How to Create a Custom Layout

A layout consists of a layout JSP page and a portalapp.xml file. The files are packaged in a portal application archive file (EAR) and deployed to the portal.

You can define several layouts in a EAR by providing for each layout a JSP page and a <component> element in the portalapp.xml file.

1. With the help of the layout tag library, create a JSP page that defines the following:

   • One or more containers on the page in which iViews can be placed.

   • The iView tray, or frame, in which each iView is placed. If you do not specify a tray, the portal displays the default tray, which provides links to standard tray functions, such as hiding, refreshing or personalizing the iView.

     You can specify one tray for each container. The tray is displayed for all iViews in the container.

   • Additional HTML that appears on each page.

   For more information on creating a layout JSP page, see Layout Tag Library .

2. Create a <component> element in a portalapp.xml file for the EAR and set the name attribute. Create one <component> element for each layout defined in the EAR.

   In the <component> element's <component-config> element, create the following <property> elements:

   Property	Mandatory	Description/Value
   ClassName	Yes	com.sapportals.portal.pb.layout.PageLayout
   ResourceBundleName	Yes	pagebuilder_nls

   In the <component> element's <component-profile> element, create the following <property> elements:

   Property	Mandatory	Description/Value
   ComponentType	Yes	com.sapportals.portal.layout
   com.sap.portal.pcm.Title	No	The display name of the layout
   com.sap.portal.pcm.Description	No	A layout description
   com.sap.portal.reserved.layout.TemplateFile	Yes	The name of the JSP page that defines the layout (relative to the PORTAL-INF\jsp directory)
   com.sap.portal.reserved.layout.Cont1, com.sap.portal.reserved.layout.Cont2, and so on	Yes	Each container defined in the JSP must have a property in the portalapp.xm l. The names of these properties should end in ContX , where X is a sequence number starting at 1 . The value is a name for the container.
   LayoutTagLibrary	Yes	/SERVICE/com.sap.portal .pagebuilder/taglib/layout.tld

   For each container profile property described above, you can include the following meta-properties:

   Property	Mandatory	Description
   plainDescription	Yes	The display name of the container
   orientation	Yes	Container orientation, which must be set to vertical
   designClass	No	A CSS class for wrapping the HTML tag created by the container: If the container's wrapping method attribute wrappingMethod="table" , the class is added to the table tag ( <table class="..."> ) If wrappingMethod="div" , the class is added to each div tag that wraps an iView (<div class="..."> ) If wrappingMethod="none" , this setting is ignored For more information about wrappingMethod, see container and containerWithTrayDesign .

3. Place the JSP pages in the PORTAL-INF/jsp directory, and create an EAR file with your JSP pages and deployment descriptor.

4. Deploy the EAR file.

5. In the portal, navigate to  Content Administration  Portal Content Management   Portal Content .

6. In the Portal Catalog, choose Portal Applications .

7. Locate and expand the application that contains your custom layout.

8. From the context menu of the object representing the layout, choose Copy .

9. Navigate to a folder of your choice, such as a folder where all custom layouts are stored. From the context menu of the folder, choose Paste as PCD Object .

10. Set the basic properties of the object, and choose Finish .

11. From the context menu of the object, choose  Open  Properties , and then choose All .

12. Make sure that the Object is a Template property is selected, and choose Close .

13. From the Portal Catalog, open any page, and choose Add/Remove Layouts . Verify that your layout appears in the Available Layouts list.