Generic Setup

GenericSetup is "a Zope-based toolkit for managing site configuration."

Documentation

Usage Notes

  • Uses configuration profiles (groups of xml files) that describe the site configuration (i.e., the end product of the config)
    • 2 types of profile
      • base profile describes an overall site setup
      • extension profile assumes it's reswizzling what a base profile has already done (so, we'll have an extension profile that acts on the results of Plone's stock base profile)
    • important xml files in any profile
      • import_steps.xml: defines all of the steps that need to be taken when this configuration is loaded into your site
      • export_steps.xml: describes the steps that should be taken when you want to generate a new configuration profile from the live site
      • toolset.xml: A list of all of the tools that should be created at the root of your site
      • skins.xml: A list of all of the skin paths that should be added to the skins tool when your site is configured
      • types.xml: A list of all of the types that should be defined in the site's portal_types tool
      • types (folder): A folder containing other xml files, one for each type listed in types.xml. Each file contains detailed configuration information related to the specific custom content type for which it is named.
      • workflows.xml: A list of all of the custom workflows that should be added to the portal_workflows tool, including the types for which they should apply
      • workflows (folder): A folder that contains detailed XML definitions for each custom workflow described in workflows.xml
      • more
  • The setup tool (portal_setup at the root of your Plone site in the ZMI)
    • setup tool is "stateful": at any given time, the setup tool is working in relation to an "active" profile
    • properties tab in portal_setup shows/sets currently active profile
    • import tab shows the import steps that are currently registered
      • import steps are directly related to the contents of the "import_steps.xml" file that is in the profile definition
      • the import steps that a profile registers are additive,