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Portal Administrator's Guide

Contents

Overview

Getting Started

Setting the WebLogic Server Document Root

Configuring the Portal Service Manager

Creating a Portal Web Site

Logging On to the Portal Administration Tool

Using the Portal Administration Tool

Administering Portlets

Creating Portlets

Editing Portlets

Deleting Portlets

Administering Portals

Creating Portals

Editing Portals

Editing Portal Definitions

Adding and Removing Portlets

Editing Portlet Display Attributes

Editing the Portal Layout

Editing the Portal Color Scheme

Adding and Removing Users from a Portal

Associating Groups with a Portal

Deleting Portals

Administering Portal Groups

Editing Portal Groups

Adding and Removing Portlets from a Portal Group

Editing the Portal Group Layout

Editing the Portal Group Color Scheme

Adding and Removing Users from a Portal Group

Testing Your Portal

Creating a Portal Using the Demo Portal

Overview

Building the Demo Portal Components

Creating Portlets for Your Demo Portal

Associating Portlets with Your Demo Portal

Editing Your Demo Portal Layout

Editing Your Demo Portal Color Scheme

Testing Your Demo Portal

Appendix A - BEA Weblogic Portal Framework Files

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Overview

The BEA WebLogic Portal Administration Tool contains a complete set of functions that enable Portal Administrators to easily create and update BEA WebLogic Portal™ database schema entities. With the HTML-based, graphical user interface tool, you can build and assemble the components of a portal page and personalize the portal's content, layout, and appearance.

To properly create and administer a portal using the Portal Administration Tool, you should know how to configure and run the WebLogic Server, set up database connections, and set up portal service providers.

This document provides you with the procedures and overview information needed to create and administer a portal using the BEA WebLogic Portal Administration Tool.

Getting Started

Before using the Portal Administration Tool to create and administer a portal, you must install and setup the BEA WebLogic Portal software. For more information, see Getting Started.

You must also complete the following three tasks before you can to log on to and use the tool:

• Setting up the WebLogic server document root

• Configuring the Portal Service Manager to control portal access

• Creating a web site directory under the server document root you created

Setting the WebLogic Server Document Root

In the weblogic.properties file, set a WebLogic server document root in your preferred Web publishing root directory. For example:

weblogic.httpd.documentRoot=yourDocumentRoot

Configuring the Portal Service Manager

The Portal Service Manager (PSM) controls user access to your portal. It is a Java servlet that all portal framework HTTP requests must be sent to. Among other functions, the PSM:

• Restricts unauthorized access to your portal and the JSP pages they control

• Cleans up the URL shown in the browser

• Creates a routing framework on which the program can rely

You must register an instance of this servlet in the weblogic.properties file for each portal you deploy. The following is a sample PSM servlet registration for a portal named 'myPortal'.

weblogic.httpd.register.myPortal=com.beasys.portal.admin.PortalServiceManager

weblogic.httpd.initArgs.myPortal=\

portalname=myPortal,\

homepage=/portals/myPortal/portal.jsp,\

groupname=everyone,\

defaultdest=/portals/myPortal/_userlogin.jsp,\

timeout=999999,\

workingdir=/portals/myPortal/,\

allowautologin=true

The table below lists valid parameters for your initial registration of the PSM servlet.

For more information on weblogic.properties servlet registration, see http://www.weblogic.com/docs/admindocs/properties.html#http.

Creating a Portal Web Site

As a final step before using the Portal Administration Tool, create a web site directory for your portal pages under your WebLogic server document root. Then copy all the files from the portal 'example' directory to your portal web site directory.

To copy files from the portal 'example' directory to your web site directory:

1. Using the 'myPortal' example in the preceding section, copy the files and subdirectories from:
   yourDocumentRoot/portals/example
   to
   yourDocumentRoot/portals/myPortal

2. Verify that the Portal Service Manager workingdir property value in the weblogic.properties file matches the name of the web site directory to which you just copied the example files. See the 'Example' Directory and Subdirectories table.

   For example, if your server document root is public_html and your portal working directory is /portals/myPortal/, create the following workingdir:
   public_html/portals/myPortal/

Logging On to the Portal Administration Tool

Once you have prepared the WebLogic server document root, configured the Portal Service Manager, and created web site directory, you can log on to the Portal Administration Tool.

To logon to the Portal Administration Tool:

1. Start the WebLogic server configured for portal use.

2. Access http://hostname:port/portaladmin in your web browser where 'hostname' is the name of the host running your WebLogic Server, 'port' is the port number at which the WebLogic Server is listening for requests, and 'portaladmin' is the name of the Portal Service Manager servlet for the Portal Administration Tool in the weblogic.properties file.
   
   Note: All administration tools must be accessed through the Portal Service Manager servlet.
   
   A dialog box appears and prompts you to enter a username and password.

3. Enter the username 'system' and use the password weblogic.password.system property in the weblogic.properties file (default is 'weblogic').

4. Click Okay to display the Portal Administration Tool home page.
   The following graphic shows the administration tool home page.
   

Using the Portal Administration Tool

Now that you have access to the Portal Administration Tool, you can use it to administer portlets, portals, and business-to-business portal groups. Administrative functions available in the tool include:

• Creating, editing, and deleting portals

• Creating, editing, and deleting portlets

• Creating and deleting portal groups and users

• Personalizing a portal's content, layout, and color scheme at the portal and group levels

Administering Portlets

To the portal framework, a portlet is a JSP page that knows how to retrieve specialized content and display it in the portal application. To users, a portlet is one of many content modules on a portal page that can be personalized to reflect appearance, content, and layout preferences. Once a portlet is created in the Portal Administration Tool, it can be associated with multiple portals.

You can create, edit, and delete portlets in the Portlets section of the Portal Administration Tool home page. All screens in the administration tool related to portlet functions are color-coded with teal banners and command buttons. Screens related to portal functions display tan banners and command buttons.

A portlet includes two required components, a titlebar and content area, and several optional components including the banner, header, footer, edit URL, alternate header, alternate footer, maximized URL, and help URL as shown in the following graphic:

Portlet Application Decomposed by Components

You can define each portlet application to include any of the following attributes:

Editable — Enables the user to customize a portlet's content.
For example, in a stock portfolio portlet application users can click the Edit icon on the portlet titlebar to access a page that enables them to add or remove stock symbols. If you select this attribute, you must provide an Edit URL.

Maximizable — Allows the portlet to be viewed fullscreen in the browser window.
This enables you to provide additional portlet content in the Maximized URL. The fullscreen page uses:

• An alternate header — If no alternate header is specified, the framework uses the default alternate header.

• A maximize URL — If no maximize URL is specified, the framework uses the portlet content area URL as a default.

• An alternate footer — If no alternate footer is specified, the framework uses the default alternate footer.

When the user clicks the edit or maximize icons in a portlet, the portal framework calls upon its fullscreen.jsp page to display in fullscreen mode. The diagram below explains how the fullscreen.jsp page determines which content to display.

Floatable — Allows the portlet to float on top of the portal screen in a separate browser window.
This attribute uses the same header and footer rules as the maximized URL, but displays the content URL instead of the maximized URL.

Minimizable — Reduces the portlet display to the titlebar to minimize the amount of space the portlet occupies on the portal page.

Helpable — Provides a Help icon in the portlet title bar that users can click to access a URL that assists them with the portlet application. If you select this attribute, you must provide a Help URL.

Login Required — Requires the user to be logged on to the portal to view the portlet.
For example, if your portal contains a portlet that displays a user's favorite bookmarks, the user must be logged on before the Bookmarks portlet is visible on the portal screen. This attribute helps maintains a secure portal and allows users to retrieve personalized information.

Creating Portlets

Before you use the Portal Administration Tool to create a portlet, place all your portlet application files in the following directory:

yourDocumentRoot/portals/myPortal/portlets

You create a portlet in the administration tool by creating a portlet definition entity (referred to in this document as a portlet) and associating portlet JSP URLs that have been created by a portlet developer with the portlet entity. When a portlet is created, it is not automatically associated with a portal. You need to add portlets to a portal later from the portal view-page.

To create a portlet:

1. On the Portal Administration Tool home page, click create in the Portlets banner. The Create a New Portlet tool displays.
   

2. Enter the appropriate information in the following required fields:

   • Portlet Name - Any combination of numbers and letters will be accepted in this field.

   • Content URL - Enter a URL relative to your portal workingdir.
     

3. If desired, enter the appropriate information in the following optional fields:

   • Header URL - Enter a URL to display as the portlet header. It can be a JSP or HTML fragment.

   • Footer URL - Enter a URL to display as the portlet footer. It can be a JSP or HTML fragment.

• Banner URL - Enter a URL to display as the portlet banner under the portlet titlebar. It can be a JSP or HTML fragment. The following shows a sample banner JSP page:
  

<%@ page extends="com.beasys.portal.admin.PortalJspBase"%>

<%@ page import="com.beasys.portal.tags.PortalTagConstants"%>

<center>

<font size=-1>To Do's for

<%@ (String)getSessionValue(PortalTagConstants.PORTAL_GROUP,request)%></font>

</center>

• Alternate Header URL - Enter a URL to display as a web page header when the portlet is floated or maximized. If no alternate header exists, the portal framework uses a default called alternateheader.jsp.

• Alternate Footer URL - Enter a URL to display as a web page footer when the portlet is floated or maximized. If no alternate footer exists, the portal framework uses a default called alternatefooter.jsp.

• Editable - Select the checkbox to enable users to edit a portlet's content. An Edit icon displays in the portlet titlebar. The attribute default is deselected.

• Edit URL - If you selected the Editable checkbox, enter a URL that enables the user to edit the portlet content.

• Maximizable - Select the checkbox to enable users to maximize the portlet in the current browser window. A Maximize icon displays in the portlet titlebar. The attribute default is deselected.

• Maximized URL - If you selected the Maximizable checkbox, enter a URL for the content area of the maximized page. The default URL is your portlet content area URL.

• Helpable - Select the checkbox to enable users to access a help screen. A Help icon displays in the portlet titlebar. The attribute default is deselected.

• Help URL - If you selected the Helpable checkbox, enter a URL that opens a help topic related to the portlet.

• Icon URL - Enter a URL to display an icon (GIF) on the left side of the portlet titlebar. This image should be 27 pixels wide by 20 pixels high with 2 pixels of transparency on the right.

• Minimizable - Select the checkbox to enable users to minimize the portlet in the portal screen. A Minimize icon displays in the portlet titlebar. The attribute default is deselected.

• Floatable - Select the checkbox to enable users to float the portlet in a new browser window. A Float icon displays in the portlet titlebar. The attribute default is deselected.

• Login Required - Select the checkbox to require a user to be logged on to the portal to view the portlet. The attribute default is deselected.

4. Click create.
   If the portlet was successfully created, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen. If not, an error message notifies you of the required changes.

5. Click back to return to the home page. The new portlet name displays under the Portlets banner.

Editing Portlets

After creating a portlet, you can redefine it at any time by adding or removing attributes.

To edit a portlet:

1. On the home page, click a portlet title link to display the Edit Properties tool. The name of the portlet you selected to edit displays at the top of the screen.

2. Enter the appropriate changes.

3. Click save.
   If the changes were successfully made, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen. If not, an error message notifies you of the required changes.

4. Click back to return to the home page.

Deleting Portlets

You can delete portlets that you no longer need. However, you must first remove (mark as unavailable) the portlet from any portals it is associated with.

To delete a portlet:

1. On the home page, click delete in the Portlets banner. The Delete a Portlet tool displays.

2. Select the portlet from the Portlet Name drop-down list.

3. Click delete. A confirmation window displays.

4. Click OK to confirm your deletion.

5. Click back to return to the home page. The portlet name is no longer listed under the Portlets banner.

Administering Portals

You can create, edit, or delete portals from the Portals section of the Portal Administration Tool home page. All screens in the administration tool related to portal functions are color-coded with tan banners and command buttons. Screens related to portlet functions, display teal banners and command buttons.

For procedures on using the Demo Portal components to quick-start your portal development, see Creating a Portal Using the Demo Portal.

Creating Portals

To create a new portal:

1. On the Portal Administration Tool home page, click create in the Portals banner to display the Create a New Portal tool.
   

2. Complete the following required fields:

   • Portal Name - Any combination of numbers and letters will be accepted in this field.

   • Content URL - Enter a portal content JSP relative to workingdir.

   • Number of Content Columns - Enter 1, 2 or 3.

3. Customize your portal display by entering the optional URL files. Make all URLs relative to workingdir:

• Header URL - Enter a header JSP for the default header page.

• Footer URL - Enter a footer JSP for the default footer page.

• Suspended - Select the checkbox to suspend the portal application and replace the portal home page with an 'under maintenance' screen until service resumes. To resume service, deselect the Suspended checkbox on the Edit Portal Definition tool.

• Suspended URL - Enter the default suspended.jsp to display the 'under maintenance' URL to end-users while the application is in Suspended mode.

4. Click create to create the portal definition.
   

   If the portal was successfully created, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen.

   If the portal was not successfully created, an error message notifies you of the required changes.

5. Click back to return to the home page. The new portal name displays under the Portals banner.

Editing Portals

After creating a portal, you can edit it to associate portlets, groups, and users. You can also personalize the portal's layout and color scheme, and make changes to the definition.

To edit a portal:

1. On the Portal Administration Tool home page, click a portal title link to see the portal view-page. The name of the portal you selected displays at the top of the screen. Colored banners separate each portal property and contain a command button for that property. See the following procedures for more information on editing portal properties.
   The following image shows the portal view-page.
   

2. When you are done viewing and editing the portal, click finished at the top or bottom of the portal view-page to return to the home page.

Editing Portal Definitions

You can edit the portal definition you created to reflect any changes to the associated URLs or number of portal columns.

To edit a portal definition:

1. On the portal view-page, click edit in the Definition banner to display the Edit Portal Definition tool.

2. Enter the appropriate changes.

3. Click save.
   If the changes were successfully made, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen. If not, an error message notifies you of the required changes.

4. Click back to return to the portal view-page.

Adding and Removing Portlets

You can choose which portlets are available to a portal by adding and removing them from the system's list of all established portlets. From the narrowed list of portlets you associate with a portal, group and end-users further define which portlets they want available and visible on their personalized portal page.

To associate portlets with a portal:

1. On the portal view-page, click +/- in the Associated Portlets banner to display the Add or Remove Portlets tool.

2. To add a portlet to the portal, select Avail. The portlet is associated with the portal. It doesn't appear on the portal page until it is made visible by you, the Group Administrator or the end-user.
   

3. To make a portlet visible, select Visible. The portlet is associated with the portal and now appears on the portal page.
   

4. To remove a portlet from the portal, select Unavail. The portlet becomes disassociated with the portal and unavailable to new groups and end-users (including anonymous users). However, if the portlet has been personalized at a group or user level, it remains associated with those levels.
   

5. Click save.
   If the changes were successfully made, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen. If not, an error message notifies you of the required changes.
   

6. Click back to return to the portal view-page. Available portlets appear in the Associated Portlets section of the screen with a gray background. Visible portlets are marked with an 'X'.

Editing Portlet Display Attributes

Portlet titles, associated with a portal, display as hotlinks in the Associated Portlets section of the portal view-page. These links open a tool that enables you to further specify how the portlet displays in the portal, overriding the display attributes established when the portlet was created. Group Administrators can further personalize these attributes.

To edit an associated portlet's display attributes:

1. Click the portlet title link in the Associated Portlets section of the portal view-page.
   

2. Enter the appropriate changes in the Edit Portlet Display Attributes tool.
   

3. Click save.
   If the changes were successfully made, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen. If not, an error message notifies you of the required changes.
   

4. Click back to return to the portal view-page.

Editing the Portal Layout

You can move a portal's associated portlets left and right between columns and up and down within columns depending on the column layout you selected when you created the portal. You can also change the percentage of the portal page that each column occupies. Group Administrators and end-users can further personalize the portal layout.

To edit the layout of portlets in a portal:

1. On the portal view-page, click edit in the Layout banner to display the Edit Portal Layout tool. This layout tool shows each portal column, its span percentage, and the portlets that display within those columns.

2. Select the portlet you want to move by clicking on it. The portlet name is highlighted.

3. Click an arrow to move the portlet up or down within a column, or right or left between columns.

To change the column spans of a portal layout:

1. Click in the percentage field associated with a column and enter a new percentage. The sum of all column spans should equal 100%. For single column portals, you may specify from 1 to 100%.

2. When you are done editing the portal layout, click save.
   If the changes were successfully made, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen. If not, an error message notifies you of the required changes.

3. Click back to return to the portal view-page. A table in the Portal Layout section lists the portlets as you arranged them within each column.

Editing the Portal Color Scheme

You can edit the overall appearance of a portal by changing its background color as well as the portlets' component colors, title colors, and border appearance.

To edit portal colors:

1. On the portal view-page, click edit in the Colors banner to display the Edit Color Schemes tool. This tool provides five preset color schemes and a Custom Scheme tool.

2. In the Portlet Color Schemes section of the screen, select a preset color scheme or the custom color scheme. If you selected the custom color scheme, enter a hex color code in each text field, or click the color palette icon to select a color for each field from the Color Picker.
   

3. Select on to display portlet borders, or off to omit portlet borders.
   

4. Select Black, White, or Other to choose the color of the text that displays in the portlet titlebar. If you selected Other, enter a hex color code in the text field, or click the color palette icon to select a color from the Color Picker.
   

5. In the Portal Background Color section of the screen, select Gray, White, or Other to choose a background color for the entire portal page. If you selected Other, enter a hex color code in the text field, or click the color palette icon to select a color from the Color Picker.

6. To preview your color selections, click the "Click here to save changes and preview colors" link. Your color changes are saved and the Edit Color Schemes tool redisplays the example portlet at the bottom of the screen to reflect your color preferences.

7. To save your color preferences without previewing them, click save. The portal view-page displays the new colors associated with the portal in the Colors section of the screen.
   

8. To revert the portal appearance to its original color scheme, click restore defaults. The portal view-page displays the default colors associated with the portal in the Colors section of the screen.
   

Adding and Removing Users from a Portal

You can add users to a portal from the portal view-page and later associate these users with a specific portal group. You cannot share users among portals. When you create users, they are given the default password 'guest'.

To add a user to the portal:

1. On the portal view-page, click +/- in the Associated Users banner.

2. Scroll to the Add Portal Users section of the screen and enter the user name in the User Name field.

3. Click create.
   If the user was successfully added, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen. If not, an error message notifies you of the required changes.
   

4. When you finish adding users, click back in the Add Portal Users section of the screen to return to the portal view-page. The number of users associated with a portal displays in the Associated Users section of the portal view-page.

To remove a user from a portal:

1. On the portal view-page, click +/- in the Associated Users banner.

2. In the Delete/Search Portal Users section of the screen, enter the user name or a wildcard * in the User Name field. The wildcard displays the entire list of portal users.
   

3. Click search to display matches in the Search Results box.
   

4. Click the user name you want to delete. The user name is highlighted.
   

5. Click delete. A confirmation window displays.
   

6. Click OK to confirm your deletion.
   

7. Click back in the Delete/Search Portal Users section of the screen to return to the portal view-page. The number of users associated with a portal displays in the Associated Users section of the portal view-page.

Associating Groups with a Portal

You can create and delete portal groups from the portal view-page. For more information on associating users with a group and personalizing portal groups, see Administering Portal Groups.

To create a group:

1. On the portal view-page, click +/- in the Associated Groups banner.
   

2. Enter a group name in the New Group Name field and click create.
   If the group was successfully created, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen. If not, an error message notifies you of the required changes.
   

3. Click back to return to the portal view-page. The new group name displays in the Associated Groups section of the portal view-page.

To delete a group:

1. On the portal view-page, click +/- in the Associated Groups banner.
   

2. Click a group name in the Group Names list box. The name is highlighted.
   

3. Click delete. A confirmation window displays.
   

4. Click OK to confirm your deletion.
   

5. Click back to return to the portal view-page. The group name no longer displays in the Associated Groups section of the portal view-page.

Deleting Portals

You can delete an existing portal from the Portal Administration Tool home page. However, you must first disassociate all portal groups and users from that portal.

To delete a portal:

1. On the home page, click delete in the Portals banner to display the Delete a Portal tool.

2. Select the portal from the Portal Name drop-down list.

3. Click delete. A confirmation window displays.

4. Click OK to confirm the deletion.

5. Click back to return to the home page. The portal name no longer displays in the Portals section of the Portal Administration Tool home page.
   

Administering Portal Groups

The Portal Administration Tool enables you to create business-to-business portal groups. Once a portal group has been created, you can personalize the layout, content, and color scheme, and also associate users with the group.

Avoid creating portal groups for business-to-consumer portals with an unmanageable number of users. Instead, have each user register using the BEA WebLogic Portal User Registration form.

You can edit portal groups from the portal view-page. For more information on creating and deleting portal groups, see Associating Groups with a Portal.

Editing Portal Groups

Editing portal groups allows you to associate portlets and users with each group. You can also personalize the group's portal layout and color scheme.

To edit a portal group:

1. On the Portal Administration Tool home page, click the portal title link with which the group is associated. The portal view-page displays.

2. In the Associated Groups section of the screen, click the group title link you want to edit. The group-view page displays. The names of the portal and group you selected display at the top of the screen. Colored banners separate each group property and contain a command button for that property. See the following procedures for more information on editing group properties.

Adding and Removing Portlets from a Portal Group

As the Group Administrator, you choose which portlets are available to a group by adding and removing them from the portal's list of all associated portlets. From the narrowed list of portlets you associate with a group, end-users further define which portlets they want available and visible on their personalized portal page.

To associate portlets with a group:

1. On the group-view page, click +/- in the Associated Portlets banner to display the Add or Remove Portlets tool.

2. To add a portlet to the group, select Avail. The portlet is associated with the group. It does not display on the portal page until it is made visible by you or the end-user.
   

3. To make a portlet visible, select Visible. The portlet is associated with the group and displays on the portal page.
   

4. To remove a portlet from the group, select Unavail. The portlet becomes disassociated from the group and unavailable to the group and end-users. However, if the potlet has been personalized at the user level, it remains associated with those users.
   

5. Click save.
   If the changes were successfully made, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen. If not, an error message notifies you of the required changes.
   

6. Click back to return to the group-view page. Available portlets appear in the Associated Portlets section of the screen with a gray background. Visible portlets are marked with an 'X'.

Editing the Portal Group Layout

You can move a group's associated portlets left and right between columns and up and down within columns. End-users can further personalize the portal layout.

To edit the layout of portlets in a group:

1. On the group-view page, click edit in the Layout banner to display the Edit Portal Layout tool. This layout tool shows each portal column and the portlets that display within those columns.

2. Select the portlet you want to move by clicking on it. The portlet name is highlighted.

3. Click an arrow to move the portlet up or down within a column, or right or left between columns.

4. When you are done editing the portal layout, click save.
   If the changes were successfully made, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen. If not, an error message notifies you of the required changes.

5. Click back to return to the portal view-page. A table in the Portal Layout section lists the portlets as you arranged them within each column.

Editing the Portal Group Color Scheme

You can edit the overall appearance of a group by changing its portal background color as well as the portlets' component colors, title colors, and border appearance.

To edit group colors:

1. On the group-view page, click edit in the Colors banner to display the Edit Color Schemes tool. This tool provides five preset color schemes and a Custom Scheme tool.

2. In the Portlet Color Schemes section of the screen, select a preset color scheme or the custom color scheme. If you selected the custom color scheme, enter a hex color code in each text field, or click the color palette icon to select a color for each field from the Color Picker.
   

3. Select on to display portlet borders, or off to omit portlet borders.
   

4. Select Black, White, or Other to choose the color of the text that in the portlet titlebar. If you selected Other, enter a hex color code in the text field, or click the color palette icon to select a color from the Color Picker.
   

5. In the Portal Background Color section of the screen, select Gray, White, or Other to choose a background color for the entire portal page. If you selected Other, enter a hex color code in the text field, or click the color palette icon to select a color from the Color Picker.

6. To preview your color selections, click the "Click here to save changes and preview colors" link. Your color changes are saved and the Edit Color Schemes tool redisplays the example portlet at the bottom of the screen to reflect your color preferences.

7. To save your color preferences without previewing them, click save. The group-view page displays the new colors associated with the portal in the Colors section of the screen.
   

8. To revert the portal appearance to its original color scheme, click restore defaults. The group-view page displays the default colors associated with the portal in the Colors section of the screen.

Adding and Removing Users from a Portal Group

You must add users to a portal before you can associate them with the portal group. For more information on adding users to a portal, see Adding and Removing Users from a Portal.

To associate users with a group:

1. On the group view-page, click +/- in the Associated Users banner to display the Add or Remove Group Users tool.

2. Enter a user name or a wildcard * in the User Search field. The wildcard displays the entire list of portal users.
   

3. Click search to display all matches in the Search Results box.
   

4. Select a user name in the Portal Search Results box by clicking on it. The name is highlighted. Click the right directional arrow to move the user to the Group Search Results box. This action associates the user with the group.
   
   Or
   

5. Select a user name in the Group Search Results list box by clicking on it. The name is highlighted. Click the left directional arrow to move the user to the Portal Search Results box. This action disassociates the user with the group.
   

6. When you finish associating group users, click back to return to the group view-page. The number of registered group users appears under the Associated Users banner on the group view-page.

Testing Your Portal

Once your portal is operational, you should test it to verify that all the associated portlets are available and visible as you specified them, and that your portal displays the correct color scheme and layout.

To test your portal:

1. In a web browser, enter the Portal Service Manager URL. Using http://host:port/myPortal as an example, 'myPortal' matches the Portal Service Manager name for your portal in the weblogic.properties file installed in the portal directory.
   
   The default portal home page should display all visible portlets and should reflect your default color and layout preferences.
   

2. To test end-user personalization options, sign on to your portal by clicking the Sign On icon in the upper right corner of the home page.
   
   If you have not created a user profile, you can do so by following the registration wizard. If you have created a profile, enter your username and password, and click sign on.
   
   You can now use the personalization tools to customize the portal's color, layout, and visible portlets.

Creating a Portal Using the Demo Portal

Overview

If you are using a RDBMS, and you are not using the Cloudscape portal-in-a-box shipped with this product, you are required to use the Portal Administration Tool to assemble the Acme Demo Portal provided by the BEA WebLogic Portal. This demo includes pre-built portal components and all the JSP pages required to run a portal but does not include the demo data. To build the demo data, follow the steps in the section Building the Demo Portal Components below. This is a good way to learn how to build and assemble your first portal.

The BEA WebLogic Portal installation package includes a Portal Service Manager for the Demo Portal. You can find it in the weblogic.properties file. The Portal Service Manager property name is exampleportal and maps to the Demo Portal EJB component.

Note: You do not need to assemble the Demo Portal if you are using the Portal-in-a-Box in the Cloudscape database.

Before using the Portal Administration Tool to Assemble the Acme Demo Portal, you must install and setup the BEA WebLogic Portal software. For more information, see Getting Started.

You must also setting the WebLogic server document root before you are able to log on to and use the tool. For more information on setting the document root, see Getting Started.

For more information on accessing and using the administration tool, see Logging On to the Portal Administration Tool.

Building the Demo Portal Components

To begin the Acme Demo Portal development, you must use the Portal Administration Tool to create a portal definition.

To create the Demo Portal definition:

1. Click create in the Portals banner of the Portal Administration Tool home page to display the Create a New Portal tool.
   

2. Enter the following information in the appropriate fields:
   

Field Name	Data
Portal Name	Demo Portal
Header URL	header.jsp
Content URL	portalcontent.jsp
Footer URL	footer.jsp
Number of columns	3
Suspend	Defaults to false. Set to true to suspend the portal during maintenance.
Suspended URL	Enter suspended.jsp if you want to display the 'under maintenance' URL during maintenance.

3. Click create.
   If the portal was successfully created, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen. If not, an error message notifies you of the required changes.

4. Click back to return to the home page. The name of the new portal, 'Demo Portal,' displays in the Portals section of the home page.

Creating Portlets for Your Demo Portal

You create portlets in the administration tool by associating a URL with each portlet component. When a portlet is created, it is not automatically associated with a portal. You must add the portlets to the demo portal later from the portal view-page.

The Acme Demo Portal includes six portlet applications that you can assemble with the Portal Administration Tool.

To create the demo portlets:

1. Click create in the Portlets banner of the Portal Administration Tool home page to display the Create a New Portlet tool.

2. To create the first of the demo portlets, My Bookmarks, enter the following information in the appropriate fields:
   
   

Portlet Name	Data
My Bookmarks	Portlet Name: My Bookmarks
	Content URL: portlets/bookmarks.jsp
	Editable: select the checkbox
	Edit URL: portlets/bookmarks_edit.jsp
	Maximizable: select the checkbox
	Icon URL: portlets/images/pt_bookmark.gif
	Login Required: select the checkbox

3. Click create.
   If the portlet was successfully created, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen. If not, an error message notifies you of the required changes.

4. Follow steps two through three above to create the remaining five portlets. For each portlet, enter the following information in the appropriate fields:
   

   Portlet Name	Data
   My Dictionary	Portlet Name: My Dictionary
   	Content URL: portlets/dictionary.jsp
   	Icon URL: portlets/images/pt_dictionary.gif
   	Minimizable: select the checkbox
   My To Do List	Portlet Name: My To Do List
   	Content URL: portlets/mytodo.jsp
   	Editable: select the checkbox
   	Edit URL: portlets/mytodo_edit.jsp
   	Maximizable: select the checkbox
   	Icon URL: portlets/images/pt_my_list.gif
   	Minimizable: select the checkbox
   	Floatable: select the checkbox
   	Login Required: select the checkbox
   My Group To Do List	Portlet Name: My Group To Do List
   	Content URL: portlets/grouptodo.jsp
   	Banner URL: portlets/grouptodobanner.jsp
   	Editable: select the checkbox
   	Edit URL: portlets/grouptodo_edit.jsp
   	Maximizable: select the checkbox
   	Icon URL: portlets/images/pt_group_list.gif
   	Minimizable: select the checkbox
   	Floatable: select the checkbox
   	Login Required: select the checkbox
   Stock Quote	Portlet Name: Stock Quote
   	Content URL: portlets/quote.jsp
   	Icon URL: portlets/images/pt_quote.gif
   	Minimizable: select the checkbox
   Search	Portlet Name: Search
   	Content URL: portlets/search.jsp
   	Icon URL: portlets/images/pt_search.gif
   	Minimizable: select the checkbox

   
   

5. Click back to return to the home page. The six new portlet names appear in the Portlets section.
   

Associating Portlets with Your Demo Portal

After creating a portal, you can associate portlets to it. You can also personalize the portal's layout and color scheme, and make changes to the definition. For more information on editing a portal, see Editing Portals.

You choose which portlets are available to a portal by adding and removing them from the system's list of established portlets. From the narrowed list of portlets you associate with a portal, group and end-users further define which portlets they want available and visible on their personalized portal page.

To associate the six portlets you just created with the demo portal:

1. On the Portal Administration Tool home page, click the Demo Portal title link in the Portals section of the screen. The Demo Portal view-page displays.

2. On the portal view-page, click +/- in the Associated Portlets banner to display the Add or Remove Portlets tool.

3. To add a portlet to the portal, select Avail. The portlet is associated with the portal. It does not display on the portal page until it is made visible by you, the Group Administrator, or the end-user.
   

4. To make a portlet visible, select Visible. The portlet is associated with the portal and now displays on the portal page.
   

5. To remove a portlet from the portal, select Unavail. The portlet becomes disassociated with the portal and unavailable to new groups and end-users (including anonymous users). However, if the portlet has already been personalized at a group or user level, it remains associated with those levels.
   

6. Click save.
   If the changes were successfully made, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen. If not, an error message notifies you of the required changes.
   

7. Click back to return to the Demo Portal view-page. Available portlets appear in the Associated Portlets section of the screen with a gray background. Visible portlets are marked with an 'X'.

Editing Your Demo Portal Layout

You can move a portal's associated portlets left and right between columns and up and down within columns depending on the column layout you selected when you created the portal. You can also change the percentage of the portal page that each column occupies in all portals except group portals. Group Administrators and end-users can further personalize the portal layout.

To edit the layout of portlets in the demo portal:

1. On the Demo Portal view-page, click edit in the Layout banner to display the Edit Portal Layout tool. This layout tool shows each portal column, its span percentage, and the portlets that display within those columns.

2. Select the portlet you want to move by clicking on it. The portlet name is highlighted.

3. Click an arrow to move the portlet up or down within a column, or right or left between columns.

To change the column spans of a portal layout:

1. Click in the percentage field associated with a column and enter a new percentage. The sum of all column spans should equal 100%.

2. When you finish editing the portal layout, click save.
   If the changes were successfully made, a confirmation message appears in red at the top of the screen. If not, an error message notifies you of the required changes.

3. Click back to return to the Demo Portal view-page. A table in the Portal Layout section lists the portlets as you arranged them within each column.

Editing Your Demo Portal Color Scheme

You can edit the overall appearance of a portal by changing its background color as well as the portlets' component colors, title colors, and border appearance.

To edit the demo portal colors:

1. On the Demo Portal view-page, click edit in the Colors banner to display the Edit Color Schemes tool. This tool provides five preset color schemes and a Custom Scheme tool.

2. In the Portlet Color Schemes section of the screen, select a preset color scheme or the custom color scheme. If you selected the custom color scheme, enter a hex color code in each text field, or click the color palette icon to select a color for each field from the Color Picker.
   

3. Select on to display portlet borders, or off to omit portlet borders.
   

4. Select Black, White, or Other to choose the color of the text that will display in the portlet titlebar. If you selected Other, enter a hex color code in the text field, or click the color palette icon to select a color from the Color Picker.
   

5. In the Portal Background Color section of the screen, select Gray, White, or Other to choose a background color for the entire portal page. If you selected Other, enter a hex color code in the text field, or click the color palette icon to select a color from the Color Picker.

6. To preview your color selections, click the "Click here to save changes and preview colors" link. Your color changes will be saved and the Edit Color Schemes tool will redisplay the example portlet at the bottom of the screen to reflect your color preferences.

7. To save your color preferences without previewing them, click save. The portal view-page displays the new colors associated with the portal in the Colors section of the screen.
   

8. To revert the portal appearance to the BEA original color scheme, click restore defaults. The portal view-page displays the default colors associated with the portal in the Colors section of the screen.
   

Testing Your Demo Portal

Once your portal is operational, you should test it to verify that all the associated portlets are available and visible as you specified them, and that your portal displays the correct color scheme and layout.

To test the demo portal:

1. In a web browser, enter the Portal Service Manager URL (http://host:port/exampleportal).
   
   The default portal home page should display all visible portlets and should reflect your default color and layout preferences.
   

2. To test end-user personalization options, sign on to your portal by clicking the Sign On icon in the upper right corner of the home page.
   
   If you have not created a user profile, you can do so by following the registration wizard. If you have created a profile, enter your username and password, and click sign on.
   
   You can now use the personalization tools to customize the portal's color, layout, and visible portlets.
   
   The following image shows the Acme Demo Portal as it displays with the BEA default color scheme and layout to a registered user named jsmith.

Appendix A - BEA Weblogic Portal Framework Files

The following table displays the names and functions of the template JSP files provided with the BEA Weblogic Portal framework. Each of these files is located in the root directory of the portal which it serves, such as /portals/myPortal.

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