Adding Tasks

Click Add Task button to add a new task from the Task List page.

Figure 9: Setting up a task

In Name, specify a unique name for this entry. This name will be used to refer to this task.

Select a report for the task. Click  to open object selector to select report from. Information in Operational Parameters and Report Parameters will appear filled.

Specify the format of your report under Report Format along with its Delivery Options.

(Optional Step) To run the task in a specific user’s name, select organization and the user from dropdown boxes under Run As.

Note: Run As is available to Administrators and Super Administrators only.  It is not available to end-users having Scheduler privileges.

1. Specify required information for Operational Parameters and Report Parameters. The details for these are explained after these steps.

2. If the report is going to have multiple set of parameters (operational parameters as well as report parameters), specify MultiSet Detail of MultiSet is provided later in the chapter.

3. Click the Save button after specifying all the required information.

Task detail is saved, and its entry appears on the Tasks page.

Click the Cancel button to abandon this task’s details.  Click the Preview button to preview the report in selected format.

Note: The preview will fail if the report being scheduled has hidden parameter and / or shadow parameters (display parameters) used in the report.  However, the schedule task will run as per expectations.

Selecting Report Format

Operational Parameters

These parameters deal with format and delivery of the report.

Selecting Report Format

When you select a report format, Delivery Options area just below Report Format drop-down box will list the properties related to selected report format.  You can set these properties as required.

Figure 10: Selecting report format

Email

To send a report through an email, check the Email checkbox.

Figure 11: Email details

In Report Format, select the required report format.

Depending on the selected output type, you can select Delivery Options for the report.  For example, to zip the file before attaching it with the mail, ignoring page breaks, options specific to CSV or MS Excel output, etc.

A report can be mailed as an attachment, a link or embedded into an email.  Under Send Report As, select Attachment to send report attached with the mail.  If the report is very heavy, or attachments are filtered by recipient’s mail server, you may select Link. In this method, report is generated and saved on report server at a specified location.  When recipient clicks the link in the mail, report opens.  To save the report in user’s working folder, check User’s Working Folder. Select Embedded if you want to embed the report in email body.

While sending report as a link, you also need to specify file name and location where report will be saved.  Reports are saved inside a folder.  In Save In, click  to open categories and navigate to the desired folder.

To include date and time of report generation, check Suffix Timestamp Format checkbox and select a date format.

Specify e-mail IDs for To, Cc and Bcc.  Use comma or semi colon to separate e-mail IDs.

Specify Subject and enable Suffix Timestamp Format, if you want to send a timestamp with the subject. Choose a desired timestamp format from the dropdown.

Default message text set by your application administrator is displayed in Message box, which you can change if desired.  You can include user parameters as well as system parameters in the message text.  For example, if the report you are mailing has a parameter “ReportDate”, then you can insert it as <%ReportDate%> in your message text, which will be replaced by report execution date at run time.

If you are scheduling a high speed report to send as an attachment in PDF format, you will see the option to embed the PDF snapshots in the email body. This option will only be visible if the condition (high speed report is scheduled to be sent as an attachment in PDF format) is met. Checking this option will help you to send snapshots of the report in the email body along with the attached report for users to take a quick look at the required information.

Getting parameter value

When a report is having multi-set parameters and their values come from an SQL, you can have parameter value as part of free form entry boxes:

• File Name

• To, Cc and Bcc

• Subject

• Message

To include a parameter in a field, enclose the parameter name in <% and %> and specify in respective entry box.

For example, Sales<%CountryCode%>Jan2020.  Here, CountryCode is a parameter name that will be replaced by its actual value when the report is executed.

Print

Use this option when reports will be printed on paper.  To get print related operational parameters, click the Print link as shown in the figure below.

Note: You must have printer(s) configured to view them in the printer name box (To add Printer; Login to Intellicus – Navigate – Administration – Configure – Printer Settings)

Only admins or users with configuration privileges can setup a printer connection, before scheduling make sure there is a successful connection (Printer is switched on at the time of report printing etc.)

iHTML, Smart report and Raw Text formats cannot be used with print option.

Figure 12: Setting up Print as delivery option

To set up the Print operation,

1. Check the Print

2. In Report Format, select the required report format. This will make sure you get exactly what you have been viewing on screen in specific format.

3. In Copies, specify the number of copies to be printed.

4. In Page Range, select All to print all pages in the report, or specify the pages to be printed.

5. Select the Printer Name to be used to print the report. This drop-down box has all the printers installed on Report Server machine.

Note: If a print setting is associated with the report, the details will be displayed when you select the report.

For selected report if print setting is forceful, you would not be able to edit the print parameters.

Now you can proceed with other steps of setting up the task.

Upload

A report can be uploaded to an FTP server as well as stored at a shared location. To get upload related operational parameters, click the Upload link.

Figure 13: Setting FTP as report delivery

Uploading the report on FTP Server requires the below information:

1. Check the Upload

2. If you have a pre-configured FTP connection, select it from the Connection If you want to provide fresh details, select Custom.

3. In Report Format, select the required report format. Select Delivery Options.

4. In Upload Type, select FTP.

5. To upload report on a secure FTP server, check Secured Intellicus uses Secure Shell Protocol (SSH) protocol (TCP port 22) to provide secure file transfer.  When you do this, Use PASV mode checkbox will be unchecked and disabled.

6. To upload in passive mode, check Use PASV mode checkbox.

7. In Server Name specify the server name.

8. In Port, specify the port that should be used for upload.

9. In User Name, specify the username by which application to login into server.

10. In Password, specify the password to be used at the time of login.

11. In Folder name, specify the folder where the report should be placed. Specify “/” if you want to place the report at root.

12. In File Name, specify name by which the report will be stored on server.

13. Suffix Timestamp Format: If you want the file name to contain a timestamp, specify the timestamp format here.

A report can be saved on a shared folder on the network.

Figure 14: Saving on shared folder

To save on a shared folder, you need to specify the following:

1. Check the Upload

2. If you have a preconfigured Shared Folder connection, select it from the Connection If you want to provide fresh details, select Custom.

3. In Report Format, select the required report format. Select Delivery Options.

4. In Upload Type, select Shared Folder.

5. In Folder Name, specify the network path in UNC format (computernamefolder) where the report should be placed.

6. In File Name, specify the name by which the report will be stored.

7. Suffix Timestamp Format: If you want the file name to contain a timestamp, specify the timestamp format here.

Publish

Check Publish checkbox.

You can publish a report in any of the available Report Formats.  Publishing a report in desired format will save time (of selecting report format) when it is viewed.  Even if you publish the report in a selected format, you can view it in other formats, if needed.  Select an output format from Report Format dropdown.

Note: A report published in RAW TEXT will not be available for view in any of the other formats.

Depending on the selected output type, you can select Delivery Options for the report.  For example, to zip the file before publishing, ignoring page breaks, options specific to CSV or MS Excel output, etc.

Figure 15: Publish as task

In Save In, click  to open object selector to navigate and open the folder in which you want to save the report.  Object Selector’s features like multiple views, filtering and sorting makes it easier and quicker to find the desired folder.  To save the report in users working folder, check User’s Working Folder.

Though not mandatory, it is always good to specify a unique File Name for the published report. To include date and time of report generation, check Suffix Timestamp Format checkbox and select a date format.

You can keep the published report output accessible to yourself (select Private) or make it available for all (select Public).

Permalink – If you want your users to get a published link that does not require sign in credentials, check the Permalink for last saved instance box.

Figure 16: Generating a Permalink

1. View Output in – Specify the output type.

2. Access Code – You can protect the report to be opened with the access code specified here.

Click Generate button to generate the Permalink.

Now you can proceed with other steps of setting up the task.

Note: Permalink is a license governed feature.

Validity Options

A published report is available as per its validity period. After the validity period is lapsed, the report is removed from the list.

You have the following validity options for report publishing:

1. For ——- After Generation (For a specific time period after generation)

For example, for 2 months, 3 weeks, 6 hours, etc.  Select this option button and specify the number followed by selecting unit (hour(s), day(s), week(s), month(s) and year(s)).

2. Until End of This (Up to end of a duration from generation)

Select this option to keep the report published up to the end of the duration (hour, day, week, month and year).  For example, at the end of this week, at the end of this year, etc.

3. Till Date (Up to end of a specific time period)

Select this option button to keep report published up to a specific date.  For example, July 30, 2020.

Note: Report will not be available after the period / time duration is over.

A published report is stored on Report Server. It is recommended that you specify an expiry date. Deletion of the expired reports will free up the server space.

An expired report cannot be retrieved back.  You may backup the reports to keep the output.  This will make sure you have the data with you at the same time server space is not remain occupied for a report output.

Getting parameter value in file name

You can set parameter value as part of a free form entry field.

To include a parameter in a file name, enclose the parameter name in <% and %> and specify in File Name entry box.

For example, Sales<%CountryCode%>Jan2020.  Here, CountryCode is a parameter name that will be replaced by its actual value when the report is executed.

Report Parameters

You can specify the ad hoc filters when creating a schedule. The scheduled report will run based on the filter values you enter.

Note: Parameter listing will be available if there are any parameters in the report. The adhoc filters are available for Adhoc, Smart and Studio report types. It is not available for High Speed View report type.

Figure 17: Ad-hoc filters in Report parameters

Multiset Parameters

This is used to provide more than one set of operational parameters and report parameters.  This is one of the very powerful features of Intellicus.  Using Multiset parameters, you can at run time dynamically select the parameter values to run a report.  With MultiSet, you can burst reports to varied recipients in preferred report formats, set different name of organization for different users. You can schedule these reports through a preferred medium as well for varied recipients at the same time.

For instance, if you want to send the same report to some recipients via email, to some via upload, to some you want to share published links, you can achieve it through MultiSet feature in Intellicus.

To do this, click MultiSet.  The Multiset parameters area will open to specify required information about operational parameters and report parameters.

Multiset Parameter values can be:

• Static: Fix values will be specified for the parameters. These values can be specified on this page.

• SQL: SQL query will be used to fetch parameter values from database.

Providing Multiset Parameters

Click the MultiSet Button.  Multiset Parameters area opens.  Select one among Static or SQL.

Figure 18: Specifying MultiSet Parameters

To specify Static Parameters, you need to follow the below steps:

1. Select the Static option. A check box would appear on the left side of each of the Operational parameter and Report parameter.

2. Select the parameters (by checking respective checkboxes on Report Parameters area) for which you want to provide multiple set of values. Entry boxes (under MultiSet Parameters) for selected parameters will become available.

3. Click the Add A row opens.

4. Specify values in respective entry boxes.

5. After providing all the values, click the Save button.

Click the Add button to get a greater number of rows.  Click Delete button to remove the respective row.

Click Preview to have a look at the report based on the parameters set here.

Getting Parameter values through an SQL

Use this when parameter values need to come directly from database using an SQL.  This way you can dynamically select parameter values at run time.

Figure 19: Specifying multiset parameter values through SQL

To specify parameter values through SQL, you need to follow the below steps:

1. Select the option SQL. Select the connection name to be used to get the parameters.

2. Specify the SQL.

3. Click Verify SQL to check if the SQL you specified is valid.

Scheduling Query Objects

Intellicus helps you  schedule query objects to run in the background. This is helpful when you have multiple data sources to fetch and process large amounts of data. For instance, let us say you have 1000 tables in your database with similar structure, it would be tedious to create multiple query objects or multiple data source steps and run them manually. With MultiSet feature in scheduling, you can schedule query objects to run in the background and automate the process to fetch data from all these tables. This will reduce the manual efforts one would need to put to run queries and automate querying; hence improving response times while creating reports.