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Oracle® Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Interaction
10g Release 4 (10.3.3.0.0)
Part Number E14107-05
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4 About User Interface Customization

Oracle WebCenter Interaction provides several features that work together to control your portal user interface: adaptive layouts, experience definitions, branding portlets, navigation schemes, and user display settings.

About Customizing the User Interface with Adaptive Layouts

Adaptive layouts let you quickly change the look and feel of areas in the portal user interface using adaptive tags in standard XHTML. Adaptive layouts are displayed in the portal through remote portlet Web services. Adaptive page layouts are applied at the experience definition level and affect the entire experience definition. Adaptive portlet layouts are applied at the My Page and community page level and affect only that page.

You can create different layouts for each area in the portal:

Layout Type Description

Base Page (adaptive page layout)

Controls the layout of everything surrounding the content area, such as the header, footer, banner, and navigation.

Note: The base page layout applies to all areas of the portal except for profile pages.

Profile Page (adaptive page layout)

Controls the layout of everything surrounding the content area in user profile pages, such as the header, footer, banner, and navigation.

Knowledge Directory (adaptive page layout)

Controls the layout for the content area in the Knowledge Directory.

Search Results (adaptive page layout)

Controls the layout for the content area in search results.

Advanced Search Page (adaptive page layout)

Controls the layout for the content area of the advanced search page.

Portlet Selection (adaptive page layout)

Controls the layout of the flyout page editor used to select portlets on My Pages and community pages.

Login Page (adaptive page layout)

Controls the layout for the content area on the Login page.

My Account Page (adaptive page layout)

Controls the layout for the content area on My Account pages.

Error Page (adaptive page layout)

Controls the layout for the content area on error pages.

Community Selection (adaptive page layout)

Controls the layout of the flyout page editor used to select communities on the Edit My Communities page.

Portlet Layout (adaptive portlet layout)

Controls the column layout for the content area (where portlets are placed) and the look of portlets (the borders and portlet toolbar) in My Pages, profile pages, and community pages.

Note: As long as adaptive portlet layouts are enabled in the portal configuration file, adaptive portlet layouts can be used in any user interface, whether the interface uses adaptive page layouts or a legacy user interface.

iPhone Layout (adaptive portlet layout)

Displays a layout specifically for iPhone and iTouch devices. You should create an experience definition specifically for iPhone and iTouch users which always displays the iPhone portlet layout for My Pages and community pages. The portlet layouts selected in individual My Pages and community pages could still apply in other experience definitions where the portlet layout override is disabled.

The default adaptive page and portlet layout files are stored on the computer that hosts the Image Service in install_dir\ptimages\imageserver\plumtree\portal\private\pagelayouts\, where install_dir is the directory in which you installed the Image Service (for example, C:\Oracle\Middleware\wci for Windows or /oracle/middleware/wci for UNIX or Linux). For information on creating adaptive layouts, see the Adaptive Page Layouts section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware User Interface Customization Guide for Oracle WebCenter Framework Interaction.

The remote portlet Web services that display adaptive layouts must be stored in the Page Layouts administrative folder in the portal, in the subfolder corresponding to the type of layout. For example, all the layouts stored in the Base Page Layouts subfolder are available in the Base Page Layouts list in the Experience Definition Editor. All the layouts stored in the Portlet Layouts subfolder are available in the list in the Select Page Layout dialog box when editing a My Page or community page and in the list in the Layout Chooser for Portlet Layouts section on the Adaptive Page Layout Settings page in the Experience Definition Editor.

When you create an experience definition that uses adaptive page layouts, you select an appropriate page layout for each area of the portal. When users create a My Page or community page, they select whether to display the adaptive portlet layout or a legacy user interface.

Note:

If, for any reason, the page layouts cannot be loaded, the user interface will revert to the legacy user interface.

Customizing the User Interface with Adaptive Layouts

To customize the user interface with adaptive layouts, the following steps must be completed by the person indicated:

  1. System administrator: Ensure that adaptive layouts are enabled in the portal configuration file.

    You can enable both adaptive page layouts and adaptive portlet layouts or just one or the other.

  2. Portal developer: Create the adaptive layouts as described in the Adaptive Page Layouts section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware User Interface Customization Guide for Oracle WebCenter Framework Interaction.

  3. Portal administrator or administrative user: Create remote portlet Web services that point to the adaptive layouts, as described in Creating a Remote Portlet Web Service for an Adaptive Layout. For information on portlets, see Chapter 8, "Extending Portal Services with Portlets."

  4. Portal administrator or administrative user: If you want to use adaptive page layouts, create at least one experience definition that uses them, as described in Creating an Experience Definition to Display Adaptive Page Layouts. For information on Experience Definitions, see About Controlling the User Interface with Experience Definitions and Experience Rules.

If you enabled adaptive portlet layouts, users can select them for their My Pages, community managers can select them for their community pages, and administrative users with the Access User Profile Manager activity right can select them for the profile pages.

Creating a Remote Portlet Web Service for an Adaptive Layout

The tasks described below assume that you have already created the adaptive layouts as described in the Adaptive Page Layouts section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware User Interface Customization Guide for Oracle WebCenter Framework Interaction.

Before you create a remote portlet Web service, if necessary, create the remote server the Web service will point to. If your adaptive layouts are stored on the computer that hosts the Image Service, you can use the ImageServer Remote Server.To create a remote portlet Web service you must have the following rights and privileges:

  • Access Administration activity right

  • Create Web Service Infrastructure activity right

  • At least Edit access to the parent folder (the folder that will store the Web service)

  • At least Select access to the remote server the Web service will point to

  1. Click Administration.

  2. Open the Page Layouts folder.

    Remote portlet Web services for adaptive layouts must be stored in this folder to be available in the Experience Definition Editor and the Select Page Layout dialog box for My Pages and community pages.

  3. Open the folder for the type of layout for which you are creating a Web service.

    For example, if you are creating a Web service for a layout that applies to search results pages, open the Search Results Page Layouts folder.

  4. In the Create Object list, click Web Service — Remote Portlet.

  5. Next to Remote Server, click Browse.

    The Choose Remote Server dialog box opens.

  6. Select the remote server this Web service should point to and click OK.

    If your adaptive layouts are stored on the computer that hosts the Image Service, you can use the ImageServer Remote Server.

  7. In the Portlet URL box, complete the path to the adaptive layout.

    For example: plumtree/portal/private/pagelayouts/searchresultslayout.html

The default security for this Web service is based on the security of the parent folder. You can change the security when you save this Web service (on the Security tab page in the Save As dialog box), or by editing this Web service (on the Security page of the Web Service Editor).

Note:

  • If you are creating a Web service for a portlet layout, provide at least Select access to any users you want to be able to select the layout in My Pages or community pages.

  • If you are creating a Web service for a page layout, provide at least Select access to any users you want to be able to select the layout in experience definitions.

Creating an Experience Definition to Display Adaptive Page Layouts

Before you create an experience definition that displays adaptive page layouts, you must:

  • Create any custom adaptive page layouts you want to use

  • Create remote portlet Web services for the custom adaptive page layouts

  • Create the guest user you want to associate with the experience definition

  • Create any header and footer portlets you want to use to brand the experience definition

To create an experience definition that displays adaptive page layouts you must have the following rights and privileges:

  • Access Administration activity right

  • Create Experience Definitions activity right

  • At least Edit access to the parent folder (the folder that will store the experience)

  • At least Select access to the remote portlet Web services for the adaptive page layouts

  • At least Select access to the guest user you want to associate with the experience definition

  • At least Select access to any header and footer portlets you want to add to the experience definition

  1. Click Administration.

  2. Open the folder in which you want to store the experience definition.

    Note:

    You might want to store all of the resources needed by a particular audience of users in the same folder in which you store those users. By securing the folder appropriately and applying experience definition settings to it you can create completely separate and discreet user experiences for each audience of users.

  3. In the Create Object list, click Experience Definition.

    The Experience Definition Editor opens.

  4. On Experience Definition Features page, complete the following tasks:

  5. Click the Choose Header, Footer & Style page and complete the following task:

  6. Click the Edit Navigation Options page and complete the following tasks:

  7. Click the Login Settings page and complete the following task:

  8. Click the Adaptive Page Layout Settings page and complete the following task:

  9. Click the Properties and Names page and complete the following tasks:

The default security for this experience definition is based on the security of the parent folder. You can change the security when you save this experience definition (on the Security tab page in the Save As dialog box), or by editing this experience definition (on the Security page of the Experience Definition Editor).

Reverting to a Legacy User Interface

If you want to display the user interface used in previous versions of the portal you can do so with settings in the Experience Definition Editor.

  1. Open the Experience Definition Editor by creating a new experience definition or editing an existing one.

  2. Click the Adaptive Page Layout Settings page.

  3. Under Adaptive Page Layout Mode, clear the Enable Adaptive Page Layout Mode box.

  4. Perform tasks on the remaining pages as necessary:

About Controlling the User Interface with Experience Definitions and Experience Rules

Experience definitions provide multiple user experiences within a single portal. An experience definition defines certain elements of a user experience, such as adaptive page layout settings, branding style, and navigation. An experience rule defines the conditions that, when met, display the associated experience definition to a user.

Experience Definitions

The experience definition specifies the following:

  • Which portal menus to display (My Pages, My Communities, Directory)

  • What navigation scheme to display

  • Which header and footer to display

    Note:

    The headers and footers can be overridden at the community level.

  • Any mandatory links to display

  • The default page displayed when a user logs in (such as a My Page, a particular community, or a Knowledge Directory folder)

Users are directed to a particular experience definition in three ways (in the following order):

  1. The users satisfy a rule you create in the Experience Rules Manager. These rules may specify the URL used to access the portal, a community the user accesses, a group to which the user belongs, or the user's IP address.

  2. The users are stored in a folder that is associated with the experience definition.

  3. If neither of the above conditions are met, users experience the default experience definition for the portal.

Note:

You might want to store all of the resources needed by a particular audience of users in the same folder in which you store those users. By securing the folder appropriately and applying experience definition settings to it you can create completely separate and discreet user experiences for each audience of users.

Experience Rules

When you create an experience rule, you must also place it in rank order in relation to existing rules. The first rule to evaluate to true will be applied. For example, you might create a rule that says that users in the Marketing group see the user interface defined in the Marketing experience definition, and another rule that says that users in the Management group see the user interface defined in the Management experience definition. Since some users may be in both groups, you may decide that you want the Management experience definition to have priority. In this case, you order the two rules so that the Management experience rule is above the Marketing experience rule.

Guest User Experiences

If you want to have different user experiences for different audiences of guest users (users that have not logged in), you might want to create several guest users and assign them different experience definitions. For an example, see the Guest Users section in About Users.

Creating an Experience Definition to Control the User Interface

Before you create an experience definition you must:

  • Create any custom adaptive page layouts you want to use

  • Create remote portlet Web services for any custom adaptive page layouts

  • Create the guest user you want to associate with the experience definition

  • Create any header and footer portlets you want to use to brand the experience definition

To create an experience definition you must have the following rights and privileges:

  • Access Administration activity right

  • Create Experience Definitions activity right

  • At least Edit access to the parent folder (the folder that will store the experience)

  • If you want to apply adaptive page layouts to the experience definition, at least Select access to the remote portlet Web services for the adaptive page layouts

  • At least Select access to the guest user you want to associate with the experience definition

  • At least Select access to any header and footer portlets you want to add to the experience definition

  1. Click Administration.

  2. Open the folder in which you want to store the experience definition.

    Note:

    You might want to store all of the resources needed by a particular audience of users in the same folder in which you store those users. By securing the folder appropriately and applying experience definition settings to it you can create completely separate and discreet user experiences for each audience of users.

  3. In the Create Object list, click Experience Definition.

    The Experience Definition Editor opens.

  4. Complete the tasks on Experience Definition Features page:

  5. Click the Choose Header, Footer & Style page and complete the following task:

  6. Click the Edit Navigation Options page and complete the following tasks:

  7. Click the Login Settings page and complete the following task:

  8. Click the Adaptive Page Layout Settings page and complete the following task:

  9. Click the Properties and Names page and complete the following tasks:

  10. Click the Security page and complete the following task:

Note:

Changes made to an experience definition take 15 minutes to be updated in the cache and be reflected to users.

Specifying a User Experience for Users in a Folder

You can specify a user experience for users in a folder by associating an experience definition with the folder.

Note:

Users will see the associated experience definition only if no other experience rules apply.

You can associate an experience definition with a folder in the Folder Editor or in the Experience Definition Editor.

Note:

When a folder has been associated with an experience definition, the icon representing the folder changes to:

Icon for folder with associated experience definition

Note:

You might want to store all of the resources needed by a particular audience of users in the same folder in which you store those users. By securing the folder appropriately and applying experience definition settings to it you can create completely separate and discreet user experiences for each audience of users.

Associating Folders with an Experience Definition

You can specify a user experience for users in a folder by associating an experience definition with the folder.

Note:

Users will see the associated experience definition only if no other experience rules apply.

  1. If the Experience Definition Editor is not already open, open it now.

  2. Select the administrative folders you want to associate with this experience definition.

    • To associate an existing folder, click Add Folder.

    • To create a new folder, click Create Folder.

Note:

When a folder has been associated with an experience definition, the icon representing the folder changes to:

Icon for folder with associated experience definition

Note:

You might want to store all of the resources needed by a particular audience of users in the same folder in which you store those users. By securing the folder appropriately and applying experience definition settings to it you can create completely separate and discreet user experiences for each audience of users.

Applying an Experience Definition to a Folder

You can specify a user experience for users in a folder by associating an experience definition with the folder.

Note:

Users will see the associated experience definition only if no other experience rules apply.

  1. Click Administration.

  2. Open the folder to which you want to apply an experience definition in Folder Editor.

  3. Click the Experience Definition Settings page.

  4. In the list, select the experience definition you want to apply to users stored in this folder.

  5. To change the settings for the selected experience definition, click Edit Profile.

    This opens the Experience Definition Editor.

Note:

When a folder has been associated with an experience definition, the icon representing the folder changes to:

Icon for folder with associated experience definition

Note:

You might want to store all of the resources needed by a particular audience of users in the same folder in which you store those users. By securing the folder appropriately and applying experience definition settings to it you can create completely separate and discreet user experiences for each audience of users.

Selecting the Portal Menus and Home Page for an Experience Definition

For each experience definition you can specify which portal menus appear and which page users should see when they log in to the portal.

  1. If the Experience Definition Editor is not already open, open it now.

  2. In the Enable column, select the menus (and associated features) you want to include in this experience definition.

    For example, to include the My Pages menu and features, select the box associated with My Pages.

    Note:

    If you disable the Knowledge Directory, users cannot browse document folders, but they can still search for portal documents.

  3. In the Home column, select the portal area you want to display when users log in to the portal.

    For example, to display a particular community when a user logs in, select the button associated with Communities.

  4. If you selected Communities as the home page you must also select a particular community.

    • To choose a home community from existing communities, click Choose Home Community.

    • To create a new home community, click Create Home Community.

    Note:

    Users viewing this experience definition must have at least Read access to the community you choose, or they will receive an error after logging in.

  5. If you selected the Knowledge Directory as the home page you must also select a particular folder.

    • To choose a home folder from existing folders, click Choose Home Folder.

    • To create a new home folder, click Create Home Folder.

    Note:

    Users viewing this experience definition must have at least Read access to the folder you choose, or they will receive an error after logging in.

  6. If you enabled the Knowledge Directory, under Include these Knowledge Directory Features, select which related object features you want to display in the Knowledge Directory.

    By default, objects specified as related to a Knowledge Directory folder display to users viewing that folder. To hide a type of related object, clear the associated check box.

Branding Experience Definitions with Headers and Footers

The Choose Header, Footer & Style page of the Experience Definition Editor enables you to add special branding portlets to an experience definition (as well as change the color scheme) to control what certain groups of users see at the top and bottom of portal pages.

You must create the header and footer portlets you want to use before branding the experience definition.

  1. If the Experience Definition Editor is not already open, open it now.

  2. Click the Choose Header, Footer & Style page.

  3. In the Default Style list, select a color scheme.

    Note:

    If you are using adaptive page layouts, the layout will override the style selected here.

  4. Under Add Header, select the header portlet you want to apply to the experience definition:

    • To add or change the header, click Add Header.

    • To remove the header, select it, then click the Remove icon.

  5. Under Add Footer, select the footer portlet you want to apply to the experience definition:

    • To add or change the header, click Add Footer.

    • To remove the footer, select it, then click the Remove icon.

Note:

The community template header and footer can be set to override the experience definition header and footer.

Selecting a Navigation Scheme for an Experience Definition

For each experience definition you can specify a default navigation style to define the menu layout and core navigation structure most appropriate for your bandwidth constraints, browser requirements, design needs, deployment size, and end-user expectations.

  1. If the Experience Definition Editor is not already open, open it now.

  2. Click the Edit Navigation Options page.

  3. Under Navigation Type, choose a navigation scheme.

    • Horizontal Combo Box Drop-Down Navigation: This navigation scheme uses standard HTML controls to place navigational elements in drop-down menus. Because it does not use JavaScript for rendering menus, this option is bandwidth-efficient.

    • Tabbed Section Left Vertical Navigation: This navigation scheme uses horizontal tabs at the top for the main portal areas, which, when clicked, display links on the left to the options available within that portal area. This scheme is similar to the navigation for sites such as Amazon.com and MSN.

    • Left Vertical Navigation: This navigation scheme lists all available links unless the user minimizes particular elements. It is very easy to use, because users see all links without additional clicks. Because it does not use JavaScript for rendering menus, this option is bandwidth-efficient. However, if users join a large number of communities, they have to scroll to see some links.

    • Mandatory Links Only: This navigation scheme displays only the mandatory links (which you specify in the experience definition) using the same menu style used in Horizontal Drop-Down Navigation. Users can see only their home page (the page that displays when they log in) and any areas for which you have created mandatory links. However, they can still access documents through search and might be able to access other areas if those areas are available through portlets. You might use this scheme if you want to severely limit portal access to users. For example, you might want a group of customers to access only a particular community to learn about a new product.

    • No Navigation: This navigation scheme displays no navigation, but includes the top bar. However, there is a link to Administration if the user has access. As with the Mandatory Links Only navigation scheme, users can access portal content and areas through search and portlets.

    • Horizontal Drop-Down Navigation: This navigation scheme uses horizontal tabs and JavaScript-based drop-down menus to access navigation elements. Clicks, not mouse-overs, display the menus. The drop-down menus expand both vertically and horizontally, but cover only the portal's banner to avoid covering the portlets. If a user belongs to more communities than can fit in the allotted space, a vertical scroll bar appears in the drop-down. You can configure the extent of the vertical and horizontal tiling of the drop-down menus.

    • Low Bandwidth and Accessibility Navigation: Low Bandwidth and Accessibility Navigation is used by low bandwidth and accessibility modes of the portal. This navigation is used by those modes no matter which navigation is selected by the experience definition for standard mode.

    • Portlet-Ready Navigation: Portlet-Ready Navigation disables all navigation areas except the header and footer. The top bar, which includes the search box, is also disabled. This navigation scheme is only used when you are using adaptive page layouts or when navigation is controlled by portlets (usually header or footer portlets) using navigation tags. Adaptive page layouts and navigation tags provide developers a faster, easier way to customize navigation than modifying the other available navigation schemes.

    Note:

    • If you have written your own navigation styles, they should also be available on this page.

    • Vertical navigation styles lessen the page width available for portlets on My Pages and community pages.

    • If you have selected any navigation option other than Portlet-Ready Navigation, do not use the default adaptive page layouts available with the portal. If you use the default adaptive page layouts with other navigation options, users will see two methods of navigation.

    • The experience definition you log in to might have a different navigation style than the experience definition you are creating. To ensure that the experience definition you are creating has the appropriate appearance, log in as a user that sees that experience definition.

If you selected Mandatory Links Only, you must now define the mandatory links. See Defining Mandatory Links to Display in an Experience Definition.

If you selected Portlet-Ready Navigation, you must select the header and footer and/or the adaptive page layout settings that define your navigation. See Branding Experience Definitions with Headers and Footers and Applying Adaptive Page Layouts.

Defining Mandatory Links to Display in an Experience Definition

For each experience definition you can define links to Web pages, experts, documents, and community pages that are displayed to users as part of the navigation.

  1. If the Experience Definition Editor is not already open, open it now.

  2. Click the Edit Navigation Options page.

  3. Under Edit Links, add and modify links to Web pages, experts, documents, and community pages.

    • Click Add Links to add links to Web pages.

    • Click Add Experts to add links to experts.

    • Click Add Documents to add links to documents and document folders in the Knowledge Directory.

    • Click Add Pages to add links to community pages.

    • To remove links, select the links you want to delete and click the Remove icon.

      To select or clear all link boxes, select or clear the box under Navigation Link Heading.

    • If these links are shared with another experience definition and you do not want to share them, click Separate.

      If this is a copy of another experience definition or if this experience definition has been copied, you see a warning that the navigation links are shared between the experience definitions. Any changes you make to these links are reflected in the linked experience definitions.

    • To change the menu heading that displays to users, type the text in the Navigation Link Heading box.

      When you add navigation links, they display in a new menu, similar to the My Pages menu.

    Note:

    You might have access to resources to which members of your experience definition do not have access. If users do not have access to a resource listed as a navigation link, they will not see the link.

Defining the Guest User Experience for an Experience Definition

For each experience definition you can associate a guest user, which lets you define the initial page an unauthenticated user sees when coming to this experience definition. For example, if an unauthenticated user is directed to this experience definition (through application of an experience rule), you can choose to have that user see the My Page layout of the guest user you associate with this experience definition, even if the experience definition is not set to display My Pages. You can also specify what page users see when they log out of an experience definition.

  1. If the Experience Definition Editor is not already open, open it now.

  2. Click the Login Settings page.

  3. Under Guest Settings, click Select a Guest User, and choose a guest user to associate with this experience definition.

  4. Under Login Page Settings, select what page unauthenticated users should see when they access this experience definition.

    • To display the default My Page for the selected guest user, select Guest MyPage.

    • To display the default login page shared across all experience definitions, select Default Login Page.

    Unauthenticated users viewing this experience definition will be directed to the page you select here if, in the portal configuration file, GuestRedirectToLogin is set to 1, or if they click Log In. Otherwise, unauthenticated users see the home page selected for this experience definition.

    Note:

    If you selected Guest MyPage ensure that the Portal Login portlet displays on the selected guest user's default My Page so that unauthenticated users can log in.

  5. Under Login Page Settings, select what page users should see when they log out of this experience definition.

    • To display the default My Page for the selected guest user, select Guest MyPage.

    • To display the default login page shared across all experience definitions, select Default Login Page.

    Users will be directed to the page you select here if, in the portal configuration file, RedirectOnLogout is set to 1. Otherwise, upon logout, users see the home page specified for this experience definition.

    Note:

    If you selected Guest MyPage ensure that the Portal Login portlet displays on the selected guest user's default My Page so that unauthenticated users can log in.

Disabling Single Sign-On (SSO) for an Experience Definition

You can override portal SSO settings for users in this experience definition. Otherwise the SSO settings in the portal configuration file will apply.

  1. If the Experience Definition Editor is not already open, open it now.

  2. Click the Login Settings page.

  3. Under Disable Single Sign On (SSO), specify whether you want to disable SSO for this experience definition.

    Select Disable SSO Setting to override portal SSO settings for users in this experience definition. Otherwise the SSO settings in the portal configuration file will apply.

    Note:

    This check box is unavailable (grayed-out) if the "SSOVendor" setting is 0 in the portal configuration file.

Applying Adaptive Page Layouts

For each experience definition you can specify whether to use adaptive page layouts to display the user interface or use a legacy user interface used in previous versions of the portal.

The tasks described below assume that adaptive page layouts have not been disabled in the portal configuration file and that you have already created the adaptive page layouts as described in the Adaptive Page Layouts section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware User Interface Customization Guide for Oracle WebCenter Framework Interaction.

Before you apply adaptive page layouts to an experience definition, you must create remote portlet Web services for the adaptive page layouts.

To apply adaptive page layouts you must have at least Select access to the remote portlet Web services for the adaptive page layouts.

  1. If the Experience Definition Editor is not already open, open it now.

  2. Click the Adaptive Page Layout Settings page.

  3. Under Adaptive Page Layout Mode, specify if this experience definition should display adaptive page layouts.

    To enable adaptive page layouts for this experience definition, select Enable Adaptive Page Layout Mode.

    Note:

    • This setting is not available if adaptive layouts are disabled in the portal configuration files.

    • This setting controls only adaptive page layouts, not adaptive portlet layouts, which are controlled by the page layouts selected for My Pages and community pages.

    • If you disable adaptive page layouts, this experience definition will display a legacy user interface used in previous versions of the portal.

  4. If you enabled adaptive page layouts, under Layout Chooser for Page Layouts, specify the layouts you want to display for each page layout type.

    • In the Base Page Layouts list, select the layout for components that are common to each page (header, footer, navigation, content area).

      The layouts listed in this list correspond to the remote portlet Web services stored in the Page Layouts/Base Page Layouts administrative folder.

    • In the Profile Page Layouts list, select the layout for components that are common to each user profile page (header, footer, navigation, content area).

      The layouts listed in this list correspond to the remote portlet Web services stored in the Page Layouts/Profile Page Layouts administrative folder.

    • In the Knowledge Directory Layouts list, select the layout for the content area of the Directory.

      The layouts listed in this list correspond to the remote portlet Web services stored in the Page Layouts/Knowledge Directory Page Layouts administrative folder.

      Note:

      The common components of the Directory are specified in the base page layout.

    • In the Search Results Layouts list, select the layout for the content area of the search results.

      The layouts listed in this list correspond to the remote portlet Web services stored in the Page Layouts/Search Results Page Layouts administrative folder.

      Note:

      The common components of the search results are specified in the base page layout.

    • In the Advanced Search Layouts list, select the layout for the content area of the advanced search page.

      The layouts listed in this list correspond to the remote portlet Web services stored in the Page Layouts/Advanced Search Page Layouts administrative folder.

    • In the Portlet Selection Layouts list, select what layout to use for the pop-up or fly-out editor used to select portlets.

      The layouts listed in this list correspond to the remote portlet Web services stored in the Page Layouts/Portlet Selection Page Layouts administrative folder.

If you have not already done so, you must select Portlet Ready Navigation on the Edit Navigation Options page of this editor.

About Branding with Header and Footer Portlets

Branding portlets customize the look of your portal with headers and footers. For example, you probably want to add your company logo and tagline to the header and you might want to add contact information or copyrights to the footer.

Note:

The easiest way to apply branding (and control the look of your user interface) is with adaptive page layouts, which are then applied through experience definitions.

There are several ways to brand your portal:

About Header and Footer Portlet Precedence

You apply header and footer portlets at the community template, community, or experience definition level. The community template settings determine what header and footer are used in the community.

  • The community template can force the community to use the experience definition branding.

  • The community template can include its own branding that cannot be overridden in the community. This branding overrides the experience definition branding.

  • If the community template does not specify any branding restrictions, the community can include its own branding. This branding overrides the experience definition branding.

About Navigation Options

The portal includes navigation schemes that allow you to select the menu layout and core navigation structure most appropriate for your bandwidth constraints, browser requirements, design needs, deployment size, and end-user expectations. You can also create your own navigation schemes, using the existing code as a starting point.

For information on customizing navigation and other user interface elements, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware User Interface Customization Guide for Oracle WebCenter Framework Interaction.

The navigation schemes included with the portal can be divided into horizontal and vertical groups, based on the alignment of the navigational elements. In horizontal navigation, links to My Pages, communities, the Knowledge Directory, Administration, and any mandatory links you specify appear at the top of the page in drop-down menus, maximizing the space available for portlets. In vertical navigation, links appear on the left side of the screen.

You can select one of the following navigation schemes for each experience definition you create:

Any navigation scheme (except the No Navigation scheme) can include mandatory links to Web sites, user profiles of portal experts, documents from the portal Knowledge Directory, and pages in communities. These links display in the navigation scheme under a category (like My Pages, My Communities, or Directory) with the name of your choosing. You might want to use these links to promote new portlets, communities, or important documents.

About Portal Interface Types

Interface Type Description

Standard Portal

The fully-featured user interface for the Oracle WebCenter Interaction software. Use it to provide the richest user interface experience for internal and external users. This version does not support assistive technologies.

Assistive Technology Portal

Designed for people with disabilities. It supports only portlets that meet requirements for use with assistive technologies.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act is a federal statute requiring federal agencies' electronic and information technology to be accessible to people with disabilities, including employees and members of the public. The federal criteria for web-based technology are based on access guidelines developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Designed to adhere to the federal criteria for web-based technology, the Assistive Technology Portal allows end users with visual disabilities to access the portal through assistive browsing technologies, such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, voice recognition and Braille devices. The interface is text-based with a linear presentation of information, and with no embedded client-side JavaScript or Java applets.

Low Bandwidth Portal

Accommodates users with slower internet connections. This version supports all Oracle WebCenter portlets, but does not support assistive technologies. Remote users have two options for viewing portal pages—the standard version and the Low Bandwidth version. Users can switch from one version to the other during a portal session and the change occurs immediately.

The Low Bandwidth Portal provides better performance for end users accessing the portal remotely when network performance is slow due to low bandwidth or heavy traffic. This version presents a user interface with far fewer graphics and no embedded JavaScript or Java applets.

About Locale Settings

Users can change their portal display to accommodate their time zone and locale (from the My Account menu, they can click Edit Locale Settings). The locale determines:

Note:

Only the portal interface and localized objects display in the language you choose. Your personal greeting does not change if you change your locale.

About Controlling the Initial Portal Experience

Oracle WebCenter Interaction includes several features that work together to control users' initial portal experience, such as the user interface and access to content.

Feature How the Feature is Applied to Users Created Manually How the Feature is Applied to Users Self-Registered How the Feature is Applied to Users Imported Through an Authentication Source How the Feature is Applied to Users Created Through Acceptance of an Invitation

Default Profiles

Each user is assigned a default profile at creation. Default profiles define initial My Account settings, such as language, time zone, and portal interface type; the name and number of My Pages; and the layout of the portlets on those My Pages. Default profiles provide an initial view of the portal, which users can then change to fit their needs. For information on default profiles, see

Automatically assigned the “Default Profile” created at installation

Automatically assigned the “Default Profile” created at installation

Automatically assigned the default profiles specified in the Authentication Source Editor

Automatically assigned the default profile specified in the Invitation Editor

Group Membership

All users are automatically added to the Everyone group and can be assigned to groups manually in the User Editor or Group Editor after creation.

The most efficient way to manage access to content is to assign access privileges to groups. The only way to assign activity rights (which control access to features) is to assign the rights to groups. You can then add new users to the appropriate groups.

Manually assigned in the User Editor during creation

(No additional membership assigned during creation; assigned only to the Everyone group)

Automatically assigned to groups based on the mappings in the Global ACL Sync Map (and any mappings that occur automatically if the authentication source category matches the domain name)

Automatically assigned to groups specified in the Invitation Editor

Mandatory Communities and Portlets

Mandatory communities are communities to which the user cannot unsubscribe. Mandatory portlets are portlets that cannot be removed from a user's My Page.

The most efficient way to manage mandatory communities and portlets is to make them mandatory for particular groups. You then add new users to the appropriate groups as mentioned in the previous entry.

Experience Definitions

All users are assigned the experience definition associated with the folder in which the user is stored. You can also use experience rules to assign experience definitions to users.
 

Manually create the user in the folder of your choice

Automatically created in the “Default Experience Definition” folder created at installation

Automatically created in the folders specified in the Authentication Source Editor

Automatically created in the folder specified in the Invitation Editor

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