In my last blog article, Process Extension Development – Demoting a Change Order, I offered some source code that demotes a change order when one of the affected items on the change has an obsolete item on its BOM. There were a few follow up posts in the LinkedIn discussion about how to create a process extension, also called a PX. This blog will help outline the steps to package the source code, create the ICustomAction and configure Agile PLM to trigger the process extension (PX) on the submitted workflow step.

1. Creating an Agile PLM
Process Extension
Agile Process Extensions
(Agile PX)

2. Introduction/Background
 In my last blog article, Process Extension Development
– Demoting a Change Order, I offered some source
code that demotes a change order when one of the
affected items on the change has an obsolete item on
its BOM
 There were a few follow up posts in the LinkedIn
discussion about how to create a process extension,
also called a PX.
 This will help outline the steps to package the source
code, create the ICustomAction and configure Agile
PLM to trigger the process extension (PX) on the
submitted workflow step.

3. Creating the Process Extension (PX)
 A process extension is really nothing more than a Java archive file, or JAR
file. Here is the internal structure of the file:
+---com
¦ +---vestalsgap
¦ AbstractPX.class
¦ EcoDemoter.class
+---META-INF
+---services
com.agile.px.ICustomAction
 Now that we have a sample structure, we can inspect all of the paths and
files that make it up.

4. Creating the Process Extension (PX) (cont)
 META-INF/services/com.agile.px.ICustomAction - Process extensions are
required to have a com.agile.px.ICustomAction file. This file contains the
name of the PX classes in the JAR that are eligible to provide actions inside
of Agile. Later you will see why this file is so important. In our example
above, the file would contain com.vestalsgap.EcoDemoter. It is not
necessary to use the .class extension but it is important to make sure the
class package name is correct
 com/vestalsgap/*.class – These are the Java classes that give my process
extension its functionality. I typically use (and reuse) the same Abstract
class that can pull from configuration files and provide logging
capability. The file mentioned in the ICustomAction does need to inherit
or implement the doAction method!
 With the JAR file complete, we are ready to deploy it.

5. Deploying the Process Extension on
the Agile Server
The next step in this extension’s journey is to be copied on the
file system of the Agile PLM application server. Copy the
extension to AGILE_HOME/Agile931/integration/sdk/extensions

6. Adding the Process Extension (PX) to
Agile PLM
To add the process extension to Agile PLM
1. Launch the Java Client: http://server:port/JavaClient/start.html
2. Log in as an administrator
3. Navigate to Admin Tab | Settings | Data Settings | Process Extensions
4. Click New
5. Fill out the popup form.
6. Click OK
7. An edit screen will appear with all of your values in it, click close
8. Next go to the workflow you would like to edit and open it
9. Click the status tab
10. Highlight the workflow step you would like to add the extension on
11. Double click the desired row of the criteria section of the screen
12. Select the process extension
13. Click save

7. Step 5 – Creating the PX

8. Step 12 – Workflow Definition

9. Conclusion
Your extension is now set up in Agile. It is very
easy to deploy custom process extensions
allowing you to customize your Agile PLM
installation so that it will adapt to your business
needs!

10. About Us
 PLM Mechanic specializes in the technical
aspects of Oracle’s Agile PLM solution
 We offer the following service:
– Agile PLM installations and upgrades
– Agile PLM maintenance and help desk functions
– Agile PLM hosting
– Customization
 PLM Mechanic also has several product
offerings

11. Contact Us
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 Blog: http://www.plmmechanic.com/blog
 Email: sales@plmmechanic.com
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