Filtering Metadata in the WebFOCUS Development Tools

Customization Overview

You can control the display of applications, files, fields, and field descriptions by placing FOCUS selection syntax (IF, WHERE commands) in FEX files that WebFOCUS includes when it requests a list of applications, files, or fields. You then declare variables that point to the FEX files containing the selection syntax.

WebFOCUS provides the following variables:

&&IBI_IF_APPS (Customizing the Display of Applications)
This variable can be set to a file containing syntax that defines which applications are displayed. The syntax is normally WHERE or IF selection statements on the value of the APPNAME attribute.
&&IBI_IF_FILE (Customizing the Display of Files)
This variable can be set to a file containing syntax that defines which Master Files are displayed. The syntax is normally WHERE or IF selection statements on the value of the NAME or REMARKS attributes.
&&IBI_IF_FLDS (Customizing the Display of Fields)
This variable can be set to a file containing syntax that defines which fields are displayed. The syntax can be WHERE or IF selection statements on different field attributes, including the following: NAME, FILENAME, ALIAS, DESCRIPTION, or USAGE.
&&IBI_EXTDESC (Customizing the Display of External Descriptions)
This variable can be set to a file containing syntax that defines how descriptions set in external files are displayed. This may involve creating a join from a selected Master File to an external file containing descriptions for fields in the Master File.

The variables can be set on either the WebFOCUS Client or the WebFOCUS Reporting Server:

To set variables on the server, declare variables at the end of the server profile:

C:\ibi\srv77\wfs\etc\edasprof.prf

For example:

-SET &&IBI_IF_APPS='C:\wfexcludes\excludeapps.fex';-SET &&IBI_IF_FILE='C:\wfexcludes\excludefiles.fex';

To set variables on the WebFOCUS Client, declare variables in the site.wfs file or in the node profile of a specified WebFOCUS Reporting Server (node.prf), and store the values in the \wfc\etc directory under the WebFOCUS Client installation directory.
```
c:\ibi\client\wfc\etc\site.wfs
```
or
```
c:\ibi\client\wfc\etc\node.prf
```
where:
node
Is the node name for the server in the WebFOCUS Client odin.cfg file. For more information about creating server node profiles, see Configuring WebFOCUS Reporting Server Settings.
In site.wfs or node.prf, you must use the \ character to escape characters such as & and \ and you can indicate Windows directories using the UNIX / convention. All -SET commands must begin on a new line which you indicate using \n as shown below. If you declare multiple variables, you must end lines with \\= as shown below. The section defining the variables must begin with the _site_profile line. For example:
```
_site_profile = \\=
\n -SET \&\&IBI_IF_FLDS = 'c:/wfexcludes/excludefields.fex'; \\=
\n -SET \&\&IBI_IF_FILE = 'c:/wfexcludes/excludefiles.fex'; 
```
The following sample code may be used in the node profile of a specified WebFOCUS Reporting Server (node.prf):
```
_site_profile= &_site_profile \\=
\n –SET \&\&IBI_IF_FLDS = 'c:/wfexcludes/excludefields.fex'; \\=
\n –SET \&\&IBI_IF_FILE = 'c:/wfexcludes/excludefiles.fex'; 
```
Note that files must be located on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server machine even if you set variables on the WebFOCUS Client.
If you change variable settings in site.wfs or node.prf, you must restart your Web server and/or application server for the settings to take effect. Changing variables in edasprof.prf does not require a restart.

Note: A variable set on the WebFOCUS Client overrides a variable set on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server.

The files containing syntax can be located anywhere on the server machine and may be given any name you choose. However, avoid names and directories with spaces. Placing the files outside of the root ibi directory is convenient for using them when you upgrade or reinstall. Examples in this document use the following directory:

C:\wfexcludes

If a variable is declared, the contents of its file are included when WebFOCUS requests a list of applications, files, or fields. If a variable is not declared, all applications, files, or fields are returned.

Note: If you are unfamiliar with FOCUS syntax, see the Creating Reports With WebFOCUS Language manual.

Customizing the Display of Applications

How to:

Customize Which Applications Display

The &&IBI_IF_APPS variable lets you specify a file that can limit which applications display in WebFOCUS Development tools. For example, you can stop the ibisamp directory from appearing in Developer Studio or Managed Reporting.

Developer Studio Desktop tree diagram

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Procedure: How to Customize Which Applications Display

Create a partial FEX file in a text editor containing only WHERE or IF selections on the value of the APPNAME attribute. You can use as many lines as needed.
For example, create a file called excludeapps.fex and enter the following to hide the IBISAMP application:
```
WHERE APPNAME NE 'ibisamp'
```
Note: Be sure to use the correct case for the directory.
Go to the following page on your Web server to run an ad hoc procedure to test your syntax:
```
http://webserver/ibi_html/homepage/adhoc.htm
```
Enter the following to test your file:
```
APP ENABLE
APP LIST HOLD
TABLE FILE FOCAPPL
PRINT APPNAME
-INCLUDE path_to_file 
END
```
where:
path_to_file
Is the full path to the file on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server machine containing your syntax.
Click Run.
A list of desired applications appears if your syntax is correct. If not, troubleshoot accordingly.
If your syntax is correct, edit edasprof.prf or site.wfs to declare and set the &&IBI_IF_APPS variable to the FEX file you just created.
For example, in edasprof.prf:
```
-SET &&IBI_IF_APPS='C:\wfexcludes\excludeapps.fex';
```
Note: You can confirm the variable definition as explained in Troubleshooting Variable Settings.

Customizing the Display of Files

How to:

Customize Which Files Display

The &&IBI_IF_FILE variable lets you specify a file that can limit which files display in WebFOCUS Development tools. For example, you can hide Master Files for sample data, like GGORDER, GGPROD, and GGSALES.

Browse Data dialog box

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Procedure: How to Customize Which Files Display

Create a partial FEX file in a text editor containing only WHERE or IF selections on the value of the NAME or REMARKS field. You can use as many lines as needed.
For example, create a file called excludefiles.fex and enter the following to hide files that begin with gg*:
```
WHERE NAME NOT LIKE 'GG%'
```
Use uppercase for file names regardless of their case in the file system.
Go to the following page on your Web server to run an ad hoc procedure to test your syntax:
```
http://webserver/ibi_html/homepage/adhoc.htm
```
Enter the following to test your file:
```
SQL FMI SET FILECASE UPPER
TABLE FILE SYSTABLE
PRINT NAME
-INCLUDE path_to_file 
END
```
where:
path_to_file
Is the full path to the file on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server machine containing your syntax.
Click Run.
A list of desired files appears if your syntax is correct. If not, troubleshoot accordingly.
If your syntax is correct, edit edasprof.prf or site.wfs to declare and set the &&IBI_IF_FILE variable to the FEX file you just created.
For example, in edasprof.prf:
```
-SET &&IBI_IF_FILE='c:\wfexcludes\excludefiles.fex';
```
Note: You can confirm the variable definition, as explained in Troubleshooting Variable Settings.

Customizing the Display of Fields

How to:

Customize Which Fields Display

The &&IBI_IF_FLDS variable lets you specify a file that can limit which fields display in WebFOCUS Development tools. You can hide fields containing sensitive data, undisplayable content (concatenated fields like an alpha for JOIN purposes), or intermediate fields (fields to calculate other fields (unsigned packed bytes)). For example, you can hide the DEALER_COST field in the sample car.foc data source.

WebFOCUS Development tools dialog box

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Procedure: How to Customize Which Fields Display

Create a partial FEX file in a text editor containing only WHERE or IF selections on the value of field attributes, such as NAME, ALIAS, DESCRIPTION, or USAGE. You can use as many lines as needed. Specific selections will apply to all files viewed through WebFOCUS development tools. To limit selections to specific files, use the TBNAME attribute.
For example, create a file called excludefields.fex and enter the following to hide the DEALER_COST field of car.foc:
```
WHERE NAME NE 'DEALER_COST'
```
Go to the following page on your Web server to run an ad hoc procedure to test your syntax:
```
http://webserver/ibi_html/homepage/adhoc.htm
```
Enter syntax similar to the following to test your file:
```
TABLE FILE SYSCOLUM
PRINT NAME ALIAS COMPUTE DESCRIPTION/A3000 = REMARKS;
-* any other fields needed
IF TBNAME EQ testfile 
ON TABLE HOLD AS WF$HOLD
END
TABLE FILE WF$HOLD
PRINT testfield 
-INCLUDE path_to_file 
END
```
where:
testfile
Is a Master File (not including the .mas extension) you want to test your field selection against. The case should match the case in the file system. For example:
car
testfield
Is a field or fields you want to display in the test results. For example:
NAME
path_to_file
Is the full path to the file on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server machine containing your syntax.
Click Run.
A list of desired fields appears if your syntax is correct. If not, troubleshoot accordingly.
If your syntax is correct, edit edasprof.prf or site.wfs to declare and set the &&IBI_IF_FLDS variable to the FEX file you just created.
For example, in edasprof.prf:
```
-SET &&IBI_IF_FLDS='c:\wfexcludes\excludefields.fex';
```
Note: You can confirm the variable definition as explained in Troubleshooting Variable Settings.

Customizing the Display of External Descriptions

How to:

Display External Descriptions

The &&IBI_EXTDESC variable lets you display field descriptions held in external files. For example, if instead of describing fields in the same table or Master File in which the fields appear, the descriptions might be stored in a separate table. You can use the &&IBI_EXTDESC variable to specify FOCUS syntax to join and display these descriptions in WebFOCUS Development tools.

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Procedure: How to Display External Descriptions

Create a partial FEX file in a text editor containing only syntax to JOIN and display the descriptions. You can use as many lines as needed.
Refer to the Creating Reports With WebFOCUS Language manual for syntax necessary to JOIN and display the descriptions.

In the following example, FIELDDESCX.DAT is an external file and each record is 'filename || fieldname' followed by a description:
```
FILEDEF XXX DISK C:\FIELDDESCX.DAT
DEFINE FILE WF$HOLD ADD
FNFLD/A132 = FILENAME || NAME ;
XDESCRIPTION/A3000 = DECODE FNFLD(XXX ELSE ' ');
DESCRIPTION = IF XDESCRIPTION NE ' ' THEN XDESCRIPTION 
              ELSE DESCRIPTION;
END
```
Go to the following page on your Web server to run an ad hoc procedure to test your syntax:
```
http://webserver/ibi_html/homepage/adhoc.htm
```
Enter syntax similar to the following to test your file:
```
TABLE FILE SYSCOLUM
PRINT FILENAME NAME ALIAS COMPUTE DESCRIPTION/A3000 = REMARKS;
-* any other fields needed
IF TBNAME EQ testfile 
ON TABLE HOLD AS WF$HOLD
END
-INCLUDE path_to_file 
TABLE FILE WF$HOLD
PRINT NAME DESCRIPTION/A80
END
```
where:
testfile
Is a Master File (not including the .mas extension) you want to test your field selection against. The case should match the case in the file system. For example:
car
path_to_file
Is the full path to the file on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server machine containing your syntax.
Click Run.
A list of desired fields and descriptions appear if your syntax is correct. If not, troubleshoot accordingly.
Edit edasprof.prf or site.wfs to declare and set the &&IBI_EXTDESC variable to the FEX file you just created.
For example, in edasprof.prf:
```
-SET &&IBI_EXTDESC='c:\wfexcludes\externaldesc.fex'
```
Note: You can confirm the variable definition as explained in Troubleshooting Variable Settings.

Troubleshooting Variable Settings

To test whether a variable has been properly declared:

Go to the following page on your Web server to run an ad hoc procedure:
```
http://webserver/ibi_html/homepage/adhoc.htm
```
Enter the following to display all declared variables:
```
? &&
```
Click Run.
A page appears showing any declared variables.

If no variables appear:

Ensure you declared the variables using the correct syntax and spelling.
If you set variables on the WebFOCUS Client in site.wfs or node.prf, ensure you have restarted your Web and/or Application server. Variables are not available until you restart.

If variables appear:

Ensure variables are spelled correctly.
Ensure the full correct paths of your files appear. Ensure files exist and that you used the correct case and spelling. If the WebFOCUS Client and WebFOCUS Reporting Server are on separate machines, files must be on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server machine and use the server operating system syntax.