Hi, I have a few questions about the creation of dashboards.

The infrastructure we have is as follows:

- WebFOCUS Developer Studio 7.1.
- WebFOCUS Client/Server 7.1
- Hyperion Essbase 7.1 (data source)
- Managed Reporting (NOT INSTALLED)
- Report Caster (NOT INSTALLED)

The questions are:

1) Once I've finished the creation of a dashboard I have to test it from a browser (without DevStudio). I need to know how to reference the URL with de PORT and service that WebFOCUS Client is listening to accomplish the task of compilation and renderization of the dashboard in HTML format. �The URL is? �is there any restrictions if I don't have Managed Reporting?

2) I need to pass parameters to dashboards (that has several embeded reports) created using Layout Painter. Example: If i have an organizational srtucture, the system have to let me select from a combo box the diferent Organizational Units for selection. �How can I make this? �can I implement parameter passing without Managed Reporting?

Thanks,

Gabriel Siler

If you're talking about a WebFOCUS Dashboard, I don't think it is avaible without MRE. Dashboard is a layer on top of MRE.

Hi Francis, thanks for your help.
I did not understand your explanation. Could you please be more specific?.
Did you mean that I need necesarily to use MRE for the simplest dashboard creation with Layout Painter? Cause I've created many and did not use MRE at all.

Thanks again,

Gabriel Siler

Hi,
are you saying that if you insert the following into your url
http://yourserver/ibi_apps/worp/jsp/WORP_Index.jsp
and you do not get the WebFOCUS Business Intelligence Dashboard Index Page? And you would like to use the WebFocus portal?

Allen

Sounds to me the old confusion over the term 'Dashboard'.

IB use this term to label a specific component of their MRE software.

Others use this term to describe a collection of HTML pages that provide a front end for their user base.

I believe Gabriel is refering to the second description. So to try and give a direction -

1) To run a fex from a web page without authentication and authorisation being performed via the front end and without storing userids etc in cookies, you would require a URL along the lines of (change the values in the square brackets to your own requirements) -

http://[server]/cgi-bin/ibi_cgi/ibiweb.exe?IBIC_Server=...ation]&IBIF_ex=[fex]

This is using the CGI but you could also use ISAPI or servlets.

As you would understand, this is not secure as you have to provide the users password in the URL. You might be better off using cookies and then pulling those cookie values by using ASP or the like.

There are other ways of passing the userid and password, but it requires that the user logins in to WebFOCUS so that the IBIC_User etc. can be utilised in the site.wfs file etc. (See the security manuals for your version and platform).

2) As you will see from the URL above, passing parameters is just a case of adding them to your URL. There are pre-defined IB variables such as IBIC_Server etc. but you can pass you own. Note that the '&' delimiter in the URL is an HTML thing and not WebFOCUS even though it looks like that.

Gabriel,

Look for documentation on self service applications and a visit to an HTML or ASP forum might help you more with parameter passing via a URL string.