Capturing Your Own Installation Profile and Settings

Prior to version 7, most Drupal users — and even administrators — had little need to be familiar with the inner workings of distributions and installation profiles. For versions 6 and earlier, when installing a fresh copy of Drupal core, one naturally would specify the minimum required information: database connection, website name, and superuser account. Yet one had no opportunity to affect the list of modules and themes initially enabled, the default content types, or any other configuration details. However, anyone installing Drupal 7 is presented with a choice of installation profiles: "Standard" (the default) and "Minimal".

An installation profile comprises a set of files that completely describe how to configure a new installation of Drupal core, and can be made part of a distribution.

Michael J. Ross

Michael J. Ross is a web developer who uses Drupal and other leading technologies to create custom websites for businesses and non-profits. He writes articles and book reviews, of which more than 500 have been published in print and online.