Portal navigation and back button behavior

 

 

Overview

This section describes how the portal states relate to browser windows and how they affect the appearence of a portal page.

 

The portal states

The behavior of the portal is explained using a model with three states:

The portal behavior described in the following applies only if the setting for Request IDs is turned off by the portal default in the file...

/config/services/ConfigService.properties

...as follows...

uri.requestid = (false)

 

Model State

The model state defines what is available for view via the browser accessing the portal. Examples of the model state are page hierarchies, and the containment hierarchy and portlets within a page. The model state is held persistently within the portal database. It includes, for example, the following:

 

View State

The view state defines how the model state is viewed. Examples of the view state are the minimized or maximized size of a portlet window or the expanded or collapsed view of a portlet menu. The view state is held transiently per portal session, that is, it is discarded after session logout. It can optionally be persisted at logout or session expiry time to allow for resume to that same state. The same user can have more than one portal session operating on the same model state, but with different view states. The view state includes the following:

 

Navigational State

The navigational state defines where in the portal a user has navigated with a browser window. Examples of the navigational state are the currently selected root page or page. The navigational state is held per browser window in the URL. This applies only if the mentioned RequestID configuration parameter is set to false.

The same user can open multiple browser windows during a portal session. The same user can have more than one browser window of the same portal session operating on the same view state, but with different navigational states. The navigational state includes the following:

 

Behavior of new portal sessions

The portal has only one model state per user. This results from the unique database entry for that user. The model state can take on different view states, if the user logs on to the portal in more than one session. Each view state can take on different navigational states if the user opens a new browser window from one portal session.

Users can log in to the portal in more than one session. This applies only if the browser allows multiple cookies from the same domain, or if two different browser applications are used.

The sessions share the same model state which defines what is available to the user for view. The view and navigational states can vary between the sessions.

The following table shows an example combination:

Model stateView stateNavigational state
Portal database   Portal session 1
(portlet minimized)   		Browser window 1
(navigational state 1)
Portal session 2
(portlet maximized)   		Browser window 2
(navigational state 2)

 

Behavior of the back and forward buttons

Clicking the back button changes the navigational state and in many cases the view state of the current browser window to the previous window.

The back and forward buttons have no general undo and redo function for click actions or processing steps previously performed with a portlet.

The exact reaction of the portal on clicking the back or forward buttons depends on the currently active portlet, that is the last portlet with which the user worked.

 

Behavior of the back button when request IDs is enabled

If the setting for the request IDs is set to on (uri.requestid = true; note, however, that the default setting is off), using the back button of the browser will not even change the navigational state of the portal. This means that clicking the back button will not change the appearence of the page.

If users click the back button repeatedly in the attempt to undo a previous click action, they will eventually return to the URL address from before they entered the portal. This way, in effect they leave the portal.

See also