45 Customizing Task Flows

Use the Task Flow Editor system page to customize task flows for use by all portals in WebCenter Portal.

Note:

Task flow customization is also possible at design time through Oracle JDeveloper. The process differs significantly from the runtime procedure discussed in this chapter. For more information, see Adding Custom Actions to a Task Flow in Developing for Oracle WebCenter Portal.

Permissions:

To perform the tasks in this chapter, you must have the WebCenter Portal Administrator role or a custom role that grants the following permission:

• Portal Server: Manage All or Portal Server-Manage Configuration

Topics:

• About Task Flow Customization at the Application Level

• Customizing Task Flows at the Application Level

• Removing Task Flow Customizations

About Task Flow Customization at the Application Level

Task flow customization provides a means of configuring a particular task flow in a way that all instances of that task flow within the current scope are affected. For example, you can add a link or icon to a task flow that requires it for all portals.

The task flow customization feature is available exclusively on the Task Flow Editor system page. The Task Flow Editor system page is available for both the application (all portals) and for individual portals:

• To change all instances of a given task flow across all portals (including the Home portal), customize the task flow on the application-level Task Flow Editor system page, as described in this chapter.

• To change only those instances exposed in a given portal, the portal manager can customize the task flow on the portal-level Task Flow Editor system page. See Working with Task Flows in Building Portals with Oracle WebCenter Portal.

Note:

When you customize a task flow element at the application level, and another user customizes the same task flow element at the portal level, the portal-level customization take precedence in that portal.

The Task Flow Editor system page is provided to enable customization of any out-of-the-box task flow. Custom task flows that are created through the Assets or Shared Assets page cannot be customized in this way.

System pages have a Restore Default feature that enables authorized users to remove all page customizations and restore a system page to its out-of-the-box state. It is important to note that Restore Default does not also restore customized task flows to their default states. A separate control, Reset Task Flow, is available to remove task flow customizations.

See Also:

For information about the Restore Default and Reset Task Flow features for system pages, see Removing All Page Customizations from a System Page and Removing Task Flow Customizations, respectively.

Customizing Task Flows at the Application Level

This section describes how to perform task flow customizations for WebCenter Portal, at the application level.

To perform application-wide task flow customizations through the Task Flow Editor system page:

1. On the Settings page (see Accessing the Settings Pages in WebCenter Portal Administration), click System Pages.

   You can also enter the following URL in your browser to navigate directly to the System Pages page:

   http://host:port/webcenter/portal/admin/settings/systempages

   See Also:

   Pretty URLs in Building Portals with Oracle WebCenter Portal.

2. Click the Customize link next to the Task Flow Editor system page (Figure 45-1) to open it in Structure view in the page editor.

   Figure 45-1 Customize Link Next to the Task Flow Editor System Page

   
   Description of "Figure 45-1 Customize Link Next to the Task Flow Editor System Page"
3. Add a task flow that you want to edit to the Task Flow Editor page (Figure 45-2).

   1. Click on the page to activate it.

   2. Click the Add content into the selected component icon (the Add icon on the right toolbar).

      The Add Content dialog opens.

   The method for adding a task flow to a page is that same as for any other component in the resource catalog. For more information, see Adding a Component to a Page in Building Portals with Oracle WebCenter Portal.

   Figure 45-2 Edit Task Flow Link Next to a Region Tag

   
   Description of "Figure 45-2 Edit Task Flow Link Next to a Region Tag"
4. Click the Edit Task Flow link next to the task flow you want to customize (Figure 45-2).
5. In the Confirm Task Flow Edit dialog, click Edit.

   Structure view zooms into the source code hierarchy of the task flow being edited (Figure 45-3)

   Figure 45-3 Zoomed-In View of Task Flow

   
   Description of "Figure 45-3 Zoomed-In View of Task Flow"
6. Set the properties of a task flow element by clicking it in the Task Flow Editor, then click the Show the properties of region icon. Alternatively, right-click the region and select Edit (Figure 45-4).

   Figure 45-4 Selected Task Flow Element on a Page in Structure View

   
   Description of "Figure 45-4 Selected Task Flow Element on a Page in Structure View"

   The Component Properties dialog opens (Figure 45-5).

   Figure 45-5 Component Properties Dialog

   
   Description of "Figure 45-5 Component Properties Dialog"
7. Make your changes to the element's properties. Click the Help icon for descriptions of the parameters for the component you are editing

   Note:

   Remember that changes to one element affect all like elements in the task flow within the current scope. For example, a change to the font used on a folder name affects all folder names within the scope and not just the selected instance.

8. Click Apply to view the effect of your changes; click OK to save your changes and exit the dialog.

   Every instance of the customized task flow within the current scope renders with your customizations.

9. Click Save then Close to exit Composer.

Removing Task Flow Customizations

You can remove all customizations made to seeded task flows in WebCenter Portal.

Note:

This procedure does not apply to task flows created at runtime. That is, task flows created through the Assets or Shared Assets pages. Changes made to a task flow created at runtime are base edits rather than layered customizations; therefore, when you click Reset Task Flow, there are no customization layers to remove.

To remove task flow customizations made at the application level:

1. On the Settings page (see Accessing the Settings Pages in WebCenter Portal Administration), click System Pages.

   You can also enter the following URL in your browser to navigate directly to the System Pages page:

   http://host:port/webcenter/portal/admin/settings/systempages

   See Also:

   Pretty URLs in Building Portals with Oracle WebCenter Portal.

2. Click the Customize link next to the Task Flow Editor system page (Figure 45-6) to open it in page edit mode.

   Figure 45-6 Customize Link Next to a System Page

   
   Description of "Figure 45-6 Customize Link Next to a System Page"
3. In the Structure view toolbar, click Reset Task Flow.

   Figure 45-7 Reset Task Flow Option for a Selected Element

   
   Description of "Figure 45-7 Reset Task Flow Option for a Selected Element"
4. In the Reset Task Flow dialog, click Reset Task Flow to confirm the action.