10.2 Configuring Region Display Options

Regions come with powerful controls you can use to define how they will treat the content that is placed inside them. This section describes how to use those controls. It includes the following subsections:

• Section 10.2.1, "Changing a Region Name"

• Section 10.2.2, "Changing a Region Type"

• Section 10.2.3, "Changing the Height and Width of a Region"

• Section 10.2.4, "Displaying or Hiding Banners"

• Section 10.2.5, "Changing the Number of Columns and Rows in a Region"

• Section 10.2.6, "Changing the Alignment of Items"

• Section 10.2.7, "Setting Sub-Page Links Region Properties"

• Section 10.2.8, "Setting a Uniform Height and Width for Item Icons"

• Section 10.2.9, "Changing the Attributes Displayed in a Region"

• Section 10.2.10, "Grouping Items in a Region"

• Section 10.2.11, "Defining a Sort Order for Items"

• Section 10.2.12, "Displaying or Hiding Portlet Headers and Borders"

• Section 10.2.13, "Showing or Hiding Portlet Header Links"

• Section 10.2.14, "Changing Portlet and Item Spacing"

Region locking is another region display setting available through Oracle Portal. Because region locking is closely associated with your portal's security, it is covered in Chapter 17, "Protecting Your Content".

10.2.1 Changing a Region Name

Providing a name for a region is useful for at least two reasons:

• To identify the content of a region for your users

  You can display the region name in a banner at the top of the region to let users know what kind of content to expect in the region.

• To provide descriptive names for regions during region mapping

  Region mapping occurs when you map the regions of an existing page to the regions in a Portal Template you are applying to that page. When you name a region, the name appears over the region in lieu of an automatically assigned number. This makes it easier to identify regions as you map content from the page to the template.

• To provide descriptive names for regions during copies and moves

  When you copy or move items from one page to another with multiple item regions, you are asked to select the region in which to publish the copied or moved items. When the regions are labeled meaningfully, it is obvious to the user which region to select.

To change a region name, the region type must be specified. That is, it must be an item, portlet, or sub-page links region.

To change the region name:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the page where the region is located.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under the Pages heading in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the page where the region is located.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the relevant region (Figure 10-7).

   Figure 10-7 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the resulting page, go to the Region Display Options section, and enter a name in the Display Name field.

   Enter up to 4000 of characters of any kind.

7. If you want to display the region name in a banner at the top of the region, select Display Region Banner.

8. Click OK to save your changes and return to the page.

10.2.2 Changing a Region Type

Region types accept only their related type of content. For example: you can add only portlets to a portlet region and items to an item region. You cannot add anything to a sub-page links region; these regions automatically populate with links to sub-pages of the current page. You cannot add anything to a tab region except another tab.

If you have the page privilege Manage on the page, you can add a portlet or an item to an undefined region. Once you add content to an undefined region, the region becomes defined: it becomes a portlet region if you add a portlet, an item region if you add an item.

Users who do not have the page privilege Manage on the page cannot add content to an undefined region. For such users, undefined regions display without edit controls. To enable such users to add content, a user with the page privilege Manage must change the region type to item or portlet by adding an item or a portlet to the region or by explicitly changing the region type.

You can change the region type of portlet and item regions only if the region is empty. You can change the region type of sub-page link regions at any time, whether or not the region contains any links to sub-pages. You cannot change the region type of a tab region. You cannot change a region type in a Portal Template if any page that is based on the template already includes content in that region.

To change the region type:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the page with the region to by changed.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under Pages in the Layout and Appearance section, click the link to the page with the region to by changed.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the region to be changed (Figure 10-8).

   Figure 10-8 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the resulting page, go to the Region Type section, and from the Type radio group, select either:

   • Undefined

   • Portlets

   • Items

   • Sub-Page Links

   Note:

   If you do not see the radio buttons, your region already contains items, portlets, or tabs; so you cannot change the type. Delete the tabs, or delete or move the items or portlets; and try again.

   You can change the type of a sub-page links region at any time, provided you have the privilege to do so and the region is not part of a template applied to the page you are working with.

   Tab is not an option under this section because tab regions are created automatically, when users create tabs. You cannot change a tab region's type.

7. Click OK to save your changes and return to the page.

10.2.3 Changing the Height and Width of a Region

By default, regions share available space equally. For example, here is a single region on a page (Figure 10-9):

Figure 10-9 One Region Using 100 Percent of Available Space

If you add another region to the right of this region, each region will take up 50% of the width of the page (Figure 10-10):

Figure 10-10 Two Regions, Each Using 50 Percent of Available Space

If you want regions to use available space in unequal proportion, you can explicitly set the width of each region. You can set the width of a region to a specific number of pixels or to a percentage of the overall width of the page. Do not intermix region widths of pixel and percent.

You can also set the height of a region. Region height is always set in pixels. Setting the height of a region establishes a minimal height. If content exceeds the set height of a region, the region expands to accommodate it.

Region widths and heights never cause content to truncate. No matter what values you set, regions always expand to accommodate content. If exacting region proportions matter to your portal, you must size content to fit your regions.

Note:

Region content can be truncated as a result of region column and row settings. For more information, see Section 10.2.5, "Changing the Number of Columns and Rows in a Region".

To change the height and width of a region:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the Page Group that owns the page with regions to be resized.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under Pages in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the page with regions to be resized.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the region to be resized (Figure 10-11).

   Figure 10-11 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the resulting page, go to the Region Display Options section, and enter or edit the values for Width and Height:

   • In the Width field, enter the width of the region in pixels (a number, such as 20) or as a percentage of the overall width of the page (a number and a percent sign, such as 20%).

     Note:

     You must include a percent sign (%) if you want the number you enter to be interpreted as a percentage of page width rather than a number of pixels.

   • In the Height field, enter the height of the region in pixels.

     An empty region with a declared height is rendered with that height in both Edit and View modes. When a region height is not specified, an empty region does not take up any space in View mode. When you use an empty region as a spacer between other regions on the page, be sure to specify a region height.

7. Click OK to save your changes and return the page.

If you choose to have the width of some regions expressed in pixels and other regions on the same page expressed in percentages, the page may look slightly different in different browsers.

If you enter a height or width of 1 in an attempt to make the region as small as possible, the region will nonetheless expand to display the full content of the region.

If you add another region to the right or left of an existing region, the region widths are automatically reset to be equal. For example, if you have a page with two regions side-by-side, one with a width of 40% and the other 60%, if you add a third region on the same line, all the regions will be reset to a width of 33%.

You might have a region configuration that looks something like Figure 10-12:

Figure 10-12 Region 1 Is Divided Horizontally, Then Vertically

In this case, even if you set regions 1 and 3 to have different widths, the actual width of the column will be as wide as the widest region in that column. So if region 1 has a specified width of 40% and region 3 has a specified width of 20%, when viewing the page, the column containing regions 1 and 3 will be 40% of the width of the page.

Pixel widths take precedence over percentage widths. Therefore, if region 1 has a width of 40% and region 3 has a width of 200 pixels, when viewing the page, the column containing regions 1 and 3 will be 200 pixels wide.

10.2.4 Displaying or Hiding Banners

A region banner is a rectangle of color that spans the width of a region and contains a heading. Region banners are useful for calling out a specific area on a page and identifying its purpose. In Oracle Portal, there are two types of banners available for use with regions:

• Region banners display at the top of a region and, typically, include a meaningful region name (Figure 10-13). Both item and portlet regions use this type of banner.

  Figure 10-13 Region with Banner

  
  

• Group By banners display over each group of items in a region and categorize the types of items that fall under it (Figure 10-14). Only item regions use this type of banner.

  Figure 10-14 Group By Banners Simple Text and Simple URL

  
  

  Note:

  For more information about grouping items in a region, see Section 10.2.10, "Grouping Items in a Region"

In Oracle Portal, you can specify whether a region should display one or the other or both of these types of banners.

To display or hide banners:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the page with region banners to show or hide.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder.

4. Under Pages in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the page with region banners to show or hide.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the region with banners to show or hide (Figure 10-15).

   Figure 10-15 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the resulting page, go to the Region Display Options section:

   • To display a region banner, provide a region Display Name, and select Display Region Banner. The region banner displays only when you give the region a name.

   • To hide a region banner, clear the Display Region Banner check box. The region display name displays in Edit mode, but not in View mode.

7. Go to the Item Display Options section (item regions only):

   • To display a Group By banner, choose a grouping criterion from the Group By drop-down list. Choose from:

     • None to forgo the grouping of items

     • Category to sort items by their assigned categories

     • Author to sort items by their authors

     • Date to sort items by their upload date

     • Base Item Type to sort items by their base item type

     Then select the Display Group By Banner check box. Group By banners display only when you check this check box and select a grouping option other than None.

   • To hide a Group By banner, clear the Display Group By Banner check box.

8. Click OK to save your changes and return to the page.

10.2.5 Changing the Number of Columns and Rows in a Region

If you have many items or portlets in a region, you may want to arrange them into multiple columns to conserve space. You can specify how many columns and rows you want to include in a region.

When you specify a number of columns in a region but do not specify a number of rows, the number of rows dynamically expands to accommodate all the items or portlets in a region. When you specify a number of columns and rows in a region, and the number of items exceeds the number of items this allows, the overflow items do not display until you change the number of columns or rows to accommodate them.

For example, if you have eight items, and you specify two columns and three rows, only six items display. The other two do not. The items that do not display are retained, rather than lost or deleted. If you change the number of rows to four or the number of columns to three, all eight items display.

The following examples show the same region with different numbers of columns and rows:

Figure 10-16 Region 1 with Eight Items in Four Columns (Rows Not Specified)

Figure 10-17 Region 1 with Two Columns and Three Rows (Two Items Truncated)

To change the number of columns and rows in a region:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the relevant page.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under Pages in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the relevant page.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the relevant region (Figure 10-18).

   Figure 10-18 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the resulting page, go to the Region Display Options section, and enter the number of columns you want for the region in the Number of Columns field.

   Leaving this field blank results in one region column.

7. In the Number of Rows field, enter the number of rows you want for the region.

   Leaving this field blank results in a variable number of rows. That is, the region will provide the number of rows required to accommodate the region content.

8. Click OK to save your changes and return to the page.

10.2.6 Changing the Alignment of Items

You can align items in a region specifically or conditionally, according to the requirements of your portal's language setting. Specific alignments include left, center, and right. Conditional alignments include start and end. Start and End work in conjunction with portals using bidirectional languages. For languages reading right to left, Start aligns items right and End aligns items left. For languages reading left to right, Start aligns items left and End aligns items right.

Figure 10-19 shows the same region with different item alignment settings:

Figure 10-19 The Same Region Shown With Different Item Alignment Settings

To change the alignment of items in a region:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the relevant page.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under Pages in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the relevant page.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the relevant region (Figure 10-20).

   Figure 10-20 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the resulting page, go to the Item Display Options section, and choose an item alignment from the Item Alignment list.

   Choose from:

   • Left to align items against the left border of the region

   • Center to align items within the center of the region

   • Right to align items against the right border of the region

   • Start to align items according to reading direction of the portal's current language: in languages that read left to right, Start aligns items left; in languages that read right to left, Start aligns items right

   • End to align items according to the reading direction of the portal's current language: in languages that read left to right, End aligns items right; in languages that read right to left, End aligns items left

7. Click OK to save your changes and return to the page.

10.2.7 Setting Sub-Page Links Region Properties

Sub-Page Links regions share many of the same region properties you find with item and portlet regions. Additionally, they have a few that are unique to type. Use these to specify the number of levels of sub-page links to display, the sub-page link attributes to display along with each link, and the icon users should click to navigate up the page hierarchy.

This section describes how to set the properties that are specific to Sub-Page Links regions. It includes the following sub-sections:

• Section 10.2.7.1, "Specifying Whether One or Two Sub-Page Link Levels Display"

• Section 10.2.7.2, "Specifying the Attributes to Display with Sub-Page Links"

• Section 10.2.7.3, "Selecting a Navigation Image"

These options are set at the region level. You will find additional sub-page link display options at the page level. For more information, see Section 7.9, "Defining the Display of Sub-Page Links" and Section 13.6.8, "Displaying Links to Sub-Pages".

10.2.7.1 Specifying Whether One or Two Sub-Page Link Levels Display

One of the many ways you can exercise control over the flow of information in your portal is to configure sub-page links regions to expose a greater or lesser number of levels in your page hierarchy. Use sub-page links display options to specify that either one or two levels of sub-page links should display in a Sub-Page Links region.

To specify the number of sub-page links levels to display:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the page with the Sub-Page Links region.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under Pages in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the page with the Sub-Page Links region.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the Sub-Page Links region (Figure 10-21).

   Figure 10-21 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the resulting page, go to the Page Level Display section, and select either:

   • Display One Level Of Sub-Pages to link to one level of sub-pages hierarchically lower than the current page

   • Display Two Levels Of Sub-Pages to link to two levels of sub-pages hierarchically lower than the current page

     Optionally, when you select to display two levels, specify a character to separate second-level links from each other in the Separator Between Second-Level Sub-Pages field. For example, when you specify an asterisk with a leading character space, second-level sub-pages will display as illustrated in Figure 10-22.

     Figure 10-22 Two Sub-Page Levels With a Space/Asterisk Separator

     
     

7. Click Apply to save your changes and remain on the Edit Region page, or click OK to save your changes and return to the page.

10.2.7.2 Specifying the Attributes to Display with Sub-Page Links

In addition to displaying sub-page links, sub-page links regions can display attribute values that are relevant to the sub-page links. These attributes include a sub-page icon, a description of the sub-page, and an image/rollover image for the sub-page.

To display sub-page links attributes:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the page with the Sub-Page Links region.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under Pages in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the page with the Sub-Page Links region.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the Sub-Page Links region (Figure 10-23).

   Figure 10-23 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the resulting page, go to the Sub-Pages section, and select any or all of the following attributes:

   • Display Sub-Page Icon to display a sub-page icon next to each, first-level sub-page link (Figure 10-24)

     Figure 10-24 The Sub-Page Icon

     
     

   • Display Sub-Page Description to display the content of the sub-page's Description attribute

   • Display Sub-Page Image and Rollover Image to display an image/rollover image in lieu of the page name

     The image and (optionally) rollover image were specified for the sub-page when it was created (or edited). For more information about representative page and rollover images, see Section 7.7, "Specifying a Representative Image for a Page".

     If you select this option, consider not selecting the Display Sub-Page Icon attribute

7. Click Apply to save your changes and remain on the Edit Region page, or OK to save your changes and return to the page.

10.2.7.3 Selecting a Navigation Image

With a Sub-Page Links region, you have the option to display or suppress an image users can click to navigate up the page hierarchy. If you choose to display such an image, you can select between displaying the default image (Figure 10-25) and providing your own.

Figure 10-25 The Default Navigation Image

Use the options discussed in this section to display or suppress the image, and to select an image other than the default.

To set values for the navigation image:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the page with the Sub-Page Links region.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under Pages in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the page with the Sub-Page Links region.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the Sub-Page Links region (Figure 10-26).

   Figure 10-26 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the Main tab of the Edit Region page, go to the Image section, and select one of the following image options:

   • No Image to forgo display of a navigation image

   • Default Image to display the default navigation image (see Figure 10-25)

   • Image to display a navigation image that you specify

     In the first field, click the Browse button to locate and select a file on your file system.

     OR

     In the second field, either enter the URL and file name of an image on the Web, or enter the internal name of an image already uploaded to Oracle Portal, for example 1655.gif. To get the internal name of the image, right-click the image in your portal, and select Properties from the resulting menu.

     If you are using item versioning and you always want to show the current version of an image, use the image's durable URL instead of the internal file name. The durable URL always picks up the latest version of the image. For more information, see Section 14.12.4, "Images and Item Versioning".

7. Click Apply to save your changes and remain on the Edit Region page, or click OK to save your changes and return to the page.

10.2.8 Setting a Uniform Height and Width for Item Icons

One of the attributes commonly associated with items is the Image attribute. This image is not the item itself, but an image associated with the item, for example, it could be an icon you want to associate with items from a particular source, covering a particular topic, or relevant to a particular event.

You can control the display size of that image through region display options. For example, you can upload an image to associate with an item and reduce its size to make it serve as an item icon (Figure 10-27). You can upload different images for different items in a region, and then set a uniform height and width for all such images through one action.

Figure 10-27 The Same Image Used First as an Item Then as an Item Icon

Description of "Figure 10-27 The Same Image Used First as an Item Then as an Item Icon"

Note:

For information on setting item attribute values, such as an item's Image attribute, see Section 14.4, "Editing Items".

You may want to experiment with the images you plan to use. Some images may look squashed or stretched if their original is larger or smaller than the height and width you specify. Play around with the values for height and width. A squashed or stretched image may snap into proportion with the right values.

Icon height and width options are available only with item regions.

To set a uniform height and width for item icons:

1. Log into Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the page where the item is located.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under Pages in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the page where the item is located.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the region where the item is located (Figure 10-28).

   Figure 10-28 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the resulting page, go to the Item Display Options section, and enter a height (in pixels) for item icons in the Item Icon Height field.

7. In the Item Icon Width field, enter a width (in pixels) for item icons.

8. Click Apply to save the changes and remain on the Edit Regions page, or click OK to save the changes and return to the page.

10.2.9 Changing the Attributes Displayed in a Region

Typically, when you add content to a region, you also enter information about that content into attribute fields. Through region properties, you can either specify which attributes you would like to display along with the content or select an HTML content layout template that defines the layout, look, feel, and information to display in the region. For information on HTML content layouts, see Section 12.3.2, "Using HTML to Define the Layout and Appearance of Region Content". This section discusses how to specify the attributes you would like to display.

For example, by default, item regions display the Link - Image and Display Name, Associated Functions, Description, and Item Content attributes for each item in the region. In some regions you might want to provide more information. For example, you might want to include the Document Size, Expire Date, or some custom attribute specific to your own content. In some regions, you might want to provide less information. For example, you might choose not to include item descriptions.

The Portlet Content and Item Content attributes are always selected by default. These attributes represent the actual content of the portlet or item. If they are removed from the Displayed Attributes list, the portlet or item does not display in the region.

To change the attributes displayed in an item or portlet region:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the page to be edited.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under Pages in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the page to be edited.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the region to be edited (Figure 10-28).

   Figure 10-29 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. Click the Attributes tab to bring it forward.

7. Select the Select Attributes radio button.

8. To add an attribute to the region, select the attribute in the Available Attributes list and click the Move icon that points to the Displayed Attributes list.

   Use the buttons to the right of the Displayed Attributes list to arrange the display order of attributes.

   For example, if you want the Description attribute to be displayed first, select Description in the Displayed Attributes list, and click the Move Top icon to move it to the top of the list.

   Note:

   For a list and descriptions of all seeded attributes, see Appendix A, "Oracle Portal Seeded Objects", Section A.2, "Base Attributes".

9. Use <Blank Line>, <Space>, <Hard Blank Line>, and <Hard Space> attributes to control the layout of the region attributes.

   Add as many of these attributes as you like. They display according to the following rules:

   • Blank Line inserts a blank line between attributes as specified, unless the subsequent attribute has no value. In this case, the Blank Line attribute is ignored to avoid unnecessary white space.

   • Hard Blank Line inserts a blank line between attributes as specified regardless of whether any subsequent attributes have values.

   • Space inserts a blank space between attributes as specified, unless the subsequent attribute has no value. In this case, the Space attribute is ignored to avoid unnecessary white space.

   • Hard Space inserts a blank space between attributes as specified regardless of whether any subsequent attributes have values.

10. To remove an attribute from the region, select the attribute in the Displayed Attributes list and click the Move icon that points to the Available Attributes list.

11. Click Apply to save your changes.

12. Click Close to return to the page.

When an attribute does not have a value, it does not display in the region, even though it was moved to the Displayed Attributes list. For example, if the you move the Description attribute to the Displayed Attributes list, but no description was entered for the item when it was added or edited, then the Description attribute will not display next to the item.

Note, however, that no matter what attributes are displayed for the region, navigation item types, such as Portal Smart Links, List of Objects, and the like, do not display any attributes other than Item Content and Display Name (or some version of Display Name, such as Search Label). If you remove Item Content or Display Name from the list of Displayed Attributes, navigation item types will nonetheless continue to display the Item Content or the Display Name.

You can display MIME type images next to items on a page to provide users with a visual cue about the item type. For example, a Microsoft Word MIME type image is a small version of a Word document icon. It would display next to any Microsoft Word documents uploaded to the page. To display the MIME type image before any other attribute (recommended), select Item Type Icon in the Displayed Attributes list, and click the Move Top icon.

When a page link item is selected to display in a region with the Link - Image and Display Name attribute selected, and the user has provided an image but no display name for the page link item, after an upgrade the Link - Image and Display Name attribute is rendered as the title of the target page along with the original uploaded image. If this is not the desired effect, select the attribute Link - Image OR Display Name for the affected region. This will result in just the image being displayed.

10.2.10 Grouping Items in a Region

When your portal content is time-sensitive, diverse, closely identified with subject-matter experts, or easily divided into specific functional areas, such as presentations, archives, and articles, grouping it according to date, category, author, or item type could prove useful. The care given to ensuring that users can find a specific page can extend to ensuring that they can find specific content. One way to do this is to group content. In Oracle Portal, you can group region content by:

• Category

• Author

• Date

• Base Item Type

Content grouping is available only with item regions.

Figure 10-30 shows the same region, first grouped by item type, then grouped by category.

Figure 10-30 Region Shown Grouped by Item Type Then by Category

To group the items in a region:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the page where the region is located.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under Pages in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the page where the region is located.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the relevant region (Figure 10-31).

   Figure 10-31 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the resulting page, go to the Item Display Options section, and choose one of the following grouping criteria from the Group By drop-down list:

   • None to forgo the grouping of items

   • Category to group items by their category

   • Author to group items by their author

     Author groups are ordered alphabetically by the user name of the user who uploaded the item (the author).

   • Date to group items by their creation date

     Date groups are ordered from oldest to most recent.

   • Base Item Type to group items by their base item type

     For example, Base File, Base Text, Base Image, and so on.

7. Select Display Group By Banner to display a banner with each group (Figure 10-30).

   Banner text is generated from the value associated with the grouping criteria. For example, if you group by author, the banner text is the author's name. If you group by item type, the banners text is the name of the item type, such as Simple File, Zip File, and so on.

8. Click OK to save your changes and return to the page.

The grouping criterion displays in the Group By banner. For most grouping criteria, the grouping criterion displays as a link, which, when clicked, invokes a search for all items of a like category, author, create date, or base item type. Some criteria are not suitable for searching, such as a login/logout link. When the grouping criterion is not suitable for searching, it is not rendered as a link in the Group By banner.

In addition to grouping, Oracle Portal offers sorting. Where grouping determines how items are clustered together, sorting determines the display order for each cluster. If items are not grouped, then sorting determines the display order for all items in the region. For more information, see the next section.

10.2.11 Defining a Sort Order for Items

You can specify the order in which items are displayed in a region. When items are grouped using the Group By option, the sort order you specify determines the order of the items within each group. When items are not grouped using the Group By option, the sort order you specify determines the order of items within the region. Item ordering options are available only for item regions.

To specify the display order of items in a region:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the page where the items to be sorted are located.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under Pages in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the page where the items to be sorted are located.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the region where the items to be sorted are located (Figure 10-32).

   Figure 10-32 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the resulting page, go to the Item Display Options section, and choose one of the following options from the Sort By list:

   • Default to forgo the sorting of items

     If you choose this option, items are not sorted automatically. They are arranged according to how they are explicitly placed in the region. Users can arrange the items the way they like using the Arrange option available in the region banner in page Edit mode. The Arrange option does not display when another sorting option is selected.

   • Title to order items alphabetically by their display name

   • Size to order items by their size

     This option works for File items, Image items, and other items based on files. No other item types have a size associated with them.

   If you choose to order the items in a region by display name (Title) or size, the Arrange Items icon does not display in the region toolbar (Page Edit mode), and you cannot manually order items in the region

7. In the Sort Order list, choose:

   • Ascending to order items from A to Z (Title), or smallest to largest (Size)

   • Descending to order items from Z to A (Title), or largest to smallest (Size)

8. Click OK to save your changes and return to the page.

10.2.12 Displaying or Hiding Portlet Headers and Borders

There are a number of reasons you might choose to display portlet headers and borders: in a region with a large portlet population, you may be seeking a way to distinguish one portlet from another; you may care to highlight the specific purpose of a portlet by assigning and exposing a meaningful display name; you may want to expose the controls, such as the Personalize link, that are provided with some portlets. Whatever your reason, it is a simple matter to display or hide portlet headers and borders.

Portlet headers consist of a color banner at the top of a portlet, populated with the portlet's display name and any links that are available for display (see Section 10.2.13). Portlet borders outline a portlet with a thin line that matches the header color.

Figure 10-33 shows the same region, first with portlet headers and borders displayed, then hidden.

Figure 10-33 Same Region with Portlet Headers and Borders Displayed, then Hidden

Because portlet headers contain the Personalize link, if you hide headers, users will not be able to access this link nor personalize any portlets in the region. Privileged users can still edit the portlet defaults when they edit the page.

When you display or hide portlet headers or borders, all the portlets within the region are affected. You cannot control portlet headers or borders for individual portlets within the region. However, you can display portlet headers or borders in one region and hide them in another.

Portlet header and border options are available only for portlet regions.

To display or hide portlet headers or borders:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the page where the portlet region is located.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under Pages in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the page where the portlet region is located.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the relevant portlet region (Figure 10-34).

   Figure 10-34 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the resulting page, go to the Portlet Display Options section, and specify your portlet header and border preferences.

   Choose from:

   • Select Show Portlet Headers to display a color banner that contains the portlet display name and all available and enabled links and icons (see Section 10.2.13). Leave this option unselected to hide portlet headers and their associated links and icons.

   • Select Show Portlet Borders to display a thin line the color of the portlet header around the portlets in a region. Leave this option unselected to hide portlet borders.

7. Click OK to save your changes and return to the page.

Note:

Regardless of whether a page portlet or navigation page uses its source page's style, once the page portlet or navigation page is placed on a page, its headers and borders always use the style of the target page. This is because the controls for a portlet's headers and borders operate at the region level, and the region is a component of the target page.

If you do not care to use the target page's header and border colors on the portlets belonging to a page portlet or a navigation page, you can turn off the display of headers and borders at the region level on the target page. If the page portlet or navigation page also contains its own portlets, you must also turn off the display of headers and borders for portlet regions on the source page.

To ensure that a page portlet or navigation page uses its own background color, rather than the one specified for its host page:

1. Do not select the option Use Style Of Page On Which Portlet Is Placed for the navigation page or the page that you are publishing as a portlet.

2. In the style used by the target page, clear any value from the Portlet Body Color style element and click Apply.

10.2.13 Showing or Hiding Portlet Header Links

Many of the portlets provided through Oracle Portal, as well as through third parties, include individual controls for such actions as personalizing the portlet, performing a specific refresh on the portlet, invoking portlet help, and so on. When you display portlet headers (see Section 10.2.12), you also have the option of showing or hiding portlet controls in each portlet header in a region.

The controls that are available depend on the types of controls that were included in the portlet when it was constructed. Although you may select all control options when you edit region properties, only those controls intrinsic to the portlet display. For example, you may choose to expose a Help link in a portlet header. If the developer who created the portlet provided portlet help, the Help link displays. If the developer did not provide help, the link does not display, even though it is selected for display in region properties.

When you edit region properties to show or hide portlet header links, all the portlets within the region are affected. The display of portlet header links are controlled at the region level. If you want some portlets to display links and others to hide them, you can place the display portlets in one region, where links are exposed, and the hide portlets in another, where links are hidden.

Link options include:

• Personalize—Enables users to create a personal view of a portlet

• Help—Connects to portlet help text

• About—Connects to a portlet description

• Details—Links the portlet title to a more detailed view of the portlet

• Refresh—Refreshes the display of a portlet without refreshing the entire page

• Remove—Removes the portlet from the user's personal view of the page

  Note:

  When users remove a portlet from their own view of a page, it is the same as when they hide the portlet from view. (See Section 15.4, "Hiding and Showing Portlets" for more information.) In either case, the user can restore the portlet by personalizing the page and selecting the Show action on the portlet. With this in mind, any page that contains portlets with a Remove header link should also include a Personalize link to allow users to restore removed portlets.

• Collapse/Restore—Minimizes and maximizes portlet display in the user's personal view of the page

Note:

The Personalize, Collapse/Restore, and Remove links/icons do not display when the page is in Edit mode. They display when the user returns the page to View mode.

When you suppress the display of the Collapse/Restore icon on a portlet header, all instances of collapsed portlets on the affected page are restored automatically to prevent them from being stuck in a permanently collapsed state. Should the display of the Collapse/Restore icon be reinstated, all portlet instances are reset to the state they were in before icon display was suppressed.

For information on how to specify Help and About text for your portlets, see the Portal Developer Kit on the Oracle Portal section of the Oracle Technology Network, http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ias/portal/portlet_development_10g1014.html.

If you do not display portlet headers (see Section 10.2.12), the links described in this section will not display, even if you have selected a display check box. Portlet header link options are available only for portlet regions.

To show or hide portlet header links:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the page where the portlets are located.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under Pages in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the page where the portlets are located.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the region where the portlets are located (Figure 10-35).

   Figure 10-35 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the resulting page, go to the Portlet Display Options section, and select from:

   • Show Portlet Headers, to show portlet headers, then select the portlet header links you will display.

   • Clear the Show Portlet Headers check box to hide portlet headers. When portlet headers are hidden, no links display, whether or not they are selected.

7. Click OK to save your changes and return to the page.

10.2.14 Changing Portlet and Item Spacing

In designing the layout of your portal pages, you may want to exercise tight control over the spacing of objects within regions. Oracle Portal provides this control through region display options. Using these options, you can change the amount of blank space rendered around and between the portlets and items in a region.

Figure 10-36 shows the same region with different portlet spacing. In the first example the space around portlets is set to 4 pixels and the space between portlets is set to 6. In the second example, the space around portlets has been changed to 10 pixels. In the final example the space between portlets has been changed to 15 pixels.

Figure 10-36 The Same Region with Different Spacing around and between Portlets

To change item and portlet spacing:

1. Log in to Oracle Portal.

2. Click the Build tab to bring it forward.

3. From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the page where the region is located.

   By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.

4. Under Pages in the Layout & Appearance section, click the link to the page where the region is located.

   This opens the page in Edit mode.

5. Click the Edit Region icon in the relevant region (Figure 10-37).

   Figure 10-37 The Edit Region Icon

   
   

6. On the resulting page, go to the Region Display Options section, and enter a value (in pixels) in the Space Between [Portlets or Items] field.

7. Enter a value (in pixels) in the Space Around [Portlets or Items] field.

8. Click OK to save your changes and return to the page.