Content Management Guide

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Using WebDAV with Your BEA Repository

WebDAV is a protocol that allows you to communicate with a web server via Internet Explorer and other applications. When you configure WebDAV for your BEA repository, content contributors can save files directly to the BEA repository from Windows Explorer and other Microsoft applications.

Note: For more information about WebDAV, see the WebDAV website.

This chapter includes the following sections:

 

WebDAV Overview

Adding WebDAV support to your BEA repository effectively adds a new suite of applications to access, create and update content. Content contributors can add files to a BEA repository using Windows Explorer or from Microsoft Office applications.

Before adding WebDAV support to your repository, please review the following:.

WebDAV Guidelines

When adding content to your repository using WebDAV, use the following guidelines:

Supported Versions of Microsoft Office

WebLogic Portal’s implementation of WebDAV requires Microsoft Office 2000, SP3 or greater, with MSDAIPP.dll version 8.103.3521.0. For additional details about Microsoft’s support for WebDAV, see http://www.greenbytes.de/tech/webdav/webfolder-client-list.html.

 

Enabling WebDAV for Repositories

BEA repositories are WebDAV-enabled by default, but can be disabled if you choose. If you want to use WebDAV with a non-BEA repository, you need to enable it.

Note: You must also add a WebDAV content type to your repository, see Using Content Types with WebDAV on page 3.

This section discusses the following topics:

Enabling WebDAV for a non-BEA Repository

BEA repositories are WebDAV-enabled by default. If you want to enable a non-BEA repository to use WebDAV, you need to add a WebDAV property to your repository.

To enable WebDAV for a non-BEA repository within your Virtual Content Repository:

  1. Select Manage | Repository to list the available repositories.
  2. In the Manage | Repositories tree, click the respective repository to view the Repository Summary.
  3. In the Properties section, click Add Property.
    1. In the Name field, enter WEBDAV_ENABLED.
    2. In the Value field, enter true.
    3. Click Save.

Disabling WebDAV

If you want to disable WebDAV for a repository, do the following:

  1. In the Manage | Repositories tree, click the respective repository to view the Repository Summary.
  2. Click Repository Details.
  3. For the WEBDAV_ENABLED property, enter a value of false.
  4. Click Save.

 

Using Content Types with WebDAV

When users add content to a repository using WebDAV (by using Internet Explorer, Microsoft Word, and so on), content is automatically associated with a content type that defines the metadata required for that content. Optionally, you can define a content type that will automatically pull in document metadata from your Microsoft documents.

This section includes the following topics:

How WebDAV Determines Which Content Type to Use

When a user adds a file to your repository using WebDAV, WebDAV associates the content the content type associated with the repository folder where the content is saved.

If no content type is associated with the immediate folder, WebDAV iterates up the repository tree until it finds the first content type associated with a folder. If no content type is associated with any content folder WebDAV finds, it uses the content type associated with the repository. In the example shown in Figure 7-1, if no content type is associated with the Biographies folder, content added to that folder would use the content type associated with the Books folder.

Note: If you are using a filesystem repository, you cannot associate content types with folders. Therefore, when using a filesystem repository with WebDAV, all content added to the repository uses the default content type.

If your content type has been defined to be compatible with Microsoft document properties, WebDAV automatically transfers those property values in addition to system properties (such as created date and so on). However users need to log in to the Portal Administration Console to check in content or to complete additional administrator-defined properties.

Figure 7-1 Using Content Types with Folders for WebDAV Content

Using Content Types with Folders for WebDAV Content

For more information about associating a content type with a folder, see Creating a Folder.

Defining a WebDAV Content Type

You should define a default content type to be used by WebDAV when users add content. Although you can assign content types at the folder level that can be used to associate metadata with WebDAV-added content, a repository-wide WebDAV content type assures that content will always be associated with a content type.

To define a default content type for WebDAV content, do the following:

  1. Select Manage | Repository to list the available repositories.
  2. In the Manage | Repositories tree, click the respective repository to view the Repository Summary.
  3. In the Properties section, click Add Property.
    1. In the Name field, enter WEBDAV_TYPE.
    2. In the Value field, enter the name of the new content type you want to use. Using Content Types with WebDAV
    3. Click Save.

Creating a Content Type That Maps to Microsoft Document Properties

When adding content directly from Microsoft Office programs, you can configure your repository to automatically fill in metadata using property values from Microsoft document properties.

For example, Microsoft Word documents can have properties like “Title,” “Author,” and “Category” with a Microsoft Word document. When these properties are completed for a document using Microsoft Word (File > Properties), WebDAV imports them into your repository and associates them with the added content file.

Note: Microsoft document property values override any default values you may have set for that content type.

To use this feature, the WebDAV content type for your repository must include properties that match the Microsoft document properties. You must either add properties to your WebDAV content type or you can map existing content type property names to the Microsoft property names.

Use the property names listed in Table 7-1 when you define the content type you want to use with Microsoft documents added to your repository by using WebDAV. For more information about creating a content type, see Creating a Content Type.

Limitations

You cannot add multi-valued properties to your Microsoft content via WebDAV, such as lists of keywords. All property values must be defined as single-value.

In addition, you cannot delete property values when you update Microsoft content via WebDAV. For example, if you add a property value to a Microsoft document and then add document to your repository via WebDAV, you must use the Portal Administration Console to delete that property value. If you delete the property value in the Document Properties dialog, and then re-add the content to your repository via WebDAV, the property will not be deleted in your repository.

Note: Not all document properties listed in Table 7-1 apply for all Microsoft documents. For example, some properties apply to Microsoft PowerPoint documents but not to Microsoft Word documents.

Table 7-1 Standard Microsoft Document Properties Supported by WebDAV
Name
Description
Data Type
MSO_AUTHOR
Document author.
String.
MSO_TITLE
Document title.
String.
MSO_CREATE_DATE_TIME
Date and time when document was created.
Calendar
MSO_LAST_MODIFY_AUTHOR
Author who last modified the document.
String
MSO_APPLICATION_NAME
Application which created the document, such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and so on.
String
MSO_PAGE_COUNT
Number of pages in the document.
Long
MSO_LAST_MODIFY_DATE
Date when document was last modified.
Calendar
MS0_KEYWORDS
Keywords in the document.
String
MSO_COMMENTS
User comments.
String
MSO_SUBJECT
Subject.
String
MSO_LAST_PRINT_DATE_TIME
Last time the document was printed.
Calendar
MSO_REVISION_NUMBER
Document revision number.
String
MSO_WORD_COUNT
Document word count.
Long
MSO_TEMPLATE_NAME
Template which created this document. Used by Word documents. Usually normal.dot unless a custom template is used.
String
MSO_MANAGER
Manager field.
String
MSO_LINE_COUNT
Number of lines in the document.
Long
MSO_CATEGORY
Category field.
String
MSO_COMPANY
Company field.
String
MSO_SLIDE_COUNT
Number of slides in the PowerPoint presentation.
Long
MSO_PARAGRAPH_COUNT
Number of paragraphs in the document.
Long

Mapping Microsoft Properties to Existing Content Type Properties

If you do not want to use the Microsoft property names in your content type, you can map a content type property to a Microsoft property by modifying your repository settings.

For example, you may have a content type that includes a property called “Title”. If you want to use this property to collect metadata from WebDAV-added Microsoft documents, you would map the MSO_TITLE property to the “Title” property within your content type.

Note: The data types of the properties must match in order for the mapping to work. For example, if the Microsoft property has a data type of string, the content type property it maps to must also have a string data type.

To map Microsoft document properties to properties within your WebDAV content type, do the following:

  1. In the Manage | Repositories tree, click the respective repository to view the Repository Summary.
  2. In the Properties section, click Add Property.
    1. In the Name field, enter the name of the Microsoft document property you want to map to a content type property name.
    2. In the Value field, enter the name of the existing content type property to which you want to map.
    3. Repeat these steps for each Microsoft property you want to map to an existing content type property.

Using Custom Microsoft Document Properties

You can collect custom metadata for Microsoft documents (other than what is already provided), you can do so.

For example, within Microsoft Word users can add custom properties to documents using the Custom tab. If these custom properties are also defined in your WebDAV content type or mapped to an existing content type property, they are automatically associated with the content.

You can either add a corresponding property to your WebDAV content type that matches the Microsoft document property name and data type or map the Microsoft property to an existing type, see Mapping Microsoft Properties to Existing Content Type Properties

 

Using WebDAV with Your BEA Repository

Content contributors must configure their individual environments to take advantage of WebDAV features. Supported applications include Windows Explorer and Microsoft Office programs. The following procedure enables all WebDAV capabilities that are supported by WebLogic Portal.

This section includes the following topics:

Enabling WebDAV for an Environment

In order to use WebDAV from their local machine, content contributors must enable their environments to recognize the repository as a web location to which to save files.

To enable WebDAV for an individual environment,

  1. Open Internet Explorer.
  2. Choose File > Open to view the Open dialog.
  3. In the Open dialog, enter the URL where WebDAV is running. For example, http://<host_machine>:<port>/<portalEARName>Webdav.
  4. Mark the Open as Web Folder check box.
  5. Click OK.
  6. You are asked to login, enter your portal login name and password.

The BEA Repository is listed as a folder within Windows Explorer. You can use Windows Explorer to browse the content in BEA repository like you would any other folder.

Adding a Microsoft Word Document to a BEA Repository

If you have configured your local environment to use WebDav, you can save files directly to your repository from Microsoft Office programs. This example explains how to add a a Microsoft Word document to a BEA repository.

Note: When adding content to a BEA repository, you need to follow the WebDAV guidelines, see WebDAV Guidelines.
  1. Within Microsoft Word, choose File > Save As.
  2. Within the Save As dialog, navigate to the location of your BEA repository.
  3. Click Save.
  4. If you have not already logged, you are prompted to log in. Use the user name and password you use to log into the Portal Administration Console.

The file is added to the repository using the default content type and automatically fills in default values and system properties such as the version number, the date and so on, see Using WebDAV with Your BEA Repository for more information.

After adding a file to the repository, log in to the Portal Administration Console and use the Virtual Content Repository to associate additional content properties with the file you just added. For more information about adding content properties, see Adding Content.

Using Windows Explorer Add a File to the BEA Repository

You can add files to your BEA repository using Windows Explorer. You can drag-and-drop files to folders within your repository.

Note: When adding content to a BEA repository, you need to follow the WebDAV guidelines, see WebDAV Guidelines.

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