Visual Studio IDE Setup

This tutorial includes C# code that uses the Content Engine Web Service (CEWS) transport to connect to the Content Platform Engine.

Learning objectives

  • Create and configure a Microsoft Visual Studio project with the required FileNet DLL.
  • Add connection code.
  • Run the code to connect to Content Platform Engine.

Time required

Approximately 30 minutes.

Prerequisites

  • Visual Studio 2005 or higher. This tutorial is based on the 2005 version of the Visual Studio IDE. If you are using a different version, you might need to adapt some instructions for your specific version.
  • Content Engine, deployed on any supported application server. For supported application servers, see: FileNet P8 Hardware and Software Requirements .

    To test the connection to the Content Platform Engine that you use to develop a FileNet P8 application, enter this URL in your web browser: http://<hostname>:<portnumber>/FileNet/Engine. (The default ports are 9080 for WebSphere® and 7001 for WebLogic.) If the connection is successful, the Content Platform Engine returns an HTML page that describes the Content Platform Engine startup context; otherwise, it returns a list of errors.

  • The .NET Framework, version 3.0 or later, must be installed on your development machine. You can download the .NET Framework from Microsoft.

    Microsoft .NET 3.0 or higher frameworks contain Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), which requires a secure HTTPS connection. To connect to Content Platform Engine with WCF, you must import the SSL certificate from the Content Platform Engine server to the client workstation. Download the server certificate, and import it into a certificate store by using the Certificate MMC snap-in. For example, you can import the certificate into the Trusted People certificate store.

    Alternatively, to use an unsecured HTTP connection, Microsoft Web Service Extensions (WSE) 3.0 must also be installed along with the .NET framework.

  • FileNet.Api.dll must exist on your development machine. You reference this DLL in your Visual Studio project. For a remote development environment, you can copy this DLL from the root directory of the Content Platform Engine installation that you use to develop client applications.

    By default, the Windows version of Content Engine is installed to C:\Program Files (x86)\IBM\FileNet\ContentEngine, and the non-Windows version is installed to /opt/IBM/FileNet/ContentEngine.