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Comparing Features Between Siebel Open UI and the Traditional Clients

This topic compares the features in Siebel Open UI and the features in the traditional clients (the high interactivity and standard interactivity clients). Some of the features that are available in the Siebel Open UI client do not map exactly to the features that are available in the traditional clients. Review all of the relevant information carefully before making deployment choices.

• Features that have changed. Some of the general user interface features in Siebel Open UI have changed relative to similar features in the traditional clients. This topic describes several features from the high interactivity client and explains the differences in how these features are implemented in Siebel Open UI.
• Features that are available. Many other Siebel CRM application features from the traditional clients are now available in Siebel Open UI. For more information about the features that are available in Siebel Open UI and about some of the differences in how these features are implemented, see Siebel Open UI Deployment Guide, 1499842.1 (Article ID) on My Oracle Support. See also the Siebel Bookshelf guides that describe the available features.
• Features that are not available. Some of the features from the traditional clients are not currently available in Siebel Open UI. For more information, see Siebel Open UI Deployment Guide, 1499842.1 (Article ID) on My Oracle Support. Some of these features might be provided in future releases.

  If you require any features that are not currently available in Siebel Open UI, then you can continue to use the high interactivity or standard interactivity client. To remediate any limitations in feature availability, you can locate Siebel Open UI applications on the same Siebel Server with your existing standard interactivity or high interactivity applications. All of the applications can use the same set of SRF files.

  NOTE:  Some features of the standard interactivity client are not supported for automatic conversion to Siebel Open UI. Not all of the standard interactivity features can be manually migrated to Siebel Open UI. Migrating applets or views to Siebel Open UI requires high interactivity equivalent applets or views in Siebel Tools. If an equivalent view is available for Siebel Open UI or high interactivity, then Siebel Open UI can render this view. For more information, see Behavior of Standard Interactivity Views in Siebel Open UI.

Siebel Open UI Features That Deviate from Features in the High Interactivity Client

For specific features, Siebel Open UI deviates from the way Siebel CRM has worked in the past. The following product differences must be considered when you implement Siebel Open UI:

• Artifacts in the user interface. Some of the UI features in the traditional clients do not work in the Siebel Open UI client. Artifacts for these features are still present in the Siebel Open UI client, to maintain consistency with the existing user interface rendering. Notable items are:
  • Standard interactivity applet artifacts. For more information, see Behavior of Standard Interactivity Views in Siebel Open UI.
  • Buttons for features that are not available in the application toolbar, such as legacy printing and spell-check options.

    You can remove those UI elements by manipulating the configuration using Siebel Tools or by using supported Web development methods, such as by post-loading CSS style sheets.

• Escape key and undo. Pressing the Escape key once performs a single undo operation. Pressing the Escape key multiple times might generate multiple results, depending on the user's previous activity, including which user interface elements the user has interacted with.
• Double-clicking. Double-clicking has been eliminated from the Siebel Open UI client, to improve usability. Double-clicking causes difficulties for novice users and presents drawbacks to accessibility. It also conflicts with the single-click interaction style of the Web and of many mobile devices, and it is not common to all operating systems.
• Right-clicking. Right-clicking has been eliminated from the Siebel Open UI client to improve usability. Right-clicking lacks good usability characteristics. It is not discoverable, it does not meet accessibility requirements, and it is difficult to implement on mobile devices.
• Logout on exit. Automatic logout upon closing the browser cannot be supported in a standards-based implementation, due to Web browser and W3C limitations. This action cannot directly communicate to the server that the user has disconnected. Therefore, Siebel Open UI applications behave differently in this regard than high interactivity applications do. It is recommended to set session time-out intervals as short as possible while maintaining usability. Also train users to log out of the application explicitly.
• Implicit commit on the browser Back button. An implicit commit of data record changes when a user clicks the browser Back button cannot be supported in a standards-based implementation, due to Web browser and World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) limitations. Therefore, Siebel Open UI applications behave differently in this regard than high interactivity applications do. Users must commit changes through supported methods.
• Scrollbars. Horizontal scrollbars are not used in the Siebel Open UI client, because they tend to deteriorate usability. However, to emulate specific behaviors, you can add horizontal scrollbars by using CSS changes. For long lists, use the forward and backward buttons in place of vertical scrollbars. Using refined queries displays a smaller result set and enhances usability.
• Pick lists and LOVs. Pick lists and LOVs do not select a new value until a unique match is made. If you are using auto-fill but an exact match is not made, then the value reverts to the original. Double-quotes are not included when you select from an LOV.
• Shuttle applets and MVGs. Shuttle applets and MVGs have been redesigned for improved usability and to make them more consistent with pick lists.
• Images and screens. The look and feel of the following features has changed. You can also revert most of these features to a prior look and feel.
  • Login and logout pages have an updated look.
  • Task bar icons are more modern, with higher resolution and color depth.
  • Buttons have been updated, with higher resolution and color depth.
  • The Oracle logo font and color have changed.
  • The tab bar has no images, for consistency.
  • Check boxes have an updated look.
  • New columns-displayed icons have been added.
• Attachments. Attachment files stored in the Siebel File System cannot be edited on the fly in Siebel Open UI. That is, attachment documents cannot be opened, edited, and saved directly back to the Siebel application. Users must download an attachment document into a secure location specified by the browser, edit and save the document, and then upload the document. This behavior is standard for true Web-based applications.

  Where Java Runtime Environment is present on the user computer, however, attachment files can be saved directly to the Siebel application.

  For more information about issues in using the Siebel File System in Siebel Open UI applications, see Migration Options for Siebel File System Features in Siebel Open UI.

• Auditing for the print feature. Siebel Open UI uses the browser's native print features, rather than using proprietary printing features. Use external audit capabilities to audit printing by users or Siebel Business Applications. Siebel Open UI does not support print audit features.
• Signature captures. Store signature captures as images for Siebel Open UI applications, to avoid integration issues for external components trying to display signatures. The previous encryption algorithm for signature captures is not supported. For more information about configuring an integration for signature capturing, see Configuring Siebel Open UI.