleCommand">
</command>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.handlers">
<handler
commandId="com.mycom.addshortcut.commands.sampleCommand"
class="com.mycom.addshortcut.handlers.SampleHandler">
</handler>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.menus">
<menuContribution
locationURI="popup:org.eclipse.ui.popup.any?after=additions">
<command
commandId="com.mycom.addshortcut.commands.sampleCommand"
mnemonic="S"
icon="icons/sample.gif"
id="com.mycom.addshortcut.menus.sampleCommand">
<visibleWhen>
<reference
definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.ui.inMainPerspective">
</reference>
</visibleWhen>
</command>
</menuContribution>
</extension>
</plugin>

The visibleWhen clause uses the com.teamcenter.rac.ui.inMainPerspective

definition to control visibility. This definition is in the

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 Sample customizations

com.teamcenter.rac.common plug-in’s plugin.xml file. Each Teamcenter

perspective has an inMainPerspective definition, usually in the plug-in’s
plugin.xml file.
For example, the inMainPerspective definition for Structure Manager is in
the plugin.xml file in the com.teamcenter.rac.pse plug-in. If you want the
menu command to be visible in Structure Manager, change the visibleWhen
clause to the following:
<visibleWhen>
<reference
definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.pse.inMainPerspective">
</reference>
</visibleWhen>

4. Verify the customization.

a. Choose Run→Run Configurations to start the rich client from your Eclipse
environment. Clear the workspace by selecting the Clear check box in the
launch configuration dialog box.

b. Right-click on any object in the My Teamcenter perspective. For example,

right-click a folder.
The Sample Command menu command appears on the shortcut menu.

Custom menu command added to the shortcut menu

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

c. Package the project.

If you want to package the project for distribution, export it to a JAR file and
place it in the TC_ROOT\portal directory.

A. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in

Development→Deployable plug-ins and fragments, select the
TC_ROOT\portal directory as the destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into
the TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

B. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the

plug-in with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you
add new plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the
genregxml script to ensure your changes are included when the
rich client starts. This enhances performance because it caches
the properties so they can be loaded at startup. The script takes
no arguments and generates a RegistryLoader file for each
locale in the portal\Registry directory.

C. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again
when the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it
is typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

Add a button to the toolbar

The rich client uses the Eclipse menus, commands, and handlers mechanism for the
toolbar. This example adds the Sample Command button to the toolbar in the My
Teamcenter perspective only.
1. Create the project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Then click Next.

c. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Plug-in Project pane, type
com.mycom.addbutton in the Project name box. Click Next.

d. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Content pane, do the following:
A. Under Options, ensure the This plug-in will make contributions to the
UI check box is selected.

B. Click the No button next to Would you like to create a rich client
application?.

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 Sample customizations

C. Click Next.

e. Ensure the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box is
selected and select Hello, World Command in the list. Click Finish.

2. To verify the configuration so far, choose Run→Run Configurations to start the

rich client from your Eclipse environment. Clear the workspace by selecting the
Clear check box in the launch configuration dialog box.
For information about how to set up Eclipse to run the rich client, see Enable
rich client customization.
At the far right of the toolbar, there is a new button.

Custom button on the tool bar

Selecting the new button opens the following dialog box.

Action launched from the custom button

3. Edit the com.mycom.addbutton plug-in’s plugin.xml file to place the button

on the My Teamcenter toolbar. Replace the entire contents of the plugin.xml
file with the following code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.5"?>
<plugin>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.commands">
<command
name="Sample Command"
id="com.mycom.addbutton.commands.sampleCommand">
</command>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.handlers">
<handler
commandId="com.mycom.addbutton.commands.sampleCommand"
class="com.mycom.addbutton.handlers.SampleHandler">
</handler>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.menus">
<menuContribution
locationURI="toolbar:navigator_Toolbar?after=additions">
<command
commandId="com.mycom.addbutton.commands.sampleCommand"
icon="icons/sample.gif"
tooltip="Say hello world"
id="com.mycom.addbutton.toolbars.sampleCommand">
<visibleWhen>
<reference
definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.ui.inMainPerspective">
</reference>
</visibleWhen>
</command>
</menuContribution>
</extension>
</plugin>

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

Each Teamcenter perspective has its own toolbar. For example, the My
Teamcenter toolbar is navigator_Toolbar, and the Structure Manager toolbar
is pse_Toolbar. The toolbar is usually defined in the plugin.xml file for the
perspective. For example, the pse_Toolbar is defined in the plugin.xml file in
the com.teamcenter.rac.pse plug-in.

4. To verify the configuration, choose Run→Run Configurations to start the rich

client from your Eclipse environment. Clear the workspace by selecting the
Clear check box in the launch configuration dialog box.
The button is inserted in the middle of the toolbar in the My Teamcenter
perspective.

Custom button location moved on the toolbar

5. Package the project.

If you want to package the project for distribution, export it to a JAR file and
place it in the TC_ROOT\portal directory.

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable

plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

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 Sample customizations

Adding views and applications to the rich client

You can add a view or application to the rich client. You can also add an application
to the Send To shortcut menu.

Add a view to the rich client

This view contains a menu item that is visible only when the view is active. It uses
the following Eclipse extensions: commands, handlers, menus, expressions, and
views.
Use the Eclipse plug-in create wizard to create the plug-in. Add packages and
classes as needed and copy and paste the class and plugin.xml file content from the
following steps. If you use the same names, you can cut and paste; otherwise, edit
your Java files and plugin.xml file using the following steps as a guide.
1. Create the project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Click Next.

c. In the New Plug-in Project wizard Plug-in Project dialog box, type
com.mycom.customview in the Project name box. Click Next.

d. In the New Plug-in Project wizard Content dialog box, do the following:
A. Under Options, ensure the This plug-in will make contributions to the
UI check box is selected.

B. Click the No button next to Would you like to create a rich client
application?.

C. Click Next.

e. Clear the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box. Click
Finish.

2. Update the project tabs.

a. Click the Overview tab and select the This plug-in is a singleton check box.

b. Click the Dependencies tab, click the Add button, and select the
com.teamcenter.rac.kernel plug-in.

3. Create the project files.

a. Right-click the com.mycom.customview project and choose New→Package.
In the Name box, type com.mycom.customview.handlers.

b. Right-click the com.mycom.customview.handlers package and choose

New→Class. In the Name box, type SampleHandler.

c. Create the com.mycom.customview.views package and the CustomView

class in it.
The plug-in structure looks like this:

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

d. Replace the code in the Activator.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.customview;
import org.osgi.framework.BundleContext;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.AbstractRACPlugin;
import com.teamcenter.rac.services.IAspectService;
import com.teamcenter.rac.services.IAspectUIService;
/**
* The activator class controls the plug-in life cycle
*/
public class Activator extends AbstractRACPlugin {
// The plug-in ID
public static final String PLUGIN_ID = "com.mycom.customview";
// The shared instance
private static Activator plugin;
/**
* The constructor
*/
public Activator()
{
super();
Activator.plugin = this;
}
/*
* (non-Javadoc)
* @see org.eclipse.core.runtime.Plugins#start
* (org.osgi.framework.BundleContext)
*/
public void start(BundleContext context) throws Exception {
super.start(context);
plugin = this;
}
/*
* (non-Javadoc)
* @see org.eclipse.core.runtime.Plugin#stop
* (org.osgi.framework.BundleContext)
*/
public void stop(BundleContext context) throws Exception {
plugin = null;
super.stop(context);
}
/**
* Returns the shared instance
*
* @return the shared instance
*/
public static Activator getDefault() {
return plugin;
}
@Override
public IAspectService getLogicService() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
return null;
}
@Override
public IAspectUIService getUIService() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
return null;
}
@Override
protected void setupServices(BundleContext context) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
}

e. Replace the code in the SampleHandler.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.customview.handlers;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.AbstractHandler;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionEvent;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionException;
import org.eclipse.ui.IWorkbenchWindow;
import org.eclipse.ui.handlers.HandlerUtil;
import org.eclipse.jface.dialogs.MessageDialog;
/**
* Our sample handler extends AbstractHandler, an IHandler base class.
* @see org.eclipse.core.commands.IHandler

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 Sample customizations

* @see org.eclipse.core.commands.AbstractHandler
*/
public class SampleHandler extends AbstractHandler {
/**
* The constructor.
*/
public SampleHandler() {
}
/**
* the command has been executed, so extract extract the needed information
* from the application context.
*/
public Object execute(ExecutionEvent event) throws ExecutionException {
IWorkbenchWindow window = HandlerUtil.getActiveWorkbenchWindowChecked(event);
MessageDialog.openInformation(
window.getShell(),
"Customview",
"Hello, from SampleHandler");
return null;
}
}

f. Replace the code in the CustomView.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.customview.views;
import org.eclipse.swt.SWT;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.Font;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.FontData;
import org.eclipse.swt.layout.FillLayout;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Composite;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Text;
import org.eclipse.ui.part.ViewPart;
public class CustomView extends ViewPart {
/** ID corresponding to the RCP declaration */
public static final String ID = CustomView.class.getName();
public CustomView()
{
super();
}
@Override
public void createPartControl(Composite parent) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
parent.setLayout( new FillLayout() );
Text t = new Text( parent, SWT.BORDER );
t.setBackground( parent.getDisplay().getSystemColor( SWT.COLOR_WHITE ));
t.setForeground( parent.getDisplay().getSystemColor( SWT.COLOR_BLUE ));
Font initialFont = t.getFont();
FontData[] fontData = initialFont.getFontData();
for (int i = 0; i < fontData.length; i++) {
fontData[i].setHeight(18);
}
Font newFont = new Font(parent.getDisplay(), fontData);
t.setFont( newFont );
t.setText( " Hello from CustomView!! ");
}
@Override
public void setFocus() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
}

g. To create an empty plugin.xml file, click the Extensions tab and click the
Add button in the Extensions view, and click the Cancel button in the New
Extension dialog box.
A plugin.xml file is added to the project.

h. Click the plugin.xml tab and replace the code in the plugin.xml file with
the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.5"?>
<plugin>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.commands">
<command
name="Sample Command"
id="com.mycom.customview.commands.sampleCommand">
</command>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.handlers">
<handler
commandId="com.mycom.customview.commands.sampleCommand"

PLM00075 F Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide 2-25

Chapter 2 Sample customizations

class="com.mycom.customview.handlers.SampleHandler">
</handler>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.menus">
<menuContribution
locationURI="menu:org.eclipse.ui.main.menu?after=additions">
<menu
label="Sample Menu"
mnemonic="M"
id="com.mycom.customview.menus.sampleMenu">
<command
commandId="com.mycom.customview.commands.sampleCommand"
mnemonic="S"
id="com.mycom.customview.menus.sampleCommand">
<visibleWhen>
<reference
definitionId="com.mycom.customview.inMainView" />
</visibleWhen>
</command>
</menu>
</menuContribution>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.views">
<view
name="MyCom Custom View"
class="com.mycom.customview.views.CustomView"
id="com.mycom.customview.views.CustomView">
</view>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.core.expressions.definitions">
<definition id="com.mycom.customview.inMainView">
<with variable="activePartId">
<equals value="com.mycom.customview.views.CustomView" />
</with>
</definition>
</extension>
</plugin>

i. Choose File→Save All.

4. Verify the customization.

a. Choose Run→Run Configurations to start the rich client from your Eclipse
environment. Clear the workspace by selecting the Clear check box in the
launch configuration dialog box.
For information about how to set up Eclipse to run the rich client, see Enable
rich client customization.

b. Choose Window→Show View→Other→Other→MyCom Custom View.

The custom view is displayed in the list.

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 Sample customizations

Custom view in the list of available views

The Sample Menu menu command is visible when MyCom Custom View is
the active view.

Custom menu command displayed when the custom view is open

5. Package the project.

If you want to package the project for distribution, export it to a JAR file and
place it in the TC_ROOT\portal directory.

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable

plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

Create a view that uses the Selection Service

The following steps illustrate how to add a view that contains a JFace TableViewer
to the rich client. The view is both a selection listener and selection provider and its
behavior is similar to the Details view. This example also shows how to use Eclipse
Job class and get Teamcenter services.
1. Create the project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Click Next.

c. In the New Plug-in Project wizard Plug-in Project dialog box, type
com.mycom.myview in the Project name box. Click Next.

d. In the New Plug-in Project wizard Content dialog box, do the following:
A. Under Options, ensure the This plug-in will make contributions to the
UI check box is selected.

B. Click the No button next to Would you like to create a rich client
application?.

C. Click Next.

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 Sample customizations

e. Clear the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box. Click
Finish.

2. Update the project tabs.

a. Click the Overview tab and select the This plug-in is a singleton check box.

b. Click the Dependencies tab, click the Add button, and select the following
plug-ins:
com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp
com.teamcenter.rac.common
com.teamcenter.rac.kernel
com.teamcenter.rac.util

3. Create the project files.

a. Right-click the com.mycom.myview project and choose New→Package. In
the Name box, type com.mycom.myview.views.

b. Right-click the com.mycom.myview.views package and choose New→Class.

In the Name box, type MyComView.
The plug-in structure looks like this:

c. Replace the code in the Activator.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.myview;
import org.eclipse.jface.resource.ImageDescriptor;
import org.eclipse.ui.plugin.AbstractUIPlugin;
import org.osgi.framework.BundleContext;
/**
* The activator class controls the plug-in life cycle
*/
public class Activator extends AbstractUIPlugin {
// The plug-in ID
public static final String PLUGIN_ID = "com.mycom.myview";
// The shared instance
private static Activator plugin;
/**
* The constructor
*/
public Activator() {
}
/*
* (non-Javadoc)
* @see org.eclipse.ui.plugin.AbstractUIPlugin#start
* (org.osgi.framework.BundleContext)
*/
public void start(BundleContext context) throws Exception {
super.start(context);
plugin = this;
}
/*
* (non-Javadoc)
* @see org.eclipse.ui.plugin.AbstractUIPlugin#stop
* (org.osgi.framework.BundleContext)
*/
public void stop(BundleContext context) throws Exception {
plugin = null;
super.stop(context);
}
/**

PLM00075 F Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide 2-29

Chapter 2 Sample customizations

* Returns the shared instance

*
* @return the shared instance
*/
public static Activator getDefault() {
return plugin;
}
/**
* Returns an image descriptor for the image file at the given
* plug-in relative path
*
* @param path the path
* @return the image descriptor
*/
public static ImageDescriptor getImageDescriptor(String path) {
return imageDescriptorFromPlugin(PLUGIN_ID, path);
}
}

d. Replace the code in the MyComView.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.myview.views;
import org.eclipse.core.runtime.IProgressMonitor;
import org.eclipse.core.runtime.IStatus;
import org.eclipse.core.runtime.Status;
import org.eclipse.core.runtime.jobs.Job;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.ISelection;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.IStructuredContentProvider;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.ITableLabelProvider;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.LabelProvider;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.StructuredSelection;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.TableViewer;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.Viewer;
import org.eclipse.swt.SWT;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.Image;
import org.eclipse.swt.layout.FillLayout;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Composite;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display;
import org.eclipse.ui.ISelectionListener;
import org.eclipse.ui.IWorkbenchPart;
import org.eclipse.ui.part.*;
import com.mycom.myview.Activator;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.kernel.AIFComponentContext;
import com.teamcenter.rac.common.IContextInputService;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponent;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCException;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.OSGIUtil;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.Utilities;
// This view shows how to:
// be a selection listener
// be a selection provider
// use the Teamcenter OSGI IContextInputService
// use the Teamcenter selection to AIFComponentContext adapter
// use Eclipse Jobs (to jump off the main thread)
// ...see IC_SelectionListener()
public class MyComView extends ViewPart {
public static final String ID = "com.mycom.myview.views.MyComView";
private TableViewer m_viewer;
private ISelection m_selection;
private MyComView m_view;
private IC_SelectionListener m_listener;
private boolean m_firstTime = true;
/**
* The constructor.
*/
public MyComView() {
m_view = this;
}
@Override
public void createPartControl(Composite parent) {
parent.setLayout( new FillLayout() );
// setup the viewer
m_viewer = new TableViewer(parent, SWT.MULTI | SWT.H_SCROLL | SWT.V_SCROLL);
m_viewer.setContentProvider(new ViewContentProvider());
m_viewer.setLabelProvider(new ViewLabelProvider());
m_listener = new IC_SelectionListener();
// register the selection listener
getSite().getWorkbenchWindow().getSelectionService().addSelectionListener
( m_listener );
// viewer is a selection provider
getViewSite().setSelectionProvider( m_viewer );
}
@Override
public void dispose() {
// cleanup
getViewSite().setSelectionProvider( null );
getSite().getWorkbenchWindow().getSelectionService().removeSelectionListener
(m_listener);
super.dispose();
}
/**

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 Sample customizations

* Passing the focus request to the viewer’s control.

*/
@Override
public void setFocus() {
//do nothing
}
// this will be executed in a job...it will get the children in the job
// and set the viewer input in the main thread
void setViewerInput() {
// use the Teamcenter adapter
AIFComponentContext ctxt = (AIFComponentContext) Utilities.getAdapter(
( (StructuredSelection) m_selection ).getFirstElement(),
AIFComponentContext.class, true );
AIFComponentContext[] ctxts = null;
if (ctxt != null)
{
TCComponent comp = (TCComponent) ctxt.getComponent();
if (comp!=null)
{
try {
ctxts = comp.getChildren();
} catch (TCException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
final AIFComponentContext[] fctxts = ctxts;
Display.getDefault().asyncExec(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
if (m_viewer.getContentProvider() != null)
{
m_viewer.setInput(fctxts == null ? new AIFComponentContext[0]
: fctxts);
}
}
});
}
// this is the viewer content provider
class ViewContentProvider implements IStructuredContentProvider {
public void inputChanged(Viewer v, Object oldInput, Object newInput) {
}
public void dispose() {
}
public Object[] getElements(Object parent) {
return (AIFComponentContext[])parent;
}
}
// this is the viewer label provider
class ViewLabelProvider extends LabelProvider implements
ITableLabelProvider {
public String getColumnText(Object obj, int index) {
AIFComponentContext ctxt = (AIFComponentContext)obj;
TCComponent tc = (TCComponent)ctxt.getComponent();
return tc.toString();
}
public Image getColumnImage(Object obj, int index) {
return null;
}
}
// this is the selection listener
private class IC_SelectionListener implements ISelectionListener
{
public void selectionChanged( IWorkbenchPart part, ISelection selection )
{
m_selection = selection;
if( selection == null || selection.isEmpty() )
{
IContextInputService contextInputService = (IContextInputService)
OSGIUtil.getService(
Activator.getDefault(), IContextInputService.class );
if( contextInputService != null )
{
m_selection = contextInputService.getInput();
}
}
// ignore selections from this view
// need m_firstTime to load the viewer if we open this view in a
// perspective where it is not showing
if( (m_firstTime) || (part != m_view) )
{
m_firstTime = false;
if (m_selection != null)
{
// use a job...don’t want to tie up the main thread
Job j = new Job( "" )
{
@Override
protected IStatus run( IProgressMonitor monitor )
{
setViewerInput();

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

return Status.OK_STATUS;
}
};
j.schedule();
}
}
}
}
}

e. To create an empty plugin.xml file, click the Extensions tab and click the
Add button in the Extensions view, and click the Cancel button in the New
Extension dialog box.
A plugin.xml file is added to the project.

f. Click the plugin.xml tab and replace the code in the plugin.xml file with
the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.5"?>
<plugin>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.views">
<view
name="MyCom View"
class="com.mycom.myview.views.MyComView"
id="com.mycom.myview.views.MyComView">
</view>
</extension>
</plugin>

g. Choose File→Save All.

h. Verify the customization.

A. Choose Run→Run Configurations to start the rich client from your
Eclipse environment. Clear the workspace by selecting the Clear check
box in the launch configuration dialog box.
For information about how to set up Eclipse to run the rich client, see
Enable rich client customization.

B. Choose Window→Show View→Other→Other→MyCom View.

The custom view is displayed in the list.

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Custom view in the list of available views

The MyCom View view shows the contents of the selected object.

Custom view displaying the contents of the selected object

4. Package the project.

If you want to package the project for distribution, export it to a JAR file and
place it in the TC_ROOT\portal directory.

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable

plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

Add a new rich client application

This code creates a new application in the rich client that contains a single perspective
and a single view. It is displayed in the navigation pane. The project that contains
the application uses the following Eclipse extensions: org.eclipse.ui.perspectives,
org.eclipse.core.expressions.definitions, and org.eclipse.ui.views. It also uses
the Teamcenter com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp.application extension.
Use the Eclipse plug-in create wizard to create the plug-in. Add packages and
classes as needed and copy and paste the class and plugin.xml file content from the
following steps. If you use the same names, you can cut and paste; otherwise, edit
your Java files and plugin.xml file using the following steps as a guide.
1. Create the project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Click Next.

c. In the New Plug-in Project wizard Plug-in Project dialog box, type
com.mycom.customapp in the Project name box. Click Next.

d. In the New Plug-in Project wizard Content dialog box, do the following:
A. Under Options, ensure the This plug-in will make contributions to the
UI check box is selected.

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 Sample customizations

B. Click the No button next to Would you like to create a rich client
application?.

C. Click Next.

e. Clear the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box. Click
Finish.

2. Update the project tabs.

a. Click the Overview tab and select the This plug-in is a singleton check box.

b. Click the Dependencies tab, click the Add button, and select the
com.teamcenter.rac.kernel plug-in.

3. Create the project files.

a. Create the following:
• The com.mycom.customapp.perspectives package and the
CustomPerspective class in it.
Note
To create a package, right-click the project and choose
New→Package. To create a class, right-click the package and
choose New→Class.

• The com.mycom.customapp.views package and the CustomView

class in it.

• An icons directory.
Note
To create a directory, right-click the project and choose
New→Folder.

b. Open the com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp_version.jar in the

TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory, extract all the
defaultapplication_size.png files and the pview.gif file, and
copy the files to the icons directory you just created.
The plug-in structure looks like this:

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

c. Replace the code in the Activator.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.customapp;
import org.osgi.framework.BundleContext;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.AbstractRACPlugin;
import com.teamcenter.rac.services.IAspectService;
import com.teamcenter.rac.services.IAspectUIService;
/**
* The activator class controls the plug-in life cycle
*/
public class Activator extends AbstractRACPlugin {
// The plug-in ID
public static final String PLUGIN_ID = "com.mycom.customapp";
// The shared instance
private static Activator plugin;
/**
* The constructor
*/
public Activator() {
}
/*
* (non-Javadoc)
* @see org.eclipse.ui.plugin.AbstractUIPlugin#start
* (org.osgi.framework.BundleContext)
*/
@Override
public void start(BundleContext context) throws Exception {
super.start(context);
plugin = this;
}
/*
* (non-Javadoc)
* @see org.eclipse.ui.plugin.AbstractUIPlugin#stop
* (org.osgi.framework.BundleContext)
*/
@Override
public void stop(BundleContext context) throws Exception {
plugin = null;
super.stop(context);
}
/**
* Returns the shared instance
*
* @return the shared instance
*/
public static Activator getDefault() {
return plugin;
}
@Override
public IAspectService getLogicService() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
return null;
}
@Override
public IAspectUIService getUIService() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
return null;
}
@Override
protected void setupServices(BundleContext context) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
}

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 Sample customizations

d. Replace the code in the CustomPerspective.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.customapp.perspectives;
import org.eclipse.ui.IFolderLayout;
import org.eclipse.ui.IPageLayout;
import org.eclipse.ui.IPerspectiveFactory;
public class CustomPerspective implements IPerspectiveFactory {
/** The perspective ID */
public static final String ID =
"com.mycom.customapp.perspectives.CustomPerspective";
@Override
public void createInitialLayout(IPageLayout layout) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
layout.setEditorAreaVisible(false);
String editorArea = layout.getEditorArea();
IFolderLayout top = layout.createFolder("top", IPageLayout.TOP, -2f,
editorArea);
top.addView( "com.mycom.customapp.views.CustomView" );
}
}

e. Replace the code in the CustomView.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.customapp.views;
import org.eclipse.swt.SWT;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.Font;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.FontData;
import org.eclipse.swt.layout.FillLayout;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Composite;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Text;
import org.eclipse.ui.part.ViewPart;
public class CustomView extends ViewPart {
public CustomView() {
super();
}
@Override
public void createPartControl(Composite parent) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
parent.setLayout( new FillLayout() );
Text t = new Text( parent, SWT.BORDER );
t.setBackground( parent.getDisplay().getSystemColor( SWT.COLOR_WHITE ));
t.setForeground( parent.getDisplay().getSystemColor( SWT.COLOR_BLUE ));
Font initialFont = t.getFont();
FontData[] fontData = initialFont.getFontData();
for (int i = 0; i < fontData.length; i++) {
fontData[i].setHeight(18);
}
Font newFont = new Font(parent.getDisplay(), fontData);
t.setFont( newFont );
t.setText( " Welcome to Custom Application !! ");
}
@Override
public void setFocus() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
}

f. To create an empty plugin.xml file, click the project’s Extensions tab and
click the Add button in the Extensions view, and click the Cancel button in
the New Extension dialog box.
A plugin.xml file is added to the project.

g. Click the project’s plugin.xml tab and replace the code in the plugin.xml
file with the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.5"?>
<plugin>
<extension point="com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp.application">
<aif_app_item
displayMode="Primary"
groupName="Mycompany"
icon="icons/defaultapplication_32.png"
id="com.mycom.customapp"
name="Custom Application"
ordinality="200"
perspective_id="com.mycom.customapp.perspectives.CustomPerspective"
session="com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCSession"
tooltip="Custom Application"/>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.perspectives">
<perspective

PLM00075 F Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide 2-37

Chapter 2 Sample customizations

class="com.mycom.customapp.perspectives.CustomPerspective"
icon="icons/defaultapplication_16.png"
id="com.mycom.customapp.perspectives.CustomPerspective"
name="Custom Application"/>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.views">
<view
allowMultiple="false"
class="com.mycom.customapp.views.CustomView"
icon="icons/pview.gif"
id="com.mycom.customapp.views.CustomView"
name="Custom View"/>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.core.expressions.definitions">
<definition id="com.mycom.customapp.inMainView">
<or>
<with variable="activePartId">
<equals value="com.mycom.customapp.views.CustomView" />
</with>
<with variable="arc_property.ACTIVE_APPLICATION">
<equals value="com.mycom.customapp" />
</with>
</or>
</definition>
</extension>
</plugin>

This example does not require the definitions extension; you can remove it.
It is included for reference to show how you can determine if your application
is active.

4. Choose File→Save All.

5. Verify the customization.

a. Choose Run→Run Configurations to start the rich client from your Eclipse
environment. Clear the workspace by selecting the Clear check box in the
launch configuration dialog box.
For information about how to set up Eclipse to run the rich client, see Enable
rich client customization.

b. Verify that the new Custom Application button is shown in the left-hand
navigation pane in the rich client.
Click the Custom Application button to launch the new application.

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 Sample customizations

Launching the custom application

6. Package the project.

If you want to package the project for distribution, export it to a JAR file and
place it in the TC_ROOT\portal directory.

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable

plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

PLM00075 F Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide 2-39

Chapter 2 Sample customizations

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

Add an application to the Teamcenter Send To menu

This code allows users in a different application to select an appropriate object,
choose an application from the Send To shortcut menu, and send the selected object
to the custom application.
This code creates a new application that uses the SendToHandler handler. Use
the Eclipse plug-in create wizard to create the plug-in. Add packages and classes as
needed and copy and paste the class and plugin.xml file content from the following
steps. If you use the same names, you can cut and paste; otherwise, edit your Java
files and plugin.xml file using the following steps as a guide.
1. Create the project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Click Next.

c. In the New Plug-in Project wizard Plug-in Project dialog box, type
com.mycom.sendtoapp in the Project name box. Click Next.

d. In the New Plug-in Project wizard Content dialog box, do the following:
A. Under Options, ensure the This plug-in will make contributions to the
UI check box is selected.

B. Click the No button next to Would you like to create a rich client
application?.

C. Click Next.

e. Clear the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box. Click
Finish.

2. Update the project tabs.

a. Select the Overview tab and select the This plug-in is a singleton check box.

b. Select the Dependencies tab, click the Add button, and select the following
plug-ins:
com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp
com.teamcenter.rac.kernel

3. Create the project files.

a. Create the following:
• The com.mycom.sendtoapp.perspectives package and the
CustomPerspective class in it.

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 Sample customizations

Note
To create a package, right-click the project and choose
New→Package. To create a class, right-click the package and
choose New→Class.

• The com.mycom.sendtoapp.services package and the

CustomOpenService class in it.

• The com.mycom.sendtoapp.views package and the CustomView

class in it.

• An icons directory.
Note
To create a directory, right-click the project and choose
New→Folder.

b. Open the com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp_version.jar in the

TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory, extract all the
defaultapplication_size.png files and the pview.gif file, and
copy the files to the icons directory you just created.
The plug-in structure looks like this:

c. Replace the code in the Activator.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.sendtoapp;
import org.osgi.framework.BundleContext;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.AbstractRACPlugin;
import com.teamcenter.rac.services.IAspectService;
import com.teamcenter.rac.services.IAspectUIService;
/**
* The activator class controls the plug-in life cycle
*/
public class Activator extends AbstractRACPlugin {
// The plug-in ID
public static final String PLUGIN_ID = "com.mycom.customview";
// The shared instance
private static Activator plugin;
/**
* The constructor
*/
public Activator()
{

PLM00075 F Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide 2-41

Chapter 2 Sample customizations

super();
Activator.plugin = this;
}
/*
* (non-Javadoc)
* @see org.eclipse.core.runtime.Plugins#start
* (org.osgi.framework.BundleContext)
*/
public void start(BundleContext context) throws Exception {
super.start(context);
plugin = this;
}
/*
* (non-Javadoc)
* @see org.eclipse.core.runtime.Plugin#stop
* (org.osgi.framework.BundleContext)
*/
public void stop(BundleContext context) throws Exception {
plugin = null;
super.stop(context);
}
/**
* Returns the shared instance
*
* @return the shared instance
*/
public static Activator getDefault() {
return plugin;
}
@Override
public IAspectService getLogicService() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
return null;
}
@Override
public IAspectUIService getUIService() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
return null;
}
@Override
protected void setupServices(BundleContext context) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
}

d. Replace the code in the CustomPerspective.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.sendtoapp.perspectives;
import org.eclipse.ui.IFolderLayout;
import org.eclipse.ui.IPageLayout;
import org.eclipse.ui.IPerspectiveFactory;
public class CustomPerspective implements IPerspectiveFactory {
/** The perspective ID */
public static final String ID =
"com.mycom.sendtoapp.perspectives.CustomPerspective";
@Override
public void createInitialLayout(IPageLayout layout) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
layout.setEditorAreaVisible(false);
String editorArea = layout.getEditorArea();
IFolderLayout top = layout.createFolder("top", IPageLayout.TOP, -2f,
editorArea);
top.addView( "com.mycom.sendtoapp.views.CustomView" );
}
}

e. Replace the code in the CustomOpenService.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.sendtoapp.services;
import org.eclipse.jface.dialogs.MessageDialog;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display;
import org.eclipse.ui.IWorkbenchWindow;
import org.eclipse.ui.PlatformUI;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.kernel.InterfaceAIFComponent;
import com.teamcenter.rac.services.IOpenService;
public class CustomOpenService implements IOpenService {
@Override
public boolean close() throws Exception {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
return false;
}
@Override
public boolean open(final InterfaceAIFComponent cmp) {
Display.getDefault().asyncExec( new Runnable() {
public void run() {
IWorkbenchWindow window = PlatformUI.getWorkbench()
.getActiveWorkbenchWindow();
MessageDialog

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 Sample customizations

.openInformation(window.getShell(),
"CustomOpenService",
"You sent this component to the SendTo Application: "
+ cmp.toString());
}
});
return false;
}
@Override
public boolean open(InterfaceAIFComponent[] cmps) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
return false;
}
}

f. Replace the code in the CustomView.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.sendtoapp.views;
import org.eclipse.swt.SWT;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.Font;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.FontData;
import org.eclipse.swt.layout.FillLayout;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Composite;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Text;
import org.eclipse.ui.part.ViewPart;
public class CustomView extends ViewPart {
public CustomView() {
super();
}
@Override
public void createPartControl(Composite parent) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
parent.setLayout( new FillLayout() );
Text t = new Text( parent, SWT.BORDER );
t.setBackground( parent.getDisplay().getSystemColor( SWT.COLOR_WHITE ));
t.setForeground( parent.getDisplay().getSystemColor( SWT.COLOR_BLUE ));
Font initialFont = t.getFont();
FontData[] fontData = initialFont.getFontData();
for (int i = 0; i < fontData.length; i++) {
fontData[i].setHeight(18);
}
Font newFont = new Font(parent.getDisplay(), fontData);
t.setFont( newFont );
t.setText( " Welcome to the SendTo Application !! ");
}
@Override
public void setFocus() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
}

g. To create an empty plugin.xml file, click the project’s Extensions tab and
click the Add button in the Extensions view, and click the Cancel button in
the New Extension dialog box.
A plugin.xml file is added to the project.

h. Click the project’s plugin.xml tab and replace the code in the plugin.xml
file with the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.5"?>
<plugin>
<extension point="com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp.application">
<aif_app_item
displayMode="Primary"
groupName="Mycompany"
icon="icons/defaultapplication_32.png"
id="com.mycom.sendtoapp"
name="SendTo Application"
ordinality="200"
perspective_id="com.mycom.sendtoapp.perspectives.CustomPerspective"
session="com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCSession"
tooltip="Send To Application"/>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.perspectives">
<perspective
class="com.mycom.sendtoapp.perspectives.CustomPerspective"
icon="icons/defaultapplication_16.png"
id="com.mycom.sendtoapp.perspectives.CustomPerspective"
name="SendTo Application"/>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.perspectiveExtensions">
<perspectiveExtension targetID="*">

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

<perspectiveShortcut
id="com.mycom.sendtoapp.perspectives.CustomPerspective" />
</perspectiveExtension>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.views">
<view
allowMultiple="false"
class="com.mycom.sendtoapp.views.CustomView"
icon="icons/pview.gif"
id="com.mycom.sendtoapp.views.CustomView"
name="Custom View"/>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.commands">
<command
name="SendTo Application"
id="com.mycom.sendtoapp.sendto">
</command>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.commandImages">
<command
icon="icons/defaultapplication_16.png"
id="com.mycom.sendtoapp.sendto">
</command>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.handlers">
<handler
commandId="com.mycom.sendtoapp.sendto"
class="com.teamcenter.rac.common.handlers.SendToHandler:
com.mycom.sendtoapp.perspectives.CustomPerspective">
<enabledWhen>
<iterate ifEmpty="false">
<reference definitionId="com.mycom.sendtoapp.sendToActive"/>
</iterate>
</enabledWhen>
</handler>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.menus">
<menuContribution
locationURI="popup:com.teamcenter.rac.sendto?after=additions">
<command
commandId="com.mycom.sendtoapp.sendto">
<visibleWhen>
<iterate ifEmpty="false">
<reference
definitionId="com.mycom.sendtoapp.sendToActive"/>
</iterate>
</visibleWhen>
</command>
</menuContribution>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.core.expressions.definitions">
<definition id="com.mycom.sendtoapp.sendToActive">
<and>
<adapt type="com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponent">
<not>
<adapt type="com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponent">
<test
property=
"com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponent.typeClass"
value="AllocationLine">
</test>
</adapt>
</not>
</adapt>
</and>
</definition>
<definition id="com.mycom.sendtoapp.inMainView">
<or>
<with variable="activePartId">
<equals value="com.mycom.sendtoapp.views.CustomView" />
</with>
<with variable="arc_property.ACTIVE_APPLICATION">
<equals value="com.mycom.sendtoapp" />
</with>
</or>
</definition>
</extension>
</plugin>

4. Choose File→Save All.

5. Verify the customization.

a. Choose Run→Run Configurations to start the rich client from your Eclipse
environment. Clear the workspace by selecting the Clear check box in the
launch configuration dialog box.

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 Sample customizations

For information about how to set up Eclipse to run the rich client, see Enable
rich client customization.

b. Verify that the new SendTo Application button is shown in the left-hand
navigation pane in the rich client. Click the SendTo Application button.

New SendTo application in the navigation pane

Verify that when you right-click an object that the new application is
displayed on the Send To menu.

PLM00075 F Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide 2-45

Chapter 2 Sample customizations

New SendTo application added to the Send To menu

In addition to creating an application, this solution shows how to register
a service and use the SendToHandler handler. The service is registered
in the Activator.setupServices() method. The SendToHandler handler
takes the perspective ID to open as an argument.
com.teamcenter.rac.common.handlers.SendToHandler:
com.mycom.sendtoapp.perspectives.CustomPerspective

The SendToHandler handler shows the specified perspective, gets the

registered OpenService service, then calls the OpenService.open()
method. In this implementation, the CustomOpenService service displays
a message indicating the object that was sent to the SendTo Application
application.
Each application determines if it wants to contribute to the Send To menu,
when it is active (that is when objects can be sent to it), and what to do
when an object is sent to it.

6. Package the project.

If you want to package the project for distribution, export it to a JAR file and
place it in the TC_ROOT\portal directory.

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable

plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.

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When the script is finished, a new

TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

Override Teamcenter commands

The existing Teamcenter commands can be overridden by custom commands.
For example, the command used for the File→New→Item menu can be overridden.
In the following example, when a folder is selected and the user chooses
File→New→Item, a message dialog box is displayed.
1. Create the project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Click Next.

c. In the New Plug-in Project wizard Plug-in Project dialog box, type
com.mycom.myitem in the Project name box. Click Next.

d. In the New Plug-in Project wizard Content dialog box, do the following:
A. Under Options, ensure the This plug-in will make contributions to the
UI check box is selected.

B. Click the No button next to Would you like to create a rich client
application?.

C. Click Next.

e. Ensure the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box is
selected and select Hello, World Command in the list. Click Finish.

2. Update the project tabs.

a. Click the Overview tab and select the This plug-in is a singleton check box.

b. Click the Dependencies tab, click the Add button, and select the following
plug-ins:

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp
com.teamcenter.rac.common
com.teamcenter.rac.kernel
com.teamcenter.rac.util

c. Click the Runtime tab, click the Add button, and select the following:
com.mycom.myitem
com.mycom.myitem.handlers

3. Create the project files.

a. Under the com.mycom.myitem.handlers package, select the
SampleHandler.java file, choose File→Rename, and change the name to
MyItemHandler.java.

b. Replace the code in the MyItemHandler.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.myitem.handlers;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.AbstractHandler;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionEvent;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionException;
import org.eclipse.ui.IWorkbenchWindow;
import org.eclipse.ui.handlers.HandlerUtil;
import org.eclipse.jface.dialogs.MessageDialog;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.Registry;
/**
* MyItemHandler extends AbstractHandler, an IHandler base class.
* @see org.eclipse.core.commands.IHandler
* @see org.eclipse.core.commands.AbstractHandler
*/
public class MyItemHandler extends AbstractHandler {
/**
* The constructor.
*/
private Registry reg ;
public MyItemHandler() {
}
/**
* the command has been executed, so extract extract the needed information
* from the application context.
*/
public Object execute(ExecutionEvent event) throws ExecutionException {
IWorkbenchWindow window = HandlerUtil.getActiveWorkbenchWindowChecked(event);
reg = Registry.getRegistry(this);
MessageDialog.openInformation(
window.getShell(),
reg.getString("MessageDialogBox.TITLE"),
reg.getString("MessageDialogBox.MESSAGE"));
return null;
}
}

c. Right-click the com.mycom.myitem.handlers package, choose New→File,

and create a handlers.properties file with the following content:
MessageDialogBox.TITLE=My Item
MessageDialogBox.MESSAGE=Hello,NewItem

d. Click the plugin.xml tab and replace the code in the plugin.xml file with
the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.4"?>
<plugin>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.commands">
<category
name="Sample Category"

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id="com.mycom.myitem.commands.category">
</category>
<command
name="Sample Command"
categoryId="com.mycom.myitem.commands.category"
id="com.mycom.myitem.commands.sampleCommand">
</command>
</extension>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.handlers">
<handler
commandId="com.mycom.myitem.commands.sampleCommand"
class="com.mycom.myitem.handlers.MyItemHandler">
</handler>
</extension>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.handlers">
<handler
commandId="com.teamcenter.rac.newItem"
class="com.mycom.myitem.handlers.MyItemHandler">
<activeWhen>
<iterate
ifEmpty="false">
<and>
<adapt
type="com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponent">
<test
property="com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponent.typeClass"
value="Folder">
</test>
</adapt>
</and>
</iterate>
</activeWhen>
</handler>
</extension>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.bindings">
<key
commandId="com.mycom.myitem.commands.sampleCommand"
contextId="org.eclipse.ui.contexts.window"
sequence="M1+6"
schemeId="org.eclipse.ui.defaultAcceleratorConfiguration">
</key>
</extension>
</plugin>

e. Choose File→Save All.

4. Package the project.

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable
plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

5. Verify the customization.

a. Choose Run→Run Configurations to start the rich client from your Eclipse
environment. Clear the workspace by selecting the Clear check box in the
launch configuration dialog box.
For information about how to set up Eclipse to run the rich client, see Enable
rich client customization.

b. Select any folder and choose File→New→Item.

The message dialog box appears.

Message box resulting from the command override

c. Ensure that no folder is selected (for example, click the Details tab) and
choose File→New→Item.
The new item dialog box appears normally.

Create a custom Java form assigned to the ItemRevisionMaster form

You can create a custom Java form assigned to the ItemRevisionMaster form.
In this example, when a user chooses File→New→Item to launch the New Item
dialog box for a custom Item business object, a new form is displayed on the Define
additional item revision information page of the wizard.
The sample code uses the getRenderingModified, isRenderingModified, and
setValues methods. These methods ensure the values are copied from the New
Item wizard to the form. These methods also ensure that values on the new form
are copied to the new master forms if a save as or revise is performed on the item
revision.
1. Create a custom item business object.
a. In the Business Modeler IDE, create a custom item business object as a child
of the Item business object, for example, A5_MyItem.
For more information about how to use the Business Modeler IDE, see the
Business Modeler IDE Guide.

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Note
The A5_ portion of the name is an example of a naming prefix. When
you create a Business Modeler IDE project, you are required to define
a unique prefix that will be affixed to the name of all custom data
model items you create to show that they belong to your custom data
model. You can use your own prefix, but remember that the following
coding examples use this example prefix.

b. Deploy the new custom item business object from the Business Modeler IDE
to your Teamcenter server.

c. After deployment, test your new business object in the Teamcenter rich
client by creating an instance of it.
For example, in the My Teamcenter application, choose File→New→Item.
Your new business object appears in the New Item dialog box. Choose your
new business object and launch the New Item wizard.
Observe the boxes on the Define additional item revision information page.
These are provided by the item revision master form. In the following steps,
you are going to create your own custom form to replace it and to provide
different boxes on this page.

2. Create the Eclipse project.

a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Click Next.

c. In the Project name box, type com.mycom.masterform. Clear the text in

the Source folder box. Click Next.

d. Under Options, ensure the Generate an activator and This plug-in will make
contributions to the UI check boxes are selected. Click Next.

e. Clear the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box. Click
Finish.

3. Update the project tabs.

a. Update the Dependencies tab.
A. In Eclipse, click your project tab and click its Dependencies tab.

B. Under Required Plug-ins, click the Add button.

C. Select the following plug-ins from the list by holding down the Ctrl key
while you click them:
• com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp

• com.teamcenter.rac.common

• com.teamcenter.rac.external

• com.teamcenter.rac.kernel

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

• com.teamcenter.rac.neva

• com.teamcenter.rac.tcapps

• com.teamcenter.rac.util

D. Click OK.

b. Update the Runtime tab.

A. Click your project’s Runtime tab.

B. Under Exported Packages, click the Add button.

C. Select your project and click OK.

c. Update the Extensions tab.

A. Click your project’s Extensions tab.

B. Click the Add button.

C. Select the com.teamcenter.rac.util.tc_properties extension point and

the com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp.ActionSetAIFApplicationAssociation
extension point.

D. Click Finish.

d. Click the plugin.xml tab and replace the contents of the file with the
following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.2"?>
<plugin>
<extension point="com.teamcenter.rac.util.tc_properties">
<plugin_properties pluginName="com.mycom.masterform"/>
</extension>
<extension point="com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp.ActionSetAIFApplicationAssociation">
</extension>
</plugin>

e. Save the project by choosing File→Save All.

4. Create the project files.

a. Create the custom item revision master form.
A. Right-click the com.mycom.masterform package and choose
New→File.

B. In the File Name box, type A5_MyItemMaster.java and click Finish.

C. Open the A5_MyItemMaster.java file and enter the following code:

package com.mycom.masterform;
import com.teamcenter.rac.stylesheet.AbstractRendering;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponentForm;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCException;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCProperty;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.MessageBox;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.PropertyLayout;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.VerticalLayout;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;
import javax.swing.JLabel;

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import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
public class A5_MyItemMaster extends AbstractRendering
{
/**
*
*/
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
private JTextField data1_jtextfield;
private JTextField data2_jtextfield;
private TCProperty data1_tcproperty;
private TCProperty data2_tcproperty;
private TCComponentForm form;
public A5_MyItemMaster( TCComponentForm c)throws Exception
{
super ( c );
form = c;
loadRendering();
}
@Override
public void loadRendering() throws TCException
{
initializeUI();
data1_tcproperty = form.getFormTCProperty("user_data_1");
data2_tcproperty = form.getFormTCProperty("user_data_2");
data1_jtextfield.setText(data1_tcproperty.getStringValue());
data2_jtextfield.setText(data2_tcproperty.getStringValue());
}

@Override
public void saveRendering()
{
try
{
data1_tcproperty.setStringValueData(data1_jtextfield.getText() );
data2_tcproperty.setStringValueData(data2_jtextfield.getText() );
TCProperty[] ps = new TCProperty[2];
ps[0] = data1_tcproperty;
ps[1] = data2_tcproperty;
form.setTCProperties(ps);
}
catch ( TCException ex )
{
MessageBox.post(ex.getMessage(), null, MessageBox.ERROR);
}
}
@Override
public boolean isRenderingModified()
{
if( data1_tcproperty != null && !data1_jtextfield.getText().equals( data1_tcproperty.getStringValue() ) )
{
return true;
}
if( data2_tcproperty != null && !data2_jtextfield.getText().equals( data2_tcproperty.getStringValue() ) )
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
@Override
public Map getRenderingModified ()
{
Map modifiedRendering = new HashMap<String, Object> ();
if( data1_tcproperty != null && !data1_jtextfield.getText().equals( data1_tcproperty.getStringValue() ) )
{
data1_tcproperty.setStringValueData(data1_jtextfield.getText() );
modifiedRendering.put( "user_data_1", data1_tcproperty );
}
if( data2_tcproperty != null && !data2_jtextfield.getText().equals( data2_tcproperty.getStringValue() ) )
{
data2_tcproperty.setStringValueData( data2_jtextfield.getText() );
modifiedRendering.put( "user_data_2", data2_tcproperty );
}
return modifiedRendering;

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

}
private void initializeUI()
{
setLayout ( new VerticalLayout() );
JPanel mainPanel = new JPanel( new PropertyLayout());
mainPanel.setOpaque(false);
mainPanel.setEnabled(false);
// Create all the text fields
data1_jtextfield = new JTextField(15);
data2_jtextfield = new JTextField(15);
//Add components to Panel
mainPanel.add("1.1.right.center",new JLabel("User Data One"));
mainPanel.add("1.2.left.center", data1_jtextfield);
mainPanel.add("2.1.right.center",new JLabel("User Data Two"));
mainPanel.add("2.2.left.center", data2_jtextfield);
add("unbound.bind", mainPanel);
}
}

b. Create a style sheet property file to render the new form.

A. In Package Explorer, right-click your project and choose New→Package.

B. In the Name box, type com.teamcenter.rac.stylesheet. This is the path

name where rich client style sheet files are located.

C. Click Finish.

D. Right-click the com.teamcenter.rac.stylesheet package and choose

New→File.

E. In the File Name box, type stylesheet_user.properties and click Finish.

This file adds content to the stylesheet.properties file. The _user name
in the file indicates that this is a custom file provided by a user.

F. Open the stylesheet_user.properties file and enter the following line:

A5_MyItemRevisionMaster.FORMJAVARENDERING=
com.mycom.masterform.A5_MyItemMaster

c. Save the new files by choosing File→Save All.

5. Package the project.

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable
plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.

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 Sample customizations

Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

6. Verify the customization.

a. In the rich client, choose File→New→Item and select the new custom item
type (for example, A5_MyItem), and click Next.

b. Assign the new item an ID and name and click Next.

c. Click Next on the Define additional item information page.

d. On the Define additional item revision information page, you should see
your new item revision master form.

Custom form in the item creation wizard

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

Localize your customizations

You can localize (present in different languages) the rich client by either modifying
the plugin.xml file or the application_locale.properties file. Modifying the
properties file was used prior to Teamcenter 2007 and is still supported. However,
if you are creating a localization of a new custom project, modify the Eclipse
plug-in.xml file.
For more information about localization, see the Localization Guide.
1. Create the project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Then click Next.

c. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Plug-in Project pane, type
com.mycom.l10n in the Project name box. Click Next.

d. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Content pane, do the following:
A. Under Options, ensure the This plug-in will make contributions to the
UI check box is selected.

B. Click the No button next to Would you like to create a rich client
application?.

C. Click Next.

e. Ensure the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box is
selected and select Hello, World Command in the list. Click Finish.

2. Create the project files.

a. Add the following line to the end of the MANIFEST.MF file:
Bundle-Localization: plugin

The MANIFEST.MF file should appear as follows:

Manifest-Version: 1.0
Bundle-ManifestVersion: 2
Bundle-Name: L10n
Bundle-SymbolicName: com.mycom.l10n; singleton:=true
Bundle-Version: 1.0.0.qualifier
Bundle-Activator: com.mycom.l10n.Activator
Bundle-Vendor: MYCOM
Require-Bundle: org.eclipse.ui,
org.eclipse.core.runtime
Bundle-RequiredExecutionEnvironment: JavaSE-1.6
Bundle-ActivationPolicy: lazy
Bundle-Localization: plugin

b. Create a plugin.properties file in the com.mycom.l10n project by

selecting the project and choosing File→New→File.
The empty plugin.properties file appears directly under the
com.mycom.l10n project at the same level as the plugin.xml file.

c. Add the following name/value pairs to the plugin.properties file:

myMenuitem.label=My Hello world
myTooltip.tip=My Say hello world
myCommand.name=My Command

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d. Edit the plugin.xml file replacing hard coded values with %keyname for the
name/value pairs you typed in the plugin.properties file. For example:
label="%myMenuitem.label"

The plugin.xml file should appear as follows:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.5"?>
<plugin>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.commands">
<category
name="Sample Category"
id="com.mycom.l10n.commands.category">
</category>
<command
name="%myCommand.name"
categoryId="com.mycom.l10n.commands.category"
id="com.mycom.l10n.commands.sampleCommand">
</command>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.handlers">
<handler
commandId="com.mycom.l10n.commands.sampleCommand"
class="com.mycom.l10n.handlers.SampleHandler">
</handler>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.bindings">
<key
commandId="com.mycom.l10n.commands.sampleCommand"
contextId="org.eclipse.ui.contexts.window"
sequence="M1+6"
schemeId="org.eclipse.ui.defaultAcceleratorConfiguration">
</key>
</extension>
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.menus">
<menuContribution
locationURI="menu:org.eclipse.ui.main.menu?after=additions">
<menu
label="%myMenuitem.label"
mnemonic="M"
id="com.mycom.l10n.menus.sampleMenu">
<command
commandId="com.mycom.l10n.commands.sampleCommand"
mnemonic="S"
icon="icons/sample.gif"
id="com.mycom.l10n.menus.sampleCommand">
</command>
</menu>
</menuContribution>
<menuContribution
locationURI="toolbar:org.eclipse.ui.main.toolbar?after=additions">
<toolbar
id="com.mycom.l10n.toolbars.sampleToolbar">
<command
commandId="com.mycom.l10n.commands.sampleCommand"
icon="icons/sample.gif"
tooltip="%myTooltip.tip"
id="com.mycom.l10n.toolbars.sampleCommand">
</command>
</toolbar>
</menuContribution>
</extension>
</plugin>

e. Add a Spanish localization by creating a plugin_es.properties file at the

same level as the plugin.properties file. The keys are identical in the
plugin_es.properties file but have Spanish values.
myMenuitem.label=Mi Hola mundo
myTooltip.tip=Mi para Decir hola mundo
myCommand.name=Mi Orden

3. Verify the customization thus far.

a. Create a new configuration for the Spanish locale by choosing Run→Run
Configurations (or Run→Debug Configurations) and specifying -nl es
instead of -nl ${target.nl} on the Arguments tab. For example:
-os ${target.os} -ws ${target.ws} -arch ${target.arch} -nl es

For information about how to set up Eclipse to run the rich client, see Enable
rich client customization.

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

b. To verify the configuration so far, choose Run→Run Configurations to start

the rich client from your Eclipse environment. Clear the workspace by
selecting the Clear check box in the launch configuration dialog box.

c. Choose Mi Hola Mundo→Mi Orden to run the custom command.

Choosing the custom menu command in the Spanish user interface

However, the message displayed by the custom command is not localized
(translated).

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 Sample customizations

Untranslated custom message box

The message should also be localized.

4. Localize the message.

a. In Eclipse, choose Source→Externalize Strings.
This creates the Messages.java and messages.properties files in the
com.mycom.l10n.handlers package.

b. Create a messages_es.properties file at the same level as the

messages.properties file, and add the following content to the new file:
SampleHandler_0=L10n
SampleHandler_1=Hola, mundo de Eclipse

5. Verify the customization.

a. Choose Run→Run Configurations and choose the Spanish locale to start the
rich client from your Eclipse environment. Clear the workspace by selecting
the Clear check box in the launch configuration dialog box.

b. Choose Mi Hola Mundo→Mi Orden to run the custom command.

The localized message is displayed.

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

Translated custom message box

For more information about localizing Eclipse plug-ins, see the Eclipse
documentation. Also, you can unzip any of the Teamcenter plug-ins to
see how the rich client uses localization. The plugin.properties and
plugin.xml files in the aifrcp plug-in are good examples.

6. Package the project.

If you want to package the project for distribution, export it to a JAR file and
place it in the TC_ROOT\portal directory.

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable

plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.

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Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

Miscellaneous customizations
Miscellaneous customizations are not customizations you perform often, but
fill a specific need. Samples show how to perform these less-frequently used
customizations.

Add a command to a menu or toolbar in a view

You can add a command to a toolbar or menu in a view. To illustrate the process, this
example adds the exit command to My Teamcenter as a button on the Details view
toolbar and as a command on the view menu.
1. Create the project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Then click Next.

c. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Plug-in Project pane, type
com.mycom.exitcommand in the Project name box. Click Next.

d. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Content pane, do the following:
A. Under Options, ensure the This plug-in will make contributions to the
UI check box is selected.

B. Click the No button next to Would you like to create a rich client
application?.

C. Click Next.

e. Ensure the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box is
selected and select Hello, World Command in the list. Click Finish.

2. Update the project tabs.

Click the Runtime tab, click the Add button, and select the following:

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

com.mycom.exitcommand
com.mycom.exitcommand.handlers

3. Edit the project files.

a. Edit the com.mycom.exitcommand plug-in’s plugin.xml file to place
the menu command on the Details view. Replace the entire contents of the
plugin.xml file with the following code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.4"?>
<plugin>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.commands">
<category
name="Sample Category"
id="com.teamcenter.rac.exit.commands.category">
</category>
<command
name="Sample Command"
categoryId="com.mycom.exitcommand.commands.category"
id="com.mycom.exitcommand.commands.sampleCommand">
</command>
<command
defaultHandler="com.mycom.exitcommand.handlers.SampleHandler"
id="com.mycom.exitcommand.command1.Exit"
name="Exit">
</command>
</extension>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.handlers">
<handler
commandId="com.mycom.exitcommand.commands.sampleCommand"
class="com.mycom.exitcommand.handlers.SampleHandler">
</handler>
</extension>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.bindings">
<key
commandId="com.mycom.exitcommand.commands.sampleCommand"
contextId="org.eclipse.ui.contexts.window"
sequence="M1+6"
schemeId="org.eclipse.ui.defaultAcceleratorConfiguration">
</key>
</extension>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.menus">
<menuContribution
locationURI="menu:com.teamcenter.rac.ui.views.DetailsView?after=group4">
<menu
id="closeMenu"
label="Close">
<command
commandId="com.mycom.exitcommand.command1.Exit"
label="Exit"
style="push"
tooltip="Exit the application">
</command>
</menu>
</menuContribution>
<menuContribution
locationURI="toolbar:com.teamcenter.rac.ui.views.DetailsView">
<toolbar
id="com.mycom.exitcommand.toolbar1">
<command
commandId="com.mycom.exitcommand.command1.Exit"
icon="icons/sample.gif"
label="Exit"
style="push"
tooltip="Exit the application">
</command>
</toolbar>
<command
commandId="com.mycom.exitcommand.command1.Exit"
icon="icons/sample.gif"
label="Exit"
style="push"
tooltip="Exit the application">
</command>
</menuContribution>
</extension>
</plugin>

b. Replace the code in the SampleHandler.java file with the following:

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 Sample customizations

package com.mycom.exitcommand.handlers;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.AbstractHandler;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionEvent;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionException;
import org.eclipse.ui.handlers.HandlerUtil;

/**
* Our sample handler extends AbstractHandler, an IHandler base class.
* @see org.eclipse.core.commands.IHandler
* @see org.eclipse.core.commands.AbstractHandler
*/
public class SampleHandler extends AbstractHandler {
/**
* The constructor.
*/
public SampleHandler() {
}
/**
* the command has been executed, so extract extract the needed information
* from the application context.
*/
public Object execute(ExecutionEvent event) throws ExecutionException {
HandlerUtil.getActiveWorkbenchWindow(event).close();
return null;
}
}

c. Choose File→Save All.

4. Package the project.

To package the project for distribution, export it to a JAR file and place it in the
TC_ROOT\portal directory.

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable

plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

5. Verify the customization.

a. Launch My Teamcenter and click the Details view tab.

The exit command button is displayed on the toolbar of the view.

Exit command button on the view toolbar

Do not click the button to exit Teamcenter. You must first verify the new exit
command on the view menu.

b. Click the menu button on the toolbar.

Menu button on the view toolbar

c. Choose Close→Exit on the menu to exit Teamcenter.

Exit command on the view menu

Although this example shows how to add an exit command, you can use this
process to add your own custom command to a view toolbar and menu.

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Add a table viewer

You can create a table in its own dialog window and add a menu command to launch
it.
1. Create the project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Then click Next.

c. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Plug-in Project pane, type
com.mycom.tableviewer in the Project name box. Click Next.

d. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Content pane, do the following:
A. Under Options, ensure the This plug-in will make contributions to the
UI check box is selected.

B. Click the No button next to Would you like to create a rich client
application?.

C. Click Next.

e. Ensure the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box is
selected and select Hello, World Command in the list. Click Finish.

2. Update the project tabs.

a. Click the Dependencies tab, click the Add button, and select the following:
com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp
com.teamcenter.rac.common
com.teamcenter.rac.kernel
com.teamcenter.rac.util

b. Click the Runtime tab, click the Add button, and select the following:
com.mycom.tableviewer
com.mycom.tableviewer.handlers

3. Create the project files.

a. Edit the com.mycom.tableviewer plug-in’s plugin.xml file. Replace the
entire contents of the plugin.xml file with the following code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.4"?>
<plugin>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.commands">
<category
name="Sample Category"
id="com.mycom.tableviewer.commands.category">
</category>
<command
name="Sample Command"
categoryId="com.mycom.tableviewer.commands.category"
id="com.mycom.tableviewer.commands.sampleCommand">
</command>
</extension>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.handlers">
<handler
commandId="com.mycom.tableviewer.commands.sampleCommand"
class="com.mycom.tableviewer.handlers.TableViewerHandler">
</handler>

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</extension>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.bindings">
<key
commandId="com.mycom.tableviewer.commands.sampleCommand"
contextId="org.eclipse.ui.contexts.window"
sequence="M1+6"
schemeId="org.eclipse.ui.defaultAcceleratorConfiguration">
</key>
</extension>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.menus">
<menuContribution
locationURI="menu:org.eclipse.ui.main.menu?after=additions">
<menu
label="Viewer"
mnemonic="V"
id="com.mycom.tableviewer.menus.sampleMenu">
<command
commandId="com.mycom.tableviewer.commands.sampleCommand"
id="com.mycom.tableviewer.menus.sampleCommand"
label="TableViewer"
mnemonic="T">
<visibleWhen>
<reference
definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.ui.inMainPerspective">
</reference>
</visibleWhen>
</command>
</menu>
</menuContribution>
<menuContribution
locationURI="toolbar:org.eclipse.ui.main.toolbar?after=additions">
<toolbar
id="com.mycom.tableviewer.toolbars.sampleToolbar">
<command
commandId="com.mycom.tableviewer.commands.sampleCommand"
icon="icons/sample.gif"
id="com.mycom.tableviewer.toolbars.sampleCommand"
label="TableViewer"
tooltip="Explore Tableviewer">
</command>
</toolbar>
</menuContribution>
</extension>
</plugin>

b. Open the com.mycom.tableviewer.handlers package, select the

SampleHandler.java file, choose File→Rename, and rename the file to
TableViewerHandler.java.
Replace the contents of the TableViewerHandler.java file with the following:
package com.mycom.tableviewer.handlers;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.AbstractHandler;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionEvent;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionException;
/**
* Our TableViewerHandler extends AbstractHandler
* @see org.eclipse.core.commands.AbstractHandler
*/
public class TableViewerHandler extends AbstractHandler {
/**
* The constructor.
*/
public TableViewerHandler() {
}
/**
* the command has been executed, so extract extract the needed information
* from the application context.
*/
public Object execute(ExecutionEvent event) throws ExecutionException {
return new TableViewerExample();
}
}

c. Right-click the com.mycom.tableviewer.handlers package, choose

New→Class, and add the following Java files:
Row.java
TableContentProvider.java

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 Sample customizations

TableLabelProvider.java
TableViewerExample.java

d. Replace the contents of the Row.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.tableviewer.handlers;
public class Row {
private String key;
private String value;
public Row(String key, String value) {
setKey(key);
setValue(value);
}
public void setKey(String key) {
this.key = key;
}
public String getKey() {
return key;
}
public void setValue(String value) {
this.value = value;
}
public String getValue() {
return value;
}
}

e. Replace the contents of the TableContentProvider.java file with the

following:
package com.mycom.tableviewer.handlers;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.IStructuredContentProvider;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.Viewer;
public class TableContentProvider implements IStructuredContentProvider {
public Object[] getElements(Object parent) {
List results = new ArrayList();
if (parent instanceof ArrayList) {
results = (ArrayList) parent;
}
return results.toArray();
}
public void dispose() {
}
public void inputChanged(Viewer viewer, Object oldInput, Object newInput) {
}
}

f. Replace the contents of the TableLabelProvider.java file with the

following:
package com.mycom.tableviewer.handlers;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.ITableLabelProvider;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.LabelProvider;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.Image;
public class TableLabelProvider extends LabelProvider implements
ITableLabelProvider {
public Image getColumnImage(Object element, int columnIndex) {
return null;
}
public String getColumnText(Object element, int columnIndex) {
Row row = (Row) element;
switch (columnIndex) {
case 0:
return row.getKey();
case 1:
return row.getValue();
}

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

return null;
}
}

g. Replace the contents of the TableViewerExample.java file with the

following:
package com.mycom.tableviewer.handlers;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.List;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.CellEditor;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.ColumnWeightData;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.ICellModifier;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.ISelection;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.IStructuredSelection;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.TableLayout;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.TableViewer;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.TextCellEditor;
import org.eclipse.swt.SWT;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.SelectionAdapter;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.SelectionEvent;
import org.eclipse.swt.layout.FillLayout;
import org.eclipse.swt.layout.GridData;
import org.eclipse.swt.layout.GridLayout;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Button;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Composite;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Control;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Shell;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Table;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.TableColumn;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.TableItem;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.AbstractAIFDialog;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.Registry;
/**
* This is an example program showing how to use a TableViewer
*/
public class TableViewerExample {
private Table table;
private TableViewer tableViewer;
/** class registry */
private final static Registry reg =
Registry.getRegistry( TableViewerExample.class );

private final static String[] COLUMN_HEADINGS =

{ reg.getString( "Object"),reg.getString( "Type" )};
public TableViewerExample() {
createTableViewerExample();
}
private void createTableViewerExample() {
Shell shell = new Shell(SWT.SHELL_TRIM);
shell.setImage( Registry.getRegistry(
AbstractAIFDialog.class ).getImage(
"aifDesktop.ICON" ) );
shell.setText(reg.getString("details"));
shell.setLayout(new FillLayout());
createContents(shell);
shell.setSize(400, 400);
shell.open();
while (!shell.isDisposed()) {
if (!Display.getDefault().readAndDispatch())
Display.getDefault().sleep();
}
}
protected Control createContents(Composite parent) {
final Composite composite = new Composite(parent, SWT.NONE);
GridLayout layout = new GridLayout(1, false);
layout.verticalSpacing = 10;
composite.setLayout(layout);
GridData data = new GridData(GridData.FILL_BOTH);
data.grabExcessHorizontalSpace = true;
composite.setLayoutData(data);
table = new Table(composite, SWT.BORDER | SWT.V_SCROLL | SWT.MULTI
| SWT.FULL_SELECTION);

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table.setLinesVisible(true);
table.setHeaderVisible(true);
data = new GridData(SWT.FILL, SWT.FILL, true, false);
data.heightHint = 300;
table.setLayoutData(data);
TableLayout tableLayout = new TableLayout();
table.setLayout(tableLayout);
tableLayout.addColumnData(new ColumnWeightData(10, 50, true));
TableColumn column = new TableColumn(table, SWT.NONE);
column.setText(COLUMN_HEADINGS[0]);
column.setAlignment(SWT.LEFT);
tableLayout.addColumnData(new ColumnWeightData(15, 200, true));
column = new TableColumn(table, SWT.NONE);
column.setText(COLUMN_HEADINGS[1]);
column.setAlignment(SWT.LEFT);
tableViewer = new TableViewer(table);
tableViewer.setColumnProperties(COLUMN_HEADINGS);
tableViewer.setContentProvider(new TableContentProvider());
tableViewer.setLabelProvider(new TableLabelProvider());
CellEditor[] editors = new CellEditor[2];
editors[0] = new TextCellEditor(table);
editors[1] = new TextCellEditor(table);
tableViewer.setCellEditors(editors);
tableViewer.setCellModifier(new TableCellModifier());
Composite buttonComposite = new Composite(composite, SWT.NONE);
FillLayout fillLayout = new FillLayout(SWT.HORIZONTAL);
fillLayout.spacing = 10;
buttonComposite.setLayout(fillLayout);
Button addButton = new Button(buttonComposite, SWT.PUSH);
addButton.setText(reg.getString("Add"));
addButton.addSelectionListener(new SelectionAdapter() {
public void widgetSelected(SelectionEvent e) {
Row row = new Row("", "");
tableViewer.add(row);
table.setTopIndex(table.getItemCount());
table.select(table.getItemCount() - 1);
tableViewer.editElement(row, 0);
}
});
Button deleteButton = new Button(buttonComposite, SWT.PUSH);
deleteButton.setText(reg.getString("Delete"));
deleteButton.addSelectionListener(new SelectionAdapter() {
public void widgetSelected(SelectionEvent e) {
ISelection selection = tableViewer.getSelection();
if (selection instanceof IStructuredSelection) {
Iterator iterator = ((IStructuredSelection) selection)
.iterator();
while (iterator.hasNext()) {
Object obj = iterator.next();
tableViewer.remove(obj);
}
}
}
});
Button closeButton = new Button(buttonComposite, SWT.PUSH);
closeButton.setText(reg.getString("Close"));
closeButton.addSelectionListener(new SelectionAdapter() {
public void widgetSelected(SelectionEvent e) {
composite.getParent().dispose();
}
});
return composite;
}
class TableCellModifier implements ICellModifier {
public boolean canModify(Object element, String property) {
return true;
}
public Object getValue(Object element, String property) {
Object result = null;
Row row = (Row) element;
List<String> list = Arrays.asList(COLUMN_HEADINGS);
int columnIndex = list.indexOf(property);
switch (columnIndex) {
case 0:
result = row.getKey();

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

break;
case 1:
result = row.getValue();
break;
}
return result;
}
public void modify(Object element, String property, Object value) {
List<String> list = Arrays.asList(COLUMN_HEADINGS);
int columnIndex = list.indexOf(property);
TableItem tableItem = (TableItem) element;
Row row = (Row) tableItem.getData();
switch (columnIndex) {
case 0:
String key = (String) value;
if (key.length() > 0) {
row.setKey(key);
}
break;
case 1:
String v = (String) value;
if (v.length() > 0) {
row.setValue(v);
}
break;
}
tableViewer.update(row, null);
}
}

h. Right-click the com.mycom.tableviewer.handlers package, choose

New→File, and add a handlers.properties file.
Replace the contents of the handlers.properties file with the following:
Object=Object
Type=Type
details=Details
Add=Add
Delete=Delete
Close=Close

i. Choose File→Save All.

4. Package the project.

To package the project for distribution, export it to a JAR file and place it in the
TC_ROOT\portal directory.

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable

plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.

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 Sample customizations

Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

5. Verify the customization.

a. Launch My Teamcenter and choose Viewer→TableViewer on the menu bar,
or click the Explore TableViewer button on the toolbar.

TableViewer menu command

TableViewer button

b. In the Details dialog box, click the Add button to add a line to the table, or
click the Delete button to remove a line.

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

TableViewer dialog box

Add a tree viewer

You can create a tree in its own dialog window and add a menu command to launch
it. This example displays a file explorer tree that reads the contents of the hard disk.
By default, this example reads the C:\ drive on Windows systems. To read the /user
drive on UNIX systems, change code in the Explorer.java file.
1. Create the project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Then click Next.

c. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Plug-in Project pane, type
com.mycom.treeviewer in the Project name box. Click Next.

d. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Content pane, do the following:
A. Under Options, ensure the This plug-in will make contributions to the
UI check box is selected.

B. Click the No button next to Would you like to create a rich client
application?.

C. Click Next.

e. Ensure the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box is
selected and select Hello, World Command in the list. Click Finish.

2. Update the project tabs.

a. Click the Dependencies tab, click the Add button, and select the following:
com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp
com.teamcenter.rac.common
com.teamcenter.rac.kernel

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 Sample customizations

com.teamcenter.rac.util

b. Click the Runtime tab, click the Add button, and select the following:
com.mycom.treeviewer
com.mycom.treeviewer.handlers

3. Create the project files.

a. Edit the com.mycom.treeviewer plug-in’s plugin.xml file. Replace the
entire contents of the plugin.xml file with the following code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.4"?>
<plugin>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.commands">
<category
name="Sample Category"
id="com.mycom.treeviewer.commands.category">
</category>
<command
name="Sample Command"
categoryId="com.mycom.treeviewer.commands.category"
id="com.mycom.treeviewer.commands.sampleCommand">
</command>
</extension>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.handlers">
<handler
commandId="com.mycom.treeviewer.commands.sampleCommand"
class="com.mycom.treeviewer.handlers.TreeViewerHandler">
</handler>
</extension>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.bindings">
<key
commandId="com.mycom.treeviewer.commands.sampleCommand"
contextId="org.eclipse.ui.contexts.window"
sequence="M1+6"
schemeId="org.eclipse.ui.defaultAcceleratorConfiguration">
</key>
</extension>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.menus">
<menuContribution
locationURI="menu:org.eclipse.ui.main.menu?after=additions">
<menu
label="Viewer"
mnemonic="V"
id="com.mycom.treeviewer.menus.sampleMenu">
<command
commandId="com.mycom.treeviewer.commands.sampleCommand"
id="com.mycom.treeviewer.menus.sampleCommand"
label="TreeViewer"
mnemonic="T"
tooltip="Explore Treeviewer">
<visibleWhen>
<reference
definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.ui.inMainPerspective">
</reference>
</visibleWhen>
</command>
</menu>
</menuContribution>
<menuContribution
locationURI="toolbar:org.eclipse.ui.main.toolbar?after=additions">
<toolbar
id="com.mycom.treeviewer.toolbars.sampleToolbar">
<command
commandId="com.mycom.treeviewer.commands.sampleCommand"
icon="icons/sample.gif"
id="com.mycom.treeviewer.toolbars.sampleCommand"
label="TreeViewer"
tooltip="Explore Treeviewer">
</command>
</toolbar>
</menuContribution>
</extension>
</plugin>

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b. Open the com.mycom.treeviewer.handlers package, select the

SampleHandler.java file, choose File→Rename, and rename the file to
TreeViewerHandler.java.
Replace the contents of the TreeViewerHandler.java file with the following:
package com.mycom.treeviewer.handlers;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.AbstractHandler;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionEvent;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionException;
/**
* TreeViewerHandler extends AbstractHandler, an IHandler base class.
* @see org.eclipse.core.commands.IHandler
* @see org.eclipse.core.commands.AbstractHandler
*/
public class TreeViewerHandler extends AbstractHandler {
/**
* The constructor.
*/
public TreeViewerHandler() {
}
/**
* the command has been executed, so extract extract the needed information
* from the application context.
*/
public Object execute(ExecutionEvent event) throws ExecutionException {
Explorer explorer = new Explorer();
explorer.setBlockOnOpen(true);
explorer.open();
return null;
}
}

c. Right-click the com.mycom.treeviewer.handlers package, choose

New→Class, and add the following Java files:
Explorer.java
FileTreeExplorerContentProvider.java
FileTreeExplorerLabelProvider.java

d. Replace the contents of the Explorer.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.treeviewer.handlers;
import java.io.File;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.TreeViewer;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.*;
import org.eclipse.jface.window.ApplicationWindow;
public class Explorer extends ApplicationWindow {
public Explorer() {
super(null);
}
protected Control createContents(Composite parent) {
TreeViewer tv = new TreeViewer(parent);
tv.setContentProvider(new FileTreeExplorerContentProvider());
tv.setLabelProvider(new FileTreeExplorerLabelProvider());
// if for Linux/Unix platforms
// tv.setInput(new File("/usr/"));
tv.setInput(new File("C:\\"));
return tv.getTree();
}
}

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 Sample customizations

Note
By default, this example reads the C:\ drive on Windows systems.
To read the /user drive on UNIX systems, change code in the
Explorer.java file.

e. Replace the contents of the FileTreeExplorerContentProvider.java file

with the following:
package com.mycom.treeviewer.handlers;
import java.io.File;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.ITreeContentProvider;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.Viewer;
public class FileTreeExplorerContentProvider implements ITreeContentProvider
{
public Object[] getChildren(Object element)
{
Object[] children = ((File) element).listFiles();
return children == null ? new Object[0] : children;
}
public Object[] getElements(Object element)
{
return getChildren(element);
}
public boolean hasChildren(Object element)
{
return getChildren(element).length > 0;
}
public Object getParent(Object element)
{
return ((File)element).getParent();
}
public void dispose()
{
//No implementation
}
public void inputChanged(Viewer viewer, Object old_input, Object new_input)
{
//No implementation
}
}

f. Replace the contents of the FileTreeExplorerLabelProvider.java file

with the following:
package com.mycom.treeviewer.handlers;
import java.io.File;
import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.LabelProvider;

public class FileTreeExplorerLabelProvider extends LabelProvider

{
public String getText(Object element)
{
return ((File) element).getName();
}
}

g. Choose File→Save All.

4. Package the project.

To package the project for distribution, export it to a JAR file and place it in the
TC_ROOT\portal directory.

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable

plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

5. Verify the customization.

a. Launch My Teamcenter and choose Viewer→TreeViewer on the menu bar, or
click the Explore TreeViewer button on the toolbar.

TreeViewer menu command

TreeViewer button

b. Browse the tree structure.

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Tree viewer

Add a toggle menu item

You can create toggle menu items and tie them to state inside the rich client. To
illustrate the process, this example adds an Error Level menu with toggled menu
items. Select an object in My Teamcenter and select the toggle on the custom Error
Level menu.
1. Create the project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Then click Next.

c. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Plug-in Project pane, type
com.mycom.toggle in the Project name box. Click Next.

d. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Content pane, do the following:
A. Under Options, ensure the This plug-in will make contributions to the
UI check box is selected.

B. Click the No button next to Would you like to create a rich client
application?.

C. Click Next.

e. Ensure the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box is
selected and select Hello, World Command in the list. Click Finish.

2. Update the project tabs.

a. Click the Dependencies tab, click the Add button, and select the following:

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp
com.teamcenter.rac.common
com.teamcenter.rac.kernel
com.teamcenter.rac.util

b. Click the Runtime tab, click the Add button, and select the following:
com.mycom.toggle
com.mycom.toggle.handlers

3. Create the project files.

a. Edit the com.mycom.toggle plug-in’s plugin.xml file. Replace the entire
contents of the plugin.xml file with the following code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.4"?>
<plugin>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.commands">
<category
name="Sample Category"
id="com.teamcenter.rac.toggleexample.commands.category">
</category>
<command
categoryId="com.mycom.toggle.commands.category"
defaultHandler="com.mycom.toggle.handlers.ToggleInfoHandler"
id="com.mycom.toggle.commands.infoCommand"
name="Info">
<state
class="org.eclipse.ui.handlers.RegistryToggleState:true"
id="org.eclipse.ui.commands.toggleState">
</state>
</command>
<command
categoryId="com.mycom.toggle.commands.category"
defaultHandler="com.mycom.toggle.handlers.ToggleWarnHandler"
id="com.mycom.toggle.commands.warnCommand"
name="Warn">
<state
class="org.eclipse.ui.handlers.RegistryToggleState:false"
id="org.eclipse.ui.commands.toggleState">
</state>
</command>
<command
categoryId="com.mycom.toggle.commands.category"
defaultHandler="com.mycom.toggle.handlers.ToggleErrorHandler"
id="com.mycom.toggle.commands.errorCommand"
name="Error">
<state
class="org.eclipse.ui.handlers.RegistryToggleState:false"
id="org.eclipse.ui.commands.toggleState">
</state>
</command>
</extension>
<extension
point="org.eclipse.ui.menus">
<menuContribution
locationURI="menu:org.eclipse.ui.main.menu?after=additions">
<menu
id="com.mycom.toggle.menus.sampleMenu"
label="Error Level"
mnemonic="L">
<command
commandId="com.mycom.toggle.commands.infoCommand"
label="Info"
mnemonic="I"
style="toggle">
<visibleWhen>
<reference
definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.ui.inMainPerspective">
</reference>
</visibleWhen>
</command>
<command
commandId="com.mycom.toggle.commands.warnCommand"
label="Warn"
mnemonic="W"
style="toggle">
<visibleWhen>
<reference
definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.ui.inMainPerspective">
</reference>
</visibleWhen>

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</command>
<command
commandId="com.mycom.toggle.commands.errorCommand"
label="Error"
mnemonic="E"
style="toggle">
<visibleWhen>
<reference
definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.ui.inMainPerspective">
</reference>
</visibleWhen>
</command>
</menu>
</menuContribution>
</extension>
</plugin>

b. Open the com.mycom.toggle.handlers package, select the

SampleHandler.java file, choose File→Rename, and rename the file to
ToggleInfoHandler.java.
Replace the contents of the ToggleInfoHandler.java file with the following:
package com.mycom.toggle.handlers;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.AbstractHandler;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.Command;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionEvent;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionException;
import org.eclipse.ui.IWorkbenchWindow;
import org.eclipse.ui.handlers.HandlerUtil;
import org.eclipse.jface.dialogs.MessageDialog;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.Registry;
/**
* Our sample handler extends AbstractHandler, an IHandler base class.
* @see org.eclipse.core.commands.IHandler
* @see org.eclipse.core.commands.AbstractHandler
*/
public class ToggleInfoHandler extends AbstractHandler {
private Registry reg ;
/**
* The constructor.
*/
public ToggleInfoHandler() {
}
/**
* the command has been executed, so extract extract the needed information
* from the application context.
*/
public Object execute(ExecutionEvent event) throws ExecutionException {
Command command = event.getCommand();
boolean checked = HandlerUtil.toggleCommandState(command);
IWorkbenchWindow window = HandlerUtil
.getActiveWorkbenchWindowChecked(event);
reg = Registry.getRegistry(this);
if (checked) {
MessageDialog.openInformation(window.getShell(), reg.getString("Info.TITLE"),
reg.getString("Info.MESSAGE"));
}
return null;
}
}

c. Right-click the com.mycom.toggle.handlers package, choose New→Class,

and add the following Java files:
ToggleErrorHandler.java
ToggleWarnHandler.java

d. Replace the contents of the ToggleErrorHandler.java file with the

following:
package com.mycom.toggle.handlers;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.AbstractHandler;

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import org.eclipse.core.commands.Command;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionEvent;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionException;
import org.eclipse.jface.dialogs.MessageDialog;
import org.eclipse.ui.IWorkbenchWindow;
import org.eclipse.ui.handlers.HandlerUtil;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.Registry;
public class ToggleErrorHandler extends AbstractHandler {
private Registry reg ;
public ToggleErrorHandler() {
}
@Override
public Object execute(ExecutionEvent event) throws ExecutionException {
Command command = event.getCommand();
boolean checked = HandlerUtil.toggleCommandState(command);
IWorkbenchWindow window = HandlerUtil
.getActiveWorkbenchWindowChecked(event);
reg = Registry.getRegistry(this);
if (checked) {
MessageDialog.openError(window.getShell(), reg.getString("Error.TITLE"),
reg.getString("Error.MESSAGE"));
}
return null;
}
}

e. Replace the contents of the ToggleWarnHandler.java file with the

following:
package com.mycom.toggle.handlers;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.AbstractHandler;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.Command;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionEvent;
import org.eclipse.core.commands.ExecutionException;
import org.eclipse.jface.dialogs.MessageDialog;
import org.eclipse.ui.IWorkbenchWindow;
import org.eclipse.ui.handlers.HandlerUtil;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.Registry;
public class ToggleWarnHandler extends AbstractHandler {
private Registry reg ;
public ToggleWarnHandler() {
}
@Override
public Object execute(ExecutionEvent event) throws ExecutionException {
Command command = event.getCommand();
boolean checked = HandlerUtil.toggleCommandState(command);
IWorkbenchWindow window = HandlerUtil
.getActiveWorkbenchWindowChecked(event);
reg = Registry.getRegistry(this);
if (checked) {
MessageDialog.openWarning(window.getShell(), reg.getString("Warn.TITLE"),
reg.getString("Warn.MESSAGE"));
}
return null;
}
}

f. Right-click the com.mycom.toggle.handlers package, choose New→File,

and add a handlers.properties file.
Replace the contents of the handlers.properties file with the following:
Info.TITLE=ToggleInfo
Info.MESSAGE=Info menu is toggled off

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 Sample customizations

Error.TITLE=ToggleError
Error.MESSAGE=Error menu is toggled off
Warn.TITLE=ToggleWarn
Warn.MESSAGE=Warn menu is toggled off

g. Choose File→Save All.

4. Package the project.

To package the project for distribution, export it to a JAR file and place it in the
TC_ROOT\portal directory.

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable

plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

5. Verify the customization.

a. Launch My Teamcenter and choose Error Level on the menu bar.
The error levels are displayed.

Error Level toggle menus

b. Select toggles on the menu.

When you clear a toggle, a dialog box is displayed.

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

Toggle state dialog box

Add a quick search item

You can add your own item to the quick search box at the top of the navigation pane.
In the following example, a PDF search is added to the quick search list.
For information about how to use quick search, see the Rich Client Interface Guide.
1. Add values to language locale files.
a. In the TC_ROOT\lang\textserver\en_US\qry_text_locale.xml file,
add the following lines:
<key id="k_find_testcustqry_name" length="128">Find PDFs</key>
<key id="k_find_testcustqry_desc">Find PDF datasets</key>

b. In the TC_ROOT\lang\textserver\en_US\weblocal_locale.xml file,

add the following lines:
<key id="Find PDF_tooltip">PDF</key>
<key id="Find PDF_SearchAttributeDisplayName">PDF Name</key>
<key id="Find PDF_DisplayName">Find PDFs</key>

2. In the Query Builder application, create a Find PDFs query with the following
criteria.

Criteria for the Find PDFs query

3. Add values to quick search preferences.

a. Open the preferences by choosing Edit→Options→Index.

b. Open the Quick_Access_Queries preference and add Find PDF to the list
of values in the preference.

c. Open the Quick_Access_Queries_Attribute preference and add the

following to the list of values in the preference:
Find PDF_SearchAttribute=datasettype_name

This points to the search attribute in the Find PDFs query.

4. Test the new Find PDFs quick search item by clicking the arrow to the right of
the quick search.

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Adding a new search type to the quick search list

Change the display color of read-only properties

You can change the foreground and background colors of read-only properties
specified in style sheets. This affects all elements that use style sheets to set the
layout, such as the Summary view and the Properties dialog box.
Override the default values for display. The format of the properties file is the
following:
# Color for read only properties display
# Value can be a RGB value or color name.
PropertyBeanReadOnly.Background=255,255,128
PropertyBeanReadOnly.Foreground=gray

Note
Background and foreground color customizations are possible for style sheet
rendering in the Summary tab of My Teamcenter only when the selected
object is in a checked-out state. This is because of flat rendering, when text or
empty display areas do not have widgets (such as a text box in the background
for a checked-in object).

Use the Teamcenter registry, which looks for the color setting in the following file
order:
1. customer.properties

2. properties_user.properties

3. properties.properties

By changing the color settings in the properties_user.properties file, the default

settings in the application-name.properties file are overridden.
Create a custom plug-in that extends the com.teamcenter.rac.util.tc_properties
extension point and deploy it to the plugins directory.
1. Create the project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Then click Next.

c. In the Project name box, type com.mycom.readonlycolor. Clear the text in

the Source folder box. Click Next.

d. Under Options, ensure the Generate an activator and This plug-in will make
contributions to the UI check boxes are selected. Click Next.

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

e. Clear the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box. Click
Finish.

2. Update the project tabs.

a. In Eclipse, click your project tab and click its Dependencies tab.

b. Under Required Plug-ins, click the Add button, select the

com.teamcenter.rac.util plug-in, and click OK.

c. Click your project’s Extensions tab, click the Add button, and select the
com.teamcenter.rac.util.tc_properties extension point. Click Finish.

d. Click your project’s Overview tab and select the This plug-in is a singleton
check box.

e. Save the project by choosing File→Save All.

3. Create the project files.

a. In Package Explorer, right-click the com.mycom.readonlycolor project
and choose New→Package.

b. In the Name box, type com.teamcenter.rac.common.

c. Click Finish.

d. Right-click the com.teamcenter.rac.common package and choose New→File.

e. In the Name box, type common_user.properties.

f. Click Finish.

g. Add the following to the common_user.properties file:

PropertyBeanReadOnly.Background=lightGray
PropertyBeanReadOnly.Foreground=blue

The plug-in structure looks like this:

h. Click the plugin.xml tab. The text in the tab should look like the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.5"?>
<plugin>
<extension
point="com.teamcenter.rac.util.tc_properties">
</extension>
</plugin>

If the text is different, edit it in the tab to resemble the example.

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i. Click your project’s MANIFEST.MF tab. It should look like the following:
Manifest-Version: 1.0
Bundle-ManifestVersion: 2
Bundle-Name: Readonlycolor
Bundle-SymbolicName: com.mycom.readonlycolor;singleton:=true
Bundle-Version: 1.0.0.qualifier
Bundle-Activator: com.mycom.readonlycolor.Activator
Bundle-Vendor: MYCOM
Require-Bundle: org.eclipse.core.runtime,
com.teamcenter.rac.util;bundle-version="8000.3.0"
Bundle-RequiredExecutionEnvironment: JavaSE-1.6
Bundle-ActivationPolicy: lazy

4. Package the project.

To package the project for distribution, export it to a JAR file and place it in the
TC_ROOT\portal directory.

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable

plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

5. Verify the customization.

a. In the rich client, select an item and click More Properties in the Summary
tab.
Read-only properties are gray with blue characters.

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

Changed color for read-only properties

Customize the workflow template filter list

To add more ways to filter Workflow templates, you need to implement the
applyTemplateFilter extension point. The applyTemplateFilter extension point
is exposed in the com.teamcenter.rac.workflow.processdesigner plug-in.
The existing Teamcenter rich client framework allows you to create Workflow
template filters based on object type and group name only. With the
applyTemplateFilter extension point, functionality for advanced template filtering
is made available based on object class, object attributes, and the status applied to
the target object.
Before showing you the sample customization using the applyTemplateFilter
extension point, following is a review of the normal process to filter Workflow
templates:
1. In Workflow Designer, choose Edit→Template Filter.

2. In the Process Template Filter dialog box, select a group in the Group Name
box (for example dba), type in the Object Type box (for example, Item) and move
templates from the Defined Process Template list on the right to the Assigned
Process Template list on the left. Click Apply.
This assigns these Workflow templates to the dba group for Item objects so
that only these templates are available for use with that object type with the
specified group.

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Assigning a workflow process template

3. To test the template assignment, log on to My Teamcenter as a member of the

dba group, choose an object type for which you created a filter (for example, an
item), and choose File→New→Workflow Process.

4. In the New Process Dialog dialog box, click the Assigned button.
The filtered templates you previously chose for that object type and group name
are displayed in the Process Template box list.

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

Viewing the assigned workflow process template

For more information about how to perform Workflow filtering, see the Workflow
Designer Guide.

Perform the following steps to create a sample customization that evaluates on

review status.
1. Create the project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Click Next.

c. In the New Plug-in Project wizard Plug-in Project dialog box, type
com.mycom.workflowtemplatefilter in the Project name box. Click Next.

d. Do not change the default settings on the Content dialog box. Click Finish.

2. Update the project tabs.

a. Click the Overview tab and select the This plug-in is a singleton check box.

b. Click the Dependencies tab, click the Add button, and select the following
plug-ins:
com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp
com.teamcenter.rac.kernel

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 Sample customizations

com.teamcenter.rac.util
com.teamcenter.rac.workflow.processdesigner

c. Choose File→Save All.

d. Add the applyTemplateFilter extension point.

A. Click the Extensions tab, click Add, and
in the Extension point filter box, select
com.teamcenter.rac.workflow.processdesigner.applyTemplateFilter
and click Finish.

B. Right-click the
com.teamcenter.rac.workflow.processdesigner.applyTemplateFilter
extension point and choose New→Client.
This adds an entry to the class box.

C. Click the class box, and in the resulting Java Class

dialog box, type CustomFilter in the Name box.
Ensure that the Interfaces box is populated with the
com.teamcenter.rac.workflow.commands.newprocess.ItemplateFilter
extension.
Click Finish.
A CustomFiler.java file is added to the project.

3. Edit the project files.

a. Replace the code in the CustomFiler.java file with the following:
package com.mycom.workflowtemplatefilter;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.util.Vector;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JComboBox;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.AbstractAIFDialog;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.kernel.InterfaceAIFComponent;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponentTaskTemplate;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponentType;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCSession;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TypeInfo;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.ButtonLayout;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.HorizontalLayout;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.MessageBox;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.Separator;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.VerticalLayout;
import com.teamcenter.rac.workflow.commands.newprocess.ITemplateFilter;
import com.teamcenter.rac.workflow.commands.newprocess.
NoCustomFilteringRequiredException;
public class CustomFilter implements ITemplateFilter
{
TCSession session;
public Vector allTasktemplates = new Vector<TCComponentTaskTemplate>();
public Vector assignedTasktemplates = new Vector<TCComponentTaskTemplate>();
InterfaceAIFComponent[] pasteTargets = null;
boolean cancelButtonClicked = false;
public CustomFilter()
{
// TODO Auto-generated constructor stub
}
public Vector getFilteredTemplates(Vector alltemplates, Vector Assignedtemplates,

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Chapter 2 Sample customizations

InterfaceAIFComponent[] pastetargets, TCSession s)throws

NoCustomFilteringRequiredException
{
allTasktemplates = alltemplates;
assignedTasktemplates = Assignedtemplates;
session = s;
CustomFilterDialog v = new CustomFilterDialog(true, this);
cancelButtonClicked = false;
v.showDialog();
if (cancelButtonClicked)
{
throw new NoCustomFilteringRequiredException ("Exception");
}
else
return v.templatelist;
}
// customize this dialog to add the status selection UI.
class CustomFilterDialog extends AbstractAIFDialog
{
/**
*
*/
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
public Vector templatelist = new Vector<TCComponentTaskTemplate> ();
private JButton cancelButton;
private JButton applyButton;
private JComboBox statuses = null;
private JComboBox criteria = null;
CustomFilter op;
public CustomFilterDialog(boolean first, CustomFilter operation )
{
super(first);
op = operation;
initdialog();
}

public void showDialog()

{
this.setModal( true );
this.setVisible( true );
}
public void initdialog()
{
JPanel parentPanel = new JPanel (new VerticalLayout (5,2,2,2,2));
this.setTitle( "Filter Based on Status" );
this.getContentPane().add(parentPanel);
JPanel buttonPanel = new JPanel (new ButtonLayout ());
JPanel compPanel = new JPanel (new HorizontalLayout ());
applyButton = new JButton ("Apply");
applyButton.setMnemonic(’A’);
applyButton.addActionListener ( new ActionListener()
{
public void actionPerformed (ActionEvent e)
{
startApplyOperation();
}
});
cancelButton = new JButton ("Cancel");
cancelButton.setMnemonic(’C’);
cancelButton.addActionListener ( new ActionListener()
{
public void actionPerformed (ActionEvent e)
{
setVisible(false);
cancelButtonClicked = true;
dispose();
}
});
//Add the buttons to the buttonPanel
buttonPanel.add(applyButton);
buttonPanel.add(cancelButton);
//ADD button panel and the com panel to the parent panel
parentPanel.add ( "top.bind", compPanel );
parentPanel.add ( "top.bind", new Separator () );
parentPanel.add ( "bottom.bind.center.top", buttonPanel);

JPanel filterpanel = new JPanel (new HorizontalLayout ());

parentPanel.add ( "top.bind", filterpanel );

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JLabel l4 = new JLabel("Select status");

statuses = new JComboBox();
filterpanel.add ( "bottom.left",l4);
filterpanel.add ( "bottom.left",statuses);
JLabel l3 = new JLabel("Criteria");
criteria = new JComboBox();
filterpanel.add ( "bottom", l3);
filterpanel.add ( "bottom.bind", criteria );
criteria.addItem("Ends With");
criteria.addItem("Starts With");
criteria.addItem("Equals");
criteria.addItem("Contains");
try
{
String typeNames[] = null;
TypeInfo typeInfo = null;
TCComponentType ct = op.session.getTypeComponent ( "TaskType");
typeInfo = ct.getTcTypes("TaskType", false);
if ( typeInfo != null )
typeNames = typeInfo.getTypeNames();
for(int i=0;i<typeNames.length;i++)
statuses.addItem(typeNames[i]);
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
MessageBox.post(ex);
//ex.printStackTrace();
}
this.pack();
//Centering the position of the Dialog
this.centerToScreen(1.0, 1.0);
}
public void startApplyOperation()
{
try
{
boolean isMatch = false;
Vector filtertemplates = new Vector<TCComponentTaskTemplate> ();
if(op.assignedTasktemplates.size() > 0)
{
filtertemplates = op.assignedTasktemplates;
}
else
{
filtertemplates = op.allTasktemplates;
}
for(int i=0;i<filtertemplates.size();i++)
{
if(criteria.getSelectedIndex() == 0)
{
isMatch = ((TCComponentTaskTemplate) filtertemplates.get(i)).
getProperty("template_name").toLowerCase().
endsWith(statuses.getSelectedItem().toString().toLowerCase());
}
else if(criteria.getSelectedIndex() == 1)
{
isMatch = ((TCComponentTaskTemplate)filtertemplates.get(i)).
getProperty("template_name").toLowerCase().
startsWith(statuses.getSelectedItem().toString().toLowerCase());
}
else if(criteria.getSelectedIndex()==2)
{
isMatch = ((TCComponentTaskTemplate)filtertemplates.get(i)).
getProperty("template_name").toLowerCase().
equalsIgnoreCase(statuses.getSelectedItem().toString().toLowerCase());
}
else
{
isMatch = ((TCComponentTaskTemplate)filtertemplates.get(i)).
getProperty("template_name").toLowerCase().
contains(statuses.getSelectedItem().toString().toLowerCase());
}
if(isMatch)
{
this.templatelist.add( filtertemplates.get(i) );
}
}
dispose();
}
catch(Exception ex)
{

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ex.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
}

b. Choose File→Save All.

4. Verify the customization.

a. Choose Run→Run Configurations to start the rich client from your Eclipse
environment. Clear the workspace by selecting the Clear check box in the
launch configuration dialog box.
For information about how to set up Eclipse to run the rich client, see Enable
rich client customization.

b. To test the template assignment, in My Teamcenter, choose an object

type for which you created a filter (for example, an item) and choose
File→New→Workflow Process.

c. In the New Process Dialog dialog box, click the Assigned button.
The Filter Based on Status dialog box is displayed.

Custom filtering applied to the assigned workflow process template

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Note
This is a sample customization. You can create your own customization
by altering the contents of the CustomFiler.java file in the plug-in.

5. Package the project.

If you want to package the project for distribution, export it to a JAR file and
place it in the TC_ROOT\portal directory.

a. Right-click the project, choose Export→Plug-in Development→Deployable

plug-ins and fragments, select the TC_ROOT\portal directory as the
destination, and click Finish.
The com.mycom.project-name JAR file is automatically generated into the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory.

b. Run the TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml file to register the plug-in

with the rich client.
When the script is finished, a new
TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.
Note
If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new
plug-ins or change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml
script to ensure your changes are included when the rich client starts.
This enhances performance because it caches the properties so they
can be loaded at startup. The script takes no arguments and generates
a RegistryLoader file for each locale in the portal\Registry
directory.

c. To clear cache, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home

directory on the client. This directory is automatically created again when
the user starts the rich client.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it is
typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.

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3 Customizing forms and

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Communication with the server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Form user interface display components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

Displaying a form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

Teamcenter form types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

Developing automatic forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Developing forms by extending the abstract class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

Example of a basic user interface form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
General comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Form performance issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Form events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10

Developing forms using JavaBeans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11

Using the form beans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Developing form beans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12

Developing forms and customizing the properties display using XML style
sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-13
Using predefined style sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-14
Verify the registration of forms in the rich client interface . . . . . .... . . . 3-15
Creating form preferences for new business objects . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-15
Modify a predefined style sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-16
Create a new style sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-16
Accessing the style sheet viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-17
Style sheet XML definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-18
XML elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-19
Display format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-29
Rendering style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-30
Rendering hints, rendering style, and JavaBeans . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-30
Customizing property beans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-32
Default renderers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-33
Examples of XML style sheet definitions and renderings . . . . .... . . . 3-33
Set properties to be conditionally mandatory or disabled . . . . .... . . . 3-35
Property beans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 3-36

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There are several processes used to create forms in the Teamcenter rich client.
There two perspectives in creating forms. The first perspective is the actual
creation of forms within the rich client. It takes very little work and requires no
programming ability to create and display a form. The second perspective is that
of the programmer, which focuses on the techniques used to develop sophisticated
solutions.
A form is a logical storage mechanism that supports captured, informative, and
derived data. Captured data are the boxes within a form in which users type data;
these are generally required boxes. Business rules often dictate that certain boxes
be populated before the form is created. Informative data are read-only boxes that
appear within the form and cannot be modified by the user. Derived data are the
boxes within a form that are the sum or combination of other boxes, or PDM data
that is composed and displayed within the form. Derived data typically cannot
be modified.
Forms capture information that users reference and view. These forms store data,
such as work order, ECO, or ECN information. Information contained in forms can
be used for queries. Companies typically use forms to:
• Capture and store information for work orders, ECOs, or ECNs. This is the most
common use of forms.

• Maintain processing information to support other features. For example, a form

can be developed to maintain the next available number when automatically
generating numbers. This type of form is used by administrators.

Note
Character (char) and character array (char [ ]) data types are not supported
in forms. Use a string (string) or a string array (string [ ]) data type with a
length of 1.

Communication with the server

Form data is obtained from the rich client kernel through form properties. When
the user interface form is displayed, the properties are read from the server. Form
properties are different than object properties. Form properties are the data obtained
from the form on the server. The following figure shows the Teamcenter form model.

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Form model

Form user interface display components

The rich client has changed the strategy of forms in Teamcenter. Forms within
the rich client are user interface representations only. Teamcenter stores the
information for the form; therefore, when the form is loaded and displayed in the
rich client, all data is obtained from the server and placed into user interface
components. The base component for a rich client form is a JPanel component that
provides flexibility for the placement of forms within different parent containers.
The following figure shows a form panel.

Form user interface display panel

Displaying a form
When a form is displayed, the user interface definition for the form is constructed,
populated, and placed within a container. In the rich client, a form can be displayed
under two paradigms: dialog box and viewer. The dialog box displays when the form
is opened using the Open menu or the form is double-clicked.

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Form displayed in a dialog box

The viewer paradigm is used when the form is selected and the Viewer tab is active
(the following figure). The contents of nonwritable form are displayed as read-only.
If the user has write access, the form can be edited.

Form displayed in the rich client viewer

A reusable Java component is used for form panel construction. Given the component
reference to the form, call the RenderingLoader.load(TCComponent) method,
which constructs and returns the form panel. The form definition within the rich
client is flexible and supports a wide variety of applications. When a form panel is
loaded, the RenderingLoader looks to see if there is a registered form panel for
the component. If so, the registered form panel is returned. If not, an automatic
form is constructed and returned.

Teamcenter form types

The forms feature allows companies to create electronic versions of forms,
representing logically organized data fields. Forms persist to a POM class object.
The display is determined by the form properties in the POM class definition.
Teamcenter supports the following methods of form customization:

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• Abstract rendering
Allows you to write the form display by extending the AbstractRendering
class. This is the most flexible method of form customization. It is also the most
complex method and requires coding.

• JavaBean
Allows you to define forms using JavaBeans and an IDE (such as Eclipse) to
present form properties. Each bean knows how to display and save a specific
property type. This method is less complex than the abstract rendering method
but still requires some programming knowledge.

• XML style sheet

Allows you to define a set of properties to display, including the display order and
user interface rendering component. The XML style sheet method is supported
for both the rich client and thin client.

• Automatic forms
Allows you to display forms that have no associated interface definition. The
interface is created automatically as the form is displayed, based on the storage
fields identified within the form POM class.
Note
The following class attributes have been lengthened from 32 to 128 bytes:
• item_id in the Item class

• object_name in the WorkspaceObject class

• name in the AuditLog class

If you used these attributes in customized code, ensure they still display
correctly.

Developing automatic forms

You can create and implement automatic forms. All work is performed on the
server; no work is required on the client. This form solution works with existing
Teamcenter implementations. Once the rich client is installed, existing forms appear
automatically because they are considered to be automatic forms and can display
without customization. The rich client assumes that forms are automatic if they are
not registered on the client. If an error occurs during form loading, the system
throws an exception. All attempts are made to display the data.
1. Create a form type on the server side.
The form type can be created in Teamcenter using the Business Modeler IDE
application. All methods require you to enter the form type name: POM storage.

2. Create the POM storage in the Teamcenter schema.

For more information, see the Business Modeler IDE Guide.

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Developing forms by extending the abstract class

Perform the following steps to create a user interface form:
1. Create a form type on the server side.
The form type can be created in Teamcenter using the Business Modeler IDE
application. All methods require you to enter the form type name: POM storage.

2. Extend the schema.

For more information, see Business Modeler IDE Guide.

3. Create the form panel.

Create a Java object that extends from the AbstractRendering class,
which requires the implementation of two methods: loadRendering() and
saveRendering(). The loadRendering() method is invoked when the form is
constructed and reads the values from the TCComponent class to populate the
form interface. The saveRendering() method writes the values from the user
interface components to the TCComponent class. Override the checkObject()
method to enable performance of checks prior to loading the form.
Example of a basic user interface form shows a form containing four properties,
but the user interface exposes only three to the user. This is because of the
flexibility of the form display system on the client. Often, there are form values
that must be filled in but not exposed to the user for data entry and display.

4. Register the form panel with the rich client.

Once a form class is written on the client, it must be registered in the
stylesheet_user.properties registry file to be recognized within Teamcenter.
The key within the stylesheet_user.properties file points to the implemented
AbstractRendering class definition and is comprised of the form type
name appended with .FORMJAVARENDERING. The associated client-side
definition file for the Item Revision Master form type is shown in the following
code example.
ItemRevision\ Master.FORMJAVARENDERING=com.teamcenter.rac.form.ItemRevisionMaster

The backslash character and a space (\ ) in the string create a space. If the
backslash character is not used, the space is misinterpreted and the form is
displayed using the automatic form display. Java interprets the key as item and
does not parse past the space, considering it the delimiter for the key/value
combination.

Example of a basic user interface form

This example focuses on the creation of a simple form within the user interface, as
shown in the following figure.

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Chapter 3 Customizing forms and properties display

Basic user interface form and components

1. Create the My Form type in Teamcenter.

2. Create the form user interface definition (MyForm.java), as shown in the

following code:
package com.mycom.rac.form;
import javax.swing.*;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.*;
import com.teamcenter.rac.stylesheet.*;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.*;
public class MyForm extends AbstractRendering
{
private JTextField projectId;
private JTextField serialNo;
private TCProperty piProperty;
private TCProperty snProperty;
private TCComponentForm form;
private TCSession session;
/**
* This method is the constructor for MyForm given the TCComponent of the
* form component.
*
* @param TCComponentForm -The TCComponentForm representing this form.
* @return void...Constructor
*/
public MyForm ( TCComponentForm c)throws Exception
{
super ( c );
form = c;
session = c.getTCSession();
loadRendering(); // Load the data from the database.
}
p /**
* This method is used to provide the loading of the form properties
* from the database to the UI of the form itself.
*
* @return void
*/
public void loadRendering() throws TCException
{
initializeUI(); // Construct the UI and it’s components
piProperty = form.getFormTCProperty("project_id");
snProperty = form.getFormTCProperty("serial_number");
projectId.setText ( piProperty.getStringValue() );
serialNo.setText ( snProperty.getStringValue() );
}
/**
* This method is used to provide the saving of the form properties
* from the form class definition to the database.
*
* @return void
*/
public void saveRendering()
{
try
{
piProperty.setStringValueData ( projectId.getText() );
snProperty.setStringValueData ( serialNo.getText() );
TCProperty[] ps = new TCProperty[2];
ps[0] = piProperty;
ps[1] = snProperty;
form.setTCProperties(ps);

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 Customizing forms and properties display

}
catch ( TCException ex )
{
}
}
/**
* This method is used to construct and initialize the UI of the form
* which will be setup to be populated with data.
*
* @return void
*/
private void initializeUI()
{
setLayout ( new VerticalLayout() );
JPanel mainPanel = new JPanel( new PropertyLayout());
mainPanel.setOpaque(false);
// Create all the text fields and combo boxes
projectId = new JTextField(26);
serialNo = new JTextField(20);
//Add components to Panel
mainPanel.add("1.1.right.center",new JLabel("Project ID"));
mainPanel.add("1.2.left.center", projectId);
mainPanel.add("2.1.right.center",new JLabel("Serial Number"));
mainPanel.add("2.2.left.center", serialNo);
add("unbound.bind", mainPanel);
}
}

3. Register the form with the rich client, by one of the following methods:
• Edit the stylesheet.properties file located in the
com.teamcenter.rac.common.jar file and save it as
stylesheet_user.properties.

• Create your own stylesheet_user.properties file and place it in the

following directory:
com\teamcenter\rac\stylesheet

4. Add an entry to the stylesheet_user.properties file to register the form, as

follows:
My\ Form.FORMJAVARENDERING=com.my-forms—location.MyForm

In the figure above, the entry in the

com.teamcenter.rac.stylesheet.stylesheet_user.properties package is:
My\ Form.FORMJAVARENDERING= com.mycom.rac.form.MyForm

My\ Form represents the form type of the form.

If you want to add a red triangle on the form to note a required box, add the following
code:
if (required)
{
propertyRenderer = new JLabel( propValue )
{
public void paint(Graphics g)
{
super.paint(g);
Painter.paintIsRequired(this, g);
}
};
}

The following code shows an example of loading a string array attribute into a
custom form:
package com.teamcenter.rac.form;
import javax.swing.*;
import com.teamcenter.rac.common.propertyrenderer.ArrayPropertyRendererComponent;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.*;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.*;
/**
* This example shows how to use ArrayPropertyRendererComponent.
* The form has two string array attributes.
*/
public class ArraySampleForm extends AbstractTCForm
{

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private ArrayPropertyRendererComponent titlesRender;

private ArrayPropertyRendererComponent valuesRender;
/**
* An array of form properties to be displayed
*/
private TCProperty[] formProperties = null;
/**
* This method is the constructor for an ChecklistSampleForm.
*
*/
public ArraySampleForm() throws Exception
{
super();
initializeUI();
}
public ArraySampleForm ( TCComponentForm c ) throws Exception
{
super ( c );
initializeUI(); // Construct the UI and it’s components.
loadForm(); // Load the data from the database.
}
/**
* This method is used to provide the loading of the form properties
* from the database to the UI of the form itself.
*
* Since properties are loaded in initializeUI(), we really don’t need
* this method for this sample.
*
* @return void
*/
public void loadForm() throws TCException
{
String propertyName;
try
{
// Load the properties for the form.
formProperties = getFormComponent().getFormTCProperties();
// Loop through the properties and populate the UI components.
int propertySize = formProperties.length;
// Don’t really need to do anything for these two properties,
// since they are loaded in initializeUI() already.
for ( int i=0; i<propertySize; i++ )
{
propertyName = formProperties[i].getPropertyName();
if ( propertyName.equals ("titles") )
{
}
else if ( propertyName.equals ("values") )
{
}
}
}
catch ( TCException ex )
{
throw ex;
}
if ( formProperties == null )
{
Registry r = Registry.getRegistry ( this );
throw new TCException ( r.getString("failedLoadingFormProperties") );
}
}
/**
* This method is used to provide the saving of the form properties
* from the form class definition to the database.
*
* @return void
*/
public void saveForm()
{
int propertySize = formProperties.length;
String propertyName = null;
for ( int i=0; i<propertySize; i++ )
{
propertyName = formProperties[i].getPropertyName();
if ( propertyName.equals ("titles") )
{
try
{
titlesRender.saveValueData();
}
catch (Exception e1)
{
e1.printStackTrace();
}
}
if ( propertyName.equals ("values") )
{
try
{
valuesRender.saveValueData();

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}
catch (Exception e1)
{
e1.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
try
{
getFormComponent().setTCProperties(formProperties);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
/**
* This method is used to construct and initialize the UI of the item master form
* which will be setup to be populated with data.
*
* @return void
*/
private void initializeUI()
{
setLayout ( new PropertyLayout() );
JLabel titlesLabel = new JLabel("Titles");
titlesRender = new ArrayPropertyRendererComponent(getFormComponent(), "titles");
JLabel valuesLabel = new JLabel("Values");
valuesRender = new ArrayPropertyRendererComponent(getFormComponent(), "values");
add ("1.1.left.center",titlesLabel);
add ("1.2.left.center",titlesRender);
add ("2.1.left.center",valuesLabel);
add ("2.2.left.center",valuesRender);
}
}

General comments
Example of a basic user interface form is simplistic but shows the relationship of
the different methods and the purposes they serve. The source code in this example
was created manually.
The form user interface is not limited to creation using an integrated development
environment (IDE) or to the use of any Java component. Third-party Java
components can be used within the form.
The Eclipse IDE can be used to generate the contents of the form. Once created,
you need only add the code required to read the property values from Teamcenter
and set the property values within the associated component on the panel. Other
components, such as LOVButton, make it easier to render the form properties.
If you upgrade from a previous version of Teamcenter that used the note attribute
in the form storage class, instances created from that class will continue to use the
note attribute. If you create a new storage class, it uses the string attribute, and
instances created from that class use the string attribute.
Starting with Engineering Process Management 2005, you should use the new
style sheet package (com.teamcenter.rac.stylesheet) instead of the old form
package (com.teamcenter.rac.form). The old form package will be deprecated
in a later release. If you want to still use the old custom forms in the new
package, move the entries you added to the form_user.properties file to the
stylesheet_user.properties file.

Form performance issues

System performance when forms are saved depends largely on the way the
API is used. All API components for saving and loading forms are found in
the TCComponentForm component. The object retrieves form values and
can represent all types of data found in Teamcenter. It is patterned after the

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TCProperty object. The TCComponentForm class is responsible for handling the

retrieval and storage of properties to a form. The TCFormProperty object handles
the data representation of the value (or property).
It is more efficient to save all form properties in one call, because this minimizes
network traffic and limits the save action to one commit to the database. If each
property is saved individually, each requires a network call and a commit to the
database, which degrades system performance.
For example, a form containing 20 properties takes approximately two seconds
to save when all properties are saved in one call and approximately 25 seconds
to save when each property is saved individually. There are legitimate cases for
saving properties both individually and collectively. Therefore, take care when
deciding which API to use to achieve a desired result. The following examples
illustrate the different usages of the form API and assume a component f of type
TCComponentForm:
• Obtaining one form property
TCFormProperty p = f.getFormTCProperty(“my_prop_name”);

• Obtaining all form properties

TCFormProperty[] props = f.getAllFormProperties();

• Saving one form property

TCFormProperty p = f.getFormTCProperty(“my_prop_name”);
// Get the property to set
p.setStringValue ( “abc” ); // Set it.
At this point it is saved to the db.

• Saving several form properties

TCFormProperty[] ps = f.getAllFormProperties();
// Get the property to set
ps[0].setStringValueData ( “abc” );
// Sets the value but is not saved.
ps[1].setStringValueData ( “def” );
// Sets the value but is not saved.
f.setTCProperties(ps); // Now is saved to the db.

In summary, performance gains depend on how form data is saved. Whenever

possible, obtain an array of properties and set their values by using methods
such as setStringValueData() as opposed to the setStringValue() method. The
setStringValue() method sets the value and performs the save immediately. The
setStringValueData() method sets the value but relies on a subsequent call
to perform the commit. Finally, for an array of properties, make a call such as
setTCProperties() to increase efficiency.

Form events
When a form is displayed, the size is governed by the standard of preferred size
for a dialog box. However, it may be necessary to control the dialog box size prior
to displaying the form. In this event, implement the InterfaceRendererEvent
interface within the form display class. This interface forces the implementation
of two methods: dialogDisplayed (OpenFormDialog dlg, boolean state).
The method is called before the dialog box is displayed. It is the place where the
setBounds() method for the dialog box can be called.
When a form is displayed, the okToModify() method is invoked. If the form is
modifiable, it is constructed and displayed as designed. However, if the form is not
modifiable, logic is executed to determine what should or should not be editable.

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When a read-only form is displayed, the components shown in the following table
are modified.

Component Read-only effect

JTabbedPane None
JSplitPane None
JPanel None
JLabel None
JScrollPane None
JProgressBar None
JTextComponent Edit ability set to False
All others Disabled

When a form is not modifiable, all Container objects, such as JTabbedPane, are
ignored and the remaining components are disabled. This is because Container
objects allow users to traverse and work through them to view the data. You may
want to control the read-only ability of a component within a form, in which case you
must override the read-only logic by implementing the InterfaceRendererEvent
interface and providing body to the setReadOnly() method.

Developing forms using JavaBeans

1. Launch your IDE and create a new JPanel.

2. Add components to the new JPanel. To select a library to add components,

select the one that includes the com.teamcenter.rac plug-in files. If the library
containing the plug-in files is not listed, add it.

3. Locate and select the FormButton class.

Note
The form JavaBeans are located in the com\teamcenter\rac\form
directory.

4. Repeat the previous steps to add additional JavaBeans.

The form JavaBeans are now ready to use.

Using the form beans

You can create a JPanel component in which to contain the form beans, place them
on the panel, and connect them directly to the form properties by entering in the
property for the box. Once this is done, compile the form and register it with the
rich client.
Registration is accomplished by adding an entry in the form of
Form-Type-Name.FORMJAVARENDERING=Your-Form-Class to the
com.teamcenter.rac.stylesheet.stylesheet_user.properties file. Once
registered, the rich client uses the custom form when the form type is opened.

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For example, if the form type is MyFormType and the form display class is named
com.mycompany.forms.MyForm, the entry would be added to the properties
file, as follows:
My\ Form\ Type.FORMJAVARENDERING=com.mycompany.forms.MyForm

Often, a form must obtain the reference to the TCComponentForm component with
which it is rendering. Each form bean has knowledge of the TCComponentForm
class; however, for the JPanel component to recognize the form, you must include a
constructor that includes the TCComponentForm component. When you use your
IDE to create the JPanel component, you may be provided a default constructor,
for example:
public MyPanel()
{
}

To reference the TCComponentForm component, include a constructor requesting

a reference, as shown in the following example:
// IDE given
public MyPanel()
{
}
// User written
public MyPanel ( TCComponentForm f )
{
}

When the form loads, the system looks first for the constructor with a reference to
the TCComponentForm component. If one is found, it is used. If not, the default
constructor is used.
The properties of each form bean are described in Property beans.

Developing form beans

Each form bean fundamentally knows how to load and save itself. When the form
is loaded and ready to be displayed, each form bean is notified to load itself and
its data. The form bean uses the defined property and obtains the value from the
Teamcenter database. When the user clicks the Save button, each form bean is
notified to save. When the form is loaded, the top-level container (the JPanel
component) that is registered for the form type is recursively cycled to look for the
InterfacePropertyComponent interface. When found, the beans are instructed
to either load or save. The form beans can be nested as deeply as desired within
containers and still be selected by the system.
To implement form beans, decide which user interface class to subclass. Then, identify
a Teamcenter form bean and implement the InterfacePropertyComponent
interface, which contains two methods:
public void load ( TCComponentForm ) throws Exception
public void save ( TCComponentForm f ) throws Exception

Once you have created the component, all other JavaBean rules apply. For example,
you can attach icons for reference within an Integrated Development Environment
(IDE), such as Eclipse, and attach property rendering rules.
To perform checks prior to loading the form beans, override the checkObject
method as given follows:
public void checkObject() throws Exception
{
//required checks
}

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 Customizing forms and properties display

Note
All IDEs that support JavaBeans work with the form beans.

To increase the efficiency of form beans, Siemens PLM Software recommends that
you also implement the InterfaceBufferedPropertyComponent class. This
requires a method that has the following signature:
public TCFormProperty saveProperty ( TCComponentForm f )
throws Exception

This method should only use the setValue<type>Data calls to the form property
and return it. Therefore, all properties in the form bean system are collected and
saved in one call. This increases the efficiency of the form bean.
Siemens PLM Software provides both save() and saveProperty() methods to allow
for flexibility in form storage. All form beans delivered with Teamcenter use the
saveProperty() method. If you choose to override any of the base form beans,
Siemens PLM Software recommends that you override the saveProperty() method.
If you override the save() method in the base beans, Teamcenter uses your save()
method first over the saveProperty method.
This is accomplished using introspection. The bean is analyzed to determine if
there is an overridden save() method. If so, it is assumed that you want to use this
method over the saveProperty() method. This does not apply when you implement
your own form bean, because your form bean provides the implementation of the
save() method and is not considered to be overridden.

Developing forms and customizing the properties display using XML

style sheets
Using XML style sheets enhances the display of forms and properties in the
Teamcenter rich client and thin client interface. You can customize the display by
editing the style sheet. The advantages are:
• You can customize using configuration instead of coding.

• The customization affects both the rich client and thin client.

The style sheet is an XML document stored in a XMLRenderingStylesheet

dataset. This gives more control to sites regarding how dialog boxes are displayed.
The XML code allows sites to define a subset of properties to display, the display
order, the user interface rendering components to be used, and more. Sites can use
XML code to customize not only forms but also individual fields in the forms.
When a style sheet is registered for a specific object type or form, it defines the
display of the object or form properties. Registration information is stored in
the <type_name>.RENDERING and <type_name>.FORMRENDERING site
preferences.
You can customize other kinds of thin client dialog boxes using this technique. The
mechanism used is the same with a few differences. The rich client does not allow
the customization of normal dialog boxes in this way.
To provide any kind of customization mechanism to dialog boxes, you must add the
type attribute to the <form> node of the generated XML. For example:
print ’<form name="’ + quote( argument.object_name ) + ’" object="’ + argument

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Chapter 3 Customizing forms and properties display

+ ’" dialogMode="’ + dialogMode + ’" type= "CustomDialog" ’ + NL

+ DoTask( argument, IMAN_user, dialogMode )
+ ’</form>’ + NL

Define the preference as:

CustomDialog.DIALOGRENDERING=name-of-dataset-containing-rendering-template

For an overview of style sheets, see Introduction to style sheets. For sample
customizations using style sheets, see Customizations using style sheets.

Using predefined style sheets

The Teamcenter installation provides several predefined style sheets that are
registered to display the properties of the following objects:
• Folder

• Form

• Item

• Item revision

• Group

• User

• Role

• Site

• Group member

• Volume

• EPM job

• ImanFile

• Tool

• Reservation

The registration information is stored in the preference; each object type has two
entries used to display regular properties, as follows:
• <type_name>.RENDERING
The value of this key is the dataset name or the dataset UID used to display
properties of this type of object.

• <dataset_name>(UID).REGISTEREDTO
The value of this key is the type name for which this dataset is registered.

Therefore, the value for <type_name>.RENDERING is the dataset name/UID and

the value for <dataset_name>(UID).REGISTEREDTO is the business object name.
The following keys are used to display form properties:

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 Customizing forms and properties display

business-object-name.FORMRENDERING
dataset-name/uid.FORM_REGISTEREDTO

Verify the registration of forms in the rich client interface

1. In one of the rich client applications, choose Options from the Edit menu.
Teamcenter displays the Options dialog box.

2. Click the Index link in the lower-right portion of the window.

Teamcenter displays the Preferences pane.

3. Type form in the Search on preference name box and click the Search button .
Teamcenter displays the preferences that begin with form in the Preferences list.

4. Click the Form.REGISTEREDTO entry in the Preferences list.

Teamcenter displays the business objects to which the Form style sheet can be
applied in the right pane of the window.
For more information for this type of preference, see the
<dataset_name>.REGISTEREDTO preference in the Preferences
and Environment Variables Reference.

If no rendering registration is found for the currently selected type, the system
searches the hierarchy to determine if a rendering is registered to any of the parent
classes or parent types. If one is found, that rendering is honored.

Creating form preferences for new business objects

To create a form for a customized business object (in other words, one not provided
by Teamcenter), you must create the following preferences:
• new-business-object-name.RENDERING
For more information for this type of preference, see the
<type_name>.RENDERING preference in the Preferences and
Environment Variables Reference.

• new-business-object-name.REGISTEREDTO
For more information for this type of preference, see the
<dataset_name>.REGISTEREDTO preference in the Preferences
and Environment Variables Reference.

The value of the preferences must be the name of the customized business object.
For example, to create a new business object called MyItem, you must create the
following preferences and set the value of each to MyItem:
• MyItem.RENDERING

• MyItem.REGISTEREDTO

For more information about creating preferences, see Rich Client Interface Guide.

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Chapter 3 Customizing forms and properties display

After you create the preferences, either modify a predefined style sheet or create
a new style sheet.
For more information, see Modify a predefined style sheet and Create a new style sheet.

Modify a predefined style sheet

To modify the predefined style sheets, you can either modify the existing dataset
or create a new dataset using the Save As command.
1. In My Teamcenter, perform a search for the dataset you want to modify. The
dataset type is XMLRenderingStylesheet.

2. To create a new dataset, select the XMLRenderingStylesheet dataset and

save it as a new dataset by choosing File→Save As.
Teamcenter displays the new dataset.

3. Select the dataset and click the Viewer tab.

Teamcenter displays the contents of the XML file in the style sheet viewer.

4. Select the object type to which this style sheet will be registered from the
Registered Type list.

5. Select one of the style sheet type options, either Property or Form.

6. Edit the XML file, as required.

For more information, see Style sheet XML definition.

7. Click the Apply button to save the modifications.

8. Select an object that uses the style sheet and display the properties of the object
or open the form to verify the modifications to the style sheet.

Create a new style sheet

You can create a new style sheet based on an existing XML dataset or create a new
dataset and associate it with an XML file. To create a style sheet from an existing
style sheet, follow the process described in Modify a predefined style sheet.
1. In My Teamcenter, create a new dataset of type XMLRenderingStylesheet.

2. Import the XML file as a named reference to the dataset as follows:

a. Right-click the dataset in the navigation tree and choose Named References.
Teamcenter displays the Named References dialog box.

b. Click the Import button.

Teamcenter displays the Import File dialog box.

c. Locate and select the XML file in your operating system directory and click
Import.
Teamcenter displays the XML file in the Named References dialog box.

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 Customizing forms and properties display

d. Click Close.

3. Register the style sheet by setting the Form.REGISTEREDTO preference.

For more information about setting preferences, see Rich Client Interface Guide.
For more information for this type of preference, see the
<dataset_name>.REGISTEREDTO preference in the Preferences
and Environment Variables Reference.

Accessing the style sheet viewer

1. Select an XMLRenderingStylesheet dataset in My Teamcenter.

2. Click the Viewer tab.

3. If you have DBA access, you can use the viewer to create, modify, and register
the XML definition for a certain type object. If you do not have DBA access, you
can view the XML definition, but you cannot modify it.
The following figure and table describe the viewer components.

Style sheet viewer

1 Registered Type list Registers the XML style sheet to a type.

2 Stylesheet Type buttons Applies the style sheet type to a particular
type of object.
3 Text editor box Allows you to modify the XML definition.

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Registration information is stored in a site preference. The scope of the preference

is read as ALL, which allows you to manually modify the registration to apply to a
specific, user, group, or role, and those preferences are read accordingly.

Style sheet XML definition

The following code illustrates an example of the XML definition.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rendering>
<page format="OneColumn" title="General" titleKey="general">
<property name="project_id" />
<property name="serial_number" renderingHint="textfield" column="25" />
<separator />
<property name="item_comment" renderingHint="textarea" column="10" row="5" />
<property name="owning_user" />
</page>
<page title="Advanced" format="TwoColumn">
<firstcolumn>
<property name="user_data_1" renderingHint="lovbutton" renderingStyle="titled"
border="true" />
<separator />
<property name="user_data_2" renderingStyle="titled" />
</firstcolumn>
<secondcolumn>
<property name="user_data_3" renderingStyle="titled" border="true" />
<property name="previous_item_id" renderingStyle="titled" />
</secondcolumn>
</page>
</rendering>

The following two figures illustrate how the XML code is rendered in the rich client.
In the thin client, the rendering looks slightly different.

Form rendering example

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 Customizing forms and properties display

Form rendering example

XML elements
New and modified XML elements are added to the XMLRenderingStylesheet
schema. The XML elements topic will be replaced with the following content.
The XML file used to define the property display must include certain elements and
attributes, as shown in the following sample code from the ItemRevision.xml file:
<rendering>
<page title="General" titleKey="General" format="TwoColumn">
<firstcolumn>
<property name="object_string" column="32"/>
<separator/>
<property name="object_name" column="32"/>
<property name="item_id" column="32"/>
<property name="item_revision_id" column="32"/>
<property name="object_desc" />
<property name="items_tag" />
<separator/>
<property name="owning_user" renderingHint="objectlink" modifiable="false" />
<property name="owning_group" renderingHint="objectlink" modifiable="false" />
<property name="last_mod_user" />
</firstcolumn>
<secondcolumn>
<image/>
</secondcolumn>
</page>
<page title="Reservation" titleKey="Reservation">
<property name="checked_out" />
<property name="checked_out_user" />
<separator/>
<property name="checked_out_date" />
<property name="checked_out_change_id" />
<separator/>
<property name="reservation" />
</page>
<page title="Project" titleKey="Project">
<property name="proj_assign_mod_date" />
<property name="project_ids" />
<separator/>
<property name="project_list" />
</page>
<page title="All" titleKey="All">
<all type="property"/>
</page>
</rendering>

The following table describes the available XML elements and attributes.

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Chapter 3 Customizing forms and properties display

Element Description Attributes

all Lists all properties of the type
defined object. This is
supported in both the rich Indicates whether to list all the
client and thin client, but object properties or only form
not the New Business properties. The valid values for this
Object wizard. attribute are property and form.

attachments Specifies which objects None.

attached to an item
revision should appear in
the attachments list. This
is supported in both the
rich client and thin client.
The format for the element
value is:
relation.type

For example:
<attachments>
IMAN_reference.MSExcel
</attachments>

The example displays

all attachments to the
item revision with a
MSExcel type and
an IMAN_reference
relation. Separate
multiple entries with
commas.
break Inserts a break in the None.
pane. This is supported
in both the rich client and
thin client.
classificationTrace Specifies that the None.
classification traces of the
item should be displayed,
for example, Home Care >
Cleaners > Detergents.

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Element Description Attributes

command Specifies a command actionKey
representation to be
displayed. Specifies the action key that presents
the command in the thin client. This
is a string attribute that is optional.

commandId
Specifies the command to be
executed. The attribute value must
be a key into a property file. This is
a string attribute that is required.

defaultTitle
Specifies the string to be displayed
if a key is not found in the property
file. This is an optional attribute.

icon
Specifies the icon to be displayed
before the command label. The
attribute value must be a key into
a property file. This is an optional
attribute.

renderingHint
Specifies whether the command
is rendered as a hyperlink or as a
button. Valid values are hyperlink
and commandbutton. This
attribute is optional. If the attribute
is not specified, the command is
rendered as a hyperlink.

text
Specifies the text to display. The
attribute value must be a key into a
property file. If the key is not found,
the attribute value itself is displayed
as static text. If neither the text or
icon attributes are specified, the
value of the commandId attribute
is rendered. This attribute is
optional.

tooltip
Specifies the tool tip for the
command. The attribute value must
be a key into a property file. This

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Chapter 3 Customizing forms and properties display

Element Description Attributes

attribute is optional but is required
if the icon attribute is specified.
conditions Indicates rules are None.
specified for a property.
This is supported in both The GoverningProperty and
the rich client and thin Rule elements are used within the
client. conditions element.
customPanel Embeds custom code in java
the New Business Object
wizard. Specifies the fully qualified Java
implementation class name
responsible for building the custom
user interface (for example,
com.teamcenter.rac.MyCustomPanel).
This is supported in the rich
client only.

js
Specifies the path and name of
the JavaScript file responsible
for building the custom
user interface (for example,
custom/MyCustomPanel.js). This
is supported in the thin client only.
firstcolumn Applies only to the None.
TwoColumn format.
The properties defined
within this tab are added
to the left column of the
TwoColumn format. This
is supported in both the
rich client and thin client
but not the New Business
Object wizard.
GoverningProperty Specifies the name and propertyname
value of the field that
triggers the Rule element. Specifies the name of the field that
triggers the rule if its value matches.
Caution
propertyvalue
The
GoverningProperty Specifies the property value that
tag is not supported triggers the rule.
in the create
style sheet or the
summary style
sheet.
header Specifies that a header None.
area must be displayed in
the page.

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Element Description Attributes

image Specifies that an image maxheight
is to be rendered. Image
dimensions are always Specifies the maximum height in
kept proportional when pixels to which the image should be
being scaled or resized. scaled. This is a string attribute
that is optional.

maxwidth
Specifies the maximum width in
pixels to which the image should be
scaled. This is a string attribute
that is optional.

source
Specifies the source of the image to
display. The attribute value can be
a thumbnail, preview, or type
keyword. This is a string attribute
that is optional.

tooltip
Specifies the tool tip associated with
the image. The attribute value must
be a key into a property file. This is a
string attribute that is optional, but
is required if the source attribute
is specified.

Note
For backward compatibility, if
no attributes are specified and
the current object type is an
Item, ItemRevision, or Dataset
business object, an attempt is
made to find and render any
preview image that is associated
with the object.
label Specifies a label to be text
rendered.
Specifies the text to use for the label.
The attribute value must be a key
into a property file. If the key is
not found, the attribute value itself
is displayed as static text. This
attribute is required.
listDisplay Displays a set of objects in None.
a list format.

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Element Description Attributes

listensTo Indicates the property on event
which the current property
should listen for any Indicates the event to be
changes. This tag is a child processed. Supported events
of the property element are PropertyChangeEvent,
tag and should not appear FocusLost, and ActionEvent.
anywhere else in the style
sheet. java

For example: Implements the handler for the

event indicated in the event tag.
<listensTo
name="tableDefinition" This is a fully qualified path of
event="PropertyChangeEvent" a class that implements the
java="com.teamcenter.rac.
mechatronics.ccdm.common.
stylesheet.CCDMDispatcher" />
InterfaceTCPropertyEventHandler
handler.

name
Indicates the property on which the
current property listens.
objectSet Specifies a set of one or defaultdisplay
more objects to display and
the default display type to Specifies the default format to use
use for rendering. when displaying the set of objects.
Valid values are treeDisplay,
Note tableDisplay, listDisplay, or
thumbnailDisplay. The default
This element is a value is listDisplay. This is a string
replacement for attribute that is optional.
the attachments
element. sortby
Specifies the object property to
sort the set of objects by prior to
rendering. The default value is
object_string. This is a string
attribute that is optional.

sortdirection
Specifies the direction in which
the set of objects should be sorted.
Valid values are ascending or
descending. The default value
is ascending. This is a string
attribute that is optional.

source
Specifies the comma-delimited
set of run-time properties or
relations that return the desired
set of objects. The format for the

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Element Description Attributes

attribute value is property.type,
where property is the name of a
relation, run-time, or reference
property, and type represents the
type of objects to be included.
Multiple property.type values can
be specified as a comma-separated
list, such as contents.Item or
contents.ItemRevision. This is a
string attribute that is required.
page Presents a tab panel in format
a dialog box or view. If
the page element is not Specifies the format to be used for
defined in the XML file, a this page. This attribute can have
default page is created. one of these values: OneColumn
or TwoColumn. The default value
is OneColumn. This attribute is
optional.

text
Specifies the title to be displayed for
the page. The attribute value must
be a key into a property file. If the
key is not found, the attribute value
itself is displayed as static text. This
is a required attribute.

title
Specifies the default string of the
title for this tab. This attribute is
used when the string in the titleKey
attribute is not found in the locale
file. This is an optional attribute.

titleKey
Specifies the key used to search for
the title in the locale file. If it is not
defined, the string defined by the
title attribute is used. This is an
optional attribute.

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Chapter 3 Customizing forms and properties display

Element Description Attributes

parameter Passes in the name/value name
parameters to the parent
command. It launches Specifies the parameter name, for
a specific named search example, searchName. This is a
when users choose the Add required attribute.
Existing menu command.
This is a child element of value
the command element. Specifies the parameter value, for
example, CustomSearch. This is a
required attribute.
property Specifies the property of border
the form or object. You
must include at least Determines whether the border is
one property in the XML displayed. Valid values are true
definition; otherwise, the and false. This works only with the
system displays an empty titled style. This is supported in
panel. both the rich client and thin client.

column
Applies only to the textfield
and textarea elements. It sets
the number of columns. This is
supported in both the rich client and
thin client.

icon
Specifies the icon for this property.
This attribute is optional.

modifiable
Specifies if the owning_user or
owning_group property can be
modified (true or false). For all
other properties, use a property rule
instead.
name
Specifies the display name of
the property. This is a required
attribute. This is supported in both
the rich client and thin client.
In the New Business Object wizard,
you can use compounding to
specify a property with revision,
IMAN_master_form, and
IMAN_master_form_rev contexts
on style sheets registered to any
object.

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Element Description Attributes

• For example, if the style sheet is

registered on an item, name=
revision:item_revision_id
displays the item_revision_id
property from the item’s
revision.

• Similarly, name=
IMAN_master_form:project_id
displays the project_id
property from the item
master form.

• Also, name=
revision:IMAN_master_form_rev:
serial_number displays the
serial_number property from
the item revision master form.

renderingHint
Specifies the component used to
render this property. This is an
optional attribute. If not defined,
the default render is used based on
the property type.
renderingStyle
Defines the rendering style used in
the rendering component. There are
three styles: headed, headless, and
titled.

• Headed
This is the default rendering
style. The property name is
displayed on the left followed
by the property value renderer.
This is supported in both the
rich client and thin client.

• Headless
This style renders only
the property value without
displaying the property name
in front of it. This is supported
in both the rich client and thin
client.

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Chapter 3 Customizing forms and properties display

Element Description Attributes

• Titled
The property name is displayed
on the top of the property value
renderer. This is supported in
both the rich client and thin
client.

row
Applies only to the textarea
elements. It sets the number of
the rows for the element. This is
supported in both the rich client and
thin client.
rendering Root element Version
Specifies the version of the XML
schema. When an older version is
detected, the program automatically
converts the old scheme to the new
one.
Rule Applies the rule propertyname
to the field if the
GoverningProperty Specifies the name of the field to
element matches its require or disable.
conditions.
state
Indicates whether to make the
field required or disabled. The
valid values for this attribute are
required and disabled.
secondcolumn Applies only to the None.
TwoColumn format.
The properties defined
within this tab are added
to the right column of the
TwoColumn format. This
is supported in both the
rich client and thin client
but not the New Business
Object wizard.

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Element Description Attributes

section Defines a group of initialstate
elements to be displayed
together within a named Specifies whether the view or section
section. should be expanded or collapsed
on initial rendering. Valid values
Note are expanded or collapsed. The
default value is expanded. This
This element is a attribute is optional.
replacement for the
view element. text
Specifies the title to be displayed on
the section header. The attribute
value must be a key into a property
file. If the key is not found, the
attribute value itself is displayed
as static text. This attribute is
required.
separator Adds a separator in the None.
pane. This is supported
in both the rich client,
thin client, and the New
Business Object wizard.
thumbnailDisplay Displays a set of objects None.
using thumbnails
arranged in a grid.
tableDisplay Displays a set of objects in None.
a table format.
treeDisplay Displays a set of objects in None.
a tree format.
view Defines a group of name
properties to be displayed
together. If there Specifies the display name of the
are firstcolumn and view. This name can be localized
secondcolumn elements, in the textserver files. This is a
this element must be required attribute. The following
within them. This is view names are valid: properties,
supported in both the rich viewer, impactanalysis, actions,
client and thin client, and and attachments.
the New Business Object
wizard.

Display format
There are two display formats: OneColumn and TwoColumn.

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OneColumn This is the format used in the current property display. Each row
displays one property. This is the default format if no format is
defined.

OneColumn display format

TwoColumn Each row displays two properties.

TwoColumn display format

Rendering style
Each type of renderer supports three styles: headed, headless, and titled.
Headed Displays the property name on the left followed by the property
value renderer. This is the default rendering style.
This style has two components, the PropertyNameLabel
JavaBean for the property name and the PropertyrenderingHint
JavaBean for the renderer (for example, PropertyTextField or
PropertyTextArea).

Headed rendering style

Headless Renders only the property value without displaying the property
name.
This style contains only one JavaBean, PropertyrenderingHint.
Titled Displays the property name above the property value renderer.
This style uses only the TitledPropertyrenderingHint
JavaBean, for example TitledPropertyTextField or
TitledPropertyTextArea.

Titled rendering style

Rendering hints, rendering style, and JavaBeans

The JavaBeans used depend on the specified rendering hint and rendering style.
The following table lists the JavaBeans used based on the hint and style definition.

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All renderer hints are supported in the rich client. If the rendering style is not
defined, the default style is headed.

Renderer Supported in
hint thin client? Rendering style JavaBeans
textfield Yes Headed or headless PropertyTextField
Titled TitledPropertyTextField
textarea Yes Headed or headless PropertyTextArea
Titled TitledPropertyTextArea

checkbox Yes Headed or headless PropertyCheckbox

Titled TitledPropertyCheckbox

radiobutton Yes Headed or headless PropertyRadioButton

Titled TitledPropertyRadioButton

togglebutton No – Rendered Headed or headless PropertyToggleButton

as checkbox
Titled TitledPropertyToggleButton

checkbox Yes – Rendered Headed or headless PropertyCheckboxOptionLov

optionlov using same
component as
string LOV
array
Titled TitledPropertyCheckbox
OptionLov
radiobutton Yes – Rendered Headed or headless PropertyRadioButton
optionlov using same OptionLov
component as
string LOV
array
Titled TitledPropertyRadioButton
OptionLov
togglebutton Yes – Rendered Headed or headless PropertyToggleButton
optionlov using same OptionLov
component as
string LOV
array
Titled TitledPropertyToggleButton
OptionLov
button Yes Headed or headless PropertyButton
Titled TitledPropertyButton

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Renderer Supported in
hint thin client? Rendering style JavaBeans
label Yes Headed or headless PropertyLabel
Titled TitledPropertyLabel
slider No Headed or headless PropertySlider
Titled TitledPropetySlider
panel Yes – Rendered Headed or headless PropertyPanel
using separators
Titled TitledPropertyPanel
objectlink Yes – Rendered Headed or headless PropertyObjectLink
as a text field
Titled TitledPropertyObjectLink
lovbutton Yes – Rendered Headed or headless PropertyLOVButton
as regular LOV
Titled TitledPropertyLOVButton
lovcombobox Yes – Rendered Headed or headless PropertyLOVCombobox
as regular LOV
Titled TitledPropertyLOVCombobox
longtext Yes – Rendered Headed or headless PropertyLongText
as text area
Titled TitledPropertyLongText
array Yes – Date, Headed or headless PropertyArray
String (text
area), String
LOV, typed
reference
(UID) LOV are
supported
Titled TitledPropertyArray

Customizing property beans

Each rendering hint has a key defined in the stylesheet.properties file for the
class path of the JavaBean. You can plug in your own bean by overwriting the entry
in the properties file to replace the default JavaBean or you can add new entries
for custom JavaBeans.
For more information on overriding the properties file, see Customize the rich client
properties files.
The key has following format for headed or headless beans:
rendering-hint.DEFINITION

The following format is for titled beans.

rendering-hint_titled.DEFINITION

For example:
textfield.DEFINITION=com.teamcenter.rac.stylesheet.

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PropertyTextField
textfield_titled.DEFINITION=com.teamcenter.rac.stylesheet.
TitledPropertyTextField

Note
For style sheets, you can use the renderingHint attribute on the <property>
tag. You can specify your own rendering hint, and it renders successfully for
Swing style sheet rendering in My Teamcenter (2007) in the properties dialog
box, the viewer, and the Summary view. However, SWT style sheet rendering
does not support custom rendering hints; therefore, you cannot use it for the
Summary view in My Teamcenter.

Default renderers
The following table displays the default renderer for each type. If the rendering hint
is not provided, the default renderer is used.

Type Default renderer

string textfield if size < 60
textarea if 60 < size < 2500
longtext if size >= 2500
char textfield
double textfield
float textfield
int textfield
short textfield
long textfield
date datebutton
logical logical
note textfield if size < 60
textarea if size > 60
TypedReference/ objectlink
UntypedReference
All array types array
Any property with an LOV lovcombobox
attached

If there is an LOV attached to the property, the lovcombobox renderer is used

unless the rendering hint does apply to an LOV.

Examples of XML style sheet definitions and renderings

The following code shows an example of an XML definition for user properties:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rendering>
<page title="General" titleKey="General" format="TwoColumn" >
<firstcolumn>

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Chapter 3 Customizing forms and properties display

<property name="user_name" />

<property name="user_id" />
<property name="person" />
<separator />
<property name="default_group"/>
<property name="volume"/>
</firstcolumn>
<secondcolumn>
<property name="is_out_of_office" renderingStyle="Titled"
border="true"/>
<property name="is_member_of_dba" renderingStyle="Titled"
border="true"/>
</secondcolumn>
</page>
<page title="Workflow" titleKey="Workflow">
<property name="taskinbox" />
<property name="is_out_of_office" />
<property name="subscribed_inboxes" />
</page>
<page title="All">
<all type="property"/>
</page>
</rendering>

The following figure shows the user properties dialog box in the rich client resulting
from the XML definition in the previous figure. In the thin client, the rendering
looks slightly different.

User properties dialog box

The following code shows an example of an XML definition for item properties:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rendering>
<page title="General" titleKey="General" format="TwoColumn">
<firstcolumn>
<property name="object_string" column="32"/>
<separator/>
<property name="object_name" column="32"/>
<property name="object_desc" />
<separator/>
<property name="owning_user" />
<property name="owning_group" />
<property name="last_mod_user" />
</firstcolumn>
<secondcolumn>
<image/>
</secondcolumn>
</page>
<page title="Reservation" titleKey="Reservation">
<property name="checked_out" />
<property name="checked_out_user" />
<separator/>
<property name="checked_out_date" />
<property name="checked_out_change_id" />
<separator/>
<property name="reservation" />

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</page>
<page title="Project" titleKey="Project">
<property name="proj_assign_mod_date" />
<property name="project_ids" />
<separator/>
<property name="project_list" />
</page>
<page title="All" titleKey="All">
<all type="property"/>
</page>
</rendering>

The following figure shows the item properties dialog box in the rich client resulting
from the XML definition in the previous figure. In the thin client, the rendering
looks slightly different.

Item properties dialog box

Set properties to be conditionally mandatory or disabled

You can configure rules on forms to make properties be conditionally mandatory or

disabled on the rich client and thin client. Teamcenter clients implement specified
rules locally using XML rendering style sheets without modifying the underlying
server side metamodel.
Note
Style sheets are inherited by form types even where they have not been set.

1. Create a new XMLRenderingStylesheet dataset using the rich client.

Note
If you create a style sheet manually that uses conditions tags and attach
it to the XMLRenderingStylesheet dataset as a named reference, the
style sheet must use UTF-8 encoding. If you use the style sheet viewer to
create your dataset, it automatically uses UTF-8.

2. Select the Viewer pane.

The XML style sheet is displayed in the viewer.

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3. Edit the style sheet to add your conditions between the rendering tags. You
must include rendering tags in the style sheet. If you use conditions, you cannot
use default rendering.
The following example makes the user_data_2 property required if the
user_data_1 property is set to axle and disabled if the object_desc property is
set to part:
<conditions>
<GoverningProperty propertyname = "user_data_1" propertyvalue = "axle">
<Rule propertyname = "user_data_2" state = "required"/>
</GoverningProperty>
<GoverningProperty propertyname = "object_desc" propertyvalue = "part">
<Rule propertyname = "user_data_2" state = "disabled"/>
</GoverningProperty>
</conditions>

The following rules apply to the XML code:

• You can add more than one Rule tag to a GoverningProperty tag. If the
GoverningProperty is true, all of its Rule tags are applied.

Caution
The GoverningProperty tag is not supported in the create style
sheet or the summary style sheet.

• If there is a data or format error in the XML code, no error message

is displayed, the conditions are not applied, and the form uses default
functionality.

• If you specify conflicting or circular rules, Teamcenter does not resolve the
problem. The rules are applied, and no error message is displayed.
A circular rule specifies that field 1 makes field 2 disabled and field 2 makes
field 1 disabled. A conflicting rule specifies that a field is both required and
disabled.

For more information about the tags and their properties, see the XML elements
table.

4. Select Form in the Stylesheet Type list and select the appropriate object from
the Registered Type list.

5. Click the Apply button.

6. Select the form and select the Viewer pane.

The conditions are applied to the form. If you set a property that triggers the
rule, the rule is applied after you move out of the property field (in other words,
click or tab outside the field).

Property beans
The following table lists JavaBeans that you can use to customize the properties
display:

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JavaBean Description
PropertyNameLabel Renders the name of a property (as shown in the following
figure). By specifying the name property, it shows either the
displayable name or real name of the property according to the
setting. This bean can be used along with other beans that
display the property value.

PropertyNameLabel
Properties:
property
Specifies the property name presented by the bean.
displayableName
Indicates whether the displayable name or real name is used.
colon
Indicates whether or not a colon is displayed after the name.
ProperyTextField Renders any nonarray type property, except reference/relation
type properties (as shown in the following figure). This bean
wraps the rendering of the given POM property into JTextField.
Upon saving, the bean attempts to convert the string to the
corresponding property type. If it cannot convert the string to
the required type, an exception is thrown.

PropertyTextField
Properties:
property
Specifies the property name presented by the bean. When a
component is provided, the property value is displayed inside
the box.
mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner of the box.
modifiable
Indicates whether the property is modifiable. If not
modifiable, the text box cannot be edited.

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Chapter 3 Customizing forms and properties display

JavaBean Description
TitledProperty Displays the property name above the text box (as shown in the
TextField following figure). This bean is similar to the PropertyTextField
bean and actually contains two beans: PropertyNameLabel
and PropertyTextField.

TitledPropertyTextField
Properties:
bordered
Indicates whether a border is drawn around the text box.

In addition, you can apply the properties of the

PropertyTextField bean.
PropertyTextArea Renders any nonarray type property except reference/relation
type. This bean wraps the rendering of the given POM property
into the JTextArea, and is generally used for longer text (as
shown in the following figure). Upon saving, it attempts to
convert the string to the corresponding type. If it cannot convert
the string to the required type, an exception is thrown.

PropertyTextArea
Properties:
property
Specifies the property name presented by the bean. When a
component is provide, the property value is displayed inside
the text area.
mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner.
modifiable
Indicates whether the property is modifiable. If not
modifiable, the text area cannot be edited.

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JavaBean Description
TitledProperty Displays the property name above the text area (as shown in the
TextArea following figure). This bean is similar to the PropertyTextArea
bean and actually contains two beans: PropertyNameLabel
and PropertyTextArea.

TitledPropertyTextArea
Properties:
bordered
Indicates whether a border is drawn around the text area.

In addition, you can apply the properties of the

PropertyTextArea bean.
PropertyButton Renders any nonarray type property into the text and icon
of the button (as shown in the following figure). The value
of the property is displayed as the button text. For the
reference/relation type property, it also attempts to display the
icon associated with the reference value. Users cannot change
the button text; therefore, save does not apply to this bean.

PropertyButton
Properties:
property
Indicates the property name presented by the bean. When
a component is provide, the property value is displayed as
the button text.
mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner.

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Chapter 3 Customizing forms and properties display

JavaBean Description
TitledPropertyButton Displays the property name above the button (as shown in the
following figure). This bean is similar to the PropertyButton
bean and actually contains two beans: PropertyNameLabel
and PropertyButton.

TitledPropertyButton
Properties:
bordered
Indicates whether a border is drawn around the button.

In addition, you can apply the properties of the PropertyButton

bean.
PropertyLabel Renders any nonarray type property and displays the value of
the property as the label text. Users cannot change the label
text; therefore, save does not apply to this bean.
Properties:
property
The property name presented by the bean. When a
component is provided, the property value is displayed as
the label text.
mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner of the box.
TitledPropertyLabel Displays the property name above the label (as shown in the
following figure). This bean is similar to the PropertyLabel
bean, and it actually contains two beans: PropertyNameLabel
and PropertyLabel.

TitledPropertyLabel
Properties:
bordered
Indicates whether a border is drawn around the label.

In addition, you can apply the properties of the PropertyLabel

bean.

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JavaBean Description
PropertySlider Renders any numeric type property. For double or float types, the
value is cast to an integer. For string or note types, the value is
converted to an integer if possible. Upon save, the value set on
the slider is converted to the corresponding property type and
saved. The following figure illustrates an implementation of the
PropertySlider bean.

PropertySlider
Properties:
property
The property name presented by the bean. When a
component is provided, the slider value is set according to
the property value.
mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner.
modifiable
Indicates whether the property is modifiable. If not, the
slider is disabled.
TitledPropertySlider Displays the property name above the slider (as shown in the
following figure). This bean is similar to the PropertySlider
bean, and it actually contains two beans: PropertyNameLabel
and PropertySlider.

TitledPropertySlider
bordered
Indicates whether a border is drawn around the slider.

In addition, you can apply the properties of the PropertySlider

bean.

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JavaBean Description
PropertyCheckbox Renders any nonarray type property, except reference/relation
type, using JCheckBox. A flag indicates whether the value is
saved only when the check box is selected or whether it is always
saved. There is a variable for the value to use on saving for a
selected button or for the deselected button. If the flag is set to
save regardless of whether the button is selected or deselected,
both the selected value to save and the deselected value to save
must be set. The following figure illustrates an implementation
of the PropertyCheckbox bean.

PropertyCheckbox
Properties:
property
The property name presented by this bean. When a
component is provided, the check box is selected if the
property value is same as the selected value.
mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner.
modifiable
Indicates if the property is modifiable. If not, the check box is
disabled.
selectedValue
Specifies the value used for saving when the check box is
selected.
deselectedVaue
Specifies the value to use for saving when the check box is
deselected.
saveOnlyWhenSelected
Indicates to save only when check box is selected or to always
save.

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JavaBean Description
TitledProperty Displays the property name above the check box (as shown in the
Checkbox following figure). This bean is similar to the PropertyCheckbox
bean and actually contains two beans: PropertyNameLabel
and PropertyCheckbox.

TitledPropertyCheckbox
bordered
Indicates whether a border is drawn around the check box.

In addition, you can apply the properties of the

PropertyCheckbox bean.
PropertyRadioButton The usage of this bean is same as that of the PropertyCheckbox
bean; however, rather than using JCheckBox, JRadioButton
is used. The following figure illustrates an implementation of the
PropertyRadioButton bean.

PropertyRadioButton
Properties:
property
The property name presented by the bean. When a
component is provided, the button is selected if the property
value is the same as the selected value.
mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner.
modifiable
Indicates whether the property is modifiable. If not, the
button is disabled.
selectedValue
Specifies the value used for saving when the button is
selected.
deselectedVaue
Specifies the value to use for saving when the button is
deselected.

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JavaBean Description

saveOnlyWhenSelected
Indicates to save only when the button is selected or to
always save.
TitledProperty Displays the property name above the button (as shown
RadioButton in the following figure). This bean is similar to the
PropertyRadioButton bean.

TitledPropertyRadioButton
bordered
Indicates whether a border is drawn around the button.

In addition, you can apply the properties of the

PropertyRadioButton bean.
PropertyToggleButton The usage of this bean is the same as the PropertyCheckbox
bean; however, this bean uses JToggleButton rather than
JCheckBox. The following figure illustrates an implementation
of the PropertyToggleButton bean.

PropertyToggleButton
Properties:
property
The property name presented by the bean. When a
component is provided, the button is selected if the property
value is the same as the selected value.
mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner.
modifiable
Indicates whether the property is modifiable. If not, the
button is disabled.
selectedValue
Specifies the value used for saving when the button is
selected.
deselectedVaue
Specifies the value to use for saving when the button is
deselected.

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JavaBean Description

saveOnlyWhenSelected
Indicates to save only when the button is selected or to
always save.
TitledProperty Displays the property name above the button. This bean
ToggleButton is similar to the PropertyToggleButton bean. The
following figure illustrates an implementation of the
TitledPropertyToggleButton bean.

TitledPropertyToggleButton
bordered
Indicates whether a border is drawn around the button.

In addition, you can apply the properties of the

PropertyToggleButton bean.
PropertyLOVButton Used for any property that has an LOV attached to it except
logical type. It uses LOVPopupButton to present this property
(as shown in the following figure).

LOVPopupButton
Properties:
property
The property name presented by the bean. When a
component is provided, the button text is set to the property
value.
mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner.
modifiable
Indicates whether the property is modifiable. If not, the
button is disabled.

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JavaBean Description

lovName
Specifies the name of the LOV that the bean uses. If
undefined, the LOV information is retrieved from the
property descriptor.
TitledProperty Displays the property name above the LOV button (as
LOVButton shown in the following figure). This bean is similar to the
PropertyLOVButton bean and actually contains two beans:
PropertyNameLabel and PropertyLOVButton.

TitledPropertyLOVButton
bordered
Indicates whether a border is drawn around the LOV popup
button.

In addition, you can apply the properties of the

PropertyLOVButton bean.
PropertyLOV This bean is similar to the PropertyLOVPopupButton
Combobox bean; however, it uses LOVComboBox rather than
LOVPopupButton to present the property (as shown in the
following figure).

PropertyLOVPopupButton
Properties:
property
The property name presented by the bean.

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JavaBean Description

mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner.
modifiable
Indicates whether the property is modifiable. If not, the
combo box is disabled.
lovName
Specifies the name of the LOV that the bean will use.
If undefined, the LOV information is retrieved from the
property descriptor.
TitledProperty Displays the property name above the LOV combo box (as
LOVCombobox shown in the following figure). This bean is similar to the
PropertyLOVCombobox bean.

TitledPropertyLOVCombobox
bordered
Indicates whether a border is drawn around the LOV combo
box.
In addition, you can apply the properties of the
PropertyLOVCombobox bean.
PropertyCheckbox Presents each value in the LOV as a check box (as shown in the
OptionLov following figure). This bean is designed for any type property
that has a LOV attached. If the property is not an array, the
check boxes are added to a button group; otherwise, they are not
added to the button group and multiple selections are allowed.

PropertyCheckboxOptionLov
Properties:
property
The property name presented by the bean.
mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner.

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JavaBean Description

modifiable
Indicates whether the property is modifiable. If not, the
check boxes are disabled.
lovName
Specifies the name of the LOV that the bean will use.
If undefined, the LOV information is retrieved from the
property descriptor.
TitledPropertyCheckbox Displays the property name above the check boxes (as
OptionLov shown in the following figure). This bean is similar to the
PropertyCheckboxOptionLov bean.

TitledPropertyCheckboxOptionLov
bordered
Indicates whether a border is drawn around the check boxes.
In addition, you can apply the properties of the
PropertyCheckboxOptionLov bean.
PropertyRadioButton Same as the PropertyCheckboxOptionLov bean, except it
OptionLov uses buttons (as shown in the following figure).

PropertyRadioButtonOptionLov

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JavaBean Description
TitledPropertyRadio Displays the property name above the buttons (as shown
ButtonOptionLov in the following figure). This bean is similar to the
PropertyRadioButtonOptionLov bean.

TitledPropertyRadioButtonOptionLov
PropertyToggleButton Same as PropertyCheckboxOptionLov, except it uses buttons
OptionLov (as shown in the following figure).

PropertyToggleButtonOptionLov
TitledPropertyToggle Displays the property name above the buttons (as shown
ButtonOptionLov in the following figure). This bean is similar to the
PropertyToggleButtonOptionLov bean.

TitledPropertyToggleButtonOptionLov
PropertyPanel This bean is a generic container that allows the integrator to
control how property values are stored and displayed. You must
override the load and save methods to implement this standard
behavior. You can combine one or more UI components within
JPanel to provide custom behavior.
For example, if a property in a form called status is an integer
and is either 1 or 2 meaning Running or Stopped, you may
want two toggle buttons with radio behavior to represent this
property. To accomplish this, use the PropertyPanel bean with
two JToggleButtons contained within.
You must override the load and save methods of the
PropertyPanel to determine the selection state from the two

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JavaBean Description
buttons. The PropertyPanel is designed for special behavior
beyond the scope of the other property beans described in this
manual.
TitledPropertyPanel Displays the property name above the panel. This is the same
as the PropertyPanel bean.
PropertyObjectLink This bean renders reference type properties. A shortcut menu is
provided for users to modify the value (as shown in the following
figure). If the value is not modifiable, the shortcut menu is not
available. When the link is clicked, the system displays a dialog
box with properties of this reference component.

PropertyObjectLink
Properties:
property
The property name presented by the bean.
mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner.
modifiable
Indicates whether the property is modifiable. If not, the
shortcut menu is not available.
TitledProperty Displays the property name above the link (as shown
ObjectLink in the following figure). This bean is similar to the
PropertyObjectLink bean.

TitledPropertyObjectLink
bordered
Indicates whether a border is drawn around the link.
In addition, you can apply the properties of the
PropertyObjectLink bean.

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JavaBean Description
PropertyLongText This bean can be used with any string or note type properties,
but is generally used to render text with lengths over 2500
characters. It contains a text area and a button. The long text
dialog box is displayed by clicking the button, making it easier to
browse the text (as shown in the following figure).

PropertyLongText
Properties:
property
The property name presented by the bean.
mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner.
modifiable
Indicates whether the property is modifiable. If not, the text
area cannot be edited and only the close button is available
in the long text dialog box.

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JavaBean Description
TitledProperty Displays the property name above the long text panel (as
LongText shown in the following figure). This bean is similar to the
PropertyLongText bean.

TitledPropertyLongText
bordered
Indicates whether a border is drawn around the text area.
In addition, you can apply the properties of the
PropertyLongText bean.
PropertyLogicalPanel This bean is used to present a logical type property. It uses two
buttons, one for value true and another for false.
property
The property name presented by the bean.
mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner.
modifiable
Indicates whether the property is modifiable. If not, the
buttons are disabled.
TitledProperty Displays the property name above the box (as shown
LogicalPanel in the following figure). This bean is similar to the
PropertyLogicalPanel bean.

TitledPropertyLogicalPanel
bordered
Indicates whether a border is drawn around the text area.
In addition, you can apply the properties of the
PropertyLongText bean.

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JavaBean Description
PropertyArray Renders all array type properties. It is composed with a list box
and buttons to access the values in the list box (as shown in the
following figure). Based on the type of the property, a different
renderer is used for modifying or adding values. If the property
is read only, users cannot enter edit mode.

PropertyArray
property
The property name presented by the bean.
mandatory
Indicates whether the property is required. If true, a red
asterisk is displayed in the upper-right corner of the box.
modifiable
Indicates whether the property is modifiable. If not, the edit
button is not available and the user cannot enter edit mode.

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JavaBean Description
TitledPropertyArray Displays the property name above the property array (as shown
in the following figure) and is similar to the PropertyArray
bean.

TitledPropertyArray
bordered
Specifies whether a border is drawn around the panel.

In addition, you can apply the properties of the PropertyArray

bean.
PropertyImage This bean is limited to items, item revision, datasets, and BOM
view revisions. It walks down these objects to find a dataset
with a displayable image and displays that image. It uses the
same logic as Engineering Process Management Visualization
to find the image dataset and read the search order defined in
the tcviewer.properties file. For example, the following figure
shows an image attached to the selected item revision.

PropertyImage

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Chapter

4 Performing advanced
customizations

Customize the rich client properties files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

Customizing Command Suppression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4

Using the Command Suppression expression in the plugin.xml file . . . . . . 4-5
Command Suppression constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Naming convention for extensions and Command Suppression . . . . . . . . . 4-6

Registering user service functions on the server side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7

Implement methods on the server side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
Call the function from the Java Teamcenter client side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8

Register run-time properties for Teamcenter business objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9

Displaying files in the viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13

Display Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, and text files in the viewer . . . . . . 4-13
Display Web files in the viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Display QAF files in the viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Disable the toolbar in the viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13

Customizing the data tabs display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14

Edit the properties file to display tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14
Sample tab customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15

Customizing the rich client to perform additional validations on a file . . . . . . . 4-16

Creating pre- and post-actions in Resource Manager and Classification . . . . . . 4-18

Customizing Resource Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-19
Customizing Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-19
Develop Java pre- and post-code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20
Customizing complex commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-21
Resource Manager – Create . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-21
Resource Manager – Save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-22
Resource Manager – Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-22
Resource Manager – Cancel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-23
Resource Manager – Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-23
Resource Manager – Create Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-24

Writing headless programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-24

Writing headless rich client programs that automatically log on . . . . . . . . 4-24
Set up Eclipse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-25
Create the plug-in project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-26

PLM00075 F Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide

 Export your plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-29
Run your plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-29
Write headless rich client programs with a logon dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . 4-31
Write a headless application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-33

Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide PLM00075 F

Chapter

4 Performing advanced
customizations

Advanced customization procedures allow you to customize the rich client with
greater control.

Customize the rich client properties files

You can customize the appearance of applications in the rich client by creating
user properties files that override the default properties files. The default
properties files, with a .properties extension, are located in the various
com.teamcenter.rac.component.jar files in the TC_ROOT\portal\plugins
directory. You override the default file by creating a _user.properties file and
wrapping it in an Eclipse plug-in. For example, if you want to override a property in
Manufacturing Process Planner, you must override the mpp.properties file located
in the com.teamcenter.rac.cme.legacy.jar file with the mpp_user.properties
file.
1. Create the Java project.
a. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

b. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Then click Next.

c. In the Project name box, type the project name, which should be in the form
of com.mycom.project-name. For example, type com.mycom.propertiesfile.
Clear the text in the Source folder box. Click Next.

d. Under Options, ensure the Generate an activator and This plug-in will make
contributions to the UI check boxes are selected. Click Next.

e. Clear the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box. Click
Finish.

2. Modify the properties file.

a. Open WinZip, navigate to the TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory, and
open the JAR file that contains the properties file you want to override. The
file name has the form property.properties. For example, to override the
mpp.properties file, open the com.teamcenter.rac.cme.legacy.jar file.

b. Extract the properties file you want to override from the JAR file. For
example, extract the mpp.properties file.

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c. In a text editor, open the properties file to determine the syntax of the
property you want to modify.

d. Create a new property_user.properties in a text editor. For example, if you

open the mpp.properties file, create the mpp_user.properties file.

e. Type the entries you want to use to override the defaults.

f. Save and exit the file.

3. Update the project tabs.

a. In Eclipse, click your project tab and click its Dependencies tab.

b. Under Required Plug-ins, click the Add button.

c. Select the following plug-ins from the list by holding down the Ctrl key while
you click them:
• com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp

• com.teamcenter.rac.common

• com.teamcenter.rac.external

• com.teamcenter.rac.kernel

• com.teamcenter.rac.neva

• com.teamcenter.rac.tcapps

• com.teamcenter.rac.util

d. Click OK.

e. Click your project’s Runtime tab.

f. Under Exported Packages, click the Add button.

g. Select your project and click OK.

h. Click your project’s Extensions tab.

i. Click the Add button.

j. Select the com.teamcenter.rac.util.tc_properties extension point.

k. Click Finish.

l. Click the plugin.xml tab. Type text in the file so it looks like the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.5"?>
<plugin>
<extension
point="com.teamcenter.rac.util.tc_properties">
</extension>
</plugin>

If the text is different, edit it in the tab to resemble the example.

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m. Save the project by choosing File→Save All.

4. Create a package.
a. In the Package Explorer view, right-click your project and choose
New→Package.

b. In the Name box, type the path name where the properties file was originally.
For example, if you originally extracted the mpp.properties file, the
package name should be com.teamcenter.rac.cme.mpp.

c. Click Finish.

d. From Windows Explorer, drag your modified property_user.properties file

and drop it on the package you created in Package Explorer.

e. In Package Explorer, select plugin.xml.

f. Click the MANIFEST.MF tab and type your new package at the
end of the Export-Package line. For example, if your project
name is com.mycom.propertiesfile and the new package is called
com.teamcenter.rac.cme.mpp, the line should read:
Export-Package: com.mycom.propertiesfile, com.teamcenter.rac.cme.mpp

The MANIFEST.MF file should look like the following:

Manifest-Version: 1.0
Bundle-ManifestVersion: 2
Bundle-Name: Propertiesfile
Bundle-SymbolicName: com.mycom.propertiesfile;singleton:=true
Bundle-Version: 1.0.0.qualifier
Bundle-Activator: com.mycom.propertiesfile.Activator
Bundle-Vendor: MYCOM
Require-Bundle: org.eclipse.ui,
org.eclipse.core.runtime,
com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp;bundle-version="8000.2.0",
com.teamcenter.rac.common;bundle-version="8000.2.0",
com.teamcenter.rac.external;bundle-version="8000.2.0",
com.teamcenter.rac.kernel;bundle-version="8000.2.0",
com.teamcenter.rac.neva;bundle-version="1.0.0",
com.teamcenter.rac.tcapps;bundle-version="8000.2.0",
com.teamcenter.rac.util;bundle-version="8000.2.0"
Bundle-RequiredExecutionEnvironment: JavaSE-1.6
Bundle-ActivationPolicy: lazy
Export-Package: com.mycom.propertiesfile, com.teamcenter.rac.cme.mpp

g. Click your project’s Runtime tab. If one or more of the items listed in the
Export-Package line in the previous step are missing, add the missing ones
by clicking the Add button, selecting the missing packages, and clicking OK.

5. Save and export your changes.

To save and export your changes, follow the steps in the Export your custom
plug-in to the rich client topic.

6. Debug in Eclipse.
a. In Eclipse, choose Run→Debug Configurations.

b. In the Debug dialog box, under Java Application on the left-hand side, select
the configuration you want to debug.

c. At the bottom of the dialog box, click the Debug button.

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Chapter 4 Performing advanced customizations

This launches the application in debug mode. To change the perspective to

the debug perspective, choose Window→Open Perspective→Debug.

You can then debug your application.

7. Run the genregxml script.

If you make changes to any of the .properties files, or you add new plug-ins or
change plug-in content, you must run the genregxml script to ensure your
changes are included when the rich client starts. This enhances performance
because it caches the properties so they can be loaded when the rich client starts.
The script takes no arguments and generates a RegistryLoader file for each
locale in the portal\Registry directory. The RegistryLoader file is added
during rich client startup.

a. Delete the old registry loader file:

TC_ROOT\portal\registry\RegistryLoader.xml.gz

b. Run the following script:

TC_ROOT\portal\registry\genregxml
When the script is finished, a new RegistryLoader.xml.gz file is created.

8. Verify the customization.

Customizing Command Suppression

You can suppress menu commands using the Command Suppression application in
Teamcenter. If you want to make your custom plug-ins conform to the Command
Suppression application, you must add the proper coding to the plug-ins.
For more information about the Command Suppression application, see the
Command Suppression Guide.
The rich client uses Eclipse declarative commands, menu contributions, and
handlers to define the vast majority of menu bar and toolbar items. Eclipse
uses a Boolean expression-based syntax to allow control over visibility of any
specific command in a menu using the visibleWhen expression. Just like Eclipse
provides some sources like activeContexts, activePartId, and so on, a rich client
rac_command_suppression source is defined.
Every command contribution in a custom plugin.xml file must have a visibleWhen
expression consuming the rac_command_suppression source using the with
expression. (That is, those command contributions using the org.eclipse.ui.menus
extension point to contribute a command using the menuContribution source.)
Using the rac_command_suppression source ensures that the command is visible
only when it is not suppressed.
The rac_command_suppression source gets called whenever the workbench state
changes, for example, when new commands are suppressed, when switching between
perspectives, and so on.
The with expression (henceforth referred to as the Command Suppression
expression) consuming the rac_command_suppression source must be specified

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 Performing advanced customizations

in the visibleWhen expression of every command contribution. A template of this

Command Suppression expression follows:
<with variable="rac_command_suppression">
<not>
<iterate operator="or">
<equals value="command_ID_of_the_command_contribution"/>
</iterate>
</not>
</with>

Replace command_ID_of_the_command_contribution with the command ID of the

respective command contribution.

Using the Command Suppression expression in the plugin.xml file

Using the Command Suppression expression in a rich client plugin.xml file varies
based on the following scenarios:
• The command contribution does not contain a visibleWhen expression.
Example before changes:
<menuContribution locationURI="menu:edit?after=cut.ext">
<command commandId="org.eclipse.ui.edit.cut" id="org.eclipse.ui.edit.cut"
label="%cutAction.NAME">
</command>
</menuContribution>

Example after changes:

<menuContribution locationURI="menu:edit?after=cut.ext">
<command commandId="org.eclipse.ui.edit.cut" id="org.eclipse.ui.edit.cut"
label="%cutAction.NAME">
<visibleWhen>
<with variable="rac_command_suppression">
<not>
<iterate operator="or">
<equals value="org.eclipse.ui.edit.cut"/>
</iterate>
</not>
</with>
</visibleWhen>
</command>
</menuContribution>

• The command contribution contains a visibleWhen expression with a nested

and expression.
Example before changes:
<menuContribution locationURI="popup:org.eclipse.ui.popup.any
?after=org.eclipse.ui.edit.paste">
<command commandId="com.teamcenter.rac.pasteDuplicate">
<visibleWhen>
<and>
<reference definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.cme.mpp.inMainView"/>
<reference definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.tcapps.
isPasteDuplicateAllowed"/>
</and>
</visibleWhen>
</command>
</menuContribution>

Example after changes:

<menuContribution locationURI="popup:org.eclipse.ui.popup.any
?after=org.eclipse.ui.edit.paste">
<command commandId="com.teamcenter.rac.pasteDuplicate">
<visibleWhen>
<and>
<reference definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.cme.mpp.inMainView"/>
<reference definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.tcapps.
isPasteDuplicateAllowed"/>
<with variable="rac_command_suppression">
<not>

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Chapter 4 Performing advanced customizations

<iterate operator="or">
<equals value="com.teamcenter.rac.pasteDuplicate"/>
</iterate>
</not>
</with>
</and>
</visibleWhen>
</command>
</menuContribution>

• The command contribution contains a visibleWhen expression with nested

expressions (not the and expression).
Example before changes:
<menuContribution locationURI="menu:file?after=save.ext">
<command commandId="com.teamcenter.rac.importAMRuleTree"
icon="icons/importamruletree_16.png" mnemonic="%importAMRuleTreeAction.MNEMONIC">
<visibleWhen>
<reference definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.accessmanager.inMainView"/>
</visibleWhen>
</command>
</menuContribution>

Example after changes:

<menuContribution locationURI="menu:file?after=save.ext">
<command commandId="com.teamcenter.rac.importAMRuleTree"
icon="icons/importamruletree_16.png" mnemonic="%importAMRuleTreeAction.MNEMONIC">
<visibleWhen>
<and>
<reference definitionId="com.teamcenter.rac.accessmanager.inMainView"/>
<with variable="rac_command_suppression">
<not>
<iterate operator="or">
<equals value="com.teamcenter.rac.importAMRuleTree"/>
</iterate>
</not>
</with>
</and>
</visibleWhen>
</command>
</menuContribution>

Command Suppression constraints

Following are constraints on Command Suppression customization:
• The Command Suppression application cannot suppress commands that
are dynamic contributions using the <dynamic> </dynamic> tag in the
menuContribution section of the org.eclipse.ui.menus extension point.

• Any contributions that are done statically in the code (for example, the Window
menu) cannot be suppressed.

• Any contributions that are done using Eclipse actions cannot be suppressed.

Naming convention for extensions and Command Suppression

Every command contribution in a plug-in has the visibleWhen expression
containing the rac_command_suppression source provider. The naming
convention of the extensions in a plug-in should always start with the bundle
symbolic name to clearly indicate which plug-in is providing the contribution.
Assume that the com.mycom.myapp plug-in has the com.mycom.myapp bundle
symbolic name in the META-INF/MANIFEST.MF. Assume that this plug-in creates
the Sample Perspective perspective and makes contributions to the global menu

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bar and toolbar that are visible in the perspective. The perspective ID starts with
the bundle symbolic name, for example:
com.mycom.myapp.perspectives.samplePerspectiveId

Because the command contributions from the com.mycom.myapp plug-in should

be visible only in the Sample Perspective perspective, a reference definition can be
defined and associated on all command contributions, for example:
<definition id="com.mycom.myapp.inMainPerspective">
<with variable="activeContexts">
<iterate operator="or">
<or>
<equals value="com.mycom.myapp.perspectives.samplePerspectiveId"/>
</or>
</iterate>
</with>
</definition>

Assume that the plug-in contributes a sample command. This means that the
plug-in must define a command ID using the org.eclipse.ui.commands extension
point adhering to the naming convention, for example:
com.mycom.myapp.sampleCommand

To make this sample command visible only in the Sample Perspective perspective,
and if it is not suppressed from the Command Suppression perspective, use a
combination of this reference definition and the command suppression source
provider, for example:
<command commandId="com.mycom.myapp.sampleCommand" tooltip="%sampleCommand.TIP">
<visibleWhen>
<and>
<reference definitionId="com.mycom.myapp.inMainPerspective"/>
<with variable="rac_command_suppression">
<not>
<iterate operator="or">
<equals value="com.mycom.myapp.sampleCommand"/>
</iterate>
</not>
</with>
</and>
</visibleWhen>
</command>

Registering user service functions on the server side

TCUserService methods allow you to register functions on the server side and
call those functions from the client side.
User service methods are registered during initialization of the Teamcenter server
and applies for the duration of the Teamcenter server session. User service methods
must be registered in the USERSERVICE_register_methods () functions. To
register a method, register it in the function USERSERVICE_register_methods
() using the USERSERVICE_register_method () inside user_server_exits.c.
user_server_exits.c is a prerequisite for registering your user service programs.
For more information about the server side, see the Server Customization
Programmer’s Guide.
The parameters passed for USERSERVICE_register_method () are the function
name, function pointer, the number of input arguments, the input arguments, and
the return parameter.
A custom function, called createItem, exists on the server that is called by the
Teamcenter client. The createItem function takes the item id (string type), item

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Chapter 4 Performing advanced customizations

rev (string type), and item name (string type) as input arguments, creates an
item, and return its tag to the Teamcenter client.

Implement methods on the server side

Perform the following steps to register server-side functions:
1. Open user_server_exits.c.

2. Modify the body of the method extern int

USERSERVICE_register_methods() to match the following code.
extern int USERSERVICE_register_methods()
{
USER_function_t createItem = createItem;
int nargs = 3;
int retValueType;
int *inputArgTypes;
inputArgtypes = (int *) MEM_alloc ( nargs * sizeof (int) );
/* Refer ict_userservice.h for more arg types*/
inputArgTypes[0] = USERARG_STRING_TYPE;
inputArgTypes[1] = USERARG_STRING_TYPE;
inputArgTypes[2] = USERARG_STRING_TYPE;
retValueType = USERARG_TAG_TYPE;
USERSERVICE_register_method (“createItem", createItem, nargs,
inputArgTypes, retValueType );
} /* End of Registration */
/* Start of my implementation of createItem */
int createItem ( void *retValue )
{
int retcode = ITK_ok;
tag_t itemTag;
tag_t revTag;
char *itemId = NULL;
char *itemRev = NULL
char *itemName = NULL;
USERARG_get_string_argument ();
USERARG_get_string_argument ();
USERARG_get_string_argument ();
retcode = ITEM_create_item ( itemId, itemName, "Item", itemRev, , );
if ( status == ITK_ok )
{
AOM_save (itemTag);
AOM_save (revTag);
}
*( (tag_t *) retValue ) = itemTag;
return status;
}

If you want to use an array, add the + USERARG_ARRAY_TYPE declaration

to the argument declaration. For example, to make the inputArgTypes[2]
argument in the previous figure a string array instead of only a string, change
the line to this:
inputArgTypes[2] = USERARG_STRING_TYPE + USERARG_ARRAY_TYPE;

If you want to return the strings from the array, use the
USERSERVICE_return_string_array function.

3. Build the lib_server_exits.so (or .sl or .dll file, depending on which platform
the Teamcenter server is running) file with the modified user_server_exits.c
and place it in the appropriate path.

Call the function from the Java Teamcenter client side

When the lib_server_exits library is ready on the server side, call the
user-registered method from the client, using the following steps:
1. Get the TCUserService object from the TCSession object, using the
getUserService() method, as follows:
TCUserService userServ = sessionObj.getUserService ();
// where sessionObj is an object of TCSession

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2. Use the method call to call the user-defined method. For example, to call the
createItem function:
Object objs = new Object[3];
String itemId = new String("1234");
String itemRev = new String (“A”);
String itemName = new String (“Nameof1234”);
objs[0]=itemId;
objs[1] = itemRev;
objs[2]=itemName;
TCComponent itemComp =
(TCComponent) userServ.call (“createItem", objs);

Note
"tag_t" in the ITK layer becomes TCComponent in the Java UIF layer.

The actual tag value will become an UID string value in the client representation:
String tagValue = itemComp.getKey (). toString();

The user service program file can be compiled using the compile script in the
$TC_ROOT/sample directory.
The libserver_exits library can be built using the link_server_exit script.

Register run-time properties for Teamcenter business objects

You can register run-time properties for Teamcenter business objects.
Run-time properties are defined and attached to business objects at run time.
They do not map directly to persistent attributes, references, or relations. Rather,
run-time properties derive data from one or more pieces of system information (for
example, date or time) that are not stored in the Teamcenter database.
Run-time properties can also be used to display the property of one business object
as if it were a property of another business object.
For example, to add a run-time property called Project Days to the Item business
object, perform the following steps:
1. Set the Teamcenter environment.
Go to the $TC_ROOT/sample/properties directory in UNIX or Linux or the
%TC_ROOT%\sample\properties directory in Windows.

2. (Optional) Copy the user_init.c file to a location that can have the directory
structure shown in the following figure. For example, the custom/src directory
in UNIX or Linux or the custom\src directory in Windows.

Directory structure

3. Open the user_init.c file and add a function, for example,

register_custom_properties, under the USER_register_properties file, as
follows:
extern int USER_register_properties(void)
{

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ifail = register_custom_properties();
}

4. Save the file.

5. Create a new file, for example custom_properties.c, and add the lines shown
in the following example.
#include <tc/tc.h>
#include <property/prop.h>
#include <property/propdesc.h>
#include <tccore/tctype.h>
#include <tccore/method.h>
#include <tc/emh.h>
#include <tccore/custom.h>
int register_custom_properties()
{
int retCode = ITK_ok;
int n_types = 0;
USER_prop_init_entry_t user_types_methods[] =
{
{ "Item", custom_display_all_props, NULL }
};
n_types = sizeof(user_types_methods)/sizeof(USER_prop_init_entry_t);
retCode = TCTYPE_register_properties(user_types_methods, n_types );
if ( retCode != ITK_ok )
{
EMH_store_error( EMH_severity_error, retCode);
Return retCode;
}
return( ifail );
}
int custom_display_all_props( METHOD_message_t* m, va_list args )
{
int retCode = ITK_ok;
char type_name[TCTYPE_name_size_c + 1];
METHOD_id_t method;
tag_t type_tag = (tag_t)va_arg(args, tag_t);
retCode = TCTYPE_ask_name( type_tag, type_name );
if ( retCode != ITK_ok )
{
EMH_store_error( EMH_severity_error, retCode);
Return retCode;
}
retCode = custom_add_all_props ( m, type_tag, type_name );
if ( retCode != ITK_ok )
{
EMH_store_error( EMH_severity_error, retCode);
Return retCode;
}
return( retCode );
}

The register_custom_properties () method registers a property method for

the Item business object using the following ITK call:
USER_prop_init_entry_t user_types_methods[] =
{
{ "Item", custom _display_all_props, NULL }
};

This call is followed by the TCTYPE_register_properties call to register the

property method.
In the custom_display_all_props method, the project_stage run-time
property is registered using the following ITK call:
int custom_add_all_props(METHOD_message_t* m, va_list args)
{
retCode = TCTYPE_add_runtime_property( type_tag,
"project_stage",
PROP_string,
(32 + 1),
&curstage_tag);
if ( retCode != ITK_ok )
{
EMH_store_error( EMH_severity_error, retCode);
return retCode;
}
retCode = METHOD_register_prop_method( (const char*)type_name,
"project_stage",
PROP_ask_value_string_msg,
custom_ask_curstage_prop_value,
0,
&method);

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if ( retCode != ITK_ok )
{
EMH_store_error( EMH_severity_error, retCode);
return retCode;
}
return retCode;
}

The METHOD_register_prop_method method registers the

custom_ask_curstage_prop_value method, which allows you to add custom
code to get the value of the registered property.

6. In the custom/inc directory (UNIX or Linux) or custom\inc directory

(Windows), create a file called custom.h containing the lines shown in the
following sample.
extern int register_custom_properties( void );
extern int custom_display_all_props( METHOD_message_t* m, va_list args );
extern custom_add_all_props( METHOD_message_t* m, tag_t type_tag, char *type_name );
extern int custom_ask_curstage_prop_value( METHOD_message_t * m, va_list args );

Include this file in both the custom_properties.c and user_init.c files.

7. From the custom/lib directory (UNIX or Linux) or custom\lib directory

(Windows), issue the following command:
• UNIX or Linux:
ar x $TC_LIBRARY/libuser_exits.ar

• Windows:
%TC_ROOT%\sample\extract_objects %TC_LIBRARY%\libuser_exits.ar.lib

These commands extract the required object files to build the libuser_exits
executable.

8. Set the following environment variable:

• UNIX or Linux:
export USER_INCLUDE = /custom/inc

• Windows:
set USER_INCLUDE=drive-letter:\custom\inc

9. Copy the compile and link_user_exits scripts from the $TC_ROOT/sample

(UNIX or Linux) directory or the %TC_ROOT%\sample (Windows) directory to
the custom/tools or custom\tools directory:

10. In the compile script, add the following line to include the customized include
directory:
• UNIX or Linux:
- INCLUDES="-I${USER_INCLUDE} -I${TC_INCLUDE} -I${XINCLDIR1}
-I${XINCLDIR2}"

• Windows:
$INCLUDES = "-I$ENV{USER_INCLUDE} " .
"-I\"$ENV{TC_INCLUDE}\" " .
"-I\"$ENV{USER_INCLUDE}\" " .
"-I\"$ENV{MSDEV_HOME}\\include\"";

11. Compile and link the source files in the custom/src (UNIX or Linux) or
custom\src (Windows) directory using the compile and link_user_exits
scripts to obtain the libuser_exits executable.

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a. After compiling, copy the .o files to the custom/lib or custom\lib directory.

b. Go to the lib directory and issue the following command:

link_user_exits

12. Create a directory called cust under the custom directory.

13. Open the appropriate language-specific directory under the

$TC_ROOT/lang/textserver directory or %TC_ROOT%\lang\textserver
directory and copy the user_property_names.xml file to the cust directory.

14. Open the user_property_names.xml file and add the following entry:
<key id="project_stage">Project Days</key>

Caution
This is an older display text method. Previously, to define
property display names when using ITK, you made this change
in the user_property_names.xml file. You should now call the
PROPDESC_set_display_name function in the property initialization
module function registered for the type on which this property exits.
For more information, see the Server Customization Programmer’s Guide.

15. Save the file.

16. Set the script file as follows:

• UNIX or Linux:
export /set TC_USER_MSG_DIR=path-of-cust—directory

• Windows:
set TC_USER_MSG_DIR=path-of-cust—directory

17. In the same script, update the SHLIB_PATH variable (UNIX),

LD_LIBRARY_PATH variable (Solaris or Linux), or PATH variable (Windows)
with the TC_USER_LIB path, as follows:
• UNIX:
- export SHLIB_PATH=$SHLIB_PATH:$TC_USER_LIB

• Solaris or Linux:
- export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$SHLIB_PATH:$TC_USER_LIB

• Windows:
set PATH=%PATH%;%TC_USER_LIB%

18. Save the file.

19. Launch the rich client and select an Item business object in the My Teamcenter
application.

20. Choose View→Properties.

The Properties dialog box displays the Project Days run-time property and
its value.

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Displaying files in the viewer

On Windows platforms, you can display Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Portable
Document Format (PDF), and text files in the Viewer panel. On UNIX platforms, the
properties of the file are displayed instead.

Display Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, and text files in the viewer
Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, and text files are displayed automatically
with no additional configuration required.

Display Web files in the viewer

To use Internet Explorer as the browser component in the Browser application, open
the Web Browser application. This feature is available only on Windows platforms.
For more information about using the Web Browser application, see Web Browser
Guide.

Display QAF files in the viewer

To display QAF files in the viewer if Teamcenter’s lifecycle visualization is not
already installed:
1. In the com.teamcenter.rac.common plug-in, create an empty
com\teamcenter\rac\common\tcviewer\tcviewer_user.properties file.

2. In the com.teamcenter.rac.common plug-in, open the

tcviewer\tcviewer.properties file, copy the entire
DatasetViewer.VIEWSEARCHORDER line, and paste it into the new
tcviewer_user.properties file.

3. In the tcviewer_user.properties file, add UG-QuickAccess-Binary to the

end of the DatasetViewer.VIEWSEARCHORDER line.

4. Add the following line to the tcviewer_user.properties file:

UGMASTER.VIEWPANEL=com.teamcenter.rac.common.tcviewer.DatasetViewer

5. In the com.teamcenter.rac.util plug-in, create a

com\teamcenter\rac\util\viewer\viewer_user.properties file, and
add the following line:
Imager.EXTENSION=gif,jpg,qaf

Disable the toolbar in the viewer

Go to com/teamcenter/rac/common/tcviewer, create the
tcviewer_user.properties file in a text editor, and add the following
entry:
useNevaIEViewerToolBar=false

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Customizing the data tabs display

If you have administrator privileges, you can customize how data tabs display in
the Multi-Structure Manager, Manufacturing Process Planner, Part Planner, Plant
Designer, and other applications. When a user runs one of these applications and
selects the data panel, several tabs appear in the panel. You can change the tabs
that appear by editing the application properties file.
There are two types of tabs in each application:
• Tabs that always appear for a particular parent panel regardless of whether
anything is selected.

• Tabs that appear only when particular components are selected in the parent
panel.

You can customize how the second, selection-specific group of tabs is displayed.
To determine the tabs to display, the system checks four criteria:
• The class type of the selected display component, for example:
BOMLine
CfgAttachmentLine
TcItemBOPLine

• The subtype of the selected display component, which is generally the same
as the class type. However, for BOM lines, it is the occurrence type and for
attachment lines it is the relation to the parent.

• The class type of the underlying component, such as ItemRevision.

• The subtype of the underlying component (the component type name).

For each selection, the system checks for six properties and adds all the tabs found.
You can edit these properties to change the tabs that are presented to the user:
Display-component-classtype.TABS
Display-component-subtype.TABS
Display-component-classtype.underlying component classtype.TABS
Display-component-classtype.underlying component subtype.TABS
Display-component-subtype.underlying component classtype.TABS
Display-component-subtype.underlying component subtype.TABS

For example, in the Multi-Structure Manager application, the default properties are:
BOMLine.TABS=Referencers, Variant, Attachments, InClassAtt, CMEViewer, Report,
IncrementalChangeInfo
TcItemBOPLine.TABS=Referencers, Variant, Attachments, InClassAtt, CMEViewer,
Report, IncrementalChangeInfo
AppGroupBOPLine.TABS=Referencers, Attachments, CMEViewer, IncrementalChangeInfo
GDELine.TABS=Referencers, InClassAtt, CMEViewer, Report, IncrementalChangeInfo
GDELinkLine.TABS=Referencers, InClassAtt, CMEViewer, Report,
IncrementalChangeInfo
MEAppearanceLine.TABS=Referencers, Attachments, CMEViewer, IncrementalChangeInfo
CfgAttachmentLine.TABS=Referencers, CMEViewer, IncrementalChangeInfo, Report
BOMLine.ItemRevision.TABS=ProductAppearance
TcItemBOPLine.ItemRevision.TABS=ProductAppearance
CfgAttachmentLine.ItemRevision.TABS=InClassAtt

You can add or delete the names of tabs that are displayed for each data panel in
this file.

Edit the properties file to display tabs

To display tabs, you can place the changes in a _user.properties file to override the
default .properties file.

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For more information about the general process, see Customize the rich client
properties files.
1. Extract the application.properties file from the appropriate
com.teamcenter.rac.component.jar file using the jar xf command. For
example, if you want to edit the mpp.properties file for Part Planner, the
command looks like this:
jar xf com.teamcenter.rac.cme.legacy.jar com/teamcenter/rac/cme/mpp/mpp.properties

Note
For more information about the jar command, see Sun’s Java
documentation.

2. Edit the .TABS line to include the tab you want.

3. Save the file as application_user.properties file and insert the file into your
own custom plug-in.

Sample tab customization

The following example is for creating new tabs for Manufacturing Process Planner.
1. In the Business Modeler IDE, create a new type as a child of the MEProcess
business object.
When the object is deployed to the rich client and displayed in Manufacturing
Process Planner, the tabs in the data pane are different than the tabs for the
MEProcess business object. You must customize the tabs for the new business
object so that they match tabs for the parent.

2. Open the
installation-location\portal\plugins\com.teamcenter.rac.cme.legacy JAR
file and find the mpp.properties file in the following directory:
com\teamcenter\rac\cme\mpp\mpp.properties

3. Make a copy of the mpp.properties file and rename it into a customer-specific

_user.properties file.
For more information about the process, see Edit the properties file to display
tabs.

4. In the mpp.properties file, create .TABS entries for your custom business
object.
Manufacturing Process Planner accepts the following definitions in the
properties files:
line-type.TABS= tab-1, tab-2, tab-n
line-subtype.TABS=tab-1, tab-2, tab-n
line-type.underlying-type.TABS= tab-1, tab-2, tab-n
line-type.underlying-subtype.TABS= tab-1, tab-2, tab-n
line-subtype.underlying-type.TABS= tab-1, tab-2, tab-n
line-subtype.underlying-subtype.TABS= tab-1, tab-2, tab-n

line-type is the type of the BOM line, for example, BOMLine,

ImanItemBOPLine, or Mfg0BvrProcess. line-subtype is the subtype

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of a line and it can be an occurrence type or a relation type, for example,

MEConsumed (in some cases, it is equal the line type). underlying-type is
the type of the underlying component; a BOPLine can have the underlying
MEOperationRevision type, MEProcessRevision type, or other types.
underlying-subtype is the subtype of the underlying component; like the line
subtype, the underlying subtype can also be the same as the underlying type.
If a BOMLine type matches more than one definition, the result is the sum of
tabs from all matched definitions. For example, an item name I1 is assigned to
an operation as MEConsumed type. The following tab lines are defined:
ImanItemBOPLine.TABS= Variant
ImanItemBOPLine.ItemRevision.TABS= CMEViewer
BOMLine.TABS= Referencers
BOMLine.ItemRevision.TABS= ProductAppearance

Selecting the I1 item in the process structure (below the operation) matches
ImanItemBOPLine.TABS and ImanItemBOPLine.ItemRevision.TABS,
and as a result, the system shows the Variant and CMEViewer tabs.
But selecting I1 in the BOM structure matches BOMLine.TABS and
BOMLine.ItemRevision.TABS; therefore, the system shows the References
and ProductAppearance tabs.
Note
The tabs are also defined in the mpp.properties file:
tab.CLASS
tab.ICON

The tab label and tool tip are defined in the mpp_locale.properties file:
tab.TABLABEL
tab.TOOLTIP

Customizing the rich client to perform additional validations on a file

You can customize the rich client to allow users to perform additional validations on
a file when creating a dataset or importing named references. To do this, you must
implement the filesSelector extension point in the com.teamcenter.rac.common
plug-in.
You must specify the following attributes in the extension point:
• class
Specifies the name of the custom Java class that implements the extension
point. This customer-supplied custom class must implement the IFilesSelector
interface.
This Java-type attribute is required.

• priority
Specifies the priority of the extension using a valid integer value. If multiple
extensions are available for the filesSelector extension point, the rich client
refers to this attribute to choose the extension with the highest priority.
This string-type attribute is required.

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Following are the methods in the IFilesSelector interface:

• initialize
Custom code must implement this method to allow a user to interactively select
the file by popping up the appropriate dialog box.
Siemens PLM Software recommends that you use the ImportFilesFileChooser
dialog box defined in the com.teamcenter.rac.commands.namedreferences
package. This is a standard Teamcenter dialog box that gets information about
the selected file from the user. Apart from selecting the file, this dialog box has
additional widgets that allow a user to select the file type and reference type.

• getSelectedFiles
Custom code must implement this method to return information about the file
selected by the user. This method must not perform any GUI interaction with
the end user.
This method encapsulates the file object, file type, and reference type
information in a TCFileDescriptor object and return it to the caller. The
TCFileDescriptor constructor is designed to perform validation on the file type
and reference type, and throw exceptions if the validation fails. Custom code is
expected to handle these exceptions.

• getFormattedText
Custom code must implement this method to return the path of the selected file.
This method should not attempt any GUI interaction with end users.

The following example code demonstrates how a simple validation can be performed
using the filesSelector extension point. This sample code validates if the file being
imported is of length 0 bytes or if the file object selected by the user is a directory:
package sample;
import com.teamcenter.rac.commands.namedreferences.ImportFilesFileChooser;
import com.teamcenter.rac.commands.newdataset.IFilesSelector;
import com.teamcenter.rac.commands.newdataset.TCFileDescriptor;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponentDatasetDefinition;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponentDatasetDefinition.TCInvalidFileTypeException;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponentDatasetDefinition.TCInvalidRefTypeException;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCException;
import java.io.File;
import javax.swing.JFileChooser;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;

public class SampleFileSelector implements IFilesSelector {

private List<TCFileDescriptor> listOfFileDesc = null;
public void initialize(TCComponentDatasetDefinition dsDef)
{
ImportFilesFileChooser fc= new ImportFilesFileChooser ( dsDef, null );
int ret = fc.showDialog ( null, null );
if ( ret == JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION )
{
File selectedFile= fc.getSelectedFile();
String fileType = fc.getType();
String fileRefType = fc.getReferenceType();
listOfFileDesc = new ArrayList<TCFileDescriptor>(1);
try
{
TCFileDescriptor currDesc=null;
//Any additional validations which customer wants to implement
isSelectedFileValid(selectedFile);
//Create TCFilDescriptor object
currDesc = new TCFileDescriptor(dsDef,selectedFile,fileType,fileRefType);
listOfFileDesc.add(currDesc);
}
catch (TCInvalidRefTypeException ex)
{

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//Do appropriate exception handling

}
catch (TCInvalidFileTypeException ex)
{
//Do appropriate exception handling
}
catch(TCException ex)
{
//Do appropriate exception handling
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, ex);
listOfFileDesc=null;
return;
}
}
}
public List<TCFileDescriptor> getSelectedFiles()
{
return listOfFileDesc;
}
public String getFormattedText()
{
if ((listOfFileDesc != null) && (listOfFileDesc.size()>0))
{
String displayText=listOfFileDesc.get(0).getFile().getPath();
for (int i=1;i<listOfFileDesc.size();++i)
{
displayText = displayText + ", " + listOfFileDesc.get(i).getFile().getPath();
}
return displayText;
}
return null;
}
//Additional user-validation methods, We have chosen some simple validation examples
//Customer can similar validation in preferred fashion
public String isFileADirectory(File fileObj)
{
if ( fileObj.isDirectory())
{
return "You have selected directory (" + fileObj.getName() + "),
please select a valid file";
}
return null;
}
public String isFileZeroLength(File fileObj)
{
if ( fileObj.length()==0)
{
return "You have selected file (" + fileObj.getName() + " with length 0,
please select a valid file";
}
return null;
}
public boolean isSelectedFileValid(File fileObj) throws Exception
{
String validationMessage=null;
validationMessage = isFileADirectory(fileObj);
if (validationMessage!=null)
{
throw new Exception(validationMessage);
}
validationMessage = isFileZeroLength(fileObj);
if (validationMessage!=null)
{
throw new Exception(validationMessage);
}
return true;
}
}

Creating pre- and post-actions in Resource Manager and Classification

If you want to customize Resource Manager or Classification actions and commands,
you can either write your own or enhance the existing ones.

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Customizing Resource Manager

You can customize Resource Manager using the following packages, found in the
com.teamcenter.rac.cme.legacy plug-in:
• Actions
com.teamcenter.rac.cme.actions

• Commands
com.teamcenter.rac.cme.commands

• Operations
com.teamcenter.rac.cme.operations

• Dialogs
com.teamcenter.rac.cme.dialogs

The classes that belong to the Resource Manager menu bar and toolbar
tokens are specified in the mrm.properties properties file, located in the
com.teamcenter.rac.cme.mrm package. To override the settings in the
mrm.properties file, create the mrm_user.properties file and make your changes
there.
The class for the action token is specified like this:
newMRMAction=com.teamcenter.rac.cme.actions.MRMNewItemAction

The action command has its own registry token with the following syntax:
action-registry—token.COMMAND=command-registry—token

For example:
newMRMAction.COMMAND=newMRMCommand

The class for the command token is specified as follows:

newMRMCommand=com.teamcenter.rac.cme.commands.MRMNewItemCommand

The following code shows an example of the Resource Manager action registry
entries:
# File->New->Resource...
# ----------------------
newMRMAction=com.teamcenter.rac.cme.actions.MRMNewItemAction
newMRMAction.ICON=/com/teamcenter/rac/cme/images/mrmnew_16.png
newMRMAction.COMMAND=newMRMCommand
newMRMCommand=com.teamcenter.rac.cme.commands.MRMNewItemCommand
newMRMDialog=com.teamcenter.rac.cme.dialogs.MRMNewItemDialog
newMRMOperation=com.teamcenter.rac.cme.operations.MRMNewItemOperation

Customizing Classification
You can customize Classification using the following packages:
• Actions
com.teamcenter.rac.classification.common.actions

• Commands
com.teamcenter.rac.classification.common.commands

• Operations

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Chapter 4 Performing advanced customizations

com.teamcenter.rac.classification.common.operations

The classes that belong to the Classification toolbar tokens are

specified in the common.properties properties file, located in the
com.teamcenter.rac.classification.common package. To override the settings
in the common.properties file, create the common_user.properties file and
make your changes there.
The class for the action token is specified as follows:
g4mSave.ACTION=com.teamcenter.rac.classification.common.actions.G4MSaveAction

The class for the command is specified as follows:

g4mSave.COMMAND=com.teamcenter.rac.classification.common.actions.G4MSaveCommand

The following code shows an example of the Classification action registry entries:
g4mSave.ICON=images/save_16.png
g4mSave.SHOWLABEL=false
g4mSave.ENABLED=false
g4mSave.ACTION=com.teamcenter.rac.classification.common.actions.G4MSaveAction
g4mSave.COMMAND=com.teamcenter.rac.classification.common.actions
.G4MSaveCommand
g4mSave.ACTIVE=edit,new

Note
All customizations made in the Classification common.properties file are
visible in Resource Manager as well. If you want to customize something in
Classification only and keep the standard behavior in Resource Manager,
you have to add the original action/command entries from the Classification
common.properties file to the Resource Manager mrm.properties file.

Develop Java pre- and post-code

Note
The action collects only the values from the user interface and passes them
into the command. Therefore, do not customize the action, instead customize
the command.

1. To customize a command, subclass the original command.

2. In the constructor of your new class, call the constructor of the original command.

3. Override the executeCommand() method.

With this method you can execute your pre-code. Then call the implementation
of the original command with the super.executeCommand() method. If you
want to execute this part only if some conditions are fulfilled, you can put this
method in an if-statement. After that, you can execute your post-code.

The following code shows an example of a customized command:

package com.teamcenter.rac.cme.commands;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.AbstractAIFApplication;
public class MySaveCommand extends MRMSaveCommand
{
public MySaveCommand(AbstractAIFApplication application)
{
super (application);
}
protected void executeCommand() throws Exception
{
int option;

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// Put your Pre-Save-Action code here...

option = JOptionPane.showConfirmDialog(null,
"This is my Pre-Save-Action!!!",
"MySave",
JOptionPane.OK_OPTION);
// Execute the original command
if (allValuesAreOK())
{
super.executeCommand();
}
// Put your Post-Save-Action code here...
option = JOptionPane.showConfirmDialog(null,
"This is my Post-Save-Action!!!",
"MySave",
JOptionPane.OK_OPTION);
}
} // End of class MySaveCommand

Customizing complex commands

Most commands are simple. For those commands, it is enough to customize before
and after the original command. But there are other more complex commands. For
those commands, it makes sense to customize not only before and after the original
command, but also within the original command. To customize those complex
commands you start as in the previous example. But in the executeCommand()
method, you can do what is shown in the following figure.
protected void executeCommand() throws Exception
{
int option;
// Put your Pre-Save-Action code here...
option = JOptionPane.showConfirmDialog(null,
"This is my Pre-Save-Action!!!",
"MySave",
JOptionPane.OK_OPTION);
// Execute the first step of the original command
super.executeCommandStep1();
// Put your intermediate customization code here...
// Execute the second step of the original command
super.executeCommandStep2();
// Put your intermediate customization code here...
// Execute the third step of the original command
super.executeCommandStep3();
// Put your Post-Save-Action code here...
option = JOptionPane.showConfirmDialog(null,
"This is my Post-Save-Action!!!",
"MySave",
JOptionPane.OK_OPTION);
}

The following are the exact names of the different command step methods for the
complex commands.

Resource Manager – Create

MRMNewItemCommand runs the Resource Manager New Resource dialog box
(based on the newMRMDialog registry key). This dialog box allows you to define
the item ID, revision ID, item name, description, and item type. Those values
are passed into the MRMNewItemOperation operation. This creates the item,
classifies it, and opens it in the Resource Manager assembly tree.

Icon:
Menu: File→New→Resource
Toolbar: Create a new resource

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Action: MRMGenericAction
(newMRMAction)
Command: MRMNewItemCommand
(newMRMCommand)
Dialog: MRMNewItemDialog
(newMRMDialog)

Resource Manager – Save

MRMSaveCommand checks if the context is in EDIT or NEW mode; otherwise,
no save is allowed. If the root item revision is classified or if this is an ICO without
workspace object, the Classification Save Action, based on the g4mSave.ACTION
registry key, gets called. If this item revision is not classified, the context is set
back to SHOW mode.
Afterwards, if this resource is an assembly, this checks if the resource has multiple
propagation start points defined. In this case a warning is displayed. Then the
precision for the BOM is set to Precise and the Resource Manager BOM Save
Action, based on the saveMRMBOMSaveAction registry key, is called to save the
BOM changes. Lastly the root and selected labels are updated.

Icon:

Menu: Edit→Save Resource

Toolbar: Save current resource

Action: MRMGenericAction
(saveMRMAction)
Command: MRMSaveCommand
(saveMRMCommand)
BOM Save: MPPsaveAction
(saveMRMBOMSaveAction)

Resource Manager – Edit

MRMEditCommand checks if the context is in EDIT or NEW mode; otherwise,
no save is allowed. If the root item revision is classified or if this is an ICO without
workspace object, the Classification Save Action, based on the g4mSave.ACTION
registry key, gets called. If this item revision is not classified, the context is set
back to SHOW mode.
Afterwards, if this resource is an assembly, this checks if the resource has multiple
propagation start points defined. In this case a warning is displayed. Then the
precision for the BOM is set to Precise and the Resource Manager BOM Save

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Action, based on the saveMRMBOMSaveAction registry key, is called to save the

BOM changes. Lastly the root and selected labels are updated.

Icon:
Menu: Edit→Edit Resource
Toolbar: Edit current resource

Action: MRMGenericAction
(editMRMAction)
Command: MRMEditCommand
(editMRMCommand)

Resource Manager – Cancel

The MRMCancelCommand command creates the Classification Cancel Action,

based on the g4mCancel.ACTION registry key, and runs this action on the root,
selected, and display contexts of the Resource Manager application.

Icon:
Menu: Edit→Cancel Edit
Toolbar: Cancel Edit
Action: MRMGenericAction
(cancelMRMAction)
Command: MRMCancelCommand
(cancelMRMCommand)

Resource Manager – Delete

This method creates the Classification Delete Action, based on the

g4mDelete.ACTION registry key, and runs this action on the root context of the
Resource Manager application.

Icon:
Menu: Edit→Delete Resource
Toolbar: Delete current resource
Action: MRMGenericAction
(deleteMRMAction)
Command: MRMDeleteCommand
(deleteMRMCommand)

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Resource Manager – Create Graphics

The MRMCreatePFMemberCommand command creates the Classification

Create Part Family Action, based on the g4mcreatePFMember.ACTION
registry key, and runs this action on the root context of the Resource Manager
application.

Icon:
Menu: Tools→Create Graphics
Toolbar: Create Graphics based on Part Family
Template or TCL Macro
Action: MRMGenericAction
(createPFMember)
Command: MRMCreatePFMemberCommand
(createPFMemberCommand)

Writing headless programs

You can build and run headless rich client programs using Java kernel APIs that
can be executed from the command line, allowing you to write batch programs and
bypass the rich client user interface to perform operations in Teamcenter.
Caution
Headless customization techniques will be deprecated in a future Teamcenter
release. Starting a new project with this technique is strongly discouraged.
The preferred choice is to use the Java, C# or C++ client bindings to published
Teamcenter Services.
For directions about using Teamcenter Services (SOA) to create your own
Teamcenter client applications, see the Services Guide.

Writing headless rich client programs that automatically log on

You can take advantage of the mechanisms provided by the Eclipse rich client
platform (RCP) framework to simplify the writing of headless programs (programs
without a graphical user interface) that use the Java kernel API and can be executed
from the command line. Earlier versions of Teamcenter required the setting of a long
CLASSPATH environment variable listing the various dependent JAR files to be
able to compile and run the program correctly. This method is error-prone. The RCP
approach, however, allows you to use Eclipse to build the headless program as a
plug-in that can be easily launched from the command line.

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 Performing advanced customizations

Caution
Headless customization techniques will be deprecated in a future Teamcenter
release. Starting a new project with this technique is strongly discouraged.
The preferred choice is to use the Java, C# or C++ client bindings to published
Teamcenter Services.
For directions about using Teamcenter Services (SOA) to create your own
Teamcenter client applications, see the Services Guide.

To create and run a headless program, follow these general steps:

1. Set up Eclipse.

2. Create the plug-in project.

3. Export your plug-in.

4. Run your plug-in.

Set up Eclipse
1. Create a folder on your hard drive for your new headless program. In
that folder, create the plugins and configuration subfolders. For
example, if you create the C:\myprojects\sample1 folder for your
application, also create the C:\myprojects\sample1\plugins and
C:\myprojects\sample1\configuration folder.

2. Copy all of the contents in the TC_ROOT\portal\plugins folder to your new

project’s plugins folder.

3. Open the Eclipse application and select your new project’s folder as the default
workspace. If Eclipse is opened using another workspace, you can change it
by choosing File→Switch Workspace.
You can also open Eclipse from the command line with the following command:
eclipse -data workspace-location

4. Choose Window→Preferences.

5. In the Preferences dialog box, double-click the Plug-in Development node, and
then select the Target Platform node.

6. To the right of the Target Definitions pane, click the Add button and select
Nothing: Start with an empty target definition and click Next.

7. Next to the Locations pane, click the Add button, select Directory, and click
Next.

8. Click the Browse button in the Location box to select the location of your new
project’s folder (for example, sample1). Click Finish.

9. Select the Show Plug-in Content check box.

This lists all plug-ins copied into your project’s plugins folder.
Click Finish.

PLM00075 F Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide 4-25

Chapter 4 Performing advanced customizations

10. Select the new target to make it active.

11. In the Preferences dialog box, click OK.

Create the plug-in project

1. From the Eclipse main menu, choose File→New→Project.

2. Select Plug-in Project and click Next.

a. Type your package name (for example, com.mycom.printhome).

b. In Target Platform, click an OSGi framework and select Equinox from this
list.

c. Click Next.

3. In the Content pane of the New Plug-in Project wizard:

a. In the Plug-in options section, ensure the Generate an activator check
box is selected.

b. Click Next.

4. In the Templates pane of the New Plug-in Project wizard:

a. Clear the Create a plug-in using one of the templates check box.

b. Click Finish.

5. If the Open Associated Perspective dialog box appears, click Yes.

The wizard creates a plug-in project and generates the required source for the
Activator class. It then shows the Overview page in the editor, where you can
modify the project details.

6. In your project tab (for example, com.mycom.printhome), click the

Dependencies tab.

7. In the Required Plug-ins section, click Add.

8. Select the following plug-ins from the list by holding down the Ctrl key while
you click them:
• com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp

• com.teamcenter.rac.kernel

• com.teamcenter.rac.util

9. Click OK.
The selected plug-ins are added to the MANIFEST.MF file.

10. In Package Explorer under your project, expand the src folder, and then
expand its package (for example, com.mycom.printhome). Double-click the
Activator.java file to open it in the editor.

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 Performing advanced customizations

11. (Optional) Insert a System.out.println statement into both the start()

and stop() methods that print Starting program and Stopping program,
respectively.
These methods are executed when this plug-in is started and stopped, so they
are useful as feedback.

12. Type PrintHome.print(); inside the start() method, after System.out.println

statement if you added it, for example:
package com.mycom.printhome;
import org.osgi.framework.BundleActivator;
import org.osgi.framework.BundleContext;
public class Activator implements BundleActivator {
/*
* (non-Javadoc)
* @see org.osgi.framework.BundleActivator#start(org.osgi.framework.BundleContext)
*/
public void start(BundleContext context) throws Exception {
System.out.println("Starting mycom bundle");
PrintHome.print();
}
/*
* (non-Javadoc)
* @see org.osgi.framework.BundleActivator#stop(org.osgi.framework.BundleContext)
*/
public void stop(BundleContext context) throws Exception {
System.out.println("Stopping mycom bundle");
}
}

13. In Package Explorer, right-click the your project’s package (for example,
com.mycom.printhome) and choose New→Class.

14. In the Name box, type the class name (for example, PrintHome) and click Finish.
This generates the PrintHome.java file under the package and opens it in
the editor.

15. Type the Java source code for your program in the editor. The following figure
contains the code that prints the contents of the Teamcenter Home folder. If you
use the code from the figure, ensure that you replace user-name and password
with valid entries from your system.
package com.mycom.printhome;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.kernel.AIFComponentContext;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp.AifrcpPlugin;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponentFolder;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponentUser;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCException;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCSession;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TcServiceGatewayCorbaConnection;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TcServiceGatewayWebServiceConnection;
import com.teamcenter.rac.services.ISessionService;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.Registry;
public class PrintHome {
private static TCSession tcSession;

public static void login() {

System.setProperty("java.awt.headless", "true");
Registry registry = Registry.getRegistry( "site_specific" );
String transportInUse = registry.getString( "portalCommunicationTransport" );
System.out.println( "Login.login(): Transport protocol: " + transportInUse );
try {
// the SessionService may still be comming up...try a few times
ISessionService iss = null;
int numtry = 5;
while (iss==null && numtry > 0)
{
iss = AifrcpPlugin.getSessionService();
numtry--;
Thread.sleep(1000);
}
if ( iss == null )
{
System.out.println("Login.login(): no SessionService");
return;

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Chapter 4 Performing advanced customizations

}
tcSession = (TCSession) iss.getSession(
"com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCSession");
if (transportInUse.compareTo("iiop") == 0) {
String serverHost = "localhost";
String serverName = "localserver";
String serverMarker = "localserver";
TcServiceGatewayCorbaConnection serverConnection = new
TcServiceGatewayCorbaConnection(serverHost, serverName);
serverConnection.setMarkerServerName(serverMarker);
serverConnection.setPort(9999);
// Connect if you can
if (serverConnection.connect()) {
tcSession.login(serverConnection, "user-name", "password",
"", "");
}
}
else if (transportInUse.compareTo("http") == 0) {
String URL = "http://localhost:7001/tc";
String serverName = "Teamcenter";
TcServiceGatewayWebServiceConnection connection = new
TcServiceGatewayWebServiceConnection (URL, serverName);
if (connection.connect())
{
tcSession.login(connection, "user-name", "password",
"", "");
}
}
} catch (Exception ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
System.out.println("Login.login(): FATAL ERROR: Unable to Login...");
System.out.println("Login.login(): Exception message is " + ex.toString());
System.exit(1);
}
}
public static void logout() {
try {
if (tcSession != null) {
tcSession.logout();
}
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
public static void print() {
System.out.println("Logging in to Teamcenter...\n");
// login to rich client
login();
if (tcSession == null)
{
return;
}
// print out the contents of home folder
System.out.println( "\n\nPrinting out the contents of the home folder: \n");
try {
TCComponentUser user = tcSession.getUser();
TCComponentFolder homeFolder = user.getHomeFolder();
AIFComponentContext[] homeFolderChildren = homeFolder.getChildren();
for( int i = 0; i < homeFolderChildren.length; i++ )
{
System.out.println(homeFolderChildren[i]);
}
}
catch( TCException ex )
{
}
System.out.println("\n\nDone!");
System.out.println("Logging out of Teamcenter...\n");
// logout
logout();
}
}

16. Your project should build automatically unless you turned off Eclipse’s automatic
build setting. Ensure there are no compile errors in the Problems tab.

17. Save the project by choosing File→Save All.

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 Performing advanced customizations

Export your plug-in

To save and export your changes, follow the steps in the Export your custom plug-in
to the rich client topic.

Run your plug-in

1. Copy the Teamcenter.exe or eclipse executable file from the TC_ROOT\portal
directory to your program folder (for example, C:\myprojects\sample1).

2. Copy the TC_ROOT\portal\registry directory to your program folder (for

example, C:\myprojects\sample1).

3. Create the configuration subfolder in your program folder.

For example, if you created the C:\myprojects\sample1 folder for your
program, create the C:\myprojects\sample1\configuration folder.

4. In the configuration folder, create a text file called config.ini and add the
following code:
org.osgi.framework.bootdelegation=*
osgi.bundles=org.eclipse.equinox.common@2:start,
org.eclipse.update.configurator@3:start,
org.eclipse.core.runtime@start,
com.teamcenter.rac.util@start,
project-package-name@start
osgi.bundles.defaultStartLevel=5
osgi.noShutdown=false
eclipse.ignoreApp=true

Caution
The text for the osgi.bundles= entry must be on a single line, not on
separate lines as shown. If it is on separate lines, the Equinox framework
does not start correctly and a Class not found error is displayed.

For example, if your project package name is com.mycom.printhome, the

osgi.bundles= entry is:
osgi.bundles=org.eclipse.equinox.common@2:start,
org.eclipse.update.configurator@3:start,
org.eclipse.core.runtime@start,
com.teamcenter.rac.util@start,
com.mycom.printhome@start

5. Open a command window and change the directory to your program folder.

6. Set the FMS_HOME environment variable to TC_ROOT\fcc.

For example, if your Teamcenter root directory is C:\Teamcenter, type the
following on the command line:
set FMS_HOME=C:\Teamcenter\fcc

7. Add FMS_HOME\lib to the PATH environment variable.

For example, if your Teamcenter root directory is C:\Teamcenter, type the
following on the command line:
set PATH=C:\Teamcenter\fcc\lib;%Path%

8. On the Windows platform, type the following command in the command window:

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Chapter 4 Performing advanced customizations

eclipsec.exe -nosplash

On the Sun or Linux platform, type the following command:

Teamcenter.exe -nosplash -Dosgi.ws=gtk

On the HP-UX platform, type the following command:

eclipse -nosplash -Dosgi.arch=PA_RISC -Dosgi.ws=motif

You can add other command line options to the command.

For more information, see Command line options for rich client startup.
This starts the Equinox OSGi framework implementation and automatically
discovers and starts your plug-in. The plug-in connects to Teamcenter and
displays the plug-in outputs in the command window, for example:
WARN : 12:45:53,296 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?
Logging in to Teamcenter...

WARN : 12:46:28,718 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?

In print!
WARN : 12:46:28,734 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?

Printing out the contents of the home folder:

WARN : 12:46:28,750 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?

MetaDataStamp Templates
WARN : 12:46:28,765 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?
RequirementsManagement Templates
WARN : 12:46:28,765 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?
MS Office Templates
WARN : 12:46:28,781 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?
CAM Machining Knowledge
WARN : 12:46:28,781 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?
CAM Express Tutorials
WARN : 12:46:28,796 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?
CAM Setup Templates
WARN : 12:46:28,796 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?
Unigraphics UDF parts
WARN : 12:46:28,796 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?
Unigraphics seed parts
WARN : 12:46:28,812 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?
Mailbox
WARN : 12:46:28,812 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?
Newstuff
WARN : 12:46:28,812 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?

Done!
WARN : 12:46:28,828 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?
Logging out of Teamcenter...

WARN : 12:46:28,828 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?

In logout!
WARN : 12:46:28,828 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?

In logout- try!
WARN : 12:46:28,828 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?

In logout! - if

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 Performing advanced customizations

WARN : 12:46:28,828 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?

In logout - if 2!
WARN : 12:46:28,828 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?

In logout- try - 2!
WARN : 12:46:28,828 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?

In logout! - 2
WARN : 12:46:28,921 - TcLogger$IC_PrintStream.println:?
stopping..

If errors appear when running the code, ensure the following in your login()
method have the same values in the client_specific.properties file: user
name, password, server host, server name, server marker, and server
port. The client_specific.properties file is located in your project folder’s
plugins\configuration_version subfolder.

Write headless rich client programs with a logon dialog box

1. Write a method for logging on to Teamcenter from the command line. The
following figure shows a code sample that performs the rich client logon.
Caution
Headless customization techniques will be deprecated in a future
Teamcenter release. Starting a new project with this technique is strongly
discouraged. The preferred choice is to use the Java, C# or C++ client
bindings to published Teamcenter Services.
For directions about using Teamcenter Services (SOA) to create your own
Teamcenter client applications, see the Services Guide.

import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.*;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.*;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.kernel.*;
public class NewFolder
{
private static TCSession tcSession;
private static AIFPortal portal;
public static void main( String args[] )
{
login();
}
public static void login() {
try {
portal = new AIFPortal(false);
// Get the Session Manager
AIFSessionManager sessionManager = portal.getKernel().getSessionManager();
// From the session manager, create a new session (i.e TCSession)
tcSession = (TCSession) sessionManager.getASession(
"com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCSession", null);
//Try to login
tcSession.login();
System.out.println("Successfully logged in");
}
catch (Exception ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
System.exit(1);
}
}
}

2. Write the implementation and plug it into the static method main(). The
following figure shows the structure of the Java source.
// Required import statements
import ……

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Chapter 4 Performing advanced customizations

// Your class begins here

public classYourClassName
{
// private class variables
public static void main ( String[] args )
{
login ();
yourOperation ();
}
public static void yourOperation()
{
// Your implementation
}
}

3. Follow the steps in Writing headless rich client programs that automatically log
on to add your code to Eclipse.

The following code shows a complete sample program that performs the command
line logon to the rich client and uses kernel methods to create a new folder.
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.*;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.*;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.kernel.*;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.Registry;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.InterfaceServerConnection;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TcServiceGatewayCorbaConnection;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TcServiceGatewayWebServiceConnection;
// Command line program to create new folder,
// the name being passed as the command line argument
public class NewFolder
{
private static TCSession tcSession;
private static AIFPortal portal;
public static void main (String[] args)
{
// Login into Portal from command line
login ();
// Create folder by passing the name through command line argument
createFolder (args[0]);
System.exit(0);
}
// This method will be used to do the commandline login to rich client
public static void login()
{
try
{
portal = new AIFPortal(false);
AbstractAIFSession session = portal.getKernel().getSessionManager()
.getASession("com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCSession", null);
tcSession = (TCSession)session;
session.login();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
ex.printStackTrace();
System.exit(1);
}
}
public static void createFolder (String folderName)
{
if ( folderName == null )
return;
TCComponent newFolder = null;
// Get the FolderType component from the session
TCComponentFolderType folderTypeComponent;
try
{
folderTypeComponent = (TCComponentFolderType)
tcSession.getTypeComponent("Folder");
// Create the component from the Folder super-type component
newFolder = folderTypeComponent.create(folderName, null, "Folder");
}
catch ( TCException ex )
{
ex.printStackTrace();
}
// Logout from the session
try
{
if ( tcSession.isLoggedIn() )
tcSession.logout();
}
catch ( Exception ex )
{
ex.printStackTrace();
}
if ( newFolder != null )

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 Performing advanced customizations

System.out.println ( "Folder created successfully" );

}
}

Write a headless application

This procedure adds a new application to the rich client with a single perspective
and a single view and appears in the navigation pane.
Caution
Headless customization techniques will be deprecated in a future Teamcenter
release. Starting a new project with this technique is strongly discouraged.
The preferred choice is to use the Java, C# or C++ client bindings to published
Teamcenter Services.
For directions about using Teamcenter Services (SOA) to create your own
Teamcenter client applications, see the Services Guide.

1. In Eclipse, choose File→New→Project.

2. In the New Project dialog box, select Plug-in Project. Then click Next.

3. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Plug-in Project pane, type
com.mycom.headlessapp in the Project name box. Click Next.

4. In the New Plug-in Project dialog box Content pane, do the following:
a. Under Options, ensure the This plug-in will make contributions to the UI
check box is selected.
Note
This application does not make a contribution to the user interface.
Selecting the check box creates a plugin.xml file that is needed later.

b. Click the No button next to Would you like to create a rich client
application?.

c. Click Next.

5. Clear the Create a plug-in using one of these templates check box. Click Finish.

6. Select the Overview tab and select the This plug-in is a singleton check box.

7. Create the Application and MyAuthenticator classes.

The plug-in structure looks like this:

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Chapter 4 Performing advanced customizations

8. Replace the code in the Activator.java file with the following:

package com.mycom.headlessapp;
import org.eclipse.core.runtime.Plugin;
import org.osgi.framework.BundleContext;
import com.teamcenter.rac.services.ISessionService;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.OSGIUtil;
/**
* The activator class controls the plug-in life cycle
*/
public class Activator extends Plugin {
// The plug-in ID
public static final String PLUGIN_ID = "com.mycom.headlessapp";
// The shared instance
private static Activator plugin;
/**
* The constructor
*/
public Activator() {
Activator.plugin = this;
}
/*
* (non-Javadoc)
* @see org.eclipse.core.runtime.Plugins#start
* (org.osgi.framework.BundleContext)
*/
@Override
public void start(BundleContext context) throws Exception {
super.start(context);
}
/*
* (non-Javadoc)
* @see org.eclipse.core.runtime.Plugin#stop
* (org.osgi.framework.BundleContext)
*/
@Override
public void stop(BundleContext context) throws Exception {
plugin = null;
super.stop(context);
}
/**
* Returns the shared instance
*
* @return the shared instance
*/
public static Activator getDefault() {
return plugin;
}
public static ISessionService getSessionService()
{
ISessionService service = (ISessionService) OSGIUtil.getService(
Activator.plugin, ISessionService.class.getName() );
return service;
}
}

9. Add the following code to the empty Application.java file:

package com.mycom.headlessapp;
import org.eclipse.equinox.app.IApplication;
import org.eclipse.equinox.app.IApplicationContext;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.kernel.AIFComponentContext;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.kernel.AbstractAIFSession;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponentFolder;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCComponentUser;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCException;
import com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCSession;
import com.teamcenter.rac.services.ISessionService;
/**
* This class controls all aspects of the application’s execution
*/
public class Application implements IApplication {

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 Performing advanced customizations

private TCSession tcsession;

/* (non-Javadoc)
* @see org.eclipse.equinox.app.IApplication#start
* (org.eclipse.equinox.app.IApplicationContext)
*/
public Object start(IApplicationContext context) throws Exception {
runApplication();
return IApplication.EXIT_OK;
}
public Object runApplication( )
throws Exception
{
ISessionService iss = Activator.getSessionService();
//wait for session service
int tries = 60;
while (iss == null && tries > 0 )
{
iss = Activator.getSessionService();
tries--;
Thread.sleep(1000);
}
AbstractAIFSession sess = null;
// register the login authenticator and get a session...
// login will happen because of getSession() second argument
if ( iss != null )
{
iss.addLoginAuthenticator("com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCSession",
"com.mycom.headlessapp.MyAuthenticator");
sess = iss.getSession("com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCSession", true );
}
TCSession tcSession = (TCSession)sess;
tcsession = tcSession;
print();
tcSession.logout();
return IApplication.EXIT_OK;
}
/* (non-Javadoc)
* @see org.eclipse.equinox.app.IApplication#stop()
*/
public void stop() {
// nothing to do
System.out.println("STOP");
}
public Object print() {
try {
System.out.println( "\n\nPrinting out the contents of the home
folder: " + Thread.currentThread());
TCComponentUser user = tcsession.getUser();
TCComponentFolder homeFolder = user.getHomeFolder();
AIFComponentContext[] homeFolderChildren =
homeFolder.getChildren();
for( int i = 0; i < homeFolderChildren.length; i++ )
{
System.out.println(homeFolderChildren[i]);
}
}
catch( TCException ex )
{
}
return IApplication.EXIT_OK;
}
}

10. Add the following code to the empty MyAuthenticator.java file:

package com.mycom.headlessapp;
import org.eclipse.core.runtime.IStatus;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.kernel.ILoginAuthenticator;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.kernel.ILoginListener;
import com.teamcenter.rac.aif.kernel.TCSessionCredentials;
public class MyAuthenticator
implements ILoginAuthenticator
{
private TCSessionCredentials credentials;
private boolean logindone;
public MyAuthenticator() {
super();
}
public void initiateLogin(ILoginListener lc) {
credentials = new TCSessionCredentials();
credentials.setUserName( "user-name");
credentials.setPassword( "password" );
credentials.setGroup( "" );
credentials.setRole( "" );
credentials.setServerConnection( "localserver@localhost" );
lc.performLogin( credentials );

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Chapter 4 Performing advanced customizations

while(!logindone)
{
try {
Thread.sleep(1000);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
public void loginPerformed(IStatus s) {
logindone = true;
}
}

Note
This code is for a two-tier deployment. If you have a four-tier deployment,
change the following line:
credentials.setServerConnection( "localserver@localhost" );

to this line:
credentials.setServerConnection( "Teamcenter" );

11. Add the following code to the empty plugin.xml file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.5"?>
<plugin>
<extension id="application"
point="org.eclipse.core.runtime.applications">
<application>
<run
class="com.mycom.headlessapp.Application">
</run>
</application>
</extension>
</plugin>

12. Add the following code to the empty MANIFEST.MF file:

Manifest-Version: 1.0
Bundle-ManifestVersion: 2
Bundle-Name: Myapp Plug-in
Bundle-SymbolicName: com.mycom.headlessapp;singleton:=true
Bundle-Version: 1.0.0
Bundle-Activator: com.mycom.headlessapp.Activator
Bundle-Vendor: MYCOM
Bundle-ActivationPolicy: lazy
Export-Package: com.mycom.headlessapp
Require-Bundle: org.eclipse.core.runtime.compatibility,
com.teamcenter.rac.util,
com.teamcenter.rac.aifrcp,
com.teamcenter.rac.kernel
Bundle-RequiredExecutionEnvironment: JavaSE-1.6

13. Choose Run→Debug Configurations. Click the Run an application application

and select com.mycom.headlessapp.application from the list. Click Apply
and then Run.

14. Start a Teamcenter server instance.

15. In the operating system, create a headlessapp directory and configuration

and plugins subdirectories.

headlessapp
configuration
plugins

16. Choose File→Export→Deployable plug-ins and fragments and select your

headlessapp directory as the destination.

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 Performing advanced customizations

The com.mycom.headlessapp_1.0.0.jar is placed in the

headlessapp\plugins directory,

17. Copy the contents of the TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory to your

headlessapp\plugins directory.

18. Create a config.ini file under the headlessapp\configuration directory and

copy the following code into it:
org.osgi.framework.bootdelegation=*
osgi.bundles=org.eclipse.equinox.common@2:start,org.eclipse.update.
configurator@3:start,org.eclipse.core.runtime@start
osgi.bundles.defaultStartLevel=5

Caution
The text for the osgi.bundles= entry must be on a single line, not on
separate lines as shown. If it is on separate lines, the Equinox framework
does not start correctly and a Class not found error is displayed.

19. Copy the Teamcenter.exe file from the rich client TC_ROOT\portal directory
to your headlessapp directory.

20. Create a runit.bat file in your headlessapp directory and add the following
on a single line:
• Windows systems:
Teamcenter.exe -application com.mycom.headlessapp.application -console
-nosplash

• Sun or Linux systems:

eclipse -application com.mycom.headlessapp.application -console
-nosplash -Dosgi.ws=gtk

• HP-UX systems:
eclipse -application com.mycom.headlessapp.application -console
-nosplash -Dosgi.arch=PA_RISC -Dosgi.ws=motif

Your headlessapp directory appears as follows:

headlessapp
configuration
config.ini
plugins
Teamcenter.exe
runit.bat

21. Open a command window and change the directory to headlessapp.

22. Set the FMS_HOME environment variable to TC_ROOT\fcc.

For example, if your Teamcenter root directory is C:\Teamcenter, type the
following on the command line:
set FMS_HOME=C:\Teamcenter\fcc

23. Add FMS_HOME\lib to the PATH environment variable.

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For example, if your Teamcenter root directory is C:\Teamcenter, type the

following on the command line:
set PATH=C:\Teamcenter\fcc\lib;%Path%

24. Run the runit.bat file.

The Equinox OSGi framework implementation starts and automatically finds
and starts your application. The plug-in connects to Teamcenter and prints the
contents of the Home folder in the command window.

This creates a headless application, deploys the application, and sets up a

stand-alone environment for running the application.
For more information about Eclipse startup, see the following Web site:
http://www.eclipse.org/equinox/documents/quickstart.php

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Chapter

5 Tips for rich client customization

Using color within the rich client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

Localization of rich client customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

Updating your rich client customizations from previous versions . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

Hide perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

Changing the rendering property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3

Define global properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3

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5 Tips for rich client customization

You can use a number of techniques to make working with rich client customization
easier and more effective.

Using color within the rich client

When writing components that require the use of color for features such as highlights
and shadows, take care in how the color is obtained. The Teamcenter rich client is
primarily a Swing application. Swing uses the concept of a look and feel to control
appearances and colors for components. In Java programming terms, color can be
obtained in one of two fashions: AWT or look and feel. Of course you can construct
and create your own color, but that is not recommended. Take care that the chosen
color blends into the current color scheme.
Siemens PLM Software recommends that you use the Swing look and feel colors as
much as possible. The benefit to this approach is that in all color schemes your
component matches the look and feel that is used. If the SystemColor class is used
to obtain colors, the color scheme often does not match the current OS environment.
There are properties that you can utilize to obtain colors when using the look and feel
colors. Refer to the Java documentation for specific properties. The more commonly
used properties are controlLtHighlight and controlShadow. These colors can be
obtained from the UIManager class, as shown in the following code sample:
Color c = (Color) UIManager.get ( “controlLtHighlight” );

In summary, colors can be obtained in several ways: look and feel (Swing),
SystemColor class (AWT), hard-coded, and registry based. With all of the options,
Siemens PLM Software recommends that the look and feel be used to obtain color,
followed by SystemColor. There are places for the other methods, but their use
should be limited.

Localization of rich client customizations

There are two ways to localize the rich client user interface:
• Properties files
You can localize your user interface by placing the modified
strings in the application_locale.properties files. These files are
either in the com.teamcenter.rac.tcapps_version.jar file or the
com.teamcenter.rac.application-name_version.jar file.

• Plug-in

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Chapter 5 Tips for rich client customization

The registry checks the localization plug-in to see if there is a

localized property defined in the plugin.properties file in the
com.teamcenter.rac.common_version.jar file. If the string needs to be
localized, use % and the key name in the value area to define the key value in
the plugin.properties file.
For example, if you want to change the Software Update
menu command to Update Software and the menu
command label is %UpdateActionSet.menu.label, type
UpdateActionSet.menu.label=Update Software in plugin.properties file.
For more information, see the following Web sites:

http://www.eclipse.org/articles/Article-Internationalization/how2I18n.html

http://www.eclipse.org/articles/Article-Speak-The-Local-Language/article.html

For an example of localization customization, see Localize your customizations. For

more information about localizing Teamcenter, see the Localization Guide.

Updating your rich client customizations from previous versions

If you customized the rich client in previous versions of Teamcenter or Teamcenter’s
engineering process management, you may have to update your customizations to
work with the current version. Some of the significant changes are:
• Customizations that use packages with names that start with com.ugsolutions
must now use package names that start with com.teamcenter instead. Also,
most instances of the term iman have been removed and replaced with either
tc or rac.

• Customizations should be placed into Eclipse plug-ins if they are not already.

• Some Java API classes, methods, and constructors are deprecated or obsolete
and should be replaced.
For more information about deprecated and obsolete API, see the Teamcenter 8.3
Release Bulletin.

• Some applications have their own plug-in. Open the TC_ROOT\portal\plugins

directory to see which applications have their own plug-in.

Hide perspectives
1. Log on to Teamcenter as a user that is in the dba group.

2. Choose Edit→Options→Index and search for the HiddenPerspectives

preference.

3. Modify the preference to include the perspective you want to hide.

For more information about editing preference values, see the Preferences and
Environment Variables Reference.

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 Tips for rich client customization

For more information about perspectives that can be hidden, see the description
of the HiddenPerspectives preference.

Changing the rendering property

The rendering properties of rich client objects can be modified. Most components
are rendered using the object_name property. However, you may want to render
objects with a different display name. This can be accomplished without writing
or compiling any code.
For example, to render all folders with the owning _user property rather
than the object_name property, add the kernel_user.properties file to the
com.teamcenter.rac.kernel package with the following text:
Folder.RENDERING_PROPERTY=owning_user

Define global properties

You can define any global properties or globally override current ones.
1. In the TC_ROOT\portal\plugins\configuration_version directory, create an
empty file called customer.properties.

2. Add any new properties you want to be globally defined. You can use the other
properties files in the directory as a model.

3. If there are any properties that already exist that you want to override with a
new value, add the property with the new value.

4. Save the file.

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Chapter

6 Troubleshooting rich client

customization

Common problems in rich client customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1

Eclipse startup error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Customizations from a new plug-in do not appear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1

Rich client debugging tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2

Debug using the Print Object tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Debug using the Communication Monitor tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Debug using the Performance Monitor tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Debug using Eclipse views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4

Enabling client-side logging . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5

Changing the logging level and location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Adding appenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Pattern layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Add logging to your code . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

Listener leaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

Classes and operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
InterfaceSignalOnClose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
SignalOnClose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8

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6 Troubleshooting rich client

customization

There are a number of tools available to troubleshoot rich client customization,

including Eclipse tools and rich client tools.

Common problems in rich client customization

Common problems when performing rich client customization include not having
Eclipse properly configured or not having rich client cache cleared.

Eclipse startup error

If you get the error shown in the following figure during Eclipse’s startup, either the
Java Runtime Environment is not installed or the PATH statement does not contain
the JDK-installation-directory\bin directory.

Customizations from a new plug-in do not appear

Teamcenter has a base set of Eclipse plug-ins for the rich client. They are located
in the TC_ROOT\portal\plugins directory, and the file names start with
com.teamcenter. When you add a new plug-in, you deploy it into this directory.
If you add or remove a plug-in when customizing the rich client and your changes do
not appear, delete the Teamcenter subdirectory in the user’s home directory on the
client. This clears the cache.
On a Windows client, it is typically the C:\Documents and
Settings\user-name\Teamcenter\RAC directory. On a UNIX client, it
is typically the $HOME/Teamcenter/RAC directory.
For more information, see Ensure your customizations appear.

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Rich client debugging tools

You can debug your customizations to the rich client by using the following tools:
• Print Object
Displays the selected object’s internal attribute values. Use it to determine if
there is an incorrect value for an attribute.

• Communication Monitor
Shows you the calls between the rich client and server. Use it to determine if
your data is being correctly exchanged between the server and client.

• Performance Monitor
Tracks the calls between the server and the database. Use it to determine how
fast the server and the database are communicating.

There are also standard Eclipse views that can help you debug your customization.
For more information about the Eclipse views, see Debug using Eclipse views.

Debug using the Print Object tool

1. In the rich client, choose Window→Show View→Print Object.

2. Select an object, such as an item or dataset. You can also copy an object’s tag
from a syslog and paste it in the UID box.
The object’s attributes and their values appear in the Print Object pane at the
bottom of the rich client.
Note
You cannot edit the values in the Print Object pane.

3. (Optional) Limit what is displayed in the pane by changing All attrs in the list
to one of the following:
• Refs only
Shows only those attributes whose value is a tag.

• Strings only
Shows only those attributes whose value is a string.

• Refs & Strings

Shows only those attributes whose value is a tag or a string.

4. (Optional) Expand what is displayed in the pane by changing Hide OM attrs

in the list to Show OM attrs.
This shows the object manager attributes in addition to the attributes already
displayed.

5. If you want to save the attributes and their values to a file, click the SAVE
button in the pane.

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 Troubleshooting rich client customization

6. To see attributes of another object, leave the pane open and select the other
object. If you want to see attributes of an object you selected earlier, select it
from the list at the top of the pane.

Debug using the Communication Monitor tool

1. In the rich client, choose Window→Show View→Communication Monitor.
The values appear in the Communication Monitor pane at the bottom of the
rich client.

2. To choose what you want to see in the monitor, click the Menu button in the
Communication Monitor pane and choose one or more of the following:
• Show Server Calls
Displays an entry for each call to the server.

• Show Stack Trace

Displays the call stack trace for each call to the server.

• Show Request
Displays the XML request sent to the server.

• Show Response
Displays the XML response returned by the server.

• Show Timing
Displays the length of the server call in seconds.

3. If you want to clear the data, click the Clear button in the pane.

4. If you want to save the data to a file, click the Save As button in the pane.

Debug using the Performance Monitor tool

1. Set the TC_PERFORMANCE_MONITOR environmental variable to 0.
For more information about setting environmental variables, see the Preferences
and Environment Variables Reference.
The tool appears the next time you open the rich client.

2. To see the data from the server and client, click the Report button. The data
is also logged along with the text in the Log comment box. It also resets the
counters.
• The SQL and server CPU statistics are retrieved from the server.

• Wallclock time since reset is the time since the last reset.
Times are shown in milliseconds. If the top of the Performance Monitor
states that the Hi-Res timer is in use, times are accurate to 1 millisecond.
Otherwise the standard operating system clock is in use; Microsoft Windows

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uses a 60 Hertz clock, so times on Windows are accurate to about 16

milliseconds.

• Client CPU time is available only with the Hi-Res timer.

• Server calls made is a count of all calls made to the server, not including the
call to get the SQL statistics.

Note
If you select the Reset on first server call check box, the Performance
Monitor is reset after the next server call after you click the Report button.

3. To clear the data and reset all counters, click the Reset button.

Note
If you select the Reset on first server call check box, the Performance
Monitor is reset after the next server call after you click the Reset button.

4. To save the data to a file, click the Save button.

Debug using Eclipse views

Some Eclipse views may be helpful when debugging your customizations:

• Progress view
Shows the progress of background jobs. You can connect this view to your
customizations if you want to see the progress when your customizations run.
For more information, see the following URL in the Eclipse help:

http://help.eclipse.org/helios/index.jsp?topic=
/org.eclipse.platform.doc.isv/guide/runtime_jobs_progress.htm

• Console view
Shows the standard output, standard error, and standard input for your program.
For more information, see the following URL in the Eclipse help:

http://help.eclipse.org/helios/index.jsp?topic=
/org.eclipse.jdt.doc.user/reference/views/console/ref-console_view.htm

• Outline view
Displays the outline of a structured object open in an editor. It is not used by
Teamcenter.

• Palette view
Used with graphic editing applications. It is not used by Teamcenter.

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Enabling client-side logging

Teamcenter uses the log4j mechanism for logging. You can change
logging parameters in the TcLogger.properties file, located in the
TC_ROOT\portal\plugins\configuration_version directory, to specify the level
and scope of logging, as well as changing the log file location.

Changing the logging level and location

You can change the logging level for the entire rich client, a package, or a single
class, as well as the log location:
• Rich client debug-level logging
To enable debug-level logging for the entire rich client, change the
log4j.rootLogger line in the TcLogger.properties file to DEBUG. The line
should look like this:
log4j.rootLogger=DEBUG, TcLoggerConsoleAppender, TcLoggerFileAppender,
TcLogContext

• Package debug-level logging

To enable debug-level logging for a package, add a line in the
TcLogger.properties file for it. For example, if you want to enable debug-level
logging for Structure Manager, the line looks line this:
log4j.logger.com.teamcenter.rac.pse=DEBUG

• Single class debug-level logging

To enable debug-level logging for a single class, add a line in the
TcLogger.properties file for it. For example, if you want to enable logging for
the TCSession class, the line looks line this:
log4j.logger.com.teamcenter.rac.kernel.TCSession=DEBUG

• Log location
By default, the rich client log is the operating-system-user-name_TcRAC.log file
in your operating system’s temporary directory. You can change the location
by changing the log4j.appender.TcLoggerFileAppender.file entry in the
TcLogger.properties file. This is the default location:
log4j.appender.TcLoggerFileAppender.file=${osgi.instance.area}/
${user.name}_TcRAC_${timestamp}.log

Adding appenders
You can easily add or remove an appender to a logger. The content of all appender
output is identical unless you add a filter to the content. Each appender supports
a pattern layout that determines the format of the output. By default, the rich
client has two kinds of appenders:
• A console appender which outputs to the console. To see console output in the
rich client outside of Eclipse, you must use the -consolelog flag on the command
line when you run the rich client.

• A file appender which outputs to a file.

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Pattern layouts
Use a pattern layout to include more information in the console or log file. Each
appender has a pattern layout, which is a substitution string for the output.
• c
Display the logger (category) name.

• C
Display the fully qualified class name of the caller issuing the logging request.

• d
Display the date of the logging event.
%d{HH:mm:ss,SSS}

• F
Display the file name where the logging request was issued. This slows execution.

• l
Display the location information of the caller that generated the logging event.
This slows execution.

• L
Display the line number from where the logging request was issued. This slows
execution.

• m
Display the message.

• M
Display the method name where the logging request was issued. This slows
execution.

• n
Insert a new line.

• p
Display the priority of the logging event (DEBUG, WARN, INFO).

• r
Display the number of milliseconds elapsed since the start of the application
until the creation of the logging event.

• t
Display the name of the thread that generated the logging event.

• x

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Display the nested diagnostic context (NDC) associated with the thread that
generated the logging event.

For example:
• %-5p: %m%n
This layout produces the following log message:
ERROR: There is something wrong here!

• %n%-5p: %d{HH:mm:ss,SSS} %x - %C{1}.%M:%L%n%m%n

This layout produces the following log message:
INFO : 11:51:54,871 - Class.method:90
Session logging via TcLoggerFileAppender into file
C:\Windows\temp\smithj_TcRAC.log

Add logging to your code

1. Add a static logger to the file at the top of the class:
private final static Logger logger = Logger.getLogger( MyClass.class );

2. Specify the logger output you want:

• Error condition
logger.error( String [,Throwable] );

• Warning condition
logger.warn( String [,Throwable] );

• Information condition
logger.info( String [,Throwable] );

• Debug condition
logger.debug( String [,Throwable] );

3. (Optional) Add debug control flags to the TcLogContext appender defined in

the TcLogger.properties file:
a. Add the boolean flag to the TcLogger.properties file.

b. Add the getter and setting for the flag to the

com.teamcenter.rac.util.log.TcLogContext line.

c. Use the getter to control your debug code:

if( TcLogger.getLogContext().getMyFlag() ) doSomething();

Listener leaks
Events in Java are fired by means of listeners. An object registers interest with a
target object, so that when an event occurs the listening object is notified. For this
relationship to be maintained, the target object must maintain a reference to the
listening object. The Java memory management facilities look only to delete objects

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from virtual memory when the objects are no longer referenced by any other Java
object. The problem at hand is the removal of listeners.
Rich client does not currently have a system in place to facilitate the removal of
listeners. This creates two issues:
• It causes a memory leak.

• It begins to impact performance of the UI, because old components are being
needlessly updated.

The memory leak issue exists because references are maintained to Java objects that
are no longer needed. This creates the situation in which the garbage collector runs
but is unable to remove the old objects because they are still tied as listeners. Under
this condition, the virtual memory of the Java VM eventually runs out.
The performance issue is more prevalent than the memory leak. System performance
begins to deteriorate quickly under certain UI conditions. The use of the viewer
illustrates this, because as new viewers are displayed, they add their components to
the session, attached as listeners. The UI appears sluggish and eventually becomes
unusable.

Classes and operations

The InterfaceSignalOnClose and SignalOnClose classes described in this section
are used to remedy listener leaks.

InterfaceSignalOnClose
The InterfaceSignalOnClose class requires the implementation of the
closeSignaled() method. This interface is designed to signify the desire to be
notified when closure is to commence. The closeSignaled() method is designed to
remove any listeners that were created during the life of the object.
This interface signifies that the implementing class registers interest to be known
when closure occurs. The implementing class is required to implement the
closeSignaled() method. The closeSignaled() method is invoked when closure is
commencing (as shown in the following code):
public interface InterfaceSignalOnClose
{
public void closeSignaled();
}
Example: An implementation of the closeSignaled() method can look like the following:
public void closeSignaled()
{
TCSession session = (TCSession) application.getSession();
if (session != null)
{
session.removeAIFComponentEventListener( this );
}
}

SignalOnClose
The SignalOnClose class is designed to signal the processing of the components
to detach themselves from listeners and prepare to be closed. This class contains a
single method, close(), which is designed to be passed a reference to a Container
object. The Container object is the start of a recursive walk down the component
tree to look for instances of InterfaceSignalOnClose classes. If instances are
found, the classes are notified that closure is commencing. At this point, it is the
responsibility of the implementing class to take appropriate action.

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Appendix

A Glossary

PLM00075 F Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide

Appendix

A Glossary

AIF
See Application Integration Framework (AIF).

Application Integration Framework (AIF)

Integration framework that enables developers to build custom interfaces to
applications for Teamcenter and NX. This framework provides the foundation
through which applications can be launched and executed in a standard manner. It
also provides the basic design for applications, the base classes and methods, and
a methodology for creating and handling events generated by the user interface.
In addition, the AIF provides tools to handle the registration of components,
represented by Java beans, and a mechanism for locating and passing messages to
those components.

class
Set of objects that share the same list of attributes but distinguishable by the value
the attributes acquire for specific objects. For example, the Automobile class can be
defined by the brand, color, and price, but each car associated to the Automobile
class has a different brand, color, and price combination.

class hierarchy
Structure defining subclasses that inherit the attributes of their superclasses, also
called their parents or ancestors.

Client
Role played by a software component of a system when it requests particular services
be performed on its behalf by another entity, a server. See also server.

client tier
Teamcenter architectural tier that comprises the Teamcenter clients, Teamcenter
integrations with third-party applications, such as Teamcenter’s Integration for
Microsoft Office and Teamcenter Engineering 2007 Integration for AutoCAD, and
the third-party applications themselves, such as Microsoft Office and AutoCAD.

corporate server
Host computer at the center of a Teamcenter network. This host contains the
Teamcenter application root directory, Teamcenter data directory, licensing, file
managers (Teamcenter File Services and File Management System), and volumes.
For installations that include the Web tier (four-tier architecture), the corporate
server also contains the Teamcenter server manager. Multiple application clients
can map to or mount the corporate server.

PLM00075 F Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide A-1

Appendix A Glossary

form
Teamcenter workspace object used to display product information (properties) in a
predefined template. Forms are often used to create an electronic facsimile of a
hardcopy form in Teamcenter. See also master form.

four-tier architecture
Teamcenter architecture that includes four tiers: resource tier, client tier, Web tier,
and enterprise tier.

master form
Teamcenter workspace object used to display product information (properties) in
a predefined template. Master forms are used to display product information in
a standardized format.

My Teamcenter
Teamcenter rich client application that is the main access point for managing
product information. My Teamcenter provides the functionality for creating objects
in the Teamcenter database, querying the database for objects, checking in and
checking out objects, and managing tasks. Users can also open objects, automatically
launching the related application.
Each user has a personal My Teamcenter window that displays product information
as graphical objects. Although users share product information across the enterprise,
they organize this information individually in personal workspaces.

navigation pane
Rich client framework component that displays buttons of the applications available
for use in the rich client. Clicking the application button launches the application.

preference
Configuration variable stored in a Teamcenter database and read when a Teamcenter
session is initiated. Preferences allow administrators and users to configure many
aspects of a session, such as user logon names and the columns displayed by default
in a properties table.

properties
Keys and values that specify the configuration settings for an application in the
Teamcenter rich client.

properties file
File containing the attributes (keys and values) that specify how an application is to
behave in the Teamcenter rich client.

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 Glossary

Registry Editor
Teamcenter application that enables editing Teamcenter rich client registry
files. This application is used only for editing registry files that are used for
internationalization, dynamic class invocation, and configuration in the rich client
framework.

registry file
Properties (.properties) file that contains the user-defined configuration settings
(keys and values) that are relative to how the application displays and performs
in the Teamcenter rich client. Each application registered in the rich client has a
.properties file known as a registry file.

rich client
Java-based user interface to Teamcenter installed on user workstations. The rich
client accesses Teamcenter databases using a remote or local server.

rich client framework

Component of the rich client that integrates and runs various applications from a
common platform. These applications can be off-the-shelf applications such as NX
CAD/CAM/CAE, Microsoft Office, custom applications, and Java plug-ins.

server
System software component that performs a specifically defined set of software
services on behalf of one or more clients. In a typical Teamcenter installation,
servers are centralized on dedicated hosts that support a large number of clients.
Clients are distributed on hosts connected to the servers via various networking
techniques. See also Client.

Teamcenter Application Registry

Independent Web-based service that allows a Teamcenter product to look up other
available Teamcenter products for launching a linked object. Administrators can
register and unregister installed instances of a Teamcenter product in the registry.

two-tier architecture
Teamcenter architecture that includes a resource tier and a client tier. The resource
tier comprises the database server and database. The client tier comprises the
Teamcenter rich client, third-party applications that integrate with the rich client,
and a local server. This architecture supports only the Teamcenter rich client.

Web Browser
Teamcenter application that provides access to Internet Web pages from within
the rich client framework. The Web browser is a rich client window that acts as a
Web browser, enabling you to navigate and view Web pages within the rich client
rather than switching to a separate Web browser. The Web browser also provides
the ability to access MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension) file types and to

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Appendix A Glossary

view files created in other applications, such as Microsoft Word and Excel, through
the Web browser.

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Appendix

B Rich client customization

reference

Command line options for rich client startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1

Coding standards . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4

File organization . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4
Naming conventions . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4
Property conventions . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5
Source code conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5
Dialog box standards . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5

User interface components documented in Javadoc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-6

User interface components in the com.teamcenter.rac.common package . . . B-7
AbstractProgessDialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-7
ExpansionRule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10
Lists of values (LOVs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11
LOVComboBox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11
LOVDialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11
LOVPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-12
LOVPopupButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-13
MRUButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-14
OpenByNameButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-14
OrgSelectionDialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-15
ReferencersPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-16
ReferencersReverseHorizontalNodeLayout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-17
ReferencersTreeLookNodeLayout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-18
ReferencersVerticalNodeLayout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-18
ReferencerUINode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-19
TCComponentUINode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-19
TCConstants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-19
RolePanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-19
GroupPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-20
UserPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-21
TCTypeRenderer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-22
User interface components in the com.teamcenter.rac.util package . . . . . B-23
AbstractDialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-23
AbstractPopupButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-24
GenericTableModel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-25
iTextArea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-26
iTextField . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-26
Layout managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-26
ButtonLayout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-27

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 HorizontalLayout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-32
VerticalLayout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-35
PropertyLayout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-39
MessageBox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-43
MLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-43
Registry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-44
Separator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-45
SplitPane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-47
StringViewerDialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-48
StringViewerPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-48

Application Integration Framework (AIF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-49

AIF customization and development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-49
Integrating the Application Integration Framework (AIF) desktop with the
Eclipse workbench . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-50
Context sensitivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-50
Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-51
Write a handler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-52

Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide PLM00075 F

Appendix

B Rich client customization

reference

Reference information about rich client customization includes background

information, coding standards, and guidelines.

Command line options for rich client startup

You can specify the following command line options during rich client startup.
For more information about creating a batch file that uses command line options,
see Install Eclipse.
• -arch architecture
Defines the processor architecture on which the Eclipse platform is running. The
Eclipse platform ordinarily computes the optimal setting using the prevailing
value of Java os.arch property. If specified here, this is the value that the
Eclipse platform uses. The value specified here is available to plug-ins as
BootLoader.getOSArch(). Example values: x86, sparc, PA-RISC, ppc.

• -attach
Attaches the new client to an existing session.

• -application applicationId
The application to run. Applications are declared by plug-ins supplying
extensions to the org.eclipse.core.runtime.applications extension point.
This argument is typically not needed. If specified, the value overrides the value
supplied by the configuration. If not specified, the Eclipse Workbench is run.

• -clean
Cleans cached data used by the OSGi framework and Eclipse run time. Try to
run Eclipse once with this option if you observe startup errors after install,
update, or using a shared configuration.

• -configuration configurationFileURL
The location for the Eclipse platform configuration file, expressed as a URL.
The configuration file determines the location of the Eclipse platform, the set
of available plug-ins, and the primary feature. Note that relative URLs are
not allowed. The configuration file is written to this location when the Eclipse
platform is installed or updated.

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Appendix B Rich client customization reference

• -consolelog
Mirrors the Eclipse platform’s error log to the console used to run Eclipse. Handy
when combined with -debug.

• -data workspacePath
The path of the workspace on which to run the Eclipse platform. The workspace
location is also the default location for projects. Relative paths are interpreted
relative to the directory that Eclipse was started from.

• -detach
Detaches the client from an existing session.
Starts clients as separate sessions. This is the default behavior, even if the
-detach option is not specified.

• -debug [optionsFile]
Puts the platform in debug mode and loads the debug options from the file at the
given location, if specified. This file indicates which debug points are available
for a plug-in and whether or not they are enabled. If a file location is not given,
the platform looks in the directory that eclipse was started from for a file called
.options. Both URLs and file system paths are allowed as file locations.

• -dev [classpathEntries]
Puts the platform in development mode. The optional classpath entries (a
comma separated list) are added to the run-time classpath of each plug-in. For
example, when the workspace contains plug-ins being developed, specifying
-dev bin adds a classpath entry for each plug-in project’s directory named
bin, allowing freshly generated class files to be found there. Redundant or
non-existent classpath entries are eliminated.

• -DskipRegReload args
If you are starting the rich client inside the Eclipse IDE, this option prevents the
registry database from loading if it already exists, which can save up to a minute
or more during startup depending on your system. You can add this argument to
your run/debug configuration. However, if you use this argument, any changes
you make to the registry property files are not used. If you are making changes
to the registry database, do not use this argument.

• -initialize
Initializes the configuration being run. All run-time related data structures
and caches are refreshed. This is useful with shared installs; running Eclipse
once with this option from an account with write privileges improves startup
performance.

• -nl locale
Defines the name of the locale on which the Eclipse platform is running. The
Eclipse platform ordinarily computes the optimal setting automatically. If
specified here, this is the value that the Eclipse platform uses. The value
specified here is available to plug-ins as BootLoader.getNL(). For example,
you can use the following: en_US or fr_FR_EURO.

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 Rich client customization reference

• -nosplash
Runs the platform without putting up the splash screen.

• -os operatingSystem
Defines the operating system on which the Eclipse platform is running. The
Eclipse platform ordinarily computes the optimal setting using the prevailing
value of Java os.name property. If specified here, this is the value that the
Eclipse platform uses. The value specified here is available to plug-ins as
BootLoader.getOS() and used to resolve occurrences of the $os$ variable in
paths mentioned in the plug-in manifest file. For example, you can use one of the
following: win32, linux, hpux, solaris, aix.

• -perspective perspectiveId
The perspective to open in the active workbench window on startup. If this
parameter is not specified, the perspective that was active on shutdown will be
opened.

• -plugincustomization propertiesFile
The location of a properties file containing default settings for plug-in
preferences. These default settings override default settings specified in the
primary feature. Relative paths are interpreted relative to the directory that
Eclipse was started from.

• -product productId
The ID of the product to run. The product gives the launched instance of Eclipse
its personality, and determines the product customization information used.
This replaces -feature, which is still supported for compatibility.

• -refresh
Option for performing a global refresh of the workspace on startup. This
reconciles any changes that were made in the file system since the platform
was last run.

• -showlocation [workspaceName]
Option for displaying the location of the workspace in the window title bar. The
optional workspace name argument displays the provided name in the window
title bar instead of the location of the workspace.

• -vm vmPath
The location of Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to use to run the Eclipse
platform. If not specified, the JRE is at jre, sibling of the Eclipse executable.
Relative paths are interpreted relative to the directory that Eclipse was started
from.

• -vmargs args
When passed to Eclipse, this option customizes the operation of the Java Virtual
Machine (VM) used to run Eclipse. If specified, this option must come at the
end of the command line. The given arguments are dependant on the VM that
is being run.

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Appendix B Rich client customization reference

Coding standards
Coding standards, such as file and directory structure conventions, naming and
property conventions, and dialog box text and color policies, ensure the consistency
and uniformity of customized code.

File organization
The following file and directory structure standards should be used when developing
the rich client customization code:

• All package names must be lowercase. Do not use space characters in package
names.

• The general package registry should have the same name as the last package
name. For example, for the com.mycompany.rac.explorer package, the
file for the ResourceBundle object that contains the registry information is
explorer.properties.

• Image files associated with a particular package must be located within the
images directory below the package.

• Image file names must consist of all lowercase letters.

Naming conventions
The following table describes the recommended naming convention for the various
Java types.

Java
type Rule Example Comment
Interface Interface[name], I[name] InterfaceAIFOperationListener, Teamcenter
ISelectionService standard
Abstract Abstract[name] AbstactAIFApplication Teamcenter/Java
class standard
Exception [name]Exception SomethingHappenedException Java
class standard
Variable Lowercase first word, factoryName Java
naming uppercase first letter of standard
other words.
Accessor Getting: Use getXXX, except getFactoryName(), Java
methods for Booleans, where XXX setFactoryName(), isReady() standard
is allowed. Setting: use
setXXX.
Source Same as Class name ISelectionService.java Java
files (including case). requirement
Class Uppercase first character of ComponentManager Java
names each word. standard

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Property conventions
Property files can be categorized in three ways:
• Core development

• Localization

• User properties

The reason for this distinction is that customers modify the user property files while
maintaining the links to the core development property files. The following table
describes the properties files using explorer as an example.

File Description
explorer.properties Base property file
explorer_locale.properties Property file for the purpose of localization
explorer_user.properties Customer created property file

Source code conventions

The source conventions follow the Sun Java source code standards that match the
industry norms for Java development.

Dialog box standards

The following standards should be used when customizing the rich client dialog
boxes:
• Dialog boxes must always be modal unless the situation requires that they be
nonmodal, such as when the user selects additional information when the dialog
box is visible.

• Mnemonics should be used for common dialog box buttons, such as OK, Apply,
and Cancel.

• The initial location of the dialog box must be screen centered, and the sizing of
the dialog box must be adjusted with a sizing factor.

• Dialog boxes should include a default focus when displayed.

• Text field/area policies:

– Allow only the maximum number of characters that the property can accept.

– Send an audible beep when the maximum is reached.

– Set all text area components to the initial size of 3 rows by 30 columns.

– Select the text when the focus is gained inside the text field.

– Set word wrapping to true for text area components.

• Color policies

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Appendix B Rich client customization reference

Whenever possible, use the default color provided by the base component. Allow
the current look and feel to determine the color.
– If it is not possible to use the default color, use the SystemColor class.

– If neither the default color nor the SystemColor class suffice, define the
color in the property files so users can change it.

For more information, see AIF customization and development.

• Font policies
Whenever possible, use the default font provided by the base component.
If the default font is not sufficient, try one of the following options:

1. Offset the font based on the size of the current font. Do not hard code the
font name, because the font may not be available on all platforms.

2. Mention the font in the property file.

User interface components documented in Javadoc

Teamcenter provides user interface components you can use in your
rich client customizations. The documentation for them can be found
in the rich client API Javadoc in the JavaDoc.zip file provided on
the Teamcenter installation source. Look at the Javadoc found in the
javadoc\com.teamcenter.rac.common and javadoc\com.teamcenter.rac.util
packages. Open the index.html file to view the Javadoc for these packages, for
example: javadoc\com.teamcenter.rac.common\index.html.
Note
Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as the user interface toolkit and
moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens PLM Software encourages you to
customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface components. Siemens PLM Software
will discontinue Swing/AWT support in a future version.
Following are Swing classes. Siemens PLM Software discourages their use
and encourages the use of SWT/JFace:
AbstractUINode
AIFTree
ButtonLayout
GenericTableModel
GraphPanel
HorizontalLayout
InterfaceUINodeLayout
LOVComboBox
LOVDialog
LOVPanel
LOVPopupButton
PropertyLayout
ReferencerUINode
SplitPane
TCComponentUINode

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 Rich client customization reference

TCTable
TCTableCellRenderer
TCTableLine
TCTableModel
TCTableSelectionAdapter
TCTree
TCTreeCellRenderer
TCTreeNode
TCTreeOpenEvent
TCTreeOpenListener
TCTypeRenderer
VerticalLayout

User interface components in the com.teamcenter.rac.common

package
Teamcenter provides user interface components you can use in your rich client
customizations in the com.teamcenter.rac.common package. To see the
documentation for these components, see the rich client API Javadoc in the
JavaDoc.zip file provided on the Teamcenter installation source. Open the
javadoc\com.teamcenter.rac.common\index.html file to view the Javadoc.
The following is not a complete list. These are merely some of the
components available for use. For the complete list, see the Javadoc at
javadoc\com.teamcenter.rac.common\index.html.

AbstractProgessDialog
This class contains the definition for the AbstractProgressDialog class, which
displays the progress of multiple components individually, as they are processed.
The AbstractProgressDialog class has the following features:
• The status of the operation, such as in-progress, successful completion, or
failure of completion, is indicated for each component on the dialog box in the
following figure.

• If an operation fails, the tooltip on the error symbol describes the error.

• If the error symbol is clicked, the system displays a detailed error message.

• If confirmation is required before the operation can proceed, the

AbstractProgressDialog component can display the confirmation flag.

• If confirmation is not required, the operation processes the first component as

soon as the dialog box is displayed.

• When an operation is in progress, a Stop button displays on the dialog box and
can be used to stop the operation. This feature is available only for the open
and delete operations. When the delete operation is aborted, the operation in
progress on a component cannot be stopped; however, the operation is stopped
before the next component is deleted.

The following figures show the behavior of the delete operation.

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Appendix B Rich client customization reference

Delete dialog

1 Click Yes to initiate Delete operation.

2 Click More to see components to be deleted.

Expanded Delete dialog

1 Components to be deleted.
2 Click Yes to initiate Delete operation.

Progress indicators

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1 Overall progress indicator.

2 Hourglasses indicate components in the midst of being deleted.
3 If Stop is clicked, the components being processed are deleted and the
operation is stopped.

Completion indicators

1 Indicates unsuccessful completion of the operation.

2 Indicates successful completion of the operation.

The following Teamcenter commands subclass from the AbstractProgressDialog

class:
• Cut

• Copy

• Paste

• Delete

• Check-In

• Check-Out

• Transfer Check-Out

• Publish

• Unpublish

The following code shows how the AbstractProgressDialog class is used to

display the components and execute the delete operation. The dialog box calls the
initializeDialog method in its constructor. The initializeDialog method sets the
display parameters for the components.
public class DeleteDialog extends AbstractProgressDialog
{
//The Constructor calls the initializeDialog method
initializeDialog(targets);

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Appendix B Rich client customization reference

//The initialize Dialog sets the methods for the display in the AbstractProgressDialog
public void initializeDialog (AIFComponentContext[] targets)
{
try
{
// set the title for the dialog
setDialogTitle(r.getString("command.TITLE"));
//display the components that are successfully processed
setDisplaySuccessComponents(true);
//Set the icon to be displayed on the dialog
setCommandIcon(r.getImageIcon("delete.ICON"));
//Set the icon that needs to be set if the components is successfully processed
setSuccessIcon(r.getImageIcon("delete.ICON"));
//set the confirmation to true. The user has to press the Yes button
//to initiate the operation.
setConfirmationText(r.getString("confirmationText"));
// for delete, don’t need to show parent
setShowParentFlag(false);
// display objects that needs to be cut and their parents on dialog
setTCComponents(targets);
}
catch ( Exception ex )
{
//Show the messageBox and return
}
}
// ask user’s confirmation before starting operation
setConfirmationFlag(true);
}
//The abstract method to be implemented to execute the selected operation
protected void getOperations ( AIFComponentContext compContext )
{
// In here the developer has to use addOperation method to add the
// operation.
addOperation ( new DeleteOperation( compContext ) );
}
// There’s also an overloaded getOperations() method which can be used by the developers.
protected void getOperations ( TCComponent parentComp, AIFComponentContext[] ctxts )
{
// Create whatever operation you want to based on the parent component
// and the contexts.
// Then use the addOperation() method to add the operation.
addOperation ( createdOperation );
}

The startOperation() method is called when you click the Yes button. This method
builds the DeleteOperation class, which in turn calls the startProcess() method
from the AbstractProgressDialog class. The startProcess() method sets the focus
on the first displayed component, sets the in-progress icon against the component,
and calls the getOperations() method, which is an abstract method that the
subclass must implement. The getOperations() method in the DeleteDialog class
calls the DeleteOperation class on the first component.
The methods implemented by the subclass are shown in the following code:
setDialogTitle(r.getString("command.TITLE"));
setDisplaySuccessComponents(true);
setCommandIcon(r.getImageIcon("delete.ICON"));
setSuccessIcon(r.getImageIcon("delete.ICON"));
setConfirmationText(r.getString("confirmationText"));
setShowParentFlag(false);
setTCComponents(targets);
setConfirmationFlag(true);
public void run()
public void execute( AIFComponentContext compContext ) throws Exception
(This method builds the appropriate operation on the component)
public void startOperation()
(This method calls the startProcess() method from the AbstractProgressDialog

ExpansionRule

The ExpansionRule component gets the specific components of related types

that are attached to a component. Users can set the relations for specific types of
components and use the getChildren() method to get the required children. The
ExpansionRule component also provides the ability to filter out unwanted children.

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Lists of values (LOVs)

The LOVComboBox, LOVPopupButton, and LOVDialog components represent
lists of values (LOVs).

LOVComboBox
The LOVComboBox component is used in place of the JComboBox component.
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

The LOVComboBox component loads the JComboBox component with the LOV
using a non-UI thread managed by the AIFSession object. This separates the UI
thread from the LOV loading thread and is beneficial because using the UI thread
to load an LOV containing a large number of entries takes a long time and hangs
the interface. Contents of LOVs are retrieved from the server side. If something
happens on the server or network, it blocks the user interface if an LOV is loading
using the UI thread but has no effect on the interface when a non-UI thread is
used to load the LOV.

LOVDialog
The LOVDialog component provides another way to display an LOV.
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

It works like the LOVPopupButton component, except that it displays data in a

dialog box rather than a popup window (as shown in the following figure).

LOV dialog box

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The code in the following example constructs an LOV dialog that lists all users:
try
{
TCComponent userComponent = session.getUser();
TCProperty userProperty = userComponent.getTCProperty("user_id");
usersLOV = userProperty.getLOV();
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
MessageBox mb = new MessageBox(ex);
mb.setModal(true);
mb.setVisible(true);
}
lovDialog = new LOVDialog(parent, usersLOV);
lovDialog.setVisible(true);
TCQueryClause currentClause;
…

The code in the following example constructs an LOV popup button and displays a
default value:
LOVPopupButton lovPopup;
TCComponentListOfValues currentLov = currentClause.getLOV();
if(currentLov != null)
{
lovPopup = new LOVPopupButton(currentLov, null);
if (entryValue.length() != 0)
{
lovPopup.setDefaultValue(entryValue);
}
}

LOVPanel
The LOVPanel component is used by the LOVPopupButton and LOVDialog
components.
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

The following figure shows an LOV panel.

LOV panel

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1 Value field
2 Find button
3 LOVListBox
4 Message center
5 Load Previous button
6 Load Next button
7 Load All button
8 Copy button

If an LOV is a suggestive list that accepts user input, the value field acts as an input
field. Users can input a value and press the Enter key. If the user clicks the Find
button, the list box loads the values that match the search criteria.
If the LOV is an exhaustive list that does not allow user input, the value field acts
as a filter input field. Users can input a value and press the enter key, which is
the same as clicking the Find button. The list box loads the values that match
the search criteria. Partially loading the LOV or using the query feature makes
searching efficient. The Load All button loads all found values and the Load Next
button loads the next set of found values.

LOVPopupButton
The LOVPopupButton custom component provides different ways to load the
contents of an LOV (List of Values).
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

The LOVPopupButton component extends from the AbstractPopupButton

class and uses the LOVPanel component for the popup window. The following
code constructs an LOV popup button:
LOVPopupButton lov = new LOVPopupButton ();

The following figure shows an LOV popup button.

LOVPopupButton with no arguments

The LOVPopupButton component takes a blank default value (" ") set on its text
field.
The following code constructs an LOVPopupButton component with an
TCComponentListOfValues "c" and a string that sets the text field.
LOVPopupButton lov = new LOVPopupButton (c, "4");

The following figure shows the LOV popup window.

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LOVPopupButton with arguments and popup window

1 The LOVPopupButton component takes a given value set on its text field
(4 in this example).
2 Popup window is shown after the user clicks the button.

MRUButton
The MRUButton component is used by applications to maintain a list of previously
referenced InterfaceAIFComponent objects. It is generic and works with any AIF
application within the AIF framework. When one of the objects is clicked, the open
method for the application is invoked with the component.
The MRUButton component maintains a list of components supplied by the
application. The application must populate the components to the MRUButton
component and determine the number of objects to place inside the component.
Different behaviors can be associated with the use of the MRUButton component in
different applications. A purge limit is commonly associated with the MRU button;
however, the MRUButton component shown in the following figure does not employ
a purge limit.
The code in the following example constructs the MRUButton component:
mruButton = new MRUButton ( explorerApp );
mruButton.setSuggestedVerticalAlignment(MRUButton.TOP);
mruButton.loadMRUEntries();

OpenByNameButton
The OpenByNameButton component allows an application to open new objects
that can be manipulated. It also allows users to issue queries and view properties of
the objects located by the query.
The objects that are found by the query are loaded into the table. Instead of loading
all objects, only the first set is loaded. To load the next set, click the Load Next
button. To load all objects, click the Load All button. The Load Previous button
loads the previous set and appends it to the current selection. Once the object is
located, double-click the object to open it in the application.
Objects can be selected in the table and copied to the clipboard. The Copy button is
active only when an item has been selected.
The OpenByNameButton component enforces the limitation that a query can only
be performed on a single object type, for example, item revisions or folders. This
is usually acceptable, as most applications can only support one root object type.
Examples of this are My Teamcenter, which only supports folders as root objects, and
Structure Manager, which only supports occurrences as root objects.
The OpenByNameButton component is subclassed from the
AbstractPopupButton class, which allows it to be inserted into the user interface
where it is treated like any other Java button.

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This composition allows you to add things to uniquely identify the button and its
purpose, such as tool tips and icons.
The following code shows how to construct the OpenByNameButton component for
the My Teamcenter application, which only searches on folders:
OpenByNameButton openByNameButton = new OpenByNameButton(explorerApp, "Folder");

OrgSelectionDialog

The OrgSelectionDialog reusable component displays the organization chart in

tree form. The root of the chart is a root group, and nodes in the tree represent
groups, roles, and users. The tree displays hierarchies within the organization.
This dialog box consists of a vertical split pane. The left pane displays the tree, and
the right pane displays information about the selected role, group, or user node.
The dialog box shown in the following figure displays information about a fictional
organization. The first-level nodes in the tree represent groups. Groups can be
expanded to display the hierarchical groups or roles contained within the group.
Roles can be expanded to display the users assigned to the role.

OrgSelectionDialog component
In addition, the dialog box provides the ability to search for a specific group, role,
or user within the organization (as shown in the following figure). If you click the
Reload button, the tree displays all top-level groups in the organization. Both
figures show the features of the OrgSelectionDialog component.

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Organization dialog box search feature

1 Results of Find Roles with text of dba.

The Access dialog box presents the OrgSelectionDialog component as a separate

dialog box. The OrgSelectionDialog component handles its own events and
display; therefore, dialog boxes that use this dialog component must invoke the
OrgSelectionDialog component. The code in the following example shows the
OrgSelectionDialog component constructed from the AccessDialog component:
JButton selectUserButton = new JButton(appReg.getImageIcon("selectUser.ICON"));
selectUserButton.addActionListener ( new ActionListener()
{
public void actionPerformed (ActionEvent e)
{
//Create the OrgSelectionDialog
orgSelectionDialog = new OrgSelectionDialog(parent, target);
orgSelectionDialog.addPropertyChangeListener(AccessDialog.this);
orgSelectionDialog.setVisible(true);
}
});

The OrgSelectionDialog component is constructed and added as a

propertyChangeListener to the AccessDialog component, and the visibility of
the dialog component is set to true. The Organization Selection displays when you
click the Select User button in the Access dialog box.

ReferencersPanel
The ReferencersPanel component displays where-used and where-referenced
diagrams. An object can be sent to the Referencers panel, where the user can
double-click it to search for where the object is used or referenced.
When a component is sent to the Referencers panel, whether it defaults to the
where-referenced or where-used display depends on the component type. Users can
define which components to display in the panel.

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Referencers panel
The Referencers panel can display the nodes in reverse horizontal style, vertical
style, or tree-look style. Three layout managers are used to accomplish this:
• ReferencersReverseHorizontalNodeLayout

• ReferencersTreeLookNodeLayout

• ReferencersVerticalNodeLayout

ReferencersReverseHorizontalNodeLayout

The ReferencersReverseHorizontalNodeLayout layout manager extends from

the ReverseHorizontalNodeLayout component. It displays the nodes in reverse
horizontal order where the structure is expanded from right to left horizontally and
can display where-referenced and where-used information in different colors.

Referencers reverse horizontal node layout

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ReferencersTreeLookNodeLayout

The ReferencersTreeLookNodeLayout layout manager extends from the

TreeLookNodeLayout component. It displays the nodes in a JTree manner and
can display where-referenced and where-used information in different colors.

Referencers tree look node layout

ReferencersVerticalNodeLayout

The ReferencersVerticalNodeLayout layout manager extends from the

VerticalNodeLayout component. It displays the nodes in vertical order expanded
from top to bottom and can display different where-referenced and where-used
information in different colors.

Referencers vertical node layout

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ReferencerUINode
The ReferencerUINode component is an extension of the TCComponentUINode
component. It adds an attribute that tells if a where-used or where-referenced
expansion is associated with the node.
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

This example shows how to construct a ReferencersPanel component and set

a component in it:
referencersPanel = new ReferencersPanel(explorerApp, false, false, false, false);
referencersPanel.setComponent ( c );

TCComponentUINode
The TCComponentUINode component is an extension of the AbstractUINode
class, and creates a UI node based on an TCComponent object.
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

The UI node is presented with the TCComponent object name and rendered icon
(as shown in the following figure).

Item revision UI component

The following code shows the code used to create an TCComponentUINode
component as the root in a GraphPane panel.
// myFolder is an TCComponent
TCComponentUINode node = new TCComponentUINode ( myFolder );
GraphPane panel = new GraphPane ( new VerticalNodeLayout() );
// add the UI node to the panel and set it as the root
panel.setRoot ( node );

TCConstants
The TCConstants class contains constants used across Teamcenter and its related
packages. Use the static variables defined in this class rather than hard-coding
strings.

RolePanel
The RolePanel reusable component extends the JPanel component and can be used
by any application to display role information (as shown in the following figure).

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Role panel in the Organization Selection dialog box

The following code shows how the RolePanel component is constructed and added
to the dialog box.
RolePanel rolePanel = new RolePanel (roleComponent);
mainSplitPane.setRightComponent (rolePanel);

GroupPanel

The GroupPanel reusable component extends the JPanel component and can be
used by any application to display group information (as shown in the following
figure).

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Group panel in the Organization Selection dialog box

The GroupPanel component can be constructed and added to the dialog box for
display (as shown in the following code example):
GroupPanel groupPanel = new GroupPanel (grpComponent);;
mainSplitPane.setRightComponent (groupPanel);

UserPanel

The UserPanel reusable component extends the JPanel component and can be used
by any application to display group information (as shown in the following figure).

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User panel in the Organization Selection dialog box

The UserPanel component can be constructed and added to the dialog box for
display (as shown in the following code example).
UserPanel userPanel = new UserPanel (roleComponent);
mainSplitPane.setRightComponent (userPanel);

TCTypeRenderer

The TCTypeRenderer class is an implementation of a renderer that returns

an icon based on either the Teamcenter object type or an object property. Many
Teamcenter components use this render class.
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

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Usage of the TCTypeRenderer class

The following code example shows how to obtain the icon for an TCComponent
object using the TCTypeRenderer class:
String text;
if ( comp instanceof TCComponent )
{
TCComponent ic = (TCComponent)comp;
text = ic.toString();
JButton bt = new JButton();
bt.setText ( text );
bt.setIcon ( TCTypeRenderer.getIcon ( ic, false ) );
}

User interface components in the com.teamcenter.rac.util package

Generic components, layout managers, and JavaBeans are delivered in
the com.teamcenter.rac.util package. To see the documentation for
these components, see the rich client API Javadoc in the JavaDoc.zip
file provided on the Teamcenter installation source. Open the
javadoc\com.teamcenter.rac.common\index.html file to view the Javadoc.
The following is not a complete list. These are merely some of the
components available for use. For the complete list, see the Javadoc at
javadoc\com.teamcenter.rac.util\index.html.

AbstractDialog
The AbstractDialog component enhances the functionality of the JDialog
component, allowing you to instantiate the dialog box from a nonvisible application
and keep it modal. The AbstractDialog component also provides centerToScreen
methods.

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The AbstractDialog class must be inherited by another class in order to work.

For example, the StringViewerDialog component extends the AbstractDialog
class, as follows:
public class StringViewerDialog extends AbstractDialog
{
// Class implementation here.
};

AbstractPopupButton
The AbstractPopupButton class creates a custom popup window from a button.
This allows a small UI component to display a larger window that functions like
a dialog box.
The AbstractPopupButton component works like a JComboBox component. It
initially displays as a button (as shown in the following figure).

Initial state of an AbstractPopupButton component

It displays a popup window when the button is clicked (as shown in the following
figure). Classes that extend from the AbstractPopupButton class must implement
the UI for the popup window.

AbstractPopupButton component popup window

The following example adds three check boxes and a button to the popup window.
When you click the OK button, the popup window closes.
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.util.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.*;
public class PopupButtonTest extends AbstractPopupButton
{
PopupButtonTest (String txt)
{
super(txt);
}
public void initPopupWindow()
{
// get the panel for popup window
JPanel popupWin = getPanel();
JPanel main = new JPanel ( true );
main.setLayout ( new VerticalLayout(2,4,4,4,4) );
JCheckBox op1 = new JCheckBox ( "option 1" );
JCheckBox op2 = new JCheckBox ( "option 2" );
JCheckBox op3 = new JCheckBox ( "option 3" );
JButton okButton = new JButton ( "OK" );
okButton.addActionListener( new ActionListener()
{
public void actionPerformed ( ActionEvent e )
{

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// post down the popup window

postDown();
}
});
main.add ( "top", op1 );
main.add ( "top", op2 );
main.add ( "top", op3 );
main.add ( "top", okButton );
// add the created panel to the popup window
popupWin.add ( "Center", main );
}
public static void main(String s[])
{
WindowListener l = new WindowAdapter()
{
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent e) {System.exit(0);}
};
Frame f = new Frame("PopupButton Test");
f.addWindowListener(l);
f.add("Center", new PopupButtonTest ("Click Me"));
f.pack();
f.setSize(new Dimension(350,350));
f.show();
}
}

GenericTableModel

The GenericTableModel class is an implementation of a custom TableModel

component that stores and caches the strings it manages.
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

The following example shows code used to create a GenericTableModel component:

//Create the Table to show the history
columnNames.addElement(appReg.getString("date"));
columnNames.addElement(appReg.getString("user"));
columnNames.addElement(appReg.getString("activity"));
columnNames.addElement(appReg.getString("changeId"));
columnNames.addElement(appReg.getString("comments"));
dataModel = new GenericTableModel(columnNames, 0);
dataModel.markColumnEditable(0, true);
JTable historyTable = new JTable (dataModel);
…………

The following figure shows a table created with the GenericTableModel component.

Table created using GenericTableModel component

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iTextArea

The iTextArea component is a subclass of the JTextArea class and displays all the
same behaviors. Use this component to achieve a consistent look and feel across the
system. The goal is to use this component across the entire commercial Teamcenter
interface, so that when standards change or are enhanced the changes can be placed
in this class and be inherited by all implementing components.
Using the iTextArea subclass provides the following benefits over using the
JTextArea class:
• Field selection when focus is gained
Data is automatically selected when the focus is gained within the text area.

• Improved focus traversal

The up arrow and down arrow keys provide next and previous focus traversal
abilities.

• Require signaling
You no longer must override the paint method to implement the paint, as
required. Instead, invoke the setRequired(Boolean state) method.

iTextField

The iTextField component is a subclass of the JTextField class and displays all the
same behaviors. Use this component to achieve a consistent look and feel across the
system. The goal is to use this component across the entire commercial Teamcenter
interface, so that when standards change or are enhanced the changes can be placed
in this class and be inherited by all implementing components.
Using the iTextField subclass provides the following benefits over using the
JTextfield class:
• Field selection when focus is gained
Data is automatically selected when the focus is gained within the text field.

• Improved focus traversal

The up arrow and down arrow keys provide next and previous focus traversal
abilities.

• Require signaling
You no longer must override the paint method to implement the paint, as
required. Instead, invoke the setRequired(Boolean state) method.

Layout managers

This section describes the use of the layout managers (ButtonLayout,

HorizontalLayout, VerticalLayout, and PropertyLayout) in the design of
dialog boxes.

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ButtonLayout
This section provides examples of horizontal and vertical button layouts using the
ButtonLayout layout manager.
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

Horizontal ButtonLayout Layout Manager Examples

The following figure shows the ButtonLayout layout manager with horizontal
orientation and center alignment.
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

Horizontal button layout with center alignment

The constructor is called, as follows:
buttonPanel.setLayout (new ButtonLayout(ButtonLayout.HORIZONTAL,
ButtonLayout.CENTER)

Buttons are added in the order in which they are displayed. In the previous figure,
the sequence is OK, Apply and Cancel.
The following figure shows the dialog box when it is resized. The components
maintain their orientation and alignment.

Results of resizing the dialog box

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The following figure shows the ButtonLayout layout manager with horizontal
orientation, left alignment, and a 20-unit gap between the buttons.

Horizontal button layout with left alignment and a 20-unit gap

The constructor is called, as follows:
buttonPanel.setLayout (new ButtonLayout(ButtonLayout.HORIZONTAL,
ButtonLayout.LEFT, 20);

Since the alignment is set to LEFT, the first button added is aligned to the left
corner of the dialog box and the remaining buttons are placed to the right of the
first, with a 20-unit gap between buttons. The following figure shows the dialog
box when it is resized.

Results of resizing the dialog box

The following figure shows the ButtonLayout layout manager with horizontal
orientation, right alignment, and a 20-unit gap between the buttons.

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Horizontal button layout with right alignment and a 20-unit gap

The constructor is called, as follows:
buttonPanel.setLayout (new Buttonlayout(ButtonLayout.HORIZONTAL,
ButtonLayout.RIGHT, 20);

Since the alignment is set to RIGHT, the first button added is aligned to the right
corner of the dialog box and the remaining buttons are placed to the left of the first,
with a 20-unit gap between buttons. The following figure shows the dialog box when
it is resized.

Results of resizing the dialog box

The following example shows the code used to create the previous examples:
public class testlayout extends JDialog
{
protected JButton one, two, three;
protected JPanel buttonPanel;
public testlayout ( Frame parent, String title )
{
super ( parent, title, false );
// Create a new panel with a ButtonLayout Manager
buttonPanel = new Jpanel();
buttonPanel.setlayout ( new ButtonLayout(ButtonLayout.HORIZONTAL));
// Create three buttons
one = new JButton ( "OK" );
two = new JButton ( "Apply" );
three = new JButton ( "Cancel" );
// Add the buttons to the Panel created
buttonPanel.add (one );
buttonPanel.add (two);
buttonPanel.add (three);
this.add (buttonPanel);
this.pack ();
}
}

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The buttonPanel panel is created. The panel uses the ButtonLayout layout
manager and assumes the default values for its parameters. Three buttons are
created and added to the panel. The buttons are positioned horizontally, in the
center of the panel, with a 10-unit gap between buttons. The buttons are not resized
when the panel is resized. The position of the buttons in relation to the edges of the
panel also remains unchanged.

Vertical ButtonLayout Layout Manager examples

The following figure shows the ButtonLayout layout manager with vertical
orientation and center alignment.
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

Vertical button layout with center alignment

The constructor is called, as follows:
buttonPanel.setLayout (new Buttonlayout(ButtonLayout.VERTICAL,
ButtonLayout.CENTER);

When the panel is resized, the buttons maintain their size and alignment in relation
to the dialog box. The buttons are placed in the sequence in which they are added
to the panel.
The following figure shows the ButtonLayout layout manager with vertical
orientation and top alignment.

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Vertical button layout with top alignment

The constructor is called, as follows:
buttonPanel.setLayout (new ButtonLayout(ButtonLayout.VERTICAL,
ButtonLayout.TOP);

The following figure shows the ButtonLayout layout manager with vertical
orientation and bottom alignment.

Vertical button layout with bottom alignment

The constructor is called, as follows:
buttonPanel.setLayout (new Buttonlayout(ButtonLayout.VERTICAL,
ButtonLayout.BOTTOM);

The following figure shows the code used to create the previous examples:
public class testlayout extends JDialog
{
protected JButton one, two, three;
protected JPanel buttonPanel;
public testlayout ( Frame parent, String title )
{
super ( parent, title, false );
// Create a new panel with a ButtonLayout Manager
buttonPanel = new JPanel();
buttonPanel.setlayout ( new ButtonLayout(ButtonLayout.HORIZONTAL));
// Create three buttons
one = new JButton ( "OK" );
two = new JButton ( "Apply" );

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three = new JButton ( "Cancel" );

// Add the buttons to the Panel created
buttonPanel.add (one );
buttonPanel.add (two);
buttonPanel.add (three);
this.add (buttonPanel);
this.pack ();
}
}

The buttonPanel panel is created. The panel uses the ButtonLayout layout
manager and assumes default values for its parameters. Three buttons are created
and added to the panel. The buttons are positioned horizontally in the center of the
panel with a 10-unit gap between buttons. Resizing a ButtonLayout panel does
not resize the buttons. The position of the buttons relative to the four edges of the
panel also remains unchanged.

HorizontalLayout
The HorizontalLayout layout manager positions children and attachments
horizontally in the container object.
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

When a component is added to the container object, the position of the component
is determined by the parameters passed in the name field. These parameters are
{Attachment, bind, HorizontalAlignment, VerticalAlignment}. The default
positioning for a component added without correct formatting in the name field is
(left.bind.center.center). bind and nobind indicate that the component will be
resized or maintained based on the space available. Top components are positioned
first, followed by bottom components and unbound components. If you do not call the
add function with a name string in the argument, an exception occurs.
The following figure shows the use of the HorizontalLayout layout manager.

Horizontal layout with center alignment

The following figure shows the results when the dialog box is resized.

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Results of resizing the dialog box

When the dialog box is resized, the Left and Right buttons maintain their shape,
size, and alignment in relation to the edges of the dialog box because they are added
with a nobind parameter. The Unbound button is resized when the dialog box is
resized because it is added to the dialog box using a bind parameter.
The following figure shows the dialog box when the placement of the components is
changed according to the parameters indicated in the figure. The behavior of the
dialog boxes when resized is also shown.

Horizontal layout with components added

When you resize dialog boxes, components added with the bind parameter are
resized.
In the following figure, the Left and Unbound buttons are added with a bind
parameter and the Right button is added with a nobind parameter. When the dialog
box is resized, the Left and Unbound buttons are resized, but the Right button
maintains its size and alignment.

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Horizontal layout with components added

In addition to controlling the placement of the components within the dialog box,
the LayoutManager component controls the spacing of the components relative to
the edges of the dialog box by passing the parameters into the constructor for the
LayoutManager component. The order in which the parameters are passed into
the constructor is important. The constructor is as follows:
new HorizontalLayout ( vgap, lm, rm, tm, bm);

vgap indicates the distance between the components in the dialog box. lm indicates
the left margin, rm indicates the right margin, tm indicates the top margin, and
bm indicates the bottom margin. All parameters are expressed in integers and
measured in pixels.
The following figure shows the dialog box that results when the following parameters
are passed to the constructor:
new HorizontalLayout (25, 10, 10, 25, 25);

The following figure also shows the behavior when the dialog box is resized. The
margins and spacing between components are maintained.

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Horizontal layout with parameters

The following example shows the code used to create the previous examples:
public class testlayout extends JDialog
{
protected JButton one, two, three;
protected JPanel buttonPanel;
public testlayout( Frame parent, String title )
{
super ( parent, title, false );
buttonPanel = new JPanel();
buttonPanel.setLayout ( new HorizontalLayout(10,2,2,2,0));
one = new JButton ( "Left" );
two = new JButton ( "Right" );
three = new JButton ( "UnBound" );
buttonPanel.add ( "left.nobind.center.center", one );
buttonPanel.add ( "unbound.nobind.center.center", three );
buttonPanel.add ( "right.nobind.center.center", two );
this.add (buttonPanel);
this.pack ();
}
public static main void ( String [] args){
{
Frame f = new Frame ( "Horizontal Layout Test" );
f.resize ( 100,100 );
f.show();
testlayout d = new teslayout ( f, "AWT Layout Manager: Horizontal Layout" );
d.show();
}
}

The buttonPanel panel is created. The HorizontalLayout layout manager is used

and three buttons are created and added to the panel. The placement of the buttons
in each of the examples is determined by the parameters passed in the name field.

VerticalLayout
The VerticalLayout layout manager positions children and attachments vertically
in the container object.
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

When a component is added to the container object, the position of the component
is determined by the parameters passed in the name field. These parameters are

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{Attachment.Binding.HorizontalAlignment.VerticalAlignment}. The default

positioning for a component added without correct formatting in the name field is
(top.center.center.bind). Top components are positioned first, followed by bottom
components and unbound components. If you do not call the add function with a
name string in the argument, an exception occurs.
The following figure shows the use of a VerticalLayout layout manager. The
placement of the components within the dialog box is determined by the parameters
passed into the name field.

Vertical layout with components added

The following figure shows the results of resizing the dialog box.

Results of resizing the dialog box

The code creates a new buttonPanel panel. The layout in the panel is set to
VerticalLayout with default parameters. Three buttons are created and added
to the panel. The top components are positioned first, followed by the bottom
components and unbound components. All the buttons are added to the panel with a
nobind parameter and placed in the center of the dialog box. When the dialog box is
resized, the Unbound button is resized, but the Top and Bottom components are not.
The following figure shows the layout of the components added with a bind
parameter. The Top and Unbound components are added with a bind parameter.
The Bottom component is added with a nobind parameter.

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Horizontal layout with components added

The following figure shows the resizing behavior of the components added with a
bind parameter.

Results of resizing the dialog box

Upon resizing the dialog box, the unbound component is resized. The top
component, which is added with a bind parameter, remains attached to the edges
of the dialog box. The bottom component, added with a nobind parameter, does
not change.
The following figure shows the behavior of the dialog box when resized.

Results of resizing the dialog box

The following figure shows the layout of the dialog boxes when the components are
added with the parameters indicated in the figure.

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Vertical layout with components added

In addition to controlling the placement of components in the dialog box, the
LayoutManager component also controls the spacing of the components relative
to the edges of the dialog box. This is achieved by the parameters passed into the
LayoutManager constructor. The order in which the parameters are passed into
the constructor is important. The constructor is:
new VerticalLayout ( vgap, lm, rm, tm, bm);

vgap indicates the distance between the components in the dialog box. lm indicates
the left margin, rm indicates the right margin, tm indicates the top margin, and
bm indicates the bottom margin. All parameters are expressed in integers and
measured in pixels.
The following figure shows the dialog box layout when the following parameters
are passed to the constructor:
new VerticalLayout (25, 10, 10, 25, 25);

The behavior of the dialog box when resized is also shown in the following figure.
The dialog box maintains the margins and the spacing between the components
when resized.

Vertical layout with margin setup

The following figure shows the code used to create the previous examples:
public class testlayout extends JDialog
{
protected JButton one, two, three;
protected JPanel buttonPanel;
public testlayout( Frame parent, String title )
{
super ( parent, title, false );
buttonPanel = new JPanel();

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buttonPanel.setLayout ( new VerticalLayout(10,2,2,2,0));

one = new JButton ( "Top" );
two = new JButton ( "UnBound" );
three = new JButton ( "Bottom" );
buttonPanel.add ( "top.nobind.center.center", one );
buttonPanel.add ( "unbound.nobind.center.center", two );
buttonPanel.add ( "bottom.nobind.center.center", three);
this.add (buttonPanel);
this.pack ();
}
public static void main ( String[] args ){
{
Frame f = new Frame ( "Vertical Layout Test" );
f.resize ( 100,100 );
f.show();
testlayout d = new testlayout ( f, "AWT Layout Manager: Vertical Layout" );
d.show();
}
}

PropertyLayout
The PropertyLayout layout manager positions children and attachments vertically
within the container object.
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

When a component is added to the container object, its position is determined by a

mask passed through the name field that describes how to position the component
and whether resizing of the component is desired. The parameters are Row,
Column, HorizontalAlignment, VerticalAlignment, HorizontalAttachment,
and VerticalAttachment. The default positioning for a component added without
correct formatting in the name field is 1.1.center.center.preferred.preferred.
The following figure shows the use of the PropertyLayout layout manager with
default parameters for each of the components.

Property layout with components added

The code creates a buttonPanel panel using the PropertyLayout layout manager.
Three buttons are created and added to the panel in three separate columns. When
resized, the placement and size of the components remain unchanged (as shown in
the following figure). The default positioning of the components in the dialog box is
1.1.center.center.preferred.preferred. Because the horizontal alignment and

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vertical alignment parameters are set to preferred, the components are not resized
along with the dialog box.

Results of resizing the dialog box

The following figure shows the layout of a dialog box using the PropertyLayout
layout manager. The components are placed according to the parameters indicated
in the figure. Note that the HorizontalAttachment and VerticalAttachment
parameters are set to resizable.

Property layout with components added

The following figure shows the behavior when the dialog box is resized. All
components are resized except the component placed in the column 1, row 1 position.
The other components in the dialog box are resized both horizontally and vertically.

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Results of resizing the dialog box

In addition to controlling the placement of components in the dialog box, the
LayoutManager component controls the spacing of the components relative to
the edges of the dialog box. This is achieved by the parameters passed into the
constructor. The order in which the parameters are passed into the constructor is
important. The constructor is as follows:
new PropertyLayout ( hgap, vgap, lm, rm, tm, bm);

hgap indicates the horizontal distance between components in the dialog box. vgap
indicates the vertical distance between components in the dialog box. lm indicates
the left margin, rm indicates the right margin, tm indicates the top margin, and
bm indicates the bottom margin. All parameters are expressed in integers and
measured in pixels. The components are added to the dialog box horizontally, that is,
they are placed on the dialog box in the same row but in different columns.
The following figure shows the dialog box that results from passing the following
parameters to the constructor:
new PropertyLayout (10, 20, 10, 10, 40, 40);

The following figure also shows the behavior when the dialog box is resized. Only
the left and top margins and spacing between components are maintained when
the dialog box is resized.

PropertyLayout Manager with margin setup

The following figure shows a dialog box in which the components are only resizable
vertically. The HorizontalAttachment parameter is set to preferred. The buttons
in the figure do not seem aligned due to the positions selected for their placement.

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Results of resizing the dialog box

The following figure shows a dialog box in which the components are only resizable
vertically. The HorizontalAttachment parameter is set to preferred.

Results of resizing the dialog box

The following example shows the code used to create the previous examples:
public class testlayout extends JDialog
{
protected JButton one, two, three;
protected JPanel buttonPanel;
public testlayout( Frame parent, String title )
{
super ( parent, title, false );
buttonPanel = new JPanel();
buttonPanel.setLayout ( new PropertyLayout());
one = new JButton ( "Top" );
two = new JButton ( "Bottom" );
three = new JButton ( "UnBound" );
buttonPanel.add ( "1.1 ", one );
buttonPanel.add ( "1.2", two );
buttonPanel.add ( "1.3", three );
this.getContentPane().add (buttonPanel);
this.pack ();
}
public static void main ( String[] args ){
{
Frame f = new Frame ( "Vertical Layout Test" );
f.show();
testlayout d = new testlayout ( f, "AWT Layout Manager: Vertical Layout" );
d.show();
}
}

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MessageBox
The MessageBox class communicates informational, warning, working, and error
messages to the user (as shown in the following figure).

MessageBox
The MessageBox class is a specialized JDialog class that provides the ability
to create and display a wide variety of message boxes to the user. Examples of
the information that appears in message boxes include help, detailed messages,
and general messages with icons that are set based on the type of MessageBox
component.
The following example shows code used to create a MessageBox component:
JFrame frm = new JFrame();
JPanel displayPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
JButton invokeButton = new JButton("Invoke MessageBox");
final MessageBox msgBox = new MessageBox(frm, "Some Message", "Title", MessageBox.ERROR);
displayPanel.add("Center", invokeButton);
frm.getContentPane().add(displayPanel);
invokeButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener()
{
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
msgBox.setVisible(true);
}
} );
frm.addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter()
{
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent e)
{
System.exit(0);
}
} );
frm.pack();
frm.validate();
frm.setVisible(true);

The following figure shows the message box produced by the code.

MessageBox produced from sample code

MLabel
The MLabel component displays text on multiple lines (as shown in the following
figure). The current AWT label and JLabel components are only capable of
displaying one line of text. The backslash and n character (\n) delimit the lines of
text.

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MLabel component
The code in the following example constructs an MLabel component:
int fontSize = getFont().getSize();
Font fontText = new Font("TimesRoman", Font.PLAIN, fontSize+4);
Font f2 = new Font("TimesRoman", Font.BOLD, fontSize+32);
MLabel labelBanner = new MLabel(“TC Portal\nDesktop”);
labelBanner.setFont(f2);
labelBanner.setTextAlignment(MLabel.CENTER);
MLabel labelVersion = new MLabel(“Version 6.0\nUpdate version: 0”);
labelVersion.setFont(fontText);
labelVersion.setTextAlignment(MLabel.CENTER);

The following figure shows the results of the code.

MLabel component produced from sample code

Registry
The Registry class contains registry information and provides a means of obtaining
information stored in a resource bundle, extending the functionality of the resource
bundle by way of encapsulation. This class provides the ability to native data types
and instance classes via key registry entries. The registry files must match the
package name.
For more information, see Getting started.
The following code shows an example of a registry file.
# comments
import=com.teamcenter.rac.util
myLabel=My Label:
myIcon=images\myIcon.gif
ok=OK
ok.MNEMONIC=O
cancel=Cancel
cancel.MNEMONIC=C

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The import statement in the preceding figure imports another registry file. It can
also import multiple files using a comma delimiter. The following figure shows the
hierarchy of the registry files in the com.teamcenter.rac.util package.

Hierarchy of the com.teamcenter.rac.util package

The keys and values inside the util_user.properties file override those defined in
the util_locale.properties and util.properties files. The locale version property
files are provided for localization and the user property files are provided so that
users can define their own values. If no user version is defined, the default values in
the util.properties file are used.
References to Registry objects are obtained by the getRegistry() static methods
provided in this class (as shown in the following code example):
Registry reg = Registry.getRegistry ( this );
String label = reg.getString ( “myLabel” );
ImageIcon myIcon = reg.getImageIcon ( “myIcon” );
The following is the corresponding registry file read by the above code:
# comments
import=com.teamcenter.rac.util
myLabel=My Label:
myIcon=images\myIcon.gif
ok=OK
ok.MNEMONIC=O
cancel=Cancel
cancel.MNEMONIC=C

Separator

The Separator component visually separates user interface components (as shown
in the following figure). Separators can be oriented either horizontally or vertically.

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Separator in New Item dialog box

1 Separator used to separate dialog box header from the body

2 Separator used to separate dialog box footer from the body

The code in the following example uses the Separator component:

import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.util.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import com.teamcenter.rac.util.*;
public class SepartorTest extends JPanel
{
SepartorTest ()
{
this.setLayout ( new VerticalLayout(10,4,4,4,4) );
JLabel label = new JLabel ( "Test" );
JTextArea text = new JTextArea ( 10, 3 );
JButton okButton = new JButton ( "OK" );
this.add ("top.nobind.left.top", label);
this.add ("top.bind", new Separator());
this.add ("bottom.nobind.center.center", okButton);
this.add ("bottom.bind", new Separator());
this.add ("unbound.bind", text);
}
public static void main(String s[])
{
WindowListener l = new WindowAdapter()
{
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent e) {System.exit(0);}
};
Frame f = new Frame("Separator Test");
f.addWindowListener(l);
f.add("Center", new SepartorTest());
f.pack();
f.setSize(new Dimension(350,350));
f.show();
}
}

The following figure shows the results of the code.

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Separator produced from sample code

SplitPane

The SplitPane component is similar to the JSplitPane component. It extends

from the JPanel component and creates a split pane with two panels: either left
and right, or top and bottom.
Note
This component is a Swing class. Teamcenter is moving toward SWT/JFace as
the user interface toolkit and moving away from AWT and Swing. Siemens
PLM Software encourages you to customize Teamcenter using SWT/Jface
components. Siemens PLM Software will discontinue Swing/AWT support in
a future version.

The code in the following example creates the SplitPane component. It adds two
components, one for the left pane and one for right. The divider is set at 45 percent
of the total size of the SplitPane component.
SplitPane splitPane = new SplitPane ( SplitPane.HORIZONTAL_SPLIT );
JPanel leftPanel = new JPanel ();
JPanel rightPanel = new JPanel ();
// add components to splitPane
splitPane.setLeftComponent ( leftPanel );
splitPane.setRightComponent ( rightPanel );
splitPane.setDividerLocation(0.45);
splitPane.setDividerSize(2);

The following figure shows the pane produced by the code.

SplitPane component used in a dialog box

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StringViewerDialog

The StringViewerDialog class loads a string array and displays text in a scrollable
format. This class extends from the AbstractDialog class. The dialog box allows
you to save and print the string array text and can also act as a simple text editor. In
the following figure, the entire panel is a StringViewerDialog component.

StringViewerDialog component
The code in the following example creates a StringViewerDialog component.
StringViewerDialog dlg = new StringViewerDialog (file);
dlg.setVisible(true);

StringViewerPanel

The StringViewerPanel component displays a text file or string array using a

JTextArea component to store and render the text. A scroll pane ID handles text
scrolling. The StringViewerPanel component serves as both a simple text editor
and a file viewer and supports print and saving files.
The following figure shows the Validation report, constructed using the
StringViewerPanel component.

Validation report
The code in the following example creates a StringViewerPanel component:
private StringViewerPanel stringViewerPanel = null;
stringViewerPanel = new StringViewerPanel(file);
parentPanel.add ( "unbound.bind.center.top", stringViewerPanel );

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Application Integration Framework (AIF)

In versions prior to Teamcenter 2007, the rich client ran on its own Application
Integration Framework (AIF). The AIF and rich client were both written using Java.
The rich client used Swing for its user interface and all customization mechanisms
were Teamcenter-developed.

Note
Teamcenter still supports the AIF in the Eclipse RCP. However, you should
make every effort to migrate your customization to use the Eclipse RCP menu,
toolbar, and status bar functionality.

In Teamcenter 2007, the rich client was hosted within the Eclipse rich client platform
(RCP) framework. The RCP is a general purpose application framework that
provides strong support for modular and extensible component-based development
through the use of plug-ins. The rich client took limited advantage of the Eclipse
framework. There was a single Teamcenter perspective that all Teamcenter
applications used. The user interface was mostly Swing running with the aid of
the SWT_AWT bridge.
Starting with Teamcenter 8, the rich client took advantage of many Eclipse features
and introduced many SWT-based controls. Some of the rich client changes include:
• Each application became its own perspective.

• Menus were declarative.

• Eclipse OSGi services were used.

• Many Teamcenter extension points, services, and SWT controls were added.

AIF customization and development

In versions prior to Teamcenter 2007, the Application Integration Framework (AIF)
was an integration framework that enabled developers and customers to build
custom interfaces to applications for Teamcenter, NX, and personal use.
This framework provided the foundation through which applications could be
launched and executed in a standard manner. It also provided the basic design for
applications, the base classes and methods, and a methodology for creating and
handling events generated by the user interface. In addition, the AIF provided tools
to handled the registration of components, represented by Java beans, as well as a
mechanism for locating and passing messages to those components.
This framework allowed products to be built using a standard interface and
methodology. It was modular and dynamic with regard to how applications were
registered and launched, allowing applications to be written in a plug-and-play
manner and to be released independently of the framework. Applications could
be independent of both Teamcenter and NX, but the framework provided simple
mechanisms to use Teamcenter as the primary data management system.
The AIFDesktop component provided the main window users interacted with
during the course of their session.

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Integrating the Application Integration Framework (AIF) desktop with

the Eclipse workbench
If you have older AIF desktop customizations, you can integrate them with the
newer Eclipse RCP. However, although Teamcenter still supports the AIF in the
Eclipse RCP, you should make every effort to migrate your customization to use the
Eclipse RCP menu, toolbar, and status bar functionality.
In the rich client, the main integration point is an application. The active
application defines what is showing and its layout in the main pane area. The
current application controls the contents of the main menu bar and toolbar. The
navigation pane is always on and helps you to select the current application. In the
rich client, there is a main banner that identifies the current application and how
to switch between active applications. The main mechanism for defining the set of
applications has been the portal.properties file. This file is still supported and is
augmented by the aif_application extension point. The extension point supports
three different types of scenarios:
• Adding new traditional or legacy-based applications without modifying the
portal.properties file.

• Adding new pure SWT-based applications.

For more information about how pure SWT user interface components work
together in a workbench, see the following Web site:

http://www.eclipse.org/articles/Article-UI-Workbench/workbench.html

• Adding hybrid applications or defining existing legacy applications to be

hybrid to allow Swing-based user interface components from within an Eclipse
perspective that can also manage pure SWT-based user interface components
simultaneously. Though these components can co-exist, there is no additional
infrastructure for these different user interface components to collaborate.

The rich client desktop is built on top of the Eclipse RCP workbench, including
the menubar, toolbar, and status bar. The RCP workbench is augmented with
additional shell trim that defines the main application switcher/banner bar and
the navigation pane. The remaining area is the current active Eclipse perspective.
By default, there is a simple Teamcenter perspective that simply holds a tabbed
stack of views. Each rich client application is forced to be associated with an
Eclipse perspective. Whenever a rich client application is activated, the associated
Eclipse perspective is made active. By default, an application is associated with the
Teamcenter perspective so legacy applications are not forced to define a perspective
to be associated with. If any application also contains a non-null main Swing JPanel,
that panel is wrapped in an AWT_SWT bridge view and placed in the stack of views.
Since each rich client application is associated with an Eclipse perspective, you
might want to read more about what an Eclipse perspective is.
For more information, see the following Web site:
http://www.eclipse.org/articles/using-perspectives/PerspectiveArticle.html

Context sensitivity
The AIF supports the concept of context sensitivity for all UI components. Context
sensitivity is controlling the availability of UI components when certain conditions or

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states exist. In some cases, context sensitivity can be confusing to the user because
he or she may not know what to do to activate an option. One of the techniques
currently used to solve this is to change the tool tip text.
The model for the context sensitivity system is tied to the application where the
action appears. There is a selection listener associated with the application such
that when something is selected within the application, the application notifies
all listeners that a selection is changed. The idea behind this model is that the
application fires the event to all listeners and each UI component has an associated
handler that knows the UI component it is working for. The handler contains the
logic that determines the validity of the UI component with which it is associated.
In basic terms, the handler typically sets a component to disabled (setEnabled
(false)). However, the handler is flexible and is designed to allow any action to
be taken upon the associated UI component. For example, instead of disabling a
component you may want to write a handler that sets a UI component visibility
based upon a certain state. The handler interrogates the application for the state,
and based on the result invokes the UI components setVisible() method. The
handler simply implements one method. That method is responsible for making the
verdict and applying the appropriate action to the UI component.

Context Sensitivity object model

Registration
The registration process is where the application, handler, and UI component are
bound together based on the context sensitivity object model. Each application
maintains a list of handlers (listeners) that are notified whenever a selection is
made within the application.
To register a handler (listener) with an application, invoke the following:
// c is an instance of a Component
MyHandler h = new MyHandler ( c );
app.addSelectionListener ( h );

This is typically done within the menu bar and toolbar construction. This can also be
done within the application panel construction for components located there.
There is a special implementation for Teamcenter applications that utilizes the
action system for the menu bar and toolbar. Register your handler within the
actions.properties file, and it is automatically used with the associated command.

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Therefore, to register the simple RequiredSelectionHandler handler, which is

prepackaged for use, add it to your action definition within the actions.properties
file, as follows:
<yourCommand>.SELECTION_HANDLER=
com.teamcenter.rac.aif.common.contextsensitivity.RequiredSelectionHandler

No other registration is required for the command. When the selections change
within the application, your command is available only when something is selected.
If nothing is selected, it is not available.
If you want to keep components within the toolbar and menu bar synchronized like a
state selection, you can use this mechanism by manually triggering the selection
event and having your handlers refer to a class variable within the application for
the state. The system is written generically so that it can handle a variety of cases.

Write a handler
Base AIF provides the framework for context sensitivity as well as one implemented
handler, RequiredSelectionHandler. The RequiredSelectionHandler handler
looks at the given application, and if one or more components are selected, the
associated components are enabled. Otherwise, the component is disabled. This is
enabled for many actions that currently appear within the menu bar and toolbar,
more notably the cut, copy, and paste actions.
Use the following steps to write your own handler:
1. Write a class that subclasses the AbstractAIFContextSensitivityHandler
class.

2. Provide the implementation method within the class public void

componentSelected (SelectionEvent e). The implementation of the
componentSelection() class interrogates the application to get the desired data
and takes the appropriate action, such as checking the number of components
selected within the application and setting the state of the component. The
following code shows the source for the RequiredSelectionHandler handler:
public class RequiredSelectionHandler extends
AbstractAIFContextSensitivityHandler
implements AIFComponentSelectionListener
{
public RequiredSelectionHandler ( Component cmp )
{
super ( cmp );
}
public void componentSelected ( AIFComponentSelectionEvent e )
{
AbstractAIFUIApplication a = e.getApplication();
Component c = getComponent();
if ( a.getTargetContexts() != null )
{
c.setEnabled ( true );
}
else
{
c.setEnabled (false );
}
}
}

3. Register your handler with the action by either adding to the registry or
manually registering it within the UI parent in which it is contained (menu
bar, toolbar, panel).

To manually initiate the firing of a selection event, invoke the fireSelectionEvent()

method within the application (a.fireSelectionEvent()).

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Index

A Naming conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4

SignalOnClose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Abstract class naming conventions . . . . B-4
StringViewerDialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-47
AbstractDialog class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-47
SystemColor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1, B-6
AbstractPopupButton class . . . . B-13, B-24
TCComponentForm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
AbstractProgessDialog class . . . . . . . . . B-9
TCConstants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-19
Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-9
TCFormProperty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-7
TCTypeRenderer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-22
AbstractProgressDialog class . . . . B-7, B-10
Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18
AbstractUINode class . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-19
clean startup option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1
AccessDialog component . . . . . . . . . . . B-16
close() method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Accessor method naming conventions . . B-4
closeSignaled() method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Acrobat files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Coding standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3
actions.properties file . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-51
Colors
AIFDesktop component . . . . . . . . . . . . B-49
Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5
Application Integration Framework
Recommended usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
(AIF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-49
Using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
application startup option . . . . . . . . . . B-1
com.teamcenter.rac.common.images
applyTemplateFilter extension point . . . 2-86
package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
arch startup option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1
com.teamcenter.rac.kernel package . . . . . 5-3
Automatic forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
com.teamcenter.rac.stylesheet.stylesheet_
user.properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
B Command line startup options . . . . . . . B-1
Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20, 2-61 Command Suppression
ButtonLayout layout manager . . . . . . . B-26 Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Commands, overriding . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-47
C
common_user.properties file . . . . . . . . . 2-10
centerToScreen method . . . . . . . . . . . . B-23 Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Changing rendering properties . . . . . . . . 5-3 Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-12
Classes AccessDialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-16
AbstractAIFContextSensitivity ExpansionRule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10
Handler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-52 GroupPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-20
AbstractDialog . . . . . . . . . . . . B-23, B-47 iTextArea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-25
AbstractPopupButton . . . . . . . B-13, B-24 iTextField . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-26
AbstractProgessDialog . . . . . . . . . . . B-7 JComboBox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11
AbstractProgressDialog . . . . . . B-9–B-10 LOVComboBox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11
AbstractUINode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-19 LOVDialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11
DeleteOperation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10 LOVPopupButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-13
GenericTableModel . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-25 MLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-43
InterfaceSignalOnClose . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 MRUButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-14
JTextArea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-25 OpenByNameButton . . . . . . . . . . . . B-14
JTextField . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-26 OrgSelectionDialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-15
MessageBox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-42 ReferencersPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-16

PLM00075 F Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide Index-1

Index

ReferencerUINode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-18 Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

RolePanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-19 Workbench . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-49
Separator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-45 Enabling rich client customization . . . . . 1-2
SplitPane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-47 Examples
StringViewerPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-48 AbstractDialog class . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-23
TableModel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-25 AbstractPopupButton code . . . . . . . . B-24
TCComponentUINode . . . . . . . . . . . B-19 AbstractProgressDialog component . . B-9
UserPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-21 GenericTableModel component . . . . . B-25
configuration startup option . . . . . . . . . B-1 GroupPanel component . . . . . . . . . . . B-21
Configuring rich client customization . . . 1-2 Headless program with logon
consolelog startup option . . . . . . . . . . . B-1 dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-32
Context sensitivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-50 HorizontalButtonLayout layout
Object model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-51 manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-27
Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-51 HorizontalLayout layout manager . . . B-32
controlLtHighlight property . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 IDE setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
controlShadow property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 LOVDialog component . . . . . . . . . . . B-11
Conventions LOVPopupButton component . . . . . . B-12
Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5 MessageBox component . . . . . . . . . . B-43
Dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5 MLabel component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-43
File organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4 MRUButton component . . . . . . . . . . B-14
Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-6 OpenByNameButton component . . . . B-15
Naming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4 OrgSelectionDialog component . . . . . B-16
Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5 PropertyLayout layout manager . . . . B-39
Source code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5 ReferencersPanel component . . . . . . . B-19
Text field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5 Registry file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-44
Registry file references . . . . . . . . . . . B-45
D Rich client logon window
customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
data startup option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2 Rich client splash window
Data tabs display, customizing . . . . . . . 4-14 customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
debug startup option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2 RolePanel component . . . . . . . . . . . . B-20
DeleteOperation class . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10 Separator component . . . . . . . . . . . . B-46
dev startup option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2 SplitPane component . . . . . . . . . . . . B-47
Developing forms using XML style StringViewerDialog component . . . . . B-48
sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13 StringViewerPanel component . . . . . B-48
Dialog box conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5 TCComponentUINode component . . . B-19
dialogDisplayed() method . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10 TCTypeRenderer class . . . . . . . . . . . B-23
Disabled properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35 UI form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Disabling the toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13 UserPanel component . . . . . . . . . . . . B-22
Displaying VerticalButtonLayout layout
Files in the viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12 manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-30
Form properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14 VerticalLayoutManager . . . . . . . . . . B-35
Regular properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14 Excel files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Distributing customizations with Over-the- Exception class naming conventions . . . B-4
Web Installer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-34 ExpansionRule component . . . . . . . . . . B-10
DskipRegReload startup option . . . . . . B-2
F
E
Files
Eclipse actions.properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-51
Installing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2 com.teamcenter.rac.stylesheet.stylesheet_
Project preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 user.properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Rich client platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6 common_user.properties . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Running the rich client . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4 kernel_user.properties . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3

Index-2 Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide PLM00075 F

 Index

Organization conventions . . . . . . . . . B-4 insweb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-33, 1-35

filesSelector extension point . . . . . . . . . 4-16 Integrated development environment
fireSelectionEvent() method . . . . . . . . . B-52 (IDE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Font conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-6 Interface components
Form beans InterfaceBufferedProperty
Developing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12 Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11 InterfacePropertyComponent . . . . . . 3-12
Using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11 InterfaceRendererEvent . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Forms Interface naming conventions . . . . . . . . B-4
Abstract rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 InterfaceBufferedPropertyComponent
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9 InterfacePropertyComponent
Customizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-94 component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-94 InterfaceSignalOnClose class . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Developing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4, 3-11 Item create panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Developing using XML style sheets . . 3-13 iTextArea component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-25
Display components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2 iTextField component . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-26
Displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10 J
JavaBean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1 JComboBox component . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11
Performance issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9 JPanel component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Property display keys . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14 JTextArea class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-25
Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6 JTextField class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-26
Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
XML style sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 K
kernel_user.properties files . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
G keyring startup option . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2
GenericTableModel class . . . . . . . . . . . B-25
getChildren() method . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10 L
getOperations() method . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10
GroupPanel component . . . . . . . . . . . . B-20 Layout managers
ButtonLayout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-26
Horizontal ButtonLayout . . . . . . . . . B-27
H HorizontalLayout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-32
Handlers In general . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-26
Registering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-51 PropertyLayout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-39
RequiredSelectionHandler . . . B-51–B-52 Vertical ButtonLayout . . . . . . . . . . . B-30
Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-52 VerticalLayout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-35
Headless programs . . . . . . . . . . . 4-24, 4-31 License agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Hiding perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 Listener leaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7–6-8
HorizontalLayout layout manager . . . . B-32 Localization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-56, 5-1
HTML files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13 login() method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-24
Logon window customization . . . . . . . . . 2-9
I LOVComboBox component . . . . . . . . . . B-11
LOVDialog component . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11
ICD files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-33 LOVPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-12
Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10 LOVPanel component . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-12
Image file naming conventions . . . . . . . B-4 LOVPopupButton component . . . . . . . . B-13
initialize startup option . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2
initializeDialog() method . . . . . . . . . . . B-9
M
Initiate selection events . . . . . . . . . . . . B-52
Installable component descriptor file . . . 1-33 Mandatory properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
Installing Eclipse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2 Manufacturing Process Planner tabs . . . 4-15

PLM00075 F Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide Index-3

Index

Menu commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17 P

Adding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Toggle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-77 Packages
View menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-61 com.teamcenter.rac.common.images . . 2-10
MEProcess business object . . . . . . . . . . 4-15 com.teamcenter.rac.kernel . . . . . . . . . 5-3
MessageBox class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-42 Naming conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4
Methods password startup option . . . . . . . . . . . B-3
centerToScreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-23 PDF files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
close() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 perspective startup option . . . . . . . . . . B-3
closeSignaled() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 Perspectives, hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
componentSelection() . . . . . . . . . . . . B-52 plugincustomization startup option . . . . B-3
dialogDisplayed() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10 Post-actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18
fireSelectionEvent() . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-52 PowerPoint files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
getChildren() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10 Pre-actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18
getOperations() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10 Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
initializeDialog() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-9 product startup option . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3
login() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-24 Project preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
okToModify() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10 Properties
RenderingLoader.load() . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3 controlLtHighlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
save() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13 controlShadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
saveProperty() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13 Dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
setBounds() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10 Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-94, 3-13
setEnabled() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-50 File conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5
setFormProperties() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9 Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1, B-5
setReadOnly() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11 Mandatory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
setStringValue() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9 object_name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
setStringValueData() . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9 owning_user . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
setVisible() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-50 Property beans
startOperation() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10 PropertyArray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
startProcess() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10 PropertyButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-39
MLabel component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-43 PropertyCheckbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
mpp.properties file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15 PropertyImage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-54
MRUButton component . . . . . . . . . . . . B-14 PropertyLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . 2-1, 2-3–2-4, 2-6 PropertyLogicalPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
PropertyLongText . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51
N PropertyLOVButton . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
PropertyLOVCombobox . . . . . . . . . . 3-47
New Business Object wizard . . . . . . . . . 2-4 PropertyNameLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
nl startup option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2 PropertyObjectLink . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50
nosplash startup option . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2 PropertyPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50
Note attribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9 PropertyRadioButton . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
PropertyRadioButtonOptionLov . . . . 3-48
O PropertySlider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
PropertyTextArea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
object_name property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 PropertyTextField . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
okToModify() method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10 PropertyToggleButton . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
OpenByNameButton component . . . . . . B-14 PropertyToggleButtonOptionLov . . . . 3-49
OrgSelectionDialog component . . . . . . . B-15 TitledPropertyArray . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-54
os startup option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3 TitledPropertyButton . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Over-the-Web Installer TitledPropertyCheckbox . . . . . . . . . . 3-43
Distributing customizations . . . . . . . 1-34 TitledPropertyCheckboxOptionLov . . 3-48
Removing customizations . . . . . . . . . 1-36 TitledPropertyLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Overriding commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-47 TitledPropertyLogicalPanel . . . . . . . 3-52
owning_user property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 TitledPropertyLongText . . . . . . . . . . 3-52

Index-4 Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide PLM00075 F

 Index

TitledPropertyLOVButton . . . . . . . . 3-46 ReferencersTreeLookNodeLayout layout

TitledPropertyLOVCombobox . . 3-47–3-48 manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-17
TitledPropertyObjectLink . . . . . . . . . 3-50 ReferencersVerticalNodeLayout layout
TitledPropertyPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50 manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-18
TitledPropertyRadioButton . . . . . . . . 3-44 ReferencerUINode component . . . . . . . B-18
TitledPropertyRadioButtonOption refresh startup option . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3
Lov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49 Registry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-44
TitledPropertySlider . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41 Regular property display keys . . . . . . . 3-14
TitledPropertyTextArea . . . . . . . . . . 3-39 Removing customizations with Over-the-Web
TitledPropertyTextField . . . . . . . . . . 3-38 Installer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-36
TitledPropertyToggleButton . . . . . . . 3-45 RequiredSelectionHandler
TitledPropertyToggleButtonOption handler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-51–B-52
Lov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49 Resource Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18
PropertyArray bean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53 Reverse engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
PropertyButton bean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-39 Rich client
propertyChangeListener . . . . . . . . . . . B-16 Debugging tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
PropertyCheckbox bean . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42 Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
PropertyImage bean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-54 Running from Eclipse . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
PropertyLabel bean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40 Rich client perspectives and views . . . . . 1-5
PropertyLayout layout manager . . . . . . B-39 RolePanel component . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-19
PropertyLogicalPanel bean . . . . . . . . . 3-52
PropertyLongText bean . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51 S
PropertyLOVButton bean . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
PropertyLOVCombobox bean . . . . . . . . 3-47 save() method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
PropertyNameLabel bean . . . . . . . . . . 3-37 saveProperty() method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
PropertyObjectLink bean . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50 Separator component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-45
PropertyPanel bean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50 setBounds() method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
PropertyRadioButton bean . . . . . . . . . . 3-44 setEnabled() method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-50
PropertyRadioButtonOptionLov setReadOnly() method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
bean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48 setVisible() method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-50
PropertySlider bean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41 Shortcut menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
PropertyTextArea bean . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38 showlocation startup option . . . . . . . . . B-3
PropertyTextField bean . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37 SignalOnClose class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
PropertyToggleButton bean . . . . . . . . . 3-45 Source
PropertyToggleButtonOptionLov Code conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5
bean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49 File naming conventions . . . . . . . . . . B-4
Splash window customization . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Q SplitPane component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-47
Stand-alone programs, writing . . . 4-24, 4-33
QAF files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13 startOperation() method . . . . . . . . . . . B-10
Quick Access files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13 startProcess() methods . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10
StringViewerDialog class . . . . . . . . . . . B-47
R StringViewerPanel component . . . . . . . B-48
Style sheets
rac_command_suppression variable . . . . 4-4 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Referencers layout managers Sample customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
In general . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-17 Summary view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
ReferencersReverseHorizontal Suppressing commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
NodeLayout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-17 SystemColor class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
ReferencersTreeLookNodeLayout . . . B-17
ReferencersVerticalNodeLayout . . . . B-18 T
ReferencersPanel component . . . . . . . . B-16
ReferencersReverseHorizontalNodeLayout Tab customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15
layout manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-17 Table viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-65

PLM00075 F Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide Index-5

Index

TableModel component . . . . . . . . . . . . B-25 U

TCComponentUINode component . . . . . B-19 Unpublished APIs and extension
TCConstants class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-19 points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
TCTypeRenderer class . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-22 Upgrading customization . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Teamcenter perspectives and views . . . . . 1-5 User services
Text Calling functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
Field conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5 Implementing methods . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13 Registering functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
TitledPropertyArray bean . . . . . . . . . . 3-54 UserPanel component . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-21
TitledPropertyButton bean . . . . . . . . . 3-40
TitledPropertyCheckbox bean . . . . . . . 3-43
TitledPropertyCheckboxOptionLov V
bean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48 Variable naming conventions . .. . . . . . B-4
TitledPropertyLabel bean . . . . . . . . . . 3-40 VerticalLayout layout manager . . . . . . B-35
TitledPropertyLogicalPanel bean . . . . . 3-52 Viewer, displaying files . . . . . .. . . . . . 4-12
TitledPropertyLongText bean . . . . . . . . 3-52 visibleWhen expression . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4-5
TitledPropertyLOVButton bean . . . . . . 3-46 vm startup option . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . B-3
TitledPropertyLOVCombobox vmargs startup option . . . . . . .. . . . . . B-3
bean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47–3-48
TitledPropertyObjectLink bean . . . . . . 3-50 W
TitledPropertyPanel bean . . . . . . . . . . 3-50 Web Application Manager . . . . . . . . . . 1-33
TitledPropertyRadioButton bean . . . . . 3-44 Web files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
TitledPropertyRadioButtonOptionLov Word files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
bean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49 Workflow customization . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-86
TitledPropertySlider bean . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
TitledPropertyTextArea bean . . . . . . . . 3-39
TitledPropertyTextField bean . . . . . . . . 3-38 X
TitledPropertyToggleButton bean . . . . . 3-45 XML Rendering Template . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
TitledPropertyToggleButtonOptionLov XML style sheets
bean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49 Customizing the properties display . . 3-13
Toggle menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-77 Using predefined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20, 2-61 XMLRenderingStylesheet dataset . . . . . 3-13
Tree viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-72

Index-6 Rich Client Customization Programmer’s Guide PLM00075 F