Manage Configuration Files in the UI

The File Editor, available in the new UI, lets users view and edit configuration files (.xml, .cfg, .drl, etc.) with the OpenNMS UI instead of having to edit them directly in the file system (for example in the /etc directory).

Making changes to configuration files will affect how OpenNMS operates and incorrectly editing a file could result in features no longer working or not working as intended.

To access the File Editor, go to the new UI, for example by clicking on "UI Preview", then navigating to "File Editor".

View Files

After navigating to the File Editor, the UI displays a tree view of the OpenNMS /etc directory.

From here you can:

  • navigate to any file

  • expand and collapse subtrees

  • search for any part of a file or directory name

  • view and edit files

file editor main
Figure 1. File Editor main screen

Edit Files

To edit a file, type in the file text display.

To save the file, click "Save".

This will overwrite the file on disk; there is no versioning or backup file support at this time.

Click the Reset button to reload the file from disk into the editor. This will be the text as it was last saved to disk, not necessarily the original text before you began editing.

Add Files

To add a new file, navigate to a folder and click the plus + sign.

Enter a file name, add some text, and click Save.

Note that validation will run when you attempt to save the file and may prevent it from being saved. A message at the bottom of the text editor provides more information on why validation failed.

To delete a file, click on the minus sign - to the right of the file name. A confirmation dialog appears. Click Confirm to delete the file or Cancel to cancel the action.

Deleting a file is permanent; the file will be removed from disk and is unrecoverable.
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Figure 2. Add a new file

Activate the Changes

Depending on which file was edited, OpenNMS may detect and apply the configuration changes automatically, or else may require a restart.

Some additional information can be found in these topics:

Console

A console window at the bottom of the edit pane appears with some detailed information after you perform actions such as save or delete. Click Clear to clear the console text or Minimize to minimize the console window.