Change icons on screen tabs in Siebel Open UI

Have you ever tried to add or change icons on screen tabs in Siebel HI application?

Before that,

Do you think, we can configure screen tab icons in Siebel HI at all?

And what about Siebel Open UI?

Configuring Siebel Open UI

Answer is YES!

We can add or change icons on screen tabs in Siebel HI as well as Open UI application.

There are two ways to change screen tab icons in Siebel –

1. Repository Dependent Process – Configure Bitmap category and Bitmap in Siebel Tools

2. Repository Independent Process – Find out the image name and replace it with custom image

We all like fast and non srf solution, isn’t!

Here, we will discuss about repository independent process in details. Though we will brief you about srf dependent process also but main focus will be on non srf solution.

You may think, what is the use or business value of changing screen tab icons?

Well,

It’s not like that it does not have any business value. Better user experience is also a business value, right?

You know, image can engage users more than just a text.

Even we have seen a customer who asked to replace all texts from screen tabs with images completely just for better user experience.

So,

Steps for non srf solution to change icons on screen tabs in Siebel HI or Open UI:

Step 1. Find out the image name, responsible to display icon on screen tab

You already know how to find out any element or object in Siebel Open UI, right?

If not, you must go through our Open UI training articles, particularly Siebel Open UI theme customization.

Here we will change screen icon for ‘Account‘ tab.

So, right click on ‘Account‘ screen icon and click on ‘Inspect Element‘ to launch inspector.

change icons on screen tabs in Siebel Open UI

Under Elements tab, you should see highlighted ‘img‘ html tag. Once you keep the cursor over that highlighted script, you will see a popup of that image and icon on screen tab will also be highlighted.

Modify screen tab icons in Siebel Open UI

Now seeing the image, you can tell the image file name and size.

For ‘Account‘, image file name is ‘accounts_icon.gif‘ and size is ‘16X16‘ pixels.

Image size is important because we have to replace this image with same size image. Otherwise Siebel will not display the icon properly.

For this tutorial, we have got a custom image with 16X16 pixels.

If you want to increase the size for screen tab icons, then you have to modify CSS rules.

You can test it by updating CSS properties inline using browser developer tool.

Update icons on Screen tab in Siebel Open UI

On the right hand side, you can see few CSS properties from theme-base.css file, right?

Just change the height parameter from 16px to any other value and see, icon size is changed. Likewise you can test font size, padding, line height also. To know more about theme related configuration, read our article on Siebel Open UI theme.

Anyway, back to our topic.

So far, we know what is the image name and where to find it.

Step 2. Verify custom image

Same as application loading image, screen tab icon also has size limit. From the previous step, we have got to know that best fit image size is 16X16 pixels.

To resize custom image, you can use any third party tool like Microsoft Office picture ManagerPicresize.

Also don’t forget to save it with .gif format.

Step 3. Replace the out of box image

Now,

Copy your custom image file under ‘IMAGES‘ folder.

For dedicated client, copy the image under ..Client\PUBLIC\<lang>\IMAGES.

For web client, copy it under Siebel Web Server\PUBLIC\<lang>\images.

Do not delete the out of box image!

Before copying the custom image, rename the vanilla one. So that, if it requires, you can always get the vanilla image.

Change screen tab icons in Siebel Open UI

Step 4. Verify Siebel Open UI application

Now clear browser cache and relaunch Siebel Open UI application, you should see the new icon.

Customize icons on screen tabs in Siebel Open UI

Simple and easy!!

But,

It has a drawback 🙁

What will happen if the same vanilla image has been used in other place/s as well?

In this scenario, vanilla image will not appear in any other place as you have changed the name.

But,

Good thing is that, we have never faced such issue but it may occur. In this case, you have to go for srf dependent process to change icons on screen tabs.

So, just a brief about Repository Dependent Process.

First, find out the ‘Bitmap Category’ and ‘Bitmap’ responsible to display the icon.

If the screen tab has icon, it will have ‘Bitmap Category’ also.

So navigate to Siebel Tools -> Screen and search for the screen.

From ‘Bitmap Category’ property in Screen object, you will get the category name.

If there is no category associated, you have to create a new one.

So copy the category name and query for the category under ‘Bitmap Category’ object.

Come down to the ‘Bitmap‘ child object and query with Name = Screen Tab Icon. If it is not there, then we have to create a new one with image name.

Name: Screen Tab Icon
Filename: Custom image file name

Do not forget to copy the custom image under ‘IMAGES’ folder as specified in step 3.

Compile all changes and launch the application. You must see the custom icon instead of vanilla.

Good enough!

If you have any question, please let us know.

Also if you want us to discuss any business scenario in this ‘Configuring Siebel Open UI‘ series, please leave your comment below.

Don’t forget to leave your feedback in the comment section!

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<< Change application default loading image       Highlight required fields in Siebel Open UI >>

Watch our YouTube Video on how to configure Siebel Open UI to change icons on screen tabs:

How does OLX or Quikr make money

How does OLX or Quikr make moneyQuestion (posted by Rann):
“I am a regular visitor of Techonestop.com and like it very much. I would like to ask a question on discussion forum: How does OLX or Quikr make money ?

Answer (posted by TechOneStop):
First of all, thank you Rann for posting your doubt on our discussion forum. This is in fact a good question.
OLX or Quikr does not charge anything from us for posting ads, then how they earn money?
Well, though they do not charge anything from us, there are many other ways to earn revenue.

1. AdSense Ads / Google Ads:
OLX, Quikr or any other eCommerce sites get huge traffic flows every day and millions of unique visitors every month. So displaying AdSense ads on every page gives a decent amount of money.

2. Sponsored Ads / Banners:
Beside AdSense ads, Quikr or OLX sells its website space to various enterprises to display their ads or banners, just like AdSense ads. Difference from AdSense is that sponsored ads are completely controlled by these eCommerce sites, there is no revenue share with 3rd parties.

3. Premium Ads:
If you want your products or services to make more visible or reach out more viewers to sell it faster, then premium ad is a good option. Quikr provides two type of premium ads – Top Of Page and Urgent. A ‘Top Of Page’ ad costs you more than ‘Urgent’ as Quikr shows this kind of ads at the top of each ad category highlighted in blue. It helps to get more visibility than Urgent ads. Urgent ads are indicated by a green star before ad title. To display premium ads, Quikr charges you depending upon product category, type of premium ads.

These are the main three sources of making money for any eCommerce site.
If you want to share anything on How does OLX or Quikr make money, please feel free to comment here.

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What is ‘Where 1=1, 1=2’ in Oracle SQL?

Question (Posted by Michael using Contact Form under ‘Contact US’ page):
What is the purpose of using where 1=1 and 1=2 in Oracle SQL?

Answer by TechOneStop:
Hi Michael, thank you for posting your question on our discussion forum.
In Oracle database, where 1=1 means true and 1=2 means false because 1 is never equal to 2 🙂
You could use any number like 2=3 or 3=3, only thing that matters here is both numbers are same or not. 
Let us give you an example. Suppose we have to create a table (table_b) same as another table (table_a) but do not want to copy any record from table_a, only table structure will be same for both tables. Here we can write query like below:
CREATE TABLE TABLE_B AS SELECT * FROM TABLE_A WHERE 1=2;
– This will create table_b same as table_a without copying records from table_a, only table description will be copied to table_b.

Now if we want everything from table_a will be copied to table_b, write query like below 
CREATE TABLE TABLE_B AS SELECT * FROM TABLE_A WHERE 1=1;
– This will copy table structure, all records from table_a to table_b.

Even you could use string also like ‘tech’ = ‘techonestop’ or ‘tech’=’tech’. You could use ‘where 1=1’ or ‘1=2’ in any query like SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TABLE_A WHERE 1=2; 

Please let us know if it was helpful. If you want to add more information, please feel free to comment here.

What is Caret Browsing ( or Caret Navigation) ?

Have you heard about Caret Browsing? This is quite old technical term but if you are not keyboard savvy person, you would not be familiar with caret browsing or caret navigation.
Like most of the people, you probably use mouse to select text on a webpage during internet browsing and just for typing purpose, you use keyboard. But what would you call it, if you can select text on a webpage by using keyboard only? This is what we call as called Caret Browsing or Caret Navigation where a caret (also known as ‘text cursor’ or ‘text insertion cursor’ or ‘text selection cursor) is used to navigate within webpage, same as Microsoft Word. But this feature is not supported by all browsers, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox support Caret Browsing.
To enable or disable Caret Browsing on a webpage, just press ‘F7’ function key. It will prompt you to turn Caret Browsing on, press ‘Yes’ and Caret Browsing will be enabled. Now you can use various navigation keys on your keyboard including ‘Home’, ‘End’, ‘Page Up’, ‘Page Down’, 4 arrow keys to select text, hold ‘Shift’ key and move the caret to select multiple lines. Almost it looks like a cellphone browser, quite useful when you are using laptop touchpad rather than a mouse.

To enable caret browsing in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox:
– Press F7 function key and then click ‘Yes’ on the popup window

What is Caret Browsing - techonestop.com


– To enable Caret Browsing for new window and tabs (only for Internet Explorer), click on ‘Tools’ (‘Gear’ icon on top right hand corner), go to Internet Options > Advanced and mark the check box ‘Enable Caret Browsing for new windows and tabs‘ true.

Caret browsing - techonestop.com

To disable Caret Browsing, press F7 again. If the checkbox ‘Enable Caret Browsing for new windows and tabs‘ is marked, uncheck it.

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Use of Keyboard Function keys (F1 – F12)

Keyboard Function keys or fn keys (f1,f2,f3,f4,f5,f6,f7,f8,f9,f10,f11,f12)

Every keyboard comes with a set of function keys (F1 through F12) but do you know functionalities of those function keys (or fn keys)? Sometimes in multimedia keyboard or compact keyboard, these function keys come as secondary functions on other keys like brightness, sleep, play media, player, mute. In such keyboard, to use function keys, you may need to press another special key ‘fn’ (beside Windows key) and then any function key. These function keys can be used with combination of other keys like ctrl or alt or shift.
Each function key is built to perform specific task but it may vary based upon operating system and the kind of program you are using right now. Let’s see few common functionalities that can be performed using these function keys. Few of such functionalities you may have used, few not.


F1:  
   – Almost every program uses this key to open its Help and Support window 
   – F1 with windows key shows up Windows Help and Support screen
   – Can be used to enter CMOS setup

F2:
   – Yes, I know, almost everyone has used this to rename files or folders or icons quickly
   – Can be used to enter CMOS setup
   – Alt + Ctrl + F2 opens document window in Microsoft Office
   – Ctrl  + F2 displays print preview window in Microsoft Office
   – Alt + F2 opens ‘Save As’ window in Microsoft Excel
   – Shift + F2 can be used to add comment box in Microsoft Excel

F3:
   – Press F3 to open search window to find files and folders
   – In MSDOS or windows command prompt, F3 repeats the last command
   – On most browsers, F3 is used to open find bar
   – In Microsoft Word, Shift + F3 changes the text from upper case to lower case or all capital letters

F4:
– Most common, Alt + F4 to close current program window. If no program window is open, it launches Shutdown dialog box
– Ctrl  + F4 closes active window within current active window in Microsoft Windows
– Opens address bar in Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer
– Press F4 to repeat the last action performed in Microsoft Word

F5:
   – Almost in all modern internet browsers, pressing F5 refreshes or reloads the web page
   – Starts slide show in Power Point
   – Opens Find and Replace window in Microsoft Word, GoTo window in Excel

F6:
   – Almost in all modern browsers, pressing F6 moves the cursor to the address bar
   – Ctrl + F6 toggles between various Microsoft Word documents

F7:
   – Press F7 to launch Spelling and Grammar dialog box in Microsoft Office program
   – Shift + F7  opens Research window in Microsoft Office
   – In few browsers like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, pressing F7 turns Caret Browsing on or off

F8:
   – Holding F8 during Windows boot process enters into Windows Safe Mode
   – Pressing F8 displays a thumbnail image of all workspaces in Mac OS X

F9:
   – In many application, it is used to send email like Microsoft Outlook, Siebel CRM
   – Ctrl + F9 and Alt + F9 are used to build mail merge document in Microsoft Word
   – If you are a programmer, you may have used F9 to compile and execute code in combination with Ctrl or Alt key

F10:
   – In many programs, Shift + F10 opens up the menu window, equivalent to right-click
   – Shows menu bar in Mozilla Firefox, internet browser or highlights the same in many programs
   – Sometimes it is used to enter CMOS setup

F11:
   – Is used to enter and exit from full screen mode in all modern internet browsers
   – In Microsoft Excel, Shift + F11 adds a new sheet, Ctrl + F11 adds a new macro to the workbook
   – Pressing Alt + F11 in MS Office program, invokes Microsoft Visual Basic window for that document

F12:
– Opens ‘Save As’ window in MS Office program
– Shift + Ctrl + F12 open Print window in MS Office
– Ctrl + F12 opens a document in MS Office
– Opens and closes developer tools in most of the internet browsers

Conclusion:
In earlier IBM keyboard, there were keys from F13 to F24 also. But we do not use these function keys any more. We have tried our best to give you functionalities of all Function keys or fn keys (F1 – F12). But we may have missed out some important uses of these function keys and that’s what we have readers like you. Please let us know if you have come across any other functionalities of these function keys. We will publish it with your name.
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To know more, watch our YouTube video:


Where can I get training on Microsoft Dynamics CRM (MS CRM) ?

Question posted by Sameer Ab:
“I have 2 years of experience as a test engineer. How could I become a Microsoft CRM tech consultant. Also i am looking for internship or entry level job in ms crm in bangalore/Hyderabad. Please please help me.”

Answer (by TechOneStop):
It is great to see that you are interested to learn Microsoft CRM (also called as Microsoft Dynamics CRM or MS CRM). 
1. First I would suggest you to watch few videos on Microsoft Dynamics, visit Microsoft Virtual Academy. You could watch YouTube videos as well. It will give you overall idea about MS CRM.
2. Microsoft gives 30 days free trial period to do hands on Dynamics CRM, just register yourself and do some basic configurations like create organization, position, users.
3. If you are interested to explore more, join any classroom training. There are many institutes who provide training on MS CRM. 
To download user guide and training documents on Dynamics, click here.

Wish you all the best!! Please let us know if this was helpful for you. Also I would like to ask our readers to share their answers on this question.