Layout Files

Layout definitions are stored in files that are located within the Emplifi Agent website. To use the Layout Editor effectively, it is important to understand the different file types and their relationship to one another.

The master layout file is called "LayoutList.xml." It contains the standard, out-of-the-box layout definitions for each screen. The file is in the XML subdirectory in the website. The Layout Editor does not modify this file, nor should it ever be modified manually. Any modifications made directly to this file are lost the next time the website is upgraded.

All modifications to layout definitions are stored in the Custom subdirectory of the website. Files located in this directory are preserved during upgrades.

Layouts can be customized for every possible combination of Company ID and Configuration ID defined in your system.  For example, if you have two companies (SYS, ABC) and three configurations (DEFAULT, Agents, Managers), you have six possible combinations:

  • SYS - DEFAULT
  • SYS - Agents
  • SYS - Managers
  • ABC - DEFAULT
  • ABC - Agents
  • ABC - Managers

In theory, you could define different layouts for every screen, for every combination, but this is rarely done. The time and effort required to set up and maintain all of these would be prohibitive, especially as the number of companies and configurations increase.

In most cases, you will use the same layouts for most of your screens across each company and configuration. Then you will customize only the individual screens that you require, and only at the level that you require. Some examples:

  • You could have a customized Issue screen for the ABC-Agents, and a different customized issue screen for the ABC-Managers.
  • You could have a modified Case screen that applies to the entire ABC company, regardless of configuration.
  • You could have another modified Case screen that applies to all members of the DEFAULT configuration, regardless of company.

As mentioned earlier, when you make a modification to a layout definition, it is saved in a file in the Custom subdirectory of the website. The name of the file always begins with "LayoutList" and always has an ".xml" extension. The file name also includes either the Company ID or the Configuration ID (or both) to which the customizations apply. The Company ID is preceded by the letter "C," and the Configuration ID is preceded by the letter "G." Some examples:

  • Customized layouts that apply to company SYS and configuration Agents would be in a file called LayoutListCSYSGAgents.xml.
  • Customized layouts that apply to the all users of the Managers configuration would be in a file called "LayoutListGManagers.xml.
  • Customized layouts that apply to all users of the ABC company would be in a file called "LayoutListCABC.xml."

Layout generation is an automated process during which the layout definitions are transformed into individual files for each screen. Before a user can use Emplifi Agent, the layouts that apply to that user's Company, Configuration, and Language must be generated. This is true even if there are no customizations for that company or configuration.

Alternatively, it is possible to set up a configuration to use the layouts defined for another configuration. This is done on the Layouts view of the configuration settings. The Layouts view also determines the company and language combinations that will be supported by a configuration. For information, refer to Configuration: Layouts.

If a user attempts to log on to Emplifi Agent before layouts have been generated for their current company and configuration, they will get errors and no data will be displayed in the viewer frame.

Layouts for any given Company and Configuration are generated based on all the available layout definitions.

When you generate layouts, you specify the company ID, configuration ID, and language ID for which layout you would like to generate. While the generation process is running, it checks for custom layout definitions for each screen, from the most specific to the most general.

Example: You initiate the generation process for Company "ABC," and Configuration "Agents." As the layout for each screen is generated, the process will look for a definition in each of the following files in order, and it will use the first one that contains a definition for that screen:

  • Custom layout definition for company/configuration combination (custom/LayoutListCABCGAgents.xml)
  • Custom layout definition for the current configuration only (custom/LayoutListGAgents.xml)
  • Custom layout definition for the current company only (custom/LayoutListCABC.xml)
  • Standard layout definition (XML/LayoutList.xml)

As you can see, if you had no customized layout definitions, all of your generated layouts would be based on the standard definitions. Customizations are applied at any point where they are available.

The results of the layout generation process appear under the HTML directory of the website.

Once the generation process for a given company and configuration has been completed, there will be a new subdirectory that includes the company ID and configuration ID. It will also include the language ID, preceded by the letter "L." Based on the above example, the layouts would be placed into a directory called "HTML\CABCGAgentsLen."

There is an HTML file in this directory for every view in the Emplifi Agent system.

 

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