Configuring Functions and the Appearance of the Content Navigator

The menu items and the toolbar of the Content Navigator can be configured in order to adapt them to individual requirements. For example, menu items can be removed to avoid maloperation by unexperienced users. Reversely, additional menu commands can be placed in the menu to extend the functions of the GUI, for example by wizards.

Two possibilities for configuring the menu and the toolbar exist, the standard configuration and an additional configuration. The standard configuration is part of the GUI web application, while the additional configuration is part of the content, meaning that it is also saved and restored when content is dumped and restored. The additional configuration is a means of providing content-specific menu commands, i. e. menu commands that work only in conjunction with this content. For example, the Fiona demo content includes a wizard that relies on the existence of particular file formats. Placing the command for running this wizard into the standard configuration would not be sensible since the required formats are not present in the standard configuration. The items contained in the additional configuration extend the standard configuration or replace items of the same name.

The menus and the toolbar are configured by means of XML files. The standard configuration is located in the webapps/GUI/WEB-INF directory, the additional configuration in the instance-specific config directory, i. e. in instance/default/config, for example.

Both configurations (the standard and the additional configuration) consist of several parts described below:

Configuration Comment

Standard configuration 
 
Menu
itemRegistry.xml
menuBar.xml

Defines items for the menu and the toolbar
Forms menus by combining menu items
Toolbar
toolBar.xml

Menu items in the toolbar
Details views
inspectorRegistry.xml
inspectors/*.vm

Defines the contents of the details view
Velocity templates for displaying the contents
Search
searchRegistry.xml

Defines the components of the search dialog

Additional configuration 
 
Menu / toolbar
contentMenu.xml

Contains definitions as XML elements, analogous to itemRegistry.xml, menubar.xml, toolBar.xml
Detail views
contentInspectors.xml

Contains definitions as XML elements, analogous to inspectorRegistry.xml and inspectors/*.vm

In the additional configuration, two parts that are separate in the standard configuration are combined: contentMenu.xml contains <beans> (as in the itemRegistry.xml file), <menuBar> (as in the menuBar.xml file), and <toolBar> (as in the toolBar.xml file). contentInspectors.xml contains <beans> defining the details overview as well as the detailed property views on their tabs; <templates> contains the Velocity templates as CDATA sections, i. e. not only links to them as in inspectorRegistry.xml.