PeopleSoft Applications Portal 9.1 PeopleBook: Using Portal Features

Managing Polls

This chapter provides an overview of polls and discusses how to:

Define polls
View poll results

Understanding Polls

Polls are a simple way for you to gather opinions and comments from your portal users using a pagelet that is displayed on the homepage or in a workspace. Use Poll pagelets to show a single question or poll in a pagelet and enable users to add comments and see other responses to the poll. Until the user has answered the poll, only the poll question appears in the pagelet. After the user has responded to the poll, the current poll results appear in the pagelet.

Poll pagelets are not created using Pagelet Wizard, but are created from within the Poll component for sites. Workspace polls are created at the time the workspace is created and can display only one poll.

The poll administrator can manage the display and content of the poll by clicking the Edit Poll link to access the Maintain Polls component.

Although only one question is displayed in the pagelet at a time, you can create multiple questions and have them appear based on different publishing dates. For example, you can create the Poll pagelet and have a different question appear each month by assigning effective-dated publishing dates to the future questions.

Note. To ask a single question using a template pagelet, use the Content Ratings feature. To ask users a series of questions, use the Surveys feature.

Understanding Polls in Workspaces

Defining Polls

This section discusses defining polls and how to:

Access polls.
Add a poll.
Maintain a poll.
Add a question to a poll.
Delete a poll.
Publish the poll as a pagelet.
Assign members to polls.
Assign security access to respondents.

Pages Used to Define Polls

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
My Polls	EPPSP_LST_POLL	My Content, My Polls	View all existing polls that you have access to.
Add Poll	EPPSP_ADD_POLL	Click the Add Poll button on the My Polls page.	Add a poll to a site.
Maintain Polls	EPPSP_CFG_POLL	Click the Properties link for a poll on the My Polls page. Click Edit Poll in the pagelet, if you have the appropriate privileges. In Workspaces, select Polls in the menu navigation.	Define high-level information, such as the poll ID and description. Add, edit, and delete poll questions.
Question Details	EPPSP_CFG_QUEST	Click the Add Question button on the Maintain Polls page. Click the Properties button on the Maintain Polls page.	Enter a poll question and possible responses.
Preview Poll Pagelet	EPPSP_CFG_PGLT_SEC	Click the text of the question in the Question Title field.	Enables you to preview the Poll pagelet before it is published.
Publish Poll as Pagelet	EPPSP_CFG_PUB	Click the Publish as Pagelet link on the Maintain Poll page.	Set the values to create or update the pagelet for the poll definition.
Members	EPPSP_CFG_MBR	On the My Polls page, click theProperties link and select the Members tab.	Create and edit lists of members and their associated access privilege sets to the poll. Access to the poll definition is limited to the listed members.
Respondents	EPPSP_CFG_VWR	On the My Polls page, click theProperties link and select the Respondents tab.	Set the security for the published Poll pagelet enabling users with the specified security access to respond to poll questions.

Accessing Polls

Access the My Polls page (My Content, My Polls).

Search Criteria

Poll Status	Select the status of the poll to define your search. Valid values are Inactive or Active.
Created in Site	Displays the list of poll definitions that you can view.

Poll List

The Poll List grid displays basic poll definition information and enables you to preview the poll as well as access the pages to edit and manage existing polls.

Poll ID	Displays the identifier for the poll.
Poll Title	Displays the title of the poll. Click this link to view a preview of the current question displayed in the poll pagelet.
Active	If the poll question is active, the checkbox appears as selected.
Created In	Displays where the poll was initially created.
Properties	Click to access the Maintain Polls component where you can manage those poll properties you have privileges for.
Delete	Click to delete the poll definition along with the associated questions, results, comments, and content references for the poll. You will be prompted to confirm your deletion.

Adding a Poll

Access the Add Poll page by entering the Poll ID on the My Poll page. Enter the poll ID and clickAdd.

Poll Title

Enter the text that will appear as the title of the pagelet.

Active

Select the checkbox to make the Poll pagelet active on the site homepage. Although the pagelet will still appear on the homepage, the poll question will not be available to view or answer unless this box is selected.

Show Results to Respondents

Select to enable respondents to view the poll results when they have completed the poll question. .

Separate Results by Site

Select to sort poll results by site. For example, you can have the same poll available on multiple sites. If a user answers the same poll on different sites, it will count those results separately for each site. This also enables the user to answer the poll differently on each site, if appropriate. Once a user submits a response to any question associated with this poll, this checkbox becomes unavailable.

Note. This option is not available for polls created for workspaces.

Once you save the Add Polls page, the system displays the poll information in the Maintain Polls page.

Maintaining Polls

Access the Maintain Polls page (click the Properties link for a poll on the My Polls page).

The poll definition information from the Add Poll page appears on the page for you to edit, if appropriate and if you have privileges.

Question Details

Publish	Displays the publish date entered on the Question Details page.
Expire	The value that appears is based on the publication date of subsequent questions. The current question is retired when the next question is published.
Question Title	Displays the contents of the Question Title field entered on the Question Details page. Click the text of the question to display the Preview Poll Pagelet page.
Results	Select to enable specified users to view the results after completing the poll question.
Properties	Click to access the Question Details page, where you can edit the associated question. You can only edit the question until the first user responds to the question. At that time, it becomes ready-only. Note. Once a user has responded to the poll question, it is no longer available for editing.
Delete	Click to delete the associated question, results, and comments. You will be prompted to confirm your deletion.
Add a Question	Click to access the Question Details page, where you can enter a poll question.
Return to Poll List	Click the link to access the My Polls page where the polls you have access to are listed. Note. This option is not available for polls created for Workspaces.
Publish as Pagelet	Click to access the Publish Poll as Pagelet page. See Publishing the Poll as a Pagelet. Note. This option is not available for polls created for Workspaces. Workspace polls are predefined as part of the workspace template.
View Poll Results	Click to access the Poll Results page where you can view the results of the poll if you have the privileges to view results. See Managing Poll Results.

Previewing the Poll Pagelet

Click the text of the Question Title field to access the Preview Poll Pagelet page. The question and its answers appear in the pagelet, enabling you to view the pagelet before you have published it.

Adding a Question to a Poll

Access the Question Details page (click the Add Question button on the Maintain Polls page).

Question Title

Enter a title for the question. The text is used as an identifier for the question.

Note. The published pagelet title is taken from the poll title rather than the question title.

Question Text

Enter the poll question.

Publish Date

Select the question publication date. This value defaults to the current date.

When this question is published, any currently running question will expire. Only one question can be published for a single poll ID.

Expire Date

Displays a date based on the publication date of subsequent polls. The question is retired (expires) when the next poll question is published. If there is only one question for the poll, this field is not populated.

Question Type

Select the type of question you want to present in the poll. Available values are:

Multiple Choice. Select to present a multiple choice question. When this value is selected, the Answers and Descriptions group box displays.

Ranking List. Select to present a ranking system with which the user can rank the associated content. When this value is selected, the Answers and Descriptions group box displays.

Yes/No. Select to present yes and no answer options to the question. When this value is selected, the Yes/No Response Options group box displays.

See Completing Surveys.

Allow Free Form Comments

Select to have a Comments field appear along with the poll question in which users can enter free-form text comments.

Response Choices and Display Text

Select Response Choice field values to set the order in which the responses you provide in the Response Text field are present in the poll.

Publishing the Poll as a Pagelet

Access the Publish Poll as Pagelet page (click the Publish as Pagelet link on the Maintain Poll page).

Poll pagelets are created using the My Polls component rather than Pagelet Wizard.

Pagelet Title	Enter a title for the pagelet that is used to populate the title/label field. This text becomes the title displayed on the pagelet title bar. The system uses a unique content reference object name that it generates based on the Poll ID. This ID includes the Registry Object Prefix set up under the Portal system options.
Description	Enter a description of the pagelet.
Pagelet Folder	Select the pagelet folder in which you want to register the pagelet.

Homepage Tabs

Use this group box to define the homepage tab labels and behavior for the Poll pagelet.

Portal Label

Select the tabs that will display the pagelet.

Pagelet Behavior

Select the behavior options for the pagelet.

Optional. The pagelet will not automatically appear on the homepage. However, it is available for selection when users personalize their homepages. This setting should not be used for guest homepage pagelets because guest users do not have personalization privileges.

Optional-Default (optional-default). The pagelet will appear on all user homepages if they have access to the pagelet. The pagelet can be removed when users personalize their homepage. This setting should not be used for guest homepage pagelets because guest users do not have personalization privileges.

Required-Fixed (required-fixed). The pagelet will appear on all user homepages if they have access to the pagelet. The placement of the pagelet cannot be changed and the pagelet cannot be removed from the homepage.

Required. The pagelet will appear on all user homepages if they have access to the pagelet. The placement of the pagelet can be changed, but it cannot be removed from the homepage.

Go to Layout

Click this link to display the Tab Layout page where you can define the pagelet layout properties. This link only appears if the pagelet has been published and you are the site administrator.

Publishing the Pagelet

Publish

Click the button to create or update the pagelet content reference on the current site.

The system displays a confirmation message when the content has been created or updated successfully.

Unpublish

Click the button to delete the pagelet content reference and remove it from any homepages.

Publish Pagelets in Other Sites

Click to display the Publish to Multiple Portals page where you can publish the poll to multiple sites.

See PeopleTools 8.52: PeopleTools Portal Technologies PeopleBook, “Working With Navigation Pages,” Publishing Pagelets, Publishing a Pagelet to Multiple Portals .

Assigning Members to Polls

Access the Members tab.

Use this page to define privilege sets for different groups of users.

Member Type	Select the type of participant you want to add to the Poll. Available values include: Role. Select to be able to select a role in the Member Name field. Available group names are derived from PeopleSoft roles defined in the Roles component. See PeopleTools 8.52: Security Administration PeopleBook, “Setting Up Roles.” User. Select to be able to select a user in the Member Name field. Available users are derived from PeopleSoft users defined in the User Profiles component. See PeopleTools 8.52: Security Administration PeopleBook, “ Administering User Profiles.”
Member Name	The name of the member as defined in the Roles component or the list of users from the User Profiles component. Note. If the pagelet is created in a site, the prompt for members is limited to only members of that site.
Privilege Set ID	Select a privilege level you want to assign to the member. Available values are: Administrator Author Moderator Publisher Viewer
	Click to view additional information about the actions that the privilege set enables the member to use.

Warning! Use care when changing roles and privilege sets to ensure that you do not inadvertently remove yourself as administrator or you will lose access to the administrative features of the component.

Assigning Security Access to Respondents

Access the Respondents tab.

Security Type

Select the security level for viewing how other users respond to the poll. Available values are:

Public Access. This value enables all users to respond to the question.

Security Role. This value enables only users with one of more of the listed security roles to respond to the question.

Respondents

Select a Role Name to enable the users in the role to respond to the poll question.

Warning! Ensure that you include your role in the list of respondents or you will be unable to edit or update the pagelet definition after publication.

Managing Poll Results

The following section discusses how to:

View the poll results.
View poll response results.
View respondent comments.

Pages Used to Manage Poll Results

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Poll Results	EPPSP_INQ_RSLT	Click View Results link on the pagelet for the poll. Click the Results link on the My Polls page.	View detailed results of active poll pagelets.
Preview Poll Pagelet	EPPSP_INQ_PGLT_SEC	Click the name of the question in the Question Title field.	Preview the Poll pagelet.
Response Results	EPPSP_INQ_RESP_SEC	Click the Results link on the Poll Results page.	View the results and number of respondents for each question.
Respondent Comments	EPPSP_INQ_CMT_SEC	Click the Comments link on the Poll Results page.	View comments that respondents have submitted.

Viewing the Poll Results

Access the Poll Results page (click View Results link on the pagelet for the poll).

The View Results link is only visible to users who have privileges to access to view results.

Publish	Displays the publish date entered on the Question Details page.
Question Title	Displays the contents of the Question Title field entered on the Question Details page. Click the text of the question to display the Preview Poll Pagelet page
Question Text	Displays the contents of the question.
Question Type	Displays the type of question presented in the poll. Available values are: Multiple Choice. Ranking List. Yes/No.
Respondents	Displays the number of user who have responded to the poll.
Results	Click the Results link to view the Results page.
Comments	Click the Comments link to view the comments that users enter in response to the poll on the Respondent Comments page.

Viewing Poll Response Results

Access the Response Results page (click the Results link on the Poll Results page).

The Response Results page displays the poll question information and the compiled answers to the question. If you have published the poll to multiple sites, you can search for results based on the site name or you can search all of the sites for responses to the poll.

Viewing Respondent Comments

Access the Respondent Comments page (click the Comments link on the Poll Results page).

Use this page to view lists of comments that users have entered. If you have published the poll to multiple sites, you can search for comments based on the site name or you can search all of the sites for comments. Comments appear in alphanumeric order based on user ID.

Administering Polls

This section discusses how to:

Administer polls.
Change privileges for polls.

Page Used to Administer Polls

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Administer Polls	EPPSP_ADM_POLL	Portal Administration, Administer Polls	Manage polls and user privileges.

Administering Polls

Access the Administer Polls page (Portal Administration, Administer Polls).

Poll Status

Select polls that are either Active or Inactive.

Created in Site

Select the name of the site in which the poll was created.

Search

Click this button to view the search results.

Poll ID

The system displays the ID of the poll.

Poll Title

Click the title of the poll to view the Preview Poll pagelet page.

Note. Titles will not be active unless you have security access to the poll.

Privileges

Select the Privileges link to access the Member Privileges page.

See Changing Privileges for Polls.

Delete

Click to delete the poll.

Changing Privileges for Polls

Access the Member Privileges page (Portal Administration, Administer Polls).

Member Type

Select the type of participant you want to add to the poll. Available values include:

Role. Select to be able to select a role in the Member Name field. Available group names are derived from PeopleSoft roles defined in the Roles component.

See PeopleTools 8.52: Security Administration PeopleBook, “Setting Up Roles.”

User. Select to be able to select a user in the Member Name field. Available users are derived from PeopleSoft users defined in the User Profiles component.

See PeopleTools 8.52: Security Administration PeopleBook, “Administering User Profiles.”

Member Name

The name of the member as defined in the Roles component or the list of users from the User Profiles component.

Privilege Set ID

Select a privilege level you want to assign to the member. Delivered values are:

Author.

Authors can view and add questions to a poll as well as edit and delete questions without responses.

Administrator. Administrators can add, edit, or delete action items, and action item lists. In addition, they can add and delete list members.

Contributor. Contributors can add or edit action items. They can delete their own action items, but not those belonging to others.

Viewer. Viewers have read-only access to the action items.

Moderator. A moderator can view, add, edit, and delete members, respondents, and questions for the poll. A moderator can also update metadata and view the poll results.

Click to view additional information about the actions that the privilege set enables the member to use.

Poll Title	Enter the text that will appear as the title of the pagelet.
Active	Select the checkbox to make the Poll pagelet active on the site homepage. Although the pagelet will still appear on the homepage, the poll question will not be available to view or answer unless this box is selected.
Show Results to Respondents	Select to enable respondents to view the poll results when they have completed the poll question. .
Separate Results by Site	Select to sort poll results by site. For example, you can have the same poll available on multiple sites. If a user answers the same poll on different sites, it will count those results separately for each site. This also enables the user to answer the poll differently on each site, if appropriate. Once a user submits a response to any question associated with this poll, this checkbox becomes unavailable. Note. This option is not available for polls created for workspaces.

Question Title	Enter a title for the question. The text is used as an identifier for the question. Note. The published pagelet title is taken from the poll title rather than the question title.
Question Text	Enter the poll question.
Publish Date	Select the question publication date. This value defaults to the current date. When this question is published, any currently running question will expire. Only one question can be published for a single poll ID.
Expire Date	Displays a date based on the publication date of subsequent polls. The question is retired (expires) when the next poll question is published. If there is only one question for the poll, this field is not populated.
Question Type	Select the type of question you want to present in the poll. Available values are: Multiple Choice. Select to present a multiple choice question. When this value is selected, the Answers and Descriptions group box displays. Ranking List. Select to present a ranking system with which the user can rank the associated content. When this value is selected, the Answers and Descriptions group box displays. Yes/No. Select to present yes and no answer options to the question. When this value is selected, the Yes/No Response Options group box displays. See Completing Surveys.
Allow Free Form Comments	Select to have a Comments field appear along with the poll question in which users can enter free-form text comments.

Poll Status	Select polls that are either Active or Inactive.
Created in Site	Select the name of the site in which the poll was created.
Search	Click this button to view the search results.
Poll ID	The system displays the ID of the poll.
Poll Title	Click the title of the poll to view the Preview Poll pagelet page. Note. Titles will not be active unless you have security access to the poll.
Privileges	Select the Privileges link to access the Member Privileges page. See Changing Privileges for Polls.
Delete	Click to delete the poll.