Portal Administrator Guide

A portal is a branded UI theme on top of the NetX platform that leverages your existing assets to promote your organization’s identity. As a brand manager, creative director, or marketer, you can create content pages to present brand guidelines and detail your vision around color, typography, patterns, logos, links, and more.

Creating a portal

1. Log on as an Administrator or Director-level user, navigate to the Systems area of your instance and click the Portals tab.
2. When prompted, name your new portal. This name can be changed later but your initial name will determine your portal's URL. As you type your portal's name, you will see a preview of the URL.
3. Click Save to create your new portal.

Settings

Once you have named and saved a portal, you will be taken to the portal Settings tab where you will set the foundations for your new portal. 

General

Name

View or edit the name you gave your portal upon creation here. 

URL

The URL (internet address) of your portal, based on its initial Name. This may be edited and does not need to match your portal's name. 

Home page

Determines the home page of your portal, i.e. the page users will navigate to by default when visiting your portal's base URL. The default is home, a page generated upon portal creation that can be changed to any other page as more are created.

Contact message

Portals can offer a Contact feature, enabling users to communicate directly with administrators. To customize the contact form's message (e.g., providing instructions on what information users should include), modify the form text in this field.

To enable the contact feature, configure the recipient's email address using the designated property.

User access

Public access

Determines whether your portal can be viewed anonymously, without a user account. This toggle is disabled by default and requires a public user configuration. Anonymous user access and permissions depend on the public user's user level and permissions.

Enable sign-in

Only available when Public access is enabled — this option controls whether to display a sign-in button in the user menu for public access portals.

User level

This setting determines the user level for self-registered users when new accounts do not require administrator approval. If self-registration does not require administrator approval, it is important to set the permission to the portal's top-level folder to all, or new users will not be able to view your portal's content. 

Enable SSO login

Adds the option for users to log in via SAML Single Sign-On.

SSO label

The label used for the SSO login button, e.g. SSO users log in here.

SSO URL

Enter the URL of your SAML server in this field.

Logout URL

If you provide a URL here, your portal will automatically redirect any user who performs a logout action. Without a value in this field, your users will be directed back to the main login page. 

Content

Folder

This setting selects which folder structure contains the assets your portal will display. If present, clicking the Assets link in the portal opens this folder in the portal gallery. Choose a parent folder that contains all portal assets - it doesn't need to match your main NetX folder structure. Creating a separate folder structure for portal assets helps simplify permissions.

Note: Users (including the public user) need explicit permissions to view content. Grant access to the parent folder and check "recursive" to include subfolders.

Display folder descriptions

Allow your users to read any folder descriptions saved in NetX.

Search placeholder

With this enabled and a value saved, your search bar will update the default Search placeholder text in the input box.

Manage attributes

Choose which NetX attributes to show in your portal using the Manage attributes dropdown. Remove unwanted attributes with the trash button, and drag to reorder them. Only selected attributes will appear in the portal, in the order you set.

Each attribute has two options:

• Asset detail: Shows the attribute on asset detail pages
• Sort: Makes the attribute available for gallery sorting

The first attribute in the list will appear under gallery thumbnails. Even without these options checked, attribute selection will remain available for exports and PDFs.

By default, all attributes are sortable, and four attributes (Name, File size, File type, and Dimensions) appear on asset detail pages.

While Name and File attributes can't be completely removed, unchecking both options hides them from asset details and sort menus. Note: Asset names will still show at the top of detail pages and in some portal content.

Analytics

Enable Google Analytics

Toggling this on will enable Google Analytics 4 tracking. 

Tag ID

Use this input line to enter your tag ID. To sign up for a Google Analytics 4 tag ID, see Google's documentation.

Brand

1. Logo: Search and select a logo asset to display in the upper-left corner of your portal header. A preview will appear in the Logo block after selection.
   
   
2. Favicon:  Search and select a favicon asset. This image appears as an icon in your browser tab, along with your portal's title. Note: a pixel dimension of 16x16 or 32x32 is recommended and only PNG, GIF, or ICO files are supported.
   
   
3. Watermark:

   A watermark will appear on all portal assets, including banners and Adbuilder templates. Select your watermark image the same way you choose a logo or favicon. The watermark's opacity must be set before uploading to NetX.

   Watermark placement options:

   Bottom left
   Bottom right
   Center (overlay)
   Top left
   Top right

4. Colors: Set your portal's primary color by entering a hex code or using the color picker.
   
   

5. Text: Customize your portal's text appearance:
   Font: Upload your font file to Acme and enter its name here
   Copyright: Add a custom copyright message to the footer
   Disable web fonts: check to use only locally installed fonts
   
   
6. Logout URL: Apply a logout URL to redirect users to that URL when they perform a logout action. Prefacing the URL with https:// is required.
   
   
7. Copyright: The copyright message that displays on all page footers.

Pages

The Pages tab shows all existing pages and lets you create, edit, or delete pages. To create a new page:

1. Open the action menu, and click Add page.
2. Name your new page. The name of your page will automatically populate the page's slug, which can be edited if desired.
3. Choose whether your title appears on the page using the Show page title checkbox. This setting doesn't affect menu links and can be changed later.
4. Click Create. 
5. Select a template layout; you can edit this choice later. If you do not select a template while creating the page, Template 1 will be the default.

6. After selecting a template, you'll see your new page with a title, a template-specific content block, and an action menu.

   

Each content block will be labeled with its type, display a content preview, and provide options to delete or edit the block. Upon creation, blocks will default to an HTML type; this can be changed from the drop-down menu to the left of each block's Cancel and Save buttons. Choices include Asset, Carousel, Collection, Folder, Folder Assets, HTML, and Divider, described in more detail below.

Action menu

The action menu along the upper-left corner of the page editor offers the following actions:

• Add block: Adds a new block that will conform to your chosen template selection.
• Page options: Modify the page's title, URL slug, and whether to display the title on the page.
• Choose template: Changes the template format of the current page.
• Preview: Shows the live portal page.

Asset

Asset blocks show exactly one asset at a time, presented according to your chosen template block and the following criteria: 

Asset: Type the name of an asset you wish to place in your block and select the asset from the subsequent drop-down menu.

Target: Target size options vary by asset type:

Images: Choose Thumbnail, Preview, or Original size
Audio/Video: Only available in Original size

Note: Assets will resize to fit your template block. Preview the actual display size in the setup window.

Display asset name: The asset name can appear above or below your image, or not at all.

Download/collection buttons: Enable Download Button to let users download and share assets, or Collection Button to let them add assets to collections. When either option is enabled, users can access these features and view the asset's detail page by hovering over the asset.

Link URL/link title: Add a URL to create a link below the asset. You can customize the link's display text with a title.

This is how the completed asset block from above will look and function on your actual portal page once settings have been saved:

Carousel

Carousel content will pull all assets from a selected folder and present each one across a single template block in five-second intervals. Users can manually cycle through these images with navigational arrows. To set up a carousel:

1. Type the desired folder name into the input block.
2. Content will automatically appear according to the template block sizing it is inserted into. Once your folder has been selected, the page's preview will be updated and the carousel will appear in your portal. 
3. Click Save when finished.
   
   

Collection

Collection blocks present a gallery of assets from a chosen collection. To create a collection block:

1. Type the name of the desired collection and select it from the drop-down list.
2. Once you have selected your collection, the page's preview will update to display the collection as a series of thumbnails according to your chosen block's sizing.
3. Click Save when finished.
   
   

Folders

Folder blocks display clickable folders and their subfolders, but not the actual assets within. When users click a subfolder, they'll see a complete gallery view with search facets and controls. The main folder won't show a preview image, and if it contains no subfolders, the block will be empty.

1. Choose the parent folder your folder block will point to; a drop-down of relevant folders will appear as you begin to type.
2. When you select a folder, its subfolders appear as clickable objects sized to match your template. These show either basic placeholder icons or custom folder images, depending on your configuration. If enabled, folder descriptions appear when users hover over them. Clicking any folder opens its contents in the gallery view.
3. Click Save when finished.
   
   

Folder assets

Folder asset blocks create a gallery of the folder's contents, fitting within your template. Display options vary by file type:

• All assets show thumbnails (using placeholders if needed)
• Preview size works only for compatible files
• Original size works only for images

Note: Incompatible files will create gaps in the gallery layout.

To create a folder asset block:

1. Search to select your folder.
2. Configure your folder gallery by choosing the asset size (thumbnail, preview, or original), and decide whether to enable hover actions, show the gallery title, and display asset names beneath each item. Keep in mind subfolders won't be displayed, and if your chosen folder is empty, the block will show no content.
3. Click Save when finished.
   
   

HTML

Unlike the prior content box options which rely on NetX data to populate content, HTML content is built by administrators during portal construction to add custom text to your portal. This content displays according to your template type and chosen block's sizing. HTML text will use your portal's custom font (if configured).

To create an HTML block, type and format your text in the HTML editor and click Save when finished.

Divider

Place a grey horizontal bar, dividing your content on the page. This option has no configuration options and you can click Save to implement your content divider.

Assets page

The default assets page appears in your portal's header menu and shows content based on top-level visibility settings. Unlike folder asset or collection blocks, this page offers:

• Navigation between all subfolders
• Search facets
• Gallery customization (sorting and thumbnail size adjustment)
• Hover actions for all assets

Note: While you can't edit this page through the Pages tab, you can remove it via the Links tab.

Links

Create links to add to your portal's header menu. External links or direct links to assets and folders in NetX are supported.

To add a link:

1. Click on the action menu and select Add link.
2. Select the link type, then configure a target and a label (the link text that appears in the header menu). See below for a list of link types.
3. Click Save to create the link.

Use the link's menu to edit or delete the link. Note: Action type links are not deletable. Any new links will appear as options in the Menu tab where you can add them to your portal's header navigation.

Link types

Action: actions are specialized links to internal portal functions, such as AdBuilder templates, the contact form, or the Assets page. Available options include

• adBuilder:templates:route : Adds a link to the AdBuilder product.
• app:contact : Sets up a link to a contact form for communication with a portal manager.
• cms:route:category:roots : Creates a link to the Assets page.

Asset: Asset link types create a direct link to a specific asset. Type the name of the asset into the Asset field, then select the relevant asset from the drop-down menu. You can customize the link's label, which is the text visible in the portal's header.  

Folder: Folder links navigate to specific folders, which are displayed similarly to the Assets page. Type the name of the folder into the Folder field and select the correct folder from the drop-down menu. You can customize the link's label, which is the text visible in the portal's header.

URL: You can link to other sites directly from your portal header using a URL type link. Type the address of the desired site and then give it a label to display in the portal header. Make sure to include http:// or https:// as the link's prefix or your link will not work.

Menus

The menus tab consists of two sections: on the right, all of the created links; on the left, the links which are shown in your portal header.

• Create your header navigation by dragging items from the right list to the left list. You can organize links into submenus by adding child links under a header link, and customize the names of your submenu items.
• Create a submenu by dragging a Submenu item from right to left, then place desired links underneath it. Indent these links to show they belong to the submenu. Note that nested submenus (submenus within submenus) are not allowed.
• Your links will appear in the navigation bar from left to right, matching the order of items from top to bottom in your list.
• To rearrange your menu items, use the drag icon and drag your menu items. To remove menu items, use the Delete button.
  
  

AdBuilder

If your site has AdBuilder enabled, Templates will be available as a standard menu option. See the AdBuilder Administrator Guide for more information.

Advanced settings

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