SilhouetteCentral Web Application Configuration

There are a number of web application settings available in the <Main Application Directory>\Files\Settings\machinesettings.xml file. In most installations there is no need to adjust the Web Application settings.

Any adjustments to the MachineSettings file should be made with care and by first taking a copy of the original settings. If an invalid file or invalid settings are detected then the initial SilhouetteCentral setup wizard is displayed when accessing the web site.

Changes to the application settings in the machinesettings.xml are only applied when the associated SilhouetteCentral application pool is recycled.

Patient Assessment Data File Location

By default, SilhouetteCentral stores patient images and report files in the Files\Data folder under the main application folder. The location of this Data folder may be altered by updating the DataDirectory property in the MachineSettings configuration file. This allows the data to be stored in a different location to the SilhouetteCentral application files. This can be either a local directory or a UNC file share.

As an example updating the setting within machinesettings.xml as follows would store patient images and reports in the D:\Silhouette\Data folder.

<DataDirectory>D:/Silhouette/Data</DataDirectory>

Changing this setting does not transfer any existing images and reports to the new location. To change this setting:

  1. Stop the SilhouetteCentral application pool,
  2. Move the contents of the existing folder to the new location,
  3. Update the DataDirectory setting, and
  4. Restart the SilhouetteCentral application pool.

SilhouetteConnect Synchronization Related Settings

Synchronization Database Configuration

The connection string used by SilhouetteCentral to connect to the synchronization SQL Server instance can be customized in the MachineSettings configuration file.

<SilhouetteConnectDatabaseInstanceConnectionString>Data Source=.\Silhouette;Integrated Security=SSPI;</SilhouetteConnectDatabaseInstanceConnectionString>

Number of days to keep SilhouetteConnect databases

SilhouetteCentral keeps an archived copy of the SilhouetteConnect database when it is uploaded during a synchronization. The SilhouetteConnect database copies are only kept for 10 days by default and are then deleted. The number of days the databases are kept can be customized in the MachineSettings configuration file with a minimum of 1 day.

<DaysToKeepArchivedConnectDatabases>10</DaysToKeepArchivedConnectDatabases>

Automatic Email Application Settings

When using the automatic assessment email feature there are a number of settings that can be adjusted in the MachineSettings configuration file.

System Event Queue Processing

The following settings allow the period of the System Event processing job and how many system events will be processed in one go. If the email log shows that the system event job is commonly taking more than 30 seconds to run then you should consider reducing the batch size. The batch size given in the configuration is per system event type (assessment create and assessment update).

<ProcessAssessmentSystemEventsCronSchedule>* * * * *</ProcessAssessmentSystemEventsCronSchedule>

<ProcessAssessmentSystemEventsBatchSize>1000</ProcessAssessmentSystemEventsBatchSize>

Email Attachment Storage

If emails are configured to be sent with attached PDF reports then these reports are generated and stored on the file system.

<EmailAttachmentsDirectory>~/Files/Data/EmailAttachments</EmailAttachmentsDirectory>

Modifying the Email Attachments Directory doesn't move or clean up the old directory. Clean up must be done manually.

Email Queue Processing

The email queue processing allows you to control how many emails will be attempted in any one period (the period is set by the System Event Queue Processing settings) and how many emails are sent concurrently. These settings may need to be adjusted to fit within sending limits of the SMTP service being used.

<ProcessEmailQueueMaximumNumberOfEmailsToSendPerJob>20</ProcessEmailQueueMaximumNumberOfEmailsToSendPerJob>

<ProcessEmailQueueMaximumNumberOfEmailsToSendConcurrently>5</ProcessEmailQueueMaximumNumberOfEmailsToSendConcurrently>

The maximum age for an email in the queue is also adjustable. Any emails still pending after they have been in the queue for more than the maximum age are not sent.

<ProcessEmailQueueMaximumAgeOfEmailsInDays>10</ProcessEmailQueueMaximumAgeOfEmailsInDays>

Purging System Events and Email Queue

The system event queue and email queue are stored in the database. Silhouette has a daily job that removes old emails and system events. If there is a reason to keep data for longer then the configuration can be adjusted.

<PurgeEmailAndSystemEventsIsEnabled>true</PurgeEmailAndSystemEventsIsEnabled>

<PurgeEmailAndSystemEventsCronSchedule>0 1 * * *</PurgeEmailAndSystemEventsCronSchedule>

<PurgeEmailAndSystemEventsBatchSize>500</PurgeEmailAndSystemEventsBatchSize>

The minimum age of an item to be purged can be set from 35 to 400 days. Setting a value outside of this range causes the default of 35 days to be used.

<PurgeEmailAndSystemEventsMinimumAgeInDays>35</PurgeEmailAndSystemEventsMinimumAgeInDays>

Assessment Data Export Related Settings

When using the assessment data export feature there are a number of settings that can be adjusted in the MachineSettings configuration file.

Days to keep data exports

This setting controls how long Silhouette keeps data exports after they are created. Valid settings are from 1 to 7 days. Any non-valid setting will cause the default of 3 to be used.

<DefaultMaximumAgeOfExportedDataInDays>3</DefaultMaximumAgeOfExportedDataInDays>

Data exports file location

This setting tells where on the file setting to create and store data exports before they are downloaded.

<DefaultAssessmentExportDirectory>~/Files/Data/Exports</DefaultAssessmentExportDirectory>

Modifying the Default Assessment Export Directory doesn't move or clean up the old directory. Clean up must be done manually.

Data exports stored in this directory will contain patient information. Ensure this directory is adequately protected against unauthorized access.

File clean up schedule

The file clean up schedule controls when the job which cleans up synchronized SilhouetteConnect databases and expired data exports is run.

<DefaultCleanUpFilesCronSchedule>0 0 * * *</DefaultCleanUpFilesCronSchedule>