Portal Panes

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As a TeamConnect solution developer, you may define the content and settings of portal panes for your users. By defining the portal panes, you create links to information and control what users can do from their home pages.

Depending on the needs of your users and their job responsibilities, you may select which portal panes are viewable from different home pages. You may either create new portal panes or select the portal panes included with TeamConnect by default.

Default Portal Panes

The following portal panes are included with TeamConnect and available for use in home pages:

My Appointments—Displays appointments scheduled for the user.
My Documents—Displays links to files contained in the logged-in user's document folder.
My Reports—Displays a specified report on the user's homepage. From the My Reports section, click Edit Parameters and select a Report from the drop-down list. You can also specify the Chart Width and Chart Height.
My Pending Approvals—Displays the user's pending approvals.
My Approvals—Displays the user's pending approvals.
My Requests—Displays the user's requests in progress.
My Workflows—Displays the processes that the user is responsible for monitoring. This portal pane only appears to Process Managers.
RSS Feeds—Displays the selected RSS Feed content (for example news feeds).
My Stocks—Displays stock information and links to various companies on the Yahoo Finance page.
My Tasks—Displays tasks assigned to the user.

Opening Portal Panes

To open a portal pane

In the Go to drop-down list, select Portal Panes.
The Portal Panes screen displays a list of portal panes, which include the default portal panes and all previously created portal panes.
From the portal pane list, click the hyperlink of the desired portal pane.
The General tab of the portal pane you selected appears.

The General tab of the Portal Pane screen has the following sections:

Portal Pane Settings—From this section, you may modify general information such as the title and background color of a portal pane. See Portal Pane Settings.
Portal Pane Contents—From this section, you can modify the content that defines how a portal pane functions from a home page. See Portal Pane Contents.

Portal Pane Settings

The Portal Pane Settings section of the General tab allows you to:

Identify the portal pane by giving it a title and a unique identifying key.
Set the background color of the portal pane.
Give users specified controls to the selected portal pane.

The following table describes the items in the Portal Pane Settings section.

Portal Pane Settings

Field	Description	Comments
Title	Enter a name (maximum 250 characters) that uniquely identifies the portal pane. This name appears in the following locations: The solution developer's Portal Panes screen. User's Select Content to Add pop-up window displayed by clicking the Add Content link on their home page. The title bar of the portal pane.	As long the Editable by user check-box is selected, the title bar of the portal pane appears for the user-- even if the Show title bar check-box is not selected.
Unique Key	Enter an alphanumeric combination to uniquely identify the portal pane content. After you save the settings, you can edit this field only if it is blank. The unique key cannot contain spaces, underscores, punctuation, or any special characters and cannot exceed 50 characters in length.
Background Color	(Optional) Click the Color Picker icon next to the filed and select the desired color from the pop-up window that appears. If no background color is specified for the portal pane, the background color will be the normal background color defined in System Settings.	Search View content items always use the background color defined in System Settings. Custom Content items always use the background colors defined in their Java class files.
Show title bar	Select this check-box to display the title bar of the portal pane. For example: If the appropriate options are turned on, it also displays buttons so that users can edit, move, resize, or delete the portal pane. You can choose which options to turn on.	Changes made by one user from their own home page, do NOT affect the same home page of another user.
Editable by user	Select this check-box to allow users to edit the contents of the portal pane within their home page. The edit button is available from the portal pane title bar.

Portal Pane Setting Dependencies

How the settings of your portal pane take effect depends upon the settings of the home page on which that portal pane appears. The following table shows all the possible combinations of portal pane and home page settings, along with the resulting portal pane functionality:

Home Page and Portal Page Setting Combinations

Home page settings	Portal pane settings	Results
		For the portal pane, user can
		See title bar	Edit	Move	Resize	Remove

		X
		X	X
		X	X

		X		X	X
		X	X	X	X
		X	X	X	X

		X		X	X	X
		X	X	X	X	X

Portal Pane Contents

To specify what a portal pane displays, you select a content type. The content type determines the information that the user will access (such as tasks) or the action that they will perform (such as scheduling new appointments).

Portal pane content provides users with quick access to important company announcements, various tasks, search results, reports, Web sites, and so on.

The kinds of information that are added to portal panes are referred to as content types. The following table lists the various content types that you can include in a portal pane, along with a description and usage of each.

Portal Pane Content Types and Their Usage

Content type	Description	Use to
Action Link	Allows users to create new records from their home page or to access a TeamConnect user tool from their home page. When a user clicks an action link from a portal pane, the result is the same as selecting the corresponding options from either the Create a new or Tools drop-down lists in the user interface. The portal pane titled "Home Owner Claims" in the Administrator End-User Home Page Components image is an example of an action link. For more details about action links, see Adding Action Links.	Create the following records with or without a wizard: Accounts Appointments Contacts (can specify a New Company link or a New Person link) Contact Groups (Address Books) Custom Objects Expenses Invoices Tasks Access the following tools: Document Generator Expense Batch Entry Task Batch Entry Scheduler
Object Link	Allows users to open specific records or to search for specific records from their home page. When a user clicks an object link from a portal pane to search for a specific record, the result is the same as selecting the corresponding options from the Go to drop-down list in the user interface. The portal pane titled "Important Contacts" in the Administrator End-User Home Page Components image is an example of an Object Link portal pane. Also, allow users to open specific search screens from their home page. For details, see Adding Search View Object Links. Important: Search View object links function differently from the Search View content type. Search View object links are essentially links to a Filter tab of a search screen, whereas content items of the type Search View display the results of a search within the portal pane. For more details, see Adding Object Links.	Create links to access the following: Specific contacts Specific projects (custom object) Specific accounts Specific users Specific groups Search views Specific global forums
Search View	Allows users to view specific search results that appear within their portal pane. Search views in portal panes are the same search views defined for each object within TeamConnect. You can include any existing search view in a portal pane--provided that the Usable in Portal Panes option is selected when you create the search view. Tip: Create separate search views for portal panes. To learn more about Search View qualifiers, see Search View Filter Display. The portal pane titled "My Upcoming Appointments" in the Administrator End-User Home Page Components image is an example of a search view. For more details, see Adding Search Views.	Display search results for a specific search view within the portal pane in one of the following ways: Tabular view—Search results appear in a table format, like the Results tab of most search screens. Drop-down list—Search results appear in a drop-down list.
Report	Allows users to see a report's results, or to link to a report. The reports must already have been designed and tested. A report is implemented in a portal pane through the use of the tc:report tag or the tc:reportLink tag. Details about these tags are found in Using Tags to Embed Reports in Blocks.	Display report results in one of the following ways: Report results appear directly in the portal pane. A link in the portal pane allows the user to execute a report, or jump to a specific folder of reports.
Text	Serves both of the following purposes: Links to a network location. For example: `<a href="networkLocation" target="_blank">networkLocat ionLabel</a>` Important: You must specify a target attribute. If you do not, the network location opens in the same window as TeamConnect. Displays text to users upon viewing a particular home page. Messages can be displayed to the entire organization, or to a specific group of users, depending on who has access to the particular home page on which the portal pane appears. The portal pane titled "ClientGuard Messages" in the Administrator End-User Home Page Components image on page 306 is an example of a portal pane displaying text. For more details, see Adding Text.	Access network locations through hyperlinks. Display messages in plain text or HTML format. HTML content can also include references to files hosted on outside servers.
Web URL	Links to Web sites outside of TeamConnect. When a user clicks a Web URL link in a portal pane, the specified URL is passed directly to the Address field of a new browser window. Web URL links can be set based on what is necessary for the users to access and view. The portal pane titled "Important Web Links" in the Administrator End-User Home Page Components image is an example of a Web URL portal pane. For more details, see Adding Web URLs.	Access Web sites through hyperlinks.
Custom Content	Displays customized content and formatting through use of Java class files. The portal pane titled "My Stocks" in the Administrator End-User Home Page Components image is an example of a Custom Content portal pane. Note: To create a Custom Content portal pane, you need extensive experience with the Java programming language. For more details, see Adding Custom Content.	Access specialized content that is created with Java class files, such as TeamConnect publications, weather, stocks, and so on.
Web Intelligence URLs	(WebIntelligence only) Link to WebIntelligence reports. Important: You must have System Preferences set appropriately.	Access WebIntelligence software through hyperlinks.

Adding Action Links

To add an action link to portal pane content

Open the appropriate portal pane.
In the Portal Pane Contents section, select Action Link from the Content Type drop-down list.
Fill in the appropriate fields as described in the Portal Pane Content of Type Action Link table.
Click add more to add more content. If you are finished adding content, click Save.

The action link is added to the portal pane. You will see your changes when you add the portal pane to a home page.

Portal Pane Content of Type Action Link

Field	Description
Label	Enter a label (maximum 250 characters) that uniquely identifies the action link. The label you enter appears as a link within the user's portal pane. Tip: Start your label with a verb that identifies the action that the user can perform. For example, "Create a contact", "Schedule an appointment", or "Generate a document".
Unique Key	Enter an alphanumeric combination to uniquely identify the portal pane content. After you save the settings, you can edit this field only if it is blank. The unique key cannot contain spaces, underscores, punctuation, or any special characters and cannot exceed 50 characters in length. This is an optional field.
Links to	Select the action that should occur when the user clicks the link from the portal pane. The action will either be to create a new record or to open a tool. Caution: If you link to a user tool to which a user is not granted rights, the hyperlink still appears in the user's portal pane. However, the user will not be able to access the tool.
Custom Object Type	Select the specific custom object definition whose records you would like the user to create from the portal pane. This field appears when New Custom Object is selected from the Links to drop-down list.
Icon Image File	(Optional) Select an appropriate icon to display next to the action link within the portal pane. Icon image files are in the following location: //Top Level/System/Icons.
Wizard	(Optional) Select the wizard that the user will access when clicking the action link in the portal pane. The wizards defined for the object selected in the Links to field are available for you to select.
Order	Enter an integer to indicate the display order of the action link within the portal pane. If a portal pane contains more than one content item, they will be displayed in the order specified in this field, lowest number first. Note: Items with the same display order are sorted and displayed alphabetically.
Alignment	Select either Left, Center, or Right, to position the action link accordingly in the portal pane.

Adding Object Links

To add a record object link to portal pane content

Select Portal Panes from the Go to list. The Portal Panes screen appears.
Open the appropriate portal pane.
In the Portal Pane Contents section, select Object Link from the Content Type drop-down list.
The Object Type and Object fields appear in the Portal Pane Contents section.
Fill in the appropriate fields as described in the Portal Pane Content of Type Object Link table.
Click add more to add more content. If you are finished adding content, click Save.
The object link is added to the portal pane. You will see your changes when you add the portal pane to a home page.

The following table describes the object link items in the Portal Pane Contents section.

Portal Pane Content of Type Object Link

Field	Description
Label	Enter a label (250 characters max) that uniquely identifies the object link. The label appears as a link within the portal pane.
Unique Key	Enter an alphanumeric combination to uniquely identify the portal pane content. After you save the settings, the unique key appears as read-only text and cannot be deleted or modified. The unique key cannot contain spaces, underscores, punctuation, or any special characters and cannot exceed 50 characters in length. This is an optional field.
Links to	Select the desired object. The appropriate records are filtered in the Object field.
Object	Select an existing record from either a search module or a drop-down list. Users will link to the record from the portal pane. The options in the Object field vary depending on the item you selected from the Links to drop-down list. When selecting Contact, Project, or Account, the Object field appears as a search module. When selecting Group or Forum, the Object field appears as a drop- down list. Note: Only Global Forums are accessible through portal panes. When selecting User, the Object field can be displayed as either a search module or a drop-down list. This function for User is dependent on your System Preferences. Selecting Search View from the Links to drop-down list requires further explanation. For more information, see Adding Search View Object Links.
Order	Enter an integer to indicate the display order of the object link within the portal pane. If a portal pane contains more than one content item, they will be displayed in the order specified in this field, lowest number first. Note: Items with the same display order are sorted and displayed alphabetically.
Alignment	Select either Left, Center, or Right, to position the object link accordingly in the portal pane.

Adding Search View Object Links

A Search View object link provides the user with a link to a search view in the portal pane, which is different from displaying the search view itself in the portal pane, as described in Adding Search Views.

Whether the Filter or Results tab appears when the user clicks a Search View object link depends on the search view's settings:

If the Auto Search check-box is selected in the search view, then the Results tab appears. This is useful when the search view has search conditions predefined in the Filter Display tab.
If the Auto Search check-box is not selected in the search view, then the Filter tab appears. The user can then enter the appropriate criteria.

For more details about search view settings, see Creating Search Views.

To add a search view object link to portal pane content

Open the appropriate portal pane.
In the Portal Pane Contents section, select Object Link from the Content Type drop-down list.
Fill in the appropriate fields as described in the Portal Pane Object Link of Type Search View.
Click add more to add more content. If you are finished adding content, click Save.
The search view object link is added to the portal pane. You will see your changes when you add the portal pane to a home page.

The following table describes the object link items of type Search View in the Portal Pane Contents section.

Portal Pane Object Link of Type Search View

Field	Description
Label	Enter a label (maximum 250 characters) that uniquely identifies the object link to the search view. The label you enter appears as a link within the user's portal pane.
Unique Key	Enter an alphanumeric combination to uniquely identify the portal pane content. After you save the settings, you can edit this field only if it is blank. The unique key cannot contain spaces, underscores, punctuation, or any special characters and cannot exceed 50 characters in length. This is an optional field.
Links to	Select Search View from the list.
Search Object Type	Select the object in which the user will search for records from the portal pane. When selecting Project, the Custom Object drop-down list appears.
Custom Object	Select the specific custom object for which you would like the user to search. This field appears when Project is selected from the Search Object Type drop-down list.
Search View	Select the search view that the user will see in the portal pane. The options in this drop-down list display the search views of the object selected in the Search Object Type drop-down list, which can be used in the Portal Pane. For more details about search views, see Creating Search Views.
Order	Enter an integer to indicate the display order of the Search View object link within the portal pane. If a portal pane contains more than one content item, they will be displayed in the order specified in this field, lowest number first. Note: Items with the same display order are sorted and displayed alphabetically.
Alignment	Select either Left, Center, or Right, to display the Search View object link accordingly in the portal pane.