8 About Providing Content and Services to Users through Communities

Communities are sites within a portal designed for a specific audience or task, such as collaborative projects. The pages, portlets, layout, community preferences, and subcommunities within a community are determined by the community administrator. Although the community administrators determine which portlets are displayed in a community, a portlet itself might allow community members to change the content within each portlet.

You might have communities based on departments in your company. For example, the Marketing department might have a community containing press information, leads volumes, a trade show calendar, and so on. The Engineering department might have a separate community containing project milestones, regulatory compliance requirements, and technical specifications.

You are automatically subscribed to communities based on your group membership. You can also join communities on your own. Some community subscriptions might be mandatory, but you can unsubscribe from those that are not. The communities you are subscribed to appear in the My Communities menu. Some mandatory communities might also appear as tabs in the menu area.

Community Menus

The community might include the following menus:

The community menu displays all the community pages, and—if enabled by the administrator—the Community Knowledge Directory. The community pages display portlets. The Community Knowledge Directory displays the members of the community, any subcommunities of the community, and any other folders and contents the community administrator added.
Subcommunities displays any subcommunities within the current community.
Related Communities displays any communities that are stored in the same administrative folder as the current community.

This menu only appears if you have access to related communities.

Note:

Your portal administrator might use a navigation scheme with customized menu options.

Community Templates

Each community is based on a community template. Community templates define the basic structure for the resulting communities, such as which page templates to include and, optionally, a header or footer for the community. A single community template can be used by many different communities, allowing you to keep similar types of communities looking analogous. For example, you might want all communities based on departments to look similar and contain similar content, but you might want communities based on projects to look different.

Page Templates

Each community page is based on a page template. Page templates define the basic structure for the resulting community pages, such as the column layout and which portlets to include. A single page template can be used by many different communities, allowing you to keep similar types of pages looking analogous. For example, you might want each department to create a community in which the first page lists the general duties of the group, the department members, and the current projects owned by the department.

Template Inheritance

When you create a community or a community page, you can decide whether to inherit the underlying community template or page template. Inheriting a template has several effects on the resulting communities and pages:

You cannot remove objects that are included as part of the template. For example, you cannot remove pages that came from the community template and you cannot remove portlets that came from the page template.
Any changes made to the template are inherited by the resulting communities or community pages. For example, if a page template is removed from a community template, the page is removed from any communities that inherited the template; if a portlet is removed from a page template, the portlet is removed from any pages that inherited the template.

Note:

If you inherit a community template, you also inherit the included page templates.

Subcommunities

Subcommunities (along with community pages) allow you to create separately-secured subsections in a community, so it can have a more restrictive security than the main community. For example, you might have a Marketing Community that includes an Advertising Subcommunity. This subcommunity might have distinct owners or might be accessible to only a subset of the Marketing Community.

A subcommunity is just a community folder stored in another community folder. Therefore, the subcommunity inherits the security and design of the parent community, but you can then change these settings to suit the needs of the subcommunity. You can also change the relationships of communities and subcommunities just by rearranging the folder structure.

Note:

Subcommunities can be nested 10 levels deep.

Community Groups and Community Portlets

With the appropriate activity rights, you can create groups and portlets inside a community without affecting portal groups or portlets. For example, you might have a group that is responsible for maintaining schedules in a specific community without making that group a portal group, or you might create a community links portlet inside a community for the convenience of community members.

Note:

Community groups and community portlets are available only to the community in which they are associated. If you want to use them outside the community, you can move them from the community folder to another administrative folder.

Community Knowledge Directory

The Community Knowledge Directory, if enabled, displays community resources in an organizational structure that is relevant to the community (as opposed to the broader portal audience). It includes a list of community members, displayed in the Members folder, and a list of subcommunities, displayed in the Subcommunities folder. Community administrators can also create folders that contain links to relevant web pages, community experts, portal documents, or community pages.

Note:

Communities and subcommunities have separate Community Knowledge Directories.

Community Links Portlets

A community links portlet displays a snapshot of the links in a single Community Knowledge Directory folder. You can then add the portlet to a page in the community or invite users to add the portlet to their My Pages to provide quick access to the community resources. With the proper access privileges, you can also use the portlet to add or delete content from the associated Community Knowledge Directory folder.

Creating a Community Template

Before you create a community template, you must:

Create any page templates you want to add to this community template
Create any header and footer portlets you want to add to the community template

To create a community template you must have the following rights and privileges:

Access Administration activity right
Create Community Infrastructure activity right
At least Edit access to the parent folder (the folder that will store the community template)
At least Select access to any page templates you want to add to this community template
At least Select access to any header and footer portlets you want to add to the community template

Click Administration.
Open the folder in which you want to store the community template.
In the Create Object list, click Community Template.

The Community Template Editor opens.
On the Main Settings page, complete the following task:
- Adding Page Templates to a Community Template
Click the Header and Footer page and complete the following task:
- Adding Headers and Footers to Community Templates
Click the Properties and Names page and complete the following tasks:
- Naming and Describing an Object
  
  You can instead enter a name and description when you save this object.
- Localizing the Name and Description for an Object (optional)
- Managing Object Properties (optional)

The default security for this community template is based on the security of the parent folder. You can change the security when you save this community template (on the Security tab page in the Save As dialog box), or by editing this community template (on the Security page of the Community Template Editor).

Adding Page Templates to a Community Template

To add page templates to a community template you need at least Select access to the page templates.

If the Community Template Editor is not already open, open it now and display the Main Settings page.

To add a page template, click Add Page Templates, then, in the Add Page Templates dialog box, select the page templates you want to add to this community template and click OK.
To remove a page template, select the template and click the Remove icon.

To select or clear all of the page template check boxes, select or clear the box to the left of Page Template Names.

Note:
If you remove a page template, the associated page will be removed from any communities that inherit the changes in this template. It might take up to 15 minutes for this occur.
To change the order in which the pages will appear in the communities created from this template, use the arrow icons to the right of the page templates.
- To move a page to the top of this list, click the Move to Top icon.
- To move a page up one space in this list, click the Move Up icon.
- To move a page down one space in this list, click the Move Down icon.
- To move a page to the bottom of this list, click the Move to Bottom icon.
Note:
If you change the order of the pages, and communities have previously been created from this community template, the page order will change in all of the communities derived from this community template.

Adding Headers and Footers to Community Templates

You can add header and footer portlets to community templates to control what community members see at the top and bottom of the pages in the associated communities.

To add headers and footers you must have the following privileges:

At least Edit access to the community template
At least Select access to the header and footer portlets you want to add

If the Community Template Editor is not already open, open it now and display the Header and Footer page.

To add or change the header, under Community Header, click Browse, then, in the Select a Header dialog box, select the header you want, and click OK.
To add or change the footer, under Community Footer, click Browse, then, in the Select a Footer dialog box, select the footer you want, and click OK.
To remove the header, under Community Header, click Remove.
To remove the footer, under Community Footer, click Remove.
To use experience definition headers and footers, select Force community to use header and footer from experience definition.

This forces communities created from this template to use the header and footer from the experience definition rather than from this template or from the community itself. Because users might be assigned to different experience definitions with different headers and footers, if you select this option, communities created from this template might display different headers and footers to different users.

Providing Content and Services to a Group of Users through a Community

Before you create a community, you must:

Create the community template on which this community will be based
Create the page templates on which your community pages will be based
Create any portlets you want to add to the community pages

To create a community you must have the following rights and privileges:

Access Administration activity right
Create Communities activity right
At least Edit access to the parent folder (the folder that will store the community)
At least Select access to the community template on which this community will be based
At least Select access to any page templates you will use to create community pages
At least Select access to any portlets you want to add to the community pages

Click Administration.
Open the folder in which you want to store the community.
In the Create Object list, click Community.

The Community Editor opens.
On the Community Pages page, complete the following tasks:
- Applying a Community Template to a Community
- Setting the Community Home Page and Ordering Community Pages
- Creating a Community Page From the Administrative Objects Directory
- Enable or disable the community knowledge directory.
Click the Header and Footer page and complete the following tasks:
- Adding Headers and Footers to Communities
Click the Subcommunities page and complete the following tasks:
- Creating a Subcommunity
Click the This Community's Groups page and complete the following tasks:
- Creating a Community Group
Click the Portlet Preferences page and complete the following tasks:
- Setting Community Preferences for Portlets
Click the This Community's Portlets page and complete the following tasks:
- Creating a Community Portlet
Click the Properties and Names page and complete the following tasks:
- Naming and Describing an Object
  
  You can instead enter a name and description when you save this community.
- Localizing the Name and Description for an Object (optional)
- Managing Object Properties(optional)

The default security for this community is based on the security of the parent folder. You can change the security when you save this community (on the Security tab page in the Save As dialog box), or by editing this community (on the Security page of the Community Editor).

Applying a Community Template to a Community

If the Community Editor is not already open, open it now.
In the Community Templates section, click Select Community Template.

Note:
If you are editing an existing community, the button says Change Community Template. Before changing the template, read the important notes below.

The Community Templates dialog box opens.
Select a template and click OK.
If you do not want this community to inherit future changes to the template, clear the box next to Inherit the Template.

If you select to inherit changes, any change applied to the community template affects the community. For example, if a page is removed from the community template, the page will be removed from this community as well. Additionally, if you inherit changes, you cannot delete pages associated with the template, but you can add new pages and change the order of the pages.
Click OK.

Note:

After a community is created, you can select a different community template to use. When selecting a different community template, note the following:

Any pages from the old community template that are not part of the new community template will be removed.
If you have set special headers and footers for your community, switching to a community template that enforces a header or footer will remove your header or footer.

Setting the Community Home Page and Ordering Community Pages

The order in which pages are displayed in the Community Pages list is the order in which the page links will display to users. By default, the first page you add to a community, whether directly or via a community template, will be the home page of your community.

If the Community Editor is not already open, open it now.

To change the home page, move the desired page to the top of the Community Pages list by clicking the Move to Top icon to the far right of the page name.
To move a page up one space in this list, click the Move Up icon.
To move a page down one space in this list, click the Move Down icon.
To move a page to the bottom of this list, click the Move to Bottom icon.

Adding Headers and Footers to Communities

You can add header and footer portlets to communities to control what community members see at the top and bottom of the pages in the community.

To add headers and footers you must have the following privileges:

At least Edit access to the community
At least Select access to the header and footer portlets you want to add

If the Community Editor is not already open, open it now and display the Header and Footer page.

To add or change the header, under Community Header, click Browse, then, in the Select a Header dialog box, select the header you want, and click OK.
To add or change the footer, under Community Footer, click Browse, then, in the Select a Footer dialog box, select the footer you want, and click OK.
To remove the header, under Community Header, click Remove.
To remove the footer, under Community Footer, click Remove.

Setting Security on a Community

By default, a new community inherits the security of the parent folder, but you can change this security.

Open the Community Editor by creating a new community or editing an existing community.
Click the Security page.
Specify which users and groups can access this community and what type of access they have:
- To allow additional users or groups access to this community, click Add Users/Groups.
- To specify whether this community is mandatory, select an option in the Mandatory list:
  
  By default communities are Not Mandatory.
  - To force users or groups to be members of this community, select Mandatory.
  - To force users or groups to be members of this community and add a tab to the portal banner for this community, select Mandatory with Tab.
  Note:
  Users and groups for which this community is mandatory will not be able to unsubscribe from this community, that is, this community will always be available in their My Communities menu.
- To specify the type of access a user or group has, in the list under the Privilege column, select the access type.
  
  For a description of the available privileges, see About Access Privileges.
  
  Note:
  If a user is a member of more than one group included in the list, or if they are included as an individual user and as part of a group, that user gets the highest access available to her for this object. For example, if a user is part of the Everyone group (which has Read access) and the Administrators Group (which has Admin access), that user gets the higher privilege to the community: Admin.
- To delete a user or group, select the user or group and click the Remove icon.
  
  To select or clear all of the user and group check boxes, select or clear the check box to the left of Users/Groups.
- To see what users are included in a group, click the group name.
- To change the column used for sorting or to toggle the sort order between ascending and descending, click the column name.
  
  You see the Sort Ascending icon or the Sort Descending icon to the right of the column name by which the objects are sorted.
- If you chose Mandatory with Tab for any user or group, in the Mandatory Tab Priority list, set this community tab's priority.
  
  The priority determines the order in which tabs display in the portal banner: tabs with higher priority display before tabs with lower priority.

Creating a Community Page Template

Page templates define the basic structure for the resulting community pages, such as the column layout and which portlets to include. A single page template can be used by many different communities, allowing you to keep similar types of pages looking analogous. For example, you might want each department to create a community in which the first page lists the general duties of the group, the department members, and the current projects owned by the department.

Note:

To create a page template you must have the following rights and privileges:

Access Administration activity right
Create Community Infrastructure activity right
At least Edit access to the parent folder (the folder that will store the page template)
At least Select access to any portlets you want to add to the page

Click Administration.
Open the folder in which you want to store the page template.
In the Create Object list, click Page Template.

The Page Template Editor opens, displaying the Main Settings page.
Select a column layout for the page. Click Select Page Layout, then, in the Select Page Layout dialog box, select the layout you want and click Finish.
Note:
- If you intend to add a content canvas portlet (a portlet that straddles more than one column), you must select a layout that includes a dark gray section.
- Narrow portlets can display in either narrow or wide columns, but wide portlets can display only in wide columns.
Select portlets and position them on the page:
- If you selected a layout that includes a section for a content canvas portlet, click Add Content Canvas, then, in the Content Canvas Portlets dialog box, select a content canvas portlet and click OK.
- To add a portlet to the page, click Add Portlets, then, in the Add Portlets dialog box, select the portlets you want to add and click Finish.
- To see what a portlet looks like, click Preview under the portlet.
- To remove a portlet, click Remove under the portlet.
- To reposition a portlet, drag the portlet to the desired position (by clicking the portlet, holding down the mouse button, and moving the mouse), then release the mouse button.
Note:
When users create pages from this template or create communities from a community template that includes this page template, they can choose to inherit the template. Inheriting the template has two effects on resulting pages, users cannot reposition or remove any portlets that are included as part of the template, and any changes to the template are mirrored in the resulting pages.
Optionally, specify a default name for pages created from this template:
1. Click the Default Page Name page.
2. In the Default Page Name box, type a name.
3. If your portal administrator did not set a mandatory object language, in the Primary Language list, select the language for the name you entered.
  
  If your portal administrator did set a mandatory object language, you see the mandatory language instead of a list. You cannot change this setting. The name you entered must be in the mandatory language.
  
  If a localized name is not available in a user's selected language, the user will see the name in the specified primary language.
4. If you want to add default names for other languages, select Supports Localized Names, then, in the Localized Names and Descriptions section, add or edit the localized names:
  - To add an entry for a language, click New Localized Name, then, in the Name and Description dialog box, enter the localized name and/or description, select the appropriate language, and click Finish.
  - To edit an existing entry, click the entry you want to change, then, in the Name and Description dialog box, edit the entry as necessary, and click Finish.
  - To remove existing entries, select the entries you want to remove and click the Remove icon.
    
    To select or clear all entries, select or clear the check box to the left of Name.

Creating a Community Page

You can create different pages in a community to categorize information for your community audience. For example, you might have a project community that includes a page for each department that is involved in the project.

To create a community page you must have the following rights and privileges:

If you are creating the page from the Administrative Objects Directory or from the Community Editor, you must have the Access Administration activity right and at least Select access to the page template on which the page will be based
At least Edit access to the community
At least Select access to any portlets you want to add to the page

There are several ways to create a community page:

Creating a Community Page with One Click
Creating a Community Page From the Community Editor
Creating a Community Page From the Administrative Objects Directory

Creating a Community Page with One Click

You can create a new community page with one click.

To create a community page you must have the following rights and privileges:

At least Edit access to the community
At least Select access to any portlets you want to add to the page

Display the community to which you want to add a page.
Click Create Page.

The new page is created.
To add portlets to the page, click Edit Page.

Creating a Community Page From the Community Editor

You can create a community page while creating or editing a community.

To create a community page you must have the following rights and privileges:

Access Administration activity right
At least Edit access to the community
At least Select access to the page template on which the page will be based
At least Select access to any portlets you want to add to the page

If the Community Editor is not already open, open it now.
Click New Page.

The New Page dialog box opens.
Select the page template on which you want to base this page, and click OK.
Specify whether you want to inherit the template, and click OK.

Note:
If you inherit the template, you cannot reposition or remove portlets that are included as part of the template, and any changes made to the template are mirrored in the page you create.

The Standard Page Editor opens.
Select a column layout for the page. Click Select Page Layout, then, in the Select Page Layout dialog box, select the layout you want and click Finish.
Note:
- If you intend to add a content canvas portlet (a portlet that straddles more than one column), you must select a layout that includes a dark gray section.
- Narrow portlets can display in either narrow or wide columns, but wide portlets can display only in wide columns.
Select portlets and position them on the page:
- If you selected a layout that includes a section for a content canvas portlet, click Add Content Canvas, then, in the Content Canvas Portlets dialog box, select a content canvas portlet and click OK.
- To add a portlet to the page, click Add Portlets, then, in the Add Portlets dialog box, select the portlets you want to add and click Finish.
- To create a portlet and add it to the page, click Create Portlets. On the Choose Portlet Template page, select a Portlet Template, click Next >>, and complete the Portlet Editor.
- To see what a portlet looks like, click Preview under the portlet.
- To remove a portlet, click Remove under the portlet.
- To reposition a portlet, drag the portlet to the desired position (by clicking the portlet, holding down the mouse button, and moving the mouse), then release the mouse button.

Creating a Community Page From the Administrative Objects Directory

You can create a community page from the Administrative Objects Directory.

To create a community page you must have the following rights and privileges:

Access Administration activity right
At least Edit access to the community
At least Select access to the page template on which the page will be based
At least Select access to any portlets you want to add to the page

Click Administration.
Open the community folder to which you want to add the page.
In the Create Object list, click Page.

The New Page dialog box opens.
Select the page template on which you want to base this page, and click OK.
Specify whether you want to inherit the template, and click OK.

Note:
If you inherit the template, you cannot reposition or remove portlets that are included as part of the template, and any changes made to the template are mirrored in the page you create.

The Standard Page Editor opens.
Select a column layout for the page.
Note:
- If you intend to add a content canvas portlet (a portlet that straddles more than one column), you must select a layout that includes a dark gray section.
- Narrow portlets can display in either narrow or wide columns, but wide portlets can display only in wide columns.
Select portlets and position them on the page:
- If you selected a layout that includes a section for a content canvas portlet, click Add Content Canvas, then, in the Content Canvas Portlets dialog box, select a content canvas portlet and click OK.
- To add a portlet to the page, click Add Portlets, then, in the Add Portlets dialog box, select the portlets you want to add and click Finish.
- To create a portlet and add it to the page, click Create Portlets. On the Choose Portlet Template page, select a Portlet Template, click Next >>, and complete the Portlet Editor.
- To see what a portlet looks like, click Preview under the portlet.
- To remove a portlet, click Remove under the portlet.
- To reposition a portlet, drag the portlet to the desired position (by clicking the portlet, holding down the mouse button, and moving the mouse), then release the mouse button.

Editing a Page in the Flyout Page Editor

You can rename a page, add portlets, recommend portlets, and reposition portlets while viewing the page.

Click Edit Page. The Flyout Page Editor appears, enabling you to perform the following actions:

Note:

The Flyout Page Editor appears only if you are viewing an adaptive page layout (not a legacy page layout).

To rename the page, in the Change Page Name box, type the new name.
To add a portlet to the page, under the portlet name, click Add to Page.

A placeholder for the portlet is added to the page below the Flyout Page Editor.
To remove a portlet, under the portlet name, click Remove, or click in the portlet's title bar.
To see what a portlet looks like, under the portlet name, click Preview.

From the Preview Portlet page you can perform the following actions:
- To add the portlet to your page and close the preview, click Add this portlet.
- To view a description of the portlet, click View Description. When you are finished, click Close.
- To return to the list of portlets without adding the portlet to your page, click Close.
To view a list of the portlets in a portlet bundle, under the bundle name, click Open.
To add all the portlets from a bundle, under the bundle name, click Add.

A placeholder for each portlet is added to the page below the Flyout Page Editor.

Note:
You can remove a portlet added as part of a bundle by clicking the Remove icon in the portlet's title bar.
To recommend a portlet to other users:
1. Under the portlet name, click Invite.
2. In the invitation dialog box, copy the text, and click Close.
3. In your e-mail application, paste the text into an e-mail message and send it.
When other portal users click the URL in your e-mail, they are taken to the portlet preview and given the option to add the portlet to one of their My Pages. Users that do not have permission to see the portlet receive an error message.
To search for portlets and portlet bundles, in the Search for Portlets box, type the text you want to search for and click Search.

For searching tips, see Using Text Search Rules.

To remove your search criteria, click Search again.
To change the sort order of portlets, in the Sort By list, select an option: Item Name Ascending, Item Name Descending, Date Modified Ascending, Date Modified Descending.
To page through the list of portlets, click << Previous, Next >>, or a particular page number.
To browse through administrative folders, click Browse All Folders.

Note:
This link displays folders that might not contain portlets or portlet bundles.

To view the portlets and portlet bundles in a folder, click the folder name.
To reposition a portlet, in the area under the Edit Page section, drag the portlet to the desired position (by clicking the portlet, holding down the mouse button, and moving the mouse), then release the mouse button.

Each column on the page is represented by a gray box. To change the column structure, click Go to Advanced Editor, then click Select Page Layout.
To close the Flyout Page Editor, click Close, or, in the Edit Page section, click the Close icon or Close Editor.

Deleting a Page from a Community

You can delete any page that is not inherited from the community template.

To delete a community page, you must have at least Edit access to the community.

If the Community Editor is not already open, open it now.
Select the page you want to delete and click the Remove icon.

Note:
You can only delete pages that say No in the From Community Template column. If you chose to inherit changes from the community template, pages that are part of that template say Yes in the From Community Template column and cannot be deleted.

The page is deleted from the community folder.

Creating a Subcommunity

Subcommunities, which can be nested 10 levels deep, allow you to have differently secured subsections in a community. For example, you might have a Marketing community that contains the Advertising Subcommunity. The Advertising Subcommunity could have distinct owners; or only a subset of the Marketing community might be entitled to see the Advertising Subcommunity.

To create a subcommunity:

If the Community Editor is not already open, open it now.
On the left, under Edit Community Settings, click Subcommunities.
Click Create Subcommunity.
Complete the Community Editor.

The new subcommunity you create is stored in the parent community folder.

Note:
You can also create a subcommunity by navigating to the parent community folder and, from the Create Object drop-down list, selecting Community.

Creating a Community Group

A group is a set of portal users to whom you grant specific access privileges. You can create community groups without affecting portal groups. You create community groups so that you can easily assign responsibilities to community members. For example, you might have a group that is responsible for maintaining schedules in the community.

To create a group available only to this community:

If the Community Editor is not already open, open it now.
On the left, under Edit Community Settings, click This Community's Groups.
Click Create Group.
Complete the Group Editor.

The new group you create is stored in the parent community folder.
Note:
- You can also create a group for this community by navigating to the parent community folder and, from the Create Object drop-down list, selecting Group.
- Groups created in the Community Editor are only available within the community.
- To make a community group available in other areas of the portal, move the group to a non-community administrative folder.

Setting Community Preferences for Portlets

Some portlets have community preferences. You can set these preferences to control the portlet content displayed in the community. You can also hide the title bar of specific portlets in a community.

To create a group available only to this community:

If the Community Editor is not already open, open it now.
On the left, under Edit Community Settings, click Portlet Preferences.

If a portlet in the community has community preferences, the edit icon appears in the Community column.
Click the edit icon and set any community preferences available for the portlet.
If you can preview the portlet, the name of the portlet will appear as a link. To preview the portlet, click its name.
Portlets can be displayed with or without title bars. Sometimes, a portlet is registered to suppress its title bar. If the portlet allows a title bar to be shown, a check box appears in the Display Title bar column. Clearing this check box suppresses the title bar for this portlet on this page.

Note:
Certain features of a portlet (such as online help) might be unavailable from the community page if the title bar is suppressed.

Creating a Community Portlet

You can create portlets that can be used only in a specific community.

To create a portlet available only to this community:

If the Community Editor is not already open, open it now.
On the left, under Edit Community Settings, click This Community's Portlets.
Click Create Portlet.
Choose a portlet template and click Next>>, then complete the Portlet Editor.

The new portlet you create is stored in the parent community folder.
Note:
- You can also create a portlet for this community by navigating to the parent community folder and, from the Create Object drop-down list, selecting Portlet.
- Portlets created in the Community Editor are only available within the community.
- To display these portlets to community users, you must add these portlets to the appropriate community page.
- To make a community portlet available to other communities, move the portlet to a non-community administrative folder.