Using SharePoint 2010 Publishing site navigation properties

If you`re working with Publishing Site Templates you know there is a neat UI feature allowing you to manage various navigation properties. The UI I`m referring to can be accessed here:

http://[your publishing site]/_layouts/AreaNavigationSettings.aspx

If you`re provisioning your site through ONET or custom powershell script you will be activating Navigation feature to make your web/site a Publishing one.

Here is the actual feature location:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\TEMPLATE\FEATURES\Navigation

Now, as you would configure various settings though UI such as Global Navigation or Sorting you can do the same through feature activation properties, here is how:

<Feature ID="89E0306D-453B-4ec5-8D68-42067CDBF98E">

<Properties xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/">

<Property Key="InheritGlobalNavigation" Value="true" />

<Property Key="InheritCurrentNavigation" Value="true" />

<Property Key="ShowSiblings" Value="true" />

<Property Key="IncludeSubSites" Value="true" />

<Property Key="IncludePages" Value="true" />

<Property Key="GlobalIncludeSubSites" Value="true" />

<Property Key="GlobalIncludePages" Value="true" />

<Property Key="CurrentIncludeSubSites" Value="true" />

<Property Key="CurrentIncludePages" Value="true" />

<Property Key="GlobalDynamicChildLimit" Value="99" />

<Property Key="CurrentDynamicChildLimit" Value="99" />

<Property Key="OrderingMethod" Value="Automatic" />

<Property Key="AutomaticSortingMathod" Value="LastModifiedDate" />

<Property Key="SortAscending" Value="true" />

<Property Key="IncludeInGlobalNavigation" Value="true" />

<Property Key="IncludeInCurrentNavigation" Value="true" />

</Properties>

</Feature>

Above you see all of the properties set to some value. Of course in your case you would have only the relevant properties set and everything else would be default.

Enjoy!