Impossible Siebel 2.0

This operation is not valid when executed in setup only mode.(SBL-DAT-00395)

2010-03-10T18:24:00.012+11:00

Life becomes more interesting when you encounter an error that has not been documented before. It sounds generic and familiar enough to yield some results, but you will not find this on support web. There is one hit on IT Toolbox, but the error was only mentioned in passing, but no solution was provided. This error can be replicated by performing the following actions. 1. Put the following code in the WriteRecord event...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Checking for an empty (Strong Typed) String

2010-02-15T20:25:00.007+11:00

This is a follow up article to Checking for an empty String, which was aimed at non typed eScript. This time around we will look at the pitfalls of string comparison in the ST engine. I'll assume that you've read the previous article, so i'll jump right into it with this scenario. //declare vars var iZero = 0; var sEmpty:String = ""; var sEmpty2:String = ""; [1st Pitfall] Before we begin, i'd like to highlight the...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

View last modified log file

2010-02-09T20:24:00.003+11:00

Does this look familiar? The good old directory full of log files in your face. If you spend a lot of time sifting & sorting through log files to find the last modified file for inspection, then this tip might make your day. I've been searching for a program, that has the following features * Automatically open the last modified file in a directory * Provide custom code highlighting * Real time log viewing * Cost...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Checking for an empty string

2010-01-29T18:17:00.024+11:00

Its interesting to look through a repository and see what different methods people use to test for an empty string. Some projects standardize on 1 method, while other projects arnt so consistent. In this article i'll go through the different methods for testing an empty string in Siebel and look at its pros and cons. Lets start with our empty string; var sEmpty = ""; [Method 1] if (sEmpty == "") ; This method is...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Xmas and the future

2009-12-18T10:46:00.005+11:00

Impossible Siebel is taking a break, and is heading towards Surfers Paradise After bumming around the beach, i might decide to come back, and if i do, there are a bunch of topics that i want to cover. I've created a new widget called "Future Articles" which will provide readers with an idea of whats to come. Many of these topics, i'm currently drafting or testing, and not just a dream, so more likely than not, they'll...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Siebel 8 Tab Order defect on Popup applets

2009-12-15T21:06:00.011+11:00

We seem to have lots of encounters with Popup applets here at Impossible Siebel About Record Applet Challenge Siebel 7 Dual Screen popup Siebel 8 Dual Screen popup Conditional Popup based on button click MVG Popup Challenge [Another popup challenge] On the last day before code freeze, the following challenge came through as a critical defect. The problem in Siebel 8, is that the tab order is ignored on all popup...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

ImposSiebel Toolbar, About Label

2009-12-09T20:56:00.001+11:00

I had a conversation with some Siebel architects not too long ago, and we were talking about Siebel 6. One of the best things about the interface (probably the only thing that was good), was the fact that, when you hovered over any label on the client, it would reveal the actual BC field name in the application status bar. This was a golden nugget for developers, because instead of going to the applet, viewing the layout,...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

ImposSiebel Toolbar, Version 0.54 Release Information

2009-12-06T17:00:00.003+11:00

This is the anticipated version of the Impossible Siebel Toolbar, with the "About Label" feature, which was the winner of our last poll. "About Label" should be fairly obvious to use (hint, its has something to do with Labels). If you can't figure it out, a follow up article will be posted soon to explain how "About Label" works. Before you skim over this article, the new XML configuration file is mandatory for the "SQL...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

ABS Framework - Business Object Library

2009-12-01T17:30:00.003+11:00

The ABS Business Object library is probably the most important feature of ABS, from a benefits realization point of view, and heres why. ABS can make your project atleast 2x more efficient. The ABS framework provides a global class of functions that allows developers to write code that is leaner, faster, use less memory and require less time and resources than traditional build methods. That’s a really big promise, and...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

ABS Framework - Prototype Library

2009-11-24T22:00:00.003+11:00

[What is a Prototype?] Using the prototype object is common in web development circles, but it is foreign to most experienced Siebel professionals. This is the definition of “prototype” object according to Siebel Help “An object prototype lets you specify a set of default values for an object. When an object property that has not been assigned a value is accessed, the prototype is consulted. If such a property exists in...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

ABS Framework - Logging & Tracing Module

2009-11-14T23:30:00.013+11:00

Log files are the bread and butter of every developer, so every once in a while it is interesting to meet a developer who has never used Trace() before. So how do these people troubleshoot Siebel? Using debugger, amazing! Although debugging is useful, it’s not always reliable. In complex scenarios, when you have logic across different objects, the debugger just dies, or jumps around erratically. In these cases it’s just...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

What is the scope of a variable in eScript/Browser Script?

2009-11-10T22:17:00.013+11:00

It is considered best practice, that we should always declare our variables outside the try/catch block. It is also one of the main recommendations of the following Siebel support document. Assigning Null to Variables [ID 508828.1] This was the question that was asked by the customer in the above article: "In order for a variable to be referenced inside of a finally block, is it required for the variable to be declared...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Results of ImposSiebel Toolbar poll

2009-11-06T14:19:00.012+11:00

The results are surprising, and shows that readers are heavily divided on two features. The winner of course is the field/column/table information, users who voted for this option are practical, they want fast access to their configuration without messing about in Tools. What is surprising to me, is the number of people who voted on Browser Script tracing. It might just be my reader demographics, because on most projects,...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Understanding the scope of "this" in Browser script

2009-10-21T21:05:00.012+11:00

Due to the un-holy interest in the browser script tracing feature of the ImposSiebel Toolbar poll, this article is a little treat for all the closet Browser Script fans out there. The behaviour described below is fundamental to ECMA script, but will catch most Siebel professionals off guard, and theres a very good reason for this. Lets start with an example to set the scene. This scenario is lifted from the following...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

ImposSiebel Toolbar, UI Search Spec

2009-10-08T18:46:00.006+11:00

In this article, we'll use the IS Toolbar to reveal the following information 1. Find hidden search specs 2. Find the BC field name without going into tools Hidden Search Spec The UI Search Spec feature is quite un-assuming, but it deserves some attention, because it can come in handy when trouble shooting problems. When talking about search specs, people immediately think of Applet or BC search specs. These are a couple...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

ImposSiebel Toolbar, SQL Profiling

2009-10-01T18:18:00.011+10:00

How many of us actually care about SQL performance? Mostly, only Solution Designers, but its important that we *all* consider how much impact our config has on the system. Have you ever clicked on a button and waited a good 30 seconds before the system comes back? If yes, then this article is for you. There could be a number of factors contributing to performance issues, but i'm going to focus on SQL performance. Siebel...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

ImposSiebel Toolbar, Version 0.52 Release Information

2009-09-29T20:30:00.012+10:00

ImposSiebel Toolbar, Version 0.52 Release Information [Installation] 1. Existing Users Under the ImposSiebel Toolbar options, just click on "Refresh Toolbar" 2. New Users Follow the instructions in the first article http://www.impossiblesiebel.com/2009/09/impossiebel-toolbar-beta.html [New Features] Introduced SQL Profiler Keep an eye out for the next article, and i'll provide a tutorial on how to use this...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

ImposSiebel Toolbar Beta

2009-09-05T10:25:00.017+10:00

A few years back, i started developing Super About View, in a nutshell, this is a program which allows developers to hook into any Siebel session, in any environment, and get quick access to the Siebel objects without going into Tools. For more background on this topic, these articles should serve as good primers. Super About View Siebel frame structure About View SI About View SI 2 A lot of people have asked for copies...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Introduction to the ABS Framework

2009-08-06T02:42:00.001+10:00

When considering the solution design for a business requirement, we usually have a few configuration options at our disposal. One of the cardinal decisions we make, is wether we choose to build our solution using WF or Script, there is a lot of emphasis put on this decision by the Siebel community. In my opinion, wether we use WF or Script isnt important, what is important, is the result. The ultimate goal should be to...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Suppress menu item across the entire application

2009-08-04T13:20:00.007+10:00

Requirement Remove the "Save Target List", "Applet Target List", "Apply List" and "Save List" options from the applet menu. These options are on the Siebel 8 menus and enabled by default, the problem is that there are 500+ applets, and we needed a global solution to remove them from the entire application. A SR was lodged and the solution from Siebel was simple, go into the 500+ applets and disable the menu items...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

About View in Standard Interactivity - Part 2

2009-07-27T21:39:00.009+10:00

In the previous article, we discovered a hidden object called SWEApplets, that provides us access to the rendered Siebel view. We will learn how to utilise these objects to create funky developer tools, that will make your colleagues envious =) To begin with, we need our tool to be as portable as possible, it has to work in any environment without requiring changes to the respository, srf, template files or...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

About View in Standard Interactivity - Part 1

2009-07-24T18:01:00.006+10:00

The above title might seem like an oxymoron to all those experienced Siebel Standard Interactivity developers out there, but its true, there is something sadly missing in SI. I recently had my first taste of a SI application, since Siebel 6 Dotcom, and my first question was... Wheres about view? I wanted to know what view i was on, and what applet i was looking at. I thought someone had customized the application and...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Pop up window for dual screen computers from 8 +

2009-07-23T17:58:00.003+10:00

In one of my recent articles, i gave a tip on how to make pop up windows display on the same screen as the browser window in Siebel 7. Those people, who have 2 or more monitors, will understand this problem very well, but this trick no longer works in Siebel 8. After searching on ML without any luck, I started to do some trial and error. The Siebel 8 client config file dosnt have a [SWE] section, and creating this section...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Solution - Show creator full name on 'About Record Applet'

2009-07-17T21:19:00.012+10:00

Impossible reader Sajan, has responded to the 'About Record Applet' Challenge. The solution Sajan shares, higlights the use of ShowControl. The WebApplet_ShowControl event is only supported in Standard interactivity, and allows us to modify a control as it is being rendered to the user. By trapping this event, Sajan can intercept the rendering of the Created By and Last Updated By fields, send the login Id off to a...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Reader Challenge - Show creator full name on 'About Record Applet'

2009-07-14T19:10:00.012+10:00

This is our second reader challenge, and i've come up with something more achievable, but still impossible (our definition of impossible is when Siebel says it can't be done). As usual, this will take under 5 Requirement When the user clicks on About Record, display the actual First Name + Last Name, instead of the Login Id next to the 'Created By' and 'Updated By' labels. Before After Why its impossible 1. It runs...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]