WorkSite Web team needs dev feedback: client menus

I would like feedback on developer experiences when customizing menus in WorkSite Web. Tell me all about the pains you've endured and what would be on your wishlist for improving menu customization. NOTE: I'd like to keep this topic focused on menu customizations. I will be soliciting feedback in other customization areas in the near future.

Before I ask about your experiences, I'd like to give a quick overview of how menus function in WSW. There are two pieces involved: business logic in the iManage.WorkSite.Web.UI assembly and client-side JavaScript (ClientMenus.js) that uses the server-side business logic to build the menu.

When a user clicks on an Action button, we use AJAX to go to the server-side to determine a user's access to the object. Based on business logic in iManage.WorkSite.Web.UI, we build a client-side object called "pObj" that contains access information and send it back to the client-side JavaScript. Inside ClientMenus.js, the pObj properties are used to add menu items. For example, a user will only see the Import menu command on a folder Action button if pObj.canImport and pObj.canAddDoc are true.

Now it's your turn. Here are some things that keep me up at night (detailed responses are greatly appreciated):

What have you done to customize menus: hide menu options, change captions, redirect to different ASPX pages, etc.?
Do you find our current customization approach difficult?
Do you find upgrades painful?
Have you ever had the need to modify the business logic in the assembly iManage.WorkSite.Web.UI? If so, please provide details why this was necessary.
Have you ever had the need to modify the CSS styles?
Did you even know you could customize menus?!
Did you know that there's documentation on customizing menus and their CSS styles?!

Thanks in advance for your help,
dabird

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

MattDunn

5. Have you ever had the need to modify the CSS styles?
6. Did you even know you could customize menus?!
7. Did you know that there's documentation on customizing menus and their CSS styles?!

yes!
I guess, where's the documentation?
No! Where's the documentation and sample code, please.

Thanks,

Matt
DHS/ICE
govt. systems

Rooose

Hi,

1. We've added a sub menu containing various options
2. Very easy - well documented (once i located the document Smiley Happy

)
3. Not upgraded as yet
4. No
5. No
6. I did
7. Yes

Im just in the early stages of menu customisation and noticed that when i've added my new sub menu option the toolbar nicely represents this too. However when i select the button the options appear but are not selectable - just appear as a 'tooltip'. Is this something i'm doing wrong? a bug? can the toolbar button be excluded without remove the customisation from the menu?

Hope this helps
RW

dabird

Thanks, Rooose, for your detailed response. We usually hear about end-user enhancement requests. Rarely do developers speak up about the product's customization shortcomings.

As for your toolbar problem, I'll need more details on this. First, what menu are you customizing? Second, what code are you putting into the menu and where specifically are you putting the code (i.e., in the document menu between Checkout and Checkin commands)? Third, where is the toolbar showing up (in a SharePoint webpart, in a custom ASPX page where you're using the web control, etc.). Lastly, what version? If I recall correctly, you're using 8.2.

MattDunn, see KB article 54971, WorkSite Web Customization Guide, on IWOV's Support Site. You can modify the profile rendering, the CSS styles, create custom themes, and more. There's also another document that details the CSS styles. Off hand I don't have that article number, but if you search the support site for "CSS" and WorkSite Web, you should be able to find it.

To everyone else: If you're uncomfortable providing details of menu customization due to trade secrets, feel free to send me a personal message through the forum. I really interested in getting feedback.

Regards,
dabird

Migrateduser

Hi dabird, I'm not an expert web developer, but I will send you some things we have succeed in our customers worksite webs.

1.- Yes, we have hidden menu options, but in the easiest way...commenting js code in clientmenu.js, we also changed captions (resource), and we have tried to redirect to another aspx page without success, maybe you can help us here..., we have also made the normal customization activities playing with the css files and hidding some parts in the tab.js.

2.- Regarding look&feel it is not difficutl and it is well documented with the customization guide, however customization in js...a bit, but we assume this is completly logical..it is a back door.

3.- The only upgrade which has pain was form 8.0 to 81, but all of you knows why, the rest is not very painful, if you know which js you have modified you only have to overwrite the clean ones from your dev enviroment to your production server installation. And also copy your custom theme folder.

4.- No

5.- Indeed, all of our customers in Spain wants to get their corporate colors, logo, font-style,etc...

6.- I was not sure, it begin as an investigation, but regarding this point, I'm not getting too much success....

7.- I have seen css, but in the other is it included for menus????? I have to review!

Hope our sort experience helps, cheers
Javi

Falkayn

dabird,

We have customised much of WorkSite web, but little of the menus.

1. We have hidden some menu options (send document etc) that our business users did not want. We have also considered hiding some like Views as HTML, that don't seem to work.

2. No, but it would be nicer to specify this stuff on the back-end (i.e. DMS or config files). From a security viewpoint the .js code is a bit of a nightmare.

3. Haven't done one yet. We started on 8.2.

4. AFAIK we can't modify that logic, so we've never considered it.

5. Yes, we have extensively re-designed the general WorkSite Web style and added some minor customised Styles for WorkSpaces.

6. Yes.

7. Yes, it was 'sort of' useful.