Configuring Siebel eBusiness Applications > Configuring Multi-Value Group and Association Applets >

Association Applets Invoked from Master-Detail Views

Association applets are invoked from master detail views where the underlying business components have a many-to-many relationship. The association applet lists the records from a business component. The user selects one or more records using the Find and Starting With controls, if needed, and clicks the OK button to associate the selected record with the active master record.

Figure 89 illustrates an association applet invoked in a master-detail view by selecting Add button in the Contacts list applet.

Figure 89.  Association Applet Invoked from a Master-Detail View

The master-detail view in Figure 89 is Opportunity Detail - Contacts View, one of two master-detail views displaying opportunity and contact information. The other is Contacts Detail - Opportunities List View, which displays the inverse master-detail relationship. When the user chooses New Record from the Opportunities edit menu, the Opportunities dialog box appears for selection of an existing opportunity record to insert, or for creation of a new opportunity record. A new opportunity record is created by clicking the New button and then entering data into the new record in the Add Opportunities dialog box.

For example, the Add Contacts dialog box is implemented as an association applet called Contact Assoc applet.

Association applets are implemented using the object types illustrated in Figure 90.

Figure 90.  Association Applet Architecture

The details of the object relationships are shown in Figure 91.

Figure 91.  Association Applet (Invoked from Master-Detail View) Details

Roles of the object definitions in Figure 91:

• View (Opportunity Detail - Contacts List view). Provides the context in which the association applet is invoked, although no properties of the view directly identify the association applet. The Business Object property of the view establishes the master-detail relationship between the business components whose data is displayed.
• Master applet (Opportunity form applet). Form applet that displays one record from the master business component. It has no special properties to configure.
• Detail applet (Opportunity Contact list applet). List applet that displays a list of records from the detail business component that are detail records for the current master record in the master business component. The name of the association applet is specified in its Associate Applet property.
• Business components (Opportunity and Contact). Provide the data for their respective applets in the view. The detail business component also provides the data displayed in the association applet.

  NOTE:  In the association applet, records from the detail business component are displayed; in the detail applet, the only records displayed are those which have already been associated to the current master record.

• Association Applet (Contact Assoc applet). Implements the dialog box that appears when the user attempts to add or insert a record in the detail applet. It has a Type property value of Association List, which indicates that it is an association applet, and a Class property value of CSSFrameList, indicating that it is a list applet. The association applet is configured as a standard list applet, with a List child object definition that, in turn, has List Object child object definitions.
• List columns. Specify the fields that are displayed in the association applet, and in what order. They duplicate some or all of the list columns in the detail applet in the view.
• Controls. Several specialized controls appear in an association applet. They are the following:
  • Check button. Associates selected records to the current parent. The result at the table level is to create an intersection table row between the row identified in the master applet and the row identified in the association applet. The control is named PopupQueryAdd and has a method invoked of AddRecord.
  • New button. Creates a new row directly in the detail applet. The result at the table level is to create a new row in the detail table, and an intersection table row between the row identified in the master applet and the row created in the association applet. The control is named ButtonNew and has a method invoked of NewRecord.
  • Cancel button. Dismisses the dialog box.
  • Find combo box. In combination with the Starting With text box and Find button, provides the user with search capabilities for locating the desired record in the association applet. The user selects in this combo box the field to search.
  • Starting With text box. Text box where the user enters the search criteria. The criteria entered in this control are automatically completed by a wild card. It is not possible to initiate another search and enter exact search criteria.
  • Go button. The user clicks this button to initiate the search specified in the Find combo box and Starting With text box.