Configuring the opening of files outside of Content Station 9

With Content Station, a user can double-click a file of any type and have it opened for editing in its native application. During this process, the file is automatically checked-out.

Note: This feature is only available in Content Station AIR. When using Content Station Web, right-click the file and choose "Check-out Only" to locally save the file. It can then be opened manually in your favorite editor.

Enterprise Agent

In order for Content Station AIR to start applications, Enterprise Agent needs to be running. Enterprise Agent is installed as part of the installation process of Content Station (see Content Station 9 installation).

Ensure that Enterprise Agents is run during startup of the system by doing one of the following:

• Mac OS X: Add Enterprise Agent to the login items for the current user.
• Windows: Add EnterpriseAgent.exe to the startup items.

Configuring which application is opened

When double-clicking a file in Content Station, the application that the file is opened with is controlled by how files of that type are opened on that system.

Example: When the system is set up to open images in JPEG format in Preview, than that application will also be opened when double-clicking a JPEG file in Content Station.

Notes: Two exceptions exist: InCopy files are opened by default in the Multi-Channel Text Editor of Content Station. To have them opened in InCopy itself, Content Station needs to be configured as explained below. InDesign layouts are always opened in InDesign. This requires Content Station to be configured as explained below. Opening layouts created with Adobe InDesign CC 2017 requires Content Station 9.8.11 or higher.

If needed, this default mapping can be overruled through the ApplicationMapping.xml configuration file.

Step 1. Download Content Station AIR from the software download page.

Step 2. Unzip the file and open the extracted folder.

Step 3. Copy the ApplicationMapping.xmlfile to the same location as where the WWSettings.xml file is stored.

Step 4. Open the ApplicationMapping.xml file using a plain-text editor such as Notepad, TextEditor, or TextWrangler.

Step 5. (Optional) Remove the comment tags <!-- and --> for the example settings given.

Step 6. Between the <applicationMapping> tags, enter a separate setting for each file type in the following format:

<application location=[application path] extension=[file extension] japanese=[false/true] windows64bit=[false/true]/>

• [application path] Replace by the actual path of the application.
• [file extension] Replace by the extension of the file to which the link needs to be made (without the preceding dot — for example: jpg, not .jpg).
• [japanese] Set to true when referencing a Japanese version of Adobe InDesign or InCopy.
• windows64bit (available since Content Station 9.2.1): Set to true when the application is a 64bit application.

Note: Remove this option when the application is not a 64bit application or when it is located on a Mac.

Examples for Mac:

<applicationMapping>
   <application location="/Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS6/Adobe Photoshop CS6.app" extension="jpg"/>
   <application location="/Applications/Adobe InDesign CS6/Adobe InDesign CS6.app" extension="indd"/>
</applicationMapping>

Examples for Windows:

<applicationMapping>
   <application location="C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS6\InDesign.exe" extension="indd" />
   <application location="C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop\Photoshop.exe" extension="psd" windows64bit="true"/>
</applicationMapping>

Step 7. Save the file.

Important: Make sure to validate the WWSettings.xml file for correct content. See Validating the WWSettings.xml file.

Configuring the location where the opened file is stored

When double-clicking a file, it is checked-out of Enterprise and stored locally on the system so that it can be edited. The location in which the locally saved file is stored is configured in the WWSettings.xml file.

Step 1. Create a folder anywhere on the system in which the checked-out files need to be stored.

Example: Create a folder on the Desktop named "CS Documents Folder".

Step 2. Make sure that this folder has full read & write privileges for the user.

Step 3. Open the WWSettings.xml file using a plain-text editor such as Notepad, TextEditor, or TextWrangler.

Step 4. In the <SCEnt:ContentStation> section, comment-out or add the following setting:

<Setting name="DocumentsFolder" value="{DOCUMENTS_FOLDER}/Content Station"/>

Step 5. Modify the setting by doing one of the following:

• When a folder was created in a custom location, replace the {DOCUMENTS_FOLDER} wildcard with the actual path.
• Use any of the following wildcards (the location of these paths is automatically resolved by Content Station):

{DOCUMENTS_FOLDER}: the Content Station folder in the users Documents folder on the system.

{APPLICATION_FOLDER}: the folder where Content Station is installed.

{USER_FOLDER}: the main user folder (home path).

{DESKTOP_FOLDER}: the users desktop folder.

Example of a folder named "CSDocumentsFolder" on the desktop on Mac OS:

<Setting name="DocumentsFolder" value="/Users/user name/Desktop/CSDocumentsFolder/" />

Step 6. Save the file.

Important: Make sure to validate the WWSettings.xml file for correct content. See Validating the WWSettings.xml file.

Configuring the interval at which the opened file is checked for changes

When a file has been checked out, it is shown on the Checked-Out page in Content Station (with the exception of files that are opened in InDesign or InCopy, which are managed by Smart Connection). When the file is changed, Content Station warns the user by for instance displaying a yellow star for that file.

Figure: The Checked Out tab in Content Station.

The default interval of 10 seconds can be changed through the following option:

• File: WWSettings.xml
• Name of option: CheckUpdateInterval
  
• Area: Anywhere between the <SCEnt:ContentStation> and </SCEnt:ContentStation> tags
• Possible values: any numeric value (representing seconds)
• Example: Here, the interval is set to 1 second:

<Setting name=CheckUpdateInterval value=1/>

Important: Make sure to validate the WWSettings.xml file for correct content. See Validating the WWSettings.xml file.

Document history

• 29 August 2018: Updated step 6 in section 'Configuring which application is opened' by adding option 'japanese'.