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Understanding Property Editors
In addition to supporting files as part of its Software Configuration Management (SCM) features, StarTeam Cross-Platform Client also supports change requests, requirements, tasks, and topics. Collectively these are known as item types, and the part of the application that supports a particular item type is known as a component. Each item type is surfaced in the StarTeam Cross-Platform Client as a separate tab with the component name.
To edit a particular item’s properties, select the item and then click
item_type > Properties from the menu bar. You can also double-click the item, unless the item is a file. (Double-clicking a file displays its contents
rather than its properties. Select a file and press
Alt+Enter to display the property editor.)
By default, the application displays the standard property dialog.
Many customers do not use all of the standard properties for an item type and tend to create custom properties for information important to their organization’s internal processes. If a customer creates custom properties, they appear as fields on the Custom tab of the standard property dialog. Many customers would prefer to locate fields for the properties that are most important to them on the first tab and hide the properties that are irrelevant to their process by not having fields for these properties on the form. The application’s alternate property editors (APEs) make this possible. With APEs, the properties can be controlled by a workflow that fits the customer’s needs and allows different properties to be displayed, required, or enabled on the form depending on the step in the workflow that is being performed.
Sample Forms
StarTeam Extensions includes sample forms that you can use immediately or customize using your favorite Java compiler and form design product. These forms make use of custom JavaBeans that integrate with the StarTeam SDK and the StarTeam Extensions’ workflow engine. These JavaBeans allow you to drag a new field onto the form and assign an application field name to the JavaBean. All of the access to the field through the StarTeam SDK and the workflow behavior is then handled by the JavaBean.
There are several sample forms included in the StarTeam Extensions installation. These are located in the Samples folder of the StarTeam Extensions installation folder (by default, C:\Program Files\Micro Focus\ StarFlow Extensions\Samples). See StarTeam Extensions Samples for more information.
Under this folder is a copy of the StarTeam Runtime .jar file for use by the sample application’s JBuilder projects. This is required so that StarTeam Extensions can include a pre-configured project and make it easier for you to get started with customizing the various forms.
Documentation on the StarTeam Extensions API is found in the Program Files\Micro Focus\StarFlow Extensions\Documentation folder.
Sample Change Request APEs
A sample change request APE is found in the Samples\ChangeRequest folder under the StarTeam Extensions installation folder.
In the JBuilder project named ChangeRequest.jpx, required fields (in this case, Priority, Synopsis, and Responsibility) are indicated in red. The tab name (in this case Synopsis) is in red to indicate that the tab has required property fields on it. The change request cannot be saved until a valid value is supplied for all required fields. The source code for the sample form is provided so you can use this form as a starting point for creating your own custom form.
Another such sample change request APE is found in the Samples\LinkTypeChangeRequest folder under the StarTeam Extensions installation folder. This sample is found in the JBuilder project named LinkTypeChangeRequest.jpx.
In addition to the capabilities of the previous change request APE, this APE can display a corporate logo and access the items to which the change request is linked. Some properties are displayed at all times. Clicking tabs changes only the lower part of the form
When using StarTeam Extensions for workflow management, the existing Status field found in the change request is not used as the workflow control property. The reasons for this are:
- Existing change requests and the built-in property editor dialog rely on specific status values being used for a change request.
- Changing this status value causes specific side effects. To isolate these side effects from the implementation of a custom workflow, a separate custom property is used. In general, you should try to keep the Status property in the state that most closely matches the corresponding Workflow Status. You should also change the public filters to include the Workflow Status field instead of the default Status field.
WorkFlow Status Property
The ChangeRequest.Workflow.xml that ships with the product expects that you have a custom property field name WorkFlow Status with the internal name Usr_StarFlowStatus.
Sample LayoutDesigner APE
LayoutDesignerAPE has been added as a sample of StarFlow Extensions. LayoutDesignerAPE can be used and customized to support rendering a custom Layout Form as an Alternate Property Editor in the StarTeam Cross-Platform Client. LayoutDesignerAPE is useful for Enterprise Advantage customers wanting to enable workflow with a form designed in the Layout Designer.
Sample Requirement APEs
StarTeam Extensions includes sample requirements APEs.
These APEs display the selected requirement. If this requirement was originally exported from CaliberRM, it will be displayed in a read-only mode. However, clicking the CaliberRM button or the Launch CaliberRM button starts the CaliberRMViewer, and if the user has a license to CaliberRM, allows the user to start CaliberRM and, using CaliberRM, edit the requirement.
The APE and launcher for the viewer are found in the JBuilder project named Requirement.jpx.
