The InterAction Web Client can be configured by editing XML configuration files. InterAction uses a series of XML files to determine the pages that users see when working in the Web Client. These files are stored on the Application Server.
XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a markup language similar to HTML. The key difference is that XML is more structured and is extendable – an XML document can use a custom set of markup tags. For more about XML in general, see Overview of Editing XML Files.
There are three main types of XML files you typically use when configuring the Web Client:
- Page method declarations define the actual pages that you see when working in the Web Client. A page method determines the overall layout and content of the page.
- Nugget list declarations define lists of links that can be placed on a page.
- Search list declarations also define lists of links. They are typically used for simpler lists than nugget lists, such as the links on the home page.
This reference describes each of the XML elements (also called tags) available in the configuration files.
Another type of declaration is used for configuring menus. Menu declarations are not covered in this reference, but for details about configuring the left-hand menu, see Overview of Customizing Web Client Main Menu.
Before using this reference and configuring the Web Client, you should be familiar with the basics of XML. You should understand the following terms and concepts:
- Elements and tags
- The difference between opening and closing tags
- Nesting a tag within another tag
- Attributes
- Assigning values to attributes
- Making an XML document well-formed
If you are unfamiliar with these concepts, refer to Overview of Editing XML Files for an overview. Note that you need to be comfortable working with XML in order to configure the InterAction Web Client.
Note that you do not need to edit the XML files to create or edit Web Client profiles or search forms.
Using the XML Reference
There are several ways to get information about the XML files used for configuring the InterAction Web Client.
For a high-level overview of the three main types of XML declaration files, see the following sections:
- Overview of Page Method Declarations
- Overview of Nugget List Declarations
- Overview of Search List Declarations
For details about the individual elements and attributes you can use within each of these types of files, see:
- Elements and Attributes for a Page Method Declaration
- Elements and Attributes for a Nugget List Declaration
- Elements and Attributes for a Search List Declaration
These sections provide code examples and detailed information about the elements and attributes. For each element, the reference provides the following:
- Name and description of the element.
- The list of other elements that can be nested within the element.
- The attributes that can be set for the element.
- Any other necessary notes or examples.
Looking Up XML Information
You can look up XML tags in the sections that follow. Use this information on XML to find the following:
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XML elements (tags) you can use in the configuration files. For example, you can look up <description>. Since page methods, nugget lists, and search list declarations use tags with identical names, they are listed in the index with the declaration type in parentheses, as follows:
<description> (nugget lists)
<description> (page methods)
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Attributes that you can set for an XML tag. The tags that an attribute applies to appear below the name. For example, the class attribute can be set for three different tags, so it appears as follows:
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Keywords you can use when setting tag or attribute values. These are formatted similar to attributes. For example, the modal keyword can be used with two different tags, so it appears as follows:
- Nuggets and nugget parameters that are discussed in the various reference sections. Note that this guide does not provide a complete reference to all available nuggets, although commonly-used nuggets are discussed in the reference sections.
Entering URLs in Application Server Declarations
Several Application Server declarations require you to enter URLs to other Web Client pages. For example, in a search list declaration, you provide a URL for the page that a link should display.
To use the URL for another Web Client page, you normally provide a value like the following:
$(PAGE_SERVER)/contact-lists-home?folderclass=1&
searchdescription=Contact+Types&folderType=All
This value breaks down as follows:
- $(PAGE_SERVER) is a variable that will be replaced with the actual location of the page server in your environment.
- contact-lists-home is the name of the page method for the page to display.
- The remaining values after the question mark (?) are parameters that pass along information to the page. This is referred to as a query string.
If your Application Server were named “AppServer1,” the above URL would resolve to:
http://AppServer1/InterAction/contact-lists-home?folderclass=1&
searchdescription=Contact+Types&folderType=All