This chapter briefly describes Pages, the objects you can create in Pages, how to work in the user interface, and provides a use case scenario.
Overview of AquaLogic Pages
Pages is a web page authoring system and application builder that provides even non-technical end-users a simple way to create web pages, blogs, wikis, and other web applications. Because of its ease of use, anyone with the proper permissions can create ad-hoc, collaborative workspaces without having to rely on an IT or portal administrator to do it for them. Because objects in the system are versioned, you can allow everyone (with the proper permissions) to confer their knowledge and ideas directly to the Pages system, enabling much more rapid and complete knowledge transfer and collaboration.
Plus, unlike traditional wikis, Pages allows you to surface data from existing enterprise systems via RSS, web services, or by creating custom data sets. This allows you to reuse existing data and quickly collect new data, all of which users can contribute to by adding comments, page components, or document attachments.
Pages Objects
Web pages created through AquaLogic Pages are grouped into logical collections called LiveSpaces. For example, you might create a LiveSpace for a sales team with separate pages for new products, sales tools, leads, promotions, and reports. Each page is made up of components such as rich text, images, lists, or tables. The lists and tables are backed by DataSpaces. A DataSpace is a set of data (in the form of records) from an external source or from a custom data model stored in the Pages repository. For example, you might create a products DataSpace that includes a record for each product.
Note:
For more information on an object, see the associated chapter in this guide.
Accessing Pages Content
There are several ways to access Pages content:
You can access the Dashboard, a particular LiveSpace, or a particular DataSpace through the Pages Launcher Portlet. For information on using the Pages Launcher Portlet, see The Pages Launcher Portlet. For a description of the Dashboard, see The Dashboard.
You can access the Dashboard, a particular LiveSpace, or a particular DataSpace through the LiveSpaces or DataSpaces menus in the portal navigation. For information on enabling the LiveSpaces menu, see LiveSpaces and DataSpaces Menus in Portal Navigation. For a description of the Dashboard, see The Dashboard.
You can view content from page components in portlets placed on My Pages or community pages. For information on creating page component portlets, see Page Component Portlets.
You can access any LiveSpace, DataSpace, or page with their URLs. When you create a LiveSpace, DataSpace, or page, you can use the default URL or specify a custom URL that enables users to access the object directly.
When you display the Dashboard or another LiveSpace or DataSpace, you can also access the Organizer, which provides a generalized interface for browsing, searching for, and managing LiveSpaces, pages, documents, and DataSpaces. For more information on the Organizer, see The Organizer.
Note:
For more information on navigating Pages, see the online help.
The Dashboard
The Dashboard is the home page (default page) for the Pages application. It provides a list of most-recently created or modified LiveSpaces, DataSpaces, pages, and documents. The Dashboard also provides links to create new LiveSpaces or DataSpaces and provides access to the Organizer.
The Dashboard displays objects, sorted by last modified date, grouped into the following categories:
Recent Activity: displays LiveSpaces, DataSpaces, pages, and documents that have been recently created or modified.
Spaces: displays LiveSpaces and DataSpaces that have been recently created or modified.
To view or edit an object, click the object name. The object opens in page view (described later), in which you can view the object, and, if you have appropriate access, edit the object (for example, change settings or add text or images).
The Dashboard provides the following functionality to help you find what you are looking for:
Text search
Filter by object type
Pagination
Note:
For more information on the Dashboard, see the online help.
The Organizer
The Organizer displays objects grouped by type: LiveSpaces, pages, documents, and DataSpaces. You can click an object to view it, or perform an action on the object such as viewing information and settings for the object, editing the object, or deleting the object. The Organizer also enables you to search and filter the objects.
To view or edit an object, click the object name. The object opens in page view (described later), in which you can view the object, and, if you have appropriate access, edit the object (for example, change settings or add text or images).
The Organizer provides the following functionality to help you find what you are looking for:
Description and title search
Filter by object type, last modified date
Group by object type or associated space
Sort by rank, title, creation date, or last modified date
Note:
For more information on the Organizer, see the online help.
Page View
When you click an object, the object opens in page view (there are a few exceptions noted below). Basically, Pages automatically creates a page and displays the object. This enables you to add additional content to the object just like any other page. For example, you can add a comment, an image component, rich text, or a document attachment. The page for the object is not saved unless you publish the page. If you publish the page, the additional content appears whenever anyone opens the object in page view. For example, if you are viewing a DataSpace and click a record, the record opens in page view. If you add an image to the page and publish the page, anyone who views the record in page view will see the image.
Notes:
A LiveSpace cannot be viewed in page view. When you navigate to a LiveSpace, the home page is displayed.
A page component cannot be viewed on its own in page view, only as part of a page.
Records do not always open in page view. In a Master/Detail table or a Spreadsheet table the record details display in the table rather than in page view. Therefore, you cannot view components, comments, or documents associated with a record that you access from a Master/Detail table or a Spreadsheet table.
Documents in page view work differently than other objects; see Documents, and the online help.
For information on who can perform actions on pages, see Pages Roles.
For more information on pages (including objects in page view), see Pages and the online help.
Page Components
You can add content to an object in page view by dragging components from the palette onto the page. The following components are available:
Table 2-1 Available Page Components
Component
Description
Image
Enables you to add an image to the page. You can use an uploaded image or point to a URL.
Record List
Enables you to add a list of records to the page. A record list enables users to search for and view records. With editable DataSpaces, users with the proper permissions can also edit, add, and delete records.
Rich Text
Enables you to add formatted text to a page.
Table
Enables you to add a table of records to the page. A table enables users to search for, sort, and view records. With editable DataSpaces, users with the proper permissions can also edit, add, and delete records.
Note:
For more information on page components, see Components, and the online help.
Comments
At the bottom of the page you can add comments, and engage in message-board style discussions, in the context of any object in page view. This provides a simple way for users to provide structured feedback on the page or comment on content (for example, commenting on a particular blog post).
Notes:
For information on who can work with comments, see Pages Roles.
For more information on comments, see the online help.
Documents
Although you can add content to pages using rich text and page components, you might also want to add existing content (for example, Word documents or PowerPoint presentations). You can add this existing content by attaching documents to objects in page view. After attaching a document, users can view the document or upload new versions of the document.
Notes:
For information on who can work with documents, see Pages Roles.
For more information on documents, see Documents, and the online help.
Associated Objects
In page view, under This Space, you see objects associated with the LiveSpace or DataSpace you are viewing or associated with the parent LiveSpace or DataSpace:
If you are viewing a LiveSpace, page, or a document attached to a LiveSpace, you see the three most-recently modified pages in the associated LiveSpace and the three most-recently modified documents attached to the associated LiveSpace.
If you are viewing a DataSpace, record, or a document attached to a DataSpace, you see the three most-recently modified documents attached to the DataSpace and the three most-recently modified records in the associated DataSpace.
However, you can also search for a particular object, display all the objects of a particular type, or display recently-modified objects associated with any space.
Note:
For more information on the This Space area, see the online help.
Versions
Each time a page view is published, a new version is stored in the system. These versions are displayed in the page view making it easy for users to view a previous version, and, with the proper permissions, revert to the version or delete the version. Because each change is saved as a version and it is easy to revert to a previous version, users can feel free to make changes without having to worry about inadvertently causing issues on the page.
This is a simple example of how Pages can be used to improve the ability for a customer support team to respond to a critical support situation.
A support engineer creates a new "Support Issues" DataSpace, which displays a list of support incidents for a single customer. The list is pulled directly from a customer support management system, using a custom DataSpace template created by IT.
An account manager, who is largely responsible for customer satisfaction for this individual account, creates a new "Issue Tracking" LiveSpace for assembling all the information related to this specific customer and this specific issue. The information will be assembled by an extended team of participants related to the account or related to resolving the issue.
The account representative opens the LiveSpace, clicks Write, and types a list of "action items" and owners for each action needed for the support team to address.
A customer service representative opens the LiveSpace, clicks Design, and adds a "Support Team" Table component to the page. She points this component to the existing "Employee Contacts" DataSpace, which pulls a list of records from an internal LDAP system.
A product engineer creates a "Customer Issue Resolutions" DataSpace, which displays an RSS feed listing blog entries from the support department's knowledge base, related to resolving similar issues.
Another product engineer opens the LiveSpace, clicks Design, and adds a "Best Practices" Record List component to the page, pointing it to the existing "Customer Issues Resolutions" DataSpace from step 5.
The support engineer opens the LiveSpace, clicks Design, and adds a "Customer Issues" Record List component to the page, pointing it to the existing "Support Issues" DataSpace from step 1.
At this point, our simple "Issue Tracking" LiveSpace has several components:
Action items listed in free-form text
Table of support team members and their contact information
List of the customer's issues and prior resolution status
List of best practices from the company knowledge base
After some research, the product engineer opens the LiveSpace, clicks the associated item in the Best Practices list to display the issue resolution record and adds some unstructured notes under the record, specifying specific resolution steps.
The support engineer sends the resulting resolution steps to the customer to resolve the issue.
