Profiles in Amaya

This document:	Amaya/doc/profiles.html
Date:	31/08/1999
Author:	Luc Bonameau (Luc.Bonameau@inrialpes.fr)

Copyright © 1999 W3C (MIT, INRIA, Keio), All Rights Reserved. W3C liability, trademark, document use and software licensing rules apply.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. How to use it

3. An example of profile configuration file

4. Structure of the ProfileDefs file

5. How to administrate the profile feature

1. Introduction

The profile feature allows the user to change the Amaya interface according to his needs.

The user can select the functions he wishes to be proposed in the menus and in the toolbar of the interface.

The selection of these functions is done by editing a single file describing as much profiles as wanted.

2. How to use it

2.1. Creation of profiles

• Create a file (named as you wish) in your personal Amaya configuration directory (~/.amaya under UNIX) and get it ready for edition**.
• Open the file Amaya/config/ProfileDefs. This file defines all the functions available in Amaya. These functions are spread into modules (look at the file structure below) and modules are sorted by themes (print, edition, elements, etc). Modules have been created in order to avoid the user to choose functions one by one.
• Give the profile you're working on a title : Type this title between brackets.

  Notice : Don't insert space characters in that profile name ; Adding space will not cause the program to crash, they will just be removed during using time..

  i.e : [profile_1]

• Under that title, all the modules and functions that will be added belong to the profile. Add modules and functions under the title (look at An example of profile configuration file). You can add as many modules or functions as you want
• You can add as many profiles as you want in the same profile configuration file.

Note : **All these operations can be achieved with Amaya. You can open, edit and save your profile configuration even if the extension of the file isn't html.

2.2. Profile selection

A dialog box was added in Amaya in order to handle profile selection.

• Open this dialog box.

  Special -> Preferences -> Profile...

• Fill in the field "Location of profiles definition file" with the path of the file you've been creating.

  The text entry is dynamic. This mean that you will get instantaneously the profiles (in the selector menu) matching the entered file.

• If the file you entered exists and if it contains some profiles data (minimum 1), you'll be proposed one or several profile in the selector of the menu. Select the entry matching the profile you want to use and click the Apply button.
• Restart Amaya for the changes to take effect.

3. An example of profile configuration file

This example belows shows two profiles definitions : Amaya4Kids and Editor_Novice (between brackets).

All strings preceded by a plus (+) are modules (defined in ProfileDefs) and others are functions.

[Amaya4Kids] <--- Profile title

+editbase <-- module

+browse

+templates

CreateHeading1 <-- function

CreateList

CreateImage

[Editor_Novice] <--- Profile title

+editbase

+basicelements

+links

+templates

+views

4. Structure of the ProfileDefs file

The ProfileDefs file contain units of modules definition separated by comments lines beginning with one or more hashes '#' (like ####VIEWS). These comments are there to help you searching your module (or function).

Beginning of module definition is set by a name between brackets (like [views] or [zoom])

All the modules or functions under this starting module element belong to the module as long as another starting module element starts. To insert a module into a module, preceed the name of the module by a plus ('+').

The structure is recursive (modules contains functions and modules that can contain other functions and modules ...)

WARNING : Marks '&' before a function's name are marks used by internal profile function. You don' have to bither with it (they are used to determine which functions are edition function). DO NOT INCLUDE THIS SYMBOL IN YOUR PROFILE CONFIGURATION FILE.

######### VIEWS

[views] <-- Module (definition)

+zoom <-- Module (insertion)

+docviews

TtcSwitchButtonBar <-- Function

TtcSwitchCommands

ShowMapAreas

ShowTargets

wmwShowToC

HelpViews

TtcCloseView

[docviews]

ShowStructure

ShowAlternate

ShowLinks

[zoom]

ZoomIn

ZoomOut

[objects]

&CreateObject

&CreateParameter <-- Edition function (do not include the '&' symbol in your profiles definition file)

5. How to administrate the profile feature

The file Amaya/config/ProfileDefs must be updated every time a new function appears in the interface. The new function must be inserted in that file in the correct (logical) place.