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About Siebel Open UI

This topic describes Siebel Open UI. It includes the following information:

• Overview of Siebel Open UI
• Open Development Environment
• Multiple Client Environment
• Support for More Than One Usage
• New Notification User Interfaces
• Mobile Environments

Overview of Siebel Open UI

Siebel Open UI is an open architecture that you can use to customize the user interface that your enterprise uses to display business process information. These processes must meet the requirements of a wide range of employee, partner, and customer applications. You can use Siebel Tools to do these customizations, and you can also use Web standards, such as HTML, CSS, or JavaScript. Siebel Open UI uses these standards to render the Siebel Open UI client in the Web browser. It uses no proprietary technologies, such as browser plug-ins or ActiveX.

Siebel Open UI can run any Siebel business application on any Web browser that is compliant with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards. It can display data in Web browsers that support Web standards on various operating systems, such as Windows, Mac OS, or Linux. For example:

• Internet Explorer
• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Apple Safari

Siebel Open UI uses current Web design principles, such as semantic HTML and unobtrusive JavaScript. These principles make sure configuration for the following items remains separate from one another:

• Data and metadata that determines HTML content
• Cascading Style Sheet configurations that determine styling and layout
• JavaScript behavior that determines interactivity and client logic

You can modify each of these items separately and independently of each other. For example, you can configure Siebel Open UI to hide some of the objects that it displays on a Siebel screen when it displays Siebel CRM data in a list or form on the smaller footprint of a mobile device. Hiding these objects, such as menus or tabs, can help to optimize mobile screen usage. Siebel Open UI can use swipe and zoom features that are native on a tablet for the same user interface that it uses for keyboard and mouse events that are native on a desktop.

Siebel Open UI can reference a third-party resource. For example, you can configure Siebel Open UI to get data from a supplier Web site, incorporate it with Siebel CRM data, and then display this data in the client. For example, it can get literature information from a supplier, and then include this information in a detailed display that includes information about the product, such as images, diagrams, or parts lists. It can mix this information with Siebel CRM data, such as customers who own this product, or opportunities who might be interested in purchasing this product.

The architecture that Siebel Open UI uses includes well-defined customization points and a JavaScript API that allow for a wide range of customization for styling, layout, and user interface design. For more information, see Architecture of Siebel Open UI. For more information about the JavaScript API that Siebel Open UI uses, see Siebel Open UI Application Programming Interface.

For information about deploying Siebel Open UI, including supported features, see Article ID 1499842.1 on My Oracle Support. For more information about using Siebel Tools, see Using Siebel Tools.

Customizations That You Can Make with Siebel Open UI

The following list describes a few of the example customizations that you can make with Siebel Open UI. You can use JavaScript to implement most of these examples. It is often not necessary to use Siebel Tools to do these customizations:

• Refresh only the part of the screen that Siebel Open UI modifies.
• Use JavaScript to display and hide fields or to configure a spell checker.
• Configure Siebel Open UI to display a list applet as a box list, carousel, or grid.
• Display data from an external application in a Siebel CRM view or applet.
• Display a Siebel CRM view or applet in an external application.
• Configure Siebel Open UI to display a Google map.
• Use cascading style sheets to modify HTML elements, including position, dimension, and text attributes of an element.
• Use HTML to customize the logo that your company uses or to customize the background image.

The following are a few examples of customizations that you can make with Siebel Open UI in a mobile environment:

• Use JavaScript to configure menus, menu items, and the layout for mobile devices.
• Display Siebel CRM data in a Google map or add maps that include location data.
• Create a custom mobile list.
• Configure scrolling, swipe, swipe scrolling, infinite scrolling, and the height of the scroll area.
• Configure a view to use landscape or portrait layout.
• Configure toggle controls and toggle row visibility.
• Display a high interactivity view.

For more information about these examples, see Customizing Siebel Open UI and Customizing Siebel Open UI for Siebel Mobile.

Open Development Environment

You can use Siebel Tools or a development tool of your choice to customize Siebel Open UI so that it fits in your business environment and meets specific user requirements. You might not require Web development in many situations because the Siebel Tools configuration works for the Siebel Open UI client similarly to how it works for the current Siebel Web Client. You can use a predefined, uncustomized deployment, or you can use Siebel Tools to customize the SRF and Siebel Web templates. You can use only Web development or you can use Siebel Tools and Web development depending on the implementation requirements.

You can use Siebel Open UI with the rendering environment of your choice. You can use your preferred Integrated Development Environment (IDE) to write native JavaScript code on top of the API that Siebel CRM uses, or with the JavaScript API that Siebel Open UI uses. For more information, see Customizing Siebel Open UI. For more information about the JavaScript API that Siebel Open UI uses, see Siebel Open UI Application Programming Interface.

You can use HTML, CSS, or JavaScript to add features. For example, you can do the following:

• Create smooth transitions between swipe, accordion, or carousel views.
• Create multifont displays.
• Expand, collapse, or resize an applet.
• Use open-source JavaScript code that can reuse work from the open-source development community.
• Use your preferred JavaScript environment, or use the environment that Siebel Open UI provides.
• Use a plug-in, proprietary development environment, or native development environment that you choose to create a custom rendering architecture that resides top of the JavaScript API that Siebel Open UI uses.
• Use intraworkspace communication and DOM (Document Object Model) access and manipulation through standard JavaScript programming.
• Do a limited pilot test of your customizations in your current Siebel Server implementation while most of your users continue to use the high-interactivity client.
• Preserve your existing customizations.

Siebel Open UI JavaScript API Support

The JavaScript API that Siebel Open UI uses replaces browser scripting. You can use your own Integrated Development Environment to write JavaScript and you can customize the JavaScript API that Siebel Open UI provides. This JavaScript API allows you to do the following:

• Include Siebel Open UI or individual Siebel Open UI objects, such as views or applets, in a third-party user interface.
• Integrate external content in the Siebel Open UI client.
• Use public and documented JavaScript APIs that support your business logic without rendering objects that depend on a specific or proprietary technology.

For more information about this JavaScript API, see Siebel Open UI Application Programming Interface.

Multiple Client Environment

Siebel Open UI can do the following to support different client environments:

• Display data in any client that meets the World Wide Web Consortium standards. For example, a corporate desktop, laptop, seven-inch tablet, or ten-inch tablet. Siebel Open UI can display a typical Siebel CRM desktop client in the smaller footprint that a tablet provides.
• Display data in a browser or any other compliant client or mobile platform.
• Display data simultaneously from a single Siebel business application to more than one client environment.

Siebel Open UI works the same way for the following client types:

• Siebel Web Client
• Siebel Mobile Web Client
• Siebel Dedicated Web Client (Thick Client)

Support for More Than One Usage

Siebel Open UI adjusts to the unique attributes of each client so that the user can do the same task on a variety of client types. It can optimize the intrinsic capabilities of each client type or device so that they provide a desirable user experience for the novice or expert user. An administrator can also configure Siebel Open UI to meet these individual skill levels. Siebel Open UI can do the following:

• Support applications that you can customize to meet appearance and behavior requirements or usage patterns of various devices, such as smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, or laptop computers.
• Use flexible layout options that support a tree tab layout or a custom navigation design.
• Automatically hide tabs and navigation panes when not in use to optimize space.
• Allow employees, partners, and customers to use the same business process and validation with different levels of access.
• Use user interactions that are consistent with current Web applications.
• Support layout and gesture capabilities for mobile users who use a tablet or smartphone device.

New Notification User Interfaces

Siebel Open UI includes elements from social media and smartphones that improve user productivity, such as notification applets. It combines these capabilities with other Siebel CRM innovations to provide the following capabilities:

• Use a notification area that displays messages. The user can access this area at any time without disrupting current work.
• Hover the mouse to toggle between summary and detail information for a record.
• Use native Web browser functionality. For example, bookmarks, zoom, swipe, printing and print preview, and spelling checker.
• Use intuitive system indicators for busy events or to cancel a time-consuming operation.
• Allow navigation through a wide range of data entry and navigation capabilities through the keyboard, mouse, tablet, or gesturing.

For more information, see Notifications That Siebel Open UI Supports.

Mobile Environments

Siebel Open UI on a mobile interface uses the same architecture that Siebel Open UI on a desktop application uses. For more information, see Siebel Connected Mobile Applications Guide.