Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop Administration Guide > How Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop Works > Metadata That Describes the Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop Application >

About Metadata Files

A metadata file is an XML or JavaScript file that describes the Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop application. Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop uses these files in the following ways:

• XML files. Describes the default synchronization objects, synchronization mapping, custom views and forms in Microsoft Outlook, and so on.
• JavaScript files. Describes the business logic that Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop uses for data validation, custom actions that Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop provides access to in toolbars, and other custom processing that Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop performs in Microsoft Outlook.

The following items describe how Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop uses metadata files with a customization package:

• A customization package contains a collection of metadata files. These files describe the entire Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop application that you use with Microsoft Outlook.
• A customization package consists of a set of metadata files.
• Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop requires that a customization package include a minimum number of files. These files are described in Files in the Customization Package.
• You can use a single metadata file with more than one customization package. These metadata files can be part of another customization package. Figure 2 illustrates this relationship where the same metadata file occurs in different packages, for example, packages 1 and 3 include metadata file 2.

Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop associates a customization package with a single Oracle CRM On Demand role. It associates a user with the role as a way to acquire access to the customization package and the Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop configuration that you use with Microsoft Outlook. For more information, see Files in the Customization Package.

How Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop Reuses, Modifies, and Updates Metadata Files

Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop stores the metadata files in a customization package. This customization package is stored on Oracle CRM On Demand as a ZIP file. In Oracle CRM On Demand, metadata files are not tracked or stored individually.

Although you can use an existing role and associate it with a customization package, it is recommended that you create a new role. For example, the Oracle CRM On Demand sales representative role is different and separate from the Oracle CRM On Demand sales and marketing manager role. Creating a new role provides you with more control over which users Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop associates with which customization package. For more information, see Creating and Publishing the Customization Package.