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Configure ArcGIS Documentation Center (IT admins)

After installing ArcGIS Documentation Center, the next step is to configure the app. IT administrators can configure the app for multiple users by deploying an appSettings.json file to each user's machine. This file is used by the app to store user-modifiable parameters. The file is located in the user's %LocalAppData%\ESRI\ArcGISDocCenter folder.

Important:

Users can override many of these settings by modifying them in the app, under Menu > Settings .

The general steps to configure the app for multiple users are as follows:

  1. Create an appSettings.json file.

  2. Deploy the file to %LocalAppData%\ESRI\ArcGISDocCenter on each user's system.

Important:

The 'appSettings.json' file may already exist on the user's system. The file is not automatically deleted during the uninstallation process to save user settings for a subsequent installation. It can also be created by the user when they open the app for the first time. You can delete the existing file or overwrite it with your custom file.

Create appSettings.json file

Create the file to manage settings for Doc Center by doing the following:

  1. Create a file named appSettings.json.

  2. Copy and paste the following into the file:

    {
  "init": true,
  "allowedHosts": "*",
  "endpoints": {
    "documentationSets": {
      "url": "https://doc.esri.com/offline-help/packages/all"
    },
    "webHelp": {
      "url": "https://doc.esri.com/en/arcgis-doc-center/"
    },
    "softwareUpdate": {
      "url": "https://doc.esri.com/offline-help/installer/"
    }
  },
  "webServer": {
    "defaultFileNames": [
      "index.html",
      "default.html"
    ],
    "portPreferences": [
      {
        "order": 0,
        "port": 13774
      },
      {
        "order": 1,
        "port": 13322
      },
      {
        "order": 2,
        "port": 14357
      }
    ],
    "portScan": {
      "minValue": 20000,
      "maxValue": 60000,
      "limit": 10
    },
    "rootFolder": "\\\\<server_name>\\<folder_path>"
  },
  "language": "en",
  "theme": "Theme.Auto"
}

  3. Change the root folder by modifying rootFolder under webServer as follows:

    "rootFolder": "\\\\<server_name>\\<folder_path>"

    For example, a server named Polaris has a shared root folder arcgis_documentation where docsets will be stored:

    "rootFolder": "\\\\Polaris\\arcgis_documentation"

    This example uses a shared root folder, but you can also specify a local path for the root folder, such as a typical default location: C:\\Users\\<username>\\Documents\\ArcGIS\\DocCenter\\rootFolder where <username> is the Windows username.

  4. Optionally, set static ports for the local help web server by modifying portPreferences under webServer as follows:

     "portPreferences": [
   {
     "order": 0,
     "port": <first_port_number>
   },
   {
     "order": 1,
     "port": <second_port_number>
   },
   {
     "order": 2,
     "port": <third_port_number>
   }
 ],

    Where port is the available port number, and order is the zero-based sequence in which they are used. The following example sets all three ports with custom port numbers:

     "portPreferences": [
   {
     "order": 0,
     "port": 13445
   },
   {
     "order": 1,
     "port": 13447
   },
   {
     "order": 2,
     "port": 13449
   }
 ],
    Note:

    Default port numbers are in this order: 13774, 13322, and 14357.

    If all port numbers are the same, the app will only try that one port number, and then automatically find an available port if that one is not available. You can limit the fallback port to a single port by limiting the range to a single number, too. See the appSettings.json reference for more information on this.

appSettings.json example

An example of the appSettings.json file is shown below. Default port numbers are used, but a custom root folder is added. For information on the full list of settings, see the appSettings.json reference.

{
  "init": true,
  "allowedHosts": "*",
  "endpoints": {
    "documentationSets": {
      "url": "https://doc.esri.com/offline-help/packages/all"
    },
    "webHelp": {
      "url": "https://doc.esri.com/en/arcgis-doc-center/"
    },
    "softwareUpdate": {
      "url": "https://doc.esri.com/offline-help/installer/"
    }
  },
  "webServer": {
    "defaultFileNames": [
      "index.html",
      "default.html"
    ],
    "portPreferences": [
      {
        "order": 0,
        "port": 13774
      },
      {
        "order": 1,
        "port": 13322
      },
      {
        "order": 2,
        "port": 14357
      }
    ],
    "portScan": {
      "minValue": 20000,
      "maxValue": 60000,
      "limit": 10
    },
    "rootFolder": "\\\\Tycho\\doc_share\\arcgis_docsets"
  },
  "language": "en",
  "theme": "Theme.Auto"
}
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