Customizing the IBM Connections Mobile apps

Can the IBM Connections Mobile apps be customized?

The latest versions of the Android, BlackBerry and iOS apps are configurable from the IBM Connections 4.0 server and the IBM Connections server 3.0.1.1 CR2 (LO69809). This configuration is done through the mobile-config.xml file. The steps and values are described below.

Modifying configuration properties
The mobile-config.xml properties file, which is located in the Deployment Manager profile directory ({install.root}/config/cells/{local.cell}/LotusConnections-config), can be changed to provide numerous configuration options. Note: The properties file is located under the Deployment Manager's install directory and not the node server's install directory.

After modifying the file, use the WAS admin console to synchronize the nodes and restart the cluster that is hosting the mobile app.

When modifying a property, ensure that you apply the following guidelines:

• Enabled properties must have a value of either true or false.
• Number values must be integers.

You can modify the following configuration properties:

General properties
ExposeEmailAddress
Displays email addresses in Profiles. The default value is true. Setting the value to false prevents email addresses from being displayed in Profiles.

ExposeGeoLocation (4.0 and above only)
Displays geolocation in the activity stream. The default value is true. Setting it to false will hide the geolocation in the activity stream.

AllowCopyandPaste (4.0 and above only)
Allows copying and pasting of text. The default value is true. Setting it to false will prevent copy and paste of text throughout the application.

DefaultApplication (4.0 and above only)
The application that the user is taken to after logging in. The default is Updates.

Updates
Displays updates in the Home page. Setting it to false prevents updates from being displayed.

RememberPassword
Allows passwords to be saved. The default value is true. Setting it to false prevents passwords from being saved.

AllowiTunesSharing (iOS only)
iOS allows downloaded documents from all accounts on your device to be accessed when you sync your device with iTunes. When false the downloaded documents will not be accessible via iTunes. If the device is shared with multiple people you should set this to false. The default value is true.

WebClientAccess
Allows access for users with legacy mobile browsers, such as trackball equipped Nokia Symbian or RIM BlackBerry smartphones. The default value is true. When you disable web access, users who attempt to access the website see a message that directs them to download the Connections native app. The URL points to the marketplace appropriate for each user’s device.
Tip: For a richer user experience, disable web client access.

Activities properties
enabled
The application is enabled by default. To disable it, set enabled=false.

displayInLauncher
The application is displayed in the launcher by default. To hide it, set displayInLauncher=false.

PublicActivities (Not supported in BlackBerry)
Public Activities are shown by default. To hide public activities, set the value of the PublicActivities element to false.

Blogs properties
enabled
The application is enabled by default. To disable it, set enabled=false.

displayInLauncher
The application is displayed in the launcher by default. To hide it, set displayInLauncher=false.

PublicBlogs (Not supported in BlackBerry)
Public Blogs are shown by default. To hide public blogs, set the value of the PublicBlogs element to false.

Bookmarks properties
enabled
The application is enabled by default. To disable it, set enabled=false.

displayInLauncher
The application is displayed in the launcher by default. To hide it, set displayInLauncher=false.

PublicBookmarks (Not supported in BlackBerry)
Public Bookmarks are shown by default. To hide public bookmarks, set the value of the PublicBookmarks element to false.

Communities properties
enabled
The application is enabled by default. To disable it, set enabled=false.

displayInLauncher
The application is displayed in the launcher by default. To hide it, set displayInLauncher=false.

PublicCommunities (Not supported in BlackBerry)
Public Communities are shown by default. To hide public communities, set the PublicCommunities element to false.

Files properties
enabled
The application is enabled by default. To disable it, set enabled=false.

displayInLauncher
The application is displayed in the launcher by default. To hide it, set displayInLauncher=false.

PublicFiles (Not supported in BlackBerry)
Public Files are shown by default. To hide public files, set the value of the PublicFiles element to false.

ShareWithPublic (Not supported in BlackBerry)
Allows files to be shared with everyone. The default value is true. Setting the value to false hides files from public view.

AllowDownloads
Allows files to be downloaded to a mobile device. The default value is true. To prevent downloads, set the value to false.

AllowUploads
Allows files to be uploaded from a mobile device. The default value is true. To prevent uploads, set the value to false.

AllowExport (Not supported in BlackBerry)
Allows files to be opened by third party apps.

• On Android, when disabled, files can be downloaded but cannot be viewed since there is no inbuilt viewer.
• On iOS, files can be viewed through the in built View(Quick Look)

The default value is true. To prevent file export, set the value to false.

AllowExportToDeviceGallery (Not supported in BlackBerry)

• On Android, this allows files to be exported to the device's Gallery. To prevent files from being exported to the Gallery, set the value to false.
• On iOS, this allows files to be exported to the device's Photos. To prevent files from being exported to Photos, set the value to false.

The default value is true.

Forums properties
enabled
The application is enabled by default. To disable it, set enabled=false.

displayInLauncher
The application is displayed in the launcher by default. To hide it, set displayInLauncher=false.

PublicForums (Not supported in BlackBerry)
Public Forums are shown by default. To hide public forums, set the value of the PublicFiles element to false.

Profiles properties
enabled
The application is enabled by default. To disable it, set enabled=false.

displayInLauncher
The application is displayed in the launcher by default. To hide it, set displayInLauncher=false.

Upload
By default, users can upload Profiles picture. To prevent the uploading of Profiles pictures, set the Upload element to false.

Search properties
GlobalSearch (Not supported in BlackBerry)
Searching globally is enabled by default. To disable it, setting the value to false disables searching across all of Connections.

Wikis properties
enabled
The application is enabled by default. To disable it, set enabled=false.

displayInLauncher
The application is displayed in the launcher by default. To hide it, set displayInLauncher=false.

PublicWikis (Not supported in BlackBerry)
Public Wikis are shown by default. To hide public wikis, set the value of the PublicWikis element to false.

Application customization properties

You can specify customized application labels and the AppName in a properties file. Give it a name such as the mobile.properties file, or similar. The file must be stored under the shared_data_directory_root/customization/strings directory.

The following list shows examples of properties that can be specified in the file:
appname.pluraltitle=IBM Connections
activities.singulartitle=Activity
activities.pluraltitle=Activities
blogs.singulartitle=Blog
blogs.pluraltitle=Blogs
bookmarks.singulartitle=Bookmark
bookmarks.pluraltitle=Bookmarks
communities.singulartitle=Community
communities.pluraltitle=Communities
files.singulartitle=File
files.pluraltitle=Files
forums.singulartitle=Forum
forums.pluraltitle=Forums
profiles.singulartitle=Profile
profiles.pluraltitle=Profiles
wikis.singulartitle=Wiki
wikis.pluraltitle=Wikis

Note: The pluraltitle extension is used in the Home page screen, where the applications are listed. The singulartitle extension is used elsewhere in the app, such as in error messages.

For multiple locale support, create a properties file for each locale and store it in the same folder as the English-language properties file. For example, add a mobile_fr.properties file for the french locale.

enabled
App customizations are disabled by default. To enable them, set enabled=true in the Customizations element.

CustomizationLocation
Specifies the name of the customization properties file.
Note: Specify the file name without the .properties extension. For example, enter mobile, not mobile.properties.

appname.title
Represents the customized app name. If this property is not specified, the value of the Appname element in the mobile-config.xml file is used. However, that value is overridden by the appname.title property if it is specified in the properties file.
The following list shows an example of customized properties:
appname.pluraltitle=IBM Connections
activities.singulartitle=Task
activities.pluraltitle=Tasks
blogs.singulartitle=ContentShare
blogs.pluraltitle=ContentShare
bookmarks.singulartitle=URL
bookmarks.pluraltitle=URLs
communities.singulartitle=Teamroom
communities.pluraltitle=Teamrooms
files.singulartitle=Document
files.pluraltitle=Documents
forums.singulartitle=GroupShare
forums.pluraltitle=GroupShares
homepage.singulartitle=Updates
homepage.pluraltitle= Updates
profiles.singulartitle=Blue Page
profiles.pluraltitle=Blue Pages
wikis.singulartitle=Wiki
wikis.pluraltitle=Wikis

Security properties (Not supported in BlackBerry)
enabled
The security settings are disabled by default. To enable them, set enabled=true.

AuthType
Specifies the authentication type. Allowed values are SiteMinder, Form, Basic, and SPNEGO.

LoginUrlContext
Defines the login URL context for the custom authentication form.

LoginErrorUrlContext
Defines the error URL login context.

LoginFormName
Defines the login form name in the custom auth form.

UseridFieldName
Defines the user field name in the custom auth form.

PasswordFieldName
Defines the password field name in the custom auth form.

InfoPagePathPattern
Contains a regular expression that can be used to match the URL of the information page. The information page usually states the terms of using the website; the user must agree to the terms before proceeding further.

InfoPagePositivePathPattern
Contains a regular expression that can be used to match the URL of a positive response page. The detection of the positive page indicates that the user accepted the information page.

InfoPageNegativePathPattern
Contains a regular expression that can be used to match the URL of a negative response page. The detection of the negative page indicates that the user did not accept the information page.

RejectUntrustedCertificates
When set to true, the app rejects any untrusted certificates presented to it and denies app access. The default value is false.

Security management (4.0 CR1 and above only)
MobileAdmin
When set to true and configured properly, you can use the mobile security admin console to perform certain functions from the app:

• Prevent device access
• Prevent user access
• Wipe IBM Connections app data

See Configuring security for mobile for more information.

ServiceLocation
Specifies the location of the security management service for Mobile. By default, the ServiceLocation property is empty. An empty value indicates that the security management service is collocated with the
IBM Connections server.

Change the value of this property only if the security management service is deployed on a domain different from IBM Connections. For example, if IBM Connections is hosted at https://example.com
and the security management service is hosted at https://example.org, change the value of the ServiceLocation property to https://example.org.

If you specify a domain for the security management service in this property, you must enable single-signon between this domain and the IBM Connections domain.

Extensibility properties

Use these properties to add new applications to the Home page.

name
Specifies the application name.

enabled
Show or hide the application.

ApplicationIcon
Specifies the location of the images for the platforms and densities. Images must be stored under the shared_data_directory_root/customization/mobile directory.

DefaultLocation
Specifies a default image for the web client and is used if an image is not set for any of the density fields.

ApplicationLabel
Specifies the label for the new application.

ApplicationURL
Specifies the web address or the native URL of the application. IBM Connections uses this URL to launch the new application.

The following excerpt from a sample mobile-config.xml file demonstrates how to specify a new application:
<Applications>
<Application name="ApplicationName" enabled="true">
<ApplicationIcon>
<Android>
<Hdpi>/images/ibmhdpi.jpg</Hdpi>
<Mdpi>/images/ibmmdpi.jpg</Mdpi>
<Ldpi>/images/ibmldpi.jpg</Ldpi>
</Android>
<IOS>
<Reg>/images/reg.jpg</Reg>
<Retina>/images/retina.jpg</Retina>
</IOS>
<BB>
<HighDensity>/images/highdensity.jpg</HighDensity>
<MedDensity>/images/meddensity.jpg</MedDensity>
<LowDensity>/images/lowdensity.jpg</LowDensity>
</BB>
<DefaultLocation>/images/ibm50.jpg</DefaultLocation>
</ApplicationIcon>
<ApplicationLabel>IBM</ApplicationLabel>
<ApplicationURL>http://www.ibm.com</ApplicationURL></>
</Application>
</Applications>

HPDI, MPDI, and LPDI correspond to high, medium, and low densities on Android. Similarly, HighDensity, MedDensity, and LowDensity correspond to the screen densities on BlackBerry.
Reg and Retina are the screen densities on IOS.

The recommended image sizes for iOS are:

• Reg: 24 pixels x 24 pixels 72 pixels per inch
• Retina: 48 pixels x 48 pixels 72 pixels per inch