17 Assembling Portlets into Desktops

You perform the tasks described in this chapter to prepare the individual portlets that are part of your portal application for public consumption. After you add portlets to desktops, you can configure and test the application as a whole, and then deploy it to the production environment when it is ready for public access.

Before you perform the tasks described in this chapter, use the Oracle Fusion Middleware Portal Development Guide for Oracle WebLogic Portal to create the framework into which you will add the portlets— this includes the portal and its menus, layouts, the Look & Feel components for the overall portal, and the framework of the actual desktop. Also, you must have already created the set of portlets in the portlet library, from which you will choose the portlets to add to the desktop.

The primary tools used in this chapter are the WebLogic Portal Administration Console, the WebLogic Portal Propagation Utility (to move database and LDAP data between staging, development, and production), WebLogic Server application deployment tools, and any external content or security providers that you are using.

This chapter contains the following sections:

• Section 17.1, "Portlet Library"

• Section 17.2, "Managing Portlets Using the Administration Console"

17.1 Portlet Library

The WebLogic Portal Administration Console organizes portal resources in a tree that consists of Library resources and desktop resources. Understanding the relationship between Library and desktop resources helps you to understand the effects and consequences of propagation.

The following text describes the relationships between the following instances of portal assets:

• Primary instance – Created in Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse and stored in a .portal or .portlet file.

• Library instance – Created or updated in the Administration Portal, and displayed in the Portal Resources tree under the Library node.

• Desktop instance – Created or updated in the Administration Portal, and displayed in the Portal Resources tree under the Portals node.

• Visitor instance – Created or updated in the Visitor Tools.

For more details on portlets in libraries and in desktops, refer to the Oracle Fusion Middleware Production Operations Guide for Oracle WebLogic Portal.

17.2 Managing Portlets Using the Administration Console

This section contains instructions for performing portlet-related tasks using the WebLogic Portal Administration Console.

This section contains the following topics:

• Section 17.2.1, "Copying a Portlet in the Library"

• Section 17.2.2, "Modifying Library Portlet Properties"

• Section 17.2.3, "Modifying Desktop Portlet Properties"

• Section 17.2.4, "Deleting a Portlet"

• Section 17.2.5, "Managing Portlets on Pages"

• Section 17.2.6, "Overview of Portlet Categories"

• Section 17.2.7, "Overview of Portlet Preferences"

• Section 17.2.8, "Creating a Portlet Preference"

• Section 17.2.9, "Editing a Portlet Preference"

• Section 17.2.10, "Overview of Delegated Administration"

• Section 17.2.11, "Overview of Visitor Entitlements"

17.2.1 Copying a Portlet in the Library

You can use this feature of the WebLogic Portal Administration Console to duplicate an existing portlet and use it as a template for a "new" portlet.

Perform these steps:

1. Expand the Library node in the Portal Resources tree and navigate to the portlet that you want to copy.

2. Click Copy Portlet. The Copy Portlet dialog displays.

3. Enter a title and description for the copied portlet.

4. Click OK. The portlet is added at the bottom of the portlet list.

You can now customize the copied portlet by modifying its properties and preferences.

17.2.2 Modifying Library Portlet Properties

Portlet properties include all of the features and elements that make up the portlet. As a portal administrator, you can modify some of these properties from the Details tab. You can also edit the title, description, and locale information from the Title & Description tab, as described below.

To modify the properties of a portlet that resides in the library, perform these steps:

1. Expand the Library node in the Portal Resources tree and navigate to the portlet that you want to modify.

2. From the Details tab, select the type of property that you want to change. Use the table below for guidance.

Table 17-1 Modifying Library Portlet Properties

Property to Change	Procedure
Change title and description of the portlet in the current locale	Click Title & Description. Click the locale (for example, en) in the Locale cell; the Add a Localized Title & Description dialog displays. Enter a new Title and/or Description. Click Update.
Add a localized title for the portlet	Click Title & Description. Click Add Localized Title; the Add a Localized Title & Description dialog appears. Enter a Language and Country identifier, Variant if applicable, Title, and a Description for the localized title. Click Create.
Portlet Preferences	Refer to Section 17.2.8, "Creating a Portlet Preference" and Section 17.2.9, "Editing a Portlet Preference."
Portlet Theme	Click Appearance; the Edit Appearance dialog displays. From the drop-down menu, select a Theme. Click Update.
Render caching and timeout	Click Advanced Properties. In the Render Caching Enabled drop-down menu, select True or False. If you selected True, enter a cache expiration value in the Cache Expiration field. Click Update.

17.2.3 Modifying Desktop Portlet Properties

Portlet properties include all of the features and elements that make up the portlet. As a portal administrator, you can modify some of these properties from the Details tab. You can also edit the title, description, and locale information from the Title & Description tab, as described below.

To modify the properties of a portlet that resides on a desktop, perform these steps:

1. Expand the Portals node in the Portal Resources tree and navigate to the portlet that you want to modify.

2. From the Details tab, select the type of property that you want to change. Use the table below as a guide.

Table 17-2 Modifying Desktop Portlet Properties

Property to Change	Procedure
Title and Description	You must edit these values within the Library resource tree. Expand the Library node, select the portlet that you want to edit, and follow the instructions in Section 17.2.2, "Modifying Library Portlet Properties."
Portlet Preferences	Refer to Section 17.2.8, "Creating a Portlet Preference" and Section 17.2.9, "Editing a Portlet Preference."
Portlet Theme	Click Appearance; the Edit Appearance dialog displays. From the drop-down menu, select a Theme. Click Update.

17.2.4 Deleting a Portlet

You can delete portlets from the Administration Console only if they were created there; for example, if you used the Copy Portlet feature to duplicate the portlet. Portlets created in Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse cannot be deleted using the Administration Console.

Perform these steps:

1. Expand the Library node in the Portal Resources tree and navigate to the portlet that you want to delete.

2. Click Delete Portlet.

17.2.5 Managing Portlets on Pages

The contents of a page include portlets and books. You can view the portlets that are already on your page, and add and remove portlets to construct your page.

17.2.5.1 Adding Portlets to a Page

Library: To add a content to a page, perform these steps:

1. In the Portal Resource tree, expand the Library node and navigate to a page. The Details tab displays.

2. Click Page Contents. The Edit Contents tab displays.

3. Click Add Contents. The Add Books and Portlets to Placeholder dialog displays.

4. Display the pages that you want to choose from, using the Search area if needed.

5. Choose the portlets that you want to add by selecting the desired check boxes, and click Add.

6. When finished, click Save.

Desktop: To add a portlets to a page, perform these steps:

1. In the Portal Resource tree, expand the Portals node and navigate to a page. The Details tab displays.

2. Click Page Contents. The Edit Contents tab displays.

3. Click Add Contents; search for existing portlets if needed, then select the portlets that you want, and click Add. When finished, click Save.

17.2.5.2 Positioning Elements on a Page

The page layout is the grid structure of a page that holds placeholders for portlets and books on the page. You can select a layout for your portlets/books, and drag and drop them between the placeholders to customize the layout of each page.

Perform these steps:

1. In the Portal Resource tree, expand either the Library node or the Portals node as applicable, and select a page. The Details tab displays.

2. Click Page Contents. The Edit Contents tab displays.

3. If you want to change to a different layout, select a layout in the Layout drop-down menu.

4. Select the method that you want to use to position the elements on the page by selecting an option in the Position Elements area. The default is Drag & Drop.

5. Move portlets or books between placeholder columns.

6. If you want to prevent users from moving or deleting elements from a placeholder, select the Lock Placeholder check box.

7. When finished, click Save Changes.

17.2.6 Overview of Portlet Categories

Portlet categories provide for the classification of portlets, which is useful when organizing a large collection of portlets into meaningful groupings. The portlet categories are similar to other hierarchical structures in that parent "folders" can contain child folders and/or portlets. You must first create a portlet category, and then you can manage portlets by adding them to a category or moving them between categories.

17.2.6.1 Creating a Portlet Category

To create a portlet category:

1. In the Portal Resources tree, expand the Library folder and select Portlet Categories. The Browse Category tab displays.

2. Click Create New Category.

3. Type a title and description for the new category in the pop-up window.

4. Click Create.

17.2.6.2 Modifying Portlet Category Properties

Portlet category properties include all of the features and elements that make up the category. As a portal administrator, you can modify some of these properties from the Summary tab. You can also edit the title, description, and locale information from the Titles & Descriptions tab, as described below.

Perform these steps:

1. In the Portal Resources tree, expand the Library node and navigate to a portlet category.

2. From the Summary tab, select the type of property that you want to change. Use the table below as a guide.

Table 17-3 Modifying Portlet Category Properties

Property to Change	Procedure
Change title and description of the category in the current locale	Click Title & Description. Click the locale (for example, en) in the Locale cell; the Add a Localized Title & Description dialog displays. Enter a new Title and/or Description. Click Update.
Add a localized title for the category	Click Title & Description. Click Add Localized Title; the Add a Localized Title & Description dialog appears. Enter a Language and Country identifier, Variant if applicable, Title, and a Description for the localized title. Click Create.
Portlets in Category	Refer to Section 17.2.6.3, "Adding Portlets to a Portlet Category."
Categories in Category	Click Categories In Category; the Browse Category tab displays. Click Create New Category; the Create New Category dialog displays. Enter a Title and Description for the new category. Click Create. The category is created and added to the currently selected category.

17.2.6.3 Adding Portlets to a Portlet Category

To add portlets into a category:

1. Expand the Library node in the Portal Resources tree and navigate to a portlet category. The Summary tab displays.

2. Click Portlets In Category.

3. Click Add Portlets.

4. In the Available Portlets area, select the portlets that you want to add, and click Add to include them in the Selected Portlets area.

5. Click Save.

17.2.7 Overview of Portlet Preferences

A portlet preference is a property in a portlet that can be customized by either an administrator or a user. Your portlet might already have preferences, but if you have the appropriate Delegated Administration rights you can create additional portlet preferences.

17.2.8 Creating a Portlet Preference

To create a portlet preference, perform these steps:

1. Expand the Portals node or the Library node in the Portal Resources tree, as appropriate, and navigate to the portlet for which you want to create a preference. The Details tab displays.

2. Click Add Portlet Preference.

3. Fill in the information in the fields. Use the table below as a guide.

   Table 17-4 Creating a Portlet Preference

   For this field:	Enter this information:
   Name	The name you want to give this preference.
   Description	A description of this preference.
   Value(s)	A value for a preference.
   Is Modifiable? (checkbox)	Select this check box if you want to allow end users to modify this preference.
   Is Multi-Valued? (checkbox)	Select this check box if you want to enter multiple values for the preference. If you select this box, an additional data entry field displays for you to enter additional values. Click Add Another Value after entering each value, until you are finished.

   
   

4. Click Save.

   For library instances of portlets, when you add a preference it automatically proliferates to library page instances and desktop page instances if the instances have not been decoupled.

5. If you want to force proliferation of this preference to every instance of this portlet, click Propagate to Instances; WebLogic Portal overwrites all desktop instance's preferences with the library preferences are. When complete, a message appears at the top of the Administration Console.

Here are some tips related to portlet preferences that you might find useful:

• When desktop instances of a portlet have no preferences, they automatically inherit the preferences from the library instance of the portlet.

• When desktop instances of a portlet have their own preferences set, they will not automatically inherit preferences from the library instance.

• If a desktop instance of a portlet has its own preferences set and these preferences are removed, it will automatically inherit all preferences from the library instance.

• If a desktop instance of a portlet has inherited preferences from the library instance and the desktop instance of this preference has been modified, it will no longer automatically inherit new preferences from the library or updates made to the library portlet's instance of this preference.

• If a desktop instance of a portlet has inherited the preferences from the library instance and no desktop instance specific preferences have been set, and the inherited preferences have not been modified in the desktop instance, the desktop instance will inherit all updates to the library preferences.

17.2.9 Editing a Portlet Preference

If you have the appropriate Delegated Administration rights, you can edit a portlet's preferences to change the way a portlet behaves.

To edit a portlet preference:

1. Expand the Portals node or the Library node in the Portal Resources tree, as appropriate, and navigate to the portlet for which you want to edit a preference. The Details tab displays.

2. Click Portlet Preferences.

3. Select the portlet preference by clicking its name in the Name column.

4. Edit the information in the fields. Use the table below as a guide.

   Table 17-5 Editing a Portlet Preference

   For this field:	Enter this information:
   Name	The name you want to give this preference.
   Description	A description of this preference.
   Value(s)	A value for a preference.
   Is Modifiable? (checkbox)	Select this check box if you want to allow end users to modify this preference.
   Is Multi-Valued? (checkbox)	Select this check box if you want to enter multiple values for the preference. If you select this box, an additional data entry field displays for you to enter additional values. Click Add Another Value after entering each value, until you are finished.

   
   

5. Click Save.

   For library instances of portlets, when you edit a preference it automatically proliferates to library page instances and desktop page instances if the instances have not been decoupled.

6. If you want to force proliferation of this change to every instance of this portlet, click Propagate to Instances. When complete, a message appears at the top of the Administration Console.

17.2.10 Overview of Delegated Administration

In your organization, you typically want individuals to have different access privileges to various administration tasks and resources. For example, a system administrator might have access to every feature in the WebLogic Portal Administration Console. The system administrator might then create a portal administrator role that can manage instances of portal resources in specific desktop views of your portal, and a library administrator role that can manage your portal resource library. Other delegated administration roles only have access to resources if that access has been explicitly granted.

For more information about using delegated administration as a part of your security strategy, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Security Guide for Oracle WebLogic Portal.

17.2.11 Overview of Visitor Entitlements

Visitor entitlements allow you to define who can access the resources in a portal application and what they can do with those resources. This access is based on the role assigned to a portal visitor, allowing for flexible management of the resources.

For more information about using visitor entitlements as a part of your security strategy, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Security Guide for Oracle WebLogic Portal.