Tutorial - Creating a Group Portal

A portal contains a potentially large number of pages and portlets. However, it may not be appropriate or useful for everyone who visits the portal to see all those pages and portlets.

With Group Portals you can create many different views of a portal for portal visitors. Each Group Portal can have its own look and feel, display specific pages and portlets, and have its own administrators, allowing different groups of visitors to see a customized portal that can be administered by a dedicated Group Portal administrator.

You can create a Group Portal in two ways:

• You can create a Group Portal in an existing portal. This scenario is covered by this tutorial. You will add a Group Portal to the Portal Example.

• When you create a new portal, a default Group Portal is created automatically. For that tutorial, see Tutorial - Creating a Portal and Group  Portal.

This tutorial includes the following steps:

• Step 1: Create a Group on Which to Base the Group Portal

• Step 2: Create a Group Portal in an Existing Portal

• Step 3: Customize the Group Portal

• Step 4: View the Group Portal Site

 

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Step 1: Create a Group on Which to Base the Group Portal

To create a Group Portal in an existing portal, you must associate the Group Portal with an existing user group. Then, when a visitor belonging to that user group logs in, the visitor sees the appearance and content of the portal that is defined by the Group Portal view.

This step shows you how to create a new group (and add a user to it) so you can create a Group Portal based on that group.

1. Start the server by selecting Start —> Programs —> BEA WebLogic Platform 7.0 —> WebLogic Portal 7.0 —> Portal Examples —> Portal Example —> Launch Portal Server.

   On UNIX, run <BEA_HOME>/weblogic700/samples/portal/sampleportalDomain/
   startSamplePortal.sh.

   The server is running when you see the following message in the command window: <Server started in RUNNING mode>.

2. Start the WebLogic Portal Administration Tools. On Windows, choose Start —> Programs —> BEA WebLogic Platform 7.0 —> WebLogic Portal 7.0 —> Portal Examples —> Portal Example —> Start Portal Admin Tools.

   On UNIX, enter the following URL in your browser: http://localhost:7501/sampleportalTools.

   Substitute the correct <hostname>:<port> as appropriate.

3. When prompted to log in, log in as the default WebLogic Portal system administrator: administrator/password. The WebLogic Portal Administration Tools Home page appears, as shown in Figure  5-1.

   Figure 5-1 Clicking the User Management Icon

   
    

4. Click the User Management icon. The User Management Home page appears, as shown in Figure  5-2.

   Figure 5-2 User Management Home Page

   
    

5. On the Groups bar, click Create. The Groups page appears.

6. At the bottom of the Groups page, click the + icon next to Add a subgroup to top level, as shown in Figure  5-3.

   Figure 5-3 Adding a Group

   
    

7. On the Create New Group page that appears, enter a name for the group, and click Create. For this tutorial, use MyNewGroup, as shown in Figure  5-4. A confirmation message appears at the top of the page.

   Figure 5-4 Creating the New Group

   
    

8. Click the Back icon at the bottom of the page to return to the Groups page. The new group appears in the list, as shown in Figure  5-5.

   Figure 5-5 The New Group is Displayed

   
    

9. Now create a user and add the user to the new group. Click Finished at the bottom of the Groups page to return to the User Management Home page.

10. On the User Management Home page, click Create on the Users bar, as shown in Figure  5-6.

    Figure 5-6 Creating a New User

    
     

    
     

11. On the Create New Users page that appears, enter a Username and Password for the new user, select a User Type of User, and click Create, as shown in Figure  5-7. Username and password are case sensitive. For this tutorial, use the username/password of myuser/password.

    Figure 5-7 Entering a Username and Password for the New User

    
     

12. Click Create. A confirmation message appears at the top of the page.

13. Click the Back icon at the bottom of the page to return to the User Management Home page.

14. Now add the new user to the new group. Click the Groups link, as shown in Figure  5-8.

    Figure 5-8 Accessing Groups

    
     

15. On the Groups page that appears, click the MyNewGroup link, as shown in Figure  5-9.

    Figure 5-9 Editing the New Group

    
     

16. On the Groups: MyNewGroup page that appears, click the +/- icon on the Add/Remove Users From Group bar, as shown in Figure  5-10.

    Figure 5-10 Clicking the +/- icon

    
     

17. On the Add/Remove Group Search Results page that appears, enter an asterisk (*) in the Username field, and click Search. A list of users appears in the Search Results list.

18. In the Search Results list, select myuser and click the right arrow to move the user into the Group Search Results list, as shown in Figure  5-11.

    Figure 5-11 Adding the New User

    
     

19. Click Save. A confirmation message appears at the top of the page.

20. Click the home icon at the top of the page to return to the WebLogic Portal Administration Tools Home page.

 

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Step 2: Create a Group Portal in an Existing Portal

Now that you have created a user group, you can create a Group Portal based on that group.

1. On the WebLogic Portal Administration Tools Home page, click the Portal Management icon, as shown in Figure  5-12. The Portal Management Home page appears.

   Figure 5-12 Clicking the Portal Management Icon

   
    

   The Portal Management Home page (Figure  5-13) shows all Web applications (portals) that have been deployed. Under each Web application is a list of the Group Portals that have been defined for each. In this example, the mynewwebapp portal was created in the previous tutorial.

   For this tutorial, however, you will add a Group Portal to the sampleportal portal.

   Figure 5-13 Portal Management Home Page

   
    

   
    

2. On the sampleportal bar, click Create Group Portal. The Create New Group Portal page appears, as shown in Figure  5-14.

   Figure 5-14 Creating a New Group Portal

   
    

3. In the Display Name field, enter a name for the group portal. For this tutorial, enter My New Group Portal.

4. Now associate the Group Portal with the user group you created in the previous steps. Click Browse User Groups. The Select a User Group page appears, as shown in Figure  5-15.

   Figure 5-15 Associating a User Group with the Group Portal

   
    

   
    

5. The Select a User Group page shows only the first 10 groups. To show all groups, select 50 in the User Groups displayed per page field. The page refreshes to show all groups.

6. Click MyNewGroup in the list. The group is selected, and the Create New Group Portal page appears.

7. Now select an existing Group Portal as a template with which to create the new Group Portal. Click Browse Templates. The Browse Templates page appears, as shown in Figure  5-16.

   Figure 5-16 Selecting a Group Portal Template

   
    

8. In the Default Group Portal section, click Avitek Portal. The template is selected and the Create New Group Portal page appears.

9. Click Save to save the new Group Portal, as shown in Figure  5-17.

   Note: The Copy Entitlements option lets you use the entitlements defined for the Group Portal template in the new Group Portal. Entitlements further limit the pages and portlets to which Group Portal members have access.

   Figure 5-17 Saving the Group Portal

   
    

   The Portal Management Home page appears, displaying the name of the new Group Portal, as shown in Figure  5-18.

   Figure 5-18 The New Group Portal

   
    

When a visitor belonging to MyNewGroup logs in, the visitor will see the view of the portal defined by My New Group Portal.

 

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Step 3: Customize the Group Portal

In this step, you will modify My New Group Portal to define a different view of the portal. When a visitor belonging to the Group Portal logs in, the visitor will see this view of the portal.

1. First, you will change the look and feel of the portal for this Group Portal by changing skins. On the Portal Management Home page, click My New Group Portal, as shown in Figure  5-19.

   Figure 5-19 Modifying the New Group Portal

   
    

2. On the Group Portal Management Home page that appears, click Select Skins, as shown in Figure  5-20.

   Figure 5-20 Changing Skins for the Group Portal

   
    

3. On the Select Skins page that appears, in the Available Skins list, select lumiereorange and click Set as Default, as shown in Figure  5-21. An asterisk appears in front of the lumiereorange skin, indicating that it is the default skin.

   Figure 5-21 Changing the Default Skin

   
    

4. Click Save. The Group Portal Management Home page appears.

5. Now determine the portlets that will appear on the home page in the group portal. You will first make all portlets unavailable on the home page, then make available only the portlets you want to appear.

   On the Group Portal Management Home page, click Manage Pages and Portlets. The Pages and Portlets page appears.

6. In the Available Pages area, click Edit Portlets on the Home row, as shown in Figure  5-22.

   Figure 5-22 Editing Portlets

   
    

7. On the Edit Portlet Entitlements and Attributes page that appears, select all the portlets in the list, as shown in Figure  5-23. To do this, select the first portlet in the list, hold down the Shift key, and select the last portlet in the list.

   Figure 5-23 Selecting All Portlets to Make Them Unavailable

   
    

8. Click Set Attributes.

9. On the Set home Portlet Attributes page that appears, deselect the Available option, as shown in Figure  5-24, and click Save.

   Figure 5-24 Making Portlets Unavailable on the Home Page

   
    

10. Now that no portlets are available for Home page, select only the portlets you want to be available. On the Edit Portlet Entitlements and Attributes page, hold down the Ctrl key and select the following portlets, as shown in Figure  5-25:

    • MyToDo

    • PrimaryCampaign

    • CustomerService

      Figure 5-25 Selecting Portlets to Use on the Home Page

      
       

11. Click Set Attributes. The Set home Portlet Attributes page appears.

12. Select the Available option, as shown in Figure  5-26, and click Save.

    Figure 5-26 Making Portlets Available in the Group Portal

    
     

13. On the Edit Portlet Entitlements and Attributes page that appears, click the Back button at the bottom of the page to return to the Pages and Portlets page.

14. Now that you have made portlets available for the Group Portal, view how they will be laid out on the Home page. In the Available pages area, click Position Portlets in the Home row, as shown in Figure  5-27.

    Figure 5-27 Positioning Portlets on the Home Page

    
     

15. If an information dialog box appears, click OK.

16. On the Position Portlets page that appears, view the default positions of the portlets as they will appear on the Home page of the Group Portal, as shown in Figure  5-28.

    Figure 5-28 Viewing the Position of the Portlets

    
     

17. Click Save.

Now view your new Group Portal.

 

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Step 4: View the Group Portal Site

Now that you have created and configured your new Group Portal, you can view the new Group Portal site. You will first access the default Group Portal by going to the portal's URL, then you will log in as the new user you created, which lets you view the Group Portal that the user can access.

1. In your browser, enter the following URL:

   http://localhost:7501/sampleportal

   Substitute the correct <hostname>:<port> as appropriate.

   The default Group Portal appears, as shown in Figure  5-29. Notice the skin (the page design) and portlets.

   Figure 5-29 Default Group Portal

   
    

2. Now log in as the new user you created. Because the new user is a member of the MyNewGroup user group you created, and because MyNewGroup was assigned to the new Group Portal, you will see the new Group Portal when you log in.

   Click Login and enter the following username and password: myuser/password. The new Group Portal appears, as shown in Figure  5-30.

   Figure 5-30 The New Group Portal

   
    

Notice the skin and the portlets on the home page. They are just as you configured them in this tutorial.

If you click the web tab, that page shows additional portlets. This is because you made portlet modifications to only the home page, not the web page. To make portlet modifications to the web page, follow Step 3: Customize the Group Portal and click Edit Portlets and Position Portlets in the Web row (see Figure  5-22).