021: Recycling-Heroes - Custom Descriptor Item (Contact)

Introduction

In the last episode, we configured the Launchpad and integrated our deployed application into a Space so that our users can see all the necessary applications immediately upon system login. After deployment, we adopted the basic configuration of the tile and didn't pay any further attention to the details. Therefore, in this episode, we'll take a closer look at the configuration options.

App Descriptor Item

To do this, we'll create a new Launchpad App Descriptor Item, since we can't change the deployed version locally. We can simply right-click in the Project Explorer to create a new item. We'll give the item a new name and a description so we can find the artifact later. We'll leave the SAPUI5 Fiori Application as the app type, since we want to create a configuration for it. The component ID is the unique ID we created during generation; this is a combination of the namespace and module name. Content Assist helps you find the appropriate component in the system; here, we're looking for the Contact app. As with creating the app in the Business Application Studio, we also need to define the semantic object and the action. These are important for navigating the system and thus clearly determine the application to be called.

In the upper part of the app descriptor, you'll find information about the application and the type. Our component is also linked to the configuration here. Below you'll find navigation information, such as the semantic object, the action, and additional navigation parameters that we can use for navigation in various scenarios. We'll look at this part in more detail in a later article. In the lower section, we find the tiles that we'll also see later in the Launchpad.

We can freely customize the tile ID, and this will initially set the default tile. In principle, we can define multiple tiles directly for an application if we need them. We'll set the tile to "Dynamic" because we want to see the number of contacts on the tile later. This will activate another section in the configuration in the lower section. The title and subtitle have already been pulled from the app and pre-populated. Since we've already stored the information, we'll find it here again. Next, we want to define an icon on the tile. You can find the search help for this using the Browse button. However, we can't see the available icons or what they look like here. Therefore, you'll find a link to the Icon Explorer in the video description.

Since we now want to dynamically display a number on the tile, we still need to fill in the "Dynamic Tile Details." To do this, we need the service URL from which we want to get the information. In this case, you get the information from the service binding, for example. Then we specify the entity from the service that we want to count and append Count. This means the service only returns the number of records for the entity. Then we define the unit that should appear under the number so the user knows what it represents. We set the refresh interval to 30 seconds. The current setting of zero means that the number is read only once when the tile is loaded and then only when the Launchpad is refreshed. This way, the number is read and updated at regular intervals.

Assignment

Now we want to replace the configuration of the current IAM app. To do this, we open the app again and replace the app descriptor item. The system asks us whether we also want to clean up the service and the authorizations. We confirm this with "Yes". After applying the new configuration, we click the "Publish Locally" button to publish the configuration in the system. This completes the ABAP Development Tools section, and we can switch to the Launchpad.

Since we haven't updated the Launchpad yet, we still find the old tile configuration here. If we perform an update, we receive an error because the area has been hidden. With the new tile, we have a new object in the system and must first make the adjustments here. To do this, we switch to the "Manage Launchpad Pages" application to adjust the page. On the tile, we also see the information that it is no longer in the scope of the role and is therefore no longer displayed. Let's remove the tile from the space. The new app is already suggested via the side menu. This time, we'll adopt it as a wide tile, as this is an important application for us and we want it to have a bit more space in the Launchpad. After the adoption, the icon and number will be displayed as a preview. Now let's save the setting.

Since we've adjusted the permissions and assignments here, we need to log out of the Launchpad and log back in for the changes to take effect. After logging in, the "Recycling Heroes" space will be visible again. If we switch to the space, we'll see our new tile and the number of entries will be loaded. The unit will also be displayed below the tile. When we open the tile, the five entries are also displayed.

Summary

Today's episode was about the App Descriptor Item and how we can use it to further customize our tile in Launchpad. We created a dynamic tile, integrated it into Launchpad, and finally checked that it continues to function properly. Next time, we'll look at the important topic of permissions.

So, thanks for watching, and see you next time.

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