[opencms-dev] Creating Independent Copies of a Website in OpenCms
niveditasheoran
niveditasheoran at cdac.in
Thu Jul 9 13:48:44 CEST 2026
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for your reply and for the helpful suggestions. They were very useful.
I have one more question. Is it possible to configure OpenCms so that a user can
create, edit, and delete content but cannot publish it? My idea is to have
content editors make all the required changes, while a separate user is
responsible for reviewing and publishing them.
Please let me know if this is possible.
Thank you!
Best regards,
Nivedita
On July 8, 2026 at 4:23 PM Daniel Seidel via opencms-dev
<opencms-dev at opencms.org> wrote:
>
> Hi Nivedita,
>
> the behavior is correct. The page is just the kind of "glue" for the
> elements. If you add/remove/move and element or change an element setting,
> then the page changes and undo changes becomes active. If you just edit the
> content of an element, the page is unchanged, only the content itself has
> changes.
>
> To see if the page or elements on it have changes: Look at the "i" in the
> toolbar on the left-hand side. If the icon has a red dot, than there are
> changes. Click on the "i" to open a dialog to see more. In this dialog you may
> also call "Undo changes" for the changed elements.
>
> Best, Daniel.
>
> Am 08.07.26 um 08:18 schrieb niveditasheoran:
>
> > >
> > Hi Daniel,
> >
> > Thank you for your quick response. Your suggestions were very helpful.
> >
> > I also have another question regarding the Undo Changes feature in the
> > Page Editor.
> >
> > When I edit the content of an existing page (for example, modifying
> > text in a content element), click Save & Exit, and then reopen the page, the
> > Undo Changes option is disabled with the message that it is deactivated
> > because the resource is unchanged.
> >
> > However, the Undo Changes option becomes enabled if I add a new
> > content/template element to the page or delete an existing one.
> >
> > I wanted to confirm whether this is the expected behavior or if there
> > could be something wrong with my installation.
> >
> > If this is the intended behavior, is there any way to undo changes made
> > to the content of an existing element after it has been saved, or does the
> > Undo Changes feature only apply to structural changes such as adding or
> > removing elements?
> >
> > Thank you again for your help.
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Nivedita
> >
> >
> > On June 29, 2026 at 5:42 PM Daniel Seidel via opencms-dev
> > <opencms-dev at opencms.org> <mailto:opencms-dev at opencms.org> wrote:
> >
> > > > >
> > > Hi Nivedita,
> > >
> > > when you use the "Websites" app to create a new website, you can use
> > > the "Select Site-Template" on the last tab "Create site options" and
> > > select your school website you want to copy. This should probably do what
> > > you want.
> > >
> > > Another way would be to change the type of the sites root folder to
> > > "subsitemap". On subsitemap folders you have an additional option "Copy
> > > files, adjust all internal links" that does copies similarly.
> > >
> > > Best, Daniel.
> > >
> > > Am 29.06.26 um 09:52 schrieb niveditasheoran via opencms-dev:
> > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > Hello,
> > > >
> > > > I have developed a complete school website in OpenCms and my
> > > > intention is to use it as a base for creating around 500 school
> > > > websites.
> > > >
> > > > My plan was to copy this website whenever a new school website
> > > > needs to be created. However, I have encountered an issue.
> > > >
> > > > When I copy the website (I have tried all available copy
> > > > modes, including Copy files, adjust all internal links, Copy files, keep
> > > > siblings, Copy files, also copy siblings, and Copy folders, create
> > > > siblings for all files), the copied website is not completely
> > > > independent. If I edit content in the original website, the same changes
> > > > are reflected in the copied website, which is not the behavior I want.
> > > >
> > > > My requirement is:
> > > >
> > > > * Develop one complete school website as a base.
> > > > * Create around 500 independent copies from it.
> > > > * After copying, each school's content should be
> > > > completely independent, so editing one school's pages does not affect
> > > > any other school.
> > > > * At the same time, I would like to reuse common
> > > > templates, JSPs, and formatters wherever appropriate.
> > > >
> > > > Could someone please advise:
> > > >
> > > > 1. What is the recommended approach in OpenCms for creating
> > > > hundreds of independent websites based on a single website?
> > > > 2. Is there a way to copy a site without creating
> > > > shared/sibling resources?
> > > > 3. Am I using the wrong approach by copying the site folder
> > > > directly? Would using site templates, modules, model groups, or another
> > > > mechanism be a better solution?
> > > >
> > > > Any guidance or best practices would be greatly appreciated.
> > > >
> > > > Thank you!
> > > >
> > > > Nivedita Sheoran
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
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> > > --
> > > Kind Regards
> > >
> > > Daniel.
> > >
> > > -------------------
> > >
> > > Daniel Seidel
> > > Alkacon Software GmbH & Co. KG - The OpenCms Experts
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>
> Daniel.
>
> -------------------
>
> Daniel Seidel
> Alkacon Software GmbH & Co. KG - The OpenCms Experts
> https://www.alkacon.com <https://www.alkacon.com> - http://www.opencms.org
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