Configure your environment

Configure your environment for Genero Web Client for JavaScript (GWC-JS) customization.

1. Navigate to your FGLASDIR/tpl directory. Locate the GWC-JS customization project zip file (in the format of fjs-gwc-js-xxx-build123456789-project.zip) and unzip it. You can unzip the project file anywhere you wish, however there are some things to consider:
   CAUTION:
   • It is recommended that you not use the FGLASDIR/web/ directory, as this is the public directory where your sources may be exposed.
   • To avoid losing your project when you upgrade the GAS, consider not placing your project in the FGLASDIR path.
   The customization project zip file name is identified by:
   • gwc-js-xxx is the version number, for example gwc-js-1.00.02
   • 123456789 is the build number consisting of a date-time stamp, for example 201504141750.
   A directory is created in the extracted location using the project version number as the title, in the format of gwc-js-xxx. This is your project_dir. See Project directory.
2. Install all necessary tools in the following steps:
   Tip: Installation steps are also found in your project_dir/readme.md file.
   1. Open the Node.js command prompt window.
   2. Navigate to your project_dir
   3. Install the Node Package Manager (npm) and its dependencies, type:

      npm install

      Only run the following two commands with the global option (-g) if this is the first time you have installed Node.js on the machine.

      npm install -g grunt-cli

      npm install -g bower

      Note: They must be run at administrator level on Windows^®, or as the user with privileges to install in Linux^®/UNIX™ or MAC^® OS^®.
      As tools are installed, you see tasks being run as components are updated.
   4. To finalize, install the dependencies by typing: grunt deps
   The grunt deps command outputs a graphical report at the end showing that the npm and bower dependency packages have been updated successfully.
   
   
   

   Figure 1. grunt deps command updates dependencies

   If you encounter any problems during the installation, see Troubleshooting environment configuration.
   Tip: For installation on Linux/UNIX, you can use the Node Version Manager (nvm) tool nvm tool instead of npm. It allows you to switch between different versions of node. To install and use, for example, node.js 4.2.2, run these commands:

   nvm install 4.2.2

   nvm use 4.2.2

3. Run grunt --customization=customization/default. The grunt command builds the project with default compilation options. A dist directory is created in project_dir, and a compiled version of the GWC-JS front-end is written to the dist/customization/default directory.
4. Create a symbolic link to project_dir/dist/customization/default in your FGLASDIR/web directory. Navigate to FGLASDIR/web/
   • On Windows^®, run the command as administrator:

     mklink /D link_name project_dir/dist/customization/default

     Important: You must run the command as administrator, it is not enough to simply have administrator permissions.
     
     
     

     Figure 2. Create Symbolic Link in Windows

   • On Linux/UNIX, run the command

     ln -s project_dir/dist/customization/default link_name

   Tip: Alternatively, you can configure the GWC_JS_LOOKUP_PATH element to specify the path to your custom GWC-JS front-end.
   You can now use your customized GWC-JS front-end directly in your local GAS server.