How to apply Open UI patch on Siebel Sample/Local database

Open UI is a new thing in Siebel CRM. Siebel Open UI is browser independent Siebel application with enhanced look and feel, advanced features and many more. To know more about Siebel Open UI, please read our Open UI training series or watch our YouTube videos. Here we will discuss how to apply Open UI patch on Siebel Sample/Local database to ready our developer environment. If you already have Siebel 8.0/8.1 base version installed in your system, then you are good enough to apply Open UI patch on it. Otherwise, upgrade your Siebel base version first to 8.0/8.1 and then apply patch. Here we will apply Open UI patch 8.1.1.10 on Siebel base version 8.1.1.0. If you don’t have the patch handy, you can download it from oracle website. Inside the patch folder, there will be two subfolders, one for Siebel_Tools and another one for Siebel_Web_Client.  You open any one of these two folders to apply patch. Here I have picked up Siebel_Web_Client folder to do this. Now, click on the file ‘Module’ under the path ClientSiebel_Web_ClientDisk1install and follow below steps to complete the process.

Step 1: Specify the WebClient path where you want to apply patch, then browse the path and click next. If you like to get updates from Oracle support web or want to be informed of any security issue, then provide your email id in the next window. If not, just keep it blank. Click on ‘Install’ button and go to Step 2.

Siebel Open UI - www.techonestop.com

Step 2: Once you click on the install button, wizard will start installation automatically. During installation, oracle creates a log file for the same.You can find it under the path Oracle InventorylogsinstallActions*.log.

Siebel Open UI, how to apply patch- www.techonestop.com


Step 3: Once the patch is installed successfully, wizard will be auto closed. Now open your installed Siebel Tools folder location and locate the new folder called ‘REPATCH’. Inside that folder, you can see many folders with various options. As we are applying patch 8.1.1.10, unzip the zip file OpenUI_Base_81110.
Inside the unzip folder, there will be one file called ‘Read me.txt’. You can refer this file for remaining steps to complete the process. Otherwise perform below steps to run your application on Siebel Open UI mode. 

Our next target is, import all open ui related sif files into siebel repository. There is one Siebel provided bat file import.bat which will import all sif files using the file preference.txt. If you want to import individual package one by one, then go to the specific package folder and follow steps given in readme.txt file. As we want to import all files, use the main import.bat file under the folder Tools_1REPPATCHOpenUI_Base_81110OpenUI_Base_81110.

Step 4: There are few optional steps before starting import like backup of Siebel database, create new ODBC connection. For safer side, we will make a copy of our database.  Also if you want, change the symbolic string prefix. To change it, open tools.cfg file and locate the parameter SymStrPrefix. You can put any string in the place of X_. Oracle suggests to give SBL_ in the place of X_ so that we can get to know what all objects have been imported after applying open ui patch.


Step 5: Now if you want to import sif files related to Oracle BIP Reports, create a new project other wise no need to create any project, just lock below projects before importing files.
Reports – OpenUI,
Communication Administration,
XMLP Integration,
Symbolic Strings,
eCalendar,
Locale,
User Preferences,
Siebel Universal Agent,
FINS eBanking Email Activities,
Activity,
Shift,
Table Locale,
SWE,
Query Assistant,
Menu,
eApp,
Common Components,
Message Broadcasting.
Table Sales


Step 6: Open  language.txt file under the path Tools_1REPPATCHOpenUI_Base_81110OpenUI_Base_81110 and ensure that your preferred  language code is present in that file.
Below language codes are supported by Open UI:
   ARA – Arabic
   CHS – Chinese(Simplified)
   CHT – Chinese(Traditional)
   CSY – Czech
   DAN – Danish
   NLD – Dutch
   ENU – English
   FIN – Finnish
   FRA – French
   DEU – German
   HEB – Hebrew
   ITA – Italian
   JPN – Japanese
   KOR – Korean
   PLK – Polish
   PTB – Portuguese(Brazilian)
   PTG – Portuguese(European)
   RUS – Russian
   ESN – Spanish
   SVE – Swedish
   THA – Thai
   TRK – Turkish



Step 7: Now we will configure the file preference.txt which provides the parameter details to import.bat. This step is optional, if you keep any parameter blank and click on import.bat file, then it will ask for parameter values on run time. We would suggest to populate preference.txt file properly first with all parameter values and then click on the import.bat file. Below are the parameters what all we need to populate.
   REPOTOOLSBIN=<Full path of siebdev.exe, e.g. C:siebeltoolsbin>
   REPODATASOURCE=<Data Source entry from tools.cfg, where to import the objects into>
   REPOUSERNAME=<User Name>
   REPOPASSWORD=<Password>
   DBTYPE=<ORACLE/MSSQL/DB2UDB>
   DDLPATH=<path that contains ddldict.exe and ddlimp.exe>
   SIEBUSER=<Siebel Username>
   SIEBPW=<Siebel Password>
   ODBCDATASOURCE=< the name of the ODBC data source)
   TBLO=<Table Owner>
   TBLOUSER=<Table Owner User> (only needed for MSSQL)
   TBLOPW=<Table Owner Password>


In our case it looks like,
REPOTOOLSBIN=D:Siebel8.1Tools_1BINsiebdev.exe
REPODATASOURCE=TEST_LOCAL
REPOUSERNAME=SADMIN
REPOPASSWORD=SADMIN
DBTYPE=ORACLE
DDLPATH=D:Siebel8.1Tools_1BIN
SIEBUSER=SADMIN
SIEBPW=SADMIN
ODBCDATASOURCE=TEST_LOCAL
TBLO=SIEBEL
TBLOPW=SIEBEL
TBLOUSER=
Once you are done with the file setup, click on the import.bat file. If there is anything wrong in parameter setting, Siebel will throw error. Fix those and run it once again. After clicking on the import.bat file, it will ask you ‘Start import (y/n)?’. Choose option ‘y’ and press enter, then select option 1 to import all.

Siebel Open UI, IRM- www.techonestop.com



Step 8: Once the process is completed, do a full compile to get a new srf. Put the srf in Webclientobjects folder. Now open any client cfg file (like uagent.cfg, sales.cfg) and add below parameters under the section ‘InfraUIFramework’.
                           HighInteractivity   = TRUE
                           EnableOpenUI       = TRUE

That’s all. If you want, you can change the symbolic string prefix parameter(SymStrPrefix) value back to x_ in tools.cfg .Now our Siebel Open UI application is ready, clear browser cache and open Siebel Open UI application. If IE is your default browser but want to open it in other browser like Firefox or Google Chrome, then perform few more additional steps. Here we will tell you,  how you can open the application in Firefox. Same is applicable for other browsers as well.

  •  Right click on the ‘Siebel Client’ icon and click on properties. 
  •  In Target tab, at the end of the given string, add firefox.exe file path (/b “C:Program Files MozillaFirefoxfirefox.exe “)
  • Click on ‘Apply’ and ‘Ok’

Now your siebel open ui application will open in Firefox browser.If you face any challenge during applying Siebel Open UI patch, feel free to ask us. To get more updates, follow ‘TechOneStop‘ on Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn or add yourself as follower.

Watch our Open UI training videos:

Siebel Open UI Roadmap 2014-2020

Siebel Open UI Roadmap 2014, probably this is the most required article in our current business scenario. Is Siebel going to die!! has it any future!! Siebel crm or other crm softwares!! Shall I build my career in Siebel or some other technology!! and many more. I heard such questions a lot and when this rumor goes to new siebel consultants, they become unsafe and unclear about their career path. Yes, this is a RUMOR that Siebel is no more alive. It is very much alive and Oracle has given a clear roadmap upto 2020+.
Before going through siebel roadmap, I would like to recap siebel achievements so far once Oracle acquired Siebel.
•    Almost 20 year history of delivering best CRM solutions
•    21+ Industry specific capabilities and 22 languages supported in a single repository
•    Thousands of Customers and Users worldwide
•    7 Releases delivered since Oracle has acquired Siebel CRM
•    More than 90% of customers are on the latest 8.1/8.2 releases

Siebel Roadmap:

Siebel Open UI Roadmap - techonestop.com



In snapshot you can see, 1st half of each year will have Fix Pack delivery where Oracle will provide bug fixes and 2nd half of each year will have Innovation pack which provides innovations and enhancements.

Investment Strategy by Oracle:

Oracle is mainly focusing on
1)    Customer Experience
2)    Industry Innovation
3)    Lower implementation and maintenance cost
Customer Experience
We all know that Siebel was not very good in term of Customer Experience but with Open UI, Oracle has enhanced users experience and productivity a lot.

  • Open UI supports any standard browser and any device
  • Supports user specific look and feel UI
  • Coexists with existing siebel architecture and investment
  • Enhanced mobile application
  • Online/Offline support
  • Device reorganization and signature capture
  • Redesign siebel ‘Out-of-box’ user interfaces like Dispatch board, chat, eservice
  • Map integration, camera support, multi tab support
  • Integration with social profile, supports ‘Big Data’
  • Improved loyalty management

Industry Innovation

  • Open UI has specialized line-of business applications
  • Improved mobile application for financial services
  • Redesigned eService application in Open UI to incorporate enhanced self service capabilities, reduce clicks, drill downs

Lower implementation and maintenance cost
Open UI supports existing Siebel architecture, also Oracle has introduced Incremental Repository Merge which reduces the Upgradation cost. It reduces the initial install size and time by 50%.
Siebel Upgrade Momentum:

Siebel Open UI Upgrade- techonestop.com

Almost 90% customers are using Siebel 8.0 or higher version. Also all top brands from various verticals are using Siebel to run their business and number is still growing. Here is a snapshot below of siebel customers.

Siebel Open UI customers- techonestop.com

So come out from the rumor that Siebel is not alive anymore and keep learning. Oracle has a strong and rich product roadmap upto 2020+.

To know more, watch our YouTube video:

 
If you have any question or doubt, you can write us. For more updates on recent activities, follow ‘TechOneStop‘ on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn or join our website as follower.

We have Siebel Open UI training series also, you may like it. Click here to start from our first article What is Siebel Open UI, Its Features and benefits or watch our YouTube videos.

How to customize the Server Busy error in Siebel

Server busy error in Siebel – “Server you are trying to access is either busy or experiencing difficulties.

Customize Server Busy Error in Siebel Open UI

Almost everyone has experienced this server busy error in Siebel HI or Open UI client.

There could be many reasons behind this error message. We will discuss few of such reasons below in brief.

But,

Question is – can we customize this server busy error in Siebel?

Can we display our own custom message instead of our of box message?

Can we display message like ‘Siebel application will be down for 20 minutes. Please retry to open application after 10:30 AM?’

One of our clients also asked us to customize this message when ever application is down.

Sounds interesting?

Well…

In this article we will discuss – how can we customize server busy error in Siebel?

Better to ask, can we do it at all?

If yes, how to do so?

But,

Before that, let us tell you few common reasons behind this error message.

  1. Check Siebel Web Server is running properly or not
  2. Verify server services like Seibel server, gateway are up and running
  3. Check database connectivity – You can use any database client like PLSQL developer / Toad to verify connectivity
  4. There may be issue with data source name or DSN
  5. Replace current repository file with last known working repository file. You may face this server busy error in Siebel if srf file is corrupted.
  6. Replace current siebns.dat file with last known working siebns.dat file

There could be many other reasons behind this error message.

If you can’t find any particular reason, check log files – application server log, SWSE log, SSO agent log.

This is all about when Siebel behaves differently. But what if we want Siebel to behave differently?

What we want to mean here,

Suppose you are doing repository migration or working on upgrade and want to display an user friendly message to all users instead of vanilla message.

For example – ‘We are working on Siebel server. Please try to login after 10:00 AM.’

Does Siebel support this kind of customization?

As per Oracle Support Web, there is no out of box option to customize this message. But Oracle has taken this as change request (CR no: 12-WOBRIV, Doc ID 488861.1) .

So, in future, you may see out of box option to customize server busy error in Siebel HI or Open UI.

Well,

Does that mean we can not do anything right now?

Wait…

We have workaround. 🙂

Steps to configure server busy error in Siebel:

Step 1: Build HTML page with custom message

You know, how to build HTML page with custom message, right?

Don’t worry if you don’t know HTML. You will get enough materials on the internet to learn it.

HTML is easy but very efficient web programming language.

To learn HTML, we would suggest you to refer W3schools.

Now,

You build the custom webpage with custom message, test it and copy it under <Siebel_root>/SWEApp/PUBLIC/ <lang>.

Remember,

You must save the custom webpage with .html extension.

Step 2. Update Default.htm page

Make no mistake:

Before updating Default.htm page, you must keep a copy of vanilla Default.htm. This will help you to revert your changes easily once your work is completed.

Also as per Siebel best practices, it is always advisable to make a copy of out of box object before doing any kind of changes.

To locate the file, navigate to <Siebel_root>/SWEApp/PUBLIC/<lang>.

Now open the file in notepad and replace the string <body onLoad=”GotoUrl(‘start.swe?SWECmd=Start’)”> with <body onLoad=”GotoUrl(‘custom.html’)”>

custom.html‘ is the custom file with custom message.

Step 3. Refresh browser and verify changes

That’s enough!!

Now refresh browser (not mandatory but better to do) and launch the Siebel application.

You should see your custom.html page instead of vanilla web page.

If you still see vanilla web page, go to security section of your browser and mark the option “Empty Temporary Internet Files Folder when browser is closed” – True.

Note: This security option is for Internet Explorer browser. If you use any other browser, you will find similar kind of option.

Now close the webpage and reopen the application.

But,

There is a drawback of this kind of customization.

Once your activities are completed, you have to revert all changes. That means, either replace the string “<body onLoad=”GotoUrl(‘custom.html’)”>” with “<body onLoad=”GotoUrl(‘start.swe?SWECmd=Start’)”>” or use original Default.htm file .

Otherwise you will see your custom webpage every time.

Oh Wait!

Here is the good news.

If you are working on Open UI application, you can capture any webpage response. Also based on webpage response, you can do client side web page redirection to custom web page from your application.

To know more about webpage redirect, read this.

Best part of this kind of configuration is that you do not need to change Default.htm every time. Do it once and update custom message as per requirement.

But remember, we have never tried this solution.

Please let us know if you are trying this solution.

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

Keep in touch, follow TechOneStop on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Google+.

<< Change icons on screen tabs in Siebel              Highlight required fields in Siebel Open UI >>

SBL-EDC-00190: Error occurred in creating the draft document

Error Message: Error occurred in creating the draft document.(SBL-EDC-00190)
Error Description: This error may occur when you are trying to generate documents in Siebel using ‘Auto Document’ button
Reason: The reason behind this error is that Siebel is not able to locate the file in file system to generate the document.

Solution: Perform below steps to fix this issue
1) Copy the template name that is throwing error
2) Go to  Administration-Document > Proposal templates and query for the template with category

3) If the template does not exist, create a new template with proper template file else upload the file once again for the column ‘Template File Name’.

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<< Error: SBL-EDC-00196 / SBL-DAT-00472                                                                                     Error: SBL-EAI-08032 >>

SBL-EDC-00196 / SBL-DAT-00472: Error occurred in generating the document structure

Error Message: 
         Error occurred in generating the document structure.(SBL-EDC-00196)
         Generic SSA NOTOK error message.(SBL-DAT-00472)
Error description: You face this issue when generating documents in Siebel using ‘Auto Document’ and ‘Generate Draft’ buttons.
Reason: The reason behind this error is that you don’t have any template, set as default of that category. For example, when you generate document from ‘Agreement’ using ‘Auto Document’ button, then there should be one default template in Admin-Document>Proposal template with category ‘Agreement’. If you do it from ‘Quote’, then category will be ‘Quote’.



Solution: Perform below steps to fix this issue
1) Decide the template which one you want to set as default template of that category
2) Goto Admin-Document > Proposal templates and query for the template with category
3) Check the ‘Default’ is true for the template


Now when you try to generate document, default template will come up first.
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<< Error: SBL-EAI-04262                                                                                                                 Error: SBL-EDC-00190 >>

SBL-EAI-04262: Error writing XML to file

Error Description: Error writing XML to file ‘\TESTLogResponse.xml’ (SBL-EAI-04262)
Reason: This error comes up when \TESTLOG folder is not accessible from Siebel, either the folder is not added as parameter value for  ‘EAI File Transport Folder List’ or it is not shared properly.
Solution: Perform below steps to fix this issue

1) Go to Admin-Server configuration > Components and query for the parameter ‘EAI File Transport Folder List’, add the folder path under the column ‘Value on Restart’ (For expmple: \TESTLog) and restart the component.
2) Check the folder is shard or not, if not, then share the folder so that Siebel can access it


<< Error: SBL-EAI-50228                                                                                    Error: SBL-EDC-00196 / SBL-DAT-00472 >>