Siebel Interactive Designer Administration Guide > Advanced Modeling > Dynamic Defaults >

Creating Dynamic Defaults


Use the following steps to create dynamic defaults.

The following procedure is one way to create dynamic defaults.

NOTE:  Dynamic Defaults requires the creation of a second pageset. Refer to the LoadPageset and LoadPagesetWithDynDefObj sections in Siebel Interactive Designer API Reference.

To create dynamic defaults

  1. In a Configuration table, create a DYNDEFS column.
  2. A Pagesetname column is not necessary because the PagesetName will be part of the string in the DYNDEFS column.

  3. In the DYNDEFS cells, enter the pagesetID and desired Feature table values in the format:
  4. PagesetID','1stFTName=value, 2ndFTName=value, nthFTName=value

  5. In the Output UI control:
    1. Select the Control Type LINK.
    2. In Label, enter the text you want to appear before the link.
    3. In Table and Column, reference the Configuration table and DYNDEFS column.
    4. Select Pageset.
    5. In Anchor Text, enter the text that will appear as the link.

Notice the single quote, comma, single quote in-between PagesetID and 1stFTName in Step 2. Because the wrapper will put the outside quotation marks around the string,

document.write(ISS.BuildTarget("LINK",window,"DYNDEFS",true));

becomes

document.write(ISS.BuildTarget("LINK",window,"PagesetID','1stFTNam e=value,2ndFTName=value",true));

NOTE:  When used in Feature tables, DYNDEF is reserved and refers to a subconfiguration child's dynamic defaults. In Configuration tables, it is not reserved, but you should not use DYNDEF in more than one Configuration table. The column names in Configuration tables are global, so you will only end up with one DYNDEF output even if you have multiple instances of the column. Instead of using DYNDEF in Configuration tables, use more descriptive names, such as UPSELL_DYNDEF.

Example of Dynamic Default

In this example, a needs analysis page is used to recommend a particular computer, including the model, processor, and memory.

To create the dynamic defaults example

  1. Add a drop-down list UI control to the needs analysis page.
  2. Create a Feature table to populate the drop-down list with the values:
  3. In a Configuration table that references the Feature table you created in Step 2, add an output column named REC_PROD to store the pageset ID of the recommended product.
  4. In the same Configuration table, add an output column named DYNDEFS to store the defaults to change on the linked-to display page.
  5. Fill the REC_PROD and DYNDEFS columns as shown in the following table.
  6. The REC_PROD column stores the pageset IDs of the recommended products.

    The DYNDEFS column includes references to the Feature table names used by the UI controls and the new CODE value to serve as the default value. The equal sign (=) separates Feature table names and CODE values. A comma (,) separates multiple dynamic defaults.

    For example, for the laptops pageset ID, the first value under DYNDEFS references the MODEL Feature table in the next pageset that is going to be displayed, and sets the new default value to 1000.

    REC_PROD(0)
    DYNDEFS(0)
    laptops
    MODEL=XR50,PROC=366,MEM=32
    laptops
    MODEL=XR80,PROC=400,MEM=64
    desktops
    MODEL=XP50,PROC=366,MEM=32
    workstations
    MODEL=XP80,PROC=366,MEM=64

  7. Create a Link Output target on the display page of the Needs Analysis pageset that links to the recommended Inputs page.
  8. The Output UI tab does not generate the DYNDEFS variable. For this reason, you will need to edit the code in the Pageset_2.htm file to add it. Use the syntax:

    <SCRIPT>
    document.write(ISS.BuildTarget("LINK",window,"REC_PROD",true,"DY NDEFS"));
    </SCRIPT>
    Click here to further configure your computer.
    </A>

    This overrides the default settings for the pageset being loaded by referencing the DYNDEFS column.

    For more information on using the BuildTarget function to create Link Output targets, refer to the Pageset Functions chapter in Siebel Interactive Designer API Reference.

The Result of the Example

If the user's selections match the recommended solution described in the Configuration table, a link will appear to further configure the computer. When a shopper clicks the link, a display page for the pageset recommended in the REC_PROD column will appear. Also, the MODEL UI control will be set to the CODE value indicated in the DYNDEFS column. For example, the default MODEL description is 1000, but if the user is recommended the Laptop 2000, the UI control will display 2000.


 Siebel Interactive Designer Administration Guide 
 Published: 18 April 2003