The same theory that applies to modifying home pages holds true for modifying portal panes. If you give your users the ability to edit or move a portal pane by selecting the Editable by user or the Show title bar check-box when you create it, any changes the user makes take precedence over solution developer changes.
For example, if a user clicks edit on a portal pane and customizes that portal pane, the changes appear only on their home page. Any changes that you made to that same portal pane do not appear on the user's home page. Even if you delete that portal pane from the Designer interface, the user still sees their own edited version.
In short, the moment a user customizes a portal pane, those changes take precedence over any solution developer changes to that same portal pane. However, if a user does not edit a portal pane, then solution developer changes take precedence--including the deletion of a portal pane.
As a TeamConnect solution developer, it is important to be aware of the effects that both user and solution developer changes have on portal panes.
You may modify portal panes according to the following table:
Effects of Portal Pane Modifications
Type of user performing task |
Task |
Changes apply to |
Effects of synchronizing |
End |
Directly from a user's own home page, he or she can click edit in the appropriate portal pane. |
User's portal pane copy only. |
User's modifications are overwritten with portal pane template. |
Solution developer |
From Go to > Portal Panes, open the appropriate portal pane. |
Portal pane template only. |
All copies of this portal pane template are overwritten. |
Solution developer |
From Go to > Home Pages, open the appropriate home page, click the Portal Pane tab, and then click edit on the appropriate portal pane. |
Solution developer's copy of portal pane on master home page. |
All copies of this portal pane template are overwritten. |
The Relations between Master Home Pages, Portal Pane Templates, and Copies diagram shows the different ways in which users can modify editable portal panes, and the results of those modifications (without synchronizing).
To take the task of a user editing a portal pane further—if a user clicks edit on a portal pane of their own home page, modifies it, and saves the changes, your actions, as a solution developer, can affect the results. The following table shows the various actions that you might take and the results of those actions. Keep in mind that the results listed are what happens before you click Synchronize Contents or Synchronize Settings hyperlinks. After you synchronize, portal pane templates overwrite any of its copies.
What Happens when User and Solution Developer Edit Portal Panes
Solution developer and user actions |
Results |
None. |
•The modified portal pane displays only on the user's home page as a separate copy of the portal pane template. |
From Home Pages > Portal Panes, you edit a copy of a portal pane template. User modifies their own copy of that template from their own home page. |
•Your changes are reflected on your copy of the portal pane template. (You do not see user's changes). •User's changes are reflected on their own copy of the portal pane template. (User does not see your changes). |
From Portal Panes, you edit a portal pane template. User modifies their own copy of that template from their own home page. |
•Your changes are reflected on the portal pane template only. •Your changes only take effect on users' portal pane copies that were created after the template was updated. •User's changes are reflected on their own copy of the portal pane template. (User does not see your template changes). |
From Home Pages > Portal Panes, a copy of a portal pane template. User modifies their own copy of that template from their own home page. |
•Portal pane is deleted if it is not editable or has not been modified by the user, yet. •Does not effect portal panes that have already been viewed by a user. |
The following table lists modifications to portal panes (of which the content and settings were synchronized) and when those changes take effect:
When Changes Take Effect in Portal Panes
Modification |
Effective |
Adding portal panes to home pages. |
When user clicks Refresh. |
Deleting portal panes that exist on a home page without prior edits by user. |
|
Deleting portal panes from the Home Page screen with prior edits by user. |
When user logs off, and then logs back in. |
Modifying portal pane from Home Page screen. |
Immediately. |
Modifying portal pane from the Portal Pane screen. |
When user logs off, and then logs back in. |
For each user who has access to an editable portal pane, a separate instance (or copy) of the portal pane template exists. Users with access to an uneditable portal pane, see the solution developer's copy of that portal pane on their home page. Changes to one portal pane copy do not affect another portal pane copy. Nor do the changes affect the portal pane template.
