Chapter 4 Frequently Asked Questions

This chapter provides a brief glossary of WebSynergy terms and answers to some commonly asked questions about WebSynergy.

This chapter includes the following sections:

• WebSynergy Terminology

• Common Questions

WebSynergy Terminology

The following are some common terms that are useful to know.

Portlet

Portlets are pluggable software components that are managed and displayed in a Web portal. Typically, a portal page is displayed as a collection of non-overlapping portlet windows, in which each portlet window displays one portlet. WebSynergy portlets conform to JSR286 standards.

Public Page and Private Page

Every individual user account in a WebSynergy site contains public pages and private pages. Pages that can be accessed by a guest user are public pages. Pages that can only be accessed by logging in to a user account are private pages.

Widget

Widgets are similar to portlets, except that unlike portlets, widgets are created using a programming language other than Java, such as PHP or Ruby.

Theme

The “look and feel” settings that are applied to a portal page. Themes can be applied sitewide by a WebSynergy site administrator or on a page-by-page basis by registered users.

Layout Template

A scheme that defines the general layout of portlets and widgets on a portal page. As with themes, layout templates can be applied by site administrators and registered users.

Guest

A user who does not have an account on a given WebSynergy site. Typically, guest users have limited ability to view or modify content on a WebSynergy site.

User

A person who is registered on a WebSynergy site.

User Group

A grouping of users; members of a user group typically share common sets of access permissions.

Community

A collection of users sharing common interests or goals; community members typically share a common set of portlets and pages. For example, a community might have a wiki that is not available to users outside the community. Multiple user groups can coexist within a given community.

Organization

A hierarchical collection of users, user groups, and communities. Multiple communities can coexist within a given organization.

User Role

Permissions and access rights defined for a given user; typically maps to rights within groups, communities, and organizations.

Common Questions

The following are some commonly asked questions about WebSynergy software.

What databases does WebSynergy support?

HSQL, MySQL, Microsoft SQL, and Oracle 10g.

What is the recommended JDK version to use with WebSynergy?

JDK 1.6.0_07 later. Also make sure that Ant 1.7.0 is installed on the machine on which you are installing WebSynergy.

What can I do if the Compose link does not working in Mail portlet?

Click the compose window twice to go to activate the window.

What size image should I use for my site logo?

It is recommended that your site logo be no larger than 50 x 50 pixels.

What is BSOJ?

BSOJ stands for big screen of junk (text characters). You may sometimes encounter this when some error has occurred in the WebSynergy user interface. If you encounter a BSOJ, the workaround is to log out of WebSynergy, close your browser, then reopen the browser and log in again.

What is the recommended amount of memory (RAM) to use with WebSynergy?

It is recommended that the machine on which a WebSynergy server is running has a minimum of 2GB RAM. Client machines connecting to a WebSynergy site should have a minimum of 1GB RAM.

What Web browser is recommended for use with WebSynergy?

Firefox 2.x or 3.x are recommended and are the test bases on which WebSynergy has been most extensively tested. Microsoft Internet Explorer is know to have some incompatibilities with WebSynergy.

On what port does WebSynergy run?

By default, WebSynergy runs on port 8080. The port can be changed later, but the WebSynergy installation program runs on port 8080, so this port must be free before you start the installation process. If upgrading from a previous WebSynergy installation, be sure to stop any running GlassFish domains before proceeding.