MCS XML tag descriptions

[Dan Gill]

I need to understand how each of the tags in the MCS XML files works. Example:

<fields>
   <!-- Checkbox, String, Combobox. This selects the type of input box. -->
   <type>checkbox</type>
   <!-- Name is used internally. -->
   <name>Reportonly</name>
   <!-- Where the setting goes in the cfg file. -->
   <cfgkey>/setup/report_only</cfgkey>
   <!-- Validates the input is accurate. -->
   <validation>yes|no</validation>
   <!-- Datatype for the value. -->
   <datatype>string</datatype>
   <!-- This is how the items are ordered in USM. -->
   <position>10</position>
   <!-- This label appears in the Monitoring configuration. -->
   <label>Report Only</label>
   <!-- Pop up help text. -->
   <helptext>Select to generate an alarm regardless of the Action configured for new services. This option can be useful when testing new Windows Services configuration profiles in a live environment.</helptext>
   <!-- Length of the input field -->
   <length>1</length>
   <!-- Assume this adds the red box which indicates a required field and prevents saving if not set. -->
   <required>false</required>
   <!-- What does this do? -->
   <value>no</value>
   <!-- What does this do? -->
   <readonly>false</readonly>
   <!-- What does this do? -->
   <immutable>false</immutable>
   <!-- What does this do? -->
   <editable>false</editable>
   <!-- This hides the field from display in USM. -->
   <hidden>false</hidden>
   <!-- This organizes the fields in the XML. -->
   <containerpath>/Setup Definition</containerpath>
   <!-- What does this do? -->
   <template>41</template>
   <!-- What does this do? -->
   <legacyVariable>%%REPORT_ONLY1%%</legacyVariable>
   <!-- This will change your selection back to some other value, but which one? defaultvalue or value? -->
   <persist>true</persist>
   <!-- What does this do? -->
   <defaultvalue>no</defaultvalue>
</fields>

I understand what some of these fields do, but some things aren't obvious. What is the difference between defaultvalue and value?

Background: I would like to set the /setup/delete_profile_section in Setup ntservices.xml to yes; however, I know that the probe will clear the services section and then automatically set the value back to no. If you run the Find Configuration Profile Differences Using the Find-Profile-Diffs Tool it will report a discrepancy. I would prefer if it set the value once, but if it was OK with the value reverting to no later. I'm hoping that a better understanding of the fields above will facilitate my goal.

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Dan Gill
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