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Displaying Siebel Portlets In External Applications

You can configure Siebel Open UI to display a Siebel portlet. A Siebel portlet is a Siebel Open UI application that is embedded in a thirty-party Web site. Oracle WebCenter and iGoogle are examples of these types of third-party Web sites. An HTML iFrame is used in these Web sites to display part of the Siebel application in a portlet window.

This topic describes how to display Siebel portlets in external applications. It includes the following information:

Configuring Siebel Open UI to Consume Siebel Portlets

Siebel portlets can be integrated inside a portal application using iFrame or any other mechanism supported by the portal application. Siebel accepts both GET and POST requests.

To make a Siebel portlet available as part of a portal, you can add the portlet URL to an iFrame that resides on the main Web page. In this sample code, the HTTP GET method is used:

<HTML>
  <BODY>
    <IFRAME src = "http://server_address/application/start.swe?SWECmd=SWECmd=GotoView&IsPortlet =1&other_arguments"> </IFRAME>
</BODY>
</HTML>

where:

  • server_address specifies the address of the Siebel Server.
  • application specifies the Siebel application.
  • SWECmd is a required argument that specifies how to display the Siebel application when the user accesses this URL.
  • isPortlet is a required argument that informs the Siebel Server that this application runs in a portlet. The server requires this argument so that it can do the processing it requires to support a portlet.
  • other_arguments specify how to display the Siebel application. For example, the login requirements to display, the applets to display, how to size applets, and so on.

For example, consider the following iFrame src:

http://server_name.example.com/callcenter_enu/start.swe? SWECmd=GetApplet&SWEApplet=Quote+List+Applet&IsPortlet =1&SWESM=Edit+List"style="height: 50%;width: 100%;&KeepAlive=1&PtId=my_theme"

Table 14 describes the parts of this iFRAME src that specifies the Siebel URL.

Table 14. Specifying URLs to Siebel Portlets
URL Argument
Description

http://server_name.example.com

Access the Siebel Server that resides at server_name.example.com.

/callcenter_enu

Run the CallCenter application.

/start.swe?

Start the Siebel Web Engine.

SWECmd=GetApplet

Provide commands to the Siebel Web Engine.

SWEApplet=Quote+List+Applet

Display the Quote List Applet.

IsPortlet=1

Run the CallCenter application as a portlet.

SWESM=Edit+List

Use the Edit List Mode.

&KeepAlive=1

Keep Siebel portlet sessions active even if the session is idle longer than SessionTimeout. Siebel CRM is predefined to expire a Siebel session that is not in use for a period of time according to the value that the SessionTimeout server parameter specifies. In the absence of this parameter, the session timing out will lead to Siebel Open UI displaying a login dialog box in the portlet. This behavior might not be desirable in a Siebel portlet. It is recommended that you set this argument to keep the session active.

For more information about the KeepAlive parameter, see Configuring the Portlet Session to Stay Alive.

&PtId=my_theme"

You can style a portlet application in such a way that the look and feel of the exposed application match that of the portal. The iFrame itself can be styled using a Cascading Style Sheet.

For more information, see Configuring the Use of Cascading Style Sheets Instead of iFrame Attributes.

In addition, the Siebel application can be styled according to a theme. A theme can be defined in the Siebel manifest, and the PtId argument can be used to reference the theme. The theme defined will be applied to the exposed application.

SWECmd=ExecuteLogin &SWEUserName=user_name&SWEPassword=my_password

Provide user name and password authentication arguments. ExecuteLogin is allowed only through HTTP POST. For security reasons, passing user IDs and passwords in an HTTP request is not recommended.

For more information, see About Siebel Portlet Authentication and Security Requirements.

Siebel Open UI supports HTTP POST and exposes the Siebel portlet for HTTP POST requests. The Siebel portal can send the following URL with the listed form fields:

http://server_name.example.com/callcenter_enu/start.swe
SWECmd=ExecuteLogin
SWEUserName=user_name
SWEPassword=my_password
SWEAC=SWECmd=GetApplet
SWEApplet=Quote+List+Applet
IsPortlet =1
KeepAlive=1
PtId=my_theme"

About Siebel Portlet Authentication and Security Requirements

Siebel Open UI portlets must be configured differently depending on whether the application is hosted in HTTP and in HTTPS. The recommended configuration guidelines are as follows:

  • HTTP. Implement SSO and access Siebel over HTTP or HTTPS, depending on the requirement.
  • HTTPS. Implement SSO and enable SSL for Siebel.

NOTE:  You should never pass user IDs and passwords in the HTTP request to a Siebel portlet. Passing user IDs and passwords exposes authentication details to the end user.

Configuring Views to be Embedded in a Portal

You can allow a view to be embedded in a portal. When configured, a specified view of the Siebel application is displayed in the portal. The view specified must be accessible anonymously or by the user who is logged in to the Siebel Open UI client.

To allow a view to be embedded in a portal, include the following command in the URL:

SWECmd=GotoView; SWEView=<View Name>; ]

The full URL should use the conventions in the following example:

http://<siebel_server>/<application>/start.swe?IsPortlet =1&SWECmd=GotoView&SWEView=<View Name>

For example, with the Opportunities List View embedded in a portal, the URL would use the conventions in the following URL:

http://<siebel_server>/<application>/start.swe?IsPortlet =1&SWECmd=GotoView&SWEView=Opportunities+List+View

Configuring Standalone Applets to be Embedded in a Portal

Siebel Open UI supports standalone applets. You can expose standalone applets in a portal. This can be achieved by providing the following GetApplet command in the URL:

SWECmd=GetApplet; SWEApplet=<Standalone Applet Name>; SWESM=<Applet's Show Mode>

About the SWESM Parameter

The applet show mode can be modified by setting the SWESM parameter value to one of the following preconfigured modes for the applet:

  • Base
  • Edit
  • Edit List
  • Query

The full URL should use the conventions in the following example:

http://<siebel_server>/<application>/start.swe?IsPortlet =1&SWECmd=GetApplet&SWEApplet=Opportunity+List+Applet&SWESM=Base

About Search Specifications

When using standalone applets in portals, the data displayed in the standalone applet can be controlled by using search specifications. The search specifications are applied to various Business Component fields on which the standalone applet is deployed. You can control the search specifications using the following parameters:

  • BCField<n>. Defines the business component field on which to query.
  • BCFieldValue<n>. Defines the value that the BCField<n> must match for the record to be displayed.
  • PBCField<n>. Defines the parent business component field on which to query.
  • PBCFieldValue<n>. Defines the value that the PBCField<n> must match for the record to be displayed.

For example, if you wanted to specify the Opportunities List applet embedded in a portal and limit the records displayed to Opportunity Names that match "Test Opportunity" you could use the following URL:

http://<siebel_server>/<application>/start.swe?IsPortlet =1&SWECmd=GetApplet&SWEApplet=Opportunity+List+Applet&SWESM=Base&BCField0=Opportunity+Name&BCFieldValue0=Test+Opportunity

Search Specifications Guidelines

Follow these additional guidelines when defining your search specifications:

  • When specifying multiple business component fields or parent business component fields, use the AND operator at the end of the final expression. Only records that satisfy all of the matching criteria are returned by the search.
  • Field values can contain any type of data that is accepted by the Siebel search specification system. For example, "PBCFieldValue2=Opportunity1+OR+Opportunity2" is a valid value.
  • Field values not exposed in the applet can still be used by the URL. The fields in the business component to which the applet refers will be explicitly activated and used for the query.
  • Search specifications applied to a URL will work in context. Therefore, the user will not be able to access the super-set of records, unless the user navigates to the view in question.
  • If a parent business component field and parent business component field value is configured in a URL, and the business component does not have a parent business component, then the specification is ignored.
  • If a business component field is used in the URL that does not exist on the business component, then the URL is considered invalid and the applet will fail to build. This results in unpredictable behavior in the portal.

Configuring View-Based Applets to be Embedded in a Portlet

When an applet has been configured part of a view rather than as a standalone applet, it can still be exposed in a portlet. To do this, use the GotoView command with the following additional parameters:

SWECmd=GotoView; SWEView=<View_Name>; SWEApplet=<Applet_Name>

Only the applet specified in the portlet will be embedded in the portlet. For example, only the Opportunity List Applet will be shown using the following URL:

http://<siebel_server>/<application>/start.swe?IsPortlet =1&SWECmd=GotoView&SWEView=Opportunity+List+View&SWEApplet=Opportunity+List+Applet

NOTE:  If an applet that does not exist in the view is specified, then the URL is considered invalid and the applet will fail to build. This results in unpredictable behavior in the portlet.

      
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