Scheduling and Distributing Information
WebFOCUS ReportCaster ensures secure, automatic dissemination
of critical information to the right person in the right context.
A cutting-edge report delivery engine and state-of-the-art business
event monitoring provides companies with a single point of control
for real-time alerts, as well as a mechanism for fully automating,
scheduling, storing, and instantly distributing information. For
example, WebFOCUS reports and dashboards or third-party content,
to anyone within or outside the organization.
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Release 8.1 Version 05M
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Logging Capability for Utilities. Each utility will
create a utility_name.log file in the ...ibi/WebFOCUS8x/ReportCaster/log directory,
where utility_name is the name of the utility. When using
the Release 8.1 Version 05M Upgrade installation, see the WebFOCUS
Upgrade Considerations manual for post-installation information.
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Restricting Distribution of Reports to the Report Library. You
can restrict the distribution of a report (.fex), through scheduling,
to the Report Library only. To enable the functionality, right-click
the report in the Resources tree and click Properties.
The Properties dialog box displays. A new option, Restrict Schedule
to Library Only, sets the distribution restriction when creating
a schedule. The Distribution Server continually evaluates and enforces
the distribution restriction to the library (for those reports that
are restricted) by not distributing the report.
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Specifying Multiple Distribution Methods and Tasks in a Schedule. In the
ReportCaster Advanced Scheduling Tool, you can now create a multi-task
schedule that has two or more distribution methods as long as only
one distribution method is enabled.
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Unsubscribing Users From Library Reports. An administrator
can unsubscribe other users from a library report.
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Removing Trailing Spaces From Distributed Reports. You
now have the option to remove trailing spaces from distributed reports.
Activating this setting makes reports display in a more compact
format by reducing the overall text width.
Release 8.1 Version 03
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Distribution Server Processing Uses IBFS System. As
of Release 8.1 Version 03, the Distribution Server processing uses
the IBFS system to submit scheduled jobs to a Reporting Server.
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Addition of Internal Variables. As
of Release 8.1 Version 03, two new internal variables have been
added. The first variable, &DSTSCHEDID, is an ID that uniquely identifies
the schedule. The second variable, &DSTSCHEDDESC, is the title (description)
of the schedule. For more information on all ReportCaster internal variables,
see ReportCaster Variables in the ReportCaster manual.
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Showing Only Folders with Content. In
the ReportCaster Explorer, two new icons have been added to control
the display of folders. The Show only folders with content option
allows you to display only folders that contain content. Once this
option has been selected, you can restore the display of all folders by
clicking Show all folders.
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Controlling the Setting of the FOCEXURL and FOCHTMLURL. A
new configuration setting, Set FOCEXURL/FOCHTMLURL in the scheduled
procedure, has been added in the ReportCaster Configuration tool.
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Specifying Multiple Distribution Methods in a Schedule. When
working with schedules, you can specify more than one distribution
method for one single schedule. For example, you can distribute
the schedule using FTP and Email simultaneously.
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Creating Schedules With Parameterized Settings. You
can use parameters (amper variables) to populate fields in the Basic
and Advanced Scheduling tools.
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Enabling or Disabling Distribution Server Traces.
You
can enable or disable the Distribution Server traces from the Server
Status tab of the ReportCaster Console. To turn Distribution Server
traces on or off, click the View Trace button,
and click Turn On Trace or Turn
Off Trace. This functionality tracks traces for the
Distribution Server separately from Job traces. You do not need
to turn on job traces to see distribution server traces.
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Setting Default Library Expiration Options.
You
can set default Library Expiration options in the Report Library
folder, which is located on the Configuration tab of the ReportCaster
Console. You can specify a number of versions, days, weeks, months
or years by which library reports can be set to expire. You can
also disable the option for Never Expire, which controls the option
to select this setting when scheduling a report using the Report
Library option.
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View Logs and Traces for Daily and On-Demand Log Purge and Library Expiration Jobs.
You can view log and trace information
for the daily and on-demand Log Purge and Library Expiration jobs.
You can view purge logs and traces using the Job Logs tab in the ReportCaster
Console. You can view log and trace information, open job logs,
delete job logs, refresh job logs, or access related help for job
logs on the Job Logs tab. To access a listed job for which you want
to view logs or traces, click the Auto Log Purge folder
or the Library Expiration folder, which are
located in the system folder. Once you select a job, click View Log or View
Trace, accordingly.
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Updating Global FTP Password for All Schedules.
Changing
the password of an FTP user applies to all schedules that use that
user ID for that FTP server and schedule owner.
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Purging Logs and Deleting Library Reports.
You
can purge logs and delete expired library reports on demand, using
the toolbar options on the ReportCaster Configuration tab of the
Administration Console. Both of these tools provide a mechanism
for indicating a date from which logs or reports should be deleted.
In addition, both tools offer options for indicating a trace preference,
such as Default Traces, No Traces, or Trace On.
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Enabling Brief Notifications.
The
Enable Brief Notification Only check box is available in the Email
Distribution and Notification folder, under ReportCaster Configuration.
This setting enables you to control whether Full Notification is
available as a scheduling option. When this check box is selected,
you can only select the Brief Notification option when you schedule
a report. Full Notification is not available.
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Separate Job Queues for Each Data Server. The
Distribution Server now has separate job queues for each Reporting
Server, as well as an additional queue for tasks that do not require
a Reporting Server.
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Publishing Schedules. You
can publish schedules from the tree in ReportCaster. A published
schedule will be visible to all users with access to the folder in
which it resides.
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Group Ownership of Schedules. You
can create group owned schedules from the tree in ReportCaster.
A group owned schedule will be visible to all users within the selected
group that can access the folder where the schedule is located.
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Encrypting and Securing ReportCaster Communications. You
can encrypt the communication between the ReportCaster application
and the ReportCaster Distribution Server. To enable this functionality,
click Configuration on the ribbon in the
ReportCaster Console and select the Distribution Servers folder.
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Support for New Formats. PPTX
for PowerPoint 2010 (*.pptx) and PPTX Template for PowerPoint Template
2010 (*.pptx) have been added to ReportCaster.
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Viewing Trace Information in the ReportCaster Console. A
View Trace button has been added to the Server Status, Job Status,
and Job Logs tabs in the ReportCaster Console. This function enables
administrators to view trace information in the scheduler.log, main.trc,
reader.trc, console.trc, and other trace files.
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Versioning Added for Scheduler.log Files. When
multiple scheduler.log files are created on the same day, ReportCaster
creates a unique file for each instance, using a date and time stamp.
The following format is used: scheduler_DD-MM-YY_HH-MM-SS.
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New View Options on the ReportCaster Explorer Toolbar. The ReportCaster
Explorer toolbar has been modified to include a View Pane button.
When working with Library and Watch List reports, this option enables
you to show and hide the view pane.
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SFTP With Multi-Factor Authentication. In
the Distribution dialog box, Multi-factor authentication has been
added for FTP Server distribution. When customizing settings for
FTP Server information, you can select the Public Key and Password
(Multi-factor) authentication option. This option indicates that
the server requires authentication with a user ID and password.
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Configuring the Default Server for SSH (SFTP). You
can configure your default FTP Server to use the SSH File Transfer
Protocol (SFTP) in the FTP Settings folder in the ReportCaster Configuration
tool.
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Disabling Tasks Within a Schedule. When
working with an established schedule, you can disable one or more
tasks within that schedule. You can also create a new schedule with
multiple tasks and then disable one or more of those tasks, as needed.