Create page templates
To simplify the creation of pages, define pre-configured page templates when creating new pages.
We configure a template page like any portal page and add pre-configured portlets. Whenever a new page is created from the template, the page layout, portlets, and portlet configuration from the template are copied to the new page. We can also associate a page template with a community in IBM Connections or with a site area in WCM. When such an association is present, pages created from the template can automatically create the associated community or site area.
When a new page is created from a template, no reference to the template page used to create the page is maintained. This action means that all changes applied to a template page after pages are created from this template are not propagated to any of the pages that exist.
- Click...
Administration > Portal User Interface > Manage Pages > Content Root > Hidden Pages > Page Templates
Virtual portals do not include the Page Templates label by default. However, we can add the label manually. When we do so, ensure that you give the label the unique name of wps.content.template.root.
- Create the page to be used as a template by clicking New Page or New Page from.
- New Page creates a standard portal page. Set a title for the page and any other page characteristics, as we would for a standard portal page.
- New Page from creates the page from an existing template. Set a title for the page and any other page characteristics. If we intend to add a content association to the template, ensure specified a friendly URL for the page. Select the page template to use as the basis for the new template.
- Save the new template.
- Make any further updates to the template that we require. These updates might include changes like adding portlets, adjusting the layout, setting page parameters, adding wires, or adding associations to a Web Content Manager site area or IBM Connections community.
Results
After saving the changes, the new template page is available in the list of templates when creating pages with the Manage Pages portlet or the site toolbar.
When we create a page from a template, the following elements are copied to the new page:
- Portlet entities, including portlet preferences
- Page layout and style
- Theme and skin settings
- Portlet wires for communication with other portlets
- Page parameters
- Page description (all languages)
Page titles in any language are not copied.
Hierarchical templates: It is possible to create a hierarchy of templates, for examples, a parent template page with a child page. If the page metadata ibm.portal.instantiation.page.include.descendants is set to true on the parent page, then creating a page from the parent template not only creates a single page but the complete hierarchy that includes the children.
Web content associations: If the page template contains a content association to a site area in a content library, the following changes take place automatically when a page is created from the template:
- A new site area is created. The title of the site area is derived from the title of the new page.
- The site area is created as a child of the site area associated with the parent page of the new page. This support requires the parent page have a content association defined.
- All site area properties and all content items are copied over to the new site area. The copied content also includes any nested content.
- The default content association on the new page is modified to reference the newly created site area.
Community associations: If the page template contains an association to a community in IBM Connections, the following changes take place automatically when a page is created from the template:
- A new community is created in IBM Connections, the name of the community is derived from the title of the new page.
- The community association on the new page is modified to reference the newly created community.
Parent Manage page properties