# Client App Integration

To install client libraries using npm:

npm install @skilltree/skills-client-js --save

Distribution is also available through Content Delivery Network (CDN) using https://unpkg.com: https://unpkg.com/@skilltree/skills-client-js@latest/dist/skills-client-js.esm.min.js (opens new window)

This JS library contains:

  1. Skills Configuration - Global configuration used by Skills utilities.
  2. Skills Display - Visualize your website users' skill profile
  3. Skill Event Reporting - Report skill events using Vue.js directives or JS utility

Generally you will be in one of these scenarios:

  1. Option 1: Use a JavaScript module bundler such as webpack (opens new window) or rollup.js (opens new window)
  2. Option 2: Import the skills JS library via the html <script type="module"> tag
  3. Option 3: Import the skills JS library via the html <script type="text/javascript"> tag

# Option 1: JavaScript module bundler

When using module bundler such as webpack (opens new window) or rollup.js (opens new window) you can take advantage of module imports, for example:

import { SkillsConfiguration, SkillsDisplayJS, SkillsReporter } from '@skilltree/skills-client-js';
 
// code using SkillsConfiguration, SkillsDisplayJS and SkillsReporter
// examples in the following sections

Alternatively you can import individually:

import { SkillsConfiguration } from '@skilltree/skills-client-js';
 
// code using SkillsConfiguration
// examples in the following sections

# Option 2: <script type="module"> tag

If you're not using a JavaScript module bundler such as webpack or rollup.js, you may wish to import the module using the html <script type="module"> tag.

Then your import will look something like this:


 











<head>
    <script type="module">
        import {
            SkillsConfiguration,
            SkillsDisplayJS,
            SkillsReporter
        } from 'https://unpkg.com/@skilltree/skills-client-js/dist/skills-client-js.esm.min.js';

        // code using SkillsConfiguration, SkillsDisplay and SkillsReporter
        // examples in the following sections
    </script> 
</head>

Alternatively you can import individually:


 







<head>
    <script type="module">
        import { SkillsConfiguration } from 'https://unpkg.com/@skilltree/skills-client-js/dist/skills-client-js.esm.min.js';
    
        // code using SkillsConfiguration
        // examples in the following sections
    </script> 
</head>

# Option 3: <script type="text/javascript"> tag

You may also import the module using the html <script type="text/javascript"> tag in order to support older browsers. When importing the library this way you will need to reference SkillTree objects using a global wrapper object named SkillsClient.

Then your code will look something like this


 




 







<head>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://unpkg.com/@skilltree/skills-client-js/dist/skills-client-js.umd.min.js"></script>
    <script>
        // code using SkillsConfiguration, SkillsDisplay and SkillsReporter examples
        // in the following sections, but using the global SkillsClient wrapper

        this.SkillsClient.SkillsConfiguration.configure({
           serviceUrl: 'http://localhost:8080',
           projectId: 'your-project-id',
           authenticator: 'pki',
        });
    </script> 
</head>

# Skills Configuration

Step one is to globally configure the Skills client, we suggest including it in the application's entry point for single page applications, or as the first script tag import in multi-page applications.

Reminder

SkillsConfiguration is a singleton and you only need to provide configuration information once per your application's runtime for single page applications.

This configuration is used by the Skills Display and Skills Reporting libraries so you won't need to configure those separately.

SkillsConfiguration configure parameters:

Parameter Type Explanation
serviceUrl String (representing URL) url to the skills service - this is the same url as the dashboard - the User Interface and service endpoints are co-located
projectId String the id of the project that was created in the dashboard; visualize and report skills for the project with this id
authenticator String url to your Authentication Endpoint

SkillsConfiguration supplies the afterConfigure() method which returns a promise which will be resolved once the SkillsConfiguration configure method completes. This allows support, for example, for configuration options to be supplied by the server asynchronously.

SkillsConfiguration.afterConfigure()
   .then(() => {
       // SkillsConfiguration.configure has been called 
   });

axios.get('my/configuration/endpoint')
   .then((result) => {
         SkillsConfiguration.configure(result.data);
   });

# Skills Display

The Skills Display component provides a comprehensive visualization of a user's skill and progress profile!

User Skills Image

Usage is trivial:

Here is an example of initializing SkillsDisplayJS (assuming you already configured via SkillsConfiguration.configure, see the SkillsConfiguration Documentation )

  • Note: This assumes there is a DIV in your DOM with id skills-client-container for SkillsDisplayJS to attach to

 
 


SkillsConfiguration.afterConfigure().then(() => {
    const clientDisplay = new SkillsDisplayJS();
    clientDisplay.attachTo(document.querySelector('#skills-client-container'));
});

If you are taking advantage of Skills Versioning then you need to provide the version property to the SkillsDisplayJS constructor:

const clientDisplay = new SkillsDisplayJS({
    version: 1,
});

SkillsDisplayJS constructor object:

Prop Type Explanation
version Number (Optional) version to use in Skills Versioning paradigm
options Object (Optional) options object to control various behaviors of skills-display. See Skills Display Options Object
theme Object (Optional) theme object to customize colors. See Skills Display Theme Object

# Route changed event Since skills-client:3.3.0

Each time a user navigates within the Skills Client Display, if configured, the handleRouteChanged callback function will be invoked and passed the new path that was navigated to. This can be useful if the hosting application displays a breadcrumb and would like to update the current location within the Skills Client Display component.

const handleRouteChanged = (newPath) => {
    console.log(`New Skills Display path: [${newPath}]`);
};

const clientDisplay = new SkillsDisplayJS({
    handleRouteChanged: handleRouteChanged,
});

# Programmatic navigation Since skills-client:3.3.1

The internal route of the Skills Client Display component can be changed by passing the desired path to the navigate() method. This can be useful if the hosting application displays a breadcrumb and would like to navigate to different locations within the Skills Client Display component by clicking a breadcrumb link for example.

  <button type="button" onclick="navigate()">Navigate</button>
  
  navigate() {
    this.clientDisplay.navigate('/subjects/subj0')
  }
}

# Skills Display Options Object

Options object optionally controls various behaviors of skills display with the following properties:

Prop Type Default Explanation
disableAutoScroll boolean false As a convenience, by default, the Skills Client Display will auto scroll to the top whenever the user navigates to a new page (route) within the display. Disable auto scroll to top on route change.
autoScrollStrategy string 'top-of-frame' On route change, either scroll to the top of the entire document, or the top of skills-display ('top-of-page','top-of-frame', or 'top-offset' - 'top offset' must be used in conjunction with the 'scrollTopOffset' option)
scrollTopOffset number 0 Used in conjunction with the autoScrollStrategy 'top-offset', scrollTopOffset will be subtracted from the display's element offset as the scroll to target (relevant when fixed/statically positioned elements preceed the Skills Display container).
isSummaryOnly boolean false When enabled, display renders overall summary only. This mode is not interactive, it provides a user's progress preview that can be displayed on a landing page.
internalBackButton boolean false When enabled, displays a back button to the left of the page title that can be used for navigating back in the browser history within the Skills Client Display. When enabled, the native browser history will not be updated when navigating within the Skills Client Display. It is recommended to leave this internalBackButton disabled unless navigating within the Skills Client Display interferes with the hosting application.

Here is an example of an options object:

{ 
    disableAutoScroll: false,
    autoScrollStrategy: 'top-of-page',
}

# Skills Display Theme Object

The theme object supports the customization of the color palette of the Skills Display to match your application. For example, you can easily style Skills Display to look something like this:

User Skills Image

The theme object supports the following properties:

Prop Explanation
backgroundColor page background color
disableBreadcrumb when set to true, the breadcrumb bar in the title section will not be displayed. default is false
breadcrumb.linkColor breadcrumbs's parent/ancestor link color
breadcrumb.linkHoverColor breadcrumbs's parent/ancestor link hover color
breadcrumb.currentPageColor breadcrumbs's current page color
breadcrumb.align breadcrumbs's alignment for the title card; valid values are start, center, end (uses css justify-content (opens new window))
disableSkillTreeBrand when set to true, the SkillTree brand logo in the title section will not be displayed. default is false
skillTreeBrandColor text color for the SkillTree brand logo; if not supplied the default is pageTitle.textColor
maxWidth maximum width of the component, can use any units supported by max-width CSS property (opens new window) such as %, em and px (ex. 100%); default is 1140px
landingPageTitle title of the landing page, default is User Skills
pageTitle.fontSize font size for the title, can use any units supported by font-size CSS property (opens new window) such as %, em and px (ex. 1.2em)
pageTitle.textColor text color for the title
pageTitle.borderColor border color for the title card
pageTitle.borderStyle border style for the title card, for example: borderStyle: 'none none solid none'
pageTitle.backgroundColor background color for the title card
pageTitle.textAlign title alignment, supported values are left, right and center
pageTitle.padding padding for the title card, for example: padding: '1.6rem 1rem 1.1rem 1rem'
pageTitle.margin margin for the title card, for example: margin: '-10px -15px 1.6rem -15px'
circleProgressInteriorTextColor 'x out of yyyy' text color inside circle progress widgets
progressIndicators.beforeTodayColor progress bar color for points earned before today
progressIndicators.earnedTodayColor progress bar color for points earned today
progressIndicators.completeColor progress bar color for 100% completion
progressIndicators.incompleteColor progress bar color for points not yet earned
textSecondaryColor secondary text, for example 'Need Help?' and dependent skill text
textPrimaryColor chart titles, progress titles, tile titles, descriptions, rank tile text
stars.unearnedColor color of unearned level stars
stars.earnedColor color of earned level stars
charts.axisLabelColor color of scales/axis text on charts
charts.labelBackgroundColor chart label background color; applies to charts like Point History and Level Breakdown; please note that labels visibility depends on the presence of points and achievements
charts.labelBorderColor chart label border color; applies to charts like Point History and Level Breakdown; please note that labels visibility depends on the presence of points and achievements
charts.labelForegroundColor chart label text/foreground color; applies to charts like Point History and Level Breakdown; please note that labels visibility depends on the presence of points and achievements
charts.pointHistory.lineColor Point History chart line color
charts.pointHistory.gradientStartColor Point History chart start gradient color (on the top)
charts.pointHistory.gradientStopColor Point History chart start stop/end color (on the bottom)
tiles.backgroundColor tile background color, such as subject tiles
tiles.borderColor tile border color
tiles.watermarkIconColor My Rank, Rank overview, My Badges watermark icon color
infoCards.backgroundColor info card background color; info cards only appear within tiles for example on the skill overview page
infoCards.foregroundColor info card foreground/text color; info cards only appear within tiles for example on the skill overview page
infoCards.borderColor info card border color; info cards only appear within tiles for example on the skill overview page
infoCards.iconColors info card icon colors; must provide a list of colors (up to 4), for example iconColors: ['blue', 'green']
buttons.backgroundColor button background color
buttons.foregroundColor botton foreground/text color
buttons.disabledColor button disabled color including text and border
buttons.borderColor button border color
badges.backgroundColor badge background color; badges include Self Reportable tag and counts on the skill and badge filters
badges.foregroundColor badge foreground/text color; badges include Self Reportable tag and counts on the skill and badge filters
graphLegendBorderColor removed in skills-service:2.6 release; please use prerequisites.* properties instead
prerequisites.skillColor Since skills-service:2.6 Color of the skill icon for the graph's skill nodes, the legend and the table. Found on the prerequisite graph of the Skill page when the Learning Path is configured
prerequisites.badgeColor Since skills-service:2.6 Color of the badge icon for the graph's badge nodes, the legend and the table. Found on the prerequisite graph of the Skill page when the Learning Path is configured
prerequisites.thisSkillColor Since skills-service:2.6 Color of the skill icon for the graph's This Skill node. Found on the prerequisite graph of the Skill page when the Learning Path is configured
prerequisites.achievedColor Since skills-service:2.6 Color of the icon when a prerequisite is achieved for the graph's nodes, the legend and the table. Found on the prerequisite graph of the Skill page when the Learning Path is configured
prerequisites.navButtonsColor Since skills-service:2.6 Color for graph's navigation buttons (ex. zoom) rendered on the bottom of the graph. Found on the prerequisite graph of the Skill page when the Learning Path is configured
subjectTileIconColor color of subject tile icons
trophyIconColor color of the My Level trophy
backButton.padding optionally customize back button's padding (only applicable if the internalBackButton is enabled via the options object)
backButton.fontSize optionally customize back button's icon size (only applicable if the internalBackButton is enabled via the options object)
backButton.lineHeight optionally customize back button's height (only applicable if the internalBackButton is enabled via the options object)

Example of a 'Dark Blue' theme object

    {
      maxWidth: '100%',
      backgroundColor: '#626d7d',
      landingPageTitle: 'Themed User Skills',
      pageTitle: {
        textColor: 'white',
        fontSize: '1.5rem',
      },
      textSecondaryColor: 'white',
      textPrimaryColor: 'white',
      stars: {
        unearnedColor: '#787886',
        earnedColor: 'gold',
      },
      progressIndicators: {
        beforeTodayColor: '#3e4d44',
        earnedTodayColor: '#667da4',
        completeColor: '#59ad52',
        incompleteColor: '#cdcdcd',
      },
      charts: {
        axisLabelColor: 'white',
      },
      tiles: {
        backgroundColor:'#152E4d',
        watermarkIconColor: '#a6c5f7',
      },
      buttons: {
        backgroundColor: '#152E4d',
        foregroundColor: '#59ad52',
      },
      prerequisites: {
        achievedColor: '#6df28b',
        skillColor: '#ffe297',
        badgeColor: '#ceb6f4',
        thisSkillColor: '#7fbbfa',
        navButtonsColor: '#cce7f3',
      },
    }

# Skills Level Display

The skills-client-js library also includes a convenient component to display the users's current overall level in the application. This can be used to display the user's current level consistently throughout the application, for example, in the application header.

Reminder

Before using the SkillsLevel component, you must make sure to initialize SkillsConfiguration with your system settings.

  • Note: This assumes there is a DIV in your DOM with id skills-level-container for SkillsLevelJS to attach to

 
 


SkillsConfiguration.afterConfigure().then(() => {
    const skillsLevel = new SkillsLevelJS();
    skillsLevel.attachTo(document.querySelector('#skills-level-container'));
});

# Skills Event Reporting

The skills-client-js library also includes the SkillsReporter utility used to report skills events.

# SkillsReporter JS Utility

Reminder

Before using the SkillsReporter utility, you must make sure to initialize SkillsConfiguration with your system settings. See the SkillsConfiguration Documentation

Import the SkillsReporter into your project

SkillsReporter.reportSkill(skillId)
  .then((response) => {
    // response = metatdata describing how that skill influenced user's skills posture
  })
  .catch((error) => {
    // error = object describing why this error occrued
  });

a response object may look something like this:

{
  "success": true,
  "skillApplied": true,
  "explanation": "Skill event was applied",
  "completed": []
}

For a full description of the response object please see Endpoint Result Object.

# Global Event Handling

In many cases, it is useful to define a global success and/or error handler function rather than defining event listeners on each element where you include the reporting utility.
For example:

  • display messages congratulating users on skills completion as well as level and badge achievements
  • handle all reporting errors by sending them to a logging service

Alongside standard, promise based, success and error handling, the SkillsReporter native javascript utility allows you to configure global success and error handlers utilizing the addSuccessHandler and addErrorHandler methods.









 
 

const myGlobalSuccessHandler = (result) => {
    toastr.success('skill successfully recorded!');
};

const myGlobalErrorHandler = (result) => {
    toastr.error('There was an error recording your skill');
};

SkillsReporter.addSuccessHandler(myGlobalSuccessHandler);
SkillsReporter.addErrorHandler(myGlobalErrorHandler);

Note: By default, a global success handler will only by invoked for results where a skill has been applied (skillApplied=true). To change the default behavior and enable notifications even when a reported skill has not been applied, set the notifyIfSkillNotApplied configuration option on the SkillReporter utility:





SkillsReporter.configure({
    notifyIfSkillNotApplied: true,
});

For a full description of the success response object (named result in the above example) please see Endpoint Result Object.

# SkillsReporter Configuration

The SkillReporter object allows for overriding the default behavior if required via the configure() method.

The configure() method supports the following parameters:

Prop Explanation
notifyIfSkillNotApplied if set to true, invoke global success handler(s) even when a reported skill has not been applied. See Global Event Handling.
retryInterval If an error occurs when reporting a skill, the SkillsReporter will attempt to retry reporting the skill at a later time. This property allows you to set the time in milliseconds for how often a skill that failed to be reported will be retried. default is 60000 (every 60 seconds)
maxRetryQueueSize The maximum number of failed reported skill attempts that will be queued and retried. default is 1000
maxRetryAttempts The maximum number of retry attempts for a given skillId before the SkillsReporter will no longer retry to report that skillId. default is 1400

Below is an example of how to configure the SkillsReporter to only retry up to 100 failed reported skill attempts, and to retry every 5 minutes.






SkillsReporter.configure({
    retryInterval: 300000,
    maxRetryQueueSize: 100,
});
Last Updated: 11/3/2023, 11:47:32 AM