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General structure and functions

General structure and functions

The basic structure of an ADIB portal is shown in the following illustration:

ADIB-Portal

In the explanations below, we refer to the individual elements introduced here:

  • (1) Logo
    • This is an image file (jpg or png) that can be configured via the CentralStation.
  • (2) Free-text Search
    • Used to search for items (e.g., products) present in the current portal.
      • The search can be configured flexibly, for example:
        • whether search suggestions should appear
        • which fields to search in
        • whether to match whole words only or also partial matches
  • (3) Search Field Selector
    • Used to restrict the search to a specific field.
      • The user can specify that they want to search only within a particular field.
        • On click, a list opens. The entries in this list are defined in the CentralStation (by setting the “SEARCH” property on the Step-Positions—details below).
  • (4) User Menu
    • Allows the user to choose the language (if the portal is configured for it) and provides access to, among other things:
      • Share table (if configured)
      • Shopping cart (if configured)
      • Comparison list
      • Download table
      • Excel import (only for an Edit Portal and if configured)
      • Logging data (“Edit-Logs”) (only for an Edit Portal and if configured)
      • Template Designer – for dynamically generated PDF templates
      • Settings (e.g., language selection and user login), if the portal is configured accordingly
  • (5) Filter Menu via Facets
    • Facets are generated automatically for fields to which the “FACET” property has been assigned on the Step-Positions (details below).
      • The user can hide the entire filter panel or close individual facets via the icons.
  • (6) Search Results View
    • The user can choose how to display the results of the search (free-text search or filter facets).
    • In portal configuration via CentralStation, you define which views are available and which is the default. Available views:
      • Grid View (“GRID”): products are shown in a grid (this is selected in the screenshot).
      • List View (“LIST”): products are shown as list items (one per row).
      • Table View (“TABLE”): products are shown in a table.
      • Flexible View (“FLEXIBLE”): products are shown in a table, but the user can define which columns to display.
    • In configuration, you can specify for each field whether it should appear in each view.
  • (7) Pagination (Top)
  • (8) Pagination (Bottom)
    • In portal configuration, you choose whether pagination appears at the top, bottom, or both.
  • (9) Enable Edit Mode
    • If the portal is an Edit Portal, the user can switch to edit mode here.
      • Changes are automatically logged and accessible via “Edit-Logs” in the User Menu.
      • Changes are automatically written back to the source (e.g., the Contentserv PIM system) if the portal is configured to do so.
  • (10) Function Buttons
    • In configuration, you decide which buttons appear here:
      • [i] for the detail view of a product
      • [PDF] generates, for the selected product, e.g., a datasheet. Its structure is defined via a template.
      • [Download] adds the selected product to the Download Table, accessible via the User Menu.
      • [Compare] adds the selected product to the Comparison List, accessible via the User Menu.
      • Additional function buttons can be added (explained further below).
  • (11) Flip Function
    • Clicking this button flips the tile/card and directly displays important fields on its back side.
      • The fields shown on the back are defined via the “FACET” property on the Step-Positions (details below).
  • (12) Number of Items / Products and Definition of Items to Display. Displays how many items/products are available and allows setting how many to show per page, etc.

Other elements of an ADIB portal become visible once the user clicks a product and opens its detail view. The facets on the left collapse and the User Menu on the top right opens, resulting in the following view:

ADIB-Portal2

  • (13)
    • Displays products currently opened in detail view as clickable items, so the user can jump between them easily without re-running a search.
  • (14)
    • Tabs of the Product Detail View
      • Fields (“Step-Positions”) coming from the source and to be transferred into the portal can be organized into tabs and sections for display. This allows grouping fields logically or thematically.
  • (15)
    • Sections within the Product Detail View. Sub-groups of fields inside each tab.
  • (16)
    • Information on Last Full Content Update
      • Indicates when the portal contents (e.g., products) were last fully updated. Typically, ADIB is configured to regenerate content once or multiple times per day automatically.
  • (17)
    • Portal Version and Creation Date Information
      • Allows checking if this is the technically latest version of the portal (“development state”) and when it was created (“configuration state”).

ADIB-Portal3 \Image 17 : Flexible display of search results via the “FLEXIBLE” view – including filtering capability.

  • (18)
    • Template Selection or Creation for Display
      • The user can create their own templates defining which fields to show. Using the template selector, they switch between templates and display exactly the fields they need.
  • (19)
    • Column Headers Acting as Filters
      • In the “FLEXIBLE” view (see item 6), clicking on a column header (e.g., “Manufacturer” as shown) opens a list of all existing values along with their result counts. This allows the user to filter very easily, similar to Excel.

ADIB-Portal4 \Image 18 : Intuitive creation of templates via drag & drop.

  • (20)
    • The user creates new templates or edits existing ones via simple drag & drop between selected fields and the list of all fields.
  • (21), (22)
    • Afterwards, the user specifies the template name and saves it.