Dashboard Design Portlet User's Guide
■ Dashboard Design Portlet User's Guide
2010-07-27
Copyright
© 2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved.SAP, R/3, SAP NetWeaver, Duet, PartnerEdge, ByDesign, SAP
Business ByDesign, and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective
logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and other countries. Business
Objects and the Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, Crystal Reports, Crystal Decisions, Web
Intelligence, Xcelsius, and other Business Objects products and services mentioned herein as well
as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects S.A. in the
United States and in other countries. Business Objects is an SAP company.All other product and
service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this
document serves informational purposes only. National product specifications may vary.These materials
are subject to change without notice. These materials are provided by SAP AG and its affiliated
companies ("SAP Group") for informational purposes only, without representation or warranty of any
kind, and SAP Group shall not be liable for errors or omissions with respect to the materials. The
only warranties for SAP Group products and services are those that are set forth in the express
warranty statements accompanying such products and services, if any. Nothing herein should be
construed as constituting an additional warranty.
2010-07-27
Contents
Overview.................................................................................................................................5Chapter 1
Introduction.............................................................................................................................7Chapter 2
Dashboard Design Portlet Generation Utility.........................................................................9Chapter 3
3.1
3.2
3.3
4.1
4.1.1
4.1.2
4.1.3
4.2
5.1
5.2
5.3
Installation................................................................................................................................9
Using the Portlet Generation Utility .........................................................................................9
Configuring the Portlet Generation Utility...............................................................................12
Relevant Dashboard Design Data Connections....................................................................13Chapter 4
Portal Data Connections........................................................................................................13
Connection Type: Consumer..................................................................................................13
Connection Type: Provider.....................................................................................................14
Connection Type: None (Parameter)......................................................................................14
Web Service Connections......................................................................................................15
Dashboard Design Portlet.....................................................................................................17Chapter 5
Dashboard Design Portlet Administration...............................................................................17
Dashboard Design Portlet User Interface...............................................................................19
Dashboard Design Data in the Dashboard Design Portlet......................................................20
Finding more information......................................................................................................23Chapter 6
More Information...................................................................................................................25Appendix A
Index 27
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Contents
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Overview
Overview
An Dashboard Design Portlet enables the integration of an Dashboard Design model exported to
Shockwave Flash Object (SWF) files into a portal server, making default values configurable and
enabling one Dashboard Design Portlet to communicate with another.
This document describes how to create and configure an Dashboard Design Portlet from any Dashboard
Design model.
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Overview
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Introduction
Introduction
For each model published on a portal, a new Dashboard Design Portlet is created. The Dashboard
Design Portlet discussed in this document is a template used to build each of these specific Dashboard
Design portlets.
While the Dashboard Design Portlet complies with the JSR 168 standard, and can be deployed on any
portal server, inter-portlet communication is currently only supported on IBM WebSphere Portals.
The Dashboard Design Portlet was tested on IBM WebSphere Portal 5.1. All portlet management
instructions in this guide are based on WebSphere Portal 5.1. All portal screenshots are taken from a
WebSphere Portal 5.1 installation.
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Introduction
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Dashboard Design Portlet Generation Utility
Dashboard Design Portlet Generation Utility
The Dashboard Design Portlet Generation Utility creates a Dashboard Design Portlet for a given model.
The Dashboard Design Portlet Generation Utility's output is a Dashboard Design portlet contained in
a web application archive (.war), which can be installed on a portal server.
3.1 Installation
The Dashboard Design Portlet Generation Utility does not require an installation. It only needs to be
extracted to a convenient location. The only software needed is Java Runtime Environment version
1.4.2 or higher.
3.2 Using the Portlet Generation Utility
Starting the application
The Dashboard Design Portlet Generation Utility is started by double-clicking XcelsiusPortletGen
erationUtility.bat (.sh on Linux platforms).
Selecting a file and a destination
The first screen dialog is used to select the model for which the Dashboard Design Portlet is created,
and to decide where the resulting web application archive (.war) file should be stored.
Be sure that the file you select contains Portal Data connection(s). For details about the Dashboard
Design data connections that have special functionality in the Dashboard Design portlets, see Relevant
Dashboard Design Data Connections.
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Dashboard Design Portlet Generation Utility
Inserting portlet specific data
Based on the model SWF file, suggested values are generated for each field. The second dialog allows
modifying these values. The following table explains what these values are in the portlet context.
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Dashboard Design Portlet Generation Utility
DescriptionField
Portlet Id
Internal identification used by WebSphere Portal. The Portlet Id must be unique.
Allowed characters are letters, digits, dot (“.”) and underscore (“_”).
Portlet Name
The portlet's name, which also determines the name of the web application the
utility generates. Allowed characters are letters, digits, dot (“.”) and underscore
(“_”).
Appears when portlet is displayed.Display Name
Portlet Title
The portlet title is usually displayed in the title bar of the portlet's skin. Locale
dependent.
May be used instead of the portlet title. Locale dependent.Portlet Short Title
Portlet Description
The portlet description is displayed in the portal administration. (Keep it short;
there's not too much room in there.)
The portlet's keywords. Locale dependent.Portlet Keywords
Until the Finish button is pressed, nothing is written to the file system. Only then, the Portlet Generation
Process is invoked.
Final screen
After the portlet has been created, the final dialog gives the absolute location of the generated web
application.
To create another Portlet, click Create Another Portlet; otherwise click OK to close the application.
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Dashboard Design Portlet Generation Utility
3.3 Configuring the Portlet Generation Utility
Both the template web application and its default settings can be configured.
Note:
The name of the utility's JAR file may vary, depending on the platform.
The properties file
The Dashboard Design Generation Utility's property file name is XcelsiusPortletCreationUtil
ity.properties. To modify it, you need to unpack the utility's JAR file, edit it, and preferably put it
back into the JAR file. Alternatively, it can be kept in the same folder as the JAR file.
The properties file contains default values used for Dashboard Design Portlet parameters. These default
values are used to generate the suggested values displayed in dialog "Step 2 of 2".
It also contains values that are not expected to change frequently, such as which template web application
file to use.
The template web application
The files in the template application contain placeholders for special values, which are replaced by the
utility. Make sure you keep all of the files and placeholders. When the utility does not find files or
placeholders in the files, it assumes that the template web application has been corrupted and will not
create any Dashboard Design Portlets.
If for some reason (For example, different texts or layout on the Xcelsius Portlet's JSPs, adding special
supported languages, and so on) you need a different template web application, modify the original
WAR file from the utility ( template.war).
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Relevant Dashboard Design Data Connections
Relevant Dashboard Design Data Connections
When creating a model, there are two connection types that have special functionality if used in a
Dashboard Design Portlet: Portal Data Connection and Web Service Connection. These connections
are in the Data Manager. Portal Data connections can be of the following types: None (parameter),
Consumer, or Provider.
Each model can contain either one provider connection or one consumer connection. It can also contain
neither.
Portal Data Type: None (Parameter) and Web Service Connections are independent from consumers
and providers. Their numbers are not limited.
4.1 Portal Data Connections
4.1.1 Connection Type: Consumer
There are three different kinds of consumer, distinguished by the range they cover:
• Cell: consumes data and maps it to a single cell.
• Row: consumes data and maps it to a one dimensional group of cells.
• Table: consumes data and maps it to a two dimensional group of cells.
The image below illustrates how ranges for a Cell Consumer, a Row Consumer, and a Table Consumer
may be selected.
Note:
For Row Consumers, the selected range may be vertical (row) or horizontal (column).
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Relevant Dashboard Design Data Connections
4.1.2 Connection Type: Provider
As with the consumers, there are three different types of providers:
• Cell: transmits values of a single cell
• Row: transmits values of a one dimensional group of cells
• Table: transmits values of a two dimensional group of cells
4.1.3 Connection Type: None (Parameter)
Parameters enable you to modify values from outside the SWF model.
Their values can be modified in the Dashboard Design Portlet's edit mode.
To be able to use them in the model, the parameters must be linked to a cell in the spreadsheet.
When linked to a cell, the parameter is given a default value. If the cell is empty, the default value will
be zero (0) .
There are different types of parameters. The type indicates which values are expected. It does not limit
you in what you might do with these parameters.
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Relevant Dashboard Design Data Connections
• Text parameters allow you to enter any text.
• Number parameters allow you to enter numbers.
• Check Box parameters allow you to enter exactly two values: checked, represented by (-1), and
unchecked, represented by (null).
• Date parameters represent a date.
• List Box parameters allow you to specify a number of options among which the user may later
choose.
For details on how these values can be modified in the portal, see Dashboard Design Portlet User
Interface.
User Information
Text parameters with special names will be translated to information about the portal user using the
portlet. This functionality can be used to personalize the model. (For example, using the user's name
in a welcome message.)
Parameters whose name starts with USER_INFO will not show up in the Dashboard Design Portlet's
edit mode. Be sure not to let your Parameters' names start with USER_INFO if they are not intended
to pick up user data.
The following table shows supported values for USER_INFO names. Note that not all fields will contain
values on every portal. Check with your portal administrator which values are supported by the portal's
user registry.
Special Values
USER_INFO.user.name.given
USER_INFO.user.name.family
USER_INFO.user.name.prefix
USER_INFO.user.name.middle
USER_INFO.user.name.employer
USER_INFO.user.name.department
4.2 Web Service Connections
The model can receive data from web services.
If the web service is a Web service query (Query as a Web Sercie)Connection, it will connect to the
SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise server specified in the URL of the Web service query connection.
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Relevant Dashboard Design Data Connections
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Dashboard Design Portlet
Dashboard Design Portlet
Once an Dashboard Design Portlet is created, it is bound to its underlying model, and its portlet
properties, such as name, title, and so on are set. It is ready to be installed on a portal server.
The only thing left to do is modifying any Dashboard Design Portal Data Parameters, set up its
collaborations with other portlets, and some administrative tasks.
This section covers the administrative tasks needed to get a portlet up and running, the Dashboard
Design Portlet from a user's perspective, and how collaboration in a running portlet works - everything
you will need to know if the Dashboard Design Portlet should collaborate with other, non-Dashboard
Design portlets.
5.1 Dashboard Design Portlet Administration
Before a Dashboard Design Portlet can be used on a portal page, a user with administrator privileges
has to install it.
Configuration is only needed for inter-portlet communication and, in most scenarios, access rights
settings.
Installing a Dashboard Design Portlet
Each Dashboard Design portlet is packaged in its own web application. It does not require any special
settings or additional libraries.
Configuring Inter-Portlet Communication
Dashboard Design Portlets may transmit data to other portlets. This is set up in the portal's administration,
under the "Manage Pages" section. Every portal user who has the right to edit the page can configure
inter-portlet communication.
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Dashboard Design Portlet
Choose the page where the portlets that will communicate are published, and select theEdit icon.
In the edit page section, select the rightmost section titled "Wires". In the "Source portlet" list, select
the portlet that holds the provider.
Under "Sending", select the field that should be sent. For Dashboard Design Portlets, there will be only
one option in the list.
Select the "Target page" on which your consumer portlet is published. Select your consumer portlet as
"Target portlet". In the "Receiving" list, for Xcelsius portlets, there will be only one option.
Choose the "Wire Type" and click the add + button to finalize the wire creation. Your portlets are now
able to communicate.
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Dashboard Design Portlet
Caution:
Be aware Portlets that contain only consumers also show up as potential source portlets, and portlets
containing only a provider also show up as possible target portlets. This is because a portlet either is
wiring-enabled or not. For WebSphere Portal, there is no distinction between provider and consumer
portlets. If you choose a consumer portlet as the provider, this wire will never be used, because the
consumer will never send any data.
Caution:
Be sure that the mapping of providers and consumers is compatible with your intent. Generally, let Cell
Providers communicate with Cell Consumers, Row Providers with Row Consumers, and Table Providers
with Table Consumers. Otherwise, you might not see the intended results.
5.2 Dashboard Design Portlet User Interface
The Dashboard Design Portlet will have the default height and width of the model it integrates. It displays
the SWF file using the web browser's Adobe Flash Player plug-in.
Modifying Dashboard Design Portal Data Parameters
Different types of Portal Data Parameters render to different input fields in the Dashboard Design
Portlet's edit mode. The following table contains the HTML control for each parameter type.
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Dashboard Design Portlet
This image shows the edit mode of a Dashboard Design Portlet with a Text parameter named "message,"
a Check Box parameter named "checkbox," a Date parameter named "date1," and a List Box parameter
Edit Mode ControlParameter Type
Input FieldText
Input FieldNumber
Input FieldDate
Check BoxCheck Box
Drop-Down BoxList Box
named "listbox".
5.3 Dashboard Design Data in the Dashboard Design Portlet
Data from the model comes in contact with the Dashboard Design Portlet in two ways:
• Data transmitted between Dashboard Design Portlets connected through wires.
• Data for parameters set by the user in the portlet's edit mode.
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Dashboard Design Portlet
Portal Data Providers and Portal Data Consumers exchange data in XML format. The Dashboard Design
Portlet does not modify the data that is transmitted. This table shows the different values.
<data>
<row>
<column>
DATA
</column>
</row>
</data>
<data>
<row>
<column>
DATA
</column>
<column>
DATA
</column>
<column>
DATA
</column>
</row>
</data>
<data>
<row>
<column>
DATA
</column>
<column>
DATA
</column>
</row>
<row>
<column>
DATA
</column>
</row>
</data>
Data that goes into the model – data received by a consumer and data set for a parameter – is set as
a Flash variable.
For consumers, the Dashboard Design Portlet does not impose any restrictions on the sender of the
data, meaning the sending entity does not have to be another Dashboard Design Portlet. If you need
to transmit data from another, non-Dashboard Design portlet, be sure to wrap the data as described in
the table and set up the wires similar to how wires are set up between Dashboard Design Portlets. It
is equally possible to send data from an Dashboard Design Portlet to a non-Dashboard Design portlet.
Note:
If data transmitted between a non-Dashboard Design Portlet provider and an Dashboard Design Portlet
consumer is received but not correctly formatted in the DAshboard Design Portlet, check if your data
is enclosed in XML as described by the table.
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Dashboard Design Portlet
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Finding more information
Finding more information
For more information, visit the following web sites:
• WebSphere Portal information and product documentation
http://www.ibm.com/software/genservers/portal/support/
• Background Information on the Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS)
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/docs/guide/security/jaas/JAASRefGuide.html
• The BusinessObjects Enterprise Portal Integration Kits:
http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/boc/index?rid=/webcontent/uuid/503988db-58c5-2b10-f79d-cb96700417f9
• SAP BusinessObjects product documentation:
http://help.sap.com/
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Finding more information
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More Information
More Information
LocationInformation Resource
SAP BusinessObjects product information
SAP Help Portal
SAP Service Marketplace
http://www.sap.com
Navigate to http://help.sap.com/businessobjects and on the "SAP BusinessObjects Overview" side panel click All Products.
You can access the most up-to-date documentation covering all SAP
BusinessObjects products and their deployment at the SAP Help Portal.
You can download PDF versions or installable HTML libraries.
Certain guides are stored on the SAP Service Marketplace and are not
available from the SAP Help Portal. These guides are listed on the Help
Portal accompanied by a link to the SAP Service Marketplace. Customers
with a maintenance agreement have an authorized user ID to access
this site. To obtain an ID, contact your customer support representative.
http://service.sap.com/bosap-support > Documentation
• Installation guides: https://service.sap.com/bosap-instguides
• Release notes: http://service.sap.com/releasenotes
The SAP Service Marketplace stores certain installation guides, upgrade
and migration guides, deployment guides, release notes and Supported
Platforms documents. Customers with a maintenance agreement have
an authorized user ID to access this site. Contact your customer support
representative to obtain an ID. If you are redirected to the SAP Service
Marketplace from the SAP Help Portal, use the menu in the navigation
pane on the left to locate the category containing the documentation you
want to access.
Docupedia
Developer resources
https://cw.sdn.sap.com/cw/community/docupedia
Docupedia provides additional documentation resources, a collaborative
authoring environment, and an interactive feedback channel.
https://boc.sdn.sap.com/
https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/businessobjects-sdklibrary
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More Information
LocationInformation Resource
SAP BusinessObjects articles on
the SAP Community Network
Notes
Forums on the SAP Community
Network
Training
Online customer support
https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/boc/businessobjects-articles
These articles were formerly known as technical papers.
https://service.sap.com/notes
These notes were formerly known as Knowledge Base articles.
https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/forums
http://www.sap.com/services/education
From traditional classroom learning to targeted e-learning seminars, we
can offer a training package to suit your learning needs and preferred
learning style.
http://service.sap.com/bosap-support
The SAP Support Portal contains information about Customer Support
programs and services. It also has links to a wide range of technical information and downloads. Customers with a maintenance agreement
have an authorized user ID to access this site. To obtain an ID, contact
your customer support representative.
Consulting
http://www.sap.com/services/bysubject/businessobjectsconsulting
Consultants can accompany you from the initial analysis stage to the
delivery of your deployment project. Expertise is available in topics such
as relational and multidimensional databases, connectivity, database
design tools, and customized embedding technology.
2010-07-2726
Index
D
default settings
configuring 12
I
IBM WebSphere Portal 5.1 7
installation 9
J
JSR 168 7
P
Portal Data Connection 13
Portal Data Parameters 14
Portlet Generation Utility 9
Portlet Generation Utility configuration
12
Q
Query as a Web Service 15
W
web application archive 9
Web Service query (Query as a Web
Service) connection 15
Web Services Connection 13
X
Xcelsius Portlet Generation Utility 9
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Index
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