Rooms

The Rooms functions let you manage the room tree, configure the basic properties and search properties of individual rooms, and create and manage the content in the rooms. The room tree is a means for patrons to browse to find resources for different subjects within the library or links to resources on the Internet. The tree is a hierarchy that can be organized any way that best fits your needs. It may be by subject matter, department, interests, or any other classification. It is up to your organization.

Portfolio uses a single room tree for all of the profiles you define. To customize the room tree to a specific profile, you can hide rooms for only that profile. For example, you might create a profile that is intended specifically for young readers. When you create the tree room for Portfolio, you could include a room titled “Beginning Readers.” In that room you would create other rooms that include resources and suggestions for young readers. The Beginning Readers branch of the room tree could go as many levels deep as you want and include as many rooms as you need. When you manage the rooms in that profile, you can hide all of the rooms except for those under the Beginning Readers room. When patrons go to that profile through a link, they will see only the rooms in the Beginning Readers branch. Other profiles may include or exclude any of the rooms in the Portfolio room tree, including the Beginning Readers room.

It is important to remember that each room in the room tree is a single room that is shared between profiles. That means that when you make a change to the content of a room, that change is displayed from each profile where that room is active. However, certain room configuration options affect the room only in the profile where you make the change.

The Home Room is an exception to the single-room rule. Each profile has a unique Home Room assigned to it. By default, the room is empty, but you can create content for it as you would for any room in the room tree. However, when you add or edit content in the Home Room, those changes will not be made in the Home Room for any other profile because each is a different room.

This section includes these topics: