22.3 Adding a Parameter to a Page or Portal Template

Page parameters accept and store values for a page. This means that page information can be different depending on where the page is called from, or who is viewing the page.

In Oracle Portal you can add page parameters to pages and Portal Templates. When you add page parameters to a Portal Template for pages, the parameters are inherited by every page based on the Portal Template. Page designers can edit the template's page parameters when they edit the template but not when they edit the pages based on this template. When you add parameters to a Portal Template for items, the parameter values become available to every portlet placed on the Portal Template. For more information, see Section 12.1.1, "What Are Portal Templates?".

To add a parameter to a page, or a Portal Template:

  1. Go to the page, or template where you will add a parameter.

  2. Switch to Edit mode.

  3. Click the Properties link next to Page (or Template) in the page toolbar.

    Be sure to click the link for the page (or template) rather than the page group.

  4. On the Properties page, click the Parameters tab to bring it forward.

    For page groups, parameters and events are enabled by default. If you cannot see the Parameters tab, the Enable Parameters and Events page group setting has been disabled. For more information, see Chapter 4, "Working with Page Groups".

  5. In the Parameter Name field, enter a name for the parameter.

    The name is case sensitive and must be unique within the page (or template). The name can contain up to 200 characters. The name can contain only alphanumeric characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9) and the underscore (_) character. Do not use spaces or other special characters.

  6. Click Add.

    The parameter is added to the page (or template) and you can edit its properties in the Page Parameter Properties section.

  7. In the Display Name field, enter a descriptive name for the parameter.

    Use to 4000 characters of any kind, including spaces.

  8. (Optional) In the Default Value field, enter the value that you want to have assigned to the parameter if no other value is provided.

    This field is available only for Standard and Mobile pages and pages of custom types that are based on the Standard page type.

  9. (Optional) Select Personalizable if you want users who personalize the page (or any page based on this template) to be able to provide their own value for the parameter.

    This field is available only for Standard and Mobile pages and pages of custom types that are based on the Standard page type.

    This option is not applicable for Portal Template for items.

  10. (Optional) In the Description field, enter a description of the parameter.

    If users can personalize the value of this page parameter (Personalizable check box is selected), use the description to provide users with hints or an example of the kind of value to provide for the parameter. The description can contain up to 4000 characters.

    This option is not applicable for Portal Template for items.

  11. Click Apply to save your changes and create another parameter, or click OK to save your changes and return to the page or template.

    Note:

    If you want to add another parameter before you leave this page, click Apply before creating the next parameter; otherwise, you will lose any changes you made to the first parameter's properties.