SiebelSupport

Oracle Database XE replaces Siebel SQL Anywhere for the local database

2015-10-28T18:08:00.000-04:00

As of September 30, 2015, Oracle’s Siebel Innovation Pack 2015 release no longer includes SAP SQL Anywhere for the local database for Siebel Remote (Mobile Web Client) or for Siebel Tools, or for the sample database for Mobile Web Client.

As a result, Siebel Tools, Siebel Remote and Sample DB are currently not available for download off of eDelivery. Siebel Tools and the Oracle XE version of Sample DB will be available in 15.5.

Siebel Remote will support Oracle XE as a Local DB in IP2016 where Oracle Database XE will be the only supported Local DB and Sample DB.

What does this mean for existing customers?

Existing customers upgrading to IP2015 (15.0) or a 15.x PatchSet should not be impacted and can continue to use SAP SQL Anywhere until September 2020. Customers will need to file a Service Request to get access on MyOracle Support to the 15.0 installers that include the SQL Anywhere Sample DB.

What does this mean for new customers?

New customers starting from September 30th, 2015 or later will only be able to use Oracle Database XE for their Local DB and Sample DB. Please find the associated release notes here: Doc ID: 1996273.1

Improved database

Replacement of the file based database with Oracle Database XE results into a more scalable and efficient solution with better performance
Oracle XE installation is integrated with Siebel Tools and Siebel Mobile Web Client Installation
Supported Version 11gR2 32 and 64 bit
Use of a native Oracle product, therefore no 3rd party software dependency resulting in improved future innovation, updates and maintenance process

Innovation Pack 2016

2015-09-15T18:09:00.002-04:00

The Innovation Pack 2016 is built around core themes that provide a cohesive product experience. The primary themes are described below:

Business Agility

Agile – The Siebel CRM application is now easier than ever to maintain and update. This continued focus enables enterprises to adapt to business challenges quicker than ever and our goal is to continue to reduce application downtime, providing the ability to make changes to the application in real-time. For end users Siebel CRM requires only a browser and credentials. No matter where Siebel is hosted it is secure on any browser, device on the internet or intranet.

Open UI – The Siebel CRM Open UI framework provides the flexibility to design and deploy the application to be specific to your business and customer needs. The ability to deploy the application across a broad variety of browsers and devices on an open and flexible technology stack saves money and reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO). All of these features are securely available over the public internet to end users.

Cloud Ready – Siebel CRM is complementary to Oracle Cloud applications. Siebel CRM allows your business to take a flexible approach to your cloud IT by catering to cloud requirements for a variety of stake holders and business requirements. Siebel CRM provides a variety of cloud capabilities:

Siebel CRM can be hosted in public, private or partner clouds for employee, partner and/or customer facing applications. Siebel CRM can also be hosted on premise. This allows for optimization of deployment preferences and protection of most valuable assets, customer data.
Siebel CRM on premise or hosted deployments can integrate with Oracle Cloud applications via a number of available integrations:
Siebel CRM interfaces can all be run securely over the internet for Open UI, Siebel Mobile, and Siebel EAI interfaces
Siebel CRM provides Sales, Service, Marketing, Loyalty, and MDM as an integrated source of truth in the cloud
For sophisticated customers and partners Siebel CRM now supports multitenant database support on the Oracle 12c database.

With Siebel CRM, you can confidently take your investment to the next level and host your application in the most suitable cloud deployment model for your enterprise. Siebel CRM can integrate with Oracle Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and other ecosystem cloud products to create complete and memorable customer experiences. Oracle offers cloud hosting options for Siebel CRM today. Other partners also support cloud-hosted options.

Customer Experience

Open UI – Our ongoing investment has evolved the UI across all channels with innovations such as the Contact Center and Open UI eService. Open UI maximizes productivity with a simple, clean user interface and an engaging user experience.

Mobile – Siebel Mobile enables your application to be used on any mobile device and to be accessible from anywhere. The application automatically recognizes and adjusts according to the device. Siebel CRM is enabled for the new generation of mobile usage.

Usability – Applications are enhanced for mobile usability and to take advantage of the new responsive Open UI framework. The updated UI design is being driven by mobile device and personas. This creates a better user experience for each employee and for mobile and tablet use.

Social – The pervasive nature of social media and customers’ ongoing interactions across this channel illustrate the need for an updated and complete 360° view of your customers. Siebel CRM innovations with Master Data Management represent progressive steps to achieve that golden customer record for your organization.

Industry Innovation

Best of Breed – Siebel CRM’s deep industry solutions continue to be extended to leverage the best-of-breed cloud services to the Siebel ecosystem, such as innovations in industry, mobile solutions, and Oracle’s CX products. Siebel CRM continues to be the best and most complete, industry CRM solution available.

Open UI – The flexibility of Siebel Open UI allows applications to adopt new integrated cloud solutions easily and to leverage Oracle’s CX portfolio.

Business Agility

Next Generation Installer

In Siebel Innovation Pack 2016, all Siebel CRM Installers will be upgraded to Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) 13.2 release in order to take advantage of OUI enhanced features.

Key enhancements in this release include:

Integration with the latest release of Oracle Universal Installer to manage the Siebel CRM deployment life cycle end-to-end, including:
XML-based centralized inventory
Cloning of existing Oracle homes
True silent capability
More accurate disk space calculations
Integrated prerequisite checking
Cleaner uninstallation and upgrades.
Reuse of common files across multiple Siebel Installers to reduce the size of the Siebel CRM software package.
Consolidation of Siebel Installers for ease of use and increased efficiency

NPAPI Deprecation - Desktop Integration Siebel Agent (DISA)

The Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface (NPAPI) has been used as a cross-platform plug-in architecture supported by many web browsers for many years. Due to security concerns, browser vendors have announced that they are phasing out NPAPI, with some vendors completely removing support in 2015. A number of Siebel CRM features rely on the availability of NPAPI.

Siebel Innovation Pack 2016 will introduce a WebSocket-based framework known as the Desktop Integration Siebel Agent (DISA) in order to continue to support the specific features affected by NPAPI deprecation. The WebSocket protocol is currently well-supported in most major browsers. The framework will enable bi-directional, real-time communications between browsers (acting as WebSocket clients) and WebSocket Server, which will be implemented as a local application running at agent desktop.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Email (F9) Integration with Microsoft Outlook and IBM Lotus Notes

» Invoke external email clients with F9 on Siebel Open UI

» Populate email fields (To, CC, BCC) in external email clients

» Use HTML templates to provide pre-defined, formatted email content

» Send file attachments

» Read & write files in agent's local machines

» CTI Hoteling feature in Siebel Open UI

» Ability to retrieve client machine IP address in Siebel Open UI Client

» Allow agents to log in to the Siebel CRM application from any teleset and computer and use voice communications features

» Outlook to Siebel Attachment Drag-and-Drop

Enable agents to drag an email from a Microsoft Outlook email client and drop it as a Siebel CRM file attachment

» Inline attachment editing

» Provides the capability for a user to open a file stored in the Siebel File System (e.g., such as an Account or Activity Attachments, Correspondence, or Proposals), make changes to the document using a location application (such as Microsoft Word), and then save and close the application with the new version automatically replacing the previous version on the Siebel File System.

» Batch Fulfillment Printing

» Allows Fulfillment Center personnel to select a set of Correspondence Requests and send them to a printer

Siebel Application Usage Pattern Capture

This feature provides more tools to the IT department to track and analyze the usage patterns of their production systems. We recognize that every customer implementation of their CRM system is unique. So, this feature leverages the Runtime Events module in Siebel CRM to provide a configurable interface to fine tune the granularity of usage pattern tracking to each customer’s deployment needs and circumstances.

Usage Pattern tracking can be helpful in many ways. Knowing what a user was doing in the system when they encountered an error requires a certain type of pattern tracking while gathering statistics on the top ten most frequently-used views in the application requires a different type and granularity of tracking. Runtime Events provides the Siebel Administrator the flexibility to configure the types of actions to meet the need at hand.

Examples of patterns that can be tracked:

» Capture application state/fingerprints when an error occurs

» Monitor how end users are using a new configuration

» Analyze long-term view access data across all users to determine the footprint of the application that is actually used. This data can help narrow down the regression testing after an upgrade to be limited to those areas of the application that are being used.

» Analyze end-to-end lifecycle actions, such as time spent by users on a view, in an active session, etc.

Usage Pattern Tracking APIs are also exposed to the server and browser scripting interfaces to allow tracking patterns in customization as well.

Siebel Composer Developer Preview

Siebel Composer encompasses many features being added to the product to increase the agility with which enterprises can configure their Siebel CRM deployments. These features include:

» Zero Downtime for deployment of configuration changes

» Ease of configuration via a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) visual interface, which is eventually expected to completely replace Siebel Tools

In Siebel Innovation Pack 2015, the first Developer Preview of Siebel Composer was released. This demonstrated the capability to deploy configuration changes with zero downtime. This was implemented via two significant changes to the product that facilitated on-the-fly change and refresh of metadata objects:

» Movement of configuration metadata from a file-based store (SRF) to the Siebel CRM database

» Migration of Siebel Web Templates from flat files to the Siebel database

In Innovation Pack 2016, two new significant changes are provided to take the WYSIWYG configuration user experience forward:

tablet, and smartphone) there by provide Responsive Web Design capabilities at design time.

» Workspaces—Workspaces will enable enterprises to manage the development and deployment lifecycle of the Siebel CRM metadata, allowing them to configure and deploy metadata changes to their application in real-time with zero downtime to end users.

 Multi-user development model for Siebel CRM metadata, with support for collaborative and parallel development. Changes are maintained on a user-by-user basis, ensuring that users can make simultaneous configuration changes to the application even if they are modifying the same set of metadata objects.

 Sandbox for editing and previewing metadata changes until they are ready for delivery or deployment into production.

 Isolation of metadata changes from the currently deployed application in use by end users.

Some of the key capabilities and benefits of Workspaces to be delivered in Innovation Pack 2016 include:

» Multi-user, parallel, and collaborative development of Siebel CRM metadata

» Ability to preview metadata changes in real-time

» Support for flattening and rollback of runtime repository versions.

» Segmentation of repository, such as by device and user types

» Seed data managed and deployed via Workspaces

Standards-Based REST Interface Provisioned Fully within Siebel CRM

A new RESTful Web API is being delivered for Siebel CRM. Salient features include:

» Choice between JSON and XML formats

» Business Component CRUD and Business Service invocations supported

» Repository Metadata CRUD supported

» Exposure of data via simple flagging (check box) on the concerned BO / BC / BC Field as opposed to the need to explicitly create Integration Objects and Components.

» Conformance to the Oracle REST schema standard, which in turn is an extension of the hypermedia schema standard - http://json-schema.org/draft-04/hyper-schema#

» Catalog of all Objects exposed via the REST API

Siebel CRM Interoperability with Oracle Integration Cloud Services (ICS)

Oracle ICS is a Cloud-based integration platform that can source and learn integration metadata (standard REST and SOAP as well as custom formats from Oracle Applications) from multiple systems, and then facilitate the configuration of integration flows and bindings between those systems. Siebel CRM is being equipped with the necessary features for integration flows involving Siebel CRM to be configurable with ICS.

For SOAP Web Services, the following new features are to be delivered in this release:

» Availability of a complete catalog of all SOAP-based Web Services exposed by a Siebel CRM deployment via a Siebel URL

» Availability of the WSDL for any given Web Service via a Siebel URL

Unified Cache Manager

This feature will provide the ability to store, retrieve, update, and delete data consumable by Siebel CRM interfaces and applications in a cache based on Oracle Coherence. Oracle Coherence is the industry-leading in-memory data grid solution that enables organizations to predictably scale mission-critical applications by providing fast access to frequently used data. As data volumes and customer expectations increase, driven by the “internet of things”—social, mobile, cloud and always-connected devices—so does the need to handle more data in real-time, offload over-burdened shared data services, and provide availability guarantees. While Siebel has always had caching capabilities, the cache is typically in individual Application Object Manager processes and cannot be shared or centralized. This new feature centralizes application data cache on the machine running the Siebel Gateway and supports fault tolerance and persistence to meet high availability scenarios.

Key Points:

» Scalable: Add more cache nodes if needed by a customer.

» Clustered/Fault tolerant: If one node goes down, another node can take up the load.

» Persistence: Cached data is not lost during server downtimes.

» Graceful degradation to in-process caching if centralized cache is not available.

» Extensible: Cache data can be accessed, added to, or deleted from available APIs in the server-side scripting interface.

Customer Experience

To deliver an unrivalled customer experience in Siebel CRM to meet the expectations of your business, many new features have been introduced.

High Interactivity / Standard Interactivity Desupport

As a result of the obvious benefits of the Open UI client platform’s ability to meet a broad set of use requirements with a single technology stack offering low total cost of ownership (TCO), Oracle will provide only the Open UI client starting with Oracle’s Siebel Innovation Pack 2016. The High Interactivity (HI), Standard Interactivity (SI), and Standard Interactivity+ (SI+) clients will no longer be supported. Any remaining functionality and applications that have not previously been made available will be migrated to Open UI capable applications.

Further information is available from the previously published Statement of Direction IP2016 Client Platform Support available on My Oracle Support.

Expose Siebel Calendar as CalDAV Server

Users today rely on their smart phone to track their activities throughout the day, while the organization relies on customer interactions being captured in CRM to build a 360° view of their customers. CalDAV connectivity allows both the user and the organization to have what they need, providing integration between the Siebel Calendar and any CalDAV-compliant client, including native iOS and Android calendars.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Expose a user’s Siebel Calendar as an additional calendar in the native mobile device calendars or inside popular desktop applications, such as Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes1

» Allow a user to capture customer meetings in the device they use every day, without accessing Siebel CRM directly

Siebel Mobility Solutions

Siebel Mobile 2.0

Building on the Siebel Mobile 2.0 release and the related enhancements delivered in the Innovation Pack 2015 release, enhancements are planned for Siebel Mobile with a focus on Cost of Ownership reduction.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» A conversion tool for server-side eScripts to Siebel Mobile Offline Scripts

» SSO Support, Data download/upload Analytics, and Scheduled Data Extraction

The Siebel Mobile App for Android will also be introduced with the same functional footprint as the iOS app.

Siebel Remote

The existing Siebel Remote solution will see a shift from SQL Anywhere to Oracle Database XE as the local database. The shift will be transparent to our customers. Oracle Database XE will be installed as part of the Mobile Web Client installation and process, while the Siebel Remote backend processes will seamlessly generate

Oracle Database XE compliant artifacts to facilitate local-server synchronization on the new local database platform.

Disconnected Mobility for Sales - Disconnected Mobility for Sales enables sales reps to use the application in areas with limited or no network coverage

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Access & maintain customer profiles: Create and update information for accounts & contacts, Add contacts and colleagues to accounts, View up-to-date customer profiles

» Qualify leads and opportunities: Qualify and convert leads to opportunities, Promote opportunities through sales stages, Select products, Convert opportunities to quotes, Convert quotes to orders, Complete and track orders

» Keep track of tasks & appointments

» Create account and opportunity tasks

» Assign and follow-up on tasks with colleagues

» Setup appointments with colleagues and contacts

Simplified Search

The Search user interface will be both simplified and enhanced with a focus on usability. Support for additional external search engines will allow for greater flexibility in Siebel CRM’s search functionality.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Dockable Search Results Pane: Search results will be available on a separate pane that can be docked on either side of the screen or can be free floating to maximize real estate.

» Single Field Search: Query all searchable fields through a single search field.

» Autocomplete Suggestions: As the user types, common suggestions will be displayed that match the entered text.

» Plug & Play Search Engine Support: Redesigned Search framework to allow customers to build their own custom adapters to integrate with 3rd party search engine(s) of their choice

Office 2013 Certification

The Siebel Document Server will be updated to provide support for integration with Office 2013 products.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Correspondence generation (Microsoft Word)

» Proposal generation (Microsoft Word)

» Presentation generation (Microsoft PowerPoint)

Industry Innovation

Specific industry innovations are described below.

Mobile Promotion Enhancements

Mobile Service Providers have to offer innovative products and pricing to their customers to stay ahead of their competition. Mobile promotion enhancements will support improved aggregate pricing and de-bundling scenarios.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Compatibility Rules using aggregates for bundled promotions

» Cardinality when components are de-bundled or added to a promotion

» Enhanced Penalty Calculations

In-Memory Promotion Upgrade UI

Communication service providers (CSPs) use bundle promotion to model convergent bundling that they offer to subscribers. They may bundle core services offered for a residential customer of phone, broadband along with TV services (entertain). Service providers that offer wireless service can also include them in bundles. New services like home security can also be included in bundles to increase the wallet share and average revenue.

Subscribers often upgrade or downgrade their services, so it is critical that promotion upgrades/downgrades are done fast even when a bundle promotion has many components associated to it. In-memory promotion migration streamlines the user interface and as the name suggests, does in-memory computations and thus assuring a better promotion upgrade performance.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Improved response time while upgrading/downgrading bundled promotions

» Improved user experience while upgrading/downgrading bundled promotions

» Communication Service Provides can process increased number of bundled promotion upgrades/downgrades.

Accelerated Decision Making via Enhanced Productivity

This Siebel Clinical Trials feature enables users to make faster decisions and introduces productivity improvements such as the reduction in the number of clicks required to complete a process and providing the ability to do tasks in bulk. This will help users accomplish their daily tasks more efficiently.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Enable users to roll down activities, documents, and accounts from protocol and region to the underlying sites by a single click of a button.

» Enable users to generate payments from protocol and region for the underlying sites.

» Enable users to view the complete history of site primary account, contacts, and site status.

Subject Transfer

Clinical study subjects can move from one site to another due to various reasons, and a mechanism to enable and track this subject transfer between sites has been added to the existing Clinical Trials solution.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Ability to transfer a subject to a different site under same protocol.

» New view at each site level to show subject transfer history and transfer count.

» Site should get credit for subject status that happened at that site, even if the subject is no longer in that site.

» Each site is responsible for the data captured at that site and thus Source Data Verification will be happening at that site.

» Mechanism to track at which site the subject visit and activity occurred.

» Payment should be generated at the site where activity was completed irrespective of which site the subject is currently in.

Satellite Site

A Clinical Trial subject’s visits and case book can exist in more than one location and multiple locations are associated to only one contracted Principal Investigator. Here one site will be the parent site and all other locations are referred to as satellite sites. Satellite sites provide the same functionality and capability as a standard site and are contracted to a single Principal Investigator. The Subject tracking and site visits should continue at the parent site level.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» All satellite sites are linked to the parent site and they share the same Principal Investigator.

» Each satellite sites will have their own accounts, contacts, and addresses.

» Mechanism to track at which site the subject visit and activity occurred.

» Subjects, site visits, and payments are tracked at the parent site only.

Enhancements Driven by Life Sciences Audit and Compliance

This feature ensures improved audit and compliance.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Trip Reports will be locked for editing once approved, and users will have to version the report if there is a need to edit the trip report post-approval.

» Ability to audit Risk and Compliance Template (RACT) data and record actions and dates against each RACT questions and answers.

» Enable Trip Report re-authentication view in SSO mode.

Product Offer Enhancements

Siebel CRM Product Offers enable Telecommunications Operators to create promotional offers that customers can accept with one click that can be used on the web or channels where there is limited user activity such as Mobile SMS and TV Portals. Enhancements to Product Offer functionality significantly improves end user experience and simplifies the offer to order process.

Key features in this release include:

» New web service that enables users to execute multiple offers in a single click to generate an order/quote

» Optional flag to not save the order/quote in Siebel CRM

» Apply offer(s) to active shopping cart

» Support for both new acquisition and change order scenarios

Policy Automation (OPA)

Enhanced customer experience with ease of reviewing, identifying and applying for relevant programs

Key enhancements in this release include:

» OPA Integration: Complete self-service experience from Screening to Application intake process using the integration with Oracle Policy Automation

» Support for preceding and write-back of information to-and-from OPA rule-base for screening and application completion

» Update screen questionnaire and application rule-base in OPA without any dependency on Siebel CRM

» Redesign Intake process to have a modern, fresh look-and-feel using the Siebel Open UI framework.

Messaging Plan Personalization and Call Planning

Support for personalized messaging plans improves efficiency and productivity of pharmaceutical sales reps.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Enables administrators to make messaging plans ready for personalization

» Enables sales representatives to personalize messaging plans based on the audience and what is allowed by the head office

» Allows contact and account call planning views with scheduling applets which are completely Open UI-enabled.

Content follow-up for eDetailing

This feature provides improved productivity and the ability to reach medical practitioners remotely. This enables medical practitioners to access presentations / messaging at their own convenience.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Ability for sales reps to send out a link to the health care provider for the follow-up contents

» Allows the health care provider to login to the portal and review the messaging plan contents

» Provides a 360-degree view when a health care provider logs in to the portal and reviews the messaging plan contents as it creates a call in the system.

Application capture with OPA integration

OPA integration enables relationship bankers to use the mobile application to recruit new customers and grow the wallet share for the bank

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Enabling the relationship banker to conduct needs-analysis and capture the application for financial products during the interview process using Financial Service Mobile

» Support for preceding and write-back of information to-and-from OPA rule-base for screening and application completion

» Update screening questionnaire and application rule-base in OPA without any dependency on Siebel CRM

Siebel CRM - OPA Integration Enhancements

Enhanced integration with OPA enables end users to make informed decisions, review applications after they are submitted, and print the application if required.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Enhanced Siebel CRM integration with OPA for Financial Services mobile and Public Sector Self Service application providing additional features such as Decision Support and application save and print.

Self-Service Scheduling - Citizens will now be able to schedule and manage appointments online. This results in cost savings for government and non-government organizations.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Providing a self-service scheduling capability that enables customers and citizens to book and manage appointments with the service provider.

» Leverages Siebel Scheduler as the underlying engine to manage technician / case worker calendars

» Support for Public Sector and other self-service applications

PDF / Excel Template Support for Siebel Business Intelligence Publisher Reports

New template support for Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) Publisher Reports provides more options and flexibility for creating, running, and saving reports.

Key enhancements in this release include:

» Ability to support PDF and Excel (XLS/XLSX) templates for reports used in the Siebel CRM and Oracle BI Publisher integration

» Report templates in PDF and Excel formats can be uploaded directly in to the Siebel CRM application.

» Leveraging existing PDF templates for Siebel Reports. This save times creating new report templates.

Customizing Theme Synergy in 15.1(IP2015 Patchset 1)

2015-09-15T16:51:00.000-04:00

Starting Siebel Release 15.1 (IP2015 Patchset 1), theme 'SUI' has be renamed to theme 'Synergy'. Theme 'Synergy' implements the Cloud applications Dark Blue Theme, which is the default theme for Oracle Cloud R10 applications. There are 6 additional variants:

Crisp Green Theme
Bright Blue Theme
Dark Gray Theme
Light Blue Theme
Steel Gray Theme
Vanilla Theme

These additional themes are not available in Siebel CRM out-of-the-box, but you can add any of them with the steps below.

Create /eappweb/PUBLIC/enu/files/custom/theme-green-synergy.css with the following content:

#_sweclient {
  background-color: #d7ebc5;
}
#_sweclient > div {
  background-color: #d7ebc5;
  background-image: url("../images/bkgd_watermarkfoliage.png");
}
.siebui-logo {
  background-image: url("../images/fuse-brand-oracle-black.png") !important;
}
.siebui-button-toolbar {
  background-image: url("../images/menu_ena.png") !important;
}
.siebui-toolbar-enable,
.siebui-search-tb-btn,
.siebui-msgbar {
  color: #38535a !important;
}
.siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen ul li a,
.siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen .siebui-active-navtab a {
  color: #147c80 !important;
}
.siebui-landing #_sweview,
.siebui-landing .siebui-applet {
  border-radius: 3px;
}

Add a new LOV in Administration – Data -> List of values:

Type: OUI_THEME_SELECTION
Display Value: Green Synergy
Translate: False
Language-Independent Code: SUI_THEME_GREEN_SYNERGY (Note: The SUI_THEME_ prefix is required)
Parent LIC: NAVIGATION_TAB

Clear cache from applet menu
Create a new Manifest Expression:

Name: Green Synergy Theme
Expression: LookupName (OUI_THEME_SELECTION, Preference ("Behavior", "DefaultTheme")) = "SUI_THEME_GREEN_SYNERGY"

Create a record in Manifest File

Name: files/custom/theme-green-synergy.css

Go to Manifest Administration and select a record in UI Objects with below details and make a copy of it and its child (Object Expression and Files)

Type: Application
Usage Type: Theme
Name: PLATFORM DEPENDENT

For the newly created UI Object, create a new record in Object Expression with below details and reorder the level reflect below

Create a new record in Object Expression with expression Green Synergy Theme and set the level as 2
Add files/custom/theme-green-synergy.css in Files applet with sequence 2

Logoff and Login again

Follow the same steps and the CSS below to add the themes you need:

Theme	UI & CSS
Bright Blue	#_sweclient { background-color: #6ec1ef; } #_sweclient > div { background-color: #6ec1ef; background-image: url("../images/bkgd_watermarkdandelions.png"); } .siebui-toolbar-enable, .siebui-search-tb-btn, .siebui-msgbar { color: #0e4973 !important; } .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen ul li a, .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen .siebui-active-navtab a { color: #0e4973 !important; } .siebui-landing #_sweview, .siebui-landing .siebui-applet { border-radius: 0; }
Crisp Green	#_sweclient { background-color: #d7ebc5; } #_sweclient > div { background-color: #d7ebc5; background-image: url("../images/bkgd_watermarkfoliage.png"); } .siebui-logo { background-image: url("../images/fuse-brand-oracle-black.png") !important; } .siebui-button-toolbar { background-image: url("../images/menu_ena.png") !important; } .siebui-toolbar-enable, .siebui-search-tb-btn, .siebui-msgbar { color: #38535a !important; } .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen ul li a, .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen .siebui-active-navtab a { color: #147c80 !important; } .siebui-landing #_sweview, .siebui-landing .siebui-applet { border-radius: 3px; }
Dark Gray	#_sweclient { background-color: #424345; } #_sweclient > div { background-color: #424345; background-image: url("../images/bkgd_watermarkdots.png"); background-repeat: repeat !important; } .siebui-toolbar-enable, .siebui-search-tb-btn, .siebui-msgbar { color: #fff !important; } .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen ul li a, .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen .siebui-active-navtab a { color: #fff !important; } .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen ul li a:hover, .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen .siebui-active-navtab a:hover { color: #206398 !important; } .siebui-landing #_sweview, .siebui-landing .siebui-applet { border-radius: 0; }
Light Blue	#_sweclient { background-color: #d2e9f9; } #_sweclient > div { background-color: #d2e9f9; background-image: url("../images/bkgd_watermarkdunes.png"); } .siebui-logo { background-image: url("../images/fuse-brand-oracle-red.png") !important; } .siebui-button-toolbar { background-image: url("../images/menu_ena.png") !important; } .siebui-toolbar-enable, .siebui-search-tb-btn, .siebui-msgbar { color: #1b4d7f !important; } .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen ul li a, .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen .siebui-active-navtab a { color: #2d5c8b !important; } .siebui-landing #_sweview, .siebui-landing .siebui-applet { border-radius: 3px; }
Steel Gray	#_sweclient { background-color: #4c6890; } #_sweclient > div { background-color: #4c6890; background-image: url("../images/bkgd_watermarkfacets.png"); background-repeat: repeat !important; } .siebui-toolbar-enable, .siebui-search-tb-btn, .siebui-msgbar { color: #fff !important; } .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen ul li a, .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen .siebui-active-navtab a { color: #fff !important; } .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen ul li a:hover, .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen .siebui-active-navtab a:hover { color: #252525 !important; }
Vanilla	#_sweclient { background-color: #fafafa; } #_sweclient > div { background-color: #fafafa; background-image: url("../images/bkgd_watermarkdiagonals.png"); background-repeat: repeat !important; } .siebui-logo { background-image: url("../images/fuse-brand-oracle-red.png") !important; } .siebui-button-toolbar { background-image: url("../images/menu_ena.png") !important; } .siebui-toolbar-enable, .siebui-search-tb-btn, .siebui-msgbar { color: #000 !important; } .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen ul li a, .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen .siebui-active-navtab a { color: #000 !important; } .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen ul li a:hover, .siebui-nav-tab.siebui-view-navs .siebui-nav-tabScreen .siebui-active-navtab a:hover { color: #145c9e !important; } .siebui-landing #_sweview, .siebui-landing .siebui-applet { border-radius: 3px; }

Note: The above steps requires IP2015 Patchset 1 (15.1) or above

How To Override Custom Theme In Open UI Without Deleting The User Preferences Files Of All Users

2015-08-18T18:29:00.000-04:00

Scenario :

We have an Open UI Siebel 8.1.1.11 Patchset 9 application. Currently the first phase of the project is live in production.

We had used Override Default Theme (Doc ID 1600754.1) to override the default theme and launch the application in our custom theme.

Users have been using the application with the custom theme since some months now.

For the second wave, the requirement is to have a "new" 2nd custom theme.

1st Custom Theme - Tree layout and Custom1
2nd Custom Theme - Tab layout and Custom2

The challenge we are facing is, we are not able to now get the users launch the application in 'new" 2nd Custom Theme without having the SPFs deleted.

How can we launch the application in the new theme without deleting the SPF of all users? Do we have any work around through Open UI or Configuration?

Possible scripting approach:

A review of the standard Siebel configuration (using the sample database) reveals the following:

In BC 'User Preferences' the Default Theme ("Theme" in the UI) is stored in field 'Behavior/DefaultTheme'. This field has 'Default Theme PickList' as pick list. This one is constraint (via a pick map) by field 'Behavior/DefaultNavCtrl' ("Navigation Control" in the UI). This field has 'Default NavCtrl PickList' as pick list. This one is constraint (via a pick map) by field 'Behavior/DefaultPlatformType'. This one has 'Default Platform Type PickList' as pick list.

The field 'Behavior/DefaultPlatformType' is not displayed in the UI. It is set automatically (to "Desktop", "Tablet" or "Phone") depending on the platform. When this field is set to "Desktop", the values available in the pick list of field 'Default NavCtrl PickList' are "Tab" and "Tree". When field 'Default NavCtrl PickList' is set to "Tab" the values available in the pick list of field 'Behavior/DefaultTheme' are "Gray Tab" and "Tangerine Tab". When this field is set to "Tree" the values available in the pick list of field 'Behavior/DefaultTheme' are "Gray Accordion" and "Tangerine Accordion".

> To force the Siebel Call Center application to start with "Tangerine Tab" as default theme the sample script below has succesfully been tested. This one,placed in the Application_Start event of application 'Siebel Universal Agent', sets the fields 'Behavior/DefaultNavCtrl' and 'Behavior/DefaultTheme' ("Navigation Control" and "Theme" in the UI) to "Tab" and "Tangerine Tab" respectively:

function Application_Start (CommandLine)
{
var oBO = this.GetBusObject("User Preferences");
var oBC = oBO.GetBusComp("User Preferences");
var oPickDNBC;
var oPickDTBC;

with (oBC)
{
SetViewMode(AllView);
ActivateField("Behavior/DefaultNavCtrl");
ActivateField("Behavior/DefaultTheme");
ClearToQuery();
ExecuteQuery(ForwardOnly);
if (FirstRecord())
{
oPickDNBC = GetPicklistBusComp("Behavior/DefaultNavCtrl");
with (oPickDNBC)
{
ClearToQuery();
SetSearchSpec("Value", "Tab");
ExecuteQuery(ForwardOnly);
if (FirstRecord())
{
Pick();
oPickDTBC = oBC.GetPicklistBusComp("Behavior/DefaultTheme");
with (oPickDTBC)
{
ClearToQuery();
//SetSearchSpec("Value", "Gray Tab");
SetSearchSpec("Value", "Tangerine Tab");
ExecuteQuery(ForwardOnly);
if (FirstRecord())
{
Pick();
oBC.WriteRecord();
}

}
}
}
}
}

oPickDTBC = null;
oPickDNBC = null;
oBC = null;
oBO = null;
}
Please note that the above script a sample script only. You can try to implement a similar one in your environment adapted to your specific requirement. Please test it thoroughly before applying it in Production.

How to add a new theme in version 8.1.1.11 Open UI

2015-08-18T18:14:00.002-04:00

Here are the suggested steps to add a new theme in Siebel client running in Open UI mode.

1. Create the custom css file and place it in \public\enu\files.

For example - "theme-blue-tab.css" with the following contents:
#s_sctrl #s_sctrl_tabScreen.ui-tabs ul.ui-tabs-nav li a {
color: white;
font-size: 14px;
font-weight: normal;
height: 24px;
font-style: italic;
background: #99CCFF;
background: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,PD94bWwgdmVyc2lvbj0iMS4wIiA/Pgo8c3ZnIHhtbG5zPSJod…EiIGhlaWdodD0iMSIgZmlsbD0idXJsKCNncmFkLXVjZ2ctZ2VuZXJhdGVkKSIgLz4KPC9zdmc+);
background: -moz-linear-gradient(top,#99CCFF 0,#dfdfdf 100%);
background: -webkit-gradient(linear,left top,left bottom,color-stop(0%,#99CCFF),color-stop(100%,#dfdfdf));
background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top,steelblue 0,steelblue 100%);
background: -o-linear-gradient(top,#99CCFF 0,#dfdfdf 100%);
background: -ms-linear-gradient(top,#99CCFF 0,#dfdfdf 100%);
background: linear-gradient(to bottom,#99CCFF 0,#dfdfdf 100%);
}

2. Add an entry in “theme.js” file in \public\enu\\scripts\siebel\custom.

SiebelApp.ThemeManager.addTheme(
"BLUE_TAB", {
css : {
sb_theme : "files/theme-base.css",
sc_theme : "files/theme-gray.css",
sn_theme : "files/theme-nav-tab.css",
sca_theme : "files/theme-calendar.css",
blue_theme : "files/theme-blue-tab.css",
sd_theme : IE8inc
},
objList : []
});

3. Add the a new LOV record in Administration – Data > List of Values.
Type: OUI_THEME_SELECTION
Display Value: Blue Tab
Language Independent Code: BLUE_TAB
Parent LIC: NAVIGATION_TAB
Order: 3

4. Clear LOV Cache.

5. Go to Tools > User Preferences > Behavior and set the following:
Navigation Control: Tab
Theme: Blue Tab

6. Go to Administration - Application > Manifest Files and add a new entry with the following value:

Name: siebel/custom/theme.js

7. Go to Administration Application > Manifest Administration and add the following :

In UI Objects:
Type: Application
Usage Type: Common
Name: PLATFORM DEPENDENT

In Object Expression:
Expression: Desktop
Level : 1

In Files:
Name: siebel/custom/theme.js

8. For Siebel web client, restart the web server.

9. Clear browser cache.

10. Restart Siebel application. The tab colours should be showing in blue colour.

How to Set up EBCs to work with LDAP or ADSI Authentication

2015-08-18T17:50:00.000-04:00

A couple of key points here:

1. This assumes that all users connect to the external datasource using the same userid / password. If they connect using their own specific credentials it is still possible to make this work but requires a lot more work and setup at the LDAP directory server side.

2. Please make sure that the LDAP attribute you specify for the CredentialsAttributeType parameter in the LDAPSecAdpt is a multi-valued attribute. This process will not work with a single valued attribute. This is specified in the document

http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E14004_01/books/EAI2/EAI2_ExtBusComps8.html#wp199278.

3. It is important that you make sure that you include the following entries for this attribute in the record for the SharedCredentialsDN.

type=ServerDataSrc username=USER password=PASS
type=GatewayDataSrc username=USER password=PASS
type=EBCDataSrc username=USER password=PASS

Replace EBCDataSrc, USER, and PASS with the appropriate values for your implementation. Also please note that type, username, and password are all in lowercase AND that there is no space before or after the equal signs.

Synergy Theme Open UI - Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2015

2015-05-11T17:00:00.000-04:00

Synergy Theme Open UI - Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2015

A new theme is introduced in Innovation Pack 2015 that simplifies the user experience to new levels. The new ‘Synergy’ theme, together with Open UI simplicity allows dynamic styling and branding to create a consistent user experience with other Oracle simplified UI applications.

Accounts Detail View displayed with the new ‘Synergy’ UI theme.

jQuery Charts

An intuitive new charting framework is included this release:

jQuery charts that can easily be customized in the browser with a modern UI appearance.

The charting framework is fully client side enabled and can be used on both connected and disconnected clients. Since it runs on the open client platform, no components need to be hosted to support it, lowering TCO and reducing platform dependencies.

Siebel Composer - Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2015

2015-05-11T16:45:00.000-04:00

With Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2015 release a developer preview of Siebel Composer is provided. This exciting new product is a graphical web based set of tools that allow the implementation of your business requirements.

The goal is to eradicate both the web templates and SRF. These will be meta-data driven and stored in the database. This is the first step towards our delivery of moving Siebel Tools to the Web and providing web based IDE for configuration changes, drag and drop web templates and allowing for a multi-user development environment using workspaces to allow parallel development across teams.
In this release Siebel Composer is a relative exposure of Siebel Tools meta-data via list applets in an Open UI based application. This does not address usability or simplicity requirements for Siebel Composer that will be included in the final release. Siebel Composer does not support all the configuration capabilities that Siebel Tools provides
Siebel Composer is provided as a developer preview only. Siebel Tools continues to be available and is the recommended solution for all production environments.

Runtime Configuration with Siebel Composer

In order to support the new web-based ‘Siebel Composer’, available in this release as a Developer Preview, a web template migration utility is included to migrate the data in web template files into the Siebel metadata tables.

Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2015

2015-05-11T16:10:00.000-04:00

Announcing the release of Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2015 (15.0)

Enabling customers to maximize their investment in Oracle’s Siebel CRM applications, hundreds of new features, functions, and enhancements are provided with Siebel CRM 15.0.

Siebel CRM 15.0 delivers a new intuitive development experience with the introduction of Siebel Composer (Developer Preview). Open UI enhancements include jQuery charting and a new theme called 'Synergy Theme' which will align the application perfectly with Oracle Cloud applications for a seamless user experience.

Siebel CRM 15.0 expands industry capabilities with new applications and functionality for Public Sector, Consumer Goods, Financial Services, Clinical and Life Sciences.

Simplified Versioning Notation

Introduced with this Innovation Pack and moving from the four- to five-part version naming system to a simple two-part naming system.

This will eliminate the difference between the 8.1.1 and 8.2.2 code lines, there will no longer be a “8.1.1.15” and “8.2.2.15” release but rather a single “15.0” release, which corresponds to the current year, 2015.
This will make it easier for customers to differentiate between releases when reporting bugs, patch requests, or even simply talking about their implementation.
This release, Innovation Pack 2015, is quite simply referred to as 15.0. Future patch sets e.g. Patch Set 1, will be referred to as 15.1

Prerequisites for IRM

2015-03-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Before you begin:

Install Enterprise Server (Siebel Gateway Name Server, the Siebel Server, and the Siebel Database Server)
Windows only: Install Siebel tools on the same machine as Enterprise Servers, then the merge process automatically starts Siebel Tools to execute the incremental repository merge.

If the Siebel Enterprise server is not installed on the same computer as Siebel Tools, then map a network drive from the computer where Siebel Tools is installed to the computer where Siebel Enterprise Server is installed. Use this mapped drive to specify the location of the Siebel Server when you run the Siebel Database Configuration Wizard.

Set open_cursors=5000
Change Tools ODBC

1. Use the Siebel Tools default ODBC driver, Siebel Oracle90.

2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432NodeODBCODBC.INI and for your ODBC add

o ColumnsAsChar=1

o ColumnSizeAsCharacter=1

3. Test ODBC

5. Update tools.cfg:

In the [Siebel] section Change the ServerDbODBCDataSource parameter from the default value to your custom ODBCname.
(For MSSQL and IBM DB2 platforms only) In the [ServerDataSrc] section, change the Connect String parameter from the default value to your custom ODBC name.
Change the SymStrPrefix value from the default value of X_ to SBL_ .
EnableToolsConstrain=False
DockRepositoryName=Prior Customer Repository
Test Siebel Tools
Navigate to Veiw->Options-Language Settings and select the required language as the primary language, then click Yes.
Close Tools

6. Copy Ancestor Repositories

On My Oracle Support, locate 17329360 (Patch ID) and download it to your folder
Copy files

Windows: copydat.bat SiebelRoot optional_log_file

UNIX: sh copydat.sh SiebelRoot optional_log_file

7. Delete all repositories except for Siebel Repository

8. Drop functional or bitmap indexes if they exist (they are created if you have CIAI implementation)

9. Run upgrep/Delta merge/upgphys

10. Upgrade test production

11. Replace the original siebel_sia.srf provided as part of the Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.11 or 8.2.2.4 Fix Pack with a new SRF file obtained following one of these methods:

a) Full compiled SRF using Siebel Tools version 8.1.1.11 or 8.2.2.4; Note when 8.1.1.11 is applied on the existing 8.1.1.x including 8.1.1.10, IRM (Incremental Repository Merge) is mandatory. The SRF should be compiled after the IRM (Incremental Repository Merge) process successfully completed, more detail about IRM is available from: Siebel Database Upgrade Guide >Performing the Siebel Incremental Repository Merge

b) SRF obtained from a download of this file for Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.11 (or 8.2.2.4) from Oracle Software Delivery Cloud, also known as eDelivery (https://edelivery.oracle.com/)

12. If you have to restart IRM:

1) Restore the database from backup prior to running IRM
2) Remove UpgRep log folder from SiebSrvrLog directory
3) Restart IRM process.

13. The following KM articles should be reviewed before starting the IRM process as these may contain information or workarounds that should be applied before starting IRM:

•Delta Repository Merge Aborted during Incremental Repository Merge (IRM) on Siebel version 8.1.1.11: (Doc ID 1600333.1)

•8.1.1.11 Delta Merge exit "Operation aborted due to general error " (Doc ID 1604417.1) - Oracle RBDMS specific

•DDLDICT-ERR-1017: Unable To Copy Data From Siebel Dictionary. (Doc ID 1630424.1)

•If Siebel Order Management is in use on the current release, a known issue may cause Siebel Order Management application data migration issues. The migration scripts should be adjusted before starting IRM. Verify workaround as per Doc ID 1622589.1 in case.

Please make a database backup after each IRM phase. Especially before starting the Incremental Repository Merge from the Siebel Tools workstation and after completing this phase, pre and post having reviewed the object conflicts.

Incremental Repository Merge (IRM)

2015-03-04T16:07:00.000-05:00

Siebel CRM 8.1.1.10/8.2.2.3 introduces a new tool, Incremental Repository Merge (IRM).

The incremental repository merge process streamlines previous processes such as the ACR import process and repository changes to provide a simple and highly effective way to import and reconcile repository changes. Only changes since the last installed patch are imported, reducing the impact on customers of adopting both new repository fixes and features. IRM allows easy identification and resolution of any merge conflicts in workflows and tasks which in turn can help reduce the risk of regressions being introduced.

IRM provides the following capabilities and benefits:

1. IRM simplifies the installation and deployment features of Oracle patches that provide new features in Siebel CRM; a Siebel Innovation Pack consists of products features (formerly known as ACRs). IRM provides an aggregated process of importing all new ACR’s at once

a. Removes the need to individually import Siebel features released since the base release.

b. Accelerates availability of Siebel features by removing the need for any additional repository changes one a patch has been put into place

c. Reduces the impact of integration and testing midstream in a deployed Siebel instance by collating and combining manual steps previously required into the core IRM process.

d. Reduces the number of steps required to complete deployment, the amount of documentation needed to support these steps and the associated learning curve by combing all steps needed to update the repository into a single process.

2. IRM provides repository fixes in Siebel patches that improve quality improvements related to quick fixes that are provided as part of the patch or release.

a. Reduces testing overhead caused by needing to conservatively apply patches that may not apply to the deployed functionality.

b. Increases confidence that all patches related to specific deployed functionality are present.

3. IRM provides a new and formalized approach to generating and consuming specific repository archives; it is now possible to generate an archive of specific targeted object content into Siebel Delta Files (SDF).

a. Promotes Parallel Development of customer solutions, simplifying the integration of work from different sources

Generated files contain only the changes are smaller and will merge into the target repository faster.Example: archiving a particular Business Component field property change as opposed to archiving the complete object.

b. Reduces integration testing load by highlighting areas of conflict and recommending actions.

4. IRM provides aggregated product features together that are already tested in the same consolidated format by Oracle

a. Removes the task of acceptance testing ACR combinations

b. Allows the testing of customer specific changes related to configuration to take priority, shortening overall time to deploy.

The mandatory IRM process concentrates more on incremental changes, simplifies the adoption of fixes and features, and allows customers to make more agile business decisions based on function rather than being driven by the technical demands of the legacy, more complex, patching effort.

Siebel CRM Responsive Web Design

2015-01-30T13:48:00.001-05:00

Introduced in Siebel's Innovation Pack 2014, the framework enables you to make application changes once and deploy on any device. This greatly simplifies development and saves time/money no having to worry about coding separate applications for different devices and form factors.

URL-Based Authentication in Siebel will no longer be supported

2015-01-14T16:28:00.002-05:00

Currently, Siebel Business Applications provide options for authenticating HTTP EAI and HTTP Web service requests through credentials that can either be passed as a part of the request body, or as a part of the request URL.

From Siebel CRM version 8.2.2.0 and Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.9, Oracle recommends that you do not use URL-based authentication for any integration with a Siebel application. By default, this authentication method will be disabled in Siebel Business Applications. Following the release of Innovation Pack 2013, Oracle will no longer support any use of URL-based authentication.

Why this change?

Oracle is committed to providing customers with a range of solutions for authentication. However, a number of attack vectors have been established for URL-based authentication and, accordingly, URL- based authentication is no longer regarded as an acceptably secure mechanism for enterprise applications. In addition, the inclusion of credentials in the URL can lead to the inadvertent exposure of a user’s credentials if the user shares a URL as a bookmark or favorite.

What is supported?

Siebel Business Applications support the Web Services Security (WS-Security) specification industry standard. The WS-Security specification is a Web services standard that supports, integrates, and unifies multiple security models and technologies, allowing a variety of systems to interoperate in a platform-independent and language-independent environment.

Transitional solution

Oracle understands that some customers will need time to implement these changes, and that in the case of integrations, many of the users of URL-based authentication are either external consumers, or in projects not directly related to the Siebel CRM program.

As a transitional arrangement, therefore, Oracle is providing a parameter, EnableURLCredentials, which you can add to the eapps.cfg file. Set the value of the EnableURLCredentials parameter to TRUE to enable the continued use of URL-based authentication.

The following table shows how the EnableURLCredentials parameter affects the default setting for URL-based security credentials authentication that has been configured for a Siebel CRM release.

Siebel Application Version Default Setting for URL-based Authentication EnableURLCredentials Parameter Value TRUE FALSE Any Other Value 8.2.2.0 or higher Disabled Enabled Disabled Disabled 8.1.1.9 or higher Enabled Enabled Disabled Enabled

End of transitional solution

Following the release of Innovation Pack 2013, Oracle will no longer support any use of URL-based authentication, and the EnableURLCredentials parameter will be removed from the Siebel CRM product. All customers must plan on using alternative authentication schemes before this time.

How the default navigation be changed to Tab in Open UI: IP2014

2015-01-12T18:31:00.002-05:00

IP2014 introduces a new Navigation Theme: Side Menu, in addition to Tab and Tree. If the User Preferences are not set, the default is Side Menu.

A new Server Parameter 'Default Navigation' has been introduced to set the default navigation:

In order to set Tab as the default navigation control, set

DefaultNavigation = NAVIGATION_TAB

Restart Servers and test.

DefaultNavigation can have possible values: NAVIGATION_TAB, NAVIGATION_SIDE, NAVIGATION_TREE. The Default is NAVIGATION_SIDE.

Users can override the navigation control in the User Preferences > Behavior > Navigation Control. The value set in the user preferences will take precedence over the Server Parameter value.

How To Create Separate Named Datasource For Siebel BI Publisher Reports With Large Data Volume

2015-01-10T09:30:00.000-05:00

Please follow the step-by-step instructions given below:

1. Create a New Profile (Named Subsystem) by cloning the existing Server Datasource Profile. (You can use the Siebel Copy Record feature to do that)

Refer: Siebel Bookshelf: Siebel System Administration Guide > Configuring Siebel Servers > Configuring the Siebel Enterprise Server >Creating Siebel Enterprise Server Named Subsystems

2. Enter the following values for the new profile:

Name	Value
Profile	Report Datasource
Alias	RptDataSrc
Subsystem Type	InfraDatasources
Description	Reports Datasource used for BIP Reporting

3. In the Profile Parameters specify all the parameters same as the Server Datasource profile.

Name	Alias	Value
Chart Image Format	DSChartImageFormat	$(ChartImageFormat)
Chart Server	DSChartServer	$(ChartServer)
Database current SQLID	DSCurrentSQLID	$(CurrentSQLID)
Data source Connect String	DSConnectString	<ODBC Connect String>
DB Connector DLL	DSDLLName	<DB Connector DLL Name> e.g. sscdms80 for MS SQL Server
Datasource Docked Flag	DSDockedFlg	True
Datasource Table Owner	DSTableOwner	<Table Owner Name>

Click on the Advanced button and set the following parameters:

Name	Alias	Value
SQL Style	DSSQLStyle	<Sql Style> e.g. MSSqlServer for Windows SQL Server
Datasource Enterprise Server	DSEnterpriseServer	<Enterprise Server Name>
Datasource maximum fetch array size	DSMaxFetchArraySize	-1

Click on the Hidden button and set the following parameters:

Name	Alias	Value
Datasource Gateway Server	DSGatewayAddress	<siebelgatewayhostname>:2320

4. Navigate to the Administration - Server Configuration > Enterprises > Component Definitions view. Query for XMLP Report Server component.

5. Click on the pull down menu and select Start Reconfiguration.

6. In the Component Parameters list applet set following parameters:

Parameter	Value
OM - Data Source	RptDataSrc
OM - Named Data Source name	RptDataSrc,GatewayDataSrc

7. Click on the pull down menu in the Component Definitions applet and select Commit Configuration.

8. Hit the Synchronize button under the Component Definitions.

9. Restart Siebel Server and Gateway Services.

10. Log into the Siebel CRM Application as Siebel Administrator and ensure that the XMLP Report Server component is 'Online'.

11. Verify that the new parameters are in effect:

Navigate to Site Map > Administration - Server Configuration > Servers > Components
In the Component Parameters list applet verify the following parameter values:

OM - Data Source : RptDataSrc
OM - Named Data Source name : RptDataSrc,GatewayDataSrc

Report Scheduling and Large Data Volume

Siebel BI Publisher Reports Scheduling feature makes use of the EAI Object Manager to fetch the report data from Siebel by invoking the inbound web service named BIPDataService. For scheduled reports to run on large data sets, the EAI Object Manager component should also be configured to use the Reports Data Source (as mentioned above).

Follow the steps given below in case you are using the Siebel BI Publisher Reports Scheduling feature:

1. Log into Siebel CRM Application as Siebel Administrator.

2. Navigate to the Administration - Server Configuration > Enterprises > Component Definitions view.

3. Query for EAI Object Manager component.

4. Click on the pull down menu and select Start Reconfiguration.

5. In the Component Parameters list applet set following parameters:

Parameter	Value
OM - Data Source	RptDataSrc
OM - Named Data Source name	RptDataSrc,GatewayDataSrc

6. Click on the pull down menu in the Component Definitions applet and select Commit Configuration.

7. Hit the Synchronize button under the Component Definitions.

8. Restart Siebel Server and Gateway Services.

Improving the performance of Siebel BI Publisher Report generation

2015-01-09T17:56:00.001-05:00

Improving the performance of Siebel BI Publisher Report generation

1) Increasing the amount of heap memory available to the Java Virtual Machine (JVM)

Increasing the memory available to the JVM can improve the performance of the report generation and ensure that this error is not encountered.

"C:\OraHome_1\jdk\bin\java" -XX:MaxPermSize=128m -Xms512m -Xmx512m -Duser.language=en -Duser.dir=C:\OraHome_1\oc4j_bi\bin -Duser.country=US -jar "%OC4J_JAR%" %CMDARGS%

OS	Memory Value
Windows (32-Bit)	Any value of up to 1.4GB (based on available RAM)
Windows (64-Bit)	1.4 GB or higher (based on available RAM

2) Changing the Server Request Processor DB Polling Interval

By decreasing the polling interval the Server Request Processor can check the S_SRM_REQUEST table more regularly thereby reducing the period before the request processing is started. Once the change has been made it is necessary to shutdown and restart the affected Siebel Server before the change will take effect.It is recommended that this change be made only on the Siebel Servers hosting the XMLPReportServer component as this change will result in an increased number of queries being issued against the S_SRM_REQUEST table in the database.

change param PollIntvl=1 for comp SRProc

3) Minimize the size of Integration Objects/Components

An excessive number of unrequired fields in the report will lead to increased data generation times from the XMLPReportServer component and will result in an increased data file size for BI Publisher to process.

4) Minimal Force Active fields on BC-

Ensuring that a minimal number of fields are flagged as Force Active will help to ensure that the number of fields being returned when querying against the Integration Component for report generation is further reduced.

5) XMLPReportServer PreloadSRF parameter to TRUE

Prelolading the SRF into the process ensures that any performance overhead during the SRF load is encountered during component startup and not during report processing. This parameter is listed under Advanced tab.

6) Inactive Web Services not used in Enterprise

Due to Bug 10587893 at present the component will load all of the active webservices configured in the enterprise rather than just those which it may access, such as PublicReportService or PublicReportService_v11. This leads to a performance overhead during the first report request for any process as these can take a significant period of time to load. In order to reduce the impact of this loading process review the webservices configured as 'Active' in the Siebel Enterprise through the Administration - WebServices > Outbound Webservices and Inbound Webservices views. Set any webservices which are not used in the enterprise to 'Inactive'..

7) Minimize logging levels on all report generation components

This will include the requesting Object Manager, the XMLPReportServer component, the EAI Object Manager, the File System Manager component, and the BI Publisher Server itself.

8) Eliminate any un-necessary scripting during report generation

9) Create Separate Named Datasource For Siebel BI Publisher Reports With Large Data Volume

Generating Large Reports (over 10,000 records) - When running report generation there may be scenarios in which more than 10,000 records need to be retrieved. The standard ServerDataSrc within the Siebel Enterprise has a row limit of 10,000 for any single query and therefore in order to support large report generation a custom data source is required without this restriction. The following post covers this requirement in detail :

How To Create Separate Named Datasource For Siebel BI Publisher Reports With Large Data Volume

Siebel Innovation Pack 2014 Patchset 2 is Out!

2015-01-08T11:30:00.000-05:00

Siebel Innovation Pack 2014 Patchset 2 is out!

Note: All these links need oracle support login.

20259927 (8.1.1.14.2) - https://support.oracle.com/epmos/faces/ui/patch/PatchDetail.jspx?parent=DOCUMENT&sourceId=1614310.1&patchId=20259927

20259953 (8.2.2.14.2 - https://support.oracle.com/epmos/faces/ui/patch/PatchDetail.jspx?parent=DOCUMENT&sourceId=1614310.1&patchId=20259953

20063469 (8.1.1.14.1) - https://support.oracle.com/epmos/faces/ui/patch/PatchDetail.jspx?parent=DOCUMENT&sourceId=1614310.1&patchId=20063469

20064087 (8.2.2.14.1) - https://support.oracle.com/epmos/faces/ui/patch/PatchDetail.jspx?parent=DOCUMENT&sourceId=1614310.1&patchId=20064087

Resolved Bugs in Siebel Innovation Pack 2014 Patchset 2 - https://updates.oracle.com/Orion/Services/download?type=readme&aru=18409655#wp1234339

IP2104: Siebel Server fails to start and Enterprise name truncation

2015-01-07T16:37:00.000-05:00

The behavior might be encountered after applying IP2014 on top of an existing Siebel version 8.1.1.x/8.2.2.x.

The behavior is caused by failure to start the Gateway Server due to missing SIEBEL* environment variables.

Even if the correct siebenv script is sourced prior to the installation, similar behaviors might be encountered

The Siebel Enterprise name might also be truncated in the siebctl command issued by the migration process

While performing a migration installation with Siebel 8.1.1.14/8.2.2.14 on Unix/Linux (Siebel Server). You may see a similar error in the installation log.

* Log can be found under ../oraInventory/logs/oraInstall<creation_date_time>.out:

Executing Command: /bin/csh -c chmod -R 755 /vol1/sia81/ses
Executing Command: /bin/csh -c source /vol1/sia81/ses/gtwysrvr/siebenv.csh&&/vol1/sia81/ses/gtwysrvr/bin/start_ns

starting siebel migration
Preparing siebel server update
gateway address localhost:2320
enterprise name esia81
Siebel server name srvr1
username SADMIN
siebel update cmd /vol1/sia81/ses/siebsrvr/lib/spu 9ntkUOUf
/vol1/sia81/ses/siebsrvr/lib/spu 9ntkUOUf
delete path /vol1/sia81/ses/siebsrvr/sys/svc.siebsrvr.esia81:srvr1
siebctl -S siebsrvr -i esia81:srvr1 -a -g "-g localhost:2320 -e esia81 -s srvr1 -u SADMIN -ep /vol1/sia81/ses/siebsrvr/lib/spu: error while loading shared libraries: libxerces-c.so.28: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory"
output siebctl: Command not found.
siebel server update success
spu update success
gateway address localhost:2320
enterprise name esia81
username SADMIN
gateway update /vol1/sia81/ses/siebsrvr/lib/gpu -g localhost:2320 -e esia81 -u SADMIN -p 9ntkUOUf
/vol1/sia81/ses/siebsrvr/lib/gpu -g localhost:2320 -e esia81 -u SADMIN -p 9ntkUOUf
output: /vol1/sia81/ses/siebsrvr/lib/gpu: error while loading shared libraries: libxerces-c.so.28: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
gpu update failed

completed siebel migration
Executing Command: /bin/csh -c source /vol1/sia81/ses/siebsrvr/siebenv.csh&&/vol1/sia81/ses/siebsrvr/bin/start_server all
Executing Command: /bin/csh -c /vol1/sia81/ses/ccr/bin/emCCR start
ils Base Dependency List:: {"ses.db.always:8.1.1.14.0","ses.db.config:8.1.1.14.0","ses.db.db2udb:8.1.1.14.0","ses.db.db2390:8.1.1.14.0","ses.db.dbcommon:8.1.1.14.0","ses.db.dblang:8.1.1.14.0","ses.db.files:8.1.1.14.0","ses.db.mssql:8.1.1.14.0","ses.db.oracle:8.1.1.14.0","ses.db.thirdparty:8.1.1.14.0"}
SES Base Dependency List: {"ses.db:8.1.1.14.0","ses.siebel:8.1.1.14.0","ses.gateway:8.1.1.14.0"}

The IP2014 installation files have been updated with new JAR files including the fixes for these two issues.The installation files will be soon re-packeged and re-uploaded to MOS>Patches&Updates and eDelivery site.

In case you have already downloaded the IP2014 installation files, please proceed as follows:

1. Download the apiinstaller.jar file from

Download apiinstaller.jar Oracle Link

2. In your installation image locate the following file: Server\Siebel_Enterprise_Server\Disk1\stage\ext\jlib\apiinstaller.jar

3. Back-up and delete the apiinstaller.jar from the current location

4. Copy the downloaded apiinstaller.jar to your installation image

5. Make sure that the siebenv.csh scripts under gtwysrvr and siebsrvr folders are updated so that Gateway Server can be successfuly started after sourcing the sieben.csh script.

Note that the installer will source the siebenv.csh script for starting the Gateway server

6. Run the installation for IP2014

How To Add Custom Toolbar In Open UI Mobile

2014-12-24T16:45:00.000-05:00

Custom toolbar can be viewed in Open UI Mobile by modifying jqmtoolbarrenderer.js as follows:

Look for an html element with ID like this:

var w = m.replace(/\s+/g, "-").toLowerCase();
var s = $("#siebui-toolbar-" + w);

where m is the custom toolbar name.

Set the Id according to this in the swt file and then custom toolbar can be seen.

Open UI Manifest Migration Between Environments

2014-12-23T16:41:00.000-05:00

It does not appear that ADM has been setup, out of the box, with 8.1.1.11.4 to allow for migration of Manifest information to other environments.

Before 8.1.1.11 we could just copy the manifest files to the desired environment.

The manifest is now stored in Repository tables and therefore would be migrated with the rest of the Repository.

With the way Open UI Manifest migration is implemented, there does not appear to be a SIF export; yet, it migrated with the Siebel repository. Thus, it seems there is no way to generate a SIF for the manifest data.

Customer requested an enhancement on being able to incrementally migrate Manifest information without doing a full repository migration, such as using a .SIF file.

The following enhancement request was created: BUG 19469254 - OPEN UI MANIFEST MIGRATION BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTS IN .SIF FILES

Siebel Open UI Deployment Guide - IP2014

2014-12-05T16:26:00.002-05:00

Siebel Open UI Deployment Guide 2014 has been published on MOS.

Access this link: Siebel Open UI Deployment Guide (Doc ID: 1499842.1)

Document contains more information such as:

Deployment considerations

Feature changes/enhancements

Security

Performance

Migration tasks

Test Automation

Browser Performance

Standards supported by OpenUI

Third party products

Support platforms information

Direct download link - or Siebel Open UI Deployment Guide - IP2014 PDF

IP2014 Patch Set 1 is released

2014-12-05T15:35:00.004-05:00

Patchset 1 for available on My Oracle Support. This patch is highly recommended for Innovation Pack 2014.

Patch ID: 20063469 for 8.1.1.14 PATCHSET 1 / 20064087 for 8.2.2.14 PATCHSET 1

New features of Siebel Open UI Innovation Pack 2014

2014-12-05T15:28:00.002-05:00

Open UI enhancements extending the framework to deliver a complete solution for all devices and modes, a framework that enhances usability and user experience.
Alerts & Alarms - used for immediate notifications and in the Siebel Calendar.
Attachments – now includes the ability to save directly to File System.
Barcode Toolbar - in Open UI, the barcode query capability is integrated with the Global Search and the New/Update scanning capability is provided in the relevant Views
Drag and Drop Feature – for Calendar this provides drag and drop of items from an applet onto Siebel Calendar. The Life Sciences calendar allows dragging a Contact record from a list applet onto the Siebel Calendar in order to create a Contact visit record.
Expression/Rules Designer - Design Time: Personalization business rules designer.
Sales Funnel Chart - shows sales and sales-phases pipeline analysis charts in Siebel Sales
HTML Healthcheck – this feature checks browser compliance with the Open UI feature set
Hierarchy View – providing a hierarchical view of Accounts and Contacts
iHelp - Unstructured help is included in Open UI with the same functionality as in HI mode
Lock/freeze on list columns added for applets
Marketing Program Designer – allows the ability to Design Marketing Programs and Multi-stage campaigns in Marketing. The new control delivers a better user experience and a fresh new look when designing a Campaign.
Maps Integration - Mapping ability using Oracle Spatial available out of box.
Order to Cash - Siebel AIA Order to Cash features with Oracle Configurator in Customer Order Management
Product Configurator Administration, Product/Definition, Constraint (Rule) Builder has been added
Open UI Feature Innovations: Query on checkbox, Gantt Chart Resource Scheduler, Scheduler Administration View, SmartScript Designer, Siebel Anywhere, TAS Competitive Analysis, Siebel Web Engine (SWE) API, Web Services (Admin, inbound and outbound), Partner Portal (Quote / Order Home Pages), Smart Answer for Service
New redesigned User Interfaces: Customer Dashboard, eService, Chat, Product Configurator, Marketing and Loyalty, Web Commerce, Promotion Configuration
Catalog Browse with support for drag and drop functionality for adding products to the shopping carts
Find and Binocular Search also integrated into enhanced CTI Toolbar UI
Responsive Web Design framework, single Open UI framework for both Touch and Non-Touch devices.
New ‘Aurora’ UI theme that is responsive, fresh and modern
New Organization Analysis views in Open UI. Highlight and map influence linkages between key Contacts
Signature capture across all mobile devices
Contact Center Communication Panel. Allows Contact Center agents to streamline their daily communication tasks and improves overall productivity when interacting with customers through different channels.
Siebel Chat. New enhancements to the chat interface improve the customer experience and deliver insight to the chat agent.
Field Service. Barcode Scanning and Print invoice, highly sought after by service customers is now available in desktop and tablets
New Public Sector eService portal, predominantly in the form of a citizen service portal. The new portal uses the Open UI design and also includes Knowledge Management and Oracle Policy Automation capabilities, which can also be leveraged with all eService industry portals and not just for Public Sector.
Financial Services Mobility application. Slick Open UI mobile design now includes Rules Based Application Capture and Needs Analysis features as part of Mobile Relationship Management and New Account Origination. Need Analysis is built on an integration to Oracle Policy Automation. Contact 360 degree views, enable the omni channel user experience, with a timeline as a visual way to display interaction history.
Telco Customer Subscription process. The new feature includes a Open UI customer dashboard where Communication Service Providers (CSPs) or their partners can associate a new SIM card with his/her mobile device (Quick Change Sim), Add / Remove Bars for a set of phone numbers and Bulk Onboarding which allows CSPs and their partners to quickly and efficiently onboard, in batch, a number of their customers.

Siebel 8.1.1.10 / 8.2.2.3 – BI Publisher 11g Integration

2013-05-22T16:47:00.001-04:00

There are a number of key improvements with regards to Siebel BI Publisher integration. Most improvements have made it in 8.1.1.9 and couple followed in 8.1.1.10.

Key capabilities:

- UI notifications to shows report generation has been completed (this is available for both Open UI as well as the traditional HI client);
- Option to open a report directly from the Notification list area in the toolbar;
- Intuitive buttons for tablet usability;
- Improved usability using collapsible menus and no popus;
- Return context to the application immediately after report execution;
- Less button clicks to execute reports and open the report output.

Finally – the certification with BI Publisher 11g has become available. You need to be on the BI Publisher 11.1.1.1.7 patch. BI Publisher 11g works with all Siebel releases – since the integration has been simplied between 10g and 11g.

Siebel – Oracle Real-time Scheduler integration

2013-05-22T16:10:00.002-04:00

The integration between Siebel and Oracle’s Real-time scheduler has been refreshed. With Siebel 8.1.1.10 customers can take advantage of ORS v2.1.

The latest Siebel - ORS integration is available with the 8.1.1.10 Fix Pack / Oracle Real-time Scheduler 2.1.

- Align service execution with company objective
- Improve service tech productivity and visibility to the enterprise-
- Reduce travel time and distance
- Significantly increase service center efficiencies
- Offer New or Improved Customer Services

Siebel - Oracle Real Time Scheduler integration