Business Manager Extensions Skill
This skill guides you through creating Business Manager (BM) extension cartridges to customize the admin interface.
Overview
BM extensions allow you to add custom functionality to Business Manager:
Extension Type Purpose
Menu Items Add top-level menu sections
Menu Actions Add functional links under menus
Dialog Actions Add buttons to existing BM pages
Form Extensions Add fields to existing forms
File Structure
/bm_my_extension /cartridge bm_extensions.xml # Extension definitions (required) /controllers MyExtension.js # Controller for menu actions /templates /default /extensions mypage.isml # Custom BM pages /static /default /icons my-icon.gif # Menu icons
Basic bm_extensions.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <extensions xmlns="http://www.demandware.com/xml/extensibility/2013-04-24"> <!-- Menu Item: Creates section in navigation --> <menuitem id="my-tools" name="label.menu.mytools" site="false" position="10"> <icon path="icons/my-icon.gif"/> </menuitem>
<!-- Menu Action: Creates link under menu item -->
<menuaction id="my-dashboard" menupath="my-tools"
name="label.action.dashboard">
<exec pipeline="MyExtension" node="Dashboard"/>
<sub-pipelines>
<pipeline name="MyExtension"/>
</sub-pipelines>
</menuaction>
</extensions>
Menu Items
Create top-level navigation sections:
<menuitem id="custom-tools" name="label.menu.customtools" site="false" position="10"> <description>Custom administration tools</description> <icon path="icons/tools-icon.gif"/> </menuitem>
Attribute Required Description
id
Yes Unique identifier
name
Yes Resource key for display name
site
No true = Site menu, false = Admin menu (default: true)
position
No Sort order (higher = higher in list)
Menu Actions
Add functional pages under menu items:
<menuaction id="product-export" menupath="custom-tools" name="label.action.productexport"> <description>Export products to CSV</description> <exec pipeline="ProductExport" node="Start"/> <sub-pipelines> <pipeline name="ProductExport"/> </sub-pipelines> <icon path="icons/export-icon.gif"/> </menuaction>
Attribute Required Description
id
Yes Unique identifier
menupath
No Parent menu item ID
name
Yes Resource key for display name
Note: For controllers, use pipeline="ControllerName" and node="ActionName" .
Dialog Actions
Add buttons to existing BM pages:
<dialogaction id="order-export-btn" menuaction-ref="order-search" xp-ref="OrderPage-OrderDetails"> <exec pipeline="OrderExport" node="Export"/> <icon path="icons/export.gif"/> <parameters> <parameter name="OrderNo"/> </parameters> </dialogaction>
Attribute Required Description
id
Yes Unique identifier
menuaction-ref
Yes Parent menu action ID
xp-ref
Yes Extension point ID
Common extension points: OrderPage-OrderDetails , ProductPage-Details , CustomerPage-Profile
Form Extensions
Add fields to existing BM forms:
<formextension id="order-search-extension"> <valueinput type="string" name="customOrderField"> <label xml:lang="x-default">Custom Field</label> <label xml:lang="de">Benutzerdefiniertes Feld</label> </valueinput> <valueinput type="string" name="exportStatus"> <label xml:lang="x-default">Export Status</label> <option>Pending</option> <option>Exported</option> <option>Failed</option> </valueinput> </formextension>
Controller Example
'use strict';
var ISML = require('dw/template/ISML'); var URLUtils = require('dw/web/URLUtils');
exports.Dashboard = function () { ISML.renderTemplate('extensions/dashboard', { title: 'My Dashboard', data: getReportData() }); }; exports.Dashboard.public = true;
exports.ProcessAction = function () { var params = request.httpParameterMap; var itemId = params.itemId.stringValue;
// Process the action
var result = processItem(itemId);
// Redirect back or show result
response.redirect(URLUtils.url('MyExtension-Dashboard', 'result', result));
}; exports.ProcessAction.public = true;
Template Example
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title>${pdict.title}</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="${URLUtils.staticURL('/css/bm-custom.css')}"/> </head> <body> <div class="bm-content"> <h1>${pdict.title}</h1>
<table class="bm-table">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>ID</th>
<th>Name</th>
<th>Actions</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<isloop items="${pdict.data}" var="item">
<tr>
<td>${item.id}</td>
<td>${item.name}</td>
<td>
<a href="${URLUtils.url('MyExtension-ProcessAction', 'itemId', item.id)}">
Process
</a>
</td>
</tr>
</isloop>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</body> </html>
Localization
Add resource bundles for labels:
templates/resources/bm_extensions.properties:
label.menu.customtools=Custom Tools label.action.dashboard=Dashboard label.action.productexport=Product Export
templates/resources/bm_extensions_de.properties:
label.menu.customtools=Benutzerdefinierte Werkzeuge label.action.dashboard=Instrumententafel label.action.productexport=Produktexport
Enabling the Extension
Add cartridge to Business Manager site's cartridge path:
-
Administration > Sites > Manage Sites > Business Manager
-
Add cartridge ID to cartridge path
Grant permissions to roles:
-
Administration > Organization > Roles
-
Select role > Business Manager Modules
-
Enable your custom modules
Best Practices
-
Prefix IDs with your organization name to avoid conflicts
-
Use resource keys for all displayed text (localization)
-
Keep cartridge separate - don't mix with storefront cartridges
-
Test permissions with different user roles
-
Don't reference internal BM URLs - they may change
Detailed Reference
- Extensions XML Reference - Complete XML schema and examples