4 Managing Gadgets and Features

Oracle On Track Communication allows you to add plug-ins to the end user interface. These plug-ins are called Gadgets and Features.

See Also:

For sample code and reference material to assist in the development of gadgets and features, see: Oracle On Track Communication Developer's Guide.

This section contains the following topics:

Adding and Configuring Oracle On Track Gadgets
Adding and Configuring Oracle On Track Features

Adding and Configuring Oracle On Track Gadgets

A Gadget is a plug-in that provides functionality in an On Track conversation, such as a map tool, polling, or access to an external site. The Oracle On Track Communication Developer's Guide includes sample gadget code.

Oracle On Track comes with two gadgets which are enabled by default:

On Track External Site Gadget
On Track Poll Gadget

From the On Track Administration Console, you can manage gadgets on the Gadgets page.

See Also:

For sample code and reference material to assist in the development of gadgets, see: Oracle On Track Communication Developer's Guide.

Managing Gadgets

The On Track External Site Gadget enables users to link to content stored on external sites from within a Conversation. The On Track Poll Gadget allows users to create a voting poll in a conversation.

You can manage the availability of these gadgets supplied with On Track, as well as any custom gadgets you have deployed, using the On Track Administration Console.

Log in to the administration console and click Gadgets. Select a gadget in the list and click Open Properties. From the gadget properties page, you can rename the gadget, update the gadget definition file, enable or disable a gadget, and make a gadget available or unavailable.

See Also:

For descriptions of the gadget configuration properties, see "Managing Gadgets" in the Oracle On Track Communication Administration Console Help.

Deploying a Custom Gadget

To deploy a custom gadget, you must first create a gadget definition file. Then, you can upload the file to the Oracle On Track server.

See Also:

For sample code and reference material to assist in the development of custom gadgets, see: Oracle On Track Communication Developer's Guide

For step by step instructions on how to upload a gadget definition file, see "Adding a Gadget" in the Oracle On Track Communication Administration Console Help.

Adding and Configuring Oracle On Track Features

A Feature is a set of javascript files that provide the major features of the client. The Oracle On Track Communication Developer's Guide includes a javadoc that documents the Feature API. Oracle On Track Communication comes configured with six features:

Core
Dynamic-Height
Ontrack
RPC
Setprefs
Settitle

You should not modify or disable any of these default features unless advised to do so by Oracle Support. Doing so may disable critical functions of Oracle On Track Communication.

See Also:

For sample code and reference material to assist in the development of features, see: Oracle On Track Communication Developer's Guide.

Managing Custom Features

You can manage any custom features you have added to Oracle On Track using the Oracle On Track Administration Console. Log in to the administration console and click Features. Select a feature in the list and click Open Properties. From the feature properties page, you can alter the feature's name, version number, and manage the javascript files that are used to define the feature.

To manage a feature file, select the file in the Feature File Properties list and click Open Properties. From the file properties page, you can change the file name, and upload a new file to replace the current one.

The order of feature javascript files is significant. You can change the order of the javascript files for a feature. Select a file in the Feature File Properties list and click Move Up or Move Down to move it up or down in the list of files.

Caution:

Do not make changes to the default features that come with Oracle On Track Communication unless advised to do so by Oracle Support. Doing so may disable critical functions of Oracle On Track Communication.

Deploying a Custom Feature

To deploy a custom feature, you must first create the feature using javascript and the Oracle On Track feature API. Then, you can upload the javascript files to the Oracle On Track server.

See Also:

For sample code and reference material to assist in the development of custom features, see: Oracle On Track Communication Developer's Guide

For step by step instructions on how to upload a feature, see "Adding a Feature" in the Oracle On Track Communication Administration Console Help.