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The appSettings.json file reference

The appSettings.json file is a configuration file used by ArcGIS Documentation Center to store application settings. IT administrators can create and deploy a custom appSettings.json file to configure the app for multiple users. This topic describes all the settings in the file.

appSettings.json structure

The appSettings.json file is a JSON file with the following structure:

{
  "init": <boolean>,
  "allowedHosts": <string>,
  "endpoints": {
    "documentationSets": {
      "url": <string>
    },
    "webHelp": {
      "url": <string>
    },
    "softwareUpdate": {
      "url": <string>
    }
  },
  "webServer": {
    "defaultFileNames": [<string>, ...],
    "portPreferences": [
      {
        "order": <number>,
        "port": <number>
      },
      ...
    ],
    "portScan": {
      "minValue": <number>,
      "maxValue": <number>,
      "limit": <number>
    },
    "rootFolder": <string>
  },
  "language": <string>,
  "theme": <string>

appSettings.json parameters

init

  • Type: boolean

Indicates whether the app has been initialized with settings. This is set to true after the configuration wizard is completed for the first time. IT administrators can set this to true to skip the configuration wizard when the app is first launched. By setting init to false, the configuration wizard will open when the user launches the app, so if you are deploying a custom appSettings.json file, you should set init to true to prevent the configuration wizard from opening and potentially overwriting your custom settings.

allowedHosts

  • Type: string

Specifies which hosts the app can access. Use this setting to control network access. The value can be set to the following:

  • * (asterisk) to allow access to all hosts.

  • A comma-separated list of specific hosts, such as doc.esri.com,example.com. Specifying multiple hosts is generally not necessary.

  • A single host to allow access to only one host, such as doc.esri.com.

  • An empty string ("") to block all network access. This disables features that require network access, such as downloading documentation sets. You may want to use this setting to prevent the app from accessing the internet. You may also want to prevent users from downloading documentation sets if you are using a shared root folder.

endpoints

  • Type: object

Contains URL endpoints for various services used by the app. Each endpoint has a url property that specifies the URL for that service. Modifying these URLs is generally not necessary.

You can specify empty strings for the endpoint URLs to disable access to those services, but if you want to prevent the app from accessing the internet at all, it is better to set allowedHosts to an empty string as described above.

endpoints.documentationSets.url

  • Type: string

The URL that the app uses for the Library tab where users can browse and download documentation sets. The default URL is https://doc.esri.com/offline-help/packages/all, which is Esri's online repository of documentation sets.

Modifying this URL is generally not necessary.

Directly accessing the default URL in a web browser will not show the documentation sets. Only the app is able to access the URL.

endpoints.webHelp.url

  • Type: string

The URL for the online version of the documentation that is used when a user opens the help for ArcGIS Documentation Center from the Menu > Help button.

Modifying this URL is generally not necessary.

endpoints.softwareUpdate.url

  • Type: string

This property is not currently used by the app.

webServer

  • Type: object

Contains settings for the local web server that is included with the app. The subproperties include defaultFileNames, portPreferences, portScan, and rootFolder, which are described in more detail below.

webServer.defaultFileNames

  • Type: array of strings

Specifies the file names and file types that will be opened when a specific path is not defined. Modifying this object is generally not necessary.

The default value is ["index.html", "default.html"].

webServer.portPreferences

  • Type: array of objects with order and port properties

The order property defines the order of preference for the local server to use the specified port. The app will attempt to use the port with order 0 first, then order 1 and 2.

The port property specifies the port number to use for the local server. Default port numbers are 13774, 13322, and 14357.

If none of the preferred ports are available, the app will automatically find an available port using the webServer.portScan settings.

If all port numbers are the same, the app will only try that one port number and then fall back to automatically finding an available port if that one is not available.

webServer.portScan

  • Type: object with minValue, maxValue, and limit properties

The minValue and maxValue properties define the inclusive range of port numbers to scan for an available port if the preferred ports defined in webServer.portPreferences are not available. The limit property defines how many random ports to try within that range before giving up.

The default range is 20000 to 30000, and the default number of attempts is 10.

To limit to a single fallback port, set minValue and maxValue to the same port number, and set limit to 1.

webServer.rootFolder

  • Type: string

Specifies the root folder where documentation sets will be downloaded and accessed. This can be a local path or a network path. The default value is C:\\Users\\<username>\\Documents\\ArcGIS\\DocCenter\\rootFolder where <username> is the Windows username.

To specify a network path for a shared root folder, use the UNC format: \\\\<server_name>\\<folder_path>. For example, a server named Polaris has a shared root folder doc_share\arcgis_docsets where doc sets will be stored: \\\\Polaris\\doc_share\\arcgis_docsets.

language

  • Type: string

Specifies the display language for the app interface. Valid values are the language codes listed below.

  • de: German

  • en: English

  • es: Spanish

  • fr: French

  • ja: Japanese

  • ru: Russian

  • zh-CN: Simplified Chinese

Note that the display language can be different from the language of downloaded documentation sets. For example, a user can choose to display the app interface in English while downloading documentation sets in Japanese.

A default filter is applied to the list of documentation sets in the app based on the display language. For example, if the display language is English, only documentation sets with English content will be shown in the app by default. Users can clear the filter to view and download documentation sets in other languages.

theme

  • Type: string

Specifies the theme for the app interface. Valid values are:

  • Theme.Auto: The app will use the same theme as the operating system's theme. If the user has set their Windows theme to light, the app will use a light theme. If the user has set their Windows theme to dark, the app will use a dark theme.

  • Theme.Light: The app will use a light theme.

  • Theme.Dark: The app will use a dark theme.

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