In addition to supporting files as part of its Software Configuration Management (SCM) features, StarTeam Cross-Platform Client also supports change requests, requirements, tasks, and topics. Collectively these are known as item types, and the part of the application that supports a particular item type is known as a component. Each item type is surfaced in the StarTeam Cross-Platform Client as a separate tab with the component name.
To edit a particular item’s properties, select the item and then click from the menu bar. You can also double-click the item, unless the item is a file. (Double-clicking a file displays its contents rather than its properties. Select a file and press Alt+Enter to display the property editor.)
By default, the application displays the standard property dialog.
Many customers do not use all of the standard properties for an item type and tend to create custom properties for information important to their organization’s internal processes. If a customer creates custom properties, they appear as fields on the Custom tab of the standard property dialog. Many customers would prefer to locate fields for the properties that are most important to them on the first tab and hide the properties that are irrelevant to their process by not having fields for these properties on the form. The application’s alternate property editors (APEs) make this possible. With APEs, the properties can be controlled by a workflow that fits the customer’s needs and allows different properties to be displayed, required, or enabled on the form depending on the step in the workflow that is being performed.
StarTeam Extensions includes sample forms that you can use immediately or customize using your favorite Java compiler and form design product. These forms make use of custom JavaBeans that integrate with the StarTeam SDK and the StarTeam Extensions’ workflow engine. These JavaBeans allow you to drag a new field onto the form and assign an application field name to the JavaBean. All of the access to the field through the StarTeam SDK and the workflow behavior is then handled by the JavaBean.
There are several sample forms included in the StarTeam Extensions installation. These are located in the Samples folder of the StarTeam Extensions installation folder (by default, C:\Program Files\Micro Focus\ StarFlow Extensions\Samples). See “StarTeam Extensions Samples” for more information.
Under this folder is a copy of the StarTeam Runtime .jar file for use by the sample application’s JBuilder projects. This is required so that StarTeam Extensions can include a pre-configured project and make it easier for you to get started with customizing the various forms.
Documentation on the StarTeam Extensions API is found in the Program Files\Micro Focus\StarFlow Extensions\Documentation folder.