Remote Branding

Remote branding allows you to edit your site's master templates and static HTML and commited to the site's CVS repositiory. Once commited, edits show immediately on the site. You can make changes on your local, check them into the CVS repository, and they will automatically show on the site. While remote branding allows for quick and immediate changes, it does not have a place to preview or stage, so an errant edit can trash a running site.

Files for Remote Branding

Remote Branding files reside in two directories: LOOK and WWW.

The LOOK directory contains files that appear on every page. This includes the top banner, the footer, and the left navigational column. The following files can be found in the look/www/master directory:

The WWW directory contains static html content, such as site documentation, project files, and help files.

How to Modify Remote Branding Files

To make changes to the remote branding files, you must have an account on the site and the role of Developer (or higher permissions) on the WWW and/or LOOK projects.

  1. log into CVS
  2. check out two directories, look and www.
  3. Find the files you wish to modify and move them into a working directory on your local machine.

    Note the URL of the file you wish to change. If it is simply $URL/FILENAME, or $URL/project/www/FILENAME, the file will be located in the current (www/www/) directory. If it is $URL/docs/FILENAME, or $URL/project/www/docs/FILENAME, it will be located in the the /docs directory (www/www/docs). If it is in another directory, such as $URL/[DIRECTORIES]/FILENAME or $URL/project/www/[DIRECTORIES]/FILENAME, it will be located in the /[DIRECTORIES] directory (www/www/[DIRECTORIES]).

  4. Edit files using the editor of your choice, save your changes, and exit the file editor.
  5. Commit the changes to the CVS repository, which will deploy your changes onto the live site. BE VERY CAREFUL, as once you commit, the changes will appear, including any mistakes in spelling, html code, or file names in links or image tags.
  6. Refresh your browser if it is already open on a page that should be affected by your change.

Note: Servlets, eg $URL/servlets/ProjectMail, cannot be changed in the above manner. Changing template front ends for the servlets requires customization from the provider, CollabNet.