Understanding Packages
Packages are one way to distribute SDL LiveContent Reach publications and updates to your readers. Packages can be delivered by CD, USB drive, email, FTP, over a network -- any way that you would distribute files.
A SDL LiveContent Reach package can include publication data, user interface (skin), and configuration. It is usually paired with a SDL LiveContent Reach installer program, which can install both the application and the contents of the package onto an end-user's system. You can distribute updated packages (usually with a SDL LiveContent Reach installer program) to deliver updated publications, user interface, or configuration.
Packages can also be used in conjunction with Content Distribution and Load Balancing via the SDL LiveContent Reach Distribution Center. Packages intended for content distribution must not contain publication selections (neither "include" nor "delete").
A package is an encrypted ZIP file, with the file extension of .pac, which you can distribute with or without an installer program. If you distribute it without an installer program, an application administrator with command-line access can install a package on an existing SDL LiveContent Reach system. If you distribute the package with an installer program, the end user runs the installer, which installs both the application and the package. You can distribute a set of pre-defined default answers to the questions asked by the installer (installation directory, port number, and backup schedule) so that the end user does not have to answer these questions during install.
The package may contain any combination of publications, language versions, skins, global config settings, search categories, or forms/form instances. To deliver a publication to a brand-new user, you might include all of these items in the package. For users that already have your publication installed, you might include just a subset of these items to deliver particular updates to your publication. You define which items are included in the package when you define a package profile.
Each package has a version and name associated with it, so that administrators can easily track which package is currently installed on a user's system.