Automatically updating client preferences with the managed-settings.xml file

When you use the Expeditor managed settings framework to create a managed-settings.xml file and post it to an update site, clients receive new or updated preferences automatically. The managed-settings.xml file is policy-based, so you can define different sets of preferences for different users. This method applies to both the Sametime® Connect Clients and to the Sametime Embedded Clients for Notes®.

About this task

Use a managed-settings.xml file to centrally manage and define preferences. At login time, the client receives policies then checks for the existence of the managed-settings.xml file according to the "Sametime update site URL" policy. For example, if the administration update site URL is http://example.com/updates, the client looks for updated preferences in http://example.com/updates/managed-settings.xml.

The managed-settings.xml file can override and control any client preference, including hidden configuration preferences and preferences in the client user interface. Many preferences can also be set as read-only by specifying a locked="true" attribute for the preference.

Note: Sametime embedded clients for Notes can also be managed through the Domino® Desktop policy settings document.

Follow these steps to create and post a managed-settings.xml file.

Procedure

  1. Create a settings XML file and save it as managed-settings.xml.
  2. Define preferences in the settings XML file.
  3. Post the file to the policy-configured administration update site URL.

Results

Changes take effect the next time the user starts Sametime. Settings found in the managed-settings.xml take precedence over matching settings in the plugin_customization.ini file.

What to do next

To test changes in a managed-settings.xml file, create a policy set that includes the administration update site URL and place the .xml file in the location specified by the update site URL. Apply the policy to yourself and log in to the client to verify the preferences.

To help debug problems, you can also enable logging of the managed settings. To enable logging for the handling of the remote managed-settings.xml file, set the following log level in the user.home/HCL/Sametime/.config/rcpinstall.properties file: 

com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.policy.sametime.managedsettings.level=FINEST
To make sure the user gets the Sametime Policy that tells them to use the managed-settings.xml, add the following setting: 
com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.policy.level=FINE