> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ins-pi.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ins-pi.com/command/the-portal/portal.md).
# The Portal
The portal is where people work in YouDesign Command. It runs inside your ServiceNow instance, over the same Portfolio Element spine described in [Metamodel](/command/metamodel/metamodel.md), and reads and writes the same records your admins configure in the platform.
Nothing about the classic surfaces goes away. ServiceNow forms, lists, and dashboards continue to work exactly as before, against the same data. The portal is a second way in, built for the people who work on portfolios and transformation rather than on the platform.
## The model in one paragraph
You open a **use case**, which frames the question you are working on. Inside it you create **content**: a roadmap, a table, a hierarchy map, an advisory report. Each piece of content reads live records, so it stays correct without being refreshed. You save what is worth keeping to **My Space**, and share what others need with named people or groups. What you can create and see is shaped by your **persona**.
## Use cases
A use case is the anchor tab in the workbench. It frames a transformation question, hosts the artifacts you build while answering it, and cannot be closed, so there is always a way back to where you started.
Command ships with a catalog of purpose-built transformation use cases. You can start from one of those or create your own.
## Content
Everything you create in the portal is a piece of content. Content reads live records rather than storing a copy, so a roadmap built last quarter shows this quarter's lifecycle dates, and a table built against Business Applications shows the applications that exist today.
The available types are grouped into categories in the create menu:
| Category | What it is for |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Plan** | Use Case, Roadmap, Scenario, Scenario Comparison, Journey Map |
| **Analyze** | TIME Analysis, Radar, Orbit, SWOT, Gravity Map, Idea Assessment |
| **Visualize** | Dashboard, Hierarchy Map, Dependency Map |
| **Record Views** | Table, Static List, Form |
| **Content** | Note, Attachment, Hyperlink |
| **Inventory** | Advisory Report, Folder, Shortcut |
Which types appear, what they are called, and which category they sit in are configured in your instance rather than fixed in the app. An administrator can rename a type, move it between categories, change its order, or switch it off. The set above is what a default installation shows.
Folder and Shortcut are structure rather than content: they organise My Space and point at content held elsewhere.
## My Space
My Space is your saved content. Anything you create in the workbench can be saved there, organised into folders, and reopened later. A saved item keeps a pointer to the records it is built from, not a copy of them, so reopening it re-reads current data.
Content in My Space is private to you until you share it.
## Sharing
Content is shared by granting access to named users or groups, as either a **viewer** or an **editor**. Grants on a folder apply to everything beneath it, and where a person has more than one grant the strongest applies.
Editors can share what they can edit. Publishing to everyone is different: it is view-only and administrator-published, so no individual can make their own work organisation-wide by accident.
Every page has a link you can copy. Sending it grants nothing on its own. The person opening it sees the content only if their roles and grants already allow it, which is checked on the server each time it is opened rather than stamped when the link was made.
## Views
The activity rail on the left holds the views your persona is given.
The activity rail
A default installation includes:
| View | What it holds |
| --------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| **My Space** | Your saved content, organised into folders |
| **My Tasks & Notifications** | Tasks assigned to you, and workspace notifications |
| **Portfolio** | A portfolio-wide view of your applications and capabilities |
| **Governance** | Policies, standards, and governance checkpoints |
| **Metamodel Browser** | ServiceNow tables, fields, and suggested relationships |
| **Glossary** | Shared terms and their definitions |
| **Ideation Portal** | Captured and governed innovation ideas |
| **Framework Intelligence Center** | Regulatory frameworks, policies, and their conformance |
A persona can carry all of these, a subset, or none.
The [Data Hub](/command/the-portal/data-hub.md) opens alongside these, rather than in the rail. It is where records are found and dragged into content.
## Personas
A persona is a role-tailored view of the same source of truth. It decides:
* **What you can create.** The create menu shows the content types that persona is given, grouped by category.
* **What you see in the activity rail.** The left rail can be scoped to a subset of views, or left empty.
* **Who gets it.** A persona is either available to everyone or restricted to named users and groups.
Personas are configured in your instance, not shipped as a fixed list. An administrator creates them, chooses the content types and views each one carries, and assigns them. Users pick from the personas available to them, and the choice is remembered.
Personas change what is offered, not what is permitted. Access to records is still governed by ServiceNow roles and ACLs, exactly as described in [Access Rights](/command/prior-v26.0/configuration/access-rights.md). A persona that offers a content type will not let anyone read a record their roles do not allow.
## Related
* [Metamodel](/command/metamodel/metamodel.md) for the Portfolio Element spine the portal reads.
* [Access Rights](/command/prior-v26.0/configuration/access-rights.md) for how record permissions are governed.
* [Roles & Groups](/command/prior-v26.0/configuration/roles-groups.md) for the roles a persona is assigned alongside.
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