Configuring URL Parameters

Once you have defined the URL of the target Web page, you may need to configure parameters that are passed to the information source within the request URL.

The URL iView Editor allows you to do the following with URL parameters:

• Add, remove, and modify URL parameters

• Specify if a URL parameter is viewable by portal end users in the iView personalization window at runtime

• Specify if a URL parameter can be personalized by portal end users at runtime

• Assign intuitive display names to URL parameters (relevant to parameters that you set as viewable or personalizable by portal end users)

• Specify the URL request method (GET or POST)

1. Open the iView in the URL iView Editor.

   Note

   The editor does not display URL-specific parameters in the URL address within the URL box. URL parameters that were part of the URL referencing the selected Web page (the information source) are automatically removed from the source URL and displayed in the URL parameter list in the editor. At runtime, the portal automatically appends the URL and the listed parameters to the targeted URL request.

2. In the Request Method option, choose either GET or POST to specify the request method. The request method indicates how the browser sends information to the information source:

   Request Method	Description
   GET	This request method appends parameters to the URL when the data request is sent to the information source. The server receives the data in one long query string, which typically limits the length of parameters that can be passed. For example, a URL using the GET request method would be: http://www.google.com/search.asp?&querystring=SAP where querystring indicates the parameter identifier and SAP is the parameter value.
   POST	This request method sends parameters for the URL in the header of the data request stream; parameters are not appended to the URL. This allows for long parameters to be passed to a script and parsed one element at a time. For example, a URL using the POST request method would be: http://www.google.com/search.asp . Note POST is only supported when the Fetch Method property defined in the iView is set to Server-side . For more information, see URL iView Properties .

   Note

   For iViews that have a mixture of parameters sent by GET and POST together, you must:

   • Choose POST as the request method.

   • Set the Fetch Mode property to Server-side .

   • Append the GET_EXPLICIT_ prefix to the parameter identifier of each parameter that is sent by GET. For example, a parameter defined as searchstring should be defined as GET_EXPLICIT_searchstring . When the iView sends a data request, the prefix is removed from the parameter identifier at runtime. Parameters sent by POST do not require a special prefix.

3. To add a parameter, click Add below the table. A new entry is added to the parameter list.

   To remove a parameter, select the checkbox of the relevant parameter in the list and click Remove . Before doing so make sure the parameter is not required by the information source.

4. Define the attributes of existing or new parameters, as follows:

   Attribute	Description
   URL Parameter	This attribute specifies the parameter identifier as recognized by the information source. For example, in the URL http://www.google.com/search.asp?&querystring=SAP , the parameter identifier is querystring . Note As stated above, parameters that need to be sent by GET when the request method is defined as POST, must have the GET_EXPLICIT_ prefix. For example: GET_EXPLICIT_searchstring . Enter special characters that are present in the parameter identifier as is. Do not convert them to ASCII code. For example, enter first name , and not first%20name . At runtime, the portal encodes special characters to ASCII when fetching the iView data.
   Value	This attribute specifies the value of the parameter. This attribute is not mandatory. If you set the parameter value as personalizable by end users (for more information, see Personalize attribute below), then the value you enter becomes the default value for all users. If you set the parameter as not personalizable, then this value is fixed. Note Do not convert special characters in the parameter value to ASCII code; enter them as-is. If you set the data type of the parameter to User Information or System Information (see Type attribute below), enter a value that corresponds to a logical attribute of the UME (User Management Engine) API or an attribute of the Portal Runtime (PRT) request object, respectively. Before the iView sends a request to its target URL at runtime, the iView first sends a query to the UME or PRT; the value returned by any query is integrated into the iView's URL as the parameter value. For more information about the attributes supported by these data types, see the Attributes Supported by the 'User Information' and 'System Information' Data Types section below.
   Type	This attribute specifies the data type of the parameter. Choose one of the following options: String: Select this option for all parameter types whose value is a fixed integer or string (set either by the administrator or the end user) or which does not match one of the remaining data types in this list. User Information: Select this option if you want the parameter value to be based on a dynamic query to certain logical attributes used by the Java application API of the User Management Engine (UME). For more information, see the Attributes Supported by the 'User Information' and 'System Information' Data Types section below. System Information: Select this option if you want the parameter value to be based on a dynamic query to certain system attributes in the Portal Runtime (PRT) request object. For more information, see the Attributes Supported by the 'User Information' and 'System Information' Data Types section below. Mapped User: Select this option when the URL parameter designates a "user name" that is required to authenticate the user with the information source at runtime. Mapped Password: Select this option when the URL parameter designates a password that is required to authenticate the user with the information source at runtime. Note If you want to enable user mapping for the user name and password parameters, in the System drop down-down list, choose an appropriate system already defined in the portal, which contains the necessary settings. See Selecting a System .
   Personalize	This attribute specifies whether or not portal end users can view the parameter and its assigned value when they personalize the iView at runtime. This attribute also allows you to determine whether or not end users can personalize the parameter value. Note For Mapped User , Mapped Password , User Information , and System Information -type parameters, the value is Hidden and it cannot be changed. Choose one of the following options: Hidden: The end user does not see the parameter and its value. This is the default setting. Read / Write: The end user sees the parameter and is able to modify its value. Read Only: The end user sees the parameter and the fixed value assigned to it. The end user cannot modify the parameter value.
   Name	This attribute specifies an intuitive display name for the parameter identifier. If you set the parameter to be viewable by end users at runtime, this name is displayed instead of the parameter identifier, which is often abbreviated and unintuitive. This attribute is available only if Read / Write or Read Only is selected in the Personalize attribute. If you do not specify a name, the Personalize attribute is reverted to Hidden .

5. Click Save .