ReportCaster is a scheduling and distribution application that centralizes the execution and distribution of WebFOCUS reports, the contents of URLs, and files. ReportCaster supports multiple administrators and provides a single point of control for managing information distribution within an organization.
As of Release 8.0 Version 06, when configuring default FTP server information in the ReportCaster Configuration tool, you can specify that the FTP server requires a secure SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). When this setting is checked in the Configuration tool, as shown in the following image, the setting will be checked by default in the schedule tools.
As of Release 8.0 Version 04, users are no longer required to specify a format when scheduling a procedure. If a format is not specified in the schedule, the report output will be distributed in the format specified by the PCHOLD statement in the procedure or in the default online format (normally HTML). When scheduling a Graph procedure (.fex) that contains a PCHOLD statement that uses JPEG, GIF, PNG, or SVG, if you do not select a format in the schedule, the output will be distributed in PNG format. If you require that the output be distributed as a JPEG, GIF, or SVG file, specify that format in the schedule. To do so, you can select the Override the Format Specified in the Procedure check box on the Task tab of the Basic Scheduling tool to specify a format other than the one specified in the procedure. You can also make this specification on the General tab of the Task dialog box in the Advanced Scheduling tool, as shown in the following image.
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As of ReportCaster Release 8.0 Version 04, you can now select Published when specifying Library Distribution Options in the ReportCaster Configuration tool. Library Distribution Options enable you to select the Library Access options and Email for Library options available to users in the Basic Scheduling Tool and Advanced Scheduling Tool when distributing scheduled output to the Report Library.
The following image shows the default settings for the ReportCaster Library Distribution Options.
The Library Distribution Options dialog box opens, as shown in the following image. By default, all options are selected.
Library Access. Designates the options that appear in the Access Type drop-down menu in the Basic Scheduling tool. Available options are:
Library Email. Designates who has access to the email notification option, Send an Email after report procedure (FEX) saved to Library, in the Basic Scheduling tool. Available options are:
Note: The Library Email option is available only when the corresponding Library Access option is selected.
As of ReportCaster Release 8.0 Version 04, a new setting has been added to the ReportCaster Configuration tool that enables the use of a fully qualified FOCEXURL and FOCHTMLURL with Email and FTP distribution. Specifically, when distributing HTML reports by FTP or email, the scheduled report (.fex) must set a fully qualified FOCEXURL and FOCHTMLURL for the report styling options defined below. These reference the JavaScript components located on the web or application server where the Client is configured. The Distribution server will set a fully qualified FOCEXURL and FOCHTMLURL for FTP distribution using the host name and port provided at installation time. This can be overridden by setting these values in the scheduled procedure. For example:
SET FOCEXURL='hostname:port/ibi_apps/'
SET FOCHTMLURL='hostname:port/ibi_apps/ibi_html'
Styling options include:
For more information, see the Developing Reporting Applications manual.
As of ReportCaster Release 8.0 Version 04, you can now specify that certain commands are to be run prior to the execution of a scheduled job by using the Universal Profile setting in the WebFOCUS Administration Console. For more information, see the WebFOCUS Security and Administration manual.
ReportCaster has been updated to allow you to schedule a library report as published. You can also specify Private, Shared, or Shared with, as shown in the following image.
The following terms define the options available to you for scheduling a library report, the labels for which have been modified.
Note: When the Access Option of an existing schedule is changed, it will be applied to all versions of the private Library report the next time a new version is distributed. Access options specified in the Library schedule are not applied to published Library Reports.
ReportCaster can collect DBMS statistics from a Reporting Server that is running Resource Analyzer and display the DBMS information in the schedule log. To enable this feature, check the Provide Metrics Information from Resource Analyzer check box on the Distribution Server Settings dialog box, as shown in the following image.
ReportCaster is fully integrated with the WebFOCUS 8 Client Security Authorization implementation. Users, Groups, Schedules, Distribution Lists, Access Lists, and Library Reports are stored in the WebFOCUS Repository. Administration of group or user authorization to access ReportCaster tools is controlled by the WebFOCUS Client Security Authorization.
A user can be given the ability to manage the private Schedules, Distribution Lists, and Access Lists of other users.
Users can share Schedules, Distribution Lists, and Access Lists with other groups and users they are authorized to share with.
ReportCaster items (Schedules, Distribution Lists, Access Lists, and Library Reports) and tools are accessible from the tree, which provides a single interface point of access to both Managed Reporting and ReportCaster content and tools.
The ReportCaster tools to create Schedules, Distribution Lists, and Access Lists have been implemented as Rich Internet Applications with a ribbon interface for ease of use and consistency with the InfoAssist reporting tool, as shown in the following image.
Report Library reports are stored in the WebFOCUS Repository, which supports multiple folder levels. Library reports can be accessed from a tree structure from the Business Intelligence Portal, Dashboard, or Developer Studio Repository component. The ReportCaster Explorer interface also provides a tree filtered by ReportCaster item type, which includes Library and Watch List report filter options.
The Burst Report option is supported for EXL07 - Excel 2007 (*.xlsx) format and requires the Release 7.7 Version 04 or higher Reporting Server. The burst feature enables you to instruct the Reporting Server to create the report in sections so that the sections can be distributed separately to different recipients or locations.
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You can save a Library report to your machine using the Save As context menu option that is available when a Library report is selected from the Report Library Versions dialog box or the ReportCaster Explorer tree. The Save As context menu option downloads the Library report file to your machine. When the file is downloaded, the Windows File Download dialog box displays, with options to open, save, or cancel the file download. The following image shows the file download for a PDF format Library report.
The Name value displayed in the Windows File Download dialog box is the Library report name assigned when the report was distributed to the Report library. You can change the Name value and select the location in which to save the Library report in the Windows Save dialog box that displays when the File Download Save option is selected.
The Windows File Download dialog box displays.
The Windows Save dialog box displays, from which you can save the Library report to your machine.
Note: You can also select Watch List if you have previously subscribed the Library report to your Watch List.
The versions of the Library report list in the pane below the Library report list.
The Windows File Download dialog box displays.
The Windows Save dialog box displays, from which you can save the Library report to your machine.
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