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Enabling the Quick Edit Feature for Siebel Configurator

This task is a step in Process of Creating a Custom Siebel Configurator User Interface.

The quick edit feature gives users flexibility to speed up configuration by turning off validation by the constraint engine, so the user does not have to wait for each change to be validated. Configuration is launched with validation turned off. In the Siebel Configurator user interface, users can:

• Turn quick edit off and turn validation on by clicking the Turn Off Quick-Edit button.
• Turn quick edit on and turn validation off by clicking the Turn On Quick-Edit button.

This feature allows more experienced users to make changes more quickly by using Siebel Configurator with validation turned off. Less experienced users can turn validation on to avoid making errors.

If Quick-Edit is turned on and the user clicks the Done button to exit Siebel Configurator, a message appears prompting the user to validate the configuration. The user can validate the configuration by clicking the Turn Off Quick-Edit button to enable the constraint engine.

NOTE:  Turning quick edit on and off only applies to the constraint engine. User updates always go through eligibility and compatibility, promotion, and cardinality checks, regardless of whether quick edit is on or off.

Scenario for Using the Quick Edit Feature

For example, a business sells a complex frame relay product.

Some sales agents have extensive experience configuring this product, so they know which components are compatible, and they want the ability to add many components and validate them all at once. Other sales agents have little experience configuring this product, and they want the product to be validated after each component is added.

The product administrator creates the Siebel Configurator user interface using the Quick Edit base theme. After completing the design of the user interface, the administrator associates it with the responsibility of all these sales agents.

When sales agents launch Siebel Configurator, validation is turned off. Less experienced agents click the Turn Off Quick Edit button, so each component they add is validated as they configure the product.

More experienced agents add several components that are not validated individually. Then they click the Turn Off Quick Edit button to have the engine validate all the components that they have added up to that point. Then they click the Turn On Quick Edit button and add another group of components that are not validated individually.

Error Messages for Quick Edit

If a sales agent adds several components that are not validated individually and then clicks the Turn Off Quick Edit button, the Siebel Configurator might display error messages:

• If the components are compatible and the configuration is valid, no message is displayed.
• If a required component is missing and the configuration is incomplete, Siebel Configurator adds missing products to create a valid configuration and displays a message in the Messages box saying which products are added by the engine.
• If incompatible components are added, Siebel Configurator displays a conflict message and the user has two options:
  • Click Undo to go back to the previous page and correct the error.
  • Click Proceed. Siebel Configurator might display one incompatible product in red or might remove one incompatible product.

Modifying the Web Template for Quick Edit

To enable the quick edit feature, use the following procedure to modify the web template.

To modify the web template for quick edit

1. Navigate to the directory \siebel install directory\webtempl.
2. Open the web template file eCfgTopLevelButtonsJS.swt for the UI control using a text editor such as Notepad.
3. Edit the file by adding the lines highlighted in boldface below:

<table datatable="0" summary="" border="0" bgcolor="white" width="100%">

<tr>

<td nowrap>

<swe:control id="swe:EnableEngine" CfgUIControl="EnableEngine" CfgHtmlType="MiniButton" InvokeMethod="EnableEngine"/>

</td>

<td nowrap>

<swe:control id="swe:CheckPrice" CfgUIControl="Check the price" CfgHtmlType="MiniButton" InvokeMethod="CalculatePriceCX"/>

</td>

<td nowrap>

<swe:control id="swe:Save" CfgUIControl="Save" CfgHtmlType="MiniButton" InvokeMethod="SyncInstance"/>

</td>

Verifying the Signals for Quick Edit

To enable the quick edit feature, use this procedure to verify that the following signal definitions are present:

• PrepareEnableEngine
• ReEnableiLogForQuickEdit
• UpdateUIForQuickEdit
• PrepareDisableEngine

To verify the signals for quick edit

1. Navigate to Administration - Order Management screen, then the Signals view.
2. In the Signals list, confirm that the PrepareEnableEngine signal was created.
3. In the Versions list, click on the latest version of the signal to drill down to the Actions list.
4. In the Actions list, confirm that the fields of the Action record have the values in the following table.

   Field	Value
   Sequence	1
   Service Type	Business Service
   Service Name	Remote Complex Object Instance Service
   Method	PrepareEnableEngine

5. Repeat all the above steps for the signals ReEnableiLogForQuickEdit, UpdateUIForQuickEdit, and PrepareDisableEngine.
6. Clear the cache.

Setting Up the Quick Edit Feature

To set up the quick edit feature, design the Siebel Configurator user interface in the usual way. Choose Base Theme with Quick Edit JS as the base theme for the interface. Associate this interface with the appropriate responsibility.

To set up the quick edit feature for the Siebel Configurator UI

1. Navigate to the Administration - Product screen, and then the Product Definitions view.
2. In the Products list, select the desired product and lock it if necessary.
3. In the Versions list, click the Workspace hyperlink.
4. Click the User Interface view tab.
5. In the User Interface list, in the Base Theme field, select the template eCfgBaseAutoRepriceQuickEditJS.swt.

Disabling the Proceed Button

The Proceed button is available after the user clicks the Turn Off Quick Edit button to display conflicts among the components already added.

If there are incompatible components and the user clicks Proceed, Siebel Configurator might display one incompatible component in red or might remove one incompatible component. The product administrator can disable the Proceed button, if users might be confused by this behavior.

Disabling the Proceed button applies only when the Quick Edit mode is turned on. Because the user can make multiple selections before validating the configuration, the constraint engine cannot determine which user action caused the conflict, so the Proceed button is disabled. However, when the quick edit mode is turned off, each user action is evaluated by the constraint engine, so the engine knows which action causes a conflict; in this case, the Proceed button is enabled.

To disable the Proceed button

1. Navigate to the Administration - Product screen, and then the Product Definitions view.
2. In the Products list, select the root product and lock it if necessary.
3. In the Versions list, click the Workspace hyperlink.
4. Click the Properties view tab.
5. Add a new record to the Properties and complete the necessary fields as described in the following table.

   Field	Comments
   Name	Enter DisableProceed.
   Value	Enter Y.

   When the sales agent configures the product, the Proceed button is disabled and grayed out.