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Companies with several business units, websites, brands, and extranets are often looking for ways to centrally manage all their outlets and initiatives from one application or platform. XperienCentral is designed to manage multiple websites and handle multi-channel publishing. It is possible to set up new web initiatives channels (referred to in XperienCentral as channels) without installing additional hard- and software. In fact, every web initiative channel is a website with its own page structure and its own edit Workspace environment. The added value of multiple web initiatives channels is the possibility to share and reuse information across multiple web initiatives. Media Repository articles those channels. Content Repository items that have been created in one web initiative channel can be reused in another web initiativechannel. It is possible to specify exactly which functionality and content can be shared between which web initiativeschannels.
This topic describes how to set up extra web initiatives channels and how to share information between these web initiatives. Furthermore, it explains channels as well as some additional functionality.
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Creating a New
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Channel
The steps below describe how to extend a XperienCentral installation with an extra web initiativechannel. Some of these steps have to be taken by a system administrator and/or application manager due to some necessary core configuration changes. This topic describes both local and development environments. A multiple website setup for production environments can be configured in a similar way, but it does require extra configuration of the web server(s) and possibly other software. Procedures for production environments are described in the Linux and Windows installation manuals topics for production environments.
Before creating a new web initiativechannel, stop XperienCentral.
Generate Hostnames
To create a second web initiativechannel, two new hostnames are required: the hostname for the public website and the hostname for the editor environment (the generator). In this document www.mysecondsite.com and cms.mysecondsite.com will be used.
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The configuration.xml is a file with a license key that also contains the valid hostnames for the installation. To create a new web initiative channel a new configuration.xml with the two new hostnames is required:
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- Use the search function to locate these folders.
- The right location can always be found in the XperienCentral Setup tool on the tab [General Configuration] search for the setting ‘config_filename’.
1.4 Create a new
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channel in XperienCentral
The steps to create a new web initiativechannel:
Þ Start XperienCentral.
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Þ Open the menu Configure > Web Initiative channel configuration.
Þ In the pull-down menu ‘Select website’ choose the option ‘<new website>’.
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Þ A new window is opened with four steps to create a new web initiativechannel.
Step 1 of 4: Name the new website
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Fields | Description |
Name
| The name of the new web initiativechannel. |
Identifier
| The identifier of the new web initiativechannel. |
Based on website
| Choose a website here if all the parameters are similar to those of an existing website. It is recommended to base the new website on an existing website, because all the configuration settings (such as paths) will be duplicated. |
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In step 3 you have to confirm that you want to create a new web initiative channel by clicking on the [Create website] button and confirming this choice for the second time.
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After a successful creation of the new web initiative channel (step 4) you can exit the wizard by clicking the [Close] button.
After completing the wizard, a new web initiative channel with one page, the homepage, has been created. You can now log in to the web initiative channel by accessing the URL by its new hostname (+port number) followed by /web/edit. With the example in this document, that would be http://cms.mysecondsite.com:8080/web/edit.
Note: The homepage of the new web initiative channel can only be viewed if the status will be set to ‘Published’. Otherwise visitors will see a blank page (in Firefox) or a message that the web page cannot be found (in Internet Explorer).
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The configuration of the new web initiative channel can be extended or altered to deal with separate files or presentations.
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On large websites with multiple web initiatives channels it might be necessary to share common resources and (parts of) the presentation. In order to realize this:
- There must be a central folder for the shared files and presentations, for example with the name common.
- Besides the central folder, each web initiative channel also has its own folders for private files and presentations.
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Þ In the /web/setup tool, select the [Website specific setting] tab.
Þ In the first web initiativechannel, navigate to ‘presentation_jsps_url’. Enter the following folders:
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Þ Click on the ‘Update’ button for this web initiativechannel.
Þ For each web initiativechannel, repeat the above steps by replacing ‘<dir>’ with the name of the folder in which the web initiative channel specific JSPs are located.
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Finally, the uploaded files can be placed in separate folders. With this, the first web initiative channel can use the standard upload and upload_mm folders. Uploads for the second and subsequent web initiatives channels can be placed in a separate folder below the main folder.
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In the Setup tool, also these paths can be set for each web initiativechannel, on the [General Configuration] tab underneath the Configuration Set Definition “website_settings”, in the fields:
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In a default installation with more than one web initiative channel all content is strictly separated. Content sharing is not done automatically. So, if this is wanted then some settings have to be changed. Most of these changes involve assigning different read/write permissions for different web initiativeschannels. Editors of the various web initiatives channels must explicitly allow one another to read content and to re-use content. With explicitly assigned what to read per web initiative channel everything can be set up in a safe and flexible manner.
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An important feature of shared content is that shared content can only be read on another web initiativechannel. When for example an article is created in web initiative channel A then it can be displayed on web initiative channel B, but it can never be modified on web initiative channel B. This is to ensure that the rights of the author remain with the author. When different editors should be allowed to edit content on different web initiatives channels their user accounts have to be shared as well. Editor X on web initiative channel A must be shared and granted permission to work on web initiative channel B as well.
Note: In the following sections, ‘content’ is used in a broader context and is used as a synonym for content types, model types, settings, web users etc. Language labels don't belong to this form of content. Language labels are maintained in a single object pool that is valid for all websites.
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In order to share content between web initiative channel A and web initiative channel B the configuration has to be changed to be able to expose (‘Share’) the content of one web initiative channel with another, but also to receive (‘Accept’) the content from another web initiativechannel.
Sharing content takes place in three steps. For each web initiativechannel, specify the following:
- Which content types are available for sharing
- Which content should be shared with which other web initiativechannel(s)
- Which content should be accepted from other web initiativechannel(s)
Example: articles from the media repository must be shared between web initiative channel A and web initiative channel B, and editors on both web initiative channel A and B should be able to add new articles and to use each other’s articles on their website.
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Which content types are available for sharing is set up in Configure > Web Initiative channel configuration > [Functionalities] under ‘Shared model types’. In order to share the Media Repository the ‘Mediabank’ option has to be selected in the ‘Shared model types’ in Web Initiative channel A. This step must be repeated for web initiative channel B. You can use the ‘Select website’ dropdown list in the panel to switch to web initiative channel B.
Step 2 and 3
Sharing and accepting are configured in Configure > Web initiative channel configuration on the [Sharing / accepting] tab:
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- Select websites (1): The current web initiativechannel
- Select websites (2): Filter to show only items of a specific web initiativechannel.
- Select model type: Filter to show only certain model types.
- Share: Selection of items that this web initiative channel offers to other web initiativeschannels; in the above screenshot, the content of the Media Repository (‘Mediabank’) is offered to the other web initiative channel (which has the name “WI B”).
- Accept: Selection of items that have been accepted from other web initiativeschannels. In the above screenshot the current web initiative channel has accepted all content from the Media Repository.
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In order to share the media repository according to the example:
- Web initiative channel A has to share the media repository with B
- Web initiative channel A has to accept the media repository from B
- Web initiative channel B has to share the media repository with A
- Web initiative channel B has to accept the media repository from A
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When this is completed the configuration looks like this:
Web initiative channel A (with the name “MyWeb”):
Web initiative channel B (with the name “WI B”):
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In organizations that publish in several languages the question may arise how to accomplish this. The organization may either use more web initiatives channels or use the ‘language switch’ functionality. To make this decision for the shorter and longer term, the pros and cons are described below.
Language switch | Extra web initiativeschannels |
The site structure for every website is the same. Not all pages have to be translated or published. | Each web initiative channel has its own site structure. |
Authorization per language is not possible. An editor can edit all languages. | Authorization is fully adjustable per web initiativechannel. Each web initiative channel has its own editing environment. |
All languages use the same presentation. | There are many ways to separate the design or sharing parts of the design between several web initiativeschannels. |
License is part of the ‘Versioning’ component. | Additional licenses are required for each extra web initiativechannel. |
For a straightforward one-to-one translation of a website and when the content is translated by the same group of editors the natural choice would be the language switch. In cases where extra functionality is required or per language authorization is required the natural choice would be to set up a separate web initiative channel and to use sharing and accepting to share content.
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