Edit block page files (overview)

Before you begin

Before creating custom block pages, keep in mind that each Filtering Service instance in your network will need its own copy of the block pages.

As a best practice, customize your files on a test server. Then, when they are finalized, distribute them to the appropriate “Custom” folder on each server or appliance that hosts a Filtering Service instance.

To get started:

Steps

  1. If Filtering Service resides on a Windows or Linux server, navigate to the default block page directory. For English:

    Websense/Web Security/BlockPages/en/Default

  2. Make a copy of the block pages.
    • If Filtering Service resides on a Windows or Linux server, copy the block page files to the custom block page directory. For English:

      Websense/Web Security/BlockPages/en/Custom

      Important: Do not modify the original block message files in the BlockPages/<lang_code>/Default directory. Copy them to the BlockPages/<lang_code>/Custom directory and then modify the copies.
    • If Filtering Service resides on an appliance, use the API to download the files you want to edit. See Working with block page files on appliances.

      Next, select the files you want to edit and click Download File(s).

  3. Open the first file you want to edit in a text editor or HTML editor.
    Warning: Some HTML editors modify HTML code, which could corrupt the files and cause problems displaying the block messages. Make sure to use an editor that will not insert changes beyond those you intend to make.
  4. Modify the text. The files contain comments that guide you in making changes.

    Do not modify the tokens (enclosed by $* and *$ symbols), or the structure of the HTML code. These enable Filtering Service to display specific information in the block message.

    For detailed instructions on making specific types of edits, see:

    • Change the size of the message frame
    • Change the block page logo
    • Block page content variables
  5. Some block page HTML files use hard-coded paths to reference the support files used to construct the page. If you have modified the stylesheet used to format the block pages (blockStyle.css) or the JavaScript file used to construct security block pages (security.js), make sure that you also update the path to those files in your custom HTML files. For example:
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="/en/Custom/blockStyle.css type="text>
  6. Save the file.
  7. For appliances, upload the edited file and restart Filtering Service. See Working with block page files on appliances.
  8. For Windows and Linux servers, use the Status > Deployment page in the Web module of the Forcepoint Security Manager to restart Filtering Service.

    Block page changes do not go into effect until you restart Filtering Service.

Next steps

You can easily resume using the default block pages at any time, if needed. See Reverting to the default block pages.