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The following variables are generally set on a sign-on page and are used to send a request to a WebFOCUS Reporting Server:

• IBIC_server - WebFOCUS Reporting Server node.
• IBIC_user - WebFOCUS Reporting Server user ID.
• IBIC_pass - WebFOCUS Reporting Server user password.

These variables override any default settings that were established for accessing a WebFOCUS Reporting Server. To establish default values for accessing a WebFOCUS Reporting Server, you can set the values of the following variables:

• IBI_REPORT_SERVER - Default WebFOCUS Reporting Server. This setting is used only when a server (IBIC_server) is not supplied.
• IBI_REPORT_USER - Default WebFOCUS Reporting Server user ID. This setting is used only when a user ID (IBIC_user) is not supplied.
• IBI_REPORT_PASS - Default WebFOCUS Reporting Server password. This setting is used only when a user password (IBIC_pass) is not supplied.

You can set these variables globally for all WebFOCUS Reporting Servers in the WebFOCUS Administration Console in the Configuration, Reporting Server panel, and in the Configuration, Custom Settings panel. You can also set these variables for a specific WebFOCUS Reporting Server in the node profile of that server. For more information, see WebFOCUS Reporting Server Settings.

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Web servers support HTTP variables, which are passed between the Web server and the Web browser in the HTTP request/response header. These variables typically define the environment of the Web browser. For example, HTTP_USER_AGENT defines which browser manufacturer and version of the browser is being used.

HTTP variables can be passed to WebFOCUS and used in script file processing. Some HTTP header variables are standard, and some are created and used by specific third-party products.

The CGI implementation of the WebFOCUS Client automatically has access to every HTTP header variable, whether standard or not.

The Servlet implementation of the WebFOCUS Client automatically has access to all standard HTTP header variables. If it needs access to a non-standard variable, you must copy that variable to the WebFOCUS variable table. Methods for copying variables are supplied in the WebFOCUS Servlet plug-in. For more information about these methods, see Copying WebFOCUS Variables Using the WebFOCUS Servlet Plug-in.

For a list of standard HTTP header variables that can be used in script processing, see HTTP Header Variables Available for Script Processing.

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Reference: WebFOCUS Cookies and Parameters

The HTTP_COOKIE variable passes information from the browser to the Web server. The WF_SIGNON action updates HTTP_COOKIE to include an array of security information, called WF_COOKIE. WF_COOKIE contains your encrypted credentials for your server(s).

WF_COOKIE is encrypted, has an expiration of end-of-session, and is not written to a cookie file on the computer. For increased security, you can use an alternate encryption routine. For more information on encrypting cookies, see WebFOCUS Encryption.

You can also specify the expiration time in the WF_COOKIE_EXPIRATION parameter in the cgivars.wfs file (see Changing WebFOCUS Client Settings in the WebFOCUS Administration Console).

If you include any custom variables on your logon page, these variables are stored in the WF_USER cookie and are passed to the WebFOCUS Reporting Server with every request.

If users want to change or override an existing set of cookie credentials, all they have to do is resubmit the logon page. This overrides the current values with the values specified in the new request.

Note: You can add the IBI_COOKIE_DOMAIN, IBI_COOKIE_PATH, and IBI_COOKIE_SECURE settings in site.wfs to control the behavior of a WebFOCUS cookie. For more information, see Cookie Settings in cgivars.wfs.

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