Modularity

Introduction

Version 2.50 of Openbravo ERP represents a change in the way the software is structured. The introduction of that the community can develop new functions as discrete modules and make them available to the rest of the community quickly and easily. It also makes it easy to extend Openbravo ERP to suit the needs of your business. A module can be a simple as a particular report, or as sophisticated as a complete localization pack.

About Modules

There are three types of modules:

• Modules
• Packs
• Industry Templates

Modules

A module represents the most basic module. It is a container for:

• Application Dictionary components
• Software resources (e.g. .jar files)
• Reference data such as account trees

Packs

A pack is a collection of modules that work together to achieve a particular task, for example a localization pack which contains translations, chart of accounts and local taxes.

Industry Templates

An industry template is a collection of packs that work together to achieve a particular work area, containing all the functions, reference data and reports necessary for that work area. For example, an industry template for a distributor of frozen foods in Mexico could include:

• Translation of the Openbravo ERP into Mexican Spanish.
• The appropriate charts of accounts.
• Mexican taxes.
• Lists of of typical products, product categories and prices.

Industry templates are different from modules and packs because they are able to alter other modules and also the Openbravo ERP Core using a configuration script.

Information for developers

The Modularity section in the Developer's Guide contains information on how to create modules and make them available to the community.

The Core module

Openbravo ERP's core functionality is held in a central module, called Core. If you require a change to the application that affects the Core module, for example enabling an inactive menu, it is recommended that you create a separate industry template module to hold this kind of configuration change. Creating a separate configuration module has the following advantages:

• If you upgrade Openbravo ERP, the changes you make are not overwritten.
• You can share the configuration changes with other instances of Openbravo ERP, just as with any other module.

There are two ways to create a configuration module:

• By putting Openbravo ERP into configuration mode. In configuration mode, Openbravo ERP creates the industry template automatically to house your changes. If you do not plan to share your customizations this is the recommended method. To enable configuration mode, select the option in General Setup > Application > System Info
• Manually, by creating an industry template. If you plan to share your customizations within your own organization or with the community, this is the recommended method. The name of the industry template should follow the Java naming standard, for example org.myname.myconfiguration.

Installing a module from the repository

1. Log into Openbravo ERP as System Administrator.
2. From the Application menu, select General Setup > Application > Module Management. The Module Management Console displays.
3. Select the Add Modules tab.
4. To search for a particular module, enter your search terms and click Search. Alternatively, to view a full list of available modules, click View All.
5. The list of modules appears. To find out more about each module, click View Details.
6. For the module you want to install, click Install Now. A confirmation window appears with the details of your chosen module.
7. To continue installing the module, click Continue. To abort the installation, click Cancel.
8. The license agreement for the module appears. Select I accept all license agreements to accept the license agreement.
9. Click Continue. A message appears when the installation is complete.
10. Repeat the installation procedure for any further modules that are required.
11. In General Setup > Application > Module Management, select the Installed Modules tab. All the modules currently installed on the system appear in a list.
12. Click Rebuild Now. The Apply Modules window appears, showing the progress of the rebuild.
13. Click Rebuild now. A new window appears showing the rebuild in progress.
14. When the rebuild is complete, you must choose an option for how to restart Openbravo ERP. You can choose from the following:
    • Restart the servelet container: restarts Tomcat and reloads the application.
    • Reload the context: reloads only the contexts that have changed.
    • Take no action: does not reload any part of the application. Select this option if you want to manually restart Openbravo ERP later.

Installing a module from your local machine

As well as installing modules from the central repository, you can also install modules directly from your own machine. For example, a developer in your organization could create a module and distribute the .obx file to other users via e-mail, rather than uploading it to the repository.

1. Save the .obx file to a suitable location on your machine.
2. From the Application menu, select General Setup > Application > Module Management.
3. Select the Add Modules tab.
4. Click Browse file system. The Install Module box is displayed.
5. Click Browse.
6. Navigate to the location of the .obx file you want to install, and select it.
7. Click Continue. The confirmation window appears. If your chosen module is dependent on other modules, a message will list those additional modules which are required.
8. Click Continue to begin installing the module. The License agreement window appears.
9. The license agreement for the module appears. Select I accept all license agreements to accept the license agreement.
10. Click Continue. A message appears when the installation is complete.
11. In General Setup > Application > Module Management, select the Installed Modules tab. All the modules currently installed on the system appear in a list.
12. Click Rebuild Now. The Apply Modules window appears, showing the progress of the rebuild.
13. When the rebuilding process is complete, log out of Openbravo ERP.
14. Access the Tomcat server management page. If you are working on the machine where Openbravo ERP is installed, you can access the page by typing http:localhost:8080/manager/html into your web browser. If you are accessing Openbravo ERP from a remote location or through a virtual machine, use the URL http:IP_address/manager/html, where IP_address is the IP address you use to access Openbravo ERP. A password box is displayed.
15. Type the username and password for the Tomcat server. By default these are:
    • Username:admin
    • Password:openbravo
16. Scroll down to the Openbravo context and click Reload.
17. Click OK to confirm that you want to reload the context.
18. Start Openbravo ERP and log in in the usual way.

Updating Modules

In the Module Management Console, you can check whether updates are available for the modules installed on your system.

1. From the Application menu, select General Setup > Application > Module Management.
2. Click Scan for Updates.
3. If updates are available, the "updates available" message is displayed, and each module that has an applicable update is marked with the update symbol.
4. Select the modules you want to update.
5. Click Install Updates Now. A confirmation window appears with the details of your chosen module.
6. To continue installing the module, click Continue. To abort the updates, click Cancel.
7. The license agreement for the module update appears. Select I accept all license agreements to accept the license agreement.
8. Click Continue. A message appears if the update has been successful.
9. In General Setup > Application > Module Management, select the Installed Modules tab. All the modules currently installed on the system appear in a list.
10. Click Rebuild Now. The Apply Modules window appears, showing the progress of the rebuild.
11. When the rebuilding process is complete, log out of Openbravo ERP.
12. Access the Tomcat server management page. If you are working on the machine where Openbravo ERP is installed, you can access the page by typing http:localhost:8080/manager/html into your web browser. If you are accessing Openbravo ERP from a remote location or through a virtual machine, use the URL http:IP_address/manager/html, where IP_address is the IP address you use to access Openbravo ERP. A password box is displayed.
13. Type the username and password for the Tomcat server. By default these are:
    • Username:admin
    • Password:openbravo
14. Scroll down to the Openbravo context and click Reload.
15. Click OK to confirm that you want to reload the context.
16. Start Openbravo ERP and log in in the usual way.

Uninstalling Modules

If you no longer require a particular module you can uninstall it.

1. From the Application menu, select General Setup > Application > Module Management.
2. Select the module you want to uninstall.
3. Click Uninstall selected.
4. When the uninstall process is complete, click Rebuild Now. The Apply Modules window appears, showing the progress of the rebuild.
5. When the rebuilding process is complete, log out of Openbravo ERP.
6. Access the Tomcat server management page. If you are working on the machine where Openbravo ERP is installed, you can access the page by typing http:localhost:8080/manager/html into your web browser. If you are accessing Openbravo ERP from a remote location or through a virtual machine, use the URL http:IP_address/manager/html, where IP_address is the IP address you use to access Openbravo ERP. A password box is displayed.
7. Type the username and password for the Tomcat server. By default these are:
   • Username:admin
   • Password:openbravo
8. Scroll down to the Openbravo context and click Reload.
9. Click OK to confirm that you want to reload the context.
10. Start Openbravo ERP and log in in the usual way.

Reference data at client and organization level

Reference data modules are a convenient way to load reference data into Openbravo ERP. Reference data is data such as accounting structures, reports, product lists or price lists. You can apply reference data at client or organization level, so, for example, if a client has two organizations in two different regions, you can apply the appropriate regional accounting structures to each organization.

Applying reference data at client level

1. Install the reference data module you want to apply.
2. From the Application menu, select Application > Client > Initial Client Setup.
3. In the Reference Data section, a list of available reference data modules appears as a list.
4. Select the reference data you want to apply to the Client.
5. Click Save.

Applying reference data at organization level

1. Install the reference data module you want to apply.
2. From the Application menu, select Application > Enterprise > Organization > Initial Organization Setup.
3. In the Reference Data section, a list of available reference data modules appears as a list.
4. Select the reference data you want to apply to the organization.
5. Click Save.