# Enabling Desktop Selection

Oftentimes users are entitled to view multiple desktops in your portals. This topic shows you how to let users select from a list of the specific desktops to which they are entitled.

The desktop selection feature is a JSP used by the shell that provides a drop-down list of desktops and links to other resources. Because the desktop selector lets users switch between multiple desktops, it must run in streaming mode where multiple desktops exist. When viewing the feature in single file mode (development), only one desktop is ever available at a time.

The following figure shows the desktop selector in action.

To add the desktop selector to your desktops

The following procedure for adding Visitor Tools assumes you are adding them to a custom portal application (not the portalApp sample). If your application an/or project is not portal-enabled, install portal in both. See Creating a Portal Application and Portal Web Project.

1. Set up some form of authentication for your portal desktop. Authentication allows visitor entitlements to take effect. See Login Portlet, Login Director, or Implementing Authentication for information on adding authentication to your desktops.
2. In WebLogic Workshop create a new portal file.
3. Import the following files from Sample Portal into your application:

   Import or copy this | to this directory (create if necessary)
   <WEBLOGIC_HOME>/samples/portal/portalApp/ sampleportal/portlets/header/header.jsp | <PORTAL_APP>/<project>/portlets/header/
   <WEBLOGIC_HOME>/samples/portal/portalApp/ sampleportal/images/ | <PORTAL_APP>/<project>/images/

4. Open <PORTAL_APP>/<project>/portlets/header/header.jsp in WebLogic Workshop and replace the string sampleportal with the name of your project.
5. Create a shell and make <PORTAL_APP>/<project>/portlets/header/header.jsp the header content.
6. In a .portal file open in the Portal Designer, select the new shell for the desktop.
7. Save the portal file.

When portal administrators create desktops in the WebLogic Administration Portal and select that shell for the desktop, the desktop selector appears in the rendered desktops.