InfoCenter Home > 6.6.0.5: Using the Application Assembly Tool interfaceThe Application Assembly Tool interface includes the following:
The main Application Assembly Tool window consists of two panes: the navigation pane on the left and the property-editing pane on the right. The navigation pane provides a view of the contents of the module being created or edited. The property-editing pane displays property dialog boxes for the component or property group selected in the opposite pane.
When the property pane is disabled, its contents are dependent on the item that is selected in the navigation pane, as follows:
The property pane can be disabled by clicking View->Show Property Pane to toggle the selection. You can adjust the width of the panes by dragging the split bar left or right. In the property-editing pane, you can also adjust the width of the columns of properties by dragging the edge of the column left or right. The navigation paneThe navigation pane displays contents and associated assembly properties in an indented tree outline. The tree hierarchy for an application (EAR file) is as follows:
Clicking the plus (+) and minus (-) symbols (or double-clicking an item) expands and collapses the tree to reveal the content of each folder or icon. The tree can also be navigated by using the up- and down-arrow keys to move through the branches and leaves and the left- and right-arrow keys to expand and collapse the tree. Folders and icons can be expanded to reveal their contents. For example, when the Web Modules folder is expanded, the individual Web applications (WAR files) contained in the module are revealed. When the icon for a Web application is expanded, icons for the Web components (servlets or JSP files), assembly properties, and individual files in the application are revealed. In a J2EE application, the first level of the hierarchy is the display name of the application. The second level consists of folders, one for each type of module in the application and one for the security properties that apply to the application as a whole. Beneath each folder representing a type of module, the module's components are listed. For example, beneath the EJB modules folder, icons represent the individual JAR files in the module. Beneath the JAR file, icons represent session beans, entity beans, assembly properties, and files in the JAR. Clicking the icon for entity beans reveals all entity bean instances in the module. Expanding an entity bean instance reveals icons for various categories of properties for the bean. Clicking an item (an archive file, enterprise bean instance, or property icon, for example) in the navigation pane causes its corresponding property dialog box to be displayed in the property pane (if properties have been set). The property dialog boxesThe property dialog boxes allow you to define the contents of a new module, make modifications to an existing module, or duplicate a module in full or in part by cutting and pasting archive files and property values. This method is especially useful for assembling multiple modules with similar contents. Using a property dialog box also provides access to the complete listing of properties, whereas the wizards expose only the minimum required and more-frequently used properties that must be defined for the module. Default values are used where applicable. On the property dialog box, the fields for required properties have a red asterisk (*) next to them. When using the property dialog box, you can access help for any of the properties or examine the definitions of the default properties already provided. A property dialog box is used to enter, view, or modify values. Each property dialog box contains one or more of the following tabs. Clicking a tab opens a window containing a group of properties. Note that not all tabs are present for all property groups.
The wizardsThe wizards allow you to quickly create a module with the minimum required information. Using wizards is ideal for testing and prototyping purposes. If you wish to specify additional properties for your module, such as extensions and binding information, use the property dialog boxes. (After using a wizard, you can continue to edit the properties of a module or add new properties; this is done by using the property dialog boxes.) The property dialog boxes allow you to specify values for all properties, whereas the wizards prompt you to specify required properties and other more frequently used properties. On wizards, the fields for required properties have a red asterisk next to them. When using the wizards, you can access help for any of the properties or examine the definitions of the default properties already provided. |
| ||
|