Create Widget Using Zet-CLI Tool
The Zoho Extension Toolkit (ZET) is a command-line interface designed to assist developers in creating and packaging widgets for integration with Zoho People.
Prerequisites
Download the nodejs source code from https://nodejs.org/en
Use the following command to verify the installation:
node -v
npm -v
Install CLI
- Run the following command to install the zapps cli node package
npm install -g zoho-extension-toolkit
2. Run the following command to ensure that the installation is successful:
zet
Help information about 'zet' command will be shown.
Create a project
1. Run the following command to specify your project directory:
cd {directory}
Eg: cd desktop
2. Run the following command to create a new project:
zet init
The list of Zoho Services for which the project template to be created will appear.
3. Select Zoho People from the list, and provide the Project Name.
A sample project with the basic necessary files and folder structure will appear on the specified directory.
A default plugin-manifest file is generated as part of the project template directory. This file is crucial, as it's where the JSON parameters of your extension must be configured before hosting. It contains metadata about the extension, such as widget details, locations, and connectors. For more information about plugin-manifest file, Click here.
Develop a project
- Navigate to the project folder you have created. You can find the HTML file for the widget in the app folder, named "widget.html" by default.
- The widget.html file contains the structure, design and components of the widget. You can create your widget from the HTML file.
- You can enhance the widget by adding additional designs and functionality through the creation of necessary java script files and stylesheets. (optional)
- To use the Zoho People APIs in the widget, you can utilize the API helpers provided in the JS SDK Library.
- Once you have developed your widget, from your project folder, open the plugin-manifest.json file with your text editor and specify your widget's location.
Widgets | Location identifiers |
Dashboard | people.dashboard |
Custom Button | people.custombutton |
Related List | people.form.relatedlist |
6. Add the domains that are to be whitelisted.
Internal Widgets are restricted to access within Zoho People servers, with all other URLs being blocked by default. To grant widgets permission to retrieve data from designated sources, whitelist specific URLs.
7. Save plugin-manifest.json file
Test widget
- Navigate to the project directory using the following command:
cd {project directory}
- Run the following command to start a local HTTP server that allows you to run your widget locally to test it in your sandbox instance:
zet run
3. This command starts a local server and runs the extension locally.
Your extension will run on the port 5000. Ensure it is available before you execute this command.
4. To verify the server, enable developer mode while testing your extension.
Validate and pack
- Navigate to the project directory using the following command:
cd {project directory}
- Run the following command to validate your application:
zet validate
This will validate your app package and identify any violations, which should be corrected before updating the zip file in the developer console.
3. Run the following command to generate a zip of your widget that can be uploaded:
zet pack
A zip file of the widget will be created in the "dist" folder of your project directory. Use this file to upload into your Zoho People application.
Once you have created an internal widget you can upload them to Zoho People in Zip format and use them as widgets in applicable interfaces. To upload widget, refer to Using Widgets in Zoho People.
Points to remember
- The widget ZIP folder contains the widget.html file inside the App folder by default. This is the index file, which will be incorporated as the widget in your page.
- If you've created another folder inside the App folder and moved the widget.html file inside the new folder, then you need to specify the index file name in the following format when adding widgets to your Zoho People account.
/<folder-name>/<filename>.html
- The widget ZIP folder must be packed only using the zet pack command to be considered a valid ZIP file. Uploading the widget file using other commands will result in failure.
zet pack
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