Develop > Presentation layer > Management Center framework > Customize the Management Center user interface > Create a new tool for the Management Center > Define OpenLaszlo classes instantiated in a tool definition class > Defining views for a Management Center object
Define the explorer view for a Management Center tool
The explorer view is a tree view that you can use to control what is displayed in the main work area. Select a node in the explorer view to display the view that is currently associated with that node in the main work area.
The explorer view always includes the Search Results node (to allow you to return to a list of results at any time) and Active Work node (to show the objects you currently have open). The rest of the explorer view displays objects that will help you locate the business objects with which to work. These object nodes might be organizational objects that represent a category of object types such as Promotions or Campaigns, or they might be root level business objects such as a catalog or directory that you can expand to display the next level of business objects in the hierarchy. Select an organizational object to display the list of business objects of that type in the main work area. Select a root level business object or an expanded business object to display a list of objects related to the selected object in the main work area. For example, when you select a category, the list of catalog entries within that category are displayed in the main work area.
To define an explorer view for Management Center objects:
Procedure
- Open WebSphere Commerce Developer and switch to the Enterprise Explorer view.
- In the Enterprise Explorer view, expand LOBTools > WebContent > WEB-INF > src > lzx > your_company_name > Management_Center_component > objectDefinitions, where Management_Center_component is the name of the new custom tool.
- Create an OpenLaszlo class file with this syntax:Management_Center_componentname in camel case > CommonObjectDefinitions.lzx. For example,.CatalogCommonObjectDefinitions.lzx.
- Within the common object class file, the class name must follow this syntax: <three-character Management Center component code in lower case><Management_Center_componentCommonObjectDefinitions. For example, catCatalogCommonObjectDefinitions.
- The explorer view is declared explicitly. The business object editor (wcfBusinessObjectEditor) uses the top object definition and filter definitions to construct this view. Refer to Define a top object definition in the explorer view and Defining a filter tasks.
What to do next
After you complete the work:
- Right-click LOBTools Project; then click Build OpenLaszlo Project to produce an updated ManagementCenter.swf file under the WCDE_INSTALL\workspace\LOBTools\WebContent directory. This is the default environment setting.
- Test the work by viewing them in the Management Center, using this URL: https://hostname:8000/lobtools.
- Deploy the files to the production environment.
Related concepts
Management Center user interface
Related tasks
Create a new tool for the Management Center
Define OpenLaszlo classes instantiated in a tool definition class