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Displaying a Custom Siebel CRM Field in a Siebel CRM Desktop Form

This topic gives one example of how to display a custom Siebel field in a Siebel CRM Desktop form. You might use this feature differently, depending on your business model. In this example, you display the Mail Stop field on the Contact form in the Siebel CRM Desktop client. You make this field available through the Siebel API and then customize Siebel CRM Desktop to synchronize and display the field. You modify the following files:

• siebel_meta_info.xml
• siebel_basic_mapping.xml
• forms_12.xml
• package_res.xml

For more information, see About Files in the Customization Package.

To display a custom Siebel CRM field in a Siebel CRM Desktop form

1. In Siebel Tools, make sure the Mail Stop field exists on the Contact business component.

   If it does not, then add it now.

2. Add the Mail Stop field to the CRMDesktopContactIO integration object.

   In order for Siebel CRM Desktop to synchronize data with the Siebel database, you use Siebel CRM Desktop integration objects and integration components to make the objects and fields that you use in this example available. The Contact object is already available but the Mail Stop field is not. To make the Mail Stop field available, you add it to the Contact integration component for each of the required integration objects:

   1. In the Object Explorer, click Integration Object, and then locate the CRMDesktopContactIO integration object in the Integration Objects list.
   2. In the Object Explorer, expand the Integration Object tree, click Integration Component, and then locate the Contact integration component in the Integration Components list.
   3. In the Object Explorer, expand the Integration Component tree, and then click Integration Component Field.
   4. In the Integration Component Fields list, add a new record using values from the following table.

      Property	Value
      Name	Mail Stop
      Data Type	DTYPE_TEXT

3. Repeat Step 2 for the CRMDesktopAccountIO integration object.
4. Repeat Step 2 for the CRMDesktopOpportunityIO integration object.
5. Compile all locked projects.

   After compiling finishes, the Mail Stop field is available through the API and you can configure Siebel CRM Desktop to use the field. For more information, see Using Siebel Tools.

6. Define the objects and fields to synchronize:
   1. Use an XML editor to open the siebel_meta_info.xml file.

      For more information, see About Files in the Customization Package.

   2. In the siebel_meta_info.xml file, locate the following tag:

   object TypeId='Contact'

   Note that there are several child field tags that reside in the object TypeId='Contact' tag. These children define the fields for the Contact object.

   3. Add the following field tag as a child to the object TypeId='Contact' tag:

   <field Name='Mail Stop' Label='Mail Stop' DataType='DTYPE_TEXT' IOElemName='MailStop' />

   4. Repeat Step b and Step c for the following tag:

   object TypeId='Account.Contact'

   5. Repeat Step b and Step c for the following tag:

   object TypeId='Opportunity.Contact'

   6. Save and close the siebel_meta_info.xml file.
7. Map the Mail Stop field from the Contact object in the Siebel database to a field in Siebel CRM Desktop:
   1. Use an XML editor to open the siebel_basic_mapping.xml file.

      For more information, see About Files in the Customization Package.

   2. In the siebel_basic_mapping.xml file, add a new field tag to the type tag using values from the following table.

      Tag	Value
      type id	Contact

   3. Add the following code to the tag you created in Step b.

   <field id="Mail Stop">

   <reader class="mapi_user">

   <user_field id="sbl Mail Stop" ol_field_type="1"></user_field>

   <convertor class="string"></convertor>

   </reader>

   <writer class="Microsoft Outlook_user">

   <user_field id="sbl Mail Stop" ol_field_type="1"></user_field>

   <convertor class="string"></convertor>

   </writer>

   </field>

   4. Save and close the siebel_basic_mapping.xml file.
8. Insert a label and the Mail Stop field just below the Job Title field on the Contact form:
   1. Open the forms_12.xml file, and then locate the cell that contains the #lbl_job_title label control.
   2. Insert the following XML code immediately after the cell that contains the #lbl_job_title label control:

   <cell size="22">

   <control id="lbl_MailStop" class="static" tab_order="6">

   <text>#lbl_mail_stop</text>

   </control>

   </cell>

   The following code specifies a key that the package_res.xml file uses to determine the localized value for the label:

   #lbl_mail_stop

   3. Locate the section that is labeled with the following comment:

   left side fields

   This section resides in the tag that resides in the form that contains the SBL Contact ID.

   4. To add the text field control, insert the following XML code immediately above the cell that contains the ContactToAccount MVG control, and just below the cell that contains the status_image control:

   <cell size="22">

   <control class="edit" id="MailStop" tab_order="7">

   <field value="string">Mail Stop</field>

   </control>

   </cell>

   5. Locate the cell size tag, and then change it to the following value:

   <cell size="185">

   To make room for the new field, you must increase the cell size that contains all of the child objects. In this example, you change the cell size from 155 to 185.

9. Add the following code to the package_res.xml file:

   <str key="lbl_mail_stop">Mail stop:</str>

   Add this code as a child of the res_root tag under the following comment:

   <!-Contact Form

   This code provides localized values and images to the Siebel CRM Desktop Client. This code allows the Contact form to render the Mail Stop label through a key value. The package_res.xml file provides localized values and images to Siebel CRM Desktop. Because you added the new Mail Stop field to the Contact form, you must provide the text for the label. When you modified the forms_12.xml file, you created a label control that contains #lbl_mail_stop for the text value. This control identifies the key to use in the package_res.xml file.

10. Republish the updated package files.

    During the next synchronization, Siebel CRM Desktop uses the updated files to apply the modifications to the Contact form. The Mail Stop field is available on the Contact form and Siebel CRM Desktop synchronizes the values in this field with the Siebel Server. For more information, see Republishing a Customization Package.