Tutorial: Adding a Store Feature to the Store Management tool

In this tutorial, you learn how to customize the Store Management tool to add a link in your storefront to display store contact information.

During this tutorial, you add a Store Management tool to provide a new manageable feature for the Madisons starter store. This feature adds a link that displays store contact information in a tooltip widget. You change the Store Management tool presentation layer to add the configuration options for the tooltip.

The store features configuration data is stored in the EMSPOT and DMEMSPOTDEF tables in the database. These configurations display in Management Center through definition files that define the presentation layer. The Madisons storefront JSP code that implements the functionality of the feature are defined and embedded in flow tags. For example: 
<%-- CoShopping --%>
<flow:ifEnabled feature="CoShopping">
	<%@ include file="../../../ShoppingArea/coshopping/CoShopWidget.jspf"%>
</flow:ifEnabled>

Learning objectives

After completing this tutorial, you should be familiar with the following concepts:
  • The contact tooltip feature
  • The idresgen utility
  • The massload utility
  • The Management Center Store Management tool
After completing this tutorial, you should be able to complete the following tasks:
  • Extend objects.
  • Customize the Management Center Store Management tool.

Time required

Expect this tutorial to take 1 hour to complete. The tutorial can take longer if you explore concepts that are related to this tutorial.

Skill level

This tutorial is intended for advanced WebSphere Commerce developers responsible for creating and customizing the WebSphere Commerce store features. To complete this tutorial, you should be familiar with the following terms and concepts:
  • JavaServer Pages (JSP) technology
  • XML
  • Management Center framework
  • Relational databases
  • SQL

System requirements

Before you begin this tutorial, ensure that you complete the following tasks:
  • Install WebSphere Commerce Developer
  • Install WebSphere Commerce Version 7
  • Install and enabled WebSphere Commerce Version 7 Feature Pack 2
  • Publish the Madisons starter store