Tips & Tricks: Standardizing the GUI for Workstations

The HELiOS Desktop allows a standardizing of the GUI configuration for several workstations.

For this to happen, you first need to configure the GUI of one HELiOS Desktop in the required manner, using the various configuration options that you can find in the GUI itself.

To apply this configuration to other workstations in the next step to achieve a standardization, you just need to copy certain system files of the configured workstation to the appropriate directories of the other required workstations.

The superordinate directory with the HELiOS settings is %AppData%/ISD Software und Systeme/HELiOS 2015/GUI/ for the corresponding Windows user.

Here, the version number is "2015", i.e. for an installation of the HELiOS Desktop 2015. If you work with a different version, the version number will vary accordingly. If you are using a Service Pack version, the Service Pack number will be added to the current Appdata subdirectory, e.g. ...%AppData%\Roaming\ISD Software und Systeme\HELiOS 2015 SP1\GUI.

There you will find the following three sub-directories:

Lists: Contains the system files with settings for result list, report and tree structures.
TabBrowser: Contains the settings for tabs (e.g. in the detail dialogues of HELiOS objects).
Windows: Contains the settings for masks and all context menus, including details such as window positions.

Furthermore, the GUI directory contains files with settings for the QuickAccess Toolbar (Helios.Desktop.QAT.xaml) and the docking windows (Helios.Desktop.Docking.[Version].xaml, or Helios.Desktop.Docking.[Version].[Patch].xaml, e.g. Helios.Desktop.Docking.2014.3.xml).

On the same level as the GUI directory (%AppData%/ISD Software und Systeme/HELiOS [Version number]/) you can find the db file DataDepot.db that controls further UI data.

To apply the configuration of one workstation to other systems, you just need to copy the corresponding files and sub-directories to the appropriate /GUI/User directories of the desired Windows systems.

Below please find some lists of system files:

Result list files at /GUI/Lists

Refers to the configuration of the individual result lists which can be defined in the corresponding areas of the GUI, via the symbol.

File name	Result list
Helios.RL.Document.xml	Documents
Helios.RL.Document.Link.Source.xml	Link sources of document
Helios.RL.Document.Link.Target.xml	Link targets of document
Helios.RL.Part.xml	Articles
Helios.RL.Part.Link.Source.xml	Link sources of article
Helios.RL.Part.Link.Target.xml	Link targets of article
Helios.RL.Part.UsedIn.xml	Use in articles
Helios.RL.Part.UsedInPipe.xml	Use in pipe classes
Helios.RL.Project.xml	Projects
Helios.RL.Project.Object.xml	Project objects
Helios.RL.DocumentAndPart.xml	Documents and articles of a project
Helios.RL.Project.UsedIn.xml	Use in projects
Helios.RL.Folder.xml	Folders
Helios.RL.Folder.Object.xml	Folder objects
Helios.RL.Folder.ObjectAndSubObject.xml	Folder objects and sub-objects
Helios.RL.Folder.UsedIn.xml	Use in folders
Helios.RL.PipeClass.xml	Pipe classes
Helios.RL.Uto.*	Prefix for result lists of user-defined types. The type name follows the dot (e.g. Helios.RL.Uto.Kunde, Helios.RL.Uto.Werkstoff).
Helios.RL.Combi.DocumentPart.xml	Result list of a combined search, showing linked documents and article with link types.
Helios.RL.Link.xml	Linked objects of a product

Context menu data at ../GUI/Windows

File name	Menu type	Callable in HELiOS Desktop
Helios.PM.List.Doc.xml	Document context menu	Right-click on list item and in detail dialogue
Helios.PM.List.Part.xml	Article context menu	Right-click on list item and in detail dialogue
Helios.PM.List.Project.xml	Project context menu	Right-click on list item and in detail dialogue
Helios.PM.List.Folder.xml	Folder context menu	Right-click on list item and in detail dialogue
Helios.PM.List.Pipe.xml	Pipe class context menu	Right-click on list item and in detail dialogue
Helios.PM.List.Uto.xml	Context menu for user-defined types	Right-click on list item and in detail dialogue
Helios.PM.List.Multi.xml	Multiple selection context menu	Right-click on a multiple selection of object types in a result list
Helios.PM.List.Project.None.ObjectList.xml	Context menu, empty area	Right-click on an empty area of a list shown for a project
Helios.PM.List.Folder.None.ObjectList.xml	Context menu, empty area	Right-click on an empty area of a list shown for a folder
Helios.PM.List.Pipe.None.ObjectList.xml	Context menu, empty area	Right-click on an empty area of a list shown for a pipe class
Helios.PM.List.Doc.None.SourceList.xml	Context menu, empty area	Right-click on an empty area of a list with linked sources of a document (e.g. source list on corresponding tab in document detail dialogue)
Helios.PM.List.Doc.None.TargetList.xml	Context menu, empty area	Right-click on an empty area of a list with linked targets of a document (e.g. target list on corresponding tab in document detail dialogue)
Helios.PM.List.Part.None.SourceList.xml	Context menu, empty area	Right-click on an empty area of a list with linked sources of an article (e.g. source list on corresponding tab in article detail dialogue)
Helios.PM.List.Part.None.TargetList.xml	Context menu, empty area	Right-click on an empty area of a list with linked targets of an article (e.g. target list on corresponding tab in article detail dialogue)
Helios.PM.ProjectTree.xml	Context menu, empty area	Right-click on an empty area of the project tree (e.g. in the Project Explorer)
Helios.PM.FolderTree.xml	Context menu, empty area	Right-click on an empty area of the folder tree (e.g. in the Folder Explorer or the "Structure" tab of the folder detail dialogue)
Helios.PM.ProductTree.xml	Context menu, empty area	Right-click on an empty area of the product tree (e.g. in the Product Explorer or on the "Product structure" tab of the article detail window)
Helios.PM.Tree.Project.xml	Project tree structure	Right-click a node in the project tree (e.g. in the Project Explorer)
Helios.PM.Tree.Folder.xml	Folder tree structure	Right-click a node in the folder tree (e.g. in the Folder Explorer or on the "Structure" tab of the folder detail window)
Helios.PM.Tree.Product.xml	Product tree structure	Right-click a node in the product tree (e.g. in the Product Explorer or on the "Product Structure" tab of the article detail window).
Helios.PM.RmbDragging.xml	Dragging	Dragging while holding down right mouse button, for all object types
Helios.PM.SearchMask.xml	Search masks	Right-click in a search mask, for all object types

Files for report settings at .../GUI/Lists

Settings that can be made for result list objects in various overviews, search windows and detail masks, via the symbol.

File name	List type for report
Helios.RL.Report.Document.xml	Documents
Helios.RL.Report.Part.xml	Articles
Helios.RL.Report.DocumentAndPart.xml	Documents and articles
Helios.RL.Report.Project.xml	Projects
Helios.RL.Report.Project.Object.xml	Project objects
Helios.RL.Report.Folder.xml	Folders
Helios.RL.Report.Folder.Object.xml	Folder objects
Helios.RL.Report.Folder.ObjectAndSubObject.xml	Folder objects and sub-objects
Helios.RL.Report.PipeClass.xml	Pipe classes
Helios.RL.Report.Part.UsedInPipe.xml	Use of articles in pipe classes
Helios.RL.Report.Link.xml	Linked objects of a product

Please note:

After a new installation of the HELiOS Desktop the %AppData% sub-directories may still be empty or even non-existent. Only after starting the HELiOS Desktop, specifying and saving of the corresponding GUI configurations will the corresponding sub-directories and files be there.