Evaluation Guide

Version 1.0 vom 20.08.2013 zu ReportServer 2.1

Evaluation Guide
2013 datenwerke
http://reportserver.datenwerke.net/
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Evaluation Guide
We are thrilled that you decided to give ReportServer a try. This document is meant to give
you a short introduction to our demo system and it should lead you step by step through the
most important functionality from the perspective of end users.
First things first. You will find the demo system at
http://demo.raas.datenwerke.net
If you would rather explore the demo system on your own initiative you can simply login
with the following credentials (the options button on the bottom left of the form allows you to
switch the language to English):
username: demoadmin
password: demoadmin
This account will give you broad (although read-only) access to the system and allows you
to explore almost all areas of ReportSever.
The Demo System

Our demo system simulates the reporting platform of a toys retailer. The data originates
from the Eclipse BIRT Sample Database (http://www.eclipse.org/birt/phoenix/db/) and was
adapted by us to form a small data warehouse; that is, we mainly aggregated information
according to different keys into aggregate tables. In addition we have created several reports
which we will introduce in the following sections.
The organizational chart of our fictional enterprise is also based on the Eclipse sample data.
On this basis we have introduced departments and divisions each with access to reports
regarding their area of work. In the course of this introduction we will assume the position of
different users to introduce the various aspects of ReportServer.
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To start, we want to show you how ReportServer looks from the point of view of a typical
user. For this please go to the demo system http://demo.raas.datenwerke.net and login with
the following credentials:
username: gbondur
password: secret
Gerard Bondur is a sales person and responsible for the regions Europe, the Middle East
and Africa.
After logging into the system youll find yourself in the dashboard module. Gerard has a single
dashboard with four dadgets (short for DAshboard gaDGETS). Dashboards allow to create
a page (or multiple pages) which contains aggregated information such that, for example,
key performance indicators are visible on a single glance. Users, such as Gerard, manage
dashboards themselves. Alternatively they can choose to include dashboards created by an
administrator. In our demo system you will only have read access to the dashboard and can
thus not create new dashboards or change the demo dashboard.
Besides the dashboard module the second important module for users is the TeamSpace.
To change to the TeamSpace switch modules by clicking on TeamSpace on the module bar
on the top edge of the screen. Gerard is part of the sales team and has thus access to the
Sales TeamSpace. The Sales TeamSpace is a shared workspace for all employees of the
sales department. Naturally there can be many TeamSpaces and users can have access to
multiple TeamSpaces. We will take a closer look at TeamSpace later on in this introduction.
Before we get to the TeamSpace note that the UI of ReportServer is structured into several
areas. On the very top you find the module navigation which allows you to access various
areas of ReportServer (you have already seen the dashboard modul; other modules are for
example the scheduler overview or the administration module). On the top right you find a
link to the users profile allowing the user to change various settings. Next to the link to the
users profile you see a global search field.
Beneath the module navigation you will see the currently active module: in our case the
TeamSapce. The TeamSpace is again structured into two parts. The left part is modeled after
the Windows Explorer and allows to navigate through folders to the various report objects.
In the right part youll find detailed information on the currently selected objects. Dragging
the border between the two windows allows you to resize the windows. By clicking on the
small strip on the left you can expand an additional tree structure, that allows you to quickly
navigate the TeamSpace even in case of many folders in various levels.
Let us start with the execution of a dynamic list which is the ReportServer way of ad hoc re-
porting. Access the folder Customers and open the report T_AGG_CUSTOMERS - Basis
by double clicking its icon. This report accesses an aggregate table in the warehouse and al-
lows the user to freely configure which kind of data from that table he or she wants to select.
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After opening the report you will find yourself in the list configuration view (the different views
are listed on the left hand side). Begin with clicking on the button select columns to start
adding data to your report. The opened popup contains a list of all available columns that you
can choose from for this dynamic list. You can select columns by double click or via drag and
drop from the left to the right. Please select the following columns (it might be easier to use
the search box to find the columns):
CUS_CUSTOMERNAME
Y_VOLUME
click on apply to confirm the selection. You should now be back in the list configuration view
and the two columns should have been added to the configuration.
To view a preview of your report click on preview in the left column. The preview view dis-
plays the first 50 data-rows and gives some metadata on the bottom. The bottom toolbar
also allows you to page through the data. Via right click on data cells you can access several
functions such as sorting, filters and formats. These and additional functionality can also be
accessed from the list configuration view (configure list in the left column). To export your
report into one of various formats you can click on Excel-Export (for Microsoft Excel) or on
the little arrow next to it.
The configuration of a dynamic list (which columns, filters, aggregations, etc.) can of course
be saved as a so called variant such that it can be easily accessed again at some later point.
In the read-only demo system this functionality is, however, disabled.
Now go back to the TeamSpace (click on Team Spaces in the module navigation at the top of
the page) and select the report Customermap (located in the root folder of the TeamSpace;
to go up a folder use the up-left-arrow from the toolbar). For selection, a single click is suffici-
ent. ReportServers scripting interface allows to incorporate almost any kind of report format
such as, for example, a view of the existing customers displayed on google maps. As you can
see, additional information for a report including a preview of the report is directly displayed
in the detail panel of the right of the TeamSpace. Click on one of the customers to get some
additional information and a link to a dynamic list displaying detailed information for that par-
ticular customer. If you click on the link youll be forwarded to that dynamic list. Notice that the
new report is opened in a tab which allows you to easily go back to any previously opened re-
port. To close a report click on the cross icon on the upper right or on the tab (at the bottom).
ReportServer integrates the jXLS library which allows users to directly export data into a
preconfigured Excel template thereby bridging the gap between simple list like reports and
highly formatted reports such as as Birt, Jasper or SAP Crystal Reports. To get a feeling of
what can be achieved using Excel templates go back to the TeamSpace and open the report
OrderReport Template (located in the Customers folder). Then click on Template-Export.
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Please log off the system and login again with the following credentials:
username: magrippa
password: secret
You are now logged in as Menenius Agrippa, a user who has access to two TeamSpaces. Go
to the TeamSpace module. In the upper menu bar of the TeamSpace you can switch between
the TeamSpaces for the Accounting and Backoffice divisions. In addition to the ACL based
permission management used throughout ReportServer, TeamSpaces have a simple role
based access scheme. In the demo system all users are assigned the guest role and thus
have read-only access only. The roles user and manager allow users to make changes
in the TeamSpace (e.g., add reports) and to manage who can access the TeamSpace. With
this, TeamSpaces provide a flexible view on the data without disturbing the administrative
structure which can only be accessed by administrators. Managing permissions (who can
access which reports) is an administrative task which sets an upper bound on the data that
can be accessed by a single user. That is, even if a user is given permissions to access a
TeamSpace he or she might not have the access to access all reports in this TeamSpace.
Now switch to the TeamSpace Backoffice and open the ProductsByProductline report (in
the Product Reports folder). This is an example of a graphical report created using the Jas-
perReports library. ReportServer seamlessly integrates report types and engines of different
vendors, which allows administrators to chose the engine that caters best to their current
needs.
Go back to TeamSpaces and select the Accounting TeamSpace. Open the folder Sales
and execute the report SalesInvoice. This is an example of a parameterized Eclipse Birt
Report. Every report type in ReportServer can be parameterized to allow users to adapt
the displayed data. Various types of parameters provide a comfortable and integrated user
experience. In this case you see a simple text input parameter.
Insert the order number 10100 and select preview (in the left column) to get a preview of the
report.
Finally let us take a quick glance at the administration of ReportServer. For this please logoff
and login again using the following credentials:
username: demoadmin
password: demoadmin
Select the administration module from the module navigation (on the top). Users, reports
and data sources are all structured in a hierarchical tree structure. This allows for efficient
management of objects as well as for a powerful permission scheme. The file server takes
a special role. It contains resources used in reports (such as images) but also configuration
files and ReportServer extension: scripts. These were used, for example, to customize the
user permissions in the demo system: for example users cannot change their passwords
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or dashboards and scheduling is disabled. To get an idea about what is possible with Re-
portServer scripts, please have a look at the scripts active in the demo system. These are
located in the fileserver in /bin/onstartup.d/. The script prohibiting users from changing their
password is prohibitpasswordchange.groovy.
With this our short introduction to ReportServer is at its end. We hope you got a first impres-
sion on the possibilities offered by ReportServer. Many features were only briefly covered or
not covered at all simply to keep this guide short and readable. Here is a list of some of the
features that we did not have the time to look at:
Scheduling of reports
Configuring of dynamic lists
How to administer ReportServer
Extending ReportServer
and many more
For a list of features please also check out our website http://www.reportserver.net
If we have piqued your interest, feel free to explore the demo system on your
own or simply download the software and go through all the aspects without any
restrictions. Also, please feel free to contact us directly or via our forum. We are
looking forward to hearing from you.
datenwerke - Jan Albrecht
Adolfsallee 41
D-65185 Wiesbaden
www.datenwerke.net