vSphere Web Client SDK 6.5 Release Notes

vSphere Web Client SDK 6.5 | 15 NOV 2016 | Build 4602587

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 following changes to the development environment are introduced to the vSphere Web Client SDK 6.5 release:

  • The vSphere Client SDK is distributed as part of the vSphere Web Client SDK. When you extract the contents of the vSphere Web Client SDK, you see the following directory structure:

    vsphere-client-sdk-6.5.0-4584207
        vsphere-client-sdk
            flex-client-sdk
            html-client-sdk
            License-Agreement.html

    , where the html-client-sdk folder contains the vSphere Client SDK, and the flex-client-sdk folder contains the vSphere Web Client SDK.

  • You can use the vSphere Client SDK to create HTML plug-ins for the vSphere Client which is an HTML5-based Web application. The SDK consists of the following components:
    • Libraries for server and user interface development.
    • Documentation about how to set up your development environment, build HTML plug-ins compatible with both the vSphere Web Client and the vSphere Client, and troubleshooting information.
    • Sample HTML plug-ins that work on both the vSphere Client and the vSphere Web Client.
    • Various SDK tools.
  • The vSphere Client SDK is based on the existing HTML Bridge APIs. You can use the vSphere Client SDK to extend any existing HTML-based plug-ins or to develop pure HTML5 plug-ins and test them with both the vSphere Web Client and the vSphere Client. For more information about how to create HTML plug-ins compatible with the vSphere Client 6.5, refer to vSphere Web Client SDK Documentation.
  • The vSphere Client SDK introduces the following features:
    • HTML-based portlet support for any Summary view - You can implement HTML-based portlets and display them within an existing Summary view of a vSphere or custom object.
    • HTML-based plug-ins compatibility - You can ensure that your HTML-based plug-ins are compatible with both, the vSphere Client and the vSphere Web Client, by using relative URLs in your HTML and JavaScript code, and by using webContextPath defined in the web-platform.js JavaScript file.
    • vCenter Server plug-in registration tool that you can use to register your plug-in as a vCenter Server extension.
    • vCenter Server registration scripts that you can use to register your local vSphere Client or vSphere Web Client with the vCenter Server Appliance or vCenter Server for Windows so that you can first deploy and test locally your plug-ins.
    • Apache Ant scripts that you can use to create HTML template plug-in projects and to build the plug-in package folder out of the project.
  • JDK 1.8.x is required for your local Virgo servers to work with the vCenter Server 6.5.
  • Apache Ant 1.9.x is required for the automation scripts provided with the SDKs to run without issues.
  • The folder structure of the vSphere Web Client SDK is changed. The server and plugin-packages folders are moved under the vsphere-client folder for the vSphere Web Client SDK and the vsphere-ui folder for the vSphere Client SDK.
  • You must set the VMWARE_CFG_DIR environment variable to point to the location of the vSphere Web Client configuration file:
    • For Windows:C:/ProgramData/VMware/vCenterServer/cfg/vsphere-client
    • For Mac OS: /var/lib/vmware/vsphere-client/
  • The location of the webclient.properties file on Windows is changed to C:/ProgramData/VMware/vCenterServer/cfg/vsphere-client/.
  • The location of the stoke.jks file on Windows is changed to C:/ProgramData/VMware/vCenterServer/cfg/.
  • The location of the ds.properties file on Windows is changed to C:/ProgramData/VMware/vCenterServer/cfg/vsphere-client/config/.
  • The vCenter Server registration setup scripts (dev-setup.sh and dev-setup.bat) are updated to include the solutionUser.keyStorePath, solutionUser.keyStorePassword and lookupService properties in the ds.properties file.
  • The vSphere 6.5 release of the vSphere Client improves bundle deployment by using Virgo's ApplicationDeployer by default, instead of the HotDeployer. This change offers the following benefits:
    • Boot time for the Virgo Server is shorter because bundles do not need to be copied to the pickup folder.
    • Bundle deployment with the ApplicationDeployer avoids the latency due to the scan interval for the pickup folder.
    For development environments, you can take advantage of the convenience of the hotDeployer, which regularly scans the pickup folder for new bundles. To enable the HotDeployer, add the following line to your webclient.properties file: 
        pickup.deployer = true
    The ApplicationDeployer feature is available only for the vSphere Client at this time. The vSphere Web Client continues to use only the HotDeployer.

Earlier Releases of the vSphere Web Client SDK

Known Issues

The following problems have been identified in the vSphere Client SDK and vSphere Web Client SDK 6.5.

vSphere Client SDK

  • 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.

  • Context-specific toolbar actions are not available in vSphere Client 6.5

    The vmware.prioritization.action extension point is not supported for developing HTML plug-ins for the vSphere Client 6.5.

    Workaround: None.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

vSphere Web Client SDK

  • 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 vSphere Web Client Service.

  • 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.

  • 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.

Resolved Issues

The following issues are resolved for the vSphere Web Client SDK 6.0:

  • When you make Data Service queries, you see an exception in the vSphere Web Client log file
    The ds.properties file from your development setup contains the Data Service configuration properties and is missing properties that are required by the vSphere Web Client. As a result, the following exception is logged when you start the vSphere Web Client:
    com.vmware.cis.data.service.exception.InitializationException: Required configuration property `solutionUser.keyStorePassword' not found in config file `C:\ProgramData\VMware\vSphere Web Client\config\ds.properties'

    Workaround: Add the following properties to the ds.properties file:

    • For Windows:

      solutionUser.keyStorePath=C:/ProgramData/VMware/vSphere Web Client/store.jks
      solutionUser.keyStorePassword=vmw@re
      lookupService=https://VCENTER_IP/lookupservice/sdk
    • For Mac OS:

      solutionUser.keyStorePath=/var/lib/vmware/vsphere-client/store.jks
      solutionUser.keyStorePassword=vmw@re
      lookupService=https://VCENTER_IP/lookupservice/sdk

    This issue is resolved in this release.