Static content

Static content is part of every website. In a portal site, static content can be rendered as static page or it can be added to specific content areas on a page.

To include, update, and administer the static content pages, use any of the portal administration tools, Manage Pages portlet, XML configuration interface, or the Portal Scripting Interface.

Working with static pages has the following advantages:

• We can create a portal page using standard web authoring tools, including text editors. Creating an HTML portal page requires no knowledge of JSP.

• We have more control over the layout of the page than using the portal layout model.

• We can include portlets as dynamic elements and containers as placeholders for portlets in the pages. We can display these portlets using server-side aggregation, Ajax, or iFrame techniques.

• We can update an existing static page by uploading a modified HTML file while preserving the portlet customization on that page.

• Static pages can be rendered in the portal by the following two ways:

  • As stand-alone web pages that control the complete browser area.

  • As part of the portal content area. In this case, the portal still controls the banner and navigation area.

• We can deploy and manage the static content pages using any of the portal administration tools.

• Use portlet communication with static pages, for example by wires.

Compared to dynamic content pages based on the portal container model, static HTML pages also have the following characteristics:

• We create and administer static pages similarly as other portal pages. Some steps and options differ. For details, refer to the user interface and the portlet help of the Manage Pages portlet and its subportlets.

• To update a static page, you make the required changes in the HTML file. Then, you replace the portal page with the updated page using the Manage Pages and Properties portlets or other portal administration tools. Use the portal Page Customizer to update the static page layout if the static page contains portlet containers defined by the portlet container microformat.

• We provide national language support by bundling localized markup files into the compressed file, together with the HTML file that defines the static content. At rendering time, the portal globalization algorithms decide which locale is rendered, based on the request, on settings, and on the locals available.

• The portal defines a set of microformats for skins and portlet actions, such as configuring the portlet settings, portlet communication, and navigation for rendering. These microformats are styled by CSS the static page author provides.

• Static pages can include drag actions. These actions are defined through a microformat. Users with the appropriate access rights can drag UI elements, such as portlets or pages.

• We provide JS, CSS, or image files for static pages by bundling them into a compressed file, together with the HTML file that defines the static content. These resources can then be referenced through relative links from the static page template.

• We can have static pages rendered by server-side aggregation or by client-side aggregation.

• Use skins and other graphic features with static content: When we write a static page and include it in the portal, the portal can render the page itself. But not with the visual features that we might configure for the portal. For example, we cannot encode skins within static pages. When the portal renders such a page, portlets on the page are rendered without a skin. To have portlets on static pages rendered with a skin, use CSS style sheets or JavaScript using the microformats at rendering time.

The following topics describe how we create static pages in HTML, and what features use.

When we write the static page, we can include it in the portal using the Manage Pages portlet.

Decision point: After including a page in the portal, we cannot change the page from static content to standard portal layout or from standard portal layout to static content. To change the page type after creating it, we need to delete the existing page and create a new page of required type.

When a static page uses the default Portal 8.5 theme, Portal 8.0 theme, or Portal 7.0.0.2 theme, users can change the style of the page, but they cannot change the layout of the page or add content to it.

See

1. Create a static page
2. Static resources
3. Dynamic page metadata
4. Including static content pages in the portal
5. Use WebDAV to manage pages and static content

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