It is important to understand the concepts of master home pages, portal pane templates, and copies. The concepts are best conveyed by the following diagram. It shows what happens to the portal pane template that is the original portal pane, created on the Portal Panes screen.
Relations between Master Home Pages, Portal Pane Templates, and Copies
The following table explains details about each of the portal pane copies shown in the diagram.
Explanation of the Diagram
Home page |
Portal pane copy |
Explanation |
Master |
A |
When you add a portal pane template to master home page, you are actually adding a copy of that portal pane template. |
User |
A |
When users first view their own home page, they see the same master home page that you created--including the same copy of that portal pane template. |
User |
B |
As soon as a user clicks edit on a portal pane on his or her own home page, the template copy is copied and replaced with a revised version. In other words, the user has a copy of a copy posted on their home page, and portal pane A is no longer visible on their home page. The user only sees his or her customized version of the portal pane. |
User |
C |
If a user has the ability to add portal panes, they can click the Add Content link on their home page to add a copy of the original portal pane template to their own home page. |
In regard to home pages, users initially see an exact replica of the master home page. As soon as users view it, their home page becomes a copy. Therefore, any changes you make as the solution developer, your users cannot see if they have already viewed the home page.
However, there is an exception. If you have deleted a portal pane, then it is deleted from your users' home pages—unless a user has previously modified it. If that is the case, the user's copy of the portal pane that you deleted remains on their home page with their modifications.
Points To Remember
You can synchronize both copies of home pages and portal panes with their master. For details, see Adding Portal Panes to Home Pages.
What users do see is the sum of the master home page plus their own changes to either home pages or portal panes. For this reason, as stated previously, it is important NOT to set the following home page options until after you are finished designing and creating all of your home pages and portal panes:
•Visible
•Allow end users to edit layout only
•Allow end users to edit layout & content
In other words, the only home page setting that should be turned on when you are designing and creating home pages and portal panes is Do not allow end users to edit layout or content.
If you do choose one of the options listed in the table above before you are finished creating a home page or portal pane, you can synchronize your master home page and portal pane template changes with the home page and portal pane copies that have already been viewed by other users. For more details, see Adding Portal Panes to Home Pages.
