Creating and Maintaining Mobile Solutions

This chapter provides an overview of the Packaging Tool and describes how to:

• Set the application root.

• Create a new solution package.

• Add a model to the package.

• Set end-user installation options.

• Modify a solution package.

• Add non-solution files to the solution package.

• Access package properties.

• Add annotation to the package.

• Generate the solution package installer.

• Update a solution installer.

• Update only the model(s) of a package.

• Print solution package content.

Understanding the Packaging Tool

This figure shows the Packaging Tool’s main window, which is a workspace for managing the Solution files for the creation and maintenance of a Solution Package.

Setting the Application Root

The Packaging Tool must be pointed to the application root directory of the Configurator Server in order to create or modify a package. This information tells the tool where to find the available files for display in the Packaging Tool workspace.

If the Solution employs a compound model, rather than a component model, then the subdirectory containing the model's XML file is the root directory for the entire Solution, even if other parts of the Solution, including its component models, are located elsewhere. This separation of model location is possible because the compound model XML file contains the locations of its component models.

See Types of Models.

To set the application root:

1. Select Tools, Options to display the Options dialog box:

2. (Optional) Designate an author (optional) and the location of the Solution files. This location should point to the folder containing the Configurator Solutions. This is typically the default web application root directory:

   C:\bea\weblogic81\config\CalicoDomain\applications\CalicoApp\

3. Click OK. The Packaging Tool is now ready to create new Packages.

Creating a New Solution Package

A Solution Package is the set of filenames for the files that you want included in the Solution Installer, which will be distributed to the mobile user. The Package has the extension.cci and contains filenames and references for those files.

There are three ways to insert application files into the Tool workspace for the creation of a Package:

• Insert the files of a Solution into a new Package.

• Open an existing Package and move, add, and remove files.

• Open an existing Package and insert another Package into it.

To create a Package from Solution files:

1. Set the application root.

   See Setting the Application Root.

2. Select File, New Package. The left pane displays the Package name at the top level of a hierarchy tree. The Package name, default “untitled”, is not editable in the pane; you can assign a name in the Properties dialog (right-click menu) or when you save it.

3. Select Insert, Solution. A dialog box displaying the Solutions in the specified web application root appears.

   If the dialog lists no files, check that the root directory specified in the Options dialog points to the directory containing the application. The Packaging Tool looks for CalicoUI.properties and CalicoNA.properties in the specified root directory to locate Solutions to insert. If it does not find either of those files, the Insert Solution dialog will be blank or it will be missing part of a Solution.

4. Select the desired Solution and click Insert Solution.

   Files from the application root appear in the tool workspace and are modifiable.

   See Setting End-User Installation Options.

5. Move, add, or remove the displayed files as needed and save the Package. You can now create its Solution Installer.

   See Setting End-User Installation Options.

To create a new Package from an existing Package:

Warning! It is possible to open a Package and insert another into it. However, this practice implies that you have already distributed an installer made from the inserted package already. When you distribute the installer for this merged package, there likely will be shared files for two applications on the mobile machine. Un-installing one or the other removes the shared file, thereby “breaking” the other application.

1. Select File, New Package. The left pane shows the top level, which is the Package name, initially “untitled.” The name is not editable in the pane. You can assign a name to the Package when it is saved, or you can right-click on “untitled,” select Properties, and edit the name.

2. Select Insert, Package to display the “Select Package to insert” dialog box.

3. Select the desired Package and click Open.

   The Package panes of the Main Application window are then populated with the Package’s files.

4. Modify as needed.

   See Setting End-User Installation Options.

5. Save the Package. You can now create a Solution Installer.

   See Setting End-User Installation Options.

Adding a Model to the Solution Package

With the desired Package open, select Insert, Solution to display the Insert Solution dialog box, select the desired Solution, then click Insert Model Only.

A dialog box asks whether you want to delete the compiled version. Clicking Yes causes the compiled version to be overwritten.

The tool workspace will be populated with the model files. Unlike the operation of inserting a Solution, inserting a model restricts the inserted files to PeopleSoft Configurator model files only, omitting JSP pages, images, and other site-supporting files.

Setting End-User Installation Options

You can specify whether you want the end-user to have an “opt-out” message for package installation and to be able to uninstall the package.

To set end-user installation options”

1. Select Tools, Options to display the Options dialog box, then select the MSI Package Preferences tab.

2. If you want the mobile user to receive a dialog verifying their intention to install the Package—giving the mobile user a chance to opt out of the task—select the UI Confirmation on Install check box.

3. If you want to give the mobile user the ability to uninstall the package from their system’s Add/Remove Programs utility, select the Add Entry to Add/ Remove Programs check box.

4. Click Apply or OK.

Modifying a Solution Package

You can augment the application root files with non-Solution files, such as release documentation, for the mobile user.

Move, add, copy, and delete Package components in the main window. Moving, adding, copying, and deleting files conforms to Windows standards, with one exception: there is no drag-and-drop capability.

To add files to the Package, select File, New Folder for add directories, and Insert, Individual File(s) to add files.

To add new folders to the hierarchy, select File, New Folder.

Move, copy, and delete operations are windows-standard.

Adding Non-Solution Files to the Solution Package

The set of deploy files may not completely meet the needs of a mobile user environment. For instance, since you are ultimately preparing an installable package of files, a “release,” you may want to include documentation that addresses this release, with information specifically for the mobile user.

To add non-Solution files to the Package, select File, New Folder to add new directories, and Insert, Individual File(s) to insert files.

Accessing Package Properties

You can view the package’s properties in the Properties dialog. You can also edit the package name, title, and version. To access the Properties dialog, right-click on the Package name and choose Properties from the menu.

Adding Annotation to the Package

You can enter comments in the Properties dialog for a Package. To access the Properties box, right-click on the Package name and choose Properties from the menu, then click the Comments tab.

Generating the Solution Package Installer

The Solution Package installer, a .msi file, is the file that you will distribute to end users. The Package includes a Windows installer, to which you add to the solution package files.

The Solution Package Installer contains:

• Solution Package (.cci—a list of filenames and references).

• The model files, JSP pages, images, and other files required to run the Solution standalone on the mobile machine.

• Installation script for the above files.

To generate a Solution Package Installer, do one of the following:

• Select Tools, Create Solution Installer for a new package or for an upgrade that extends beyond a change in the model. You can also click its toolbar icon.

  See Updating a Solution Package Installer.

• Select Tools, Create Model Update Installer if you want to create a simple model upgrade containing the latest model version.

  See Updating a Solution Package Installer.

Updating a Solution Package Installer

Changes to the contents of a Solution Installer are made to its Solution Package and a new installer created. (File information in the installer file [.msi] is not easily editable.) Consequently, if you want to update the collection of files that you send to mobile users, you must re-open the associated package, make the desired modifications to file content, and generate a new Solution Installer from the updated Package.

Solutions contain model files, JSP pages, images, and any necessary support files. You can replace files with newer versions, add new files to the Package, and move and remove them. You can do the same with directory structures.

See Also

Adding a Model to the Solution Package

Adding Non-Solution Files to the Solution Package

Updating Only the Model(s) of a Package

Updates to a Solution often involve no more than rolling in the latest version of a model after a routine update to the product offerings, options, and attendant pricing and sales information. For this reason, the Packaging Tool offers a shortcut Package generation with a special menu command.

Note. A model-only update does not include updates to non-model files such as JSPs and images. In creating a Model Update, the Packaging Tool only changes what is in the installer.

See Setting End-User Installation Options.

To generate a model-only update:

1. Open the Solution Package associated with the desired Solution release.

2. Select Insert, Solution. The Solution’s newest model(s) are automatically retrieved and displayed in the Insert Solution dialog.

3. Select the desired model and click Insert Model Only.

4. Select Tools, Create Model Update Installer or click its icon on the tabular.

   The Packaging Tool automatically locates the most recent version of the model and saves it.

   A confirmation message appears. The new Model Update Installer does not overwirte the previous Solution Installer. It is saved automatically as <package name> Model Update.msi.

   The new Solution Installer is designated <package name> Model Update.msi. It is saved in the same directory as the .cci files.

Printing Solution Package Content

To print a list of the files contained in a Solution Package, select File, Print.