56 Adding Tags and Bookmarks to a Portal
This chapter describes how to add tagging functionality to allow WebCenter Portal users to bookmark application objects.
This chapter includes the following topics:
Permissions:
To perform the tasks in this chapter, you must be a portal moderator or member with the permission Basic Services: Edit Page Access and Structure (simple permissions) or Pages: Edit Pages (advanced permissions).
For more information about permissions, see Section 29.1, "About Roles and Permissions for a Portal."
56.1 About Tags
This section provides an overview of tags: what tags are and how to use tags. It contains the following topics:
56.1.1 Understanding Tags
Tags provide a way to bookmark application objects, making them easy to locate. Users can apply their own meaningful terms to pages and documents in WebCenter Portal, making those items more easily discoverable in the Tag Center and in search results.
A tag is a word you associate with application pages or documents, applying your own classification to improve search results. For example, you could apply the tag jcr to a page that provides useful insight into Java Content Repositories. When you search for information about JCRs, the tagged page appears in the results.
Tags are available for viewing in the Tags task flow, in search results, and in the Tag Center, where users can see what tags were used and what items were tagged. Tagging assists with building a knowledge network where each user can benefit from the assessments of all users.
Tags help provide a higher level of relevance from search results by augmenting results with relevant items that you or others have tagged. Additionally, classifying an item with a tag enables you to gather disparate items into a cohesive body of knowledge and share it with others.
Users can share tags or keep them private. Share tags to enable other users to discover them in their searches. When you do not share a tag, users searching on an identical term do not discover the items you tagged with that term, unless some other user tagged the item with the same term and shared that tag.
Anywhere users see the Tags icon (Figure 56-1), they can apply a tag.
Place your cursor over the Tags icon to see a list of any tags you have applied to the item and the tags that have been applied most frequently to the item by you and other users. To see the items associated with a displayed tag, click the tag.
When looking at tags in search results, note the number of times the tag was applied to a particular object. This number indicates the tag's relevance to that object, and ultimately causes a collective classification scheme popularly known as a folksonomy. This can make information easier to search and navigate over time.
The scope of tags is both personal and application-wide. The tag data you view in the Tags task flow includes only the tags you apply; however, when you tag data through the Tag Center or through a tags task flow you see application-wide tag data.
Application-wide (global) searches look for tagged items wherever they might be. You can run global searches from the search field near the top-right of the application.
Users can provide one or multiple tags to a given item. And multiple users can use the same tag term that you used and apply it to the same item. Duplicates of tags across users are tabulated and provide extra weight to the relevance of the tag term.
56.1.2 Understanding the Tag Center
The Tag Center is a dynamically-generated page that displays all the tags you and other users have applied to application pages and documents (Figure 56-2).
The Tag Center offers the most complete use of tag data by providing access not only to your tags, but to the tags applied by other users. Additionally it provides a visual depiction of tag popularity, which enables you to refine tag results using filters. Filter for multiple tags simultaneously or filter by other users who have applied the same tags. A sorting feature provides an additional means of controlling your view of tagged items.
The Tag Center has three sections:
-
The Tag Cloud section, which you can use to view a cloud or list of the tags currently applied to items in your application.
-
The Refine Tag Results section with two types of list: a list of all other tags used on items that also use the currently-selected tag and a list of other users who have applied the selected tag.
-
The Selected tag section, which provides a list of all items to which you have access that use the currently-selected tag and options to edit, sort, and filter the items.
The Tag Cloud is a visual depiction of currently-applied tags (Figure 56-3).
Tags are presented according to the frequency of their use. More frequently used tags display in bold fonts and varying font sizes—the larger the font, the more the tag has been applied. Click a tag in the tag cloud to execute a search that returns a list of all items to which you have access that use the tag.
To learn how to work with tags in the Tag Center see Section 56.2.5, "Working with Tags and Tagged Items in the Tag Center."
56.2 Working with Tags Features and Task Flows
This section provides information about tagging and describes how to make best use of tags. It includes the following topics:
-
Section 56.2.4, "Viewing Tags and Tagged Items in Search Results"
-
Section 56.2.5, "Working with Tags and Tagged Items in the Tag Center"
-
Section 56.2.6, "Understanding the Tag Cloud and the Tag Selection Task Flows"
-
Section 56.2.7, "Understanding the Similarly Tagged Items Task Flow"
56.2.1 Adding the Tags Icon to Pages
If you do not see the Tags icon on pages, then add the Tags icon to your page template (Figure 56-4).
See Also:
Section 21.4, "Editing a Page Template" for information on how to edit the page template
56.2.2 Tagging Application Pages
This section steps you through the process of applying tags to application pages. You can apply a tag to any application page on which you see the Tags icon and link.
To tag a page in your application:
-
Open the page you want to tag in edit mode (see Section 12.4.3, "Opening a Page in the Page Editor (Composer)").
-
Go to the page you want to tag. You can apply a tag to any application page on which you see the Tags icon and link (Figure 56-5).
-
The Tag this Page dialog opens (Figure 56-6).
-
Enter tag values:
-
Page Name—The page's display name, a read-only value.
-
Tags—List of tags already applied to this page.
-
Add Tags—Enter one or more tags, separated with a space. Use underscores or hyphens in multi-word tag entries.
-
Shared—Imagine that you have tagged a page with the term essential and selected the Shared check box. When other users search using the term essential, the page you tagged appears in their search results. If you deselect the Shared check box, then other users' search on the term essential does not include this page in their results (unless others, too, have tagged it essential or another user tagged it essential and shared the tag). Regardless of whether you select or deselect Shared, when you search on the term essential, the page you tagged with that term appears in your search results.
If your administrator disabled the Shared check box, then it does not appear.
-
-
Click Save to apply the tag and close the dialog.
56.2.3 Tagging Application Documents
This section steps you through the process of applying tags to documents. You can apply tags to any documents you can view.
To tag a document in your application:
-
Go to a Document Library main view, either the task flow or the Documents page, and locate the document you want to tag.
-
Click the document to open it, then click Tags icon. The Tags section displays the tags you have put on the document. It also lets you update these tags and add new tags. (Figure 56-7).
-
Enter tag values:
-
Tags—List of tags already applied to this page.
-
Add Tags—Enter one or more tags, separated with a space. Use underscores or hyphens in multi-word tag entries.
-
Recommended Tags—Recommended tags are automatically generated using a ranking algorithm. They indicate the system's best estimation of tags that suit the document you are currently tagging. Click a recommended tag to add it to the Tags field.
-
Shared—Imagine that you have tagged a document with the term essential and selected the Shared check box. When other users search using the term essential, the document you tagged appears in their search results. If you deselect the Shared check box, then other users' search on the term essential does not include this document in their results (unless they, too, have tagged it essential). Regardless of whether you select or deselect Shared, when you search on the term essential, the document you tagged with that term appears in your search results.
If your administrator disabled the Shared check box, then it does not appear.
-
-
Click Save to apply the tag.
56.2.4 Viewing Tags and Tagged Items in Search Results
Tag search results appear under two headings:
-
Tags, which shows tags that at least partially match the search criteria; for example, if you search for page, the following tags are returned: page, pages, or pager.
-
Tagged Items, which shows items that are associated with a tag that matches the search criteria exactly; for example, if you search for page, only items associated with the tag page are returned; items associated with the following tags are not returned: pages or pager.
Under these headings, tag search results appear like any other search results; however, tags in tag search results behave a little differently. When you click tagged items in tag search results or when you click other types of search results, their associated content is shown. When you click a tag in tag search results, the Tag Center opens with that tag preselected.
Note:
Tags and Tagged Items appear in search results only if WebCenter is configured with WebCenter Portal's live search adapter. For more information on search configurations, see Section 55.1, "About Searching in WebCenter Portal."
To view tags and tagged items in search results:
-
Search results open in the Search page (Figure 56-8). The Tags section shows the number of items to which a tag has been applied. The Tagged Items section shows the number of users who have applied a tag to an item.
56.2.5 Working with Tags and Tagged Items in the Tag Center
There are several ways to open the Tag Center (Figure 56-9):
-
Click a tag displayed in the Tags task flow
-
Click a tag returned as a search result
-
Click a tag that appears when you hover over the Tags icon
Additionally, the administrator can add a page for the Tag Center in the Home portal.
The selected tag determines all the other tag-related information that appears in the Tag Center. For example:
-
The selected tag is highlighted in the tag cloud (Figure 56-10).
Users can choose another tag in the tag cloud to change the information that is displayed in the Tag Center. They also can use the controls above the tag cloud to rearrange their tag-cloud view.
-
Other tags used on items that also use the currently-selected tag display in the Tagged With panel (Figure 56-11).
-
Other users who applied the selected tag are listed in the Tagged By panel (Figure 56-12).
-
Items tagged with the currently-selected tag appear in the right panel of the Tag Center (Figure 56-13). Click an item link to display the item.
56.2.6 Understanding the Tag Cloud and the Tag Selection Task Flows
The Tag Cloud task flow and Tag Selection task flow are similar in that they both display a tag cloud, which is a visual depiction of all the tags used. Tags are presented according to the frequency of their use. More frequently used tags display in bold fonts and varying font sizes—the larger the font, the more the tag has been applied.
With the Tag Cloud task flow (Figure 56-14), when you click a tag in the tag cloud, you are redirected to Tag Center, where that tag is selected (Figure 56-15).
With the Tag Selection task flow (Figure 56-16), when you click a tag, it marks the tag as selected and you see the results in the Tag Cloud Related Resources task flow (Figure 56-17). You are not redirected to the Tag Center.
56.2.7 Understanding the Similarly Tagged Items Task Flow
The Similarly Tagged Items task flow (Figure 56-18) provides a list of links to other pages or documents that have at least one tag in common with the currently-displayed page.
56.3 Setting Tags Task Flow Properties
Tags task flow has associated properties, which users with sufficient privileges can access from the Component Properties dialog in Composer (Figure 56-19).
Figure 56-19 Similarly Tagged Items Task Flow Properties
Description of "Figure 56-19 Similarly Tagged Items Task Flow Properties"
The following topics provide information about properties of the Tags task flows and describe the properties on the Parameters tab.
56.3.1 About Tags 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 56.3.2, "Tags 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 information about wiring pages and components, 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 contents of the Events tab depend on the events supported by the task flow. For more information, see Section 14.3.7, "Working with Component Contextual Events."
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.
56.3.2 Tags Task Flow Parameters
Table 56-1 describes the parameters that are unique to tags task flows.
Table 56-1 Tags Task Flow Parameters
| Parameter | Description | Task Flow |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Unique ID of the item or resource within a given tool/service that is used to find similarly tagged items. This value is set automatically. Do not change this value unless you want to show items similar to a different resource. |
Tagging - Related Links Similarly Tagged Items |
|
|
This parameter has a different meaning for the Similarly Tagged Items task flow and the Tags task flow.
|
Tagging - Related Links Similarly Tagged Items Tagging - Personal View Tags |
|
|
Scope of tags. This value is set automatically. Do not change this value. |
Tag Cloud Tag Selection Tagging - Tagged Items Tag Cloud Related Resources |
|
|
Redirection URL for anonymous page login. This must include the |
Tagging Dialog |
Note:
You should not change tags task flow properties unless you want to show items from a different resource or different tool or service.