Portal Usage and Administration

Upload Role from Package

New

The content administrator can now directly upload roles from SAP Business Suite packages previously deployed to the portal, using the  New  Role  Role from Package  option in the context menu of the target folder in the Portal Catalog. The tool displays a list of available roles by business package, by role name, or by current user in the Portal Catalog. When the selected role is uploaded, it is added directly to the selected folder in the Portal Catalog.

For more information, see Uploading Roles from Packages .

Upload Role from Back-End System

New

The content administrator can now choose to upload roles directly from ABAP systems using the  New  Role  Role from Back End  option in the context menu of the target folder in the Portal Catalog. The Role Upload wizard allows the administrator to search for the role in the selected back-end system, and then upload the role with its contents directly into the folder from which the upload was initiated.

For more information, see Uploading Roles from Back-End Systems .

Support for SAP Business Suite Role Structure

New

To support the structure of roles imported to the portal from the SAP Business Suite, certain content-management functions have been added, and others enhanced or changed. The content of this type of role is designed and ordered according to the strict layout and hierarchy defined in the SAP NetWeaver Standards and Guidelines for Pattern-Based User Interfaces . In the portal, roles created according to the SAP NetWeaver guidelines for user interfaces are called workcenter roles . All content of these workcenter roles is created and edited directly within a new Workcenter Role editor in the portal. Pages and iViews from one workcenter role can be reused in other roles as well. Standard portal-based roles are now called freestyle roles .

For more information, see Understanding Workcenter Roles and Adding and Editing Content in Workcenter Roles .

Generic Portal Application Layer (GPAL) Repositories

New

The GPAL repositories provide portal content administrators with access to content and applications that can be used to create portal content. The content is exposed in repositories in the Portal Catalog from which you can create Portal Content Directory (PCD) objects. You copy repository objects into the PCD to use them in the portal.

For more information, see Working with GPAL Repositories .

Framework Page Configuration

New

The Framework Page Configuration tool provides you with access to a predefined set of properties that you can use to configure the framework pages in your portal.

For more information, see Creating and Editing a Framework Page .

Workcenter Role Editor

New

The Workcenter Role editor has been designed to add new content and edit existing content of workcenter roles, according to the specific structure and layout defined for this type of role. The editor itself is designed to reflect the standard structure of an SAP Business Suite role, including:

• Standard second-level navigation entries: Overview, Reports, and Service Map

  Note

  You can also create a Service Map for the entire workcenter.

• Detailed navigation views

• Services

• Navigation targets

• Content area

Like the Freestyle Role editor, the administrator can add content from the Portal Catalog and from the Detailed View tile, and can open each object in the role for editing.

For more information, see Adding and Editing Content in Workcenter Roles .

Tabsets

New

Administrators can define subsets of entry points, called tabsets, so that portal users only see a selected group of entry points in top-level navigation. Portal users can then access these tabsets from the View menu in the header area, or choose to display all entry points.

For more information, see Creating Tabsets .

Detailed View Tile

New

The Detailed View tile in the navigation panel displays a tree structure of the object selected in the Portal Catalog, including views and services used in workcenter roles. You can use the Detailed View to:

• Reuse an object in a different role, workset, or page

• Add pages and iViews as views, services, or as home pages to an open workcenter role

• Copy the PCD ID of an object

• Copy the URL of the object

For more information, see Using the Detailed View .

Content Model Management

New

The portal system administrator can use this new feature to facilitate content management by grouping object properties into specific categories. Presently, the administrator can group properties into a basic category, which contains the required properties for defining the object. Subsequently, when the user opens the Properties editor for a portal object, the interface displays a Basic tab of properties by default and an All tab containing the standard, complete Properties editor.

For more information, see Managing the Content Model and Editing Object Properties .

Analyzing Portal content

New

Content administrators can run a number of tests to make sure that design-time objects do not potentially cause any problems at runtime and that they conform to a set of predefined content creation guidelines.

For more information, see Analyzing Portal Content .

Portlet Applications Repository

Enhanced

The Portlet Applications repository now supports the JSR-286 standard, including backward compatibility with the previous JSR-168 standard.

Object Creation Wizards

Enhanced

The object creation wizards have been improved as follows:

• The look and feel has been enhanced and standardized.

• A set of navigation buttons is displayed immediately below the wizard road map steps.

• The last step of each wizard is a What's Next page that lists the subsequent functions that the administrator can perform.

For more information, see Creating Portal Objects .

Properties Editor

Enhanced

The following enhancements have been added to the Properties editor:

• The list of properties has been divided into a short list of Basic properties that are most relevant for the object type, and the use of an All tab to display the full list of properties.

• The look-and-feel has been enhanced.

• A new Modify Properties button at the top right of the Properties editor activates Modify mode, showing in white the properties that can be modified, and in blue those that cannot be modified.

For more information, see Editing Object Properties .

Renaming of Default Framework Page

Changed

The Default Framework Page has been renamed to Classic Framework Page . The object ID and the functionality it provides have not changed.

The Ajax Framework page is the default framework page for all new SAP NetWeaver Portal installations. If you are upgrading from a previous version, the Classic Framework Page remains the default framework page.

For more information, see Classic Framework Page and Ajax Framework Page .

Refreshing Isolated iViews

Changed

When a page contains iViews whose isolation method is set to Embedded together with iViews using the URL isolation method, the state of the content in the iView using the URL isolation method can be lost when the Embedded iView is refreshed.

To avoid loss of content, you can now set the Do Not Refresh Isolated iViews property to True to prevent the iView from being refreshed.

For more information, see Isolation Method of iViews .

Renaming of Portal Content Workset

Changed

The name of the Portal Content workset, which contains the Portal Content Studio, has been changed to Portal Content Management .

Reorganization of Top-Level Navigation and Detailed Navigation Items

Changed

SAP NetWeaver Portal has undergone a major reorganization of the items in the top-level navigation and detailed navigation in System Administration and Content Administration roles. Items have been moved, renamed, and removed.

For details, see Reorganization of Top-Level Navigation and Detailed Navigation .

Ajax Framework Page

New

SAP NetWeaver Portal now provides an additional framework page with JavaScript libraries, which leverage standard and nonproprietary Ajax technology. The Ajax Framework Page offers the SAP Signature Design theme (an SAP visual design that offers a harmonized interface for SAP's diverse software products) as the default look and feel for the portal.

The underlying Ajax technology, together with enhanced client-side caching, ensures that most of the portal page functionality is moved to the client side at runtime and that asynchronous data transfer takes place between the server and the client. The result is a significant improvement in the usability of the portal as a result of reduced server load and a flicker-free portal experience. These improvements apply specifically to navigation.

The Ajax Framework Page is the default framework page for all new SAP NetWeaver Portal installations. If you are upgrading from a previous version, the Classic Framework Page remains the default framework page.

For more information, see Ajax Framework Page .

OBN Cache

New

The object-based navigation feature of SAP NetWeaver Portal now maintains a repository to cache OBN data.

The OBN cache improves the performance of navigation to previously used OBN targets.

The OBN cache is enabled by default.

For more information, see Activating the OBN Cache .

Navigation Zoom

New

The navigation zoom feature enables users to view isolated subject areas of the portal separately from the rest of the portal.

Content administrators can define a navigation node in the Detailed Navigation iView as a navigation zoom point. At runtime, navigation zoom points appear as folders with an arrow inside the folder icon. Clicking a navigation zoom point replaces the main portal screen with a screen displaying a subset of the navigation hierarchy. Clicking the arrow beside the navigation zoom point in the Detailed Navigation iView expands that folder to reveal its contents, without replacing the portal screen.

Administrators can also define a different portal desktop and title for the navigation zoom.

For more information, see Configuring Navigation Zoom .

Navigation Cache

Changed

To improve performance, the portal caches the navigation entry points and navigation nodes required by a user. This mechanism now caches the navigation hierarchy per navigation connector, and a new user interface has been introduced that enables you to do the following:

• Enable and disable caching

• Clear the navigation cache

• View cache data and cache statistics

• Record the navigation activities in your portal and store cache-related properties to improve performance

• Load all the roles of a specified user into the navigation cache before the user accesses the content

For more information, see Navigation Cache and Creating Navigation Connectors .

Sorting Entry Points

Changed

The Sort Initial Nodes property has been moved from the com.sap.portal.navigation.helperservice/navigation_events_helper service to com.sap.portal.navigation.service/navigation .

For more information, see Defining the Sort Sequence of Navigation Nodes .

Recording Changes to PCD Objects

New

Change recording integrates the Portal Content Directory (PCD) with the Change and Transport System for Java (CTS+). The aim of change recording is the automatic distribution of changes made to objects in the PCD to other systems in the landscape. This means that all PCD objects that are changed, whether they are created, modified, or deleted, are automatically added to a user changelist. Upon activation of the changelist, the objects are exported and distributed to other systems in the landscape using CTS+.

For more information, see Managing Change Recording in the Portal .

Transport - Folder Synchronization

New

Folders can be added to transport packages as synchronized folders so that changes to content in the Portal Catalog are automatically reflected by the content in the package.

For more information, see Adding Content to a Transport Package .

Checking Role Connectivity

New

The back-end connections of the iViews in a role can be tested.

For more information, see Checking Role Connectivity .

Opening Permissions Editor

New

You can now open the Permissions editor from the context menu of the top-level GPAL folders.

To configure permissions of a GPAL folder, choose  Open  Permissions .

New System Wizard

Enhanced

The wizard for creating a new system includes the addition of system aliases, configuration of system properties, and checking the back-end connection of the system.

For more information, see Creating Systems .

Assigning Aliases in the System Landscape Overview

Enhanced

The system landscape overview enables the assigning of system aliases to systems and systems to system aliases.

For more information, see System Landscape Overview .

Adding Themes to a Portal Transport Package

Enhanced

You can now include themes in a portal transport package.

For more information, see Transporting Portal Objects .

Activity Data Collector

Enhanced

The activity data collector is now activated and configured in portal system administration pages, and not in SAP NetWeaver Administrator.

For more information, see Activating and Configuring the Activity Data Collector .

Favorites

New

In the Ajax Framework Page , the Favorites menu displays items marked as favorites in the portal, as well as in Knowledge Management and other systems connected to the portal.

Portal users can organize their favorites using a new interface accessed from the Favorites menu.

For more information, see Adding and Organizing Favorites and Enabling the 'Organize Favorites' Dialog Box .

Portal Search

New

Administrators can add a search field to the portal masthead. Portal users can use this search field to access different search providers, such as Enterprise Search and Knowledge Management search. Administrators can configure portal search to display search suggestions as the user types the search string.

You configure the search providers and indexing mechanism in a new interface in the System Admin role.

For more information, see Searching in the Portal and Configuring Search Providers .