Using JavaScript
JavaScript files, libraries and frameworks can be added to a template, primarily for use in Web pages and Capture OnTheGo Forms. Before doing this, you need to choose which kind of library or framework you want to work with, depending on the type of features you really desire. For a bit of help with that and a few examples, see this how-to: Using external libraries.
Adding JavaScript files to the resources
To add a JavaScript file to the resources:
- Right-click the Javascript folder on the Resources pane, and click New Javascript. Double-click it to open and edit it.
- Alternatively, drag and drop the JavaScript file from the Windows Explorer to the JavaScript folder on the Resources pane.
Next, include it in a Web page; see below.
Adding a remote JavaScript file
A Remote Javascript Resource is a file that is not located within your template but is hosted on an external web server (generally called a CDN). When generating Web output, these files are referenced in the web page's header and are served by the remote server, not by the Connect Server module.
There are a few advantages to using remote resources:
- These resources are not served by your server, saving on space, bandwidth and processing.
- Using a popular CDN takes advantage of caching - a client having visited another website using that same CDN will have the file in cache and not re-download it, making for faster load times for the client.
To add a remote javascript:
- Right-click the Javascript folder on the Resources pane, and click New Remote Javascript.
- Enter a name for the file as it appears in the Javascript resources. For better management, it's best to use the same filename as the remote resource.
- Enter the URL for the remote resource. This must be a full URL, including the http:// or https:// prefix, domain name, path and filename.
- Optionally, check defer or asyncto add the async or defer attribute to the <link> element in the <head> of the segment.
Defer postpones the execution of the script until the page has finished parsing. This attribute is required by APIs like Google Maps. When async is checked, the script executes asynchronously with the rest of the page (while the page continues the parsing). When neither option is checked, the script is fetched and executed immediately, while the parsing of the page is paused. - Optionally, for a Capture OnTheGo Form, you can check Use cached Capture OnTheGo resource, to prevent downloading a remote JavaScript file again if it has been downloaded before. The file should be available on a publicly accessible location, for example: a folder location on a corporate website, hosted by a CDN (Content Delivery Network) or shared via a Workflow process.
In Workflow, when using the Create Web Content task, check the Embed All Resources option to download and embed all remote resources. (See Workflow Help: Create Web Content.)
Popular hosted frameworks on CDN networks are:
Including a JavaScript file in a Web context
To link a JavaScript file to a certain Web page template or a COTG template:
- On the Resources pane, expand the folder, and then expand the Web context.
- Right-click a Web page and click Includes.
- Check the JavaScript files that should be included with the Web page. Using the Up and Down buttons you can change the order of the files, too.
- Click OK.
Using JavaScript in other Contexts
Email clients do not support JavaScript. Therefore, Email contexts cannot include JavaScript resources.
When a JavaScript file is included in a Print , the Designer itself acts as the browser. When generating Print output, it runs the JavaScript after generating the main page flow contents and the pagination. So, it is possible to change the Print output by a JavaScript; you could, for example, add a barcode that includes the page number to each document. A warning is appropriate, however: changing the may change the page flow and doing so at this point may result in bad output and/or serious errors or a crash of the software.
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