Building Portals with Oracle Instant Portal

Purpose

This tutorial shows you how quickly and easily you can build and manage content-sharing portals using Oracle Instant Portal.

Time to Complete

Approximately 1 to 2 hours

Topics

This tutorial covers the following topics:

	Overview
	Scenario
	Prerequisites
	Creating a Portal with a Custom Taxonomy
	Branding Your Portal
	Customizing the Structure
	Adding Content
	Using WebDAV To Add Content
	Adding News and Announcements
	Managing the Portal
	Summary
	Related Information

Viewing Screenshots

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Note: The screenshots are of Oracle Instant Portal running on Windows XP. If you are running a different operating system, your windows will look somewhat different.

Overview

This tutorial covers building a portal based on a custom taxonomy and adding content to it. It also shows you how to create a user and grant privileges to the new user.

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Scenario

The Board of Directors of BioDiversity Umbrella, which is a fictional scientific research facility dedicated to the study of living things, has commissioned you to build an intranet portal that will enable its different departments to share information on all life forms, including plants, animals, insects, and microscopic organisms.

In this tutorial, you begin the project by modifying a predefined XML file that defines the structure (or taxonomy) of the portal. Then you use Oracle Instant Portal to create the portal. After inserting a logo and selecting a color scheme, you make some structural changes by adding a new tab and some child pages. You use two methods to add content: inserting items directly through Oracle Instant Portal and adding file items and images using WebDAV. In the last section, you create an Oracle Instant Portal user and grant appropriate privileges to the new user.

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Prerequisites

Before starting this tutorial, you should:

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Creating a Portal with a Custom Taxonomy

When you create a portal using Oracle Instant Portal, you can provide a custom taxonomy in an XML file that defines the structure (that is, pages and subpages) of your portal.

In this section, you make some changes to a predefined taxonomy file and then use it to create the Biodiversity Umbrella portal.

	Modify the taxonomy file
	Create the portal

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Modify the taxonomy file

1.	In Notepad, set File of type: to All Files and open kingdoms.xml, which is in the files directory.
2.	Compare the contents of kingdoms.xml with the tabbed pages of the prototype portal pictured below. Notice that the top-level <page title> tags in the XML (that is, those tags that are left justified in the file) correspond to the tabbed pages in the portal in the screenshot. The other <page title> tags define child pages of each tabbed page.
3.	Before you create the portal, you need to make some changes to the taxonomy file. Specifically, you want to rename the Company tab to Organization. You also want the content tabs to appear in alphabetical order, so that Plantae should be repositioned after Monera. a. Rename the Company tab to Organization.   b. Select the text that starts with <page title="Plantae"> and ends with </page>. Right-click and select Cut.   c. Find the tag <page title="Monera">. Right-click and select Paste.
4.	Save your work.

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Create the portal

1.	Open a browser, enter the URL for your Oracle Portal instance, and press [Enter]. Use the following format for the URL: http://<host name> :<port number>:/pls/portal.
2.	Enter your username and password and click Login. The default portal, My Company, opens. Note: The My Company portal is created automatically when you install Oracle Application Server Standard Edition One. It is based on a generic company intranet and is easy to customize to satisfy the requirements of your company or department.
3.	On the Home page of the My Company portal, click the Edit Mode icon to display the edit toolbar.
4.	Click the Go To Portal Builder icon on the edit toolbar.
5.	In Portal Builder, scroll down until the Oracle Instant Portal portlet is fully displayed.
6.	Click the Browse button next to the XML File field.
7.	Locate the kingdoms.xml file in the files directory and click Open. You may need to wait a minute or two for your portal to generate.
8.	Enter Biodiversity in the Portal Name field and click Create. The new Biodiversity portal opens. Notice the tab names, which were generated from the top-level <page title> tags in kingdoms.xml.

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Branding Your Portal

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1.	Verify that the edit toolbar is displayed across the top of the portal. If not, click the Edi Mode icon .
2.	In the portal title, click the d in Biodiversity and change it to a capital letter. Also append the word Umbrella to the title.
3.	In the portal banner, click the palm tree icon (top right) to insert an image.
4.	Find and select bd_umbrella.gif in the files directory and click Open. The BioDiversity Umbrella logo replaces the palm tree icon.
5.	Click the Style icon in the toolbar and select Change style to Green.
6.	Compare your portal with the screenshot below.

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Customizing the Structure

	Create and reposition a tab
	Add child pages
	Reparent and resequence a child page

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Create and reposition a tab

1.	Click the Organization tab. When the tab's toolbar appears, click the Create Top-Level Page icon. The new tab, which is named New Page, appears to the right of the Organization tab, as shown in step 2.
2.	Click the tab name (New Page) and type Training.
3.	Click the Move Tab Right icon on the tab's toolbar.
4.	Click the Move Tab Right icon five more times so that the Training tab moves to the extreme right. Note: To save steps, you could have used the Protista tab as your starting point. A new tab always appears to the right of the current tab.

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Add child pages

To add child pages to the Training tab, perform the following steps:

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Reparent and resequence a child page

To reparent a child page on the Training tab, perform the following steps:

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Adding Content

Adding content to a portal is the most important task in Oracle Instant Portal.

In this section, you add various types of items to the BioDiversity Umbrella portal.

	Add a Rich Text item
	Add a URL item
	Add a File item
	Add an Expandable Rich Text item
	Add an Email item

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Add a Rich Text item to your portal

To add a Rich Text item to the BioDiversity Umbrella portal, perform the following steps:

1.	Click the Fungi tab and then click the icon in the tab's toolbar. Notice the hierarchy of child pages listed in the navigation area. These were created by Oracle Instant Portal from the kingdoms.xml taxonomy file.
2.	Click Amanetaceae, which is a child of Basidiomycota, and then click the icon.
3.	Click and select Rich Text Item.
4.	Click in the Title field and type Overview.
5.	Click in the Summary field and type The Amanita is one of the most varied Fungi genuses.
6.	Click in the Full Text field and click the Create Table icon on the Edit toolbar.
7.	In the table grid that appears below the Insert Table icon, click the second square from the left in the top row to designate a one row, two column table.
8.	Click in the first table cell of the new item and click the Insert Image icon on the edit toolbar.
9.	In the Select Image dialog box, click Choose a New Image.
10.	In the Choose File dialog box, select amanita.pudica1.gif from your working files directory and click Open.
11.	Notice the helpful image preview feature. Then click OK.
12.	Click in the second table cell.
13.	Open the file amanita overview.txt in the files directory and copy the text. Tip: You can use shortcut keys such as [Ctrl]+[C] to copy.
14.	Paste the text in the second table cell. Tip: You can use shortcut keys such as [Ctrl]+[V] to paste.
15.	Click the right border of the table. Notice the cursor changes shape and handles appear on the table border. Click and drag to widen the table cell.

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Add a URL item to your portal

To add a URL item to the BioDiversity Umbrella portal, perform the following steps:

1.	Click and select URL Item from the menu.
2.	Open AmanitaURL.txt in the files directory. Copy the text line (Amanita: Beauty, Danger and Diversity) in the Title field. Copy the second text line (A fascinating article by Rodham E. Tulloss) from AmanitaURL.txt and paste it in the Summary field.
3.	Click the icon. Copy the URL from AmanitaURL.txt and paste it in the field of the Input Required dialog box and click OK.
4.	Test the URL: a. Click the icon at the bottom of the edit toolbar to toggle to View mode.   b. Click the URL icon. A new browser window opens, displaying the Web site.

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Add a File item to your portal

To add a File item to the BioDiversity Umbrella portal, perform the following steps:

1.	Click the icon to toggle Edit mode on.
2.	Click and select File Item from the menu.
3.	In the Title field, enter Wild mushrooms may be tasty .... In the Summary field, enter A serious warning by Cornell University.
4.	Click the icon. In the Choose File dialog box, find and select Wild Mushrooms Are Tasty.doc from your files working directory. Click OK.
5.	To test the File item, click the icon to toggle back to View mode and then click the icon in the new item. The file opens in Microsoft Word.

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Add an Expandable Rich Text item to your portal

To add an Expandable Rich Text item to the BioDiversity Umbrella portal, perform the following steps:

1.	Click the icon to toggle Edit mode on.
2.	Click and select Expandable Rich Text Item from the menu.
3.	In the Title field, enter The Genus Amanita. In the Summary field, enter By Michael Kuo.
4.	Click in the Full Text field and then click the Toggle Source Editing icon on the toolbar.
5.	Open Notepad. Set Files of type: to All Files, select The Genus Amanita.htm from your files working directory and click Open.
6.	Select and copy the entire contents of the document.
7.	Paste the HTML into the Full Text field and click the Toggle Source Editing icon to render the HTML. You can now see the rendered HTML.
8.	To see how the Expandable Rich Text Item looks to an end user, click the icon to toggle View mode on.
9.	Click the icon to collapse the text .
10.	You now see the Expandable Rich Text Item as it first appears to an end user. Click the icon to expand the text. The text item opens.
11.	As an end user, you want to make certain items available to yourself quickly and easily by adding them to your favorites on the Home page. Click the (Add to Favorite Content) icon on The Genus Amanita item.
12.	Click the Home tab to verify that the item appears in the Favorite Content area.
13.	Click The Genus Amanita link to go directly to that item.
14.	You decide that you want the Overview item to be the first item on the Amanitaceae page. To resequence the items, first click the icon to toggle Edit mode on.
15.	Click the Overview item and then click the Move Item Up icon in the item's toolbar.
16.	Click Move Item Up two more times so that the Overview is the top item on the page (below the page name).

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Add an Email item

To add an Email item to the BioDiversity Umbrella portal, perform the following steps:

1.	Click and select Email Item from the menu.
2.	In the Title field, enter Send all queries to our Amanita experts.
3.	Click the icon. Then enter amanitaexpert@bdumbrella.org in the Input Required dialog box and click OK.
4.	To test the Email item, toggle to View mode and click the icon. An email client window opens with an email addressed to the email ID that you entered in step 2. Note: If you do not have a default email client set up, this step may not work as described.

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Using WebDAV to Add Content

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1.	Access My Network Places on your computer. Click Add a network place. Note: Your list of network places will be different from those in the screenshot.
2.	In the welcome page of the wizard, click Next.
3.	Verify that Choose another network location is selected and click Next.
4.	Enter the network address of your Oracle Portal instance. Use the format http://<host>:<port>/dav_portal/portal. Click Next.
5.	Enter your user name and password, and click OK.
6.	Enter the name My Oracle Instant Portals and click Next.
7.	Click Finish.
8.	A list of the portals in your portal instance is displayed. (The portals in your list will differ from the ones below.) Expand BIODIVERSITY, which is the portal you created in this OBE.
9.	Expand FUNGI, then expand BASIDIOMYCOTA, and finally expand AMANITACEA, which is the page you have been working on. Why is Wild Mushrooms Are Tasty.doc the only content listed? Answer: File Item and Image Item are the only item types that you can manipulate using WebDAV. Although you added several items to the Amanitaceae page, only one of them was a File item and none were Image items.
10.	Open another Windows Explorer window and copy all the files from the files/amanitas directory.
11.	Paste the files in the AMANITACEAE page in your network place.
12.	In your portal, refresh the portal page. Scroll down until you see The Quandary of Amanita, which is a newly added File item. Notice the various Image items, which display in place as images. You can update the Title, Author, and Summary fields on the new items if you want to. Be sure to toggle Edit mode on first.

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Adding News and Announcements

Your portal's home page is preconfigured with areas for news and announcements:

	News could include items pertaining to events occurring in your industry, for example, or at corporate level.
	Announcements could include items that remind or inform people of upcoming events within your company or department.

The News and Announcements areas of the home page are populated by two child pages of the Company page (which you have renamed to Organization). Any content you place on the News and Announcements child pages also appears in the corresponding areas on the home page.

To change the names of the News and Announcements areas and to add content to them, perform the following steps:

1.	Click the Organization tab and then click News in the navigation area on the left. Note: If your portal is in Edit mode,click the icon to toggle to View mode first.
2.	Toggle Edit mode on. Click and select Rich Text Item.
3.	Enter the following information for the item: Title It's a baby girl! Summary Congratulations, Sermin and Yuksel Akbay! Full Text Sermin and Yuksel proudly announce the arrival of their daughter, Sezar, on April 16th. Tip: You can copy the text in this OBE and paste it into your portal using keyboard shortcuts.
4.	In the navigation area, change the News page name to Staff News. Also, change the Announcements page name to Organization News. Notice that the name of the content area changes automatically.
5.	Navigate to the Organization News page by clicking the page name and then clicking the icon.
6.	Click and select Rich Text Item.
7.	Enter the following information for the item: Title Lecture: Marine Life Diversity Summary Don't miss this fascinating program Full Text A global network of researchers from BioMarine has just completed a 10-year initiative to assess and explain the past, present, and future diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine life in the oceans. Dag Waterhound, the team lead, will summarize the results of this fascinating and comprehensive study. Where? BioDioversity Building #4, Classroom A When? Friday, May 13th at 4 pm Tip: You can copy the text in this OBE and paste it into your portal using keyboard shortcuts.
8.	Navigate to the Home tab: Click the tab and and then click the icon on the tab's toolbar. Notice that the new news items appear on the Staff News and Organization News areas.
9.	Click the Lecture: Marine Life Diversity link in the Organization News area. You are back on the Organization News page.

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Managing Your Portal

Oracle Instant Portal has a simplified security model, which means that managing access to the pages in your portal is easy.

In this section, you create a user and grant various privileges to the new user.

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1.	Click the Manage Users icon on the Edit toolbar.
2.	Click Create New User.
3.	Enter the following details for the new user and click OK: User Name Karthika Password orac1 Confirm Password orac1 Email Address ksiva@bdumbrella.org Note: The password must have at least one numeric character.
5.	Give Karthika Manage privileges on the Training page. When you select the check box in the column, notice that the View and Contribute check boxes for that page are automatically selected. Also give her View privileges on the Animalia page, and Contribute (and View) privileges on the Fungi page. Then click OK.
6.	Click the Training tab and click the icon.
7.	Click the Change Privileges icon on the tab's toolbar.
8.	The Manage Page Privileges dialog box enables you to manage all user privileges for a given page. Click OK.
9.	To verify the new user's privileges, perform the following steps: a. Click the Logout link.   b. Click Return.   c. Enter karthika as the User Name and ora1 and the Password. Click Login.   d. When the BioDiversity Umbrella portal opens, notice that Karthika doesn't see the tabs for which she has no privileges.

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Summary

In this tutorial, you learned how to use Oracle Instant Portal to build a content-sharing portal based on a custom taxonomy. You then uploaded several different types of content into the portal both directly and using WebDAV. You also created a user and granted privileges to the new user.

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Related Information

To learn more about Oracle Instant Portal, view the following demonstrations:

	Using Oracle Instant Portal (15:37 minutes), which starts with the MY COMPANY portal as it comes, right out of the box, and then shows how to customize the default portal—customizations include branding the portal; adding, renaming, and resequencing pages; and adding various types of content.
	Managing Users and Rights (3:22 minutes), which demonstrates how Oracle Instant Portal simplifies the management tasks of creating users and granting privileges.

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Oracle and the Oracle logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation in the United States and other countries. In addition, all occurrences of 'Oracle Instant Portal' in this document - unless otherwise stated - refer to the 'Oracle Application Server Standard Edition One - Oracle Instant Portal'. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.