Understanding the Portal Desktop 
The portal desktop refers to the entire portal screen, including any displayed content and its layout. It also contains the tools you need to personalize your portal.
The portal desktop is divided into the following areas:
Header Area |
The part of the portal that remains static when you navigate from one tab or page to another. This area contains the masthead, tools, and, subject to your administrator's configurations, the top-level navigation iView. |
Page Title Bar |
An iView displayed below the header area containing information, links, and icons pertaining to the personalization, navigation, and action options of the displayed page. |
Navigation Panel |
The left-hand pane just below the page title bar, reserved for navigation iViews composed of content trees, interface controls, and links to various types of content |
Content Area |
The part of the desktop that displays content, either pages containing iViews, or single iViews. It changes when you navigate from one page/iView to another.
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Note
If your portal administrator has configured the portal to use the Ajax Framework Page, some of the functions described here may appear in locations on the page that are different to those described here. For example, Personalize may appear as a menu in the header area and not as a link.
Header Area
The masthead contains:
Company branding, with company name and logo
Welcome text, usually consisting of a welcome message and your user name
Any or all of the following function links:
Help – By default, launches the SAP Help Portal. From there you can navigate to view the current Getting Started - Using SAP Software guide for your version of the portal.
Your administrator can change the URL of this link, in which case, you may reach a site other than the SAP Help Portal.
Personalize – Opens a separate window containing personalization options for your portal's functions, as well as the look and feel of the portal. For more information, see Setting Portal Preferences. This link is not displayed if you are logged on as an anonymous user.
New Session – Opens an additional instance of the current portal session in a new browser window.
Log Off – Terminates your portal session and returns you to either the portal logon screen, or to an external logout page defined by your portal administrator. This link is not displayed if you are logged on as an anonymous user.
Log On – Appears only if your portal is configured to support anonymous users. This link lets you log on as an authenticated user. For more information, see Logging On to / Off the Portal.
The tools area appears only if you have Knowledge Management (KM) installed with your portal. It contains:
A Collaboration link to the Collaboration Launch Pad.
A Search tool for searching Knowledge Management (KM) data repositories
The top-level navigation bar is your entry point for navigating the content assigned to your roles. Depending on your portal settings you may be able to change the order of the tabs. Top-level navigation consists of either:
One level of tabs
The first level tabs usually reflect the tasks of a specific role.
Choosing a tab displays all subsequent levels of content, including additional roles and folders that are assigned to you, in a tree structure in the Detailed Navigation area in the navigation panel.
A first level of tabs and a second level of subtabs
Choosing a first-level tab displays its subtabs.
If hovering is enabled in your portal, then pointing to a first level tab displays its subtabs. Note that a portal that has its Accessibility flag turned on will have its hover feature disabled.
The subtab folders compartmentalize the role into manageable tasks. Folder contents can include other folders, pages, and iViews.
Choosing a subtab:
Displays the next level of content in the Detailed Navigation iView.
Launches a service or page that provides relevant content, if there is no third level of content.
Your portal can also be configured with no top-level navigation. In such a case, all your content is displayed in the Detailed Navigation iView.
Page Title Bar
From this iView you can navigate directly to recently visited pages, as well as launch various page-specific options. For more information, see Page Title Bar.
Navigation Panel
The iViews in the navigation panel are displayed only if they contain content related to your task. They change contextually according to the information appearing in the content area.
Contains links to your content, displayed in a tree format of role-based folders.
Displays data navigation iViews that contain user interface controls, such as menus and links. Use these controls to retrieve specific information to display in the content area.
Contains a list of links whose target topics are relevant to the iView or portal page with which you are currently working.
The links are predefined on the iView and the page levels. Choosing an object in Related Links opens its content in a new browser window.
Contains a list of links that access your favorite content in the portal, as well as KM folders and documents.
This iView appears only if you have KM installed and your administrator has configured the relevant settings.
Structure
The navigation panel, by default, is expanded only if at least one of its iViews has content to display.
If a specific property has been configured for certain pages and iViews in your content, the panel is initially collapsed or expanded whenever you launch one of these objects, irrespective of the status of the navigation iViews in the panel.
By manipulating the navigation panel, you can increase and decrease the size of the panel or the content area, respectively.
To expand the navigation panel, choose the single arrow in the upper left corner of the panel. The panel opens and the arrow changes direction.
To collapse the navigation panel, choose the same arrow again.
To incrementally resize the navigation panel, in the upper left corner of the panel choose the arrow that points in the direction you need.
Content Area
The area of the portal desktop reserved for performing tasks, and in which navigation results and portal pages with iView content are displayed.
The displayed information can be from any accessible data resource, such as an application, company files, or a Web site.