In the Default Value field, enter the value to use by default for the attribute. If

Preparing to Add Content 5-11 You could create an item type called Performance Review and add the Expiration Period attribute to it. You set a default value for the attribute, 01-JAN-2003, so that every Performance Review item added by users expires on this date. Since users do not need to know about or edit this date, you clear the Add Wizard and Edit Wizard check boxes for the attribute. When users add and edit their performance review items, they will not see the Expiration Period attribute even though it is stored for each item.

8. Click OK.

To remove attributes from the item type, select the attributes in the Selected Attributes list, and click the Remove icon.

5.2.2.2.3 Adding a Procedure Call to an Item Type

For an example of how you might use a procedure call in an item type, see: ■ Example 5–1, Adding an HTTP Procedure Call to an Item Type ■ Example 5–2, Adding a PLSQL Procedure Call to an Item Type To add a procedure call to an item type: 1. Use the Navigator to browse to the item type that you want to edit. To get to the Navigator click the Navigator link on any page. By default you can find a Navigator link on the Portal Builder page.

2. In the row for the item type, click the Edit link.

3. Click the Procedures tab.

4. From the Type list, choose whether the call is to an HTTP or PLSQL procedure.

5. In the Procedure Call field, enter one of the following:

■ The URL of the HTTP procedure, including the protocol used to access it, for example: http:www.mycompany.comsearchindex.html ■ The name of the PLSQL procedure. The procedure must already exist in the database and must be prefixed with its owning schema, for example: SCOTT.MY_PROC Tip: If you intend any of the attributes that you add to include important information that you want users to see immediately, you should instruct page designers to display those attributes in the regions on their pages. See Section 10.2.9, Changing the Attributes Displayed in a Region Note: The total length of the procedure call including any parameters must not exceed 2000 bytes. If the item procedure has too many parameters or parameter values with a large number of characters, some of the parameters or parameter values will be excluded to ensure that the limit is not reached. Tip: If the item type is shared or is one of the built-in item types, it will be in the Shared Objects page group. See Section 4.6, Sharing Objects Across Page Groups 5-12 Oracle Fusion Middleware Users Guide for Oracle Portal The PUBLIC user must be granted execute privileges on the procedure.

6. In the Link Text field, enter the text to display as a hypertext link that users can

click to execute the procedure call. This link is displayed only if the region containing the item displays the Associated Function attribute and you do not select Display Procedure Results With Item , or you have not specified an icon. For information about adding the Associated Function attribute to a region, see Section 5.2.2.2.4, Including an Item Type’s Procedure Call on a Page .

7. In the Icon field, enter the path and file name of an image to associate with this

procedure call. If you specify an icon, it is used instead of the Link Text, however you must still enter a value in the Link Text field to serve as the image’s rollover text. Click Browse to locate the image if you are not sure of its path or file name. 8. Select Display Procedure Results With Item to display the results of the procedure call directly in the page instead of displaying a link for users to click. This makes the results immediately visible to users, rather than requiring them to click a link to execute the procedure call themselves. 9. If the procedure you are calling has parameters, you can pass values to those parameters using the attributes you attached to the item type in Section 5.2.2.2.2, Adding Attributes to an Item Type .

a. In the Attribute list, choose the attribute whose values you want to pass to a

parameter in the procedure.

b. In the Pass As field, enter the parameter name if it is different from the

attribute name.

10. Click Apply to add the procedure call to the item type.

11. Click OK.

To remove a procedure call from the item type, click the Delete Procedure icon next to the procedure call in the Existing Procedure Calls section. To edit an existing procedure call, for example, to add more parameterattribute mappings, click the Edit Procedure icon next to the procedure call in the Existing Procedure Calls section. Remember to click Apply to save your changes. Example 5–1 Adding an HTTP Procedure Call to an Item Type Imagine that your portal provides movie reviews to subscribers. To customize the hundreds of movie reviews you plan to upload, you create a Movie Review item type to use for each review. Knowing that users will want to find additional information about each movie, you decide to include a link to a search engine within the review. To include this link, you choose HTTP as the procedure type, and add the following to the Procedure Call field Figure 5–1 : http:www.google.comsearch You include the Link Text Click here for more..., and you specify an icon to associate with the procedure. You choose not to display the procedure results with the item because you want users to click the icon to access the search. For the search engine to return information about the appropriate movie, you need to pass it the movie title. Say your Movie Review item type includes an attribute called