Deploying Modules

As any other FirstSpirit Module, client extensions will be installed to a FirstSpirit server using an FSM file to a FirstSpirit server. ContentCreator plug-ins are then deployed to project-specific web applications. For a full overview of the available deployment options and web application settings, see the chapter “Web Components” (Web components (→Documentation for Administrators)).

Each ContentCreator plug-in that is to be deployed must be included in a JAR file referenced as a resource of a web-app component inside the FirstSpirit Module (FSM)'s module.xml. This web-app component must be rolled out to project-specific ContentCreator web applications for each project that should make use of a plug-in (see Adding Client Plug-Ins to a ContentCreator 5 Web Application).

Multiple classes may be included in the same JAR file or spread across several JARs for more fine-grained deployment to ContentCreator web applications.

For details on creating an FSM with one or more web-app components, please refer to the section Module Architecture.

Module Deployment Using FirstSpirit ServerManager

Installing or Updating an FSM on the FirstSpirit Server (SiteArchitect and ContentCreator)

on the FirstSpirit server that hosts the project that is to use the ContentCreator extensions provided by the FirstSpirit Module (FSM), open ServerManager from the FirstSpirit Start Page
from the menu "Server", select "Properties"
in the Server Properties window, navigate to the section "Modules" and click on the button "Install"
in the Open File... dialog, locate and select the FirstSpirit Module file (.fsm) that you would like to install and click "Open"
the module will now be installed on the server
once the server notified you that the module was successfully installed, perform additional configuration (if any module components support configuration settings), then click on "OK" to close the Server Properties window

Adding Client Plug-Ins to a ContentCreator 5 Web Application (ContentCreator Only)

in ServerManager, select the project to which you would like to add the ContentCreator extensions provided by the FSM installed above, then click "Properties"
navigate to the "Web Components" section, switch to the "ContentCreator 5" tab and ensure that this project is configured with a custom ContentCreator 5 web application

the field "Active Web Server" should contain something other than "[none]"
if there is no active web server configured, please refer to the chapter "Web Components" (Web components (→Documentation for Administrators)) for details on how to configure a project-specific ContentCreator web application

click on "Add" in the lower button row, select the FirstSpirit Module's component you would like to add to this web application and click "OK"

the selection list only includes web application (web-app) components provided by FirstSpirit Modules, and only those components that have not yet been added to the specific web application you are configuring

if the component supports additional configuration, click on "Configure" in the lower button row and configure the available options
the project specific ContentCreator 5 application must now be updated; click "Update" in the upper button row (to the right of the active web server display)

As the ContentCreator 5 web application is updated, all client connections using this application (i.e. users currently working in this project via ContentCreator 5) will be reset; users may lose work and will need to perform another log-in (unless automatic and/or single sign-on functionalities are used) once the update process has completed.

It is therefore recommended that web application updates (for module installation or other reasons) are conducted outside of normal business hours, preferably during a scheduled maintenance period.

Once the update process is complete, the user interface extensions added to this project's ContentCreator 5 web application will be available to users as they next load this project in the web client.

Updating a FirstSpirit Module in ContentCreator 5 Web Applications (ContentCreator Only)

Installing a new version of a FirstSpirit Module that includes ContentCreator plug-ins is - like an initial installation - a two-step process including updating the module on the server and rolling updated plug-ins out to a ContentCreator application:

to update the module on the FirstSpirit server, follow the steps detailed in the section Installing the FSM on the FirstSpirit Server, using the new version of the FSM file
navigate to the "Web Components" section, switch to the "ContentCreator 5" tab and ensure that this project is configured with a custom ContentCreator 5 web application

the field "Active Web Server" should contain something other than "[none]"
if there is no active web server configured, please refer to the chapter "Web Components" (Web components (→Documentation for Administrators)) for details on how to configure a project-specific ContentCreator web application

click on "Add" in the lower button row, select the FirstSpirit Module's component you would like to add to this web application and click "OK"

the selection list only includes web application (web-app) components provided by FirstSpirit Modules, and only those components that have not yet been added to the specific web application you are configuring

if the component supports additional configuration, click on "Configure" in the lower button row and configure the available options
the project specific ContentCreator 5 application must now be updated; click "Update" in the upper button row (to the right of the active web server display)

As the ContentCreator 5 web application is updated, all client connections using this application (i.e. users currently working in this project via ContentCreator 5) will be reset; users may lose work and will need to perform another log-in (unless automatic and/or single sign-on functionalities are used) once the update process has completed.

It is therefore recommended that web application updates (for module installation or other reasons) are conducted outside of normal business hours, preferably during a scheduled maintenance period.

Once the update process is complete, the user interface extensions added to this project's ContentCreator 5 web application will be available to users as they next load this project in the web client.

Module Deployment Using FirstSpirit API

The FirstSpirit Access API provides a ModuleAdminAgent which allows administration of FirstSpirit modules, project applications, as well as global and project-specific web applications via scripts and Java classes.