Managing Portlets (Ploud6)

Created by Kim Thiel, Modified on Thu, 10 Oct at 2:18 PM by Erik Kulvinskas

Portlets

In Ploud, a portlet is a small, modular visual element that can be added to a specific area of a web page, such as the right or left columns, or the footer. Portlets can be used to display a variety of information, such as the latest news, upcoming events, or a list of related documents. They can also be prepared to store their own set of fields, allowing users to add custom content to the portlet. Portlets are typically used to provide relevant information to users in the context of the current page, hierarchy, user, or group.

Portlet Inheritance

One of the powerful features of Ploud is portlet inheritance. This feature allows portlets to be inherited from parent folders to child folders, which can significantly reduce the amount of configuration needed when setting up a site. However, managing this inheritance effectively requires a good understanding of how it works.

How Portlet Inheritance Works

Default Behavior: By default, portlets added to a parent folder are inherited by all its child folders. This means that if you add a navigation portlet to the root (top-level) of your site, it will appear on all pages unless explicitly overridden.

Blocking Inheritance: Sometimes, you might want a child folder (sub folder) to have a different set of portlets than its parent. In such cases, you can block inheritance. This is done by accessing the portlet management interface for the specific folder and selecting the option to block portlet inheritance. Once blocked, you can add a new set of portlets specific to that folder.

Overriding Inherited Portlets: In some scenarios, you might want to keep the inherited portlets but add additional ones or modify existing ones. Ploud allows you to override specific portlets while still inheriting others. This provides flexibility in customizing the user experience for different sections of your site.

Adding a portlet to a page

As a Ploud user, you can add a portlet to a web page in a by following these steps:

Navigate to the web page where you want to add the portlet.

Click on the Manage portlets link in the site toolbar of the page and select the region on the page to modify. This will open the screen to manage portlets for the current item. You can manage the Left column portlets, Right column portlets, Footer portlets or All portlets at one time.

Note: you must have the appropriate permissions to add portlets to a web page. If you do not see the Manage portlets link, you may need to contact the site administrator to request access.

In the Add portlet... menu, select the portlet type that you want to add. This will open a form to edit the settings for the selected portlet type.

Click the Save button to save your changes and add the portlet to the web page. This adds the portlet to the list of Portlets assigned to this location.

Use the Up and Down arrows in the Portlet assigned here section to change the order in which the portlets will be displayed on the web page. The Hide button will deactivate the portlet. The X button deletes the portlet. These options will only appear where these portlets have been placed and not in areas where these portlets have been inherited.

Some examples of portlets include:

Static portlet ( Use this portlet to add third-party scripts)
Calendars
RSS feeds from external sites
Navigation menus
Library Locations
Customized text, images, and links like your "Locations & Hours" information

Portlets can be added to any page or folder on your site. Keep in mind portlet inheritance and adding a portlet to a folder (for example, your "News & Events" folder) will cause that portlet to appear not just for that folder but for any item that's created within it (unless you choose to block it in the child folder). Once created, a portlet can be modified, deleted, or moved above or below other portlets, but this can only be done from the location in which the portlet was created.

Where was my portlet created?

Because portlets can only be changed in the location where they were created, it is important to know how to find the correct folder or page. To do this, you can start anywhere you can see the portlet.

Open a page where the portlet you want to modify or delete is visible. Note its placement (right or left side of the screen) and position relative to the other visible portlets.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Manage portlets link to open the Portlet Management screen for that page.
Portlets are represented here by the portlet's title. Look for the one that corresponds to the portlet you're interested in.
If the portlet is listed under "Portlets assigned here," and you see up/down arrows and an "X" next to its name, that indicates that it was created at this location and it can be modified on this page.
If the portlet is listed under "Parent portlets," it was created at a higher-level location in your site's folder structure. There are two ways this can happen:
1. If the page or folder you are currently editing is contained within a folder, you should see a "Go to parent folder" link in the middle of the page.
  
  Clicking this will take you to the Portlet Management screen for that folder. If the portlet you're modifying was created here, you will see it in the Portlets assigned here section. You may have to go up multiple levels to find the folder in which it was created.
2. If the page you are currently editing is the default view for the folder, you may need to edit the portlets for the folder itself. If this is the case, you will see an Info message in the middle of the screen, above the page's title, indicating that this is the case. The message will read, "You are managing the portlets of a default view of a container. If you wanted to manage the portlets of the container itself, go here."
  
  Clicking on the hyperlink at the end of the message will take you to the Portlet Management screen for the folder, where you should see your portlet under Portlets assigned here.
  
  Libraries in general do not need to concern themselves with #6 and 7
If the portlet is listed under "Group portlets", this indicates that it is displayed for all members of a group to which your User ID belongs. To modify these, go to User Actions
(the menu that opens when you click your user name in the top right corner of the page)
> Site Setup > Users and Groups > Groups > [select Group] > Group Portlets.
If the portlet is listed under "Content type portlets", this indicates that it is displayed on all pages of a specified type. To manage these portlets, go to User Actions (the menu that opens when you click your user name in the top right corner of the page) > Site Setup > Types > [select type] > Manage portlets for this content type.

Conclusion

Managing portlets and their inheritance in Ploud requires careful planning and understanding of the site's structure. By leveraging portlet inheritance, you can streamline configuring portlets across your site, ensuring a consistent and efficient user experience. Whether setting up a new site or maintaining an existing one, mastering portlet management is a valuable skill for any Ploud administrator.