Accessing AB Suite Applications from VB.NET Winforms

To access an AB Suite application from VB.NET Winforms, perform the following:

  1. Build the AB Suite application with User Defined View Generator property set to VB.NET Client in the Bundle Folder Property Pages dialog box.

    Refer to the Agile Business Suite Developer User Guide for more information on how to build the application. At a minimum, to build the application, you must specify the properties mentioned in Accessing AB Suite Applications from Presentation Client.

  2. Create a view of the AB Suite application using the Runtime Administration Tool. Refer to the Agile Business Suite Runtime for Windows® Operating System Administration Guide, section 2, "Runtime Administration" for more information on how to create a view.

  3. Double-click the SetupVBNETClient.vbs file from the following path: <root folder>:\NGEN_CE\VB.NET Client\Utilities\Setup and click OK.

    The VB.NET Client Application Setup Script dialog box appears and prompts you to specify the AB Suite application name.

  4. Specify the AB Suite application name in the VB.NET Client Application Setup Script dialog box and click OK.

  5. Click Yes to confirm the creation of a directory with the AB Suite application name.

    The VB.NET Client Application Setup Script dialog box appears confirming the initialization of VB.NET Application directories.

  6. Click OK in the VB.NET Client Application Setup Script dialog box.

    A directory is created in the following path <root folder>:\NGEN_CE\VB.NET Client with the AB Suite application name.

  7. Navigate to the location where the directory is created and double-click the <AB Suite application name>.vbproj file.

    The Microsoft Visual Studio environment opens with the AB Suite application name displayed in Class View window. You can also see errors listed in the Error List.

  8. Switch to the Solution Explorer window, right-click the AB Suite application name and select Properties.

    The properties window appears.

  9. Click the References tab in the properties window, and click Reference Paths.... The Reference Paths dialog box appears.

  10. Specify the path for the bin folder of the Component Enabler installation directory in the Folder box of the Reference Paths dialog box. Example: C:\NGEN_CE\bin\

  11. Click Add Folder in the Reference Paths dialog box.

    The path for the bin folder appears in the Reference Paths box.

  12. Click OK to close the Reference Paths dialog box.

    This resolves all the errors and clears the Error List window.

  13. Right-click the solution node in the Solution Explorer window, and select Build Solution.

    The Save File As dialog box appears with <AB Suite application name>.sln displayed in the Object name box.

  14. Click Save in the Save File As dialog box to save the solution.

  15. Navigate to <root folder>:\NGEN_CE\classes\com\unisys\<AB Suite application name>\<bundle folder name>\views and double-click the <AB Suite application name>.sln file.

    The Microsoft Visual Studio environment opens with all the Ispecs present in the AB Suite application listed in the Class View window.

  16. Switch to the Solution Explorer window, right-click the solution node and select Build Solution.

    All the Ispecs in the AB Suite application are built.

  17. Configure the config.xml file present in the bin folder of AB Suite application.

    Refer to The Config.xml File Described. for more information on configuring a config.xml file.

    At a minimum, you must specify the following values in the config.xml file:

    • Package Prefix

      Example: com.unisys

    • Application Name Example: Sample

    • startupSystem name

      Example: Sample

    • system name

      Example: Sample

    • PackagePrefix

      Example: com.unisys

    • BundleName

      Example: VBSample

    • HostURI

      Example: x-ratl:localhost:2889

    • HostViewName

      Example: SampleView

    • ConnectionMode

      Example: 2

    • HostLogin

      Example: AppUser

    • HostPassword

      Example: App1User

    • HostDomain

      Example:.

    Note: In the above example, “.” represents the domain name.

  18. Navigate to <root folder>:\NGEN_CE\VB.NET Client\<AB Suite application name>\bin and double-click the <AB Suite application name>.exe file. The AB Suite application appears with the Select Form window.

    Note: If you specify an Ispec as Fireup Ispec in the Segment properties, the application displays the same Ispec instead of the Select Form window.

  19. In the Select Form window, select the required Ispec and click OK.

    The selected Ispec appears.