The UCM VCR Adapter provides the conduit through which the WLP Virtual Content Repository (VCR) accesses content in UCM. To function properly, the adapter expects content structures that can be mapped to the structures used in the VCR. For example, UCM uses profiles to manage how metadata is structured and displayed. However, the VCR does not use profiles; therefore, the adapter is required to provide reliable mappings between the two systems.
This section discusses the considerations for modeling content in the UCM to facilitate exposure in the VCR.
Note:
If the UCM server is restarted, or if a UCM parameter is changed that might affect search, then the WebLogic Portal server must be restarted.
Content Modeling and Mapping Overview
Content modeled in UCM is modeled using some combination of the following constructs:
Document – A basic content item construct that includes a full set of metadata fields. Every document contains the same set of fields.
Content profile – Content profiles allow UCM administrators to express which metadata fields are associated with a given document. Content profiles created by a system administrator can refine the metadata options available to users during check in and searching, as well as what metadata is displayed on a content information page. See also
Creating Profile-Based Content Types with the UCM Administration Console on page 3-17
Site Studio region definitions – An add-on container construct created in Site Studio that allows definition of types (region definitions) composed of properties (content elements), in addition to the standard document fields. For example, a region definition could include a combination of text and graphic elements. See also
Creating Region-Based Content Types with Oracle Site Studio on page 3-24
How these constructs map to WLP VCR content types and nodes are described in the following sections.
How Documents are Mapped to VCR Content Types
Documents not associated with a content profile map to a content type named IDC:GlobalProfile in the VCR that includes all of the metadata fields. All of the metadata fields you see in UCM will appear in the VCR type called IDC:GlobalProfile.
To ensure that content profiles are correctly mapped to VCR content types, keep in mind the following mapping behavior:
Each metadata field in a content profile will correspond to a VCR property definition.
A single binary property definition named idcPrimaryFile will always relate to the checked-in document. This binary property definition will be the primary property definition for the content type.
Other metadata fields of type Text, Long Text, Memo, Integer, Decimal, and Date will map to VCR property data types of String, Long, Double, and Calendar.
Text metadata fields using an option list based on the YesNoView or TrueFalseView views will be exposed in WLP as a property of type Boolean.
How Content Profiles are Mapped to VCR Content Types
Each content profile in UCM is exposed in the VCR as a content type. The profile's associated fields (defined by rules) are exposed on the VCR type.
How the Combination of Site Studio Region Definitions and Profiles are Mapped to VCR Content Types
Oracle Site Studio is a web development program that offers structured content features. In Site Studio, groups of individual content elements are arranged in region definitions. Each region definition in UCM is exposed in the VCR as a content type. If the region definition is associated with a profile, then the VCR content type will contain property definitions from both the region definition as well as from the profile.
If the region definition is not associated with a profile, then the VCR content type will contain property definitions from both the region definition as well as the standard document metadata fields (the fields from IDC:GlobalProfile).
Figure 3-1, illustrates a region definition called "Press_Release," which consists of the elements Title, Subtitle, Intro_Text, Body_Text, and Image.
Figure 3-1 Elements Assembled into a Region
To ensure that content regions are correctly mapped to VCR content types, keep in mind the following mapping behavior:
Element definitions map to VCR property definitions. Note that unlike metadata property definitions associated with profiles, property definitions that are defined as part of a region are only searchable by doing a full text search.
Element definitions map to string, link, or nested data types.
Links will be represented when a content custom element form called SS_DOCNAME_LINK_FORM is used that restricts the population of the link field to something the content server understands as a link.
Nested data types will be represented when a Site Studio static list is used. A static list is inherently one level deep and may only contain element definitions of type string (plain text or wysiwyg) and link. Static lists are inherently multi-valued.
The static list will be represented as an abstract content type by the VCR. The static list itself acts as a definition for an additional content type comprised of the element definitions in the static list.
Both plain text and wysiwyg element types are exposed as String values in the VCR.
Region definitions, by default, receive all of the property definitions exposed by the global profile type. The content type for the region will extend the IDC:GlobalProfile content type.
Region definitions may also be associated with a content profile. In this case the set of element definitions from the region, along with the set of metadata fields from the profile, will be represented as a single type by the VCR. The content type for the region will extend the profile content type.
Best Practices for Modeling Content
The VCR uses content types to describe content metadata. Content types are used to define the metadata that you can associate with content. When content contributors add content to a WLP VCR, they can associate the content with a content type. In the same way, when UCM content is surfaced in the VCR, the UCM VCR Adapter must provide some degree of mapping to ensure that the content types are structured correctly. This section describes best practices for modeling data in a WLP Repository or other repository to facilitate migration to the UCM Adapter, and to understand the mapping behavior of the UCM Adapter.
You can have only one binary property per content type.
Use at most one binary per content type. Or use a region-based set of elements that use the custom link type to associate multiple binaries documents with a content type.
Multi-valued Property Definitions
When using profiles, there is limited support for multi-valued properties; only string data types are supported. The data in the UCM is persisted as a single comma-separated value.
Use only multi-valued string property definitions, and avoid using comma values for these properties.
Type Inheritance
Site Studio static list types are exposed as abstract nested types, as are the set of document binary renditions (in a property named idcRenditions).
Understand how region definitions map to content types using type inheritance.
Relationship between Profile Trigger Value and ObjectClass
Each profile in UCM must have a unique trigger value. It is not supported to have multiple profiles with the same trigger value.
Ensure each profile in UCM has a unique trigger value.
Nested Types
Nested types are not supported outside of the single-level nesting support described by the "static list" feature of region definitions.
Understand how region definition static lists and document renditions are exposed as nested types.
Property Definition Names
When using profiles, the maximum length of a metadata field is 29 characters in the UCM, with no embedded spaces.
Limit property definition names to at most 29 characters with no embedded spaces.
Primary Property Definition
In UCM there is no notion of a "primary" property definition. The UCM VCR Adapter will represent the single binary property of a profile-based document as a primary property definition named idcPrimaryFile. Regions will not expose a primary property definition.
Understand how primary properties are represented by the UCM VCR Adapter.
Type Metadata
Content types in UCM do not include the following metadata properties: createdBy, modifiedBy, createdDate, modifiedDate.
There is no way to determine who created/modified a type and when it was last created/modified.
By contrast, Documents and Folders do support these properties; it is possible to determine who created/modified a doc/folder and when this was done.
Avoid use of these fields on the ObjectClass object in application development.
Property Definitions
The UCM recommends a maximum of 500 custom property definitions for use across all types.
Do not exceed the maximum number of total property definitions in the UCM system.
Table 3-2 describes the UCM modeling considerations for VCR content nodes. In the VCR, the repository is usually represented as a hierarchical collection of nodes. Nodes primarily include folders and content items.
Table 3-2 Content Node Modeling Considerations
VCR Content Nodes
UCM Modeling Considerations
Recommendations
Folders
In UCM, there is a single folder type, named IDC:Folder, that can contain child content, but this type cannot contain folder-specific metadata. The metadata stored on folders is intended to work as default values for the content stored in those folders.
Be aware that folder metadata in UCM refers to child document defaults, rather than folder-specific metadata.
Node Hierarchy
Only folders may have child nodes.
Be aware that nodes cannot be created beneath document nodes.
Node Metadata
The modifiedBy and modifiedDate metadata on nodes has a different meaning than what is exposed by the WLP repository. In UCM, this data is derived from the UCM version history. It is possible to update node metadata without performing a check-in operation and, in that case, the modifiedBy and modifiedDate values will not be updated.
Be aware of this difference in how this data is updated.
String Values
The UCM tools support strings up to 2000 characters in length. The WLP repository supports 4000 character string values.
Keep string values under 2000 characters, or update the UCM schema to support a wider value.
Child Node Ordering
Child node ordering is not supported in UCM.
Do not rely on a given order for child nodes. Alternatively, callers could sort responses from the API or issue queries with sort criteria specified to sort results on a per-call basis.
Integer Values
Integer values default to a zero (0) instead of a null value. The WLP repository stores unset integer values as null.
Do not depend on the presence of a property value for an integer property to detect if that value has been set.
Shortcuts
Support for UCM shortcuts is limited. In WLP, both the shortcut as well as the shortcut target will appear to be identical. Exceptions can occur when browsing a shortcut node or its parent.
Do not use UCM shortcuts.
Table 3-3 lists several considerations specific to the search integration.
Table 3-3 Metadata Search Considerations and Recommendations
Consideration
Recommendation
UCM provides no support for querying on null or non-null values.
Do not construct search parameters using 'null' or 'not null'
Recursively searching by path is supported when searching for documents, but not for folders. This requires a special configuration in UCM (see notes described to the right).
The CollectionSearchRecursiveContent and CollectionMaxBranch UCM server settings control the ability to recursively search documents and are described in the UCM Folders guides.
To recursively search for documents, either
a) set the search path directly on the Search object (see Javadoc for com.bea.content.expression.Search)
or
b) add criteria of the form cm_isContent = true && cm_path like '/ucmRepo/foo/bar/*'
The cm_value (search across all properties) criteria is not supported.
Do not use cm_value in search criteria; it will throw an Exception.
The likeignorecase operator is not supported.
The likeignorecase operator behaves as the like operator.
Multivalued property operators on string properties perform substring matches, which may result in extra query matches. For example, a multi-valued String property with values "ab", "cd", "ef" can be internally represented (depending on the delimiter character) as "ab, cd, ef". Searches for "ab, cd" will find a match even though it is not one of the values. This consideration is true for "containsany" and "containsall".
Be aware of the differences in search behavior and do not write search expressions that depend on unsupported criteria. If necessary, change the UCM field delimiter character for the a multi-valued field in the UCM Configuration Manager administration applet.
When searching using cm_path, only the “=” and 'like' operators are supported.
Be aware of the differences in search behavior and do not write search expressions that depend on unsupported criteria
Folder searches are limited to one criteria (operand and operator) per field. Each criteria is logically ANDed with the others to make a more selective query.
There is no support for OR and NOT in UCM folder search. Any query which does not specifically exclude folders (by adding cm_isContent=true) will not support OR or NOT operators.
UCM supports searching for folders and documents, but this is done in two separate service calls. Some properties that exist on a document (for example, cm_binarySize) will not exist on folders, so if the search query criteria does not limit the search to documents only, an InvalidPropertyException will be thrown. Fields can be configured as searchable in the UCM Configuration Manager applet.
Add the content type to your search query if you know the property will be only on a document.
Example: cm_objectClass != IDC:Folder or cm_isContent = true
Not all properties are searchable, and if the search encounters a property that is not searchable, it will throw an InvalidPropertyException.
Understand which properties are searchable for a given content type by examining the UCM Configuration Manager information fields section, or by reviewing the ObjectClass definition.
cm_objectClass supports searching on a single content type per query.
When using cm_objectClass, use only a single criteria with ==
Example: cm_objectClass == 'IDC:MyProfile'
Not all ObjectClasses are searchable. An attempt to search for a non-searchable ObjectClass will throw an exception. For example, the IDC:FileReference ObjectClass is not searchable.
Be aware that not all ObjectClasses are searchable.
cm_objectClass doesn't support or when specifying a content type in query, it must be ANDed with other parameters.
Queries specifying cm_objectClass do not support the 'OR' operator.
For example, it is not supported to do this: cm_objectClass = 'IDC:GlobalProfile' || cm_path like '/StellentRepository/*'
When using cm_objectClass, issue multiple queries to achieve the same behavior as when using OR.
cm_objectClass doesn't support != except for one case: IDC:Folder.
Don't use != unless to exclude folders from search.
Example: cm_objectClass != IDC:Folder or cm_isHierarchy = true
cm_isHiearchy and cm_isContent only support the == operator.
Don't use the != operator.
Example: use cm_isHierarchy = true (search only folders), or cm_isContent = true (search only documents)
Only String multi-valued properties can be created or searched.
Don't specify search for multi-valued property types other than String.
cm_typePath is not a supported search attribute.
Don't use cm_typePath in search criteria.
The not operator cannot be used for LONG properties.
Try to restructure the query using supported syntax.
Sorting on non-indexed fields results in an exception.
Searching on a non-indexed field throws an exception, with the embedded exception code of, for example, "DRG-10837: section dStatus does not exist".
Understand which fields have been indexed before using them as sort criteria
Example: URL: http://myContentServer/idc/idcplg? IdcService=GET_ADVANCED_SEARCH_OPTIONS&IsSoap=1, look for "IsSortable"
Null cannot be used to specify a date in date ranges.
Restructure your query using a date range with two valid dates, or use the before or after construction.
Example: See Javadocs for com.bea.content.expression.IMetadataQueryParameter
Wildcard * as repository name in search paths, when specified as a FTS metadata path criteria, will not work for UCM unless the wildcard is at the end of the path specification. For example: a cm_path like this: /MyRepository/Foo/*
It is possible, however, to return multiple nodes representing different content types in a single result set when searching in other ways, such as a prop=value expression.
Unsupported UCM Features
Table 3-4 lists UCM features that are not supported by the adapter. These features will not be exposed in the VCR.
Table 3-5 Considerations for Exposing UCM Content
Feature
Considerations
Renditions
Only the Web-Layout rendition is supported in Version 1.0 of the UCM VCR Adapter. No other rendition types are supported.
Folios
UCM Folio meta-document will not be exposed by the VCR.
HCSF Files
HCSF files (Hypertext Content Server Forms) will not exposed by the VCR.
Dynamic Converter
Dynamic converter will not be exposed by the VCR.
Unsupported Web Content Management (WCM) Features
Table 3-6 lists WCM (Site Studio) features that are not supported by the adapter. These features will not be exposed in the VCR.
Table 3-6 Considerations for Exposing WCM Content
Feature
Consideration
Recommendation
Embedded Images in WSYWIG Element Definitions
Embedded images are not supported in a WSYWIG Element Definition that is part of a Region based Content Type. Any content that is created of this type will not be rendered by the UCM VCR adapter. The adapter will return a partial string URI to the image.
Constrain the Use of a WSYWIG Element definition to HTML text only and use a separate element definition with Link(s) to reference images.
Element Definitions of type Image, Dynamic Lists are not supported.
The UCM VCR Adapter upon reading a region-based content type definition that contains one of these element definitions will not know how to interpret the WCM content. What the adapter may return in some cases is a string interpretation of the content.
Do not use these types of Element Definitions as part of a UCM VCR region-based content type definition.
Element Definitions of type Custom have limited support. Custom element values will be represented as strings through the UCM VCR Adapter. The custom form called SS_DOCNAME_LINK_FORM is supported by the UCM VCR Adapter as an add-on to support Element definitions that contain link element types.
The UCM VCR adapter upon reading a region-based content type definition that contains custom element definitions will only know how to represent the WCM content as a string value.
Only use custom element forms for string and link values.
Property Field Mappings
This section explains how the VCR system property fields map to UCM content fields when searches are performed. During a search operation that is performed using the WLP search API, the standard VCR system properties listed in Table 3-7 are automatically converted to corresponding UCM content fields by the UCM/VCR Adapter. For example, searches performed through Content Presenter or content selectors perform these conversions automatically.
Note:
If you are performing a search, the best practice is to use the system properties as they appear in the WebLogic Portal user interface, such as in the user interface for Content Presenter or content selectors. For example, if you need the binary size, use VaultFileSize (the internal name) rather than cm_binarySize. This practice ensures that even if the system field mapping changes over time, the search behavior remains the same.
Table 3-7 shows how these mappings are made internally by the UCM/VCR Adapter. Note that UCM has two names for every field. One is an internal name, which you can see in UCM when adding a field to a rule, and the other is the field name that appears in the user interface. In Table 3-7, the internal name (for example, dDocName) is listed first, and the UI name (for example, Content ID) is listed below it in parentheses, where applicable.
Caution:
The mappings in Table 3-7 are UCM/VCR Adapter-specific and are subject to change.
Table 3-7 Property Field Mappings
WLP VCR System Property
UCM Content Field
(When the Object is Document)
UCM Property
(When the Object is Folder)
cm_nodeName
dOriginalName
(document native filename)
dCollectionName
(Virtual Folder Name)
cm_uid
dDocName
(Content ID)
IDC:Folder/{dCollectionID}
cm_path
No direct translation. Handled internally based on Folder and document name.
No direct translation. Handled internally.
cm_createdBy
dDocAuthor
(Author)
dDocAuthor
(Author)
cm_createdDate
dInDate
(Release Date)
dCreateDate
cm_modifiedBy
dDocAuthor
(Author)
dDocAuthor
(Author)
cm_modifiedDate
dInDate
(Release Date)
dLastModifiedDate
cm_objectClass
No direct translation. Handled internally based on the profile (if any) and/or SiteStudio Region Definition (if any).
No direct translation. Folders are mapped to IDC:Folder ObjectClass
cm_contentType
dFormat
(from document native file)
N/A
cm_binaryName
dOriginalName
(document native filename)
N/A
cm_binarySize
VaultFileSize
(document native file size)
N/A
cm_isHierarchy
True if the object is a folder; false if object is a document
cm_isContent
True if the object is a document; false if object is a folder.
UCM Content Modeling Examples
This section presents several basic examples that demonstrate techniques for modeling content in UCM. These techniques are known produce content models that work well with the UCM VCR adapter.
If you want to try running the examples, be sure the UCM VCR Adapter is installed, as explained in
Installing the UCM VCR Adapter on page 2-1 Both the Oracle WebLogic Portal server and Oracle Content Server must be running.
Creating Profile-Based Content Types with the UCM Administration Console
This example illustrates how to create a content type and associate a profile with it. The procedure involves creating a content type, adding metadata fields to the type, creating a rule, and creating a profile. The content type created using this technique will be surfaced as a VCR Content Type in WebLogic Portal. See also Best Practices for Modeling Content.
Note:
If you do iterative development where you have already started your WLP server and then you change or add to your UCM content definitions, you will either need to restart your WLP server or flush the P13N caches for the definition changes to take effect. For information on flushing the caches, see Modify Cache Settings.
Start Oracle Content Server and log in to the user interface.
From the Administration tray, select Admin Applets.
In the Administration page, select Configuration Manager, as shown in Figure 3-2. The Configuration Manager window appears.
Figure 3-2 Administration Page
In the Configuration Manager dialog, Select Options>Content Types.
In the Content Types dialog, select Add. The Add New Content Type dialog appears, as shown in Figure 3-3.
Figure 3-3 Add New Content Type Dialog
Enter a Name and Description for the new content type, and click OK. The new type is added to the list of types in the Content Types dialog.
Creating Information Fields
This section explains how to create the Information Field(s) (metadata fields) that will be associated with your new VCR Content Type (as content properties).
In the Configuration Manager dialog, select the Rules tab.
Click Add.
In the Add New Rule dialog, enter the name of the rule, as shown in Figure 3-5.
Figure 3-5 Add New Rule Dialog
Select the Fields tab.
In the Fields tab, click Add.
In the Add Rule Field dialog (Figure 3-6), select an Information Field from the Field Name dropdown list. For example, select the Information Field you created in Creating Information Fields. This field will be associated with the Content type that you are creating.
Figure 3-6 Add Rule Field Dialog
Click OK.
In the Add Rule Field dialog, do not change the defaults. Click OK.
Repeat steps 5 – 9 to add any additional property fields you want associated with this content type. Any required fields should generally be listed in your rule, in order to support document creation. When your done all of these property fields will appear in the dialog.
Click OK in the Add New Rule dialog. The new rule appears in the Rules list under the Rules tab of the Configuration Manager dialog, as shown in Figure 3-7.
Figure 3-7 New Rule in the Configuration Manager
Creating a Profile
This section explains how to create the profile that will define the Content Type you created in Creating a New Content Type.
In the Configuration Manager dialog, select the Profiles tab.
Click Select.
In the Edit Trigger Field dialog, select Type from the dropdown menu and click OK. Note that in the Configuration Manager, the Trigger Field is now (in this example) set to dDocType. This specifies how documents are associated with UCM profiles, in this case through the Type (dDocType) field value.
Note:
The use of dDocType is not required. You can use any other option list metadata field. For details on creating content profiles and using triggers, see “Content Profile Triggers” in Managing Repository Content.
In the Profiles tab, select Add. The Add Profile dialog appears.
In the Add Profile dialog, enter a name and click OK.
Click OK in the Add Rule dialog, and click OK in the Add Profile dialog.
Close the Configuration Manager dialog.
Use the UCM Content Management Contribution functions to add content using this new content type.
Log on to the WebLogic Portal Administration Console to see this Content Type and any content you create that is associated with this type. Depending on how your UCM Adapter Type caches are configured, you need to flush the caches or restart the server before the updated type is visible in WLP.
Creating Region-Based Content Types with Oracle Site Studio
This example illustrates how to create a Site Studio region definition (which will be mapped to a WLP content type) as well as a contributor data file based on the region definition. In the WLP VCR, the data file will surface as a content node with associated metadata fields. The metadata fields are those associated with the UCM region definition, plus additional metadata that comes from the UCM metadata fields pulled in by a profile. See also Best Practices for Modeling Content.
Note:
If you do iterative development where you have already started your WLP server and then you change or add to your UCM content definitions, you will either need to restart your WLP server or flush the P13N caches for the definition changes to take effect. For information on flushing the caches, see Modify Cache Settings.
Prerequisites
This section explains how to use Oracle Site Studio and the UCM Administration console to create content using region definitions. The goal of this procedure is to create region-based content in UCM and have that content and its properties appear in the WebLogic Portal VCR. The Site Studio region elements will be expressed as property fields in the VCR.
Create your element definitions. This example demonstrates how to create one element definition for each of the four supported types:
WYSIWYG Element
Plain Text Element
Static List Element
Link Element Type (via a custom element using the supplied custom element form)
Note:
Image and Dynamic lists are not supported by the UCM VCR Adapter.
Create a Region definition.
Add the element definitions to the Region definition.
Create a Contributor Data file based on the Region definition.
Edit the Contributor Data file.
View the Content in the WLP VCR.
Creating the Element Definitions
This section explains how to create four element definitions: WYSIWYG, plain text, static list, and link.
Start Oracle Site Studio.
In the Site Assets dropdown menu in the Site Studio window, select Element Definitions, as shown in Figure 3-9.
Figure 3-9 Site Assets Menu
Create the WYSIWYG Element
Follow these steps to create a WYSIWYG element:
Select the Page icon and select New > WYSIWYG Element Definition, as shown in Figure 3-10. The Content Server Dialog appears.
Figure 3-10 Selecting Wysiwyg Element Definition
In the Content Server dialog enter a Content ID and a Title, as shown in Figure 3-11.
Optionally, associate this Element Definition to the Content Type that it will be used with. In this example, the Article content type is used.
Figure 3-11 Assign Info Form for WYSIWYG Content Element
Click Assign Info at the bottom of the dialog.
Create the Plain Text Element
Follow these steps to create a plain text element
Select the Page icon and select New > Plain Text Element Definition.
In the Content Server Dialog enter a Content ID and a Title, as shown in Figure 3-12.
Optionally, associate this Element Definition to the Content Type that it will be used with. In this example, the Article content type is used.
Figure 3-12 Assign Info Form for Plain Text Content Element
Click Assign Info at the bottom of the dialog.
Create the Static List Element
Click the Page icon and select New > Static List Element Definition.
In the Content Server dialog enter a Content ID and a Title, as shown in Figure 3-13
Optionally, associate this Element Definition to the Content Type that it will be used with. In this example, the Article content type is used.
Figure 3-13 Assign Info Form for Static List Content Element
Click Assign Info at the bottom of the dialog.
Note:
In the following steps, you further define the sub-elements that will comprise the static list. Keep in mind that when adding elements to the static list you can only add elements that the adapter supports (WYSIWYG, Plain Text, and the Link (custom) element type). Embedding a static list within a static list is not supported. In the example in this section, a static list consisting of two plain text fields is created.
Select the static list element definition you just created from the list of elements and select the Edit icon, as shown in Figure 3-14. The Elements dialog appears.
Figure 3-14 Selecting the Static List and Clicking the Edit Icon
In the Element Edit dialog, select Elements, as shown in Figure 3-15. The Elements dialog appears.
Figure 3-15 Selecting the Elements Button in the Dialog
In the Elements dialog, select Add. The Element dialog appears.
In the Element dialog, enter the Name and Label for this entry and select the Element Definition to be used for this entry in the list, as shown in Figure 3-16. In this example, the previously created Plain Text element is used. Click OK.
Figure 3-16 Completing the Element Dialog
After you click OK, the Elements dialog appears again. Click Add to repeat the process as needed to add additional elements to the static list. In this example we added one more plain text element, as shown in Figure 3-17 Press the OK button to complete the static list elements definition process.
Figure 3-17 The Elements Dialog
You are now returned to the top-level element definition dialog. At this point, you must save the element definition. Click the Save icon in the to-left part of the window, as shown in Figure 3-18.
Figure 3-18 Saving the Definitions
Create the Link Element
A Link element is a custom element that is understood by the UCM VCR Adapter. To be able to create this custom element type you must have loaded the custom element form called ss_docname_link_form.htm into your Site Studio Configuration. Refer to the UCM documentation for more information on custom element form.
Select the Page icon and select New > New Custom Element Definition.
In the Content Server dialog enter a Content ID and a Title, as shown in Figure 3-19.
Optionally, associate this Element Definition to the Content Type that it will be used with. In this example, the Article content type is used.
Figure 3-19 Assign Info Form for Link Element
Select the link element definition that you just created from the list of elements and select the Edit icon, as shown in Figure 3-20.
Figure 3-20 Selecting the Edit Icon
In the edit dialog for the link, click Settings, as shown in Figure 3-21. The custom element Settings Dialog appears.
Figure 3-21 The Edit Dialog for the Link Element
In the Settings dialog, select the "…" (ellipses) at the end of the name field, as shown in Figure 3-22.
Figure 3-22 The Custom Element Settings Dialog
The Content Server Dialog appears showing all the custom forms available in the system. Using the Select button, select the form named SS_DOCNAME_LINK_FORM [SS_DOCNAME_LINK_FORM], as shown in Figure 3-23
Figure 3-23 Selecting the Form in the Search Results
The Custom element Settings dialog appears with the Name field populated. Click OK.
You are now returned to the top-level element definition dialog. At this point, you must save the element definition. Click the Save icon in the to-left part of the window.
Create a Region Definition
The next step is to create a Region definition and add the element definitions to it.
In the Site Assets dropdown menu in the Site Studio window, select Region Definitions.
From the Page icon dropdown menu, select New>Region Definition.
In the Content Server dialog enter a Content ID and a Title, as shown in Figure 3-24.
Associate this Region Definition to the Content Type that it will be used with. In this example, the Article content type is used.
Figure 3-24 Assign Info Form for Region Definition
Click Assign Info at the bottom of the dialog.
Highlight the region definition that was just created and select the Edit icon, as shown in Figure 3-25. An Edit Dialog appears.
Figure 3-25 Selecting the Edit Icon
In the Edit dialog, click Add.
In the next dialog, enter the Name and Label fields. The values you enter in these fields will appear in the Property fields in the VCR. Select one of the previously defined element definitions in the Element Definition ID drop down box, as shown in Figure 3-26. Do not check the Embed the element definition inside the region definition checkbox. Click OK when finished.
Figure 3-26 Selecting a Previously Defined Element Definition
Repeat the previous step to add all the other element definitions that you wish to add, and you will see something similar to Figure 3-27.
Figure 3-27 Element Definitions Added to Region Definition List
Note:
The next step creates a contributor data file based on this region definition.
Select Switch Content at the bottom of the region element list dialog (see Figure 3-27). The Regions Content Options dialog appears.
In the Regions Content Options dialog, make sure that the Create new contributor data file option box is checked, as shown in Figure 3-28, and click OK.
Figure 3-28 Region Content Options Dialog
Note:
You can optionally associate the region definition with a profile. This technique is useful to expose in the WLP content type a combination of the fields from the profile as well as elements from the region. If no profile association is configured, then the WLP content type will contain a combination of all metadata fields on the content server as well as elements from the region. To associate a profile with the region definition, select Modify Metadata at the bottom of the region edit dialog. The Enable Metadata Modification dialog appears. In this dialog, select a profile from the Profile Trigger Value popup menu in the lower-right hand corner, then click OK. This associates the region definition with that profile.
You are now returned to the top-level element definition dialog. At this point, you must save the element definition. Click the Save icon in the to-left part of the window.
The creation of the regions-based content type is now complete.
Viewing the Region-Based Content Type from the WLP Repository
Figure 3-29 and Figure 3-30 show what the regions-based content type created in this section looks like when viewed from the WebLogic Portal Administration Console.
Figure 3-29 Region-Based Content Type Surfaced in WebLogic Portal
Figure 3-30 shows the property descriptions for the content type.
Figure 3-30 Property Descriptions
Creating a New Contributor Data File Based On a Region Definition
This section explains how to use Oracle Site Studio and the UCM Administration console to create content using region definitions. The goal of this procedure is to create region-based content in UCM and have that content and its properties appear in the WebLogic Portal VCR. The Site Studio region elements will be expressed as property fields in the VCR.
As a best practice, it is recommended that you first create a profile definition to associate with a newly created region-based content type definition. If you do not associate a region definition with a profile, then by default the region-based content type will be associated with a global profile and all UCM metadata fields will be exposed when viewing instances of content based on the region. UCM uses profiles to manage how metadata is structured and displayed.
Select the region definition from which the new content node will be created.
Create an empty contributor data file based on that region definition.
Edit the contributor data file to populate the content fields.
Selecting the Region Definition
This section describes how to select the region definition in Site Studio. Region definitions can also be selected outside of Site Studio Designer, in the Content Server.
Start Oracle Site Studio.
In Site Studio, select Region Definitions from the Site Assets dropdown menu, as shown in Figure 3-31.
Figure 3-31 Site Assets Dropdown Menu
From the resulting list of region definitions, select a region type on which to base the new content node, and select the Doc Info button to launch the Oracle Content Server Administration console, as shown in Figure 3-32. It is also possible to create contributor data files outside of Site Studio Designer, on the Content Server. The important part is to first locate the region definition.
Figure 3-32 Selecting the Doc Info Icon
From the Content Server Administration console, select Create New Web Asset from the Content Actions dropdown menu, as shown in Figure 3-33.
Figure 3-33 Selecting from the Content Actions Menu
The Content Check In form appears for the Contributor data file. Fill out the ContentID and Title fields. Be sure and associate the Type field with the appropriate profile. In this case, select Article Document. Set the Author and Security group fields as appropriate. See Figure 3-34.
Figure 3-34 Content Check In Form
Note:
Be sure and set the Folder location to save the data file otherwise it will not be browseable by the Portal Administration Console or Content Presenter, though it can be located via search.
Select Check In. The Check in Confirmation Dialog appears.
In the Check In Confirmation Dialog, click the Content Info link to navigate to the entry for the contributor data file, as shown in Figure 3-35.
Figure 3-35 Clicking the Content info Link
From the Content Information screen, select Content Actions > Edit Data File from the Content Actions dropdown menu. The Site Studio Contributor Data File Editor appears.
Use the editor to enter information in each of the pre-defined region fields (plain text, WYSIWYG, static list, and link. Also, select the Metadata tab and enter metadata for the contributor data file. Note that the available metadata fields are associated with the profile with which this content is associated. See Figure 3-36 and Figure 3-37.
Figure 3-36 Editing the Contributor Data File
Figure 3-37 Editing the File's Metadata
Save the file.
Viewing the Content in WLP
The following figures illustrate how this new content appears in the WebLogic Portal Administration Console. Remember that all Site Studio Region Elements are presented as WLP properties fields. See Figure 3-38, Figure 3-39, Figure 3-40, and Figure 3-41.
Figure 3-38 UCM Content Surfaced in VCR
Figure 3-39 UCM Content Fields Surfaced in VCR
Figure 3-40 UCM Content Properties in the VCR
Figure 3-41 UCM Content Properties Surfaced in the VCR
