30 Creating Your Social Network

In WebCenter Spaces, Connections provides a means of establishing a social network that is comprised of your work friends and associates. Once you have connected with others, you can set up your working environment to provide different levels of access to those who are and are not connected to you. For example, you can enable access to your views of Profile, Message Board, Activity Stream, and Feedback to just your connections, leaving the unconnected without access. For Message Board and Feedback, you can give everyone view access, but limit post access to just your connections or to a limited set of your connections through a connections list.

This chapter provides an overview of Connections task flows and steps you through the tasks you can accomplish using them. It includes the following subsections:

Section 30.1, "What You Should Know About Connections"
Section 30.2, "Setting Connections Preferences"
Section 30.3, "Adding a Connections Task Flow to a Page"
Section 30.4, "Setting Up Your Social Network"
Section 30.5, "Setting Connections Task Flow Properties"

Audience

This chapter is intended for users assigned an application role that includes, minimally, the permission People Connections: Connect with People. To work with connections lists, users must also be granted the permission People Connections: Update People Connections Data.

Users who plan to edit task flow properties must be assigned a role that also includes the permission Edit Pages. In a Space (other than the Home Space), users must be assigned a role that includes the permission Edit Page Access and Structure.

30.1 What You Should Know About Connections

Connections provides a means of collecting your business friends and contacts into a social network. It furnishes tools for managing your own connections and viewing the connections of others. Using People Connections Preferences, you can grant differing levels of access to those who are and are not your connections. For example, you can limit view privileges on your Profile to just your connections or enable your connections to view certain sections of your Profile, while hiding those sections from users who are not your connections.

See Also:

For information about setting your Connections Preferences, see Section 30.2, "Setting Connections Preferences."

When you connect with other users, you give them access to your People Connections views, and gain access to theirs.

Note:

The People Connections service encompasses Connections, Profile, Activity Stream, Message Board, and Feedback. For more information, see:

Before you begin to build your social network, your application administrator can set global application defaults that affect what all users may see and do with their own and other users' connections. For more information, see Section 6.4, "Configuring People Connections Defaults for WebCenter Spaces."

WebCenter Spaces provides the following Connections task flows:

Connections for viewing and managing your connections, creating connections lists, and sending and responding to invitations to connect (Figure 30-1)

Figure 30-1 Connections Task Flow
Connections - Card for photos, status messages, and instant contact options to your connections (Figure 30-2)

Figure 30-2 Connections - Card Task Flow
Connections - Detailed View for photos and quick access to your connections and to features for inviting new connections, managing existing connections, and organizing your connections into lists (Figure 30-3)

Figure 30-3 Connections - Detailed View Task Flow
Connections - Quick View for photos and quick access to your connections (Figure 30-4)

Figure 30-4 Connections - Quick View Task Flow

Connections task flows have associated properties that you can use to control the appearance and behavior of a task flow instance. For example, you can use Connections properties to specify the number of connections to show or the number of rows to show in Connections - Card and Connections - Quick View task flows.

See Also:

For more information about Connections properties, see Section 30.5, "Setting Connections Task Flow Properties."

For information about using Connections features, see Section 30.4, "Setting Up Your Social Network."

30.2 Setting Connections Preferences

Use Connections Preferences to specify who can view information about the people you have connected with and whether to accept invitations to be others' connections automatically.

To set Connections preferences:

Open the Preferences dialog.
Click People Connections to display People Connections preferences.
Click the Connections tab to bring it forward (Figure 30-5).

Figure 30-5 Connections Preferences
From the Grant View Access to dropdown list, select the users who can view your list of connections:
- Everyone—All users, including users who are not logged in, can see information about your connections.
- Authenticated Users—Only users who are logged in can view your connections.
- User's Connections—Only you and your Connections can view your connections.
- User Only—Only you can view your connections.
Note:
The Grant View Access to dropdown is disabled in your view if the administrator disables user override for these settings in Connections configuration settings. For more information, see Section 6.4.3.3, "Configuring Connections."
Select Accept Invitations Automatically to automatically accept invitations to connect with another user.

Clear this checkbox to leave yourself the option of accepting, refusing, or ignoring an invitation to connect with another user.
Click OK.

30.3 Adding a Connections Task Flow to a Page

For the steps to add a People Connections service task flow to a page, see Section 16.5, "Adding Resource Catalog Components to Pages."

30.4 Setting Up Your Social Network

Connections provides the core features for building and visualizing your social network. Use Connections task flows to invite other users to connect, to accept connection invitations, to create connections lists, and to remove obsolete connections.

Note:

The level of access you have to a connection is determined by the People Connections defaults set by the application administrator, a given connection's People Connections Preference settings, and properties set on a Connections task flow instance.

For information about Connections Preferences, see Section 30.2, "Setting Connections Preferences." For information about People Connections defaults set by the application administrator, see Section 6.4, "Configuring People Connections Defaults for WebCenter Spaces." For information about Connections task flow properties, see Section 30.5, "Setting Connections Task Flow Properties."

This section provides information about using Connections to set up and manage your personal social network. It contains the following subsections:

Section 30.4.1, "Viewing Your Connections"
Section 30.4.2, "Inviting Others to Connect"
Section 30.4.4, "Responding to Invitations to Be a Connection"
Section 30.4.5, "Creating and Managing Connections Lists"
Section 30.4.6, "Removing a Connection"

30.4.1 Viewing Your Connections

You can view your connections in any Connections task flow. One of these is always available on the Connections page, which you can navigate to by clicking your user name wherever it appears in the application. In large lists of connections, you can use a search feature to locate a particular connection.

This section describes how to access the Connections page and view or search through your connections. It includes the following subsections:

Section 30.4.1.1, "Viewing Your Connections"
Section 30.4.1.2, "Searching Through Your Connections"

30.4.1.1 Viewing Your Connections

To view your connections:

Go to the Home Space, and open the Profile page, for example, by clicking on your user name in the UI.

You can also use the following URL to navigate to a Profile page:
```
http://host:port/webcenter/spaces/profile/userName
```
Tip:
For userName:
- When userName matches the current user or is not specified, this URL navigates to your view of the Profile page.
- When userName is not the current user's, it navigates to the specified user's view of the Profile page.
On the resulting page, click the Connections tab to bring it forward (Figure 30-6).

Figure 30-6 Connections Tab on Profile Page
From the Show dropdown, select All Connections.

30.4.1.2 Searching Through Your Connections

The Connections search feature provides an efficient way to locate a particular connection in an otherwise long list of connections.

To search through your connections:

Go to the Connections page.

See Also:
For more information, see Section 30.4.1.1, "Viewing Your Connections."
From the Show dropdown, select All Connections.
In the Filter field, enter the user name of the connection, and click the Find connection icon next to the field.

Tip:
Click a connection name to open a Profile dialog and view profile details.

To exit the search, click the Clear icon that appears to the right of the Filter field (Figure 30-7).

Figure 30-7 Clear Icon Next to Filter Field

30.4.2 Inviting Others to Connect

Connecting to another user potentially provides view access to that user's personal Profile and Activity Stream, and view and post access to the user's Message Board. The level of access you have to a connection is determined by the People Connections defaults set by the application administrator, the individual user's People Connections Preference settings, and properties set on the task flow instance.

See Also:

You can issue invitations from the Connections - Detailed View task flow and from the Connections page that you access in the Home Space. This section describes the Connections page method.

To invite another user to connect:

Go to the Connections page, for example, by clicking your user name in the UI and then selecting the Connections subpage on the resulting Profile page.

See Also:
For more information, see Section 30.4.1.1, "Viewing Your Connections."
On the Connections page, click the Invite People link to open the Invite People dialog.
In the Find User field, enter the user name of the person you want to invite to be your connection, then click the Find user icon (Figure 30-8).

Figure 30-8 Invite People Dialog
Click the Invite link next to the user of interest to open the Invitation Message dialog (Figure 30-9).

Figure 30-9 Invitation Message Dialog
Enter a connection invitation or use the default message.
Optionally, from the Select connection lists dropdown, select one or more connections lists to which to add the user once the invitation is accepted.
Click Invite.

If the person you have invited set Preferences to automatically accept all invitations, you are connected immediately. Otherwise, the invitation becomes available in the recipient's view of the Connections page.

Tip:
You can also view invitations from the Connections - Detailed View task flow For more information, see Section 30.4.3, "Viewing Invitations to Connect."

See Also:
For information about Connections Preferences, see Section 30.2, "Setting Connections Preferences."

30.4.3 Viewing Invitations to Connect

You can view the invitations you have sent and received in the Connections - Detailed View task flow and on the Connections page. This section describes the Connections page case. It includes the following subsections:

Section 30.4.3.1, "Viewing Invitations You Have Sent"
Section 30.4.3.2, "Viewing Invitations You Have Received"

30.4.3.1 Viewing Invitations You Have Sent

To view invitations you have sent:

Go to the Connections page.

See Also:
For more information, see Section 30.4.1.1, "Viewing Your Connections."
From the Show menu, select Sent Invitations.

The Connections page refreshes, now showing a list of the pending invitations to connect that you have sent (Figure 30-10).

Figure 30-10 Sent Invitations View

Note:
In the Show menu, the number next to Sent Invitations represents the number of pending invitations you have sent.

30.4.3.2 Viewing Invitations You Have Received

To view invitations you have received:

Go to the Connections page.

See Also:
For more information, see Section 30.4.1.1, "Viewing Your Connections."
From the Show menu, select Pending Invitations.

The Connections page refreshes, now showing a list of the pending invitations to connect that you have received (Figure 30-11).

Figure 30-11 Pending Invitations View

Tip:
In the Show menu, the number next to Pending Invitations represents the number of pending invitations you have received.

30.4.4 Responding to Invitations to Be a Connection

Connections provides two methods for responding to an invitation to connect:

You can set your Connections Preferences to accept such invitations automatically.

See Also:
For information about setting Connections Preferences, see Section 30.2, "Setting Connections Preferences."
You can manually accept, decline, or ignore such invitations through the Connections - Detailed View task flow or in your view of the Connections page.

This section describes the manual method of responding to invitations to connect from the Connections page.

To respond to invitations to connect:

Go to the Connections page.

See Also:
For more information, see Section 30.4.1.1, "Viewing Your Connections."
From the Show menu, select Pending Invitations to display a list of your pending invitations (Figure 30-12).

Figure 30-12 Pending Invitations View Showing Accept, Decline, and Ignore Buttons

Tip:
Alternatively, click the Invitations icon (flag).
Next to a given invitation, click your desired response.

Choose from:
- Accept—Make the connection.
- Decline—Refuse the connection, with notification. When you decline an invitation to connect, the issuer becomes aware of this by watching his sent invitations.
- Ignore—Remove the connection, without responding. When you ignore an invitation to connect, the issuer does not become aware of this by watching his sent invitations.
Once you respond to an invitation, it is removed from the list of received invitations. The users whose invitations you accept appear in your view of the Connections page.
Optionally, return to your default view of the Connections page by selecting All Connections from the Show menu.

30.4.5 Creating and Managing Connections Lists

Connections provides a means of grouping your connections into lists for managing the display of your connections and your connections activities. For example:

You can select a list and view just its members on your Connections page.
You can configure a Connections - Card task flow instance to display only the connections on a specified list (for more information, see Section 30.5, "Setting Connections Task Flow Properties").
You can configure Activity Stream Preferences to show activities only from specified connections lists (for more information, see Chapter 31, "Tracking Your Connections' Activities").

This section describes how to create and manage lists of connections. It includes the following subsections:

Section 30.4.5.1, "Creating a Connections List"
Section 30.4.5.2, "Adding a Connection to a List"
Section 30.4.5.3, "Removing a Connection from a List"
Section 30.4.5.4, "Deleting a Connections List"

30.4.5.1 Creating a Connections List

You can create a connections list using the Connections and Connections - Detailed View task flows and on the Connections page. This section describes how to create a connections list on the Connections page.

To create a list of connections:

Go to the Connections page.

See Also:
For more information, see Section 30.4.1.1, "Viewing Your Connections."
Click Organize to open the Organize Connections and Lists dialog (Figure 30-13).

Figure 30-13 Organize Button and Resulting Dialog
Click New Connection List to open the Create List dialog
Enter a name for your list of connections, and click OK to create the list and open it in the Organize Connections and Lists dialog (Figure 30-14).

Figure 30-14 New ST Team Connections List

Tip:
To view all of your connections, click All connections.

See Also:
For information about adding connections to a list, see Section 30.4.5.2, "Adding a Connection to a List."

30.4.5.2 Adding a Connection to a List

You can add connections to a Connections list using the Connections page and the Connections and Connections - Detailed View task flows. This section describes the Connections page case.

To add a connection to a Connections list:

Go to the Connections page.

See Also:
For more information, see Section 30.4.1.1, "Viewing Your Connections."
Click Organize to open the Organize Connections and Lists dialog, and select All connections, to show all of your connections (Figure 30-15).

Figure 30-15 Organize Connections and Lists Dialog
Click Add to List next to the user, and select one or more lists from the resulting dialog (Figure 30-16).

Figure 30-16 Add to List Dialog
Click Save and Close.

Tip:
Click All to add the selected user to all of your Connections lists.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you are done.
Click OK to close the Organize Connections and Lists dialog.

30.4.5.3 Removing a Connection from a List

To remove a connection from a list:

Go to the Connections page.

See Also:
For more information, see Section 30.4.1.1, "Viewing Your Connections."
Click Organize to open the Organize Connections and Lists dialog, and select the list from which to remove a connection to show the list (Figure 30-17).

Figure 30-17 Organize Connections and Lists Dialog with ST Team List Selected
Click Remove from List next to the user to open the Remove from List dialog (Figure 30-18).

Figure 30-18 Remove from List Dialog
Select one or more lists from which to remove the selected user, or select My Connections and All My Lists to remove the selected user from all lists and as your connection.
Click Save and Close.
Repeat steps 3 through 5 until you are done.
Click OK to close the Organize Connections and Lists dialog.

30.4.5.4 Deleting a Connections List

When you delete a Connections list, you are not deleting the connections you added to the list. You are deleting only the selected grouping, that is, the list itself. The connections that were on the deleted list continue to be your connections.

You can delete a Connections list from the Connections page and from the Connections and Connections - Detailed View task flows. This section describes the Connections page case.

To delete a connections list:

Go to the Connections page.

See Also:
For more information, see Section 30.4.1.1, "Viewing Your Connections."
Click Organize to open the Organize Connections and Lists dialog.
Click the Actions icon next to the Connections list you want to delete, and select Delete List from the resulting menu (Figure 30-19).

Figure 30-19 Delete List Option on Actions Menu
In the resulting confirmation dialog, click Yes to delete the list.
Click OK to close the Organize Connections and Lists dialog.

30.4.6 Removing a Connection

Included in the process of managing your connections is the occasional necessity of weeding people out: they may leave your group or the company, or there may no longer be a compelling reason to stay connected.

Controls for removing a connection are available through the Connections page and the Connections and Connections - Detailed View task flow. This section describes the Connections Page case.

To remove one of your connections:

Go to the Connections page.

See Also:
For more information, see Section 30.4.1.1, "Viewing Your Connections."
Click Organize to open the Organize Connections and Lists dialog.
Click the Remove button next to the connection to remove.
In the resulting dialog, click Yes to remove the selected connection (Figure 30-20).

Figure 30-20 Confirmation Dialog for Remove Connection Action
Click OK to close the Organize Connections and Lists dialog.

30.5 Setting Connections Task Flow Properties

Connections task flows have associated properties, which users with sufficient privileges can access through the Component Properties dialog in Oracle Composer (Figure 30-21).

Figure 30-21 Connections Task Flow Component Properties

See Also:

For information about accessing the Component Properties dialog, see Section 16.5.2.3, "Setting Component Properties."

The following sections provide information about properties associated with Connections task flows and describe the properties available on the Parameters tab:

Section 30.5.1, "What You Should Know About Connections Task Flow Properties"
Section 30.5.2, "Connections Task Flow Parameters"
Section 30.5.3, "Using Properties to Configure a Connections Task Flow Instance"

30.5.1 What You Should Know About Connections Task Flow Properties

When you set property values on a Connections task flow, you are affecting only the task flow instance on which the value is set. Other instances of the same task flow are not affected by such changes.

The properties on the Parameters tab of the Component Properties dialog control the default task flow content. For descriptions of the parameters on this tab, see Section 30.5.2, "Connections Task Flow Parameters." For some task flows, parameters on this tab facilitate the wiring of the task flow to page parameters and page definition variables. For more information, see Chapter 18, "Wiring Pages, Task Flows, Portlets, and UI Components."

Changes to the properties on the Display Options, Style, and Content Style tabs affect the appearance and behavior of the task flow for all users. These properties are common to all task flows. For more information, see Section 16.5.2, "Setting Properties on Page Components."

The content of the Events tab depends on the events supported by the task flow. For more information, see Section 16.5.2.8, "Working with Component Contextual Events."

All properties on the Parameters and Display Options tabs provide access to an Expression Language (EL) editor, which you can use to select or specify a variable value instead of a constant value. Click the Edit icon next to a property field to open the editor. For more information about using the editor and for descriptions of common EL expressions, see Appendix B, "Expression Language Expressions."

30.5.2 Connections Task Flow Parameters

Table 30-1 describes the parameters that are unique to Connections task flows.

Table 30-1 Connections Task Flow Parameters

Property	Description
`Allow Remove`	A Boolean value representing whether a control is available on the task flow for removing a connection Enter either `true` or `false`. This value is honored only when the task flow instance is rendered in list format. For more information, see `Profile Format`. This parameter is associated with the Connections - Card task flow.
`Connection List Name`	The name of a grouped list of connections Use this parameter to limit the display of connections to those on the specified Connections list. Enter the name of a Connections list. This parameter is associated with the Connections - Card task flow.
`Current View`	The view to display by default Valid values include: `connections`—(the default value) a list of connections `receivedInvitations`—a list of connections invitations you received `sentInvitations`—a list of connections invitations you sent `people`—a search field for finding people with whom to connect When users access the task flow instance, the view specified here is the first one they see. All selections, except `people`, provide controls for navigating to the application default view (`connections`). Selecting `people` provides search and select controls for inviting other users to connect. This parameter is associated with the Connections task flow.
`Filter Pattern`	A value to act as a filter against task flow content For example, to show only those connections with a user name that includes the term pat (including patrick or sripathy), enter `pat` in the Filter Pattern field. This parameter is associated with the Connections - Card task flow.
`Hide Footer`	A Boolean value representing whether to hide the task flow footer Use this parameter to show or hide a link at the bottom of the task flow that enables users (when shown) to navigate to a detailed view of Connections when the number of available connections exceeds the number of connections that are shown. Select the checkbox (`#{true}`) to hide the task flow footer. Clear the checkbox (`#{false}`) to show the task flow footer. This parameter is associated with the following task flows: Connections – Card Connections – Quick View
`Hide Header`	A Boolean value representing whether to hide the task flow header Use this parameter to show or hide a link at the bottom of the task flow that enables users (when shown) to navigate to a detailed view of Connections when the number of available connections exceeds the number of connections that are shown. Select the checkbox (`#{true}`) to hide the task flow header. Clear the checkbox (`#{false}`) to show the task flow header. This parameter is associated with the Connections - Quick View task flow.
`Number of Columns`	The number of columns to show in the task flow For example, with six connections to show, a value of `2` means those connections are shown in two columns with three rows. When a user's number of connections exceeds the number of connections allowed after column and row restrictions are applied, Previous and Next links are shown, enabling the user to page through his connections. (See also `Number of Rows`.) This parameter is associated with the following task flows: Connections - Card Connections - Quick View
`Number of Connections` per page	The number of connections to show in the given task flow instance Enter a numeric value, such as `10`, `2`, `15`, and so on. The number you enter here limits the number of connections that are shown in the task flow instance. If a user's number of connections exceeds the specified value, a More link is shown, enabling the user to navigate to a full view of the Profile page's Connections subpage. This parameter is ignored if both the number of rows and the number of columns have been specified together as parameters. This parameter is associated with the following task flows: Connections - Card Connections - Detailed View Connections - Quick View
`Number of Rows`	The number of rows to show in the task flow For example, with six connections to show and a value of `2` for `Number of Columns`, a value of `2` for `Number of Rows` means connections are shown in two columns with two rows. That is, four connections are shown. When a user's number of connections exceeds the number of connections allowed after column and row restrictions are applied, Previous and Next links are shown, enabling the user to page through his connections. (See also, `Number of Columns`.) This parameter is associated with the following task flows: Connections - Card Connections - Quick View
`Number of Rows (list layout)`	The number of rows to show in a list layout of the Connections task flow This value is honored only when the view of the Connections task flow is set to `connections`. (For more information, see `Current View`.) When a user's number of connections exceeds the number of connections allowed after row restrictions are applied, Previous and Next links are shown, enabling the user to page through his connections. This parameter is associated with the Connections task flow.
`Profile Format`	The layout style for the task flow Enter one of the following: `vcard`—Renders each connection in a virtual business card and includes the connection's user name and status message and quick-access buttons for interacting with your connections. `iconic`—Renders the connection's personal profile photo and shows the user name below the photo. `list`—Renders connections in a list, showing the personal profile photo, user name, information about recent profile updates, and quick-access buttons for interacting with your connections. `tiled`—Renders the connection's personal Profile photo and shows the user name and job title beside the photo. This parameter is associated with the Connections - Card task flow.
`Profile Launched on Selection`	A Boolean value representing whether a Profile popup should open when a user clicks a connection listed in the task flow Select the checkbox (`#{true}`) to enable a Profile popup to launch when a user clicks a connection. Clear the checkbox (`#{false}`) to suppress this option. This parameter is associated with the Connections - Card task flow.
`Sort Criteria`	The connections sort order Enter `LAST_ACTIVITY_TIME` to sort connections in descending date/time order. Leave blank to sort alphabetically by name. This parameter is associated with the following task flows: Connections - Card Connections - Detailed View
`User Id`	The ID of the user to show in the task flow This value is set automatically (`#{securityContext.userName}`). Do not edit this value. This parameter is associated with the following task flows: Connections - Quick View Connections - Detailed View
`User Name`	The ID of the user to show in the task flow This value is set automatically (`#{securityContext.userName}`). Do not edit this value. This parameter is associated with the following task flows: Connections - Card Connections

30.5.3 Using Properties to Configure a Connections Task Flow Instance

This section provides examples of how you use property values to affect the behavior of a given task flow instance. Because you make these changes in page edit mode (Oracle Composer), they affect all users' views of the affected task flow instance.

This section includes the following subsections:

Section 30.5.3.1, "Adding a Remove Button to Connections - Card"
Section 30.5.3.2, "Restricting Connections Displayed to Those on a Named List"
Section 30.5.3.3, "Specifying an Initial View for a Connections Task Flow Instance"
Section 30.5.3.4, "Limiting the Number of Displayed Connections"
Section 30.5.3.5, "Specifying Numbers of Rows and Columns"
Section 30.5.3.6, "Applying a Filter to a Connections - Card Task Flow Instance"
Section 30.5.3.7, "Selecting a Display Format for a Connections - Card Task Flow Instance"
Section 30.5.3.8, "Invoking a Profile Popup from a Connections - Card Task Flow Instance"

30.5.3.1 Adding a Remove Button to Connections - Card

By default, the Connections - Card task flow does not provide a control for permanently removing a connection. You can use the Allow Remove property on a Connections - Card task flow instance to render a Remove button next to each listed connection. Allow Remove is honored when the task flow's Profile Format property is set to List or Virtual Business Card.

To enable the removal of a connection in a Connections - Card task flow:

Edit the properties of a Connections - Card task flow instance.

See Also:
For information about editing task flow properties, see Section 16.5.2, "Setting Properties on Page Components."
In the Component Properties dialog, bring the Parameters tab forward.
Set Profile Format to list.
Provide a value for Allow Remove:
- Select the checkbox (#{true}) to enable the display of a Remove button next to a listed connection (Figure 30-22).
  
  Figure 30-22 Remove Icon on a Connections - Card Task Flow
- Clear the checkbox (#{false}) to disable this feature.
Click OK.

30.5.3.2 Restricting Connections Displayed to Those on a Named List

In an instance of the Connections - Card task flow, you can use the Connection List Name property to restrict the display of connections to only those users included on a named Connections list.

See Also:

For information about Connections lists, see Section 30.4.5, "Creating and Managing Connections Lists."

To restrict a Connections - Card task flow to a particular Connections list:

Edit the properties of a Connections - Card task flow instance.

See Also:
For information about editing task flow properties, see Section 16.5.2, "Setting Properties on Page Components."
In the Component Properties dialog, bring the Parameters tab forward.
In the Connection List Name field, enter the name of the Connections list to use to limit the display of connections.
Click OK.

30.5.3.3 Specifying an Initial View for a Connections Task Flow Instance

Use the Current View property to specify the initial view of a Connections task flow instance. For most views, users can change the default you specify here. The exception is the people view, in which there are no controls for switching to a different view.

To specify an initial view for a Connections task flow instance:

Edit the properties of a Connections task flow instance.

See Also:
For information about editing task flow properties, see Section 16.5.2, "Setting Properties on Page Components."
In the Component Properties dialog, bring the Parameters tab forward.
For Current View, select one of the following:
- connections—(the default value) a list of connections
- receivedInvitations—a list of connections invitations you received
- sentInvitations—a list of connections invitations you sent
- people—a search field for finding people with whom to connect
Click OK.

30.5.3.4 Limiting the Number of Displayed Connections

The Connections - Card, Connections - Detailed View, and Connections - Quick View task flows provide the property Number of Connections per page for limiting the number of connections to show at a time. If a user's number of connections exceeds the specified value, a link is shown at the bottom of the task flow to enable the user to navigate to a full view of the Profile page's Connections subpage.

To limit the number of displayed connections in a Connections - Card, Connections - Detailed View, or Connections - Quick View task flow instance:

Edit the properties of a Connections - Card, Connections - Detailed View, or Connections - Quick View task flow instance.

See Also:
For information about editing task flow properties, see Section 16.5.2, "Setting Properties on Page Components."
In the Component Properties dialog, bring the Parameters tab forward.
Provide a value for Number of Connections per page.
Click OK.

30.5.3.5 Specifying Numbers of Rows and Columns

The Connections, Connections - Card, and Connections - Quick View task flows provide properties for controlling the number of columns and rows to show at a time. When column and row values are both specified, and a user's number of connections exceeds the specified values, Previous and Next links are shown, enabling the user to page through his connections.

To specify the number of rows and columns of connections to show:

Edit the properties of a Connections, Connections - Card, or Connections - Quick View task flow instance.

See Also:
For information about editing task flow properties, see Section 16.5.2, "Setting Properties on Page Components."
In the Component Properties dialog, bring the Parameters tab forward.
Enter a numeric value to control the number of rows to show:
- For Connections, enter a number for Number of Rows (list layout).
- For Connections - Card and Connections - Quick View, enter a number for Number of Rows.
For Connections - Card and Connections - Quick View, enter a numeric value in the Number of Columns field to control the number of columns to show.
Click OK.

30.5.3.6 Applying a Filter to a Connections - Card Task Flow Instance

The Filter Pattern property enables you to apply a filtering term that limits the display of connections in a Connections - Card task flow instance to only those who meet the filtering criteria. For example, to show only those connections with a user name that includes the term pat (including patrick or sripathy), enter pat for the Filter Pattern property.

The filter is applied to all of the information in a given card, so you can filter against things like the user's job title or name. For example, entering the term manager, ensures that only those connections whose job title includes manager are displayed in the task flow instance.

To apply a filter to a Connections - Card task flow instance:

Edit the properties of a Connections - Card task flow instance.

See Also:
For information about editing task flow properties, see Section 16.5.2, "Setting Properties on Page Components."
In the Component Properties dialog, bring the Parameters tab forward.
Enter a filtering term for Filter Pattern.

Tip:
For example, enter a job title, a user name, or partial values, such as man.
Click OK.

30.5.3.7 Selecting a Display Format for a Connections - Card Task Flow Instance

The Profile Format property provides options for controlling the arrangement of connections within a Connections - Card task flow instance. Both the placement of information and the amount of information shown are affected by your selection.

To select a display format for a Connections - Card task flow instance:

Edit the properties of a Connections - Card task flow instance.

See Also:
For information about editing task flow properties, see Section 16.5.2, "Setting Properties on Page Components."
In the Component Properties dialog, bring the Parameters tab forward.
Select a format from the Profile Format dropdown list:
- Virtual Business Card—Renders each connection in a virtual business card and includes the connection's user name and status message and quick-access buttons for interacting with your connections (Figure 30-23).
  
  Figure 30-23 Connections - Card in Virtual Business Card Format
- Iconic—Renders the connection's personal profile photo and shows the user name below the photo (Figure 30-24).
  
  Figure 30-24 Connections - Card in Iconic Format
- List—Renders connections in a list, showing the personal profile photo, user name, information about recent profile updates, and quick-access buttons for interacting with your connections (Figure 30-25).
  
  Figure 30-25 Connections - Card in List Format
- Tiled—Renders the connection's personal Profile photo and shows the user name and job title beside the photo (Figure 30-26).
  
  Figure 30-26 Connections - Card in Tiled Format
Click OK.

30.5.3.8 Invoking a Profile Popup from a Connections - Card Task Flow Instance

The Profile Launched on Selection property provides a means of launching a Profile popup when users click a connection name in a Connections - Card task flow instance (Figure 30-27).

Figure 30-27 Invoking a Profile Popup from the Connections - Card Task Flow

When this option is not selected, clicking a connection name in the task flow simply selects the connection.

To enable the launch of a Profile popup from a Connections - Card task flow instance:

Edit the properties of a Connections - Card task flow instance.

See Also:
For information about editing task flow properties, see Section 16.5.2, "Setting Properties on Page Components."
In the Component Properties dialog, bring the Parameters tab forward.
Select an option for Profile Launched on Selection:
- Select the checkbox (#{true}) to enable a Profile popup to launch when a user clicks a connection.
- Clear the checkbox (#{false}) to suppress this option.
Click OK.