Editing an Object

To edit an object (and Portal Catalog folders) and view its contents and properties, you must open it in its respective editor. When you open an object, the following happens:

If the object utilizes a specialized editor, such as the Page Editor for pages, the appropriate editor opens next to the Portal Catalog. See Object Editors.
If the object contains properties, they are displayed in the Property Editor, either to the right of the object editor, or in the place of it (if the object does not utilize a specialized editor).

The following table describes basic rules when editing objects in the Portal Content Studio:

Editing ...	Description
Parent objects	Parent objects are displayed in the Portal Catalog. To edit a parent object, you select it directly in the Portal Catalog. You can edit multiple objects at the same time. For example, you can edit two roles in parallel, and toggle between them as necessary. Tabs represent each parent object that is open in the editing area; the tab is located at the top of the editing area and includes the object's name. Choose a tab to bring the object into focus in the editing area.
Child objects	Child objects are assigned to parent objects; for example, iViews in pages. Child objects are not visible in the Portal Catalog. To edit a child object, open the parent object from the Portal Catalog to gain access to the relevant child object listed in the parent object's editor. When you edit a child object, its editor is displayed under the tab of the object's parent object. The path below the object tabs indicates the full path of the child object in relation to its parent. To navigate back to the parent object, click the name of the parent object displayed in the path. You may edit only a single child object of any parent at a time.
Folders	Folders behave in a similar way to parent objects (see above).

For more information about the interface of the Object Editor area, see Object Editor Interface.

Procedure

Editing Objects and Folders Listed in the Portal Catalog

Do one of the following:

To open the object in its primary editor, double-click it or right-click it and then choose Open Object in the context menu.
To open the object immediately in a secondary editor without launching its primary editor, right-click it, choose Open in the context menu, and then choose the appropriate menu option.
For example, right-click an object and choose Open Permissions to open it in the Permission Editor where you can set its permissions.

Object Locking and Read-only/Edit Mode

To prevent multiple portal users from editing the same object simultaneously, an object becomes locked to other users while you are editing it.

If you attempt to edit a locked object that is currently being edited by another user, the object opens in the selected editor in read-only mode. You receive a notification if this occurs, including the name of the user currently editing the object. The read-only mode allows you to view an object and its properties without making changes.

To see if you can edit an object when you have it open in read-only mode, click the Edit Mode button. If the object is no longer locked by another user, the editor changes to edit mode and you can modify the object. If the object is still locked it remains in read-only mode.

Caution Caution

If you are in editing mode and you try to save an object after the default locking timeout interval has passed, or an authorized administrator has taken the lock from you by force, you cannot continue editing or save the object. You receive a notification if this occurs.

End of the caution.

For more information about object locking and setting the locking timeout interval, see Object Locking.

Changing the Editor of an Object

While you are editing an object, you can switch between the object's primary and other secondary editors/tools. To do so, perform the following:

In the object editor toolbar, choose an option from the Display dropdown list.

Note

If you have made any changes to the object, save it before switching editors or tools.

End of the note.

To revert to the object's primary editor, choose Object from the Display dropdown list.

Editing Child Objects Displayed in an Object Editor

You can edit child objects that are assigned to a parent object. For example, iViews assigned to a portal page. Do the following:

Open the parent object in its primary editor (as described above).
In the editor, choose the child object that you want to edit.

Click one of the following buttons in the editor toolbar:

Edit

Displays the primary editor of the selected object in the editing area, and replaces the editor of the parent object. The properties of the object are also displayed in the Property Editor.

If the child object does not utilize a specialized editor, the Property Editor spans the entire editing area.

Properties

Displays only the properties of the child object in the Property Editor, without closing the primary editor of the parent object.

This enables you to access objects quickly without unnecessarily opening objects in their primary editor and keeping the child object's parent in focus.

To redisplay the properties of the parent object, click the parent object's name in the path displayed below the tabs.

Recommendation

Some editors displaying child objects (such as the Page Editor) enable you to right-click a child object and choose an action from a context menu.

End of the recommendation.

The following example describes the difference between these two options. Assume you are editing a page that contains a URL iView. You choose the iView in the page list, and click either:

Edit - the URL iView Editor is displayed in the editing area replacing the Page Editor, and the properties of the iView are displayed in the Property Editor replacing those of the page.
Properties - the properties of the iView are displayed in the Property Editor replacing those of the page. However, the URL iView Editor is not launched and thus the Page Editor of the page remains in the foreground.

For more information about using the Property Editor to edit object properties, see the following:

Navigating Between Objects in Editing Mode

To toggle between parent objects, click the object's tab in the editing area.
If you are currently editing a child object that is assigned to a parent object, either close the child object or click the parent object's name in the path displayed below the tabs to bring the parent object back into focus.