Configuration element (Site)

Article
06/29/2022

Applies to: SharePoint 2016 | SharePoint Foundation 2013 | SharePoint Online | SharePoint Server 2013

Specifies the lists and modules used in creating a SharePoint Foundation website that is based on the site definition configuration represented by the Configuration element. These elements also represent configurations in Web Templates.

For simplicity, the phrase 'site definition configuration' is used throughout this topic although the topic applies to Web template configurations as well. Except where specified otherwise, the following attribute descriptions apply to Configuration elements in both site definitions and Web templates.

<Configuration
    AllowGlobalFeatureAssociations = "TRUE" | "FALSE"
    CustomMasterUrl = "Text"
    Description = "Text"
    DisplayCategory = "Text"
    FilterCategories = "Text"
    Hidden = "TRUE" | "FALSE"
    ID = "Integer"
    ImageUrl = "Text"
    MasterUrl = "Text"
    Name = "Text"
    ProvisionAssembly = "Text"
    ProvisionClass = "Text"
    ProvisionData = "Text"
    RootWebOnly = "TRUE" | "FALSE"
    SubWebOnly = "TRUE" | "FALSE"
    SupportsMultilingualUI = "TRUE" | "FALSE"
    Title = "Text"
    Type = "Text"
    VisibilityFeatureDependency = "Text">
</Configuration>

Elements and attributes

The following sections describe attributes, child elements, and parent elements.

Attributes

Attribute	Description
AllowGlobalFeatureAssociations	Optional Boolean. Specifies whether global Feature associations are allowed for sites that are created with the site definition configuration.
CustomMasterUrl	Optional Text. Specifies the URL for an alternate .master page that can be used on pages in websites that are created through the site definition configuration without customizing those pages. NOTE: Simply changing the value of the MasterPageFile attribute on pages that need an alternate master page would customize those pages and cause them to be stored in the content database rather than the file system of the front-end Web servers. For more information about how the value of the CustomMasterUrl is used, see Master Pages on Application Pages.
Description	Optional Text. Contains the locale-specific description of the site definition configuration that appears in the UI of SharePoint Foundation.
DisplayCategory	Optional Text. Specifies the category in which the site definition configuration will appear in the UI of SharePoint Foundation, for example, Collaboration, Meetings, or some custom name.
FilterCategories	Optional Text. This attribute is not used by SharePoint Foundation. It is available for enhanced portal or content management solutions built on SharePoint Foundation, such as Microsoft SharePoint Server, to use as a means of categorizing site configurations in ways that do not map precisely onto the categorizations that appear in the UI. (See also the DisplayCategory attribute.)
Hidden	Optional Boolean. Specifies whether the site definition configuration appears as an option in the UI of SharePoint Foundation.
ID	Required Integer. Specifies an ID for the site definition configuration that is unique within the site definition. A definition, such as STS or MPS, is defined by a Template element in a `WebTemp.xml` file and by a corresponding `Onet.xml` file for the definition. See Parent Elements* and Remarks below.
ImageUrl	Required Text. Contains the URL for the preview image displayed in the UI of SharePoint Foundation.
MasterUrl	Optional Text. Specifies the default master page to use for websites created through the site definition configuration.
Name	Optional Text. Contains the name of the site definition configuration.
ProvisionAssembly	Optional Text. Specifies the name of the assembly that contains the provision class, if there is one. (See ProvisionClass below.) For example: `ProvisionAssembly="MyCompany.SharePoint.ProvisionHelper, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=82f0cdf222f0530d"`
ProvisionClass	Optional Text. Specifies the fully qualified name of a class that provides provisioning functionality that will execute when the runtime finishes creating a site from the configuration. It is not required that there be such a class, but if you need one for a custom configuration, it must derive from SPWebProvisioningProvider . For example: `ProvisionClass="MyCompany.SharePoint. ProvisionHelper.MySiteProvisioningProvider"`
ProvisionData	Optional Text. Specifies data that will be used by the Provision(SPWebProvisioningProperties) method of the ProvisionClass (see above). This can be a path to file that contains structured data. For example: `ProvisionData="SiteTemplates\\MySiteManifest.xml"`
RootWebOnly	Optional Boolean. TRUE to specify that the site created from the configuration exists only as the root website in a site collection. This attribute is not enforced in Web templates, which are stored in Solution (`.wsp` files).
SubWebOnly	Optional Boolean. TRUE to specify that the site created from the configuration exists only as a subsite within a site collection. This attribute is not enforced in Web templates, which are stored in Solution (`.wsp` files).
SupportsMultilingualUI	Optional Boolean. TRUE (the default) to specify that administrators can enable alternate languages for sites created from the configuration. FALSE prevents administrators from enabling this functionality.
Title	Optional Text. Contains the title of the site definition configuration that is displayed in the UI of SharePoint Foundation.
Type	Optional Text. Identifies the site definition, such as STS or MPS.
VisibilityFeatureDependency	Optional Text. Used in a `WebTemp*.xml` file to hide the site definition configuration based on the activation state of the specified Feature. When a configuration contains Features that depend upon another Feature, setting this attribute prevents the configuration from appearing as an option in the UI of SharePoint Foundation if the specified Feature is not installed or activated. This attribute is not supported for Features with Web application scope.

Child elements

Parent elements

Occurrences

Minimum: 0
Maximum: Unbounded

Remarks

A Configuration element is used in WebTemp*.xml files (see WebTemp.xml) to identify an available site definition configuration within a site definition.

It is used in Onet.xml files to define a configuration of lists, modules, and features that are used to create a site from the site definition configuration.

In a WebTemp*.xml file, this element is contained within a Template element that specifies the site definition. In Onet.xml, this element is contained within a Configurations element that specifies the configurations whose lists are defined within the Onet.xml.

There is one Template element in a WebTemp*.xml file, and one Onet.xml file, for each site definition.

The ID attribute associates the Configuration element for a given site definition in a WebTemp*.xml file with the corresponding Configuration element for that same site definition in the Onet.xml.

A Web template, as distinct from a site definition configuration, is defined with a WebTemplate element in an elements.xml file inside a .wsp file that is stored in the SharePoint database. Also in the .wsp file is an Onet.xml file with a single Configuration element that specifies the details of the Web template.

Example

The following example from WebTemp.xml specifies the three configurations for the STS website definition.

<Template Name="STS" ID="1">
    <Configuration ID="0" Title="Team Site" Hidden="FALSE" ImageUrl="/_layouts/images/stts.png" Description="A site for teams to quickly organize, author, and share information. It provides a document library, and lists for managing announcements, calendar items, tasks, and discussions." DisplayCategory="Collaboration" >    </Configuration>
    <Configuration ID="1" Title="Blank Site" Hidden="FALSE" ImageUrl="/_layouts/images/stbs.png" Description="A blank site for you to customize based on your requirements." DisplayCategory="Collaboration" AllowGlobalFeatureAssociations="False" >    </Configuration>
    <Configuration ID="2" Title="Document Workspace" Hidden="FALSE" ImageUrl="/_layouts/images/stdw.png" Description="A site for colleagues to work together on a document. It provides a document library for storing the primary document and supporting files, a tasks list for assigning to-do items, and a links list for resources related to the document." DisplayCategory="Collaboration" >    </Configuration>
 </Template>

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