IBM® FileNet® P8 Application Integration provides support for customizing the File, Insert, and Help pop-up menus of Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Application Integration utilizes COM Add-Ins to extend these applications by adding custom Add-In menus. These custom menus can be modified by developers through the use of provided XML files, which contain information used by Application Integration to configure the menu contents for the Microsoft applications.
After Application Integration has been installed, developers can manually modify the contents of the XML files in order to customize the Add-In menus to meet their application requirements. The customized XML files can then be copied to other systems in the organization, to provide a means for controlling the application environment and feature availability for a particular user or class of users. Whenever a new change is required for a particular application, the corresponding XML file can be updated and copied again to the appropriate systems.
Customize the... | Description |
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Visibility | Specify the Application Integration commands and pop-up submenus that should be visible on the menu. This technique enables the complete removal of a submenu or command from a menu in order to control the availability of a certain feature. |
Enable State | Specify the Application Integration commands and pop-up submenus that should be visible, but disabled (grayed out). This technique allows developers to control whether a particular menu can be opened or a command be executed. |
Label or Caption | Specify the labels or captions for the Application Integration commands and pop-up submenus as they should appear to the user. For example, developers can rename the "Checkin" command to "Store Document" or group certain commands together on a submenu called "Authoring." |
Command Action | Specify which Application Integration action should get performed
when an Application Integration command is selected. Note: You cannot
specify vendor commands.
|
Menu Hierarchy | Specify the arrangement of the Application Integration commands on the menu, including the order of commands and whether they are contained in a pop-up submenu folder hierarchy. |
During installation of Application Integration, the XML files are written to the installation directory (the default is C:\Program Files\FileNet\AppInt\). Whenever one of the supported Microsoft applications is opened, Application Integration searches for the corresponding XML file in the installation directory and then configures the Add-In menu for that application according to the specifications contained in the XML file. If Application Integration cannot locate the XML files in the installation directory, it attempts to gather the files from the Module directory. (The Module directory is where the Microsoft Office applications are typically stored, by default in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office.)
XML file name | Corresponding application | Supported versions |
---|---|---|
FnAppIntExcelMenus.xml | Excel | 2003, 2007, 2010 |
FnAppIntOutlookMenus.xml | Outlook Explorer (item browse window) Outlook Inspector (item edit window) |
2003, 2007, 2010 |
FnAppIntPowerPointMenus.xml | PowerPoint | 2003, 2007, 2010 |
FnAppIntWordMenus.xml | Word | 2003, 2007, 2010 |
For an example of how these tags are used in the XML schema, see Sample XML Schema.
Each addInMenuItem object uses setting tags to define the appearance and behavior of Add-In menu submenus or command buttons. The syntax for the tag varies depending on the key that is being defined. For example, some keys require the type field, while others do not:
<setting key="itemType">popup</setting> <setting key="parent" type="menuId">30002</setting>
In the following table, when a key does not require the use of the type field or does not need a specified value, the entry in the Type or Value column is "Not applicable". When the value for the key is not a known Application Integration variable, such as popup or button, the entry in the Value column appears in italics; for example, 30002. In addition, when a key is not required, the entry in the Description column contains the [Optional] indicator.
Key | Type | Value | Description |
---|---|---|---|
itemType | Not applicable | popup | Indicates that the Add-In menu item is a pop-up submenu with children, which can include command buttons and additional pop-up submenus. |
Not applicable | button | Indicates that the Add-In menu item is a command button with no children. | |
description | Not applicable | P8 File Menu | [Optional] Provides a description for the Add-In menu item which is informational only; this description is not visible to the user. |
label | enum | eOpenSubMenuName | Supplies the visible label or caption for the Add-In menu item
using one of the following enumeration constants:
|
resourceID | 119 | Supplies the visible label or caption for the Add-In menu item by specifying an integer value that corresponds to a resource ID defined in a resource localization file. | |
text | Checkin... | Supplies the visible label or caption for the Add-In menu item be providing the actual text string. | |
visible | Not applicable | true | Specifies that the Add-In menu item (and any children if the menu item is a pop-up submenu) is visible to the user. |
false | Specifies that the Add-In menu item (and any children if the menu item is a pop-up submenu) is not visible to the user (that is, the menu item does not appear on the Add-In menu). | ||
enabled | Not applicable | true | Specifies that the Add-In menu item is enabled, thus making it possible for the user to open the pop-up submenu or select the command button. |
False | Specifies that the Add-In menu item cannot be opened or selected by the user (that is, the menu item is disabled on the Add-In menu). | ||
parent | menuId | 30002 | Provides the "menuId" value for the parent menu of the Add-In menu item. When the menu item is a pop-up submenu, this value is typically the control ID of an existing Microsoft Office pop-up menu. For more information about menu IDs in Microsoft Office Applications, see the Microsoft Office Developers Guide for Office 2003/XP/2007. |
topLevel | Not applicable | When the Add-In menu item is a pop-up submenu, this key and
type pair indicates that the submenu is placed on the top-level menu
bar of the application. Note: This key and type pair is valid only
for pop-up submenus.
|
|
Not applicable | Not applicable | When the Add-In menu item is a command button, the parent is
implied in the specified XML through the use of the <list
key="children"> tag. Therefore, no parent specification
is required at this setting location in the XML.
Note: This key and type pair is valid only for command buttons.
|
|
location | Not applicable | 4 | Specifies the insertion position for this Add-In menu item
on the parent menu. A value of -1 indicates that
the menu item is appended to the bottom of the existing menu. Note: This
value indicates the desired position for the menu item on the parent
pop-up menu.
|
command | standard | OfficeAdd-In. OpenSelection |
Specifies the Application Integration operation to perform
when a command button is selected by the user. One of the following
enumeration constants can be specified:
|
standard | Not applicable | When the Add-In menu item is a pop-up submenu, menu clicks
are ignored. Therefore, no command specification is required at this setting location
in the XML. Note: This key and type pair is valid only for pop-up
submenus.
|
For an example of how these tags are used in the XML schema, see Sample XML Schema.
<?xml version="1.0" ?> <!-- IBM FileNet P8 Application Integration 4.0 Excel Add-In Menus--> <!-- Add-In Menus - Configuration Info --> <object key="addInMenusConfiguration" version="1.0"> <setting key="applicationName">Excel</setting> <array key="applicationVersion"> <value>2003</value> <value>2007</value> <value>2010</value> </array> <!-- Add-In Menus - Main Menu Definitions --> <object key="addInMenusDefinition" type="main"> <list key="children"> <!-- P8 File Menu --> <object key="addInMenuItem"> <setting key="itemType">popup</setting> ... <list key="children"> <!-- Open Document SubMenu --> <object key="addInMenuItem"> <setting key="itemType">popup</setting> <setting key="description">Submenu of commands for opening documents.</Setting> <setting key="label" type="text">Open Document</setting> <setting key="visible">true</setting> <setting key="enabled">true</setting> <setting key="location">3</setting> <setting key="command" type="standard"></setting> <list key="children"> <!-- Open Document - My Checkouts... Button --> <object key="addInMenuItem"> <setting key="itemType">button</setting> ... <list key="children" /> </object> <!-- Open Document - Select Item... Button --> <object key="addInMenuItem"> <setting key="itemType">button</setting> ... <list key="children" /> </object> </list> <list key="children" /> </object> <!-- Add Document SubMenu --> <object key="addInMenuItem"> <setting key="itemType">popup</setting> ... <list key="children" /> </object> ... <!-- Add Folder... Button --> <object key="addInMenuItem"> <setting key="itemType">button</setting> <setting key="description">Performs the Add Folder Wizard</setting> <setting key="label" type="enum">eAddFolderButtonName</setting> <setting key="visible">true</setting> <setting key="enabled">true</setting> <setting key="parent" type="menuId">30002</setting> <setting key="location">1</setting> <setting key="command" type="standard">OfficeAdd-In.AddFolderUseAddWizard</setting> <list key="children" /> </object> ... </list> <list key="children" /> </object> <!-- P8 Insert Menu --> <object key="addInMenuItem"> <setting key="itemType">popup</setting> ... <list key="children"> ... </list> <list key="children" /> </object> <!-- P8 Help Menu --> <object key="addInMenuItem"> <setting key="itemType">popup</setting> ... <list key="children"> ... </list> <list key="children" /> </object> </list> </object> </object> ...