Configuring Ebase Designer

 

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Prerequisites 1

Designer File Structure. 1

Configuring the start designer script 1

Designer Preferences dialog. 2

UI Options tab. 2

Fonts Tab. 3

Page Editor Tab. 6

Zoom Options 6

Window Dimensions 6

Designer Proxy Options 7

 

See also:          Supported Configurations

 

 

Prerequisites

 

See Supported Configurations for hardware and software prerequisites for running Ebase Designer.

 

 

Designer File Structure

 

Ebase Designer consists of a single folder UfsClient with the following structure:

 

UfsClient...

start_ebase_designer.bat                          bat file to start Ebase Designer

images...

contains images

lib....

contains jar files

properties

contains preferences specific to each user

 

The start_ebase_designer.bat file must be customized with the configuration information to access the server as specified below. This is the only customization normally required.

 

 

Configuring the start designer script

 

The start_ebase_designer.bat file in the UfsClient folder contains a number of parameters that enable the designer to communicate with the server and these parameters must correspond with the configuration options of the application server under which Ebase is running. The parameters are specified as SET commands at the top of the .bat file.

 

SERVER_HOST

The hostname or IP address of the server (this parameter must be specified)

SERVER_PORT

The HTTP port of the server (default is 80 if not specified)

SERVER_WEBAPP

The server web application context for the Ebase web application (default is ufs if not specified)

 

For configuration of proxy servers, see below.

 

 

Designer Preferences dialog

 

The designer appearance can be customized using the Designer Preferences dialog (File -> Preferences):

 

UI Options tab

 

         

 

lookAndFeel : supported values are:

 

default

Ebase supplied look and feel (from Jgoodies)

Metal

Java default look and feel

CDE/Motif

Look and feel compatible with XWindows

Windows

Windows compatible look and feel

Windows Classic

Windows Classic compatible look and feel (this option may not be visible)

 

Override default fonts: enables font name and size to be entered below. This is the default font used throughout the Designer; note that additional fonts can also be specified using the Designer Fonts tab.

 

Name: the font used by the Designer

 

Size: the font size used by the Designer

 

Report unexpected errors: when checked, any errors in the Designer will result in a popup window as shown below:

 

               

 

Click Show details to display the error.

Click Send Error Report to send the error to Ebase. Note that this requires internet access.

Uncheck Report unexpected errors to suppress display of this dialog. Check this option if this dialog is showing repeatedly.

 

Fonts Tab

 

 

Note that the default font used by the Designer is specified using the UI Options tab.

 

Script Dialog Font: the font name and size of the font used by the script editor

 

Debug Window Font: the font name and size of the font used to display the form execution log

 

Form Options Tab

 

 

Language: the default language used for the designer. This language is used when configuring texts and is the default language used for form submission from the designer.

 

Display settings when launching forms: when checked, the system will present an additional panel when submitting forms; this panel supports the specification runtime language and browser.

 

Page Editor Tab

 

 

           

Zoom Options

Edit the zoom options displayed in the Form Editor WYSIWYG View.

 

·         To add a new entry, click the + button.

·         To delete an entry, select it then click the – button.

·         To edit an existing entry, double click on it.

 

Entries must be numeric and end with %.

 

Window Dimensions

Edit the window dimensions displayed in the Form Editor WYSIWYG View.

 

·         To add a new entry, click the + button.

·         To delete an entry, select it then click the – button.

·         To edit an existing entry, double click on it.

 

Entries must be in the format <number>x<number>.

 

Add following controls to new pages

Select any controls that should be automatically added to new form pages:

 

·         Page Panel Control – contains page level header and trailer texts.

·         Legacy Button Control – contains Ebase page sequencing buttons and save restore buttons

 

Compatibility note!: adding both these controls provides equivalent functionality to Ebase Version 3.4 and earlier.

 

 

Designer Proxy Options

 

         

 

This tab allows specification of a proxy server to be used for all Http connections made from the Designer. This includes connection to the Ebase server and the import of wsdl and xsd files in the Web Services and XML resource respectively.

 

In the event that a proxy server is required to access the Ebase Server, it will not be possible to start the Designer to reach this dialog. In this case, the properties file preferences.properties in folder UfsClient/properties can be edited to add the proxy properties shown above. The corresponding property names are:

 

httpProxyHost

httpProxyPort

proxyRequiresAuthentication (should specify true or false)

httpProxyUsername

httpProxyPassword