IBM Content Navigator, Version 2.0.3     Supports:  Content Manager, FileNet P8, OnDemand, OASIS CMIS

Defining desktops

A desktop determines the available features and appearance of the web client. For example, you can display or hide specific panes, menus, and toolbars. You can disable options that you do not want unauthorized users to access. You can also specify default or custom menus and configure IBM® FileNet® P8 workflow and mobile settings.

Before you begin

To access the administration tool, you must log in as an IBM Content Navigator administrator to the administration tool or to another defined desktop.

About this task

The administration desktop that you use to administer the IBM Content Navigator web client is included in the initial IBM Content Navigator configuration. At a minimum, you must also create a default desktop that users can use to access the web client. If you want users to access other desktops that have different features and appearances, create multiple desktops.

Remember: Your IBM Content Navigator configuration must always include a default desktop. However, you can change the desktop that is set as the default desktop.

To create a working desktop, you must specify a name and assign an ID to the desktop. You must also select a repository and associate that repository to the desktop. Optionally, you can specify other options and settings for the desktop, such as the menu options that users see when they want to add a document to a repository or the maximum number of documents that users can add at a time.

A desktop is configured to authenticate users against a specific repository in your environment. Users who want to access this desktop must be defined in the repository. Additionally, you can limit access to the desktop to a specific set of users and groups in your repository.

Procedure

To define a desktop:

  1. Open the administration tool in the web client.
  2. Either create a new desktop by clicking Desktops > New Desktop, or copy an existing desktop by clicking Desktops, selecting an existing desktop and clicking Copy.
  3. Specify the name for the desktop. The name is used only to identify it in the administration tool.
  4. Specify an ID for the desktop.
    Restriction: After you save the desktop, you cannot change the ID because it is used to access the desktop from a URL. For example, to access the administration desktop, append ?desktop=admin to the web client URL, where admin is the ID of the administration desktop.
  5. Configure the desktop authentication settings:
    1. Specify the repository that you want to use to authenticate users. You must select a repository that is already configured.
    2. Specify whether you want to limit access to the desktop to a specific set of users and groups.
      Restriction: Several restrictions apply if you limit access to the desktop:
      • If you use an IBM Content Manager OnDemand repository, the user and group names that you enter are not validated on the server. You must ensure that you enter the names correctly.
      • If you use an OASIS Content Management Interoperability Services repository, this option is not available.
  6. Start of changeOn the General page, configure additional settings. The default desktop is the desktop that is opened when you open the web client URL without specifying a desktop. Your configuration can include only one default desktop. If you want this desktop to be the default desktop, click Set as the default desktop. If you want to restrict users to search with only existing searches, click Prevent users from creating searches or Prevent users from creating cross-repository searches.End of change
  7. Click Repositories and select the repositories that you want users to access from the desktop.

    Start of changeBy default, the selected repositories are displayed in the Browse, Search, and Work views. However, on the Layout page, you can specify which repositories to use for each displayed feature that you enable. For example, you can configure the repository to display only in the Work view by deselecting the repository for the Browse feature and the Search feature. You can also select a different default repository for each feature.End of change

    Important: Start of changeWhen you associate a repository with the desktop, keep the following behaviors in mind:
    • The repository that you use to authenticate users is your default repository for the desktop.
    • If you change the default repository after you define a desktop, any favorites that users created are not saved. The favorites must be re-created in the new default repository.
    End of change
  8. On the Layout, Appearance, Menus, and Mobile pages, change other settings as needed and save your changes.

Results

After you create and save a desktop, you can provide users with the URL to the web client, for example, http://host_name:port_number/context_root/?desktop=desktop_ID.

Tip: The format of the URL can vary depending on your environment:
  • If you deployed IBM Content Navigator to a highly available cluster, the URL must point to the load balancing server: http://load_balancer_host_name:load_balancer_port_number/context_root.
  • If you are using SSL, the protocol of the URL is HTTPS: https://host_name:port_number/context_root.
  • If you are using Tivoli® Access Manager for e-business for single sign-on (SSO), the URL is http://TAM_server_name/context_root.