Creating new method configurations

Method libraries can be comprised of content from many types of methods and whole families of different processes. A method configuration defines a logical subset of a method library. You use method configurations to define the scope of your authoring work and when publishing or exporting content.

For example, when you create a process you must specify at least one method configuration that this process is authored against. See Method configurations overview for more details.

You use the method configuration editor to create and modify method configurations. In this editor, you select which method plug-ins, content packages, and categories of elements you want to include to or exclude from the method library into the method configuration. The selections that you make restrict the scope of the content that you use as a basis for defining your process. These selections also determine the content of the published Web site.

Method configurations are assigned names and are saved so that they can be reused at a later date. In addition to creating new method configurations, as described below, you can also simply copy and paste a configuration by right-clicking the method configuration that you want to copy and right-clicking the top-level Configurations folder and clicking Paste. You will get a complete copy of the configuration with a new name that you can modify for your needs.

To create a new method configuration:

  1. In the Library view of the Authoring perspective, right-click the Configurations folder and click New > Method Configuration.
  2. In the Create a new method configuration dialog, type a name and description for your configuration and click Finish. The Configuration editor is opened and you will see your new configuration name in the Configurations folder in the Library view tree.
  3. At the bottom of the editor, click the Plug-in and Package Selection tab.
  4. The method configuration selection section on the left shows a list of all method plug-ins, their content packages, and processes. Use the check boxes to add or remove plug-ins, packages, and processes to or from your configuration. Expand each plug-in to select and clear individual packages and processes. You can use the Expand All Expand All button and Collapse All Collapse All button buttons to browse the hierarchy.
  5. Select categories to be added to or removed from the configuration definition. In addition to selecting method plug-ins and packages, you can refine your configuration definition with the two list boxes on the right. You can add or remove elements that have been categorized with standard or custom categories. On the right are all of the method plug-ins that were selected on the left. As you browse, notice that the sub-trees list all categories that are defined in these plug-ins. When you select a category, all elements that were in this category are added to the configuration, regardless of whether the content packages where these elements are stored were selected in the list on the left. You can add elements to your configuration based on “logical” criteria. For example, you might want to add all of the Template guidance that was in a category called “High Ceremony” to your configuration regardless of which content packages these templates were stored in. When you select a category in the bottom box, then all elements that were in the category are removed (or subtracted) from the configuration; regardless if the content packages in which these elements are stored were selected in the list on the left or not. This allows you to systematically remove content that was categorized in a certain way from your configuration.
  6. Click File > Save.
  7. Define the views for the method configuration. A view is a navigation tree browser in a published method configuration. Every published configuration can have several views that are displayed as tree browser in individual sliders. The structure of the view is defined as a Custom Category.
    1. In the Configuration editor, click the Views tab.
    2. Click Add View.
    3. If needed, click the plus (+) sign to expand the Custom Categories folder, and select the category that you want to use as your view. Click the (+) sign to expand your chosen category and view its contents. Press and hold the Ctrl key to select multiple views.
    4. Click OK. The window closes and the views that you selected are added to the configuration.
  8. Select the view that you want to display as your method configuration's startup view and click Make Default. The startup view is the first view shown when a published configuration opens for the first time.
  9. Click Order to open a window so that you can change the order of how the views are displayed in the published site.
  10. Click File > Save All.