Adding to an Existing Object Workspace

The vSphere Web Client SDK provides a unique extension point for each of the default tabs and sub-views for every type of object in the vSphere environment. When you define an extension that references one of these extension points, your extension appears as a sub-view inside that tab or view.

The extension point naming convention is as follows:

vsphere.core.${objectType}.${view}

The ${objectType} value denotes the type of vSphere object for which you want to extend the object workspace. The ${view} value specifies the exact view to which you want to add the extension, such as a top level tab or specific sub-view.

For example, if you define an extension that specifies the vsphere.core.vm.manageViews extension point, your extension appears as a sub-view inside the Manage tab in the object workspace for Virtual Machine objects.

The complete list of Virtual Infrastructure object workspace extension points can be found in List of Extension Points.

Types of Data Views

A data view extension appears in a slightly different fashion depending on which extension point that you specify in the extension definition. Data views can appear as the following structures.

■	Sub-tabs. A data view extension will appear as a sub-tab if you specify an extension point for a top-level tab, such as Summary, Monitor, or Manage in a given object workspace.

■	Sub-tab views. A data view extension will appear as a view within an existing sub-tab if you specify one of the pre-existing sub-tab extension points, such as the Performance view inside the Monitor tab in a given object workspace.

■	Portlets. A data view extension will appear as a portlet if you specify the Summary tab extension point in a given object workspace.

When designing the Flex user interface for your data view extension, keep in mind the extension point where the extension appears. The extension point data view type will affect the amount of available screen space and the layout of your data view.

Defining a Data View Extension

An extension to an existing object workspace must specify the target extension point in the extension definition, and provide a data object of type com.vmware.ui.views.ViewSpec.

Example: Example Portlet Extension for Host Summary Tab shows an example extension definition for an extension that adds a data view to the workspace for Host objects. In the example, the <extendedPoint> element references the extension point for the Summary tab, vsphere.core.host.summarySectionViews. The extension appears as a portlet under the Summary tab for Host objects. The <object> element defines a data object of type com.vmware.ui.views.ViewSpec.

Example: Example Portlet Extension for Host Summary Tab

<extension id="mySolution.myPlugin.MySummaryPortlet">

<extendedPoint>vsphere.core.host.summarySectionViews</extendedPoint>

<object>

<name>My Summary Portlet</name>

<componentClass className="com.mySolution.myPlugin.MyPortletView"/>

</object>

</extension>

 

ViewSpec Extension Object Properties lists the properties that you provide for the com.vmware.ui.views.ViewSpec extension data object, using the <object> element in your extension definition.

ViewSpec Extension Object Properties

Property	Type	Description
<name>	string	A string value that appears as the view title where appropriate in the user interface, such as on the sub-tab button or in the portlet title bar. The value of the <name> property can be a hard-coded string or a dynamic resource included in your plug-in module. In Example: Example Portlet Extension for Host Summary Tab, the string is hard-coded as “My Summary Portlet.”
<componentClass>	string	The Flex class that you have created for your data view extension. This Flex class appears at the user interface location corresponding to the extension point you specify. You must set the value of the <componentClass> element className attribute to the fully qualified name of your Flex view class. In Example: Example Portlet Extension for Host Summary Tab, the class is com.mySolution.myPlugin.MyPortletView.