Preface

This manual describes how to use Oracle Application Server Portal (OracleAS Portal) to build a portal. This includes how to set up and maintain pages groups, create the pages that make up the portal, and create a classification model to make the information in the portal easy for your users to find.

A word about the OracleAS Portal documentation set...

If you’ve used previous releases of OracleAS Portal, you’ll most likely notice that the documentation set is quite different in Release 9.0.4. In the past, most task-related information was available in the online help. Beginning with Release 9.0.4, this information is presented in book form only. Field-level and conceptual help are still available through the online help system and, in future releases, will provide links to step-by-step information in the appropriate manuals.

Intended Audience

This manual is intended primarily for page group administrators and page designers. The manual also includes information that is relevant to end users and content contributors. This information can be used as the starting point for providing documentation for your own end users and contributors. Descriptions of the different user types addressed in the manual are provided below.

Each chapter in the manual is directed towards a particular type of user. To find out which chapters will be of most interest to you, read the following descriptions to determine which type of user you are, then refer to the "Structure" section to see which chapters we recommend for your user type.

For information about the different privileges in OracleAS Portal and how these affect the tasks you can perform, see Appendix A, " Page Group Object Privileges".

What Is a Public User?

A public user is any user who can access, but is not logged in to a portal. When users first access a portal, they access it as public users, whether or not they have the ability to log in. A public user can view any page that has been marked as public by the page manager, but cannot edit the content of pages.

What Is an Authorized User?

An authorized user is a user who can log in to a portal. If the user is not logged in, the user is a public user. Authorized users may create pages and styles, as well as edit and delete the objects they have created. Authorized users may also have additional responsibilities (see below) or be granted additional specific privileges on objects created by other users. An authorized user’s privileges may vary from object to object.

What Is a Content Contributor?

A content contributor is an authorized user who can add content to a page. A contributor is assigned by the page manager. There are two levels of contributor:

• Manage Content: Contributors with this privilege on a page can add new items to the page, and edit and delete any item in the page. Contributors with this privilege can also add and remove portlets.

• Manage Items With Approval: This privilege is available if approvals and notifications are enabled for the page group. Contributors with this privilege on a page can add items to the page and edit any existing item. However, the additions and changes will not be published in the portal until they are approved. Contributors can track the items waiting for approval by using the My Approval Status portlet.

What Is a Page Designer?

A page designer (also known as page manager) is an authorized user with the Manage privilege on a page. A user with this privilege can perform any action on the page and can create sub-pages under the page. The page designer is often responsible for designing the layout (or region configuration) of the page and assigning privileges on the page to other users (for example, to determine who can add content to the page).

The scope of a page designer’s control over a page may be limited if the page is based on a template.

What Is a Page Group Administrator?

A page group administrator is an authorized user who has full privileges on the structure, style, and content of a page group, and can view, edit, and delete any object in that page group, including pages and styles marked private. A page group administrator can also assign page group privileges to other users.

When a page group is created, the user who created the page group is automatically assigned as its administrator. This user can edit the page group to assign a different page group administrator if necessary.

Documentation Accessibility

Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation accessible, with good usability, to the disabled community. To that end, our documentation includes features that make information available to users of assistive technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to facilitate access by the disabled community. Standards will continue to evolve over time, and Oracle Corporation is actively engaged with other market-leading technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be accessible to all of our customers. For additional information, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program Web site at http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/.

Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation

JAWS, a Windows screen reader, may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise empty line; however, JAWS may not always read a line of text that consists solely of a bracket or brace.

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or organizations that Oracle Corporation does not own or control. Oracle Corporation neither evaluates nor makes any representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.

Structure

This manual contains three parts, seven chapters, and two appendixes:

Part I, " Interacting with Your Portal"

This part contains the chapters that explain how to view and add content to your portal.

Chapter 1, " Viewing and Customizing Pages"

This chapter shows you how to view pages in your portal and, if you have the appropriate privileges, how to personalize those pages to make them work for you.

This chapter is intended for public users and authorized users with customize privileges on pages.

Chapter 2, " Publishing Content "

This chapter shows you how to publish your files to your portal, making them available to other users.

This chapter is intended for content contributors.

Part II, " Building a Portal"

This part contains the chapters that explain how to build a portal.

Chapter 3, " Planning Your Portal"

This chapter introduces you to the concept of a portal and explains the different types of portals you can build.

This chapter is intended for page group administrators.

Chapter 4, " Working with Page Groups"

This chapter shows you how to create and set up a page group.

This chapter is intended for page group administrators.

Chapter 5, " Working with Content"

This chapter shows you all the different things you can do to the content in your page group to make it easier for your users to find and work with.

This chapter is intended for page group administrators.

Chapter 6, " Creating a Look and Feel"

This chapter shows you how you can control the appearance of your page group.

This chapter is intended for page group administrators.

Chapter 7, " Creating and Designing Pages"

This chapter shows you how to create and design pages for your page group.

This chapter is intended for page designers.

Part III, " Appendixes "

This part contains the appendixes.

Appendix A, " Page Group Object Privileges"

This appendix describes the privileges required to perform various page group related tasks.

Appendix B, " OracleAS Portal Seeded Objects"

This appendix lists the various page group objects that are provided by default when OracleAS Portal is installed.

Glossary

The glossary provides definitions for terms used in this and other OracleAS Portal manuals.

Related Documents

For more information, see the following manuals in the OracleAS Portal documentation set:

• OracleAS Portal Release Notes

• Oracle Application Server Portal Configuration Guide

• Oracle Application Server Portal Error Messages Guide

You may also find the following manuals in the Oracle Application Server documentation set useful:

• Oracle Application Server 10g Concepts

• Oracle HTTP Server Administrator's Guide

• Oracle Application Server Web Cache Administrator's Guide

Conventions

The following conventions are also used in this manual:

Browser Recommendations

When using OracleAS Portal, we recommend that you use one of the following Web browsers:

• Netscape 4.79

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or 5.5 (with Service Pack 1) for Windows NT and Windows 2000

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 for Windows XP

You may encounter JavaScript errors if you use a browser older than the recommended minimum.

Cache Settings

To ensure that your browser is always displaying valid portal content, please make sure that your browser cache settings are as follows:

In Internet Explorer:

1. From the menu, choose Tools > Internet Options.

2. Make sure you are on the General tab.

3. In the Temporary Internet File section, click the Settings button.

4. In the Check for newer versions of stored pages radio group, select Every visit to the page.

5. Click OK.

6. Click OK.

In Netscape:

1. From the menu, choose Edit > Preferences.

2. Expand the Advanced node.

3. Click Cache.

4. In the Document in cache is compared to document on network radio group, select Every time.

5. Click OK.

Image Settings

Please make sure that images are automatically loaded as follows:

In Internet Explorer:

1. From the menu, choose Tools > Internet Options.

2. Click the Advanced tab.

3. Scroll through the list of options to the Multimedia node, and select Show Pictures.

4. Click OK.

In Netscape:

1. From the menu, choose Edit > Preferences.

2. Click Advanced.

3. Select the Automatically load images check box.

4. Click OK.

Sometimes this setting is disabled to increase performance on low bandwidth connections. However, one common problem that occurs when images are not automatically loaded is that once logged out, you cannot login again without closing and reinvoking the browser. Hence, we recommend that this setting is always enabled.