Editing properties of a WebFacing project

To edit the properties for a WebFacing project, in the WebFacing Projects view, right-click the icon for your Project, CL commands, DDS, UIM Help, or Style folder and select Properties. You can edit three types of properties:
Related concepts
Deployment descriptor
Related reference
Labels for command and function keys
Web Settings
Related information
Customizing your WebFacing applications

Conversion properties

Use these screens to view and edit conversion properties. Conversion properties control how selected DSPF and UIM files are being converted for WebFacing use. Values for conversion properties are stored in the file conversion.rules under the config directory of the WebFacing project.

Command Key Recognition Patterns

Use the Command Key Recognition Patterns to specify how to detect the text for command key buttons to be displayed in a Web browser. When converted, command keys are displayed as buttons on your Web pages. Clicking these buttons is the same as pressing the corresponding command key.

You can define recognition patterns to control how command keys will be displayed. To define a recognition pattern, specify a prefix value in the Prefix field and a separator value in the Separator field, and then click Add. The pattern is added to the list of recognition patterns. When a pattern is recognized during conversion, the value for the text on the Web page button is taken from what is listed after the separator in your DDS source. For example, a recognition pattern with a prefix F and separator = converts the source F4=Prompt to a button with the text Prompt and the source F5=Refresh to a button with the text Refresh. To delete a recognition pattern, select the pattern from the list of recognition patterns and click Delete. You can also use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to alter the placement of recognition patterns in the table so that they appear in the order that you prefer.

Key Button Labels

Use the Key Button Labels to specify the default text for keys identified during conversion that do not match a defined recognition pattern. For example, if no recognition pattern has been defined that would match F1=Help, you could specify the value for the Key field as F1 and the value for Button label as Help. When converted, keys are displayed as 'Help' buttons on your Web pages. Users click these buttons to launch an event defined in your DDS source such as to refresh their page or to get online help.

Use the Key and Button label fields to specify the default text for keys and then click Add. The key and its label will then be added to the key list. If you want to delete a key label, select it from the key list and select Delete.

There are several ways you can define the label for a function key in your WebFacing applications. If more than one label is defined for a key, WebFacing conversion and run time will use the following priority table to determine which label will appear in the browser. The key label that will be used is the one with higher priority.

Table 1. Label Priorities
Priority Source of key label text Scope of setting
1 (highest) Command Key Actions in WebFacing project Run Time properties Project
2 Dynamic key labels Web Setting Field
3 Key labels Web Setting Record
4 Key labels Web Setting File
5 Command Key Recognition Patterns in WebFacing project Conversion properties Note: Function keys labels cannot be obtained using this method. Only command key text constants can be recognized in this way during conversion. Record
6 DDS-defined "text" parameter for keyword Record
7 DDS-defined "text" parameter for keyword File
8 (lowest) Key Button Labels in the WebFacing project Conversion properties Project

Edit Code Options

Use the Edit Code Options tab to map edit codes. User-defined edit codes are not supported in WebFacing. However, you can map them to one of the available system edit codes.
  • Each user-defined edit code can have only one mapping.
  • The valid user-defined edit code values are 5-9.
  • The valid system edit code values are 1-4, A-D, J-Q, and W-Z.

Select the edit codes to map for conversion. Click Add. The mapping appears in the list. Click OK when you have made your selection.

MNUDDS Options

If you have selected DDS members of type MNUDDS for conversion, use the MNUDDS Options to convert the menu options into hypertext links. The command option number and any text included in the same field where that number is found will be converted into a hypertext link. The option of automatically converting commands into hypertext links is selected by default. In the Separator drop-down list, specify a separator to identify the menu options. The default separator is the period (.). The other separators available for selection are the equal sign (=), colon (:), and dash (-).

Click OK when you have made your selection.

XML Record Metadata

The WebFacing conversion generates XML files that describe the data associated with each record format. By default, these files are archived in JAR files. Archiving the XML in JAR files can make deployment more efficient because when your project's EAR or WAR file is installed on an application server, only a single JAR file is deployed for your DDS data. Some large projects can have thousands of XML files and deploying these as un-archived files increases the time required to install your application.

Depending on your project, though, you may not want the XML stored in a JAR file. Working with un-archived XML files can facilitate change management. A scenario where this might apply would be if more than one developer was working on a WebFacing project. For example, you might convert part of your application's DDS while another developer converts the rest and the overall project is stored in a repository like CVS. If the generated XML was stored in JAR files, one JAR file would overwrite the other in your repository.

Run Time properties

Use these screens to view and edit runtime properties. Runtime properties determine the behavior of the converted Web application when it is being used by an end user.

Project Properties

Values for project properties are stored in the deployment descriptor file web.xml. The following properties appear under the General tab.

Note: Most changes to project properties require the Web application or the application server to be restarted to take effect.
Host name
The host name of the machine where your application is located. This field cannot be blank.
Note: To change the host name used by a linked HATS/WebFacing project, edit the wfhats.xml file in the project EAR.
Host port
The host port that the WebFacing server listens on. By default, port 4004 is used. If you want to use a different port, see the related topic Changing the port used by your WebFacing applications. A Host port is always associated with a specific Host name.
Note: To change the port used by a linked HATS/WebFacing project, edit wfhats.xml in the project EAR.
Handle as if DDS files are compiled with DFRWRT(*YES) option
The DFRWRT keyword controls the writing of records to the display device (for a WebFacing application, the display device is the browser). In 5250 applications, DFRWRT is sometimes set to *NO. This means that all records are immediately written to the display device with no apparent delay. However, in a converted WebFacing application, the *NO parameter can cause significant delays. Using the property Handle as if DDS files are compiled with DFRWRT(*YES) , the default for WebFacing will be to defer writing. That is, WebFacing writes only when the application reads a record or when the application writes a record that has the FRCDTA keyword. You can disable this property in the properties page for a specified CL command or in the properties page for your project. The setting for the CL command overrides the setting for the project.
Use insert mode for keyboard text entry
This option controls the insert mode for text entry on input fields in the browser. In a typical Web application, insert mode is on. In a typical 5250 session, insert mode is off (that is, the keyboard is in overwrite mode). By default, in a converted WebFacing application, insert mode is off, so it behaves like the original green-screen application. This allows a user to enter data without selecting or deleting text.
Note: This option is not applicable to WebFacing portlet projects.
Include command key name in the key label
The name of the command key will be included in the label on button used to represent the command key. For example, a return button could be labeled as F3=Return rather than just Return. By default, this option is not enabled.
Enable Web page compression
Select this option if you want to enable data compression for your WebFacing project. Data compression can facilitate the transfer of Web pages over your network. Slower networks will benefit the most from compression; for example, if your users are using dial-up connections. Enabling this option will require more system resources to compress the page data. This option is enabled by default.
Note: This option is not applicable to WebFacing portlet projects.
Field exit key
Select this option, then select a key from the key list to enable a field exit key. When your user presses the enabled field exit key, the text after the cursor position in the current input field is deleted and the cursor moves to the next field.
Override the maximum record wait time (WAITRCD) specified for DDS files
Select this option to override the time the browser waits for completion of a read-from-invited-devices operation. Specify the number of seconds or *NOMAX for no limit.
Error detail level
Sets the level for error reporting that is output to the end user's browser if there is a runtime error. 1 is the lowest level of error reporting; 3 is the highest.
Cache Job Date
Select this option to obtain the system date and time generated by the DATE(*SYS) and TIME keywords from the system the first time one of them is used and are subsequently calculated in the Web application (tier 2) instead of on the i5/OS®. The job date generated by DATE(*JOB) is cached in tier 2. This is to improve performance. You can use this property to turn off or on caching of the job date that results from DATE(*JOB). Otherwise, WebFacing will cache the job date by default. Note that when this option is set to true, the starting job date is retrieved from the i5/OS just once when you first request this value using DATE(*JOB). Also note that general job attributes, such as date format, are only retrieved from the i5/OS once at startup time before any Web page is displayed. The caching of these other job attributes cannot be turned off.
Show time-out dialog for INVITE
Select this option to enable the time-out dialog when the INVITE operation times out. If you do not specify this option, no timeout dialog will appear when a timeout occurs.
Convert text to uppercase for Katakana (W) keyboard shift
Select this option to convert all characters to uppercase for Japanese Katakana (W) keyboard shift.

The following properties appear under the Authentication tab.

Use single signon
Select Use single signon to enable users to sign on once, using one user ID and password, across multiple platforms and applications. Enterprise Identity Mapping (EIM) and network authentication service (NAS) must be configured to use single signon. For more information, see Securing your Web applications with single signon.
Specify EIM resource reference
Select Specify EIM resource reference to specify the name of the EIM resource reference. This value should match the name of the Resource Reference specified in the Web Deployment Descriptor.
Use i5/OS signon
Select Use i5/OS signon to use i5/OS user profiles to authenticate users. When you select this option, the checkboxes below are enabled.
Prompt once for user ID and password
Click this check box if you want to save the settings for user ID and password once the user enters them.
Specify signon values
Use Specify signon values to define a default user ID and password for your WebFacing application. The user ID and password that you set will be submitted automatically by the WebFacing application rather than prompting the user to manually sign on.
User id
The default User ID that will be used to connect to the machine where your original application is located.
Password and Confirm password
The password for the default User ID that will be used to connect to the machine where your original application is located. This password is encrypted and saved in the deployment descriptor file web.xml. The encrypted data is exported with your project when it is deployed to a WebSphere® Application Server.
Enable users to change expired passwords
If this option is selected, if a user's password has expired when they log on to a WebFacing application in the browser, they can change the password directly rather than opening a 5250 session to do so.

<CL command> properties

For each CL command of your WebFacing project, an entry is created in the invocations.jsp file, which is included in the index.jsp file. A corresponding section in the deployment descriptor file web.xml is also created for each link.

Command label
The text that will be displayed in the HTML link that a user will click to access your WebFacing application.
CL command
The actual CL command. For example, if in a 5250 screen you entered CALL APILIB/ORDENTR (that is, CALL <LIBRARY>/<PROGRAM_OBJECT>) to access your application, the same CL command would be used for your WebFacing application. You can override the project settings for the CL command by changing the properties available with Settings specified for this CL command.
Invocation name
The unique invocation identifier for the CL command.
Settings specified for this CL command
With this property, you can uniquely specify the values for a CL command for Host name, Host port, User ID, and Password. A field is marked with an asterisk if its value is different from its initial value. The initial values in this section are based on your project settings. Values in this section override those set for Project properties if they differ from the project settings. Values are stored in the deployment descriptor file web.xml.

DDS Object mappings

Values for DDS object mapping are stored in the file DSPFObjectMapping.properties, which is located under the \conf\ path in your Java™ source directory. Information about object mappings is available in the comments area of the corresponding screen. Mapping information is displayed in the editable text area of the screen.

UIM Object Mappings

Values for UIM object mapping are stored in the file UIMObjectMapping.properties. Information about UIM object mappings is available in the comments area of the UIM Object Mappings screen, and the actual mapping information is displayed in the editable text area of the screen.

J2EE

This option displays the J2EE (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition) specification level for your WebFacing application. To change the J2EE level, right-click the project and select Migrate > J2EE Migration Wizard.

Command Key Actions

See Extending your WebFacing application with command key actions in the Developing i5/OS WebFacing applications > Customizing your WebFacing applications section of the WebFacing online help.

System Screens

If you select the check box, all system screens are rendered at run time by dynamic data stream transformation (or by HATS for linked HATS/WebFacing projects), allowing all system screens to share the same look and feel. If you deselect the check box, WebFacing uses built-in Web pages for system screens like DSPSPLF (to display a spool file), which may provide faster response times.

Built in system screens include the following:

  • WRKACTJOB
  • WRKJOB
  • WRKJOBQ
  • WRKJRN
  • WRKLIB
  • WRKMNU
  • WRKMSG
  • WRKMSGD
  • WRKMSGQ
  • WRKOBJ
  • WRKOBJLCK
  • WRKOUTQ
  • WRKOUTQD
  • WRKPRTSTS
  • WRKSBMJOB
  • WRKSYSSTS
  • WRKUSRJOB
  • WRKUSRPRF
  • WRKWTR

Style properties

Use the Style properties screens to customize the appearance of your converted pages. You can customize the look of the application area and the command keys using the Style properties.

For the classic WebFacing syles, if you want to change the look of the layout and frame surrounding these areas, you must use a CSS editor to update the style files stored in the chrome directory. For more information on how to edit the layout or frame, see the related topic Creating and modifying styles.

For the Web Site Designer style, if you want to change the look of the layout and frame surrounding these areas, right-click the .websit-config icon and select Open With > Web Site Designer under the Navigator tab of the IDE. Then you can select the Index icon and edit the page template to change the look and layout. For more information on how to use the Web Site Designer tools, see the related topic Using the Web Site Designer style.

Changes to the styles made through the property pages or by direct editing apply only to the current project.

For Classic WebFacing styles, save them for use in other projects, by right-clicking Style, selecting Style > Save as and giving your style a name. Then this named style becomes available for selection the next time you choose a classic WebFacing style during project creation or the next time you select a style to replace the current project style by right-clicking Style and selecting Style > Select Style. You cannot save a Web Site Designer style like this. You must use the Web Site Designer tools to import template and style files into your projects.
Note: You do not need to reconvert your source files to have any style changes take effect.

DDS Field Color

Use the DDS field color screen to indicate how you want DDS field colors to be treated when they are converted for Web use. For example, you can specify that a blue DDS field be displayed as some other color on the Web. You can also control the text and background color for your fields when you use the reverse image display attribute.

To change the mapping for a DDS field color in the Web interface:
  1. Under Style in the left pane, select DDS Field Color.
  2. In the DDS field color list, select the DDS field color that you want to map. The Field color and Reverse image color - DSPATR(RI) group boxes display the colors that will be used in the Web interface, for regular and reverse video text. The table displays the color keyword that is in use; the default row is used when no color keyword is specified.
  3. To change the way the selected DDS field color will be mapped, click the push button to the right of one of the Text boxes or the Background color box and select the color you want from the chooser window that opens. Once you have selected a color and closed the chooser, the boxes show you what the text or background in that field will look like on the Web.
  4. Click OK when you are done.

DDS Field Display Attributes

Use the DDS field display attributes screen to indicate how you want DDS field display attributes to be treated when they are converted for Web use. For example, you can specify that a blinking DDS field be displayed as italic font on the Web.

To change the mapping for a DDS field display attribute in the Web interface:
  1. For Fixed row height you can specify the fixed row height for your web application. This setting is useful if you use the CLRL keyword or multiple display files using the KEEP and ASSUME keywords in your DDS.
  2. For each of the other display attributes there is a description box and a sample box. In each description box you can view the description of the default mapping on the Web for that display attribute, and view the sample on the right.
  3. You can change the default by clicking the push button beside the description box. A Font Editor opens. Make your choice and then click OK. The new description and sample choice are displayed in the boxes.
  4. In the case of Column separators, you select an image and specify placement options as follows:
    • In the image filename box, you can type in an image filename to use as a background, or click the push button to browse for an image file.
    • In the Repeat drop-down list, you can specify to replicate the image horizontally (x-axis), vertically, in both directions or not at all.
    • In the Position drop-down list you specify where you want the image.
  5. Click OK.

Window

Use the Window screen to indicate how you would like DDS WINDOW records to look when they are converted for Web use. You can customize the look of the title, body, and shadow of the window.
  1. In the Window areas drop-down list, select the area of the window whose appearance you wish to customize.
  2. In the Foreground group boxes, customize the text for the window area (title, body or shadow) you selected in the list.
    • In the Color box, specify the text color. Click the push button beside the box to bring up the Color chooser. Once you have selected a color and closed the chooser, the Color box shows you what the text in that field will look like on the Web.
    • In the Font box, you specify the text font. To modify the default font, click the push button beside the box. This launches a font selector. Once you have selected a font and closed the editor, the graphic display to the right shows you what the text in that window area will look like on the Web.
  3. In the Background group boxes, customize the background for the window area (title, body or shadow) you selected in the list.
    • In the Color box, specify the color of the background. Click the push button to bring up the Color chooser. Once you have selected a color and closed the chooser, the Color box shows you what the background for that field will look like on the Web.
    • In the Image box, you can type in an image filename to use as a background, or click the push button to browse your image folder.
    • In the Repeat drop-down list, you can choose to replicate the image horizontally (x-axis), vertically, in both directions or not at all.
    • In the Position drop-down list, you can specify where you want the image.
  4. In the Border color box, you specify the color of the border.
  5. Click OK.

Subfile

Use the Subfile screen to indicate how the scroll bar and rows that are used to view a Subfile record will look after conversion.
  1. In the Subfile areas drop-down list, select the area of the subfile display whose appearance you want to customize:
    Up arrow
    The item that the user presses to scroll up.
    Slider
    The item that moves up or down as the user is scrolling.
    Scroll bar background
    The area behind the slider
    Down arrow
    The item that the user presses to scroll down.
    Subfile record -- odd row
    Odd rows in converted Subfile tables
    Subfile record -- even row
    Even rows in converted Subfile tables
  2. In the Background group, customize the appearance of the area you selected in the list. Modifications are made the same way here as for the Window Background group described above. The display area to the right will show what your choices will look like.
  3. Click OK.

Command Keys

Use the Command keys screen to specify how the text and buttons for command keys defined in your DDS source will display in a Web browser. When converted, command keys are displayed as buttons on your Web pages. Users click these buttons to launch an event defined in your DDS source such as to refresh their page or to get online help.
  1. In the Command key states drop-down list, select the command key state whose appearance you wish to customize:
    Default
    The buttons as they are in their initial state
    Rollover
    The buttons as they display when the user is holding the mouse pointer over them
    Button down
    The buttons as they are being selected by the user
  2. In the Foreground group, customize the appearance of text in the command key state (Default, Rollover or Button down) that you selected in the list.
    • In the Color box, you specify the text color for the command key state you selected. Click the push button beside the box to bring up the Color chooser. Once you have selected a color and closed the Color chooser, the Color box shows you what the text in that state will look like on the Web.
    • In the Font box, specify the font for the foreground of the window area you selected in the list. To modify the default selection, click the push button. This launches a Font Editor. Once you have selected a font and closed the editor, the Font box shows you what the text in that state will look like on the Web.
    • In the Text indent in pixels box, specify an amount to indent the text from the left edge of the command key button.
    • In the Text align drop-down list, select an option for horizontal alignment of text on the button.
    • In Vertical align box, select an option for vertical alignment of text on the button.
  3. In the Background group, customize the appearance of the background for the command key state you selected in the list. Modifications are made the same way here as for the Window Background group described above. Note that you can select a background color as well as an image file that can be used as the background.
  4. The three display areas on the right display samples of the choices you made. Click OK.
Note: If you prefer to edit the Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) files directly, you can use the CSS editor supplied with the workbench.

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