Web Application Settings

To provide a correct work of web application, BI server connection settings and web application settings must be defined. Those settings are specified in the PP.xml file that can be located in two places:

Path for Windows Path for Linux

ASP.NET (IIS) and Apache:

C:\Program Files\Foresight\Foresight Analytics Platform 9.2 Web Application\Config\PP.xml

Java (Apache Tomcat):

C:\Tomcat\webapps\pp\config\PP.xml

Java (Apache Tomcat):

/var/lib/tomcat7/webapps/pp/config

Apache:

/opt/Foresight/fp9.2-dhtml/config

NOTE. If the PP.xml file is located both in the web application back end installation folder and BI server installation folder, then web application settings from PP.xml in the BI server installation folder have the higher priority than the same settings from PP.xml file in the web application back end installation folder.

The PP.xml file must contain the <pp> section including children sections with settings.

NOTE. In order that changes will be applied, reset BI server and web server used by web application.

BI Server Connection Parameters

NOTE. To provide a correct work it is required to set the url attribute in the <service> section or in the <proxy> section. If this attribute is specified in both sections, the url attribute from the <service> section has the higher priority than the url attribute from the <proxy> section.

Description of sections:

BI server parameters allowing direct requests from browser by passing web application back end.

The section can contain the following attributes:

Attributes	Description
url	Path to BI server. NOTE. Mandatory attribute. The path is specified in the following format: http://Server[:Port][/VirtualCatalog]/axis2/services/PP.SOM.Som Where: Server. Name or IP address of the server where BI server runs. Port. Number of the port that will be used. VirtualCatalog. Virtual directory of BI server created by installer. It is specified if BI server is installed on IIS web server or Linux OS.
timeout	Time, after which the request is executed on the front end in milliseconds. If the attribute value is not specified or the value is 0 or less than 0, the default value will be used (90000 ms).
foreExec	It indicates whether Fore and Fore.NET macros can be executed using the ForeExec operation. Available values: true. It is allowed to run macros using the ForeExec operation. false. Default value. Macros execution is not allowed. A specific parameter will be generated in the request header. The parameter presence is not a reliable method to prohibit macros execution via the ForeExec operation. The reliable method is the use of the Disallow parameter in the registry settings or in the Settings.xml file.

The section example:

<pp>
    <service url="http://10.30.208.20/fpBI_app_v9.2x64/axis2/services/PP.SOM.Som" timeout="600000" foreExec="true"/>

…
</pp>

As a result, to provide web application work, the BI server located at: http://10.30.208.20/fpBI_app_v9.2x64/axis2/services/PP.SOM.Som is used. Request timeout on the customer side is 600000 milliseconds, the macros execution using the ForeExec operation is allowed. Browser requests will be direct by passing the web application back end.

BI server parameters allowing requests via web application back end.

The section can contain the following attributes:

Attributes

Description

url

Path to BI server.

NOTE. Mandatory attribute.

The path is specified in the following format:

http://Server[:Port][/VirtualCatalog]/axis2/services/PP.SOM.Som

Where:

Server. Name or IP address of the server where BI server runs.
Port. Number of the port that will be used
VirtualCatalog. Virtual directory of BI server created by installer. It is specified if BI server is installed on IIS web server or Linux OS.

The section example:

<pp>
    <proxy url="http://websrv/fpBI_app_v9.2x64/axis2/services/PP.SOM.Som"/>

…
</pp>

As a result, to provide web application work, the BI server located at: http://websrv/fpBI_app_v9.2x64/axis2/services/PP.SOM.Som is used. Browser requests will use the web application back end.

Web Application Settings

NOTE. To provide a correct work it is required to set up only the <metabase> section.

Description of sections

Parameters of the repository in use.

The section can contain the following attributes:

Attributes	Description
id	Repository identifier. NOTE. Mandatory attribute. For the specified repository, it is required to set up connection settings using the Setting Up Repository Connection dialog box. Notice that the For All Computer Users checkbox must be selected in this dialog box of the repository settings. NOTE. For repository based on SQLite, the work with Foresight Analytics Platform is available only in desktop application in single-user mode.
ping	Time, after which the system checks BI server connection in milliseconds.
recentObjects	It determines whether the Recent Documents list is displayed in the welcome screen. Available values: true. Default value. The list is displayed. false. The list is not displayed.
authentication	Authorization method. Available values: Login. Default value. Enter via login dialog box. Domain. Login via the domain authentication. IntegratedDomain. Login via the integrated domain authentication. OAuth. Login via the OAuth protocol (Twitter). If the value is used, the <oAuthService> section must be specified: <oAuthService enabled="true"/> The sections described in the Setting Up Login via OAuth (Twitter) article must be also specified. SAML2. Login via the SAML2 protocol. If the value is used, the samlUrl attribute must be specified and the settings described in the Setting Up Login via SAML article must be defined. Guest. Guest login.
sessionCookie	It is available to reuse created repository sessions. Available values: true. Default value. Reuse the session if it was created before. The following is required for reuse: correct login and password; a session must be at server; the existing session was created for the specified user only. false. Do not reuse a session, always create a new one.
samlUrl	SAML 2.0 protocol identification provider URL. The attribute value must be set, if the SAML2 value is specified for the authentication attribute.

The section example:

<pp>
…
    <metabase id="QA_Reports" ping="110000" recentObjects="false" authentication="Guest" sessionCookie="false"/> 
…
</pp>

As a result the repository with the QA_Reports identifier will be used without reuse of created sessions with repository. The guest login will be used for authorization. The welcome screen will not display the Recent Documents list and the BI server connection will be checked in 110000 milliseconds.

The section can contain the following attributes:

Attributes

Description

enabled

It determines whether login uses OAuth (Twitter). Available values:

true. The login uses OAuth (Twitter). If this value is used, the authentication attribute must be set to OAuth in the <metabase> section. The sections described in the Setting Up Login via OAuth (Twitter) article must be also specified.
false. Login does not use OAuth (Twitter).

The section example:

<pp>
…
    <metabase authentication="OAuth" id="FPRepository"/>
    <oAuthService enabled="true"/>
…
</pp>

As a result, login will use OAuth (Twitter) for the FPRepository repository.

It determines whether the Share drop-down menu in the main menu and the set of the drop-down items must be hidden.

By default the Share drop-down menu is displayed and contains the full set of items. Use the <shareSettings> section to hide the Share drop-down menu or any its item.

The section can contain the following attributes and subsections:

Attribute/section

Description

enabled

It determines whether the Share drop-down menu is displayed in the main menu. Available values:

true. The menu is displayed.
false. The menu is not displayed.

The section specifies whether the items are available in the Share menu. Each item corresponds to one web service. The <shareSettings> section can contain one or several sections of <shareItem>.

The <shareItem> section must contains the attributes:

name. Web service name. Available values:

Twitter;
Facebook;
LinkedIn;
LiveJournal;
GooglePlus;

enabled. It determines whether data can be published to web service. Available values:

true. Publishing is available.
false. Publishing is not available.

The section example:

<pp>
…
     <shareSettings enabled="true">
        <shareItem enabled="true" name="GooglePlus"/>
        <shareItem enabled="false" name="LiveJournal"/>
        <shareItem enabled="false" name="Twitter"/>
        <shareItem enabled="true" name="Facebook"/>
        <shareItem enabled="false" name="LinkedIn"/>
    </shareSettings>
…
</pp>

As a result the main menu will display the Share drop-down containing the GooglePlus and Facebook items.

It determines interface languages that are available for web application.

The section can contain the following attributes:

Section

Description

It determines which interface languages area can be selected in login dialog box. The <cultures> section can contain one or several <culture> sections.

The <culture> section must contain the cultureName attribute determining the language. Available values:

ar. Arabic.
ar-AE. Arabic (United Arab Emirates).
az. Azerbaijanian.
de. German.
en. English.
es. Spanish.
fr. French.
it. Italian.
kk. Kazakh.
pt. Portuguese.
ru. Russian.
uk. Ukrainian.
zh-CN. Chinese.

NOTE. Translation of the application into Azerbaijanian and Kazakh may be incomplete.

The section example:

<pp>
…
     <cultures>
        <culture cultureName="ru" />
        <culture cultureName="en" />
    </cultures>
…
</pp>

As a result, the web application interface will be available in Russian and English.

Settings of the Foresight Analytics Platform tools and of the extensions and custom units connections.

Setting Up Tools

The section can contain the following subsections to set up the Foresight Analytics Platform tools:

Section

Description

TheDashboards tool is available. The <dashboard> section must contain one subsection <reportBox> describing tool settings. The <reportBox> subsection can contain the following attributes:

servicesPlugins. It determines whether it is available to use plugins. Available values:

true. Plugins are available.
false. Plugins are not available.

biSearchEnabled. It determines whether BI search is available in the tool. Available values:

true. BI search is available.
false. BI search is not available.

autoLayoutByDefault. It determines the default dashboard layout mode . Available values:

true. The automatic object layout is used by default.
false. The manual object layout is used by default.

TimeSeries. It determines whether the Time Series report is available. Available values:

true. The report is available.
false. Default value. The report is unavailable.

ExpressReport. It determines whether the Express Report report is available. Available values:

true. The report is available.
false. Default value. The report is unavailable.

TIP. To set up the Dashboards tool, you can also use the <collaboration> section.

Set up theTime Series Analysis tool settings. The <timeSeries> section must contain one subsection <reportBox> describing tool settings. The <reportBox> subsection can contain the following attributes:

isRExist. It determines whether R methods are available on the Calculations ribbon tab. Available values:

true. The report is available
false. Default value. The report is unavailable.

The section example:

<pp>
…
    <Modules>
        <dashboard>
            <reportBox servicesPlugins="false" biSearchEnabled="true" autoLayoutByDefault="false"
                       timeSeries="true" expressReport="false"/> 
        </dashboard>
        <timeSeries>
            <reportBox isRExist="true"/>
        </timeSeries>
    </Modules>
…
</pp>

As a result the following settings will be made for the Dashboards tool: plugin creation is unavailable, BI search is used for the search, manual object layout is applied by default, the Time Series report creation is available and the Express Report report creation is unavailable. The R methods are available for the Time Series Analysis tool.

Connecting Extensions

For details about extension connection, see the Connecting Extensions to Web Application section.

Connecting Custom Units

Custom unit is a part of web application that is written by application developer. It can be a new tool or a contact form. The unit can be written as an html page and copied to the web application back end installation folder. All files that are required for unit functioning and created by application developer must be copied to the installation folder.

Any name can be used for section name of custom unit connection.

The section containing custom unit connection settings must contain the following attributes and subsections:

Attribute/section	Description
name	Name of unit that will be displayed in the web application welcome screen.
resourceKey	Resources key in the App.resources..js file, where is the alphabetical reference.
url	The path to unit in relation to S\App, where S is the path to the installation folder of web application back end.
Visible	The attribute that unit is displayed in the web application welcome screen. Available values: 0. The unit is displayed. 1. The unit is not displayed.
data	Unit type. It receives values of the enumeration elements PP.App.ModuleType.
classId	Identifier of unit object custom class. It is specified in the format: classId="["<class>"]" To view class identifier: In the desktop application, in object navigator select the Service > Parameters item in the main menu. In the Parameters opened dialog box, go to theCustom Metadata section. Select the extension on theObject Classes tab. Click the Edit button. In the displayed dialog box, on theDescription tab in the Identifier box, there will be an identifier of extension object class. For example: classId="["DATA_ENTRY_FORM_CLASS"]" Instead of the class identifier, one or several values of the MetabaseObjectClass enumeration in the following format can be defined: classId="[<value1>,<value2>,…,<valueN>]" For example: ClassId: [4354, 3076]
actions	Operations available for the unit in the web application welcome screen. Available operations: 0. Open an object 1. Create a new object 2. Data import. Operations are specified in squared brackets comma-separated. For example: actions="[0, 1]"
<images>	The section with icon settings for unit. It contains the following subsections: <WelcomeScreenIcon>. Icon settings in the welcome screen. The icon size is 32x32 pixels <AddressBarIcon>. Icon settings in address string. The icon size is 16x16 pixels <DocumentsIcon>. The icon settings for extension documents in the list of recent documents in the welcome screen. The icon size is 16x16 pixels. Those sections contain the same set of attributes: imageListId. Identifier of sprite with images rowIndex. Index of string in sprite containing an icon columnIndex. Index of column in sprite containing an icon. Sprite settings are defined in the <imageLists> section. Indexing of images in sprites contains from zero.

The section example:

<pp>
…
     <modules>
         <userRds name="Custom MDM"
             resourceKey="welcomeScreenRds"
             url="UserRds.html"
             data="4354"
             classId="[4354, 3076]"
             Visible="1"
             actions="[0,1]">
             <images>
                 <WelcomeScreenIcon imageListId="userModules32" rowIndex="0" columnIndex="10"/>
                 <AddressBarIcon imageListId="userModules16" rowIndex="0" columnIndex="13" />
                 <DocumentsIcon imageListId="userModules16" rowIndex="0" columnIndex="13" />
             </images>
         </userRds>
     </modules>
     <imageLists>
         <userModules16 source="../build/img/ribbon16.png" iconHeight="16" iconWidth="16"/>
         <userModules32 source="../build/img/ribbon32.png" iconHeight="32" iconWidth="32"/>
     </imageLists>
…
</pp>

As a result the UserRds.html file located in the App directory with the installed web application back-end part will be connected as custom unit. The file implements custom version of the tool to work with MDM. The ribbon16.png and ribbon32.png sprites from the build folder with installed web application back will be used.

Additional plugins connection. Plugins must be implemented as scripts.

The <plugins> section can contain one or several <plugin> sections including plugin connection settings.

The <plugin> section can contain the following attributes and subsections:

Attribute/section	Description
name	Plugin name. Mandatory attribute.
path	Path to the plugin script towards the S\App folder. It is recommended to put plugin scripts in the S\build folder. S is the path to web application back end installation folder.
loaded	It determines whether plugin is loaded on startup. Available values: true. Plugin is loaded on startup. false. Plugin is loaded on request. The attribute is used only for plugins of external map services.
type	Map service type. The attribute is used only for plugins of external map services.
<params>	API key for external map service. The section must contain the following attributes: name. It should contain the APIKey value. value. The API key value. The attribute is used only for plugins of external map services requiring the API key use.

Available plugins:

Plugin to connect custom chart templates. To use built-in template, connect the plugin from the ChartTemplates.js file with the following value of the name attribute:

name="ChartTemplates"

Plugins to connect external map services.

To provide a correct work of map services:

Connect plugin from the ExternalMapPlugin.js file with the following values of the name and loaded attributes:

name="ExternalMapPlugin" loaded="true"

It is not required to set the type attribute value.

Set external map services with the following values of the name and type attributes:

Yandex Maps. The YandexMapPlugin.js file.

name="YandexMapPlugin" type="PP.Yandex"

Bing Maps. The BingMapPlugin.js file.

name="BingMapPlugin" type="PP.Bing"

ArcGis Maps. The ArcGisMapPlugin.js file.

name="ArcGisMapPlugin" type="PP.ArcGis"

Google Maps. The GoogleMapPlugin.js file.

name="GoogleMapPlugin" type="PP.Google"

It is not required to set the loaded attribute value.

IMPORTANT. After plugins are connected, you get access to API of external map services. Make sure that you have permissions to use them. The FORESIGHT company does not give permissions to use external map services and is not responsible for violation of license policy.

The section example:

<pp>
…
<plugins>
    <plugin name="ChartTemplates" path="../build/ChartTemplates.js"/>
    <plugin name="ExternalMapPlugin" path="../build/ExternalMapPlugin.js" loaded="true"/>
    <plugin name="YandexMapPlugin" path="../build/YandexMapPlugin.js" type="PP.Yandex"/>
    <plugin name="ArcGisMapPlugin" path="../build/ArcGisMapPlugin.js" type="PP.ArcGis"/>
    <plugin name="GoogleMapPlugin" path="../build/GoogleMapPlugin.js" type="PP.Google">
        <params>
            <param name="APIKey" value="AIzaSyCT36DH2CuXQ8GHtNSZASvoxQtbidhuWCU"/>
        </params>
    </plugin>
</plugins>
…
</pp>

As a result, the built-in chart templates and the following map services will be connected: Yandex maps, ArcGis maps and Google maps. API key is used for Google maps.

Chart settings.

The section can contain the following attributes:

Attributes	Description
animation	It determines whether animation is used on rendering a chart. Available values: true. Animation is used. false. Default value. Animation is not used.
enableCanvas	It determines whether the Zoom Category Axis checkbox is displayed on the side panel. Available values: true. The checkbox is displayed. false. Default value. The checkbox is not displayed.

The section example:

<pp>
…
    <chart animation="true" enableCanvas="true"/>
…
</pp>

As a result, on rendering a chart animation will be applied and the side panel will display the Zoom Category Axis checkbox.

Table settings.

The section can contain the following attributes:

Attributes

Description

enableNativeContextMenu

Determines whether browser context menu is available for the table. Available values:

true. Browser context menu is available
false. Default value. Browser context menu is not available

enableSelection

Determines whether manual selection of table cells is available. Available values:

true. Default value. Selection is available.
false. Selection is not available.

The section example:

<pp>
…
    <tabSheet enableNativeContextMenu="true" enableSelection="false"/>
…
</pp>

As a result browser context menu will be available and manual cell selection will be unavailable in the table.

Sprite settings.

Sprites are used on connecting extensions and custom units in the <Modules> section.

Any name can be selected for the section containing sprite settings. The name will be sprite identifier and must be unique.

The section with sprite settings must contain the following attributes:

Attribute	Description
source	The path to sprite in relation to S\App, where S is the path to the installation folder of web application back end.
iconHeight	Height of icons in sprite.
iconWidth	Width of icons in sprite.

The section example:

<pp>
…
     <modules>
         <userRds name="Custom MDM"
             resourceKey="welcomeScreenRds"
             url="UserRds.html"
             data="4354"
             classId="[4354, 3076]"
             Visible="1"
             actions="[0,1]">
             <images>
                 <WelcomeScreenIcon imageListId="userModules32" rowIndex="0" columnIndex="10"/>
                 <AddressBarIcon imageListId="userModules16" rowIndex="0" columnIndex="13" />
                 <DocumentsIcon imageListId="userModules16" rowIndex="0" columnIndex="13" />
             </images>
         </userRds>
     </modules>
     <imageLists>
         <userModules16 source="../build/img/ribbon16.png" iconHeight="16" iconWidth="16"/>
         <userModules32 source="../build/img/ribbon32.png" iconHeight="32" iconWidth="32"/>
     </imageLists>
…
</pp>

It indicates whether it is possible to get a link to dashboard or dashboard block. If it is possible to get a link, the main menu displays the Share > Document Link item, and the block menu displays the Block Link item.

TIP. It is recommended to set up guest login to display an embedded dashboard or dashboard block without entering login and password.

The section can contain the following attributes:

Attributes

Description

enabled

It indicates whether it is possible to get a link. Available values:

true. It is possible to get a link.
false. Default value. It is not possible to get a link.

The section example:

<pp>
…
    <enabled enabled="true" />
…
</pp>

As a result, the Dashboards tool can be used to get a link to dashboard or dashboard block.

Example

The example of minimum required settings enabling web application functioning is given.

Section	Brief description
<service>	BI server parameters allowing direct requests from browser by passing web application back end.
<proxy>	BI server parameters allowing requests via web application back end.

Section	Brief description
<metabase>	Parameters of the repository in use.
<oAuthService>	Login via OAuth (Twitter) settings.
<shareSettings>	It determines whether the Share drop-down menu in the main menu and the set of the drop-down items must be hidden.
<cultures>	It determines interface languages that are available for web application.
<modules>	Settings of the Foresight Analytics Platform tools and of the extensions and custom units connections.
<plugins>	Additional plugins connection.
<chart>	Chart settings.
<tabSheet>	Table settings.
<imageLists>	Sprite settings.
<embed>	It indicates whether it is possible to get a link to dashboard or dashboard block.