Part 1: Data

This exercise will introduce you to K2 SmartObjects and how you can define SmartObjects that interact with other systems such as Active Directory. Remember that SmartObjects are essentially a middle layer that allows consumers of data (such as forms and workflows) to interact with providers of data (such as SQL Databases, Active Directory or SharePoint, among others).

In Step 1 of this part, you will create the categories (think folders) used to store the elements of your application, and in Step 2, you will create an advanced SmartObject using K2 Designer.

In this part, you will learn:

The first step in your application is to create the categories that will house your forms, views, SmartObjects and workflows. You can think of categories as folders. While it is not necessary to group elements into folders like you do here, it does help to keep the similar elements together, especially for larger applications that may contain several SmartObjects, views, forms and workflows.

If you are using a virtual environment provided by K2, you may log into your environment using the following credentials:
User Name: Denallix\Administrator
Password: K2pass!

Step 1 Tasks

  1. Launch K2 Designer. If you did not complete the Hello World (Basic) application, create a new category under All Items called
    K2 Learning
    (Skip to Step 2 if the K2 Learning category exists.)
  2. Create a new category under K2 Learning called
    AD User Update
    then create four additional categories under AD User Update and name them
    Forms
    SmartObjects
    Views
    Workflows
  1. Launch K2 Designer (Start > All Programs > K2 blackpearl > K2 Designer).
    (If you do not see K2 Designer in your start menu, contact your K2 administrator to obtain the designer URL.)
  2. If the K2 Learning category does not already exist, create a new category under All Items for all of your projects. Right-click All Items and select New Category. Name the new category
    K2 Learning

  3. Create a new category under K2 Learning and name it
    AD User Update
  4. Create four new categories under AD User Update and name them
    Forms
    SmartObjects
    Views
    Workflows
  5. Your category folders should look like the image below when you are done. (If you did not complete the Hello World (Basic) application, you will not have the Hello World category. It is not needed for this lab.)

In this step, you will create an Advanced SmartObject and connect it to Active Directory. You will add two Active Directory methods to your SmartObject. The first method (GetUsers) will return a list of all Active Directory accounts. The second method (GetUserDetails) will return the account details for one Active Directory account that you select from the list.

Step 2 Tasks

  1. Create a new SmartObject based off the Active Directory Service2 ServiceObject. Name it
    AD User
  2. Add a GetUsers method to the AD User SmartObject and name it
    AD GetUser

  3. On the Default ServiceObject method bindings screen, Create All the Input and Return properties.
  4. Add a second method, GetUserDetails and name it
    AD GetUser Detail
  5. Auto-map the Default ServiceObject method binding.
  6. Assign the UserName Input property to the Name SmartObject property to associate the SmartObject property with the Active Directory property.

  7. Finish the SmartObject designer to publish the SmartObject
  1. In K2 Designer, right-click the SmartObjects category and select New SmartObject.

  2. On the SmartObjects home screen, click Next. On the General screen, Name the SmartObject
    AD User
    then select the Advanced SmartObject option for the Type and CHECK the box to Allow this SmartObject to be used in Workflows. Click Next to continue.
    3. The SmartBox SmartObject is the K2 default. SmartBox SmartObjects are K2-provided data storage, where K2 creates a table in the K2 database containing the properties that you define. With SmartBox properties, you are starting from scratch and must specify the properties you want (think columns in a table) and the data types (text, date, memo, etc.) for those properties. Advanced SmartObjects connect to existing ServiceObject methods. In simple terms, ServiceObjects can be thought of as data source types. (For example, Active Directory, SharePoint, SQL, etc.) By using a predefined ServiceObject, you can leverage the methods that are associated with that ServiceObject. In your case, GetUsers and GetUserDetails. Methods are simply protocols for manipulating data. For example, create, update, get list, delete, etc.
    When you select Allow this SmartObject to be used in Workflows, you are telling K2 to make the SmartObject properties and methods available as options in the K2 Workflow Designer. As you build your own applications, you may find that your SmartObjects do not appear as options in the K2 Workflow Designer. Simply edit the SmartObject in question from K2 Designer, and from this General settings screen, check the Allow option, then click Finish to save the SmartObject edit.

  3. On the Define Properties & Methods screen, click the Methods tab then click Add.

    4. The first method you are going to define (connect to) will be the GetUsers method, which will output all of the Active Directory accounts to a List View that you will create in a later step.

  4. On the Select a ServiceObject method screen, expand the Active Directory Service2 node, then the AD User service instance, then select the GetUsers method. Click Next.

  5. On the Methods details screen, Name the method
    AD GetUsers
    Notice that the default Type for this method is List. This method will list the accounts in Active Directory. There are no parameters to configure, so click Next.

  6. On the Default ServiceObject method bindings screen, click Create All. K2 will automatically create the Input and Return Properties. Click Next to continue.
    7. Behind the scenes, K2 is creating all of the AD User SmartObject properties (think columns in a table) based on all of the Active Directory properties it finds. The AD User SmartObject properties will have the same name as the Active Directory properties. If you wanted different names for your SmartObject properties, you could create the SmartObject properties first, then manually map them to the corresponding Active Directory property.

  7. There are no ServiceObject method bindings changes, so click Next, then Finish. Your screen should look like the image below.

    8. The second method you are going to define will be the GetUserDetails method, which will output the details for a single Active Directory account. You will use this method in a later step for viewing the details and updating the Active Directory account.

  8. With the Methods tab still selected, click Add. Expand the Active Directory Service2 node, then the AD User Service Instance until you can select GetUserDetails. Click Next to continue.

  9. On the Methods details screen, Name the new method
    AD GetUser Detail
    There are no changes to the method parameter settings, so click Next.

  10. On the Default ServiceObject method bindings screen, click Auto Map.
    11. Return properties are the properties (think account details) that you want to retrieve when an account in the list is clicked. Because you have already created the Active Directory properties in your AD User SmartObject, you don't need to create them again. You simply want to map the existing AD User SmartObject properties to those properties found in the GetUserDetails method.

    After an account in the list has been clicked, you need some way to match that account (from the list view) with its details from Active Directory. You will do this by associating the UserName property (from Active Directory) with the Name property (from the AD User SmartObject). When an account is clicked, K2 will take the Name value and match it with an Active Directory UserName value and return the details for that account.

  11. Highlight the Input property name UserName and click Assign. Select Name from the SmartObject property drop-down list and click OK. Click Next, then Finish.

    12. Your SmartObject Designer screen should now look like the image below.

  12. Now you need to publish the new SmartObject to the K2 environment. Click the Finish button to complete the SmartObject designer, which will publish the SmartObject to the K2 environment.
STEP 2 REVIEW

In Step 2, you created the AD User SmartObject containing two methods: AD GetUser (retrieves a list of users) and AD GetUser Detail (retrieves details for a specific user). While creating this SmartObject, you took advantage of the service instances that K2 provides as standard for the Active Directory service type.

This concludes the data component of your Active Directory User Update application.