13User Preferences
User Preferences
This chapter describes how to set user preferences for your application. It includes the following topics:
About User Preferences
User preferences control the behavior and appearance of your Web application. The user preferences that you set apply to the user interface for only your session, and not to user interface for the sessions of other users. Your user preferences are stored in a Siebel patch file (SPF), and not in a table. This file has an extension of .spf. Each user of an application has a .spf file for that application.
Your access to the functionality in the User Preferences screen depends on how your application is configured. For more information, contact your administrator.
Some user preferences settings might not take effect until you log out, and then log back in to the application.
Default Time Zone
You can specify the time zone that your application uses to display date and time fields during your session.
To set a default time zone
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Profile view.
The Profile form appears.
In the Time Zone field, click the select button.
The Pick Time Zone dialog box appears.
Select the time zone, and click OK.
Startup View
You can determine the screen and view that appears when you launch your application.
To set a startup view
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Behavior view.
The Behavior form appears.
In the Startup View field, click the select button.
The Pick Favorite dialog box appears.
From the Startup View list in the Pick Favorite dialog box, select the screen and view you want as your startup view.
For example, choosing Accounts - Activities shows the Accounts screen, then Activities view when you first launch your application.
Note: The startup views to appear at startup are visible in the drop-down list for the Startup View field only if the Category Viewbar Text and the Menu Text screen view properties are defined in Siebel Tools. If a view within a screen has neither of these properties defined, then the view does not appear in the list. For more information about setting the screen view properties, contact your administrator.Click OK.
The screen and view you select appear in the Startup View field the next time you log in to the application.
You must log out and then back in to the application for the changes to take effect.
Themes
By default, the Web client uses the Aurora theme as the user interface theme. Depending on the deployment of your Web application, other themes, such as Synergy, Sky Blue, or Simplified User Interface (SUI) might be available. All themes generally have the same capabilities and you can modify the end user experience to match other applications at a site.
To set the theme for an application
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Behavior view.
The Behavior form appears.
Select the appropriate value from the drop-down list in the Theme field.
The values available in the Theme drop-down list depend on the value selected in the Navigation Control field, as shown in the following table.
You must log out and then back in to the application for the changes to take effect.
Application
Navigation Control Selected
Themes Available
Siebel Desktop applications
Note: Web Tools supports only the Side Menu/Aurora option.Tab
Aurora, Sky Blue, Synergy, Vanilla
Tree
Aurora
Side Menu
Aurora
Siebel Mobile applications
Tab
Sky Blue, Synergy, Vanilla
These themes are available only for the following Siebel Mobile applications:
ePharma Mobile
Sales Mobile
FINS Mobile
Side Menu
Aurora, Zante
The Siebel Mobile applications for Siebel Pharma, Siebel Sales and Siebel Finance use the Aurora UI theme by default.
The Siebel Mobile applications for Siebel Field Service, Siebel Consumer Goods and Siebel Clinical use the Zante UI theme by default.
About the Simplified User Interface
The Simplified User Interface is available as an alternative theme for the Web client. Although the Simplified UI is not the default theme, you can configure your Web client to use this theme.
The main elements of a home page using the Simplified UI theme are as follows:
The home page contains familiar elements, such as, My Quotes and the application toolbar.
The home page contains a series of Springboard icons (such as, Home, Accounts, Contacts, Calendar, Opportunities, and so on) that you can click or tap to access a particular screen.
After you choose a screen, you can access available views using the floating side drawer on the side of the screen.
Springboard icons appear within a horizontal scroll list before the selected screen, and the application toolbar buttons appear when you click the icon next to the Oracle logo.
Transition Effects
The Web client uses transition effects when you navigate between different screens and views. You can configure your preferred type of transition effect.
To set the transition effects
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Behavior view.
The Behavior form appears.
From the drop-down list for the Transition field, choose from the available options.
You must log out and then back in to the application for the changes to take effect.
Applet Visualization
Visualization is a type of configuration that specifies the layout to use to display the information in an applet. Card, Compact, Detail, List, and Map are all examples of an applet visualization.
To set the applet visualization
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Behavior view.
The Behavior form appears.
From the drop-down list for the Visualization field, choose from the available options.
You must log out and then back in to the application for the changes to take effect.
For more information about configuring and changing the applet visualization, see Configuring Siebel Open UI.
Scroll Speeds for Tile Applets
When tile applets appear in the Web client, scroll arrows appear on either side of the tiles. For example, tiles appear in the Contact List view of the Contacts screen after you click the Card button. You can configure the scroll speed for tile applets. The scroll speed is the speed at which the tiles move when you click a scroll arrow.
To set the scroll speeds for tile applets
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Behavior view.
The Behavior form appears.
Select a value from the drop-down list for the Default Scroll Speed field.
You must log out and then back in to the application for the changes to take effect.
Confirmation Before Deleting Records Prompt
You can set a prompt to appear when deleting records asking for confirmation to delete the records.
To set the confirmation before deleting records prompt
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Behavior view.
The Behavior form appears.
Select the check box for the Confirm Before Deleting Record field.
Pause Behavior for Task UI
When you click the Pause button in the Task UI wizard, the task is saved in its current stage, and the task is sent to your Inbox. You can launch the task later and resume the task from where you stopped. Complete the procedure in this topic to set this pause behavior.
To set the pause behavior for Task UI
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Behavior view.
The Behavior form appears.
Select the check box for the Prompt to Pause When a User Interrupts a Task field.
Outbound Communications Preferences for Send Email
This topic describes how to set user preferences that affect the Send Email command. For more information about sending email, see Sending Email from Applications. For information about supported versions of Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes email client software, see Siebel System Requirements and Supported Platforms on Oracle Technology Network.
To set outbound communications preferences for Send Email
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Outbound Communications view.
The Outbound Communications form appears.
In the Send Email section, complete the fields as required.
The following table describes some fields.
Field
Description
Upon Sending Messages Generate
Select activity generation for messages sent using the Send Email, Send Fax, Send Wireless Message, and Send Page commands. Options are:
No Activities. Sending an outbound message generates no activity records.
Private activities. Sets the Internal flag to TRUE for an activity record generated by sending an outbound message. Only the message sender can view the activity record.
Public activities. Sets the Internal flag to FALSE for an activity record generated by sending an outbound message. Other users, in addition to the message sender, can view the activity record.
The specific results of the Internal (FALSE or TRUE) flag depend on your application implementation. For more information, contact your administrator.
Default Profile
Select the default communications profile to use for the Send Email and Send Fax commands. The profile stores various communications settings and provides access to the communications driver that transfers information between the application and the email/fax server. For example, a profile for the Internet SMTP/POP3 Server driver handles outbound communications using the SMTP protocol.
You can access any profiles that are associated with your responsibility setting, and any profiles that you create for your personal use by using the My Profiles view in the Communications screen. The ability to create personal communications profiles is not available for some responsibility settings.
The default profile information is copied to the From field in the Send Email and Send Fax dialog boxes. You can specify a different profile by choosing another value from the drop-down list for the From field.
Default Recipient Class
Select the default choice for where recipient email or fax address information is populated in an outbound message. Options are: To, Cc, and Bcc.
In some contexts, the Send Email and Send Fax commands allow you to choose email or fax recipients from data stored in certain fields of the current record. This field applies if you choose a recipient for one of these current field values.
For example, you might generally want to populate recipients to the To field. However, because of your typical activities or workflow and your company’s business needs, it might be more appropriate to populate recipients to the Cc or Bcc field instead of the To field.
Email Client
Select the email client to use when the Send Email command is selected. Options are: Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, Email Client, and External Email Client.
Siebel/Outlook Form
Select your preferred outbound email form when Email Client is set to Microsoft Outlook, if you prefer a default form other than the form specified by the administrator at the server level. For information about creating outbound forms, see Siebel Email Administration Guide.
Siebel/Lotus Form
Select your preferred outbound email form when Email Client is set to Lotus Notes, if you prefer a default form other than the form specified by the administrator at the server level. For information about creating outbound forms, see Siebel Email Administration Guide.
Default Message Format
Select the type of formatting to use for outbound email messages that are sent using the Send Email command. Options are HTML and Plain Text. For more information about using the HTML message format, see Using the HTML Editor.
Default Queries
You can set up queries to display data when you access a specific screen and view. For more information about queries, see Information Query.
If you set up default queries for multiple views that are based on the same business object (for example, the Contact business object), then the default query for the first view that you access runs to display data in the view. However, when you access another one of the views, the data that appears is determined by the default query for the first view, and not the default query for the new view. The default query for the new view does not run to display data because the query context for the first view is retained when you navigate from the first view to any of the other views.
To set up a default query
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Default Queries view.
This view contains two applets:
Screen. This applet lists the screens and contains one field: Screen Name.
Screen View. This applet lists the screen views and contains two fields: View Name and Default Query.
The Screen View list changes according to the screen you select in the Screen applet.
In the Screen applet, select the screen.
For example, if you select the Contacts screen, then all contact screen views appear in the Screen View applet.
In the Screen View applet, select a view.
Click the Default Query field for the view you selected, and then click the select button.
The Pick Query dialog box appears.
From the Pick Query dialog box, select the query you want the view to show, and then click OK.
The selected query appears next to the appropriate view in the Default Query column.
Saved Queries
You can view existing queries that you previously saved. For more information about queries, see Information Query.
To view a saved query
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Saved Queries view.
The Saved Queries list appears.
Notifications Setup
If your administrator provides you with the proper authority, then you can set up certain aspects of notifications. For information about reviewing notifications, see Notifications.
To set up notifications
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Message Broadcasting view.
The Message Broadcasting form appears.
In the Message Broadcasting form, complete the fields as needed.
The following table describes some fields.
Field
Description
Scroll Speed
Select a speed at which messages scroll across the end of the application window. Values include: Stopped, Slow, Medium, or Fast.
This field does not apply to the Web client.
Arrow Scroll Speed
Select a speed at which messages scroll when you click the arrows at either end of the message bar. Values include: Stopped, Slow, Medium, or Fast.
This field does not apply to the Web client.
Mouseover Pause Speed
Select a speed at which the messages scroll when you place your cursor over the message bar. Values include: Stopped, Slow, Medium, or Fast.
This field does not apply to the Web client.
Update Interval (Seconds)
Type the time interval in seconds at which you want notifications to refresh. This field applies to the Notification button and notification pane.
Prefix of Normal Priority Message
Type the text to appear before a normal-priority message. For example, you might want the letter N to appear before a normal-priority message to indicate it is a normal-priority message. A letter is useful if you have difficulty distinguishing the colors of these messages. This field applies to the notification panes.
For HTML messages, instead of entering <N>, enter <N> because applications do not recognize the less than character (<) and the greater than character (>).
Prefix of High Priority Message
Type the text to appear before a high-priority message. For example, you might want the letter H to appear before a high-priority message to indicate it is a high-priority message. A letter is useful if you have difficulty distinguishing the colors of these messages. This field applies to the notification panes.
For HTML messages, instead of entering <H>, enter <H> because applications do not recognize the less than character (<) and the greater than character (>).
Prefix of Urgent Priority Message
Type the text to appear before an urgent-priority message. For example, you might want the letter U to appear before an urgent message to indicate it is an urgent message. A letter is useful if you have difficulty distinguishing the colors of these messages. This field applies to the notification panes.
For HTML messages, instead of entering <U>, enter <U> because applications does not recognize the less than character (<) and the greater than character (>).
Show
Select this check box to show the functionality for notifications in the application window. This field applies to the Notification button and notification pane.
View Links for Screen Home Pages
You can set up view links to appear in the view links area in screen home pages. For more information about the main elements in home pages, see Home Pages for Screens.
If your administrator sets up view links for screen home pages and marks those links as public, then you cannot change or delete those links.
To add a view link to a screen home page
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the View Links view.
The Screen Homepages list appears.
In the Screen Homepages list, select the home page for which you want to add a view link.
If view links exist for the home page, then the View Links list shows those links.
In the View Links list, click New (the plus (+) icon).
Complete the fields as needed.
The following table describes some fields.
Field
Description
Sequence
Type a number that determines the place of the link in the view links area of the screen home page.
Active
Select this check box to indicate this link is an active view link.
Name
Type a name for the link.
Description
Type a long description for the link.
View
Select a view in the Pick Screen View dialog box that appears when you click the select button in this field.
Default Query
Select a default predefined query for the view you select in the View field.
Showing, Hiding, and Reordering Screens or Views
You can show, hide, and reorder screens and views. You can also set up default views for screens in your application. The screens and views available to you are always available through the Site Map, even if their names are hidden.
Showing or Hiding Screens
The following procedure shows you how to show or hide screens.
To show or hide screens
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Tab Layout view.
The Screen Tab Layout and View Tab Layout lists appear.
In the Screen Tab Layout list, select the record for the screen you want to show or hide, and do one of the following:
Clear the Hide check box to show the screen.
Select the Hide check box to hide the screen.
Showing or Hiding Views
The following procedure shows you how to show or hide views.
To show or hide views
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Tab Layout view.
The Screen Tab Layout and View Tab Layout lists appear.
In the Screen Tab Layout list, select the record for the screen associated with the view you want to show or hide.
The View Tab Layout list shows the views for the selected screen.
In the View Tab Layout list, select the record for the view you want to show or hide, and do one of the following:
Clear the Hide check box to show the view.
Select the Hide check box to hide the view.
Changing the Order of Screens
You can change the order in which screens appear.
To change the order in which screens appear
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Tab Layout view.
The Screen Tab Layout and View Tab Layout lists appear.
In the Screen Tab Layout list, type a whole number in the Order field for each screen to define the position of that screen.
Use the number in the Order field to re-sequence the screens in ascending order. If you use the same number in the Order field for more than one screen, then the screens with the same number appear in alphabetical order.
Changing the Order of Views
You can change the order in which views appear.
To change the order in which views appear
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Tab Layout view.
The Screen Tab Layout and View Tab Layout lists appear.
In the Screen Tab Layout list, select the record for the screen for which you want to reorder views.
The View Tab Layout list shows the views for the selected screen.
In the View Tab Layout list, type a whole number in the Order field for each view to define the position of that view.
Use the number in the Order field to re-sequence the views in ascending order. If you use the same number in the Order field for more than one view, then the views with the same number appear in alphabetical order.
Setting Up Default Views for Screens
You can set up a default view for a screen.
To set up a default view for a screen
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Tab Layout view.
The Screen Tab Layout and View Tab Layout lists appear.
In the Screen Tab Layout list, select the screen for which you want to set up a default view.
In the View Tab Layout list, select the Default View check box for the view you want as the default view for the screen.
Calendar Setup
To better suit your needs, you can set up aspects of your calendar from the Calendar view of the User Preferences screen. For information about using the calendar, see Calendar.
This topic contains information about the following:
Length of a Workday
The calendar shows your default workday, but it might not reflect the hours you are actually at work. By default, your working hours for future dates are denoted by a line that represents the beginning of your workday, and another line that represents the end of your workday. You can change the start time and the end time of your workday.
To change the start time and end time of your workday
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Calendar view.
The Calendar form appears.
Enter the calendar start time in the Working Hours Start At field.
Enter the calendar end time in the Working Hours End At field.
Default Calendar Activity Duration
Each activity you schedule on your calendar has a default duration. You can determine this default duration.
To set up a default calendar activity duration
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Calendar view.
The Calendar form appears.
From the drop-down list for the Appointment Duration field, select the activity length (in minutes).
Activating Alarms for All Calendar Activities
Alarms notify users of upcoming activities. You can specify this alarm activation for every calendar activity you create.
To activate alarms for all calendar activities
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
On the link bar, click Calendar.
The Calendar form appears.
Select the check box for the Default Alarm field.
Note: Clear the Default Alarm check box to inactivate alarms for all activities. Only activities you create after you clear the Default Alarm check box are inactivated.
Default Alarm Lead Times
You can specify an amount of time before the start of an activity to designate when alarm notification occurs.
To set up the default alarm lead time
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
On the link bar, click Calendar.
The Calendar form appears.
From the drop-down lists for the Alarm Lead Time field, select a time between 5 and 120 minutes.
Instead of minutes, you can select hours, days, and weeks. The time that you select is the time interval before appointments or reminders that all alarms trigger.
Default Alarm Snooze Times
You can set up one snooze time for all your alarms.
To set up a default snooze time
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
On the link bar, click Calendar.
The Calendar screen appears.
From the drop-down lists for the Snooze Period field, select a time between 15 and 120 minutes.
Instead of minutes, you can select hours, days, and weeks. The time that you select is the time interval before alarms trigger a second time after postponing them.
Email Prompts for Meetings
You might want to be prompted to send email messages to meeting participants when you create an appointment or modify an existing appointment.
To set up an email prompt for a meeting
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Calendar view.
The Calendar form appears.
Select the check box for the Participant Email Prompt field.
Default Calendar Formats
You can set up a default calendar format to appear every time you access the Calendar screen. For example, if you use the monthly calendar all the time, then you might want to set up the monthly calendar as your default calendar format.
To set up a default calendar format
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Calendar view.
The Calendar form appears.
From the drop-down list for the Default Calendar field, choose Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.
If you select Daily as the Default Calendar, then select the time interval for activity periods in the calendar from the drop-down list for the Time Interval (Minutes) field.
If you select Weekly as the Default Calendar, then do the following:
Select the default weekly calendar format from the drop-down list for the Weekly Calendar View field.
Select the time interval for activity periods in the calendar from the drop-down list for the Time Interval (Minutes) field.
In the Workdays section, select the week days to appear in the calendar from the check boxes for each day of the week.
If you select Monthly as the Default Calendar, then make no further selections.
Setting Up Another User’s Calendar as Your Default Calendar
If you spend much of your time accessing another user’s calendar, then you might want to set up that user’s calendar as your default calendar.
To set up another user’s calendar as your default
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Calendar view.
The Calendar form appears.
Click the select button in the Default User field.
The Pick Default User dialog box appears.
Select the appropriate user, and click OK.
That user’s login appears in the Default User field, and that user’s calendar appears as your default calendar in the Calendar screen.
Default Display for Participant Schedule
In the schedule of the Participant Availability subview, you can choose to display only your work hours or all 24 hours of the day.
To set up a default display for the participant schedule
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Calendar view.
The Calendar form appears.
From the drop-down list for the Participant Chart Display field, choose Working Hours or 24 Hours.
Maintaining Quick Fill Templates
After you create quick fill templates, you can change some of their properties, and you can deactivate or delete the templates. You can perform the tasks in this topic only for the quick fill templates that you create.
This topic contains information about the following:
Renaming Quick Fill Templates
You can rename a quick fill template.
To rename a quick fill template
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Quick Fill Templates view.
The Templates list appears.
Select the template you want to rename.
In the Template Name field, type a name for the quick fill template.
(Optional) In the Description field, change the description of the template.
Deactivating Quick Fill Templates
You can deactivate a quick fill template.
To deactivate a quick fill template
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Quick Fill Templates view.
The Templates list appears.
Select the template you want to deactivate.
In the Active field, clear the check box.
The template is no longer available for selection when you create a record from a quick fill template.
Reactivating Quick Fill Templates
You can reactivate a quick fill template.
To reactivate a quick fill template
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Quick Fill Templates view.
The Templates list appears.
Select the template you want to reactivate.
In the Active field, select the check box.
The template is now available for selection when you create a record from a quick fill template.
Deleting Quick Fill Templates
You can permanently delete a quick fill template.
To permanently delete a quick fill template
From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.
The User Preferences screen appears.
Navigate to the Quick Fill Templates view.
The Templates list appears.
In the Templates list, select the quick fill template you want to delete, and then click Delete (the trash can icon).
At the confirmation dialog box, click OK.
Adding Quick Fill Template Options in an Applet Menu
In preconfigured applications, Quick Fill Template menu options are available for some applets, such as Activity Form Applet, and are not available for other applets, such as FS Invoice Form Applet. You can assign the Quick Fill Template menu options to other applets by adding Applet Method Menu Item objects.
To add Quick Fill Template options in an applet menu
In Siebel Tools, select the applet to which you want to add the quick fill template options.
Navigate to the Applet Method Menu Items list for the applet.
An Applet Method Menu Item defines a menu item in the applet-level menu for the parent Applet object definition. For more information about Applet Method Menu Items, contact your administrator.
In the Applet Method Menu Items list, add the records in the following table.
Command Field Value
Menu Text Field Value
ApplyTemplate
Apply Template
SaveTemplate
Save as Template
NewFromTemplate
New From Template
NewFromLastTemplate
NewFromLastTemplate
User Profile Image Setup
The following procedure shows you how to set a user profile image for your application, which involves uploading a user profile image to the server. This uploaded user profile image will appear, instead of the default generic photo, for the Settings button on the application toolbar.
To upload a user profile image to server
Navigate to the Administration - User screen, then the Persons view.
Select the record whose user profile image you want to personalize.
Go to the Image field on the form that appears and do one of the following as required:
Type the full relative path to an image on a local server, for example, as follows:
c:/images/photo.pngType the full URL address to an image stored externally, for example, as follows:
http://<xyz.server.com>/-7rbVFtLM9yE/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAAAA/lCL18P-yc8I/s96-c/photo.jpg
Save the changes when finished.
When the user next logs in to the application, Settings on the application banner shows the logged in user’s profile image that is uploaded to the server, and not the default generic photo.
About Setting Up Synchronization Preferences
You can set synchronization preferences from the DB Synchronization view of the User Preferences screen. These preferences include enabling auto synchronization, setting its frequency, and setting up auto synchronization reminders. For information about setting up synchronization preferences, see Siebel Remote and Replication Manager Administration Guide.
About Availability Fields in the Profile View
The following fields in the Availability section of the Profile view of the User Preferences screen are only informational and have no associated logic: Current Status, Until, and Next Status.