Pages

The third main folder inside the Panel Portal toolbox is the “Pages” folder. This is where you set up all your portal pages. To create a new page, right-click on Pages in the Panel Portal toolbox and choose Insert, or right-click an existing page and choose Duplicate. The figure below is a preview of the page “Home”.

Figure 1 - Previewing a portal page

To see the page set-up, click the Layout tab.

Editing a Page

If we enter the page called “Home”, and click the “Layout” tab, we are taken to the Portal Designer of that page. This is where you choose which Visual Components are to be used on that page, and the components' positions on the page.

Figure 2 - Editing a Page

Assume that on this page we want to show some text (the text element), an external link, and a link to the page called “Login” - . We have also inserted an image on the page. We have right-clicked on the page, and under page properties, set the Page Master for this page to be “Default Master” (go to Editing your Page Masters and Portal Pages for more information). The element called “Page Area” determines where the page (portal page) is to be located on the overall page (Page Master).

In other words, overall browser views are set up as Page Masters, and the individual portal pages are set up under “Pages”. For each page you assign a Page Master (if you do not do this then the default Page Master will be used). The portal pages will always appear on the screen where the Visual Component “Page Area” is placed - (see the figure below). The figure below holds the overall look-and-feel (the various selectors, navigators etc.), and the portal page “Home” is placed where the Page Area element is. The figure here at the bottom of the page shows how the page is displayed on screen to the panelist.

Figure 3 - The location of the Page Area component in the page master

Figure 4 - The Preview tab - the page as the panelist will see it

Set as Default / Set as Login

In the same way as one Theme is set to be default, one page is also set as default; for example the starting page (home page). To do this, right-click on the page and choose Set as Default. This will show the default page each time a new visitor enters the portal.

The page you wish to use as the login page must also be specified. To do this, right-click the desired page and select Set as Login - . This will display the text “LOGIN” next to the login page in the Panel Portal toolbox.

Figure 5 - Selecting Set as Login

Folders

Folders are used inside the “Pages” section to create a menu system for the portal pages. Each folder used will be a menu item in the portal menu bar, and the pages within the folder will be submenu items. To create a folder:

1. Right-click on an item in the toolbox below which you wish to create the folder, then select Insert Folder (After) to insert a new folder.
2. To place pages inside the folder, either right-click on the folder and select Insert Page (Inside), or drag-and-drop existing pages into the folder.

You can create folders within folders. Note here in the figure below how the pages “Home”, “Join Community”, and “FAQs” come up as separate pages on the menu bar. The folder “Members Only” then creates a drop-down menu that leads to all the pages inside the folder. The page “Lost Password” has been set to “Invisible” under page properties, so it does not show in the preview here. The login page is treated differently. This page only shows when the user attempts to enter a restricted page.

Figure 6 - Using Folders and pages to create menus and sub-menus for the respondent

Page Properties

To alter properties for a portal page, right-click on the page in the toolbox and choose Properties from the drop-down menu. The Page Properties page opens - .

Figure 7 - The Page Properties page

• To specify which Page Master is to be used for the page (go to Editing your Page Masters and Portal Pages for more information)
• If you want this page to be accessible only to people who are logged in, check the Protected property. If a page is not protected, all visitors can see the page.
• Under Navigator Item, specify whether you want the page to be visible on the menu bar.
• Visible - check the box if you want to ensure the page will be visible all the time.
• Hide When Logged In - if you have a page that you do not want to be visible to people who are logged in, check this box.
• Visible when not logged in - uncheck the box for pages you want to hide to all people not logged in. The page is then available only for people who are logged in.
• Use the Title fields to specify what you want the page to be called in each portal language.
• Use the Description fields to specify the text that is to appear when people point to the page on their screens (mouse-over). Again, there will be a text field for each portal language.