Application configuration

Application options

Each UI application can be customized with a set of defined options. The options objects are defined in JSON and read and merged at runtime with the following order:

• Static options defined at build time
• Dynamic fetched options on application boot
• URL options that can be added by the user as URL query params (mostly for debugging purposes)

This process of collecting and merging the different options is executed by a thin bootstrap layer included in @c8y/cli.

Although all of the options can be defined on any of the 3 levels some might not make sense at runtime, as they just influence the build process, or require a complex object making it particularly tricky to write as a URL query parameter.

Static options

Defined in the package.json of the application inside the fragment c8y.application:

{
  "c8y": {
    "application": {
      "name": "cockpit",
      "contextPath": "cockpit",
      "key": "cockpit-application-key",
      "tabsHorizontal": true,
      "upgrade": true,
      "rightDrawer": true,
      "contentSecurityPolicy": "default-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline' http: https: ws: wss:; script-src 'self' *.mapquestapi.com 'unsafe-inline' 'unsafe-eval' data:; style-src * 'unsafe-inline' blob:; img-src * data:; font-src * data:; frame-src *;"
    }
  }
}

Can also be passed to c8ycli:

c8ycli build --app.contextPath=cockpit2 --app.dynamicOptionsUrl="/apps/public/public-options/options.json"

Dynamic fetched options

Using the static options dynamicOptionsUrl the application will try to load a json from the specified URL at boot time. In the platform’s built-in applications this option is set to /apps/public/public-options/options.json as that mechanism to provide instance level and Enterprise tenant customization. As this property is defined statically at build time, it is possible for the application developer to decide if and where from their applications should load the dynamic fetched options at runtime.

A common use case, for example, is to disable the contextual help on each page, since it is only available in English. To do so you must upload an application on the context-path public-options and add an options.json to it with the following content:

{
  "contextHelp": false
}

With this approach all runtime options of the application can be changed even if they are not listed in the UI-based branding editor. The full list of options can be found here.

URL options

These can just be appended to the URL of the application as query parameters.

https://<instance domain>/apps/cockpit?dynamicOptionsUrl=/apps/my-options/options.json&rightDrawer=false

Built-in Options

Refer to the ApplicationOptions documentation for a list of the standard supported options. These options can easily be extended with any custom property a developer might want to include in their application or extensions just by adding it in the static, dynamic or URL way as described above.

Branding and language customization

Branding

For styling the application global CSS created with LESS is used. These styles are based on Bootstrap 3, and the original LESS source is distributed via the npm package @c8y/style. By extending these styles it is possible to change any detail of the application but the vast majority of developer want to change: colors, logos and fonts and these can be very easily achieved by replacing a few variables.

To override the variables it is possible to use:

• LESS variables at build time
• Custom CSS properties (at build time or configurable at runtime)

CSS custom properties

Exposed via CSS custom properties there is only a subset of the LESS variables available. Here is a list of the available variables.

:root {
--brand-primary: gold ;
--brand-complementary: darkgreen;
--brand-dark:  red;
--brand-light: purple;
--gray-text: #333;
--link-color: var(--brand-primary);
--link-hover-color: var(--brand-complementary);
--body-background-color:#f2f3f4;
--brand-logo-img: url('/apps/ui-assets-management/logo-nav.svg');
--brand-logo-img-height: 20%;
--navigator-platform-logo: url('/apps/ui-assets-management/logo-nav.svg');
--navigator-platform-logo-height: 36px; /* height of the logo set to 0 to hide the element */

--navigator-font-family: inherit;
--navigator-app-name-size: 16px; /* font size of the application name set to 0 to hide app's name */
--navigator-app-icon-size: 46px; /* size of the application icon. set to 0 to hide the application icon.*/
--navigator-bg-color: var(--brand-primary);
--navigator-header-bg: var(--navigator-bg-color);
--navigator-text-color: #ffffff;
--navigator-separator-color: rgba(0,0,0,.05);
--navigator-active-color: var(--navigator-text-color);
--navigator-active-bg: var(--brand-complementary);

--header-color: #ffffff;
--header-text-color: var(--brand-dark);
--header-hover-color:var(--brand-primary);
--header-border-color: rgba(57,72,82,.05);

--font-family-base: "Roboto", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
--headings-font-family: var(--font-family-base);
}

Note that these can be customized at runtime using application options using the property brandingCssVars. The option is only available after version 9.22.0.

Using LESS

Prerequisites

If you do not use the @c8y/cli make sure that you install the base styles from npm with:

npm install @c8y/style

1. Create a LESS file called for instance branding.less.
2. Save it inside a new folder, which can have any name you like.
3. Inside this folder, create a subfolder for images.

my-application
│   app.modules.ts
│   index.ts
│   packages.json
|   ...
└───branding
│   │   branding.less
│   └───img
│       │   favicon.ico
│       │   main-logo.svg
│       │   tenant-brand.svg
│

The first line of code within the branding.less must be:

@import '~@c8y/style/extend.less';

Example customizations

At this point we are able to change the desired variables according to our needs.

Let us change for example the most important color of your branding, the main color, called brand-color.

This is done by setting the respective LESS variable to a new color.

@brand-color: red;

User interface elements like buttons, active navigation nodes or even active tabs as well as also hover-states of buttons are red now.

What about changing the main logo that is located at the top of the login dialog? Look at this:

@{logo-login} { background-image: url('./img/logo-main.svg')}
@brand-logo-height: 48%;

You can check the branding changes with the help of the @c8y/cli.

c8ycli server --app.brandingEntry="<path-to-your-branding.less>"

You can also take a look at our tutorial application which has an example branding applied:

c8ycli new <appName> tutorial

More branding details

There are three main areas of a branding that you can easily control.

Colors

The colors that may be edited are separated in multiple categories, like:

• brand colors
• status colors
• gray shades
• component colors

Brand colors

@brand-color:                 #53cd61;
@brand-primary:               @brand-color;
@brand-complementary:         #a8b3b5;
@brand-primary-light:         lighten(@brand-primary, 20%);

Status colors

@brand-success:               #5cb85c;
@brand-info:                  @brand-color;
@brand-warning:               #f0ad4e;
@brand-danger:                #d9534f;
@danger:                      #D90000;
@warning:                     #FDC000;
@dark-warning:                #FF8000;
@success:                     #5cb85c;

Gray shades

@gray-text:                   #444;
@gray-darker:                 #2c3637;
@gray-dark:                   #3b4748;
@gray-medium-dark:            #49595B;
@gray-medium:                 #6D7A7C;
@gray:                        #8A9596;
@gray-light:                  #cacece;
@gray-lighter:                #f8f8f8;
@gray-white:                  #fcfcfc;
@text-muted:                  @gray;

Component colors

Two components are always visible to the user, the header and the navigator. Therefore you should determine the look & feel of these components with care.

/* HEADER */
@headerColor:                 white;
@header-text-color:           @gray-medium-dark;
@header-text-color-hover:     @brand-primary;
@header-active-color:         darken(@gray-medium-dark, 15%);

/* NAVIGATOR */
@navColor:                    @gray-darker;
@navColorHeader:              transparent;
@navigator-title-color:       white;
@navigator-text-color:        @gray-lighter;
@navigator-separator-color:   fade(white, 5%);
@navigator-font-family:       @headings-font-family;
@navigator-font-size:         13px;
@navigator-active-color:      white;
@navigator-active-bg:         @brand-primary;

As you can see, some variables re-use others. Be careful that these variables are all defined to avoid build errors.

Logos

There is no branding without logos.

You can change the logo at the top of the login dialog, the tenant brand logo and of course the favicon.

To change the favicon, enter:

// to be loaded by webpack
.favicon-webpack-loader { background: url('./img/favicon.ico') }

To change the main logo, enter:

@{logo-login} { background-image: url('./img/main-logo.svg') }
@brand-logo-height: 48%;

To change the tenant brand logo inside the navigator, enter:

@{logo-navigator} { background-image: url('./img/tenant-brand.svg') }
@navigator-platform-logo-height: 100px;

Typography

The look and feel of an application is also driven by its typography. Of course you can change the font as well.

@font-family-sans-serif:      "Lato",Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;
@font-family-base:            @font-family-sans-serif; @headings-font-family:        "Roboto",Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;

Example Branding

Above we described the possible options for creating your custom branding in detail. If you do not want to start from scratch in every application use the following example branding as snippet. It defines the most important variables.

@import '~@c8y/style/extend.less';

// Replace and uncomment each variable as you need them
/* LOGOS */
.favicon-webpack-loader { background: url('./img/favicon.ico') } // to be loaded by webpack
@{logo-login} { background-image: url('./img/logo-main.svg') }
@brand-logo-height: 48%; // percentage - height / width * 100
@{logo-navigator} { background-image: url('./img/logo.svg') }
@navigator-platform-logo-height: 100px;

/* COLORS */
@brand-color:                 #53cd61; // main color
@brand-primary:               @brand-color;
@brand-complementary:         #a8b3b5;
@brand-primary-light:         lighten(@brand-primary, 20%);
// status colors
@brand-success:               #5cb85c;
@brand-info:                  @brand-color;
@brand-warning:               #f0ad4e;
@brand-danger:                #d9534f;
@danger:                      #D90000;
@warning:                     #FDC000;
@dark-warning:                #FF8000;
@success:                     #5cb85c;
// grays
@gray-text:                   #444;
@gray-darker:                 #2c3637;
@gray-dark:                   #3b4748;
@gray-medium-dark:            #49595B;
@gray-medium:                 #6D7A7C;
@gray:                        #8A9596;
@gray-light:                  #cacece;
@gray-lighter:                #f8f8f8;
@gray-white:                  #fcfcfc;
@text-muted:                  @gray;

@body-background-color:       #f8f8f8; // page background color - always use a light background

/* HEADER */
@headerColor:                 white;
@header-text-color:           @gray-medium-dark;
@header-text-color-hover:     @brand-primary;
@header-active-color:         darken(@gray-medium-dark, 15%);

/* NAVIGATOR */
@navColor:                    @gray-darker;
@navColorHeader:              transparent;
@navigator-title-color:       white;
@navigator-text-color:        @gray-lighter;
@navigator-separator-color:   fade(white, 5%);
@navigator-font-family:       @headings-font-family;
@navigator-font-size:         13px;
@navigator-active-color:      white;
@navigator-active-bg:         @brand-primary;
// when set adds a vertical gradient in the navigator background
// @grad-top:                    "";
// @grad-bottom:                 "";

/* TYPOGRAPHY */
// @font-family-sans-serif:      "Lato",Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;
// @font-family-base:            @font-family-sans-serif;
// @headings-font-family:        "Roboto",Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;

/* BUTTONS */
// @btn-border-radius-base:      2px;
// @btn-border-radius-large:     @btn-border-radius-base;
// @btn-border-radius-small:     @btn-border-radius-base;
// @btn-shadow:                  none;

/* COMPONENTS */
// @spinner-color:               lighten(@brand-primary, 30%);
// @link-color:                  #337ab7;
// @link-hover-color:            darken(@link-color, 15%);
// @input-focus-color:           #66afe9;

// @body-background-pattern:     "";
// @darker-header:               @gray-dark;
// @appswitcher-background:      none;
// @table-bg-hover:              fade(black, 1.5%);
// @header-app-name:             @header-text-color;
// @image-path:                  'img/';

Branding and language customization

Using application options, each tenant can customize the look and feel of built-in applications and add or replace the languages available in the applications. As described in application options, the underlying mechanism is static hosted web application.

In this tutorial we are publishing two web applications:

• public-options, where the JSON file containing the configuration will be stored
• ui-assets, where any required assets will be hosted: images, favicon and translation files

For deploying we use the nodejs @c8y/cli that can be installed with the command:

npm install -g @c8y/cli

Downloading or cloning the initial repository

For your convenience you can download or clone the repository available at https://github.com/Cumulocity/ui-customization, in which you can find an example for branding and for adding a new language.

git clone https://github.com/Cumulocity/ui-customization

Inside this folder you can find two other folders:

public-options
ui-assets

Branding options

Edit the file public-options/options.json and change the subproperties of brandingCssVars. These properties will be converted into CSS custom properties at runtime.

Note that the properties brand-logo-img and navigator-platform-logo are both URLs. Therefore the corresponding files must be placed inside the folder ui-assets.

To change the favicon, edit the property faviconUrl and/or add the corresponding file inside the ui-assets folder.

To change the browser window title, change the property globalTitle.

If these configurations are not enough you can still add a list of URLs to the property extraCssUrls and load extra CSS at runtime:

{
  "extraCssUrls": [
    "/apps/ui-assets/extra.css"
  ]
}

Languages

The platform UI strings used for internationalization are stored in gettext. If you want to add a new language to the platform you need a software to edit these files, for example Poedit.

Each translated catalog is loaded at runtime in a JSON format. To convert .po (gettext) files into .json files we rely on @c8y/cli installed during the first step.

How to add your own translations at build time

1. Download the string catalog from @c8y/ngx-components@1004.0.6/locales/locales.pot (starting from version 1004.0.6,latest can be replaced by your current used version).
2. Load the downloaded locales.pot template file in your preferred .pot file editor and create a new translation from it. Select the target language of the translation, for example Afrikaans, and translate each string. Repeat the process for as many languages as you like. The outcome of this step will be a .po catalog file for each language. Make sure to store these files in a safe place, as they will be useful when updating the strings in subsequent versions.
3. Transform the newly created .po file into a .json file using the c8ycli:

c8ycli locale-compile path/to/language.po

4. Copy the generated .json file into the ui-assets folder.
5. Update the languages fragment in public-options/options.json.

languages?: {
  [langCode: string]: {
    name: string;
    nativeName: string;
    url: string;
  }
}

In the example provided in the repository to be downloaded you can find an example of a Russian translation which looks like this:

"languages": {
  "ru": {
    "name": "Russian",
    "nativeName": "русский язык",
    "url": "/apps/public/ui-assets/ru.json"
  }
}

The imported language can be changed in the UI after login. To do so, click the User icon at the top right, select User settings from the menu and in the upcoming window select the language of your choice.

How to add your own translations at runtime

You can translate certain strings at runtime, which means they do not have to be included in the build and can simply be added to the application options. However, this concept doesn’t allow to add new languages. You can only add new strings to existing languages or align certain translations on existing ones. To translate a certain key you must add the following structure to the application options:

  i18nExtra?: {
    [langCode: string]: {
      [key: string]: string;
    };
  };

For example, the following will translate a custom cookie banner:

   "i18nExtra": {
      "de": {
        "About cookies on Cumulocity": "Informationen zu Cookies in Cumulocity",
        "Click Agree and Proceed to accept cookies and go directly to the platform or click on Privacy Policy to see detailed descriptions of the used cookies.": "Klicken Sie auf Zustimmen und fortfahren, um Cookies zu akzeptieren und direkt zur Plattform zu gelangen, oder klicken Sie auf Datenschutzrichtlinie, um detaillierte Beschreibungen der verwendeten Cookies anzuzeigen."
      }
   }

Deploying

Inside the folder ui-customization that contains both public-optionsand ui-assets run the command:

c8ycli deploy public-options ui-assets

Fill in your tenant/instance information and the applications will be deployed and will be visible to that specific tenant and its subtenants.