External synchronization

The external synchronization of FirstSpirit allows you to export substructures from FirstSpirit (templates, store subtrees, etc.) to a file system structure with a folder hierarchy – in a format that is “legible to humans” and “can be interpreted by IDEs”. There (that is, outside of FirstSpirit), the exported files can be edited and then resynchronized with FirstSpirit. This enables the user to synchronize changes in the file system with changes in the FirstSpirit project using a process that is largely automatic.

Reproduction in the file system

FirstSpirit objects are stored in the external directory as files where they can also be edited. When exporting FirstSpirit objects to the file system, an attempt is made to reproduce the hierarchy in the project to a folder hierarchy in the file system. Contextual information related to the exported FirstSpirit objects is stored in XML files. The following principles apply; however, there may be exceptions depending on the particular object type:

• A folder is created in the file system for each folder present in FirstSpirit. The path from the object selected in FirstSpirit up to the particular root node is reproduced in the form of folders.
• An XML file is always created for each FirstSpirit element. This file contains information such as the ID, reference name, etc.
• A file is created for each tab.
• Datasets are stored in a file.

Permissions for running external synchronization

From FirstSpirit version 5.1R2 on, special permissions are required for being able to execute the functionality “External synchronization” in SiteArchitect:

The corresponding user must either

• be a member of the “External Synchronisation” group (see figure) or
• have “Change” permission for the Template Store root node if the “External Synchronisation” group is not available in the project.

The “External Synchronisation” group is created in the project properties in ServerManager in the “Groups” area, and the users who should be permitted to run external synchronization are added to this group.

Regardless of the association with the “External Synchronisation” group, the user permissions relevant for the action to be performed (read, change, create) are required.

If the user has not the required permissions the related icons and context menu entries of the “External synchronization” in SiteArchitect.

Access using the FirstSpirit Developer API

The package de.espirit.firstspirit.store.access.nexport.operations of the FirstSpirit Developer API (see also page FirstSpirit API) provides access to the content and functions of the “External Synchronization” functionality.