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Site Administration

Sakai organizes content and tools into sites (also called workspaces). This guide covers administrative site management capabilities.

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Understanding Sites

Sites are the primary organizational unit in Sakai.

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Site Types

Course Sites: Academic course workspaces
  • Structured by term/semester
  • Include gradebook, assignments, resources
  • Linked to course management systems
Project Sites: Collaboration workspaces
  • Department projects
  • Research collaboration
  • Committee workspaces
Portfolio Sites: Student portfolio sites
  • Personal showcase spaces
  • Controlled by individual users
User Sites: Personal workspaces (My Workspace)
  • One per user
  • Site ID pattern: ~userid

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Site Structure

Each site contains:
  • Pages: Navigation tabs
  • Tools: Functional applications (Assignments, Resources, etc.)
  • Groups: Subsets of participants
  • Roles: Permission sets (Instructor, Student, etc.)

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Sites Tool

The Sites administrative tool provides full site management capabilities.

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Accessing Sites Tool

  1. Log in as administrator
  2. Navigate to Administration Workspace
  3. Click Sites tool

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Creating Sites

1

Start Site Creation

In the Sites tool:
  1. Click New Site
  2. Enter site details
2

Configure Basic Information

Required fields:
  • Site ID: Unique identifier (cannot be changed)
  • Title: Display name
  • Type: course, project, portfolio, etc.
  • Description: Site purpose/description
  • Short Description: Brief summary
3

Set Site Properties

Optional settings:
  • Skin: Visual theme
  • Published: Make site visible to participants
  • Joinable: Allow users to self-join
  • Public: Allow anonymous access
  • Join Role: Default role for joiners
4

Add Pages and Tools

  1. Click Pages tab
  2. Click New Page
  3. Enter page title
  4. Add tools to the page
  5. Configure tool properties
5

Add Participants

  1. Click Add Participants
  2. Search for users
  3. Assign roles
  4. Click Save

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Site ID Conventions

Recommended patterns: 
# Course sites
CSCI-101-F2026
MATH-201-Spring-2026

# Project sites
project-faculty-senate
research-climate-change

# User sites (automatic)
~jsmith
~mjones

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Editing Sites

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Modify Site Information

1

Find Site

  1. Search in Sites tool by ID, title, or type
  2. Click on site to view details
2

Edit Properties

Click Edit to modify:
  • Title and descriptions
  • Skin
  • Published status
  • Joinable settings
  • Public view setting
3

Save Changes

Click Save to apply changes.
Site IDs cannot be changed after creation. To change a site ID, you must create a new site and migrate content.

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Managing Pages

Pages provide navigation structure within sites.

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Adding Pages

1

Access Pages Tab

In site editor, click Pages tab
2

Create New Page

  1. Click New Page
  2. Enter page title
  3. Select page layout (single column, multi-column)
  4. Click Save
3

Add Tools to Page

  1. Click Edit Page
  2. Click New Tool
  3. Select tool from list
  4. Configure tool properties
  5. Click Save

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Page Properties

Title: Display name in navigation Layout: Visual arrangement
  • Single column
  • Two columns
  • Three columns
  • Custom layouts
Popup: Open page in popup window Custom URL: Link to external content

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Reordering Pages

Change page order in navigation:
  1. In Pages list, use drag-and-drop
  2. Or use up/down arrows
  3. Changes save automatically

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Deleting Pages

  1. Select page to delete
  2. Click Remove Page
  3. Confirm deletion
Deleting a page removes all tools on that page. This cannot be undone.

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Managing Tools

Tools provide functionality within sites.

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Available Tools

Content Tools:
  • Resources - File sharing
  • Lessons - Structured learning modules
  • Web Content - External content embedding
Communication Tools:
  • Announcements
  • Messages (email archive)
  • Chat
  • Forums
Assessment Tools:
  • Assignments
  • Tests & Quizzes
  • Gradebook
Collaboration Tools:
  • Calendar
  • Schedule
  • Roster
  • Site Info

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Adding Tools

1

Edit Page

  1. Navigate to site → Pages
  2. Select page or create new page
  3. Click Edit Page
2

Add Tool

  1. Click New Tool
  2. Select tool from list
  3. Configure tool settings:
    • Tool title
    • Special configuration
    • Properties
3

Save Tool

Click Save to add tool to page

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Tool Configuration

Many tools have configurable properties: Resources Tool:
  • Default view (list, details)
  • Upload quota
  • File type restrictions
Assignments Tool:
  • Student submission notifications
  • Resubmission options
  • Grade options
Gradebook Tool:
  • Grade entry type (points, percentages, letters)
  • Category weighting
  • Extra credit

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Tool Permissions

Control which roles can access tool functions:
  1. Click Permissions in tool config
  2. Check/uncheck permissions per role
  3. Click Save
Example permissions:
  • annc.new - Create announcements
  • content.new - Upload files
  • asn.submit - Submit assignments
  • gradebook.gradeAll - Grade all students

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Managing Groups

Groups divide site participants for targeted activities.

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Creating Groups

1

Access Groups

In site editor:
  1. Click Groups tab
  2. Click New Group
2

Configure Group

  • Group Title: Display name
  • Description: Group purpose
  • Membership: Select users to include
3

Save Group

Click Save to create group

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Group Use Cases

  • Lab Sections: Divide large courses
  • Project Teams: Collaborative assignments
  • Discussion Groups: Targeted forums
  • TA Assignment: Assign TAs to specific students

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Group-Aware Tools

These tools can filter by group:
  • Announcements
  • Assignments
  • Forums
  • Calendar
  • Resources
  • Gradebook

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Site Templates

Templates provide starting configurations for new sites.

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Using Site Templates

  1. Create a site with desired configuration
  2. In Sites tool, select the site
  3. Click Save As Template
  4. Name the template
  5. When creating new sites, select the template

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Built-in Templates

Sakai includes default templates:
  • !site.template.course - Course site template
  • !site.template.portfolio - Portfolio template
  • !site.template - Basic site template

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Customizing Templates

1

Access Realms Tool

In Administration Workspace, click Realms
2

Edit Template Realm

  1. Search for template (e.g., !site.template.course)
  2. Click to edit
3

Modify Roles and Permissions

  • Add/remove roles
  • Adjust permissions
  • Set default role
4

Save Template

Click Save - affects all new sites using this template
Template changes only affect new sites. Existing sites must be updated individually.

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Batch Site Operations

Perform operations on multiple sites.

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Batch Site Creation

Create multiple sites from CSV: 
siteid,title,type,term,description
CSCI-101-F26,Intro to CS,course,Fall 2026,Introduction to Computer Science
MATH-201-F26,Calculus II,course,Fall 2026,Calculus II
ENGL-110-F26,English Comp,course,Fall 2026,English Composition

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Archive Multiple Sites

1

Access Archive Tool

In Administration Workspace, click Site Archive
2

Select Sites

  1. Search for sites by term or pattern
  2. Select multiple sites
  3. Click Archive Selected
3

Download Archives

Archive files saved to:
${sakai.home}/archive/

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Batch Import

Import archived content into sites:
  1. Upload archive files
  2. Select target sites
  3. Choose content to import
  4. Execute import

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Site Properties and Metadata

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Common Properties

# Site properties (accessible via Site Info)
term=Fall 2026
term_eid=F26
contact-name=John Smith
contact-email[email protected]
site-request-course-sections=CSCI-101-001,CSCI-101-002

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Custom Properties

Add custom properties for institutional needs: 
Site site = siteService.getSite(siteId);
ResourcePropertiesEdit props = site.getPropertiesEdit();
props.addProperty("custom-property", "value");
siteService.save(site);

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Site Quotas

Manage storage quotas for sites.

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Setting Quotas

Configure in sakai.properties: 
# Default site quota (MB)
content.quota=500

# Quota by site type
content.quota.course=1000
content.quota.project=500
content.quota.portfolio=250

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Per-Site Quota Override

  1. Edit site in Sites tool
  2. Click Properties
  3. Set CONTENT_QUOTA property
  4. Value in MB

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Soft Deletion

Sakai supports soft deletion for site recovery.

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Enable Soft Deletion

# Enable soft delete
site.soft.deletion=true

# Days to keep soft-deleted sites
site.soft.deletion.gracetime=30

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Restore Deleted Sites

  1. In Sites tool, enable “Show deleted”
  2. Find soft-deleted site
  3. Click Restore
  4. Site restored with all content

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Permanent Deletion

After grace period:
  1. Sites automatically purged
  2. Or manually purge via Sites tool

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Site Search and Filtering

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Search Criteria

  • Site ID
  • Title
  • Type
  • Published status
  • Creation date
  • Modified date
  • Creator

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Advanced Filters

Combine multiple criteria: 
Type: course
Term: Fall 2026
Published: Yes
Created: Last 30 days

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Realm Management

Realms control permissions and roles.

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Realm Hierarchy

!site.template              (Base template)
  └─ !site.template.course  (Course template)
       └─ CSCI-101-F26      (Individual site)

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Editing Site Realms

1

Access Realms Tool

Administration Workspace → Realms
2

Find Site Realm

Search for site ID (e.g., CSCI-101-F26)
3

Edit Permissions

  1. Select role
  2. Check/uncheck permissions
  3. Click Save

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Bulk Realm Updates

Update permissions across multiple sites:
  1. Modify template realm
  2. Use realm update script
  3. Changes propagate to child realms

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Best Practices

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Site Organization

  • Use consistent naming conventions
  • Include term/year in course site IDs
  • Organize project sites by department
  • Document site creation policies

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Performance

  • Limit number of tools per page
  • Archive old sites regularly
  • Delete unused sites
  • Monitor site quotas

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Maintenance

  • Regular permission audits
  • Clean up orphaned groups
  • Review soft-deleted sites
  • Update templates as needed

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User Experience

  • Consistent page layouts
  • Clear page titles
  • Logical tool organization
  • Minimize navigation depth

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Troubleshooting

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Cannot Access Site

Check:
  • Site is published
  • User has site membership
  • User has appropriate role
  • No realm permission issues

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Tool Not Visible

Check:
  • Tool is on a page
  • Page is not hidden
  • Tool permissions for role
  • Tool is enabled globally

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Slow Site Performance

Investigate:
  • Large number of files in Resources
  • Heavy database queries
  • Too many tools on single page
  • Inadequate caching

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Next Steps

User Management

Manage users and roles

Security

Configure site security

Configuration

Advanced configuration

Database Setup

Database administration

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