Enportal/5.5/admin/system administration/Configuration Files


enPortal provides various files to assist with configuring many aspects of the system to the needs of a specific deployment. This article details the various configuration files that are provided.

Configuration Files Location

enPortal maintains configuration files primarily in the following directory:

[INSTALL_HOME]/server/webapps/enportal/WEB-INF/config

Configuration Files Description

The following table summarizes each configuration file and the information it provides:


enPortal Configuration Files
Configuration File Description
activation.properties Contains information used to start the enPortal processes.
appboard.properties Master configuration file containing various AppBoard system configurations.
appboard-shim.properties Defines the default SHIM nodes that are defined in AppBoard.
config.properties Master configuration file containing various enPortal system configurations as well as the various include tags for many of the other configuration (.properties) files.
crs.properties Content Retrieval Service (CRS) configuration settings.
crs-handlermap.properties Maps CRS processes to the associated class files. This file should not typically be modified.
crs-shim.properties Defines the default SHIM nodes that are defined in enPortal.
crs-subs.properties Maps CRS substitutions to the associated class files. This file should not typically be modified.
crs-xml.properties Maps CRS XML nodes to the associated class files. This file should not typically be modified.
custom.properties Recommended location for overriding the defaults specified in many of the configuration files detailed in this matrix, including config.properties, export.properties, and activation.properties
export.properties Export properties files configure the use of the FilesExport command to preserve customization files during a portal system upgrade.

The default export properties file is included in the base enPortal installation as export.properties. This includes commands for preserving all of the custom directories and files. This file defines categories and subcategories of files that are combined to form useful “file sets” that can be exported by the FilesExport process to a JAR file.

export-appboard.properties An extension of export.properties, which details the additional files to be included for preserving AppBoard content.
hosts.properties

(enPortal 4.x only)

Used for storing the host and port information of enPortal's internal Portal Server and JSP Server.

In custom installations where a separate Apache Web Server is used, this file also configures the port setting for accessing that Web Server. This file should be modified directly, or by using the Host Configuration GUI (if generating a redundant system configuration file). Settings in custom.properties will not override settings in this file.

license.properties License file enabling the system to run.
local.properties

(enPortal 4.x only)

Used for storing the location of certain external applications, such as the JDK, that are referenced by enPortal.

This file should be modified directly, or by using the portal setup command line utility. Settings in custom.properties will not override settings in this file.

logger-crs.properties Configures the various logs that are generated by the CRS process. Configures filters (severity based) of the log messages being generated.

Defines what events should be logged and the location to which the information is saved. Any modifications should be made in the logger-crs-custom.properties file.

logger-crs-custom.properties Overrides the default settings specified in logger-crs-custom.properties.
logger-crs-old.properties This file is no longer used.
logger-def.properties Stores the various base system logger definitions. This file should not typically be modified.
logger-portal.properties Configures the various logs that are generated by the enPortal processes. Configures filters (severity based) of the log messages being generated.

Defines what events should be logged and the location to which the information is saved. Any modifications should be made in the logger-portal-custom.properties file. Should only be edited for enPortal 4.x versions. For AppBoard and later enPortal versions, see Log Files

logger-portal-custom.properties Overrides the default settings specified in logger-portal.properties
persist.properties Used for turning database persistence on or off, and for configuring the connection string to a database for storing enPortal/AppBoard component and user definitions.

This file should be modified directly, or by using the database configuration utility (portal dbsetup command line utility). Settings in custom.properties will not override settings in this file.

tables.txt A list of tables used for populating the H2 database that is used by default for storing information about enPortal/AppBoard users and components.

This file should not typically be modified.

vendor.properties Modifications to this file are prohibited
xmlupgrade.properties Information used by the system during an upgrade to ensure that system components are migrated properly.

This file should not typically be modified.

Configuration Files Customization

Some of the enPortal configuration files can be customized. Perform the following steps to customize an item in one of the configuration files.

  1. Open the file custom.properties in a text editor. (Create the file if it does not already exist).
  2. Enter the modified setting, along with a comment detailing the item. Example:
    #Change automated session timeout to 10 minutes
    session.defaultSeconds=600
  3. Save the file.
  4. Re-start the system.


The above steps place the modification in the file custom.properties, rather than directly modifying the original configuration file. This approach is recommended, so that any customizations will be preserved. To reduce the number of merge files during an upgrade, you should generally avoid making direct customizations to system files unless absolutely necessary. For example, to avoid creating a merge file in PORTAL_HOME/config/export.properties, you must enter your changes into the merge free file PORTAL_HOME/config/custom.properties. If placing a customization in custom.properties does not show the intended effect, you may need to make that change directly to the raw configuration file.