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How to Integrate Community Academic Profiles
Into Your SoM Web Site

Integration | Express URLs | Department lists

In November, 2004, IRT launched Community Academic Profiles (CAP), replacing the older Faculty Research Directory (FRD). The new system provides a mechanism for researchers to easily maintain and publish information about their academic activities, including research interests, publications, photos, and a number of additional important categories of information. In addition to creating an easier way for faculty and PIs to manage profiles in a single, central location, the new tool is designed to facilitate integration with departmental, divisional and other static Web sites at the School of Medicine.

Integration with new format

Anyone can link to any page in CAP, simply by browsing to the desired page, copying the URL and using it as a link from a static Web site. If your site is not in the SoM Web Format, you can only show pages in the default CAP template. But if your site is in the SoM Web Format, you can display most CAP pages inside your context, i.e. with your site's header and home left navigation links.

"Express" URLs

In addition, each person with a profile in the CAP system has a simple, personal, "express" URL:

http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/firstname_lastname/

Example: http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/philip_pizzo/

Note that firstname and lastname are as reflected in PeopleSoft. Check Stanford.Who if you're not sure of a person's "official" name.

personal URL

The true power of CAP emerges in relation to sites in the new SoM Web Format, subject of the school's Redesign Project. With a simple twist of the URL, most CAP pages can be viewed with the banner and navigation of a given SoM Web Format site.

Example: http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/dean/researcher/philip_pizzo/

This was accomplished by taking the first example personal URL and inserting the "namespace" of the Dean's site, plus "researcher," i.e. "/dean/researcher/" between "/profiles/" and "/philip_pizzo/" in the URL. If we wanted to see his profile under the Developmental Biology header, the URL would be:

http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/devbio/researcher/philip_pizzo/

In order to accomplish this, you need to know the site's "namespace." In most cases, this is fairly obvious, and related to the name of the group, i.e. "oncology," "neonatology," and so on. For most sites, the namespace is the last directory name in the "host path" of the site, i.e. /d/web/dean/ or /d/web/devbio/. Use the CAP problem report form if you need help determining your site's namespace.

Department lists and other CAP pages

Except for top-level pages like the CAP home page, the list of departments and divisions, search pages, etc., you can show any page you can browse to in CAP with your own site header. The method is very similar to the one used for express URLs:

personal URL

In CAP, browse to the page you want to link to, such as your department's list of members. Insert the namespace term after "/profiles/" and there you go.

Example: http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/medicine/frdActionServlet?choiceId=showFacByDept&dept=Medicine

Notes:

  • If you browse to a person's profile (as opposed to the short "express" URL detailed above) you must insert just the /namespace/, i.e. "/devbio/" If you use the express URL, you must insert /namespace/researcher/, i.e. "/devbio/researcher/"

  • To work with CAP, your site's banner must be in the approved list for CAP. This will be handled automatically by IRT as we publish new sites. Let us know using the CAP problem report form if you have a site in the SoM Web Format and your banner doesn't show.

  • For the left navigation links to show, your site's directory must be at the Web root of the IRT server, i.e. /d/web/yoursite/ (/d/web/ = root) and your top-level navigation file must be located in your root /includes/ folder and be named "navigation-left-home.htm," i.e. /d/web/yoursite/includes/navigation-left-home.htm"

  • Users who follow links from a page showing a site's banner will see the banner over any page they visit, except top-level pages, as described above. The context goes with them.

  • If you encounter any problems displaying CAP pages with your template set, please use the CAP problem report form.