SugarCRM Plugin Tutorial Using GroupDocs Viewer API

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How to Create a Custom GroupDocs Plugin for SugarCRM

Requirements

• PHP 5.3
• Installed SugarCRM
• GroupDocs account

Plugin Creation

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Getting Started

1. First of all, create a manifest.php file. This file will contain all information for plugin installation. I’m not showing the manifest.php code because of its big size but you can find it on GitHub.
2. The next step is creating icons: we need to create a folder named icons and add all icon files to it. Now let’s start creating the plugin functionality. The GroupDocs Viewer plugin embeds files from a GroupDocs account using its GUID.

Plugin Functionality

1. Lets start with variables. All variables are specified in vardefs.php.
2. Then create a folder named shugarModule which will contain all functionality.
3. Create a language file:
   • In the ShugarModule folder, create a language folder.
   • In this folder, create an application folder with an en_us.lang.php file. You will have the following structure:
4. Create a relationships folder. This folder will contain all the files that describe relationships for the database tables that will be created for the plugin. In the ./relationships directory, all the many-to-many relationships are defined and included in the $dictionary array. The files are stored in ./appropriate folder/<relation_table_name>MetaData.php. Tables are generated based on these definitions. These files are included through the ./modules/TableDictionary.php file. If you create a custom many-to-many relationship, you need to add a reference to the new relationship to the custom/application/Ext/TableDictionary/tabledictionary.php file. If the file doesn’t exist, create it. These changes take effect after you clear the Sugar cache by running the Quick Repair and Rebuild option from the Admin Repair screen. The following are the definitions for $dictionary[]. They are similar to the Vardefs. If necessary use that page as a reference. <relationship_table> : The index for this relationship in the $dictionary array 
   • table : The name of the table that is created in the database
   • fields : Array containing arrays for each column definition. The join table must have a field for the primary key of each table to be linked, a primary key for the join table itself, a deleted field for relationship unlinking, and a date_modified field to track when the relationship changes. Additional fields can be added to track the role played by the relationship
   • indices : The database indices on the relationship table
   • relationships : Definitions of the relationships between the two tables
   • lhs_modules : The left hand module. Should match $beanList index
   • lhs_table : The left hand table name
   • lhs_key : The key to use from the left table
   • rhs_modules : The right hand module. Should match $beanList index
   • rhs_table : The right hand table name
   • rhs_key : The key to use from the right table
   • relationship_type : Relationship type
   • join_table : Join table used to join items
   • join_key_lhs : Left table key. Should exist in table field definitions above
   • join_key_rhs : Right table key. Should exist in table field definitions above
   We’ve finished with the basic functions needed to for SugarCRM to install and recognize the plugin. Now we can work directly with the module files which do all magic.
5. In the SugarModule folder, create a modules folder, and in this folder create a gdoc_GroupDocs folder. This last folder will be placed in the SugarCRM installation’s modules folder and will contain all the plugin files.
6. Place the vardefs.php file, which contains an array with all variables, into this folder.
7. Create a controller.php file. This file will do all the work, and will receive all the requests from the form. This is a controller.php code: 

   if(!defined('sugarEntry') || !sugarEntry) die('Not A Valid Entry Point');
   
   //require_once('include/MVC/Controller/SugarController.php');
   
   class Gd_GroupDocsController extends SugarController {
       var $moduleName = 'gd_GroupDocs';
   
       public function action_index()
       {
           return parent::action_listview();
       }

   Here we can see the following:
   • The first line is standard for SugarCRM.
   • Then we define a class for the controller which extends the standard SugarCRM controller class.
   • All action names must start with “action_” and then the action name. To call an action, simply call “&action=index” in the URL.
   Also we need views. To edit the plugin page, we need the edit.view.php file.
8. Create a views folder and place edit.views.php in it. The following table lists the metadata definition files found in the modules/module/metadata directory, and a brief description of their purpose within the system.

The Final Plugin

The installed module structure

The plugin edit page

An embedded file on the page