Live and Preview Configuration Cycle

This page explains how Bloomreach Content manages live and preview configurations for channels. It covers how configuration changes are isolated before publishing and how multiple users can work on the same channel simultaneously.

For details about the Channel Manager and Channel Editor, see the Channel Manager and Template Composer.

This information applies to CMS version 12.0.0 and later. For earlier versions, refer to the corresponding documentation.

Preview Configuration

In a production environment, each channel has a preview configuration, except when no webmaster has opened the channel in the Channel Manager. This situation typically occurs immediately after the first deployment or after creating a new site from a blueprint.

The following example shows the configuration structure for a site named example before any preview configuration exists:

Configuration Before Preview Exists

/hst:hst:
  /hst:configurations:
    /example:
      /...:
        /hst:workspace:
  /hst:hosts:
    /dev-localhost:
      /localhost:
        /hst:root:
  /hst:sites:
    /example:
copy

When a webmaster opens the example channel in the Channel Manager, the system clones the live hst:workspace configuration to create a separate preview configuration:

Configuration After Preview Is Created

/hst:hst:
  /hst:configurations:
    /example:
      /...:
        /hst:workspace:
    /example-preview:
      hst:inheritsfrom: ../example
      /hst:workspace:
  /hst:hosts:
    /dev-localhost:
      /localhost:
        /hst:root:
  /hst:sites:
    /example:
copy

In this structure, the hst:hosts and hst:sites sections remain unchanged. The system adds a new example-preview node under hst:configurations, which inherits from the live example configuration. Only the hst:workspace node is copied to the preview; all other nodes are inherited from the live configuration. In CMS versions before 12.0.0, non-workspace nodes were also copied.

All changes made through the Channel Editor are stored under the preview hst:workspace. When a webmaster modifies the configuration, specific parts of the preview hst:workspace become locked by that user. Because only parts of the configuration are locked, multiple webmasters can work on the same channel at the same time. There is a single shared preview configuration for all webmasters and users previewing documents.

Note: Multiple webmasters can edit the same channel concurrently. All changes are made in the shared preview configuration.

After making changes, a webmaster can choose to:

1. Publish changes:
   • The preview changes are copied to the live configuration.
   • All locks held by the webmaster are removed.
2. Discard changes:
   • The preview changes are deleted.
   • All locks held by the webmaster are removed.

Locking

Locking behavior varies by configuration section and whether nodes are inside the hst:workspace. For more information, see Locking.