Teamsite 6.7.1 Sp1 comes with a new version of Ektrons Visual Format Editor (version 5.1 build 41). This new editor is now also supported on Windows Vista. This update can have a serious impact on your existing content. The problem is that all relative links (in the html of a vf-textbox) are, by default, prefixed with '/iw-cc'. And that will result in a broken link on your website. Catastrophe!

A workaround is presented in the knowledge base (Article 60388 [https://support.interwoven.com/kb/kb_show_article2.asp?ArticleID=60388]) [sick, what a url!] but it is a complex one and one that can be overwritten in any patch or service-pack!

To kick off the new year here is Tip #1 on Livesite. Here is come additional documentation and source code that can help you tackle Livesite:

1. The livesite java api-docs are hidden from plain view in a zip file under [iw-home]/install/livesite/docs. Not the most obvious place to look and further, not mentioned anywhere in the dev-manual.


2. The java source of the pre-installed livesite-components can be found here (thank you Karel for pointing this out to me) /iwmnt/iwadmin/main/spars/STAGING/foundation/toolkit_src/ls_runtime_src. They are a good source for example code if you need to write your own java-extension for a component.


3. The branch /default/main/component-guide contains a demo-website that shows all pre-installed live-components. This can come in handy if you are looking for more example code.


4. And if you still haven't got enough you could install a java-decompiler (f.i java.decompiler.free.fr works very well for me) and decompile the livesite-runtime.jar located under [iw-home]/httpd/webapps/content_center/WEB-INF/lib. This will be of use in one of my next tips.

Happy newyear!

I have never been a big fan of Livesite. Though the basic idea of combining open standards like Java en Xsl with a good looking GUI to render your content is charming, the Interwoven implementation of this idea has many issues. Well, let me call them "items to improve":

• the manual for developers is unreadable and almost useless;


• the installation and upgrade process is unnecessary complex. And apart from that, it messes up your existing installation with unwanted templates and workflows;


• the resulting (front-end) html is very messy and far from w3c-compliant or wai-accessible;


• all custom-configuration like components, layouts, etc. have a server-global-scope. It is impossible to limit the use of a specific component/layout to 1 branch only. Yes, your intranet news-component can be placed on a public-facing webpage!


• It is almost impossible to enforce a corporate webstyle. Editors are free to chose any available page-template for your public homepage.


• the preview, workflow & deploy mechanism does not follow the teamsite standards and good-practices. F.i. preview is not routed via the (flexible) iwproxy and uses the built-in tomcat. This has the side-effect that in order to install new java-code your must restart the servlet resulting in Teamsite downtime for other developers.


• an url-management-mechanism is missing. Search-engine-optimised-urls are out of your league.

The good news is that in the coming weeks I plan to post some tips on using and customising Livesite to your needs. I hope this will make your life with Livesite a little easier. Stay tuned.