*
Concepts
*
Tasks
*
Reference

Menus, Toolbars, and Banners Overview

You can customize some elements of the user interface on a per-class basis, such as menus, toolbars, and banners. Menus, toolbars, and banners are entered in a customized version of an APM class, just like object extensions. They then appear on all primary windows created in the base or custom versions of that class. You can return to the default APM menus, toolbars, and banners at any time by de-selecting or deleting the customized version.
You can make changes to the menus, toolbars, and banners on your local machine without locking the system; however, you will need to lock the system and then unlock it to copy those changes to the server, making them available to all users of APM. You must have an administrator's license to lock the system.

Contents

Menus
Toolbars
Banners

Menus

You can customize the menus for any custom class. There are two types of menus that you can customize: the menu bar that appears at the top of all primary windows and the pop-up (right-click) menu.
If you are creating menus for a custom class that was created from scratch, or if you are editing menus for a custom class that is based on an APM class, you can edit the menus from the base class. In order to do this, you will copy (reinherit) the menus from the base class and then add or remove menu items.
Some menu items need to be included for basic navigation. We recommend that you re-inherit all of the menus, adding or removing only the items that you need to change. Following the default organization and naming conventions will make it easier for users who are familiar with Windows-based applications to find the options that they need.
There are four possible menu functions:
•
Create a menu button (the text in the menu bar that you click to view the menu items)
•
Draw a separator (inserts a horizontal line between menu items)
•
Create a menu item to invoke a method
•
Create a menu item to display a dialog
The menu items that invoke methods or display dialogs are children of menu buttons in the menu hierarchy. You can use separators to group the menu items in a meaningful way. Menu buttons and separators are essentially graphical elements. Menu items make the menu function by either invoking a method or displaying a dialog. You must create at least one menu button with one menu item for your custom menu to appear.

Menu Items That Invoke a Method

When you create a custom button or menu item that invokes a method, you can choose from a list that includes all methods on all classes in APM. Note that not all methods will work from all views. Most of the time, you will want to choose a common method or a method from the class that you are customizing.
When you add a menu item, you can select a join path to a related class. The list of methods to invoke then includes only methods for the selected class.
Once you select the appropriate method, the Label field is completed with the default information for that method.

Menu Items That Display a Dialog

When you create a menu item that displays a dialog, you need to select the dialog that will appear when the user selects the menu item. You can choose any dialog from the base APM classes or from your customized classes. Menu items can only display views that are dialogs; you cannot create a menu item to open a primary window. Once you choose the appropriate dialog, you need to enter text in the Menu Choice Label field to name the menu item.
TOP

Toolbars

You can customize the toolbar that appears below the menus and above the banner for any class. Note that you cannot create a standard toolbar that replaces the toolbars throughout APM at this time. A custom toolbar appears only on primary windows for the class where you created it.
If you are creating toolbars for a custom class that was created from scratch, or if you are editing toolbars for a custom class that is based on an APM class, you can edit the toolbars from the base class. In order to do this, you will copy (reinherit) the toolbars from the base APM class and then add or remove buttons.
Some toolbar items are standard in Windows-based applications. You can create more than one toolbar for each class; each toolbar can be displayed or moved separately.
You can perform three functions to create your custom toolbar:
•
Draw a separator
•
Add a button that invokes a method
•
Add a button that displays a view (the view can be a primary window or a dialog)
You determine the order of all of these elements, so you can use the gray separator lines to group your toolbar buttons. Each method and view has an icon associated with it, so the toolbar will appear as a row of buttons.
You can create toolbar buttons that invoke a method, choosing from a list that includes all methods on all classes in APM. Note that not all methods will work from all views. Most of the time you will want to choose a common method or a method from the base copy of the class you are customizing. In addition, you can create toolbar buttons to display a dialog you have created for the class you are customizing.
TOP

Banners

The bar below the toolbar and above the view is called the banner. Banners include an icon and can consist of fixed text or attribute values. You can include up to two lines of text as well as three lines at the right side of the banner. Banners are defined for each class; every primary view within that class will use the same banner. However, the actual banner text can change depending on the specific instance of the class that you open.
Attributes do not appear in the banner until there is text in them. For example, the Work Type attribute will not appear in the Work Order Task’s banner until you select the work type for the open work order.

Work Order Task Banner

The following image shows the banner for the Work Order Task class. Because there is one window for both work orders and work order tasks, this is the banner that you see when you open either object. The banner also includes attributes from both of the classes.
This banner includes one line of text that includes three attributes, a second line of text with one attribute, as well as text at the right hand side. The attributes in the first line of text are Work Order Number from the Work Order class (a join path is needed to include attributes from other classes) and Task Number and WOAndTaskTitle from the Work Order Task class. The code to display this information looks like this:
Work Order Task: <WorkOrder.WorkOrderNumber>-<TaskNumber>: <WOAndTaskTitle>
The join path for the first attribute (in the angle brackets) states the name of the class that includes the attribute (WorkOrder) and then the name of the attribute (WorkOrderNumber). Since the other two attributes exist in the Work Order Task class (which owns the banner), no path is necessary. In this case, just the attribute names are listed in the brackets.
The second line of text shows the work type that was selected for the work order. The code to display this information is:
<WorkType.WorkType>
Because Work Type is also a separate class, this attribute also requires a join path. The first part (WorkType) lists the name of the class; the second part (WorkType) is the member name of the work type title attribute in the Work Type class.
The text at the right side of the banner provides the name of the site that owns the work order, the status of the work order, and the status of the individual work order task. To place these attributes on separate lines, the code <l> (lowercase L) is used between attributes:
<WorkOrder.Site.SiteName><l>Work order status: <WorkOrder.WOStatus><l>Task status: <WOStatus>
The first attribute uses a join path to the Site class; the second attribute has a join path to the Work Order class; and the third attribute exists within the Work Order Task class (and therefore doesn’t use a join path).
You can add whatever attributes you want by following the pattern shown in these examples.
You can customize the banner for any class. Banners are not additive: elements of the banner in the base class will not appear with the elements you customize. For example, if you customize the first line of the banner on the Work Order class, the status indicators on the right side of the banner will not appear.
Since you may want to recreate some elements of the original banner, there are two basic steps to customize banners: re-inherit the banner from the base class and then modify it to create your new version.
TOP