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Publishing and Downloading Resources
Logi Report Designer, as a report design tool, allows you to publish your resources from it to your local computer or to Logi Report Server. When you publish a resource such as a report template, all of the referenced report templates and additional resources such as images will also be published although they will not be visible. This ensures that images and linked reports will be available at runtime. In addition, you can download reports created on Logi Report Sever to a specified folder on your local computer and further modify them in Logi Report Designer. This topic describes publishing and downloading different resources using Designer.
In Logi Report Designer, catalogs and page reports can be saved in either binary or XML format. For performance concern, when you publish catalog and page report files of the XML format, Logi Report Server will parse the XML files, convert them to binary files, and then save the converted binary files into its resource system instead of the XML files. In this way Logi Report Server does not have to go through parsing of the XML files each time the catalogs and page reports are executed and the server performance can be greatly improved. In the meantime, when you download catalogs and page reports from the server resource system to Logi Report Designer, you can download them in the XML format if you prefer this format for checking into source code control systems.
This topic includes the following sections:
Tip: Before you can publish or download resources from a Logi Report Server, you need to make sure the server is started. You can pre-set the properties for connecting with the server and user information to login via the Options dialog to avoid repeated connecting and logging.
Publishing Resources Remotely
You can publish different resources to Logi Report Server, which include reports and additional resources.
Publishing Reports
When publishing reports to Logi Report Server you are actually copying the files into a subfolder in the <server_install_root>/history folder. The Logi Report Server database keeps track of physical disk locations and maps those to logical folders shown in the server resource tree.
- Do either of the following:
- Select File > Publish > Publish Report to Server if you want to publish reports.
- Select File > Publish > Publish Component to Server if you want to publish library components.
If Logi Report Designer can automatically connect to the server and log you in, you will be shown the Publish to Logi Report Server dialog, otherwise you will be prompted with the Connect to Logi Report Server dialog to specify the properties for connecting with the server first.
- Select the Browse button next to the Publish Resource From text box to find the directory where your resources are located, and the resources in the specified directory will be loaded automatically. If you choose to type in the directory in the text box directly, you need to press Enter on the keyboard to load the resources in that directory.
- In the resource tree box, select the checkboxes in front of the resources that you want to publish. To publish all the resources in the specified directory, select Select All.
- In the Publish Resource To text box, select the Browse button to specify the folder in the server resource tree where the resources are to be published.
- Select a to-be-published resource in the resource tree box and then select the More Options button to set properties for the resource.
- In the Properties tab,
- In the Resource Node Name text box, specify a name to be displayed in the server resource tree for the resource. You can type a name in the text box or use the Browse button to select a resource name from the Select Resource Name dialog, where all resource names of the same type as the selected resource, which are contained in the Publish Resource To path, are displayed.
- In the Resource Description text box, type a brief description to describe the resource.
- If a report is selected, specify the status of the report by selecting the required item from the Status drop-down list:
- Active
The report can be run, advanced run and scheduled on Logi Report Server. - Inactive
The report cannot be run, advanced run or scheduled on Logi Report Server. - Incomplete
The report is not completely designed and cannot be run, advanced run or scheduled on Logi Report Server.
- Active
- If a folder is selected, type a local disk path in the Resource Real Path text box as the real path of the folder. If you would like to map the real path resources into the new node created for the folder in the server resource tree so that the server will always be able to get the resources and updates from the real path, select the option Enable Resources from Real Paths. However once you create a real path folder you can no longer publish reports to it from Logi Report Designer. You need to physically copy the files you want to publish into the specified folder on the server.
- In the Custom Field box, specify custom field values for the resource if there are custom fields enabled on Logi Report Server.
- Select Apply Archive Policy to apply an archive policy to the resource.
- To use multiple versions for the selected resource, select Archive as New Version, then in the Max Number of Versions text box type the maximum number of versions that will be listed in the version table of the selected resource. The default value is 0, which means that the version amount is unlimited.
- To replace the old version when the new version is generated, select Replace Old Version.
- In the Permissions tab, select the Enable Setting Permissions option to specify permissions for the selected resource (this tab is available only when you have specified to publish the resources to a public folder on the server). For detailed information about the permissions, see Managing Permissions in the Logi Report Server Guide.
The roles, users, and groups that are created in the Logi Report Server security system are listed in the Role, User, and Group boxes. From one box, select a principal then select the checkboxes ahead of the required permissions. You can remove the principals in any box by selecting it and selecting the Remove button. To add the deleted principal back, use the Add button.
- If the selected resource is a catalog, the Connection tab is activated. Select a data source from the Catalog Data Source drop-down list and the connection properties of the selected data source are displayed. If the data source contains multiple connections only properties of the first connection are listed. When the connection is a JDBC connections the Modify button is activated. You can select it to modify properties of the JDBC connection in the Get JDBC Connection Information dialog.
- Repeat steps 11 - 13 to set properties for other resources as required.
- Select OK to publish the resources. If the reports or library components use special fonts, style groups, geographic information, or customized control files, the Publish Additional Resources dialog appears for you to specify them.
Notes:
- Only one catalog file is allowed in folders in the server resource tree where library components can be published.
- The Enable Resources from Real Paths option can only be selected when the same option on the Logi Report Server console > Administration > Configuration > Advanced page has also been selected.
- If you have made some changes to the to-be-published resources, but have not saved them, before publishing starts, Logi Report will save the changes automatically to ensure the resources published to the server are the latest.
- After resources have been published to Logi Report Server, you may find that the publish time shown on the server UI is different from the client time. That is because the publish time takes the server time instead of the client time.
- If the resource you publish to on the server is already a real path resource, you will get a permission denied error since real path resources can only be published by copying the files physically using FTP or OS copy file utilities.
Publishing Additional Resources
Additional resources used by reports can also be published to Logi Report Server. These resources include special fonts, geographic information, style groups, and customized control files.
- Select File > Publish > Publish Other Files to Server.
If Logi Report Designer can automatically connect to the server and log you in, you will be shown the Publish Additional Resources dialog, otherwise you will be prompted with the Connect to Logi Report Server dialog to specify the properties for connecting with the server first.
- If special fonts are available, select
to specify the folder containing the special fonts. - In the Style tab, select the style groups you need and then select the right-headed single arrow button to add them to the right box.
- In the Geographic Information tab, select the desired XML file where geographic information is stored and select the right-headed single arrow button to add them to the right box.
- In the Customized Control tab, select the customized control files you need and select the right-headed single arrow button to add them to the right box.
- Select OK to publish the resources.
Publishing Resources Locally
Logi Report Designer supports publishing resources locally. That is, publishing resources to any directory on your computer or across your intranet.
- Select File > Publish > Publish to Local Directory. The Publish to Local Directory dialog appears.
- Select the Browse button to select a catalog, or type the catalog name with its full path directly into the From Catalog text box, and then press Enter to specify the catalog. All the reports in the specified catalog will then be displayed in the Select Report box.
- Select the reports that you want to publish from the Select Report box and select the arrow button to add them to the box on the right, or directly drag the reports you want to publish from the Select Report box to the box on the right. If no report is selected here, only the catalog will be published.
- Specify a directory for the catalog and reports that are to be published.
Select the Browse button to the right of the To Local Directory text box, and locate a directory in the Get Directory dialog. Or you can type a directory in the text box directly. If you type in a directory which does not exist, Logi Report Designer will automatically create it for you.
- Select Next to view or modify properties of the data source connection.
First, select a data source from the Catalog Data Source drop-down list, and then the connection properties of the selected data source will be displayed. If the selected data source is built on a JDBC connection, you can select the Modify button to modify properties of the data source connection in the Get JDBC Connection Information dialog.
- Select the Finish button to publish the catalog and reports.
Downloading Reports
Reports created on Logi Report Server can be downloaded to your local computer and further modified using Logi Report Designer. The same as with publishing, all resources used by the reports will also be downloaded such as other linked reports and images.
- Do either of the following:
- Select File > Download > Download Report from Server if you want to download reports.
- Select File > Download > Download Component from Server if you want to download library components.
If Logi Report Designer can automatically connect to the server and log you in, you will be shown the Download from Logi Report Server dialog, otherwise you will be prompted with the Connect to Logi Report Server dialog to specify the properties for connecting with the server first.
- In the Download Resource From text box, select the Browse button to specify the folder on the server where to download resources. The resources in the specified folder will then be loaded automatically in the resource tree box.
- In the resource tree box, select the checkboxes in front of the resources that you want to download.
- Select the Browse button next to the Download Resource To text box to specify the path to which resources will be downloaded, or type in the directory in the text box directly.
- Select Download as XML Format if you want the selected resources to be downloaded in the XML format. Only catalogs and page reports can be saved in this format. Catalogs and page reports on the server which are in the XML format will be downloaded as XML resources by default no matter this checkbox is selected or not.
- Select OK. The selected resources and all additional resources referenced by them such as linked reports and images will then be downloaded from Logi Report Server.
When the resources are successfully downloaded from Logi Report Server, you can open them in Logi Report Designer, and further edit them.
Notes:
- Resources in the Public Reports folder of Logi Report Server are protected by permissions. If you specify to download resources from that folder, which resources you can see in the resource tree box and which resources you can download are determined by the user name with which you use to connect to the server. You can only view the resources on which you have the Visible permission in this box and download resources on which you are assigned the Read permission.
- Downloading reports which use business views as data source from Logi Report Server requires that Logi Report Designer and Logi Report Server each has its own Live license.
Downloading Customized Controls
Customized controls on Logi Report Server can be downloaded to the customized control library of Logi Report Designer which is the Customized Control folder under the installation root and further modified using Logi Report Designer.
- Select File > Download > Download Customized Control from Server.
If Logi Report Designer can automatically connect to the server and log you in, you will be shown the Download Customized Control dialog, otherwise you will be prompted with the Connect to Logi Report Server dialog to specify the properties for connecting with the server first.
- Select the customized control files you need, select the right-headed single arrow button to add them to the right box.
- Select OK to download the selected control files.
If the local control library contains control files that have the same names with the downloaded control files, the local files will be replaced directly without warning.