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Overloading %SubmitScriptName

ChiliJoe — Sat, 19 May 2007 17:45:52 +0000

As discussed in the previous post, all actions in a component that eventually require a server trip would invoke %SubmitScriptName for submitting the page. As such, it sometimes provide a convenient point for performing javascript modifications on the page.

This is achieved by storing a reference to the original function, and redefining %SubmitScriptName to perform your custom logic — invoking the original function as needed.

The following sample scenarios may help to illustrate this technique.
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A Look at %SubmitScriptName

ChiliJoe — Sat, 19 May 2007 10:00:58 +0000

In PeopleTools 8.4, %SubmitScriptName is the meta-HTML javascript function used by all PeopleSoft component pages for triggering server-side actions. %SubmitScriptName is translated at run time (i.e., when the page is rendered) to submitAction_win0. It may be related to %FormName as submitAction_%FormName, since %FormName is also translated to win0. I don’t know how PeopleTools internally translates %FormName, but as far as I can tell it is always translated to win0 inside any component.

The %SubmitScriptName function is passed 2 parameters:

form – the 1st parameter is the form object with the data to be submitted. On a component, this will be the win0 form in the content frame.
action ID * – the 2nd parameter is a distinct text string which informs the component processor what action is requested or what type of action took place.

* – I just made up this label for the purpose of discussion.

The action ID that can be passed to %SubmitScriptName can be categorized into the following type of actions:
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Modifiable by JavaScript

ChiliJoe — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 21:30:13 +0000

One very handy, yet very mysterious property in the PeopleTools page fields is the so-called Modifiable by JavaScript property. This property is available under the Use tab of user-input page fields. It is used to be labeled Modifiable from HTML on the earlier versions of PeopleTools (8.2x and earlier). This property is mysterious because its use is not documented thoroughly in PeopleBooks. Only a passing remark on the property is made to describe it under the Application Designer PeopleBook:

Modifiable by JavaScript - This is a security-related feature and should always be cleared unless you are familiar with modifying an invisible field using JavaScript in an HTML area. If the Invisible check box is cleared, Modifiable by JavaScript is cleared and unavailable for entry. If the Invisible check box is selected, this check box is cleared, by default.

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How-To: Button for Printing a Standard PeopleSoft Page

ChiliJoe — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 17:13:05 +0000

I’ve often receive requests for a solution regarding printing a PeopleSoft page by clicking a button. This tutorial presents a step-by-step instruction for the simple requirement of printing the current page.

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Emails w/ Attachment From a PS Online Page

ChiliJoe — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 19:04:03 +0000

The PeopleCode SendMail() function is a quick and easy way to send emails from your PeopleSoft application. Unlike workflow routing and Notification classes, SendMail() provides the most functionality when it comes to sending emails. Over the newer releases, PeopleSoft has further added new capabilities to this function like overriding the content-type and sender details. However, the feature that I find the least used is the inclusion of file attachments. This is because in PIA, PeopleCode runs either on the Application server or the Batch server. The files that can be attached should be either 1) located on the server, or 2) accessed by the server through a network share. For this reason, most applications that use file attachments are Application Engine programs (running on the Batch server) that attach log files from within the server.

If you’ve used web-based email services like Yahoo, then you’ll find it a common feature to allow attachments to be uploaded by a user from his workstation and send those attachments with the email message. Is this possible in PeopleSoft’s internet architecture? The answer is yes, this article will show you how.

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Erring Silently

ChiliJoe — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 15:28:09 +0000

If you’re a PeopleSoft programmer, the Error() function is probably one of the first function you learned in PeopleCode. Raising an error — via the Error or MessageBox functions — is an indispensable operation, and serves multiple purposes throughout the component processor flow. Aside from displaying a message to the user, issuing an error has an accompanying effect which depends on which PeopleCode event it occurs. In FieldEdit, it highlights the affected field and stops further processing; in SaveEdit, it is used to abort save processing (SavePreChange–Workflow–SavePostChange); in RowDelete, it is used to cancel the user delete action.

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PeopleCode Array to HTML

ChiliJoe — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 15:50:57 +0000

When working with HTML areas or an IScript page, it is still often very convenient to store data into arrays. When converting the data into the necessary HTML, the Join() method of the Array class still provides a convenient way to formulate your HTML without doing a loop. The following examples should illustrate.

To generate a series of paragraphs from an array &arPara:


   &html = &arPara.Join("
", "
", "");

To create an unordered (bullet) list from &arList:


   &html = &arList.Join("", "", "");

PS Page On-demand Javascript

ChiliJoe — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Previously, I’ve presented a technique on how to effectively append javascript execution in your PeopleSoft pages. The technique could be used to append a stylesheet to a PS page; or run code to beautify the page, perhaps adding fancy functionality like drag-and-drop to the elements. Javascript execution using the technique, however, is static. It applies to those scenarios where you want the custom javascript to run at every page load.

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Direct access to component

ChiliJoe — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Yet another thing I learned this week. It is possible to open a component directly, bypassing the search page — of course after logging in — from a URL link. In the URL, just add the search key field values in the query string. You’ll have to specify the exact search key fieldname and value pairs: ?EMPLID=AA01234&EFFSEQ=1

This could be useful when sending notifications to users via email, and you want to provide a link directly to the specific page and data.

More javascript adventures in PS

ChiliJoe — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I have recently completed prototyping a rather challenging problem that involves printing a document from a PeopleSoft page. The challenge is to find a way to print a separate document directly from the page. The functional SME somehow has an expectation that this functionality should behave like a native application — where by a click a button on the page, he will be presented by the Windows print dialog; the user can proceed and a document that is not the page being displayed will be printed on the user’s printer. Now, PIA applications are accessed via a web browser. Because of this, the features available to the application is limited by the web browser it is running on.

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