The properties files, mygrid.properties, raven.properties and log4j.properties are read from taverna.startup/conf/ unless they exist in taverna.home/conf/ in which case these are used.

Artifact repository locations are defined in raven.properties as raven.repository.NUMBER and are checked in numeric order. In addition taverna.startup/repository is added to the start of the list if it exists. An old repository is also used if it exists to avoid duplication of common artifacts.

When Taverna is first run, or after an update, artifacts that require downloading are stored in taverna.home/repository. This location can be modified by setting the property taverna.repository. Artifacts found in a file:/ based repository are not copied but are used from that location.

A specific profile can be forced by setting the property raven.profile. An example profile can be found at http://www.mygrid.org.uk/taverna/updates/1.7.1/taverna-1.7.1.0-profile.xml. This profile will be used without prompting for an update.

A list of profiles can be customised and used by modifying the raven.profilelist property. This points to an XMl document that defines a list of profiles. Initially the lowest version profile is used, and if a higher version exists then an update is offered. An example of such an XML document can be found at http://www.mygrid.org.uk/taverna/updates/1.7.1/taverna-1.7.1-profiles.xml.

Default plugins can be declared by the presence of taverna.startup/plugins/plugins.xml. To find out more about this XML document read the section about Installing Plugins.