User Info Component (UserInfo)

The UserInfo component allows information about users and their sessions to be stored on the server and retrieved by the users themselves. UserInfo can store such information as previous queries performed by the user or a list of documents the user has chosen to display.

The UserInfo component allows user preferences to be stored as an XML document. This XML document is created and modified using the UserInfo URL interface. The XML document is passed to the UserData Service for storage. The UserInfo component receives a request from the Executive to process user data.

The request from the Executive requires an initial interaction with the UserData service to obtain the user property object. If Access Control is not activated or the user's name cannot be determined, NXT 4 pulls the information, such as user name, from the cookie ID.

URL Parameters

Name	Value	Description
f	userinfo	(Function) This is used to route the URL to the UserInfo component.
userinfo_c	add \| delete \| rename \| nuke	(Command) Directive for the UserInfo component. Add — Add an item. Requires 'n' and 'ipl' parameters. If the item already exists, overwrite it with the new data. Delete — Delete an item. Requires 'n' parameter. Rename — Rename an item. Requires 'n' and 'nn' parameters. Nuke — Remove the XML associated with 'cat'
userinfo_cat	string	(Category) Process the XML document associated with this category. The category can consist of alphanumeric characters, underscores and hyphens, but must not begin with a hyphen.
userinfo_ipl	string	(Item Property List) Semicolon-delimited list of item properties to add. If one of these item property names is included as a URL parameter, that parameter's value becomes the item property's value
userinfo_Item property name	string	Used to specify an item property's value in an add.
userinfo_n	string	(Name) Name of the item to add/delete/rename. Note: The name must not contain the following symbols: " (quotation marks) ' (apostrophe) < (left angled bracket) > (right angled bracket)
userinfo_nn	string	(New Name) If the command is rename, this parameter is used to determine the item's new name. Note: The name must not contain the following symbols: " (quotation marks) ' (apostrophe) < (left angled bracket) > (right angled bracket)
userinfo_redirect	URL	(Redirection URL) Specify URL for redirection.
userinfo_xsl	filename	(Style Sheet) Name of the style sheet to use to process the XML. This parameter can be used with or without the 'c' parameter. The style sheet is expected to be in the style sheets directory. This parameter is meaningless if the redirect parameter is included; otherwise it is required.

NXT 4 organizes the storage of user data hierarchically. As the interface designer, you determine the categories you want to be available to the user. Each category consists of items such as saved searches. Within an item are attributes. The attributes are the specific data needed to recreate the saved user data.

For example, with saved searches, the attributes could be the domain, the query type (Simple or Advanced), syntax, and so forth. Each category can contain multiple items and each item can contain multiple attributes. A user might have access to one or more categories. This defines the structure of the actual XML.

Keep in mind that the storing of content must conform to this type of hierarchy for the XML to be processed correctly. The XSL you create determines how the XML is displayed and the category name.