8.5 Configuring the Layout Portlet

The Layout component displays either the Layout View or the Relationship View (created in the Relationship Browser window) from the Operations Center console. For more information about the Layout View, see the Operations Center Custom Drawing and Layout Guide. For information on the Relationship Browser drawings, see the Operations Center Service Modeling Guide.

The Layout portlet is also available as a view from other Operations Center portlets including Alarms, Performance, Tree Map, Element Properties, Properties Table, Show Impacted, Root Cause, Chart Builder and Summary. Click Actions and select Go to > Layout from any of these portlets.

By default, Figure 8-1 shows the element’s Layout View and is automatically updated when the element changes in the Operations Center server:

Figure 8-1 Layout Portlet showing a Layout view for an Adapter

NOTE:Data in the Layout portlet displays based on the time zone of the Operations Center server, and not the time zone configured for the Dashboard.

To view and configure the Layout portlet:

8.5.1 Navigating in the Layout Portlet

While viewing the Layout portlet, do any of the following:

Click an element to drill down.
Click the home icon to return to the element first displayed.
Click the back icon to view the previous element or other previously viewed parent elements.
When defined, click the element to open a Web page or URL.

This feature requires a custom property definition configuration in the Operations Center console. For information, see Section 7.6, Configuring URL Linking for the Layout Portlet.
When a predefined tool tip or pop‑up dialog was configured in the Layout View of the Operations Center console, hover the mouse over an element to show the tool tip or pop‑up:

For information on how to define a tool tip/pop‑up dialog, see Adding Tooltips or Pop-Ups to Portlets in the Dashboard in the Operations Center Custom Drawing and Layout Guide.

8.5.2 Configuring the Layout Portlet

To configure the Layout portlet/view:

Click the options icon and select Preferences.
Click the Layout tab.

For other portlets other than Layout, the Layout tab is found under the Advanced tab.
Specify the following options:

Diagram Width: Determines the size of the diagram within the portlet and is expressed as a percentage. The default is 100%.

For SVG diagrams, for changes to the diagram width to take effect, you must also select the Automatically scale diagram option.

Diagram Height: Determines the height of the diagram within the portlet and is expressed as pixels. The default is auto.

Maximum Auto Height: If you set Diagram Height to auto, the maximum vertical space for the portlet, in pixels.

Output Format: Select SVG or Flash. Note that custom background colors are not rendered when using Flash output.
Select or deselect the following check box options:

Show the relationships instead of Layout diagram: By default, this option is not selected and the layout diagram displays. Select the check box to show relationships between the current element and other elements.

Show navigation options: Selected by default. Displays the home and back/history icons in the diagram. Deselect to hide the options.

Automatically scale diagram: Select this option to resize the SVG diagram to fit it inside the specified Diagram Width and Diagram Height. When this option is selected and Diagram Height is set to auto, the diagram fills the horizontal space, and then expands vertically as needed. If the Diagram Height is set to a fixed size, the diagram reduces in size until it fits in the space. Deselect this option to render the diagram without resizing; scroll bars are added as needed to view the diagram.

Enable navigation mode: If selected, enables the Layout portlet to function as a driver for the content displayed in other portlets except for the Navigation portlet. Selecting an element on the Layout drawing displays information about the element in other portlets on the page. This feature is only available when using SVG on IE, and is not supported on Firefox. For more information about setting up portlets to be driven by other portlets, see Section 7.4, Using Navigation Mode to Drive Multiple Portlets.

Then, specify additional options for navigation mode:
- Allow drill-down when clicking on elements: If selected, updates the Layout diagram to display children of a selected element. If not selected, the diagram does not change. Navigation mode must be enabled for this option to apply.
- Portlet Identifiers: Specify a comma-separated list of portlet tags corresponding to other portlets on the page that should update to display information related to an element selected on the Layout portlet. For information on tagging portlets, see Section 7.4, Using Navigation Mode to Drive Multiple Portlets.
Refresh portlet when updates occur: Selected by default. Enables the Dashboard to receive automatic updates from the Operations Center server as content changes occur. Deselect to manually control updates.

Refresh portlet every X Seconds/Minutes/Hours: If selected, forces a refresh of layout portlet content. Specify the time interval to perform the refresh action.

When using SVG, and containing charts with a refresh interval (configured in Operations Center), the chart refresh interval is used if set to be more frequent than the Refresh portlet setting above. If there is more than one chart in the layout, the shortest (most frequent) refresh interval configuration is used for the portlet.
Click Save before exiting the configuration options.

8.5.3 Adjusting the Scale for Layout Diagrams

Various configuration settings are available to customize how custom drawings and diagrams display in the Layout portlet. For example, we suggest the following settings in the portlet’s edit-side options:

Diagram Width to 100%
Diagram Height to auto
Select the Automatically scale diagram option

These selections display the diagram in the horizontal space provided, then adjusts the height proportionally. If the drawing is naturally too big for the space, it will scale down to fit. However,

If Diagram Height is set to a fixed size when the Automatically scale diagram option is enabled, the diagram will reduce in size as much as it needs to fit into the space.

In either case, the drawing will not ever be displayed larger than it’s natural size. And, on occasion, a custom drawing can feel too small in the portlet space, as compared to other elements on the page or other layout diagrams when driving the Layout portlet. When this occurs, do the following:

In the Operations Center console, open the custom drawing in the Layout view.
Switch the view to Edit Mode.
Right-click the background, select Enable Dashboard Fit-to-Space Scaling.
Save the drawing.