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Background documentationUnderstanding Portal Desktops Locate this document in the navigation structure

 

For portal users, a portal desktop defines the structural layout and design of the portal workspace displayed on the screen. It is a structured collection of iViews, pages, themes, and layouts, which can be personalized at runtime.

In the design time environment, a portal desktop is a collection of framework pages and portal themes, which is defined and customized by content and system administrators, and ultimately assigned to portal users through portal display rules.

  • Framework page: Defines the layout of navigational and structural elements in the portal desktop. For more information, see Understanding Framework Pages.

    A portal desktop may contain more than one framework page. The administrator responsible for configuring the portal desktop object sets the active framework page.

  • Portal theme: Defines the overall look-and-feel of user interface elements in a portal desktop, such as color, contrast, and font usage. For more information, see Understanding Portal Themes.

    A portal desktop may contain more than one portal theme. The administrator responsible for configuring the portal desktop object sets the default portal theme.

 

Portal desktops combine personalization and scenario-based options for portal users at runtime:

  • The flexibility of framework pages enable administrators to design custom-made navigation layouts that suit various portal user experiences. For example, thin desktops can support dial-up connections, while customized framework pages support different navigational needs for a company's employee intranet and customer-based extranet.

    Portal users automatically receive the appropriate framework page based on transparent display rules, which are predefined by the portal administrator. See Understanding Portal Display Rules.

  • Administrators assign multiple themes to a desktop to provide portal users with the freedom to choose a portal theme to personalize the look and feel of their portal desktop.