Categories, folders and icons

Categories are the folders people see on the portal, and icons are the pictures on every card and folder. This page explains how to create categories, how a restricted category hides what is in it, and how to use the shared icon library.

What a category is

A category is a named group of resources, such as "Finance", "Sales tools" or "Everyday". On the portal, each category becomes a heading, a tab or a folder tile (which of these depends on how the theme's applications panel is set up; see Building the sign-in and home pages). People find what they need faster, and a long list of cards becomes a few tidy folders.

Any resource can be filed in a category: published applications, desktops and web applications alike. A resource can sit in several categories at once, and appears in each. A resource in no category appears in an uncategorised section.

By default, a category only arranges things. It does not decide who can see a resource; that is set on the resource itself. You can, however, restrict a category to chosen people, and then it does control access. That is explained in Restricted categories.

Create a category

1. Open the Categories page. In the console, go to Catalog → Categories.
2. Click Add.
3. Name the category. This is the heading or folder name people see.
4. Choose an icon. Click the icon well to open the icon picker. It recommends Folder, the Business group (departments and lines of business) and Grid first. Without an icon, a plain folder symbol is shown.
5. Leave visibility at everyone unless you want to restrict the folder (see below).
6. Save. The category is now offered on the Remote Apps, Desktops and Web Apps pages.

File resources in a category

1. Open the resource from Catalog → Remote Apps, Catalog → Desktops or Catalog → Web Apps.
2. Tick the categories in the categories card. The card only appears once at least one category exists.
3. Save.

Switching a category off

A category that is switched off (inactive) is simply not shown. Its resources behave as if they were not filed in it: they appear in their other categories, or as uncategorised. Switching a category off never takes anything away from anybody, and switching it back on restores the folder complete. Use it to tidy the portal, not to revoke access.

Restricted categories

A category can be limited to named people and groups. A restricted category is hidden from everybody else, and so is everything in it: the folder does not appear at all, rather than appearing empty, and its resources cannot be opened by somebody outside the list, even by someone who knows a direct link.

Use this when a whole department's tools should be visible only to that department, without setting the same audience on every resource one by one.

Restrict a category

1. Open the category from Catalog → Categories.
2. In the Visibility card, choose Only Allowed. The same two choices appear here as on the resource pages: All Authenticated Users or Only Allowed.
3. Add the people and groups. The picker offers portal users, portal groups, and Active Directory or local Windows users and groups.
4. Save. The category list now shows a Restricted badge beside it, so you can see at a glance which folders limit access.

How a restricted category decides

A person sees what they are entitled to on the resource itself, minus anything filed only in categories they cannot see. So "why can't Ravi see the payroll program?" has two places to look: the program's own access rules, and whether it is filed only in restricted categories. The Restricted badge on the category list is there to make the second check quick.

Example: a folder for the finance team

A company keeps its payroll program, its accounts desktop and its bank's web site in a "Finance" category, and wants only the Finance group to see that folder. Everyday tools such as the intranet sit in an "Everyone" category.

1. Create "Finance", choose Only Allowed in Visibility, add the Active Directory group CORP\Finance, and save.
2. File the three finance resources in "Finance" only.
3. File the intranet in "Everyone" only.

Finance staff see both folders; everyone else sees only "Everyone". If somebody later also files the bank's web site in "Everyone", it becomes visible to the whole company, because grants add up.

Icons

Every card and category carries a picture. Where it comes from depends on the resource:

Application icons

DartRelay reads each program's icon from the file on the host, including Windows' own programs whose pictures are kept in separate resource files, and icons recorded on Start Menu shortcuts. You see the icons in the browse dialog while you choose, and the rows keep them when you add them. Afterwards DartRelay refreshes icons in the background, usually within a minute or two; a host that is switched off is simply tried again later, and nothing waits for it.

A few programs genuinely carry no icon. For those, or whenever you prefer a different picture, open the app group in the editor and click the program's icon to choose one from the library or upload your own. A picture you choose is never replaced by the automatic refresh.

The icon library

The icon library is one shared collection of pictures used everywhere an icon is chosen: categories, desktops, web applications, application overrides, and the Home and Favourites marks on the portal. Manage it at Appearance → Icon Library.

Pictures are referenced, not copied. Replace a picture in the library and every category and card using it changes at once.

The library ships with 76 icons in five groups:

Add your own icons

1. Open Appearance → Icon Library.
2. Upload a picture. PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP and ICO files are accepted. SVG is not accepted anywhere in the library. A file whose contents do not match its name (for example a PNG renamed to .jpg) is refused.
3. Give it a clear name. Names are searchable in the picker, and they drive the recommendations: an icon whose name contains a recommended word, such as "Acme home page" for Home, is suggested too.

You can rename and delete your own icons. Each tile shows how many places use it, and an icon that is in use cannot be deleted. The shipped icons cannot be renamed or deleted.

The icon picker

Every icon field opens the same picker. At the top, a Recommended section offers the icons that suit that field, such as desktop pictures on a desktop or department pictures on a category. The full library follows underneath, grouped and searchable; a recommended icon also appears in its own group below. Typing in the search box narrows everything, including the recommendations. To go back to the default picture, use Clear.

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