Adding to an Existing Object Workspace

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

Extension points use the following naming convention:

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

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

For example, if you define an extension that specifies the vsphere.core.vm.manageViews extension point, your extension appears as a subordinate view on the Manage tab in the object workspace for virtual machine objects.

For a complete list of virtual infrastructure object workspace extension points, see 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.

■	Second-level tabs. A data view extension appears as a second-level tab if you specify an extension point for a top-level tab, such as Summary, Monitor, or Manage in an object workspace.

■	Second-level tab views. A data view extension appears as a view within an existing second-level tab if you specify one of the preexisting second-level tab extension points, such as the Performance view inside the Monitor tab in an object workspace.

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

When you design the user interface for your data view extension, keep in mind the extension point where the extension appears. The extension point data view type affects 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

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

<name>My Summary Portlet</name>

</object>

</extension>

Table 4-3, on page 39, 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	String value that appears as the view title where appropriate in the user interface, such as on the second-level 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	Flex class that you created for your data view extension. This Flex class appears at the user interface location corresponding to the extension point you specify. If you implement the view in HTML, specify the HtmlView container class. You must set the value of the <componentClass> element className attribute to the fully qualified name of the Flex view class. In Example: Example Portlet Extension for Host Summary Tab, the class is com.mySolution.myPlugin.MyPortletView.