Mirror Files

Tasks and Usage

CMS Fiona supports so-called mirror files (unless the Rails Connector for CMS Fiona is used). By means of mirror files, content can be used in several places of the folder hierarchy. In particular, mirror files allow the contents of a file to be exported using several layouts.

A mirror file has no content by its own and thus no version fields. When it is displayed or edited, the contents of the original file is always used. This also applies analogously to its file fields, except for the following ones:

• the file name (name),
• the folder containing the file (parent),
• the permissionRoot permission

Thus, if one of these fields is modified in the original file, the mirror files are not affected by this (and vice versa). If, on the other hand, a different field is modified, it is modified in the mirror files as well.

When mirror files are created, the same rules as for other files apply. However, the user must also have the global permissionGlobalMirrorHandling permission. Furthermore, the mirror file inherits its administration permission (permissionRoot) from the permissionCreateChildren permission of the folder containing the mirror file. This ensures that a user who creates a mirror file is also permitted to rename or to delete it.

A file of which one ore more mirror files exist, cannot be deleted. The relationship between a file and its mirror files is not affected if one of the files is moved to another place in the folder hierarchy.

If a folder is mirrored, its folder hierarchy is completely mirrored as well. It is not possible to create files in a mirror folder or its subfolders.

Automatic Update of Mirror Folders

If a file is created in an original folder (i.e. in a folder that is no mirror file), the mirrored folders automatically contain the corresponding mirror files. Example:

The folder hierarchy above was created in the following way:

• internal and external were created manually.
• external/news was created manually as well.
• external/news was copied into the clipboard.
• internal was selected.
• The contents of the clipboard was pasted as mirror file so that internal/news now is a mirror file.
• Then external/news/article-01 was created manually.
• The system has automatically created the mirror file external/news/article-01.

If there are several mirror folders (of the folder external/news in the example above) exist, a mirror file appears in each of them if a file is added to the original folder.

All the operations made in an original folder or its subhierarchy (such as deleting or copying files) are also effective its mirrored folders.