Version

Central Application Configuration

The Configuration File is a property list, a structured data representation used to store, organize and access data. Internally, it defines a dictionary (key-value pair) using XML syntax. This pre-defined structure is required by the application in order to correctly recognize and process the information. Property lists are used extensively by applications on OSX and iOS, for further details refer to Introduction to Property Lists in the Mac Developer Library.

The SharePlus configuration file is an iOS “Property List” XML file containing six main sections:

  • ConfigManager – Attributes related to the remote configuration setup.

  • Features – Attributes related to the application’s features.

  • Pages - Attributes that define pages (and view containers) that can be used as home content for pre-defined portals or the Application Home module.

  • Accounts – Attributes that define site’s accounts.

  • Sites – Attributes that define portal configurations.

  • Variables – Attributes for custom features. Empty by default.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<plist version="1.0">
   <dict>
      <key>ConfigManager</key>
      <dict>...</dict>
      <key>Features</key>
      <dict>...</dict>
      <key>Pages</key>
      <dict>...</dict>
      <key>Accounts</key>
      <dict>...</dict>
      <key>Sites</key>
      <dict>...</dict>
      <key>Variables</key>
      <dict>...</dict>
   </dict>
</plist>

There are several options when choosing an XML editor. In case you don’t have a preferred one, good options are Xcode for Mac OS and Notepad++ for Windows OS.