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Customize and author forms with the Service Manager Authoring Tool

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This article provides guidelines about how to customize and author forms with the Service Manager Authoring Tool and it describes how to accomplish common authoring tasks.

Use the following guidelines when you're authoring forms in the Service Manager Authoring Tool. For more information about how Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) forms work and WPF customization guidelines, see Windows Presentation Foundation on MSDN.

  • When you're customizing the existing default forms by adding new controls, first create a new Tab control, and then add the new controls to the new Tab control.
  • Store all the customizations of a particular form in a single management pack.
  • Group related controls in a Panel control so that you can better handle them as a group.
  • You can drop controls only in containers, such as the Panel container control.
  • Set one or more of the following control properties to Auto to allow for dynamic adjustment of placement: Height, Width, Minimum Height, Minimum Width, Left, Top, Right, and Bottom. Depending on the resulting behavior, adjust these settings.

Browse a form

Use one of the following procedures to browse a form in the Service Manager Authoring Tool. In both the procedures, ensure that the properties in the Details pane are updated according to the class property that is bound to the selected control. Also, the Binding Path entry in the Details pane indicates the respective property that the field in the form represents.

Browse a form from the Form Browser

  1. If the Form Browser pane isn't visible, select View, and select the Form Browser tab.
  2. In the Form Browser pane, select the management pack that contains the form that you want to view.
  3. In the list of forms, right-click the form that you want to view, and select View. The form opens in the authoring pane.
  4. Ensure that the Details pane is visible. If not, select View on the menu bar, and select Details Window. The properties of the form appear in the Details pane.
  5. Select a control on the form.

Browse a form from Management Pack Explorer

  1. In the Authoring Tool, select File, and select Open.
  2. In the Open a Management Pack dialog, select the management pack that contains the form that you want to view. For example, select Management Packs as the file type, and then select the ServiceManager.ChangeManagement.Library.mp management pack in the D:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft System Center\Service Manager <version> Authoring\Library folder.
  3. In the Management Pack Explorer, select the opened management pack, and then expand Forms. Right-click the form that you want to view, and select View form. The form opens in the authoring pane.
  4. Ensure that the Details pane is visible. If not, select View on the menu bar, and select Details Window. The properties of the form appear in the Details pane.
  5. Select a control on the form.

Customize a form

You can use the Service Manager Authoring Tool to customize some properties of a form. For example, you can change the layout of the form's fields, and you can add an icon to the form.

To customize a form, you open the management pack file that contains the original form definition. After you complete the customizations, you save the changes to a management pack file. If the original form is defined in an unsealed management pack, you save your customizations to that management pack. If the original form is defined in a sealed management pack, you must save your customizations to an unsealed management pack that is already open in the Authoring Tool or to an unsealed management pack that you create.

To use the custom form in Service Manager, import the management pack that contains the custom form into the Service Manager console. Then, when you run a task that requires that form, the custom form is displayed instead of the default form.

Use the following procedure to customize an existing form.

Important

You can't perform two customizations to the same form at the same time. Additionally, the Authoring Tool option Undo all customizations doesn't fully delete information from the management pack. If you want to remove all artifacts, delete the customized form, which removes it and any associated type projection from the management pack.

Customize an existing form

  1. In the Authoring Tool, select File, and select Open.
  2. In the Open File dialog, select the management pack that contains the form that you want to customize, and select Open. For example, select the Change Management Library management pack. The path might be Authoring Tool installation drive\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft System Center\Service Manager <version> Authoring\Library\ServiceManager.ChangeManagement.Library.mp.
  3. Locate the form that you want to customize using the Form Browser or the Management Pack Explorer, as follows:
    Using the Form Browser:
    1. In the Form Browser, select All Management Packs or select the management pack that contains the form that you want to customize, such as the Service Manager Change Management Library management pack.
    2. Right-click the form that you want to customize, such as the form that ends with ChangeRequestForm, and select View.
    3. In the authoring pane, select Customize.
      Using the Management Pack Explorer:
      1. In the Management Pack Explorer pane, select the management pack that contains the form that you want to customize, such as the Service Manager Change Management Library management pack.
      2. Expand Forms, and then right-click the form that you want to customize, such as the form that ends with ChangeRequestForm.
      3. Select Customize.
  4. In the Target Management Pack dialog, select an unsealed management pack in which to save this customization, and select OK.
    In the Management Pack Explorer pane, a new form item appears in the Forms list of the management pack that you specified as the targeted management pack. The name of the new form ends with the string (Customized).
  5. In the authoring pane, you can rearrange the location of the controls on the form to change the appearance and behavior of the form. Also, you can add controls to the form by doing the following:
    • Drag controls from the Form Customization Toolbox pane.
    • Drag specific properties from the Class Browser pane. This will automatically create and bind the control according to the property that you dragged.

Create a new form

If you defined a new custom class to extend Service Manager, you might have to create a custom form to interact with that class. You can use the Service Manager Authoring Tool to create a form using either of the following methods:

  • Start from a base class.
  • Load a custom Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) form that was initially developed by the Microsoft Visual Studio development system, and continue to customize that form in the Authoring Tool.

The Authoring Tool includes form controls, such as the Check Box, Date Picker, Tab Control, and Tab Item, that you can add to the form. You can access these controls from the Form Customizations Toolbox. Typically, you bind the form controls to specific properties of the form's base class. Therefore, using either method you must first select a base class for the form to be associated with. For more information about the controls that you can add to a form, see the previous sections in this article, such as How to Add a Check Box Control to a Form in the Authoring Tool and How to Add a Tab Control and Tab Item Controls to a Form in the Authoring Tool.

The following sections describe how to create a new form in the Authoring Tool.

Create a new form from a base class

Note

When you create a form from a base class, the Authoring Tool doesn't support advanced capabilities. For example, there's no support for code-behind, complex rules such as field interdependency or calculated values.

To create a new form from a base class, follow these steps:

  1. In the Management Pack Explorer, expand the management pack in which you want to store the new form. Right-click Forms, and select Create.
  2. In the Base class dialog, select the base class for the form. You can narrow your search by selecting a specific management pack, or you can leave the default All Management Packs. Select OK.
  3. If you selected a sealed management pack in step 1, the Target Management Pack dialog appears. Select an unsealed management pack in which to store the form, and select OK.
  4. In the Create form dialog, in the Internal name box, enter a name for the form, and select Create.
    An initial blank form is displayed in the authoring pane. The initial form consists of a header section at the top and a body section underneath; both sections are blank.
  5. Customize the form by dragging controls from the Form Customizations Toolbox pane to the new form.
  6. Save the management pack that contains the form that you created.

Create a new form that is based on a custom WPF form

Sometimes a simple form isn't sufficient, and you must use advanced features, such as custom logic, in the form. In this case, you can develop a custom WPF form by using a tool other than the Authoring Tool instead of using Visual Studio. Then, instead of authoring a form from base class, you load that WPF form's assembly file into the Authoring Tool and use that as a starting point for further customizations to the form. The form customizations that you make in the Authoring Tool are stored in a management pack file.

Later, to use the customized form in Service Manager, after you complete all customizations, you must bundle the original form assembly file with the management pack that contains the customizations that you made in the Authoring Tool. For more information about bundling a management pack and creating a .mpb file, see How to Bundle Management Packs and Resource Files.

To create a new form that is based on a custom WPF form, follow these steps:

  1. In the Management Pack Explorer, expand the management pack in which you want to store customizations to the form. Right-click Forms, and select Add Custom.
  2. In the Base class dialog, select the base class for the form. You can narrow your search by selecting a specific management pack, or keep the default All Management Packs. Select OK.
  3. If you selected a sealed management pack in step 1, the Target Management Pack dialog appears. Select an unsealed management pack in which to store the form, and select OK.
  4. In the Add custom form dialog, enter a name in the Internal name box. In the Assembly box, select the assembly file that contains the custom form that you want to load, and in the Type box, select the name of the form from the assembly file that you want to load. Select Create. The form that you selected is now displayed in the authoring pane.
  5. Customize the form by dragging controls from the Form Customizations Toolbox pane to the form on the authoring pane.
  6. Save the management pack that contains the customizations of the form.
  7. Bundle the form's original assembly file, the management pack that contains the form customizations that you made in the Authoring Tool, and any other resource files that you need, to create an .mpb file.

Add a check box control to a form

A Check Box control in the Service Manager Authoring Tool presents an option on the form, and lets the user choose that option. You can modify the properties of the Check Box control to customize characteristics such as the label that is displayed on the check box.

To add a Check Box control to a form, follow these steps:

  1. Ensure that the Form Customization Toolbox pane is open and that the form you want to customize is open in the authoring pane.
  2. Drag the Check Box icon from the Form Customization Toolbox pane to the form. Select the Check Box control on the form.
  3. In the Details pane, select the Content property and set its value to text that will be displayed on the check box.
  4. In the Details pane, select the Binding Path property, and select the ellipsis button (...). In the Binding Path dialog, expand the classes, and then select a Boolean property for the control to bind to.

    Note

    The Content property is automatically set to the display name of the property that the control is bound to.

  5. Select any other property, such as Font Family, in the Details pane to customize the properties of the Check Box control.
  6. Select File, and select Save All to save the custom form to a management pack.

Add a date picker control to a form

A Date Picker control in the Service Manager Authoring Tool is used for displaying dates on a form. You can modify the properties of the Date Picker control to customize characteristics such as the format of the date that is displayed.

To add a Date Picker control to a form, follow these steps:

  1. Ensure that the Form Customization Toolbox pane is open and that the form that you want to customize is open in the authoring pane.
  2. Drag the Date Picker icon from the Form Customization Toolbox pane to the form. Select the Date Picker control on the form.
  3. In the Details pane, select the Binding Path property. Select the ellipsis button (...), and then in the Binding Path dialog, select the class property that you want the Date Picker control to bind to.
  4. Select any property, such as Date Format, in the Details pane to customize the properties of the Date Picker control.
  5. Select File, and select Save All to save the custom form to a management pack.

Add an image control to a form

An Image control in the Service Manager Authoring Tool is used for displaying an image. You can modify the properties of the Image control to customize characteristics such as the location, size, and image that is displayed.

To add an Image control to a form, follow these steps:

  1. Ensure that the Form Customization Toolbox pane is open and that the form that you want to customize is open in the authoring pane.
  2. Drag the Image icon from the Form Customization Toolbox pane to the form.
  3. In the Insert Image dialog, specify the path of the image file for the image.

    Note

    The image you chose appears on the form.

  4. Select any property in the Details pane to customize other properties of the Image control.
  5. Select File, and select Save All to save the custom form to a management pack.

Add a label control to a form

A Label control is used in the Service Manager Authoring Tool for displaying a label on a form. You can modify the properties of the Label control to customize characteristics such as the text string that the label displays.

To add a Label control to a form, follow these steps:

  1. Ensure that the Form Customization Toolbox pane is open and that the form that you want to customize is open in the authoring pane.
  2. Drag the Label icon from the Form Customization Toolbox pane to the form. Select the Label control on the form.
  3. In the Details pane, select the Binding Path property. Select the ellipsis button (...), and then in the Binding Path dialog, select the class property that you want the Label control to bind to.
    Alternatively, if you want the Label control to display a static string, select the Content property and enter a string to replace the default Label_1 string. It will be displayed on the form.
  4. Select any other property in the Details pane to customize properties of the Label control.
  5. Select File, and select Save All to save the custom form to a management pack.

Add a list picker control to a form

The List Picker control in the Service Manager Authoring Tool is a custom control that is used for selecting an item from a prepopulated list of items. You can modify properties of the List Picker control to customize the characteristics of the control.

One of the characteristics of the control that you've to set is the list of items that will populate the List Picker control that you're creating. You can either choose an existing list, such as the Activity Priority list, or you can create a new list while you're creating the control.

To add list items to a newly created list, you must use the Service Manager console. You can't use the Authoring Tool to add list items to a newly created list. For more information about using the Service Manager console to add list items, see How to Add a List Item.

To add a List Picker control to a form, follow these steps:

  1. Ensure that the Form Customization Toolbox pane is open and that the form that you want to customize is open in the authoring pane.
  2. Drag the List Picker icon from the Form Customization Toolbox pane to the form. Select the List Picker control on the form.
  3. In the Details pane, select the List type property, and select the ellipsis button (...). In the Select a list dialog, select the list of items that will populate the List Picker control that you're creating. Select a list from the Available lists list.
    Select OK.
  4. Select any other property, such as Width or Height in the Details pane to customize other properties of the List Picker control.
  5. Select File, and select Save All to save the custom form to a management pack.

Add a panel control to a form

The Panel control in the Service Manager Authoring Tool is a Layout control that helps you manage a group of related controls. Typically, you drag and position several controls that have a related purpose on the form on a panel control. Then, if you need to move the controls that are on the panel, instead of moving each control individually, you can move the Panel control.

To add a panel control to a form, follow these steps:

  1. Ensure that the Form Customization Toolbox pane is open and that the form that you want to customize is open in the authoring pane.
  2. Drag the Panel icon from the Form Customization Toolbox pane to the form. You can now add other controls on the Panel control.

Add a single instance picker control to a form

A Single Instance Picker control in the Service Manager Authoring Tool is a custom control. It's used for presenting a list of instances of a certain class, and it lets the user select an instance from that list. This control resembles the User Picker control, but instead of being based on the User class, it's based on any class that you specify, including custom classes. You can modify properties of the Single Instance Picker control to customize characteristics such as the class whose instances will populate the list.

To add a single instance picker control to a form, follow these steps:

  1. Ensure that the Form Customization Toolbox pane is open and that the form that you want to customize is open in the authoring pane.
  2. Drag the Single Instance Picker icon from the Form Customization Toolbox pane to the form. Select the Single Instance Picker control on the form.
  3. In the Details pane, select the Binding Path property, and select the ellipsis button (...). In the Binding Path dialog, select the related class whose instances will populate the control's instances list on the form.
  4. Select any other property, such as Width or Height, in the Details pane to customize other properties of the Single Instance Picker control.
  5. Select File, and select Save All to save the custom form to a management pack.

Add a tab control and tab item controls to a form

A Tab Control control, combined with Tab Item controls, is used for arranging visual content in tabular form in the Service Manager Authoring Tool. You can modify the properties of these controls to customize characteristics such as the appearance and layout. Typically, the Tab Control control is accompanied by several Tab Item controls that enable selection of individual items inside the Tab Control.

Add a Tab Control control to a form

  1. Ensure that the Form Customization Toolbox pane is open and that the form that you want to customize is open in the authoring pane.
  2. Drag the Tab Control icon from the Form Customization Toolbox pane to the form. Select the Tab Control control on the form.
  3. Select any property in the Details pane to customize the properties of the Tab Control control.
  4. Select File, and select Save All to save the custom form to a management pack.

Add a Tab Item control to a form

  1. Add a Tab Control control as described in the previous procedure, and then select it on the form.
  2. Drag the Tab Item icon from the Form Customization Toolbox pane, and drop it on the Tab Control control that it should be associated with.
  3. Right-click the Tab Item control, and select Edit Content. Enter the text that you want to appear as the label on the Tab Item. Select any property in the Details pane to customize other properties of the Tab Item control.
  4. Select File, and select Save All to save the custom form to a management pack.

Add a text box control to a form

A Text Box control is used in the Service Manager Authoring Tool for text display and editing. You can modify the properties of the control to customize characteristics such as the location, the size, the wrapping behavior, and the text of the Text Box control.

To add a Text Box control to a form, follow these steps:

  1. Ensure that the Form Customization Toolbox pane is open and that the form that you want to customize is open in the authoring pane.
  2. Drag the Text Box icon from the Form Customization Toolbox window to the form. Select the Text Box control on the form.
  3. Set a text string by doing either of the following:
    • In the Details pane, select the Binding Path property. Select the ellipsis button (...), and then in the Binding Path dialog, select the class property that you want the Text Box control to bind to.
    • Select the Text property. Select the default Text Box string value and replace it.

      Note

      The new string value that you entered now appears on the form.

  4. Select the Accepts the ENTER key property, and set its value to True. In the deployed form, this value lets users enter multiple lines of text.
  5. Select any other property, such as Horizontal Scroll Bar Visibility and Maximum Lines, in the Details pane to customize other properties of the Text Box control.
  6. Select File, and select Save All to save the custom form to a management pack.

Add a user picker control to a form

The User Picker control is a Service Manager custom control that is used for choosing a user from a drop-down list of users. You can modify the properties of the User Picker control in the Service Manager Authoring Tool to customize characteristics such as the layout and the list of users to bind to.

To add a user picker control to a form, follow these steps:

  1. Ensure that the Form Customization Toolbox pane is open and that the form that you want to customize is open in the authoring pane.
  2. Drag the User Picker icon from the Form Customization Toolbox pane to the form. Select the User Picker control on the form.
  3. In the Details pane, select the Binding Path property, and select the ellipsis button (...). In the Binding Path dialog, select the related user class that represents the user instances that you want this control to bind to. On the deployed form, the user can use this control to view and pick one of the user instances of the specified related user class.
  4. Select any property in the Details pane to customize the properties of the User Picker control.
  5. Select File, and select Save All to save the custom form to a management pack.

Next steps

Customize the default incident form for the Authoring Tool sample scenario.