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Administrator Guide
January 2015
Contents
Copyright Notice 4
Managing Groups 16
Managing Groups and member collections 16
Managing Folder Security 17
Variable Administration 18
Managing Variables 18
Assigning Variables to User Profiles 19
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Contents
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Copyright Notice
Copyright Notice
This documentation is proprietary information belonging to Xtraction Technologies and is protected by
the copyright laws of Australia and international treaties. This material may not be copied, transferred,
reproduced, disclosed or duplicated, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Xtraction
Technologies.
This documentation and related computer software programs are provided to users for informational
purposes only and are subject to change or withdrawal by Xtraction Technologies at any time and
without prior notice. The use of this documentation and any product referred to in this documentation
is governed by the applicable software licence agreement. Licensed users may print a reasonable
number of copies of this documentation for their own internal use, provided that Xtraction
Technologies copyright notices and legends are affixed to each copy. Only authorised employees,
consultants and agents of the user who are bound by the confidentiality provisions of the licence for
the software are permitted to have access to such copies.
The creator of this documentation is Xtraction Technologies. To the extent permitted by applicable law,
Xtraction Technologies provides this documentation as is without warranty of any kind; including
(without limitation) any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-
infringement. In no event will Xtraction Technologies be liable to the end user or any third party for any
loss or damage, direct or indirect, from the use of this documentation, including (without limitation)
lost profits, business interruption, goodwill, or lost data, even if Xtraction Technologies is expressly
advised of such loss or damage.
All trademarks, trade names, service marks and logos referenced herein belong to their respective
owners.
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Before you Begin
Installation Details
What you need to keep track of:
Item Your record
Xtraction Server Name
Xtraction Database Name
Xtraction Database Username
Xtraction Database Password
Application Server Name
Application Database Name
Application Database read-only Username
Application Database read-only Password
Application Database Table Owner
(if not “dbo”)
URL to access Application web interface
as in http://myserver/Caisd/pdmweb.exe)
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Xtraction Users and their Roles
The management of user accounts, roles, groups, and Data Policies are handled within the
Administration dialogues, and are explained in detail in this guide.
Folder permissions are managed at the Designer level and are explained in the User Guide.
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Xtraction Users and their Roles
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Xtraction Users and their Roles
Role
Function Admin Enterprise Designer Private Viewer Scheduler Alert
Designer Designer User
Administrator
Dashboard Designer
Document Designer
Report Designer
Schedule document
Insert public object
Update public object
Update object owner
View/Update private
objects owned by
others
Setting permissions
Setting permissions for all for
for groups groups designer’s
groups
Setting permissions for all for
for users users users in
designer’s
groups
Schedule documents
and reports
Create alerts on
Dashboards
Create Threshold
alerts
Views personal alerts
View all alerts
Opening Xtraction
To access Xtraction, open a web browser and enter the URL provided by the Administrator. Typically,
the default URL is:
http://[SERVER]/Xtraction/
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Xtraction Users and their Roles
Enter the User ID and password supplied by the application Administrator. Once authenticated, you are
presented with the Xtraction Application Window, with your access governed by your user privileges.
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Initial Administrative Tasks
One approach is to have top level folders for each organisational unit, with subfolders for different
types of dashboards, for example Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Annual.
Creating Users
If the Auto Create option was selected during installation, accounts will be created automatically the
first time users access Xtraction. However, user accounts can be created before public release to enable
their roles to be assigned beforehand.
A filter is not automatically created for every possible value. This is not practical and not necessary.
The Discovery process inspects your installation’s data, creating filters for the most used values. This
process may be augmented by a review of the filters created, and adding any that should be there but
were not identified by the discovery process.
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Using the Administration Menu
The following composite image brings together the primary and secondary menu lists involved.
Additional functions, such as Filter Builder, will display specialist forms.
Current Users
Follow these steps to review users currently logged into Xtraction:
Step Action
1 In the Function Links click Administration > User Administration to open the form
2
Click the Refresh button to ensure that you see the current set of users
3 At the bottom of the form you can also see the number of Licensed Users for your
installation
4 Note: When a user logs off, there may be a delay of up to one minute until this fact is
reflected in the Current Users list
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Managing Users and Their Privileges
Step Action
1 In the Function Links click Administration > User Administration to open the form
2 Open the User Administration tab to display the list of users
3 In the header of the form you have the option to search for a user; and to limit the display to
Active users only:
4 To search for specific users, enter any text string in Search, and press Enter to refresh the list
and display any users that match your text entry
5 To work with one user, double-click their entry in the list
Or right-click on the entry and select Edit
6 The User form opens with the General tab displayed
7 For details of interaction see Creating a New User
8 You also have the option to temporarily suppress the user’s access privileges by right-clicking
an entry and selecting Make inactive
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Managing Users and Their Privileges
Creating a User
Mandatory parameters for a new user may differ in some details depending on the installation of
Xtraction. Follow these steps to add a user:
Step Action
1 In the Function Links click Administration > User Administration to open the form
2 Open the User Administration tab to display the list of users
3 Right-click anywhere in the list and select Add
4 The User form opens with the General tab displayed
5 Note: After a user is created, you cannot change their username
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Managing Users and Their Privileges
Step Action
Designer If you allocate a Designer role, then you must also select the features that they
Features may access - select from:
Dashboards
Documents
Reports
Groups Groups control access to saved Dashboards and Documents within Folders
Data Policy settings still apply when viewing saved Dashboards and Documents
Users can be members of multiple Groups
Variables Variables control access to data by using the variable on parameterized filters
and components. The Administrator controls whether a user can change the
value associated with a variable.
Step Action
1 In the Function Links click Administration > User Administration to open the form
2 Open the User Administration tab to display the list of users
3 Find the user to edit and double-click the entry; or right-click on it and select Edit
4 The User form opens with user details displayed in the General tab
Note: You cannot change their Username
Managing Group participation
5 Open the Group tab and review the list
6 Right-click an entry and select from these options:
Add - to add another Group in which the user participates
Remove - to remove that Group from participation by the user
Clear - to remove all group participation for this user
7 If you select Add the Select Groups form opens
8 Select a Group, or use the Ctrl or the Shift keys to select sets
9 Click OK to add the selection to the user
Changing a user’s password
10 If Xtraction is using Windows authentication, user passwords are not stored in Xtraction,
and you cannot change the Windows password from this form
With Dashboard Local User authentication you can change their password simply by
entering a new value in Password advise the user so they can again access Xtraction
11 Click OK to have your edits applied
Managing Variables
12 Open the Variable tab and review the list
13 Use the Assign check box to assign a variable to this user profile.
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Managing Users and Their Privileges
Step Action
14 Allow the user to edit the variable value by checking the Editable check box.
15 Assign a default value to the variable. Use the search button on each row to perform a
search for suitable values.
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Managing Groups
Managing Groups
A Group is a collection of one or more Xtraction users with a common need for access to the same
Xtraction resources.
Groups enable more efficient management of access to folders of Dashboards, documents and filters.
A user can be a member of multiple Groups, and these Groups can be associated with multiple
Dashboards or Document Folders.
Step Action
1 In the Function Links click Administration > User Administration to open the form
2 Open the Group Administration tab to display the list of Groups
3 In the header of the form you have the option to limit the display to Active users only
Managing Groups
4 Right-click on a Group Name and select from these options:
Add
Edit
Remove
5 A simple form enables you to attend to the name used for the Group
6 Select Active, if the Group is to be an Active entry
7 Click OK to return to the Group Administration tab
Managing Members of one Group
8 In the Members list for one Group, right-click on a member to:
Add a user
Delete that user
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Managing Groups
Step Action
1 Open any Designer tool, for example Dashboard Designer
2 In the top bar, click Tools > Folders to open the Folder form
3 Right-click on a folder and select Edit Folder to display the Folder form:
Managing Permissions
Options available under Permissions depend on the user privileges:
most users may only select Public to release their own folders to the public
at Administration level a decision is made between public and restricted access
4 Select Public (accessible to everyone) to make the folder freely accessible
5 To restrict access, assemble a list of groups or users allowed access
6 Right-click in the Permissions form and select from these options:
Add Group
Add User
Clear Permissions
7 In the forms that display you can select one or more entries for inclusion in the list of
Permissions for the current folder
8 Click OK to return to the Folder form
9 Click OK to apply your actions
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Variable Administration
Variable Administration
Variables can be associated with a document or dashboard by way of a Variable Filter Condition. When
a document or dashboard with a Variable Filter Condition is viewed, the User Variables are passed to
the Variable Filter Condition with the matching Variables being replaced with the associated User
Variables values.
Variables are defined through the Variable Administration tab of the User Administration.
A Variable can be assigned to a User profile and given a default value.
A Variables value can be edited through the User profile only if the Administrator has check the
“Editable” checkbox. Variable that are not editable cannot been seen in the User profile.
Managing Variables
Follow these steps to manage Variables:
Step Action
1 In the Function Links click Administration > User Administration to open the form
2 Open the Variable Administration tab to display the list of Variables
Variable Administration
3 Right-click on the form or on a Variable Name and select from these options:
Add Variable
Edit Variable
Remove Variable
4 Add and Edit Variable form. Use the search button to see available Associated Fields
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Variable Administration
Associated Field: This is the name of a field from the data model.
6 Remove Variable form
Variables that are assigned to a user profile will be removed from the profile. This will not
remove Variable Condition Filters from Documents or Dashboards.
Step Action
1 In the Function Links click Administration > User Administration to open the form
2 Open the User Administration tab to display the list of Users
Variable Administration
3 Right-click on a User Name and select Edit
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Variable Administration
6 The user will see in their profile the following based on the above example in 4.
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Using the Filter Builder
Filters are conditions imposed on the data to be extracted to restrict what Designers and Viewers can
see and work with. Each filter imposes one set of conditions on the Data Source to which it applies.
As Administrator you use the Filter Builder to create the initial set of filters.
Using the Filter Builder runs a discovery process that inspects your installation’s data, creating filters for
the most used values. This process may be augmented by a review of the filters created, and adding any
that should be there but were not identified by the discovery process. See the User Guide for creating
additional filters.
Step Action
1 In the Function Links click Administration > Filter Builder to open the form
2
Click the button in the header of the form to display the Select Data Source form
3 Double-click the Data Source, or select it and click OK
4 The Filter Builder form displays with the Data Source shown in the header
5 In Parent Folder select the location where the filters should be saved
6 Click OK to start the process of filter discovery and creation
7 The tool inspects the Data Sources and creates filters for frequently used data values
8 The filters are saved within the selected Parent Folder, with subfolders created
automatically based on what the tool creates
9 Repeat this procedure for all other Data Sources
10 Click Close once all required discovery has been preformed
11 You may want to review the results and decide to manually add further filters
See the User Guide, Designing and managing filters, for instructions and further
explanations about filters, their purpose and use
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Managing Data Policies
Exception: The Data Policy assigned to a user does not apply when they access reports built with the
Report Designer. These reports query Data Sources directly and bypass all restrictions.
Step Action
1 In the Function Links click Administration > User Administration to open the form
2 Open the Data Policies tab to display the list:
3 Review the need to select Enforce data source security, and set it accordingly
Note: Deselecting it removes all security impositions!
4 Right-click in the details display and click Add
5 Enter a Name for the Data Policy
Creating the list of Accessible Views (this being a reference to Data Sources)
6 Right-click in Accessible Data Sources and click Add to display the Select Data Source
form
7 Double-click the required Data Source in the list to open its list of items
8 Select a Data Source and click OK to display it as an Accessible View; or double-click it
9 Repeat this procedure until you have included all Data Sources in the list for the Data
Policy
Including a filter to apply to the Data Policy
10 Open the Filters tab
11 Right-click in the details area and click Add
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Managing Data Policies
Step Action
12 See the module Designing and Managing Filters in the User Guide for details
13 Click Save to have the Data Policy saved
14 Note: Review the need to set a default Data Policy - see the following procedure
Follow these steps to manage the setting of the default Data Policy:
Step Action
1 In the Function Links click Administration > User Administration to open the form
2 Open the Data Policies tab to display the list
3 If there is a default Data Policy already set, it is indicated by an asterisk after the name
4 To remove the current setting, right-click anywhere in the details area and select Clear
default
5 To set a default policy, or to switch this attribute from the current one, right-click on the
Data Policy that is to be the default and select Set as default
Right-click on an entry in the list and click Edit to gain access to its definition.
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Managing Xtraction Settings
Step Action
1 In the Function Links click Administration > Settings to open the form
2 The Settings form displays with the Settings tab open
Fields in the Settings tab have these meanings:
Default Time Zone Set the time zone used when displaying date/time fields that are based
on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
These fields are adjusted to display in the local time for the selected
time zone
User specific settings override the value that you select here
Default Record Count Enter a value to limit the number (count) of records when a user:
displays lists of records
exports such lists
Theme Select from the list to set the colour to apply for the display of all
dialogues and screens within Xtraction
Users cannot set their own themes
Default Group Colors Select from the list to set the color used for all group charts
Default Time Colors Select from the list to set the color used for all time charts
3 Click Save to have your settings applied
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Managing Xtraction Settings
For example, you can attach the color red to a field named Priority and select a value from the value set
for that field so that anytime the field is displayed with that value, it will be displayed in red.
Step Action
1 In the Function Links click Administration > Settings to open the form
2 The Settings form displays with the Settings tab open
3 Open the Default Group Colors tab
4
Click the button in the header of the form to display the Select Data Source form
Click this button at any time to select and work with a different Data Source
5 Double-click the Data Source in the list to open its list of items
6 If color definitions exist for this Data Source, they are displayed
7 If none display, right-click in the form and select Add Field
8 In this way you can manage the set of fields for which colors should or should not be set
9 To remove a field from these definitions, right-click its name and select Remove Field
10 With a Data Source displaying its values, select one to enable setting of a color
11 Right-click in the color spot and select an option:
Add Color to enable a selection
Edit Color to create your own custom colour in the Colour palette
Remove Color to drop this definition from the settings
Clear Colors to drop all definitions for the selected Data Source
12 Click Save to have your edits applied to the definition for the Data Source
13 When you have finished working with Data Sources, click Close
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Managing Xtraction Settings
Follow these steps to manage Default Columns definitions for all users:
Step Action
1 In the Function Links click Administration > Settings to open the form
2 The Settings form displays with the Settings tab open
3 Open the Default Columns tab
4 Use the reference below to find the procedure in the User Guide
Refer to the module Default Columns used for Record Lists in the User Guide for details. All concepts
explained in there apply to your access via the Administration Function Link.
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Xtraction Administrator Guide Reloading Important Files
Step Action
1 Ensure the updated data model file exists in the \Data\Configuration\ path of the Xtraction
software installation
The default path is C:\Program Files\Xtraction Software\Xtraction\
Note: The current Data Model file must exist under the name of DataModel.DAT for
Xtraction to recognise the file for reload
2 In the Function Links click Administration > Reload
3 Click Data Model
4 This reloads the Data Model file DataModel.DAT and acknowledges success of the action
5 Click OK
Note: Reloading the Data Model file does not interrupt the use of Xtraction
Step Action
1 Make sure that the current licence file exists in the \Data\Configuration\ path of the
Xtraction software installation
The default path is C:\Program Files\Xtraction Software\Xtraction\
2 In the Function Links click Administration > Reload
3 Click License
4 This reloads the licence file and acknowledges success of the action
5 Click OK
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