3 Using the Administrative and User Console

This chapter describes how to use the main features of the Administrative and User Console. It discusses the following topics:

• Searching in the Administrative and User Console

• Customizing the Display of Data in the Administrative and User Console

3.1 Searching in the Administrative and User Console

Many fields in the Administrative and User Console pages have lookup capabilities. You use these capabilities to locate a record, for example, to find a particular user account, to assign a particular entity to a record, or to add users to requests. Some fields have predefined menu choices. Other fields provide full search capabilities, also referred to as a query function.

This section discusses the following topics:

• Constructing a Search (or Query)

• Using Wildcards

• Understanding How Search Works

3.1.1 Constructing a Search (or Query)

To search for a particular record, you can enter information in one or more fields and click Search. Enter as much information as possible about the record you are trying to locate. For example, if you remember a user's first name only, enter that and leave the other fields blank. All user records that have the same first name as the one you entered are displayed.

In a search page, if you leave all the fields blank and click Search, then all the records are displayed. To restart a search, click Clear. Some pages also provide a Cancel button that you can click to cancel a search.

Note:

Searches in the Administrative and User Console are not case-sensitive. For example, you can enter JOHN or john to search for a user named John.

3.1.2 Using Wildcards

In addition to entering values in the fields to limit the records retrieved by the search, you can enter wildcard characters in a particular search field. The wildcard characters help further refine the search.

The asterisk (*) wildcard character represents unspecified portions of field values in a search. You can use the asterisk at the beginning, middle, or end of a value that you enter in a field. For example, if you enter j* in the User ID field and perform a search, all users whose user ID begins with the letter j, such as John and Jane, are displayed. If the asterisk is placed in the middle of a search value, as in j*n, then all records that begin with j and end with n, for example, john and joan, are displayed. If you place the asterisk at the beginning of the search value, as in *d, then all records that end with the letter d, such as Richard, are displayed.

Note:

You cannot include wildcard characters when you specify search criteria for a user-defined field (UDF) of a numeric type. In this context, numeric types include INTEGER, LONG, DOUBLE, and so on.

3.1.3 Understanding How Search Works

The manner in which the search is constructed and run depends on the type of search you perform. The results you retrieve are based on the context in which you are conducting the search.

If you search for a user record when creating or tracking a request, only the user records are displayed for whom you are the manager or administrator. The search parameters you enter are combined to retrieve results. For example, if you enter John in the First Name field and NYoffice in the Organization field, all the users with the first name of John, who work in the NY office and are managed by you, are displayed.

If you are performing a request record search, for example, while tracking requests, you must select which data element of the request you want to search. For example, you can search for requests by entering the request ID or a target user's ID, but not both.

3.2 Customizing the Display of Data in the Administrative and User Console

This section describes how you can configure the Administrative and User Console to meet your data display requirements. This section discusses the following topics:

• Truncating Text Entries

• Displaying Process Forms with Child Tables

3.2.1 Truncating Text Entries

By default, the Administrative and User Console displays entire text entries, irrespective of the length of the entry. You can configure the Administrative and User Console so that it truncates long text entries by using a series of three dots (...).

To customize a field to show the entire entry name:

• If you are using JBoss Application Server, then:

  1. Copy the XellerateFull.ear file from the following directory to a temporary directory and extract its contents in the temporary directory:

  2. • For JBoss Application Server in nonclustered environments:

       JBOSS_HOME/server/default/deploy/
       

     • For JBoss Application Server in clustered environments (the following directory on each node):

       JBOSS_HOME/server/all/deploy/
       

  3. In the extracted contents of the XellerateFull.ear file, locate the xlWebApp.war file and extract its contents in the same directory.

  4. Locate the xlWebAdmin.properties file in the following directory inside the extracted contents of the file:

     WEB-INF/classes/
     

  5. In the xlWebAdmin.properties file, modify the value of the global.property.tableColumnSize property for all the nodes in the cluster.

     The default value is -1, which displays entire text entries. To display text entries with three dots, change the value of the global.property.tableColumnSize property to a positive integer that indicates the number of characters to display. For example, assigning a value of 10 to the global.property.tableColumnSize property displays the first 10 characters of each text entry and truncates any additional characters with three dots.

  6. In the temporary directory, re-create the xlWebApp.war file with the newly modified xlWebAdmin.properties file included in it.

  7. In the temporary directory, re-create the XellerateFull.ear file with the newly created xlWebApp.war file included in it.

  8. Delete the old XellerateFull.ear file from the following directory, and then copy the newly created XellerateFull.ear file into the directory:

     • For JBoss Application Server in nonclustered environments:

       JBOSS_HOME/server/default/deploy/
       

     • For JBoss Application Server in clustered environments (the following directory on each node):

       JBOSS_HOME/server/all/deploy/
       

  9. Restart the application server for the changes to take effect.

• If you are using Oracle WebLogic Server, IBM WebSphere Application Server, or Oracle Application Server, then:

  1. Locate the xlWebAdmin.properties file in the following directory, and open it in a text editor:

     • For Oracle WebLogic Server in nonclustered environments:

       BEA_HOME/user_projects/domains/DOMAIN_NAME/XLApplications/WLXellerateFull.ear/xlWebApp.war/WEB-INF/classes/
       

       For Oracle WebLogic Server in clustered environments, the following directory on each node:

       BEA_HOME/user_projects/domains/DOMAIN_NAME/XLApplications/WLXellerateFull.ear/xlWebApp.war/WEB-INF/classes/
       

       BEA_HOME/weblogic81/common/nodemanager/MANAGED_SERVER_NAME/stage/Xellerate/xlWebApp.war/WEB-INF/classes/
       

     • For IBM WebSphere Application Server in nonclustered environments:

       WEBSPHERE_HOME/profiles/PROFILE_NAME/installedApps/node_name/Xellerate.ear/xlWebApp.war/WEB-INF/classes/
       

       For IBM WebSphere Application Server in clustered environments, the following directory on each node:

       WEBSPHERE_HOME/profiles/PROFILE_NAME/installedApps/XL_NODE_PROFILE/Xellerate.ear/xlWebApp.war/WEB-INF/classes/
       

     • For Oracle Application Server in both nonclustered and clustered environments (the following directory on each node in the cluster):

       OAS_HOME/j2ee/OC4J_Instance_Name/applications/Xellerate/xlWebApp/WEB-INF/classes/
       

  2. In the xlWebAdmin.properties file, modify the value of the global.property.tableColumnSize property for all the nodes in the cluster.

     The default value is -1, which displays entire text entries. To display text entries with three dots, change the value of the global.property.tableColumnSize property to a positive integer that indicates the number of characters to display. For example, assigning a value of 10 to the global.property.tableColumnSize property displays the first 10 characters of each text entry and truncates any additional characters with three dots.

  3. On a clustered environment, repeat Step 2 on each node of the cluster.

  4. Restart the application server for the changes to take effect.

3.2.2 Displaying Process Forms with Child Tables

During the resource provisioning process, the Administrative and User Console by default displays any associated process form with a child table that has 10 or fewer columns.

The following are examples of Administrative and User Console pages that display child tables with 10 columns at a time:

• When you go to the User Detail page in the Resource Profile and click the Edit or View links for the resource and process forms.

• When you use the User Direct Provisioning Wizard, Step 3 through Step 6.

• When you navigate to the Organization Detail page in the Resource Profile and click the Edit or View links for the resource and process forms.

• When you use the Organization Direct Provisioning Wizard, Step 3 through Step 6.

• When you navigate to the Resource Detail page in the Organizations Associated with This Resource and click the Edit or View links for the resource and process forms.

To display a child table with more than 10 columns:

1. Open the xlDefaultAdmin.properties file from the following directory:

   OIM_HOME/xellerate/webapp/precompiled/jsp-temp/WEB-INF/classes
   

2. Modify the value of global.property.NumberOfChildTableColumns.

   The default is 10 columns. You can change the value to any required number.