Using the WebCenter Portal Framework
Using the WebCenter portal framework is a great way to simplify your workflows, make your employees' jobs easier, and even improve security. But the key to success is knowing what to expect from the product. In this article, I'll take a look at some of the things you can do with the product, including searching for reports, installing and customizing pages, migrating to 12c, and more.
Installing
Creating a new WebCenter portal framework application is easy with JDeveloper. The JDeveloper wizard guides you through the details, enabling you to create a new web application. Depending on the machine, the total runtime can range from 1.5 to 2 hours.
To create a new web project, select the WebCenter portal framework application template. The template provides a page template, security policy, and a general look. It also includes a page hierarchy, navigations, and templates for presenting content. It contains XML definition files that contain information about how to configure the portal application.
You can also customize the portal with custom parameters and ADF portlets. Customization can be exported to verify your work. Custom parameter forms can also be created using a task flow. You can also create custom exception handlers.
The WebCenter portal framework application can be used to create separate catalogs for departments. Depending on the user role, you can choose to show or hide individual entries in the catalog.
You can also add BI content to the catalog by selecting a sample app. In order to add BI content, you will need to connect to an OBIEE 11g environment and select BI content from the catalog.
The WebCenter portal framework application also includes an Oracle Fusion Middleware (FMW) installation, which provides information integration. You can use FMW to connect to multiple sources and unite data. FMW also includes task management and notification features.
The WebCenter portal framework application includes a large number of files, which you can find in the application_root directory. The application also includes a set of META-INF files that specify the data bindings and metadata for each page template. These files are referenced by the pages that use them.
Searching for reports
Using WebCenter Portal, you can browse a large number of reports. These reports are derived from the WebCenter database. They are represented in a bar chart or pie chart. These are useful because they display information about selected parameters in tables. You can also create rules under each report.
It's also possible to perform a search using the Oracle SES (Search) service. Using the Oracle SES Search Service APIs, you can create a custom search user interface. The Search service also allows you to search repositories outside of WebCenter Portal. For example, you can search databases in your Oracle Fusion Middleware deployment. You can also perform a global search at runtime.
WebCenter Portal also supports the concept of navigation nodes. This allows you to create links between resources. You can also tag resources. For example, you can tag a report with the customer name. You can also tag a report by the customer's role. You can also use tags to hide reports from certain users. This will notify other users of changes. You can also use a search box to filter records by substance.
Lastly, WebCenter Portal supports the concept of a live (delegated) search. This requires you to configure an identity management system and configure an adapter between Oracle SES and WebCenter Portal.
The Oracle SES adapter validates users and returns results based on user privileges. You can also perform a search using a REST API. This is a great feature if you're using the Oracle SES search service to search repositories. The Search Service also supports a full-text ordering feature.
Using the Search Service, you can perform a search based on a keyword or a phrase. This is the best way to perform a query for a large set of content.
Creating customizable pages
Creating customizable pages with WebCenter portal framework is one of the main features offered by the software. Unlike other portal solutions, customization is not limited to visual change, but can be used to change the functionality of pages.
System pages provide content-based navigation, dynamic query navigation, and personal productivity services. They are provided out-of-the-box, but they can be customized to match the needs of users. They can also be used to provide introductory pages, utility pages, and useful hints.
WebCenter portal framework allows users to build customizable pages with AJAX-based components. It also provides navigation models and page hierarchies. These features speed up the development of portal web applications. In addition, Oracle Composer enables runtime customization of pages created with Oracle WebCenter Portal Framework. Using Composer, users can create new pages, edit existing pages, or add runtime customizations.
The WebCenter portal framework includes Portal : Framework, an application development tool that helps create simple OBIEE content and add BI views to ADF applications. It also provides out-of-the-box assets such as widgets and skins. It allows design teams to use WebCenter assets without requiring a development team.
In order to create new pages, an administrator must be logged in. He or she can select an application type from the New menu, which will launch a dialog for creating a new page. Afterward, a portal user can edit the pages.
The portal framework also provides a page template. This ensures that the layout of a page will be consistent. The template includes code for the logout action and other important code, such as a "read more" link. In addition, it has special hooks for WebCenter Content, which allows developers to customize the behavior of forms.
Migrating to 12c
Using Oracle's WebCenter Portal: Framework is a great way to create custom applications. It allows you to design and build portals for your organization and customize portal features.
The Framework also supports custom navigation, APIs, and taskflows. You can also export customizations for WebCenter Portal resources. You can use a number of tools to do this, including Oracle Fusion Middleware Control and the WLST command exportWebCenterResource.
Another way to migrate a space template is by copying the files to your local file system. The space template is a folder with contents such as discussions, documents, lists, member details, and more. This space template must be migrated if you want to use this space in your portal.
You can also export space templates by using the space export tool. This tool will export space templates along with all associated content. The space export file will contain the same GUID in both the source and target. The Content Server GUID for the space template will also be the same.
This tool is not always available. If it is not available, you can use the WebCenter Portal: Document Migration Utility to migrate document content. You can also use a shell script to locate the missing package names and copy them to your local folder.
There are a number of migration tools that can export WebCenter Portal resources and connections between environments. This includes exporting customizations for page templates and skins.
In addition to exporting functionality, you can also export the base documents for WebCenter Portal services. This includes security policies and role definitions. This can be done using the XML Export and Import tool found in the System menu.
Security
Using the WebCenter portal framework, you can manage information from various sources and unite it into a single interface. You can also customize the look and layout of the interface and manage data controls.
You can also use the portal to search, notify users and collaborate. It also provides a secure medium for connecting to multiple sources. It helps with navigation and personalization.
In the Security tab, you can define the access for the portal application. You can use the default security policy for all pages or you can define custom security for pages that are customizable components.
You can also use the overriding policy option to modify the policy at subordinate pages. If you use the default security policy, the grants listed in table 68-1 will be automatically applied. If you override the policy, the grants will be inheritable from the children of the overridden page.
For a WebCenter portal framework application to work, the user name and password are stored in the WebCenter framework. You can also create user roles and add them at runtime.
When an external application is accessed through WebCenter portal services, you must specify Public Credentials. You can specify Shared Credentials to allow all authenticated users to access the external application.
In addition, you must specify the XML digital signature for the Username Token. If a corporate proxy is used, you will have to customizeActionsCategory to true.
You can also define external applications by using the JDeveloper wizard. The wizard allows you to define an application and provision credentials. In addition, you can use the Security Infrastructure Created dialog to view security grants.
The Jump Start Kit for WebCenter Portal is for developers and provides a completely functional version of WebCenter Portal. It supports Linux x86-64, and includes key features enabled. However, it is not supported for production use.