Explorer and Jacada - Microsoft Clients -- SYSTEM21



Hi to the List.

This is a note to outline what is going on with Explorer and Jacada.

I will recap a little on Jacada nad then outline for you where we are and
what we are planning to do. I will also introduce to you an additional
product called System 21 Office which is presently in Beta and which relies
on Explorer as well.

Jacada provides three distinct user interfaces, a Jacada Native UI, a VB UI
and a Java UI. System 21 has implemented the VB UI and the Java UI. There
is no implementation provided in System 21 for the Native UI.

To keep within the size restrictions on the list I am dealing in this note
with the VB UI, System 21 Office and Explorer, I will deal with the Java
client and Explorer on a separate note.

Microsoft Client Environment.

The Jacada VB UI is integrated to System 21 Explorer. Explorer and the
entire user environment, Action Tracker, Action List and Document Viewer
are supported and will continue to be supported. This implementation will
carry forward as one of System 21's standard implementations.

The existing Microsoft client environment includes the proprietary emulator
delivered as part of Explorer. This emulator, along with the rest of the
Explorer application set  will be put into maintenance mode. By that we
mean that it will continue to be supported, defects will be repaired but we
plan no new substantial developments on this product. Our focus moving
forward is on the delivery of the Jacada UI in support of Microsoft clients
while still providing Explorer and the features that enable Active
Enterprise in that environment.

The major developments currently underway in the labs on Jacada UI are
geared to completing integration of the latest version of Jacada which
provides for DBCS and Slavic langauge support.

System 21 Office

In addition to the Jacada VB UI and Explorer System 21 also supports a
native Microsoft UI rooted in Excel. What does that mean?

One of the issues facing users of System 21 is the structure of the
underlying panels. The emulator in System 21 Explorer and the Jacada VB UI
both are panel driven. They receive an image one panel at a time and
present information one panel at a time. There are tools in the Explorer
emulator, called Designer which allow for restructuring of a single panel,
hiding fields etc. but there is no capability in the Explorer Emulator or
the Jacada VB UI to create new panels which comprise several underlying
panels.

For a Microsoft client we wanted to create a deployment which used the
connectivity provided by Explorer but also provided for a tool which
enabled our users to overcome the single panel limitations. For example, if
a user wanted to create a specific maintenance screen which combined data
from the first and second panels of the Item Maintenance screen, the user
should be able to select the fields from the different panels and combine
them on a new screen.

THis capability is delivered in System 21 Office. A plug in is provided for
Excel which imbeds a scripting tool inside of Excel. We exploit the use of
VBA in Excel to then link the spreadsheets to System 21 tasks. Panels can
be combined on a single spreadsheet for the user. Different panels from
different System 21 tasks can also be combined into single spreadsheets for
the user. Within Excel itself skins or formats can be applied to give a
graphical look and feel that is not spreadsheet based. Error handling is
provided. As well this tool can be used to do mass updates such as master
file loading or mass change to data files. Finally, it is secured using the
same security mechanisms as Explorer.

As a UI this tool provides users with the ability to exploit Microsoft's
own tooling for generating a UI in Excel. The underlying scripting tool is
simple to use and provides the ability to substantially reinvent the look,
feel and usuability of the System 21 applications.

The product is completing beta testing now but we would be happy to provide
it for beta testing to additional companies.

That's the update on Microsoft centric Explorer and Jacada issues along
with an update on how we are exploiting the Microsoft desktop to deliver a
completely configurable desktop client if you so desire.




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