Look at shared parameters (feature of JBoss Portal 2.7/EPP 4.3) if you really want to do this. This is explained in the reference guide. You won't access the http request parameter like this, this would bring collisions risks. (Say you add another portlet on the page with the category parameter which is something else). This is why the spec defines render parameters. View the original post : http://www.jboss.org/index.html?module=bb&op=viewtopic&p=4209862#... Reply to the post : http://www.jboss.org/index.html?module=bb&op=posting&mode=reply&a...