21 Working with the Notes Service

This chapter describes the features and functions of the Notes service, and provides specific how-to information about creating personal notes.

Note:

The Notes service is available only in the WebCenter Spaces application, not in custom WebCenter applications.

This chapter includes the following sections:

Audience

This chapter is intended for WebCenter Spaces users interested in creating personal notes within a WebCenter Spaces application.

The WebCenter Spaces application administrator has the authority to expose or hide a particular service's task flows. Tasks discussed in this chapter are not available to you if the relevant service is hidden.

21.1 What You Should Know About the Notes Service

The Notes service provides useful features for writing yourself reminders in the form of personal notes. Only the notes you create are displayed in the Notes task flow. No other user sees your notes, and you do not see any other user's notes. As you move between spaces, the notes in your view of the Sidebar stay the same.

The Notes service provides two views:

  • The Notes panel in the Sidebar (Figure 21-1)

    Figure 21-1 Notes Panel in the WebCenter Spaces Sidebar

    Notes panel in Sidebar
  • The Notes task flow, which you can add to pages (Figure 21-2)

    Figure 21-2 A Notes Task Flow

    Notes task flow

If you add the Notes task flow to a page in a group space, the task flow displays the personal notes of the currently logged in user.

You can filter your Notes list by note titles. Filtering enables you to narrow the focus of your Notes to just the notes that match your filtering criteria. Consider devising a naming scheme for your notes to make the most of filtering.

21.2 Working with the Notes Service Task Flow

Every work day brings new things that you, and only you, must remember: I before E except after C. Use only bonded 25# paper for your report. John hides his candy in the coffee room stir-stick drawer. WebCenter Spaces offers a way for you to keep track of these useful, sometimes vital, bits of information through Notes.

This section describes how to use the Notes task flow. It contains the following subsections:

21.2.1 Creating a Note

Create notes to track personally relevant bits of information, such as your favorite route to the fifth floor, the place to find the most plentiful desk supplies, and so on. This section describes how to create a note.

To create a note:

  1. Go to a Notes task flow, and click the Create a new note icon (Figure 21-3).

    Figure 21-3 Create a New Note Icon in a Notes Task Flow

    Create a new note icon

    A panel opens with fields for entering your note (Figure 21-4).

    Figure 21-4 Panel for Creating a New Note

    Panel for creating a new note
  2. In the Title field, enter a note title.

    The note title is rendered as a link in the list of notes. You can filter your notes by their titles. Consider devising a naming scheme for your notes to make the most of filtering (for more information about filtering, see Section 21.2.2, "Filtering and Clearing Filters on Notes."

  3. In the Detail field, enter note content.

  4. Click the Save button to save the note.

    When you click Save, the detail pane remains open, allowing you to create additional notes. Once you finish, click Close to exit the panel.

21.2.2 Filtering and Clearing Filters on Notes

Your note list may become lengthy, making it a challenge to find a particular note. In a given session with the Notes task flow, you can shorten the list by filtering out all but the note titles that contain your filtering criteria. Enter a filtering value to temporarily limit display to notes that match the value. You can filter the Notes list against whole or partial words. Filtering looks for matches anywhere in the title.

To clear the filter, click the filtering icon again.

To filter notes:

  1. Go to a Notes task flow, and click the Filter notes icon (Figure 21-5).

    Figure 21-5 The Filter Notes Icon

    Filter notes icon

    A filtering toolbar opens (Figure 21-6).

    Figure 21-6 Filtering Toolbar

    Filtering toolbar
  2. Enter your filtering term in the field provided, and then click the Filter icon, next to the field, to apply the filter (Figure 21-7).

    Figure 21-7 The Filter Icon

    Filter icon

    Note:

    Filtering terms are not case sensitive. Use whole or partial words. Filtering looks for matches anywhere in the title.
  3. Click the Cancel Filter icon to remove the filter and display all notes (Figure 21-8).

    Figure 21-8 The Cancel Filter Icon

    Cancel Filter icon

21.2.3 Editing Note Details

Things change. This truism may apply to the details you have entered about a particular note. If so, it's an easy matter to revise note details. This section tells you how.

To edit note details:

  1. Go to a Notes task flow, click a note title (Figure 21-9).

    Figure 21-9 A Note Title in the Notes Task Flow

    A note title in the Notes task flow

    Note details display at the top of the task flow (Figure 21-10).

    Figure 21-10 Note Details

    Note details
  2. Edit the details in the Title and Detail fields as you prefer.

  3. Click the Update button to save your changes and exit Note details.

21.2.4 Refreshing Your View of Notes

The Notes task flow includes a Refresh notes icon that you can use to refresh your display of notes (Figure 21-11).

Figure 21-11 The Refresh Notes Icon on a Notes Task Flow

Refresh icon on a Notes task flow

This comes in handy for updating your view of the task flow with any recent changes. Click the Refresh notes icon, and the Notes task flow redraws, reflecting recent changes.

21.2.5 Deleting Notes

When a note has outlived its usefulness, you can remove it from the Notes task flow. Each note comes equipped with its own Delete note icon. This section describes how to delete a note.

To delete a note:

  1. Go to a Notes task flow, and click the Delete note icon next to the note you want to delete (Figure 21-12).

    Figure 21-12 Delete Note Icon

    Delete note icon

    A Delete Note dialog opens (Figure 21-13).

    Figure 21-13 Delete Note Dialog

    Delete Note dialog
  2. Click the Delete button to delete the selected note.

21.3 Setting Notes Service Task Flow Properties

Every task flow includes a set of configurable properties that influence the behavior, content, and look-and-feel of a given task flow instance. You can access these properties through the Component Properties dialog in Oracle Composer (Figure 21-14). The method for accessing task flow properties is the same from task flow to task flow. For more information, see Section 7.5, "Setting Properties on Page Content."

Figure 21-14 Notes Task Flow Component Properties

Component Properties dialog of a Notes task flow

The Notes service task flow does not provide parameters. The properties on the Display Options, Style, and Content Style tabs control the appearance and behavior of the task flow and are common to all task flows. For more information, see Section 7.5, "Setting Properties on Page Content."

The contents of the Events tab depend on the events supported by the task flow. For more information, see Section 7.5.7, "Working with Component Contextual Events."