Administration interface

There are two ways that you can perform administrative functions in Polarion.

  1. Graphical User Interface

  2. XML configuration files

Most administration and configuration tasks can be done using the graphical user interface.

Administration scopes

Administration and system configuration operations are generally possible in 2 scopes:

  • Global: Changes and customizations affect the entire repository.

    To work in this scope, select Repository in the Open Project or Project Group dialog box.

  • Project: Changes and customizations affect one project only.

    To work in this scope, select any existing project in the Open Project or Project Group dialog box.

Tip:

There is another level of configuration that controls behaviors and functions of the Polarion platform and features — the system-level configuration properties, coded into Polarion and modifiable in the system properties file polarion.properties. This file resides on the server's file system (see System Properties File Location), and requires editing outside of the Polarion portal. A number of common system configuration tweaks using system configuration properties are covered in Advanced System Tuning. The PDF document Polarion System Configuration Properties Reference, available online in Doc Center, provides comprehensive reference information.

Inheritance and precedence

Configuration changes propagate from global to project scope according to these inheritance rules:

  • Changes in the global configuration and are inherited by all new projects created after the changes. Changes in the global scope do not propagate to projects that already exist before the changes.

  • New projects inherit the global configuration. Project-scope copies of all the global configuration files are created in the project's repository location. Changes in the project scope overwrite the content in the configuration files inherited from the global configuration.

  • Changes and customizations to a project cannot be rolled up to the global scope, nor can they be propagated to other existing projects. However, a customized project canbe used as a Project Template from which new projects with identical properties, configuration settings and content can be instantiated.

The precedence scheme of Polarion's configuration settings is as follows.

  • Project-scope settings always take precedence over global-scope settings.

  • Within a project-scope configuration, settings specific to a Work Item type take precedence over generic settings applicable to all Work Item types.

Warning:

Do not remove any project-scope configuration file in order to use the respective global configuration in the project. This will interfere with the system's ability to resolve inheritance and precedence. It can prevent users from performing workflow actions, and cause other problems.

Either restore the original revision of the project-scope file from the repository, or if the global configuration has changed since the original revision, copy the current global-scope file to the project's repository location, overwriting the project-scope file.

Example: Suppose a Work Item type Defect. When looking for configuration settings for this type:

  1. The system looks for configuration settings for the Defect type in the current project.

  2. If none is found, the system looks for configuration settings for all Work Item types in the project.

  3. If none is found, the system looks for configuration settings for the Defect type in the global configuration.

  4. If none is found, the system uses the settings for all Work Item types in the global configuration.

Example of configuration scope precedence

Graphical user interface

All administration functions are accessible via the graphical user interface (GUI) of the Polarion portal. Most configurations can be performed using graphical controls in the portal. Where graphical controls are not provided, configurations are performed by editing the respective XML configuration file, which can be done on or off line.

XML configuration files

Some administrative functions are performed by editing a relevant XML configuration file stored in the repository. These configurations are generally less frequently modified by most Polarion users. Where some configuration requires editing a configuration file, you have two options:

  • Edit the XML file online using the basic text editor provided in the portal web interface.

  • Download a copy of the configuration file to your local system, edit it locally, then upload the modified file back to the Polarion portal. Upload and download controls for each configuration file are provided in the portal user interface.

Download and edit locally.

Upload a locally edited configuration file.

Edit configuration online in portal.

Sometimes configuration or customization is possible both globally, and also for projects (or sometimes project groups). Initially, there is no configuration file for the more granular scope. In this case, you can download the global configuration file, modify it for the scope in which it applies, and upload the modified file to the repository URL applicable for the scope, or, in some cases, to the same URL but with the file renamed in a way that Polarion recognizes as applying to the more granular scope. Help texts are provided in the portal page where you access to the configuration file, which indicate where you need to upload the modified file, and/or how the modified file must be named to apply in a narrower scope.

You can create some project-scope configurations online without having to download/upload the XML configuration file. Where this capability is available, a labeled control or link is provided creating a project-scope configuration. Refer to help for individual configurations for specifics.

Download Global or Project configuration file.

Optionally edit project configuration online.