The metadata
extension definition for a user interface extension specifies where the
extension appears in the
vSphere Web
Client GUI, and provides information about how the extension
appears, including which Flex classes contain the actual GUI code.
Depending on the type of
extension that you create for the
vSphere Web
Client, you must create different metadata definition for each
extension, but all extension definitions share certain basic characteristics.
Extension Point
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The extension point
represents the specific location in the
vSphere Web
Client user interface where the extension appears. The
vSphere Web
Client SDK publishes a set of extension points that correspond to
specific locations in the user interface.
Each extension definition
must specify one of the provided extension points. The
vSphere Web
Client SDK provides several extension points for adding new data
view extensions to the Virtual Infrastructure object workspaces. Each of these
points corresponds to an existing top-level tab or second-level tab for a
specific type of vSphere object. The SDK also provides extension points for
other extensible GUI features, including the object navigator, Actions
Framework,
Related Objectscategorized object relations
specifications, and home screen shortcuts.
You can nest extensions.
An extension can define its own extension points, creating a multilevel
structure of extensions. The Virtual Infrastructure object workspaces use a
nested structure of extensions. For example, top-level tab screen extensions in
an object workspace define extension points for second-level tab extensions,
and second-level tab extensions define extension points for nested views or
portlets.
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Extension Object
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The extension object is a
data object that describes the properties of the extension. You must provide a
specific type of extension object for each extension point. Rather than
instantiating the actual extension object, your extension definition must use
MXML or HTML to provide a description of the required object.
The extension objects
associated with each extension point correspond to specific ActionScript
classes in the
vSphere Web
Client SDK. The properties of the ActionScript class are used in
the data object to specify things like labels and icons for the extension. In
the cases of data views, actions, and certain extensions to the object
navigator, you also use the extension object properties to specify the Flex or
HTML classes that you created for those extensions.
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Filtering Metadata
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You can include filtering
metadata in your extension definition. You can use filtering metadata to
control when the user has access to a given extension. For example, you can
filter an extension to appear only for certain types of objects, or when an
object's property has a specific value. Filtering metadata is optional and not
required for every extension definition.
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