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Vinny Khosla asked on the JASIG-PORTAL list:

How do i setup a user layout template?
Subsequently, how do I go about creating subsequent user accounts who would inherit the layout template?

Could you please tell me what tables, columns and xml files are involved
here?

Do the new users automatically inherit the layout template?
or Is there a way to force a new user to inherit a certain custom layout
template ?

Answer (credit due to Susan Bramhall for initially posting reponse on JASIG-PORTAL):

The easiest way to create a template is to use ant md5passwd to create the account then login and use the GUI to set up the layout you want.

To map a user to use the template use the PersonDirs.xml to map the some appropriate attribute to uPortalTemplateUserName. The login process for the user will select the layout that matches the value of the uPortalTemplateUserName person attribute.

For example:

...

       <uidquery>select first_name||' '||Last_name first_last,
       decode(role,'UNDERGRADUATE','student',
                   'GRAD_STUDENT','student',
                   'MP', 'staff',
                   'CT', 'staff',
                   'CAS', 'staff',
                   'SM', 'staff',
                   'FAC_LADDER','faculty',
                   'FAC_NON-LADDER','faculty',
                   'VF','faculty',
                   'FEL','faculty',
                   'PDA','faculty',
                   'PDF','faculty',
                   'proto-user') template,
       from portal_person_directory where netid=?</uidquery>
with attribute template mapped like this:
           <attribute>
               <name>template</name>
               <alias>uPortalTemplateUserName</alias>
           </attribute>

...