This lesson describes how to build an enterprise portal by
using Oracle Application Server Portal (OracleAS Portal). In this lesson, you
learn to perform the tasks necessary to build a portal that contains navigation
and useful content.
OracleAS Portal combines a rich, declarative environment
for creating a portal Web interface, publishing and managing information, accessing
dynamic data, and customizing the portal experience with an extensible framework
for J2EE-based application access.
The goal of OracleAS Portal is to provide business
users with an environment in which they can access critical information quickly
and easily, act on that information in the context of day-to-day business processes,
and work together effectively to produce key deliverables.
Key features include:
An extensible
framework that integrates Web-based resources such as Web pages,
applications, business intelligence reports, and syndicated content
feeds, within standardized, reusable information components called portlets.
These resources are personalized and managed within a portlet as a service
of OracleAS Portal. Companies can create their own portlets for their
existing Web resources and can select additional portlets from the growing
catalog of third-party portlet providers. The OracleAS Portal framework
provides additional services including Oracle Application Server Single
Sign-On, content classification, enterprise search, directory integration,
and access control.
An easy-to-use,
personalized interface that provides an organized, consistent view
of the business information, Web content, and applications needed by
each user. OracleAS Portal administrators use the browser-based control
panel to selectively grant access to applications and information by
making the portal content available only to specific users or user groups.
A portal administrator can instantly deliver new content to thousands
of users by simply adding a portlet to the users’ view of the
portal.
Self-service
publishing feature that allows end users to post and share any kind
of document or Web content with other users anywhere in the world. Knowledge
workers use intuitive controls for document/file upload, version control,
page formatting/display, and access control to publish and manage their
content; no technical expertise or knowledge of HTML is required. Users
with minimal development experience can build a variety of application
components (Web forms, charts, reports, and so on) that display and
interact with data managed in an Oracle database.
A scalable
deployment architecture that is easily configured for departmental,
regional, and enterprisewide deployment. The deployment model supports
a variety of configurations, including single box, multi-tier, and multi-tier
with cache, on a broad set of hardware platforms and operating systems.
The deployment architecture can be configured to support over 20 languages.
A central
workspace for information unification to gather and disseminate
information effectively. Information unification in OracleAS Portal
aggregates and componentizes information for display, thereby reducing
navigational issues associated with the Web and making it easier to
coherently publish information from disparate sources. OracleAS Portal
provides OmniPortlet to unify access to all types of data and content
and to present that information in an organized way for easy publishing.
Because OmniPortlet relies on abstracted, reusable data sources to access
information, it is easy for OracleAS Portal content contributors and
content managers to publish information quickly and effectively.
Process
integration features that place information in the context
of both the highly structured processes defined in a Business Process
Modeling (BPM) tool and the more unstructured processes associated with
decision support and/or content management. OracleAS Portal comes into
play when a process requires human interaction, when it is critical
that the notification for action come within the context of the information
needed to act. The contextual mapping capabilities of OracleAS Portal
allows multiple portlets and/or pages to be mapped together in a single
context on a page, or a series of connected pages, to provide a simple,
fast mechanism for making a decision.
Centralized
administration and management capabilities that take full advantage
of the management features available within Oracle Application Server
including identity management, configuration, system monitoring, alerts,
usage analysis, security management, centralized logging and so on.
As portals become an integral component of the business IT infrastructure,
it is becoming increasingly critical for them to be easily managed and
administered. From user and group management to high-end, global deployment
architectures, it is critical that management of your portal be centralized
and easy.
Getting Started
Before beginning, you must be familiar with the
concept of a portal. A portal is a collection of Web pages, applications, and
other content linked to one another, whose organization facilitates managing,
accessing, and interacting with information on the Web. The pages provide a
single entry point that enables users to view information from a variety of
sources. Each time a page is displayed in the Web browser, it is dynamically
assembled and formatted with the latest content and layout chosen for that page.
Each page is divided into one or more regions.
Many aspects of how page content is displayed are defined at the region level.
For example, regions can contain multiple items or one or more portlets. Regions
can also be set up to include one or more tabs. Page groups define a user environment
that includes pages and their associated supporting objects. When you first
create a page group, you specify the language and, optionally, the template
with which all pages within that group need to be built. The layout determines
the type of content that can be placed in a particular region, either a portlet
or item.
Templates are special pages from which other pages
can inherit properties that define, among other things, the size, location,
and number of regions on a page. Navigation pages provide a way for authorized
users to create things, such as navigation bars and banners, which can be reused
on multiple pages. Navigation pages do not show up in your regular page hierarchy.
You can select them as a banner during page creation, or add them to a page
as a portlet at any time.
OracleAS Portal provides static components, such
as images and text, and dynamic components, such as portlets that display or
link to forms, reports, charts, news feeds, Web pages, or other components that
may interact with one or more underlying data sources. In OracleAS Portal, content
takes one of two forms: a portlet or an item. A portlet is a reusable building
block for easily publishing information and applications to your community.
An item is a lower-level building block used to provide navigation or display
content, such as documents, URLs, text, and images.
The instructions that accompany this Oracle By
Example enable a single user to build the entire example. In a typical OracleAS
Portal development environment, however, several types of users may be involved
in producing a single Web page:
A Content
Manager creates the initial page group that owns the page, and decides
who is allowed to contribute to the page, and who can view the finished
product. Content managers are responsible for organizing the content
by using a taxonomy, creating custom item and page types, creating categories
and perspectives, establishing workflow processes, managing the content
contribution effort, and feeding requirements to page designers. Content
managers also control the extent to which users have access to their
content.
A Page Designer
typically chooses the structure, layout, interface, and look and
feel of pages and any tabs on them. Page designers create pages, build
portlets by using the declarative tools of OracleAS Portal, and provide
access to pages to appropriate users and user groups.
A Portlet
Developer creates reusable, pluggable Web components that display
portions of Web content and makes them available to other users through
the Portal Repository.
A Content
Contributor adds, manages, and publishes content to a portal page.
Content contributors can also control the extent to which users have
access to their content.
A Portal Administrator
has the highest level of privileges in OracleAS Portal and is responsible
for managing users and groups, setting up security and search features,
monitoring and tuning the OracleAS Portal environment, configuring caching
and wireless features, and performing migration of OracleAS Portal objects
by using export and import utilities.
Each of these user types must have the appropriate
privileges to perform the assigned tasks. By default, OracleAS Portal provides
a set of groups that correspond to user types. The Page Group Administrators
group, for example, has privileges to create and manage page group, pages, and
page styles.
Remember that you fulfill all these user roles
as you perform the steps to complete this lesson. As shown in the table below,
you need different OracleAS Portal privileges depending on the type of work
you are performing. Therefore, before you begin the steps, ensure that you have
the privileges required to complete them.
If you are a member of one of the groups shown
in the table, you automatically have all the privileges needed for the step.
The steps and privileges required for creating
this lesson are listed in the table below.
Step
Privileges Required
Building a Page Group
Member of Page Group Administrators
group, or
Create global privileges on all page groups and
Publish global privileges on all providers
Creating a Page Style
Member of Page Designers
group,or Manage Style privileges on the page group, or Manage Style global privileges on all page groups, or Create global privileges for all styles
Creating a Navigation Page
Member of Page Designers group, or
Manage All privileges on the page group, or Create global privileges on all pages
A page group is simply a structure that OracleAS
Portal uses to group related objects such as pages, templates, styles, navigation
pages, categories, perspectives, and so on. The page group typically contains
a collection of pages for organizing content. Settings at the page group level
control the templates, page and item types, content properties and classifications,
and language translations that may be used by the pages contained within that
page group.
For this lesson, you must create a page group in
which you can build the Web pages in the Oracle By Example (OBE) site.
1.
If you have not already done
so, log in to the OracleAS Portal home with the appropriate privileges.
With a default installation, the URL is:
http://<hostname>:7778/pls/portal.
Then, click the Login link.
2.
Enter your user
name and password to access
OracleAS Portal. Click Login.
3.
Click the Build tab.
4.
In the Page Groups
section, on the right, click the Create Page Group link.
5.
In the Name
field, enter <YourName>OBE.
In the Display Name field, enter <YourName>
Oracle By Example. Click the Create button.
As part of the page group creation, a page is created automatically
as a member of the page group. This page has the same name as the page
group.
6.
After creating the page group,
start editing the new page. Click Page Group: Properties at the
top left of the screen.
7.
The Edit Page Propertiestabbed dialog box appears. This dialog box contains the options that
you, as Page Group Administrator, set to control the structure, style,
and content of the page group you just created.
In this lesson, you are interested in only three tabs: Main,
Configure, and Access.
On the Main page, deselect the Allow Privileged
Users To Manage Page Style check box in the Page Properties
section.
Selecting this check box enables users, who are authorized with the
correct privileges, to apply a different style to the pages that they
create or own. You deselect to set a consistent look and feel to any
pages that are added to the OBE intranet portal. You apply a page style
for the page group later.
Now, click the Configure tab.
8.
In the Content Type
and Classification section, click the Current Selection [Edit]
link.
9.
Move both Portal Smart
Text and Simple Image item types to the Visible Item
Types section.
Click OK.
10.
Click the Access tab.
11.
Now, you control access to the
portal pages. For this lesson, assume that you want only the users who
can log in to OracleAS Portal to be able to view the pages in your page
group.
In the Grantee field, enter AUTHENTICATED_USERS,
select View from the privilege list, and click the Add
button.
12.
The Change
Access section on this tab updates with the options you just
selected. Click OK and proceed to creating a page style.
You just gave all users, who can log in, privileges to view
pages in your page group. You could have assigned additional privileges
to AUTHENTICATED_USERS that permit them to do more tasks—for example,
Manage Styles to manage all the styles used by various
pages in the page group. You can browse a list of current users and
groups by clicking the
and icons next
to the Grantee field.
Before you add any pages to your group, you must create a
style to set the look and feel of the pages. A page style controls the colors
and fonts used by pages and tabs, as well as any portlets and items displayed
within them. By applying the style to each page and tab in your group, you ensure
a consistent look across the entire OBE site.
Remember that a style only controls a page’s fonts and
colors, not its physical layout. To ensure a consistent layout, you must create
and apply a page template. Templates enforce page properties such as the number
of regions and columns on the page and the type of content that can be added
to each page region. Because each page in this lesson has its own individual
layout, you will not use a template, but will specify these properties on a
page-by-page basis. To create a page style, perform the following steps:
1.
Click the Navigator link
in the top right of the page.
2.
In the Navigator
page, ensure that you are at the root level of the Page Groups
tab.
Ensure that the Page Groups tab is the active tab.
(You should see Path: Page Groups on the upper left corner of
the tab).
Find your page group, <YourName> Oracle By Example,
and click the name of your page group.
3.
Click Styles.
4.
In the top left, click the Create
New.. Style link.
5.
In the Namefield, enter <YourName>_page_style.
In the Display Namefield, enter <YourName>
Page Style.
The Copy Fromlist displays all styles you have privileges to
access. To create a new style, you typically choose a style from this
list that most closely matches the colors and fonts that you use in
your new style.
Choose <YourName> Oracle By Example style in
the Copy From list.
Select Make available for use in this page group check box to
make this style available for other users to apply to their own pages,
or to use as a starting point for their own styles.
Click Create.
6.
In the Style Element
Typelist, choose Common. The Previewsection to the right refreshes to display the tab properties you can
update.
In the Style Element Properties list, select the Region
Banner item and enter #CFB29F in the Background Color
field.
Note:#CFB29F is
the hexadecimal code for the color brown/tan. You can use the color
palette to select colors if you do not know the hexadecimal codes for
the colors you apply.
Click Apply to save the changes.
7.
If your changes do not show
in the Preview section, you can use your browser’s
Refresh button to see the changes.
Continue setting properties by repeating the previous step. The table
below lists the properties you must set for each style element.
Be sure to click the Apply button every time before
changing the Style Element Type and
Style Element Property lists. Otherwise,
your changes are not saved.
Style
Element Type
Style
Element Property
Property
Value
Common
Region Banner
Text
Font Size
8pt
Items
Group By
Banner
Background
Color
#CFB29F
Group By
Text
Font Size
8pt
Group By
Link
Font Size
8pt
Display
Name
Color
#663300
Display
Name and Image Link
Color
#663300
Font Size
8pt
Item Content
Color
#663300
Portlets
Portlet
Header Color
Background
Color
#CFB29F
Portlet
Header Text
Font Size
8pt
Portlet
Header Link
Font Size
7pt
Portlet
Heading1
Color
#663300
Font Size
8pt
Portlet
Text1
Color
#663300
When you are satisfied with your choices, click Close.
8.
Create a second style that is
similar, but with an orange background. In the top left, click the Create
New... Style link.
9.
In the Namefield, enter <YourName>_orange_style.
In the Display Name field, enter <YourName>
Orange Style.
In the Copy From list, select <YourName>
Page Style.
Select the Make available for use in this page group
check box. Click Create.
10.
In the Style Element
Typelist, choose Common.
In the Style Element Properties list, ensure Background
is selected and enter #E5876E
in the Background Colorfield.
Click Apply.
11.
In the Style Element
Typelist, choose Items.
In the Style Element Properties list, select Display
Name Link and enter #FFFFFF
in the Color field and 7 pts in the Font Size
field.
Click Apply.
If your changes were not refreshed, when Apply was clicked,
click your browser’s Refresh button.
A category is a predefined attribute used to group or classify
pages, items, and portlets within a page group. A category helps users answer
the question, What is this item?. Later in the Publishing
and Searching Content lesson, you search
for content belonging to a specific category. Now, you create a category that
later enables you to classify the content within your portal.
1.
Click the <YourName>
Oracle By Example link in the path on the top left of the page.
2.
Click Categories.
3.
In the top left, click the Create
New... Category link.
4.
In the Name
field, enter WebDAVCategory.
In the Display Name field, enter WebDAV
Category.
Click Create.
5.
You know the category creation
was successful by the appearance of the link to edit the category at the
top of the page.
6.
In the top right, click the
Navigator link.
7.
In the Path, click the
Page Groups link.
8.
Click the Properties
link to the right of <YourName> Oracle By Example.
9.
Click the Configure
tab.
10.
In the Content Type
and Classificationsection, click the Edit link
for the current selection.
11.
In the Categories
section, add WebDAVCategory to the
Visible Categories section.
A navigation page is simply a special type of portal page
that you add to other pages to provide a consistent set of navigational elements.
A typical navigation page may contain a logo, a login link, and a link to the
home page. Every page that uses this navigation page will display the same logo
and links.
Two special types of navigation items are Portal Smart Links
and Portal Smart Text. Portal Smart Links enable users to access specific pages
of the portal quickly, such as the Home page, Help pages, and pages displaying
account information, the advanced search feature, and contact information. Portal
Smart Text enables you to add smart text, such as the current date, current
user, or current page to the page. The smart text is automatically updated each
time when the page is displayed.
In this lesson, you create a navigation page that contains
your company logo. In addition, the navigation page enables you to log in, edit,
and customize the pages in your portal. Because it is desirable to have this
logo and functionality on every page, you create it as a navigation page so
that it can be reused.
To create a navigation page, perform the following:
1.
Click the <YourName>
Oracle By Example link to see the list of things that you can create
as a member of your page group.
2.
Click the Navigation Pages
link.
3.
In the top left corner, click
Create New... Navigation Page.
4.
In the Namefield, enter <YourName>_OBE_Banner.
In the Display Namefield, enter <YourName>
OBE Banner.
Make sure that the Publish As Portlet check box is selected
to convert your finished page to a portlet and add it to the Portlet
repository. Click Create.
5.
After OracleAS Portal creates
the navigation page, a confirmation message is displayed at the top of
the page.
Click the <YourName> OBE Banner link to edit
your navigation page.
6.
The Edit Navigation Page Properties
tabbed dialog box appears. It contains the options to control the layout,
style, content, and access to the navigation page you just created.
Click the Style tab.
7.
In the Choose Stylelist,
choose <YourName> Page Style.
Click the Access tab.
8.
In the Granteefield,
enter AUTHENTICATED_USERS,
select View from the list box, and click Add.
All users who can log in to Portal can view your navigation page.
9.
Click the Optional tab.
10.
Ensure that the Publish As
Portlet check box is selected. This allows you to reuse and publish
this navigation page on other portal pages.
Deselect the Use Style Of Page On Which Portlet Is Placed check
box. This ensures that the banner uses the styles that you defined for
the page banner.
In OracleAS Portal, pages are divided into discrete areas
called regions. Regions define the layout of a page and contain your portal
content. You can visualize regions as rectangles that divide the surface area
of a page. In these rectangles, you place the images, links, text, files, portlets,
and other content on your portal page. This concept is very similar to using
tables in HTML to achieve a desired layout. Regions allow you to specify that
content shown within them must be of a certain type, be spaced a certain way,
show in columns, show with a particular style, and so on.
To create the navigation page layout, perform the following:
1.
Click the Edit link
to the right of <YourName> OBE Banner.
Bookmark
and 
icons next
to the Grantee field.