14.7 Configuring How Items Are Displayed in the What’s New Page

Novell Vibe users can view what’s new in Vibe by using the What’s New page. Users can quickly see what’s new in their teams, favorite places, and more. For more information on how users can view what’s new in Vibe, see Finding What’s New in the Novell Vibe OnPrem 3 User Guide.

As the Vibe administrator, you can control various aspects of the What’s New page by modifying Vibe configuration settings.

14.7.1 Understanding the Configuration Settings You Can Customize for the What’s New Page

The tables in the following sections describe configuration settings for the What’s New page that the Vibe administrator can customize, the system default for the setting, and the line in the ssf-ext.properties file that controls the setting:

Customizing the Number of Comments That Can Be Displayed for Each Entry on the What’s New Page

Configuration Setting

System Default

Line in the ssf-ext.properties File

The maximum number of comments that are displayed for any given entry.

2 comments

activity.stream.active.comments

Customizing the Number of Words That Are Displayed for Each Item on the What’s New Page

Configuration Setting

System Default

Line in the ssf-ext.properties File

The maximum number of words that are displayed for each item on the What’s New page.

-1 (The first several lines of an item are displayed)

activity.stream.display.words

Customizing How Often the What’s New Page Is Updated

Configuration Setting

System Default

Line in the ssf-ext.properties File

How often the What’s New page is updated to display the most recent posts.

60 seconds

activity.stream.interval.refresh.client

NOTE:Adjusting this setting to update the What’s New page more frequently than the system default (60 seconds) can result in inadequate system performance. However, depending on how many users access your Vibe system and your current configuration, a more frequent or less frequent update cycle might be appropriate.

Customizing the Number of Items That Are Returned When the What’s New Page Is Updated

Configuration Setting

System Default

Line in the ssf-ext.properties File

The maximum number of new or modified items that are returned by the search (includes entries and comments).

1000 items

activity.stream.maxhits

Restricting the What’s New Page from Being Displayed When Users First Log In

Configuration Setting

System Default

Line in the ssf-ext.properties File

Defines whether the What’s New page is displayed when users first log in to the Vibe site. If the value of this line is true, the What’s New page is displayed. If the value is false, users see their personal workspaces when they first log in to the Vibe site.

true (The What’s New page is displayed when users first log in)

activity.stream.on.login

IMPORTANT:If you have specified a default home page for you Vibe site, as described in Section 4.3, Setting a Default Home Page, users are taken to that home page when they first log in to the Vibe site, regardless of this setting.

14.7.2 Changing the Configuration Settings for the What’s New Page

To change the configuration settings of the What’s New page:

  1. Change to the following directory:

    Linux:

    		 
    /opt/novell/teaming/apache-tomcat/
                           webapps/ssf/WEB-INF/classes/config

    Windows:

    		 
    c:\Program Files\Novell\Teaming\apache-tomcat\
                           webapps\ssf\WEB-INF\classes\config

  2. Open the ssf.properties file in a text editor.

  3. Search for the appropriate line that represents the configuration setting that you want to customize for the What’s New page.

    See the table in Section 14.7.1, Understanding the Configuration Settings You Can Customize for the What’s New Page to find the line in the ssf-ext.properties file that controls the setting that you want to customize.

    For example, if you want to change the number of words that are displayed for each item on the What’s New page, search for the line activity.stream.display.words=-1, then change the value to the number of words that you want to be displayed. For example, activity.stream.display.words=25.

  4. Make a backup copy of the ssf-ext.properties file, which is located in the same directory as the ssf.properties file.

  5. Open the ssf-ext.properties file in a text editor.

  6. Copy the appropriate line from the ssf.properties file to the bottom of the ssf-ext.properties file.

  7. Change the default value of the line to the value that you want.

  8. Save and close the ssf-ext.properties file.

  9. Stop and restart Vibe.