Editor's Note: From time to time while developing with IWWCM, we discover useful gems of knowledge that we think everyone working with IWWCM should know, even if they don't relate directly to our products. This is one of those nuggets of wisdom that we'd like to share.

IBM Workplace Web Content Management (IWWCM) Version 6 is a true enterprise content management system. It integrates with WebSphere Portal 6, leveraging many of the features provided by portal, providing a huge number of configuration options, and different ways to set up your system.

IBM has produced the useful document Best practices for using IBM Workplace Web Content Management V6. This document has provided useful guidance when working through the next generation of Ephox software that will interact with IWWCM. We have found it to be a useful resource that provides helpful information for working with IWWCM (not just because they recommend using EditLive! for IWWCM).

So now you have your custom EditLive! for IWWCM installer and re-installing EditLive! for IWWCM after an iFix is a breeze, but what happens when Ephox releases an update?  The answer is simple - copy your customizations into the new installer.

All you need to do is download the update from Ephox and unzip it.  In it you will find the same file structure as listed in the article on Understanding the EditLive! for IWWCM Installer.  Now just copy the relevant customizations you made to your EditLive! for IWWCM installer over to their matching locations in the new installer you've just downloaded.

It's important that you only copy the files that you've customized - i.e. the properties files and configuration files - otherwise you may overwrite one of the new files from the latest version.

Once you've copied over the files you're ready to go, simply run the newly downloaded and customized installer and you will be immediately up and running with the latest version of EditLive! for IWWCM.  EditLive! will automatically detect that it's been updated and the updated authoring environment will be automatically deployed to each author as they access it.

Next week will be the final article in this series.  I'm going to run through some information about EditLive!'s configuration, focusing on common customization options that I've seen people find very useful.

In this article we'll explore how to create the must-have Ephox accessory of the year, your own personal EditLive! for IWWCM installer.  As discussed in the previous article the EditLive! for IWWCM installer's main function is to perform some copy and paste operations.  By having and maintaining your own, customized version of the EditLive! for IWWCM installer it will make the job of maintaining your IWWCM instance much easier.

What I'm Not Going to Explain

In this article I'm not going to go into the details of each of the configuration settings for either the installer or EditLive!'s interface.  The best place to go for that information is the documentation packaged with the product.  If, you're still not sure about any of the settings after giving the documentation a glance I'd encourage you to get in touch with us here at Ephox via our support system.

Why Create a Custom Installer?

Put simply a custom installer is a backup of your EditLive! for IWWCM install.  

The main reason to create and maintain a custom EditLive! for IWWCM installer is to make the job of re-installing EditLive! for IWWCM much, much easier.  This will be helpful when either upgrading your EditLive! for IWWCM version or, more often, after you've installed certain IBM iFixes or patch releases.  For those of you who've been working with IWWCM and any IWWCM customizations, EditLive! included, you've probably noticed that certain packages from IBM will remove EditLive! for IWWCM's install files.   The usual clue that this will happen is when the iFix's or patch's release notes state that you need to backup any custom JSPs before the install.

If you have maintained your customized version of the installer for EditLive! for IWWCM then re-installing EditLive! for IWWCM after installing such a fix or patch into your Portal will be a breeze.  All you will need to do is run the installer and you'll be back up and running again with EditLive! in less than 5 minutes.  Equally upgrading your EditLive! install becomes a breeze - I'll go through how to upgrade your EditLive! version a little later.

What Can Be Customized?

I can tell I've got you interested now because you're still reading, so I will cut to the good bits.

For those of you who've spoken with our technical specialists or taken a glance at our documentation you'll know that EditLive! for IWWCM is extremely customizable.  However, for most people, customizing the installer's properties and EditLive!'s configuration is usually sufficient so that's what I will go through here.  If you've built extra functionality on top of the integration and have questions about how to best maintain that please get in touch with us via our support system or your system integrator who did the work originally.

There are two basic aspects of configuring EditLive!.  Firstly, the installer parameters that will set how EditLive! will interact with IWWCM behind the scenes.  This includes settings such as the install directory for Portal and what's visible on the dialogs that browse the repository (e.g. insert hyperlinks and images).

The second type of configuration is that for EditLive!'s interface.  Typically this involves things like what appears on the toolbar or menu, or how EditLive! cleans content copied from external applications (e.g. Word or the browser).

IWWCM 5.1.0.x

The files you are likely to customize for this installation are as follows (refer to Understanding the EditLive! for IWWCM Installer for information on where to find these files):

• The build.properties file to set the parameters on how EditLive! will interact with your repository
• The sites.properties file if you've enabled some of the advanced styles functionality
• The standard_eljconfigxml.jsp if you've built role or user-based EditLive! configurations

IWWCM version 6.0 and Above

The files you are likely to customize for this installation are as follows (refer to Understanding the EditLive! for IWWCM Installer for information on where to find these files):

• The build.properties file to set the install location of your Portal environment.
• The configuration files for EditLive!
  • sample_eljconfig.xml if you've only got a single configuration for EditLive!
  • ephox.config.properties and any configuration files it lists if you're using role-based configurations or a configuration file other than sample_eljconfig.xml.

How to Create and Maintain Your Installer

By now you should know what advantages there are in maintaining a customized installer and which files are important to be able to maintain that custom installer.  So now it's time to go through the process of creating and maintaining that installer.

Creating the Installer

Creating the installer is pretty easy, in fact, if you've installed EditLive! for IWWCM in the past you've already created your own custom installer by specifying your own settings when you installed.  So, now that you've gone to the effort of doing that for the initial install don't waste it.  Keep that installer in a safe place as it will form the basis for your custom installer.

Maintaining the Installer

Maintaining the installer is also easy, it simply comes down to how you edit the configuration for EditLive!.  The way I'd recommend making any customization is to make the changes in the relevant files in the installer first (see the What Can Be Customized section which lists these files).  If you follow this logic then the steps to make changes to your EditLive! for IWWCM install will be as follows:

1. Make the change in the customized installer you've created (and maintained)
2. Deploy the changes by running the installer

Because deploying EditLive! for IWWCM doesn't require any downtime or restart for Portal this process is quick, easy and painless.

On the other hand if, for some reason, you have to make changes to the EditLive! for IWWCM configuration in the live Portal environment then simply make sure you copy the changes back into the EditLive! for IWWCM installer you're maintaining.  In this way you will make sure that your customized installer always reflects the live environment - effectively maintaining a backup - so if you ever have to re-install you'll have all your customizations back up and running instantly.

Summary

By now you should understand how a custom installer can be used to make a very effective backup of your EditLive! for IWWCM environment.  You should know how this backup can be used to quickly and easily get your EditLive! for IWWCM install back up and running after patching your Portal environment and how to create and maintain your custom installer.

I hope you've found this information useful.  If you have any comments or suggestions on how we could make this article more useful please let us know via the comments field below, the LiveWorks! mailing list, or through our support system.

The next article in this series will go through how you can upgrade your EditLive! for IWWCM install while still maintaining your custom files.

I've been out and about recently talking to quite a few of our IBM WCM clients both in person and on the phone.  In talking to many of you I found that there were lots of you out there who are not sure of the easiest way for maintaining an EditLive! for IWWCM install.  Fortunately we've got a few simple hints and tips that will help make your work easier.

Throughout this set of articles I'll be explaining how to get the most out of EditLive!, it's installer and how to make the basic system admin related to EditLive! for IWWCM much simpler.

The EditLive! for IWWCM Installer

Before I get into any tips about how to tweak EditLive! for IWWCM, I'd like provide some background on EditLive! for IWWCM's installer.  When I say "installer" I really mean it in the loosest sense of the word.  For the most part the installer for EditLive! for IWWCM just runs a script that copies the files needed to run EditLive! into the relevant directories.  In fact, for Portal 6.0 and above that's all it does.  For those using an earlier version of Portal the installer does some very basic configuration settings and then performs the copy operations.

What this means is that the installer can be tweaked to your needs so that you've got your own personal EditLive! installer.  Why is this useful?  Because this will make system admin much easier when installing certain iFixes and migrating your EditLive! settings from one environment to another.  

The EditLive! for IWWCM Package

The installer package is slightly different for Portal 6.0 and Portal 5.1.0.x.  For those who have experienced both versions of IWWCM you would have noticed there were some significant changes between these versions and the editor APIs that we use didn't escape those changes.  While it's the same editor functionality for your users, under the hood the integrations are really quite separate and you can see that in the installers, so I'll go through them separately.  Here's a link for those who want to skip straight to the IWWCM 6.0 information.

The IWWCM 5.1.0.x Package

Once you extract the downloadable package you'll see three directories, the important directories for this installer at the root directory and the ephox/editlivejava folder.  I'd also recommend taking a look at the docs folder.  It's the documentation folder and, while it doesn't have any affect on the install process, it is full of useful info.

The Root Directory

There are two important files here.  

Firstly the build.properties file:

You will need to edit this file.  This file sets almost all the important properties for the installer, including where to install EditLive! for IWWCM.  You'll find a complete run down on what each property does in the PDF install guide documentation also contained in the root folder.  

The properties in this file must be set at install time.  If you want to change these properties at a later date you need to do a re-install.  While that might sound daunting now, after reading these articles you'll see how simple that actually is.

You'll also find the sites.properties file here:

This file enables you to create a mapping between a given CSS file and a site area so that the content in EditLive! can be styled accordingly.  Unless you have vastly different stylesheets for different site areas I'd not recommend taking advantage of this feature as it has some limitations that impact the saving of documents (you can read them in the documentation).  As an aside, the stylesheet and editor interaction are greatly improved in Portal 6.0 thanks to some extra APIs from the WCM team.

The sites.properties file can be changed at any time.

The ephox/editlivejava Directory

This directory contains the actual rich text editor source files.  There's just one important file here and that's standard_eljconfigxml.jsp and it controls EditLive!'s toolbar, menu and other configuration properties.  It's also where you will need to install your EditLive! for IWWCM license.

If you've read the article about specifying different configuration files for different users in IWWCM 5.1.0.x you'll already be familiar with this file.  Basically, if you want to do any customization to how EditLive! looks or how it reacts to any non-IWWCM specific functionality then this is the place to change it.

The standard_eljconfigxml.jsp file can be changed at any time.

The IWWCM 6.0 (and above) Package

By the time IWWCM 6.0 was released IBM had been working with Ephox to improve the editing experience and APIs for integrating rich text editors.  As a result the IWWCM 6.0 integration is simpler in it's configuration and yet provides more functionality.  One really important distinction between the IWWCM 6.0 and the IWWCM 5.1.0.x integrations is that the properties (other than the install directory property) can be set at run time, so you don't need to reinstall the editor to make a change to the integration's behaviour.

The important directories for this integration are the root directory and the web/res/editlivejava directory.

The Root Directory

The build.properties file is the only important one here and inside you will find the one important setting - the Portal install directory.  Once you've set this you're ready to install EditLive! for IWWCM.

The web/res/editlivejava Directory 

This directory contains all the configuration information for EditLive! for IWWCM.

By default EditLive! for IWWCM will be configured according to the settings in the sample_eljconfig.xml.  

If you're using the default install of EditLive! for IWWCM then this is where you will need to install your license key as well as configure the menu, toolbar and other EditLive! settings.

You'll also find the ephox.config.properties.sample or ephox.config.properties file in this directory.  

Removing the "sample" from the file name (giving ephox.config.properties) will turn on EditLive! for IWWCM's role based customization linking the configuration of EditLive! to the roles of users within Portal/IWWCM. 

Once you've turned on this functionality this file provides the important mapping between roles and configuration files.  I'll provide more detail about how these configuration settings work in a future article.  For those who want to look into this now, you'll find more details in your install guide found in the docs folder (just open the index.html file).

Summary

Thanks for sticking with me through all that detail.  Hopefully by now you understand the structure of the installer for EditLive! for IWWCM and the operations it performs.  Most importantly, you now know which are the key files for your EditLive! for IWWCM install.  

I'd recommend that you bookmark this article as much of the information in this series of articles is going to relate to how we can work with these files and the installer to make the configuration and maintenance of your EditLive! for IWWCM install much easier.  So this is going to be a good article to refer back to.