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Prime Integration

This guide covers the integration of ProActions in the Prime Windows Client, including the Command Palette (Prime 8.2025.06+) and the ProActions Panel (requires ProActions Hub).

Overview​

ProActions can be integrated into Prime through two distinct approaches:

  1. Command Palette Integration - Native Prime 8 command palette (version 8.2025.06+)
  2. ProActions Panel - Web-based panel with full ProActions UI (requires ProActions Hub)

Both approaches require a properly configured ProActions configuration at /SysConfig/pro-actions.ai-kit.yaml. See Configuration for setup instructions.

Prerequisites​

Before configuring Prime integration, ensure you have:

  • ProActions Configuration: /SysConfig/pro-actions.ai-kit.yaml properly configured
  • Prime Client: Prime 8 (for Command Palette) or any Prime version with macro support (for Panel)
  • File System Access: Ability to edit /SysConfig/ files
  • Prime Configuration Rights: Permissions to modify Prime cfg files

For Prime Panel:

  • ProActions Hub: Installed and accessible
  • Swing Web Application: ProActions installed on Swing (see Installation)
  • MRAS Connection (Prime 7 only): Configured in repositories.cfg (see Prime 7 MRAS Configuration)

Approach 1: Command Palette (Prime 8.2025.06+)​

The Command Palette integration brings ProActions directly into Prime 8's native command palette interface, providing a seamless user experience.

Minimum Version​

Required: Prime 8 version 8.2025.06 or higher

Features​

  • Native integration with Prime's command palette
  • Keyboard shortcut activation
  • Access to all configured ProActions workflows
  • Consistent user experience with Prime interface
  • No additional infrastructure required

Configuration Steps​

Step 1: Enable Command Palette​

Edit the Prime preferences configuration file:

File: /SysConfig/XsmilePrefs.cfg

Add the commandPalette element with enable="yes":

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<preferences>
  <!-- ... other preferences ... -->

  <!-- Enable Command Palette -->
  <commandPalette enable="yes" />

  <!-- ... other preferences ... -->
</preferences>

Step 2: Configure Keyboard Shortcut​

Define the keyboard shortcut to open the Command Palette:

File: /SysConfig/XsmileKbd.cfg

Add the following configuration:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<keyboard>
  <context type="Text">
    <!-- ... other keyboard shortcuts ... -->
    <key code="37" description="K" >
      <!-- Open Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P -->
      <modifier type="C" function="proActionsCommandPalette" shortcut="Ctrl+K" />
    </key>
    <!-- ... other keyboard shortcuts ... -->
  </context>

</keyboard>

Note: You can customize the keyboard shortcut. Common alternatives:

  • Ctrl+K (consistent with Swing)
  • Ctrl+P (VS Code style)

Step 3: Enable Actions in Configuration​

To make an action from a panel using ProActions available in the Prime command palette (Prime 8 only), you must explicitly enable it in your action definition using the prime property:

- title: "Generate Summary"
  hidden: true
  prime:
    commandPalette:
      enable: true
  flow:
    # ... workflow steps ...

Using this approach you can register actions from a panel that uses ProActions in the native Prime Command palette. Best practice is to set the action to hidden: true to avoid having the actions appear twice in the command palette, or use a separate configuration file for the panel's ProActions configuration.

Step 4: Verify Configuration​

  1. Restart Prime to load the new configuration
  2. Open any document in Prime
  3. Press the configured shortcut (e.g., Ctrl+K)
  4. Verify the command palette opens with ProActions visible

Approach 2: ProActions Panel (Requires ProActions Hub)​

The ProActions Panel provides the full web-based ProActions interface within Prime, including all UI features like forms, menus, and advanced interactions.

Prerequisites​

  • ProActions Hub installed and accessible
  • Swing Web Application with ProActions installed
  • ProActions Hub URL accessible from Prime client machines

Features​

  • Full ProActions web interface
  • All UI features: forms, modals, progress bars
  • Text selection menus and one-click menus
  • Advanced workflows with complex user interactions
  • Shared configuration with Swing

Configuration Steps​

Step 1: Create ProActions Macro​

Create a JavaScript macro to open the ProActions panel:

File: /SysConfig/Macros/ProActions.js

var app = new ActiveXObject("methode.application");
app.ActiveWindow.OpenWebPanel(
  "https://<YOUR-SWING-HOST>/swing/proactions/primePanel/?mode=chrome&ISMActions=allow"
);

Important: Replace <YOUR-SWING-HOST> with your actual Swing server hostname.

URL Parameters:

  • mode=chrome - Displays panel in Chrome
  • ISMActions=allow - Allows Prime automation actions (required for ProActions in Prime)

Step 2: Configure Keyboard Shortcut​

Add a keyboard shortcut to trigger the macro:

File: /SysConfig/XsmileKbd.cfg

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<keyboard>
  <context type="Text">
  <!-- ... other keyboard shortcuts ... -->

  <key code="37" description="K">
    <!-- Open ProActions Panel with Ctrl+K -->
    <modifier type="C" shortcut="Ctrl+K">
      <function name="macro" d="/SysConfig/Macros/ProActions.js" />
    </modifier>
  </key>
  <!-- ... other keyboard shortcuts ... -->
  </context>
</keyboard>

Step 3: Configure MRAS Connection (Prime 7 Only)​

If you're using Prime 7, you need to configure an MRAS connection in the Prime client's repository.cfg configuration.

Note: Prime 8 users can skip this step.

File: repositories.cfg (Prime client configuration)

Add an <mras> entry to your Methode domain configuration:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<repositories>
  <methodeDomain name="YourMethodeDomain">
    <ns orbInit="-orbinitref YourMethodeDomain=corbaloc:iiop:methode-server.example.com:3900/NameService"
        name="YourMethodeDomain"/>
    <nc ncPath="/EOM/Notifiers/YourNotifier"
        ncName="YourNotifier" />

    <!-- MRAS connection for ProActions Panel (Prime 7) -->
    <mras uri="https://methode-server.example.com/swing/api"
          connectionId="Editorial"/>
  </methodeDomain>
</repositories>

Key Configuration:

  • uri - The Swing API endpoint (replace with your Swing server URL)
  • connectionId - Connection identifier (typically "Editorial")

Important:

  • Only the <mras> entry is relevant for ProActions Panel functionality
  • Replace methode-server.example.com with your actual server hostname

Step 4: Verify Panel Access​

  1. Restart Prime to load the new macro and keyboard shortcut (and MRAS configuration for Prime 7)
  2. Open any document in Prime
  3. Press the configured shortcut (e.g., Ctrl+K)
  4. Verify the ProActions panel opens in a new window

Panel Action Attributes​

The ProActions Panel supports additional action attributes for organizing and controlling action visibility:

Category​

Use the category attribute to create collapsible sub-categories within a section:

actions:
  - title: "Replace Headline"
    category: "Headline & Summary"
    flow:
      # ... workflow steps ...

  - title: "Suggest Headlines"
    category: "Headline & Summary"
    flow:
      # ... workflow steps ...

  - title: "Rephrase Paragraph"
    category: "Rephrase"
    flow:
      # ... workflow steps ...

Actions with the same category value are grouped together in a collapsible section within the panel.

Hidden in Panel​

Use the hiddenInPanel attribute to hide an action from the panel while keeping it available through other triggers:

actions:
  - title: "Internal Helper Action"
    hiddenInPanel: true
    flow:
      # ... workflow steps ...

Panel Context​

Use the panelContext attribute to specify when an action should appear in the "Context Actions" area at the top of the panel. This allows actions to be displayed only when specific conditions are met.

The panelContext is an array that can include:

For Text Selection:

- title: "Process Selected Text"
  panelContext:
    - forTextSelection: true
  flow:
    # ... workflow steps ...

For Specific Elements:

- title: "Process Image"
  panelContext:
    - forElement: "web-image"
  flow:
    # ... workflow steps ...

For XPath Matches:

- title: "Replace Headline"
  panelContext:
    - forXPath: "doc/story/grouphead/headline/p"
  flow:
    # ... workflow steps ...

- title: "Replace Summary"
  panelContext:
    - forXPath: "doc/story/summary/p"
  flow:
    # ... workflow steps ...

Multiple Context Conditions:

- title: "Context-Aware Action"
  panelContext:
    - forTextSelection: true
    - forXPath: "doc/story/text/p"
  flow:
    # ... workflow steps ...

Actions configured with panelContext will only appear in the "Context Actions" section when the cursor is in a matching context.

Next Steps​

Further Reading​