30 Managing Members and Assigning Roles in a Portal

This chapter describes how to set up a portal membership policy and define member roles and responsibilities.

This chapter includes the following topics:

Permissions:

To perform the tasks in this chapter, you need the portal Moderator role or a custom role that includes the portal-level Manage Membership permission. Users with this permission can manage portal members and their role assignments.

For more information about permissions, see Section 29.1, "About Roles and Permissions for a Portal."

30.1 About Portal Membership

Member participation is central to any portal. It is the portal moderator's responsibility to manage membership and determine member participation through the permissions assigned to the various roles defined for the portal. A portal can gather members in several ways:

30.2 Viewing the Members of a Portal

To review the current membership for a portal:

  1. In the portal administration (see Section 7.1, "Accessing Portal Administration"), click Security in the left navigation pane, then click the Members subtab (Figure 30-1).

    Tip:

    You can also navigate to this page using the direct URL provided in Section A.7, "Pretty URLs for Pages in a Specified Portal."

    Figure 30-1 Portal Administration: Members Page

    Description of Figure 30-1 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-1 Portal Administration: Members Page"

  2. In the Members area, review the current list of members and their current role assignments.

  3. Using the Filter dropdown, select All Members to see a full list or select the name of a role to list members with a particular role.

30.3 Setting Up Membership Options for a Portal

Portal moderators determine the membership policy for their portal, choosing between an "invitation only" membership policy, allowing users to join themselves by subscribing to (and unsubscribing from) the portal, adding new members directly, or using any combination of these membership options.

Enabling self-service does not necessarily mean that users automatically gain access to a portal. Moderators can still control who joins (or leaves) the portal through an approval process.

Default membership permissions are derived from the template used to create the portal. Moderators can change these settings at any time. This section describes:

30.3.1 Managing Self-Service Membership for a Portal

As a portal moderator, you can limit access to a portal by invitation only, or allow users to join themselves, without an invitation, through self-service.

Additionally, you may allow users to join a portal or change their portal membership without approval, or require approval for certain roles. When membership requests require approval, new members do not automatically gain access when they subscribe to a portal. Instead, the moderator receives a subscription notification to accept or reject.

To manage self-service for a portal:

  1. In the portal administration (see Section 7.1, "Accessing Portal Administration"), click Security in the left navigation pane, then click the Members subtab (Figure 30-2).

    Tip:

    You can also navigate to this page using the direct URL provided in Section A.7, "Pretty URLs for Pages in a Specified Portal."

    Figure 30-2 Portal Administration: Members Page

    Description of Figure 30-2 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-2 Portal Administration: Members Page"

  2. Click Options to open the Membership Options dialog (Figure 30-3).

    Figure 30-3 Membership Options Dialog

    Description of Figure 30-3 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-3 Membership Options Dialog"

  3. Under Invite Options, select Enable Invite Portals Users to allow portal moderators (or members with Manage Membership permission) to invite other WebCenter Portal users to join the portal. Deselect this option to disallow invitations to join the portal.

    Tip:

    The Enable Invite Portals Users checkbox displays only when WebCenter Portal workflows are configured. Refer your system administrator to the "Troubleshooting WebCenter Portal Workflows" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

  4. Under Membership Self-Service:

    • To prevent non-members from joining the portal through self-service or requesting changes to their current membership, select Do Not Allow Self-Service Membership or Self-Service Membership Change.

    • To allow non-members to join a portal and members to request changes to their current membership, select Allow Self-Service Membership or Self-Service Membership Change (All Roles Available).

      Note:

      If you select this option, make sure that other people can see the portal on their Portals page and through searches (see Section 4.3, "Making a Portal Known (Discoverable)").

      When you select this option:

      To that moderator approval is required before the request is granted, select Moderator Approval Required.

      Tip:

      The Moderator Approval Required check box displays only when WebCenter Portal workflows are configured. Refer your system administrator to the "Troubleshooting WebCenter Portal Workflows" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

    • To specify which roles users see on Request Membership and Change Membership pages, select Allow Self-Service Membership or Self-Service Membership Change (Selected Roles Available) to display a table showing all the roles available (Figure 30-4).

      Figure 30-4 Choosing Roles Available on Self-Service Membership

      Description of Figure 30-4 follows
      Description of "Figure 30-4 Choosing Roles Available on Self-Service Membership "

      • Select Enable to offer the role on the Request Membership and Change Membership pages. Deselect Enable to hide a role.

      • Select Approval Required to specify that moderator approval is required before the request is granted. The request is sent to the moderator's worklist to approve or reject (if the portal has multiple moderators, all moderators receive the request; only one moderator is required to process the request). Deselect Approval Required to allow the change without moderator approval.

        Tip:

        The Approval Required check box displays only when WebCenter Portal workflows are configured. Refer your system administrator to the "Troubleshooting WebCenter Portal Workflows" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

  5. Click Save.

30.3.2 Managing Self-Service Membership Removal from a Portal

If moderator approval is required to unsubscribe from a portal, an unsubscription request is sent to the moderator's worklist when a member leaves, which the moderator can choose to either accept or reject.

To configure approval options for cancelling portal membership:

  1. In the portal administration (see Section 7.1, "Accessing Portal Administration"), click Security in the left navigation pane, then click the Members subtab (Figure 30-5).

    Tip:

    You can also navigate to this page using the direct URL provided in Section A.7, "Pretty URLs for Pages in a Specified Portal."

    Figure 30-5 Portal Administration: Members Page

    Description of Figure 30-5 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-5 Portal Administration: Members Page"

  2. Click Options to open the Membership Options dialog.

  3. Under Membership Self-Service (Figure 30-6):

    • To specify that moderator approval is required to leave a portal, select Moderator Approval Required for Self-Service Membership Removal.

    • To allow members to leave without approval, deselect Moderator Approval Required for Self-Service Membership Removal.

    Tip:

    This check box displays only when WebCenter Portal workflows are configured. Refer your system administrator to the "Troubleshooting WebCenter Portal Workflows" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

    Figure 30-6 Specifying Unsubscribe Request Approval Requirements

    Description of Figure 30-6 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-6 Specifying Unsubscribe Request Approval Requirements"

  4. Click Save.

30.4 Composing Messages to New Members

When you add or invite someone to your portal, they receive a message through the Mail service (if configured) and through their worklist (if the Worklist service is configured). Before you start recruiting new members, take some time to compose suitable greetings and messages for the following scenarios:

  • Adding an existing user as a member of your portal.

  • Inviting an existing user to join your portal.

  • Inviting someone to register with WebCenter Portal and join your portal.

To compose messages sent out to new members:

  1. In the portal administration (see Section 7.1, "Accessing Portal Administration"), click Security in the left navigation pane, then click the Members subtab (Figure 30-7).

    Tip:

    You can also navigate to this page using the direct URL provided in Section A.7, "Pretty URLs for Pages in a Specified Portal."

    Figure 30-7 Portal Administration: Members Page

    Description of Figure 30-7 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-7 Portal Administration: Members Page"

  2. Click Options to open the Membership Options dialog (Figure 30-3).

    Figure 30-8 Membership Options Dialog

    Description of Figure 30-8 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-8 Membership Options Dialog"

  3. Under Membership Notification Messages, enter messages in the appropriate sections, as required:

    • Add Member Message - Enter a short message to include in membership notifications. Use the message text to welcome new members and introduce your portal.

    • Invite Member Message - Enter a short message to include in membership invitations to users who are registered with WebCenter Portal. Use the message text to describe the portal and how it might be of use to them. Membership invitations display in a user's worklist and the invitation includes an Accept button that the invited party must click to accept the membership invitation. If the SOA server is configured to send worklist notifications by mail, invited users receive the notification in both their worklist and mail.

      Tip:

      This section displays only when WebCenter Portal workflows and SOA server are configured. Refer your system administrator to the "Troubleshooting WebCenter Portal Workflows" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

    • Invite Non-Registered Users Message - Enter a short message to include in membership invitations to people who are not registered WebCenter Portal users. Use the message text to describe the portal and how it might be of use to them. Membership invitations are sent by mail using the Mail service. The invitation includes a secure URL that the invited party must click to accept the membership invitation. Unregistered users will then be prompted to register with WebCenter Portal before gaining access to your portal.

  4. Click Save.

30.5 Adding Members to a Portal

This section describes various ways that a moderator can enlist members for your portal:

30.5.1 Searching for a User or Group in the Identity Store

For any task that requires searching for a user or group, use the information in this section to construct your search string. For example, the following tasks require you to specify a user or group name:

The search mechanism used by WebCenter Portal to locate users and groups in the identity store follows specific rules. Keep the following tips in mind when you construct your search string:

  • The search operates on First Name, Last Name, Mail Address, User ID, and Common Name. For example, in Oracle Internet Directory (OID), the search operates on givenname, sn, mail, uid, and cn.

    For information about mapping user attributes to their corresponding names in different LDAP directory servers, see "Mapping User Attributes to LDAP Directories" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Application Security Guide.

  • Specify a wildcard (*) character anywhere in the search string to substitute for preceding or following characters.

  • The search is not case-sensitive.

  • Leave the search term blank to list all users (or groups) in the identity store.

  • To search for a First Name, Last Name, Mail Address, User ID, or Common Name, specify one search term, specifying at minimum the first letter in any of these values.

  • To search for First Name or Last Name, specify two search terms separated by a space to search in First Name and Last Name, respectively. Specify at minimum the first letter in each value.

  • To search for a First Name or Last Name, either of which have multiple names, specify multiple search terms separated by spaces. The multiple names are treated as a single field, including the space character. The first search term specifies the search on the First Name field and the last search term specifies the search on the Last Name field. The intervening search terms are ignored. Specify at minimum the first letter of each value.

For example, the following entry in the identity store defines a WebCenter Portal user:


First Name (givenname)=James Robert
Last Name (sn)=van Order
Mail Address (mail)=jim.van.order@example.com
User ID (uid)=jimbo
Common Name (cn)=Jim

Table 30-1 lists search terms that will show this user in the search results. For search terms that will not show this user in the search results, see Table 30-2.

Table 30-1 Search Terms That Find James Robert van Order

Search Terms Search Results

Jam

jam*

*ames

*bert

All found in First Name (James Robert).

Results show all users where search term begins the First Name, Last Name, Mail Address, User ID, or Common Name.

van

*Order

Both found in Last Name (van Order).

Results show all users where search term begins the First Name, Last Name, Mail Address, User ID, or Common Name.

jimbo

Jimbo

*imbo

jimbo found in User ID (jimbo).

Results show all users where search term begins the First Name, Last Name, Mail Address, User ID, or Common Name.

jim

Jim

jim found in Mail Address (jim.van.order@example.com), User ID (jimbo), and Common Name (Jim).

Results show all users where search term begins the First Name, Last Name, Mail Address, User ID, or Common Name.

James Order

james order

James found in First Name (James Robert); Order not found in Last Name (van Order).

Results show all users where first search term begins the First Name, or second search term begins the Last Name.

Robert van

robert Van

Robert not found in First Name (James Robert); van found in Last Name (van Order).

Results show all users where first search term begins the First Name, or second search term begins the Last Name.

James van Order

james Van order

James found in First Name (James Robert), Order not found in Last Name (van Order).

Results show all users where first search term begins the First Name, or last search term begins the Last Name. Intervening term is ignored.

James Robert van Order

james robert Van order

James found in First Name (James Robert); Order not found in Last Name (van Order).

Results show all users where first search term begins the First Name, or last search term begins the Last Name. Intervening terms are ignored.

Table 30-2 lists search terms that will not show this user in the search results.

Table 30-2 Search Terms That Do Not Find James Robert van Order

Search Terms Search Results

ames

ame not found in First Name (James Robert), Last Name (van Order), Mail Address (jim.van.order@example.com), User ID (jimbo), or Common Name (Jim).

Results show all users where search term begins the First Name, Last Name, Mail Address, User ID, or Common Name.

Order

order

Order not found in First Name (James Robert), Last Name (van Order), Mail Address (jim.van.order@example.com), User ID (jimbo), or Common Name (Jim).

Results show all users where search term begins the First Name, Last Name, Mail Address, User ID, or Common Name.

Robert Order

robert order

Robert not found in First Name (James Robert), and Order not found in Last Name (van Order).

Results show all users where first search term begins the First Name, or second search term begins the Last Name.

30.5.2 Adding Registered Users and Groups

As a portal moderator, you can add any user currently registered with WebCenter Portal as a member of your portal. When the SOA server and WebCenter Portal workflows are configured, added users receive notification in their activity stream and through a mail message (if SOA server is configured to send mail).

To add a member to your portal:

  1. In the portal administration (see Section 7.1, "Accessing Portal Administration"), click Security in the left navigation pane, then click the Members subtab (Figure 30-9).

    Tip:

    You can also navigate to this page using the direct URL provided in Section A.7, "Pretty URLs for Pages in a Specified Portal."

    Figure 30-9 Portal Administration: Members Page

    Description of Figure 30-9 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-9 Portal Administration: Members Page"

  2. (Optional) On the Members page, click Options to edit the greeting messages sent to new members (see Section 30.4, "Composing Messages to New Members"). Click Save to close the Membership Options dialog.

  3. Select one of:

    • Add People to add one or more individual users as members of the portal.

    • Add Groups to add multiple users belonging to a named user group in the identity store. Subsequent changes or updates to the group are automatically reflected in the portal.

  4. If you know the exact name of the person or group, enter the name in the input field, separating multiple names with a comma (Figure 30-10).

    If you are not sure of the name, you can search the identity store. See Section 30.5.1, "Searching for a User or Group in the Identity Store."

    Figure 30-10 Adding a New Member

    Description of Figure 30-10 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-10 Adding a New Member"

  5. Select one or more user names from the list.

  6. From the Select Role list, select a role for the selected members or groups. If the role you want is not listed, you can create a new role that meets your requirements (see Section 29.2, "Defining Custom Roles for a Portal").

  7. Click Add.

All the users and groups you select display in the Members section.

Note:

When adding groups, keep the following in mind:

  • Names of user groups are clickable, enabling you to drill down to see individual user names of group members.

  • A list of members does not display for dynamic groups based on Oracle Entitlements Server (OES) roles, since OES roles are based on dynamic attributes and therefore do not have any static members. For more information, see the "Configuring the Identity Store" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

  • For WebCenter Portal to properly maintain enterprise group-to-role mappings, back-end servers, such as the discussions server and content server, must support enterprise groups too. When back-end servers do not support enterprise groups, the message "Group [name] not found in the Identity Store" displays. For more information, see the "Troubleshooting Issues with Users and Roles" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

30.5.3 Inviting a Registered User

As a portal moderator, you can invite anyone who is currently registered with WebCenter Portal to become a member of your portal. Invited users receive notification through the mail messages (if SOA server is configured to send mail) and through their worklist (if Worklists are configured).

To invite someone to become a member of your portal:

  1. In the portal administration (see Section 7.1, "Accessing Portal Administration"), click Security in the left navigation pane, then click the Members subtab (Figure 30-11).

    Tip:

    You can also navigate to this page using the direct URL provided in Section A.7, "Pretty URLs for Pages in a Specified Portal."

    Figure 30-11 Portal Administration: Members Page

    Description of Figure 30-11 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-11 Portal Administration: Members Page"

  2. (Optional) On the Members page, click Options to edit the greeting message sent to invited members (see Section 30.4, "Composing Messages to New Members") and then click Save to close the Membership Options dialog.

  3. Click Invite People, then select Invite Registered Users to invite individual users to become a member of the portal.

    Tip:

    Invite People is available when WebCenter Portal workflows are configured and a portal moderator has selected Enable Invite Portals Users in the Membership Options dialog (see Section 30.3.1, "Managing Self-Service Membership for a Portal") .

  4. If you know the exact name of the user, enter the name in the box provided, separating multiple names with a comma (Figure 30-12).

    If you are not sure of the name you can search the identity store. For search tips, see Section 30.5.1, "Searching for a User or Group in the Identity Store."

    Figure 30-12 Inviting a New Member

    Description of Figure 30-12 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-12 Inviting a New Member"

  5. Select one or more user names from the list.

  6. Select a role for the invited members. If the role you want is not listed, create a role that meets your requirements (see Section 29.2, "Defining Custom Roles for a Portal").

  7. Click Invite.

If you want to cancel an invitation, delete the invited member from the list.

Invited users receive an invitation to join the portal through a mail message (if SOA server is configured to send mail) and through their worklist (if Worklists are configured) with the message you composed in Step 2. The invitation includes a secure URL that the invited party must click to register with WebCenter Portal before gaining access to your portal.

30.5.4 Inviting a Non-Registered User

If your system administrator has allowed non-registered people to self-register, portal moderators can invite anyone with a valid mail address to join the portal. Prospective members receive an invitation by mail, inviting them to join the portal. Upon accepting the invitation, non-registered users are prompted to register with WebCenter Portal before gaining access to the portal.

To invite someone outside the WebCenter Portal community to join your portal:

  1. In the portal administration (see Section 7.1, "Accessing Portal Administration"), click Security in the left navigation pane, then click the Members subtab (Figure 30-13).

    Tip:

    You can also navigate to this page using the direct URL provided in Section A.7, "Pretty URLs for Pages in a Specified Portal."

    Figure 30-13 Portal Administration: Members Page

    Description of Figure 30-13 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-13 Portal Administration: Members Page"

  2. On the Members page, click Options to edit the greeting message that is sent to people who are not yet registered WebCenter Portal users (see Section 30.4, "Composing Messages to New Members") and then click Save to close the Membership Options dialog.

  3. Click Invite People, then select Invite Non-Registered Users.

    Note:

    Invite People is available when WebCenter Portal workflows are configured and the portal moderator has selected Enable Invite Portals Users in the Membership Options dialog (see Section 30.3.1, "Managing Self-Service Membership for a Portal"). Invite Non-Registered Users is available only when the system administrator has enabled Allow Self-Registration Through Invitations and Allow Public Users to Self-Register at the application level, as described in the "Enabling Self-Registration" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

  4. Enter the Email Address(es) for one or more prospective members, separated by commas.

  5. Select a Role for the prospective members. If the role you want is not listed, create a role that meets your requirements (see Section 29.2, "Defining Custom Roles for a Portal").

  6. Click Invite.

Prospective members receive a mail invitation (if SOA server is configured to send mail) to join the portal with the message you composed in Step 2. The invitation includes a secure URL that the invited party must click to register with WebCenter Portal before gaining access to your portal.

30.5.5 Allowing a Registered User to Self-Subscribe

Self-subscription enables existing WebCenter Portal users to request membership without an invitation from the portal moderator. Certain types of portals, especially interest-based communities, are particularly suited to this form of member enrollment as the portal often reaches a wider audience.

The capabilities of self-service members depends on which roles you decide to offer on the Request Membership page. For more information, see Section 30.3.1, "Managing Self-Service Membership for a Portal."

If a user's self-subscription request is pending approval by the portal moderator, the user's attempt to access the portal opens the Home portal. When a user is a member of a portal, the user's attempt to access the portal opens the first accessible page of the portal.

30.6 Changing Member Role Assignments

A portal moderator can change a member's role at any time. Users are notified of membership changes through their worklist.

To change a member's current role in a portal:

  1. In the portal administration (see Section 7.1, "Accessing Portal Administration"), click Security in the left navigation pane, then click the Members subtab (Figure 30-14).

    Tip:

    You can also navigate to this page using the direct URL provided in Section A.7, "Pretty URLs for Pages in a Specified Portal."

    Figure 30-14 Portal Administration: Members Page

    Description of Figure 30-14 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-14 Portal Administration: Members Page"

  2. On the Members page, select one or more members (Ctrl+click to select multiple members), and then click Change Role.

  3. In the Change Role dialog, select a different role.

    If you are not sure which role to select, click the Roles tab to determine the range of actions that current roles allow (see Section 29.3, "Viewing and Editing Permissions of a Portal Role"). If the existing roles do not meet your requirements, consider creating a new role (see Section 29.2, "Defining Custom Roles for a Portal").

  4. Click OK.

30.7 Approving Requests for Membership of a Portal

As a portal moderator, notifications appear in your worklist to approve or reject requests for portal membership or a new role in the portal. For more information, see the "Exploring Your Worklists" chapter in Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Oracle WebCenter Portal.

The person making the request receives notification of your decision. If you reject a request, you can enter the reason for the rejection.

30.8 Communicating with Moderators and Members of a Portal

You can send messages to individual members, and also to the moderator(s) or all the members of a portal. WebCenter Portal creates a default distribution list for every portal if the Mail server is Microsoft Exchange and active directory connection details (LDAP) are provided in the mail server connection settings. As members leave or join the portal, the default distribution list updates automatically.

For information about setting up a custom portal mail distribution list, see Section 48.2, "Configuring the Mail Distribution List for a Portal."

Any user can send mail to the members or the moderators of a portal from the portal browser or when viewing a portal, as described in the "Sending Mail to Portal Members or Moderators" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Oracle WebCenter Portal.

Portal moderators can also send mail to all members or individual members of a portal from the Members page:

  1. In the portal administration (see Section 7.1, "Accessing Portal Administration"), click Security in the left navigation pane, then click the Members subtab (Figure 30-15).

    Tip:

    You can also navigate to this page using the direct URL provided in Section A.7, "Pretty URLs for Pages in a Specified Portal."

    Figure 30-15 Portal Administration: Members Page

    Description of Figure 30-15 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-15 Portal Administration: Members Page"

  2. Under Members:

    • To send a message to all members of the portal, click Mail Members.

    • To send a message to an individual member, click the member's icon, and then click the member's mail address.

    For information about the mail service, see Chapter 48, "Adding Mail to a Portal."

30.9 Revoking Membership to a Portal

Moderators can revoke user membership for a portal at any time. Users receive notification through their worklist when you cancel their individual or group membership.

To revoke membership:

  1. In the portal administration (see Section 7.1, "Accessing Portal Administration"), click Security in the left navigation pane, then click the Members tab (Figure 30-16).

    Tip:

    You can also navigate to this page using the direct URL provided in Section A.7, "Pretty URLs for Pages in a Specified Portal."

    Figure 30-16 Portal Administration: Members Page

    Description of Figure 30-16 follows
    Description of "Figure 30-16 Portal Administration: Members Page"

  2. In the Members area, select one or more users or groups (Ctrl+click to select multiple members), then click Remove.

  3. In the Remove Members dialog, click Remove to confirm.