Build Process

An export type is configured within the Umbraco interface; this is the structure that links together the generator, the transformers, and the file namer. This export type can then be chosen on a site configuration to define how the input is built.

A generator defines how a umbraco nodes are turned into static files. Generally speaking, to create static HTML websites you will not need to create a custom implementation of this, you can customise your output with custom namers and transformers; if you need to create a different file type however, you can create your own custom generators. Read about custom generators on the Generators page.

Transformers are xStatic components that take the static content for a content item, perform an operation, and return an altered string. These can be used to change hostnames, alter image URLs, or any other string manipulation you may need to do. Custom transformers are easy to create. Transformers need to be curated into `TransfomerList`s before they can be assigned to an export type; this simply defines which transformers need to run and in which order. Read more on creating custom transformer lists on the Transformers page.

There are two types of namers in xStatic, file name generators and image crop name generators.

Image crop name generators are used by the `CroppedImageUrlTransformer` and the base generator class to determine how image files should be stored.

File name generators are used to determine the file names of the static files generated by xStatic. There are built in file name generators, but if you want to alter this it is easy to do so. You can then choose the namer when defining your export types in the CMS dashboard. Read more on the File Name Generation page to find out how to create and use your own custom implementations.

Site storers are the component that stores the generated files ready for use by the deployer process in xStatic. By default the files are stored in numbered folders in the App_Data folder of an Umbraco site. If you need to store the generated files in alternative locations, read the Site Storers page.