18 Adding and Managing Documents
Add and manage files and folders and work with document libraries in a portal using Content Manager. Content Manager also supports Hybrid Enterprise Content Management (ECM), which allows you to access your content in the Oracle Document Cloud Service.
See Also:
For an overview of the different options available in WebCenter Portal for working with portal content and adding content to a portal, see Introduction to Adding Content to a Portal.
Permissions:
To perform the tasks in this chapter on your personal pages, you need the application-level permission Pages: Create, Edit, and Delete Pages. Users with this permission can create and manage their personal pages in the Home portal.
To perform the tasks in this chapter on portal pages, you need the portal-level permissions Customize Pages and Edit Content and Create Documents (which includes delete permissions on documents that you create), granted by the portal manager. To delete documents that are not your own, you must have Delete Documents permission.
To set security on a document in a portal, you must have the View and Create Documents permission, granted by the portal manager.
For information about roles and permissions, see Understanding Permissions and Permission Models in a Portal in Building Portals with Oracle WebCenter Portal.
Topics:
About Adding and Managing Documents
Content Manager enables you to upload files to Content Server, the content repository for WebCenter Portal. Files are organized into document libraries and folders. Depending on your permissions, you can open, edit, delete, copy, rename, move, share, search, view, and manage information about files and work with libraries and folders in the connected content repository.
The Documents page in a portal or the Home portal exposes the Content Manager view. A portal manager may choose to add one or more instances of Content Manager to a page in your portal to allow you to work with documents. For more information, see Enabling Document Management in Building Portals with Oracle WebCenter Portal.
Content Manager supports Hybrid Enterprise Content Management (HECM), which helps portal members to easily and rapidly access enterprise content in Oracle Content and Experience Cloud.
Figure 18-1 Content Manager Task Flow with Cloud Folder
Note:
The permissions on WebCenter Portal are independent from the Oracle Content and Experience Cloud permissions and the WebCenter Portal roles cannot be paired with the Oracle Content and Experience Cloud roles. The following table lists the tasks you can perform with the specified WebCenter Portal document permissions.
Table 18-1 Permissions for Oracle Content and Experience Cloud Tasks
| WebCenter Portal Document Permissions | Available Tasks on Oracle Content and Experience Cloud |
|---|---|
Document: View |
|
|
|
|
Understanding the Content Manager Interface
Content Manager offers an easy and intuitive user interface with sophisticated searching capabilities for managing libraries, folders, and documents. Content Manager is organized into two pages: Find Documents and View Documents.
Find Documents
The Find Documents page is the default view of Content Manager on a page. You can personalize this page to display all libraries, documents, or your favorite items. It also provides ways to filter the documents displayed to help you find the required documents more quickly.
For information about the basic concepts like library types, folders, search support, and favorites, see Basic WebCenter Content Concepts in Using Oracle WebCenter Content.
Figure 18-2 shows an example of the Find Documents page, highlighting the following areas:
-
Access selection area/side bar: Provides a way to browse through libraries, folders, files, and items you have marked as favorites. It includes the following options:
Element Description Search
Click to open the Searching Documents page where you can locate and work with the latest revision of all documents to which you have access. In this view, all documents are displayed in a single flat list regardless of the library or folder in which they may be stored.
Browse
Click to open the Libraries page where you can view and work with libraries to which you have access. When browsing within a library, the search box searches only the names of documents within the library or folder you are browsing. To upload documents to a specific library or folder, navigate to the library or folder and then upload the document.
Favorites
Click to open the Favorites page to view the list of items that you previously marked as favorites and to access the associated items. Favorites are listed in the order selected, with the most recent favorite at the top of the list. You can mark documents, folders, libraries, and saved searches as favorites by clicking the star next to the item in a list, or by selecting Favorite from an associated menu. Your favorites are visible only to you.
Clipboard
Click to open the Rendition Clipboard page to list any renditions you have added to the clipboard. A file can have multiple versions in different formats called renditions.
Home
Click to view contents of the enterprise library of the current portal. The portal home page has the same areas as on the Searching Documents page.
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Search box: Provides search and filter options for locating libraries, folders, and documents. Entering text into the search box expands the box to display libraries, folders, or documents whose names are close matches to what you enter. You can use filters to limit search results. Filters applied to the search are listed in the search box. Clearing a filter from the search box removes the filter and broadens the search to a larger context. Filters predefined by a portal manager based on document properties are available by clicking the arrow next to the search box.
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Results list: Displays folders and documents in the main content area based on the filters you use when browsing and searching. You can change how results are sorted and displayed. Selecting one or more documents in the results list displays the results list toolbar that provides a convenient way to do a variety of tasks that vary depending on the permissions you have.
Figure 18-2 Find Documents in Content Manager
Description of "Figure 18-2 Find Documents in Content Manager"
View Documents
The View Documents page displays when you open a document from a results list. The page allows you to view the content and metadata properties of the document, and provides ways to perform tasks such as update the document version, edit metadata, or download the document. The tab that you have selected in the Administration > Tools and Services > Documents Settings (see Introduction to Managing Tools and Services), becomes the default tab when the user clicks on a file in the Content Manager. For example, in the Documents Settings, if you have selected the Preview tab, it becomes the default tab. When you open a document in the Content Manager, the document is displayed in the Preview tab.
Figure 18-3 shows an example of the View Documents page, highlighting the following areas:
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Banner: Displays the name of the document. Use it to mark the document as favorite, get links, refresh, and check in the document. The banner contains the More menu that provides options for managing the document, as described in Working with Folders and Files.
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Properties section: Enables you to edit document properties, metadata, and security, and preview the document by using the following tabs: Summary, Metadata, Security, and Preview.
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Document view area: Displays the document view or properties depending on the tab selected in the Properties section. When the Preview tab is selected, it displays the document preview and a toolbar for managing the document view such as navigating the pages and zooming in and out.
Figure 18-3 View Documents in Content Manager
Description of "Figure 18-3 View Documents in Content Manager"
Working with the Results List in Content Manager
Content Manager displays search results as a results list. When searching or browsing in Content Manager, use the View menu to view the results as a list, thumbnails, or table.
To learn more about results lists, refer to the following sections:
Result Views
When searching or browsing in Content Manager, results lists can be viewed as lists, thumbnails, or tables:
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List (default): Displays a document thumbnail, document author, release date, and comments (Figure 18-4).
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Thumbnail: Displays a document thumbnail. Clicking the information icon opens a window with a subset of the document properties (Figure 18-5).
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Tabular: Lists the name, title, author, and release date in a table (Figure 18-6).
Figure 18-4 Content Manager — List View
Figure 18-5 Content Manager — Thumbnail View
Figure 18-6 Content Manager — Tabular View
Managing the Results List
You can manage the results list by changing the view, sorting and refreshing the results list, and specifying the number of items to display.
Table 18-2 describes how you can manage the results list.
Table 18-2 Managing the Results List
| Task | Action | Description | More Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Changing the result view | View menu | Enables you to change how a results list is displayed. You can choose to view the results as a list, thumbnails, or table. | Results View |
| Refreshing the results list | Refresh icon | Enables you to refresh the search results. | Refreshing the Results List |
| Sorting the results | Sort By menu | Enables you to sort the folder and document results lists. Library and favorite results lists cannot be sorted. | Sorting Results |
| Changing the number of items displayed per page | Items Per Page box |
Enables you to specify the number of items to display per page in a results list. You can choose to display different number of library items and document items per page. |
Searching Libraries, Folders, and Documents
Documents uploaded to Content Server can be organized into libraries and folders, or they can be unfiled, stored outside of any library or folder. Each library can have folders and each folder can have subfolders. You can find documents by browsing through libraries and folders, by searching for key words or phrases in the document text and metadata, or a combination of both.
In Content Manager, you use the options on the access selection area to browse through libraries, folders, favorites, or the current portal. For example, you can select Home to browse through your current portal or select Browse to search the libraries. You use the search box to search based on filters and metadata. As you enter the text in the search box, it expands to provide suggestions based on close matches to what you enter, organized into categories as Documents, Folders, and Libraries. For example, entering HR would show documents named HR Vacation Policy and HR Employees, folders named HR Forms and HR Policies, and a library named HR. Along with text entered into the search box, you can also use predefined filters to better refine your search. For example, you can limit your search by only browsing for documents authored, favorited, followed, or checked out by you. You can also choose to save your searches to quickly execute them again later.
For information about how to search and browse, see Finding Libraries, Folders, and Documents in Using Oracle WebCenter Content. Note that some features described for Oracle WebCenter Content in the referenced documentation might not be available in WebCenter Portal and the UI may vary.
Figure 18-7 Browsing and Searching in Content Manager
Working with Libraries
Libraries are used to organize and control access to documents, as well as associate the appropriate metadata with documents.
Figure 18-8 shows the Libraries page in Content Manager.Table 18-3 summarizes the various actions you can perform to work with libraries. These actions are available when you select a library in the results list. Certain actions like propagating library metadata or deleting a library are available if you have the permissions listed in Enabling Document Management in Building Portals with Oracle WebCenter Portal.
Figure 18-8 Libraries Page in Content Manager
Description of "Figure 18-8 Libraries Page in Content Manager"
Table 18-3 Library Actions
| Task | Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Getting a link to a library | Get Link action on the results toolbar | Displays the link to view the library. |
| Viewing and editing library properties | Properties action on the results toolbar | Displays library properties, such as name, owner, security group, and shortcuts. You can edit various properties if you have the required permissions. For more information, see Viewing and Editing Document Library Properties. |
| Following a library | Follow action under the More menu | Enables you to follow a library and be notified when the library is modified. For information, see Following Document Libraries. |
| Creating a shortcut to a library | Create Shortcut action under the More menu | Creates a shortcut to the library to make navigation easy. For information, see Creating Library Shortcuts. |
| Propagating library metadata | Propagate Metadata action under the More menu
Note: This action is available for enterprise libraries, and not for system libraries, only to portal managers or members with the required permissions. |
Enables you to change or add the metadata values associated with the items in the library. For information, see Propagating Library Metadata. |
| Deleting a library | Delete action on the results toolbar
Note: This is action is available for enterprise libraries, and not for system libraries, only to portal managers or members with the required permissions. |
Deletes the selected library. For information, see Deleting Document Libraries. |
| Creating a library | Create Library button
This action is not available. Libraries can be created only on Content Server and not in WebCenter Portal. |
For information, see Creating an Enterprise Library. |
Working with Folders and Files
Using Content Manager, you can create folders, upload files, and manage them as needed.
Figure 18-9 shows the actions available for managing folders and files displayed in a results list in Content Manager. Table 18-4 describes the actions that can be applied to the selected folders or files.
Selecting one or more items in a results list exposes the results toolbar, which provides various actions for managing the selected items. These actions are available directly on the results toolbar or under the More menu, unless otherwise specified in the table. Note that the actions available depend on your permissions to the selected items.
Note:
While performing any action like creating a folder or uploading documents by using Content Manager, if the server goes down and fails over to another server in the cluster, the page will refresh and you will need to perform the operation again.Figure 18-9 Actions Available for Folders and Files in Content Manager
Description of "Figure 18-9 Actions Available for Folders and Files in Content Manager"
Table 18-4 Actions Available Either for Folders or Files
| Task | Action | Applicable to Folder or File | Description | More Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Opening a document |
Click the document name |
File |
You can open documents of any type to preview file contents or properties in a read-only view. Clicking a document name displays the View Documents page. |
|
|
Viewing alternate renditions of a document |
View Web Rendition |
File |
Displays the web rendition of the selected item. |
|
|
View Dynamic Conversion |
File |
Displays the HTML conversion of the selected item. |
||
|
Add to Rendition Clipboard |
File |
Prompts you to choose the renditions of the selected item that you want to add to the rendition clipboard. The rendition clipboard stores specific renditions of specific document revisions for quick access. For example, you can save a web-viewable rendition of the first revision of a document as well as a native version of the current revision so that you can quickly compare them. |
||
|
Uploading documents |
Upload |
File |
Enables you to upload documents. While uploading a document, you can specify the metadata values of the document. Note: While uploading files from within a portal, you must not change the security group or account metadata. |
|
|
Upload Similar Document |
File |
Prompts you to upload a similar item. Selecting this action prepopulates the metadata values of the Document Upload dialog with those of the selected document. Note: While uploading files from within a portal, you must not change the security group or account metadata. |
||
|
Checking out and downloading documents |
Check out |
File |
Checks out the selected item. |
|
|
Check out and edit |
File |
Checks out the selected item and opens the native file for editing. |
||
|
Cancel Check-Out |
File |
Cancels the checked out status of a file. |
||
|
Download |
File |
Allows you to save a file from the content repository to your local file system. |
||
|
Working with file versions/revisions |
Check in New Revision |
File |
Enables you to replace a file with a new version that you have saved on your local file system. |
|
| View and Manage Revisions |
File |
Enables you to download or delete a file version. |
||
|
Refreshing file content |
Refresh icon on the View Documents page |
File |
Displays the latest content of a file. |
|
|
Filing or unfiling a document |
File Document/Unfile Document |
File |
Allows you to file the selected unfiled document in a library or folder, or remove the selected filed document from a library or folder. When you unfile a document, you can no longer locate that document by browsing to its parent library or folder. |
|
|
Viewing document properties |
Properties |
File |
Opens the View Documents page where you can view and set various document properties such as metadata and security. |
|
|
Setting security on a file |
Security tab on the View Documents page |
File |
Enables you to change the access to documents uploaded to a portal using access control lists. Note: You can use an access control list on a document only if the security group supports access control lists. If you are uncertain whether the security group you are using supports access control lists, check with your system administrator. |
|
|
Propagating folder metadata |
Propagate Metadata |
Folder |
Enables you to change or add the metadata values associated with the items in a folder. |
|
|
Creating a folder |
Create Folder |
Folder |
Creates a folder within the context of a library, inheriting the properties of the parent library. You can create a Local folder or Oracle Content and Experience Cloud folder. |
Note: To create an Oracle Content and Experience Cloud folder, ensure that your system administrator has configured the Oracle Content and Experience Cloud integration settings, as described in Configuring Content Manager for Oracle Content and Experience Cloud in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal. |
Content Manager provides actions that are available for both folders and files when viewing a listing of folders and/or files in the results list. These actions are available directly on the results toolbar or under the More menu on the toolbar.
Table 18-5 summarizes the folder and file management actions.
Table 18-5 Common Actions Available for Both Folders and Files
| Task | Action | Description | More Information |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Following a folder or file |
Follow |
Starts tracking the selected item so you can follow the updates. |
|
|
Creating shortcuts |
Create Shortcut |
Prompts you to create a shortcut to the selected item. |
Shortcuts See also, Creating Library Shortcuts |
|
Renaming a folder or file |
Rename |
Prompts you to rename the selected item. |
|
|
Linking to a folder or file |
Get link |
Displays links to view the document properties page and to the native file of the latest released revision or optionally the specific revision in the results list. This action is not available if multiple items are selected. |
|
|
Moving a folder or file |
Move |
Prompts you to move the selected items. |
|
|
Copying a folder or file |
Copy |
Prompts you to copy the selected items. |
|
|
Deleting a folder or file |
Delete |
Prompts you to delete the selected folder or file. |
|
|
Adding a folder or file to your favorites |
Favorite icon |
Provides quick access to a folder or file. |
Viewing Documents in Content Viewer
Content Viewer enables users to view the documents.
- Click on the View Portal link and select Manage > Documents option from the drop-down menu to view the Content Manager as shown in the figure below. For details, see Understanding the Content Manager Interface.
- Select the document you want to preview and click on the document link. The document will open in the default tab. Select the Metadata tab and note down the value of the Document ID field.
- In your portal, create a new page. Select the Create Page option from the Portals and Pages Actions drop-down menu.
- Choose the Blank as a Page Style and
then click Create Page.
A new page is created.
- Now, edit the page of your portal as shown in the figure below.
- Click the Add Content link, and then select the Content Management > Content Viewer from the Resource Catalog. Click on the Edit the component to specify the Document ID bar and select the Parameters option from the drop-down menu as shown in the figure below.
- In the Parameters: Content Viewer dialog, enter the Document ID of your document. Click Apply and then OK.
- Click Save to save the page.
- After saving your page, you need to publish it. To publish your page, select the Drafts icon from the left bar, select your page and click Publish and then OK.
- Click the View Portal link. You can now view the document in the Content Viewer.
Working with Workflow-Enabled Content
While a document is being developed, it must typically be reviewed and approved by a number of people. To assist in managing this process, WebCenter Portal provides a built-in workflow capability to move a document through required approvals by assigned approvers before it is released to the system. The workflow notifies approvers through mail messages when they have a file to review and approve.
If you have the permissions to view the contents of a folder that is assigned a workflow, you can view the files while they are in a workflow, showing the pending changes.
For information about working with files in a workflow, see Working with Workflow-Enabled Content in Building Portals with Oracle WebCenter Portal.
Working with Desktop Integration
This section includes the following topics:
About Desktop Integration
WebCenter Portal, through Oracle WebCenter Content: Desktop, provides convenient access to the files in your portal directly from the following desktop applications:
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Microsoft File Explorer
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Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
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Email clients (Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes)
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Web browsers (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome)
Integrating your content repository with your desktop applications improves your ability to work with your portal files. You can easily edit and manage files, and share files with other users directly from your desktop in addition to using WebCenter Portal.
Prerequisites for Desktop Integration
To allow for full integration of desktop applications with WebCenter Portal, your system administrator must complete the steps detailed in Configuring Content Server for Desktop in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.
Additionally, you must install the latest version of the Desktop client software and set up a connection to your portal's content repository. These tasks may have been performed for you by your system administrator. For more information, see the following topics in Using Oracle WebCenter Content: Desktop:
Working with Microsoft Office Integration
This section includes the following topics:
About Microsoft Office Integration
If you have installed the Desktop client and set up a connection to your portal's content repository, as described in Prerequisites for Desktop Integration, you can interact with the Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files in your portal directly in the appropriate Microsoft Office application.
Opening and Editing a Microsoft Office File from WebCenter Portal
When you open a Microsoft Office file from WebCenter Portal, the file is automatically checked out of the Content Server repository.
To make your changes available to other users, you can save and close it in Microsoft Office, or explicitly check the file in using Microsoft Office.
Note:
For all browsers except Internet Explorer, you must install the Java plugin to edit a Microsoft Office file. This plugin is included in Java 6 Update 15 and above.
To open a Microsoft Office file from WebCenter Portal in-place in its corresponding application:
Working with Files in Microsoft Office
When you open a portal file in a Microsoft Office application, you can perform a number of content management tasks, including:
-
Checking a document out
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Checking a document in
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Comparing document revisions
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Inserting other files on the server into the current document
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Inserting links to other files on the server into the current document
You can also create new documents and check them in to your content repository.
Note:
Not all these features may be available in all Microsoft Office applications.
The Desktop client provides access to portal document management tasks in Microsoft Office in the following ways:
-
A WebCenter Content ribbon
Figure 18-13 WebCenter Content Ribbon in Microsoft Word 2007
Description of "Figure 18-13 WebCenter Content Ribbon in Microsoft Word 2007" -
In versions of Microsoft Office that include a File tab, Desktop adds Oracle WebCenter Content options as follows:
-
In Microsoft Office 2010, Desktop adds WebCenter Content Options directly to the File tab.
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In Microsoft Office 2013, Desktop adds Oracle WebCenter Content options to the Open and Save As pages, as well as to a new WebCenter Content page. These pages are available from the File tab.
-
For more information about how you can work with portal documents in Microsoft Office applications, see Microsoft Office Integration in Using Oracle WebCenter Content: Desktop.
Working with Microsoft File Explorer Integration
If you have installed the Desktop client, as described in Prerequisites for Desktop Integration, you can manage your portal's documents using a "folders tree" in Microsoft File Explorer.
After you install the Desktop client on your computer, Microsoft File Explorer includes a top-level node called WebCenter Content Servers, through which you can connect your portal repository and work with the documents stored there.
Figure 18-14 A Portal Content Repository Listed in Windows File Explorer
Description of "Figure 18-14 A Portal Content Repository Listed in Windows File Explorer"
You work with the documents in much the same way you do with other folders and files on your computer. You can copy files, drag and drop files into folders, right-click objects to open context menus, and so on. However, some tasks typically performed on files or folders on your local computer may have a somewhat different effect when performed on files and folders managed by Content Server. For example, copying a new file to a content folder does not put it on your local computer, but rather uploads and saves it on Content Server. In addition, the context menus of files may include items specific to content management, such as Check In, Check Out, and Copy Links.
For more information about how you can work with portal documents in Microsoft File Explorer, see Microsoft File Explorer Integration in Using Oracle WebCenter Content: Desktop.
Working with Email Client Integration
You can check in email messages and their attachments to your content repository directly from Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes to preserve them and share them with others in your organization. You can also attach content items from the server as well as links to them to your outgoing messages.
Checked-in messages are not intended to be checked out, modified, and checked back in. Messages are checked in to Content Server for the express purpose of preserving them exactly as they were received. You can open a checked-in message from a server to view it in your default email application. You can even make changes if you want, but you cannot check it back in to the server. You can, however, send the message to other people or save a copy on your local computer.
For more information about how you can work with portal documents in your email client, see the following chapters in Using Oracle WebCenter Content: Desktop:
Working with Web Browser Search Integration
You can search for content in your content repository directly from the search field of the following web browsers:
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Internet Explorer
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Mozilla Firefox
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Google Chrome
Desktop's web browser integration adds a search provider or search engine to your web browser. A search provider or engine in your web browser is for a specific Oracle WebCenter Content Server instance only. You cannot search multiple content servers using a single search provider or engine. You cannot add two search providers or engines for the same Oracle WebCenter Content Server instance.
If you are logged into Content Server, you will see all content items that meet the search criteria and for which you have access privileges on the server. If you are not logged in, then you will see only public content.
For web browser integration to work, it must first be enabled on Content Server by the system administrator.
For more information about searching for portal documents in your web browser, see Web Browser Search Integration in Using Oracle WebCenter Content: Desktop.