You create and manage virtual applications using the Application Manager and Application Builder. You use the Application Builder to assemble portlets and pages to create an interactive application, and you use the Application Manager to manage content.
Portlet navigation is used to display and populate the portlets that form a logical sequence of user actions. The portlet sequence usually defines individual points within a larger user-based task or process. You can position sequenced portlets on the same page (portlet flow) or on different pages (page flow).
Application portlets bind existing portlets into a common operation, sharing data between the portlets and allowing them to operate as a virtual application. Application Manager and Application Builder let you create application portlets in Web Studio.
Application portlets let you create a shared context in which individual portlets interact. Application portlets can include individual portlets on one page (a portlet flow) or serialized portlets on multiple pages (a page flow).
To arrange business travel, an employee must often interact with several Web sites that are independent of each other and maintain no shared context. For example, when arranging a trip, an employee must reenter travel dates into each individual Web site.
Figure 5-3: Arranging travel at unrelated Web sites
The employee follows a preferred order in which each travel element is arranged. For example, the employee reserves a hotel room, reserves a rental car, then reserves a flight. An application portlet lets you combine these disparate tasks into a single application available at the portal. Each task in the process, such as reserving a hotel, is provided by an individual portlet.The portal allows a user to personalize the presentation of the portlets. A personalized presentation could include arranging commonly-used portlets on one page and others on alternate pages. The Application Builder lets you enter the information relevant to each task.
Figure 5-4: Arranging travel through an application portlet
Each portlet is separate from the other portlets in the application, but the Application Builder displays them in a shared context.
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