Keeping customized configuration files

When you deploy WAR files, application specific configuration files are by default installed in the specified portal root on the Java application server. If you redeploy the WAR files, for example to apply a hotfix, any customizations that you have made to the configuration files are overwritten.

Use an external directory to keep customizations

To keep customizations at redeploy, you can use an external directory outside the portal root for some of the configuration files (see Concerned configuration files below).

When you use an external directory, web applications automatically read the configuration files from the external directory instead of from the portal root. You must therefore make any customizations to the files in the external directory.

Only the configuration files in the external directory are intact when you redeploy a WAR file. To keep other customized files, you must store copies of the files in a safe place before redeployment.

Concerned configuration files

The files below will be copied to and read from the external directory.

Web application	Configuration files
StreamStudio (<Name>.war)	<Portal root>\<Name>\WEB-INF\ settings\*.xml <Portal root>\<Name>\WEB-INF\ spring\properties\*.properties Exception – The permissions.properties file is not copied to the external directory.
SSSP application (sssp.war)	<Portal root>\sssp\WEB-INF\ spring\properties\*.properties Exception – The velocity.properties file is not copied to the external directory.
Ad Hoc Correspondence (<Name>_adhoc.war)	<Portal root>\<Name>_adhoc\WEB-INF\spring\properties\*.properties
Correspondence Reviewer (<Name>_reviewer.war)	<Portal root>\<Name>_reviewer\WEB-INF\spring\properties\*.properties
DBQ Tool (<Name>_dbq.war)	<Portal root>\<Name>_dbq\WEB-INF\spring\properties\*.properties

Specifying an external directory for configuration files

You can specify an external directory for web application specific configuration files in one of the following ways:

•	By adding the system environment variable below. For example, for Windows, in the System Properties configuration:

Variable name – STRS_WEB_CONFIG_DIR Variable value – <Path to external directory>

•	By adding the JVM parameter below in the configuration of the Java application server. For example, for Apache Tomcat, in the Apache Tomcat Properties configuration:

-Dstrs.web.config.dir=<Path to external directory>

To specify an external directory for configuration files

1	Install and deploy the WAR files.

2	Specify the external directory (see above).

3	Restart the Java application server.

The Java applications server checks if the external directory and its sub-directories for StreamStudio and the SSSP application exist and if there are any configuration files within these directories.

–	If the external directory (with sub-directories and configuration files) exists, no configuration files are copied to the sub-directories.

–	If the external directory exists (with sub-directories) but one or several of the configuration files are missing, the missing files are copied to the sub-directories.

–	If the external directory does not exist, the external directory is created.

–	If the sub-directories do not exist, the sub-directories are created and the configuration files are copied into the sub-directories.

4	Open the web application in a web browser.

The Java application server checks if the sub-directories exists for Ad Hoc Correspondence, Correspondence Reviewer, and the DBQ tool and if there are any configuration files within these directories.

–	If the sub-directories (with configuration files) exist, no configuration files are copied to the sub-directories.

–	If the sub-directories exists, but one or several of the configuration files are missing, the missing files are copied to the sub-directories.

–	If no sub-directories exist, the sub-directories are created and the configuration files are copied into the sub-directories.