What is HCL Leap, and how is it used?
This document provides an overview of the three main activities that are involved in using Leap.
Accessibility overview
HCL Leap contains a number of built-in accessibility features to make applications easy to create and use by people with disabilities.
Accessibility features for application designers
HCL Leap contains accessibility features so users with disabilities can create forms and applications.
Accessibility features for application users
When given the link to an HCL Leap application, a user is provided with many built in accessibility features.
Leap release notes
These release notes provide a summary of new features, installation information, and descriptions of known limitations, problems, and workarounds.
Overview
HCL Leap builds dynamic forms and applications with a web-based interface. From a single interface, you can design a form, define access privileges, create workflow stages, deploy the application, and review submitted results.
Tutorials for form design
The HCL Leap tutorial section contains two tutorials to help you learn to use Leap.
Building a Survey application
This tutorial describes how to build a simple survey application with HCL Leap .
Adding tables and workflow elements to a HCL Leap form
This tutorial provides information and lessons about more advanced Leap topics. Basic form design is not covered in this tutorial.
Deploying Leap
This section describes the steps required to upgrade HCL Leap , and the Leap Portlet for use with WebSphere® Portal .
Preparing to deploy
This section describes how to prepare to deploy Leap.
Deploying to a Container (Kubernetes) Platform
The following sections describe how to deploy leap to a Kubernetes-friendly container platform.
Deploying to a traditional platform
The following topics describe how to deploy Leap to a traditional platform.
Completing the post-deployment tasks
After you run the HCL Leap installer for WebSphere® Application Server , you must complete the deploymeent by setting up the Leap environment.
Upgrading
The following topics describe how to upgrade Leap.
Migrating from IBM Forms Experience Builder
The following instructions describe how to upgrade from IBM Forms Experience Builder to HCL Leap .
Configuring
This section contains information on how to configure Leap.
Application server environment configuration
The following general information describes the requirements for configuring your application server environment.
Configuring the properties file
When you install HCL Leap , a file containing sample configuration properties is also installed. You can configure the properties for optimal performance with your system.
Administering Leap.
The following topics contain information on administering Leap.
Backing up and restoring the DB2® database
Data for HCL Leap applications is stored within a database. Ensure that you have a backup and restore strategy in place to protect your data.
Strict CSP
HCL Leap 9.3.1 has a limited capability to restrict the rendering of Leap Forms using a “Strict CSP” policy.
Creating and managing applications
Creating and managing applications contains a variety of topics on how to build and efficiently use applications.
Creating an application
This topic gives a general overview of the application creation process, from opening the HCL Leap interface to launching a completed application.
Creating an application from an excel spreadsheet
Leap allows you to create an application from an excel spreadsheet, automatically creating the widgets and importing the data found in the spreadsheet.
Styling your application with a custom theme
Style the colors, fonts, and other characteristics of the application by creating or importing a custom theme.
Copying items
Items may be copied from one form to another form within any application.
Moving items on a form
Form items are not static after they are added to a form. You can move items around on a single page, duplicate form items, and move items between pages on your form.
Creating an accessible application
When you create a form or application, the following information helps you design an accessible form for users with disabilities.
Enabling dynamic layout
When you build applications, you can now set the display width of your Leap application. Setting this feature reduces or removes the need for horizontal scrolling when you have an unknown or limited amount of space, such as when the application is displayed in a WebSphere_Portal portlet.
Globalization features
The following information describes the languages formatting features supported by HCL Leap .
Creating rules in your application
Rules help you gather the correct information from users and organize your information after data is entered in a form. You can create composite rules that govern how your form, and the data in your form behaves.
Labeling data, performing data analysis, and exporting data
You can add labels to data elements in your application that become the label in the export file.
Incorporating web services into your applications
The following topics describe how to incorporate web services into your HCL Leap application.
Adding formulas to your application
You can create and edit formulas to assign values to an item on your HCL Leap form.
Adding specialized form items
You can use specialized form items to style text, echo text back, create dynamic lines, or add HTML.
Managing the files associated with your application
You can upload a variety of files, such as images, for use with your application. Managing these embedded files is done in the Files section of the Settings tab
Leap document integration
Leap's document integration feature lets you use previously built PDF files and populate them with data captured by Leap.
Adding Stages to an application
It is often desirable to have an application, or form, transition through a set of phases or stages. At each stage the form might be used by different people in different roles. The form also might be presented in a slightly different manner in each stage, such as having some items or pages hidden, or in a read-only state.
Deploying applications and viewing data responses
After an HCL Leap application is built it must be deployed. After it is deployed, you can supply users with the URL of the application so they can launch it. After users submit completed forms, you can view the responses.
Securing
When building applications, user roles require various levels of security access. A manager is able to review submitted forms, but an administrator can delete them. The following topics describe how to set security levels for all levels of users.
Defining basic security roles for users
Create roles for users in your organization so they can work with data that is relevant to them.
Assigning users or groups to roles
Give the users in your organization permission to work with the data relevant to them by assigning them roles.
Setting Stage permissions
Setting Stage permissions defines the Create, Read, Update, and Delete permissions for each role in a stage.
Defining permissions to share data with other applications
HCL Leap applications can share data through services with other Leap applications. To allow other applications access to the data from the application you are designing, you must define the security permissions.
Assigning users to maintain the application
To define who can edit an HCL Leap application, use the design settings in the Access tab.
Setting up security for anonymous access
Using the correct permissions, you can allow anonymous users to access a form.
Extending
You can extend the functionality of HCL Leap through the use of customized cascading style sheets, Javascript APIs, REST APIs, and Service Oriented Architecture modifications.
Using custom style sheets
HCL Leap allows the use of custom CSS themes that can be uploaded into an application to style the user interface to meet customer needs.
Adding services
The following topics describe how to add services to your Leap applications.
Troubleshooting
The following pages provide information on how to troubleshoot HCL Leap , and how to contact support.
Troubleshooting and support
Troubleshooting and support information for the HCL Leap .
Troubleshooting HCL Leap
The following table contains information to help you troubleshoot your Leap product or applications. The table contains limitations, best practices, and known issues.
Reference
The documents in this section provide reference material and samples for HCL Leap .
REST API reference
The REST API can be used by other programs to communicate with Leap.
Services
The following topics provide reference information about adding services to HCL Leap .
Embedding items in an iframe
You can use iFrames to embed charts and applications in a web page.
Embedding API
The Embedding API can be used to embed a Leap form directly in another webpage without using an <iframe>. The Leap form will be inserted into the DOM of the hosting page and can be interacted with using the Leap JavaScript API or any custom JavaScript. Additionally, the style of items in the Leap form can be customized by the CSS of the hosting page.
Creating customized Cascading Style Sheets
You can apply your own custom Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) to the rendering of your HCL Leap application. To create a custom theme, you must be familiar with the basic concepts of CSS.