vSphere Web Client SDK 6.7 Release Notes

vSphere Web Client SDK 6.7 | 17 APR 2018 | Build 8170180

Check for additions and updates to these release notes.

What's in the Release Notes

The release notes cover the following topics:

 

What's New

The vSphere 6.7 release has no new features for the vSphere Web Client SDK. 

The vSphere 6.7 release is the final release for two sets of vSphere Client APIs: the vSphere Web Client APIs (Flex) and the current set of vSphere Client APIs (HTML5), also known as the Bridge APIs. A new set of vSphere Client APIs are included as part of the vSphere Client SDK 6.7 release. These new APIs are designed to scale and support the use cases and improved security, design, and extensibility of the vSphere Client.

  • Libraries upgrade

    In an effort to ensure that the vSphere Client is using the latest stable technology stack and security improvements, several libraries are upgraded. You might need to modify your plug-ins to work with the upgraded libraries in the vSphere Client SDK.

    • Spring Framework upgrade to version 4.3.9

    • Tomcat upgrade to version 8.5.16

    • These changes come with a Virgo Upgrade to version 3.7.2.

    Note: Existing vSphere Client plug-ins will not be compatible with the vSphere 6.7 release unless you upgrade Virgo. Spring Framework 4 is not fully backward compatible with Spring Framework 3.x, and hence your plug-in deployment might not work. The libraries upgrade applies both to the vSphere Client and the vSphere Web Client (Flex). If you have an existing plug-in solution to the vSphere Client, use the information in Upgrading Your Plug-in To Maintain Compatibility with vSphere 6.7 to upgrade Virgo server.

Deprecated Features

Earlier Releases of the vSphere Web Client SDK

Known Issues

The known issues are grouped as follows.

vSphere Web Client SDK
  • The WEB_PLATFORM.setDialogSize() API is not supported in the vSphere Client

    You can use the WEB_PLATFORM.setDialogSize() function to change the size of the dialog box at runtime when developing HTML-based plug-ins for the vSphere Web Client. This function is not supported for developing HTML plug-ins for the vSphere Client 6.5.

    Workaround: For developing HTML plug-ins for the vSphere Client, you can set the size of the dialog box upon opening the dialog.

  • Plugin localization does not fallback to en.

    If the plug-in does not support the current vSphere Client locale, the plug-in will not fall back to English, and the UI will display keys instead of localized values.

    Workaround: Include a default properties file (com_myplugin.properties) with the plug-in. The properties file must have no country and language suffix. This properties file takes effect when the vSphere Client has an unsupported locale.

  • Two portlets in the same plug-in cannot share the same URL.

    When a vSphere Client plug-in contains two portlets, they must specify different values for their attributes. Otherwise, a global refresh operation updates only one of the portlets.

    Workaround:Assign different URLs to the two portlets. For example:

       <extension id="portlet1">
              ...
                      <url>/vsphere-client/chassisa/resources/host-portlet1.html</url>
              ...
       </extension>
       <extension id="portlet2">
              ...
                      <url>/vsphere-client/chassisa/resources/host-portlet2.html</url>
              ...
       </extension>

     

  • Chassis object property updates do not appear.

    The vSphere Client does not show updates to a Chassis object until you refresh the view. When you select Edit Chassis and modify properties, then click Update Chassis, the object updates in memory but the changes do not show immediately.

    Workaround: Click the Global Refresh button, and the view updates the properties on the screen.

  • The ${namespace}.manage.tagsViews extension point is not supported in vSphere 6.5

    In the vSphere Client 6.5, you cannot add a view under the Tags second-level tab of the Configure tab by using the ${namespace}.manage.tagsViews extension point. You can find the Tags second-level tab under the Tags & Custom Attributes application in the vSphere Navigator.

    Workaround: None. If you have existing HTML-based plug-ins that use the ${namespace}.manage.tagsViews extension point to add views under the Tags second-level tab, you must change their implementation to use another extension point.

  • String resources are not reloaded when you use the pickup directory to deploy your HTML plug-ins

    The WAR bundle of an HTML plug-in contains localized string resources that are visible in the UI. In a development environment, if you use the pickup directory of your local vSphere Client to deploy and test your HTML plug-ins, you must first deploy the WAR bundles of your plug-in package. When you update the WAR bundles, the Virgo server does not reload automatically the localized string resources.

    Workaround: You must restart the vSphere Client Virgo server after updating the WAR bundles in the plugin-packages folder.

  • Chassis object property updates do not show.

    The vSphere Web Client does not show updates to a Chassis object until you refresh the view. When you select Edit Chassis and modify properties, then click Update Chassis, the object updates in memory but the changes do not show immediately.

    Workaround: Click the Global Refresh button, and the view updates the properties on the screen.

  • Global refresh error with plug-in portlet The Global Refresh button causes internal error #1009 if the user clicks the button upon first entry to a view containing a plug-in portlet. This problem is caused by a limitation in the SDK.

    Workaround: Navigate to another view with a plug-in portlet, then back to the original view, before clicking the Global Refresh button.

  • When a menu or a dialog overlaps an HTML view, the view becomes blank
    Log in to the vSphere Web Client by using Mozilla Firefox version 31.0 or earlier. When you open a menu or a dialog which overlaps an HTML view, the view is hidden temporary and is displayed as a blank pane. This issue has no functional impact and the view is restored once you close the menu or dialog.

    Workaround: Use another supported browser or a more recent version of Mozilla Firefox.

  • The ${namespace}.manage.tagsViews extension point is not supported in vSphere 6.5

    In the vSphere Web Client 6.5, you cannot add a view under the Tags second-level tab of the Configure tab by using the ${namespace}.manage.tagsViews extension point. You can find the Tags second-level tab under the Tags & Custom Attributes application in the vSphere Navigator.

    Workaround: None. If you have existing plug-ins for the vSphere Web Client that use the ${namespace}.manage.tagsViews extension point to add views under the Tags second-level tab, you must change their implementation to use another extension point.

  • The log files of the Virgo server are missing on Japanese OS installations

    Workaround: To resolve this issue, you can try the following:

    1. Open the vSphereWebClient\configuration\serviceability.xml file with a Hex editor.

    2. Remove the first three invisible bytes (EF BB BF) and save the file.

    3. Restart the vSphere Web Client Service.

  • Google Chrome problem with WEB_PLATFORM.

    Several method calls in the WEB_PLATFORM container app in the Flex-based client work the first time an HTML plug-in opens, but fail on subsequent calls. Calls that fail include WEB_PLATFORM.getObjectId(), WEB_PLATFORM.getActionUid(), and others. This problem happens with HTML plug-ins running on the Flex-based vSphere Client on Google Chrome (version 55.0.2883.87 and later).

    Workaround: To resolve this issue, update the file web-platform.js with the following code and rebuild your plug-in:

        var WEB_PLATFORM = self.parent.WEB_PLATFORM;
        var isChromeBrowser = (window.navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Chrome/") >= 0);
        var isFlexClient = !!self.parent.document.getElementById("container_app");
        if (!WEB_PLATFORM || (isChromeBrowser && isFlexClient)) {
          WEB_PLATFORM = self.parent.document.getElementById("container_app");
          if (isChromeBrowser) {
            // Object.create is required to support Chrome version >= 55 on Flex client
            WEB_PLATFORM = Object.create(WEB_PLATFORM);
          }
          self.parent.WEB_PLATFORM = WEB_PLATFORM;
                     
  • The log files of the Virgo server are missing on Japanese OS installations

    Workaround: To resolve this issue, you can try the following:

    1. Open the vSphereWebClient\configuration\serviceability.xml file with a Hex editor.

    2. Remove the first three invisible bytes (EF BB BF) and save the file.

    3. Restart the service of the vSphere Client.