Customers can now create customized chart and reports in Focal Point® using the plug-in features. These plug-ins can be created using any of the freely available Javascript libraries and can be uploaded into Focal Point®. Plug-ins uploaded into Focal Point® can be later displayed in view containers or in homepage containers.
The implementation also provides a Javascript API. Customers can use the API methods to retrieve the DAO object which will return attributes and common information regarding the view on which the plug-in is invoked. The API also provides methods to initiate REST calls to the Focal Point® server and retrieve data in JSON format. Another API method provides the ability to store/retrieve user preferences and settings.
Deployment of a custom plug-in involves the following steps:
1 Go to Administration > Application > Plugin page. Click on Add Plugin. Download the sample chart policy file. This .zip file contains many plug-in examples created using some of the freely available Javascript chart libraries. It also contains a readme document.
2 Select a sample plug-in. You can create your own plug-in code by altering the existing plug-in code. Use the Add Plugin page to upload the plug-in you have created (or you can upload the same plug-in without changes). Make sure that you have selected the correct value for the plug-in type (homepage or view) and provided the correct value for the javascript module policy id.
3 After the plug-in is successfully uploaded, it will be displayed under Administration > Application > Plugin page.
4 To add this plug-in to homepages, open any workspace and select the HomePage settings option under User menu. Click on Add Window and select Chart as the home page type. In the new page displayed, you can select the plug-in that you want to display in the home page container.
5 To add this plug-in to a view, open the workspace and open the Configure > View page. Select the view from the tree display and edit the View Definition attribute. You can add the desired plug-in to this view by going into the View settings page.
6 To add this plug-in to an attribute, use the standard business rule ChartPlugin. This business rule should be set on a text attribute. The id of the chart plug-in and the view on which it operates need to be set as arguments to the business.