Creating the properties view for the campaign element

If your new campaign element requires input from business users, declare the widgets to capture that input. By doing this, you create the user interface, called the properties view, for the new campaign element. In the Activity Builder, a campaign element's properties view displays below the work area when you click the campaign element.

Before you begin

Review the following topic to ensure that you understand the properties view widgets available for use in Management Center:

About this task

The properties view widgets have already been defined for use in the Management Center. When creating a new campaign element, you must specify which of these widgets you need, and then arrange and customize them as required.

Procedure

  1. Review the available widgets for Management Center properties views and plan the user interface for your campaign element.
  2. Open WebSphere Commerce Developer and switch to the Enterprise Explorer view.
  3. Create a directory to store your new properties view file.
    Use a directory structure similar to the following example:
    • LOBTools/WebContent/WEB-INF/src/xml/your_company_name/marketing/propertiesViews/activityBuilder
  4. Create the new properties view file. Name the file using this syntax: campaign_element_namePropertiesView.xml; for example, CustomLevelOfSupportPropertiesView.xml.
  5. Define the new properties view as a flow element property.
    For example:
    <FlowElementProperties definitionName="extCustomLevelOfSupportProperties"> 
    	<PropertyGroup name="group" collapsable="false">
    		<PropertyCombobox promptText="Support level"
    			propertyName="supportLevel"/>
    	</PropertyGroup>
    </FlowElementProperties>

    More complex properties views require multiple widgets. Another option is tabs. Consider using the properties view of an existing, similar campaign element as a starting point for your new campaign element. The existing properties view files are stored here:

    LOBTools/WebContent/WEB-INF/src/xml/commerce/marketing/propertiesViews/activityBuilder

  6. Define the new properties view file wherever it is used.