Filters and Build Objects

The user sees filters in a Process Framework extension such as Session Manager or Workflow Manager. These filter buttons that allow the user to modify which sessions or designs are displayed in the tree. For example, a Session Manager user will click the My Sessions filter to populate the tree with sessions for which he is the current owner.

Session Manager and Workflow Manager are installed with the default filters shown below. You may add default filters by creating custom filter and build objects. This section discusses creating and implementing custom filter and build objects.

Interfaces:
    IMMPxFilter
    IMMPxFilterEx
    IMMPxNode2
    IMMListBuilder

Component Category:
MMFilter

Filter and build objects work together to populate the tree in Session Manager or Workflow Manager with specific information. The filter object determines which items should be included in the list. The builder object uses the information provided by the filter to build the list of items to be displayed.

When the user selects a filter, the filter’s execute method is called which creates an MMPxNodeList and sets the list’s BuildObject property to the appropriate Build Object.

A build object is responsible for performing the necessary queries to create the contents of the list. Each node has a build object that builds the node’s children when needed. The list for a node is not generated by the build object until the user requests the contents by expanding the node in the tree. Since the child nodes in the dynamic list are built only when they are needed, large lists may be displayed quickly in Process Framework.

The BuildObject is also responsible for initializing the PxNode with an ID and NodeType, and setting the DisplayName.

To ensure the build and filter objects are implemented correctly, they will need to be registered to the MMFilter category using RegX.exe.

Configuring Custom Filters

Once the filter and build object have been written, you may implement the custom filter using the Process Framework Administration tool. Details about using the Process Framework Administration tool are available in the Configuration Guide.

In the Process Framework Administration tool, select the Filters tab.
Click the Add button to create an additional row. You will be presented with a message box informing you of the default extension. Click OK.
In the Filter field, enter the node type ID in the IMMPxFilter::Execute method (filter class). In this section's sample, this is the lNodeTypeID value which was set to AllWorkRequestsSample.
Optionally, enter a description in the Description field.
Be sure to assign roles to the filter. If no roles are assigned, no users will be able to see the filter.

Next, select the Node Types tab.
At the top of this tab is a checkbox labeled: "Show filter node types". Select this checkbox.
In the top window, scroll to and select your custom filter.
Select the appropriate extension in the Extensions field. This setting is used by the Import/Export tool in the Process Framework Administration tool. It does not determine for which extension the filter is displayed. (This is determined by the IMMPxFilterEx::ExtensionName property.)
Use the Tasks section to create the tasks that should be available when your custom filter is selected.

Close the Process Framework Administration tool and save changes. Your custom filter will be available in the category specified by the filter class (IMMPxFilter::Category).