Types of Desktop Customizations

The Developer Sample can be customized by end users, administrators, and developers. Though this guide covers only administrator customizations, it includes an overview of end user and developer customizations, and where to go for more information on those customizations. This guide refers to administrator customizations such as changes and modifications made to the sample portal that involve modifications to the display profile, JavaServer^TM Pages and template files, search provider, and online help.

End User Customizations

End users can customize the sample portal desktop in the following ways.

• Setting the channel time out

• Selecting column layout from the Layout page

• Moving channels up and down, as well as side to side

• Arranging channels by width

• Re-sizing the channel window

• Adding and removing certain channels from the Content page

• Customizing channels by using the channel Edit page

• Selecting theme from a set of preset themes or customize the theme by changing color scheme and font type for the Desktop channels

• Creating, removing, and editing tabs

Users customize channels by using the Edit Channel icon for a particular channel (as long as the administrator has made it available). Users customize the look and feel of the Desktop through the Themes page. See the Portal Server software End User Desktop Online Help for more information.

Users can also configure:

• Time zone, language, and password by using the User Info channel Edit page.

• Personal information by using the Sun Java System Access Manager software administration console.

Developer Customizations

The Portal Server software developers can customize the desktop by creating:

• Provider classes

• Desktop templates

• Tag libraries

• JavaServer Pages^TM

Developers can also use the Provider Application Programming Interface (PAPI) and the Search service APIs to extend the Portal Server software. See the Sun Java System Portal Server 7.1 Developer’s Guide for more information.

Administrator Customizations

The Portal Server software administrators can customize the Desktop by:

• Using supplied providers to define additional content channels.

• Creating and customizing the display profile, which involves creating or modifying provider, channel, and container channel objects. When you modify the display profile, you use the appropriate XML tag definitions for providers, channels, and container channels.

• Create new preset themes in the display profile.

• Using supplied JavaServer Pages and template files to modify the user interface.

• Customizing the search provider.

• Customizing the Desktop end user online help.

By performing these customizations, you can arrive at:

• A site-specific look and feel of the Desktop: whether it uses tabs or frames, what channels are available to users and how they are situated out on the Desktop, what applications are available to end users, what kind of online help is available, and so on.

• Different Desktops for different LDAP roles or organizations.

• Desktop behavior based on user roles.

This guide describes these administrator customizations.