Items are one of the basic components of a Portal page. Items in Portal are based on item types. Item types define the contents of an item and the information that is stored about an item. Users with the appropriate privileges can add an item or create an item type. The information stored about an item is determined by the attributes of the item type.
The types of items that you can add to a page vary based on which item types the page group administrator has included in the page group. For a complete list of the built-in item types provided by Portal, see What are item types? If these built-in item types do not provide enough flexibility, users with the appropriate privileges can create additional custom item types to meet their requirements.
When users create a custom item type they are not adding an item to the page group. They are creating a new item type in addition to the types that Portal provides. Page group administrators can add custom item types to the list of item types displayed to users.
Portal lets users set up page groups in advance without waiting for content to be finalized. For example, a user can add a file item for a document that is being created, then upload the final version of the document later when it is ready. This provides users ample time to determine how items should be arranged in pages before actually finalizing the content.
Portal provides many item-related features which support document collaboration among different users and groups. The main item features include the following:
When item versioning is enabled, previous versions of an item are retained instead of being overwritten when the item is edited. This means that users can have a record of all the changes made to an item and can revert to a previous version if necessary.
Portal includes item level security which lets an item creator choose which specific users or groups are able to access the item.
With document control, groups of users can edit items via a check in and check out process. This feature restricts a user from editing the item while it is being edited or checked out by another user.
When an item includes the Publish Date attribute, a user can add an item to a page anytime, yet have it displayed in View mode to other users, only on a specified date in the future.
When an item includes the Expiration Period attribute, a user can specify how long an item should be displayed on a page.
The "Create With Approval" page privilege allows authorized users to add items that must first be approved before they are displayed to other users in View mode.
What are item types?
Choosing the item types available in a page group
Displaying an item property sheet
Adding category and perspective information to
a page
Creating a custom item type
Adding attributes to a custom item type
Changing the attributes displayed in a region
Editing an item
Adding a sub-item
Approving or rejecting an item