Understand widgets
Widgets are used to extend the capabilities of your ManageEngine AppCreator application so that you could perform tasks that could not be accomplished using the in-built features. It equips you with additional features to enhance the front-end capabilities of your app.
Widget capabilities
Widgets enable you to:
- Create and customize features that are specific to your app
- Redefine the way your application interacts with your customers
- Take complete control of the front-end design
- Incorporate third party apps that cater to your AppCreator app
Create and customize features
There are many features in ManageEngine AppCreator that helps you bring your application together. However, there can arise instances where you are unable to find the exact solution to a requirement. Widgets can help you resolve such minor setbacks. You can create a feature, configure it as a widget, and add it to your page to attain the kind of usability you are looking for.
Let's assume you are an automobile dealer and have an application dashboard for your monthly sales related data. This dashboard has details of the number of vehicles sold, a comparison of the previous month's sales, a ranking of the models sold, the sales teams' individual performance scores, and a customer feedback form. You would need to display a form that is of feedback matrix type. You can configure the form as a widget in your page. Using Java Script, CSS, and HTML, you can create this form, upload it to AppCreator, and introduce it into the required page as a widget. You can use AppCreator API to add, update, edit, and delete records from this report.
Redefine app interface
Widgets boost your control over the front-end design of your application. You will be able to completely redesign your app to suit your requirements and to mirror the uniqueness of your brand. This gives you a mechanism that changes the way your app interacts with your customers.
Let's assume you have your application's landing page designed using pages. But if you want to explore more options to design your interface, widgets can assist you with it. If you have a long form in your application, presenting it in a single page might be to tedious for the user. You can create a progressive form that groups form fields into sections and displays them one after the other is a linear manner using Java Script, CSS, and HTML. Then, upload it as a widget in AppCreator, and drag and drop it into your page. Your custom page is made available in your application.
Incorporate third party apps
Third party apps that cater to your Creator app's requirements can be incorporated into your pages as widgets. Let's assume you have an application for the Online Courses that you offer. The app has registration details, contact details, course details, and webinar schedules. You page contains course details, registration form, and upcoming webinars. If you have a registered user logged in, you need to display a timer to count down to the start of the relevant webinar. You can incorporate this timer from a third party service or third party javascript plugins into your AppCreator application as a widget.
Points to remember
- The widgets with JS APIs will not work on the published pages.