Setup IFS Connect

IFS Connect configuration parameters are those basic data that are defined in setting up connector readers, connector senders, etc. This page describe different types of those parameters, how those parameters can be set, how to export/import configuration data, etc.

Contents

Overview

Configuration data is structured into configuration areas, configuration groups, configuration instances and parameters of those instances. Setup IFS Connect will open up the feature that allows us to edit these connect configuration parameters.

Configuration groups

Configuration group is a set of configuration instances. Integration area has the following groups:

Static and non static instances

Configuration instances can be divided into two main types, Static Instances and Non Static Instances. Static instances cannot be duplicated, deleted or renamed. They will be created during system initialization. They will be indicate by Gray color, e.g. DEFAULT queue, NOTIFICATIONS queue, ERROR queue, J2EE_SERVER server etc.
All other non static instances can be duplicated, renamed, removed and there can exist more than one instance of the same type.

Write protected parameters

Configuration Instances can have two types of parameters. Editable and Write Protected. Each Write Protected parameter will be shown in Gray. e.g. FACTORY_CLASS parameter for custom readers and senders or MEDIA_CODE for PROCESSING_ITS task template.

How to read the help text

Help text for each parameter is given in the tool tip of the parameter value field. You can keep you mouse pointer on the parameter value field to get the help text of a parameter.

How to edit a parameter

As mentioned above you can't edit Write Protected parameters. To edit other parameters of an instance select the configuration instance. When editing a parameter the instance will be marked as edited. Use the Save feature toolbar button and save changes.

Handling of default values

With exception of password fields (with values presented as a series of star characters) and binary parameters, all other parameters can have their default values (which can be null). If a value of a particular parameter differ from its default, an icon will be shown to the right of the field. Pressing the icon will change the value to default and the icon will disappear.

How to work with binary parameters

For Envelopes and Transformers it is possible to import/export the envelope or transformer file as binary data. You can import a new file as binary or export a saved binary file to the disk.

To import:


Load link will open up a file dialogue allowing you to select the file to load as the configuration parameters binary data.

To export:


Save link will open up a file dialogue which allows you to save the binary data in the parameter as a file.

Furthermore binary parameters are flagged with a check box labeled Customized. Many transformers and envelopes are supplied by IFS. An unmodified transformer or envelope has its Customized flag unchecked, which makes it possible to override it with a new version on system upgrade on patch delivery. But transformers and envelopes can be modified by the customer. In such case it is probably not eligible to override the value. Therefore the Customized flag is automatically set on any modification preventing the value from being update.

It is however possible to toggle the flag. It can be done manually when the check box modification is the only change performed on a binary value on a single save, i.e. no other data has to be modified at the same time, otherwise the flag will be automatically set again.

Note: On upgrade from IFS Applications 9 or earlier, where the Customized flag was not present, the flag for all binary values is remained unset making it possible to update even modified values. This is because of backward compatibility. It is impossible to determinate if a value has been customized or not, but the installation/upgrade process in earlier versions of IFS Applications has always overridden the current value. For customized values the flag has to be set manually to prevent them from being overridden.

How to work with grid parameters

Task Templates and Servers nodes contain parameters with data shown in a grid.

You can add and delete rows in the grid and modifie values. Some grid columns can present list of available values in a drop-down list.

How to create a new configuration parameter instance

New

To create a new instance select a group item or a particular instance and press the New feature toolbar button or choose New from the RMB menu. A dialog box will appear:

Area Name and Group Name are filled in depending on the focused item when selecting New. Just enter the instance name and choose an instance type from the drop down list. The list is populated with all possible instance types available for the actual group. Press OK and the new instance with default values of all parameters will be created for you. Just edit the necessary parameters and save the instance.

Duplicate

New configuration instances can also be created by duplicating existing ones. To duplicate an instance select the instance first and use either RMB Duplicate or Duplicate feature toolbar button.

Note: You cannot duplicate static configurations like ERROR, NOTIFICATIONS, TRASHCAN in Message Queues.

Rename the duplicated instance, edit the parameters there and save by clicking the Save feature toolbar button to create the new instance.

How to remove a configuration parameter instance

To remove a configuration, select the instance and click Delete feature tool bar button. The item will be marked as removed. Use the Save feature toolbar button to commit removal.

Note: Static configuration instances are not possible to remove.

How to export/import configuration

Export the whole Configuration Area

To export a configuration area, select Export Configuration from RMB menu on the area level. The result will be saved in XML format.

Export a separate Configuration Instance

To export a configuration instance, select the required instance and use RMB Export Instance. In the Save Configuration dialog you can choose file type, which can be either XML or INS. Exported XML files can be imported using the Setup IFS Connect feature, while the INS files can be used during the database installation procedure.

Import configuration

To import an XML file with configuration data, use RMB Import Configuration at configuration area level, e.g. Integration, of the configuration tree. You can import an XML file containing the entire Area or a single instance. The menu has three sub-menus that affect how the import is performed:

Depending on the mode above parameters can be overridden with exception of read-only parameters. Parameters with empty values or values equal default will be removed and will get their default values from Meta data. Only parameters with the Meta data defined will be processed, all other parameters will be ignored.

The import will not automatically save the changes, so it is possible to examine all the changes before deciding to save the data or not.

Note: The import functionality has a limited backward compatibility with export files created by previous versions of IFS Applications. Only files containing single instances of transformers, envelopes or message queues are supported.