siebel

One of the lesser known facts about Siebel Open UI - as of Innovation Pack 2013 which introduced database-stored manifest data - is that we can not only register JavaScript files (or web templates) with specific user interface objects but also create default entries for them, so the files will be loaded for each object of the same type. Something we could call a "global override". Using a global override is superior to using the postload event handler which might soon become bloated with all the stuff you want to achieve on non-specific objects. Recently, I had some time to investigate this feature a bit more closely. Some of my dear readers might remember the " See-Through Applets " which involves a double-click event handler. When a form applet is double-clicked, the labels are replaced with metadata from the business component layer. Another double click reveals the table and column names where the data is stored. The final solution I presented used a postload ev...

One of the lesser known facts about Siebel Open UI - as of Innovation Pack 2013 which introduced database-stored manifest data - is that we can not only register JavaScript files (or web templates) with specific user interface objects but also create default entries for them, so the files will be loaded for each object of the same type. Something we could call a "global override". Using a global override is superior to using the postload event handler which might soon become bloated with all the stuff you want to achieve on non-specific objects. Recently, I had some time to investigate this feature a bit more closely. Some of my dear readers might remember the " See-Through Applets " which involves a double-click event handler. When a form applet is double-clicked, the labels are replaced with metadata from the business component layer. Another double click reveals the table and column names where the data is stored. The final solution I presented used a postload ev...

In association with Bruce Daley's Siebel Observer publication, the Siebel Essentials blog now supports Siebel job seekers around the world with a simple submission form on the sidebar. So if you are looking for a Siebel job, please fill in the form on the sidebar or here  and submit it. The information you enter will be processed by the Siebel Observer. Bruce asked me to pass on the following message. Are You for Real?  Yes I am an actual person and not a brand. I am real and even have been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Financial Times of London about Siebel. Much as I like software bringing people together is something I like even more. Back when I was a kid I was always introducing best friends to one another. After college I introduced a lot of future husbands and wives to each other. Now I am turning my attention to helping people with Siebel skills find openings. Lately I have been thinking a lot about employment and believe jobs is an i...

Time for our monthly blast from the past. Below is a five year old article which I believe is timeless, especially in times of Siebel Open UI (scripting). Please enjoy... (Note: Links have been slightly updated) *** This is a follow-up post (and the first in a semi-series) on the scriptless Siebel challenge . Question : Why is so much script code written in Siebel projects? Possible answers (not a complete list, add your own...): Developers are used to write code (we have been coding since Siebel 99, haven't we?). Workflow, Business Rules, etc are nice but they are difficult to learn/manage and we don't have time to evaluate solutions. Architects and developers don't know that alternatives exist. As we all agree, the best time to avoid writing custom code in standard enterprise applications is design time. So it's the responsibility of the business analyst or technical architect to design a code-free solution for a given requirement. Back in the Siebel days (and also t...

This might be a common knowledge that  Siebel  creates an activity record when you send an email out using  F9  functionality. You can see these activities either in  “ Communication  Screen” –>Communication List  View (shown below). It shows you the body of the email, attachments and details like who sent the email out and to whom the email was sent. You can also go to  Activities Screen – Activity List applet ->All Activities view  and query for activities of type  Email – Outbound  (shown below) and see the similar details. Now what is interesting is that if you send these emails out from  Opportunity, Service Request or Accounts  view  Siebel  automatically populates corresponding Id of the record resulting in creation of relationship with the  communication (activity record)  and the source record from which communicationwas initiated.   This happens  behind the scene...

It is with mixed feelings that I share with you Oracle  Support document1640801.1 . Titled " Siebel Management Server Support Statement of Direction - Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2014 " the short article announces the de-support of the Siebel Management Server and Siebel Management Agent as of IP 2014. The typical answer I get when I talk to Siebel admins and developers is that they "installed it once" or "must use it for ADM". Overall, the management infrastructure - developed before the Oracle acquisition by Siebel Systems and first shipped with Siebel 8.0 by Oracle - did not get much love from the community. Personally, I assisted some customers in setting it up, mainly for ADM (Application Deployment Manager) purposes, and I also dedicated a chapter of my first book to it. The configuration process was complex to say the least. As some of you might remember, the management server also included the Siebel Diagnostic Tool which was soon to be sunsetted as...

Among the uncountable browser extensions for Google Chrome, there are many which prove useful for the weary Siebel Open UI developer. One of these extensions should stand representative for them all, and I really use it a lot. The extension is simply called " Clear Cache ", and this is exactly what it does. What I particularly like are the options which allow total control over what part of the browser cache is wiped out and whether to reload the active tab right away. I also configured a keyboard shortcut, so I can tell you, I am saving a lot of clicks while working on my Open UI scripts. What is your favorite extension for Open UI related work? Drop it in the comments. have a nice day @lex

The following post does not go without a hat-tip to fellow Siebelian Slava who found an easy way to introspect variables, call functions etc, while debugging a Siebel Open UI application in Google Chrome. If you are familiar with the Chrome developer tools and Open UI, especially in Siebel version 8.1.1.11 or higher, you might deeply miss the ability to simply type some code into the console. This has been disabled - quite understandably so - for security reasons. So I leave you with this screenshot and you will understand: If you want to learn more about the Watch Expressions area and the Chrome developer tools in general, follow this link . have a nice day @lex

If you have applied the monthly patch set 8.1.1.11.4 or later, you would expect to be able to manage activities in the Calendar views by dragging and dropping them onto the calendar applet. However, to achieve this state of bliss there are a view steps to take in the Siebel repository which is not modified by the patchset. As the attentive Open UI geek you are, you should know that  drag and drop functionality is driven by the presence of two applet user properties, namely ClientPMUserProp = EnableDragAndDropInList EnableDragAndDropInList = TRUE Note that the ClientPMUserProp value could be a comma separated list, so we would have to add "EnableDragAndDropInList" at the end, but this is not the case for today's example. Basically, all we have to do is to add the above two user properties to the list applets in our calendar views (e.g. the LS Pharma HI Activity Calendar View ). If there are toggle applets registered for the base applet, we also must edit each toggle appl...

Earlier this month, Oracle has published a statement of direction (SOD) document for Siebel Open UI on the My Oracle Support portal. The document with the Id  1643468.1 lays out the features planned for release with Siebel CRM  Innovation Pack 2014 which is intended to be shipped in late fall this year. The document is especially important for customers and developers who are planning or already implementing features which are not yet available in the current IP 2013 version.  For information on features like barcode scanning or iHelp and the planned roadmap, please refer the the Open UI Statement of Direction for IP 2014 (and beyond).  Everyone involved in Siebel Open UI projects is strongly advised to access this document and visit the Open UI Information Center on My Oracle Support frequently in order to stay up to date. have a nice day @lex

Oracle University and this humble writer are proud to announce the availability of a new course which extends the existing Siebel Open UI Foundations offering (which is a prerequisite for the new course). The new three day course is titled  Siebel Open UI Advanced JavaScript API . Siebel Open UI Advanced JavaScript API course description. The course will be available as in-class training and live virtual class (LVC) formats and yours truly would be delighted to welcome you to class soon. The course covers the following areas of Siebel Open UI scripting: The architecture and files used in customizations Administering customizations Writing code to use the Siebel Open UI JSAPI to implement common form and list applet customizations Debugging Implementing application-wide customizations Calling external libraries Using Siebel Tools in conjunction with Open UI Using the JSAPI with Mobile applications Migrating customizations. See you in class soon ;-) @lex

While sifting through the latest alerts, SODs etc on My Oracle Support , I found some interesting news for Siebel folks. While I usually peruse twitter for quick messaging, I believe it is worthwhile to summarize my Sunday evening tweets so that more people get this important pieces of information. First, all good things come to an end, and even more so for Siebel Management Server, its ADM functionality and the Siebel Management Agent. Time to say goodbye to Siebel Management Server and Agent. My Oracle Support doc: https://t.co/v2FytD2A2g � Alexander Hansal (@siebel_ess) April 6, 2014 Second, the good people at Oracle have composed a new Statement of Direction for planned Open UI related enhancements in Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2014 which is expected for late fall this year. Siebel Open UI - Statement of Direction - Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2014: https://t.co/1lboDC9xq0 � Alexander Hansal (@siebel_ess) April 6, 2014 And third, there is a new monthly patchset for IP 2013 - r...

While sifting through the latest alerts, SODs etc on My Oracle Support , I found some interesting news for Siebel folks. While I usually peruse twitter for quick messaging, I believe it is worthwhile to summarize my Sunday evening tweets so that more people get this important pieces of information. First, all good things come to an end, and even more so for Siebel Management Server, its ADM functionality and the Siebel Management Agent. Time to say goodbye to Siebel Management Server and Agent. My Oracle Support doc: https://t.co/v2FytD2A2g — Alexander Hansal (@siebel_ess) April 6, 2014 Second, the good people at Oracle have composed a new Statement of Direction for planned Open UI related enhancements in Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2014 which is expected for late fall this year. Siebel Open UI - Statement of Direction - Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2014: https://t.co/1lboDC9xq0 — Alexander Hansal (@siebel_ess) April 6, 2014 And third, there is a new monthly patchset for IP 2013 - r...

As of Friday last week, Oracle has made the latest monthly patchset - April 2014 - for Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2013 (IP 2013) available for download on the My Oracle Support portal. The version numbers are 8.1.1.11.6 and 8.2.2.4.6 respectively. List of Siebel 8.1.1 patches on My Oracle Support As is customary for monthly patchsets, the newest one is cumulative and includes all bugfixes and enhancements from previous monthly patchsets. The installation process if facilitated by Oracle opatch as usual. To see if you benefit from this patchset, please refer to the installation guide / readme document  which lists all the issues addressed - a lot of which are related to Siebel Open UI. have a nice day @lex

One of my favorite Siebel CRM classes is Siebel Marketing Manager . It is a three day course which I have co-designed. Despite the fact it should be upgraded to the latest Siebel version, it is a solid foundation training. In a recent instance of this class, students inquired about the execution options for campaigns . There are a lot of settings which control the load, launch and delivery behavior of a campaign. You find them when you go to the Design tab for a campaign and navigate to the Execution Options - Advanced view (the technical view name is Campaign Admin Customer Management View) . Now it is not really an established tradition on Siebel Essentials to plagiarize on the Siebel bookshelf but the Siebel Marketing User Guide does a nice job on explaining all these settings. But I decided to pick some settings which might be of interest to the greater public: Assignment Options : These settings allow you to control manual or automatic (!) assignment of campaign members using As...

Beginning with the next patch release 8.1.4.1.4, we find new language packs for Siebel CRM. The following list of additional language packs is not complete but shows that interest for Siebel CRM is unbroken in many parts of the world. Maori Gujarati Welsh Catalan Greek While Oracle has not yet announced a release date for 8.1.4.14, I was able to grab some early-bird screenshots: Siebel Account List in Welsh The above screenshot also highlights the new Zakynthos theme inspired by a Greek island. Let's investigate some other languages: Siebel Site Map in Maori Personally, I am missing Austrian on the list but good to see that other local languages and dialects made it to this release As you can see, even the Online Help is already translated. Really well done. Summary We should mark today's date as a major milestone for Siebel CRM. Soon, we will be able to work with Siebel CRM in almost any language. My first tests with Google Translate  showed that the translations are truly ac...