Navigation Component Ideas

Ratings indicate: # of Fluid apps affected/frequency & security matrix rating

This is a set of icons - maybe they look like ship beacons or lighthouses or something
Labeled beacons are equivalent to "tags"
The user can drop them as they go around the web application during a session.
A map can show all the beacons and their tags of beacons
Beacons always display and are remembered from session to session unless the user gets rid of them
If a user can see a beacon, they can click on it to get to its page. It provides a visual shortcut to a particular page.
beacons could be dropped on the page the user wants to get to, but they access their beacons on a dashboard, or from a pop-up
rating - 4/2b

Allows a user to see a web site from another user's view point (an instructor can see their class web site from a student's perspective)
User can go into and out of this alternative 'reality' whenever they are in Sakai/uPortal
This may be the assumption of a role that the user is entitled to adopt. E.g. an instructor may be entitled to assume the "student" role when viewing her course.
This should be contrasted with the "become another user" proposal being considered in the uPortal project (where the system doesn't know you're not that user).
rating - 4/2a

(based on limited Sakai knowledge

Replaces "my workspace" which is apparently not that useful
user can create portlets here that are meaningful to them
use these portlets to navigate to frequently visited or important sites, (perhaps each class for a student or faculty)
user can also add links here (store their list of "favourites")
rating: it could affect all 4, but not sure how that would be implemented technically/1-Sakai, hard to rate for other apps since most other apps already have it

Breadcrumbs indicate the current position in the hierarchy (not the Little Billy path through the space)
rating: 4/2b

has two states -- view and edit (which allows you to rename, move, remove the tab)
uPortal edit mode may also include editing tab content (though this may be a default state--you can always edit)
probably an implementation of the top nav component
rating: 4/2b

Layout may be represented as a hierarchy of folders rather than sets of columns under tabs. A folder would contain portlet windows organized in columns, as well as subfolders.
An outline view of folder names and portlet titles could assist in navigation.
Folder navigation could be the underlying implementation
rating: 4/1

This is a generic component for for traversing such things as file system trees, mail folder hierarchies, and portlet layouts.

An encoded version of the site structure, or machine-readable map of the space that the system can turn into various types of navigation (e.g. using Breadcrumb, Top Nav, Nested Left Nav, Tab components, Folders, etc.)
It could also represent the position of multiple "sub-pages" or portlets on an individual page.
It could display the tagged beacons or scent-marks deposited by the user on previous rambles through the site.
It could display a path between way-points visited on this or previous excursions through the site.
future-looking
rating: 4/1

This is an icon that persists on every page. If the user clicks it, a little div area or pop-up appears showing some type of site map indicating where the user currently is in the page navigation hierarchy. E.g. a "you are here" indicator.
Colour coding could be used to show the user all the sections they have visited.
It's some combination of a site map and breadcrumbs that tells the user where they currently are in the site and gives them the option to navigate to other places.
Imagine you are in a new city and have a map. This is a dot on a map that moves with you, showing your current position relative to the entire space.
May be a subset, or part of, #10.
rating - 4/2a

See Scenario 4 above.
What controls do the users see? (submit, print, resize, cancel)
Not losing any work the user does in detached windows (e.g. entering text) is an essential part of their management.
Multiple detached windows may be be active, and may be launched from different portlets or tools.
There are many different ways the user may depart from interaction with the windows. Each has to be handled.
User should be informed of state of window upon his return (espec. persons for whom visual context isn't helpful or sufficient).
future-looking
rating: 4/1

Fire and Forget Manager Component
Could this be a design pattern?
Launching an application that appears in its own window
- app doesn't know it's been launched from the portal, and the portal doesn't have any control over it, portal window is usually obscured
rating: 2-uPortal & Kuali/1

Who Am I Viewer Component
May not be strictly a navigational component, but may be referenced by 13 and 3.
rating: 4/2a

Fluid