Accessing the Functionality

To access the Web Parts product, click the appropriate menu option on your SharePoint system. The Main Page is displayed.

The Portal Page is divided into sections which have different functionality. In this documentation, the main page is divided into three sections:

• The Main Navigation Tree in the left section: Displays those options that are available to the logged-in user.

• The Main Page Search Section in the body section: Used to execute searches on stored content.

• The header at the top of the main page: Contains the site name and the Site Actions Menu on the top right corner of the screen. This menu is used to change the layout and number of items on your main page. See Chapter 4, "Customizing the Software" for details on its use.

General Use Tips

Several shortcuts can be used on the different sections of the page:

• Clicking an item number in a result list causes the default action for that item to occur.

• Clicking the icon next to an item displays a list of available actions for that item.

• Clicking on menu text in the Main Navigation Tree displays any available listings in the Search Results pane.

• The columns to be displayed can be changed by editing a configuration file. See Appendix A, "Modifying Configuration Settings" for details.

In addition to these usage shortcuts, a parts submenu is also available.

Parts Submenu

A menu is available for each page section. You can access this menu by clicking the down arrow in the top corner of any page section.

This menu contains the following options. When using the Create selection on the Site Actions Menu, other options also appear on this menu. Those special options are noted below:

• Login: Logs you into the WSS and the Content Server.

• Logout: Logs you out of the Web Parts product portal page.

• Minimize|Restore: Hides the subsection or restores it if it is hidden.

• Close: Removes the section from the page. In order to use the section again, you must choose Reset Page Content from the Modify My Page menu. See "Modifying Web Parts" for details.

• Delete: (Design This Page only): Available for Administrators only. Deletes the section. See "Modifying Web Parts" for details.

• Modify My|Shared Web Part: Opens the appropriate modification screen, depending on the section of the page that is used.

• Connections: (Design This Page only): Used to allow web parts to share data. See your SharePoint documentation for more details.

• Export: Used to access a copy of the DWP for the web part. See your SharePoint documentation for more details.