Working with Reusable Web Items 

Use

When you integrate a Web item into your Web template from the Web item groupings in the Web Items screen area and you define your settings, you might want to use this Web item again in this form in other Web templates, without having to define the settings again. BEx Web Application Designer enables you to use your version of a Web item as the Web template for other items. You store this Web item as a template. You can then access your Web items from the Reusable Web Items screen area.

You can show and hide the Reusable Web Items screen area by choosing View → Reusable Web Items in the menu bar in Web Application Designer. By default, this screen area is displayed as a tab page in the Web Items screen area, but you can move it to a different position in Web Application Designer.

Prerequisites

●      You have integrated a Web item into your Web template and made the required settings for the relevant parameters on the Web Item Parameters tab page in the Properties screen area.

●      You have the necessary authorizations to save Web items in roles.

Use

Saving Web Items as Reusable Objects

You save a Web item with its specified parameters as a reusable Web item. These Web items revert to a template character, which you can alter. In accordance with this character of the Web item, data binding is not stored. Web template-dependent settings are also not saved (for example, if you use the Button Group Web item and link commands to it).

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       1.      Choose Save as Reusable Web Item in the Web item context menu in the layout view. The Create New Reusable Web Itemdialog box appears.

       2.      Choose whether to save the Web item in your favorites or roles.

If you want to save the Web item in your favorites, you can create folders for the favorites and save the Web item here by choosing Create New Folder.

       3.      Enter a description (meaningful text) and a technical name (unique name) for the Web item.

       4.      Choose Save.

Opening and Inserting Reusable Web Items

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       1.      In the Web Application Designer menu bar, choose View  → Reusable Web Items if you have not opened the Reusable Web Items window.

       2.      Choose <Context Menu> → Open Web Item in the Reusable Web Items screen area. The Open Web Item dialog box appears.

       3.      Select the Web item you want to open in the history view, favorites view, or role view, and choose Open. The Web item appears in the Reusable Web Items screen area.

       4.      Drag the Web item to your Web template.

Additional Context Menu Functions

The following additional functions are available in the context menu for reusable Web items:

●      Open Reusable Web Item

If you choose Open Reusable Web Item, you can show other reusable Web items in the screen area.

●      Close Reusable Web Item

If you choose Close Reusable Web Item, the selected Web Item is not shown in the Reusable Web Items screen area.

●      Edit Web Item

If you choose Edit Web Item, the Edit Reusable Web Item <Name of Web Item> dialog box appears. In this dialog box, you can change the parameter settings for the selected Web item. You can find more details under "Changing Reusable Web Items".

●      Delete Web Item

If you choose Delete Web Item, the selected Web item is deleted as a reusable Web item and cannot be recovered.  You can only delete reusable Web items if they are not already being used in Web templates.

Changing Reusable Web Items

Any changes that you make to settings of a reusable Web item (as described above) are applied globally. This means that the changes are applied in all saved Web templates where you use the Web item in question. This does not apply to Web templates where you have changed the parameters of a reusable Web item locally. In this case, the locally made settings are applied.

If you want to change the settings in a reusable Web item locally, (that is, in a specific Web template in which you are using this Web item), proceed as follows:

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       1.      Open the Web template.

       2.      Select the reusable Web item in the Web template.

       3.      Change the parameters of this Web item on the Web Item Parameters tab page in the Properties screen area.

       4.      Save the Web template. 

The changes that you have made to the reusable Web item are applied in this Web template only. The parameter settings of the reusable Web item are not affected by the changes.

Special Features for the Chart Web Item

If you want to use the Edit Chart (CHART_CUSTOMIZING) parameter to overwrite the parameters of a Chart Web item that you have saved as a reusable Web item locally, the Create Local Chart Settings? dialog box appears. This dialog box warns you that you are about to overwrite the settings for a reusable Web item locally.

●      If you choose Yes, the Chart Wizard (Edit Chart dialog box) appears, where you can edit the chart locally. More information: Formatting a Chart Using the Wizard

When you have finished making your changes, quit the dialog box by choosing Finish. Your local changes are now applied for the Web item Chart in the current Web template.

If you press Refine in the Edit Chart dialog box, the Chart Designer appears. More information: Working with the Chart Designer.

If you close the dialog box by choosing Cancel, no local chart parameter settings are created. The reusable Web items settings are still applied.

●      If you choose No, none of the changes made to the saved chart parameter settings are applied. To change the chart settings for the reusable Web item Chart, edit it in the screen area for reusable Web items