WebFOCUS ReportCaster Configuration

The Configuration tool enables Managers to view and manage the configuration of the Distribution Server, Servlet (deployed in WebFOCUS ReportCaster web application) interfaces and tools. Options that Managers can modify include Distribution Servers, General Preferences, Email Distribution, Notification, and other options.

Configuration Icons

In the Configuration tab on the WebFOCUS ReportCaster Console ribbon, a series of icons enable you to perform the following tasks.

• Manage Configuration group
  • Save. Saves any changes made to the configuration. You will receive a message asking you to confirm the save. You must save the changes to the configuration settings as part of the process to implement the change. For details, see Changing Configuration Settings.
  • New. Creates a new WebFOCUS Reporting Server connection. This option is only active when working in the Data Servers folder.
  • Remove. Deletes a WebFOCUS Reporting Server from the WebFOCUS ReportCaster configuration. You will receive a message asking you to confirm the deletion. This option is only active when working in the Data Servers folder.
  • Test. Tests the connection to the selected server or repository. This option is only active when working in the Data Servers and LDAP Settings folders. You may be prompted for a user ID and password to connect to a specified server. You will receive a message describing whether the test succeeded or failed.
  • Restart. Restarts the Distribution Server and WebFOCUS ReportCaster to implement changes to the server configuration. You can also select Restart from the Action menu. For more information, see Changing Configuration Settings.
  • Configuration Files. Provides options to view and download the WebFOCUS ReportCaster configuration files. Click the arrow to access the following individual files.
    • dserver.xml. Contains a record of current WebFOCUS ReportCaster configuration settings.
    • sendmodes.xml. Contains information about MIME output file formats.
    • rc_preference.xml. Contains information about the display of options in the UI.

    Clicking one of these file options displays the file information in a browser window. Click Download Configuration Files to download all files as a single zip file.

• Tools group
  • Global Updates. Authorized users can make global updates for the values stored in schedules and distribution lists. using the Global Updates interface, the following settings can be updated:
    • Mail Server
    • FTP Server
    • Printer
    • Email Address
    • Email From
    • Library URL
    • Data Server
    • Notification Type
    • Notification Reply Address
    • Notification Subject
    • Notification Brief Message To
    • Notification Full Message To
    • First Pre-processing Procedure
    • Second Pre-processing Procedure
    • First Post-processing Procedure
    • Second Post-processing Procedure

    For more information, see Global Updates.

  • Purge Job Logs. Provides on-demand capability for purging logs. You can also specify a number of days (past) for which to purge job logs. For example, if you want to purge job logs for the past month, you would use the default number of days, which is 30. You can also specify an option for traces: Default Traces, No Traces, or Trace On. For more information, see Purge Job Logs.
  • Purge Library. Provides the on-demand capability for deleting expired library reports. You can accept the default, which is to purge expired library reports, or select the option to Delete Library Reports Older Than, which allows you to specify a date for which all reports prior to this date will be deleted. You can use the drop-down menu to enable a calendar, or enter the date manually. You can also specify an option for traces: Default Traces, No Traces, or Trace On. For more information, see Deleting Expired Library Reports.
  • Delete Schedules. The Delete Schedules functionality provides on-demand options for deleting all inactive or nonrecurring schedules. You can also specify an option for traces: Default Traces, No Traces, or Trace On. For more information, see Delete Schedules.
  • Unsubscribe Watch List Users. Allows authorized users to cancel notifications for any users subscribed to a Library Watch List.
• Actions group
  • Refresh. Refreshes the settings to reflect the last saved configuration settings.
• Help. Opens the online Help file. This option is only available when accessing the configuration tool through the WebFOCUS web application. It is not available when accessing the tool from the Windows Programs menu or by running editit.bat or the UNIX editit script file from the /utilities directory within the WebFOCUS Distribution Server installation.

Deleting Expired Library Reports

Procedure
1. From the Tools group in the ReportCaster Console, click Purge Library.

   The Delete Library Reports dialog box displays.

2. Accept the default, Delete Expired Library Reports, or select Delete Library Reports Older Than, for which you can specify a date using the drop-down menu to enable a calendar control, where you can select a date.
3. Under Trace Options, you can accept the default of Default Traces, or select No Traces or Trace On.
4. Click OK.

Configuration Tab Folders

The Configuration tab provides access to configuration settings through the following folders:

• Distribution Servers. Defines and configures the Distribution Server. This folder provides settings to define a failover Distribution Server to act as a backup, and configure two or more Distribution Servers to share the workload. This folder also contains the Additional Settings folder. For details on these settings, see Distribution Server Settings.
• General Preferences. Specifies which distribution formats, and methods are available to a user creating a schedule. In this folder, you can also specify blackout period settings, and if WebFOCUS ReportCaster scheduling options include the ability to distribute a PDF file directly to a printer. For details on these settings, see General Preferences.
• Email Distribution. Configures email settings, such as the default email host, number of attempts to distribute to an email host, and security information. For details on these settings, see Email Distribution.
• Notification. Configures notification settings, such as the notification email host and default notification type. For details on these settings, see Notification.
• FTP Settings. Allows you to specify the default FTP and user ID, and security plug-in. You can also indicate whether the server requires a secure SFTP connection and specify the authentication method. For details on these settings, see Email Distribution.
• Zip Settings. Provides settings to configure how Zip files will be created and named. For details on these settings, see Zip Settings.
• Other Schedule Defaults. Defines the default end date and time of a WebFOCUS ReportCaster schedule. For details on these settings, see Other Schedule Defaults.
• Log Purge and Library Expiration. Allows you to specify the time and period that log files will be automatically purged. For details on these settings, see Log Purge and Library Expiration.
• LDAP Setting. Allows you to configure ReportCaster self-service users to be authenticated and authorized against an LDAP data source rather than the WebFOCUS Repository. You can also configure ReportCaster to retrieve email address information from an LDAP data source. For details on these settings, see LDAP Setting.
• Data Servers. Allows you to configure multiple Reporting Servers, including cluster servers. For details on these settings, see Data Servers Settings.
• Report Library. Allows you to specify Report Library settings, such as the default URL to access content in the Library, and whether to compress files stored in the Library. This folder also contains the Additional Library Settings and Watch List Settings folders. For details on these settings, see Report Library Settings.
• Messaging Distribution. Allows you to setup messaging applications like Slack, Teams, Google chat and so on for distribution. For details on these settings, see Messaging Distribution.

Changing Configuration Settings

To implement changes to the WebFOCUS ReportCaster server configuration settings, you must save the changes, and then restart the Distribution Server and the WebFOCUS ReportCaster web application. Use the following steps to save any configuration changes.

1. After you make changes to any of the configuration settings within a Configuration folder, click the Save icon in the Manage Configuration group toolbar.

   A window opens, asking you to confirm the save.

2. Click OK.

   A window opens, explaining that you must restart the Distribution Server and the WebFOCUS ReportCaster web application in order for the changes that you saved to take effect.

3. Click OK.
4. Click the Restart icon in the Manage Configuration group toolbar.

   A window opens, asking you to confirm that you want to stop all running jobs and restart.

5. Click Yes.
   Note: If failover or workload distribution is configured, all Distribution Servers are started.
6. Notify all users that are currently logged that they must restart their sessions to obtain the new configuration information. This is required because user sessions have information cached pertaining to the WebFOCUS ReportCaster configuration. The user interfaces must be restarted to obtain any updated configuration information.

Changing Default User IDs

Several of the Configuration tab folders provide the option to change the default user ID and/or password. To change default user ID settings, click the icon that appears to the right of the setting field. This opens the User dialog box, where you can type a new user ID and password. When your changes are complete, click OK to exit the User dialog box. Remember to save your changes and restart the Distribution Server to implement any changes.