Restricting Distribution of Reports to the Report Library

In this section:

How to:

You can restrict the distribution of a report (.fex), through scheduling, to the Report Library only. This applies to all reports, including those that may contain sensitive or private data, as well as other items for which you may want to limit distribution.

Restricting the distribution of reports to the Report Library provides you with secure access to distributed report output stored in the Repository. For reports that contain sensitive data, this eliminates the possibility of using ReportCaster to schedule and distribute the information through email or any of the other ReportCaster distribution methods.

In order to use this functionality, you must restrict the distribution of the report to the Library only using the Restrict Schedule to Library Only option on the Properties dialog box for the selected report.

Note: You access the Properties dialog box by right-clicking a report (.fex) in the Resources tree and selecting Properties.

After setting the restriction, you can schedule your report using the Basic Scheduling tool. Distribution will be limited to the Report Library only.

You can create and schedule a report (.fex) to run using the Basic or Advanced Scheduling tools. The Distribution server continually evaluates and enforces the distribution restriction to the library (for those reports that are restricted) by not distributing the report. The Distribution server performs this validation every time a schedule is run.

Procedure: How to Schedule a Restricted Report for Distribution to the Report Library Only Using the Basic Scheduling Tool

  1. Create and save a report.
  2. From the Workspaces area on the start page or the WebFOCUS Home Page, right-click the report and click Properties.
  3. Click the Advanced tab.
  4. In the Scheduling and Library Content Properties section, select the Restrict Schedule to Library Only check box.
  5. Click Save.
  6. From the Workspaces area of the start page or the WebFOCUS Home Page, right-click the report and click Schedule.

    Note: With the restriction set, your distribution is limited to the Report Library.

  7. Add any additional changes, and then save and run the schedule.
  8. Optionally, review the log information in the Job Logs section of the ReportCaster Console, as described in Log Information.

    For more information, see Using the Report Library Distribution Option in the Basic Scheduling Tool.

Procedure: How to Schedule a Restricted Report for Distribution to the Report Library Only Using the Advanced Scheduling Tool

You can launch the Advanced Scheduling tool by clicking a Domain in the Resources tree, navigating to the Actions bar, clicking the Schedule button, and then clicking Schedule. The Advanced Scheduling tool can also be launched by editing an existing schedule.

  1. Create and save a report.
  2. From the Workspaces area on the start page or the WebFOCUS Home Page, right-click the report and click Properties.
  3. Click the Advanced tab.
  4. In the Scheduling and Library Content Properties section, select the Restrict Schedule to Library Only check box.
  5. Click Save.
  6. From the Workspaces area on the start page or the WebFOCUS Home Page, click the Schedule button, and then click Schedule.

    The Advanced Scheduling tool displays.

  7. Add a task for a WebFOCUS report, selecting the report with the restrictions.

    Note: When you select a WebFOCUS report to include in the schedule that has the Restrict Schedule to Library Only restriction set, you can only distribute to the Report Library. An error message will display if you attempt to select a different distribution method. For more information, see Restricted Schedule Warning Messages.

  8. Define the remaining required fields for the schedule, including:
    • Title
    • Recurrences
    • Distributions (Report Library Only)
  9. Save the schedule.

Restricted Schedule Warning Messages

If you have a report for which the properties indicate that the schedule should be restricted to Report Library distribution, you may encounter error messages.

If you try to select a different distribution method within an existing schedule, an error displays.

For schedules that have multiple distribution methods specified, an error displays if a report that is restricted to Report Library distribution is added to the schedule.

Log Information

After a schedule has run, you can access the log information from the Job Logs section of the ReportCaster Console. For more information, see Job Log..