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Creating and Publishing the Customization Package

This task is a step in Process of Preparing Oracle CRM On Demand.

A customization package is a collection of XML metadata files and JavaScript files that Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop associates with a particular role. You associate a role with a customization package to determine the information that is available to the user. The metadata files customize an Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop deployment. For example, you can perform the following kinds of customization on metadata files: you can add or remove the fields that Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop synchronizes or change the layout of custom forms. For more information on customization packages, see Files in the Customization Package.

NOTE:  Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop Lite does not support customization packages.

In the Package List page you can add new customization packages, and copy, edit, and delete existing packages.

Creating a Customization Package

To administer customization packages, your role must include the Manage CRM Desktop privilege and Enable CRM Desktop privilege. For administrative purposes, one free license is provided to the company.

To create a customization package

1. In the upper-right corner of any page, click the Admin global link.
2. In the Desktop Integration Administration section, click CRM Desktop Administration.
3. Click Administer Customization Packages.
4. On the Package list page, click the New Package button.
5. On the Package Edit page, complete the following fields.

   Field	Comments
   Package Name	Enter a name. It is recommended that you name packages according to the user role.
   User Role	Select the role associated with the package.
   Package Version	Enter a version number for the package. This number is for customer use only.
   Attachment	Click the attachment icon, and select the package file.
   Start Date	Select a start date for the package if you require a date other than today's date.
   End Date	If required, then select an end date for the package. Published packages without a defined end date are considered to be active indefinitely. Therefore, you must define an end date to deactivate a package record and allow a new package to be published for a role.

6. Click Save.

Alternatively you can copy an existing package and change the details to meet your requirements.

Publishing or Unpublishing Customization Packages

To make a customization package active and available to Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop users, you must publish the package.

Package records become read-only when they are published, and the value in the Status field changes from Unpublished to Published. Only one customization package can be active for a particular role at any time. Therefore, if you try to publish a package for a role with a start date that overlaps with an existing customization package for the same role, then an error message is displayed.

If it is necessary to change a metadata file in a package, then you must unpublish the package, attach the updated package file, and publish the updated package.

TIP:   Because users with a specified role will not be able to download their package file while the record has the Unpublished status, it is recommended that you specify an end date for the currently active package and create a new package record when changes must be made. This action ensures that a package is always available to new users and also allows for more accurate version control and tracking.

You publish a package when the updates are finished and the package is ready to download. Publishing makes a package read-only so that no more modifications can be performed on the package.

To publish or unpublish a package

1. In the upper-right corner of any page, click the Admin global link.
2. In the Desktop Integration Administration section, click CRM Desktop Administration.
3. Click Administer Customization Packages.
4. On the Package List page, click the name of the package.
5. Click the Publish button or the Unpublish button as required.

   When you publish a package, a value is generated in the Hash Value field. When you unpublish a package, the Hash Value field is empty. For more information on how a customization package works with Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop, see Overview of Relationships Between Metadata Objects.