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HCL Digital Experience Product Documentation
Welcome to the product documentation for HCL Digital Experience. Find information about how to install, configure, maintain, and use HCL Web Content Manager and HCL Portal Server, Enable, and Extend solutions.
HCL Digital Experience 8.5
Learn how to install, configure, troubleshoot, maintain, and use Version 8.5 of HCL Web Content Manager and HCL Portal Server, Enable, and Extend.
Online Help
This Online Help is made available in the HCL Digital Experience Help Center for quick references on how to install, configure, maintain, and use HCL Digital Experience.
Online Help topics
Online Help includes HCL Digital Experience information that is available from the product user interface. Online Help for both administrative and content author roles are also available. Help for the Configuration Wizard is also included.
User assistance for content authors
Create an exceptional experience for site visitors. Integrate compelling digital content into your website or intranet by using lightweight content management tools. Edit content and integrate digital assets inline and then publish changes efficiently.
Applications for Content Authors
Use the following applications to create and manage content on your site.
Web content user assistance
Use the web content authoring portlet and inline editing tools to create and manage web content items.
Managing content with the authoring portlet
You use the web content authoring portlet to create and manage web content items such as site areas, content items, authoring templates, presentation templates, components, categories, folders, projects, and workflow items.
How to work with elements
Each content item that you create contains at least one element type. The elements that are stored in a content item are determined by the authoring template that is selected when you created the content item. Depending on the authoring template, and your level of access, you might also be able to manage the elements in a content item.
How to use a search element
A search element is used to display the results of a search query. A search element cannot be used in isolation, but must be used together with an HTML element that is used to define the search query form.

HCL Digital Experience Product Documentation
Welcome to the product documentation for HCL Digital Experience. Find information about how to install, configure, maintain, and use HCL Web Content Manager and HCL Portal Server, Enable, and Extend solutions.
- HCL Digital Experience 9.5
- HCL Digital Experience 9.5 [Legacy Content]
- HCL Digital Experience 9.0
  Learn how to install, configure, troubleshoot, maintain, and use Version 9.0 of HCL Web Content Manager and HCL Portal Server, Enable, and Extend.
- HCL Digital Experience 8.5
  Learn how to install, configure, troubleshoot, maintain, and use Version 8.5 of HCL Web Content Manager and HCL Portal Server, Enable, and Extend.
  - Overview
    HCL Digital Experience (formerly IBM WebSphere Portal and IBM Web Content Manager) empowers you to create, manage, and deliver engaging omnichannel digital experiences to virtually all audiences with responsive content, targeted offers, seamlessly integrated applications, and consistent branding across channels (web, mobile. and hybrid mobile/web applications and more).
  - Roadmaps to deploy your system
    Review the roadmaps to understand the common deployment, configuration, migration, and integration patterns.
  - Roadmaps to create your website
    Review the roadmaps to understand how to create your website.
  - Online Help
    This Online Help is made available in the HCL Digital Experience Help Center for quick references on how to install, configure, maintain, and use HCL Digital Experience.
    - Online Help topics
      Online Help includes HCL Digital Experience information that is available from the product user interface. Online Help for both administrative and content author roles are also available. Help for the Configuration Wizard is also included.
      - User assistance for content authors
        Create an exceptional experience for site visitors. Integrate compelling digital content into your website or intranet by using lightweight content management tools. Edit content and integrate digital assets inline and then publish changes efficiently.
        Welcome to your Digital Experience
        Learn about the many capabilities that are available for delivering an exceptional Digital Experience to site visitors. The enhanced content authoring experience means you can invest less time developing custom authoring environments. The flexible framework means you can integrate applications and content into your website and still retain a cohesive user experience.
        Building a site with Site Builder
        Use Site Builder to create sites and add sections using predefined site and section templates.
        Adding pages, content, and more
        As a content author, your goal is to visualize the best way to organize information on your site with pages and content. You might need to create a section in the site for a new product or you might want to change the arrangement of pages in the navigation based on customer feedback. Either way, you always start with a project and end with publishing your updates.
        Configure your content spot
        The Configure Spot feature provides a convenient place for selecting the type of content to display in a web content viewer. You can target content to segments, display content with page context, or select a specific content item for the spot.
        Applications for Content Authors
        Use the following applications to create and manage content on your site.
        Web content user assistance
        Use the web content authoring portlet and inline editing tools to create and manage web content items.
        Managing content with the authoring portlet
        You use the web content authoring portlet to create and manage web content items such as site areas, content items, authoring templates, presentation templates, components, categories, folders, projects, and workflow items.
        Managing items by using the authoring portlet
        The authoring portlet is used to create and manage the items that you use to create websites. There are a common set of features within the authoring portlet to assist you work with items.
        Creating items
        The basic item creation task is the same for all item-types.
        Generated template types
        You can generate author-ready templates in HCL Web Content Manager to provide content authors a set of predefined content templates that can be selected from the toolbar and used to add content to a page.
        Page component types
        Use these predefined page component types to create custom page components for your content authors.
        How to work with elements
        Each content item that you create contains at least one element type. The elements that are stored in a content item are determined by the authoring template that is selected when you created the content item. Depending on the authoring template, and your level of access, you might also be able to manage the elements in a content item.
        Creating an authoring tools element
        The authoring tool element is used to add authoring portlet functions to web pages. When you create an authoring tool element, you need to define the layout of the authoring tool and any required actions, and select parameters for each action layout as required.
        Creating a component reference element
        You use a component reference element to store a reference to a component. To create a component reference element, you can either add a component reference element to an authoring template, site area, or content item, or create a component reference component.
        Creating a date and time element
        You use a date and time element to store a date or time to be displayed on a web page. To create a date and time element, you can either add a date and time element to an authoring template, site area, or content item, or create a date and time component.
        Using a file resource element
        You use a file resource element to store a file that can later be referenced on a web page. To create a file resource element, you can either add a file resource element to an authoring template, site area, or content item, or create a file resource component.
        Using an HTML element | HCL Digital Experience
        You use an HTML element to store a section of HTML. To create an HTML element, you can either add an HTML element to an authoring template, site area, or content item, or create an HTML component.
        Using an image element
        You use an image element to store an image file that can later be referenced on a web page. To create an image element, you can either add an image element to an authoring template, site area, or content item, or create an image component.
        Using a JSP element
        You use a JSP element to store a path to a JSP. When rendered within a presentation template or element design, a request to a JSP is generated and processed.
        Using a link element
        A link element stores a link to a web content item, or to external content such as a web page.
        List presentation uses
        A list presentation stores a reusable presentation for navigator, menu, personalization, and search components. If the presentation of a navigator, menu, personalization, or search component is used in more than one component design, then you store that presentation in a list presentation.
        Using a menu element
        To create a menu element you must specify the criteria to search content items with, and then create a layout for the metadata or content to be displayed in the menu element.
        Using a navigator element
        Create a navigator element to display a list of links based on a section of the site framework of a site.
        Using a number element
        You use a number element to store a numerical value.
        Using an option selection element
        An option selection element can be added only to an authoring template. You create a predefined set of values for content creators to select from when you create a content item or site area.
        Using a page navigation element
        A page navigation element provides navigation controls that are used to browse through a set of results that are generated by menus, navigators, personalization, and search elements.
        Using a Personalization element
        A Personalization element stores a reference to a rule or content spot.
        Using a rich text element
        You use a rich text element to provide users with a rich text editor that can be used to author a section of HTML. To create a rich text element, you can either add a rich text element to an authoring template, site area, or content item, or create a rich text component.
        How to use a search element
        A search element is used to display the results of a search query. A search element cannot be used in isolation, but must be used together with an HTML element that is used to define the search query form.
        How to create a search query
        A search query is created by using an HTML element. The form that you create by using the HTML element is used to submit a search query. The results of the search query are then displayed within a search element.
        How to display search results
        You use a search element that is stored in search component to display the results of a search query.
        Using a short text element
        A short text element is used to store small amounts of fixed-length text where the length is 250 bytes or less. Unlike the other text elements, short text elements can also be used as a search parameter in a Personalization rule. To create a short text element, you can either add a short text element to an authoring template, site area, or content item, or create a short text component.
        Using a style sheet element
        You store a style sheet file in a style sheet element. You can use a style sheet element only by creating a style sheet component. You cannot add a style sheet element to authoring templates, site areas, or content items.
        Using a taxonomy element
        You use a taxonomy element to display a list of categories from a taxonomy.
        Using a text element
        You use a text element to store a short section of text. To create a text element, you can either add a text element to an authoring template, site area, or content item, or create a text component.
        Using a user name element
        A user name element displays the name of the current user in a presentation template, component design, or element design. You can use a user name element only by creating a user name component. You cannot add a user name element to authoring templates, site areas, or content items.
        Using a user selection element
        You use a user selection element to store a list of users and groups.
        Adding elements to an item
        You add elements to site areas, content items, page items, and authoring templates to store web content specific to those items.
        Element designs
        You use element designs to define the design and layout of elements.
        Creating web content tags
        Use HCL Web Content Manager tags to reference elements within presentation templates and element designs.
        Item management features
        HCL Web Content Manager includes a range of features that help you manage the web content items that are used in your system.
        Editing web content portlet settings
        When you add web content portlets to your site, you need to edit the settings of these portlets.
        Personalization
        Personalization can recognize a specific site visitor based on a profile. It can also determine characteristics of a user based on previous purchases, products or pages viewed, or other attributes. If a visitor belongs to a particular geographic region, content specific to that region can be targeted to the visitor. The page is assembled with the personalized information, and the visitor sees a personalized page.
        Search Center
        Use the Search Center to search for documents.
      - User assistance for administrators
        As an administrator, you can manage access to resources in the website, deploy new applications, and more.
      - Directory structure
        The topic shows the naming conventions that are used to denote the location of files on the servers and the types of resources you can find in those directories.
      - Configuration Wizard
        You installed your HCL Digital Experience software. Now let the Configuration Wizard guide you through configuring your system. To begin, select a configuration option and provide basic input about your environment. Based on this information, the Configuration Wizard provides you with examples, recommended values, customized instructions, and scripts that you can run.
  - Installing
    HCL Digital Experience provides flexible deployment options that range from proof-of-concept where you can examine and test functionality to a highly available and scalable production environment. Review the planning information to learn more about hardware and software requirements, high availability, scalability, supported topologies, and much more. Select your operating system and then select the installation pattern that most reflects your business needs.
  - Configuring
    Run the following tasks after you install and deploy HCL Digital Experience. They address tasks that are typically run one time and have a global effect. Some configuration changes are made more frequently or do not have a global effect. These tasks are addressed in the Administering section.
  - Backup and restore
    Backup and recovery of data files and databases is an essential operation for any business system, particularly for data and applications that run in production environments. Create and follow a plan for backing up and recovering data on all tiers of your HCL Digital Experience deployment. IBM Installation Manager must also be included in backup and recovery planning. If you back up the HCL Portal file structure and then install a fix pack, your HCL Digital Experience and IBM Installation Manager become out of sync after you restore the HCL Portal file system. This condition is not recoverable.
  - Migrating
    Successful migration requires significant planning and preparation, understanding the tools that are involved, and careful execution of the appropriate steps in the order provided.
  - Integrating
    Integrate HCL Digital Experience with software such as HCL Sametime to enable your users to collaborate more easily. You can also use the unified task list portlet to integrate HCL with your backend business process software, such as IBM Process Server.
  - Administering
    Use the administration tools that are provided with the portal to do various day-to-day administration tasks. There are two methods for editing portal setup: using the administration portlets or the XML configuration interface. The administration portlets are a convenient way to make real-time updates to the portal's configuration. While the XML configuration interface is suited to more advanced administration, including batch processing of updates.
  - Securing
    Security tasks include setting up property extension databases and custom user repositories, configuring and activating SSL, and configuring authentication. In addition, tasks such as activating Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) and NIST SP800-131a security modules and configuring external security managers such as Security Access Manager might be required to secure your portal environment.
  - Monitoring
    HCL Portal includes tools and features to help you monitor the portal site.
  - Setting up a website
    Setting up a website includes, creating pages, adding navigation, setting up search, and adding content to the site. Themes are used to customize the portal's look-and-feel. Out-of-the-box templates and the site wizard can help you set up your portal site faster. You can add wikis and blogs to your site and let users tag and rate content on your site.
  - Staging to production
    During portal solution development, the solution is initially developed, tested, and refined on one server or a limited number of servers. The solution is deployed later on live systems, referred to as the production environment. The process of moving the solution from the development environment to the production environment is called staging.
  - Developing
    This section includes developer documentation on extending applications and development assets for HCL Portal and HCL Web Content Manager.
  - Troubleshooting
    This section helps you resolve problems, use diagnostic tools and tracing to capture HCL Digital Experience system errors.
  - Reference
    View information that can help you use the Digital Experience Help Center including directory conventions, terms of use, trademarks, a glossary, and more.
  - Glossary
    This glossary includes terms and definitions for HCL Digital Experience.
  - Content Template Catalog 4.4
    The Content Template (CTC) is a set of templates that accelerate the process of building a website.

How to use a search element | HCL Digital Experience

A search element is used to display the results of a search query. A search element cannot be used in isolation, but must be used together with an HTML element that is used to define the search query form.

To create a search form, you must:

create a search query by using an HTML element
create a search results view by using a search component

You reference both the HTML element and search component in a single presentation template. The search component is only rendered after a search query is run by a user.