A LibPaths portal is a collection or aggregation of different types of information around a common topic. The information is presented in separate boxes or windows called portlets. In aggregation, portlets deliver information about a topic that you want to share with a broad audience or specific audiences of students, teachers, and/or members of your school community.

Create and Manage Portals

Go to: Configure > LibPaths

Global Portal Settings

Setting tools:

1. - switch between LibBase and LibPaths. Note: This button does not display for schools already using LibPaths.
2. - edit admin menu name on side menu for previewing portals, e.g., Preview or Review. Note: This is a side menu display for portal managers and is only seen by portal managers. Students and teachers do not see a management side menu.
   
3. - apply or adjust default portal styling and menus for all portals.
4. - upload icons for Searchable Websites widget.
5. - create manager searchable tags for portals.
6. - show portals that have been archived.

Set global portal styles:

1. - apply or adjust portal styling or theming for this portal.
2. Auto-Menu preference:
   1. None - no menu or manually create a menu.
   2. Top - place menu across the top of the portal.
   3. Left - place menu down the left side of the portal.
   4. Right - place menu down the right side of the portal.

Manage Portals

From here you can perform all creation, maintenance, and publication requirements for all portals:

1. portal list by:
   1. Portal Name - by a word or phrase in the name of the portal
   2. With Tags - click to select one or more tags is tags have been defined. Note: Tags must be defined and added to portals for them to be used as a filter.
   3. Visible to Academic Level - year level that has been assigned to a portal
   4. Visible to Library Group - library groups that can see a portal
   5. Visible From - select a date after which the portal will be visible
   6. Until - select a date after which the portal will not be visible
2. - create a new portal.
3. - browse, and optionally import portals from, the PortalHub library.
4. - republish portals from the current calendar year to the equivalent dates next calendar year.
5. - indicates default portal and always lists at the top of the portal list. Note: There can only be one default portal (see Use As Default Fall-Back instructions below).
6. - drag to reorder portals. Note: The vertical order in this list determines the left-right display order of each portal displayed on the student and teacher view their portals.
7. Name - the portal name. Click {portal name} to select for detailed inspection and/or editing:
   1. Italicised grey font - portal is not published. Note: Unpublished portals can only be seen by the portal manager while in edit mode.
   2. Normal blue font - portal is published. Note: Published portals can be seen by the portal manager and their assigned audiences.
8. Published - shows the current publication state of this portal. Note: If a portal is set to be published or unpublished on specific dates, these dates will be displayed.
   
9. Audience - academic levels and/or library groups that can view this portal when it is published.
10. Tags - tags use to categorise the portal.
11. Revision - the date this portal was last modified or edited. Note: This date is recorded automatically if one or more portlets are added, removed, edited, repositioned, or restyled.
12. List portals:
    1. Portal List - a tabular or list view of all portals based on current filtering.
    2. Calendar View - a calendar or graphical view showing when portals will be published through the year.

Create A New Portal

1. - create a new portal. Note: A New Portal is created and opened on the current portal edit queue as a new tab and positioned to the right of the queue and displays a template of three broken line boxes identified tagged No Portlets representing the three equal-column layout. Note: Portlet placeholders only display at the top of each column if the column does not contain a portlet.
2. - optionally create and display a banner which will span all columns of the portal. Note: You can choose to display one banner per portal which will be always be published at the top of the portal unless deleted.
3. - choose the column layout for this portal. Note: Column layout can be altered at any time in the future as required.

Manage A Portal Banner

1. - to open the banner widget tool.
2. Populate banner with images and text as required.
3. Banner settings:
   1. Title - optional the name that will display over the banner if enabled.
   2. Published:
      1. - banner will display when the portal is open
      2. - banner will not display when the portal is open
   3. Portal Height:
   4. Auto - banner will display in optimum height based on content and widget. Note: Auto ensures the header will automatically adjust to different screen sizes, i.e., is responsive
   5. Fixed - set banner height to suit based on local preferences. Note: Experiment with heights between 300 and 800 to find the optimum for each banner.
4. Banner styling:
   1. If required, set the banner's style attributes. Note: These will override general portal styling attributes.
5. - to return to the portal canvas.
6. The banner will always be be positioned across the top of and span all columns of the portal.

Note: Each portal can have only one banner and you can add or remove a portal banner at any time.

Edit Portal Display Attributes

If not open, click {portal name} on the list to open for editing:

1. {portal name} will appear on the portal queue to the right any open portal.
   
2. - edit portal properties:
   1. Display
      1. - optionally choose an icon to display with this portal. Note: Icons can be colourised using the colour palette or hex codes as required for each icon. Consider colour coding subjects.
      2. Portal name - when naming a portal consider using:
         1. Target class for the portal, e.g., Year 9
         2. Subject orientation of portal, e.g., Ancient History
         3. Unit of work covered by the portal, e.g., Medieval Society
            To create a portal named - Year 9 History Medieval Society
   2. Home Portal - each patron can have one portal that will always list first followed by published portals assigned to the patron in the horizontal menu list of portals available for that patron. If a patron does not have a home portal then only published portals assigned to the patron will list in the menu. If a patron does not have a home portal and all portals assigned to the patron are currently unpublished, the patron will see the Default Portal (see Use As Default Fall-Back instructions below).
   3. Publish - reflects the status of the portal:
      • - all assigned academic levels and library groups can see the portal based on Start Date and End Date settings. Note: Ensure at leat one portlet on the portal is also published.
      • - no one can see the entire portal regardless of individual portlet publication status.
   4. Start Date (Optional) - set the date when the portal should automatically be available. Note: Leave blank to publish immediately.
   5. End Date (Optional) - set the date when the portal should automatically cease being available.  Note: Leave blank to publish indefinitely.
   6. Collaboration:
      1. Purpose - a brief description (200 characters maximum) of the purpose of the portal
      2. Coordinator - name/s of the person/s who requested this portal or who is responsible for adding content, e.g., the teacher/coordinator for the class/subject
      3. Last Reviewed - set date this portal was last reviewed. Note: This date is different from Revision date and must be set manually is required.
   7. Analytics - CSS Selectors - codes for manually constructing a navigation menu within a portal. Note: This is an advanced tool and my not be suitable for novice users.
   8. Portal Style - if required, set specific attributes to apply to this portal.
   9. Portlet Style - if required, set specific attributes to apply to portlets on this portal.

Edit Portal Visibility Attributes

If not open, click {portal name} on the list to open for editing:

1. {portal name} will appear on the portal queue to the right of any open portal.
   
2. - set/reset Visibility for this portal:
   1. Set Who can see this Portal? 
      1. Academic Level - select each academic level in the left side Available list to move it to the right side Selected list.
      2. Library Groups - select each library group in the left side Available list to move it to the right side Selected list. Note: Library groups must be defined before you can assign a registered account to a portal.
      3. Teacher Editors - select all teachers in the left side Available list to move it to the right side Selected list. Note: Only teachers must be granted Can Edit Assigned Portals privilege will be listed in the left side panel.
   2. Use As Default Fall-Back - optionally set this portal as the portal that will display if a patron has not been assigned any portals or if a patron's assigned portals are currently unpublished. Note: Only one portal can be set as default so setting a portal to default will automatically remove the default status from the current default portal.

Copy Or Duplicate A Portal

On your list of portals locate the portal you wish to copy and in the tools panel on the right:

1. - duplicate this portal. The new portal will be named {Original Portal Name (Copy)} and both the portal and its portlets will be duplicated and the duplicate will be placed at the bottom of the list in an unpublished state. Edit as required.

Distribute or Share Portals Via Third Party Web Applications

On your list of portals locate the portal you wish to share and in the tools panel on the right:

1. - link to and share this portal with other websites, e.g., a school learning management system or school intranet:
   1. Authenticated Access - use this access link type if the patron is authenticated to school's Single Sign On (SSO) environment, or if you do not have a SSO and the patron can authenticate manually:
      1. - copy this link ready for pasting into another website.
   2. Anonymous Access - use this access link type if the link will be placed somewhere outside your school's Single Sign On (SSO) environment:
      1. - generate a secure link for this portal to temporarily share for collaborative purposes. Note: Anonymous links are ideal for quick collaboration with colleagues and reset after 10 minutes of non-interaction.
      2. - copy link ready for pasting into another website or email.
      3. - regenerate a secure anonymous link to re-establish security. Note: This option will break all existing links to this portal from other websites and should only be used if you are concerned that security has been breached on the current link.
      4. - intentionally remove access to this portal from all everywhere the link is available. Note: This option will break all existing links to this portal from other everywhere and should only be used if you no longer want this portal to be linked to be available anonymously. If required, a new anonymous link can be created in the future.

Note: Portals can be shared with most web applications.

Portal Quick Management Tools

Quick tools for managing a portal when in list mode:

1. - delete this portal and all its portlets. Note: This is irreversible.
2. - close portal. Note: For editing convenience, Infiniti keeps open the most recent portals you were editing until you close them.
3.  - click to close and clear the portal workbench.
4. - number of portlets on the portal.
5. - access portal content (portlets on this portal):
   1. - copy or move this portlet to another portal. Note: Copy will place a copy of the portlet in the target portal and leave it in the current portal, while Move will place the portlet in the target portal and remove it from the current portal.
   2. - edit this portlet.
   3. - delete this portlet. Note: Deleted portlets cannot be retrieved.