Preferences XML Files

The Preferences interface and PreferencesBean are two useful API objects involved in retrieving and utilizing user, project, and server preferences.

The following files, located in the WEB-INF/xml directory can be helpful in determining how to access various properties.

• sys_definitions.xml— Contains the definitions for MicroStrategy  Web preference values. It provides a complete list of all preference parameter names which enable you to use preference values in defining styles.  

• sys_defaults.xml— Contains the default values for MicroStrategy  Web preference values.  

• preferencesGroups.xml— Contains a list of preference groups and the transform applied to render each group in the Web interface. A preference group such as Grid Display contains multiple preferences. Each preference group has a specified transform responsible for rendering the page of preferences.

Note that user-defined preferences always take precedence over preferences defined in the Preferences XML files. That is, the first time an user logs in, all preferences applied for the user are based on the ones defined in the Preferences XML files. If this user changes and saves any preference value, this user-defined preference starts overriding the corresponding preference from the XML file. This allows users to personalize their experience in MicroStrategy Web products.