General Configuration Settings in the Applet

In this section:

How to:

The General tab in the ReportCaster Server Configuration tool contains the following folders (in bold) and settings:

Setting

Optional or Required/Default Value

Descriptions and Possible Values

Default Setting

Default Distribution List Access

Required.

Default value is Public.

Sets the default value of the Access option in the Distribution List dialog box used to create a new Distribution List.

Possible values are Public or Private.

Default End Date/Time

Optional.

Default value is Dec 31, 2099 11:59 PM.

Default date and time on which the schedule ends. To select a date and time, click the following icon default end. This opens the Calendar dialog box, where you can select values for the month, day, time, and year. Click OK to return to the Default End Date/Time setting.

Default FTP/SFTP Host

Optional.

Name of the default FTP or SFTP server when creating an FTP or SFTP schedule.

If you want to designate a port number other than the default port number, then use the following format:

hostname:port

Default FTP/SFTP User ID/Password

Optional.

Default user ID and password to perform FTP file transfers.

Default Mail From

Optional.

Default value for the From field. This may be any value.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Default Mail Reply Address

Optional.

Default reply address when creating an e-mail schedule.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Default Notify Type

Default value is Never.

Specifies whether to send notification of the schedule status to a specified e-mail address. Possible values are:

  • Never. This is the default value. ReportCaster does not send notification of the schedule status under any circumstance.
  • On Error. The specified users are notified when errors are encountered while running the schedule. Information Builders recommends using the On Error notification option.
  • Always. The specified user is always notified when the schedule runs.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Default Processing for No Report to Distribute

Required.

Default value is Error.

Specifies whether the No report to distribute message from the WebFOCUS Reporting Server is categorized as an error or a warning. This is a global setting, relevant to all schedules. Possible values are:

  • Error. The No report to distribute message is categorized as an error and the message is written to the ReportCaster log report in red. Notification is sent when the Notification option of the schedule is set to Error.
  • Warning. The No report to distribute message is categorized as a warning, and the message is written to the log report (in orange) as an informational message. No error notification is sent when the Notification option of the schedule is set to Error.

These settings also apply to burst reports when there is a No Report to Distribute message for an individual burst value.

If a schedule contains multiple tasks, the No Report to Distribute processing only applies if all tasks that are part of the schedule produce the No Report to Distribute message. If one task in the schedule produces a report, then the value of this setting does not affect log messaging or notification.

Default Reuse Folder When Distributing to Managed Reporting

Required.

Default value is NO.

Designates whether a new folder is created each time a schedule distributes output to Managed Reporting (NO), or whether a folder is reused each time a schedule distributes output to Managed Reporting (YES).

Possible values are YES and NO.

Default WebFOCUS Server

Required.

Default value is EDASERVE.

Default WebFOCUS Reporting Server for running schedules.

Default ZIP Minimum File Size

Optional.

Default is zero kilobytes (0 KB).

If a schedule specifies the output for distribution to be zipped, then the value in this parameter indicates the file size at which the Distribution Server will automatically perform the zip. The file will be zipped when the file size is equal to or greater than this value. When the file size is less than this value, the file is not zipped.

For multi-task schedules and burst tasks, the minimum file size relates to the total size of all output to be distributed to a single e-mail address.

Note: The actual file size value is rounded for display purposes in WinZip, but the value is not rounded for automatic zip evaluation.

If the output does not meet the specified minimum file size, then the following message appears in the log file in orange:

Report(s) not zipped because the total file size xxx is less than nnn.

Where xxx is the size of the report output, and nnn is the Default Zip Minimum File Size value.

The parameter value can be in kilobytes (KB) or megabytes (MB). Use the button to the far right of the setting to toggle between MB and KB.

Distribution Servers (Primary, Failover, Workers)

Primary Distribution Server Host

Required.

The host name of the primary Distribution Server.

Primary Distribution Server Port

Required.

The port number of the primary Distribution Server

> Failover Setting

Failover Enabled

Required.

Default value is NO.

Enables or disables the Distribution Server failover function.

Possible values are YES and NO.

Failover Distribution Server Host

Required if Failover Enabled is YES.

The host name of the failover Distribution Server.

Failover Distribution Server Port

Required if Failover Enabled is YES.

The port number to access the failover Distribution Server.

Failover Interval

Required if Failover Enabled is YES.

Default value is 1.

The frequency (in minutes) at which the failover Distribution Server checks the primary Distribution Server to verify it is running.

>Workload Distribution

Workload Distribution Enabled

Required.

Default value is NO.

Enables or disables the distribution of ReportCaster jobs among Distribution Servers.

Workers

Required if Workload Distribution Enabled is set to YES.

Instances of the Distribution Servers that will share in ReportCaster job execution when Workload Distribution is enabled.

For details on adding Worker servers, see Configuring Workload Distribution Workers.

Email Delivery

>Email Domains

Allowed Email Domains

If Restrict Email Domains is set to YES, then at least one entry is required.

No default value.

Contains the e-mail domains that are permitted in a distribution.

For instruction to add or remove e-mail domains, see Configuring Allowed Email Domains in the Applet.

Note: Files containing e-mail addresses intended for distribution are also verified for valid domains at schedule execution time. If it contains a restricted address, then no delivery is made to that address and an error message is written to the log file.

Restrict Email Domains

Optional.

Default value is NO.

Designates whether or not to restrict an e-mail distribution to specific Email domains.

Valid values are YES or NO. If YES, specify the domain or domains in the Allowed Email Domains parameter.

Default SMTP AUTH UserID/Password

Required if the mailhost is using SMTP Authorization.

No default value.

The user ID and password used to connect to the mailhost.

Email Retries

Default value is 0.

The number of times the Distribution server will try to connect to the e-mail server to deliver report output.

If the Distribution server is unable to connect to the e-mail server on the first try, it will attempt to connect again after the specified Email Retry Interval has passed. A message for each attempt is written to the log file.

Valid values are 0 through 9.

Email Retry Interval (seconds)

Default value is 60 seconds.

The amount of time that the Distribution server will wait between retries.

Valid values are 1 through 999.

Inline Report Distribution

Required.

Default value is Allowed.

Designates whether or not the e‑mail distribution method in the Schedule user interface will enable the option to send a report in the body of the e‑mail (inline).

For details on this setting, see Inline Report Distribution Setting in the Applet.

Possible values are:

  • Allowed. Enable the option to schedule the report as an inline message.
  • Not Allowed. Disable the option to schedule a report as an inline message, but allow existing schedules configured for inline e-mail distribution to run.
  • Not Allowed to Create or Run. Disable the option to schedule a report as an inline message and do not run existing schedules set for inline report distribution.

Mailhost

Required.

Name of the default mail server used to distribute an e-mail schedule.

You can also specify a port for the Mailhost using hostname:port. If you do not specify a port or the port you specify is not present, the default port is used.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Notify Mailhost

Optional.

Name of the mail server that performs notification e-mail. If blank, ReportCaster uses the Mailhost setting as the notification mail server.

Tip: Information Builders recommends using different mail servers for notification and e-mail distribution. This way, if there is a problem with your Mailhost, notification will still be sent. Having separate mail servers ensures that you will be informed when the default mail server falters.

You can also specify a port for the Notify Mailhost using hostname:port. If you do not specify a port or the port you specify is not present, the default port is used.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Packet Email

Default value is YES.

Controls how task output and burst content are distributed through e-mail.

Valid values are:

  • NO. Each burst value or task output is distributed in a separate e-mail.
  • YES. People receiving multiple burst values or output from multiple tasks will receive a single e-mail with multiple attachments.
  • Burst. Each burst value in a distribution list will generate a separate e-mail for a given e-mail address. There may be one or more attachments in the e-mail depending on the number of tasks in the schedule.

For details about the Packet Email setting, see Packet Email Settings in the Applet.

Log Purge

Log Purge Period

Required.

Default value is 30.

Automatically purges individual log reports when they are older than a set number of days.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Log Purge Time

Required.

Default value is 1:00 A.M.

Time at which log purging occurs.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Log Purge at Distribution Server Start

Required.

Default value is Off.

When set to On, log reports are automatically purged each time the Distribution Server starts. This is in addition to the scheduled log purging that is set using the Log Purge Period and Log Purge Time options.

Possible values are Off and On.

Repository

>Data Source

Context Factory

Optional.

For SQL-based repository configuration only. The path and name of the Java class to connect to a relational database. For more information, see your database documentation.

JNDI Name

Optional.

For SQL-based repository configuration only. Used internally to establish the JDBC connection to the database server. For more information, see your database documentation.

>JDBC Driver

Class Name

Required.

Path and name of the Java class to connect to the relational database.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

URL

Required.

Used internally to establish the JDBC connection to the database server.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

>Repository

DB name

Optional.

There is no default.

This parameter is used only with a z/OS ReportCaster Distribution Server installation when a DB2 repository is configured.

If specified, the value is used in the DB2 CREATE TABLE syntax to direct ReportCaster Repository tables to the intended data source. If not specified, the tables are created in the DB2 subsystem default data source.

Focus

None.

This setting is not applicable. In Version 7 Release 7, FOCUS is not supported as a repository.

Hold Connection

Default value is YES.

YES - The database connection is kept open throughout the execution of the schedule, including obtaining Address Book information and writing information to the log files.

NO - The database connection is dropped before executing the schedule. A new connection is made after the schedule is executed to obtain Address Book information and write information to the log files.

Repository Connection Plug-in

Optional.

The name of a custom written Java class that implements the ReportCaster repository connection interface to dynamically retrieve the parameter values needed by ReportCaster to connect to the repository. When this setting is populated, ReportCaster ignores the values for the JDBC URL, Database User, and Database password settings, as these values are provided by the plug-in.

For more information on the Repository Connection Plug-in, see Customizing ReportCaster Plug-ins.

Unitype

Default value is NO.

YES indicates that Unicode is enabled. The database will store Unicode.

NO indicates that Unicode is not enabled.

User

Optional.

Database User ID and password used by the JDBC driver to connect to the ReportCaster Repository.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Security

>Encryption

Encryption Key

Optional.

When using DES or Triple DES encryption, this is the key value in the external key file that ReportCaster Server will use when connecting to the Web server to retrieve information from Managed Reporting.

Type

Optional.

Specifies an override of the encryption class used to read the WebFOCUS cookie and protect the ReportCaster cookie.

>Security

Authentication Plug‑in

Optional.

Default value is Trusted MR Sign-On.

Specify an external authentication program.

Caster Remote Authenticated

Optional.

Default value is NO.

No - The ReportCaster user ID is not remotely authenticated.

Yes - Indicates that the ReportCaster user ID has already been authenticated using Web server security, and that a matching user ID exists in the ReportCaster Repository.

HTTP Header - Enables ReportCaster to perform sign-on integration without REMOTE_USER using the HTTP header variable specified in the Header Name setting. For more information, see the Configuring Managed Reporting for Trusted or External Authentication chapter in the WebFOCUS Security and Administration manual.

Include Windows Domain (domain\userid)

Required.

The default is NO.

Option to include the domain name with the ReportCaster user ID for Integrated Windows Authentication (IWA).

Possible values are YES and NO. If set to YES, ReportCaster automatically includes the domain name with the user ID when logging into ReportCaster.

Header Name

Optional.

Required when Caster Remote Authenticated is set to HTTP Header.

HTTP Header variable used to perform sign-on integration. For more information, see the Configuring Managed Reporting for Trusted or External Authentication chapter in the WebFOCUS Security and Administration manual.

Trace

>Servlet Trace

Trace File

Optional.

There is no default.

Specify where servlet tracing statements are written. Type the fully qualified path of a location accessible on the Application Server/Servlet Engine.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Trace Flag

Default value is OFF.

When set to ON, servlet tracing statements are written.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

>Trace

Schedule Trace

Default value is OFF.

Possible values are:

  • OFF
  • SCHEDULE
  • SCHEDULE & REPORT

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

> User Info

Administrator

Required.

Default value is admin.

This property is set to admin with no password during installation.

In a Managed Reporting (MR) environment, this property defines the ID used during ReportCaster Distribution Server startup to sign-on to MR to test connectivity. If MR Trusted Sign-on is specified for the Authentication Plug-in setting, then a password is not required for this property. Otherwise, a password is required and used for the test connection. In any event, if the connection fails, a warning is written to the scheduler.log file and ReportCaster continues its normal operations. You also use this ID for the Distribute Reports By Managed Reporting option.

In a standalone environment, this property specifies the user who can log on to ReportCaster for the first time in order to create others users and customize the configuration. If you change this password, you must make the same change for this user in the ReportCaster User Administration tool.

Default User

Optional.

If a value is specified, schedules and Distribution Lists created by the ReportCaster API Version 4 Release 3.6 that are migrated to Version 5 Release 2.3 or higher are assigned this Default User ID.

General

Add Zip Extension to Filename if Not Specified

Required.

Default value is Yes.

Controls whether or not the .zip file extension will be automatically appended to the Zip file name entered by the user in a schedule distributed by e-mail or FTP.

Set to Yes to automatically append .zip to the entered file name.

Set to No to use the filename as entered by the user and do not automatically append .zip to the file name.

Address Book Access Types

Required.

Default value is Public and Private.

Designates which types of distribution lists will be available to the user to create.

If either Public or Private is selected, another option is available to designate whether or not to run existing schedules using address books with an access type that is not allowed.

For details on this configuration option, see Address Book Access Types Setting in the Applet.

Possible values are Public, Private, or Public and Private.

Allow Group Blackout Dates

Required.

Default value is YES.

Designates whether or not ReportCaster administrators and Managed Reporting group administrators can schedule blackout dates for a specific group of users. Possible values are YES and NO. In addition, when set to NO, administrators and users will not be able to view existing group blackout dates.

Allow PDF Distribution Directly to a Printer

Required.

Default is No.

Note: The default value is No if you have installed a WebFOCUS service pack.

When set to Yes, then PDF is a selectable format for the Printer distribution method. This allows a PDF file to be distributed directly to a printer. The printer must have the appropriate driver to print PDF files.

Create Index File with Burst FTP/SFTP Distribution

Required.

Default value is YES.

For an FTP or SFTP distribution of burst reports, designates whether or not to create an index file when the schedule runs.

Possible values are YES or NO.

Dserver Codepage

Optional.

The code page of the platform where the ReportCaster Distribution Server is running. Passed to the WebFOCUS Reporting Server to enable its communication back to the ReportCaster Distribution Server. Used for National Language Support (NLS).

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Dynamic Language Switch

This option is not active in ReportCaster. WebFOCUS language enabling is set in the WebFOCUS Administration Console, where the Dynamic Language Switch setting resides under the Configuration tab. For details, see the WebFOCUS Security and Administration manual.

Excel server URL

Default value is the WebFOCUS application server.

The URL to the application server that will zip the components of an Excel 2007 output file (uses the EXL07 distribution format).

A value in the FEX will override this value.

For more information on Excel server URL, see the WebFOCUS Security and Administration manual.

FOC Message Numbers to be Processed as Warnings

Optional.

Default FOC Message Numbers are:

  • 95
  • 96
  • 201
  • 757
  • 837
  • 36359

Enables you to specify which FOC error and warning messages (identified by their number) that you want the WebFOCUS Server to ignore when processing report requests.

See Configuring FOC Message Numbers to be Processed as Warnings in the Applet for descriptions of the default message numbers and for instructions on adding and removing FOC message numbers from the list of default FOC messages.

Graph Agent

Required.

Default value is 1.

Optimizes the processing of graphs. Due to performance considerations, Information Builders generally recommends configuring this setting to 1 Graph Agent for each concurrent graph report. However, your own internal testing should determine the Graph Agent value that best suits the business needs of your organization.

GraphServURL

Optional for Windows and UNIX, required for z/OS.

There is no default.

Overrides the default graph server setting and configures graph image files on the Application Server.

Type the following value

http://hostname/context_root/
  IBIGraphServlet

where:

hostname

Is the host name of the Application Server where the WebFOCUS Client is installed.

context_root

Is the site-customized context root for the WebFOCUS Web application deployed on your Application Server. The default value is ibi_apps.

This setting is available for WebFOCUS procedures and Managed Reporting procedures.

This setting should not be used when Web Server security is enabled. This includes Basic authentication, IWA, SSL, and third party security products (such as SiteMinder, Clear Trust, Oblix, and WebSEAL). In these cases, the Web server security settings can prevent WebFOCUS from creating the graph.

If Web server security is enabled, JSCOM3 must be used. For more information about JSCOM3, see the WebFOCUS Security and Administration manual.

Job Status Notification Plug-in

Optional.

The name of a custom written Java class that implements the ReportCaster Job Status Notification interface and instructs the Distribution Server to perform some action (such as notifying a Web Service or other listener) that a scheduled job has started and ended.

For more information on the Job Status Notification Plug-in, see Customizing ReportCaster Plug-ins.

Max Messages per Task from Data Server

1000.

Controls the number of messages for each task from the Data Server written to the ReportCaster log file.

Maximum Thread

Required.

Default value is 3.

Controls how many simultaneous connections (threads) the ReportCaster Distribution Server can utilize to process scheduled jobs.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Reader Interval

Required.

Default value is 1 minute.

Polling interval (in minutes) for the ReportCaster Distribution Server to check for scheduled jobs.

An acceptable value is any positive integer from 1 to 999999. Negative numbers and zero are not allowed.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Recovery

Default value is OFF.

ON - During startup, the ReportCaster Distribution Server recovers scheduled jobs that were processed but not completed.

OFF (Default) - During startup, the ReportCaster Distribution Server does not recover any scheduled jobs.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

SFTP Security Plug-in

Optional.

The name of a custom written Java class that implements the ReportCaster SFTP security interface to dynamically retrieve the value of a public key needed to connect to a secure FTP server.

For more information, see Customizing ReportCaster Plug-ins.

SMTP Security Plug-in

Optional.

The name of a custom written Java class that implements the ReportCaster SMTP security interface to dynamically retrieve the user ID and password needed to connect to an SMTP server.

For more information, see Customizing ReportCaster Plug-ins.

Scanback

Default value is 15, 24 hour periods.

If the Distribution Server is unavailable for a period of time, this is the number of 24 hour periods (beginning with the Distribution Server re-start time) that you want the Distribution Server to scan for jobs not yet run and run them.

Possible values are:

  • An integer value greater than zero. 365 is the maximum integer value.
  • Reset Next Run Time
  • Off

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Schedule Format

Optional.

All formats are enabled by default.

Enables ReportCaster administrators to specify what report/graph formats are available to users. For more information, see Specifying Schedule Format Settings.

Schedule Method

Optional.

All distribution methods are enabled by default.

Enables ReportCaster administrators to specify what distribution methods are available to users. For more information, see Specifying Schedule Method Settings in the Applet.

Schedule Task

Optional.

All Task Types are enabled by default.

Enables ReportCaster administrators to specify what Task Types are available to users. For more information, see Specifying Schedule Task Settings in the Applet.

WFTransInOut

Optional.

Configures the WebFOCUS Servlet WFTRANSINOUT plug-in. This is a custom-written program that, when configured, is called by the ReportCaster Distribution Server as the last step prior to sending each request to the Reporting Server and again as the first step when receiving output from the Reporting Server.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

In the WFTransInOut field, type the fully qualified name of the package and class that implements the WFTransInOut interface.

To configure the exit jar file and classpath:

  1. Copy the jar that contains the implementation of the WFTransInOut exit to your_Distribution_Server_root/lib directory.
  2. Edit the claspath.bat file to add this jar file to the list of existing jar files.
  3. For the ReportCaster service, make the same change to the classpath in the Registry Key (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Information Builders\ReportCaster\77x\CLASSPATH).
  4. Restart the Distribution Server.

Note: For more information about WFTRANSINOUT, see the Developing Your Own WebFOCUS Plug-in appendix in the WebFOCUS Security and Administration manual.

Webserver Codepage

Optional.

Code page of the platform where the Web server is installed.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Zip Encoding

Optional.

Enables ReportCaster administrators to specify an encoding other than the default encoding of the ReportCaster Distribution Server platform. It must match the encoding used by WinZip or any other Zip utility installed on the ReportCaster Distribution Server.

For valid Zip Encoding values, see Technical Memo 4591: Zip Encoding Parameter for ReportCaster.

Note: This setting is also available in the WebFOCUS Administration Console.

Zip Encryption Password Plug-in

Required.

Default value is None.

Global setting that enables you to password protect and encrypt scheduled output distributed in a Zip file. This setting controls how passwords are obtained by the Distribution Server.

Possible values are:

  • None. Do not use a plug-in to return the password for Zip protection.

    When set to None, you have the option to use the Zip encryption password feature by embedding the password in either a Dynamic Distribution List or a Distribution File rather than using a plug-in. For details on including a password in a list, see Working With Distribution Lists in the ReportCaster Applet.

  • Default. Use the provided default plug-in to return a password for the Zip encryption password feature.

    For details on using the default plug-in, see Using the Zip Encryption Protection Default Plug-in.

  • Type the name of a custom written plug-in that will return passwords. This plug-in must be available to the Distribution Server. For details, see Customizing ReportCaster Plug-ins.


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Configuring Workload Distribution Workers

You can configure one or more Distribution Servers to share in executing ReportCaster jobs. To configure Workload Distribution:

  1. Expand the Workload Distribution folder located under the General tab, Distribution Servers folder.
  2. Set the Workload Distribution Enabled setting to YES.
  3. Right-click the Workers folder and select New.

    The Worker Name window opens.

  4. In the Name field, type a descriptive name for the Worker Distribution Server and click OK.

    A folder with the new name appears under the Workers folder.

  5. Expand the new folder, and assign the host and port for the server, as follows:
    1. In the Worker Distribution Server Host field, type the host name.
    2. In the Worker Distribution Server Port field, type the port number of the host (or use the up and down arrows to set the port number). The default value is 8000.
  6. Repeat Steps 3 through 5 for each additional Worker that you want to participate in Distribution Workload.

To delete a Worker, right-click the specific worker folder and select Delete.

Note: If you have the ReportCaster Server Configuration Recovery option set to On, then if there is a service interruption, the Distribution Server recovers scheduled jobs that were processed but not completed.

For information on monitoring Workers and Workload Distribution, see Distribution Workload Status.


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Configuring Allowed Email Domains in the Applet

How to:

When the Restrict Email Domains setting is set to yes, you will define the e‑mail domain restrictions in the Allowed Email Domains setting. This setting lists the e-mail domains that you want in a distribution. You can add to and remove from this list, as needed.



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Procedure: How to Configure the Allowed Email Domains Setting in the Applet
  1. On the General Tab in the ReportCaster Server Configuration tool, expand the Email Delivery and Email Domains folders, then select Allowed Email Domains, as shown in the following image.

    server configuration

  2. Click the icon to the right of the Allowed Email Domains value field. The Allowed Email Domains dialog box opens, shown in the following image.

    Email Domain Dialog box

  3. Add to or remove from the list of Allowed Email Domains, as follows:
    • To add a domain, type the domain name in the Add the domain to the list of Allowed Email Domains field, and click Add.

      The domain appears in the Allowed Email Domains field.

    • To remove a domain, select the domain in the Allowed Email Domains list, and click Remove.

      The selected domain is removed from the list.

  4. Click OK. The changes are saved and the Allowed Email Domains dialog box closes.

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Inline Report Distribution Setting in the Applet

How to:

The Inline Report Distribution setting controls whether or not a user will have the option to include a report in the body of an e‑mail when setting up an e‑mail distribution method for a schedule. When inline report distribution is not allowed, the option is not available for selection in the schedule user interface.

In addition, if you disable the Inline Report Distribution option, another option is available in the Inline Report Distribution dialog box that designates whether or not to run existing schedules configured for inline distribution.

Note: The display of a report that is distributed as an inline e-mail message can be affected by settings in the e-mail client.



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Procedure: How to Configure the Inline Report Distribution Setting in the Applet
  1. In the General Tab of the ReportCaster Server Configuration tool, expand the Email Delivery folder, and select Inline Report Distribution, as shown in the following image.

    server configuration

  2. Click the icon to the right of the Inline Report Distribution value field.

    The ReportCaster - Inline Report Distribution dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

    Inline Report Distribution dialog box

    The default setting is to enable inline e-mail report distribution.

  3. Select or clear Allow.

    When you clear Allow, the Inline Report Distribution option is set to Not Allowed. which disables the inline option found in the schedule user interface. Notice that the Schedule Job Management area of the dialog box is activated, as shown in the following image.

    Inline Report Distribution dialog box

    The Schedule Job Management option enables you to determine if existing inline e‑mail distribution schedules will run.

    1. To see a current list of schedules that are set to the inline e‑mail distribution method, click Verify. The following image is an example of the window displaying a list of inline e‑mail distribution schedules.

      Schedules Report

    2. Select Only Run Schedules Distributing Reports As Attachments if you do not want to run existing schedules set for inline e-mail distribution. This sets the Inline Report Distribution option to Not Allowed to Create or Run.

      To run existing schedules set for inline e‑mail distribution, clear the Only Run Schedules Distributing Reports As Attachments option.

  4. Click Ok. The changes are saved and the Inline Report Distribution dialog box closes.

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Packet Email Settings in the Applet

The Packet Email setting controls how burst content and task output are distributed through e-mail. The previous settings are:



Example: Using the Packet Email Settings in the Applet

To illustrate the Packet Email settings, we will use the example of a single schedule with the following two tasks and Distribution List:

Schedule Tasks

Distribution List

Burst Value

Address

ENGLAND

Tom@ibi.com

ENGLAND

Alex@ibi.com

FRANCE

Sylvie@ibi.com

FRANCE

Tom@ibi.com

E-mails Distributions

The following are the expected e-mail distributions based on the Packet Email setting.

When the Packet Email setting is NO, this schedule generates eight e-mails (one e-mail for each attachment), as follows:

When the Packet Email setting is YES, this schedule generates three e-mails (one e-mail containing the appropriate attachments for each address in the Distribution List), as follows:

When the Packet Email setting is BURST, this schedule generates four e-mails (one e-mail containing the appropriate attachments for each combination of a burst value and e-mail address in the Distribution List), as follows:

Notice that Tom now gets two separate e-mails, each with two attachments.

Note: It is possible to create a multi-task schedule with one or more tasks that are burst and one or more tasks that are not burst. When Packet Email is set to YES, non-burst output is always distributed to every e-mail address in the Distribution List. When Packet Email is set to BURST, non-burst output is only distributed to e-mail addresses in the Distribution List with a burst value that is present in the report output.

For example, a schedule contains Task1 set for bursting and Task2 set for non-bursting, and the following Distribution List.

Burst Value

Address

ENGLAND

Tom@ibi.com

FRANCE

Sylvie@ibi.com

CHINA

Joe@ibi.com

If there is no data for China in the report output, then a burst report for China cannot be created, and the following reports are distributed.



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Address Book Access Types Setting in the Applet

How to:

The Address Book Access Types setting enables you control the type of access a user can select when creating a address book. For example, if you want to ensure the privacy of all ReportCaster address books in your organization and not risk the possibility of someone creating a public list, then set this option to allow private only.

In addition, if you disable either the Private or Public access option, another option is available to designate whether or not to run existing schedules that use the prohibited access type.



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Procedure: How to Configure the Address Book Access Types Setting in the Applet
  1. In the General Tab of the ReportCaster Server Configuration tool, select Address Book Access Types, as shown in the following image.

    server configuration

  2. Click the icon to the right of the Address Book Access Types value field.

    The ReportCaster - Address Book Access Types dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

    Inline Report Distribution dialog box

    The default setting enables both Public and Private Address Books to be created by users.

  3. Select or clear the Allow check box to set the access type to either Public, Private, or both. You must select at least one.

    Notice that when you clear either the Public or Private option, the Schedule Job Management area of the dialog box is activated, as shown in the following image.

    Inline Report Distribution dialog box

    The Schedule Job Management option enables you to designate if existing schedules that use address books with access types no longer allowed will run.

    1. To see a list of Address Books that have a prohibited access type, click Verify. The following image is an example of an address book list with the access type you want to prohibit.

      Address Books image

    2. Select Only Run Schedules using Address Books with Allowed Access Types if you do not want to run existing schedules that have the prohibited access, but run those with the allowed access type.

      Clear the Only Run Schedules using Address Books with Allowed Access Types to run existing schedules using the prohibited access types.

  4. Click Ok. The changes are saved and the Address Book Access Type dialog box closes.

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Configuring FOC Message Numbers to be Processed as Warnings in the Applet

How to:

The ReportCaster Distribution Server will not distribute report output returned by the WebFOCUS Reporting Server if a FOC message is received. Not all FOC messages are errors and you may want to enable distribution for a non-error FOC message. The FOC Message Numbers to be Processed as Warnings parameter enables you to control which messages the Distribution Server will ignore when processing report requests.

By default, ReportCaster ignores the following FOC messages when distributing reports. You can add or delete FOC messages from this default list using the procedure found in this section.



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Procedure: How to Configure FOC Message Numbers to be Processed as Warnings in the Applet
  1. In the Server Configuration window, select the FOC Messages Numbers to be Processed as Warnings option, as shown in the following image, and click the button to the right of List of FOC Message Numbers.

    server configuration

    The FOC Message Numbers to be Processed as Warnings dialog box opens displaying a list of the default FOC message numbers and other FOC message numbers that you previously added. The following image shows this dialog box with the default FOC message numbers.

    Warnings dialog box

  2. Add to or remove from the list of FOC message numbers, as follows:
    • To add a FOC message, type the FOC message number in the Add this number to the list of FOC message numbers field and click Add. To add multiple FOC message numbers, separate the number items with a comma. For example, type 20, 500, 77 to add the three numbers to the list.

      The new FOC message number(s) appears in the FOC message numbers list.

    • To remove one or more FOC messages, select the FOC number or numbers in the list that you want to remove and click Remove. (Use the Shift key to select contiguous items and the CTRL key to select disjointed items.)

      The selected FOC message number no longer appears in the FOC message numbers list.

    • To restore the FOC message numbers list to the original default numbers, click Default.
  3. To save your FOC message selections, click Ok. The values are saved and the FOC Messages Numbers to be Processed as Warnings dialog box closes.

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Specifying Schedule Format Settings

How to:

The Schedule Format setting in the General tab enables ReportCaster administrators to specify what report and graph formats are available to users.

These settings only apply to WF Server Procedures and Managed Reporting procedures (Standard Reports and My Reports). By default, all report and graph formats are enabled (selected). A minimum of one report or graph format must be selected.



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Procedure: How to Specify Schedule Format Settings in the Applet
  1. Select the icon schedule format to the right of the Schedule Format setting to open the ReportCaster - Report/Graph Formats dialog box.
  2. Using the drop-down list, you can select Styled Formats (the default), Specialized Formats, Unstyled Formats, or Graph Images, as shown in the following image.

    drop-down list image

    By default, the styled formats are displayed with each format type enabled, as shown in the following image.

    RC dialog box

  3. To enable or disable styled formats, select or clear the Allow check box for the following formats.
    • AHTML - HTML active report
    • DHTML - Precision HTML (*.htm) or when web archive file (*.mht)
    • EXL2K - Excel 2000
    • EXL97 - Excel 97
    • Flash - active report
    • HTML - Web browser
    • PDF - Portable Document Format
    • PPT - PowerPoint
    • PS - PostScript
    • HTML ODP - On-demand Paging
  4. To enable or disable specialized formats, which require the procedure code to be specifically written to support these formats, select Specialized Formats from the drop-down list. By default, the specialized formats are displayed with each format type enabled, as shown in the following image.

    Drop down image

    Select or clear the Allow check box for the following specialized formats.

    • EXL2K FORMULA - Excel 2000 Formula
    • EXL2K PIVOT - Excel 2000 Pivot Table
    • EXL2K TEMPLATE - Excel 2000 Template
    • PPT TEMPLATE - Power Point Template
    • DFIX - Delimited Flat File
  5. To enable or disable unstyled formats, which do not support styling using WebFOCUS StyleSheet commands, select Unstyled Formats from the drop-down list. By default, the unstyled formats are displayed with each format type enabled, as shown in the following image.

    drop down image

    Select or clear the Allow check box for the following unstyled formats.

    • ALPHA - Fixed format text file
    • COMMA - Comma delimited text file with blank
    • COM - Comma delimited text file without blanks
    • COMT - Comma delimited text file with titles
    • DOC - Text file with layout and line breaks
    • EXCEL - Excel 95
    • TAB - Tab delimited text file without field names
    • TABT - Tab delimited text file with field names
    • VISDIS - Visual Discovery Report
    • WK1 - Lotus 1-2-3 Release 2
    • WP - Text file with layout without line breaks
    • XML - Standard XML
  6. To enable or disable graph images, which are created by a WebFOCUS graph request, select Graph Images from the drop-down list. By default, the graph image formats are displayed with each format type enabled, as shown in the following image.

    check box image

    Select or clear the Allow check box for the following graph image formats.

    • GIF - Graphic Interchange Format
    • PNG - Portable Network Graphics
    • SVG - Scalable Vector Graphics
    • JPEG - JPEG File Interchange Format
  7. To verify if any cleared (unavailable) formats are being used in any schedules stored in the ReportCaster Repository, click Verify.

    A report is generated in a separate browser window, as shown in the following image, that lists the unavailable format being used, the owner of the schedule, the description of the schedule, the name of the Task, and whether the schedule is active.

    RC/Graph report

    Note:

    • When a user edits a schedule using an unavailable format, the changes cannot be saved to the schedule until an available format is selected. Information Builders recommends either changing the unavailable format in the schedule or enabling the format that is currently unavailable.
    • The Verify and Help options are only available when accessing the configuration tool through the ReportCaster Web Application. These options are not available when accessing the tool from the Windows Programs menu or by running editit.bat or the UNIX editit script file from the /utilities directory under the ReportCaster Distribution Server installation.
  8. Click OK to save the changes and exit the ReportCaster - Report/Graph Formats dialog box. You can also click Cancel to cancel the changes and exit the dialog box.

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Specifying Schedule Method Settings in the Applet

How to:

The Schedule Method setting in the General tab enables ReportCaster administrators to specify what distribution methods are available to users.

By default, all distribution methods are enabled (selected). The Managed Reporting and Library options only appear if these products have been installed/enabled. You must select a minimum of one distribution method.



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Procedure: How to Specify Schedule Method Settings in the Applet
  1. Select the icon schedule method to the right of the Schedule Method setting to open the ReportCaster - Schedule Distribution Methods dialog box:

    RC schedule distribution methods image

  2. To enable or disable specific distribution methods, select or clear the Allow check box for the following options:
    • Email
    • FTP
    • SFTP
    • Print
    • Managed Reporting
    • Library
  3. If you want the ReportCaster Distribution Server to stop running scheduled jobs with cleared (unavailable) distribution methods, select Only run schedules for selected Distribution Methods.
  4. To verify if any unavailable distribution methods are being used in any schedules stored in the ReportCaster Repository, click Verify.

    A report is generated in a separate browser window, as shown in the following image, that lists the unavailable distribution method being used, the owner of the schedule, the description of the schedule, and whether the schedule is active.

    report in separate browser window

    Note:

    • When a user edits a schedule using an unavailable distribution method, the changes cannot be saved to the schedule until an available distribution method is selected. Information Builders recommends either changing the unavailable distribution method in the schedule or enabling the distribution method that is currently unavailable.
    • The Verify and Help options are only available when accessing the configuration tool through the ReportCaster Web Application. These options are not available when accessing the tool from the Windows Programs menu or by running editit.bat or the UNIX editit script file from the /utilities directory under the ReportCaster Distribution Server installation.
  5. Click OK to save the changes and exit the ReportCaster - Schedule Distribution Methods dialog box. You can also click Cancel to cancel the changes and exit the dialog box.

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Specifying Schedule Task Settings in the Applet

How to:

The Schedule Task setting in the General tab enables ReportCaster Administrators to specify what Task Types are available to users.

By default, all Task Types are enabled (selected). The Managed Reporting options only appear if that optional product has been installed. You must select a minimum of one Task Type.



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Procedure: How to Specify Schedule Task Settings in the Applet
  1. Select the icon schedule task to the right of the setting to open the ReportCaster - Schedule Tasks dialog box.
  2. Using the drop-down list, you can select General Task Types (the default) or Managed Reporting, as shown in the following image.

    drop down list image

    By default, the General Task Types are displayed with each Task type enabled, as shown in the following image.

    RC Tasks box

  3. To enable or disable specific General Task Types, select or clear the Allow check box for the following options:
    • WF Server Procedure
    • File
    • URL
    • FTP
  4. To enable or disable the Managed Reporting Task Types, select Managed Reporting from the drop-down list. Note that the Managed Reporting options only appear if that optional product has been installed. By default, the Managed Reporting Task Types are displayed with each Task type enabled, as shown in the following image.

    RC Schedule Tasks

    To enable or disable specific Managed Reporting Task Types, select or clear the Allow check box for the following options:

    • Standard Report
    • My Report
  5. If you want the ReportCaster Distribution Server to stop running scheduled jobs with cleared (unavailable) Task Types, select Only run schedules for selected Tasks.
  6. To verify if any unavailable Task Types are being used in any schedules stored in the ReportCaster Repository, click Verify.

    A report is generated in a separate browser window, as shown in the following image, that lists the unavailable Task Types being used, the owner of the schedule, the description of the schedule, the name of the Task, and whether the schedule is active.

    Report in separate browser window

    Tip: When a user edits a schedule using an unavailable Task Type, the changes cannot be saved to the schedule until an available Task Type is selected. Information Builders recommends either changing the unavailable Task Type in the schedule or enabling the Task Type that is currently unavailable.

  7. Click OK to save the changes and exit the ReportCaster - Schedule Tasks dialog box. You can also click Cancel to cancel the changes and exit the dialog box.

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Using the Zip Encryption Protection Default Plug-in

The default plug-in provided with ReportCaster enables the encryption password to be associated with the Managed Reporting Domain where the scheduled report resides. Therefore, the default plug‑in can only be used to password protect Managed Reporting Standard Reports and My Reports. For information on customizing a Zip Encryption Protection Plug-in, see Customizing ReportCaster Plug-ins.

Note: You must add the Bouncy Castle jar file to the Distribution Server in order to use the default implementation of the zip encryption plug-in. For more information, see How to Add the Bouncy Castle Jar File to the Distribution Server.

The plug-in delivers the password to the Distribution Server at schedule execution time, where the output is then encrypted and zipped. To use the default plug-in, choose Default for the Zip Encryption Password Plug-in setting. The default plug-in references the password file, zipencrypt.txt, for the domain and password. During installation, an empty version of this file is included in the ibi/ ReportCaster/cfg directory.

The password statement in this file must be in the following format:

domain, domainhref, password, $

where:

domainhref

Is the location of the HTML page (for example, untitled/untitled.htm) that contains the Managed Reporting Domain link.

password

Is the password to open content from the associated domain.

Note: The ReportCaster log will indicate that encryption was used.

The guidelines for using the default plug-in are:

To edit the zipencrypt.txt password file:

  1. From the bin directory on the Distribution Server, run the decode utility, decdpwds.
  2. Make the necessary additions or edits, such as adding a domain or changing the password.
  3. Run the encode utility, encdpwds, to encrypt the file.

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Procedure: How to Add the Bouncy Castle Jar File to the Distribution Server
  1. Download the Bouncy Castle .jar file from the following URL: http://www.bouncycastle.org/latest_releases.html

    Depending on the JDK you installed on the machine where WebFOCUS resides, use the following.jar file:

    For JDK1.5, use bcprov-jdk15-142.jar.

    For JDK1.6, use bcprov-jdk16-142.jar.

  2. Add the Bouncy Castle .jar file in the \ibi\WebFOCUS77\ReportCaster\libdirectory.
  3. If you are using an encryption cipher that is over 128, be sure to install the Java Cryptography Extension (JCE). You can obtain the JCE from the Oracle download website.
  4. Add the Bouncy Castle jar file to the Classpath of the Distribution Server.

    If the Distribution Server is running from the command line, then edit the Classpath file located in the ReportCaster bin directory.

    If the Distribution Server is running as a Windows service, then use the Registry Editor to change the value of the Classpath registry key.

  5. Restart the Distribution Server.

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Customizing ReportCaster Plug-ins

ReportCaster includes several Plug-ins that you can customize to fit the needs of your application. The interfaces available for implementation are documented in the ReportCaster API Help under the package ibi.broker.scheduler.plugin. When configuring a ReportCaster Plug-in setting, enter the fully qualified Java classname that implements the interface in the ReportCaster configuration tool. The jar file containing this class must be in the Classpath of both the Distribution Server and the ReportCaster Web Application. The Distribution Server classpath is controlled by the Classpath bat or script file in the ReportCaster bin directory. Refer to your application server to modify the ReportCaster application Classpath. The interfaces are:


WebFOCUS