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iCompel Data Engine

Federal Communications Commission and Industry Canada Radio Frequency Interference Statements

This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio-frequency energy, and if not installed and usedproperly, that is, in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, may cause inter-ference to radio communication. It has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A computing device in accordance with the specifications in Subpart B of Part 15 of FCC rules, which are designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause interference, in which case the user at his own expense will be required to take whatever measures may be necessary to correct the interference.

Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class A limits for radio noise emis-sion from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulation of Industry Canada.

Le présent appareil numérique n’émet pas de bruits radioélectriques dépassant les limites applicables aux appareils numériques de la classe A prescrites dans le Règlement sur le brouillage radioélectrique publié par Industrie Canada.

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NOM Statement

Instrucciones de Seguridad (Normas Oficiales Mexicanas Electrical Safety Statement)

1. Todas las instrucciones de seguridad y operación deberán ser leídas antes de que el aparato eléctrico sea operado.

2. Las instrucciones de seguridad y operación deberán ser guardadas para referencia futura.

3. Todas las advertencias en el aparato eléctrico y en sus instrucciones de operación deben ser respetadas.

4. Todas las instrucciones de operación y uso deben ser seguidas.

5. El aparato eléctrico no deberá ser usado cerca del agua—por ejemplo, cerca de la tina de baño, lavabo, sótano mojado o cerca de una alberca, etc..

6. El aparato eléctrico debe ser usado únicamente con carritos o pedestales que sean recomendados por el fabricante.

7. El aparato eléctrico debe ser montado a la pared o al techo sólo como sea recomendado por el fabricante.

8. Servicio El usuario no debe intentar dar servicio al equipo eléctrico más allá a lo descrito en las instrucciones de operación. Todo otro servicio deberá ser referido a personal de servicio calificado.

9. El aparato eléctrico debe ser situado de tal manera que su posición no interfiera su uso. La colocación del aparato eléctrico sobre una cama, sofá, alfombra o superficie similar puede bloquea la ventilación, no se debe colocar en libreros o gabinetes que impidan el flujo de aire por los orificios de ventilación.

10. El equipo eléctrico deber ser situado fuera del alcance de fuentes de calor como radiadores, registros de calor, estufas u otros aparatos (incluyendo amplificadores) que producen calor.

11. El aparato eléctrico deberá ser connectado a una fuente de poder sólo del tipo descrito en el instructivo de operación, o como se indique en el aparato.

12. Precaución debe ser tomada de tal manera que la tierra fisica y la polarización del equipo no sea eliminada.

13. Los cables de la fuente de poder deben ser guiados de tal manera que no sean pisados ni pellizcados por objetos colocados sobre o contra ellos, poniendo particular atención a los contactos y receptáculos donde salen del aparato.

14. El equipo eléctrico debe ser limpiado únicamente de acuerdo a las recomendaciones del fabricante.

15. En caso de existir, una antena externa deberá ser localizada lejos de las lineas de energia.

16. El cable de corriente deberá ser desconectado del cuando el equipo no sea usado por un largo periodo de tiempo.

17. Cuidado debe ser tomado de tal manera que objectos liquidos no sean derramados sobre la cubierta u orificios de ventilación.

18. Servicio por personal calificado deberá ser provisto cuando:

A: El cable de poder o el contacto ha sido dañado; u B: Objectos han caído o líquido ha sido derramado dentro del aparato; o C: El aparato ha sido expuesto a la lluvia; o D: El aparato parece no operar normalmente o muestra un cambio en su desempeño; o E: El aparato ha sido tirado o su cubierta ha sido dañada.

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Trademarks Used in this Manual

Black Box and the Double Diamond logo are registered trademarks of BB Technologies, Inc.

Any other trademarks mentioned in this manual are acknowledged to be the property of the trademark owners.

All rights reserved. No parts of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems - without the written permission of the publisher.

Products that are referred to in this document may be either trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners. The publisher and the author make no claim to these trademarks.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, the publisher and the author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of information contained in this document or from the use of programs and source code that may accompany it. In no event shall the publisher and the author be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this document.

Printed: June 2012

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2) Contact Black Box

Table of Contents

iCompel Data Engine Overview

Building a Connection

......................................................................................................................................................8

......................................................................................................................................................10

................................................................................................................................... 102.1 The Connection Editor Application

................................................................................................................................... 102.2 QuickStart

................................................................................................................................... 112.3 Connectors and Data Sources

................................................................................................................................... 262.4 Results

................................................................................................................................... 382.5 Specifying when to execute

................................................................................................................................... 382.6 Connection Properties

................................................................................................................................... 382.7 Testing a Connection

Monitoring and Managing Connections

......................................................................................................................................................40

................................................................................................................................... 403.1 Creating a new Connection QuickStart

................................................................................................................................... 413.2 System Status

................................................................................................................................... 413.3 Monitoring Active Connections

................................................................................................................................... 423.4 Managing Connections

................................................................................................................................... 453.5 Bulk Modify Connections

................................................................................................................................... 473.6 Connection Retry and Backoff Policies

................................................................................................................................... 473.7 Configuration

Application Licensing

......................................................................................................................................................50

................................................................................................................... 122.3.1 Microsoft Excel Connector

....................................................................................................................................................................... 12- Basic Settings

....................................................................................................................................................................... 14- Advanced Settings

................................................................................................................... 162.3.2 Microsoft Exchange Server Connector

....................................................................................................................................................................... 16- Basic Settings

................................................................................................................... 172.3.3 Google Calendar Connector

....................................................................................................................................................................... 17- Settings

................................................................................................................... 182.3.4 SQL Connector

....................................................................................................................................................................... 19- Advanced Settings

................................................................................................................... 192.3.5 XML Connector

....................................................................................................................................................................... 20- Settings

................................................................................................................... 212.3.6 Text Connector

....................................................................................................................................................................... 22- Basic Settings

....................................................................................................................................................................... 23- Format Settings

....................................................................................................................................................................... 25- Advanced Settings

................................................................................................................... 272.4.1 XML Output Format

................................................................................................................... 282.4.2 Locating Media Items using the Media Item Finder

....................................................................................................................................................................... 29- Copying and Modifying Media Items

................................................................................................................... 302.4.3 Text Output Format

................................................................................................................... 322.4.4 Custom Output Formats using a Presentation Format File

................................................................................................................... 362.4.5 Specifying the Destination Players and Limiting Output Size

................................................................................................................... 372.4.6 Applying a Player DATA IN license

................................................................................................................... 423.4.1 Managing Active Connections

................................................................................................................... 433.4.2 Outstanding Actions

................................................................................................................... 443.4.3 View Status

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2) Application Licensing

................................................................................................................................... 504.1 Reviewing and Adding a new License

Deployment Considerations

......................................................................................................................................................54

................................................................................................................................... 545.1 Deploying to a Black Box Channel

................................................................................................................................... 545.2 File Organization for Channel or Layout Package Use

................................................................................................................................... 555.3 User Management

................................................................................................................................... 555.4 FTP and Proxy Details

Using the SQL Connector

......................................................................................................................................................57

................................................................................................................................... 576.1 Creating an ODBC System Data Source Name

................................................................................................................................... 576.2 Using the SQL Connector on a 64bit Operating System

................................................................................................................................... 586.3 Connecting to a Black Box iDigitalManager

Using the Excel Connector

......................................................................................................................................................62

................................................................................................................................... 627.1 Advanced Excel Settings

Using the Microsoft Exchange Connector

......................................................................................................................................................66

................................................................................................................................... 668.1 Advanced Exchange Server Settings

Using the Google Calendar Connector

......................................................................................................................................................69

................................................................................................................................... 699.1 Connecting to a Google Calendar

10.

Media Widgets

......................................................................................................................................................71

................................................................................................................................... 7110.1 Installing Sample Layouts and Widgets

................................................................................................................................... 7210.2 Charts and Tabular Widgets

................................................................................................................................... 7710.3 Calendar Widgets

................................................................................................................................... 7910.4 Widget Settings

................................................................................................................... 8010.4.1 Charts and Tabular Widget Settings

....................................................................................................................................................................... 81- Tabular Widget Settings

....................................................................................................................................................................... 82- Chart Widget Settings

................................................................................................................... 8410.4.2 Calendar Widget Settings

....................................................................................................................................................................... 84- Timeline Widget Settings

....................................................................................................................................................................... 85- Diary Widget Settings

11.

Contact Black Box

......................................................................................................................................................88

Index

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Part

iCompel Data Engine Overview

iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

1. iCompel Data Engine Overview

The iCompel Data Engine, from Black Box Corporation, is a solution for capturing, collating and presenting data held in external systems for graphical display on a Black Box Digital Signage System.

The iCompel Data Engine product comprises of three components:

A manager application (the Connection Manager) which allows the user to manage which queries will be run automatically. The Connection Manager relies on the Connection Windows Service for unattended background execution of queries.

An editor application (the Connection Editor) to create, modify, and test queries.

Specially created iCOMPEL media which is responsible for graphically displaying data.

This User Guide covers basic operation and configuration of these components.

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Part

Building a Connection

iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

The iCompel Data Engine Connection Editor application has the icon on the left. A link will be found in the Black Box iCompel Data Engine group on the Microsoft® Windows® Start menu, and may also be found on your Windows® desktop.

2. Building a Connection

A iCompel Data Engine (iDE) Connection specifies what data to read, where to write the results, and when to do so.

The iDE collects (queries) a data Source (for example, a database, or a Microsoft® Excel® file). The results of the query are written to one or more Destination locations (typically a iCOMPEL). This process is repeated on a user defined Schedule. These properties are all specified by a Connection.

Connections can be viewed, modified and tested using the Connection Editor, which is a Microsoft Windows graphical user interface application.

Connections are managed using the iDE Connection Manager application. To automatically execute the Connection on the specified schedule, it must be added, and made Active within the Connection Manager. This process is described in the Quick Start section.

Connections are executed automatically, without user input, by the iCompel Data Engine Windows® Service.

2.1 The Connection Editor Application

The iCompel Data Engine (iDE) Connection Editor is a Microsoft® Windows® application that allows the user to create, view, update and test iDE Connections.

This section describes the operation of the iDE Connection Editor in more detail.

Please note that to automatically execute the Connection according to its schedule, it must be deployed to the Connection Manager, as described in the QuickStart section of Monitoring and Managing Connections.

2.2 QuickStart

Please ensure the included media Widgets Layout Packages are installed on each Destination Player before proceeding. The Layout Pack ages are available in the specified sample media folder - please see Installing Sample

Layouts and Widgets section for details. Please review the iCOMPEL Layout Pack age feature for more information.

If required, then each Destination Player must be licensed to display results. If player licensing is required, this will be clearly indicated in the Destination page.

The following steps show how to configure a new Connection:

1. Start the iCompel Data Engine Connection Editor application.

A link will be found in the Black Box iCompel Data Engine entry on the Microsoft® Windows® Start menu, and may also be found on your Windows desktop.

2. Select the Source tab, then the Data Source tab, select the source that you want to process data from.

Typically, this will be Microsoft® Excel®, Google® Calendar or Microsoft® Exchange® server.

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Building a Connection

3. The tab to the right of the Source tab will update to show configuration properties specific to the selected

data source. Click on this tab, and complete all mandatory sections. Mandatory sections will be flagged with an error icon when incomplete ( )

4. Select the Destination tab, then the Media tab. Ensure the media entry is set to 'Create and copy an XML

file to one or more players'.

5. On the Location tab, click the Add button, and supply the iCOMPEL (iCOMPEL) hostname, and iCOMPEL username and password. Click OK when complete.

6. Click the browse button ( ) next to the XML filename entry. In the Media Item Finder dialog, select the media file to which result should be sent. Click the OK button.

7. Select the Test tab, and click the 'Test Query' button and confirm that no errors are shown.

Please refer to the Connection Manager QuickStart section for details on how to add and automatically execute this Connection.

2.3 Connectors and Data Sources

The iCompel Data Engine (iDE) uses special code, called a Connector, to read and process data from many different locations. A Connector specifies, in detail, how the iDE should read and process a specific type of data.

Please note that some Connectors may require additional licenses.

In the Connection Editor application, the Source pages allow the user to configure which Connector to use, and configure various parameters for that Connector.

The Data Source page lists all Connectors available on this machine. If a Connector is not shown, then please refer to the Licensing section to determine if a suitable license has been installed.

Click on an entry to select the Connector to use. The tab pages that follow allow various Connector properties to be configured, and will be dependent upon the selected Connector.

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

2.3.1 Microsoft Excel Connector

The Microsoft Excel Connector is used to retrieve and process Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheet data.

The iCompel Data Engine (iDE) is able to read spreadsheets produced by the following Microsoft® Excel® versions:

Excel® 97

Excel® 2000

Excel® XP

Excel® 2003

Excel® 2007

Excel® 2010

It is not possible to open password protected files with the iDE.

Please select the Microsoft® Excel® option from the Data Source page, and visit the Excel page to specify the Microsoft® Excel® filename and other configuration properties.

Before using the Microsoft® Excel® Connector, please ensure the '2007 Office System Driver: Data Connectivity

Components' component is downloaded from Microsoft and installed. Please reboot the system to apply the

changes.

Note: This Connector may require an additional license to operate.

2.3.1.1 Basic Settings

The Excel Filename field specifies the Microsoft® Excel® file the iCompel Data Engine (iDE) should process. This field must be specified.

Press the View button to open the specified Excel® filename.

The Cell Range setting defines which cells the iDE should collect. The Cell range setting is expressed in the same format as within Microsoft® Excel®.

The Cell Range setting options are as follows:

(default) If this field is left empty then all cells in the first worksheet (only) of the specified file will be processed.

To specify a range of cells in the first worksheet, enter the start and finish cell references separated by a colon. For example, A1:D30. To specify a single cell, use the format cell:cell. For example, D1:D1.

To specify a range of cells in a named worksheet, then specify the worksheet name, followed by a dollar symbol, and the cell range on the named worksheet. For example Year2009$A1:D30 would read cells A1 to

D30 from the worksheet Year2009.

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Building a Connection

To specify all cells in a named worksheet, simply enter the worksheet name with a trailing dollar symbol, e.g. Year2009$.

To select a named range, then enter the range name (only).

To select a range of cells from different worksheets, then enter the specify worksheet name and cell range as above and surround with square brackets, separate each entry with a comma, and surround the entire string with double quotes. For example: "[Year2009$A1:D30],[Year2008$A1:D30]" would process cells A1 to D30 from worksheet Year2009 and cells A1 to D30 from worksheet Year2008.

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

2.3.1.2 Advanced Settings

The Advanced Settings dialog provides options for fine tuning how the iCompel Data Engine interacts with the specified spreadsheet file.

Specifying how Dates and Numbers are processed

For some applications, it is necessary to provide hints to the iCompel Data Engine (iDE) about how dates and numbers are represented in the spreadsheet. This is particularly important when the file contains values whose interpretation is language specific. For example, the date 1/4/1972 could be interpreted as 1st of April (in the UK), or the 4th of January (if in the US).

The Processing setting specifies the culture setting used when processing dates and numbers.

Note this setting does not control how date and number values are presented by the media - see the following section for more information.

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Building a Connection

If this option is enabled, then a summary of the current setting will be shown the Excel page.

Specifying how Dates and Numbers are written

To ensure the widest possible compatibility with media, by default, the iDE will write all numbers and dates in a general, non-locale specific manner. However, in some instances, particularly when using the native iCOMPEL features, it will be necessary to write data values using a specific locale representation.

The 'Write all data values using the following culture setting' controls this.

If this option is enabled, then a summary of the current setting will be shown the Excel page.

Copy Excel file before query

This option will copy the specified Microsoft® Excel® file prior to each query. Enabling this option allows the iDE to access the file when it is open in Microsoft® Excel®. However, this may reduce query performance, particularly for large spreadsheets.

By default, this option is enabled.

Specifying Advanced Query Settings

The Advanced Settings mode provides fine grained control over the data processed and written by the iDE. It will not normally be necessary to modify these settings.

If Advanced Settings have been specified, then a summary of the current settings will be shown the Excel page.

Click the Advanced Settings button to view or modify the settings.

Check the Enable advanced query capability box to configure the advanced query settings.

The first row of data is header and contains field names checkbox specifies that the first row of the data contains the column headings, and not data values. There are two common cases where this setting will need to be changed:

If the file contains headings, and both the data and the headings are numeric (e.g. column heading is years and the data is numbers), then the checkbox should be checked, to indicate the first row is headings.

If the file contains heading text which are dates, then the checkbox should be unchecked if the dates are not correctly detected by the iDE.

The remaining fields are described in the Advanced Microsoft Excel Query Settings section.

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

2.3.2 Microsoft Exchange Server Connector

The Exchange® Connector is used to retrieve and process calendar and email items stored in Microsoft® Exchange Server.

The iCompel Data Engine (iDE) is able to process items stored in the following versions of Exchange® Server:

Exchange® Server 2003

Exchange® Server 2007

Exchange® Server 2010

To use this Connector, please select the Microsoft® Exchange® option from the Data Source page, and visit the Exchange page to specify the configuration properties.

Note: By default, the Enterprise Web Services query method is selected, which is compatible with Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 and above. If earlier versions of Exchange® Server are in use, please use the WebDAV query method instead. The query method in use is summarized at the bottom of the the Exchange page, and can be altered on the Advanced Microsoft Exchange Server Settings page.

Note: This Connector may require an additional license to operate.

2.3.2.1 Basic Settings

This page is used to configure the Microsoft Exchange® Connector.

The Exchange® server property specifies the hostname (or IP address) for the Exchange® server you wish to connect to. Please ensure the protocol entry is set to either HTTP or HTTPS as needed.

User Name and Password properties specify the credentials used to connect to the above Exchange Server, and in general will refer to an ActiveDirectory® user. This user must also have an Exchange® Mailbox account, and the Exchange® user must have been granted permission to view all resources listed in the Mailboxes section.

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Building a Connection

The Mailboxes section lists all Exchange® Server Mailboxes for which calendar or email information will be retrieved. Click the Add button to add a new Mailbox, select a Mailbox and press Remove to delete, or Modify to view or change. The Exchange® Mailbox Display Name should be entered, exactly as shown in your Global Address List.

Note that within Exchange® Server, the Mailbox Display Name can be found in the General tab of the Exchange Mailbox user properties dialog.

All the above information should be provided by your system administrator.

The Advanced Microsoft Exchange Server Settings page provides fine grained control over the settings used to query the Exchange Server. It will not normally be necessary to modify these settings.

2.3.3 Google Calendar Connector

The Google® Calendar Connector is used to retrieve and display events from one or more Google® Calendars.

To use this Connector, please select the Google® Calendar option from the Data Source page, and visit the Google Calendar page to specify the configuration properties.

Note: This Connector may require an additional license to operate.

2.3.3.1 Settings

This page is used to configure the Google® Calendar Connector.

Currently configured Google® Calendars are shown. To add a new Google® Calendar, click the Add button. To modify or remove an existing Google® Calendar, select the entry, and press Modify or Remove buttons respectively.

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

The Name property is used to uniquely identify the calendar entry within the iCompel Data Engine user interface. The URL is the location of the Google® Calendar feed. This can be determined as described in the Connecting to a

Google Calendar section.

Both properties are mandatory.

2.3.4 SQL Connector

The SQL Connector is used to retrieve and process data from a database, for example, Oracle® or Microsoft® SQL Server®.

The iDE uses Microsoft® Windows Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) to access and query the database.

In order to use the SQL Connector the user must create one or more valid ODBC System Data Source Name ( System DSN) entries on the local PC. Further information on this topic can be found in the Microsoft® Windows help system.

Please select the SQL Connector option from the Data Source page, and visit the SQL Command page to specify both the ODBC User DSN and SQL Query command to be executed. If user credentials are required to access the database, then these can be specified on the Advanced Settings page.

Press the ODBC button to automatically start the Windows® ODBC Data Source Administrator application. Please refer to this section if using the application on a 64bit operating system.

Note: This Connector may require an additional license to operate.

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Building a Connection

2.3.4.1 Advanced Settings

The Advanced SQL Settings page allows the username, password and additional ODBC Connection String settings to be specified.

Specifying how Dates and Numbers are written

The 'Write all data values using the following culture setting' controls this.

If this option is enabled, then a summary of the current setting will be shown the SQL page.

Specifying Additional Connection Parameters

The username and password fields will be used to connect to the database specified in the ODBC DSN setting.

2.3.5 XML Connector

The XML Connector is used to retrieve and process XML data.

To use this Connector, please select the XML option from the Data Source page, and visit the XML Location and XML Schema pages to specify the configuration properties.

Note: This Connector may require an additional license to operate.

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

2.3.5.1 Settings

The XML Connector is configured in two stages:

1. Enter the source location for the XML data using the XML Location page

2. Specify which elements and attributes to return data for using the XML Schema page.

XML Location Page

The XML Location page specifies where the XML will be retrieved from.

Schema Page

The Schema page defines which element and attributes should be retrieved. This setting allows the fields unused by the media to be removed, which increases efficiency when displaying results from large XML files. If a node is selected on the tree, then sample value panel (below) will update to show up to ten values retrieved from the source for the selected item. If there are no values found, then '[No Values]' is displayed.

The Schema is refreshed by clicking the Refresh button.

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Building a Connection

The Schema right click (context menu) provides access to the following functionality:

Collapse All Items. This will collapse (shrink) all nodes in the Schema tree.

Expand All Items. This will expand all nodes in the Schema tree.

Expand only Enabled Items. Expands all enabled items, and collapses the remainder.

Enable all Items. This will enable all items.

Disable all Items. Disables all items.

2.3.6 Text Connector

The Text Connector is used to process Text data retrieved from a local file or web site URL.

To use this Connector, please select the Text option from the Data Source page, and visit the Text page to specify the configuration properties.

Note: This Connector may require an additional license to operate.

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

2.3.6.1 Basic Settings

The Text page specifies where the text data will be retrieved from.

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2.3.6.2 Format Settings

Building a Connection

To allow for a variety of text file formats, the way the iCompel Data Engine handles text files can be finely controlled. The following settings are available:

Use the following settings. The setting will use the specified separator, column headings settings and date and time format (if applicable). This is the default setting.

Use custom schema information settings. The specified settings will be used. This option provides very fine grained controlled over the file format. Please refer to Schema.ini File (Text File Driver) in the Microsoft documentation for further information. Please note the following:

The filename section must not be specified.

The ColNameHeader entry should be specified, and if set to false, then the fields must be specified in the Settings, as described in the 'Specifying the Fields' section of the above web page.

The CharacterSet entry should be specified

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

Use existing schema information file. This setting will use the settings present in the file schema.ini contained in the same folder as the source file, and current registry settings to determine how the source file should be processed.

Note this option is only available for local files.

Specifying a Separator Delimiter Character

The Separator option specifies if a tab or comma should be treated as the value delimiter.

Specifying Column Headings

The Column headings entry indicates how the iCompel Data Engine should detect column headings in the data. The following options are available:

First row contains column headings. The first row in the source data contains column headings.

No column headings are present. No column headings are present. All rows in the source contain data

values.

Specifying Date and Time Format

This entry specifies the mask used to process date and time values. The following notation is used:

d, dd = day; ddd, dddd = day of week, M = month, yy, yyyy = year hh = hour, nn = minute, ss = second

Number Formatting

By default, a period symbol is assumed for number and currency separators. These can be modified by using custom schema information settings.

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2.3.6.3 Advanced Settings

Building a Connection

Specifying how Dates and Numbers are processed

For some applications, it is necessary to provide hints to the iCompel Data Engine (iDE) about how dates and numbers are represented in the Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheet. This is particularly important when the file contains values whose interpretation is language specific, or where the Time Zone component must be honored in times. For example, the date 1/4/1972 could be interpreted as 1st of April (in the UK), or the 4th of January (if in the US).

The Processing setting specifies the culture setting used when processing dates and numbers.

Note this setting does not control how date and number values are presented by the media - see the following section for more information.

If Data Processing is enabled, then a summary of the current setting will be shown the Text page.

Specifying how Dates and Numbers are written

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

The 'Write all data values using the following culture setting' controls this.

If this option is enabled, then a summary of the current setting will be shown the Excel page.

Specifying Advanced Query Settings

The Advanced Settings mode provides fine grained control over the data processed and written by the iDE. It will not normally be necessary to modify these settings.

If Advanced Settings have been specified, then a summary of the current settings will be shown the Text page.

Click the Advanced Settings button on the Text page to view or modify the settings.

Check the Enable advanced query capability box to configure the advanced query settings. The fields are described in the Advanced Microsoft Excel Query Settings section.

2.4 Results

The iCompel Data Engine (iDE) can process and write results in multiple output formats. The output format chosen will depend on how the data will be used or displayed, and will be subject to product licensing.

In most cases, the results will be written as XML to one or more Players (the first option).

This section describes the various result output data formats available, and their typical uses.

The Media page allows the user to set the following output formats:

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Building a Connection

XML (default). The eXtensable Markup Language (XML) output format allows results to be displayed in a highly graphical manner, utilizing specially written HTML pages or Flash content running on the destination machine to format the results.

Text. This output format option writes each individual result value as a separate text file

Presentation Format file. User defined custom format.

If required, then each Destination Player must be licensed to display results. If player licensing is required, this will be clearly indicated in the Destination page.

2.4.1 XML Output Format

The eXtensable Markup Language (XML) output format allows results to be displayed in a highly graphical manner, utilizing specially written HTML pages or Flash content running on the destination player.

For example, the XML result format could be used to display results in a pie chart, a bar graph, or a table as required.

Note: This format should be used when displaying included results on a iCOMPEL (iCOMPEL).

Layouts and Widgets section for details. Please review the iCOMPEL Layout Pack age feature for more information.

If required, then each Destination Player must be licensed to display results. If player licensing is required, this will be clearly indicated in the Destination page.

All Destination Players

This section specifies which Players will display the results of this Connection query.

The following functions are available:

Add. Add a new iCOMPEL to the list. The hostname, and credentials for the iCOMPEL user must be known and specified.

Remove. Removes the selected iCOMPEL from the list. The results will not be written to this player.

Modify. Allows the properties for the selected iCOMPEL to be modified.

At least one Player must be specified.

These settings are described in more detail on the Specifying the Destination Players and Limiting Output Size section.

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

XML Filename

The XML filename field specifies the file to write on all Destination iCOMPEL's.

Providing at least one Destination Player has been specified, the Media Item Finder dialog can be used to easily

locate the XML filename from the media items present on a Player. Click the browse button ( ) next to the XML Filename field to open the Media Item Finder. Please refer to the Specifying the XML Filename section for more information.

The file will be written to each iCOMPEL specified in the All Destination Players setting. Please note if entering this location by hand that it must exactly match the location the media being displayed expects to find data in.

The exact location written on each iCOMPEL will be dependent upon to the Media Folder folder setting for the specified Username for each destination iCOMPEL. The Media Folder folder setting is set per user on the Users page of the iCOMPEL. It is mandatory that all specified Destination Users have the same Media Folder setting.

2.4.2 Locating Media Items using the Media Item Finder

The Media Item Finder feature makes it very easy to locate and specify the media that will display the results of this Connection.

On the Location page, click the browse button ( ) next to the XML Filename field to open the Media Item Finder. If this button is disabled, please ensure at least one Destination Player has been added.

The Media Item Finder will examine the first available specified Destination Player and will locate details of all valid media items which are able to display the current results.

To select and use a specified media item, select the media item and press the OK button, or simply double click the required entry.

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Hover the mouse cursor over an item to show detailed information about the item.

To refresh the media item list, click the Refresh Media Item list button.

It is possible to edit the Media Item name and description properties by clicking the Edit.. button, and to create a copy of the Media Item by clicking the Copy... button. These features are described on the following page.

Only the media items that are able to display the specified Data Source are displayed. To display all results, enable the Show all Media Items check box. Media items which can not display the current data are displayed in grey text.

2.4.2.1 Copying and Modifying Media Items

Edit Media Item Properties

The Name property is mandatory, and Description property is optional. These properties are displayed on the Media Item Finder dialog.

The OK button will apply the specified changes. Cancel will ignore changes and close the dialog.

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Copy Media Item

The Location field specifies the name of the new media item. The new media item will be created in the same folder as the original media item.

The Location and Name properties are mandatory, and Description property is optional. These properties are displayed on the Media Item Finder dialog.

The OK button will apply the specified changes and close the dialog. Cancel will ignore changes and close the dialog.

2.4.3 Text Output Format

This output format option writes each individual result value as a separate text file. All values for the same result column are placed in a single folder, providing easy grouping.

The Text file output format allows the results to be formatted, displayed and managed using native iCOMPEL mechanisms, which offers a number of benefits:

No custom media is required, since built in iCOMPEL formatting and display mechanisms are used.

The iCOMPEL media item synchronization feature can be used to ensure that other content is displayed at the same time. For example, this would allow a picture to be displayed at the same time as a price.

Typically, the user would add specific result files to a Playlist as either individual text files, or using the Folder Play feature. Note that the Character set option for the media item on the iCOMPEL should be set to UTF-8.

Output Location

The exact destination filenames are dependent upon the iCompel Data Engine (iDE) Source Data, Destination and iCOMPEL (iCOMPEL) User settings.

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Building a Connection

The general format is:

[player host name]:/[user media folder]/[relative output folder]/

[source data container name]/[source data column name]/nnnnn.txt

The relative output folder is specified on the Location page.

The source data container name setting indicates the source of the data. This is always set to row for the SQL Connector.

The source data column name is the name of the column for which the results apply.

nnnnn.txt is the filename written, with one file for each column for each record. nnnnn is the record number, counting from one and containing leading zeros to ensure the filename is always 5 digits long.

All files will be written to each iCOMPEL specified in the All Destination Players setting.

The exact location written on each iCOMPEL will be dependent upon the Media Folder folder setting the user specified for each destination iCOMPEL. The Media Folder folder setting is set per user on the Users page of the iCOMPEL.

Note during the query execution, exiting files in the folder which match the above pattern (nnnnn.txt), but which are not included in the result of the current query will be deleted. This ensures the content of the folder always exactly matches the results returned from the last query.

As both the source data container name and the source data column name are used in the filename, the following characters, if present, will be removed and replaced with an underscore:

\ (backslash)

/ (forward slash)

: (colon)

* (asterisk)

? (question mark)

" (double quotes)

< (left angle bracket)

> (right angle bracket)

| (pipe)

Note in all cases, the case is preserved, so Name is different from name.

Output Location Example

For example, if the Media Folder for user fred is:

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Name

Age

Joe Blogs

Jane Smith

Filename

Filename Content

ftp://Player11407/media/media/dynamic_sample/output/row/Name/00001.txt

Joe Blogs

ftp://Player11407/media/media/dynamic_sample/output/row/Name/00002.txt

Janes Smith

ftp://Player11407/media/media/dynamic_sample/output/row/Age/00001.txt

ftp://Player11407/media/media/dynamic_sample/output/row/Age/00002.txt

/media/dynamic_media

the Relative Output Folder setting is:

/main_campus/timetable/

and the SQL Connector is used, and a two records are returned for field start. The files would be written:

/media/dynamic_media/main_campus/timetable/row/start/00001.txt /media/dynamic_media/main_campus/timetable/row/start/00002.txt

This folder, and any individual files, can then be added to a Playlist.

Example

If the source data is a database table (containing below data) queried using the SQL Connector:

The relative output folder is set to /media/dynamic_sample/output, and the iCOMPEL destination location is

Player11407.

The following files will be written:

2.4.4 Custom Output Formats using a Presentation Format File

This output format applies the values for each record to slots within a Presentation Format file, and writes the resulting file to a unique file.

This format shares a lot of the properties and benefits of the Text file output format.

The unique benefits of this result format are that it allows the values in each record to be easily combined or specific values inserted within a predefined Presentation Format file. The Presentation Format file must be text based, but can contain any content. This allows highly customized content, without requiring custom media creation.

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Marker Format

Description

{field name}

Replace each instance of this marker with the current record value for this field name.

{field name.FieldName}

Replace each instance of this marker with the name of this field as specified in the original data.

The feature can be used for many scenarios including:

Produce a text file containing the name and price of each item on special offer today presented within a sentence (e.g. 'Today's special is Baked Beans - only 49p a can!'. The resulting files can be displayed using a iCOMPEL text folder play item. This example is described in more detail below.

Produce a series of HTML files containing specific Key Performance Indicator (KPI) values for each region. The HTML file contains special formatting code to highlight KPI values which have not been met. Within a single Channel, the iCOMPEL Conditional Play feature can be used to display the correct region file.

Note that the Character set option for the media item on the iCOMPEL should be set to UTF-8.

Presentation Format File

The Presentation Format file can be any text based format, including HTML and XML, and can have any extension.

Within the Presentation Format file contents, special markers are used to indicate where to substitute a value from the current record.

The following markers are used:

The field name is the exact name of the field to replace. The field name is case sensitive, so Name is treated differently from name.

The following field names are reserved for use by the iCompel Data Engine (iDE). These field names may be used within the Presentation Format file. If the result data contains identical field names, the result data value will be used in preference to the iDE supplied value.

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Field Name

Description

query_time

Specifies the time and date the query data was created. Specified in ISO8601 format.

field_name_significant

Indicates if the attribute names are important. Value 'True' or 'False' only.

query_source

Specifies the source of the data. Value includes 'SQL'

product_version

The long version of the iCompel Data Engine which wrote these results.

Character

Replaced with

< (left angle bracket)

> (right angle bracket)

" (double quotes)

' (apostrophe)

& (ampersand)

If the Presentation Format filename extension is XML, HTM or HTML, then all values will be correctly encoded (escaped). In all other cases, the values will be substituted exactly.

Encoding Data Values

To ensure content is correctly interpreted, values written to XML or HTML files will be encoded (escaped). The following characters are replaced:

Data values will automatically be escaped if the Presentation Format filename extension is XML, HTM or HTML.

Output Location

The exact destination file written is dependent upon the source data and the destination settings as follows. The format is:

[relative output folder]/[source data container name]/nnnnn.ext

The relative output folder is the folder specified on the destination Location page.

The source data container name setting indicates the source of the data. This is always set to row for the SQL Connector.

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Building a Connection

Item Name

Price

Tuna

69p

Chocolate

£1.12

As the source data container name used in a filename, the following characters, if present, will be removed and replaced with an underscore:

\ (backslash)

/ (forward slash)

: (colon)

* (asterisk)

? (question mark)

" (double quotes)

< (left angle bracket)

> (right angle bracket)

| (pipe)

Note in all cases, the case is preserved, so Name is different from name.

nnnnn.ext is the file name written, with one file for each column for each record. nnnnn is the record number,

counting from one and containing leading zeros. The ext is the filename extension, and is identical to the Presentation Format filename.

Note during the query execution, exiting files in the folder which match the above pattern (nnnnn.ext), but which are not included in the result of the current query will be deleted. This ensures the content of the folder always exactly matches the results returned from the last query.

Example

The user wishes to display a sentence describing the current special offers. The special offer data is read from a database, using the SQL Business Connector.

The query results contain the following:

The Presentation Format file contains the following text:

Special offer {Item Name} - {Price}. Today Only!

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Filename

Filename Content

ftp://Player11407/media/dynamic_sample/output/ row/00001.txt

Special offer Tuna - 69p. Today Only!

ftp://Player11407/media/dynamic_sample/output/ row/00002.txt

Special offer Chocolate - £1.12. Today Only!

The relative output folder is set to /media/dynamic_sample/output, and the iCOMPEL destination location is

Player11407.

The following files will be written:

2.4.5 Specifying the Destination Players and Limiting Output Size

The iCOMPEL's (iCOMPEL) to copy results to are specified in the following control:

The list shows all iCOMPEL's the result/s will be copied to.

At least one iCOMPEL's must be specified in order to successfully execute the query.

The text at the bottom of the list indicates where the results will be written on each destination Player.

The following functions are available:

Add. Add a new iCOMPEL to the list. The hostname, and credentials for the iCOMPEL user must be known and entered.

Remove. Removes the selected iCOMPEL from the list. Further results will not be written to this player. Note the player will contain to display the last results written (if any).

Modify. Allows the properties for the selected iCOMPEL to be modified.

Pressing Add or Modify button will display the Player Details dialog:

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The Host Name field specifies the Player network host name or IP address. The Username and Password field specify the credentials for iCOMPEL defined user. All fields must be specified.

Limiting the number of records written

The maximum number of records processed and written (not retrieved) is controlled by the limit setting.

Typically this would be enabled in the following conditions:

To restrict the number of records written to the output, particularly where it was only possible or relevant to display a small number.

Where there was a performance penalty or network bandwidth concern when copying large numbers of results.

To use this setting, check the Enable limit option, and specify a number greater than zero in the limit count entry.

Note for performance reasons it's recommended the limit setting is enabled when using Text file output, and there ARE more than a couple of columns or where the output is written to more than a few iCOMPEL's.

Note for performance reasons, the included graph media is capable of displaying up to 75 records.

2.4.6 Applying a Player DATA IN license

With specific iCompel Data Engine licensing options, you will need to install additional licenses on the iCOMPEL (iCOMPEL) and may require specific minimum iCOMPEL firmware version.

If licensing is required but not installed, then an error message, such as shown below, will be displayed clearly indicating the cause and resolution.

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

Additional licenses can be applied from the iCOMPEL Setup - System Setup - Licensing Web page. Further information about applying licensing can be found in the iCOMPEL documentation.

2.5 Specifying when to execute

The iCompel Data Engine can execute queries on the following schedules:

One time, by using the Test Query button on the Test page within the Connection Editor.

At a specified time every day - a periodic query.

Every interval.

Use the Schedule page in the Connection Editor to describe when the Connection should be executed.

Note the Schedule is only applied when the Connection is made Active, and not when the Connection is tested in the

Connection Editor. Please refer to the Managing Active Connections section for more information.

2.6 Connection Properties

This page allows a user to specify an additional Name and optional Comment properties for this Connection.

These values will be displayed in the Service Manager application, and can be used to assist in identifying a Connection.

The Name field is mandatory, but is automatically populated when the Connection is first saved.

2.7 Testing a Connection

The Test page allows the user to execute the current Connection.

Note that the Connection is executed once only each time the Test button is pressed.

The log message window shows execution and other status messages. Right click on the message window to copy messages to the clipboard, or to clear the message window.

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Part

III

Monitoring and Managing Connections

iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

The iCompel Data Engine Connection Manager application has the icon on the left. A link will be found in the Black Box iCompel Data Engine group on the Microsoft® Windows® Start menu, and may also be found on your Windows desktop.

3. Monitoring and Managing Connections

A iCompel Data Engine (iDE) Connection specifies what data to read, where to write the results, and when to do so. Connections can be viewed, modified and tested using the Connection Editor, which is a Microsoft® Windows application.

Connections are managed using the iCompel Data Engine (iDE) Connection Manager Windows application.

This section introduces this application.

The Connection Manager can execute many connections simultaneously, subject to installed licenses, and will continue to operate even when no user is logged into the system.

The iCompel Data Engine Service, which is a Microsoft Windows Service, continues to execute Connections when no user is logged into the system. This Service must be installed and running to execute and monitor Connections in the background.

The Connection Manager application will show a warning message if the iDE Service could not be contacted.

To automatically execute the Connection according to the schedule specified by the Connection, it must first be added, then made active within the Connection Manager. This is described in the QuickStart section.

3.1 Creating a new Connection QuickStart

The following steps show how to create a new Connection, and make it Active (which executes it periodically, regardless of the current logged in Windows® user):

1. Start the iCompel Data Engine Connection Manager application.

A link will be found in the Black Box iCompel Data Engine group on the Microsoft® Windows® Start menu, and may also be found on your Windows® desktop.

2. Click the Create New button and wait for the Connection Editor application to start.

3. In the iCompel Data Engine Connection Editor application:

Complete the Source, Destination and Schedule pages as needed. These fields are described in the Building a Connection part of this guide.

On the file menu, select Update (or CTRL+S). Correct any errors if needed.

4. In the iCompel Data Engine Connection Manager application, click Apply button.

Note, by default, the Connection will check the source and update the destination every 15 minutes. Please review the Schedule page setting for this Connection in the Connection Editor to adjust this value.

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3.2 System Status

The Status page shows the current live system status.

An example system Status page is shown below:

If the following message is shown:

Monitoring and Managing Connections

Please review and check the following:

If Microsoft® Excel® functionality is required, please ensure the '2007 Office System Driver: Data Connectivity

Components' component is downloaded from Microsoft® and installed. Please reboot the system to apply the

changes, even if not explicitly requested to do so.

Please ensure anti-virus and firewall software is set to allow the iCompel Data Engine to communicate with the iCompel Data Engine Service. The Connection Manager application will attempt to open an IP socket on local host to the iCompel Data Engine Service to determine the live service status.

3.3 Monitoring Active Connections

The Active page shows the live and current status for all Active Connections.

The following status fields are shown.

Status. Graphically indicates the last execution status. The status may be:

Successfully executed.

Failed to execute. The Last Status column will indicate the reason.

Unknown. Unknown means the Service Manager was unable to obtain the status from the

Connection Service.

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New Connection that will be made Active when Apply button is pressed.

Name. The Connection name field as specified in the Properties page of the Connection Editor.

Type. The Connector used.

Last Execute Time / Next Execute Time. The last and next date and time for this Connection, presented

in locale specific format.

Last Status. Textual description of the last execution status. An asterisk in this column indicates that changes have been applied to the Connection since the status was last collected.

Comment. The Connection comment field as specified in the Properties page of the Connection Editor.

The columns can be reordered by drag-and-dropping to their new position. They may be sorted alphabetically by clicking on the column label.

To view detailed status messages for the selected Active Connection, open the Connection menu and select View Status Messages.

3.4 Managing Connections

The Active page shows the details and status for all Active (executing) Connections, and allows Active Connections to be modified or removed, and new Connections to be added.

3.4.1 Managing Active Connections

The below actions are possible from the Active page.

Note that all listed Outstanding actions are only performed once the Apply button has been pressed. To minimize disruption to existing Active Connections, changes are not applied as they are made!

Creating a New Connection

A new Connection can be added by clicking the Create New button.

This will open a new and empty Connection in the Connection Editor. In the Connection Editor, click Update (shortcut CTRL+S) on the File menu to save changes, and automatically add the new Connection to the Connection Manager interface. Note that execution will not start until changes are Applied in the Connection Manager (see below).

Add an existing Connection file

Select Add Existing... from the File menu, then select the Connection file to add. Click OK to add the Connection.

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Monitoring and Managing Connections

If successful, a new Add action will be created, and added to the Outstanding actions page.

Remove an Active Connection

To mark an Active Connection for removal, select the Connection, and click Remove.

A remove Action will be created and displayed in the Outstanding Actions page.

View or modify an Active Connection

To view or modify an Active Connection, select it, and click View.

The Connection Editor will be launched, and the Active Connection shown.

If the Connection is modified and saved within Connection Editor, a modified Action will be created on the Outstanding Actions page.

Undo or revert Changes

If an action has been successfully performed, a record of the action will be added to the Outstanding actions page. The action can be undone, by either:

Selecting the Action in the Outstanding Actions page, and clicking the Undo button.

Selecting the Active Connection on the Active page and clicking the Undo button.

This process is described in more detail on the Outstanding Actions section.

Applying Changes

The Apply button will apply all specified actions, and restart the Connection Service.

3.4.2 Outstanding Actions

The Outstanding actions page lists all actions that will be performed when the Apply changes button is pressed.

A summary of the outstanding actions is shown on the Status page.

The following Actions may be listed.

Connection will be added

The listed Connection will be added and made Active, when the Apply button is pressed.

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Select the action, and click the Configure button to view or modify the Connection.

To remove this action, select the action and click the Undo Add button.

Note that if this Connection was Added from a file, the original file will not be deleted.

Active Connection has been modified

There are modifications to the specified Connection. These modifications will be made to the Connection when the Apply button is pressed.

To view the current modifications to the Active Connection, select the action on the Outstanding actions page, then click the View button.

To view the currently Active Connection, select the Connection in the Active page. If there are modifications then the original Active Connection will be marked as read only, and changes are only allowed to the modified version, accessed through the Outstanding Actions page.

To revert (undo) changes, select the action and click the Undo button.

Active Connection will be removed

The specified currently Active Connection will be removed when Apply is pressed.

To reverse this action, select the action and click the Undo button.

3.4.3 View Status

When an Active Connection is not working as expected, detailed status messages can be viewed by selecting the Active Connection from the Active page, then View Status Messages... from either the right click context menu or the Connection menu.

The following dialog is shown:

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Monitoring and Managing Connections

Current status messages can be retrieved by clicking the Refresh button.

3.5 Bulk Modify Connections

If a new iCOMPEL (iCOMPEL) is added to an existing signage network, or a iCOMPEL is replaced or user credentials modified, the Bulk Modify feature can be used to quickly update all available Connections with the Player details.

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

The following options are available:

Add new or modify existing Player. This option will:

Add the specified player details to each Active, Added or Modified Connection, if it hasn't already been added or

If a player with Host name has already been added, then the username and password are updated to those specified

The Host Name field specifies the Player network host name or IP address. The Username and Password field specify the credentials for iCOMPEL defined user. All fields must be specified.

Note the player is not added if doing so would exceed any licensing restrictions.

Update specified property value. This option will update the specified property to new value if its value is identical to match value.

Remove Player. This option will remove the player the specified host name from all Active, Added or Modified Connections, providing the Connection has 2 or more players already.

Note that all Active, Added, and Modified Connections are updated. If changes have been made, these will need to be Applied.

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Monitoring and Managing Connections

3.6 Connection Retry and Backoff Policies

If a Connection fails to execute, then execution will be retried 3 times, at intervals proportional to the scheduled interval. The interval between retries is dependent upon the Connection Schedule setting as follows:

Periodic. 1/4 of the interval time, to a maximum of 2 minutes.

Specific time. 2 minutes.

The backoff feature detects when a Connection is taking longer than the scheduled execution interval to complete and automatically delays for a period of time if two scheduled simultaneous execution times have been missed. The backoff time is dependent upon the Connection schedule as follows:

Periodic. Interval time.

Specific time. 5 minutes.

3.7 Configuration

This dialog provides access to common configuration settings. It should not normally be necessary to change these settings.

The Log Files section applies to all log files, including application and service logs. Each log file will grow to the maximum size specified before being closed and a new file opened. The second setting specifies the maximum number of old log files to keep.

Pressing the View... button will show the following dialog, allowing the user to view the contents of each log file.

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

The Service Configuration section provides access to the following settings:

The Enable detailed Service Log messages will configure the Service to show detailed status messages. These are typically used to diagnose problems.

Clear Log file when Service is started. This setting is typically used to assist in diagnosing problems when a large number of Connections have been created.

The Service must be manually restarted after these settings are changed. This can be performed from the Microsoft Services control panel.

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Part

Application Licensing

iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

4. Application Licensing

The iCompel Data Engine (iDE) requires a valid license to be entered before operation.

Initial product licensing is performed using a wizard. The Licensing Wizard will be shown automatically when no valid licenses are detected.

To successfully complete the Licensing wizard you will need:

Your unique five digit iCompel Data Engine serial number. This can be found on your original installation CD, or purchase order. Please contact Black Box Corporation Black Box Network Services if you are unable to locate your serial number.

Access to an email account to receive the product License file.

Note the license is specific to the machine running the Wizard and is not transferable. Licensing will need to be completed successfully on each Windows machine that will run the iCompel Data Engine product.

Additional licenses may be required for each iCOMPEL that will display results. This will be clearly indicated on the Destination Media page. Please refer to the Player documentation for more information about installing a player license.

4.1 Reviewing and Adding a new License

Licenses can be reviewed and added in the Production Licensing dialog. This can be accessed from the Licensing menu in any iCompel Data Engine application.

Reviewing Installed Licenses

The License page shows all installed licenses.

Currently valid licenses are identified with a green tick, while invalid licenses are identified with a red cross.

An example is shown below.

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Application Licensing

Adding a new License

A new License can be added from the Add page.

Only licenses for this iCompel Data Engine installation on the local machine can be applied.

The application will restart when the dialog is closed, if one or more new licenses have been entered successfully.

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Part

Deployment Considerations

iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

5. Deployment Considerations

The following topics discuss various deployment considerations.

5.1 Deploying to a Black Box Channel

iCompel Data Engine (iDE) media can be included and distributed as part of a Black Box Channel.

There are three approaches to achieve this:

a. iDE media is deployed on the Publisher only, and is referenced by Playlist items within a Publisher

Channel. The Channel Publishing and Subscription process ensures all Subscribers show exactly the same media. The iCompel Data Engine writes results to the Publisher only, and these results will be shown on the subscriber only after the channel has been published, and the subscriber/s have polled and updated their channel content.

b. Media is deployed as above, however Subscribers show specific content based on Subscriber defined Local

Information values. Items of media should be set to play only when specific Player Local Information values are defined. A typical use for this scenario would be showing a local weather report. The iDE media deployed to the Publisher must contain all required data values, and special media to extract and correctly process Local Information values. This is more flexible, but has the same restrictions and trade-offs as above.

c. iDE media is deployed to an Ad hoc folder media on each Player (Subscriber or Publisher) within a

Channel. Using this approach, completely different media can be shown on each Player. This media is remembered after Channel updates, but media updates must be copied manually when needed.

5.2 File Organization for Channel or Layout Package Use

To include XML and some types of Presentation Format media in a Channel or Layout Package the following prerequisites must be met:

An HTML or Flash file which renders the content must be added to a Playlist.

If a subfolder called xxx_files (where xxx is the filename above) is found in the same folder as the above file, then all files in this folder will be included in the Channel or Layout Package.

For example, if the file dynamic_media.html was added to the Playlist, then all files in the subfolder

dynamic_media_files (if found) would be automatically included.

To include the XML (or Presentation Format) query results file it must be deployed to the xxx_files folder, and not the folder containing the HTML or Flash file.

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Deployment Considerations

5.3 User Management

For production use, its recommended that an iCOMPEL (iCOMPEL) User is specially created and used by the iDE. This user should:

Only have FTP Read/Write Access permission enabled

The Users' Media Folder is set to the folder containing the iDE media

If deploying to multiple Players from a single Connection, all Users referenced by the Connection must specify the same iCOMPEL User Home Folder setting.

Further details regarding User management are covered in the iCOMPEL help pages.

5.4 FTP and Proxy Details

The iCompel Data Engine supports passive mode FTP transfer only.

Proxy support is available for HTTP transfers when using the Microsoft Exchange, Google Calendar, XML or Text Connectors.

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Part

Using the SQL Connector

6. Using the SQL Connector

This section covers advanced topics related to the use of the SQL Connector.

6.1 Creating an ODBC System Data Source Name

In order to use the SQL Connector, one or more ODBC System Data Source Names (DSN) must be created.

ODBC System DSNs are managed using the Microsoft® Windows® ODBC Data Source Administrator application. If a 64bit version of Windows® is used, the correct version of the ODBC administration application must be started as described in the next section. The correct application is started from the ODBC button in the user interface.

Start the correct ODBC Data Source Administrator application, and create a new ODBC DSN on the System DSN tab.

Note that the iCompel Data Engine will not work with ODBC 'Windows NT Authentication using the network login id' setting as the iCompel Data Engine Service does not have access to the network id. In this case, user credentials must be entered on the iDE Advanced Settings page.

Further ODBC help can be found in the Microsoft® Windows® help file.

6.2 Using the SQL Connector on a 64bit Operating System

This section is only relevant if the iCompel Data Engine is deployed to a 64bit operating system.

While the iCompel Data Engine will run successfully on a 64bit operating system, for compatibility reasons, it is a native 32bit application. As a result, the iCompel Data Engine runs in compatibility mode, and can not reference any native 64bit configuration information. This means the normal ODBC configuration tools can not be used since they write 64bit configuration files - the 32bit versions must be explicitly specified instead.

The 32bit ODBC Data Source Administrator program must be used to manage the System DSN entries. The program can be started as follows:

1. Click the Windows Start button.

2. In the Search programs and files box, enter %WINDIR%\SYSWOW64\odbcad32.exe

3. One file should be found and displayed above. Click on the file to run it.

Alternatively, the program can be located and run from Windows® Explorer as follows:

1. Start a new instance of the Windows Explorer application

2. Navigate to the folder %WINDIR%\SYSWOW64. %WINDIR% is your Windows installation folder (normally C:

\Windows)

3. Locate the file 'odbcad32.exe'

4. Double click the above file to run.

The correct program is started if the ODBC button is pressed from the SQL Command page.

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

6.3 Connecting to a Black Box iDigitalManager

This page describes how to use a iCompel Data Engine (iDE) to access and display data from a Black Box iDigitalManager (iDM) version 2.1 or above.

Prerequisites

The following prerequisites must be satisfied before proceeding:

Create a user on the iDM with the user permission "External Database Reports"

TCP/IP connectivity to the iDM from the Windows system running the iCompel Data Engine

Installing the PostgreSQL ODBC Database Driver

You will need an PostgreSQL ODBC driver to connect to the iDM database.

For 32bit versions of Windows®:

1. Download the PostgreSQL ODBC driver (psqlodbc_08_03_0400.zip) from:

http://wwwmaster.postgresql.org/download/mirrors-ftp/

odbc/versions/msi/psqlodbc_08_03_0400.zip

2. Open the ZIP file and execute the file psqlodbc.msi. This will install the driver.

For 64bit versions of Windows®:

1. Download the PostgreSQL ODBC driver (setup_psqlODBC_x64_8.3.4.0.exe) from:

http://code.google.com/p/visionmap/downloads/list

2. Double click the file to execute and follow on-screen instructions to install.

The above installation should complete without errors.

Create an ODBC System DSN

Set up an ODBC System Data Source Name (DSN) referencing your iDM.

1. Launch the correct version of the Microsoft® Windows® ODBC Administrator application.

2. Select "System DSN" tab. Click the "Add" button. Select "PostgreSQL Unicode" (or "PostgreSQL 64-bit

ODBC Driver") driver.

2. Fill in the fields as follows (bold underlined fields should be entered or selected exactly as written below):

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Using the SQL Connector

Property

Value

Data Source

(Enter a meaningful name in Data Source entry - e.g. 'iDM')

Description

(Anything)

Database

iDM

Server

(the iDM network hostname e.g. iDM11407)

User Name

(Name of iDM User with 'External Database Reports' permission. Please see the iDM Users page help for more information)

Password

(password for above iDM User)

SSL Mode

Select Disable

Port

5432 (This is the default port, but may change for a hosted iDM).

3. Click the "Test" button and ensure successful connection.

4. Click the "Save" button.

The System DSN should now appear in the list in the System ODBC Data Source Name list on the SQL Command tab in the Connection Editor. You may need to click the Refresh button to update the list.

Configuring a iCompel Data Engine Connection

Start the iDE Connection Editor application.

1. Select the Source tab, and on the Data Source tab, ensure 'Execute SQL Command to a database via ODBC'

option is selected.

2. On the SQL Command tab, select the System DSN created above in the 'System ODBC Data Source Name' drop down list. You may need to click the Refresh button to update the list.

3. In the SQL Query text box enter:

select * from dsm_view_basic.func_current_organisation_operational_summary();

To display the results using a Pie chart, the following SQL should be used:

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

select organisation_name as "Organisation Name", (total_ntbs-total_ntbs_with_alarms) as "Total working players", total_ntbs_with_alarms As "Total alarmed players" from dsm_view_basic.func_current_organisation_operational_summary();

The following 'widget_config.txt' file can used to generate a suitable display:

application.display_style=PIE_CHART

application.background.colour=#FFFFFF

# Rows are series in the DSM SQL data data.series.orientation=row

# Normally, if we have a single row of data, we don't have enough data to auto detect row headings. # Force detection for single row results such as this. data.process.row_headings=yes

# Caption will be determined from the supplied DCE data. # Fill these in if the data does not contain a caption / subcaption, or you wish to override the caption / subcaption. chart.title.caption=Current Digital Signage Player Status

# These control the colour and size of all labels, including caption and axis labels. chart.all_labels.colour=#000000 chart.legend.position=se chart.legend.background_colour=#CCCCCC

# Controls the colours the pie segments are displayed in. # Pipe character seperates colours. chart.series.colours=#60BB22|#B80028

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Part

VII

Using the Excel Connector

iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

Name

BirthCity

A A Milne

London

Abi Titmuss

London

Ainsley Harriott

London

7. Using the Excel Connector

This section covers advanced topics related to the use of the Microsoft® Excel® Connector.

7.1 Advanced Excel Settings

Overview

The iCompel Data Engine Microsoft® Excel® Connector uses a dialect of SQL to specify the data to retrieve. The exact query issued can be finely controlled using the Advanced Query settings from the Excel page.

On the Excel page, click the Advanced Query button to modify the settings. A summary of the current settings is shown alongside the Advanced Query button.

The following parts of the SQL query can be specified:

SELECT WHERE GROUP BY HAVING ORDER BY

The FROM part is is specified by the Cell Range field.

The contents of the SELECT field will be processed to ensure field names are surrounded by square brackets. Surround the SELECT field entry with double quotes to avoid this processing and use the string exactly as entered.

If field names are referenced by any field, these must exactly match the field names in the first row (if first row is data header is enabled) or must follow the format Fn, where n is the one based column number of the field within the worksheet.

If field names contain blank spaces, the field name must be surrounded by square brackets when referenced.

If the field name is incorrectly specified, then the error 'No value given for one or more parameters' is likely to be returned.

Advanced Query Example

Display the number of celebrities born in London.

The spreadsheet is replicated in entirety below:

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The iCompel Data Engine advanced query configuration is shown below:

Using the Excel Connector

This results in the following results (assuming XML output):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <output query_source="Excel" version="V2.1.0" checksum="xEwfu7UNfnE0vlLLwnY/TQ==" query_time="2010-05-19T14:06:27"> <all_data field_name_significant="True" query_row_count="1"> <row Born_x0020_in_x0020_London="3" /> </all_data> </output>

Note the result should be displayed using tabular media as only one record is present.

Data Detection and Scan Settings

By default, the Excel® driver will examine the first 8 rows of data to determine the correct data representation to use. If the data contains mixed data types in the same column (e.g. strings and numbers), particularly if the mixed type data occur after the first 8 rows, the driver may ignore or truncate values. The current setting is displayed in the Test window when a Excel connection is tested from the Connection Editor application.

To avoid this, please follow the advice in Microsoft knowledge base article 189897.

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Part

VIII

Using the Microsoft Exchange Connector

iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

8. Using the Microsoft Exchange Connector

This section covers advanced topics related to the use of the Exchange® Server Connector.

8.1 Advanced Exchange Server Settings

The Exchange Advanced Settings page provides fine grained control over the settings used to query the Exchange

Server. It will not normally be necessary to modify these settings.

If Advanced Settings have been specified, then a summary of the current settings will be shown the Exchange page.

Click the Advanced Settings button to view or modify the settings.

By default, the iCompel Data Engine will use Exchange Web Services (EWS) calls to obtain information from your Microsoft Exchange® Server. If EWS is not available or configured on your server, then the WebDAV protocol can be used.

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Using the Microsoft Exchange Connector

By default, the Enterprise Web Services query method is selected, which is compatible with Exchange® Server 2007 Service Pack 1 and above. If earlier versions of Exchange® Server are in use, please select WebDAV. The functionality is the same for both cases.

The Exchange Server Timeout setting specifies, in seconds, how long the iCompel Data Engine should wait before the query attempt is abandoned. The default value is 100 seconds.

When referring to a unique resource, a user will often specify the resource name. However, Exchange® Server internally uses the resource alias property to uniquely track resources, which may bear no resemblance to the more user friendly resource name. When executing a query, the iDE must resolve the resource name to a resource alias, which it does by consulting the Exchange® Server Global Address List (GAL), using a Outlook® Web Access (OWA ) call (call name: galfind). If OWA is not enabled on your Exchange® Server, or is not accessible, then please disable this feature. If this feature is disabled, then the resource alias must be entered in the Resources section, and not the more user friendly resource name.

By default, this is checked and the GAL is consulted to translate each entered Resource Name to a resource alias.

The Query Type setting specifies what type of data should be returned. By default, calendar events are returned.

The query setting indicates the time window that data should be returned for. Only events which start or end within the time window, or emails that received within the time window are returned. By default, data for 32 days before and after the current date is returned. It may be desirable to reduce this window, if for example, the now and next style view is being displayed. Reducing this time window will reduce the number of records returned and increase processing efficiency.

If the calendar event applies to different time zone from that specified on the player displaying the media, the event times will be displayed at the wall clock time they would occur in the players time zone.

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Part

Using the Google Calendar Connector

9. Using the Google Calendar Connector

This section covers advanced topics related to the use of the Google® Calendar Connector.

9.1 Connecting to a Google Calendar

This page describes how to use a iCompel Data Engine (iDE) to access and display calendar information retrieved from Google® calendar.

Prerequisites

The following prerequisites must be satisfied before proceeding:

The user credentials for a Google® Calendar account. These are only required to determine settings for the iDE.

The Calendar must be made public. Please refer to the Google® documentation to determine how to make your Calendar public.

Determine the unique Google Calendar URL

1. Open the Google® Calendar page in a web browser.

2. Click the 'Settings' menu (top right) then select 'Calendar settings'. Menu can be found in the top right of the page.

3. Select 'Calendars' tab page.

4. From the 'My Calendars - Calendars' section, click the underlined Calendar name link. This will show the Calendar details for the specified calendar.

5. In the Private Address field (bottom of page), click the XML button.

6. A popup will show displaying a web address. Click on this address, which should then open the link in a new browser window.

7. Select the full address in the browser address entry, and copy to clipboard.

Note: This address can be used by any user to view the contents of the specified calendar!

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Part

Media Widgets

10. Media Widgets

The iCompel Data Engine includes a number of ready to use Media Widgets, used to display the results of common iCompel Data Engine Connection queries.

Note: If the Media Widgets are used to display results, they must be installed on each iCOMPEL on which results are to be displayed. Please refer to the section Installing Sample Layouts and Widgets for more information.

The Media Widgets have been specifically designed and developed for use in digital signage applications.

All Media Widgets present a read-only view of the data - the source data cannot be changed from either the player or the iCompel Data Engine product.

The Media Widgets automatically scale to the size of the Zone they are placed in, and will automatically and fluidly update when the source data changes.

The included Media Widgets have been designed to act as a starting point only. Many options, including colors, and labels are easily configurable using simple text based files. The full range of configuration options can be found in the Widget Settings section.

10.1 Installing Sample Layouts and Widgets

All Media Widgets can be installed directly on the player using the iCOMPEL Layout Package feature. Layout Packages are self contained compressed files, which include all media and configuration files required to reconstitute one or more Layouts on other iCOMPEL.

The Media Widget Layout Packages (special files ending ZIP) can be found in:

My Documents\Black Box iDE Media\media\widgets

folder on the machine the iCompel Data Engine is installed on.

Alternatively, Media Widgets can be found in the 'My Documents\Black Box iDE Media\media\widgets\source' folder.

Install the Sample Layouts on a iCOMPEL

This process describes how to install the sample Layouts on an iCOMPEL. This should be performed on the PC on which the iCompel Data Engine is installed.

1. Start a web browser. Browse to your iCOMPEL and supply user credentials as required.

2. Navigate to the Layout Packages web page.

This can be found on the Layouts menu on recent versions of iCOMPEL.

3. Click the Browse button, and navigate to your My Documents\Black Box iDE Media\media\widgets folder.

Select the first file and click the Open button.

4. Click the Install button, and please wait a few moments while the Layout Package installs. Repeat this for each

file uploaded above.

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Repeat the above for each ZIP file in the folder My Documents\Black Box iDE Media\media\widgets.

Showing a Sample Layout on the iCOMPEL

This process describes how to show a specific Layout on a iCOMPEL.

1. Select Manage Layouts entry from the Layouts menu.

2. Scroll down until the required Layout name is located. The list is presented alphabetically.

3. Click the audition ( ) button at the start of the line displaying the required Layout name.

The programmed Schedule will be interrupted and the named Layout will be shown indefinitely. To resume the programmed Schedule, click the Activate Schedule and Layouts button at the top of the screen.

10.2 Charts and Tabular Widgets

Tabular Widget

The Tabular widget is designed to show data in a tabular format. The widget will automatically paginate as needed to show more data rows than can be displayed on a single page.

Columns will be compressed as much as reasonably possible to fit on screen, but if it is not possible to display all data columns, the following options are available:

Increase the width of the Zone which displays this Media Widget.

Remove any non-required columns from the output.

Reduce the size of the font used to display the table content. See the tabular.content.font_size setting.

Using the default tabular Widget settings, results are shown as follows:

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Media Widgets

Bar Chart Widget

Using the default bar chart Widget settings, results are shown as follows:

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

Line Chart Widget

Using the default line chart Widget settings, results are shown as follows:

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Media Widgets

Pie Chart Widget

Using the default pie chart Widget settings, results are shown as follows:

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

Source Microsoft Excel spreadsheet

The above screen shots use the following spreadsheet (top left cell is A1). This spreadsheet is included in the 'Black

Box Corporation iDE Media\ExcelExample' folder as huntley_sales.xls.

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Media Widgets

10.3 Calendar Widgets

Diary Widget

The diary Widget is designed to show event summaries for between a week and a month.

The diary Widget shows all events, with all day events spanning the days on which they apply, and appear with a solid background.

Up to six different resources can be represented on a single Diary widget. Different resources are shown in different colors (olive green, light blue, orange, purple, pink, golden yellow).

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

Timeline Widget

The Timeline widget is designed to show events details for a small number of days. Details for all events, except all day events, are shown.

Up to six different resources can be represented on a single Timeline widget. Different resources are shown in different colors and in separate columns.

The minimum Zone height for this widget is 420px.

Room Summary Widget

The Room Summary widget shows all events except all day events for the current day. The current event is shown in the central area, with a timeline summary below.

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Media Widgets

Note when using this widget, the iCompel Data Engine should be configured to retrieve results for a single resource only.

10.4 Widget Settings

A simple text format file is used to specify configuration and customization options for each of the media widgets.

The configuration file is named widget_config.txt, and is placed in the xxx_files folder, where xxx is the name of the HTML file included in the Playlist.

Note: Please exercise care when editing the configuration settings file as it is possible to stop the media from displaying correctly. If this is done, the original configuration file can be found in the Black Box iDE

Media\media\source folder.

Many other options are also available - please contact Black Box Network Services if you have additional requirements.

Configuration Settings

Each non-blank text line is interpreted as a containing a configuration setting or a comment line.

A configuration setting has a name and a value pair separated by an equals symbol (=). The text to the left of the first equals symbol is the configuration setting name, and everything that follows, including additional equals symbols, is the configuration value.

Valid values for boolean configuration settings are 'true' or 'false' only. Case is not important.

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All color values must be expressed in hex format (expressed Red Green Blue values). The color value must start with a hash symbol (#). For example, the value #000000 specifies the color black.

Configuration setting names are not case sensitive, but lower case is recommended for readability.

Invalid configuration setting names are ignored.

Comments and Blank Lines

Lines starting with a hash (#) are interpreted as comments and are ignored.

Blank lines are ignored.

10.4.1 Charts and Tabular Widget Settings

Display Style and Update Options

application.display_style

This mandatory parameter specifies how the data should be shown.

One of the following values must be specified (case is not important):

TABULAR LINE_CHART BAR_CHART PIE_CHART

application.background.image_url & application.background.colour

Optional value which specifies the display background color or image file.

If the color field is specified, color must be specified in hex format.

If the image_url is specified, then the image_url may be prefixed with %ASSETS_DIR%/, to reference an image in the _files folder. For example, %ASSETS_DIR%/large_fade_background.jpg. The referenced image file must be in JPEG format.

This value defaults to #FFFFFF (white).

Data Processing Options

data.series.orientation

Indicates if each data column is a series or each row contains series data.

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Media Widgets

One of the following values may be specified (case is not important):

COL ROW

This value is optional, and if not specified, will default to columns.

data.process.column_headings

Optional value which specifies if the first row of the source data contains column labels. Possible values are:

AUTO. Examine the data to determine if column headings are present. This is the default value.

YES. Assume first row is column headings.

NO. Assume no column labels are present.

data.process.row_headings

Optional value which specifies if the first column of the source data contains row labels. Possible values are:

AUTO. Examine the data to determine if row headings are present. This is the default value.

YES. Assume first row is column headings.

NO. Assume no column labels are present.

data.headings.column_labels & data.headings.row_labels

Optional list of column names. Each name is separated by a pipe symbol ( | ).

If present, these are used in preference to any names extracted from the data. data.process.column_headings and data.process.row_headings indicate if the source data contains column or row labels.

10.4.1.1 Tabular Widget Settings

tabular.title.caption

Specifies the chart title, overriding any title present in the data.

If left blank, and title text was found in the data, then this will be displayed, otherwise not title is shown.

Default is blank.

tabular.title.subcaption

Specific the chart sub-title. If left blank, no subtitle will be displayed. A subtitle is only displayed if a title is displayed.

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Default is blank.

tabular.title.text_colour

Optional value which specifies the title and subtitle text color.

If the color field is specified, color must be specified in hex format. This value defaults to #000000 (black).

tabular.pagination.page_display_time_s

If a Tabular display is used, and the table requires pagination, this optional setting controls in seconds, how long each page should be displayed.

Expressed as a positive whole number. The default is 10 seconds.

tabular.zebra.show

Optional setting indicating if a colored background will be shown on alternate row (a zebra strip). Default is true specifying the zebra strip will be shown.

tabular.zebra.background_colour

Optional value which specifies the Zebra strip background color.

If the color field is specified, color must be specified in hex format. This value defaults to #B7CEEC (light blue).

tabular.content.font_size

Optionally specifies the font sizes, in pixels, to use for the table content. Defaults to empty, which will use default font size.

10.4.1.2 Chart Widget Settings

chart.title.caption

Specifies the chart title, overriding any title present in the data.

If left blank, and title text was found in the data, then this will be displayed, otherwise not title is shown.

Default is blank.

chart.title.subcaption

Specific the chart sub-title. If left blank, no sub-title will be displayed. A sub-title is only displayed if a title is displayed.

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Media Widgets

Default is blank.

chart.all_labels.colour

Specifies the color of all chart labels. Color is expressed in hex format, as Red Green Blue values. The color value must start with a hash symbol (#).

The default value is #000000 (black).

chart.series.colours

The colors to use when presenting series data. For pie charts, these are the segment colors, for line charts, these specify the line color and for bar charts these are the bar colors.

Specified as a list of colors (with prefixing hex symbol), with the pipe symbol ( | ) separating values.

chart.series.line_width

The width, in pixels, of each Line Chart series line.

Optional and defaults to 4px.

chart.legend.show

Optional boolean value indicating if we should show a chart legend or not.

Defaults to true, which shows the legend.

chart.x_axis.label.text

Optional x-axis label, which overrides an x axis label determined from the data.

Defaults to blank, which indicates use the source data label if present.

chart.y_axis.label.text

Optional y-axis label, which overrides an y axis label determined from the data.

Defaults to blank, which indicates use the source data label if present.

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10.4.2 Calendar Widget Settings

Common Options

application.display_style

This mandatory parameter specifies how the data should be shown.

For calendar display, the following value must be specified (case is not important):

CALENDAR

calendar.display

This mandatory parameter specifies how the calendar data should be shown.

One of the following values must be specified (case is not important):

DIARY TIMELINE ROOM_SUMMARY

Diary and Timeline Display Options

calendar.options.day_count

Number of days to display. If specified, this must be a positive number.

For the Timeline Widget this defaults to 3, and for the Diary widget this defaults to 5.

calendar.title.text_colour

Specifies the text color of the the title label. This defaults to #666666, which is dark grey.

calendar.title.label_format

Specifies the format mask to use when creating the label. By default, this is {mmmm yyyy}, which displays the full month name and four digit year.

10.4.2.1 Timeline Widget Settings

calendar.timeline.display_days

Which days we display only, expressed as 0-6 (where 0 is Sunday). Day numbers are separated with a comma.

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The default is 1,2,3,4,5 (Monday - Friday).

calendar.timeline.start

Time to start time line, expressed as hh:00 in 24 hour format. This defaults to 9:00.

calendar.timeline.end

Time to end time line, expressed as hh:00 in 24 hour format. Defaults to 18:00.

10.4.2.2 Diary Widget Settings

calendar.diary.view

The view to display. The following views are available:

DAY WEEK MONTH

Media Widgets

The default is week.

calendar.diary.week_starts_on

Day number the week starts on expressed as 0-6 (where 0 is Sunday). Defaults to 1 for Monday.

10.4.2.3 Room Summary Widget Settings

calendar.room_summary.label.status.free

The label used for resource free in the status bar top of screen. The default value is 'Free'.

calendar.room_summary.label.status.busy

The label used for resource busy in the status bar top of screen. The default value is 'Busy'.

calendar.room_summary.label.readout.title

Title label of the readout section. The default value is 'Now'.

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calendar.room_summary.label.readout.free

The label used for room free in the central readout panel. The default value is 'Available'.

calendar.room_summary.label.event.free

The label used for free timeline events. The default value is 'Free'.

calendar.room_summary.label.timeline.today

The label for Today's events section. The default value is 'Today's Bookings'.

calendar.room_summary.label.timeline.tomorrow

Tomorrows events label. The default value is 'Tomorrow's Bookings'.

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Part

Contact Black Box

iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

Name

Contact

Email:

techsupport@blackbox.com

Telephone:

+1 (724) 746-5500

Fax:

Not available

11. Contact Black Box

If you have any questions about the iCompel Data Engine or iCOMPEL please contact Black Box Network Services on:

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Index

Contact Black Box

Index

- 2 -

2007 Office System Driver: Data Connectivity Components

Installation 12

- A -

Active Connection Status

Monitoring 41

Add Player

All existing Connections 45

Anti-virus Software

Settings 41

- B -

Backoff

Connection policy 47

Bulk modify

Connections 45

- C -

Calendar Event times

Time Zone handling and display 66 Connecting to a Player Management system 58 Connecting to Google Calendar 69 Connection 10

Destination location for results 26

Execution schedule 38

Overview 10

Source data location and query 11 Connection Editor Application

Overview 10

Viewing Connections 10 Connection Manager Application

Managing Connections 42

Monitoring Connections 41

Overview 40

System status 41

View Status Messages for Active Connections

41 Connection Status Messages 44 Connection Windows Service

Overview 40 Connector

Microsoft Excel 12 Microsoft Exchange Server 16 SQL 18 Text 21, 22, 23, 25 Text Connector query settings 25 Text format 23

XML 19, 20 Contact details 88 Copying Media Items 29

- D -

Data Source 11

Excel Connector 12

Exchange Server Connector 16

SQL Connector 18

Text Connector Advanced query Settings 25

Text Connector Basic Settings 22

Text Connector format Settings 23

XML Connector Settings 20

XML Location and Schema settings 20

XML Location page 20

XML Schema page 20 Date and Number format 14 Dates

Handling international formats 14 Deployment considerations

Channel 54

Files to include 54

Player Local Information 54 Destination

Limiting number of results returned 36

Player location 36

Presentation (template) Format file output 32

Text file output 30

XML file 27 Destination XML Filename

Setting the Output XML Filename 28 Diagnostics

Detailed Service diagnostics 47

Log files 47

- E -

Excel Connector

Advanced query example 62

Advanced query settings 62

Advanced settings 14

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iCompel Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2)

Index

Excel Connector

Cell range setting 12 Data loss and data truncation 62 Excel filename 12 Refining results using SQL statements 62 Supported Microsoft Excel versions 12 Worksheet and cell range 12

Exchange Connector

Advanced settings 66 Supported Microsoft Exchange Server versions

Exchange query protocol

Enterprise Web Services (EWS) 16, 66 WebDAV 16, 66

Executing a Connection 38

- F -

Firewall Software

Settings 41

FTP and Proxy Details 55

- G -

Google Calendar Connector 17

How to configure 69

- I -

iDigitalManager

Connecting to 58

- L -

Licensing

Adding a new License 50 Overview 50

Reviewing installed Licenses 50 Limiting record count 36 Log Files

Configuration 47

Diagnostics 47

- M -

Managing Connections

Adding 42

Creating 42

Outstanding Actions 43

Overview 42

Removing 42

Viewing or modifying 42 Media Item Finder 28 Modify 45 Modify Player

All Connections 45

All existing Connections 45

- N -

Numbers

Handling international formats 14

- O -

ODBC Data Source Name

Creating an ODBC System Data Source Name

Using on 64bit versions of Windows 57 Outlook

Displaying Calendar events 16 Outstanding Actions

Overview 43

Undo Action 43

Viewing Actions 43

- P -

Player

Adding a DATA IN license 37

Failure to play due to licensing restriction 37 Presentation (template) file output

Details and settings 32 Properties

Mode description 38

Name and Description 38

- Q -

Query type

Exchange Calendar events 66

Exchange Emails 66

- R -

Result location

See destination 26 Retry

Connection policy 47

- S -

Sample media

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Index

Contact Black Box

Sample media

Displaying results 71 Installing 71 Overview 71

Schedule

Defining 38

Service Configuration

Diagnostics 47 Service is not running message 41 SQL Command 18 SQL Connector

Connecting to a Player Management system

example 58

Creating an ODBC System Data Source Name

SQL Command 18

System ODBC Name 18

Using on 64bit versions of Windows 57 System Configuration 47

- T -

Template file output

Details and settings 32 Testing

Executing 38

Log window 38 Text file output

Details and settings 30

Pie chart Widget settings 80 Room Summary 85 Room Summary Widget settings 84 Tabular 81 Timeline 84 Timeline Widget settings 84

Widget settings and configuration

Configuration file 79 Overview 79

Widgets

Bar chart screen shot 72 Diary screen shot 77 Included examples 71 Installing 71 Line chart screen shot 72 Overview 71 Pie chart screen shot 72 Room Summary screen shot 77 Tabular screen shot 72 Timeline screen shot 77

- X -

XML Output

Details and settings 27 Setting the Output XML Filename 28

- U -

Updating Media Item properties 29 User Management 55

- V -

View Status Messages

Overview 41, 44

- W -

Widget Configuration

Bar chart 82

Bar chart Widget settings 80

Diary 85

Diary Widget settings 84

Line chart 82

Line chart Widget settings 80

Pie chart 82

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About BlackBox

Black Box Network Services is your source for more than 118,000 networking and infrastructure products. You’ll find everything from cabinets and racks and power and surge protection products to media converters and Ethernet switches all supported by free, live 24/7 Tech support available in 30 seconds or less.

© Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Black Box® and the Double Diamond logo are registered trademarks of BB Technologies, Inc. Any third-party trademarks appearing in this manual are acknowledged to be the property of their respective owners.

ICOMP, rev. <%REVISION_NUMBER%> (build: V3.1.2 (30971))

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Black Box ICOMP, ICOMP02-S, ICOMP03-H, ICOMP03-S, ICOMP-VID User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Please note that to automatically execute the Connection according to its schedule, it must be deployed to the Connection Manager, as described in the QuickStart section of Monitoring and Managing Connections.

The SQL Connector is used to retrieve and process data from a database, for example, Oracle® or Microsoft® SQL Server®.

This process is described in more detail on the Outstanding Actions section.

Using the SQL Connector

Using the Google Calendar Connector

Media Widgets

Note: If the Media Widgets are used to display results, they must be installed on each iCOMPEL on which results are to be displayed. Please refer to the section Installing Sample Layouts and Widgets for more information.