Oracle Portal Building Portals Release 3.0.8 Part Number A87570-01 |
Library | Service | Contents | Index

# 6
Creating an information repository

This chapter describes how to use Oracle Portal to build a repository of information that contains all types of information, including text, documents, and images.

In this chapter, you will use a content area to create an information repository that provides Healthy Living employees with access to all the information they need in their day-to-day lives within the company.

To complete this chapter, you or your portal administrator needs to create a content area for you to work in. Instructions for this are provided in Section A.6, "Create an Inside Healthy Living Repository". You need to be a content area administrator of this content area.

If you want to complete the final section of this chapter, you also need to be able to publish content area objects as portlets. Ask your portal administrator to grant you these privileges. Instructions are provided in Section A.1.1, "Create a user".

Some of the exercises in the chapter involve using the following files that are provided on the Oracle Technology Network (http://technet.oracle.com/docs/products/iportal/doc_index.htm):

- Repository content - hlw_repository.zip

- Repository images - hlw_repository_images.zip

The completed content area (Inside Healthy Living Repository) is available in the installation package that contains the demo schema. For more information, contact your portal administrator.

This chapter contains the following sections:

Feature | Location
--- | ---
Upload existing content to a content area | Section 6.1, "Upload content and folder structure as a zip file"
Create categories to classify content | Section 6.2, "Create categories"
Create perspectives to further classify content | Section 6.3, "Create perspectives"
Create custom types to customize the type of content that can be added to a content area | Section 6.4, "Create custom types"
Organize how content is displayed in a folder | Section 6.5, "Change the layout of a folder"
Control access to content | Section 6.6, "Change folder access privileges"
Make content area objects available for inclusion in a portal | Section 6.7, "Publish objects as portlets"

## 6.1 Upload content and folder structure as a zip file

The steps in this section show you how to upload existing content and structure to a content area. This is extremely useful if you already have content structured within your file system, and don't want to have to create the folder structure in your content area from scratch.

Note: This exercise shows you how to add multiple files to a content area. Any user with the appropriate privileges can also upload individual files to a content area.

For more information: Visit the Oracle Portal Online Help. In the navigation bar Search field, enter `'adding a file item'` and click Go.

1. If you haven't already downloaded the Repository content zip file (`hlw_repository.zip`) from the Oracle Technology Network (http://technet.oracle.com/docs/products/iportal/doc_index.htm) to your local hard drive, download it now.

2. Open the zip file and take a look at the structure of the files.

   You can see that they are already structured within sub-directories.

3. In the Oracle Portal Navigator, click the Content Areas tab.

4. Navigate to the root level by clicking Content Areas in the Navigator Path, if necessary.

5. Click your content area's name to display the content area.

   Note: If you are not sure of the name of your content area, contact your portal administrator.

6. At the top right of the page, click Edit Folder.

7. In the folder dashboard, click Add Item.

8. In the Item Type list, choose Zip File.

9. Click Next.

10. Next to the File Name field, click Browse.

11. Locate and select the downloaded Repository content zip file and click Open.

12. In the Display Name field, enter `Repository content`.

13. Click Finish.

14. Now that you have uploaded the zip file, you need to unzip it to add the contents of that zip file to your content area.

    Next to the newly added zip file item, click Unzip.

15. Make sure the folder in the Select A Target Folder field is the root folder of your content area. Any files at the root level of the zip file will be added to this folder and any sub-directories will be created as sub-folders of this folder.

    Tip: The name of the root folder is the same as the name of the content area.

16. Clear the Run Unzip in Background check box.

    Note: If you need to unzip a very large file, you can run the unzip in the background so that you can continue with other tasks while the file is unzipping.

17. Click Unzip.

    Because you cleared the Run Unzip in Background check box, you remain on this page until the file extraction is completed.

18. When the extraction is completed, check the log file to see what has been created and click Close.

    Folders and items have been added to your content area. The folders are created with the same name as the directories in the zip file. Because the contents of the zip file were htm files, the item names are taken from the text between the <TITLE> tags. The folders and items are assigned the same category as the zip file item from which they were extracted.

19. You can change the names displayed for the folders by editing them and changing the Display Name to something more meaningful. For example:

    1. At the top right of the page, click Edit Folder.

    2. Click next to HLW_EDFOLDER.

    3. In the Display Name field, enter `Education`.

    4. Click OK.

20. After unzipping the repository content, you can delete the zip file by clicking next to the Repository content item.

## 6.2 Create categories

You can use categories to classify your content and make it easier for users to determine whether the item is likely to contain the type of information that they are looking for.

Most of the documents added to the repository fall into the following types of information:

- Lists of contacts

- Answers to frequently asked questions

- Documents describing corporate policies

- Schedules of events

The steps in this section show you how to create categories for each of these types of information.

1. In the Navigator, click the Content Areas tab.

   Tip: If you are currently inside the content area, click Administration in the folder dashboard, and click Navigate Content Area.

2. Navigate to the root level by clicking Content Areas in the Navigator Path, if necessary.

3. Next to your content area, click Contents to drill down into the structure of your content area.

4. Next to Categories, click Create.

5. In the Name field, enter `HLW_CONTACTS`.

6. In the Display Name field, enter `Contacts`.

7. Click Create.

8. Repeat Steps 5 to 7 to create the remaining categories:

   Name | Display Name
   --- | ---
   HLW_FAQ | FAQ
   HLW_POLICY | Policy
   HLW_SCHEDULE | Schedule

9. Click Close.

### 6.2.1 Assign a category to an item

Now that you have created your categories, you can associate each of the items in your content area to one of those categories.

Note: An item can belong to only one category.

1. In the Navigator Path, click Content Areas to navigate to the root level.

2. Click your content area's name.

3. At the top right of the page, click Edit Folder.

4. Next to the About the Inside Healthy Living Repository item, click .

5. This document is answering the question 'What is the repository', so the item clearly belongs to the FAQ category.

   In the Category list, choose FAQ.

6. Click OK.

   The item now displays under a banner that identifies it as belonging to the FAQ category.

   If this was your real corporate repository, you would repeat this exercise for each item. However, as this content area is just a sample, you can stop here and leave the rest of the items under the General category.

## 6.3 Create perspectives

You can use perspectives to further classify content. While categories identify the type of information, perspectives identify the themes of the information, or who would be interested in the information.

The easiest way to identify who would be interested in the information in the repository is to think in terms the user's position within the company. These might include:

- HR Representative

- Manager

- Sales Representative

- New Employee

You also need a perspective for documents that are useful to all employees. You can also use perspectives to identify the file type of the document, so that users can quickly determine whether they have the appropriate software or plug-in to view it.

1. In the Navigator, click the Content Areas tab.

2. Navigate to the root level by clicking Content Areas in the Navigator Path, if necessary.

3. Next to your content area, click Contents.

4. Next to Perspectives, click Create.

5. In the Name field, enter `HLW_ALL`.

6. In the Display Name field, enter `All Employees`.

7. Click Create.

8. Repeat Steps 5 to 7 to create the remaining perspectives:

   Name | Display Name
   --- | ---
   HLW_HRREP | HR Rep
   HLW_HTML | HTML Document
   HLW_MANAGER | Manager
   HLW_NEW | New Employee
   HLW_SALESREP | Sales Rep

9. Click Close.

### 6.3.1 Associate an icon with a perspective

If you want to add a bit more color to your content area, you can associate icons with your perspectives that display alongside items and allow users to see at a glance which perspectives an item belongs to.

1. If you haven't already downloaded the Repository images zip file (`hlw_repository_images.zip`) from the Oracle Technology Network (http://technet.oracle.com/docs/products/iportal/doc_index.htm) to your local hard drive, download it now.

2. Open the Repository images zip file and extract the file `people.gif`. This image can be used to identify the All Employees perspective.

3. In the Navigator, click Perspectives.

4. Next to All Employees, click Edit.

5. Click the Image tab.

6. Next to the Icon Name field, click Browse.

7. Locate and select the extracted `people.gif` file and click Open.

8. Click OK.

### 6.3.2 Assign a perspective to an item

Now you have created your perspectives, you can associate each of the items in your content area to one or more of those perspectives.

Note: An item can belong to multiple perspectives.

1. In the Navigator Path, click Content Areas to navigate to the root level.

2. Click your content area's name.

3. At the top right of the page, click Edit Folder.

4. Next to the About the Inside Healthy Living Repository item, click .

5. Click the Secondary tab.

6. Since all Healthy Living employees will want to read this HTML item, in the Available Perspectives list, select All Employees and HTML Document.

7. Click to move the selected perspectives to the Displayed Perspectives list.

8. Click OK.

   The perspectives to which the item belongs display next to the item's display name.

   Note: Because you associated an icon with the All Employees perspective in the previous exercise, that icon is displayed instead of the text.

## 6.4 Create custom types

By default, you can add the following types of items to a content area:

- Application Component

- File

- Folder Link

- Image

- Java Application

- PL/SQL

- Text

- URL

- Zip File

The base item types listed above enable you to store a default set of information about each item. To store more specific information about the items in your content area, you can create your own custom item types. First you create attributes to store the information, then create item types to include those attributes.

For example, the Healthy Living Repository includes information about the training courses offered by the Education department. It would be useful to be able to specify information about a specific course, such as its duration and the language in which it is taught, when adding a course description. You can achieve this by creating a Course Description custom item type.

### 6.4.1 Create attributes

The first thing you need to do when creating a custom item type, is create attributes in which the additional information can be stored. The Course Description item type needs two attributes: one to store the duration of the course, and one to store the language in which the course is taught.

1. In the Navigator, click the Content Areas tab.

2. Navigate to the root level by clicking Content Areas in the Navigator Path, if necessary.

3. Next to your content area, click Contents.

4. Click Custom Types.

5. Next to Attributes, click Create.

6. In the Name field, enter `HLW_EDDUR`.

7. In the Display Name field, enter `Duration`.

8. The duration of the course can be stored as a simple text string, so in the Datatype list, make sure Text is chosen.

9. Click Create.

10. In the Name field, enter `HLW_EDLANG`.

11. In the Display Name field, enter `Language`.

12. In the Datatype list, make sure Text is chosen.

13. Click Create.

14. A custom attribute is displayed as a field when users add or edit an item of a type that includes the attribute. Instead of expecting users to type in the language of the course, it would be useful to provide them with a list of languages to choose from. You can do this by changing the attribute's display options.

    At the top of the page, click Language.

15. Select the List Of Values radio button.

16. Next to the List Of Values field, click .

17. Click CASEBOOK30_APPLICATION.HLW_LANGLOV.

    We have provided this List of Values (LOV) for you in the Casebook30_Application. When you want to display an attribute as an LOV, you can create one yourself, or ask an application developer to create one for you.

    For more information: Visit the Oracle Portal Online Help. In the navigation bar Search field, enter `'list of values'` and click Go.

18. Click OK.

### 6.4.2 Create a custom item type

Now that you have created the attributes in which to store the additional information, you can create the item type that enables users to provide this information.

1. Next to Item Types, click Create.

2. In the Name field, enter `HLW_EDDESC`.

3. In the Display Name field, enter `Course Description`.

4. In the Base Item Type list, make sure File is chosen.

   We have provided the full course description as an HTML file. So, you can base the custom item type on the existing File item type to leverage the base attributes required for files.

5. Click Create.

6. At the moment, the new item type is exactly the same as the File item type. You now need to edit the Course Description item type to add the extra attributes to it.

   At the top of the page, click Course Description.

7. Click the Attributes tab.

8. In the Available Attributes list, select Duration and Language.

9. Click to move the selected attributes to the Selected Attributes list.

10. Click Apply.

11. In the Duration row:

    1. In the Default Value field, enter `1 day(s)`.

       Entering a default value means that the Duration field will be prepopulated with this value. Users can accept the default value, or enter a value of their own.

    2. Select the Primary check box.

       Selecting the Primary check box means that this attribute will be displayed on the second page of the wizard when users are adding a Course Description item (or the Primary tab when editing).

12. In the Language row, select the Primary check box.

    Notice that the Language field is displayed as a list of languages.

13. Click OK.

### 6.4.3 Add a course description

Let's test out your new item type by adding a course description to the content area.

1. Open the Repository content zip file and extract the file `word_processing.htm`.

2. In the Navigator Path, click Content Areas to navigate to the root level.

3. Click your content area's name.

4. Click HLW_COURSESFOLDER to drill down into the Course Descriptions folder.

5. At the top right of the page, click Edit Folder.

6. In the folder dashboard, click Add Item.

7. In the Item Type list, choose Course Description.

8. Click Next.

9. Next to the File Name field, click Browse.

10. Locate and select the extracted `word_processing.htm` file and click Open.

11. In the Display Name field, enter `<YourName> Word Processing Skills`.

12. Notice that the Duration field is already populated with the value `1 day(s)`, as you specified when you created the item type.

    The actual duration of this course is 2 days, so in the Duration field, change `1` to `2`.

13. Also notice that there is a Language list from which you can choose the language in which the course is conducted.

    In the Language list, choose English.

14. Click Next.

15. In the Available Perspectives list, select All Employees.

16. Click to move the selected perspective to the Displayed Perspectives list.

17. Click Finish.

### 6.4.4 Create a custom item type with a procedure call

In addition to using custom item types to store information about items, you can include calls to HTTP and PL/SQL procedures. For example, the HR department wants to include definitions for some benefits terms. It would be useful if, as well as including the definition provided by HR, the definition could also provide the facility to call an external search engine (such as the one for the financial services provider Fidelity) for more detailed information. You can do this by creating a custom item type and adding a call to the search engine.

1. The first thing to do, is to find out how the call to the search engine is constructed, so that you can call it correctly from your item type. You can do this by performing a search and taking a look at the URL generated.

   The Fidelity search engine call is constructed as follows:

   - Search engine procedure call: http://www.northernlight.com/fidelity/nlquery.fcg

   - Fixed parameters: orl=2:1&dx=8001&db=26&cs=0

   - Search term: qr=<search term>

2. Now, you need to create an attribute to store the fixed parameters, so that they can be passed to the search engine:

   1. In the Navigator, click the Content Areas tab.

   2. Navigate to the root level by clicking Content Areas in the Navigator Path, if necessary.

   3. Next to your content area, click Contents.

   4. Click Custom Types.

   5. Next to Attributes, click Create.

   6. In the Name field, enter `HLW_HRFIXED`.

   7. In the Display Name field, enter `Fidelity Search Fixed`.

   8. In the Datatype list, make sure Text is chosen.

   9. Click Create.

   10. Click Close.

3. Next, you can create the Benefits Definition item type.

   Next to Item Types, click Create.

4. In the Name field, enter `HLW_HRDEFN`.

5. In the Display Name field, enter `Benefits Definition`.

6. In the Base Item Type list, choose Text.

7. Click Create.

8. Let's edit the new item type to add the fixed parameters attribute and the call to the Fidelity search engine.

   At the top of the page, click Benefits Definition.

9. Click the Attributes tab.

10. In the Available Attributes list, select Fidelity Search Fixed Parameters.

11. Click to move the selected attribute to the Selected Attributes list.

12. Click Apply.

13. The value to pass to the final fixed parameter (cs) is 0, so let's specify that as the default value for the attribute.

    In the Default Value field, enter `0`.

14. Click the Procedures tab.

15. The procedure is an HTTP procedure, so in the Type list, make sure HTTP is chosen.

16. In the Procedure Call field, enter `http://www.northernlight.com/fidelity/nlquery.fcg`.``

17. In the Link Text field, enter `Search Fidelity`.

    Note: You can also upload an image to use as an icon. If you specify an icon, the icon is used instead of the link text.

18. You need to pass two things to this procedure: the fixed parameters and the search term.

    In the first Attribute list, choose Fidelity Search Fixed Parameters.

19. In the corresponding Pass As field, enter `orl=2:1&dx=8001&cb=26&cs`.

20. In the second Attribute list, choose Keywords.

21. In the corresponding Pass As field, enter `qr`.

    This means that whatever text is entered in the Basic Search Keywords field for an item of this type will be passed as the search term to the Fidelity search engine.

22. Click OK.

### 6.4.5 Add a benefits definition

Let's add a benefits definition to see how the call to the Fidelity search engine works.

1. In the Navigator Path, click Content Areas to navigate to the root level.

2. Click your content area's name.

3. Click HLW_BENEFITSFOLDER to drill down into the Benefits Information folder.

4. At the top right of the page, click Edit Folder.

5. In the folder dashboard, click Add Item.

6. In the Item Type list, choose Benefits Definition.

7. Click Next.

8. In the Text field, enter `A 401(k) is a type of retirement plan that allows employees to save and invest for their own retirement.`

9. In the Display Name field, enter `401(k): Definition`.

10. In the Category list, choose FAQ.

11. Click Next.

12. Remember, the item type uses the value specified in the Basic Search Keywords field as the term to pass to the Fidelity search engine.

    In the Basic Search Keywords field, enter `401(k)`.

13. Click Finish.

    You can see a link next to the item. This is what users will click to launch the Fidelity search engine.

14. Next to the new 401(k) Definition item, click Search Fidelity to make the call to the Fidelity search engine that you added to the item type.

    A page is returned that lists the contents of the Fidelity Web site that include the term 401(k).

15. Click your browser's Back button.

## 6.5 Change the layout of a folder

So, now you've sorted out the structure of the Healthy Living Repository, created the classification model, and customized the item types to match the content that will be added to the content area. Now it's time to work on the layout of the content area, and make sure that information is easy to locate on the page, and interesting to look at.

A folder is divided into five different regions. You can change how these regions are displayed in the folder. By default the regions are displayed as five rows. Let's change this to something more interesting.

1. In the Navigator, click the Content Areas tab.

2. Navigate to the root level by clicking Content Areas in the Navigator Path, if necessary.

3. Next to your content area, click Contents.

4. The layout of a folder is determined by the style associated with it, so click Styles.

5. Next to the style for your content area folders, click Edit.

   Note: Make sure you edit the style for the content area folders (which has the same name as your content area), and not the style for the content area navigation bars.

   The first tab displayed is the one in which you can change the colors and fonts used in the folder. This exercise concentrates on changing the layout of the folder. For information about how to change the colors and fonts to match the Healthy Living look and feel, refer to the Oracle Portal Tutorial, which includes step by step instructions on how to do this.

6. Click the Folder Layout tab.

7. In the Folder Layout radio group, click the radio button to the left of the following layout:

8. Click Apply.

### 6.5.1 Change region properties

In the previous exercise, you changed how the folder regions are laid out in the folder. You can also define how items are arranged within each region, which item attributes are displayed, and various other display options.

1. The right hand column would be a good region in which to provide frequently requested information, because of its visibility.

   Click to the left of Quickpicks.

2. In the Display Name field, enter `FAQ and Hints`.

3. At the moment, this region is set so that the banner is not displayed. Let's display the banner in this region, so that users know what type of information it contains.

   Select the Display Region Banner check box.

4. It would also be useful to display item descriptions in this region, to provide the user with more information about the item.

   In the Available Attributes list, select Description.

5. Click to move the Description attribute to the Displayed Attributes list.

6. But, let's display the description first, so that the description is the first thing the user will read about the item.

   In the Displayed Attributes list, select Description.

7. Click to move the Description attribute to the top of the list.

8. In the Item Alignment list, choose Left.

9. In the Number Of Columns field, enter `1`.

10. Click Apply.

11. Click Close.

12. Let's use the top region to include a welcome message for the folder.

    Click to the left of Announcements.

13. In the Display Name field, enter `Welcome`.

14. In the Displayed Attributes list, select Display Name or Image.

15. Click to move the Display Name or Image attribute to the Available Attributes list.

16. Click Apply.

17. Click Close.

18. Also, let's change the text in the Sub-folders banner to something that will be more meaningful to the users of the Repository, who are not as familiar with the way a content area is broken down into folders and sub-folders.

    Click to the left of Sub-folders.

19. In the Display Name field, enter `More...`.

20. Click Apply.

21. Click Close.

22. Finally, let's change which attributes to display next to regular items in the folder. For example, it would be useful for users to be able to see the size of files in the content area so that they know how long they are likely to take to download. Also, the Course Descriptions custom item type you created earlier includes a couple of attributes that would be useful to display next to course description items.

    Click to the left of Regular Items.

23. In the Available Attributes list, select <Blank Line>, Document Size, Duration, and Language.

24. Click to move the selected attribute to the Displayed Attributes list.

25. Use and to order the attributes in the Displayed Attributes list to look like the following.

26. Click Apply.

27. Click Close.

28. You can also change the way attributes display in the folder.

    Click the Properties tab.

29. In the Style Element list, choose Item Attribute.

30. In the Font Style list, choose Italic.

31. Click Apply.

32. Click OK.

33. In the Navigator Path, click Content Areas.

34. Click your content area's name.

    Notice that the banner for the sub-folders now displays the text More... instead of Sub-folders. Also, the document size attribute for the About the Inside Healthy Living Repository item is displayed beneath it, in italics.

35. Click HLW_COURSESFOLDER to drill down to the Course Descriptions folder.

    Notice that the Duration and Language attributes are displayed beneath the Word Processing Skills item you added earlier.

### 6.5.2 Add an item to a region

Now that you have changed the layout of the folders in the content area, you can add new items directly to the appropriate regions.

You created a Welcome region, so let's add a welcome message for the root folder of the Repository.

1. In the folder path, click your content area's name to return to the root folder.

2. At the top right of the page, click Edit Folder.

3. In the folder dashboard, click Add Item.

4. In the Item Type list, choose Text.

5. Click Next.

6. In the Folder Region section, select the Welcome radio button.

7. In the Text field, enter `Welcome to the Inside Healthy Living Repository!`

8. In the Display Name field, enter `Welcome!`

9. Click Next.

10. Select the Item Displayed Directly In Folder Area radio button.

11. Click Finish.

    The Welcome message is displayed at the top of the folder, in the Welcome region.

### 6.5.3 Move an item to a different region

The Healthy Living Repository already contains several documents. You will need to move these documents into the appropriate regions. For example, you created a region in which to display FAQ documents and there is a FAQ document in this folder: about_repository.htm. So, let's move this document into the correct region.

1. Next to the About the Inside Healthy Living Repository item, click .

2. In the Folder Region section, select the FAQ and Hints radio button.

3. In the Description field, enter `Want to know what the Repository is all about? Take a look at`.

4. Click OK.

5. At the top right of the page, click View Folder.

   The item is now displayed in the FAQ and Hints region. Also, notice that the description of the item is displayed before the item name, just like you specified in the list of displayed attributes when you edited the region properties.

   Note: The document size no longer displays next to this item because you did not select to display that attribute in the FAQ and Hints region.

## 6.6 Change folder access privileges

The next thing you need to consider is who should be able to view the information in the Repository. With content areas you can restrict access to folders, and even to specific items, to particular users or user groups. This is extremely useful for making corporate information available to as wide an audience as possible, while keeping it secure.

1. In the Navigator, click the Content Areas tab.

2. Navigate to the root level by clicking Content Areas in the Navigator Path, if necessary.

3. Next to your content area, click Edit Root Folder.

4. Click the Access tab.

5. This folder is the entrance to the Repository and contains general information. It should therefore be available to all users.

   Make sure the Make Public check box is selected.

6. Most of the folders within the content area should be available to all users. However, when folders are initially created the Make Public check box is cleared; only the root folder is made available to all users. To quickly make all folders available to all users, you can copy the access privileges applied to the root folder to all folders beneath it.

   Make sure the Add Privileges To All Sub-folders radio button is selected.

7. Click Cascade Privileges.

8. Click OK.

9. Next to your content area, click Contents.

10. Click Folders.

11. Next to HLW_HRFOLDER, click Edit.

12. Click the Access tab.

    Notice that the Make Public check box is already selected because you cascaded the root folder privileges.

13. But what about adding new information? At the moment, only you have privileges to add items to the repository. It would be much better if members of the HR department were able to add items, because they will be creating the items in the first place.

    In the Name field, enter `HR_REPRESENTATIVES`.

14. Click Add To Access List.

    Note: If this group does not exist, contact your portal administrator, or follow the instructions in Section A.5.2, "Create the HR Managers and HR Representatives groups" to create the group.

15. In the HR_REPRESENTATIVES row, select the Manage Items check box.

    This enables members of the HR_REPRESENTATIVES group to add, edit, and delete any item in this folder.

16. Click OK.

17. Next to HLW_HRFOLDER, click Sub-Folders.

18. The HLW_RECRUITFOLDER contains information that is applicable only to members of the HR department. It is not information that should be available to all users.

    Next to HLW_RECRUITFOLDER, click Edit.

19. Click the Access tab.

20. Clear the Make Public check box.

    Now only users with specific View privileges will be able to view the contents of this folder. All other users will not be able to access the folder at all.

21. In the Name field, enter `HR_REPRESENTATIVES`.

22. Click Add To Access List.

23. In the HR_REPRESENTATIVES row, make sure only the View Content check box is selected.

24. Click OK.

## 6.7 Publish objects as portlets

You can make certain content area objects available so they can be used in a portal. Because content areas are part of Oracle Portal, publishing objects as portlets is a very simple process. Let's publish the HR Rep perspective as a portlet, so that it can be added to a Healthy Living portal, providing HR Representatives with instant access to those documents of specific relevance to their job.

1. In the Navigator, click the Content Areas tab.

2. Navigate to the root level by clicking Content Areas in the Navigator Path, if necessary.

3. Next to your content area, click Contents.

4. Click Perspectives.

5. Next to HR Rep, click Edit.

6. Select the Publish As Portlet check box.

   Note: If you cannot see this check box, you do not have privileges to publish portlets. Ask your portal administrator to grant you these privileges, using the instructions in Section A.1.1, "Create a user".

7. Click OK.

   You can also publish folders, categories, and navigation bars as portlets in a similar way.

   If you want to learn how to add these objects to a portal, take a look at Chapter 5, "Creating a Human Resources portal with security".

## 6.8 Summary

Congratulations! You have successfully used a content area to create an information repository. You now know how to:

- Upload content to a content area using a zip file

- Create categories and assign categories to items

- Create perspectives, associate icons with perspectives, and assign perspectives to items

- Create custom types

  - Create attributes

  - Create custom item types

  - Add procedure calls to item types

- Change the layout and region properties of folders

- Change folder access privileges

- Publish content area objects as portlets

For more information about content areas, see the Oracle Portal Online Help.

| Copyright © 2001 Oracle Corporation. All Rights Reserved. |
Library | Service | Contents | Index