WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03
February 6, 2015
Active Technologies, EDA, EDA/SQL, FIDEL, FOCUS, Information Builders, the Information Builders logo, iWay, iWay Software,
Parlay, PC/FOCUS, RStat, Table Talk, Web390, WebFOCUS, WebFOCUS Active Technologies, and WebFOCUS Magnify are
registered trademarks, and DataMigrator and Hyperstage are trademarks of Information Builders, Inc.
Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Adobe Reader, Flash, Adobe Flash Builder, Flex, and PostScript are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
Due to the nature of this material, this document refers to numerous hardware and software products by their trademarks.
In most, if not all cases, these designations are claimed as trademarks or registered trademarks by their respective companies.
It is not this publisher's intent to use any of these names generically. The reader is therefore cautioned to investigate all
claimed trademark rights before using any of these names other than to refer to the product described.
Copyright © 2015 , by Information Builders, Inc. and iWay Software. All rights reserved. Patent Pending. This manual, or parts
thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Information Builders, Inc.
Contents
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New Feature Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Reporting With WebFOCUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
WebFOCUS InfoAssist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
InfoAssist Report, Chart, and Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Active Technologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
App Studio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Reporting Language. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Charting With WebFOCUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
InfoDiscovery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
WebFOCUS Graphics and Charts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Developing Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Business Intelligence Portal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Scheduling and Distributing Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
ReportCaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Administering and Securing the Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
WebFOCUS Client Repository and Authorization Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Server Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Applications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Configuration and Monitoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Core Server and Clients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Diagnostics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Metadata. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
NLS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Web Console. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Adapter Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
All Adapters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
SQL Adapters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
ERP Adapters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
OLAP Adapters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
DBMS Adapters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Procedures Adapters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Sequential and Indexed Adapters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Social Media Adapters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
3
Contents
XML-Based Adapters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
WebFOCUS RESTful Web Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Customer Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
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WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New
Feature Highlights
This documentation describes the new features available in WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version
03.
It is intended for all levels of users, including application developers, administrators, and
end users. It is also intended to serve as a quick reference for users upgrading from a prior
release.
In this document:
Reporting With WebFOCUS
Charting With WebFOCUS
Developing Applications
Scheduling and Distributing Information
Administering and Securing the Environment
Server Enhancements
Adapter Enhancements
WebFOCUS RESTful Web Services
Reporting With WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS is a complete information control system with comprehensive features for retrieving
and analyzing data that enables you to create reports quickly and easily from real-time transactional
systems, relational data warehouses, cubes, and any ERP or legacy source.
WebFOCUS InfoAssist
InfoAssist is a powerful report generation tool that enables business users to leverage ad hoc
functionality. With InfoAssist, you can generate highly complex reports, charts, and documents
from any enterprise information source without IT intervention. You can also analyze multiple
reports and charts simultaneously and output report data in a variety of formats.
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
5
Reporting With WebFOCUS
InfoAssist Report, Chart, and Document
New Options on the Home Tab. When working in Document Mode, in InfoAssist, a new
group, Clipboard, has been added to the Home tab. Functions in this group enable you to cut,
copy, paste, and duplicate items in your document.
Color of Line Indicator in Query Design Pane Based on Theme. When clicking and dragging
fields within the Query Design pane, a line indicator displays. The color of this line is determined
by the theme.
Addition of Calendar Feature. When working with full date fields while using Traffic Lights,
Filtering, or Slicers, a calendar icon now displays. The calendar feature enables you to select
a date using a calendar control.
Support for Microsoft Excel 2007 Added to Chart and Document Mode. Microsoft®
Excel® 2007 output format has been added to the Chart and Document Modes in InfoAssist.
This enables the Excel (xlsx) and Excel Formula (xlsx) formats in areas of InfoAssist where an
output format can be selected.
Implementation of Dynamic Grouping. The Dynamic Grouping functionality enables you to
create groups of elements based on the field data type that you select. Once you define a
new group, a higher-level field is created that contains the selected elements.
New Indicator Line in the Query Design Pane. When you drag a field to a new location in
the Query Design pane, an indicator line displays. This allows you to preview the placement
of the selected field.
Addition of Field List Search Functionality. Field search functionality has been added to
the Resources panel in InfoAssist, enabling you to search for specific fields within a tree or
list.
Active Technologies
WebFOCUS Active Technologies reports and dashboards provide business intelligence (BI) for
any computer or mobile device running a web browser. Active Technologies present data with a
variety of interactive analytic capabilities in a single portable document, deliverable to any type
of mobile device. Users of rich interactive applications created with Active Technologies can easily
manipulate the data, intuitively explore information, and uncover critical trends and patterns using
device-specific user interface characteristics and gestures for multi-touch screens.
With Active Technologies, you can quickly develop completely portable BI applications, deliver
interactive reports and dashboards to any user, and reduce the load on the database and server
systems by allowing users to work in disconnected mode. The built-in analytics include sorting,
filtering, performing data calculations, charting, and much more.
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WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New Feature Highlights
Filtering an Active Technologies Report on a Dashboard Using Chained Form Controls.
You can use the ARFILTER_ONCHANGE = ON property in a compound layout report to filter a
target active report or chart on an active dashboard with the values selected in chained active
form controls. When the value of the first active form control in a chain changes, the report
or chart is filtered with the initial value in the second and subsequent active form controls in
the chain.
Viewing Data as a Chart. When you run an active report on an iPad, you can tap Chart or
touch the right arrow for the Chart menu option to display a menu that specifies the default
value for the type of chart that will be displayed and the default aggregation (calculation) that
will be used to draw the chart. Also listed are the columns that are available for display on
the X-axis of the chart (the Group By columns).
Creating a Heading Area With Controls Using the Dashboard Bar. You can create a
heading area for an active dashboard by adding a page layout for the dashboard bar
(PAGELAYOUT=DASHBOARDBAR). On the page for the dashboard bar, you can insert Active
Technologies form controls, reports, and charts that are always displayed above the dashboard
tabs.
Setting the ALPHA Background Color of an Active Technologies Report. You can set
the ALPHA background color of an active report or chart, and each report or chart object on
an active dashboard, so that the color is transparent. The ALPHA background color includes
the background color of the data in the report or chart, and alternating background colors.
This capability enables you to place an image in the background of a report or chart. For
example, you can add a watermark behind a report.
Displaying the Heading in a Rollup Table. When using a rollup table generated from a
tabular active report, you can either display the heading that is supplied by Active Technologies
or display a custom heading that you supply in the original tabular report procedure.
Setting the Default Filter Value for a Column on an Active Technologies Dashboard.
This feature sets the default filter value in an active form control and at run time automatically
applies the filter to the data in the report and chart objects on an active dashboard. It is an
optional property for an active form control.
Hiding a Report Object on an Active Technologies Dashboard. You may need to hide an
active report object on an active dashboard. For example, when you want to display non-data
related objects in the first tab of the dashboard and place report and chart objects in the
subsequent tabs, you can hide the first report object using HIDDEN=ON syntax in your
WebFOCUS code. The data from the hidden report is still available for use in the global filter
or other filter control.
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
7
Reporting With WebFOCUS
Defining Custom Styles for an Active Technologies Report or Dashboard. There are
new Active Technologies classes for styling an active report or dashboard:
The class .arLoadingMessage defines the font style of the Loading message text for an
AHTML report or dashboard.
The class .arMobileTabBar defines the background color of the tab area in Active
Technologies for mobile web apps.
App Studio
App Studio is a Windows-based GUI development environment for creating WebFOCUS applications.
App Studio provides innovative features and functions that simplify development, thereby allowing
you to concentrate on interface design, business logic, and data manipulation. Features include
data visualization, color exception reporting, intelligent drilldowns, and the ability to generate
HTML pages without writing code.
Creating Visualizations. Visualizations centralize information by providing different views
of data that are pertinent to a particular objective. Visualizations support the use of different
types of charts, maps, and grids. They also serve to provide information in real-time, based
on changes in underlying data or other components. A visualization can be updated, changed,
or revised at any time to account for shifts in data needs. You can create a visualization from
the Content node in the Environments Tree panel or Environments Detail panel, by right-clicking
a folder, pointing to New, and clicking Visualization.
Browser Support for Output. The Output Viewer Settings tab on the App Studio Options
dialog box enables you to set a specific browser to use for output or to use the App Studio
Internal Viewer (default), and to set the navigation options for the output (run in new window,
run in same window). The Browser Setup section is populated with a list of browsers that are
installed on the App Studio machine. App Studio works with Mozilla Firefox®, Google Chrome™,
and Microsoft Internet Explorer® browsers.
Reporting Language
WebFOCUS is a complete information control system with comprehensive features for retrieving
and analyzing data. It enables you to create reports quickly and easily. It also provides facilities
for creating highly complex reports, but its strength lies in the simplicity of the request language.
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WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New Feature Highlights
The Reporting Server Release 8.1 Version 03 includes the following Release 7.7 Version 06
Reporting Language new features:
Preventing Visual Overflow. At times, the size defined for the USAGE format of a field may
be too small to fit the actual data to be displayed. In previous releases, this scenario would
cause asterisks (***) to display in the report output in place of the actual value. Situations
that cause this scenario include if the display value is larger than the defined display format
or if a value is aggregated, the summed value does not fit into the space that was allotted
for the column by the USAGE format of the field.
Dynamically Scaling HTML Report Output. The AUTOFIT parameter can be activated to
dynamically scale HTML reports and charts horizontally to fill the entire container (window or
frame) within your portal pages and HTML pages.
Embedded Images in Microsoft Excel (XLSX) Workbooks. The XLSX workbooks can
contain embedded images in fixed positions in each of the WebFOCUS report areas including
headers, footers, and data cells. Additionally, graphs can be placed on individual worksheets
within compound workbooks.
Ability to Change Default Font Style for FORMAT XLSX. The default and available fonts
for each output format are defined in the fontmap.xml file maintained within the Reporting
Server. Prior to Release 8.1 Version 03, the definitions for DHTML also covered the Microsoft
Office formats (XLSX, PPT, PPTX). As of Release 8.1 Version 03, font definitions for format
XLSX can be defined separately, allowing ease in customizing the look and feel of your XLSX
workbooks. WebFOCUS uses Arial as the default font. Use this feature to change the default
font to match the Microsoft Office standard font, Calibri, or your corporate standard.
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation File Format (PPTX). The PPTX file format can contain
reports, graphs, and images with WebFOCUS styling features, as well as populate PowerPoint
templates containing preset Slide Masters, styling, and other business content.
Using PowerPoint PPTX Display Format. With PowerPoint (PPTX), Microsoft® introduced
enhanced functionality in a new presentation file format. WebFOCUS Release 8.1 introduces
the capability to retrieve data from any WebFOCUS supported data source and to generate a
PPTX presentation for data analysis and distribution. You can place report output on a specific
slide in a PowerPoint template. This enables you to populate existing presentations with
preset Slide Masters, styling, and other business content. PowerPoint design templates (POTX)
and PowerPoint macro-enabled templates (POTM) are stored on the server and can be
distributed automatically with ReportCaster.
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
9
Reporting With WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS Client Amper Autoprompt Internal Processing. The performance and security
of the WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Amper Autoprompt facility has been improved because the
WebFOCUS Client no longer uses XSLT templates to create the JavaScript for the Autoprompt
HTML page. As of WebFOCUS Release 8.1, the WebFOCUS Client uses the XML returned by
the Reporting Server to create the JavaScript for the Autoprompt HTML page. The
autoprompt_top.xslt and autoprompt_top_checked.xslt templates have been converted to the
new Release 8.1 implementation.
Automatically Sizing an HTML HFREEZE Report. An AUTO option has been added to the
SCROLLHEIGHT command for use with the HTML HFREEZE reporting feature. The AUTO option
automatically sizes the HFREEZE report within the browser page or the frame within the page.
Rolling Up Calculations on Summary Rows. Using the ROLL. operator in conjunction with
another prefix operator on a summary line recalculates the sort break values using the values
from summary lines generated for the lower level sort break.
Simplified Character Functions. New character functions have streamlined parameter lists,
similar to those used by SQL functions. In some cases, these simplified functions provide
slightly different functionality than previous versions of similar functions. The new simplified
character functions are CHAR_LENGTH, DIGITS, LPAD, RPAD, LTRIM, RTRIM, TRIM_, LOWER,
UPPER, SUBSTRING, and TOKEN.
Simplified Date and Date-Time Functions. New date and date-time functions have
streamlined parameter lists, similar to those used by SQL functions. In some cases, these
simplified functions provide slightly different functionality than previous versions of similar
functions. The new simplified character function are DTADD, DTDIFF, DTPART, and DTRUNC.
CHECKPRIVS Function. Given a General Privilege code as input, the CHECKPRIVS function
returns Y or N depending on whether the connected user has been granted that privilege.
Adding a Value Test to RESTRICT=NOPRINT. This extension to RESTRICT=NOPRINT enables
you to use a VALUE=expression clause in the RESTRICT command. The expression will be
evaluated, and the value will display only if the expression evaluates to true for that value.
Any value for which the expression evaluates to false will be replaced on the output by one
of the default values.
Using ACCEPT=SYNONYM in a Master File. ACCEPT=SYNONYM is used to look up values
in another data source and retrieve a corresponding display value. The lookup field values
must exist in both data sources, although they do not need to have matching field names.
Using Multiple Prefix Operators on the Same Measure in SUBTOTAL. You can now
reference a field with multiple prefix operators in a summary command using the prefix operator
to differentiate between the fields with multiple operators.
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WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New Feature Highlights
Validating Parameter Values Without Data File Access: REGEX. Parameter value
validation processing has been enhanced to validate the parameter value without accessing
the data using the REGEX mask, which specifies a regular expression.
Adding DBA Restrictions to the Join Condition. When DBA restrictions are applied to a
request on a multi-segment structure, by default the restrictions are added as WHERE
conditions in the report request. When the DBAJOIN parameter is set ON, DBA restrictions
are treated as internal to the file or segment for which they are specified, and are added to
the join syntax.
Storing Localized Metadata in Language Files. If you want to centralize localized column
titles, descriptions, and prompts, and apply them to multiple Master Files, you can create a
set of translation files and use the TRANS_FILE attribute in a Master File to invoke them.
Charting With WebFOCUS
In WebFOCUS 8, charting options have been expanded to include more advanced properties, as
well as a new output format that allows you to render a chart in the browser using a built-in
JavaScript engine.
InfoDiscovery
Addition of Ring Pie Chart. A new chart type, Ring Pie, has been added to the Select a
Visual menu in the InfoDiscovery Workbench. Ring pie charts are circular charts that display
the total for the selected measure in the center of the ring. In addition, you can hover over a
colored segment of the ring to view its underlying value. This makes it easy to compare
individual segments against the total.
WebFOCUS Graphics and Charts
You can include API calls in WebFOCUS procedures to create dynamic, sophisticated server-side
graphs that showcase your business data. You can generate HTML5 charts that can be customized
using both the WebFOCUS API calls and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) properties.
In Release 8.1.03, the following features have been added for HTML5 charts:
Nearest Neighbor Tooltip Detection. The default tooltip detection method has been changed
for line, area, and scatter charts so that when the mouse pointer moves off a point, the tooltip
disappears. To restore the previous behavior for line, scatter, and area charts, you can add
the mousemove:'nearestNeighbor' property to the interaction object.
Displaying Data Text Labels on a Bubblemap. Data text labels will display on a bubblemap
if you show data values for all series and set the dataLabels property to true.
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
11
Developing Applications
Gauge Chart Minor Grid Line Support. Gauge charts now support yaxis:minorGrid properties.
By default, the minor grid lines are visible.
Support for Discrete Color Bands in Color Scales. Discrete color mode visualizes the
colorScale in discrete color bands for heatmaps and choropleths.
Hiding an Extrapolated Line That Starts Before Actual Values. By default, if missing
values are shown on a line chart, and if they start before the start of actual values in the data
source, the line is extrapolated to include those missing values. The
missingDataExtrapolate:false property omits those extrapolated values from the chart output.
Annotations. An annotation is text, a marker, or both that you want to place anywhere on a
chart. Multiple annotations can be defined within the annotations array.
SVG Color Patterns. In some cases, you may want to use patterns to distinguish chart
elements such as risers and markers, or to fill chart frames. This can be a useful technique
in black and white environments where colors are not distinguishable.
In Release 8.1.03, the following features have been added for server-side charts:
Format Option for the Stack Total Value. When generating a stacked graph, you can set
the setUseDataTextStackTotalOnTopFormat(Boolean); API to true. This enables you to format
the stack total value using the setTextFormatPreset(getDataTextStackedTotalOnTop(), int);
API call.
Formatting Date and Time Values for Y-Axis Labels. Military time uses a 24-hour time
format where numbers between zero (0) and one (1), or times using a 12-hour format with
AM and PM indicators, are converted to times between 0:00 and 23:00. Numbers greater
than one are cycled so that they map to one of these hours as well, except for cumulative
military time, in which case they add to the original value. You can use the
setTextFormatPreset() and setSimpleDateFormat() API calls to implement these formats.
Plus and Minus Marker Shapes. The marker shape, circlePlus, displays a circle with a plus
sign (+) centered in it, and the marker shape, circleMinus, displays a circle with a minus sign
(-) centered in it.
Developing Applications
To address the varied information needs of all types and levels of users, developers must be
able to quickly and easily build and implement sophisticated business intelligence and data
maintenance applications. With WebFOCUS, you can create applications that deliver simplified
end-user reporting capabilities in a secured, business-oriented environment that can easily be
maintained and customized.
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WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New Feature Highlights
Business Intelligence Portal
The Business Intelligence Portal (BI Portal) is the successor to the Business Intelligence
Dashboard. The BI Portal allows you to build complete modern websites.
Some of the highlights of the BI Portal include:
Visual editor with live preview.
Up to four banner areas.
Customizable Menu Bar.
Nine prebuilt themes.
Customizable individual objects, including different settings for different states.
User-dependent view, personalize, and edit capabilities at the portal level.
Single-area or column-based page layouts.
Optional navigation menu.
Repeatable object backgrounds.
Multiple border styles.
Easily added new pages.
Collapsible Banner. Allows optional visibility at run time. If the feature is enabled, the banner
becomes collapsible, allowing you to expand the display area of the portal.
Fluid Canvas. A page layout option that arranges the content evenly and redistributes space
as more items are added.
Integrated Data Discovery/Visualization. WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 now offers
an integrated version of the InfoDiscovery Discovery Workbench, a thin-client tool for building
interactive visualizations, or analytic dashboards. Visualizations are meant to help business
users understand the hidden meaning behind large amounts of data. You can easily interpret
relationships, trends patterns and outliers. The workbench makes self-service data discovery
for business users a reality.
Responsive Container. A container that resizes dynamically to any width based on screen
size, device, and orientation, thus eliminating the need to design for a specific device
preference.
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
13
Scheduling and Distributing Information
Scheduling and Distributing Information
WebFOCUS ReportCaster ensures secure, automatic dissemination of critical information to the
right person in the right context. A cutting-edge report delivery engine and state-of-the-art business
event monitoring provides companies with a single point of control for real-time alerts, as well
as a mechanism for fully automating, scheduling, storing, and instantly distributing information.
For example, WebFOCUS reports and dashboards or third-party content, to anyone within or
outside the organization.
ReportCaster
Distribution Server Processing Uses IBFS System. As of Release 8.1 Version 03, the
Distribution Server processing uses the IBFS system to submit scheduled jobs to a Reporting
Server.
Addition of Internal Variables. As of Release 8.1 Version 03, two new internal variables
have been added. The first variable, &DSTSCHEDID, is an ID that uniquely identifies the
schedule. The second variable, &DSTSCHEDDESC, is the title (description) of the schedule.
For more information on all ReportCaster internal variables, see ReportCaster Variables in the
ReportCaster manual.
Showing Only Folders with Content. In the ReportCaster Explorer, two new icons have
been added to control the display of folders. The Show only folders with content option allows
you to display only folders that contain content. Once this option has been selected, you can
restore the display of all folders by clicking Show all folders.
Controlling the Setting of the FOCEXURL and FOCHTMLURL. A new configuration setting,
Set FOCEXURL/FOCHTMLURL in the scheduled procedure, has been added in the ReportCaster
Configuration tool.
Specifying Multiple Distribution Methods in a Schedule. When working with schedules,
you can specify more than one distribution method for one single schedule. For example, you
can distribute the schedule using FTP and Email simultaneously.
Creating Schedules With Parameterized Settings. You can use parameters (amper
variables) to populate fields in the Basic and Advanced Scheduling tools.
Enabling or Disabling Distribution Server Traces. You can enable or disable the Distribution
Server traces from the Server Status tab of the ReportCaster Console. To turn Distribution
Server traces on or off, click the View Trace button, and click Turn On Trace or Turn Off Trace.
This functionality tracks traces for the Distribution Server separately from Job traces. You do
not need to turn on job traces to see distribution server traces.
14
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WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New Feature Highlights
Setting Default Library Expiration Options. You can set default Library Expiration options
in the Report Library folder, which is located on the Configuration tab of the ReportCaster
Console. You can specify a number of versions, days, weeks, months or years by which library
reports can be set to expire. You can also disable the option for Never Expire, which controls
the option to select this setting when scheduling a report using the Report Library option.
View Logs and Traces for Daily and On-Demand Log Purge and Library Expiration Jobs.
You can view log and trace information for the daily and on-demand Log Purge and Library
Expiration jobs. You can view purge logs and traces using the Job Logs tab in the ReportCaster
Console. You can view log and trace information, open job logs, delete job logs, refresh job
logs, or access related help for job logs on the Job Logs tab. To access a listed job for which
you want to view logs or traces, click the Auto Log Purge folder or the Library Expiration folder,
which are located in the system folder. Once you select a job, click View Log or View Trace,
accordingly.
Updating Global FTP Password for All Schedules. Changing the password of an FTP user
applies to all schedules that use that user ID for that FTP server and schedule owner.
Purging Logs and Deleting Library Reports. You can purge logs and delete expired library
reports on demand, using the toolbar options on the ReportCaster Configuration tab of the
Administration Console. Both of these tools provide a mechanism for indicating a date from
which logs or reports should be deleted. In addition, both tools offer options for indicating a
trace preference, such as Default Traces, No Traces, or Trace On.
Enabling Brief Notifications. The Enable Brief Notification Only check box is available in
the Email Distribution and Notification folder, under ReportCaster Configuration. This setting
enables you to control whether Full Notification is available as a scheduling option. When this
check box is selected, you can only select the Brief Notification option when you schedule a
report. Full Notification is not available.
Separate Job Queues for Each Data Server. The Distribution Server now has separate job
queues for each Reporting Server, as well as an additional queue for tasks that do not require
a Reporting Server.
Publishing Schedules. You can publish schedules from the tree in ReportCaster. A published
schedule will be visible to all users with access to the folder in which it resides.
Group Ownership of Schedules. You can create group owned schedules from the tree in
ReportCaster. A group owned schedule will be visible to all users within the selected group
that can access the folder where the schedule is located.
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
15
Administering and Securing the Environment
Encrypting and Securing ReportCaster Communications. You can encrypt the
communication between the ReportCaster application and the ReportCaster Distribution
Server. To enable this functionality, click Configuration on the ribbon in the ReportCaster
Console and select the Distribution Servers folder.
Support for New Formats. PPTX for PowerPoint 2010 (*.pptx) and PPTX Template for
PowerPoint Template 2010 (*.pptx) have been added to ReportCaster.
Viewing Trace Information in the ReportCaster Console. A View Trace button has been
added to the Server Status, Job Status, and Job Logs tabs in the ReportCaster Console. This
function enables administrators to view trace information in the scheduler.log, main.trc,
reader.trc, console.trc, and other trace files.
Versioning Added for Scheduler.log Files. When multiple scheduler.log files are created
on the same day, ReportCaster creates a unique file for each instance, using a date and time
stamp. The following format is used: scheduler_DD-MM-YY_HH-MM-SS.
New View Options on the ReportCaster Explorer Toolbar. The ReportCaster Explorer
toolbar has been modified to include a View Pane button. When working with Library and
Watch List reports, this option enables you to show and hide the view pane.
SFTP With Multi-Factor Authentication. In the Distribution dialog box, Multi-factor
authentication has been added for FTP Server distribution. When customizing settings for FTP
Server information, you can select the Public Key and Password (Multi-factor) authentication
option. This option indicates that the server requires authentication with a user ID and
password.
Configuring the Default Server for SSH (SFTP). You can configure your default FTP Server
to use the SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) in the FTP Settings folder in the ReportCaster
Configuration tool.
Disabling Tasks Within a Schedule. When working with an established schedule, you can
disable one or more tasks within that schedule. You can also create a new schedule with
multiple tasks and then disable one or more of those tasks, as needed.
Administering and Securing the Environment
The new WebFOCUS Client repository and authorization security model uses an implementation
of Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to enforce security across all resources in the repository.
The flexibility of the new model enables an administrator to implement security at a granular level
for every resource in the WebFOCUS repository.
Resource Analyzer and Resource Governor help Information Systems (IS) organizations analyze
and control end user data access, as well as provide site-specific control options.
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WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New Feature Highlights
WebFOCUS Client Repository and Authorization Security
SAML for Single Sign On Support. WebFOCUS offers single sign on support for SAML 2.0
as a candidate for release feature.
Centralized Validation of Product Variables. WebFOCUS provides enhanced protection
against SQL injection and cross-site scripting attacks by using a centralized filter to validate
all product variables by URI. When a request fails the validation test, the request is not
validated and a generic error message is displayed to the user. Blocked requests are logged
for administrator review and violations are aggregated into a list that can be used to develop
new filters.
Parameter Prompting Behavior. The IBIMR_promptingUnset setting enables or disables
parameter prompting for Managed Reporting procedures (FEXes) when IBIMR_prompting is
set to XMLPROMPT or XMLRUN, and the Prompt for Parameters setting is unchecked in the
FEX Properties dialog box.
Confirmation Message When Moving Folders. You can set the
IBI_Move_Confirmation_Message parameter to specify whether WebFOCUS will request
confirmation when a user moves a folder using a drag-and-drop operation. The default value
is False.
IBI_XFrameOptions Setting. The IBI_XFrameOptions setting in the Filters category of the
Administration Console prevents your content from being embedded in other sites, as a
security measure against clickjacking attacks.
IBI_Message_Detail Setting. The IBI_Message_Detail setting in the Security category of
the Administration Console determines when users receive detailed or simplified error
messages. The detailed message appears in the event.log for administrator troubleshooting.
Updating Application Settings on the Command Line. You can update any WebFOCUS
Application Setting with the updateWebconfig.bat utility (for Windows) or the
updateWebconfig.sh utility (for UNIX). These command line utilities modify the
ibi\WebFOCUS81\config\webconfig.xml file and automatically encrypt any passwords you
update.
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
17
Server Enhancements
Server Enhancements
The following sections describe new features for the Reporting Server.
Applications
Release 7.7 Version 06
Reporting on the Impact of Changing Adapter Connection Names. You can generate a
report on the impact of changing an adapter connection name. The report provides links to
the affected files and lists such information as the connection names, type of file, usage,
and application name.
Using Wildcard Characters in the in the APP Commands COPYFILE, MOVEFILE,
DELETEFILE, and RENAMEFILE. You can use the asterisk (*) character as a placeholder for
any number of characters, and a question mark (?) as a placeholder for zero or one character
within a file name or file type reference.
Configuration and Monitoring
Release 7.7 Version 06
Simplifying Upload and Quick Copy With Configuration settings. You can set default
values for certain upload and quick copy parameters, such as the bulk load option and the
target DBMS and connection.
Support for a Secure SMTP Server. You can now configure a secure SMTP email server.
Using Relative File References in Access Control to Facilitate Migration. Files that
reside in a folder under the internal server locations EDACONF, EDAHOME, APPROOT, and
EDAPRFU, are registered using addresses relative to those server locations so that the
references remain valid if a new version of the server is installed in a different file system.
Enhanced Creation of Samples and Tutorials. Sample files are now generated using the
Tutorials button or New/Tutorials context menu item. The legacy sample files that were
delivered in the ibisamp application in prior releases can be created with the Create Legacy
Sample Tables and Files tutorial and created in any application.
Core Server and Clients
Release 7.7 Version 06
Account for zIIP CPU Time for CPU LIMIT Purposes. zIIP implementation has been
enhanced to account for zIIP CPU time for CPU LIMIT purposes.
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WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New Feature Highlights
ISETUP Installation Support for SMS Allocation Rules. On sites that use SMS rules to
manage the environment, the ISETUP installation might fail due to improper space allocation
or inadequate disk volume when the VOLUME keyword is overridden by the SMS rules. Now
additional parameters are available to control the allocation.
Setting Offline Print Attributes on i5. You can now set native i5 QPRINT and SPLUSRDTA
spool system values for spooled OFFLINE print files.
Enhanced Support for FILEDEFs Using DYNAM SUBMIT on HFS Servers. On HFS-deployed
servers, the DYNAM SUBMIT command has been enhanced to check for a FILEDEF ddname
if a DYNAM ALLOC is not found.
Diagnostics
Release 7.7 Version 06
Showing edatemp, foccache, and Other Internal Folders on the Application Tree.
Server Administrators can display the edahome, edaconf, edaprfu, scaroot, foccache and
edatemp locations as folders for users on the Web Console Application Tree.
Displaying Time Statistics for Each Data Agent Connection In EDAPRINT. The
EDAPRINT.log file now displays CPU and server times for each data agent connection.
Metadata
Release 7.7 Version 06
Decomposing Date Fields With DTPART and DTRUNC. The Decompose Date feature for
synonyms has been enhanced to create DEFINE fields that provide additional standard date
formats for a date or a date-time field.
Enhancements to the Metadata Wizard on the Web Console. The Metadata Wizard has
a new Join step that lets the user create a star schema. The Measures and Dimensions step
creates measure groups for the facts and hierarchies selected in the Join step, and attributes
can be assigned.
Updating Synonyms With Metadata From an RDBMS Table. The context menu option for
New/Synonym in the Web Console or DMC is now labeled Synonym (Create or Update). When
this option is selected for a relational data source, a check list of available properties is
displayed. The user can select the properties that should be updated for the database
metadata.
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
19
Server Enhancements
Performing CHECK FILE on a Synonym. The Properties page for a synonym now has a
CHECK FILE button which generates a report showing the number of segments, number of
fields, and the length of all fields.
Controlling the Case of DBMS Column Names for a New Table. For data sources such
as Greenplum, where lowercase column names are preferred, the case of the FIELD and ALIAS
attributes can be specified from the Data Management Console or Web Console.
Enhanced Data Security in Generic Cube Synonyms. The REQSCOPE setting has been
added to the TABLE Miscellaneous Service category to limit the scope of a request against
a generic cube (by reference cluster synonym) to only those fields referenced in the OLAP
structure. It also controls how DBA rules are applied, if present in any Dimension base
synonym.
Propagation of Dimension View Information to a HOLD File. The SET HOLDATTR=CUBE
command propagates certain OLAP metadata from the referenced synonyms in a request to
the output HOLD file that the request generates.
SQL and Excel Date Format Customization When Creating Synonyms. Master File
formats DATE and the date portion of date-time fields can be customized during SQL or Excel
synonym creation.
Expose the BYTEORDER Attribute in the Synonym Editor. The Synonym Editor now
supports the BYTEORDER attribute for file data sources to specify whether the most significant
byte in Integer values is first or last when files are transferred to a system with a different
byte order.
Configuring Field Qualification for Joins in the Synonym Editor. The option to fully qualify
field names in the join criteria of a cluster synonym has been added to the Column Management
option of the Synonym Editor. The choices are Always and For duplicate fields (the default).
Simplifying USAGE Attribute Specification for Date-time Fields. The Synonym Editor
now provides a simplified process for specifying USAGE attributes for DATE and TIME columns.
NLS
Release 7.7 Version 06
Change to Server Default Code Page on Windows. The default server code page on
Windows has been changed from code page 437 to code page 1252, which conforms to the
Microsoft default code page for English and certain Western European languages.
20
WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New Feature Highlights
Security
Release 7.7 Version 06
Preventing Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF). To prevent Cross-Site Request Forgery
(CSRF) attacks on the server from the browser where the Web Console runs, the server
generates a CSRF token to be sent with all POST requests.
Prevention of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attacks. All Web Console output is now encoded
so that code containing Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks cannot be executed.
Default PTH Security Provider Configured During Installation. To make sure the server
always starts securely, the default security provider configured by the installation process is
now the PTH (server internal) provider.
Encrypting Data at Rest. When the server io_encryption setting is ON, binary, alpha, and
delimited HOLD files in edatemp and foccache are encrypted. Data agent trace files (tsxxx.trc)
and agent output files (tsxxx.tro) are also encrypted and cannot be opened outside of the
Web Console or DMC.
Hiding Detailed Connection Information and Error Messages. For security purposes, the
server administrator can disable certain server features for basic users, including the server
version, server name and release, login information, and list of user privileges.
Web Console Parameter Validation. Every parameter on every form displayed by the Web
Console is registered with an internal table that documents the valid values and the
permissions needed to change them. When a form is submitted, each parameter is validated
to ensure that these have been followed.
Calculating Privileges for Any Registered or Unregistered User or Group. The server
administrator can calculate the privileges of any registered or un-registered user or group on
the server by right-clicking the Access Control tree and selecting Show Privileges.
Server-Wide Setting to Control the HTMLENCODE Parameter. The HTMLENCODE
parameter controls whether HTML tags in data are encoded as plain text or HTML tags. The
value ON encodes the tags as plain text so the browser does not consider them executable
code. This prevents an attack on the server from executable code inserted into data.
Displaying System and Security Functions Information. When a server is running with
security, you can display a report listing information for all system and security functions from
the Access Control page.
Advanced PTH Users and Groups Management Page. A new interface was added to
manage PTH Users and Groups on a single page with easy drag-and-drop actions.
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
21
Server Enhancements
New Function CHECKPRIVS Returns the Status of a General Privilege. The function
CHECKPRIVS, given a general privilege code, returns the value Y (yes) or N (no) depending
on whether the connected user has that privilege.
New Variable Returns a List of Groups for the Connected User. The Dialogue Manager
&FOCSECGROUPS variable returns the list of all groups that have the connected user as a
member. The groups on the list are separated by semicolons (;).
Disabling a PTH Security Provider Account. A registered PTH account can be disabled in
order to prevent a user from signing in to the server with that account.
Expiring foccache When the Session Ends. To make the server more secure, the
SESSION_EXPIRATION setting has been combined with the foccache_maxage setting so that
when a session expires, the session foccache files expire as well, and are removed.
Elimination of the IBIF_cmd Parameter. URLs containing the internal parameter IBIF_cmd
are no longer accepted. This eliminates the ability to execute server-acceptable syntax in
order to evade the access control configured for a connected user.
Identifying a Default Provider for Trusted Groups. When multiple security providers are
configured, one must be identified as the default provider for trusted connections when
WebFOCUS or other client software sends a trusted group ID without a security provider to
the server.
Web Console
Release 7.7 Version 06
Information Reports on Functions, Optimization, and Data Types. New information
reports listing functions with descriptions and parameters, optimization information for each
adapter, and data type conversions for each adapter are available on the Web Console Adapters
page.
Accessing Application Files Using a URL Reference. You can open a file stored on a
running server from a web session using a URL reference.
Configuring Synonym Editor and Dimension View Preferences. The Web Console
Preferences page includes new options for configuring the Synonym Editor and Dimension
Views.
Searching for Files on the Server Using the Web Console. The Search Files button on
the Applications page of the Web Console opens a page to search for files by name,
description, contents, and statistics in an application directory or across the entire server.
22
WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New Feature Highlights
New User Interface for File Selection. The new user interface for selecting a file has two
windows, with a tree view on the left to select the server and application directory, and a list
of files.
Adapter Enhancements
The following sections describe new adapter features.
All Adapters
Release 7.7 Version 06
Changing Common Adapter Settings. The Web Console Adapters page has a new button
in the Troubleshooting group, labeled Change common adapter settings, that allows you to
customize data type mappings and other miscellaneous settings that are common to all
adapters. Adapter-specific settings are customizable by right-clicking a configured adapter
folder and selecting Change Settings from the context menu.
SQL Adapters
Release 7.7 Version 06
All SQL Adapters
Creating Indexes for an Existing Table. When you issue a CREATE FILE command for a
table, an index is created in the relational DBMS for the primary key and for each index
specified in the Access File. If you want to create a table without creating all of the indexes
at that time, you can omit the index declarations from the Access File and issue the CREATE
FILE command to create only the table and the index on the primary key. Then, at a later time,
you can add the index declarations to the Access File and issue the CREATE FILE command
with the INDEXESONLY phrase. The option of adding the indexes later makes loading data
into a relational table much faster.
Optimization of Full Outer Joins. The WebFOCUS join command and conditional join
command now have a FULL OUTER join option.
Adding a New Fact To Multi-Fact Synonyms: JOIN AS_ROOT. The JOIN AS_ROOT command
adds a new fact table as an additional root to an existing fact-based cluster (star schema).
The source Master File has a parent fact segment and at least one child dimension segment.
The JOIN AS_ROOT command supports a unique join from a child dimension segment (at any
level) to an additional fact parent.
Joining From a Multi-Fact Synonym. Multi-parent synonyms are now supported as the
source for a unique join to a single segment in a target synonym.
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
23
Adapter Enhancements
Improved Handling of a Star Schema With Fan Trap. A new context analysis process has
been introduced in this release that detects the multiplicative effect and generates SQL script
commands that retrieve the correct values for each segment context. These scripts are then
passed to the RDBMS as subqueries in an optimized SQL statement.
Support for Discontiguous Key Definition in the Access File. Key fields in the Master
File can be listed in the order established by the relational DBMS or in any order that is
convenient. New syntax is available that does not require reordering of the fields in the Master
File.
Optimization of Simplified Character Functions. The SUBSTRING, LTRIM, RTRIM, TRIM_,
CHAR_LENGTH, LOWER, POSITION, and UPPER simplified functions are optimized to SQL.
Optimization of Simplified Date and Date-Time Functions. The DTPART, DTRUNC, DTADD,
and DTDIFF functions have been optimized for SQL adapters, as reflected in the SQL
Optimization Report.
Optimization of Legacy Character and Numeric Functions. The TRIMV function with the
L/B (left/both) option, TRIM, ARGLEN, and POWER functions have been optimized.
Optimization of Date and Date-Time Functions. You can determine which functions are
optimized to their SQL counterparts by adapter in the SQL Optimization Report available from
the Web Console.
Automatically Generating FORMAT SQL_SCRIPT for HOLD Files. This feature allows the
specification for temporary HOLD file formats to be SQL_SCRIPT. It affects all ON TABLE HOLD
requests that do not have an explicit format specified. It also enables you to convert procedures
from disk HOLD files to SQL HOLD files through a single SET command.
Amper Variables for SQLTAG and ABORTREPORT Settings. Variables that hold the values
of SQLTAG and ABORTREPORT settings have been added.
Extended Bulk Load Support for the ON TABLE HOLD Clause. When using HOLD with a
FORMAT of a SQL database, a new option enables you to use a bulk load procedure to load
the table.
Adapter for DB2 - Version 7 Release 7.06
Case-Insensitive Filtering. Setting server collation (either as SET COLLATION=SRV_CI or
under the NLS configuration) triggers the underlying i5 DB2 to also be case-insensitive for
local IBM i DB2 connections.
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WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New Feature Highlights
Adapter for C9 INC - Version 7 Release 7.06
The Adapter for C9 INC has been introduced in this release and is available as a named
adapter on the Web Console in the SQL folder. It provides read access to Salesforce data
stored in C9 and supports C9 temporal features by generating fields in the Master File with
temporal properties.
Adapter for Greenplum - Version 7 Release 7.06
Extended Bulk Load Support. DataMigrator supports Extended Bulk Load for EMC Greenplum
using the Greenplum Load Utility, gpload. This provides a faster load option than insert/update.
Unicode Support. The Adapter for Greenplum can read and write data in Unicode.
Adapter for Greenplum and PostgreSQL - Version 7 Release 7.06
A256V Data Type Mapping. The Adapter for PostgreSQL supports data type mapping using
the following setting:
ENGINE SQLPSTGR SET CONVERSION LONGCHAR ALPHA n
The setting affects the mapping of all PostgreSQL native fields that have a data type of
[VAR]CHAR(32767) or TEXT.
Adapter for Hive - Version 7 Release 7.06
Bulk Loading With DataMigrator. DataMigrator can create Hive metadata and load it into
Hadoop using the Bulk Load via a Disk File load type.
Increased CREATE FILE Functionality. The CREATE FILE process for a synonym that refers
to a Hive table creates columns for files created by DataMigrator with data types that Hive
supports.
Specifying the Maximum String Length When Creating Synonyms. When creating a
synonym for character columns in Hive data sources, an option enables you to specify the
maximum string length.
Adapter for Hyperstage - Version 7 Release 7.06
Hyperstage ODBC Adapter. A new ODBC adapter for MySQL-based Hyperstage supplements
the existing JDBC adapter on the Windows platform.
Lookup Attribute Added to Denormalized Dimension Columns. When using Quick Copy
for a cluster join describing a collection of tables that comprise a Star Schema with a
denormalized Hyperstage target, character columns in dimension tables are created with the
Hyperstage lookup comment attribute.
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
25
Adapter Enhancements
DataMigrator and Quick Copy Support for Unicode. You can load Unicode data to a
Hyperstage target using DataMigrator or Quick Copy.
Adapter for Hyperstage (PG) - Version 7 Release 7.06
Adapter for Hyperstage. The Adapter for Hyperstage using PostgreSQL (PG) has been
introduced in this release and is available as a named adapter on the Web Console in the
SQL folder.
Column Comments Supported as DESCRIPTION Attribute. Column Comments is now
supported as the synonym DESCRIPTION attribute for PostgreSQL-based Hyperstage, and for
all other JDBC-based engines that return Column Comments information in a JDBC Metadata
call.
Adapter for i Access - Version 7 Release 7.06
Adapter for i Access. The Adapter for i Access has been introduced in this release and is
available as a named adapter on the Web Console in the SQL folder.
Adapter for Informix - Version 7 Release 7.06
Support for SDK 4.10.x. The Adapter for Informix supports the Informix SDK 4.10.x.
JDBC Adapters - Version 7 Release 7.06
Support for COMMANDTIMEOUT Setting. The SET COMMANDTIMEOUT command is
introduced for JDBC-based adapters whose drivers support the setQueryTimeout() call.
Adapter for Microsoft SQL Server - Version 7 Release 7.06
ODBC Adapter for Microsoft SQL Server. The ODBC-based adapter is introduced for
Microsoft SQL Server and is available as a named adapter on the Web Console in the SQL
folder.
Support for View Properties. The Adapter for Microsoft SQL Server can retrieve and store
view properties (if present) in a Master File synonym.
Adapter for Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle - Version 7 Release 7.06
Support for HINT. The Adapters for Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle can speed up the DML
SELECT by specifying a HINT clause.
Adapter for MongoDB - Version 7 Release 7.06
Adapter for MongoDB. The Adapter for MongoDB has been introduced in this release and
is available as a named adapter on the Web Console in the SQL folder.
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WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New Feature Highlights
Adapter for MySQL - Version 7 Release 7.06
DataMigrator and Quick Copy, with a MySQL database target, now support the load type
Extended Bulk Load, which provides faster load times than insert/update processing.
Adapter for Netezza - Version 7 Release 7.06
Support for Column and Table Comments. The Adapter for Netezza supports column and
table comments. They can be used as titles during the Create Synonym process.
Support for Password Passthru. The Adapter for Netezza now supports Password Passthru
authentication.
Adapter for Oracle - Version 7 Release 7.06
Create Synonym Support for Materialized View. The Adapter for Oracle recognizes the
Oracle synonym for materialized view as a candidate and presents it among the available
objects on the Web Console Create Synonym page.
Support for Version 12c (Cloud). Support has been added for Oracle Version 12c (Cloud).
Support for 12c Extended String Size. The Adapter for Oracle supports Oracle 12c
extended-string data types. [N]VARCHAR2(32767) is supported.
Adapter for Oracle TimesTen - Version 7 Release 7.06
Adapter for Oracle TimesTen. The Adapter for Oracle TimesTen has been introduced in this
release and is available as a named adapter on the Web Console in the SQL folder.
Adapter for SAP HANA DB - Version 7 Release 7.06
Adapter for SAP HANA DB. The Adapter for SAP HANA Database has been introduced in
this release and is available as a named adapter on the Web Console in the SQL folder.
Metadata For Different Types of Views. The Adapter for SAP HANA can now retrieve
metadata and create Synonyms for different types of HANA DB views.
Adapter for SAP HANA ODBC. he ODBC-based adapter is introduced for SAP HANA and is
available as a named adapter on the Web Console in the SQL folder. This adapter (available
on Windows 64-bit) supports SSO with Kerberos security.
Adapter for Sybase - Version 7 Release 7.06
Support for Connection Name. Connection Name has been added as a configuration
parameter for the Adapter for Sybase.
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
27
Adapter Enhancements
Adapter for Teradata - Version 7 Release 7.06
Extended Bulk Load for Unicode Data. The Adapter for Teradata configured with CLI Teradata
Client supports the loading of UTF8-encoded data through Extended Bulk Load.
Support for Version 14.10. The Teradata CLI and ODBC adapters support read/write access
to Teradata Version 14.10.
Support for Version 15.0. The Teradata CLI and ODBC adapters support read/write access
to Teradata Version 15.0.
Support for Reading INTERVAL and PERIOD Data Types. The Adapter for Teradata now
supports read access to the PERIOD and INTERVAL data types.
Support for Long Table and View Names. Teradata introduced Extended Object Name
(EON) in v.14.1. The Adapter for Teradata now supports table and view names (containing
multi-byte characters) with length up to 128-bytes.
Adapter for Vertica DB - Version 7 Release 7.06
JDBC-based Native Adapter for Vertica (SQLVRT). This adapter has been introduced in
this release and is available as a named adapter on the Web Console in the SQL folder.
ERP Adapters
Release 7.7 Version 06
Adapter for Axiom EMP. The Adapter for Axiom EMP has been introduced in this release
and is available as a named adapter on the Web Console in the ERP folder.
Adapter for SAP/R3 Setting Execution Mode. From the Change Settings page for SAP,
you can select Online or Batch from the Execution mode drop-down menu.
OLAP Adapters
Release 7.7 Version 06
Adapter for Essbase. Two-tier connection support has been implemented for the Adapter
for Essbase version 11.1.2 and higher. Since these Essbase versions require Application
Manager or higher privileges in order to be able to read the outline while reporting from a
cube, a user without those privileges can generate a report or create a synonym by referencing
another connection whose user ID has the required privileges.
Adapter for SAP BW: New Connection Parameters for SNC. Two configuration parameters
have been added for SAP BW adapters to support Secure Network Communication
(SECURITY_MODE=SNC).
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WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New Feature Highlights
Adapter for SAP BW NetWeaver 7.x/Hana MDX Unicode. The Adapter for SAP BW
NetWeaver 7.x/Hana MDX Unicode has been introduced in this release and is available as a
named adapter on the Web Console in the OLAP/SAP folder. The adapter supports SAP BW
NetWeaver 7.3 powered by the HANA database, HANA optimized infocubes, and SAP HANA
optimized Data Store objects.
Adapter for SQL Server Analysis Services - Version 7 Release 7.06
Certification of Version 2014. Certification is complete for Microsoft SQL Server Analysis
Services (SSAS) 2014.
Exposing Member Unique Names for Standard Hierarchies. The Web Console screen
to create a synonym for SSAS data sources has a button labeled Create Fields for Member
Unique Names. Clicking this button adds the UNIQUEIDS INCLUDE syntax to the CREATE
SYNONYM command. These names are now also generated using the "7X" style (0x0003),
as this style yields shorter unique names and, according to MS SSAS documentation, they
are "guaranteed unique names, which are stable over time."
Unicode Support. Support has been implemented for Unicode (UTF-8) code page 65001
for the SSAS adapter.
DBMS Adapters
Release 7.7 Version 06
Adapter for Salesforce - Version 7 Release 7.06
JOIN Support. Child-to-parent retrieval (reversed join) queries are now enabled for custom
objects. This feature adds support for queries with multiple objects.
Procedures Adapters
Release 7.7 Version 06
Adapter for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 (IWAF) - Version 7 Release 7.06 The IWAF
(iWay Adapter Framework) adapter for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 can be used with the
WebFOCUS Reporting and DataMigrator server to retrieve data.
Adapter for REST - Version 7 Release 7.06
Basic Authentication Enabled for Chained Authentication. User credentials can be
passed using Basic Authentication for Chained Authentication in a SOAP or REST request.
Producing a REST Request Trace as a Text File for Diagnostics. The FILEDEF RESTTSCQ
command will produce a text file showing the information that a REST request would contain
without actually running the REST request.
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
29
Adapter Enhancements
Passing an Authorization Token in a REST Request Header. After authenticating through
a REST call and receiving a token, all future REST calls for the web service must have the
token passed as part of the authorization in the HTTP header.
Passing a Global Variable for the OBJECT Parameter in a REST Access File. You can
pass a global variable for the OBJECT parameter value in a REST Access File.
Support for Mutual Authentication Certificates for REST and SOAP. A check box labeled
SSL Mutual Authentication has been added to the Advanced HTTP connection options collapsible
form.
Sequential and Indexed Adapters
Release 7.7 Version 06
Adapter for Excel (via Direct Retrieval) - Version 7 Release 7.06
File Listener for Excel Worksheet. The File Listener component of DataMigrator can process
Microsoft Excel workbooks that are delivered to a specified directory. In addition to the synonym
for the workbook as Excel (via direct read), this requires a synonym for a flat file with the
normal file listener parameters specified. An additional segment contains a copy of the
synonym for the Excel workbook.
Adapters for Flat and Delimited Flat Files - Version 7 Release 7.06
Reading a Field Containing Delimited Values as individual Rows. A field that contains
a list of delimited values (such as email addresses separated by spaces) can now be pivoted
to be read as individual rows when an additional segment is added with SEGSUF=DFIX
(Delimited Flat File).
Option to Show Raw Data When Creating a Synonym for a Delimited File. hen creating
a synonym for a delimited flat file, the user may need to look at the file in order to see whether
there is a header line, what is being used as the delimiter, and what is being used as the
enclosure character, if there is one. The Show File option was added to display the selected
file.
UPLOAD Support for Discovery of Erroneous Input Data - Version 7 Release 7.06
When creating metadata and loading data from an Excel worksheet, detection of erroneous
data, such as non-numeric values, has been improved.
Trimming Blanks from Uploaded Files - Version 7 Release 7.06
When working in debug mode, the Change Common Adapter Settings page has a group named
Data cleansing functionality (DCF) settings that has a drop-down list for trimming leading spaces
and another for trimming trailing spaces.
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WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03 New Feature Highlights
Social Media Adapters
Release 7.7 Version 06
Adapter for Google Analytics. Report against the information residing in the Google Analytics
environment. Metrics, such as Page Views and Users, can be analyzed by various dimensions
(for example, Country and City).
Adapter for Facebook: Enhanced Create Synonym Functionality. Create Synonym
functionality has been enhanced to create DataMigrator flows and metadata for SQL Server
tables to support the warehousing of Facebook information.
Adapter for Twitter: Enhanced Create Synonym Functionality. Create Synonym
functionality has been enhanced to create DataMigrator flows and metadata for SQL Server
tables to support the warehousing of Twitter information.
Adapter for LinkedIn. The Adapter for LinkedIn has been introduced in this release and is
available as a named adapter on the Web Console in the Social Media folder.
XML-Based Adapters
Release 7.7 Version 06
Adapter for JSON - Version 7 Release 7.06
Support for UPDATE. Using DataMigrator, data can be loaded into new JSON targets in a
data flow.
Support for ON TABLE HOLD FORMAT JSON. A report can now save output in JSON (Java
Script Object Notation) format.
XML Write Adapter - Version 7 Release 7.06
Ability to Set Encoding in the XML Header. Previously, the XML Write Adapter always
created the XML file with encoding="UTF-8" in the XML header. Now encoding can be specified
in the synonym and is written to the XML header.
XML, Web Services, REST and Social Media Adapters - Version 7 Release 7.06
Redirection Support for HTTP Status Codes 302, 303, and 307. Support has been added
for HTTP calls made from the XML, Web Services, REST and Social Media adapters that require
a redirection to a different URI. This support includes HTTP status code responses 302, 303,
and 307.
WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
31
WebFOCUS RESTful Web Services
WebFOCUS RESTful Web Services
WebFOCUS RESTful Web Services provide an API into WebFOCUS so that you can use your
preferred development environment (for example, Visual Studio.Net or Java) to embed WebFOCUS
content within your application. WebFOCUS RESTful Web Service requests can be configured for
content and tasks within the following areas:
WebFOCUS Authentication
WebFOCUS Managed Reporting
WebFOCUS Reporting Server
WebFOCUS Security and Administration
ReportCaster
Creating and Updating an Address Book. An optional parameter called AddEntriesObject
is now supported in the body of this request. The value for this parameter is the XML object
that is used to indicate that additional entries are to be added to the Address Book.
ReportCaster Log and Console Functionality. ReportCaster RESTful Web Services now
include ReportCaster log and console functionality.
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WebFOCUS
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WebFOCUS New Feature Highlights
WebFOCUS Release 8.1 Version 03
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