When an analysis file is saved to the library, it becomes available to use in Spotfire web clients. Web browser-based versions of Spotfire can be used for viewing and exploring prepared analyses, but also, in some cases, for creating and editing analyses.
You can choose to copy the link to the analysis in the library from the final step of the Save to Library wizard and paste the link, in an email or similar, to share the information with colleagues and give access to the analysis.
Any analysis can be published to the library and opened with a Spotfire web client, but there are a few things to keep in mind that can make things easier for the web client users. First, consider how familiar your target audience is with the visualized data. The familiarity of the target audience may affect the instructions required as well as the setup of the analysis. For example, you may need to change the visibility of some filters for a certain audience. Second, bear in mind that all users of the analysis may not have access to the same data sources.
Tips when preparing analyses for TIBCO Spotfire web clients:
Use text areas to write instructions about the analysis and how it is set up. For instance, if master-detail visualizations are used, try to explain their relationship.
Use informative titles for the visualizations.
The overview of data will be improved if you hide filters that are not relevant for the visualizations in the analysis. For an explanation of how to hide filters, see Showing and Hiding Filters.
When using links or buttons in a text area, try to write instructions so that the information is helpful, even if the links should happen to become temporarily unavailable.
Consider whether all users of the analysis have access to all of the original data sources. If not, you may need to save some data tables embedded in the analysis, rather than linked to the original data sources. See Permissions for information about how permissions are handled in the library. There may also be user authentication limitations directly on the data source itself. Talk to your Spotfire Administrator or data manager to understand how the permissions for different user groups have been set up within your company.
It is not possible to view the 3D Scatter Plot on the web. Also note that some custom visualizations may not be shown. The analysis can still be opened in web clients, but the visualizations that are not supported will not be shown.
Consider whether or not web client users should be allowed to export data from tables. Make the appropriate settings on the Appearance page of the Table Properties, Cross Table Properties, Summary Table Properties, and/or Details-on-Demand Properties.
Consider whether or not web client users should be able to open a personalized view of the analysis and/or be allowed to add bookmarks. Open the Document Properties dialog to change these settings.
Consider whether or not web client users with sufficient permissions should be allowed to edit the analysis. Open the Document Properties dialog to change these settings.
Design for the intended platform
If you know that your end users will view an analysis using a particular equipment or with a specific browser you can look up the current visualization area size on that device and then design your analysis so that it is optimized for that particular screen size. Note that the current visualization area size is dependant on what browser and which toolbars and items are shown in the browser, so make sure that you are using the same settings when creating the analysis.
Tips when designing for a smaller screen size:
Remove all things that do not fit the small screen size.
Use Tools > Options > Fonts to globally resize the important font categories to fit the intended display.
Resize and move around the contents of the analysis.
Remove legends, axis selectors, etc., if they are not needed.
Use the popover mode rather than panels for filters, bookmarks, lists, etc..
If you want to set up an analysis that works both on a desktop computer with a large screen and also on a projector, you can use bookmarks to switch between the different sizes and layouts. The sizes for the projector and the large screen desktop computer can be stored by an administrator in the preferences.
To use bookmarks for adapting an analysis to different screen sizes:
Set up an analysis that works well on your large screen with the intended fixed size preset. Configure all text areas to Include configuration in bookmark.
When the document is finished, add a bookmark named something like "Large screen desktop computer".
Switch to the fixed size preset for the projector, and make updates to make the analysis work on a projector:
Change the size of text areas and fonts.
Change font sizes for titles, axis labels, etc., using Tools > Options, Fonts page and Apply to Document.
Update the layout, remove unnecessary legends, etc.
When the projector version of the analysis is finished, add a bookmark named "Projector".
Save the analysis.
The analysis is now adapted both to a projector and to a large screen desktop computer.
Mobile clients (Spotfire Analytics for iPad)
There are also some additional features that you may take advantage of when designing analyses to be used on mobile clients, see below.
Barcode scanning
The existence of a String document property named AppMachineReadableCode indicates to the iPad app that the opened analysis is configured to work with machine readable codes. If the document property does not exist in the analysis there will be no "barcode"-icon available in the app.
The value of the AppMachineReadableCode document property is set by scanning bar codes. It is set to the empty string when no bar code is scanned.
The following machine readable code types are supported:
UPC-E
Code 39
Code 39 mod 43
EAN-13 (including UPC-A)
EAN-8
Code 93
Code 128
PDF417
QR
Aztec
Positioning
The existence of two Real document properties named AppGeoLatitude and AppGeoLongitude indicates to the iPad app that the opened analysis is configured to work with geo-positioning. If the document properties do not exist in the analysis there will be no "positioning"-icon available in the app.
The values of the document properties are set using the device location. They are both set to 0.0 when no location is activated.
Tip for usage of the device location properties:
If you have a data table with columns containing latitude and longitude you can use the Spotfire expression method GreatCircleDistance() to create a calculated column containing the distance between the device location and all locations in the data.
You multiply the resulting value by the radius of the planet; For kilometers use 6371, for miles use 3959.
For example, the expression below, gives the distance in km:
6371 * GreatCircleDistance(${AppGeoLatitude}, ${AppGeoLongitude}, [latitude_column_name], [longitude-column_name])
See also:
Saving an Analysis file in the Library
Links to Analyses in the Library