Changing the look and feel of the Pro client in Elvis 6

The look and feel of the Pro client can be changed to match the style of the brand that the Pro client is used for, for example by matching it with the branding of a company, product or publication.

The following can be adjusted:

• The application name shown in the Web browser tab
• The background image of the Sign In page
• Adding 'Forgot password' and 'Help' links to the Sign In dialog
• The logo in the header
• The color of the header
• The highlight color (used for buttons, selections and various other small page items)
• The metadata icons
• The background color for thumbnails and previews of transparent images
• The 'favicon' shown in a Web browser
• The 'Feedback' and 'Help' links
• The 'more info' link in the 'No search results found' message
• Creating custom e-mail notifications for Shared Links

Figure: The default background image of the Sign In page.

Figure: A custom background image on a customized Sign In page.

Figure: The default Branding settings.

Figure: The Branding settings adjusted to match the WoodWing brand.

Changing the application name shown in the Web browser tab

The Elvis Pro client is run in a Web browser. By default, 'Elvis' is shown in the tab.

This name can be changed to a custom name.

Note: This also affects the Web browser tab of the Brand portal and of Shared links.

Step 1. Follow the steps for creating a custom language file. See 'Customizing languages' in Managing languages in Elvis 6.

Step 2. Add the following key to the file, followed by the custom name:

webClient.general.application.name=My company name

Step 3. Save the file.

The changes are immediately available.

Changing the Sign In page

The following can be changed for the Sign In page:

• The background image
• Adding 'Forgot password' and 'Help' links

Changing the background image

A background image is shown on the Sign In page and can be replaced by a custom image if needed.

The default image is stored in the following location:

<Elvis config>/plugins/active/internal/elvis_client/logos/background.jpg

Using a custom image

To use a custom image, replace the existing image by another image that is also named 'background.jpg'.

Tip: To create a background with an even color, create an image containing a single pixel of a certain color.

Adding 'Forgot password' and 'Help' links

Info: This feature requires Elvis 6.33 or higher.

If for some reason users are not able to sign in to Elvis, the following links can be added to the Sign In dialog to help them further:

• Forgot your password? Can be used for linking to a page where users can reset their password.
• Help. Can be used to link to a knowledge base or knowledge base article for troubleshooting steps.

By default, the links are not shown. To display either or both links, do the following:

Step 1. Access the Cluster properties page of Elvis Server.

Step 2. Add a URL to one or both of the following options:

• loginForgotPasswordUrl=
• loginHelpUrl=

Step 3. Restart Elvis Server.

Changing the logo and colors

Changing the logo and colors is done through the Management console.

Note: Any changes made apply to the Pro client as well as the Brand portal.

Step 1. Access the Management Console by clicking your Avatar and choosing Management console from the menu.

Step 2. From the menu on the left of the page, choose Branding.

Step 3. Make your changes and click Apply.

Changing the metadata icons

When the user's attention needs to be drawn to specific metadata, an icon (also referred to as a 'flag') can be added as a visual indicator (a process also known as 'flagging').

Example: You may want to visually display a status or indicate that a field contains specific information such as copyright info.

Such icons appear for thumbnails in the search results and can be set for any standard metadata field or custom metadata field.

Figure: Assets in the Pro client showing icons for the Status, Approval and Copyright fields.

A default set of icons is shipped with Elvis Server and can be replaced or expanded.

For more information, see Highlighting metadata in Elvis 6 by using icons.

Setting the background color for thumbnails and previews of transparent images

Info: This feature requires Elvis 6.18 or higher.

The default background color for thumbnails and previews of transparent images is white. If the subject of the image is also (mostly) white, this can make it hard to distinguish the subject from the background.

To improve this, a custom background color (such as light gray) can be set for all transparent images. This can be done by setting the following option:

• File: cluster-config.properties.txt
• Option name: defaultBackground
• Value: An RGB hex triplet
• Default value: #ffffff
• Requires Elvis Server restart: yes

Example: defaultBackground=#ececec

Changing the favicon

A favicon is an icon that is shown in various locations in a Web browser such as in tabs and for bookmarks.

Figure: The default favicon for Elvis.

The default icon can be changed to a custom icon by replacing the following image on Elvis Server:

<Elvis config>/plugins/active/internal/elvis_client/logos/favicon.ico

Customizing the 'Feedback' and 'Help' links

The 'Feedback' and 'Help' commands in the Avatar menu allow users to access the WoodWing Help Center to look up product documentation or to provide feedback about Elvis to WoodWing.

Figure: The Feedback and Help commands in the Avatar menu.

By default, the following links are used:

• Feedback is linked to the Elvis 6 community using URL https://helpcenter.woodwing.com/hc/en-us/community/topics/200046016.

• Help is linked to one of the following articles, depending on which area of the Pro client is accessed:

• When the Checked-out files page is accessed, it links to Opening files for editing (file check-out and check-in) using the Pro client of Elvis 6 using URL https://helpcenter.woodwing.com/hc/articles/206216445.

• When the Shared Links page is accessed, it links to Sharing files with others using the Pro Client of Elvis 6 using URL https://helpcenter.woodwing.com/hc/articles/205272229.

• When any other area is accessed, it links to the main Elvis 6 documentation page using URL https://helpcenter.woodwing.com/hc/categories/200142445.

The Feedback and Help options can be customized in the following ways:

Note: This only applies to the Pro client, not the Management console.

• The URL can be changed to a custom URL
• The option can be removed from the menu

Step 1. Access the cluster-config.properties.txt file on one of the Elvis nodes. See Changing the Elvis 6 Server configuration for a running cluster.

Step 2. Locate or add any of the following options and add a custom URL or leave it blank to remove the option from the Pro client:

• For the Feedback option:

elvisFeedbackUrl=

• For the Help option:

elvisGeneralDocumentationUrl=

elvisSharelinkDocumentationUrl=

elvisEditingDocumentationUrl=

elvisFeedbackUrl=
elvisGeneralDocumentationUrl=https://www.mydocumentation.com
elvisSharelinkDocumentationUrl=https://www.mydocumentation.com
elvisEditingDocumentationUrl=https://www.mydocumentation.com

Step 3. Save the file.

Customizing the 'more info' link in the 'No search results found' message

Info: This requires Elvis 6.30 or higher.

When a user searches for files, it can happen that no search results can be shown. This can have several reasons, as shown in the message to the user:

One of the reasons could be that an incorrect syntax was used. The message then provides a link to an article with information about setting up a correct syntax. This link can be accessed by clicking the text 'more info'.

This link can be pointed to a different article, or the link can be hidden altogether.

Step 1. Access the cluster-config.properties.txt file on one of the Elvis nodes. See Changing the Elvis 6 Server configuration for a running cluster.

Step 2. Locate or add the following option and add a custom URL or leave it blank to remove the option from the Pro client:

elvisQuerySyntaxDocumentationUrl=

Step 3. Save the file.

Creating custom e-mail notifications for Shared Links

When files are shared by creating a Shared link, an option can be enabled to notify one or more users by e-mail when a change is made:

• A user approves or rejects a file
• A user uploads a file

Default text in English is used for the subject and the body text of the e-mail.

For the review process:

For uploading files:

Changing the wording of this text or translating it to your language can be done by changing the language file. The text is then used for overruling the default text.

For more information about language files, see Managing languages in Elvis 6.

Document history

• 25 February 2020: Updated section 'Creating custom e-mail notifications for Shared Links'.