Hi,
In my current setup I'm using a classic reporter template that is generating a pdf file that contains trend graphs. I.e. I'm sending multiple dmaId/ElementId/ParamId/Index as input and I get the trend graphs as pdf file as output.
To be future proof, I'm trying to translate this to use the new dashboard module.
I created one element feed, multiple parameter feeds (as I have 4 possible type of parameters) linked to the element feed, there is an index feed linked to every parameter feed. As last part there is the actual trend graph (linked to the parameter and index feed). And there is also a time range feed.
When I fill in all the feeds manually then I can see the graphs being generated.
When I try to do this through an automation script to send an e-mail with "Include report or dashboard" as action then I can configure it and the url gets saved with "1D" as separator between the different parameters, but if I reopen the "Configure" through the automation script UI then it is selecting the first parameter for all parameter feeds and the indices of all feeds are selected for all the feeds. The url is also reflecting this: there is only one parameter value present, everything that was previously after the "1D" is removed.
If I try to execute the automation script to send the e-mail then I can see that the generated pdf contains 4 blank rectangles with the text "ElementName:FirstParameterName", but no trend graph included.
Would anyone have some hints on how I can get this to work correctly?
I guess I need 4 parameter feeds, as for one parameter I could be requesting "IndexA" and "IndexB" while for another parameter I could be requesting "IndexC" and "IndexD", but if somebody would know an alternative where I can pass multiple dmaId/elementId/ParamId/Index into one feed and get all the trend graphs below each other in one pdf file then that would be great.
Another thing that I'm searching for is how to call the feed dynamically and get the generated report file? The old code with the reporter template is constructing the url and the return value when browsing to that url is the pdf content.
I can see from an automationscript C# code that the engine.PrepareMailReport and engine.SendReport can be called, but no further info on how to adapt the feeds and in that case it would be sending an e-mail for which I'm not interested in as I need the file itself locally somehow. The automation script also has the action "Upload report to shared folder", as a workaround I could make a local folder shared and let the file be set there, but how to do this from C# code with dynamic feeds?
Hi Laurens,
Great to see you making the move from the classic reporter to the new dashboards application in DataMiner. During different features releases 10.2, you'll see that we'll add more and more features in the new dashboards specifically to support such transitions.
If I understand your use case correctly, the problem is that you have different controls (feed controls) in your dashboards that send out feeds of the same type (in your case parameters & indices). The selection state of those feed controls is saved in the url, but the problem is that this is done per type of object. We have an url argument for parameters, we have one for elements, for indices, ... So if you have multiple of the same kind, they come together in one url parameter. This means that after a full refresh in the browser or, in your case, in preconfigured dashboards in automation, scheduler or correlation, the selection is mixed, like you mentioned.
We were aware of this limitation and in 10.2.2, we have already reworked the url data format (internal RN id 31833). From 10.2.2 onwards, you can have multiple feed controls having their own selected items, even if they are from the same type. 10.2.2 is expected to be released January 28th.
If you can't wait on 10.2.2, maybe you can try to work around the limitation by using one 'Parameter Feed' control.
If you want to have a preview on the changes, feel free to contact me directly.
Thanks for the reply. I’ll wait for the 10.2.2 onwards and keep on using the reporter template for now. When checking the RN I guess I’ll have to use the “components” object to specify the value per feed separately. The thing that I’m wondering with that new syntax is that the component-id needs to be specified and then the select object, but the select object has a data structure that contains out of a datatype and datakey. Why would the datatype still be needed if the component-id already defines it?
Will there be placeholders foreseen in the future to be able to dynamically call the url from an automation script or a way to pass the json structure to let the pdf file be generated from an C# automation script/driver qaction?
Hi Laurens,
Some components support multiple data types, so that’s why it is still needed. The UI in Cube to configure your dashboard is adapted as well, so you can do your configuration without having to worry about the format of the url.
There have been some thoughts on a C# automation api call to generate pdfs for dashboards, but I can’t find a specific task for that atm. Feel free to create one.
Thanks Pieter, I’ve created task 174613 for this
When testing it out to “Upload report to shared folder” then the result is an empty pdf that is getting generated. The DMS logo etc is not included, while when sending the pdf through e-mail still did had it.