Custom messaging
Overview
Custom messaging lets administrators customize certain user-facing messages that Posit Connect displays throughout the UI. Messages are stored in the database, so changes take effect immediately, survive restarts, and stay in sync across all nodes of a high-availability installation without editing configuration files or reloading the service.
Previously, each of these messages was set through a separate server configuration setting (for example, Server.PublicWarning or Authentication.Notice), which required access to the configuration file and a service reload. Custom messaging consolidates these messages into a single admin page and removes the need to edit the configuration file.
Custom messaging is administered from System > Custom Messaging in the Connect UI. Only administrators can view or edit these messages.
Supported messages
Markdown
Where noted below, Markdown is available for formatting messages.
You can customize the following messages from the Custom Messaging page:
| Message | Markdown? | Where it appears | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authentication name | No | Provider name shown on the sign-in page | Posit Connect |
| Authentication notice | Yes | Sign-in, sign-up, and account-completion pages | (empty) |
| Logged-in warning | Yes | Shown at the top of the content list | (empty) |
| Locked user | No | Shown when a locked user tries to sign in | Your account has been locked. Please contact your administrator. |
| Insufficient privileges | Yes | Shown when a user requests an increased user role | Are you sure you want to request "{privilege}" Permissions on this server? This will contact the administrator on your behalf to request these additional privileges. |
| Initialization error | No | Added to error message shown when interactive content fails to start | Contact the author or review the logs for more information. |
| Public warning | Yes | Shown to signed-out visitors on Connect landing page | (empty) |
An empty default means no message is shared until you set a value.
Editing messages
- Go to System > Custom Messaging in the UI.
- Select the message you want to change from the list.
- Edit the message text. A live preview shows how the message will appear in context as you type, so you can review the change before it goes live.
- Select Save to apply your changes, or Discard to revert to the currently saved values.
Saving an empty value clears a message rather than restoring its built-in default. For messages that ship with a default (such as the initialization-error message), this means the message will no longer appear until you enter new text.
Importing messages from the server configuration
The messages listed below were previously configured through the server configuration file. Those configuration settings are now deprecated – they are not removed, so any values you have already set continue to be used until they are imported.
The first time Connect starts with custom messaging available, it performs a one-time import of any values already set in the configuration file into the database:
| Message | Imported from |
|---|---|
| Authentication name | Authentication.Name |
| Authentication notice | Authentication.Notice |
| Logged-in warning | Server.LoggedInWarning |
| Initialization error | Applications.InitializationErrorMessage |
| Public warning | Server.PublicWarning |
The public warning and logged-in warning were stored as HTML snippets in the configuration file. During import, Connect converts these values to Markdown so they render correctly in the editor.
After this one-time import, the database becomes the source of truth for these messages. The deprecated configuration settings are no longer read, so further changes to them have no effect. Manage the messages from the Custom Messaging page instead. The locked-user and insufficient-privileges messages have no configuration-file equivalent.