Create Your Own PortaPortal (or several!)
www.portaportal.com
What is a PortaPortal?
A PortaPortal is a web site that allows you to organize your favorite web sites by categories. You can even
allow guest access to your PortaPortal if you wish (for your students, other faculty, etc.)
Why create a PortaPortal?
All of your favorite web sites (and those for student use during specific units of study) are available at the click
of the mouse on any computer that has Internet access.
Tutorial
1. Go to the PortaPortal home page: http://www.portaportal.com
2. Click on Signup
3. Enter the requested information. Your Login Name also becomes your Guest Access name, so make
your Login Name something that pertains to the type of sites that you will list (examples – lshifflett,
smithWWII, socialstudiessites)
4. Click Join PortaPortal
5. Remember your Password – this is how you edit your PortaPortal
Access your PortaPortal account at http://portaportal.com – enter your User Name and Password
Portal Editing Console
The Portal Editing Console is located in the upper right corner of the portaportal window.
The 6 buttons perform the following tasks. The action of the buttons is described in the following section based
on number.
1
This is only visible in standard mode (turn on in Preferences)
Use this button to alphabetize your categories.
2
Clicking on this brings you to a new screen which lets you add categories. This is the first thing you will do after creating your
portal. There is no limit to the number of categories you can have.
3
You will use the logout button in the case where your machine is being used by other people. This secures your site so it will be
inaccessible until the password is entered again.
4
This button is what brings you to this tutorial. Use it whenever you are not sure how to get portaportal to behave the way you
want.
5
Clicking on this brings you to a screen which lets you remove categories. Be careful with this command as there is no undo. All
bookmarks inside a deleted category will be lost.
6
Use this link to access your personal preferences page. It can control the color and layout of your portal. New options are being
added even as we speak!
Add Categories Screen
This is the first place you will visit. Your portal requires all links to be stored in categories
(i.e. Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, Immigration, etc.) Enter category names and click on the "Add"
button. Clicking the "Cancel" button will leave your portal unaltered. This screen allows you to enter up to 5
categories at once, but there is no limit to the number of categories you can have.
Once a category is created, you can create subfolders within the category by clicking on the following icon:
Add Links to a Category
The easiest way to link to a website is to:
•
highlight the address in the URL window
•
copy
o Right click and then choose COPY
o EDIT and then choose COPY
o Control C
•
paste the address in the appropriate location
o Right click and then choose PASTE
o Edit and then choose PASTE
o Control V
•
Give the site a name (and an icon if you wish)
This screen allows you to add up to 5 links at a time. There is no limit on the number of links a category can
contain. For each website you want to bookmark, type in a name and the entire URL including the http part
(remember that copying and pasting is the easiest method). Click the "Add Links" button. The new sites will
have been added to your portal.
Once created, each category will contain 3 buttons for editing that category. These buttons are located in the
category header on the right hand side. Their actions are described below. The
icon allows you to
create subfolders within a category.
The "Edit Bookmarks" screen lists all of the bookmarks in a given category. Make changes to the names and/or
addresses of the links. Checkboxes are provided to delete unwanted bookmarks.
Another way of adding bookmarks is to use the "QuickAdd" window. You can access this window by clicking
on the "Quick Add" link on the top of the left margin. Then just leave it floating around as you surf. When you
find a URL you like, copy and paste it into the window, name it and select a category, and press the button. It
will be added to your site without ever having to enter your portaportal!
Delete Categories Screen
You may decide to delete some categories. Here you will see all of your categories listed with checkboxes next
to them. Simply check the boxes you want deleted and press the "Delete Categories" button. All bookmarks
inside the deleted categories will also be deleted.
Preference Screen
Control the look and feel of your portaportal.
Displays the actual web address
(in addition to the hyperlink) so
that the portaportal can be
printed or pasted into a Word
document for future reference.
Collapses all
category folders
for a neater,
more concise
look.
1
Enter your name here. Please use your real name, otherwise its just rude, and it makes it much easier to locate your account if
there is a problem.
2
Please enter your email address, we really don't send out any emails, and we don't give out email addresses. The main use of this
is to have a valid address if you need your password retrieved. WARNING: Accounts without valid email address can be deleted
without warning.
3
This is not visible in retro mode
Click on this link if you want to change your username. You will be taken to a page that will let you change it (if the new name
is available of course).
4
Click on this link if you want to change your password. You will be taken to a page that will let you change it.
5
This menu lets you choose between one of our 6 colors. There is no difference introduced by this other than the colors used.
6
This popup menu lets you arrange the layout of your portal by letting you choose the number of categories in a row. The float
option does not keep strict number of categories in a row, but lets as many as can fit in a row do so.
7
This popup menu is how you allow people guest access to your site. By default it is off. Once you turn it on anyone can get
access to your site using just your username. No password would be required.
8
This checkbox defines how links in your portal will behave. When the checkbox is checked clicking on a link will open that link
in a new window, so the portal still stays visible.
9
This popup menu allows the user to change the order of the categories or the urls inside a specific category. If it is set to
"Reordering mode is on" little arrows will appear next to all tables and links which lets you change their positions.
10
The format of your portal will decide the look and functions that your portal will have. Standard mode is the default version of
portaportal. Simple format returns you to the old generation portal. It does not allow for subcategories or collapsing tables.
The retro format should only be used with very old web browsers. Only try this version if the standard or advanced formats will
not display on your computer.
11
This field holds the text that will show up in the heading of your portals guest page. Use it to greet your guests!
12
This field controls what the window title bar will read on your guest portal. Its helpful to make this descriptive as its what the
user will see in their bookmarks if they add your guest page to their browsers bookmarks.
13
This is not visible in retro mode When this checkbox is on the URL's will be visible below the link names in your tables. This
lets you print out your portal in a useful state.
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