Introduction to Liferay (for New Users)
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If you plan on doing development using Liferay (creating custom portlets, customizing the existing Liferay system, etc.), you may also be more interested in Introduction to Liferay (for New Developers).
Obtaining a distribution of Liferay #
Last updated: 7-16-2010Covers version: 5.2.x, 6.0.x
- There are several ways to obtain a working copy of Liferay. The easiest, and most direct way, is to download a complete bundle, which can be found here: http://www.liferay.com/downloads/liferay-portal/overview
- For more information check New Features in Liferay Portal 6.0 and Documentation
- Note: The documentation page should cover the most recent versions. If the 6.0 docs are not yet available, it's because we've recently released and the documentation should be up shortly.
Installing and configuring Liferay #
Last updated: 7-16-2010Covers version: 5.2.x, 6.0.x
The Portal Administrator's Guide is the official Liferay documentation source. For advanced installations or troubleshooting, please consult the guide.
A Lifecast (video) is available with updated information on how to install the Liferay Bundle:
There are additional guides available:
Important Liferay concepts #
Last updated: 7-16-2010Covers version: 5.2.x, 6.0.x
New users to the system will need to learn and understand the following concepts to get the most use out of the Liferay system
- Community: A community or virtual community is a key concept of Liferay. By default Liferay provides a community called 'Guest' plus a personal community for the administrator. The 'Communities' portlet can be used to create as many communities as desired. Each community is formed by:
- A set of users: which are called members and which can be given different permissions within the community by assigning them 'Community Roles'
- A set of public and private pages: the private pages will only be seen by members while the public pages are visible to anyone. It's optional for each community to have either public pages, private pages, both or none.
- A set of permissions: that all of its members will inherit.
- Layout: Is the technical name given to a page within a community. The most common type of layout is 'portlets' which allows a flexible composition of the contents of the page by placing boxes (portlets) in predefined areas or columns. For more information, see Layout
- Layout template: Determines the active areas (or columns) where portlets can be placed in layouts of type 'portlets'. For more information, see Layout Template
- Organization: Every user can belong to one or several organizations. By belonging to that organization, the user inherits all the permissions assigned to it. According to a paper writing, An organization can also have a set of public and private pages just like a community.
Other resources for end users #
Last updated: 7-16-2010Covers version: 5.2.x, 6.0.x
Liferay.com hosts a good number of whitepapers that cover important aspects of our software. Be sure to check those out at:
A list of Liferay portlets and their functionality:
