Extend ERP Connector Distribution Targets
Background
ERP Connector provides the following types of distribution target (or destination) out-of-the-box:
• File
• FTP
• Email
The above types are represented by certain soft extensions of ESITarget, viz., ESIFileTarget, ESIFTPTarget and ESIEmailTarget respectively. See the Distribution Target Classes section for more information on class ESITarget, its attributes and methods.
ERP Connector makes use of ESIResponseGenerator APIs for generating the ESI response and certain Info*Engine tasks for delivering the response to the required destination. See the ESIResponseGenerator and ESIResponseSender sections for more information.
The following customization mechanisms are available for ERP Connector:
Custom distribution target extensions
One may create a soft extension of ESITarget (or that of any of the default extensions) using the Type and Attribute Management UI to represent a new destination. Product data may be sent to the new destination by associating the new type of target to a business object and releasing it.
Info*Engine task for delivering the response
ERP Connector delivers the XML document representing the Windchill ESI response to various distribution targets (such as E-Mail, FTP or File) using certain Info*Engine tasks. In order to change the default behavior, a custom Info*Engine task may be written and the taskURI attribute of the default distribution target (or that of a new distribution target) may be modified as appropriate.
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See the examples in the ERP Connector Customization Examples section.
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Procedure
The procedure outlined below:
1. Create a new soft extension of ESITarget (or of any of the available extensions) using the Type and Attribute Management UI. Add attributes to the new type as appropriate.
2. Create a new I*E task to deliver the response XML document to the destination represented by the soft extension created in step (1). This may require authoring a custom I*E webject (viz., a webject of type EXT). Refer to the Windchill Adapter Guide, Info*Engine User’s Guide and Windchill Info*Engine Administration and Implementation Guide for more details.
3. Copy the task to an appropriate location under the tasks folder of your Windchill installation.
4. Create an instance of the type created in step (1) using the New Distribution Target UI. Set the taskURI attribute on the distribution target to point to the task created in step (2).
5. Associate the distribution target created in step (4) to a business object such as a part and release it.
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See the examples in the ERP Connector Customization Examples section for more information.
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