Adding Content Channels to the Portal

The SAS Information Delivery Portal provides support for the emerging RSS (Rich Site Summary) standard, a lightweight XML format designed for sharing news headlines and other syndicated Web content. By incorporating RSS content into the portal, you can give users access to high-quality, continually updated news that is relevant to their roles in the organization. The BBC, CNET, CNN, Disney, Forbes, Motley Fool, Wired, Red Herring, Salon, Slashdot, and ZDNet channels are just a few examples of RSS channels that are available publicly.

RSS documents contain metadata, or summary information, about content that is available on the provider's Web site. Each content item consists of a title, a link, and a brief description. By clicking on a link, the user can display the full text for a content item.

To add a content channel to the portal, you must have authority either as a public content administrator or as a group owner. The steps for adding a content channel are as follows:

1. Use the Personalize tool to add the content channel to the portal's enterprise directory.

2. Define access rules for the content channel.

3. Use the Personalize tool to make the content channel appear as a selection on the portal.

Step 1: Use the Personalize Tool to Add the Content Channel to the Portal's Enterprise Directory

The portal's Personalize tool provides a graphical user interface for adding the name, description, and URL address for a content channel to the enterprise directory. If you have authority as a public content administrator, you can use this tool to add a public content channel which will be available to all portal users. If you have authority as a group owner, you can use the Personalize tool to add a role-based content channel which will be available to all users in the group.

The detailed steps for adding a content channel are as follows:

1. If you have not already done so, open the SAS Information Delivery Portal, log on with your user name and password, and click Personalize on the toolbar. The Personalize window appears.

2. At the prompt Which role do you want to personalize?, do the following:

   • If you are authorized as a public content administrator and would like to add a public content channel, choose Public.

   • If you are authorized as a group owner and would like to add a role-based content channel, choose the group name.

3. At the prompt What do you want to personalize?, choose Content Channels from the drop-down list. The Content Channels control panel appears, showing the existing public or role-based content channels.

4. Opposite Add a new <public or your group's name> content channel, click to add a new content channel. The New Content Channel control panel appears.

5. Fill in the fields as follows:

   Name

   Enter a name for the channel. This name will identify the channel when it is displayed in the portal.
   
   

   Url

   Enter the complete URL for the channel. To ensure accuracy, you might want to use your browser to find the desired address, and then copy the URL from the browser's address line.
   
   

   Description

   Enter a short description for the channel. The description will appear after the channel's name when it is displayed on a list.
   
   

   Keywords

   Enter key words that will help users find this channel when using the search tool. This field is optional.
   
   

6. Click Create Content Channel. The Content Channels control panel reappears, showing the new channel you have created. You can now proceed by choosing another Personalize function, choosing another task, or opening another window.

Step 2: Define Access Rules for the Content Channel

Take any necessary steps to control access to the content channel. For general information about access control, refer to Controlling Access to Portal Content.

Step 3: Use the Personalize Tool to Make the Content Channel Appear as a Selection on the Portal

Depending on who has access permission to the content channel, you can use one of the following methods to make it appear as a selection on the portal:

• The public content administrator can use the Personalize feature to add the content channel to a public list. When the public content administrator performs this function, the portal application displays a list box containing all public content channels. From the list box, the administrator selects the channels that are to appear on the public list.

• Group owners can use the Personalize feature to add the channel to a role-based list. When the group owner performs this function, the portal application displays a list box containing all role-based content channels that are available to the group. From the list box, the group owner selects the channels that are to appear on the role-based list.

• Individual users can use the Personalize feature to add the channel to a personal list. When the user performs this function, the portal application displays a list box containing all content channels in the enterprise directory that the user is authorized to access. From the list box, the user selects the channels that are to appear on his or her personal list.

For more information, refer to the Personalization topic in the portal User's Guide.