Skinning

For GroupServer installations with only one site then skinning is simple: the email messages will be skinned using the same skin-name as is used on the web (see the documentation on configuring a web proxy and GroupServer).

See also

GroupServer ships with two alternate skins by default gs.skin.blue and gs.skin.green.

Skinning is more difficult for complex installs where multiple sites with different skins are handled by the same server. Below we discuss the problem and the solution.

The problem

The problem is that email comes into one site, so the request object for all email uses the skin for that site. This is fine if all sites in the GroupServer install use the same skin. However, this is an issue if different sites use different skins, as the email messages will look like they are from the wrong site.

The solution

The solution is to label the site with the skin-name. This skin is then retrieved and applied to the request object. (The zope.traversing subsystem does this for web-requests.)

The skin-name is recorded in the emailSkin property of the DivisionConfig object, or the GlobalConfiguration object (the former over-rides the latter). Set this property to the skin name, such as gs_green for the GroupServer green skin, or gs_blue for the blue skin. (The default is grey.) While you could use a different skin from that used on the web, this is discourage because it is likely to confuse the members of your site.