Configuring additional site types
Each worksite in a running instance of Sakai has a property called "Site Type". The Site Type is typically set by a user creating a worksite using the Worksite Setup tool.
The standard OOTB distribution of Sakai is configured to provide a user with two options for Site Types in the Worksite Setup tool: "project" and "course". However, it may be desirable to have many different types of worksites (ie: "program", "portfolio", "goal_management", etc.). Furthermore, Sakai 2.0 and up is distributed with an alternative portal (osp-portal) that helps to organize the worksite navigation by site type.
In order to add site types, Sakai must be configured appropriately. This includes editing the files in the table shown below. Once you know what files you need to edit, the tool is relatively easy to configure.
The Worksite setup tool registration file (sakai.sitesetup.xml) must list the available siteTypes that you want to appear in the Worksite Setup Wizard. |
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|---|---|
The osp-portal components.xml must be configured to recognize those site types. |
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The osp-portal messages.properties files must have listings for each site type. |
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sakai.properties needs the appropriate entries for your new site types. |
Seeing a synoptic view on the site type tab
If you want to see a page containing synoptic tools instead of the standard list of sites, here's what you can do:
Create a site with an id matching the full site type, see table below...
Site type |
site id |
|---|---|
portfolio |
org.theospi.portfolio.portal.portfolio |
course |
org.theospi.portfolio.portal.course |
project |
org.theospi.portfolio.portal.project |
When you are creating the sites, you need to set a few options...
- The site should be published
- Not joinable
- Public
Now, you can add any number of tools to it's main page to provide synoptic views into things that you think would be important. At IU, we list the sites of the matching type, the Portfolios that are available, and the collections (Matrtices and Wizards) that are available to fill out.
In the realm, the only role that you'd need is the .auth (for authenticated users) and it should have the site.visit permission.
Below is a screenshot of IU's configuration...