22 Managing Your Favorites
Create, organize, and manage Favorites to keep your own personal list of favorite web sites and pages to access from any browser.
Permissions:
The tasks described in this chapter are available to any WebCenter Portal user.
Topics:
22.1 About Favorites
The great advantage to WebCenter Portal Favorites is their portability. Favorites are not dependent on a particular type of browser, so any browser you use to access WebCenter Portal provides access to your WebCenter Portal Favorites. You can create favorites that link to sites within WebCenter Portal or to external sites. This makes WebCenter Portal the best choice for managing and tracking your favorites list.
Note:
URLs that start with a slash (/) are the only URLs recognized as internal to WebCenter Portal. If you create a favorite to a WebCenter Portal page that does not start with a slash (/), but rather starts with http://, when you navigate to that page through your favorite, it will first show a message warning that you are leaving WebCenter Portal.
Favorites are personal. The favorites you see on the Favorites menu are the favorites you create. No other user sees your favorites, and you do not see any other user's favorites. If you like, though, you can share favorites with other users, by making one or more of them discoverable in a search.
Favorites are created at the application level; consequently, when you move from one portal to another, the favorites on the Favorites menu stay the same.
WebCenter Portal provides a Manage Favorites page in Preferences, which you can use to further customize your favorites. Use the Manage Favorites page to:
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Control the display order of links on the Favorites menu
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Choose a method for opening a favorite target
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Create folders for organizing your favorites
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Create, edit, or delete favorite links and folders
For more information about the Manage Favorites page, see Managing Favorites in Preferences.
22.2 Accessing Your Favorites
The easiest way to access the Favorites user interface is to open the Favorites menu (Figure 22-1). However, the availability of navigational links and menus, such as the Favorites menu, is determined by the people who design and build your portal. This being so, you may not see a Favorites menu.
22.3 Adding Favorites
Add favorite links for quick access to WebCenter Portal pages and the web sites you find most useful. If you like, you can share favorites with other users by making one or more of them discoverable in a search.
You can add favorites if your portal includes a Favorites menu as described here, or through the Manage Favorites page in Preferences (see Adding a Favorite Using the Manage Favorites Page).
To add a favorite:
- In the Name field in the Add to Favorites dialog, enter a display name for the favorite.
Note:
The value you enter for Name becomes the favorite's link text. The name of the current page is provided by default. You can change this or leave it as is.
22.4 Adding Favorites Folders
To keep your list of favorites manageable, you can organize them into folders. The folder hierarchy you create appears on the Favorites menu and on the Manage Favorites page. Because the favorites folders you create are user-level customizations, they display only in your view of WebCenter Portal.
Note:
You can create a favorites folder as described here, or on the Manage Favorites page (see Editing Favorites and Favorites Folders).
To add a favorites folder:
- Click New Folder to open the Create Folder dialog.
Figure 22-3 New Folder Button and Create Folder Dialog
Description of "Figure 22-3 New Folder Button and Create Folder Dialog"
22.5 Managing Favorites in Preferences
The Manage Favorites page in Preferences provides a convenient, one-stop location for creating, editing, and deleting favorite links and folders and rearranging their display order on the Favorites menu.
This section describes how to use the controls available on the Manage Favorites page. It includes the following topics:
22.5.1 Adding a Favorites Folder Using the Manage Favorites Page
To keep your list of favorites manageable, you can organize them into folders. The folder hierarchy you create appears in the Favorites menu and on the Manage Favorites page. Because the favorite folders you create are user-level customizations, they display only in your view of WebCenter Portal.
In addition to adding favorites folders through the Add To Favorites dialog (see Adding Favorites Folders) you can add them through the Manage Favorites page.
To add a favorites folder:
- Click the New icon in the toolbar.
Figure 22-5 New Icon in Manage Favorites Page
Description of "Figure 22-5 New Icon in Manage Favorites Page" - In the resulting Create Folder dialog, in the Folder Name box enter a display name for the favorite folder.
22.5.2 Adding a Favorite Using the Manage Favorites Page
When you want to add multiple favorites, use the Manage Favorites page rather than the Favorites menu. This is because the Manage Favorites page remains open until you close it, saving you steps in the creation process.
To add favorites:
- Click the Add icon in the toolbar.
Figure 22-7 Add Icon in Manage Favorites Page
Description of "Figure 22-7 Add Icon in Manage Favorites Page" - In the Add To Favorites dialog, in the Name field enter a display name for the favorite.
22.5.3 Editing Favorites and Favorites Folders
The Manage Favorites page provides controls for editing favorites and favorites folders. Use this feature to revise a folder or favorite name, a favorite target URL, or a open behavior for a favorite. Open behavior determines how a favorite target URL opens from the Favorites menu or the Manage Favorites page. Choose from opening a favorite target in the current browser window or a new browser window or tab.
To edit a favorite or favorite folder:
- Click in the row of the favorite or favorite folder you want to edit, and click Edit in the toolbar to open the Edit Favorite dialog or Edit Folder dialog.
22.5.4 Rearranging Favorites and Favorites Folders
The Manage Favorites page provides controls for moving a favorite or a favorite folder higher or lower in the Favorites menu. You can accomplish a move by clicking icons or by dragging and dropping. Use this feature to arrange your view of the Favorites menu exactly to your liking.
To rearrange favorites and favorites folders:
- Click the Move Up or Move Down icon in the toolbar to rearrange the selected favorite or folder (Figure 22-10).
Figure 22-10 Move Icons in Manage Favorites Page
Description of "Figure 22-10 Move Icons in Manage Favorites Page"Alternatively, drag the favorite or folder to its target position.
Caution:
In WebCenter Portal, you cannot move a favorite into an existing folder using only the keyboard. To work around this issue, create a duplicate favorite within the target folder, then delete the original favorite.
The favorite or folder is repositioned on the Manage Favorites page and in the Favorites menu.
22.5.5 Searching for Favorites
The Manage Favorites page includes a search feature that enables you to locate favorites. You can use the favorites search feature to search for favorite display names or target URLs. This search feature does not search for favorite folder names. Search results display on the Manage Favorites page.
To search for favorites:
- Enter a search term in the Filter box, and click the Filter icon (Figure 22-11).
Figure 22-11 Filter Feature in Manage Favorites Page
Description of "Figure 22-11 Filter Feature in Manage Favorites Page"Results display in the Manage Favorites page.
Tip:
To exit search results, you must exit the Manage Favorites page. Alternatively, you can delete the search term from the Filter box and click the Filter icon. A search without a search term returns the Manage Favorites page to its default view.
22.5.6 Deleting Favorites and Favorites Folders
When you delete a favorite or a favorites folder, it is permanently removed from both the Favorites menu and the Manage Favorites page. Additionally, when you delete a favorites folder all the favorites it contains are also deleted.
To delete favorites and favorites folders:
- Click the Delete button on the toolbar (Figure 22-12).
Figure 22-12 Delete Button in Manage Favorites
Description of "Figure 22-12 Delete Button in Manage Favorites"