48 Adding Mail to a Portal

This chapter describes the mail feature and how to manage mail in a portal. It also describes how to configure the Send Mail feature. The Send Mail feature does not require the mail service. That is, even if the mail service has not been configured in your portal, you can use the Send Mail feature with WebCenter Portal's Mail Service option, if that option is selected for WebCenter Portal and for the portal in which you are using mail.

This chapter includes the following topics:

Section 48.1, "Prerequisites for the Mail Service"
Section 48.2, "Configuring the Mail Distribution List for a Portal"
Section 48.3, "Configuring the Send Mail Feature"
Section 48.4, "About the Mail Service Task Flow"
Section 48.5, "Adding the Mail Service Task Flow to a Page"
Section 48.6, "Setting Mail Service Task Flow Properties"

Permissions:

To perform the tasks in this chapter, you must be a portal moderator or member with Manage All or Manage Configuration permission in the portal.

To add the Mail task flow to a page, you must have the permission Basic Services: Edit Page Access, Structure, and Content (simple permissions) or Create, Edit, and Delete Pages (advanced permissions).

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

48.1 Prerequisites for the Mail Service

For the Mail service to work, the system administrator needs to perform the following tasks for WebCenter Portal:

Install and configure the Mail service components for WebCenter Portal and make sure that the connection between the two applications is active. For more information, see the "Managing Mail" chapter in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.
Enable the Send Mail feature for WebCenter Portal, as described in the "Configuring Send Mail Notifications" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

48.2 Configuring the Mail Distribution List for a Portal

Mail distribution lists provide an efficient mechanism for portal communication. WebCenter Portal creates a default distribution list for each portal when the Mail Server is Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Active Directory Server (ADS) is installed, with the active directory connection details (LDAP) provided in the mail server connection settings. For more information, see the "Managing Mail" chapter in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

Notes:

With some browsers, Send Mail notifications are garbled for many non-English languages. When multibyte characters are encoded (required for the "mailto:" protocol), the URL length exceeds the browser limit. As a workaround, configure the Send Mail feature to use WebCenter Portal's Mail service instead of the local mail client. For more information, see the "Configuring Send Mail Notifications" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.
The system administrator maintains the connection between the WebCenter Portal and the mail server. If you are experiencing issues with this connection, report the problem to the system administrator. See also, the "Registering Mail Servers" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

Note that mail is enabled upon portal creation and the default distribution list is created. If the portal name is not unique, the default distribution list creation fails, and in such cases, you need to select a default distribution list.

For each portal a distribution list is created in the configured mail server (that is, Exchange Server), which contains mail addresses of the members of that portal. So when you send a mail to the distribution list, all the members of that portal will receive the mail. Portal members can be users and also groups. In such cases, the mail will be sent to the members of that group as well. These groups might not have mail ids associated with them. In the Send Mail options, you can specify who should be included when mail is sent to the members.

The default distribution list is named portal_name@mail_domain. For example, the default distribution list for a portal named Finance Project is FinanceProject@mail_domain, where mail_domain is derived from the LDAP Domain setting in the Edit Mail Server Connection screen (accessed through Oracle Enterprise Manager). As members leave or join the portal, WebCenter Portal automatically updates the default distribution list to synchronize with the portal membership. Note that this functionality is provided only the Mail Server is Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Active Directory Server (ADS) is installed.

If the Mail service is disconnected, WebCenter Portal deletes the default distribution list that was automatically created for the portal and attempts to send mail to all members of the portal (see the "Sending Mail to Portal Members or Moderators" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Oracle WebCenter Portal). The Mail Compose window opens with the To field blank instead of prepopulated with the mail distribution list.

Instead of using the default distribution list, you can modify the distribution list for portal mail, as follows:

On the Tools and Services page (see Section 7.8.1, "Accessing Tools and Services Administration for a Portal"), select Mail (Figure 48-1).

You can also enter the following URL in your browser to navigate directly to the Tools and Services page:

http://host:port/webcenter/portal/portalName/admin/services

See Also:

Appendix A, "WebCenter Portal Pretty URLs."

Figure 48-1 Configuring the Mail Distribution List for a Portal

Description of "Figure 48-1 Configuring the Mail Distribution List for a Portal"
(Optional) To change the current portal mail distribution list:
- Click the Search for Distribution Lists icon to search and select the name of the new Distribution List.
If the Distribution List field is left blank, the compose mail dialog will not include a distribution list in the To field.
Select Keep the DL synchronized with portal users to synchronize the specified distribution list with the portal membership.

Selecting this option automatically updates the custom distribution list by deleting mail addresses of members who cancel membership in the portal, and adding mail addresses of new members.
For Send Mail Options, select any combination of the check boxes:
- Select Include the distribution list to populate the To field of the compose mail dialog with the value specified in Distribution List (either the default portal mail distribution list, or a custom distribution list you specify).
- Select Include all members and groups that have associated mail addresses to populate the To field of the compose mail dialog with the mail addresses of all portal members and groups that have associated mail addresses.
- When groups defined for the portal do not have associated mail addresses, select Include all members in groups that do not have associated mail addresses to populate the To field of the compose mail dialog with the mail addresses of all portal members with an associated mail address from every group in the portal (without an associated mail address).
  
  Note:
  
  This selection can potentially generate an extremely large distribution list, and create performance issues or mail server errors. Your system administrator can use the WLST setMailServiceProperty command mail.recipient.limit property to restrict the number of recipients to a message, as described in the "setMailServiceProperty" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.
Click Save.

48.2.1 Configuring a Shared Mail Connection for a Portal

When a portal is configured to use a shared mail connection, users do not have to specify credentials when sending mail using the WebCenter Portal Mail Service.

To configure a shared mail connection for a portal:

Confirm that WebCenter Portal is using the WebCenter Portal Mail service to send mail.

See the "Enabling Shared Mail Connections for Send Mail Notifications" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.
Ask your Fusion Middleware administrator to set up a mail connection that uses an external application configured with the shared credentials you require, and then record the name of that mail connection.

For details, see the "Setting Up a Shared Mail Connection" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.
In the portal administration (see Section 7.1, "Accessing Portal Administration"), click Attributes.
Click Add Attribute.
In the Add Attribute dialog, enter the custom attributes listed in Table 48-1 (and as shown in Figure 48-2), then click Add:

Table 48-1 Custom Attributes for Shared Mail Connections

Name Value

collab.mail.compose.sharedConnectionName

Name of the shared mail connection. For example: MySharedMailConnection

notifications.use.mail.composer

Must be set to true.

Figure 48-2 Setting Shared Mail Connection Attributes for a Portal

Description of "Figure 48-2 Setting Shared Mail Connection Attributes for a Portal"
(Optional). By default, Send Mail notifications are disabled for public or anonymous users. To enable them in a portal, add the following portal custom attribute:
```
notifications.anonymous.enabled = true
```

Name	Value
`collab.mail.compose.sharedConnectionName`	Name of the shared mail connection. For example: `MySharedMailConnection`
`notifications.use.mail.composer`	Must be set to `true`.

48.3 Configuring the Send Mail Feature

The Send Mail feature does not require WebCenter Portal's Mail component. That is, even if Mail has not been configured in WebCenter Portal, the Send Mail feature is available using the WebCenter Portal's Mail Service option.

Your system administrator determines the mail client that the Send Mail feature uses: either WebCenter Portal's Mail Service component or a local mail client. The default value is a local mail client. If your system administrator enabled users to override this mail client setting, then you can choose to use a different mail client on the Mail Preferences page (Figure 48-3).

Figure 48-3 Mail Preferences for Send Mail

Description of "Figure 48-3 Mail Preferences for Send Mail"

48.3.1 Selecting Your Preferred Mail Connection

When WebCenter Portal provides access to multiple mail connections, it also provides a way for you to choose which connection to use. See the "Selecting Your Preferred Mail Connection" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Oracle WebCenter Portal.

48.4 About the Mail Service Task Flow

Mail conveniently exposes familiar mail functionality in your portal. Mail works with the same mail server that provides your regular business mail, and the mail messages exposed in your portal are the same messages you would see in your mail inbox. Many of the same actions are also supported. For example, you can send messages with attachments, forward messages, and so on. This does not replace your company mail, but rather enhances it by making it accessible within WebCenter Portal.

WebCenter Portal's Mail component enables users to perform simple mail functions, such as view, read, create and create with attachments, reply, forward, and delete. All mail is stored in your inbox and can be accessed from there through a link.

Note:

For information about how to use the mail feature, see the "Sending and Viewing Mail" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Oracle WebCenter Portal.

WebCenter Mail fetches mail messages from the inbox folder only. It does not support fetching mail from other folders or moving messages.

All mail servers based on IMAP4 and SMTP protocols are supported. WebCenter Portal provides access to multiple mail connections. You can use a different mail connection by selecting it in the portal's Preferences settings. For more information, see the "Selecting Your Preferred Mail Connection" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Oracle WebCenter Portal.

The Mail task flow exposes features from your mail server (Figure 48-4). Note that the Mail task flow does not render embedded images. If an email contains inline images, they are shown as attachments, and not within the message body.

Figure 48-4 Mail Task Flow

Description of "Figure 48-4 Mail Task Flow"

The Mail task flow presents the following features:

A menu for specifying which messages to display
A Compose icon for starting the process of creating a new message
A Refresh icon for updating the task flow with new messages

The default mail distribution list that contains the mailing list of all portal members is created automatically when the portal is created. A portal moderator can configure a different distribution list. After configuring, as members are added to or deleted from the portal, the mailing list is updated automatically. For more information, see Section 48.2, "Configuring the Mail Distribution List for a Portal."

All mail sent to a portal mailing list are also posted to the portal discussion forum.

Users can mail other portal users or any user recognized by the back-end server that supports the Mail component.

Mail is integrated with instant messaging and presence (IMP) to provide additional options for contacting others. Each mail message includes the sender's user name and status icon (Figure 48-5), which you can click to open a context menu with options for starting a chat session or sending a new mail.

Note:

If IMP is not configured in WebCenter Portal, the status icons are grayed out. For more information about instant messaging and presence, see the "Using Instant Messaging and Presence Viewer" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Oracle WebCenter Portal.

Figure 48-5 User Name and Status Icon

Description of "Figure 48-5 User Name and Status Icon "

Users with page-edit privileges can access the task flow's region parameter through the Component Properties dialog in Composer. For more information about setting the Mail task flow properties, see Section 48.6, "Setting Mail Service Task Flow Properties."

48.5 Adding the Mail Service Task Flow to a Page

The Mail task flow exposes your company's mail server features within the context of your portal. Use the Mail task flow to view, respond to, and manage your personal mail.

For the steps to add a Mail task flow to a page, see Section 14.2, "Adding a Component to a Page."

Tip:

By default, the mail task flow is included in the default resource catalog. The presence or location of this component depends on how the resource catalog is configured. For example, in the default resource catalog, open the Social and Communication folder, then next to Mail, click Add.

This section provides information on how to use the Mail task flow. It contains the following subsection:

Section 48.5.1, "Logging in to Mail"

48.5.1 Logging in to Mail

If you are using a local mail client, before you can access your mail in WebCenter Portal, you must provide your mail login credentials. The first time you access a Mail task flow, it displays the message depicted in Figure 48-6. All users have to log in the first time they access mail.

Figure 48-6 Login Message in a Mail Task Flow

Description of "Figure 48-6 Login Message in a Mail Task Flow"

To log in to a Mail task flow:

Go to a Mail task flow, and click the Login to Mail link (Figure 48-6).

The External Application Login dialog (Figure 48-7) opens.

Figure 48-7 External Application Login Dialog

Description of "Figure 48-7 External Application Login Dialog"

Note:

The External Application Login dialog may include additional fields and information, depending on the requirements of the service that provides it. For more information about external applications and storing your login credentials in WebCenter Portal, see the "Providing Login Information for External Applications" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Oracle WebCenter Portal.
Enter your user name and password and any other login credentials that your mail application requires.

Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*).
Optionally, select Remember my login information to store your credentials.

The next time you log in to WebCenter Portal, your mail credentials are retrieved from storage and you are logged in.
Click OK, and the Mail task flow displays mail from your inbox.

Note:

By default, the 50 most recent mail messages from your mail server inbox folder are displayed. However, if required, your system administrator can configure this to a higher value, if your server supports the increase in memory cache that fetching additional mail requires. Care should be taken to have a value suitable to your environment. This value impacts all users. That is, if the Mail service is configured to read 200 recent mail messages, then it reads 200 recent mail messages for all users.

48.6 Setting Mail Service Task Flow Properties

The Mail task flow has associated properties, which users with sufficient privileges can access from the Component Properties dialog in Composer (Figure 48-8).

Tip:

For information about accessing the Component Properties dialog, see Section 14.3, "Modifying Components."

Figure 48-8 Mail Task Flow Component Properties

Description of "Figure 48-8 Mail Task Flow Component Properties"

The following sections provide information about properties of the Mail task flow and describe the properties on the Parameters tab.

Section 48.6.1, "About the Mail Task Flow Properties"
Section 48.6.2, "Mail Task Flow Parameters"

48.6.1 About the Mail Task Flow Properties

The properties on the Parameters tab of the Component Properties dialog control the default task flow content. For descriptions of the parameters on this tab, see Section 48.6.2, "Mail Task Flow Parameters." For some task flows, parameters on this tab facilitate the wiring of the task flow to page parameters and page definition variables. For more information, see Chapter 19, "Wiring Pages, Task Flows, Portlets, and ADF Components."

Changes to the properties on the Display Options, Style, and Content Style tabs affect the appearance and behavior of the task flow for all users. These properties are common to all task flows. For more information, see Section 14.3, "Modifying Components."

The content of the Events tab depends on the events supported by the task flow. For more information, see Section 14.3.7, "Working with Component Contextual Events."

The Child Components tab displays all of the components contained within the current component. It provides controls for rearranging, showing, and hiding child components. Not all components contain children, so you might find no content on this tab. For more information, see Section 14.3.5, "Working with Child Components."

All properties on the Parameters and Display Options tabs provide access to an Expression Language (EL) editor, which you can use to select or specify a variable value instead of a constant value. Click the Edit icon next to a property field to open the editor.

Note:

Wherever you enter EL on the generic Display Options tab in the Component Properties dialog, the entry is automatically validated. If the EL syntax is invalid, an error appears and the value is neither applied nor saved. Generic Display Options are those cataloged in Table 14-1.

EL validation is not performed on non-generic display options.

If you need EL assistance, an application developer can provide an EL expression; see the "Expression Language Expressions" appendix in Oracle Fusion Middleware Developing Portals with Oracle WebCenter Portal and Oracle JDeveloper.

48.6.2 Mail Task Flow Parameters

The Mail task flow has one associated region parameter: Tabular. Using the EL value type, enter a value of true to display the information associated with a mail message, such as its subject, sender, and, date sent, in a tabular format. Figure 48-9 illustrates a tabular format Mail task flow.

Figure 48-9 A Mail Task Flow where the Parameter Tabular Is Set to True

Description of "Figure 48-9 A Mail Task Flow where the Parameter Tabular Is Set to True"