A number of configuration properties have certain attributes in addition to the name, the data type and the permitted value specifications. When describing the properties in this documentation, reference is made to the additional attributes if they are of special importance for the configuration.

These attributes are evaluated directly when the program is started (i.e., when the configuration is read in). Depending on the type of attribute and the specification of the configuration value, these attributes can prevent the program from starting successfully. If this is the case, a corresponding note can be found in the logging.

Mandatory Values

The most common case of an additional attribute is the marking of a configuration property as mandatory because it must be specified. This mandatory specification does not have to apply across the board for certain properties, but might also be dependent on the value of another property with which it is related. Many properties also implicitly have a default value that automatically takes effect if no deviating value has been explicitly configured.

Encrypted Values

Some values contain sensitive data that should not be readable in plain text in the configuration. This is particularly the case with passwords for authentication against connected third-party systems. Such a value (or, if a password is only part of a connection string, a partial value) is stored in the configuration with asymmetric RSA encryption and marked as encrypted by embedding it in the tags <§>...</§>. When the configuration is read, the value is automatically decoded.

Encryption requires a customer-specific certificate that contains a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption. If this certificate remains on the customer system, decryption is only possible on this very system. Specify the reference to the certificate in the global configuration (see configuration property Certificate[].Usage: "Crypt").

The Configurator can be used to create an encrypted string based on this certificate. In the case of manual configuration, the string can also be created directly via the Config Web Service. The Config Web Service has a corresponding REST call.

Byte Sequences in a Text Value

An analogous syntax exists for defining byte sequences in a text value, namely <#>...</#>. The hexadecimal string between these tags is resolved to the corresponding (control) characters at runtime if a configuration key supports this syntax.

With <#>0D0A</#>, for example, the control characters CR (Carriage Return) and LF (Line Feed) can be specified for a line break. In this concrete example, the escape sequences \r and \n that exist for this purpose can also be used. However, this is only possible if they do not occur stand-alone but embedded in a text value, since otherwise they are implicitly filtered out when a configuration value is read.

Checking the File Path

Certain values contain a reference to a file path or a folder path. For these values, specify whether the configured path is mandatory (in which case, a check will be performed). This usually concerns input data that is provided by other systems for xSuite Interface. For data that is newly generated by the program itself, on the other hand, an attribute is usually set for the respective configuration property. Using this property, a folder path that does not yet exist is automatically created.

Further general attributes for path specifications cause relative paths to be automatically resolved to an absolute path, in relation to the program directory of the executed EXE file. In addition, environment variables are replaced and the spelling of paths is unified. The unification refers to the type of slash (backslash (\) or regular slash (/)) and the specification of a trailing slash for folder paths. By default, the program expects a slash (/) and the omission of a trailing slash. Values that are configured differently are automatically corrected.

Temporary Disabling Properties

To temporarily disable individual, non-mandatory properties in a configuration without deleting them completely, rename the property in JSON format (e.g., entering an underscore in front of it).

Deleting a value requires setting an empty value such as "" or null to maintain a valid JSON syntax, but this may cause validation errors for some properties if those properties only allow concrete value expressions.