Working With Folders

How to:

Folders contain all repository content. Whenever a user creates a folder, it will always be created as a private folder. If the creator is permitted the necessary privileges, folders and their contents can be shared with other users or published for general use.

Folders have both titles and names. The title of a folder is typically displayed to users, and WebFOCUS uses the folder name as an internal reference to provide an unambiguous context for the content it contains. Titles can be duplicated within a container, but folder names cannot.

A folder path may have up to 1,040 characters for path information, excluding the object name, and up to 64 characters for the object name. For example, a folder may be named: /WFC/Repository/AmericaBank/Finance. In this example the path information, /WFC/Repository/AmericaBank/, is 28 characters, and the folder name, Finance, is 7 characters.

Note: In versions prior to WebFOCUS 8, published content is known as Standard Reports, and private content is known as My Reports.

Procedure: How to View Folder Properties

In order to view the properties of a folder, right-click a folder in the Resources tree or content area, and then select Properties. The Properties panel appears, displaying the information in the following table.

Item

Description

General Tab

Title

Displays the title that appears on the folder when it is displayed in the Resources tree or content area. This is the title by which end users identify the folder and is typically based on the contents in the folder.

Name

Displays a unique internal reference to the folder. This is the name used to identify the folder for internal operations. This field is dimmed and unavailable by default. Click the Change Name icon next to it to make this field available for name changes.

Summary

Displays a detailed explanation that provides additional information about the folder.

Path

Displays the full repository path of the parent folder.

Created

Displays the date and time the folder was created and the ID of the user who created the folder.

Modified

Displays the date and time the folder was last modified and the ID of the user who last modified the folder.

Accessed

Displays the date and time the folder was last accessed by the Properties, Run, or Run Deferred commands, or by any of the edit tools used to update the folder. It also displays the ID of the user or tool that last accessed the folder.

Owner

Displays the ID of the User to whom the folder is currently assigned.

Publish

Specifies whether the folder and its contents are published or not.

Show

Specifies whether to display the folder to users who are not permitted to create content in the folder. This option is primarily used when the folder needs to be made temporarily unavailable to end users who would otherwise be permitted to view or work with the content in the folder.

Advanced Tab

Folder Properties

Automatically Create My Content Folders

When this check box is selected, a My Content folder is created for users with the My Content Folder privilege, giving them a place to save the personal reports, charts, or documents that they may create using WebFOCUS Designer, InfoAssist, or other report and distribution features, such as Save Parameter reports.

Automatically Open

If this check box is selected, when you open the Workspaces view from the Hub, the WebFOCUS Home Page, or the Legacy Home Page and load the Resources tree:

  • The folder for this workspace on the Resources tree expands automatically and displays the My Content folder and other folders within it.
  • In the Hub Workspaces view, or on the WebFOCUS Home Page, the content area also automatically opens the folder for this workspace and displays the folders and items assigned to it.

Explorer/Portal Properties Group

Sort order

Specifies the order in which the folder is listed in the Resources tree and in the content area.

Language

Displays the language in which the folder and its content were created.

View All

Opens the Language Properties dialog box that displays the default language in which the folder and its contents were created and are displayed. If your environment supports multiple languages, this dialog box also contains entries for any additional languages made available by your code page selection.

Menu Icon

Contains the CSS class name of the icon that is used to represent this folder in the tabs above the full sized home page display or on the side menu when the display is less than full size. For more information see the Adding Icons to Portal Levels topic in the Building Portals technical content.

Show menu icons for children

When this check box is selected, folders and portals within this folder can display a menu icon in the tabs above the full-sized home page display or on the side menu when the display is less than full size.

Server Tab

Assign Server

Displays the assigned server and all available servers. When this check box is selected, the default WebFOCUS Server is not in use, and one of the available servers must also be selected.

When this check box is cleared, a WebFOCUS Server is not specified, and the report request is submitted to the default WebFOCUS Server that is specified in the WebFOCUS Client configuration.

Assign Application Path

Displays the assigned Application Path and all available Application Paths. When this check box is selected, the default Application Path is not in use, and one of the other available Application Paths must also be selected.

When this check box is cleared, an Application Path is not specified, and the default Application Path defined during the processing of the WebFOCUS Client configuration and the WebFOCUS Server configuration is used.

Procedure: How to Create a Folder

  1. In the Resources tree, navigate to the workspace or folder that will contain the new folder.

    Or

    In the breadcrumbs trail, click the link to the workspace or folder that will contain the new folder.

  2. In the Hub, select New Folder above the Resources tree.

    Or

    On the WebFOCUS Home Page, in the Action Bar, select the Other tab, and then click Folder.

  3. In the New Folder dialog box, type the title for the new folder, as shown in the following image.
    The New Folder dialog box with Name and Title.

    As you type, a unique value derived from the value in the Title field is simultaneously typed in the Name field. Any spaces or special characters you type in the Title field are automatically converted into underscore characters in the Name field. If you type an unbroken string of multiple special characters, such as &&&, in the Title field, the Name field automatically converts them into a single underscore character. If you prefer, you can modify the Name later.

  4. Click OK.

    The new folder appears in your selected location in the Resources tree and in the content area.

  5. Perform the following substeps to add an optional summary description of the folder:
    1. Right-click the new folder, and then click Properties.
    2. In the Properties panel, type the description in the Summary field.
    3. Click Save to save the description, and then click Cancel to close the Properties panel.

Procedure: How to Publish a Folder

In the Resources tree or content area, right-click a folder, and then click Publish.

The Resources tree refreshes and no longer displays the folder name in italics. The content area refreshes, removes the border from the folder, and displays the folder icon in full color.

Procedure: How to Unpublish a Folder

In the Resources tree or content area, right-click a folder, and then click Unpublish.

The Resources tree refreshes and displays the folder name in italics. The content area refreshes, displays a border around the folder, and displays the folder icon in gray.

Procedure: How to Duplicate a Folder

In the Resources tree or content area, right-click a folder and then click Duplicate.

In the Resources tree, a duplicate folder appears beneath the original folder. In the content area, the duplicate folder appears immediately to the right of the original or below it. The name and title of the duplicate folder are the same as those of the original, appended with an underscore and an integer that increases each time the folder is duplicated.

Notes:

  • The Duplicate menu option creates a copy of the folder in the same location as the original. Use the Copy and Paste options if you need to move a copy of a folder to a different location.
  • You cannot duplicate a workspace.

Procedure: How to Cut or Copy and Paste a Folder

  1. In the Resources tree or content area, right-click a folder, and then click Cut if you want to move the folder, or click Copy if you want to move a copy of the folder and leave the original folder in place.
  2. In the Resources tree, click the folder that represents the new location. Expand the tree to display the new location if necessary.

    or

    If the new location appears on the breadcrumb trail, click the folder that represents the new location.

  3. In the Resources tree, right-click the folder that represents the new location, and then click Paste.

    or

    Right-click anywhere in the content area of the new location, and then click Paste.

    The Resources tree and the content area refresh and display the folder.

    Folder names must be unique within a specific location. If you paste the folder to a different parent folder, its name remains the same, as long as no folder of that name already exists in the new parent. If a folder of that name already exists, or if you pasted the copy of the folder into the same folder as the original, the name of the copy is the same as the original, appended with an underscore and an integer that increases each time you paste the folder. Folder titles are updated in the same way as folder names.

    Note: You cannot cut and paste a workspace.

Procedure: How to Change a Folder Title

  1. In the Resources tree or content area, right-click a folder, and then click Properties.
  2. In the Properties panel, type the new Title in the Title field, and then click Save.

    The folder name is updated. If the new name changes the position of the folder in alphabetical order, the folder is also relocated on the Resources tree and within the content area.

  3. When your updates are complete, click Cancel to close the Properties panel.

Procedure: How to Delete a Folder

  1. In the Resources tree or content area, right-click a folder, and then click Delete.
  2. When you receive a message asking you to confirm the decision to delete the folder, click OK.

    The Resources tree and the content area refresh and remove the deleted folder.