Schedule Blackout Dates

In this section:

Reference:

Schedule blackout dates are those dates on which schedules cannot be run or be set to run. Administration of schedule blackout dates is performed by:

When managing schedule blackout dates, you can add new blackout dates, delete and replace the description of existing blackout dates, and extract existing blackout dates to a file for future use. ReportCaster provides the following ways for you to access these management options:


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Reference: Schedule Behavior for Blackout Dates

Blackout dates are enforced during schedule creation and at run time:


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About the Schedule Blackout Dates Import Utility

The Import Utility enables you to import a file that contains the desired schedule blackout dates, and can also include instructions to insert, delete, or replace date ranges and descriptions of blackout dates. You can import a file that you created or a file that was created using the Extract Utility. For information about extract files, see About the Schedule Blackout Dates Extract Utility. The import of blackout dates can be done through the ReportCaster Schedule Blackout Dates user interface or the Import Utility (in either silent or interactive mode).

To create an import file, use a standard text editor. This section provides an example of an import file.

The format of the import file is based on that of the Holiday Function (HDAY), described in the Using Functions manual.

At a minimum, the import file need only consist of the dates (following the format below) you want to black out. You can also include comments about the file or specific dates, and add flags that specify how to process individual dates or a range of dates.

Use the following rules to create the content of a Schedule Blackout Dates import file:

Note: Use the flags when you want to perform different tasks on different dates within a single import file. Otherwise, you can choose to add or delete all dates specified in the import file while using the import utility, described later in this section.

The following is an example of an import file that includes a comment, an insert, and a date range:

#Schedule Blackout Dates Update - Import File
$INSERT
20070101 New Years Day
20070115 Martin Luther King Day
$INSERT
$RANGE BEGIN
20070226 Winter School Break Begins
$RANGE END
20070302 Winter School Break Ends

Trace information is written to the ReportCaster Servlet trace file.


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About the Schedule Blackout Dates Extract Utility

The extract option enables you to save existing schedule blackout dates in a text file to use as reference documentation or as a schedule blackout dates import file. The extract utility generates an extract file that includes a comment line with information about the extract followed by a list of the extracted blackout dates. The date format is the same as that in the import file (YYYYMMDD). Extracting blackout dates can be done through the ReportCaster Schedule Blackout Dates user interface or the Extract Utility (in either silent or interactive mode).

The default name of an extract file is rcbdextract_GroupName_YYMMDD_HHMMSS.txtrcbdextract_YYMMDD_HHMMSS.txt, which includes the group name, and date and time stamp, as follows:

The following is an example of an extract file:

#ReportCaster Schedule Blackout Date Extract created
#070208 180618 by admin for date range:(All)
#Dates extracted from Group: Sales_NE
20070101
20070115 Martin Luther King Day
20070125
20070219
20070220
20070221
20070222
20070223
20070226 Winter School Break Begins
20070227
20070228
20070301
20070302 Winter School Break Ends
20070425

Trace information is written to the ReportCaster Servlet trace file.


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Managing Schedule Blackout Dates From the ReportCaster User Interface

How to:

To access the Schedule Blackout Dates graphical user interface, click the Schedule Blackout Dates link on the ReportCaster Development and Administration Interface, shown in the following image.

The Schedule Blackout Dates interface opens to a calendar of the current year, the group drop-down list in the top left corner is selected with Global, and the global schedule blackout dates are shaded gray in the calendar. The following image shows an example of an initial view of the Schedule Blackout Dates interface.

As a ReportCaster administrator, you can define site-wide (global) schedule blackout dates, as well as blackout dates for any group in the system. The group drop-down list provides a selection all applicable groups including Global.

As a Managed Reporting Group administrator with schedule privileges, you can set and manage blackout dates for only those groups that you administer. The applicable groups are listed under the Blackout Dates folder. Global schedule blackout dates are available for viewing only.

For details on configuring a Managed Reporting Group administrator, see the Managed Reporting Administrator’s Manual.

Note: Global schedule blackout dates apply to all users and are, therefore, included with the group-specified blackout dates for a group.

When you select a group from the drop-down list, the calendar refreshes and displays the selected group blackout dates, which are shaded in yellow, along with the global blackout dates, shaded in gray.

When defining schedule blackout dates, you can only flag a date as available or unavailable. By default, all dates are available. Any day can be both a group and global schedule blackout date. Calendars are only applicable for the year they are defined. If you define dates only for 2007, when 2008 arrives you must set the blackout dates for the new year. Any date can be both a global and a group-specific blackout date.

If a blackout date was defined through a file import and that date included a description, you can view that description by positioning the cursor over the date in the calendar. Updates to a description are made in an import file, which is brought into the Schedule Blackout Dates through the Import Utility.

Note: Non-administrators can view the information in the Schedule Blackout Dates interface, but they cannot define blackout dates.

The options available from the Schedule Blackout Dates user interface are:

The following procedures explain how to define, import, and extract schedule blackout dates using the Schedule Blackout Dates interface.



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Procedure: How to Define Blackout Dates
  1. Select the year using the arrows next to the year display that appears in the top right corner.
  2. In the left pane of the Blackout Dates tab, select the group for which you are defining blackout dates.

    Note: Only a ReportCaster administrator can set Global schedule blackout dates.

  3. In the calendar, click the dates that you want to black out. Click the single arrows to change the month and click the double arrows to change the year.

    If you are choosing global dates, the day on the calendar turns gray. If you are choosing a group blackout date, the day on the calendar turns yellow. The following image shows an example of global (August 2 and 9) and group (August 11, 19, and 30) schedule blackout dates.

    Note: Global schedule blackout dates apply to all groups. Any day can be both a global and group-specific blackout date.

  4. Click Save.

    A confirmation window opens to tell you that the dates have been saved.

  5. Click OK.

The blackout dates you saved appear in the Schedule Blackout Dates calendar and are displayed in the right pane.



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Procedure: How to Import Blackout Dates From the User Interface
  1. In the Blackout Dates tab, click Import from the toolbar.

    The Import Dates dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

  2. In the File Name field, type the full path to the file, or click Browse and navigate to the file you want to import.
  3. Select an Import Action.
    • Add. Add the dates specified in the import file to the blackout dates.
    • Remove. Delete the dates specified in the import file from the blackout dates.
    • Replace. Updates the description of the specified dates.
    • Use the actions specified in the file. Use this option when the import file contains a combination of commands (add, remove, replace) and date ranges.
  4. Click OK.

    The following confirmation message is displayed:

    Blackout Dates have been successfully imported. 
    Select Save on the Schedule Blackout Dates toolbar to save the changes.
  5. Click OK.
  6. In the Schedule Blackout Dates option menu, click Save.

    Note: The imported blackout date changes do not take effect until you save them.

  7. In the save confirmation window, click OK.

The Schedule Blackout Dates calendar is updated with the blackout date changes.



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Procedure: How to Extract Schedule Blackout Dates From the User Interface
  1. In the Schedule Blackout Dates tab, click Extract in the toolbar.

    The Extract Blackout Dates dialog box opens, as shown in the following image. The group name from which you are extracting the blackout dates appears at the top of the window.

  2. Select one of the following from the Date Range Options:
    • All to extract all currently saved blackout dates.
    • Date Range to specify the range of dates you want to extract.

    If you select Date Range, type or select the Start Date and End Date. To select a date, click the down arrow next to the field. A calendar opens, as shown in the following image, from which you can select a date.

  3. Click OK.

    A window opens asking if you want to open or save the file.

    If you choose to open the file, a window opens displaying the contents of the extracted content. The following image is an example of an extracted file.

    If you choose to save the file:

    1. Click Save.
    2. In the Save As window, browse to the directory where you want to save the extract file, and click Save.

Note: The default extract file name is rcbdextract_GroupName_YYMMDD_HHMMSS.txtrcbdextract_YYMMDD_HHMMSS.txt, where GroupName is the name of the group the blackout dates are extracted from, YYMMDD and HHMMSS are the date (year, month, day) and time (hour, minute, second) that the file was created.


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Using the Import and Extract Utility in Silent Mode

How to:

You can run the Import and Extract Utility in silent mode in a Windows or UNIX environment using a customized .bat file or UNIX script. The following procedures describe how to import and extract schedule blackout dates using the utility in silent mode.



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Procedure: How to Use the Import Utility in Silent Mode
  1. Copy the import file (for Windows) or script (for UNIX):

    The Windows import file is rcbdimport.bat, located in the ibi\WebFOCUS77\ReportCaster\bin directory on the drive and under the directory where WebFOCUS is installed.

    The import script is rcbdimport, located in the ibi/WebFOCUS77/ReportCaster/bin directory under the directory where WebFOCUS is installed.

  2. In the copied file, edit the following call to specify the import file, import action, and, optionally, a group:

    For Windows:

    java -cp "%CLASSPATH%" ibi.broker.BlackoutDatesUtilities-Import
      %DSINSTALL% [-group="groupname"] <import file> <action>

    For UNIX:

    java -cp $CLASSPATH ibi.broker.BlackoutDatesUtilities-Import
      $DSINSTALL [-group="groupname"] <import file> <action>

    where:

    groupname

    Group is an optional parameter, where groupname is the name of the group to which you want to import blackout dates.

    When group is not used, the utility will import dates using the GLOBAL group.

    You cannot import dates to multiple groups.

    import file

    Is the path and file name of the file you want to import.

    action

    Is one of the following actions:

    • add
    • remove
    • replace
    • common (use the actions specified in the import file)
  3. Save the file or script.

    A message informs you that the import was successful.

  4. Run your edited version of the import utility.

Note: If you run the import file without DSINSTALL and the file location and action parameters, the Java help information opens for the utility.



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Procedure: How to Use the Extract Utility in Silent Mode
  1. Copy the extract file (for Windows) or script (for UNIX):

    The Windows extract file is rcbdextract.bat, located in the ibi\WebFOCUS77\ReportCaster\bin directory on the drive and under the directory where WebFOCUS is installed.

    The UNIX extract script is rcbdextract, located in the ibi/WebFOCUS77/ReportCaster/bin directory under the directory where WebFOCUS is installed.

  2. In the copied file, edit the following call to specify the extract file, extract option, and, optionally, a group:

    For Windows:

    java -cp "%CLASSPATH%" ibi.broker.BlackoutDatesUtilities-Extract
       %DSINSTALL% [-group="groupname"] <extract file> <option>

    For UNIX:

    java -cp $CLASSPATH ibi.broker.BlackoutDatesUtilities-Extract
       $DSINSTALL [-group="groupname"] <extract file> <option>

    where:

    groupname

    Group is an optional parameter, where groupname is the name of the group from which you want to extract blackout dates.

    When group is not used, the utility will extract dates using the GLOBAL group.

    Use "*" to extract blackout dates from all groups. A separate file is created for each group.

    extract file

    Is the path and file name of the file created by the extract.

    option

    Is one of the following:

    • All - specifies to extract all current blackout dates.
    • YYYYMMDD YYYYMMDD - specifies to extract a range of dates, where YYYYMMDD is the year, month and day.

    For example, from a Windows system, if you want to extract the blackout dates that occur between October 30, 2007 and January 29, 2008 from a group named Sales NE and save them to the C drive in a file named bdExtract, the call will be:

    java -cp "%CLASSPATH%" ibi.broker.BlackoutDatesUtilities-Extract
      %DSINSTALL% group="Sales NE" C:\bdExtract 20071030 20080129
  3. Save the file or script.

    A message informs you that the extract was successful.

  4. Run your copied version of the extract utility.

Note: If you run the import file without %DSINSTALL% and the file location and action parameters, the Java help information opens for the utility.


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Using the Import and Extract Utility in Interactive Mode

How to:

You can run the Import and Extract Utility in an interactive mode in a Windows or UNIX environment using a customized .bat file or UNIX script. The following procedures describe how to import and extract schedule blackout dates using the utility in interactive mode.



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Procedure: How to Use the Import Utility in Interactive Mode

Use the following procedure to run the Schedule Blackout Dates Import Utility for both Windows and UNIX systems. The images shown in this procedure are from the Windows version of the utility. Although Windows and UNIX interactive dialog boxes may vary in the look and feel, they contain the same options and buttons described here.

  1. Run the Import Utility, as follows:
    • In Windows, do one of the following:

      From the Start menu, select Information Builders, WebFOCUS77, ReportCaster, Database Management and Utilities, then Import Schedule Blackout Dates.

      In a command line window, navigate to the ibi\WebFOCUS77\ReportCaster\bin directory, then type rcbdimport.

      In Windows Explorer, navigate to the ibi\WebFOCUS77\ReportCaster\bin directory and double-click the rcbdimport.bat file.

    • In UNIX, on the command line, run the following script:
      rcbdimport

      The Import Blackout Dates dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

  2. In the File name field, type the path to the file you want to import, or click Browse to navigate to the file.
  3. From the Import to Group drop-down list, select the group you want to import to.
  4. Select one of the import actions:
    • Add. Inserts the blackout dates noted in the import file.
    • Remove. Deletes the blackout dates noted in the import file.
    • Replace. This option enables you to add or edit a description for an existing blackout date.
    • Use the action specified in the file. Act on the blackout dates according to the instructions in the import file. This option enables you to use add, remove, and replace in one file, and to use date ranges.
  5. Click Import.

    The ReportCaster Schedule Blackout Dates Import Log window opens, displaying information about the import, such as the name of the imported file, and the time and date of the import. The following image shows an example of an import log file.

  6. In the log window, click Close.

    You are returned to the Import Blackout Dates dialog box.

  7. Click Close to exit the Import Blackout Dates utility.


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Procedure: How to Use the Extract Utility in Interactive Mode

Use the following procedure to run the Schedule Blackout Dates Extract Utility for both Windows and UNIX systems. The images shown in this procedure are from the Windows version of the utility. Although Windows and UNIX interactive dialog boxes may vary in the look and feel, they contain the same options and buttons described here.

  1. Run the Extract Utility, as follows:
    • In Windows, do one of the following:

      From the Start menu, select Information Builders, WebFOCUS77, ReportCaster, Database Management and Utilities, then Extract Schedule Blackout Dates.

      In a command line window, navigate to the ibi\WebFOCUS77\ReportCaster\bin directory, then type rcbdextract.

      In Windows Explorer, navigate to the ibi\WebFOCUS77\ReportCaster\bin directory and double-click the rcbdextract.bat file.

    • In UNIX, in the command line, navigate to the ibi/WebFOCUS77/ReportCaster/bin directory, then run the following script:
      rcbdextract

      The Extract Blackout Dates dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

  2. Select either All or Date Range.

    All. Extract all currently saved schedule blackout dates.

    Date Range. Extract the blackout dates within the specified date range.

    If you select Date Range:

    1. Click the arrow next to the Start Date field.

      The Extract Blackout Dates Calendar opens, as shown in the following image.

    2. In the calendar, click the date you want to begin the date range.
    3. Click the arrow next to the End Date.

      The Extract Blackout Dates Calendar opens.

    4. In the calendar, click the date you want to end the date range.
  3. From the Group Options, select the group you want to extract the blackout dates from. Select either All Groups or select a specific group from the Group drop-down list.
  4. Click Extract.

    The following message appears:

    Extract of schedule blackout dates successfully created.
  5. Click OK.

A file containing the extracted blackout dates with the following file name format is saved in the WebFOCUS77\ReportCaster\log directory:

rcbdextract_GroupName_YYMMDD_HHMMSS.txt

Where GroupName is the name of group you are extracting the blackout dates from, YYMMDD is the year, month, and day the file was created, and HHMMSS is the hour, minute, and second the file was created.


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