Object Creation Wizards 

Definition

Wizards provide guided assistance through a series of question-and-answer steps that are tailored to the type of object you are creating. The portal provides several customized wizards for creating iViews, pages, roles, worksets, and systems.

Structure

Some object types can only be created from an existing source object, while others can be created from scratch without a pre-existing existing object. The type of source object required depends on the object type.

New Object Type	Source Object Required to Create New Object
Business Object*	None (object is created without a portal component or a template)
iView	Any of the following: ·        Web Dynpro application ·        iView template** ·        Portal component***
Page	Any of the following: ·        Web Dynpro application ·        Page template**
Layout	Portal component***
Workset	None (object is created without a portal or a template)
Role	None (object is created without a portal application or a template)

^* Business objects and operations are not created using a wizard. For more information, see Business Object Importer.

^** Templates are content objects, stored in the PCD, which have been created from portal components or from other templates (see Creating a Template). The new object that you create inherits the property, values, and attributes defined in the object template, and adds or overwrites new properties defined by the wizard. The new object becomes a delta link to the template upon which it is based.

^*** Portal components are deployed in the application repository in the Portal Content Directory (PCD) by means of portal archive (PAR) files. Portal components are typically the code and services that execute the objects in run time (for example, the Java class that runs an iView). Portal components also contain a profile of properties, which supply the metadata parameters for the application to run.

User access permissions can be set for portal applications and templates, thus restricting which source objects a content administrator can use in the object wizards. See Permission Levels.

Use

·        When you create an object based on a deployed portal application, the wizard creates an object that is closest to the application's code.

·        When you create an object based on a template, you extend an existing chain of dependant objects that are related to one another through a delta link. Each new object you create may contain more properties values than the one preceding it as it progresses along the delta link chain.

To view the delta link source objects and dependents of an object, use the delta link tracer. See Tracing Delta Links Dependencies.

·        Each wizard is comprised of mandatory and voluntary parameters. Mandatory parameters are marked with a red asterisk (*). Once you have entered all mandatory parameters, the Finish button is clickable. This means you can complete the wizard before entering all voluntary parameters. It is recommended however, to follow the wizard to the final step before creating the object.

For information on object relationships, see Content Object Model.

Integration

The table below describes the default wizards supplied with the portal in the Portal Content Studio:

Object Type	Wizard
iView	iView Wizard (see Creating iViews)
Page	Page Wizard (see Creating a Portal Page)
Layout	Layout Wizard (see Running the Layout Wizard)
Role	Role Wizard (see Role Editor and Workset Editor)
Workset	Workset Wizard (see Role Editor and Workset Editor)

For more information on launching the various wizards, see Creating an Object.

After you complete the necessary steps in a wizard, you may edit the object in its editor (the editor depends on the object type). For more information, see Object Editors.

By default, all new iViews and pages are defined as non-template objects. To specify an iView or page as a template, open it in the Property Editor, and change the value of the Object is a Template property to Yes. See Defining Property Values.