You can use plug-ins to integrate IBM® Content Navigator with
other products or to modify the behavior of the web client. For example, you can create a plug-in to
add a menu action or to add extra processing after an action is started.
Before you begin
If you deployed IBM Content Navigator in a highly available cluster environment, copy the installed
plug-in JAR files to each node in the cluster. The plug-ins must be placed in the
plugins subdirectory of the IBM Content Navigator
installation directory.
About this task
The IBM Content Navigator web application server must
be able to access the plug-in file. You can specify a JAR file or a compiled class file. A JAR file
is appropriate to use in a production environment. A complied class file can be used to accelerate
the process of developing a plug-in. Do not deploy a compiled class file in a high availability
environment.IBM Content Navigator includes several plug-ins that you can
register and configure. You can also create plug-ins that extend
IBM Content Navigator by providing extensions to the following items:
- Features
- Layouts
- Menu actions
- Menus and toolbars
- Services
- Viewers
- Widgets
Procedure
To register and configure plug-ins:
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Open the administration tool in the web client.
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Click Plug-ins and then click New Plug-in. Or
select a plug-in that you want to modify and then click Edit.
- (Optional) To enable uploading a plug-in from a client workstation, select
Upload Path on Server and add a path that all IBM Content Navigator nodes can access. After you save this path and you reload the
IBM Content Navigator browser window, the path that you add here is
available for uploading a plug-in JAR file when a plug-in is added or edited.
You can
upload only JAR files and only one JAR file can be uploaded. The plug-in JAR file is uploaded to the
Upload Path in the plugins folder. If a
plugins folder does not exist in the upload path, it is created. You must have
Write
permission on the path. If a duplicate file is in the
plugins folder, it is automatically overwritten. If the file cannot be
overwritten, the JAR file is not uploaded. After you successfully upload a plug-in JAR file and you
save it, the plug-in will be available when you reload the browser window.
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Specify the JAR file information, or the compiled class file information:
Plug-in file type |
Information to provide |
JAR file |
- The location of the JAR file
-
- If the JAR file is on your local file system, you can enter the fully qualified path or URL of
the plug-in file.
If you use the fully qualified path of the plug-in file, the best
practice is to host the plug-in file on a network share. Ensure that all the nodes in the cluster
have access to the network share location. Then, you can update the plug-in file in one location and
the file is shared by all the nodes in the cluster. With this configuration, all the nodes in the
cluster are updated when the plug-in file is updated because of a fix pack or upgrade, for
example.
If you are unable to host the plug-in file on a network share location,
then you must copy the plug-in file to the same fully qualified path on each server. In this
scenario, you must remember to update the plug-in file on each node if a fix pack is applied or an
upgrade is completed.
- If the JAR file is on a remote server, you must enter the URL of the plug-in JAR file.
It is
recommended that you use the HTTPS URL to load plug-ins from trusted hosts. You can enforce the use
of HTTPS URL by setting the value of the allowRemotePluginsViaHttp context
parameter in the web.xml file to false .
(V3.0.10 and later) If your
administrator defines a list of allowed domains, the domain of the plug-in URL must be in the list.
If you enter an invalid domain, the plug-in is rejected. Contact your administrator for
assistance.
|
Compiled class file |
- The location of the compiled class file
- The compiled class file must be on your local file system.
Enter the fully qualified path of
the folder where the plug-in classes are compiled and generated. The path must not contain the
package name of the plug-in class.
For example, the default path for the sample plug-in class
on Windows is C:\Program Files (x86)\IBM\ECMClient\bin.
- The plug-in class name
- Enter the complete name of the Java class inside the class file to be loaded and called as the
plug-in class.
For example, the class name for the sample plug-in is
com.ibm.ecm.extension.sample.SamplePlugin.
|
-
Load the plug-in.
-
Provide any additional configuration settings that the plug-in requires.
-
Save your changes.
Tip: You can disable the plug-in without uninstalling it by selecting the plug-in and
clicking Disable. After you disable a plug-in, you can enable it again by
clicking Enable. After you disable or enable the plug-in, you must restart
your browser. If you disable the plug-in, you must also remove any menu actions for plug-in features
that are available from custom menus.
-
Configure the desktop to display the option to use the plug-in.
Some plug-ins are enabled automatically, and some plug-ins must be enabled by configuring the
appropriate desktop, menu, or viewer map. Follow these steps to enable the plug-in extensions within
IBM Content Navigator.
Plug-in extension type |
Configuration steps |
Features |
The feature is added to the list of features for each desktop in your environment. To enable
the feature for use, select the feature for display, and then configure the feature:
- Select the desktop and click Edit.
- On the Layout page in the Desktop features section
in the list of displayed features, select the checkbox to display the feature.
- Select the feature, and in the Feature configuration section, provide
configuration information for the feature, and save your changes.
|
Layouts |
The layout is added to the layout list for each desktop in your environment. To use the
layout, select the layout name:
- Select the desktop and click Edit.
- On the Layout page in the Desktop features section,
select the layout name from the Layout list.
|
Menu actions |
The menu action is added to the list of available actions for the appropriate menus. To
enable the menu action for use, add the menu action to a menu, and then associate the menu with an
appropriate menu type on a desktop:
- Select the menu, and click Edit.
- Select the menu action from the Available Actions list, add the menu
action to the list of Selected Actions and save your changes.
- Select the desktop and click Edit.
- For the desktop properties, click the Menus tab, and then for the
appropriate menu type, select the menu and save your changes.
|
Menus and toolbars |
The menu or toolbar is added to the Custom Context Menus list or the
Custom Toolbars list on the Menus page of a desktop.
For all desktops in your environment, the menu or toolbar is enabled automatically. |
Viewers |
The viewer is added to the viewers list for viewer maps. To use enable the viewer for use,
add the viewer to a viewer map, and then associate the viewer map with a desktop:
- Select the viewer map and click Edit.
- For the viewer map, select an existing mapping and click Edit, or create
a new mapping.
- For the mapping, select the viewer from the viewer list. Configure the repository type and MIME
types and click OK, and then save your changes.
- Select the desktop and click Edit.
- For the desktop properties, click the General tab. In the
Desktop configuration section, select the viewer map and save your
changes.
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