15 Creating, Editing, and Managing Portal Assets

Assets can exist at the application level (shared assets) or at the portal level (portal assets). At both these levels, the assets available and their functionality are the same. The difference between shared assets and portal assets is that of scope:

• Shared assets are available for use in all portals, unless a portal has been specifically excluded.

• Portalassets are available for use only in the portal in which they are created.

If a shared asset is available for use in a portal, it is shown on the Assets page for that portal. The Shared icon (Figure 15-1) next to the asset's name indicates that it is a shared asset. However, shared assets can be edited only at the application level on the Shared Assets page.

Figure 15-1 The Shared Icon

This chapter focuses on how to work with portal assets. For information about shared assets, see Working with Shared Assets.

By default, global default asset settings, such as the page template, skin, and resource catalogs, are used by all portals (indicated by [system default] in the portal-level settings). However, in a portal, you can choose to specify portal-specific asset settings. If your portal uses global default settings, any changes to a global setting are reflected in your portal too. For example, consider that the global default skin is the WebCenter Portal skin, and you have two portals: PortalA and PortalB. By default, both your portals will use the WebCenter Portal skin. Consider that you change PortalB to use the Mist skin. PortalA still uses the global default WebCenter Portal skin. If you then change the global default skin to the Dew skin, PortalA is automatically updated to use the Dew skin; however PortalB continues to use Mist.

For information about configuring global default asset settings, see Configuring Global Defaults Across Portals in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

For information about configuring portal-specific default asset settings, see Administering Look and Feel Settings for a Portal.

1. Open the Assets page for the portal that owns the asset.

   For more information, see Accessing Portal Assets.

   Tip:

   For shared assets, see Accessing Shared Assets.

2. Click the type of asset that you want to edit, for example, Page Templates.
3. Select the asset that you want to edit.
4. In the toolbar, click Actions, and then choose Edit Source.
5. In the Edit Source dialog, edit the code as required.

   Tip:

   For XML files, the XML syntax in the code is validated and an error message is displayed if you miss any tags or add them incorrectly. Validation is not performed for non-XML files, such as CSS files for skins.

   Table 15-3 Editing Asset Source Code

   Asset	Tab	Description
   Page Templates	Template Page Definition	Edit the JSF (.jspx) file that represents the page template. Edit the page template's associated page definition XML file.
   Resource Catalogs	Catalog Definition	Edit the XML file that represents the resource catalog.
   Skins	CSS	Edit the CSS file for the skin.
   Page Styles	Page Page Definition	Edit the JSF (.jspx) file that represents the page style. Edit the page style's associated page definition XML file.
   Content Presenter Display Templates	Fragment Page Definition	Edit the JSFF file that represents the Content Presenter display template. Edit the page fragment's page definition XML file.
   Task Flow Styles	Taskflow Definition Fragment Page Definition	Edit the XML file that represents the task flow style. Edit the page fragment JSFF file. Edit the page fragment's page definition XML file.
   Layouts	Component CSS	Edit the XML file that represents the layout component. Edit the CSS file for the layout.
   Pagelets	(Not Applicable)	Source code cannot be edited in the browser.
   Task Flows	Taskflow Definition Fragment Page Definition	Edit the XML file that represents the task flow. Edit the page fragment JSFF file. Edit the page fragment's page definition XML file.
   Data Visualizations	Taskflow Definition Fragment Page Definition	Edit the XML file that represents the data visualization. Edit the page fragment JSFF file. Edit the page fragment's page definition XML file.
   Visualization Templates	Fragment	Edit the page fragment JSFF file.
   Data Controls	(Not Applicable)	Source code cannot be edited in the browser.
   Business Objects	(Not Applicable)	Source code cannot be edited in the browser.
   REST Data Sources	(Not Applicable)	Source code cannot be edited in the browser.
   SQL Data Sources	(Not Applicable)	Source code cannot be edited in the browser.

6. When you are done, click Save and Close.

1. Open the Assets page for the portal that owns the asset.

   For more information, see Accessing Portal Assets.

   Tip:

   For shared assets, see Accessing Shared Assets.

2. Click the type of asset for which you want to view information, for example, Page Templates.
3. Select the asset for which you want to view information.
4. In the toolbar, click Actions, and then choose Show Properties.

   Table 15-4 lists the information provided for assets in the Show Properties dialog.

   Table 15-4 Asset Properties

   Property	Description
   Display Name	The display name of the asset.
   Description	The description of the asset.
   Icon URI	The URI of the icon that is associated with the asset.
   Category	The category to which the asset belongs.
   Asset Type	The type of the asset. For example, pageStyle or taskFlow.
   Internal ID	The unique internal identification number assigned to the asset.
   Content Directory	The path where dependent objects of the asset, such as images, JavaScripts, style sheets, and HTML files, are stored on the portal server.
   JSPx File	The path to the JSF (.jspx) file for the asset.
   Page Definition	The path where the page definition XML file of the asset is stored on the portal server. Page definitions are used for page templates, page styles, task flow styles, and task flows.
   Metadata File	The path where metadata files, if any, of the asset are stored on the portal server.
   Created By	The name of the user who created the asset.
   Date Created	The date and time when the asset was created.
   Modified By	The name of the user who last edited the asset.
   Date Modified	The date and time when the asset was last edited.
   Locked By	The name of the user who most recently locked the asset.
   Date Locked	The date and time when the asset was most recently locked.
   Exclude From Home Portal	(Shared assets only) Whether the asset is available in the Home portal.
   Exclude From Portal(s)	(Shared assets only) A list of portals in which the asset is not available.
   Attributes	Attributes associated with the asset. To set attribute values, see Setting Asset Attributes.

5. Click OK.

1. Open the Assets page for the portal that owns the asset.

   For more information, see Accessing Portal Assets.

   Tip:

   For shared assets, see Accessing Shared Assets.

2. Click the type of asset that you want to preview, for example, Page Templates.
3. Click the name of the asset that you want to preview.

   Note:

   Not all assets can be previewed. If the name of the asset is not a hyperlink, then it cannot be previewed.

   The asset is displayed as it would appear when used in a portal.

4. View and interact with the asset to determine whether it looks and behaves the way you want.
5. When you are done, click Close.

   You can either edit the asset to make changes or publish it to make it available in the portal.

The system administrator can make shared assets available for use in all portals, or hide some assets so that they cannot be selected in a portal. At the portal level, you can make a custom asset available for use in a portal by marking it as available, or you can hide an asset to prevent users of your portal from selecting it. For example, you may want to hide an asset while you are making further refinements to it after its initial creation and publication.

Note:

Even if an asset is hidden, it can still be referred to by its internal ID through an EL expression. For example, you can refer to a hidden page template by using an EL expression to set the Page Template value on the Settings page in portal administration (see Administering Look and Feel Settings for a Portal).

Figure 15-3 shows several skins. The built-in shared skins are all available, the custom OraMosaic skin is available, and the custom Karen Skin is hidden.

Figure 15-3 Showing and Hiding Assets

Description of "Figure 15-3 Showing and Hiding Assets"

When you first create or upload an asset, by default it is marked as hidden. A hidden asset is not available for wherever assets are selected. For an asset to become available, it must be published, that is, made available. For example, Figure 15-4 shows the list of skins that are available for selection as the portal's default skin. Note that the hidden skin, Karen Skin, is not included in this list.

Figure 15-4 Hidden Asset Not Available for Selection to Assign

Description of "Figure 15-4 Hidden Asset Not Available for Selection to Assign"

You can, however, use a hidden asset as the starting point for creating a new asset. For example, Figure 15-5 shows that the hidden skin, Example Skin, is listed in the Copy From list when you create a new skin.

Figure 15-5 Hidden Asset Available for Selection to Copy

Description of "Figure 15-5 Hidden Asset Available for Selection to Copy"

To show or hide an asset:

1. Open the Assets page for the portal that owns the asset (for more information, see Accessing Portal Assets).

   Tip:

   For shared assets, see Accessing Shared Assets.

2. Click the type of asset that you want to show or hide (for example, Page Templates).
3. Select or deselect the check box in the Available column for the asset that you want to show or hide.

1. Open the Assets page for the portal that owns the asset.

   For more information, see Accessing Portal Assets.

   Tip:

   For shared assets, see Accessing Shared Assets.

2. Click the type of asset that you want to copy, for example, Page Templates.
3. Select the asset that you want to copy.
4. In the toolbar, click Actions, and then choose Copy.
5. In the Copy dialog (Figure 15-6), in the Display Name field, enter a name for the copy.

   Figure 15-6 Copy Dialog for a Page Template

   
   Description of "Figure 15-6 Copy Dialog for a Page Template"
6. In the Description field, optionally enter a description for the new asset.
7. Click OK.

1. Open the Assets page for the portal that owns the asset.

   For more information, see Accessing Portal Assets.

   Tip:

   For shared assets, see Accessing Shared Assets.

2. Click the type of asset for which you want to set access permissions, for example, Page Templates.
3. Select the asset for which you want to set access permissions.
4. In the toolbar, click Actions, and then choose Security Settings.
5. In the Security Settings dialog, select Use Custom Permissions to define who can access the selected asset and what level of access they have. When you select this option, the other controls in the dialog become available.

   Figure 15-7 Security Settings Dialog

   
   Description of "Figure 15-7 Security Settings Dialog"

   Tip:

   If you select Use Custom Permissions, ensure that at least one user or group is granted the Manage permission.

6. Specify the user or group to whom you want to grant access.

   • Click Add Users to search for and select individual users available in your identity store.

   • Click Add Groups to search for and select groups of users available in your identity store.

   Tip:

   For help on searching for a user or group, see Searching for a User or Group in the Identity Store.

7. For each user or group selected, specify the level of access you want to grant. Select:

   • Manage to grant full access on the asset. Such users can perform tasks such as edit, delete, grant access, show or hide, and so on.

   • Update to grant the permission to edit the asset. Such users can edit the asset, but they cannot delete it.

8. If you want to revoke access from any user or group, select that entity and click Delete Access.
9. To revoke all custom permissions granted on the asset, select Use Portal Security Settings.
10. Click OK.

1. Open the Assets page for the portal that owns the asset.

   For more information, see Accessing Portal Assets.

   Tip:

   For shared assets, see Accessing Shared Assets.

2. Click the type of asset that you want to download, for example, Page Templates.
3. Select the asset that you want to download.
4. In the toolbar, click Download.
5. In the Download dialog, in the Archive File Name field, enter a name for the archive file. The archive file must have the .aar extension.

   Figure 15-8 Download Dialog for a Page Template

   
   Description of "Figure 15-8 Download Dialog for a Page Template"
6. Select:

   • Save to My Computer to save the archive file to your local file system. When you click the Download button you are prompted for the location on the file system where you want to save the file.

   • Save to WebCenter Portal Server to save the archive file to the portal server file system. The .aar archive file is saved to the default path DOMAIN_HOME/WC_Archives, where DOMAIN_HOME refers to the domain location where WebCenter Portal is installed.

7. Click Download.
8. If you selected to save the archive file to your local file system, you are prompted to specify the location where you want to save the file.
9. After downloading the asset, you can then import it into the IDE of your choice, such as JDeveloper.

1. Open the Assets page for the portal that owns the asset.

   For more information, see Accessing Portal Assets.

   Tip:

   For shared assets, see Accessing Shared Assets.

2. Click the type of asset that you want to upload, for example, Page Templates.
3. In the toolbar, click Upload.
4. In the Upload dialog, select:

   • Look on My Computer to upload an archive file from your local file system. Click Choose File to locate the file.

   • Look on WebCenter Portal Server to upload an archive file from a remote server file system. In the field below, enter the location on the server where the file is located.

   Figure 15-9 Upload Dialog for a Page Template

   
   Description of "Figure 15-9 Upload Dialog for a Page Template"
5. Click Upload.
6. If the asset already exists in the portal, click Yes to confirm that you want to replace the asset with the contents of the archive file.
7. Click OK in the resulting success dialog.

   Tip:

   System administrators can upload assets using the WLST command, importWebCenterResource. For more information, see importWebCenterResource in WebCenter WLST Command Reference.

   Note:

   Artifacts used or referenced by assets, such as icons and images, are not included in the archive when an asset is exported. When you upload the asset, you must manage and move dependent artifacts manually. We recommend that you use a folder structure on your content server specifically for asset artifacts so that content is easy to identify and move, if required.

   If you are managing legacy assets that store artifacts in MDS, we recommend that you relocate dependent artifacts to your content server. However, if you do need to move artifacts stored in MDS, you can use the MDS WLST commands exportMetadata and importMetadata.

1. Open the Assets page for the portal that owns the asset.

   For more information, see Accessing Portal Assets.

   Tip:

   For shared assets, see Accessing Shared Assets.

2. Click the type of asset that you want to delete, for example, Page Templates.
3. Select the asset that you want to delete.
4. In the toolbar, click Delete.
5. In the Delete dialog, click OK.