Customize Business Manager

Customize Existing Business Manager Functionality

You can customize certain Business Manager functionality by creating a custom cartridge and modifying specific ISML templates in it. These templates, which override standard Business Manager templates, exist in folders under /cartridge/templates/default. You can only customize the Business Manager templates listed here.

For example, a merchant conducts business in a region that uses VAT (Value-Added Tax), and wants to print legally valid VAT invoices from the Order page. The output of the standard invoice print function does not qualify. To implement this functionality, customize the /cartridge/templates/default/order/printorderinvoice.isml template to add the required information to the output of the Print Invoice button.

Extend Business Manager

1. Set up a custom cartridge.
2. Create a file with name *bm_extensions.xml_ in directory /<cartridge_name>/cartridge of your custom cartridge.
3. Add the following lines of XML to your file:
   
   
4. Add the extension to that file.
5. Implement the extension you want by implementing B2C Commerce scripts, pipelines, and templates. Place that implementation in your custom cartridge.
6. Deploy your custom cartridge to the server.
7. Add the cartridge to the cartridge path at Administration > Sites > Manage Sites > Sites-Site: < Effective Cartridge Path >.
8. Test extensions.

Add a New Menu Item

To add a menu item, for example, Merchants Custom Menu Item:

1. Add the following XML in the <extensions> tag to your bm_extensions.xml file:
   
   
2. Choose a unique ID for the menu item.
3. Place the menu item in the Administration navigation menu by setting the site attribute to false.
4. Use the position attribute to place the new menu item in the preferred order in the navigation list. The higher the number, the higher in the list it appears.
5. To enhance the menu item, you can assign an image to it; put the image in directory /<cartridge_name>/cartridge/static/default/<my-image-directory>. If you want different images for different languages, make sure to have a separate directory for each language. Use the ISO locale of the language as the directory name.

Add a New Menu Action

Menu actions are the bridge between the navigation (menu item) and the business functionality. To link the navigation (menu item) with the business logic:

1. Add the following XML inside the <extensions> tag to your bm_extensions.xml file:

   
   
   

2. Supply a unique ID to the menu action.
3. Because the parent menu item is hooked into the Administration section of the navigation, set this site attribute to false.
   Note: You can't add a menu action under a menu action. It must be below an existing menu item (custom or supplied by Salesforce).
4. When selecting a menu action at the Business Manager overview, a pipeline is executed to show the first page of your custom business functionality. Specify the name of that pipeline and start node in the XML element exec:

   
   
   

5. List all pipelines that implement your menu action in the menu action's XML definition. List them inside the < subpipelines> tag. Use a separate < pipeline_ for each pipeline. If only some of a pipeline's start nodes belong to the menu action, you can restrict it by specifying _name of the pipeline-Name of the start node.

   
   
   

   Note: Always add the exec-pipelines to the < subpipelines> section. Non-public pipelines (where all start nodes have call mode = "Private") need not be added to the < subpipelines> section.
6. After successfully deploying your cartridge on the server, you can grant permissions on the menu action.

Implement Dialog Actions

Dialog actions hook into existing Business Manager page. The dialog action can open a popup or navigate to a subpage.

1. Add your custom dialog to the bm_extensions.xml file:

   
   
   

2. Select a unique ID for the dialog action.
3. Choose the extension point from the list of available extension points (to which you want to hook the dialog action). The extension points are listed at the end of the bm_extension.xml file.
4. Add this ID as a value of the xp_ref attribute to the XML.
5. Make sure the tag < exec pipeline=.. contains the name of the pipeline executed when the user clicks the button of the dialog actions hook.
6. To open a popup, set the attribute extern to true. Make sure the page to be opened is designed to appear as a popup.

Implement Form Extensions

1. Add the form extension to bm_extensions.xml.

   
   
   

2. Choose the ID (into which you want to add the form extension) from the list of available extension points.
3. Add this ID to the XML as the attribute ID value. Each <valueinput> element is rendered as an HTML form input field. The name of the form field must be unique within your form extension. Each form input field must specify the type of input data captured by the form field. Available data types are string, int, double.
4. Specify a label to appear beside the form field. Specify the label at least for x-default locale. Add more < label... elements to localize for other languages.