Using the Easy Selector

How to:

The Easy Selector provides a simple way to add content to a portal at run time, without opening the Resources tree. It also allows you to control which items users can access.

You can enable the Easy Selector feature on a container or a column level.

Procedure: How to Use the Easy Selector Container

  1. Sign in to WebFOCUS as a developer or an administrator.
  2. In the Resources tree, populate a new or existing folder with the content that you intend to make available through the Easy Selector at run time.

    Note: Ensure that the folder only includes file content and no subfolders.

  3. Ensure that the folder is published.
  4. Create a new portal or edit an existing portal.
  5. In the Portal Designer, on the Insert tab, in the Containers group, click Easy Selector.

    The Easy Selector container is added to the portal page. The Browse For Folder dialog box opens next to the Easy Selector container, allowing you to select a target folder.

  6. Optionally, navigate to the folder that you that want to display inside the Easy Selector at run time, and then click OK. If no target folder is selected, the entire repository displays at run time, allowing the user to explore all available workspaces and folders.

    Note: You can change the folder location by clicking the Select Folder button in the Properties panel, and navigating to a different folder. It is not recommended to change the folder location after the end users have begun using the Easy Selector.

  7. Create additional Easy Selector containers, if needed.

    Note: You can multiselect the containers by holding the Ctrl key.

  8. Click Save, and close the Portal Designer.
  9. Run the portal where you added the Easy Selector containers.

    When the portal opens, it displays the Add content button in each column for which you have enabled the Easy Selector.

  10. Click the Add content button.

    The Select Item dialog box opens.

  11. Select the item that you want to display and click Add, as shown in the following image.
    Easy Selector container at run time

    The selected item opens inside the Easy Selector container.

Procedure: How to Use Easy Selector in a Column

  1. Sign in to WebFOCUS as a developer or an administrator.
  2. In the Repository, populate a new or existing folder with the content that you intend to make available through the Easy Selector at run time.

    Note: Ensure that the folder only includes file content and no subfolders.

  3. Ensure that the folder is published.
  4. Create a new portal or edit an existing portal.
  5. In the Portal Designer, right-click the page canvas, and click Page Layout.
  6. From the Choose a Layout menu. Set the page layout to One Column, Two Columns, Three Columns, or Four Columns.

    Note: Easy Selector functionality is only available for columnar layouts. It is not available for the Single Area and Fluid Canvas layouts. In addition, the Easy Selector feature is not available for use with the Responsive container.

  7. With the page canvas selected, in the Properties panel, clear the Lock Page check box and select the Prevent Layout Change check box.

    Note: This configuration allows users to add new content to a portal at run time, while preventing them from changing the column layout, which is important for the Easy Selector.

  8. In the Properties panel, click Container Defaults.

    The Container Defaults dialog box opens. Here you can customize the drop-down menu for the items that are displayed on the portal page at run time. Click OK to close the Container Defaults dialog box.

  9. Select a column.
  10. In the Properties panel, select the Show Easy Selector check box.

    The Browse For Folder dialog box opens and displays the same folder structure that you see in the Repository, as shown in the following image.

  11. Click the folder you that want to display inside the Easy Selector at run time, and then click OK.

    Note: You can change the folder location by clicking the Select Folder button and navigating to a different folder. It is not recommended to change the folder location after the end users have begun using the Easy Selector.

  12. Modify any other columns to use the Easy Selector, if needed.

    Note: You can multiselect the columns by holding the Ctrl key.

  13. Click Save and close the Portal Designer.
  14. Run the portal where you added the Easy Selector containers.

    When the portal opens, it displays the Add content button in each column for which you have enabled the Easy Selector.

  15. Click the Add content button.

    The Select Item dialog box opens.

  16. Select an item from the list and click Add.

    The selected item opens and a new Add content button displays in the next column. This allows you to add the remaining items that are available to you. You can also multiselect items inside the Select Item dialog box, as shown in the following image.

    Easy Selector in a column

    Additionally, you can replace an item on the portal page with any item from the Select Item dialog box. You can access the Replace option by clicking the arrow in the upper-right corner of the container panel.

    Note: The Add content button disappears and the Replace option becomes inactive after the last item in the Select Item dialog box is added to the page.