50 About WebCenter Content Integration

The Oracle WebCenter Content Integration feature, also called WCC Integration, is a GUI-controlled connector. Its function is to synchronize content items from WebCenter Content to WebCenter Sites, where they are managed as native assets. The assets can be edited, deleted, previewed, revision tracked, published, and otherwise treated like any asset that was created directly in WebCenter Sites.

This chapter first outlines your prerequisites for working with WCC Integration. It then discusses basic concepts to help you plan, set up, and manage content synchronization.

This chapter contains the following sections:

• Section 50.1, "Administrator's Prerequisites"

• Section 50.2, "Basics of WebCenter Content Integration"

• Section 50.3, "WebCenter Content Data Model"

• Section 50.4, "Asset Type Mapping and Connector Rules"

• Section 50.5, "WebCenter Content Integration and Its Parts"

• Section 50.6, "First Steps"

50.1 Administrator's Prerequisites

WCC Integration is for administrators with a working knowledge of WebCenter Content and WebCenter Sites, especially their data models. Requirements include a clear understanding of content items, renditions, conversions, and metadata defined in WebCenter Content. Also required is a clear picture of WebCenter Sites asset types, the flex family in particular. A critical portion of your work involves mapping content item metadata to asset type attributes. If the need arises to create the asset types, you would collaborate with developers.

Detailed information about WebCenter Content is available in Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Oracle WebCenter Content.

50.2 Basics of WebCenter Content Integration

WCC Integration leverages WebCenter Content and the conversion capabilities of its content transformation engines. Specifically, WCC Integration is designed to synchronize two types of content from WebCenter Content to WebCenter Sites – documents and digital assets, including images and videos – as native files, renditions, and HTML conversions. Renditions can be created by the core transformation engine or Digital Asset Manager, depending on the type of native file and which renditions are required. HTML conversions are generated by Dynamic Converter. File formats are unlimited. More information about content transformation is available in ... Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Oracle WebCenter Content.

Before showing you how to enable and set up WCC Integration, we start with concepts that are most important to your success with WCC Integration. These concepts are used throughout the WCC Integration feature and the chapters in this guide. They include the WebCenter Content data model, its mapping to asset types in WebCenter Sites, and the rules you will be configuring to guide the connector when it polls WebCenter Content. The concepts are discussed in Section 50.3, "WebCenter Content Data Model" and Section 50.4, "Asset Type Mapping and Connector Rules."

50.3 WebCenter Content Data Model

The WebCenter Content data model is based on an object called content item, which holds several types of information: a native file, its renditions, conversions, and the associated metadata.

• Native files are created by users directly in WebCenter Content and kept in their original format. For WCC Integration, valid native files are documents (such as docx files) and digital assets (such as image files and videos).

• Renditions are converted content items. Renditions are different formats of native content. They are files generated by content transformation engines and associated with the content item that stores the native (original) file.

  For example:

  • Native documents can be converted by the core transformation engine (available by default in WebCenter Content) into web formats for easier viewing on the web. Typically, this would mean converting a Microsoft Word document into a PDF file. The native document is known as the primary rendition, and its web-viewable copy is known as the web rendition. The native file and its rendition are contained within the same content item.

  • Native image files and videos can be converted by Digital Asset Manager into multiple renditions of different sizes and formats. The original image file is the primary rendition, its small thumbnail version could be called small thumbnail rendition, its large thumbnail version could be called large thumbnail rendition, and so on.

• HTML conversions are specific renditions of native documents (such as Microsoft Word). The renditions are created by Dynamic Converter, which takes a single native document containing both text and graphics and converts it into an HTML rendition. The rendition consists of (1) an HTML file containing all the text of the native document, and (2) a collection of image files representing the graphics.

• Metadata associated with content items is analogous to attributes associated with asset types.

When it runs for the first time, the WCC connector imports the latest released versions of native files, renditions, conversions, metadata, or combinations of them into WebCenter Sites. Which content it imports depends on the connector rules and the mappings they specify.

If the content items are then modified on WebCenter Content, the connector synchronizes them to WebCenter Sites in its next session. Updated content items are re-imported into WebCenter Sites, and deleted content items have their counterpart assets deleted from WebCenter Sites (unless dependencies on those assets were created since the last synchronization session).

Import and synchronization can be triggered manually, or they can be scheduled to run on a timed basis.

Synchronization is always unidirectional, from WebCenter Content to WebCenter Sites. WCC Integration supports a many-to-one client-server model. Any number of WebCenter Sites clients can be connected to a single WebCenter Content instance.

For more information about the WebCenter Content data model, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Understanding Oracle WebCenter Content and the Oracle WebCenter Content Administrator's Guide for Dynamic Converter.

50.4 Asset Type Mapping and Connector Rules

In WebCenter Content, managed items are referred to as content items, while in WebCenter Sites the managed items are referred to as assets.

• Content items in WebCenter Content have metadata associated with them.

• Assets in WebCenter Sites are instances of asset types, which have attributes associated with them.

The goal of using WCC Integration is to import content items as assets into WebCenter Sites and keep them synchronized as the content items are updated. Your success depends on many factors, but rests largely on the target asset type (or types), especially on the mapping of content item metadata to asset type attributes, how you configure the mapping in rules the connector uses throughout its polling sessions, and how you prioritize the rules.

This section contains the following topics:

• Section 50.4.1, "Asset Type Mapping"

• Section 50.4.2, "Connector Rules"

50.4.1 Asset Type Mapping

Target asset types can be created or re-used. How many and which asset types to use depends on your content requirements. There is, however, a minimum set of requirements:

• Target asset types must belong to the flex family.

• A target asset type must have at least the following types of attributes:

  • A content identifier attribute that maps to the content identifier metadata field used in WebCenter Content. For more information, see Section 50.4.1.1, "Content Identifier Attribute."

  • Content storage attributes to hold the imported files (native files, renditions, conversions, or any combination of them). For more information, see Section 50.4.1.2, "Content Storage Attributes."

  • A template storage attribute to enable asset previewing, assuming asset previewing is a requirement (which is typically the case).

    If a template attribute is created, special attention must be given to template code for previewing dynamically converted HTML files and their referenced images, as described in Section 50.4.1.3, "Template Attributes."

• The rest of the requirements are specific to your needs and outlined in Section 50.4.1.4, "Administrator-Defined Specifications."

50.4.1.1 Content Identifier Attribute

In WebCenter Content, each item has a unique ID, which is stored in a database field named dDocName (and displayed in the item's Content ID field). By default, dDocName is mapped to the name attribute. Whenever an asset is created in WebCenter Sites to store a content item, the value of dDocName for that content item is recorded in the asset's name attribute.

The dDocName (Content ID) is used in several ways. It enables the WCC connector (and you) to trace assets to their counterpart content items. It enables the connector to determine if a content item has already been synchronized to WebCenter Sites and, therefore, to either create a new asset, update the existing asset, or delete the existing asset, depending on whether the content item is created, updated, or deleted.

The default mapping of dDocName to name can be changed, as described in Section 54.2, "User Configurable Parameters." This should be done only once, on a new system, before connector rules are created and the first synchronization session is started.

50.4.1.2 Content Storage Attributes

Given that content items are imported into WebCenter Sites as files, the target asset type requires attributes of type blob (either single- or multi-valued) to accept the files.

Dynamically converted documents require some special handling, because the process of converting a single native file into HTML generates multiple artifacts. For example, a single Microsoft Word document containing both text and graphics gets converted to (1) an HTML file containing all the text, and (2) a collection of image files representing all the graphics.

The HTML and image files are mapped to separate attributes. The HTML file is mapped to a single-valued attribute of type blob. The image files are mapped to a multi-valued attribute of type blob. A template attribute and template for previewing the asset must also be configured, as described in Section 50.4.1.3, "Template Attributes."

50.4.1.3 Template Attributes

Typically, asset types in WebCenter Sites have template attributes to support asset previewing.

Templates Requiring Special Attention

Templates for dynamically converted HTML files require special attention for the following reason:

A dynamically converted HTML file contains image links in WebCenter Content format. For example:

<img src="${wcmUrl('dcresource','20673.jpg')}" 
width="360" height="270" alt="2007_06240117.JPG" />

Because WebCenter Sites does not recognize a format such as ${wcmUrl('dcresource','20673.jpg')}, the links must be converted to blob links. Conversion of link format is illustrated in a sample template named WccConversionPreview.jsp, located in the /misc/Samples/WCC directory of the exploded WebCenter Sites distribution file. Developers can use the sample template as is, or include parts of its logic in their own templates. The sample template is hard-coded with the names of the file-storage attributes shown in Table 50-1:

Table 50-1 Attributes in WccConversionPreview.jsp

Attribute Name	Data Type
html	blob
images	blob (M)

If the attributes in your target asset type are named other than html and images, developers will have to update the sample WccConversionPreview.jsp template with the attribute names used in the target asset type.

50.4.1.4 Administrator-Defined Specifications

In addition to the required attributes described in sections Section 50.4.1.1, "Content Identifier Attribute," Section 50.4.1.2, "Content Storage Attributes,"and Section 50.4.1.3, "Template Attributes," you always have the option to add attributes for any metadata that you need to synchronize to a target asset type.

Target asset types can be enabled on as many content management sites as necessary. During a synchronization session, content items will be synchronized to the target asset types on all sites that you specify in the connector rules. For information about connector rules, see Section 50.4.2, "Connector Rules."

50.4.2 Connector Rules

The WCC connector requires at least one active (enabled) rule. Without an active rule, the connector cannot poll WebCenter Content.

An active rule is an enabled set of instructions for the connector to execute when it runs. A rule is configured and enabled on WebCenter Sites. It contains several instructions: Which metadata to poll on WebCenter Content, which target asset type to invoke on which content management site(s) where the target asset type is enabled, and how to map content item metadata to asset type attributes. The connector uses the map to determine in which attributes to store the information it retrieves.

When planning and configuring connector rules, consider the information presented in the rest of this section to help ensure that content items are processed to your expectations:

• Rules and Target Asset Types

• Prioritizing Active Rules

• Resynchronizing Content Items to WebCenter Sites

• Disabling and Deleting Active Rules

• Additional Considerations

Rules and Target Asset Types

A connector rule allows you to choose only a single target asset type, which means that you are likely to create multiple rules if you plan to synchronize a variety of content items to WebCenter Sites. For example:

• You need to import a dynamically converted HTML file and its referenced images into a single asset type. You would then create a single rule that names the target asset type and maps the HTML file with its images to an html attribute and an images attribute.

• You need to import Microsoft Word documents and unrelated pdf files. You have two dedicated asset types: one asset type for docx files, and the other asset type for pdf files. You would then create two rules: one rule for synchronizing the docx files to the first asset type, and another rule for synchronizing pdf files to the second asset type.

Prioritizing Active Rules

If multiple active rules map the same content items to different asset types, only one of the rules will be executed by the connector – the first rule that matches the content items. The order in which rules are executed determines which content items are synchronized to which asset types.

For example, you have new items named surfing.jpg, surfing.png, and skiing.png. You also have two active rules:

• Rule 1 maps surfing.any_extension items to the Images_avi asset type on the avisports site.

• Rule 2 maps png items to the Images_FSII asset type on FirstSite II.

Table 50-2 shows that the items are distributed differently between the two asset types when rule 1 and rule 2 are executed in different orders. Therefore, you must prioritize the rules in a way that produces the results you require.

Table 50-2 How the Order of Active Connector Rules Determines Content Distribution

Active Rule	Images_avi Target Asset Type	Images_FSII Asset Type
If rule 1 is executed first	surfing.jpg and surfing.png are imported into this asset type	skiing.png is imported into this asset type
If rule 2 is executed first	surfing.jpg is imported into this asset type	surfing.png and skiing.png are imported into this asset type

Note:

Here is more information about how the connector uses rules to synchronize content items to WebCenter Sites.

1. When the connector runs, it examines new and updated content items, but only if they are (or once were) enabled for synchronization. The connector examines the content items one at a time, as follows:

   The connector compares the metadata of a content item to the metadata in the rule. If the connector fails to find matching metadata, it uses the next active rule to re-test the same content item.

   If it finds matching metadata, the connector continues to test the content item by looking for renditions that match renditions specified in the rule. Once its search is complete, the connector turns to WebCenter Sites (regardless of whether it finds matching renditions).

2. On WebCenter Sites, the connector operates on the database:

   The connector invokes the target asset type named in the rule, creates an asset, uses the rule to determine which metadata maps to which attributes, and imports the metadata values and renditions (if any) into the asset's attributes.

   Once the imported content item is synchronized, the connector skips testing all other rules on that content item and moves on to test the next content item, starting with step 1.

Resynchronizing Content Items to WebCenter Sites

Once synchronized to WebCenter Sites, a content item will be resynchronized only when it is modified (updated or deleted) on WebCenter Content.

Note:

If a content item is synchronized to WebCenter Sites and then deleted from WebCenter Content, its counterpart asset is deleted from WebCenter Sites, unless dependencies were created on that asset since the last synchronization session.

Disabling and Deleting Active Rules

If an active rule is disabled or deleted, content items imported into WebCenter Sites by that rule remain in WebCenter Sites. Disabled rules are ignored by the connector.

Additional Considerations

Creating and managing rules is only one part of setting up content synchronization. Your complete set of steps includes first enabling several WCC Integration parts (a one-time operation) and then configuring the parts to support content synchronization. The parts are described in Section 50.5, "WebCenter Content Integration and Its Parts."

50.5 WebCenter Content Integration and Its Parts

The WCC Integration feature consists of several parts, which you will first enable and then configure to set up and manage content synchronization. The parts are the SitesIntegration component, the WCC connector, and the Connector Admin tab, which is used to control the connector.

• SitesIntegration: This component is installed by default on WebCenter Content during the installation process and must be enabled to support the WCC connector.

  Enabling the SitesIntegration component adds the following features to WebCenter Content:

  • Sync to Sites option. This option is displayed on content checkin, update, and search forms. Setting the option to True makes the content item available to the connector for retrieval. Whether the content is actually retrieved and stored depends on whether that content matches the criteria in the active rule(s) you create.

  • WCS Queue Support Information. This graphical interface lists token history for each of the WebCenter Sites clients. Token information can be used to roll back to previous updates.

  For information about enabling the SitesIntegration component, see Section 51.1, "Enabling the SitesIntegration Component."

• WCC Connector: This connector is installed on WebCenter Sites to communicate with WebCenter Content. It can be selected for installation during the WebCenter Sites installation or upgrade process, or it can be installed at a later time (the former method is preferred). The connector polls WebCenter Content once it is configured to do so from the Connector Admin tab in the WebCenter Sites Admin interface.

• Connector Admin Tab: This is a graphical interface used to control the connector. When WCC Integration is installed, the Connector Admin tab is added to the navigation tree of the WebCenter Sites Admin interface, as shown in Figure 50-1.

  Figure 50-1 WCC Connector Admin Tab

  
  Description of ''Figure 50-1 WCC Connector Admin Tab''
  
  

  The Connector Admin tab is used to set up, run, and manage the connector. For example, you can create and enable connector rules, establish a connection to WebCenter Content, manually run the connector, monitor connector activity, view connector history, and obtain token information.

  For information about enabling the Connector Admin tab, see Section 51.2, "Enabling Access to the Connector Admin Tab."

50.6 First Steps

Before any content can be imported into WebCenter Sites, two WCC Integration parts must be enabled to support content synchronization, as described in Chapter 51, "Enabling the WebCenter Content Integration Feature." Your first (and one-time) step is to complete (or ensure the completion of) all procedures in Chapter 51, "Enabling the WebCenter Content Integration Feature." They are:

1. Enable the SitesIntegration component on WebCenter Content, as described in Section 51.1, "Enabling the SitesIntegration Component."

2. Enable the Connector Admin tab on WebCenter Sites for yourself and other users, as described in Section 51.2, "Enabling Access to the Connector Admin Tab."

Once the above procedures are completed, you are ready to set up your system for content synchronization sessions, as described in Chapter 52, "Setting Up Content Synchronization."