AppManager Settings (release 4.1) - Akumina Community

AppManager Settings (release 4.1)

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To Access the AppManger “Settings” screen, on the top bar, click on your user profile dropdown menu, and select “Settings.”

 

It only appears for users who are part of the Administrator Group for the current site.  The Settings area consists of four sections:

  • Global Settings
  • Content Settings
  • Management Settings
  • Product Feature Key

 

Global Settings

Global Settings are used to configure the AppManager to point to the correct site address, image path, system email, user groups, and other important connections to SharePoint for each site in the Site Collection. Global Settings is for the current site only.  Each site in a Site Collection has its own Global Settings.

Note that the settings (gear) icon will not appear if a user is not in an Admin group.

To view the Global Settings for a Site in AppManager, click the EDIT button under Global Settings.

The Global Settings page is displayed.

The following table outlines each of the fields on the Global Settings page.

Field Details
Field Details
Site Address When using claims authentication (i.e. Office365), this is the URL to the SharePoint site.
Default Image Path The name of the default document library used to store images. This can be overridden in each individual Content App as needed.
System Email The email address used to send system emails. This value must be set as core functions such as notifications and commenting.
Default Metadata Fields The fields to be shown in the metadata panel (and thus not in the main editing area) for authoring apps.
Administrator Group If set, these are the groups a user must belong to access administrative functions including the settings area and the Management Apps. This should always be set otherwise any use will be able to access the settings area.  More than one group can be selected if necessary as shown.
Reporting Group IF USING THE FORMS FUNCTIONALITY, THIS GROUP MUST BE SPECIFIED TO ENABLE THE CREATION OR EDITING OF FORMS.  This is also the group a user must be a member of to access the Reporting Apps. More than one group can be selected if necessary.

 

Creating/Modifying Content Apps

AppManager Content Apps can easily be created or modified within the AppManager based on an existing SharePoint list or by creating a new SharePoint list as the source for the Content App.

The following section applies to AppManager 4.0 and higher.  To view the process for AppManager versions prior to 4.0 scroll down.

 

The new Content App creation model allows for more than one Content App to be associated with a single SharePoint list.  As an example, this could be used to generate two different Content Apps, one of which had access to set the “Start Date” and “End Date” for an article, and another which could only edit the heading and body content.  These apps could be assigned to different content editors based on what you wanted each to have access to.

To create a new content app in AppManager, or change the settings for an existing content app, click the EDIT button under Content Apps on the AppManager Settings page:

A list of the existing Content Apps on the current site will be displayed.

 

To add a new Content App, click on the “+Add App” button. A modal window will open with the Content App info screen to begin the process.

 

Complete the Content App info screen using the following information:

Field Value
SharePoint list This is the name of the SharePoint list which has the content to be managed.
App Name This is the title which will display as part of the Content App icon in AppManager.  It does not affect the original SharePoint list title.
App Type There are five App Types that are currently supported by AppManager:

Author – Basic content type of app

File – document upload

Slider – multiple “slides” of content (Banner e.g.)

Quicklinks – hierarchical tree view of links (Menu e.g.)

Image Gallery – Custom app type for managing images

App Icon Select the icon you want to use for the App.

Click on the “Save” button and you will be brought to the Content App settings screen for your new app to complete the configuration.

 

Note that clicking on the “Edit” button next to the app name will bring you to the Content App info modal where you can update the list, name, type and icon of the app.

Configure (or update) the settings for your new Content App using the following table as reference:

Field Value
Authorized Groups & Users Select one or more SharePoint groups who will have access to this Content App.  Click on “Select Groups & Users” to display the list of available groups.
Preview If preview is desired for this app, the pages which will be available are entered here.  The Preview Name is what will appear in the preview menu in the Content App.  The URL must be the fully qualified URL for the target preview page.  Multiple preview pages can be defined. See Enabling Preview for the steps to enable the Preview function.
Link resources for content editor Allows a content editor, using the AppManager rich text editor, to browse a specified set of SharePoint lists/libraries in the current site, select a list item, and have a link to that item be inserted into the current text area.
App Image Library This is the image library which will be displayed if a user chooses to add an image to the content from the content editor.
SORT Field Not shown in the image above.  This field displays when configuring a Quicklinks or Slider App Type.  Clicking on “Select” will display the list columns so that the column that contains the order to display items (DisplayOrder) can be selected.
Columns “Hide from App” allows for the hiding of specified fields in the content app.  A list may have fields that are not required for the business user to view.

“Display as SEO Field” defines which fields in the list are associated with SEO data.  These fields are then grouped together in and SEO section in the Content App.

Image Field Validation For each image field that is contained in the Content App, an validation selector will be displayed.  When validation is turned on for that field, the width and height requirements can be specified.  These requirements will be applied when selecting or uploading an image from the Image Picker.
Enable auto-translate If using the multilingual capability in the AppManager (Product Feature Key required), this option enables the auto-translate feature for the application.
Enable Created by Filter Turning this on will cause the content listing for the Content App to only display items created by the current logged in user. Regardless of the filtering they choose on the listing page, the results will always be from the set they created.
Enable Title Uniqueness Check This option (normally on) will enforce the title of each content item added in the app to be unique. Since there are circumstances where the title field DOES NOT have to be unique (as can be set in the SharePoint list), setting this to “Off” disables the check in AppManager and allows for duplicate item titles.
Enable Comments for this app Turning this on enables the commenting feature which allows those with access to the Content App to add comments to an item.  Typically only used in conjunction with workflow.
Hide “Add New” This option is only available for the Author App Type.  Turning this on hides the “Add New” button from the Content App content list, preventing any new content from being created (existing content can still be edited).  This is typically used for the Content Block application where only one content item is mapped to the Content Block, so creating a new one without changing the content block control would have no effect.
Hide “Delete” Turning this “ON” hides the “Delete” button from the current app.  This is the default setting when creating a new content app of type Author, Slider or File.  Turning to “OFF” will display the delete button in the app.

 

Click SAVE & EXIT when complete.

You will be returned to the Content Apps list with your new app added.

 

At any time, you may click on the “Edit” button next to a Content App to access and update the settings.

You may also use the “Remove” button to remove an app.

NOTE: Removing the app DOES NOT affect the SharePoint list.

 

Creating/Modifying Content Apps in Versions Prior to 4.0

To create a new content app in AppManager version prior to 4.0, or change the settings for an existing content app, click the EDIT button under Content Apps:

 

The Content Apps Settings page is displayed

 

Under “Add a Content App List,” click SELECT LISTS.

 

A modal window of the currently added SharePoint Lists/Content Apps is displayed

 

Click your mouse in the space at the bottom of the list, and begin to type the name of the list you are looking for or select from the lists that are displayed.

 

Click SAVE

 

The Content App Settings page is displayed with the settings for the newly added list.  For updating an existing Content App, just select the app from the drop-down list.

 

Configure (or update) the settings for the app using the following table as reference:

Field Value
App Title: This is the title which will display as part of the Content App icon in AppManager.  It does not affect the original SharePoint list title.
App Type There are four App Types that are currently supported by AppManager:

Author – Basic content type of app

Slider – multiple “slides” of content (Banner e.g.)

Quicklinks – hierarchical tree view of links (Menu e.g.)

File – document upload

Authorized Groups & Users Select one or more SharePoint groups who will have access to this Content App.  Click on “Select Groups & Users” to display the list of available groups.
App Icon Click on “Select Icon” to view a library of icon images.
Preview If preview is desired for this app, the pages which will be available are entered here.  The Preview Name is what will appear in the preview menu in the Content App.  The URL must be the fully qualified URL for the target preview page.  Multiple preview pages can be defined.
App Image Library This is the image library which will be displayed if a user chooses to add an image to the content from the content editor.
Link resources for content editor Allows a content editor, using the AppManager rich text editor, to browse a specified set of SharePoint lists/libraries in the current site, select a list item, and have a link to that item be inserted into the current text area.
SORT Field Not shown in the image above.  This field displays when configuring a Quicklinks or Slider App Type.  Clicking on “Select” will display the list columns so that the column that contains the order to display items (DisplayOrder) can be selected.
Columns “Hide from App” allows for the hiding of specified fields in the content app.  A list may have fields that are not required for the business user to view.

“Display as SEO Field” defines which fields in the list are associated with SEO data.  These fields are then grouped together in and SEO section in the Content App.

Image Field Validation For each image field that is contained in the Content App, an validation selector will be displayed.  When validation is turned on for that field, the width and height requirements can be specified.  These requirements will be applied when selecting or uploading an image from the AppManager Image Picker.
Enable Comments for this app Turning this on enables the commenting feature which allows those with access to the Content App to add comments to an item.  Typically only used in conjunction with workflow.
Hide “Add New” This option is only available for the Author App Type.  Turning this on hides the “Add New” button from the Content App content list, preventing any new content from being created (existing content can still be edited).  This is typically used for the Content Block application where only one content item is mapped to the Content Block, so creating a new one without changing the content block control would have no effect.
Hide “Delete” Turning this “ON” hides the “Delete” button from the current app.  This is the default setting when creating a new content app of type Author, Slider or File.  Turning to “OFF” will display the delete button in the app.  See Section 3.7 for an explanation of the delete functionality.

 

Click SAVE & EXIT when complete.

The Content App is registered and the Settings page is displayed.

 

The Content App will be created and you can now begin to add content to the App.

 

Enabling Preview for a Content App

Preview allows the business user to make and view changes to content in AppManager without making them visible to site visitors who are not authorized to view draft content (SharePoint permission level).

To enable Preview mode for a Content App, use the following steps:

Enable SharePoint Versioning on the Target List

In SharePoint, enable Versioning for the SharePoint list connected to the target Content App.  Note that both “Require content approval…” and “Create a version each time…” must be enabled.

 

Add the Preview Link to the Content App in AppManager

In AppManager, navigate to the Content Setting screen for the target Content App.  In the “Preview” section, add at least one site page on which the preview should be viewed (you can add multiple pages if desired using the Add Preview button).  This page will appear with the new content to be previewed. The link should be the FULL URL to desired page.

 

  • From within the target AppManager Content App, the “Preview” and “Save” buttons will now be active.

 

Adding the Preview Link for Dynamic Content

Adding the preview link for dynamic content (content that uses the Friendly URL) is slightly different. The preview URL which is used for this type of content should be formatted as follows:

https://{SharePoint Site Collection or sitsubsite URL}/SITE Navigation TERM/{Title}

Example:

https://akuminade.sharepoint.com/sites/akqa23onakuminacom41ICD0223/CompanyNews/{Title}

Note: Dynamic Content Apps already display the “Friendly URL” at the bottom of the content editing page (once content is Saved or Published). This can also be used to view the content.

Using the Preview Link

When a content author makes a change, they can Save the content and then click on the Preview button (if they forget to save and just hit Preview, they will be prompted to save first).

 

This will launch the preview page defined in the content app settings in a new window and display the updated version of the content.  The updated version, however, will not be visible to users who cannot view draft content until the user publishes the content.  In this way, they can make multiple edits/saves and continue to preview the content until it is finalized

 

Enabling/Modifying Management Apps

AppManager Management Apps can be easily enabled within the AppManager using the Management Apps Settings.  A set of Management Apps is provisioned as part of the AppManager by default.   Any of these apps can be removed if not needed, or additional instances of them can be created.  In addition, new Management App types can be added by developers to manage specific functions of the target web site.  In any case, the process for enabling a new Management App in the Settings area is the same.

To enable a new management app in AppManager, or to change the settings for an existing management app, click the EDIT button under Management Apps:

 

A list of the existing Management Apps will be displayed

 

To add a new Management App, click on the “ADD APP” () button.  A modal window will open to begin the add process.

 

Enter a name for the management app, choose the appropriate App Type (explained in Section 2.3.2) and lastly choose an icon.

Click on the “NEXT” button and the new app will be added to the list of available Management Apps. (Management Apps are listed in alphabetical order).

 

To edit the properties of the new app, or any of the existing management apps, click on the “Edit” () button for the app.  The properties editor modal for the management app is displayed.

 

Configure (or update) the settings for the management app using the following table as reference:

Field Value
App Title: This is the title which will display as part of the Content App icon in AppManager.  It does not affect the original SharePoint list title.
Authorized Groups & Users Select one or more SharePoint groups who will have access to this Content App.  Click on “Select Groups & Users” to display the list of available groups.
App Icon Click on “Select Icon” to view a library of icon images.

 

In addition to the settings, a convenience link is provided at the top of the screen to edit the original definition modal for the management app if the App Type needs to be updated.

 

A Management App can also be removed by clicking on its “Remove” button on the Management Apps listing screen.

 

Management App Types

The following is an overview of the Management App types available by default in the AppManager:

App Type Description
Content App Type Registration Enables the ability to add a new custom Content App Type created by a developer.

 

Dashboard Widget Manager Used by developers to manage the available widgets in the Foundation Site Dashboard widget.  This app can be used to add new widget choices, as well as modify or remove existing choices.

 

Department Manager Used to management the properties of departments (subsites) in the Digital Workplace such as their title, background color, mapping to AzureAD, etc.

 

Forms Manager Used to create/edit form definitions and view form submissions if forms is enabled in the application.

Instruction Data Structures Used by developers to build Instruction Sets that can provide behavioral control of widgets.
People Directory Sync Used to synchronize with the directory source (AzureAD, SharePoint Profile Service or a custom source) to provide the data used by the People Directory widget.

 

Rail Manager Used by developers to manage the available items in the Digital Workplace left rail.  This app can be used to add new rail items, as well as modify, reorder or remove existing rail items.

 

Site Creator Used to create new sites, update the properties of existing sites, upgrade sites to new releases of the Akumina Platform and Framework. For detailed example of how to use Site Creator, reference Section 5 of the “Digital Workplace Installation and Configuration Guide”.

 

View Manager Used by designers to access the View Templates that are available in the system and used conjunction with the Akumina Widgets on the site.  Allows for the modification of existing views, as well as adding new views quickly and easily without having to access SharePoint.

 

Widget Manager Used by developers to add new widget types and define their properties.  Used by Designers to map new views (added in View Manager) as available views in their targeted widgets.  Used by Admins and Business Users to create instances of the widgets to be added to the site, including setting their properties and views.

 

 

Product Feature Key

The Product Feature Key (new in AppManager 4.0) is used to enable additional functionality to be supported by the Akumina AppManager and the Akumina Framework.  Additional licensed functionality includes:

The Product Feature Key is a single license key provided by Akumina which can contain one or both of these features.  The license key typically lasts for one year, so the option is provided to “Update” your key as needed. The expiration date of the current key is also displayed.

The listing will look as follows if both are enabled:

 

The Akumina Workspaces appears as a single line item which is enabled when licensed.  Using the Site Creator, sites can be deployed with or without the Akumina Workspaces functionality when this is enabled.

For Multilingual, the feature will appear in the “Off” mode when it is detected in the license key.  This allows you to deploy a new site with Multilingual turned off even if you have the license.  When Multilingual is turned on, you will also see the “Enable Auto-Translate” functionality switch.  See the Using Multilingual section for more information.

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