This chapter describes how to create, organize, and manage Favorites. Favorites assist you in keeping a list of personal links to web sites and pages that is independent of the browser you use.
This chapter includes the following topics:
Permissions:
The tasks described in this chapter are available to any WebCenter Portal user.The great advantage to WebCenter Portal Favorites is their portability. They are not dependent on a particular type of browser, so any browser you use to access WebCenter Portal provides access to your WebCenter Portal Favorites. You can create favorites that link to sites within WebCenter Portal or external sites. This makes WebCenter Portal the best choice for managing and tracking your favorites list.
Favorites are personal. The favorites you see on the Favorites menu are the favorites you create. No other user sees your favorites, and you do not see any other user's favorites. If you like, though, you can share favorites with other users, by making one or more of them discoverable in a search.
Favorites are created at the application level; consequently, when you move from one portal to another, the favorites on the Favorites menu stay the same.
WebCenter Portal provides a Manage Favorites page in Preferences, which you can use to further customize your favorites. Use the Manage Favorites page to:
Control the order of display of links on the Favorites menu
Specify a method for opening a favorite target
Create folders for organizing your favorites
Create, edit, or delete favorite links and folders
For more information about the Manage Favorites page, see Section 4.5, "Managing Favorites in Preferences."
The easiest way to access the Favorites user interface is to open the Favorites menu (Figure 4-1). However, the availability of navigational links and menus, such as the Favorites menu, is determined by the people who design and build your portal. This being so, you may not see a Favorites menu.
Add favorite links for quick access to WebCenter Portal pages and the web sites you find most useful. If you like, you can share favorites with other users by making one or more of them discoverable in a search. This section describes how to add new favorites and how to share them with other users.
Note:
This section describes how to add favorites through the Favorites menu. You can also add favorites through the Manage Favorites page in Preferences. For more information, see Section 4.5.1, "Adding a Favorite Using the Manage Favorites Page."You can add files, including wikis and blogs, to your Favorites through the Document Previewer. For more information, see Section 19.25, "Adding a Folder or File to Your Favorites."
To add a favorite:
The way you obtain your favorite's URL differs depending on the circumstances:
For pages external to WebCenter Portal, go to a favorite web location and copy its URL.
For WebCenter Portal pages, log in and go to the page you want to make a favorite.
If you know the URL, enter it manually when prompted.
Open the Add To Favorites dialog (for more information, see Section 4.2, "Accessing Your Favorites").
In the Name field, enter a display name for the favorite (Figure 4-2).
Note:
The value you enter for Name becomes the favorite's link text. The name of the current page is provided by default. You can change this or leave it as is.In the Web Address field, enter the target URL for the favorite.
The default entry for this field is the URL of the current WebCenter Portal page; you have three options:
Leave the default entry (the path to the current page) as is.
Paste the URL you copied in step 1.
Enter the URL manually.
From the Create In pick list, select the favorites folder in which to create the favorite.
See Also:
WebCenter provides one top-level default folder: Favorites. You can also create your own folders by clicking the New Folder button. For more information, see Section 4.4, "Adding Favorites Folders."To enable this favorite to be discovered by other users during a search, select Shared.
Deselect Shared if you do not want other users to have any access to this favorite.
Click OK to add the favorite to the Favorites menu and the Manage Favorites page.
To keep your list of favorites manageable, you can organize them into folders. The folder hierarchy you create appears on the Favorites menu and on the Manage Favorites page. Because the favorite folders you create are user-level customizations, they display only in your view of WebCenter Portal.
Note:
This section describes one way to create favorites folders. You can also create them in the Manage Favorites page. For more information, see Section 4.5.3, "Editing Favorites and Favorites Folders."To add a favorites folder:
Open the Add To Favorites dialog.
See Also:
For more information, see Section 4.2, "Accessing Your Favorites."Click the New Folder button to open the Create Folder dialog (Figure 4-3).
Figure 4-3 New Folder Button and Create Folder Dialog
In the Folder Name field, enter a name for the new folder.
Click Create to save the new folder and close the Create Folder dialog.
The new folder appears as a selection in the Add To Favorites dialog on the Create In list.
Click OK to close the Add To Favorites dialog.
The WebCenter Portal Manage Favorites page (Figure 4-4) in Preferences provides a convenient, one-stop location for creating, editing, and deleting favorite links and folders and rearranging their display order on the Favorites menu.
This section describes how to use the controls available on the Manage Favorites page. It contains the following subsections:
Section 4.5.1, "Adding a Favorite Using the Manage Favorites Page"
Section 4.5.2, "Adding a Favorites Folder Using the Manage Favorites Page"
Section 4.5.4, "Rearranging Favorites and Favorites Folders"
When you want to add multiple favorites, the best place to do this is on the Manage Favorites page. This is because the Manage Favorites page remains open until you close it, saving you steps in the creation process.
To add favorites through the Manage Favorites page:
Go to the web page of interest, and copy its URL.
You can skip this step if you plan to enter the URL manually. For information about getting the URL of an application page, see Section 9.14, "Viewing Information About a Personal Page" (viewing information about a portal page works the same as viewing information about a personal page).
Open the Manage Favorites page (for more information, see Section 4.2, "Accessing Your Favorites").
Select the folder in which to create the new favorite.
Tip:
Select a folder by clicking in its row.Click the Add button in the toolbar at the top of the window (Figure 4-5).
Figure 4-5 Add Button in Manage Favorites Page
In the resulting Add To Favorites dialog, in the Name field enter a display name for the favorite (Figure 4-6).
In the Web Address field, paste the URL you copied in step 1, or enter a URL manually.
To enable the sharing of this favorite in other users' search results, select Shared.
Click OK.
The new favorite appears in the Manage Favorites page and in the Favorites menu (Figure 4-7).
Figure 4-7 New Favorite in Favorites Menu
To keep your list of favorites manageable, you can organize them into folders. The folder hierarchy you create appears in the Favorites menu and on the Manage Favorites page. Because the favorite folders you create are user-level customizations, they display only in your view of WebCenter Portal.
In addition to adding favorites folders through the Add To Favorites dialog (see Section 4.4, "Adding Favorites Folders") you can add them through the Manage Favorites page.
To add a favorites folder through the Manage Favorites page:
Open the Manage Favorites page (for more information, see Section 4.2, "Accessing Your Favorites").
Select the folder in which to create the new folder, and click the New button in the toolbar at the top of the window (Figure 4-8).
Figure 4-8 New Button in Manage Favorites Page
In the resulting Create Folder dialog, in the Folder Name box enter a display name for the favorite folder (Figure 4-9).
Click Create.
The new folder appears on the Manage Favorites page and on the Favorites menu.
Note:
Any Favorites folders you create but leave empty appear grayed out on the Favorites menu.The Manage Favorites page provides controls for editing favorites and favorites folders. Use this feature to revise a folder or favorite name, a favorite target URL, or a open behavior for a favorite.
Open behavior determines how a favorite target URL opens from the Favorites menu or the Manage Favorites page. Select from opening a favorite target in the current browser window, a new browser window, or a new tab.
To edit a favorite or favorite folder:
Open the Manage Favorites page (for more information, see Section 4.2, "Accessing Your Favorites").
If necessary, expand favorites folders to access the favorite or folder you want to edit.
Tip:
To expand a folder, click the Expand icon to the left of the folder.Select the favorite or favorite folder you want to edit, and click the Edit button in the toolbar to open the Edit Favorite dialog (Figure 4-10) or Edit Folder dialog.
Tip:
To select a favorite or a folder, click in its row.Table 4-1 lists and describes the types of values you can enter for the Edit Favorite and Edit Folder dialogs.
Table 4-1 Values Taken By Edit Favorite and Edit Folder Dialogs
Label | Applies To | Value |
---|---|---|
Name |
Edit Favorite and Folder |
The display name of the favorite or folder. This is the name that appears in the Favorites menu and on the Manage Favorites page. |
Location |
Edit Favorite |
The favorite target URL. |
Shared |
Edit Favorite |
Specify whether to allow other users to discover this favorite through a search. For example, if you create a favorite that includes the term nanometrics, sharing the favorite means that when another person searches for nanometrics in the portal, your shared favorite will be included in the search results. Selected means yes, deselected means no. |
Open Behavior |
Edit Favorite |
An option for specifying how a favorite opens
Note: The open behavior you specify for a Favorite does not apply to Favorites returned in a search. To control the open behavior of a Favorite returned in a search, right click the search result and select an open behavior from your browser's context menu. |
Type |
Edit Favorite |
The link type, always URL This field is read-only. |
Icon |
Edit Favorite and Folder |
An option for providing an icon to display along with the display name shown in the Favorites menu Enter the full URL to the icon. |
Created On |
Edit Favorite and Folder |
The date the favorite or folder was created This field is read-only. |
Last Visited On |
Edit Favorite |
The date the favorite was last visited using the favorites link This field is read-only. |
Make your changes.
Click OK to save your changes and close the Edit Favorites or Edit Folder dialog.
The Manage Favorites page provides controls for moving a favorite or a favorite folder higher or lower in the Favorites menu. You can accomplish a move by clicking icons or by dragging and dropping. Use this feature to arrange your view of the Favorites menu exactly to your liking.
To rearrange favorites and favorites folders:
Open the Manage Favorites page (for more information, see Section 4.2, "Accessing Your Favorites").
If necessary, expand favorites folders and then select the favorite or folder you want to rearrange.
Tip:
To select a favorite or a folder, click in its row.Click the Move Up or Move Down icon in the toolbar to rearrange the selected favorite or folder (Figure 4-11).
Figure 4-11 Move Icons in Manage Favorites Page
Alternatively, drag the favorite or folder to its target position.
Note:
To move a favorite into an existing folder, drag the favorite to its target folder. For keyboard users, create a duplicate favorite within the target folder, then delete the original favorite.The favorite or folder is repositioned on the Manage Favorites page and in the Favorites menu.
Use the search feature on the Manage Favorites page to find a listed favorite. This is particularly useful when the list of favorites is long. You can search for favorite display names or target URLs. You cannot search for favorite folder names. Search results display on the Manage Favorites page.
To search for favorites:
Open the Manage Favorites page (for more information, see Section 4.2, "Accessing Your Favorites").
Enter a search term in the Filter box, and click the Filter icon (Figure 4-12).
Figure 4-12 Filter Feature in Manage Favorites Page
Results display in the Manage Favorites page.
Tip:
To exit search results, you must exit the Manage Favorites page. Alternatively, you can delete the search term from the Filter box and click the Filter icon. A search without a search term returns the Manage Favorites page to its default view.When you delete a favorite or a favorites folder, it is permanently removed from both the Favorites menu and the Manage Favorites page. Additionally, when you delete a favorites folder all the favorites it contains are also deleted.
To delete favorites and favorites folders:
Open the Manage Favorites page (for more information, see Section 4.2, "Accessing Your Favorites").
Select the favorite or favorite folder you want to delete.
Tip:
To select a favorite or favorite folder, click in its row.Click the Delete button on the toolbar (Figure 4-13).
Figure 4-13 Delete Button in Manage Favorites Page
In the confirmation dialog, click Delete.
The selected favorite or favorite folder and any favorites the folder contained are permanently removed from the Manage Favorites page and the Favorites menu.