[Mailman-Users] Config_list doesn't copy the "Public HTML Pages"

[Dragon]

Ken Winter did speak thusly:
>Thanks for the responses on copying customized HTML files.

You are welcome and I am surprised that this has not been discussed before.

This is something that really deserves a FAQ entry. If I have time 
later to do so, I may work one up. If not, and somebody else has the 
motivation, go for it.

>Dragon was right about the location of customized files:
>/usr/local/mailman/lists/<listname>/<language>/.  Alas, I don't have the
>permissions to write to those dirs, so it's back to cut-and-paste on the web
>site.

Well that is a problem. :-(

Can you get one of the server admins to do it for you or to add you 
to the mailman group so you can?

>Some other comments are inserted below.

Likewise.

>~ Ken
>
>     On 9/6/06, Brad Knowles <brad at stop.mail-abuse.org> wrote:
>
>     > The templates are stored in the filesystem, in a variety of different
>     > places depending on whether you're talking about the standard
>     > as-shipped language dependent versions, the standard as-shipped
>     > language independent versions, the site-wide language independent
>     > versions, site-wide language dependent versions, list-specific
>     > language independent versions, or list-specific language dependent
>     > versions, and that's just the six different potential combinations
>     > that I can come up with off the top of my head -- I'm pretty sure
>     > that there are some others that I haven't thought of.
>
>     I didn't even know there *were* list-specific versions of that; could
>     you tell me where they end up if they're created?
>
>Mine (for an English language list) are in
>/usr/local/mailman/lists/<listname>/en/<docname, e.g. listinfo.html>.  I
>assume that if you have different languages you have to customize your HTML
>pages separately for each language.

That seems to be the case but I have not tested this out or dug into 
the code to confirm.

>     > How you would pick and choose which specific templates are to be
>     > considered as part of the configuration for a given list would be a
>     > complex subject.
>
>If all of a list's customized HTML pages are under
>/usr/local/mailman/lists/<listname>/<language>/, they are part of that
>list's configuration, and should be copied to the corresponding dirs for the
>target list's.

That would seem to be the logical course of action. Since these 
customized versions are under each list directory, it should be a 
fairly simple matter to modify the code to copy them to the new list directory.

>     > Do you copy the site-wide versions or not?
>
>I'm not sure where these live or how they get established.  If there is such
>a thing as a site-wide configuration, I'd say cloning (copying) that
>configuration to another site would be a separate operation or utility from
>cloning (copying) a list's configuration.  The latter, whether between sites
>or within a site, should take just that list's specific configuration
>(including customized HTML files), leaving the list to inherit the target
>site's factor-installed or site-wide configuration that have not been
>customized for this list.

The site-wide templates for each language are located on my system in 
the directory /usr/local/mailman/templates/<language>

These would not have to be copied because they act as the default. In 
theory, these files are the "factory default" version unless you 
modify them. Since I have custom versions of these files in the 
default directory, my only "factory default" versions are those in 
the source distribution.

The unfortunate thing here is that when I upgrade from one version to 
the next, I have to back up my versions, do the install which 
overwrites my files and then copy my files back. I suppose I ought to 
do a diff and create a patch file to make this easier in the long run.

>     > If you
>     > do copy them, do you install them in the list-specific locations on
>     > the other end, or do you install them in the appropriate site-wide
>     > location?
>
>In the site-wide location(s), whatever they may be.

As stated above, this is /usr/local/mailman/templates/<language>

>     > And what if there are conflicts?
>
>Since a particular HTML file appears in
>/usr/local/mailman/lists/<listname>/<language>/ only if it has been
>customized, I don't see how there could be any conflicts.  If a page has
>note been customized, wouldn't that list just inherit the site's version of
>that page?

That appears to be the case.

Dragon

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