Siebel Application Usage Pattern Tracking

Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2015 onwards, Application usage tracking becomes very easy as it is available OOTB and administrators can setup this in the application to get the details like "who", "when" and "how many times" access any UI/feature in the Siebel application. The best part is, it is so much configurable that administrator can decide what all events need to be captured and analyzed.

This video would be very helpful for Siebel administrator to know how to setup the tracking for Siebel Application Usage and use it for analysis.

Siebel Runtime Event and Workflow Process

In Siebel world, Runtime Event (RTE) and Workflow Process seems to be very good friends. Both understand each other pretty well. Whenever there is a need to implement any functionality on based of some trigger, these two friends comes hand in hand. I usually make use of both of them most of the time to make a good solution.

Few things to keep in mind when we use them for any requirement:

1. If a workflow process needs to be invoked synchronously like, via button click on the UI or some action done by user, RTE can be used. The best part is if the Workflow is also based on the active business object, system will automatically set the "Object Id" process property with the Row Id of the primary business component on UI. Moreover, the complete context of the UI handed over to the workflow.
   
   Note: RTE will not get invoked if the business object, on which workflow is based on, is different from the UI context BO. 
   
   
2. In the scenario where point#1 can't be used due to any reason i.e. workflow is not based on any BO, then the only way to pass the Row Id or any other field values of the current record to the workflow is via setting the profile attributes. In the RTE action set, you can set the profile attibutes as the first step and in the next step call the desired workflow. Then inside the workflow, you can read the profile attribute values.
   .
3. One of the tracking feature that OOB provides is, if you have "Monitoring Level" set to "4 - Debug" for a workflow process, and if that workflow process being called from RTE then system automatically add a new property named "Triggering Event" with the Row_Id of RTE. So it becomes easy to track the triggering event.

How to migrate Runtime Events (RTE) from one env to another env?

Runtime Events (RTE) and Data Validation Manager (DVM) are the two highly used features whenever there is a requirement for imposing business rules in the process. Every another project has their own business rules to implement and Siebel developers use RTE and DVM as their first choice (mostly). Problem comes in when you are done with the development and now its time to move the RTE and DVM (Rule Sets) to different Env (QA, UAT etc). So if you have plenty of RTE implmented, it would be cumbersome job to create those RTE again in different env at various stages of the project life cycle.

To ease the job, Siebel has provided the way for taking the export it into a XML file and again import it back into another env. Runtime Events -> Menu -> XML Import/XML Export.

But, the irony is, it doesn't work as you expect. The basic assumption would be, you query your RTE, take the XML export and import the XML file into other env. System should get the new RTE created for you. But the reality is, this way you will end up exporting "ALL" RTE from the source env to destination env (which you never wants).

So, how to get the Runtime migrated?

1. Navigate to ‘Administration Deployment Manager -> Deployment Projects’. Click ‘New’ and create a project for exporting the RTE. Remember to check ‘Export to File’ flag to ‘Y’.
2. In the below applet create a new record and pick ‘Data Type Name’ as ‘Personalization – Events’. Save the record.
3. Expand the ‘Data Type Name’ (by clicking on the + icon)      
4. Drill down on the ‘Personalization – Events’ and you are navigated to ‘Administration Runtime Events -> Events’
5. Query for the event you want to export and by using "Query Assistant", save this as PDQ.
6. Again go back to your deployment project at ‘Administration Deployment Manager -> Deployment Projects’ and in the pick applet for the field ‘Deployment Filter’ against ‘Personalization – Events’ select the name of the PDQ you saved in the above step.
7. Now Drill down on the ‘Personalization – Action’ and you are navigated to ‘Administration Runtime Events -> Action Sets'
8. Query for the Action Set associated with your event you want to export and by using "Query Assistant", save this as PDQ.
9. Again go back to your deployment project at ‘Administration Deployment Manager -> Deployment Projects’ and in the pick applet for the field ‘Deployment Filter’ against ‘Personalization – Actions’ select the name of the PDQ you saved in the above step.
10. Check your configuration by clicking ‘Validate Filter’ button. If everything is fine click the ‘Enable’ button on the top applet. Status of your deployment project changes to ‘Enabled’ from ‘Draft’.
11. Now go to ‘Administration Deployment Manager -> Deployment Sessions’. Create a new record and select the project you created in step 1.  Save the record
12. Press the ‘Deploy’ button on the top applet and give the path on the server (if connected to thin client) or local machine (if connected to thick client) where you want the export file to be generated.
13. Status changes to ‘Export Completed’ and the field ‘Log’ gives you the name of the xml file generated as a result of your export.
14. Copy the xml files generated to you local machine (if connected to thin client)
15. Go to the ‘Administration Data Manager -> Deployment Sessions’ on the server where you want to import your RTE. Click ‘Menu’ and select ‘Deploy From Local File’ and give the path where you have saved the xml files created and press ‘Import'.
16. Your RTE will be created in the target system.

Special thanks to Manuj Garg for sharing this information.

Child Field Read Only depending on Parent Field Value

Sometimes it happens that you get a very simple requirement to implement and in a single glance you say, "Well, this is very easy to implement" and when you actually see the result on the UI after the configuration you have done, you start scratching your head to find out the reason for not getting the result as per the expectation.

Today, I am going to discuss a very simple requirement you might have faced earlier.

Requirement
I have two applet exposed on the UI: 1) Opportunity Form Applet 2) Quote List applet.
Opportunity being the parent applet and quote as the child as per below screen shot.


The simple requirement is to make "Comments" field on Quote List Applet editable, if and only if Sales Stage of Opportunity = Data Entry.

very simple isn't it! Anyone can easily say, go and use "Field Read Only Field" user property at Quote business component and you are done. I reacted to it in the similar manner and followed the below steps:
1. Pull "Sales Stage" value on Quote BC.
2. Create a calc field to set to Y, if Sales Stage = "Data Entry"

3. Create a BC User property, Field Read Only Field based on calc field.



Compile the SRF.

Navigate to Opportuity -> Quote view to verify the results. I created an Opportunity record, set the Sales Stage to "Data Entry" and then created a Quote record. "Comments" field was editable. Then I changed the Sales Stage to "Submitted" and per configuration I was expecting the "Comments" field to be read only, but to my surprise, it was not. Still, I was able to edit the field.


It might happen that change of "Sales Stage" at the Opportunity level is not getting reflected at the quote level. Let me try running a blank query (Alt+Q, then enter) to refresh and now..... yes, "Comments" field get read-only. So, basically the problem is, Quote BC is not aware of the change in Sales Stage at Opportunity level, unless you refresh it.

(Note: this is not the case with "Parent Read Only Field" user property. Change at parent field immediately gets reflected at the child level. You can refer this post for more details.)

Now, the problem here is to get the Quote list applet refreshed, if some change happens at Opportunity. One might point out that you should have "Immediate Post Changes" as True for "Sales Stage". But, keep in mind that "Immediate Post Changes" will only refresh the fields of the same business component, not of the child BC.

One solution, I can think of is to refresh the Opportunity business component in such a way that it should not loose the record context and consequently, Quote BC will automatically gets refreshed. But, I didn't want to do the scripting on Opportunity WriteRecord event, just to refresh the Quote BC, something like:

function BusComp_WriteRecord ()
{

TheApplication().GetService("FINS Teller UI Navigation").InvokeMethod("RefreshCurrentApplet", TheApplication().NewPropertySet(), TheApplication().NewPropertySet());

}

So, I found a better way to achieve to refresh the Opportunity form applet. Just create the following user property on the Opportunity applet:


Compile the SRF and check the result on the UI. Voila, everything is working as desired now.


.

How to send email containing multiple child records data?

I am pretty sure you will find this post very interesting, if you ever get a requirement to send a email in HTML format and email should have the details of the child records(dynamic data) as well.

XSLT (XSL Transformation) can do wonders for this kind of requirement where the basic idea is to get data in XML hierarchy from Siebel (which you can easily do via EAI Siebel Adapter and convert it into XML) and apply the XSL transformations to get the HTML output. And as far as you know how to play with HTML and XSL, you can create any kind of email format that you like to see. All you need is to use EAI XSLT Service business service with method Transform.

Below picture might give you some idea of it:

To understand the concept, let suppose:
1. As soon as an Opportunity gets submitted, you are required to send an email to the Sales person to inform him.
2. Email should have the details of child records created under that Opportunity.
3. Email should have some kind of formatting so that it looks good and eye-catching.

You might be thinking what is a big deal in it and why should I even use the XSLT (new term for lot many people) for it? There is a simple reason behind it, there is NO OOB way available in Siebel (as far as I know) by which you can include the data from Child records (multiple) in the email.

Let me first show you the proof-of-concept and later we will discuss about the technical solution.
1. I have below opportunity created with 2 records of Opportunity Products.

2. It has also 3 Quote records created under it.

3. As soon as Opportunity get submitted, system is required to send the email to the sales person.
4. Here below is the email, I would like to receive:


If you find that interesting, keep reading for the technical details of it.

Pre-requisite
Please note that for this demo, I have used a Integration Object (Opportunity) based on Opportunity BO with having only 3 ICs configured: Opportunity, Opportunity Product and Quote. And include only those fields whose values are required in the final email, for eg: Oppty Name, Product Name, Net Price, Quote Name etc. (Please refer the first picture of this post, XML part)

Technical Solution
1. Call a Workflow (based on Opportunity BO) as soon as Opportunity gets submitted.
(Note: System will automatically pass the row_id of Opportunity to "Object Id" process property of the Workflow Process)
Here below is the WF snapshot.

2. Process Properties

3. Step Details:


Code for XSLTBuffer
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?><xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"><xsl:template match="/"><html><body><h2>You have got an Opportunity to act on:</h2><h4>Opportunity Name : <span style="color:#ff0000"><xsl:value-of select="ListOfOpportunity/Opportunity/Name"/></span></h4><h3>Here below are the Product Details:</h3><table border="1"><tr bgcolor="#9acd32"><th>Product</th><th>Quantity</th><th>Net Price</th><th>Revenue</th></tr><xsl:for-each select="ListOfOpportunity/Opportunity/ListOfOpportunityProduct/OpportunityProduct"><tr><td><xsl:value-of select="Product"/></td><td><xsl:value-of select="ProductQuantity"/></td><td><xsl:value-of select="ProductPrice"/></td><td><xsl:value-of select="Revenue"/></td></tr></xsl:for-each></table><h3>Here below are the Quote Details:</h3><table border="1"><tr bgcolor="#9acd32"><th>Quote Name</th><th>Revision</th><th>Status</th> </tr><xsl:for-each select="ListOfOpportunity/Opportunity/ListOfQuote2/Quote2"><tr><td><xsl:value-of select="Name2"/></td><td><xsl:value-of select="Revision"/></td><td><xsl:value-of select="Status"/></td></tr></xsl:for-each></table></body></html></xsl:template></xsl:stylesheet>

If you want to learn about XSLT more, then please refer the below link:
http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/

How to send Email in HTML Format?...... contd

In continuation of the previous post, I found another good way to achieve the requirement of sending email in HTML format and moreover you are required to replace the field values dynamically from business component. So the extra information you need to provide to Outbound Communication Manager is the ROW_ID of the record in context.

Suppose, here below is the Email Template need to send in HTML format:

Here below is the code to achieve it:

var inp = TheApplication().NewPropertySet();
var out = TheApplication().NewPropertySet();
var svc = TheApplication().GetService("Outbound Communications Manager");
inp.SetProperty("CommProfileOverride", "SiebelMantra Profile");
inp.SetProperty("SourceBusObj", "Service Request");
inp.SetProperty("RecipientBusComp", "Service Request");
inp.SetProperty("SourceIdList", "1-B9PGUA");
inp.SetProperty("TestAddress", "siebelmantra@gmail.com");
inp.SetProperty("PackageNameList", "Test");
svc.InvokeMethod("CreateRequest", inp, out);

Here below is the email with necessary SR Number and status:

Siebel makes life "dynamically" colorful, isn't it ;)

How to send Email in HTML Format?

If you get a requirement to send an email from Siebel, the very simple way is to make use of OOB business service, i.e "Outbound Communications Manager" with the method "SendMessage". Following input parameters would be enough for this purpose:

a) MsgToList
b) MsgSubject
c) MsgBody
d) CommProfile

Here below is the working example for the same:

var inp = TheApplication().NewPropertySet();
var out = TheApplication().NewPropertySet();
var svc = TheApplication().GetService("Outbound Communications Manager");
inp.SetProperty("CommProfile", "SiebelMantra Profile");
inp.SetProperty("MsgToList", siebelmantra@gmail.com);
inp.SetProperty("MsgSubject", "Test Email");
inp.SetProperty("MsgBody", "This is a test email");
svc.InvokeMethod("SendMessage", inp, out);

Here below is the email I received:

So, everything is working as desired, but what if you are required to send a HTML email which contains text with different colors and formatting? Well, one can quickly answer that you can use "MsgHTMLBody" argument in the above code instead of using "MsgBody". Yes, that is correct but the only it got is that you need to pass the complete HTML code as the value to this argument, but wait a minute why to take all this pain when Siebel provides a mechanism to keep the email template in HTML format for you and just need to create it from the UI. Yes, you guessed it right, I am talking about Administration - Communications -> All Templates view.

Just create a new Email Template with :
a) Status = Active
b) HTML Template = True

Now, here below is the small code to make this work:

var inp = TheApplication().NewPropertySet();
var out = TheApplication().NewPropertySet();
var svc = TheApplication().GetService("Inbound E-mail Database Operations");
inp.SetProperty("BusObj", "Comm Package");
inp.SetProperty("BusComp", "Comm Package");
inp.SetProperty("Name", "Test");
inp.SetProperty("QueryFields", "Name");
inp.SetProperty("ValueFields", "Template Text");
svc.InvokeMethod("FindRecord", inp, out);

var inp1 = TheApplication().NewPropertySet();
var out1 = TheApplication().NewPropertySet();
var svc1 = TheApplication().GetService("Outbound Communications Manager");
inp1.SetProperty("CommProfile", "SiebelMantra Profile");
inp1.SetProperty("MsgToList", siebelmantra@gmail.com);
inp1.SetProperty("MsgSubject", "Test Email");
inp1.SetProperty("MsgHTMLBody", out.GetProperty("Template Text"));
svc1.InvokeMethod("SendMessage", inp1, out1);

and when I executed the above code, here below is the email in HTML format I received in my Inbox:

Siebel makes life so colorful, isn't it ;)

Building Link as a Join??

The very first expression that any Siebelized person would have after reading the title of this post would be, "hey, what is that?? Join and Link are two different objects in Siebel. Join used for building 1-1 and M-1 relationship and link is being used for building 1-M and M-M relationship. So how come you can build a link via join??".......

I knowwww and I am there with you what you just thought and completely agree to this fact too :) but keep in mind you get functionalities working in Siebel by SQLs running in the background on the database and as far as you know how to play with the configuration to achieve desired results (provided it will not result in performance issue) you can do wonders.

Alrightyyyy then, lets see what I got for you today to let you know an interesting fact in Siebel Configuration that can be used to achieve some different kind of requirement. The requirement we got to implement was:

"Create the Account Screen, which has got various sub-tabs like Opportunities, Quote, Assets, Service Requests, Invoices. So this is a kind of Parent-child relationship which is available in Siebel vanilla, nothing new.



But we were asked to provide an ability to query on the Accounts header form applet with a) Opportunity Id b) Quote Id c) Asset Number d) Service Request# e) Invoice#. That means if I have an Asset Number with me and query it on Account form applet in some field, then system should return the corresponding Account record to which this Asset Number is associated with. Similarly for Invoice# and so on. You might be thinking why this ever be a requirement and for what purpose, can't we navigate to Assets screen for query the Asset Number and drilldown from there to Account Screen and similar for other entities? You are right, you can do that as well but in our requirement user want to have the ability to query in a single place. "

I think the requirement is clear now. The very first solution come to the mind can be achieved by following the below steps:

a. Create MVLs (which in-turn use some "Link") on Account business component.
b. "Use Primary Join" property of these MVLs should be "False".
c. Create MVFs for based on each MVL and expose on Account form applet.
d. Let the user query on any of the MVF and system will return the corresponding Account record.

This is very straightforward solution, but HUGE performance impact. When the view will get loaded, system will run (1 + (Number of MVFs)) queries for each account you will traverse on the UI. Lets try another good option here and create "Join" on the business component instead of "Link".

Here is below what I tried:

a) On Account business component, create following joins (as per the need)

i. Field Name: S_INVOICE
Source Field : ROW Id (Row_id of S_ORG_EXT)
Destination Column : ACCNT_ID (Foreign Key to S_ORG_EXT on S_INVOICE)
Alias : INVOICE

ii. Table Name: S_ASSET
Source Field : ROW Id (Row_Id of S_ORG_EXT)
Destination Column : OWNER_ACCNT_ID (Foreign Key to S_ORG_EXT on S_ASSET)
Alias : ASSET

iii. Table Name: S_OPTY
Source Field : ROW Id (Row_Id of S_ORG_EXT)
Destination Column : PR_DEPT_OU_ID (Foreign Key to S_ORG_EXT on S_OPTY)
Alias : OPTY

b) Now create corresponding join fields:

i. Field Name : Invoice Number
Join : INVOICE
Column : INVC_NUM

ii. Field Name : Asset Number
Join : ASSET
Column : ASSET_NUM

iii. Field Name : Opty Id
Join : OPTY
Column : OPTY_ID

c) Expose the fields on the UI and query for any Invoice#, Asset#, OptyId on the Account form applet and system will bring the Account record for you.

Let's see how it is working on the UI. I queried for Invoice# = "410194-13385102"




and now let's navigate to "All Invoices" view to see if system has returned the right Account or not. And yessss, this is the right account, I can see the Invoice#.




You can try it at your end and the best part is, if you see the SQL spool generated by the system, you will find that only single query is returning the data, not likely the case with MVFs, and there is no performance issue at all.

Purging Vs Deleting Workflow Process Instances

This is one of the important information you might be interested in, if you frequently debug a Workflow Process at run-time by increasing the Monitoring Level under "Administration - Business Process -> Workflow Deployment" view.

Whenever you increased the Monitoring Level to "4-Debug", system starts capturing the WF steps details along with the each Process Property at each step, to give a better picture of what has exactly happened at each step and it is very helpful for debug purpose. You can see all Run-time degugging details in "Administration - Business Process -> Workflow Instance Monitor" view.

"Process Instances" gives you all the Workflow Instances run once the Monitoring Level has been increased. It all tells the currently running WF Step.

"Step Instances" captures the details of each step along with its start and end time.

"Process Properties" captures the value of each process property in each WF step.

Though this information is useful but it is a good practice to decreased the log level back to "0-None", once you are done with debugging and also the most important thing you should do is "Purge" all the Workflow Process Instances. Navigate to "Administration Business Process -> Workflow Instance Monitor -> Process Instances", query for the workflow process and click "Purge".

Now, why I am saying this last step of purging these records as "very important"?

Let me tell me what actually happened when I was debugging one of the workflow issue. I increased the monitoring level to 4 for debugging purpose and that workflow was having around 30 workflow steps and around 50 process properties. Additionally, this workflow runs on the child activities (average number around 50) of the Service Request. So you try calculate the number of process property instances record (in S_WFA_STPRP_LOG), system will create in a single workflow run = 30 x 50 x 50 = 75000. Big number isn't it?? So if I debug this workflow few number of times, the number of records will be really huge. But remember, as far as you are purging the records after debugging finishes, then no issues, but if you don't then these records will pile up and some day your database size will run short out of physical space.
So what actually happened was, I made few changes in the workflow and deployed again. Went to "Administration Business Process -> Workflow Deployment" and queried the workflow process and hit "Activate". In the below "child items" applet, system creates a new version of the workflow process with Deployment Status = Active and the older record becomes gets its status = Inactive. So I thought this record is Inactive, let me delete this old instance. I did that few number of times and never realizes that it will just delete this record from "S_WFA_DPLOY_DEF" table and its corresponding child records in "S_WFA_STPRP_LOG" table will keep sitting there. And there is no way you can "Purge" these records from the UI using "Purge" button because the parent record has been deleted earlier.

So it end up having millions of records in this table without parent record and later we realized the database is running short of physical memory and when I checked for the tables in the database which all having huge number of records, we found "S_WFA_STPRP_LOG" table was leading the race. I did the clean-up of the child records via running some SQLs in the database by finding the orphan records in "S_WFA_STPRP_LOG" and learned the lesson using "Purge" button after completing the debugging.

Hope this will also help you in future.

Top 10 Out of the box features in Siebel !

It is a great feeling that one can have if he keep listening some good things from the users for which you are building the product/application. I have observed so many times the reaction of the users during the Siebel demo when they keep saying, "I just love this application :) ".

The best part is that Siebel has got so many OOB features in place which comes with the product bundle and user can just directly start using it without any customization which make the application more easy to use and provide value add from business process perspective.

Here below are top 10 OOB features most voted by our application users:

1. Placing columns in any list applet in any order as per your requirement.

2. Sorting feature on the list applet. Just one click and the data is sorted in ascending and another click for descending.

3. Siebel Landing Page. Users can select Siebel Landing Page and system will directly take the user to the view of his/her choice once logged into the application.

4. Changing Screen/Views tab order as per the need. On the fly user can go to User Preferences and set the order whatever they like.

5. Changing the timezone. This feature is Sales people's favourite. They keep travelling around the states/countries and depending upon the location, they can change the timezone and Siebel will automatically adjust the created date / last updated date of records automatically if want to do About Record.

6. Predefined queries. Managers just love this feature as it helps them to see the data that they want to see regularly. For Eg: Eastern zone manager want to see all opportunities where Region = Eastern and Amount > 10,000. And the best part is predefined query will be visible to you, if you are the owner (Private) or it is Public.

7. Export from List Applet. Again this feature is most likely used by managers as it solves half of the reporting requirements in the application. Query the data as per the need and take the CSV export to play around with it and help taking management decisions accordingly.

8. Drag and Drop attachments. Any call centre guy would love it, just take any file from your local machine and drag n drop the document on any attachment applet. It really saves times and if user want to see the attached file it automatically opens it on its native format.

9. Record Count. Users of the application generally don't have access to the database. Record count feature on any applet would help them finding the number of records they have queried upon.

10. Last but not the least, F9/Ctrl+F9 for sending email/fax. After just one button click, you can communicate with the customers from the application itself where system will automatically pick the contact email address and you use the predefined communication templates as the email body.


I have some more in the list but I think top 10 have been mentioned above. Let me know if you think of any other OOB features that Siebel provides and which you think really liked by your application users.

Debugging Siebel eMail Response !!

In our Siebel application, we are using OOB functionality for creating Service Requests via emails, and yes I think you guessed it right we are using Siebel eMail Response workflows which are available in Siebel Tools and you just need to configure them as per your need and these works really well.

(For people who are new to this subject, to find these workflows you need to query in Siebel tools as "eMail Response*", and if you want to learn configure these, just follow the simple steps given in Communications Server Administration Guide)

I really like this OOB feature of Siebel as it works like a magic: user sends an email to Siebel email box whichever you have configured, Response Group keeps monitoring that and whenever see a new email just picks it up, delete it from the email box and invoke the Siebel Workflow. Now from here you can do anything what any workflow in Siebel is capable of doing, design your workflow as per the requirement and you are done.

Pretty simple isn't it, but sometimes it tough to debug it if you land-up in some issue here. I was working on the similar kind of requirement where everything seems working fine but the only problem was: "Response Group was not able to pick the email from Siebel email box".

Response Group only job is to just pick the email and create a MIME format file in "<_siebsrvr>/bin/incoming" folder and passes it as an input argument to eMail Response workflow, but since Response Group was not able to pick the email, so I thought of confirming whether it is reaching to the Siebel emailbox or not, so I logged into webmail client and found all emails keep lying there only.

Since I was able to see all the emails and I have also verified the username/password being used for the email profile in Siebel was correct, that means there is some problem with the POP3 setting of the emailbox. So to check it what you can do is :

a) Get the POP3 server name / username / password for the emailbox which is being monitored by reponse group. (You can find it in "Administration - Communications -> Communications Drivers and Profiles" view by querying for the communication drivers as "Internet SMTP/POP3 Server" and check the name in "Profile Parameter overrides" applet).

b) Click Start -> Run -> type "telnet <_servername> pop3", hit enter.

c) In Telnet window, type "USER <_username>" (without quotes)
if you see +OK, that means username is correct.

d) Type "PASS <_password>" (without quotes)
if you see +OK, that means password is correct.

But I recieved an error message saying "Unknown username or bad password"

So this is something we can't control from Siebel, I checked with the Server administration team who handles all the email servers and they fixed the issue for POP3 settings on the email box and tried the above steps again and this time no error.
[Server admin people really likes to resolve the issue when you go to them with the exact root cause ;) ]

One more reason I can think of for such a behaviour when you have not clicked on "Submit Response Group Changes" for the Response group monitoring the emailbox.

.

Refreshing a record in Siebel applet - Possible ways !!

Sometimes it happens you clicks on a button on an applet which is supposed to do some modification on the current record but you get an error saying : The selected record has been modified by another user. This happens when the same record has been updated into the database (by another user or some other process like Workflow, EAI etc) and system is trying to update the old context of record on the UI. So the better way to get the updated copy of the record by refreshing it and then do any modifications. But the bottom line is you should not loose the context of the current record, so if you are thinking of using ClearToQuery() and ExecuteQuery(), it will not solve the purpose here.

There are few possible ways by which you can refresh a record on the UI, without loosing the context of the current record, depending upon the requirement you can take the decision which one to use.

1. RefreshRecord : Business Component Method

This is a method available on Business Component which are derived from CSSBCBase class. Here is how you can use it, if writing code in PreInvokeMethod of applet :

if (MethodName == "MyMethod")

{

this.BusComp().InvokeMethod("RefreshRecord");
...............................................

}

This method will just refresh the highlighed record on the UI.

2. RefreshBusComp : Business Component Method

This is similar to RefreshRecord method available on Business Component which are derived from CSSBCBase class. The only difference is that it will refresh all the records in the current query context :

if (MethodName == "MyMethod")
{

this.BusComp().InvokeMethod("RefreshBusComp");
...............................................

}

3. FINS Teller UI Navigation : Business Service

Unlike RefreshRecord and RefreshBusComp, this business service can be used for refreshing any applet/buscomp, no matter which class it has been derived from. The method need to use is "RefreshCurrentApplet".

if(MethodName == "MyMethod")

{

TheApplication().GetService("FINS Teller UI Navigation").InvokeMethod("RefreshCurrentApplet", TheApplication().NewPropertySet(), TheApplication().NewPropertySet());

}

.

Automating Siebel SRF Full Compile process!!!

One of most boring and mechanical task for Siebel Administrators is to do a Full Compile of SRF from Siebel Tools connected to Server Siebel Repository and put it onto the Siebel Server whenever Development team ask to do so.

Here is atleast we can make a process in which Admin guy doesn't require to open Siebel Tools with Server database and do a Full Compile. This can be automated, just follow the below steps :

1. Copy paste the below lines of command into a text file and save it in .bat file lets say : FullCompile.bat

D:\Siebel\8.1\Tools_1\BIN\siebdev.exe /c D:\Siebel\8.1\Tools_1\bin\enu\siebel.cfg /d ServerDataSrc /u <_username> /p <_password> /bc "Siebel Repository" D:\Siebel\8.1\Client_1\OBJECTS\ENU\DailyFullCompileSRF.srf

exit

2. You can change the location of Siebel Tools / Client directory in the above command, as per your requirement. Also the Username and Password.

3. Create a Windows Scheduled Task to run this .bat file on the daily basis. I have set the time for scheduled task as everyday 7AM morning, and I see the newly compiled SRF ready once I reach office :) . SRF name : DailyFullCompileSRF.srf.

I am not sure whether this works in Unix env via creating a cron job, if somebody has tried that please share your experience.

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Siebel LOV data mystery in 8.x !!!

I was working on one requirement in which there was a need to have two LOV record with same Display Values but different Language-Independent Code (LIC). If you have came across this kind of requirement earlier then you must be knowing that we can create two LOV records with same Display Value / LIC via providing some different value in "Sub Type" field. This is due to that fact that we have two indexes (User Keys) defined on "S_LST_OF_VAL" table, i.e. S_LST_OF_VAL_U1 & S_LST_OF_VAL_U2.

So, I went to "Application -> Administration - Data -> List of Values" view and tried creating the LOV records. Here is data I needed :

And here is what I got when I tried saving the second record.

Found another LOV record with the same display value but different language independent code 'First'. (SBL-SVC-52160)

Surprise !!!! I have specify the different Sub Type and still I am getting this error.

Now it seems that you cannot create two LOV records with the same Display Value. I checked it into metalink and found the same that you cannot do this if you are working in 8.x. I remember we used to create these kind of LOV records in 7.7 and 7.8. And the reason what Siebel says behind this behaviour is that LookupValue() and LookupName() function will return unique value.

Anyways, but this is what my requirement and I need to have these LOV records created, and as per the analysis I did with the user key indexes of S_LST_OF_VAL table, we can have it in database. So here below is way you can create the two LOV records with same Display Value :

"Instead of Copying the LOV record, if you create each record by clicking "New" button and specify different Sub Type then Siebel allows you to create." (May be a loophole what metalink says but this is how I created the two records)

I don't know why is behaving this way and this is what I observed. Anyways I got what I want to achieve. And this is FYI, when I used LookupName() function in Calc Field, it was returning the value of first record. i.e. LookupName("Test", "SiebelMantra") = First.

Your comments are welcome in case you see problem earlier and used some different workarounds.

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Apply / Activate make Siebel Tools hang ??

Something strange happened with me today and it seems to be a issue with the Siebel Tools that whenever I tried "Apply/Activate" a table into my Siebel Local Database, Tools gets hanged. Frustration !!! I can not continue with my work as I need to add a new field into the business component and see it on the UI.

Checked the support web for this kind of behaviour and found that during "Apply/Activate" Siebel create a table with name "D_U_M_M_Y" into the local database and we need to drop that table from local database before doing any more "Apply/Activate".

I tried connecting to the Local Database via DBISQLC and ran the below query :
select * from siebel.D_U_M_M_Y

but I got the error saying "Table siebel.D_U_M_M_Y not found".
So not able to find the correct resolution as of now.

So, the only workaround I can think of is applying the physical database changes manually. Here is below I did:

1. I need to add one column in S_EVT_ACT_X table of Varchar2(15 Char).
2. Added the column in Siebel Tools under S_EVT_ACT_X table.
3. Ran the following command in DBISQLC (after connecting to the local database) :

alter table S_EVT_ACT_X
add NEWCOLUMN VARCHAR(15)

This way I achieved what I was trying to do. There is something more of it I would like to tell you here which might be useful in case you want to apply/activate a complete new customized table.

Consider a scenario, one of your colleague (Siebel Developer) has created a new Customized table for some requirement and put in his changes into the Siebel Database and now you to have that table available into your local database as well. You can "GET" the project to see the logical schema for the table into the Local Database but the problem is "Apply/Activate" is not working. So here is one workaround I can suggest :

1. Get the DDL for the table via connecting Oracle SQL Developer or TOAD or any other database client you use.
2. Open DBISQLC and run the "Create Table" command (some modifications needs to apply before running the query)

Here below is the example that might be helpful for the modifications required :
I got the below DDL for one of the table :

CREATE TABLE "SIEBEL"."CX_NEW_TABLE"
( "ROW_ID" VARCHAR2(15 CHAR) NOT NULL ENABLE,
"CREATED" DATE DEFAULT sysdate NOT NULL ENABLE,
"CREATED_BY" VARCHAR2(15 CHAR) NOT NULL ENABLE,
"LAST_UPD" DATE DEFAULT sysdate NOT NULL ENABLE,
"LAST_UPD_BY" VARCHAR2(15 CHAR) NOT NULL ENABLE,
"MODIFICATION_NUM" NUMBER(10,0) DEFAULT 0 NOT NULL ENABLE,
"CONFLICT_ID" VARCHAR2(15 CHAR) DEFAULT '0' NOT NULL ENABLE,
"NEWCOLUMN1" DATE, "NEWCOLUMN2" CHAR(1 CHAR),
"NEWCOLUMN3" VARCHAR2(250 CHAR),
"NEWCOLUMN4" VARCHAR2(50 CHAR),
)

but if you try running this query directly into DBISQLX you might get errors. So below are the changes required :

a) Replace VARCHAR2(15 Char) to VARCHAR(15)
b) Replace CHAR(1 CHAR) to CHAR
c) Replace Number(10,0) to Integer
d) Replace sysdate to getdate()
e) Remove "Enable" from the query.

Finally the new query will look like :

CREATE TABLE "SIEBEL"."CX_NEW_TABLE"
( "ROW_ID" varchar(15) NOT NULL,
"CREATED" DATE DEFAULT getdate() NOT NULL,
"CREATED_BY" varchar(15) NOT NULL ,
"LAST_UPD" DATE DEFAULT getdate() NOT NULL ,
"LAST_UPD_BY" varchar(15) NOT NULL ,
"MODIFICATION_NUM" Integer DEFAULT 0 NOT NULL ,
"CONFLICT_ID" varchar(15) DEFAULT '0' NOT NULL,
"NEW COLUMN 1" DATE, "NEW COLUMN 2" CHARACTER,
"NEW COLUMN 3" varchar(250),
"NEW COLUMN 4" varchar(50),
)

After making all the changes mentioned above run the query in DBISQLC and it works fine.
As I already mentioned this is just a workaround that I can think of, if you have some better idea for this, please let me know as well :). Your comments are most welcome !!
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How to Change the Oracle/Siebel Logo in Client application?

Whenever you do a fresh Siebel Implementation, your client (for whom you are developing the application) may ask to change the Siebel/Oracle Logo displayed on the upper right corner in the application. Well, everybody wants to flaunt the name :)


Alright then, lets see how we can do that.

1. Open the client cfg file to check which application you are using. You can find "ApplicationName" parameter under [Siebel] section. I am using "Siebel Financial Services".
2. Go to Siebel Tools -> Object Explorer -> Application, query for your application name.
3. Scroll to right side to the view and you will see Container Web Page. I can see the value : "FINS Container Page".
4. Copy the container web page name and query in Object Explorer->Web Page. Scroll to right to see the Web Template name it is using. I can see : "FINS Page Container"
5. Copy the web template name and query in Object Explorer->Web Template. Click on the plus (+) sign to open the "Web Template File" and check for the File Name. I can see : "FINSPageContainer.swt"
6. So, now you know the SWT file which is actually responsible for giving you a layout what you see when Siebel client opens.
7. Go to \Client\WebTempl folder and search for the SWT file and open it.
8. You will find various sections inside it and the same set of SWT files is getting repeated again and again. The SWT file responsible for rendering the Logo is banner swt which is "CCFrameBanner.swt".
9. Go to \Client\WebTempl folder and search for the CCFrameBanner.swt file and open it.
10. Search for "www", you may find "www.oracle.com" OR "www.siebel.com" depending upon which Siebel version you are using. This is the URL that get invoked once you click on Logo in the application. It has been changed to "www.oracle.com" after Oracle bought Siebel.
11. You will see the Image Name = "POWERED_BY" and Category = "HTML Control Icons", this is actually the name of Bitmap and Bitmap Category respectively.
12. So, navigate to Object "Explorer->Bitmap Category" and query for "HTML Control Icons", expand the bitmap category to see Bitmaps and query for "POWERED_BY".
13. And finally you can see the file which is being displayed as the Logo. I can see the filename as "ebus.gif". So this is the file that I need to replace with the file which contains my logo.
14. You can find this file in "\Client\PUBLIC\enu\IMAGES". Just change the file name to something else to keep the backup and put your new file as "ebus.gif".

hhhhooooo.... finally you are done. Just refresh the screen or restart the session after deleting all cookies and you will see your desired logo on the UI.


ENjoyyyy !!!

Vanilla Views not visible in Local Dedicated Client

One of my colleague got his new Local database extracted and when he tried connecting to the Local Database via dedicated client, found that lot many views are not visible on the UI. Just to double check, he also confirmed from one another colleague who also got his new database and same problem was there with his dedciated client as well.

Now few more things I asked him to confirm :

1. Connect to Thin-Client and check whether the views are visible : Yes, views are visible in the thin-client.

2. Connect to Server Database via dedicated client and check whether the views are visible. Yes, views are visible via Server dedicated client.

This problem occurs when : "User is possessing any one of the responsibility associated with the view and having "Local Access" flag unchecked."

Solution :
Being a developer, you should have access to all the views, so better to have visibility for all the views instead of findings specific views which are not visible and fixing those.

1. Open "DBISQLC.exe" and connect to the Local Database.
2. Run the following command :
a) update siebel.S_APP_VIEW_RESP
set LOCAL_ACCESS_FLG = 'Y'

b) Commit

3. Restart the dedicated session and you should see all the views on the UI.

Hope this helps.

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Siebel @ Youtube........ Enjoy !!!!!!!!

Here is some important information for all of you and I don't think much of the Siebel guys know this, but there are some useful links of youtube which provides some unique capabilities of Siebel new versions. And the best part is these are Vedios available on youtube, we can actually see and observe the Siebel OOB capabilities and provide some good solutions for the customers.

Here you are :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyVzFSgXPhU

ENjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!

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