Folks who are members of the Online ColdFusion Meetup that I run will already have gotten notification about this, but those who are not:

"Using Adobe's "new" CFSetup tool to manage CF Admin settings for ANY CF version"

You may (or may not) have heard that CF2021 added (in 2020) a new command-line tool called CFSetup--but first, did you know that it could be used with ANY CF version, not just CF2021? And perhaps you heard its main value is to export/import CF Admin settings via JSON: it can indeed do that, and while that may excite some, others may yawn if they've "seen that elsewhere". (To be clear, it can export/import either ALL settings or selected ones.)

But did you know it could be used for far MORE than that alone? And did you know that those exported json config files could be used to set the admin configuration on startup of CF 2021 Docker images. Even if not using Docker, the tool can be a boon for all sorts of automated deployment of CF--again any CF version. And did you know you don't even need to install CF2021 to use it?

While the feature is well-documented (and offers its own help), who has time to read the docs, right? In this session, veteran CF troubleshooter Charlie Arehart will present and demonstrate the key capabilities of CFSetup, as well as others that may surprise you. He'll also conclude with a brief discussion of the similar (but different) tool, CFConfig, a plugin for Ortus Commandbox. He'll touch on the question of why one might choose one over the other (it's ok to use either or both with the same CF instance). He'll also contrast these with the much older CF "CAR" Admin migration tool. Each tool has its value for different needs.

As always with the CFMeetup, anyone can attend, viewing it live or afterward on youtube. You can also register (indicate interest) or find more details about the event and about the meetup itself at the CFMeetup event page.

As noted there, all sessions are recorded, with those since 2015 available as a youtube playlist. Of course, we welcome anyone presenting any topic that may be of interest to the CF community.

Calling all CF Summit speakers: consider presenting your sessions

Indeed, since Adobe will not be recording the sessions at CF Summit (due to technical and union challenges), I hope to get those presenters to offer their session after the event which is next week.

Finally, this talk of mine on the CFSetup tool forms a useful foundation for part of what I will be presenting myself next week at the CF Summit on how the Adobe CF Docker images have evolved. More on that in this post.

But this talk on CFSetup stands alone, and I hope that many people may be surprised and delighted to learn of the tool, and especially how it can be used with ANY version of CF--even without having CF2021 installed. The fact that the exported json can be used to configure Adobe CF Docker images is icing on the cake. (And yes, yes, there is totally different "icing" in the form of Commandbox CFConfig. As I noted above, I will contrast the tools briefly in my talk. The focus is on CFSetup, though, which doesn't get anywhere near the attention of CFConfig!)

For more content like this from Charlie Arehart:

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Need more help with problems?

• If you may prefer direct help, rather than digging around here/elsewhere or via comments, he can help via his online consulting services
• See that page for more on how he can help a) over the web, safely and securely, b) usually very quickly, c) teaching you along the way, and d) with satisfaction guaranteed