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Configuring Advanced Options

This topic describes advanced options when configuring Siebel Open UI in an external application. It includes the following information:

• Configuring Multiple Command Chaining in a URL
• Configuring the Portlet Session to Stay Alive
• Configuring the Use of Cascading Style Sheets Instead of iFrame Attributes

Configuring Multiple Command Chaining in a URL

Use the SWEAC parameter to chain more than one command in a URL. An example, where this might be useful is a situation where you want to navigate to a certain view and create a new record in that view's active applet.

To configure multiple command chaining in a URL, include the following attribute in the URL:

SWEAC=SWECmd=NewRecord]

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

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

The preceding example runs the Siebel application in the portlet and takes the context to the Opportunity View to create a new record in the active applet on that view.

Configuring the Portlet Session to Stay Alive

Siebel sessions that are not in use will eventually expire. The time for which the session is kept alive is determined by the value of SessionTimeout Siebel server parameter. In some cases when exposing Siebel as a portlet expiring sessions this might not be optimal.

To override the SessionTimeout Siebel parameter so that the portlet session stays alive, include the following attribute in the URL:

KeepAlive=1

Other values for this parameter are as follows: TRUE, T, ON, and Y.

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

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

When using the KeepAlive attribute, consider these additional guidelines:

• The KeepAlive attribute value is enforced by monitoring periodic client pings to the Siebel server. Consequently, the client must be on a network connected to the server.
• If the KeepAlive attribute value is omitted or set to FALSE the session will eventually timeout and a login screen is returned to the portlet.
• Once the KeepAlive attribute is set to TRUE by a request (either the URL or a subsequent message-based communication) it cannot be changed to FALSE by a subsequent request.

Configuring the Use of Cascading Style Sheets Instead of iFrame Attributes

The iFrame tag supports a number of attributes, which can be used to control the visual formatting of the portlet content. For a full list of the attributes, see the following W3C website:

http://www.w3.org/wiki/HTML/Elements/iframe

In recent HTML revisions, many attributes are being deprecated. Consequently, it is recommended that cascading style sheets be used for visual formatting.

Siebel Open UI attaches CSS classes for the portlet iFrame. In Siebel Open UI, the CSS can be applied by defining a theme in the Theme.js file and passing the theme name as a parameter in the URL under PtId.

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

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

Where CUSTOM_PORTLET_THEME is defined in Theme.js. If the argument value is omitted, invalid, or cannot be found in Theme.js, then the Siebel Open UI will use the default theme.

For more information about customizing themes, see Customizing Themes.