IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Create processes in IBM Process Designer > Create user interfaces for business processes > Developing reusable Coach Views

Coach Views

Coach Views are reusable sets of user interface that users use to interact with a business object or service. Coach Views can consist of one or more other Coach Views, data bindings, layout instructions, and behavior.

Because Coach Views are reusable, Coach Views and Coaches can share parts of their user interface with other Coach Views and Coaches.

For example, you create a Coach that has a Coach View that contains a set of address fields. If you create a second Coach that needs address fields, you can reuse the Coach View from the first Coach. In both cases, the Coach is using an instance of the Coach View. You can edit the properties of each instance independently.

For example, changing the label of one Coach View instance does not change the label of the other. Both instances of the Coach View use a reference to point to the Coach View definition. This approach means that if the Coach View definition changes, you can see the change reflected in the instances of the Coach View.

You can create a Coach View in the process application or in a toolkit. In general, create highly reusable Coach Views in toolkits and more specialized Coach Views in process applications. Choosing the process application means that you can reuse it only within the process application. However, it also means that if someone edits the Coach View, the changes apply to the instances of the Coach View in the process application. If the Coach View is in a toolkit and then someone edits it, the changes apply to all instances of the Coach View in all applications that use that toolkit. Because editing a Coach Definition can affect many instances, be careful in your changes.

For example, deleting a content box in the Coach View definition could mean that Coaches or Coach Views that contain instances of that Coach View cannot display the content that they had defined in that content box.

You cannot directly edit the definition of the Coach View from within the parent Coach or Coach View. Instead, you must open the Coach View definition first before you can change it. When you open a Coach View definition to edit it, you can see the following pages:

• The Overview page displays the Coach View name, information about the Coach View, the images used to represent the Coach View during design time, and how the Coach View is used.

  You can also tag your Coach View to make it easier to find in the library and on the palette.

• The Behavior page displays the scripts and CSS files used by the Coach View. The Behavior page is also where you define event handler code. The Event handlers are the entry points for the code of the Coach View. While the Coach View might reference supporting JavaScript files, the event handlers contain the functions that the IBM BPM framework calls.

• The Variables page displays the business data binding, configuration options (which includes Ajax services), and localization resources available to the Coach View or used by the Coach View.

• The Layout page displays the Coach Views and controls contained within the Coach View and their relative positions. The layout page also displays the palette, which contains items that you can add to the Coach View. These items consist of Coach Views, which are categorized using tags, Advanced items, and variables.

Coach Views can be stock or custom. IBM BPM provides the stock controls, which are Coach Views, and you can find them in the Control category or in the Section category on the palette. Custom Coach Views are ones created yourself or are provided by other programs or companies. In terms of use, IBM BPM treats stock and custom Coach Views identically.

Developing reusable Coach Views

Related concepts:
Coaches
Difference between Coaches and Heritage Coaches
Templates
Data binding for Coach Views

Related tasks:
Developing reusable Coach Views

Related reference:
Event handlers