Custom branding

Deprecated

As of censhare 2021.2.x, the Branding via branding asset is deprecated. 

Introduction

The system configuration of censhare Web allows you to customize the look and feel of the user interface with your corporate design. It is also possible to assign multiple brandings to your system. These can be accessed through a unique URL. For example, use different brandings for your subsidiaries or if you manage different brands with one system.

Important: censhare Web is not a multi-tenancy system. All users work with the same database. The multi-branding feature of censhare is not intended for setting up a system with multiple tenancies. For this purpose, we recommend a setup with a separate system.

Configuration

Create a branding

Branding assets are modules that store branding information and branding-specific relations.

To add a new branding, create a new Module/Branding asset:

1. Enter a name and a resource key.

2. Activate the fields "Enabled" and "In cached tables".

3. Click OK to save the asset.

Branding parameter

In the Overview tab of the branding asset, edit the Properties widget:

1. Enter a Branding parameter - this is the first part of the path following the hostname. The Branding parameter must be unique for each branding. For example:

   https://www.mycompany.com:9443/our-new-brand/

   The following characters are allowed in the Branding parameter:

   
   

   Letters	a-z, A-Z
   Numbers	0-9
   Special characters	-	.	_	~	:	/	#	[	]
   	@	!	$	'	(	)	*	+

   
   

   Tip: Use the "/" character to create virtual paths for your company subsidiaries and/or brands. For example https://www.mycompany.com:9443/subsidiary-A/brand-1/ and https://www.mycompany.com:9443/subsidiary-A/brand-2/ respectively. However, these paths are virtual and do not represent a directory structure on the censhare server. 

Color scheme

The color scheme applies to the login page, the login window, and the main window of censhare Web. If you use your own login page instead, the color scheme does not apply.

In the Overview tab of the branding asset, edit the Properties widget:

1. First, select a Main color from the color chooser or enter a hex color code.

2. censhare automatically adjusts the Accent colors. If you wish, select the accent colors individually.

3. The bottom section of the dialog shows a preview of the user interface elements.

4. To save the color scheme, click OK.

Logos

You can assign a logo for the login page and the main page. The main page logo is shown in the top navigation bar and used for asset pages, lists, and static pages. You can assign any Image asset as a logo.

• To assign a logo for the login page, click the Plus icon in the Login logo widget and select the desired asset.

• To assign a logo for the login page, click the Plus icon in the Top navigation logo widget and select the desired asset.

Login page

You can assign custom web pages to a branding that are stored as Web page assets in censhare.

• To assign a Web page asset you have created before, click the Plus icon in the Login web page widget and select the desired asset.

• You can assign multiple login web pages to one branding. censhare selects them in random order.

Activate a branding

To use custom brandings, you must assign them to the system and activate the branding.

Assign a branding

To assign a branding, open the System asset:

1. In the Overview tab, click the Plus icon in the Brandings widget.

2. Select the brandings you want to use in your system.

Update branding configuration

1. On the System asset page, click the Plus icon to open the Page actions menu.
2. Select Update branding configuration and click OK to confirm.

3. Check if this has been done correctly: 
   
   

   [corpus@master.server ~]$ ll work/runtime-web/client/web/cs/client/config/branding/
   12345/
   _brandingVars.less
   cs.pkg.json
   
   [corpus@master.server ~]$ ll work/runtime.<master-server-name>/web/cs/client/config/branding/
   12345/
   _brandingVars.less
   cs.pkg.json

   CODE
4. If this is not the case, apply the following workaround:

• • Stop the censhare Server: 

    [corpus@master.server ~]$ censhare.rc stop
    

    CODE

  • Delete the runtime areas:

    [corpus@master.server ~]$ rm -r work/runtime*

    CODE

• • Restart the censhare Server:

    [corpus@master.server ~]$ censhare.rc start

    CODE

Access branded censhare

1. Enter the URL with the branding parameter into your web browser. For example https://www.mycompany.com:9443/our-new-brand/

2. If you have configured multiple brandings, use the URLs with the respective branding parameter.

3. You can always log in with the censhare default layout using the default URL https://tracker.censhare.com/censhare5/client/ to access censhare Web.

4. To access and test customized login pages, log out, and open the customized URL in your web browser.

Troubleshooting

Tip: Rebooting the server forces censhare to activate any changes made to a branding.

Result

The censhare login screen and main page are displayed in the customized layout.