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http://webdesign.about.com/od/contentmanagement/a/aa031300a.htm

Why Learn HTML When Content Management Tools Are Available

There are many opinions on the subject, but the reality is that the debate may be short lived.As Web content managers come more on the scene, it is easier and easier to put up Web

 pages with no knowledge of HTML.

What is a Content Management System

Content Management Systems come in all shapes and sizes. Chances are, if you've put up aWeb page on a free Web page server or ISP you've had access to a rudimentary contentmanagement system.

Several years ago, when I worked at Netcom, they had Personal Web page space, and to addto your pages you had to use a tool called "PBuilder". PBuilder allowed anyone with a

 Netcom account to create a Web page from a template and put it up on our Web server. It wasrudimentary, but it didn't require knowledge of HTML and you could have a page up quicklyand painlessly.

Companies then saw that this could be useful within an organization. For example if a PR department needs to get a press release up on the Web site, often it has to go throughnumerous steps:

1. Write the release and get it approved2. Send the release out on the wire3. Send the release to the Web group4. The Web group then converts the document to HTML and puts it on the Web site5. Most larger companies have some sort of staging server where Web documents sit

until they are pushed live6. If a press release has sensitive information, it can't be released to the Web group until

it has been sent to the wire, but often upper management wants it on the Web siteimmediately

This situation causes a lot of stress for both the Web group and the PR team. It would be a lot

easier if the PR team could post the release to the Web at the same time that they post it to thewire services. But , often they don't know HTML or don't have access to the Web site. This iswhere a content management system comes into play.

Within a corporation, a content management tool does a lot of things:

•  provides Web access to Web page content owners directly• allows for faster updates of Web pages•  provides an easy-to-use interface where content owners don't need to know HTML• creates accountability, as most content managers can track logins and changes to

various pages within the site

• upholds standardization rules

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Content Management Brings Web Access Direct to Content Owners

In most companies, the Web Developers don't write the content for the pages. They simply put it up in a format that is Web ready. With a content manager, the content owner can accessthe parts of the site that they own and publish them, often directly to the Web site or staging

server.

Content Management Means Faster Updates

At my current company, many people know that I put up Web pages, so when they have arequest for a change, they often call me directly. However, unless it is simply a text error or 

 bad link, I have to forward the request on to the content owner. Then, if the content owner would like the change made, she or he will request it through our workorder system. With acontent management system, the content owner could make the change directly, and bypassthe workorder completely. And with some content management systems, the requestor couldsubmit the request through the content management tool, and it would be sent to the contentowner to approve.

Content Management Means You Don't Need HTML

Most content managers work in a templated environment. So, if you were to add a link to anew press release, you would enter in the link title, URL, and description into different fieldsin the content manager form. The content manager would then build the link for you. For longer text blocks, such as a full press release, many content managers aresmart enough to dothings like add paragraph tags, make links clickable, and put in other formatting.

Content Management Brings Accountability

Content management software can sometimes be set up with user accounts, and access rights.This means, that some pages may only be editable by specific accounts. And changes that aremade to the Web site are tracked and often using change management tools, it is possible to

 back out of a change that was made in error.

Content Management Brings Standardization

As I said above, most content managers work on a template type system. This means thatthere are certain areas of Web pages that cannot be changed by the content owner. For example, on this About.com Web site, I am the content owner of this page, but I cannotchange the information in the right-hand column, or anything above the title or below the

 bottom of this article. All of that information is controlled by About.com templates, and ismanaged by an authority at About.com.

Because I cannot make changes to those areas, this guarantees more standardization acrossthe entire site. If I were able to make changes, I might make a change that would not fit withany of the other sites on the Network. Leaving this out of my control removes the temptationfor me and the risk for the company.

Many companies build their own content management tools to meet their specific needs, butin the last year or so, several companies have come out with some good content management

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software. These tools may not do all that I mentioned on the previous page, but many doother things I left out.

Interwoven TeamSite

TeamSite is a very powerful, but also very expensive enterprise content management system.

Typo3

Typo3, by contrast, is a powerful enterprise-level free Open Source content managementsystem.

Vignette Content Management

Vignette is another popular enterprise content management system.

DynaBase

DynaBase allows you to deliver your Web site using XML for more flexibility.

EGrailA server side content management solution that will write the HTML, plus it will interactwith automatic data delivery such as news feeds. EGrail is open source.

RedDot Web Content Management System

A content management system that allows you to edit documents directly on the Web - noHTML required. Access control and more.

More Content Management Resources

•

More Content Management Software Links• What is Content Management - Really? from the Computer NetworkingGuide

• Managing Content: Look and Feel  from the Computer Networking Guide

here are many things that Content Management is used for. Most corporations that arelooking into Content Management are looking for a way to manage their data. But CMS

 provides more than just data management and template Web delivery. Some of the features agood CM System will provide are:

• Data management

This is the primary function of CMS, to manage the content on Web sites. Most CMsystems use XML to tag the content and database connectivity.

• Web Life-Cycle Management

Many CM systems provide the ability for content managers to approve and validatecontent before it goes live on the Web. They can also control the time a contentelement goes live, the day and time is it removed from the site, and the locations onthe site that the content element appears.

• Web Templating

Web pages are created from templates. This allows your content developers to

concentrate on writing. Then when they are ready to post items to the Web site, thecontent will display with the standardized branding of your site.

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• Personalization

Once the content is put into the CM system, it makes it that much easier to create personalized pages for your Web site visitors. This is because the Web page design isseparated from the content - so the content can be delivered exactly as your readersrequest it.

• Syndication

Syndication allows you to share your Web content with other corporations. Like personalization, it is made possible because the content is separated from the designof the Web site. This tool can be used for more than just companies like About that

 primarily create content. For example, an online vitamin store might syndicate articlesabout vitamins, Symantec might have content related to online security, and

 Nordstroms might include fashion tips.

• Digital Rights Management

As the copyright holder of content, whether it be writing, audio or video, you have the

opportunity to provide high-quality access to your content. Content Managementsystems provide the background for managing the rights to your content.

• Choosing a content management system is challenging. The tools range

from high-end corporate solutions that do all you could ask for a hefty

price tag down to inexpensive and free tools you set up and maintain

yourself. But how do you decide what you need? Look at your company's

needs, the time your IT department has to install and maintain the

software, and the features the solution includes.

High-End Corporate Solutions•  These solutions can be high priced, but they offer the most services of all

the CMS tools. They cover every aspect of content management, from

content entry to workflow to dynamic page generation and delivery. If 

your company has a high-traffic Web site with vital ecommerce initiatives,

these solutions are a good choice. They offer content management

integrated into a full-service solution.

Publication Systems•  There are several content management systems that focus on creating the

Web pages. They offer superior personalization and page generation tools.

 They offer good database connectivity to create dynamic, template driven

pages quickly and easily. If your company is looking for a solution to

handle many standardized looking pages, such as a Web catalog or online

store, these tools are good.

Workflow Tools•  There are many aspects to the content management lifecycle, and these

tools provide strong features for managing the work. Roles and

assignments are handled by the tool. If your company has a large number

of employees and staff responsible for the Web site these tools can help

you get control over the process.

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Low-Priced and Open Source Systems• All the content management solutions in the world won't do you any good

if your company can't afford it. These tools offer the same services that

the more expensive solutions offer, but they don't include support and

other services from the company selling them. If your company has a

strong IT team with an interest in saving money but creating manageable

Web sites, these tools are great.

Back-End Scripting Tools• A common solution many smaller companies choose is to create their own

content management system using back-end scripting tools such as PHP,

ASP, JSP, or ColdFusion combined with a database. This type of solution

offers many of the dynamic page building capabilities of CMS, but none of 

the project management and workflow elements.

What is Content Management, Really?

1. Web-based publishing . Documents and other forms of information can be disseminated byauthorized individuals. Page templates, wizards, and other software aids help inexperiencedcontent authors to produce higher-quality output. Data useful on intranet, extranet, andecommerce Internet sites, for example, can automatically be re-purposed and co-ordinated for the multiple destinations.

2. Format management . Data can automatically be converted into formats suitable for Web publishing such as HTML PDF. Legacy electronic documents, or even scanned paper 

documents, can be unified into a few common formats that are more easily shared with third parties.

3. Revision control . Files can be updated to a newer version or restored to a previous version.Changes to files can be traced to individuals for security purposes.

4. Indexing, search, and retrieval . For data to be valuable, it must be relevant to the task athand and accessible in a timely fashion. Documents can be parsed for keywords, headings,graphics, and other elements; mechanisms for processing search requests become critical.

More generally, effective content management systems support an organization's business

 processes for acquiring, filtering, organizing, and controlling access to information. Becauseno two organizations use identical business processes, content management systems in

 practice can be compared to snowflakes -- no two such systems will look or behave exactlyalike!

 Numerous factors determine the degree of difficulty an organization will face in deploying or improving their content management systems. An organization's size (number of employees)and geographic dispersion (particulary across national or cultural boundaries) can give a first-order estimate. Another factor to consider is the diversity in forms of electronic data heldwithin the organization. Besides plain text documents, critical data can also exist in alternateforms such as graphics, audio/video, and engineering diagrams that can prove much more

difficult to manage. Finally, some organizations may historically have relied on an "oral

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tradition" of predominately verbal, undocumented communications, leaving little data readilyavailable to collect.

In the final analysis, content management is only a means to a end. One can easily becomeenamored with the idea of total information sharing among all of an organization's employees

and forget that this is probably not a worthwhile goal. The process of information sharing becomes valuable only when the "right data" is communicated to the "right people" at the"right time." Your content management system will probably be effective only to the extent itcontributes to this goal.

Why is Content Management So Hard?

Content Management is supposed to answer the following needs:

• Make it easy for the actual writers to post their articles and images (content) to theWeb site.

• Control how the content looks on the page. Ie. prevent maverick content owners fromcreating black-backgrounds and blinking text pages.

• Reuse that content in other places, not just the Web, so that one writer can cover multiple venues at once.

Content Management and Content Developers

Except on small Web sites, usually the writer for the site is a completely different personfrom the Web designer or Web developer. What this usually means is that the writer is far more familiar with tools such as Word and often knows very little HTML.

Content management is supposed to solve this problem by allowing the content authors towrite their content without using HTML. However there are several reasons why this doesn'tusually work:

1. If the system doesn't allow HTML entry at all, the content authors will invariablycomplain that they need features that arent' supported, such as links within thecontent, bulletted or numbered lists, italics, bold, and so on.

2. Many systems solve this problem by allowing a form of BB markup, which isdifferent from HTML but allows limited features. The problem here is that it forcesthe content author to learn yet another language, and generally it's one that isn't

supported by any software. They just have to learn that means bold and so on.3. So some CMS solutions add in a plugin to allow for HTML codes inserted into

the content. However, many of these plugins are in ActiveX so they only work on

one browser and OS. Plus, once they allow HTML, they are no longer in control

of how the content looks. Which leads us to the next item...

Controlling the Look and Feel with Content Management Systems

If you've ever tried to maintain a large site with more than 10 Web developers spread

out world wide, you know how difficult it can be to keep the design looking the same.

The designers in one region feel that blue is a much nicer color than your corporate

color, so they change the site background for their pages. The developers in another

area feel that the graphics are not flashy enough, so they add more blinkingimages to all

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their pages. And as soon as the managers get one thing fixed, another 5 have popped up

elsewhere. Content management fixes all that. Or does it?

Most companies using CMS start out with a very rigid set of templates. They only allow

their content authors a small set of page styles that they can choose from, and those are

rigidly controlled. But then comes the first urgent page that needs a different style, andneeds it yesterday. And the "blank template" is born. The blank template is a feature of 

nearly every CMS Web site I've ever seen or worked with. It basically allows the

content owner freedom to do whatever needs to be done to get the page up and working.

And once a content author has access to a blank template, he or she generally won't see

any reason to use any of the old templates that are so restrictive. The only way to get

people to use other templates, once they have access to a blank one is to incent them

through some other means. For example: if they are contractors - pay them less for

blank template pages. If they are employees, hold contests or set quotas for non-blank 

template pages.

Content Management and Content Re-Use

Assuming you can get people to put their content in useful templates, the conventional

wisdom says that that content can then be re-used in other locations. But can it?

I worked for four years in the Marketing department at Symantec. In that time, my

team created hundreds if not thousands of PDF and Word documents describing our

products. But these documents were for print. Any time we wanted to use the contents

of the documents on the Web someone had to rewrite them to make them Web ready.

Because the way people read a printed fact sheet is very different from how they readthat same fact sheet online.

Then, when you move into images you have even more trouble. If you choose to use

your Web site as the primary source for all your images, your images will either be too

large to download or too pixelated to print. Thus a product fact sheet made for the Web

would have to be both rewritten and all the images recreated in order to make it

suitable for a glossy brochure or other printed materials.

Why Use Content Management Then?

Content management does provide value to companies who implement it. But softwarealone won't solve the problems that CMS tools claim to solve. You also need to

implement social engineering, training, and incentive programs to get it up and running

and solve the problems. Content management won't allow you to fire all your Web

developers, in fact, you may have to train your content people to be Web developers as

well.

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Web Servers and Workflow

Testing Servers, Development Servers, Staging Servers, and

Production Servers

By Jennifer Kyrnin, About.com Guide

Working with a large site, with lots of people and pages maintaining it, you will come acrossvarious workflows to get from a web design paper prototype to the actual pages live on theinternet. The workflow for a complex site can include many separate web servers and server locations. And each of these servers has a different purpose. This article will describe someof the more common servers in a complex website and how they are used.

Production Web Servers

This is the type of web server that most web designers are familiar with. A production server is a web server that hosts web pages and content that is ready for production. In other words,the content on a production web server is live to the internet or is ready to be delivered to theinternet.

In a small company, the production server is where all the web pages live. Designers anddevelopers test the pages either on their local machines or in hidden or password protectedareas on the live server. When a page is ready to go live it is simply moved into place on the

 production server, either by FTP from the local hard drive or by moving the files from thehidden directory to the live directory.

The workflow would be:

1. Designer builds site on local machine2. Designer tests site on local machine3. Designer uploads site to hidden directory on production server for more

testing4. Approved designs are moved into the live (non-hidden) areas of the

website

For a small site, this is a perfectly acceptable workflow. And in fact, you can often see what asmall site is doing by looking at files named things like index2.html and inside directories

named things like /new. As long as you remember that non-password protected areas like thatcan be found by search engines, posting updates to the production server is a good way to testnew designs in a live environment without needing extra servers.

Testing Server or QA Server

Testing servers are a useful addition to a website workflow because they provide you with away to test new pages and designs on a web server that is not visible to customers (andcompetitors). Testing servers are set up to be identical to the live site and usually have somesort of version control set up on them to make sure that any changes are recorded. Most

testing servers are set up behind a corporate firewall so that only employees can see them.But they can also be set up with password protection outside a firewall.

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A testing server is very useful for sites that use a lot of dynamic content, programming, or CGIs. This is because unless you have a server and database set up on your local computer, itis very difficult to test these pages offline. With a testing server, you can post your changes tothe site and then see if the programs, scripts, or database still works as you intended.

Companies that have a testing server typically add it to the workflow like this:

1. Desginer builds the site locally and tests locally, just like above2. Designer or developer uploads changes to the testing server to test

dynamic elements (PHP or other server-side scripts, CGI, and Ajax)3. Approved designs are moved to the production server

Development Servers

Development servers are very useful for sites that have a large development component, suchas complex ecommerce sites and web applications. Development servers are used by the web

development team to work on programming the back end of the website. They almost alwayshave version or source code control systems for multiple team members to use and they

 provide a server environment for testing new scripts and programs.

A development server is different from a testing server because most developers work directly on the server. The purporse of this server is typically to try new things in programs.While testing does happen on a development server, it is for the purpose of making a piece of code work, not testing it against specific criteria. This allows developers to worry about thenuts and bolts of the website without worrying about how it's going to look.

When a company has a development server, they often have separate teams working ondesign and development. When this is the case, the testing server becomes even moreimportant, as that is where the designs meet with the developed scripts. The workflow with adevelopment server is typically:

1. Designers work on the designs on their local machinesAt the same time, developers work on scripts and programs on thedevelopment server

2. The code and designs are merged onto the testing server for testing3. Approved designs and code are moved to the production server

Content Sever

For sites with a lot of content, there may be another server that houses the contentmanagement system. This allows the content developers a place to add their content withoutit being affected by the design or programs being built alongside. Content servers are a lotlike development servers except for writers and graphic artists.

Staging Server

A staging server is often the last stop for a website before it is put into production. Stagingservers are designed to be as much like production as possible. So, the hardware and software

are often mirrored for the staging and production web servers. Many companies use a testingserver as a staging server, but if the site is extremely complex, a staging server gives

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designers and developers one last chance to verify that proposed changes work as designedand don't have a negative impact to the site overall, without having other tests being

 performed on the testing server causing confusion.

Staging servers are often used as a form of "waiting period" for website changes. At some

companies, the staging server deploys new content posted there automatically, while other companies use the server as a final testing and approval area for people outside the web teamlike management, marketing, and affected groups. The staging server is typically put in theworkflow like this:

1. Designers work on the designs on their local machines or the testingserverContent authors create the content in the CMSDevelopers write code on the development server

2. Design and code are brought together on the testing server for testing(sometimes content is included here, but it is often validated in the CMS

outside of the design workflow)3. Content is added to the designs and code on the staging server4. Final approvals are received and the entire site is pushed to the

production server

Your Company's Workflow May Be Different

One thing I have learned is that the workflow at one company may be completely differentfrom that at another company. I have built websites writing HTML straight on the productionserver using Emacs and vi and I have built websites where I have had no access to anything

 but a small section of the page I'm working on and I did all my work inside a CMS. By

understanding the purpose of the various servers you might come across, you can do your design and development work more effectively.

Choosing a CMS

There are Many Content Management Systems to Choose

From

ften, when trying to decide what applications to use on your Web server, price is the firstthing people think of as a deciding factor, but I don't agree. Price is, of course, important, butyou can pay thousands of dollars and not get the features you need, or you can pay nothingand get features that are useless to you.

With the changes to MovableType announced this week, I am considering making a changeto the CMS that I use on my personal site. You might think that the reason I'm consideringthis change is because of price, but really that's not it. I do think that MovableType is aworthwhile program, easily worth $100. However, the features that are included no longer meet my needs.

What Features I'm Looking For

• Dynamic, database driven

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• Runs on Linux with Apache• Supports multiple authors• Supports access control (authors can only edit certain areas)• Allows plugins and other additions to the code beyond what the base

software supports•

Provides templating that is completely customizable• Supports XHTML and CSS templates

I've done a lot of research over the last few days. One of the first things I did was eliminatesoftware sources that were less expensive than powerful enterprise CMS like InterwovenTeamSite and Documentum. Those tools are powerful and much beyond what a small

 personal site and small business would need.

Nukes

There is a CMS for portals called a "Nuke" that many small businesses use. I looked at these

first, because they are very common. But Nukes work by putting content into blocks and putting the blocks on the page. What I noticed in looking at sites that use Nukes is that theyall seem to look essentially the same (Header and 3-column main body). Since I want my siteto have a layout that fits with my style, and is not limited to what the CMS dictated, I knewthat I didn't want a Nuke.

Blog Tools

Then, I thought, because I was using MovableType before, I would look at some blog tools.After all, if I could use a blog CMS originally, then perhaps I could use a new blog CMSnow. But blog tools have a very specific use - creating weblogs. I run much more than a

weblog on my site - I have a photo gallery and a news site and my resume and other things.So, while Bloxsom and other blog tools are great, they don't meet my needs.

Finding the Perfect CMS

I realized that I couldn't just go randomly scattershot to various sites looking at CMS tools.Instead, I decided to form a prioritized list of my requirements. This would include what I docurrently with my site, as well as the things that I want to do.

I've narrowed my search down to three:

1. b2evolution2. drupal 3. typo3

They all seem to have the functionality that I want, so now I need to install them on my test bed and try them out. Since they are all offered under Gnu Public License, I can test themwilthout spending any money. And once I've tested them, I'll know which one I want to useas my next CMS.

If you're looking for a CMS for your business or personal Web site, I recommend the

following three steps to make sure you find what you want:

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1. Determine your requirements for the CMS. Be as inclusive as you can, andbe sure to rank the priorities. I actually ranked them in two ways: first thepriority and second the urgency. That way if I couldn't find a CMS that fitall of them I would be able to determine the priorities.

2. Find as many CMS tools as you can to evaluate. Do your best to evaluate

them. I used the Web sites, documentation about the tools, forums andsupport boards, and Google searches to do my research.3. Narrow it down to a small number that you can afford to evaluate on your

own system. If you've included commercial tools, then talk to their salesteam about getting an evaluation copy. If you've included GPL or otherfreeware and downloadable versions, then install them on some locationon your server so that you can test them in your home environment.

I expect to take between one and two months to decide which system I want to use. It's notworth rushing.

Web Security There are a lot of dangers in putting up a Web page. From invasions of privacy to

actual hackers cracking your security. Learn how to secure your Web server and

site as well as hacks and patches to keep yourself safe.

Web serverDefinition:

A Web server is a computer that is set up with software and networking capabilities to deliver 

Web pages on the Internet or an Intranet. Web servers use programs such as Apache or IIS todeliver Web pages over the http protocol.

How to Install Apache on Windows

Learn How to Install the Apache Web Server on a Windows

Machine

Before You Begin Installing Apache

Apache is one of the most popular web servers, and part of its charm is that it's free. It alsohas a lot of features that make it very extensible and useful for many different types of websites. It is a server that is used for everything from personal web pages to enterprise levelsites.

This article will discuss how to install Apache on a Windows system. Before we start youshould be at least comfortable working in Windows - creating and changing directories andinstalling files. You should also have access to the adminstrator account on the server machine.

Download Apache

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I recommend downloading the latest stable release. At the time of this writing, that wasApache 2.2. The best place to get Apache is from the  Apache HTTP Server download site.Download the binary for Win32.

Extract the Apache Files

Once you've downloaded the binary, run it to start the self-installation. Click this link to reada step-by-step screen shot demo of what to expect when installing Apache on Windows.

Customize Apache

Assuming that there were no problems, you are ready to customize your Apacheconfiguration. This really just amounts to editing the httpd.conf file. This file is located in

the C:/Program Files/Apache Group/Apache2/conf directory. You can edit the conf file

with any text editor . Notepad is a good choice. Note: you should not use Word or a word

 processor to edit this file.

Follow the instructions in this file to edit your configuration the way you want it. More helpis available on the Apache website.

Test Your Apache Server

Open a web browser on the same machine and type http://localhost/ in the address box.

You should see a page similar to the one in the partial screen shot above. It will say in bigletters "Seeing this instead of the website you expected?" This is good news, as it meansyour server installed correctly.

Content Management Configuration

Use

 There are as many Content Management configurations as there are CM usage

scenarios and system environments. However, there is one scenario that is

covered by the standard installation and that allows you to use CM functions. To

modify the standard installation in line with your system environment, you make

small changes to the configuration data. Depending on your usage scenario, you

may have to make more significant changes to other CM components, such asthe user interface, in line with other needs.

 

Integration

As an integrated solution, the Content Management configuration is based on

technical components of the portal infrastructure. The portal system landscape is

used to access servers with user mapping. User management and the

authentication services are used by the J2EE Engine.

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Prerequisites

 You have installed Content Management successfully and carried out the initial

configuration (more information: Initial Configuration Tasks).

 

Features

Technical Components

 You can edit the following Content Management technical components in the

portal using the Configuration iView.

Technical Components in CM

TechnicalComponents

ConfigurationScope

Description

WebDAV Protocol Low The WebDAV protocol is configured by defaultfor accessing documents.

Repositories andRepositoryManagers

Medium Repositories are used for storing and/or retrievingcontent and metadata

The KM standard configuration uses severalinternal repositories that are controlled by CM.They are used for storing and staging variouscontent and metadata and for navigating in thisdata. These repositories are preconfigured and

 preactivated in the KM standard configuration.You do not normally need to modify their configuration.

In addition to the aforementioned internalrepositories, you can integrate additional external

repositories into CM, such as a WebDAV or filesystem repository. You can establish a connectionto these repositories by configuring appropriaterepository managers.

Repository Filters Low Used for editing content and metadata.

Most of the repository filters contained in the KMstandard configuration are content filters that areused when resources of particular MIME types aredisplayed in the browser. Most filters have already

 been preconfigured. If you store documents in

repositories you created yourself, you have toenter the repositories in question into the

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configuration of certain filters, such as the XMLforms repository filter.

Repository Services Low Repository services provide functions for  repositories.

All repository services are preconfigured in theKM standard configuration. In contrast to theglobal services, you must explicitly assign theservices to the repositories in which you want touse them. Generally, you do not need to changethe configuration settings of the repositoryservices.

Global Services Low to Medium Used system-wide in CM.

Global services provide generic functions that can be used with any repository. They are preconfigured and preactivated in the KMstandard configuration.

Utilities Low Deliver enhancing functions for services andapplications.

You can change existing configuration objects andcreate new ones. For example, you can carry outthe following actions:

●  Adapt server and e-mail addresses in channelsand channel originators

●  Configure caches for additional repositorymanagers

●  Define permissions for service users and

system users

User In terface High KM offers a flexible user interface for navigatingin repositories. You can use parameters to modifythe explorer that you use to navigate in folder 

hierarchies, the results list, and parts of the Detailsdialog box.

Form-BasedPublishing

Low You can make some settings for form-based publishing with the XML Forms Builder,including setting the availability of forms.

 

Configuration data

CM configuration data is stored in the following locations:

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●  In the database

●  On the portal server in a directory hierarchy that is accessible through the /etc repository.

 

Central Configuration Data

Central configuration data is managed by the CM configuration framework and

stored in XML form in the database. Data models for the parameter settings of 

configurable components are defined in XML and DTD files. You edit this data in

the portal using a separate iView.

Backing Up and Restoring Central Configuration Data

For information on backing up existing KM configuration data, see SAP Note1000150.

Carry out the steps described in SAP Note 1000351 to restore a saved

configuration.

 

Configuration Data in the /etc Repository

 The file system hierarchy beneath /usr/sap/<SAP System

ID>/SYS/global/config/cm/etc is built on the /etc file system repository manager

and is therefore accessible from CM in the portal. It contains configuration data

and user-defined configuration data for CM.

Other subdirectories of the /etc repository contain configuration and data for

applications and services in various formats. They contain stylesheets for

content filters (etc/filter) and form-based publishing (etc/xmlforms), for example.

 You can usually edit this data with an ASCII text editor.

 

You should restrict access permissions to much of the /etc repository's content. For moreinformation, see SAP Note 599425.

 

Configuration iView

 The Configuration iView is a front-end client for the configuration framework thatmanages CM configuration data. The iView presents a navigation hierarchy that

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gives you access to all configurable components. Mandatory parameters of 

configuration objects are indicated by a red asterisk.

 

More Information

KM Configuration iView

 

Navigation Hierarchy in the Configuration iView

 The configuration framework implements a folder schema that facilitates the

integration of new configurable services and applications. The folder structure is

reflected in the navigation hierarchy of the Configuration iView.

A folder represents a set of configuration data and resource bundles that pertain

to a functional domain, such as repository managers or communication channels.

A folder can contain multiple configuration classes (classes of configuration

objects). The repository manager folder comprises several repository manager

classes: CM repository manager, file system repository manager, WebDAV

repository manager and so on. You set up repository managers in your

environment by specifying configuration objects based on configuration classes.

In the navigation hierarchy of the Configuration iView, some folders contain not

only configuration classes but also other functionally-related folders. For

example, the repository manager folder contains a folder for registering the

systems accessed by Web repository managers (Web Sites).

 

Hot Reload

Many components support hot reload and can therefore be configured

dynamically. However, for some parameter changes you have to restart the

servlet engine in order to activate the new or changed settings. Parameters that

require a restart are displayed on the user interface with the symbol .

 

Valid Character List for IDs

 You can use alphanumeric characters and certain special characters (-_!~\)

($,:@+) when specifying IDs in the configuration.

 

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History

 The Configuration iView provides a history display that you can use to call up

configuration objects that you have already opened during your current session

in the portal. To call up the history, choose History from the menu bar of the

Configuration iView.

Use this function when configuring the flexible user interface, for example.

 

Validity Check

In special cases, you might not use the Configuration iView to edit theconfiguration data stored in the database. However, you should consult with SAP

first. To check this configuration data, use the validity check function in the

Configuration iView. To start a validity check, choose Actions →Check Validity.

Invalid configuration data is displayed in a list. You can then call up and correct

this data from the Configuration iView.

 

Overview of Instances

 The overview table of configuration objects includes eight instances by default. If 

a configuration object has more than eight instances, you can navigate using the

arrow symbols. Use the Objects Per Page selection box to define the number of 

instances to be displayed per page. You can display 8, 16, 32, or all instances.

Filtering the Overview Table

Some configuration objects have several hundred instances. You can use a filterfunction to call up a particular instance quickly. In the input field above the

overview table for a configuration object, enter the name or a part of the name

of the instance you are looking for, and choose Filter. The overview table then

only displays instances whose names match your filter entry.

 

Displaying All Objects

In the configuration of an object, several options may be available for a

parameter. These options are depicted in a table. If the table has more than

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eight entries, you can use the arrow symbols to navigate. To display all entries in

the table, choose Show all objects (link next to the table).

Activities

Use the Configuration iView to configure Content Management in the portal. To

call up CM configuration objects, choose System Administration →System

Configuration in the portal. Then choose Knowledge Management  →Content 

Management in the detailed navigation pane.

 

 Note that the path to the configuration objects is specified from the Configuration iView inthe documentation below. The path specification always begins with Content Management.Do not confuse this path specification with the tab page of the same name in the top-levelnavigation area of the portal.

 

WebDAV

Purpose

WebDAV (Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning) permits you to work

directly on documents that are stored on remote servers from different

geographic locations.

 You can use WebDAV to edit documents on remote servers directly. With a

WebDAV-enabled client (such as MICROSOFT® Office® 2000), you open the file

directly from the server and make your changes. When you save the document,

it is updated directly on the server.

Locking and version control mechanisms support working in groups, and prevent

unwanted overwriting of documents.

Features

WebDAV is an enhancement to the http protocol and offers functions that permit

cooperative work on documents as well as document management. Thesedocuments are stored on remote Web servers.

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HTTP

 The HyperText Transfer Protocol is the protocol used on the Internet. HTTP

supports persistent connections, and provides cache and proxy support as well

as secure, authenticated connections. However, the protocol only grantsapplications read permission. It does not allow you to edit documents.

 

WebDAV

WebDAV extends the HTTP protocol by affording applications write-access to

contents.

Information such as length, MIME type, and date is sent in the HTTP header.

WebDAV extends the scope of the information sent in the header. This means

that the header also contains information on whether an item is locked (andtherefore being edited). The header can also contain the target to which

resources should be copied.

 

 You can perform the following actions for documents and folders:

Lock 

Release

Create

Copy

Move

Delete

Metadata can also be written and read.

 

WebDAV in Knowledge Management 

Knowledge Management can be used as a WebDAV server or WebDAV client, and

can therefore be implemented in various different scenarios.

 

1. Knowledge Management as a WebDAV server

You can use a WebDAV-enabled client to access CM repositories. This is recommended if youwant to transmit a large number of files to KM (mass operations).

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To do this, we recommend the portal drive application. You must install and configurethis on the user PCs (see Providing Portal Drive for Client PCs).

 

Access using MS Webfolder is also possible. For more information, see  Accessing

Documents Using WebDAV and Including a Knowledge Management Folder as a WebFolder .

 

2. Knowledge Management as a WebDAV client

Through Knowledge Management, you can access documents that are stored on other WebDAV-enabled servers (for example, on another portal). You need a WebDAV repositorymanager to do this.

 

 There are a number of servers and clients available on the market that support

WebDAV. Below you find an overview of the most common WebDAV servers and

clients.

 

WebDAV Server

SAP Enterprise Portal including Knowledge Management

Apache moddav

MICROSOFT® IIS 5.0

Zope

 

WebDAV Clients

SAP Enterprise Portal including Knowledge Management

ADOBE® GoLive® 5, Acrobat® 5

MACROMEDIA® Dreamweaver®

MICROSOFT® Windows® 2000

MICROSOFT® Office® 2000

MICROSOFT® Internet Explorer 5 and higher 

Mac OS® X

 

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Which Scenarios Profit From Using WebDAV?

 You can use WebDAV for the following scenarios:

You update documents directly on the server.

You work with colleagues worldwide on documents that are stored in a central location(remote server).

You use metadata in search queries. For example, you search for documents of a certainauthor or with a certain keyword.

 The use of WebDAV is therefore recommended for Content Management

purposes.

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