39 Basic Configuration for the People Connections Service

This chapter provides the required steps for adding the People Connections service to your WebCenter Portal: Framework application. It includes the following sections:

39.1 How to Set Up a Database Connection for the People Connections Service

For information about setting up a database connection in support of Oracle WebCenter Portal: Services, see Section 7.2.2, "Setting Up a Database Connection."

39.2 How to Add People Connections Task Flows to a Page

This section describes how to add a People Connections task flow to an application page. The steps provided here are largely the same for all People Connections task flows. Differences are noted.

To add People Connections task flows to your WebCenter Portal: Framework application:

  1. Prepare your application as described in Section 38.1.2, "People Connections Service Requirements."

  2. Open the page on which to add a People Connections task flow.

  3. In the Resource Palette, open My Catalogs, then WebCenter Portal - Services Catalog, then the Task Flows folder.

  4. Drag and drop a task flow (for example, Connections - Quick View) onto the JSF (.jspx) page.

  5. Select Region from the resulting context menu.

    It may ask whether you want to add the People Connections library to the project. Confirm by clicking Add Library.

  6. In the Edit Task Flow Binding dialog, specify parameter values for the task flow.

    For example, for Connections - Quick View, the parameter userid represents the name of the current user at runtime. You can specify an EL expression for the parameter that will evaluate to the currently logged-in user. For example, for userid, enter #{securityContext.userName}. For more information, see Chapter 40, "People Connections Task Flow Binding Parameters."

  7. Click OK.

    The task flow is added to the page, and the ViewController project's libraries are configured to run the task flow.

  8. Save and run your page to the browser.

Note:

To enable users to upload anything to your ADF-based application at runtime, the page on which you have placed the task flow must have the usesUpload attribute set on the form. For example, to enable the upload of a document to the document library or a photo to a profile, add the following to the relevant page:

<af:form usesUpload="true">
 …
 <af:region value="#{bindings.profile1.regionModel}"/>
 …
</af:form>

Additionally, to enable the upload of a profile snapshot, the task flow binding parameter photoUploadAllowed must be set to true. For more information, see Chapter 40, "People Connections Task Flow Binding Parameters."

39.3 Setting Security for the People Connections Service

Because People Connections features are centered around users, application security must be set up for successful use of the service. Ideally, test users are also in place to enable you to interact in a meaningful way with each feature. Each feature in the People Connections service can be secured separately.

  • ADF security is configured by default when you create your application using the WebCenter Portal Application template. For details about how to implement a basic security solution for your WebCenter Portal application, see Section 69.3, "Configuring ADF Security."

  • To create test users, follow the steps outlined in Section 24.2.2, "How to Define Roles and Grant Privileges in the jazn-data.xml File."

    Once you have added test users, you can add additional user attributes, such as business_email, title, or department:

    1. Open the jazn-data.xml file.

      Tip:

      You will find the jazn-data.xml file in the Application Resources panel in the META-INF folder under Descriptors.

    2. Select the tab for Source at the bottom of the main content area.

    3. Inside the <user> node for a selected user, insert the following:

      <property name="[property-name]" value="[property-value]"/>
      

      For example, to add business_email as monty@domain.com for the user monty, add:

      <user>
         <name>monty</name>
         <display-name>monty</display-name>
         <credentials>{903}EfEepsY6I/TrKthpcmjJIsrlP36Ysr/j</credentials>
         <property name="business_email" value="monty@domain.com"/>
      </user>
      

39.4 Establishing Site-Level Settings for People Connections Features

Two scripts are available to configure and revise People Connections site-level settings:

  • RCUHOME/rcu/integration/webcenter/sql/oracle/settings-insert.sql
    
  • RCUHOME/rcu/integration/webcenter/sql/oracle/settings-update.sql
    

The variable RCUHOME refers to your install location of the Resource Creation Utility (RCU). The RCU may be used in setting up the WebCenter schema and is packaged with the Oracle JDeveloper ship home. RCUHOME is the root folder where the RCU is installed.

This section describes the scripts and provides information about the types of settings they control. It includes the following subsections:

39.4.1 Understanding the People Connections Site-Level Setting Scripts

All site-level settings for People Connections features are stored in the WebCenter schema table WC_PPL_COMMON_SETTING. Out-of-the-box, this table does not contain any setting values. In the absence of values, the application assumes default values. To change the value of any setting, the setting must first be inserted into this table and then updated with the desired value. Two SQL scripts enable you to perform these steps in their proper sequence.

This section describes how to prepare and run the People Connections site-level settings scripts. It includes the following subsections:

39.4.1.1 Preparing and Running settings-insert.sql

Before you can change People Connections site-level settings, you must run the settings-insert.sql script once. The script has INSERT statements for all supported settings. All INSERT statements are commented out by default. Before you run the script, you must prepare it by uncommenting all the settings you plan to change.

See Also:

For an example of the settings-insert.sql script in action, see Section 39.4.3, "Example: Configuring Connections to Accept Invitations Automatically."

To prepare and run the settings-insert.sql script:

  1. Open the script in an editor.

  2. For the settings you plan to change, uncomment the corresponding INSERT statement.

    Tip:

    To uncomment an INSERT statement, remove the leading double dash (--) on the lines the statement spans.

  3. Once you have uncommented all the INSERT statements for the settings of interest, save and run the script.

    The uncommented settings are populated with default values.

Note:

You can run the settings-insert.sql script only once for a given set of settings on a given schema. If you must run it more than once—for example, if you must update a different set of settings—then the previously uncommented INSERT statements must be commented before you can run the script again. Otherwise, a SQL error is thrown during the re-execution of the INSERT statement.

39.4.1.2 Preparing and Running settings-update.sql

To change People Connections site-level settings, you must run the settings-update.sql script after you run settings-insert.sql once. The settings-update.sql script has UPDATE statements for all supported settings. All UPDATE statements are commented out by default.

You can run the settings-update.sql script as many times as required for a given set of settings on a given schema, provided you have run settings-insert.sql once for those settings.

See Also:

For an example of the settings-update.sql script in action, see Section 39.4.3, "Example: Configuring Connections to Accept Invitations Automatically."

To prepare and run the settings-update.sql script:

  1. Open the script in an editor.

  2. For the settings you plan to change, uncomment the corresponding UPDATE statement.

    Tip:

    To uncomment an INSERT statement, remove the leading double dash (--) on the lines the statement spans.

  3. For each uncommented statement, change the value of the SETTING_KEY column to the desired value.

    For information about settings and values, see Section 39.4.2, "Supported Site-Level Settings for People Connections Features."

  4. Once you have revised all UPDATE statements of interest, save and run the script.

    The table WC_PPL_COMMON_SETTING is updated with the revised values.

  5. If your WebCenter Portal: Framework application is running, restart it for the changes to take effect.

39.4.2 Supported Site-Level Settings for People Connections Features

This section lists and describes the supported site-level application settings for the People Connections service. It includes the following subsections:

39.4.2.1 Activity Stream Site-Level Settings

Table 39-1 lists and describes the site-level settings for the People Connections service Activity Stream feature.

The service ID for Activity Stream is oracle.webcenter.activitystreaming. For a list of service IDs, see Table G-7.

Table 39-1 Site-Level Settings for Activity Stream

Setting Key Description Valid Site-Level Values

accesscontrol.value.accessControlLevel

Specifies who can view a user's Activity Stream.

SELF, CONNECTIONS, USERS (that is, authenticated users), PUBLIC

accesscontrol.endUserConfigurable

Specifies whether individual users can override in their own application views the application-level setting for who can view their Activity Stream.

This setting is honored only when the application exposes the override control in a user preferences screen.

+, -

+=TRUE

-=FALSE

connectionsActivities.value

Specifies whether the Home space activities of a user's connections are included in the user's Activity Stream.

Users can override this setting on a task flow instance.

NONE, ALL

NONE=No activities of the user's connections are shown.

ALL=All activities of the user's connections are shown.

groupSpaceActivities.value

Specifies whether any space activities of a user's connections are included in the user's Activity Stream.

Users can override this setting on a task flow instance.

GSNONE, GSALL

GSNONE=No space activities are shown

GSALL=Activities are shown for all of the spaces of which the user is a member and on which the user has view access.

servicePublishedSettings[serviceId]

Specifies whether to show activities published by the WebCenter service serviceId in a user's Activity Stream.A serviceId is the WebCenter service ID of any service that publishes activities. For a list of service IDs, see Table G-7.

For example:

servicePublishedSettings[oracle.webcenter.community]

Users can override this setting on a task flow instance.

+, -

+=TRUE

-=FALSE


39.4.2.2 Connections Site-Level Settings

Table 39-2 lists and describes the site-level settings for the People Connections service Connections feature.

The service ID for Connections is oracle.webcenter.peopleconnections.connections. For a list of service IDs, see Table G-7.

Table 39-2 Site-Level Settings for Connections

Setting Key Description Valid Site-Level Values

autoAcceptInvitations

Specifies that connection invitations are accepted automatically by default.

Individual users can override this application-level setting in their own view, provided the application exposes the override control in a user preferences screen.

+, -

+=TRUE

-=FALSE

connectionsVisibility.accessControlSettings.accessControlLevel

Specifies who can view a user's Connections.

SELF, CONNECTIONS, USERS (that is, authenticated users), PUBLIC

connectionsVisibility.personalizable

Specifies whether individual users can override in their own application views the application-level setting for who can view their Connections.

This setting is honored only when the application exposes the override control in a user preferences screen.

+, -

+=TRUE

-=FALSE


39.4.2.3 Feedback Site-Level Settings

Table 39-3 lists and describes the site-level settings for the People Connections service Feedback feature.

The service ID for Feedback is oracle.webcenter.peopleconnections.kudos. For a list of service IDs, see Table G-7.

Table 39-3 Site-Level Settings for Feedback

Setting Key Description Valid Site-Level Values

visibility.accessControlSettings.accessControlLevel

Specifies who can view a user's received Feedback.

SELF, CONNECTIONS, USERS (that is, authenticated users), PUBLIC

visibility.endUserConfigurable

Specifies whether individual users can override in their own application views the application-level setting for who can view their received Feedback.

This setting is honored only when the application exposes the override control in a user preferences screen.

+, -

+=TRUE

-=FALSE

addControl.accessControlSettings.accessControlLevel

Specifies who can give Feedback to a user.

SELF, CONNECTIONS, USERS (that is, authenticated users), PUBLIC

addControl.endUserConfigurable

Specifies whether individual users can override in their own application views the application-level setting for who can give them Feedback.

This setting is honored only when the application exposes the override control in a user preferences screen.

+, -

+=TRUE

-=FALSE

miniViewRowCount.value

Specifies the number of Feedback entries to show in a Feedback - Quick View task flow.

Positive integers

miniViewRowCount.endUserConfigurable

Specifies whether individual users can override in their own application views the application-level setting for the number of entries to show in a Feedback - Quick View task flow.

This setting is honored only when the application exposes the override control in a user preferences screen.

+, -

+=TRUE

-=FALSE

postedUserActions.delete

Specifies whether users are allowed to delete the Feedback they leave for other users.

+, -

+=TRUE

-=FALSE


39.4.2.4 Message Board Site-Level Settings

Table 39-4 lists and describes the site-level settings for the People Connections service Message Board feature.

The service ID for Message Board is oracle.webcenter.peopleconnections.wall. For a list of service IDs, see Table G-7.

Table 39-4 Site-Level Settings For Message Board

Setting Key Description Valid Site-Level Values

visibility.accessControlSettings.accessControlLevel

Specifies who can view a user's Message Board.

SELF, CONNECTIONS, USERS (that is, authenticated users), PUBLIC

visibility.endUserConfigurable

Specifies whether individual users can override in their own application views the application-level setting for who can view their Message Board.

This setting is honored only when the application exposes the override control in a user preferences screen.

+, -

+=TRUE

-=FALSE

addControl.accessControlSettings.accessControlLevel

Specifies who can post to a user's Message Board.

SELF, CONNECTIONS, USERS (that is, authenticated users), PUBLIC

addControl.endUserConfigurable

Specifies whether individual users can override in their own application views the application-level setting for who can post to their Message Board.

This setting is honored only when the application exposes the override control in a user preferences screen.

+, -

+=TRUE

-=FALSE

miniViewRowCount.value

Specifies the number of messages to show in a Message Board - Quick View task flow.

Positive integer

miniViewRowCount.endUserConfigurable

Specifies whether individual users can override in their own application views the application-level setting for the number of messages to show in a Message Board - Quick View task flow.

This setting is honored only when the application exposes the override control in a user preferences screen.

+, -

+=TRUE

-=FALSE

postedUserActions.edit

Specifies whether users are allowed to edit the messages they post on other users' Message Boards.

+, -

+=TRUE

-=FALSE

postedUserActions.delete

Specifies whether users are allowed to delete messages they post on other users' Message Boards.

+, -

+=TRUE

-=FALSE


39.4.2.5 Profile Site-Level Settings

Table 39-5 lists and describes the site-level settings for the People Connections service Profile feature.

The service ID for Profile is oracle.webcenter.peopleconnections.profile. For a list of service IDs, see Table G-7.

Table 39-5 Site-Level Settings for Profile

Setting Key Description Valid Site-Level Values

general-profile-settings.logActivity

Specifies whether profile updates, such as uploading a photo, updating personal status, changing profile attributes, should result in activities getting published in Activity Stream.

true, false

general-profile-settings.prersonalWebVisibility

Specifies who can view a user's Profile Gallery.

SELF, CONNECTIONS, USERS (that is, authenticated users), PUBLIC

general-profile-settings.pwVisibilityPersonalizable

Specifies whether individual users can override in their own views the application-level setting for who can view their Profile Gallery.

This setting is honored only when the application exposes the override control in a user preferences screen.

true, false

general-profile-settings.view.name.profileSectionName.access-control-level

Specifies who can view the Profile section identified by profileSectionName.

For example:

general-profile-settings.view.name.personalInfo.access-control-level

For more information, see Table 39-6, "Profile Section Names".

SELF, USERS (that is, authenticated users), PUBLIC

Note: CONNECTIONS is not a valid value for this setting.

general-profile-settings.view.name.profileSectionName.allow-personalize-visibility

Specifies whether individual users can override in their own application views the application-level setting for who can view the Profile section identified by profileSectionName on their profile.

This setting is honored only when the application exposes the override control in a user preferences screen.

For more information, see Table 39-6, "Profile Section Names".

true, false

general-profile-settings.view.name.profileSectionName.allow-user-edit

Specifies whether users are allowed to edit the Profile section identified by profileSectionName on their own Profiles.

For example:

general-profile-settings.view.name.personalInfo.allow-user-edit

For more information, see Table 39-6, "Profile Section Names".

true, false

ootb-view-edit-settings.view.name.profileSectionName.profileFieldName.allow-edit

Specifies whether users are allowed to update the field identified by profileFieldName when they edit the Profile section identified by profileSectionName on their own profile.

For example:

ootb-view-edit-settings.view.name.personalInfo.homePhone.allow-edit

For more information, see Table 39-6, "Profile Section Names" and Table 39-7, "Profile Field Names".

true, false


Table 39-6 Profile Section Names

Section Name Description

basic

Profile summary

These details are discoverable in an application search.

employee

Employee detail

businessContact

Business contact information

personalInfo

Personal information


Table 39-7 Profile Field Names

Field Name Description

email

Business email address

displayName

User display name

Dept

Office department

title

Job title

phone

Business phone number

timeZone

Time zone

photo

User photo

persStatNote

Personal status message

description

About me

empType

Employee type

empNo

Employee number

prefLang

User's preferred language

organization

Employee's organization

expertise

Employee's expertise

fax

Fax number

mobile

Mobile/cell phone number

pager

Page number

street

Office address: street

city

Office address: city

state

Office address: state

poBox

Office address: P.O. box

poCode

Office address: ZIP/PIN/P.O. code

country

Office address: country

homeAdd

Home address

homePhone

Home phone number

dob

Date of birth

maidenName

Maiden name/surname before marriage

doh

Date of hire


39.4.3 Example: Configuring Connections to Accept Invitations Automatically

By default, when users send invitations to connect, recipients must explicitly accept them. Through site-level settings, the application administrator can configure the application to accept invitations automatically. This setting is identified by the key, autoAcceptInvitations, and the service ID, oracle.webcenter.peopleconnections.connections. To change the setting, the administrator performs the following steps:

  1. Open the settings-insert.sql script and uncomment the following lines:

    -- INSERT INTO WC_PPL_COMMON_SETTING (ID, APPLICATION_ID, SCOPE_ID, SERVICE_ID, USER_ID, TASKFLOW_INST_ID, SETTING_KEY, SETTING_VALUE)
    --   VALUES ('768e5d1f-a73d-41b4-819d-74be081e1de1', 'webcenter', 'defaultScope', 'oracle.webcenter.peopleconnections.connections', 'SYSTEM', 'SITE', 'autoAcceptInvitations', '-')
     -- ;
    

    After modification, the lines appear as follows:

     INSERT INTO WC_PPL_COMMON_SETTING (ID, APPLICATION_ID, SCOPE_ID, SERVICE_ID, USER_ID, TASKFLOW_INST_ID, SETTING_KEY, SETTING_VALUE)
       VALUES ('768e5d1f-a73d-41b4-819d-74be081e1de1', 'webcenter', 'defaultScope', 'oracle.webcenter.peopleconnections.connections', 'SYSTEM', 'SITE', 'autoAcceptInvitations', '-')
     ;
    
  2. Save and run the script.

  3. Open the settings-update.sql script and uncomment the following lines:

      -- UPDATE WC_PPL_COMMON_SETTING SET SETTING_VALUE='-'
      --   WHERE APPLICATION_ID='webcenter' AND SCOPE_ID='defaultScope' AND USER_ID='SYSTEM' AND TASKFLOW_INST_ID='SITE'
      --   AND SERVICE_ID='oracle.webcenter.peopleconnections.connections' AND SETTING_KEY='autoAcceptInvitations'
       -- ;
    

    After the modification, the lines appear as follows:

       UPDATE WC_PPL_COMMON_SETTING SET SETTING_VALUE='-'
         WHERE APPLICATION_ID='webcenter' AND SCOPE_ID='defaultScope' AND USER_ID='SYSTEM' AND TASKFLOW_INST_ID='SITE'
         AND SERVICE_ID='oracle.webcenter.peopleconnections.connections' AND SETTING_KEY='autoAcceptInvitations'
        ;
    
  4. Change the value of SETTING_VALUE to a plus sign (+).

    After modification, the lines appear as follows:

       UPDATE WC_PPL_COMMON_SETTING SET SETTING_VALUE='+'
         WHERE APPLICATION_ID='webcenter' AND SCOPE_ID='defaultScope' AND USER_ID='SYSTEM' AND TASKFLOW_INST_ID='SITE'
         AND SERVICE_ID='oracle.webcenter.peopleconnections.connections' AND SETTING_KEY='autoAcceptInvitations'
        ;
    
  5. Save and run the script.

  6. If your WebCenter Portal: Framework application is running, restart the application.

    After you restart, the setting takes effect. In this example, when a user invites another user to connect, the connection is created automatically.

See Also:

For lists and descriptions of People Connections site-level settings, see Section 39.4.2, "Supported Site-Level Settings for People Connections Features."