Remote Design

a) To modify the templates of a FineReport report which has been deployed to a remote server, connect to the working directory of remote server through the local Designer. The modification will be saved on the server and applied to templates on the server.

b) Remote Design consists of three steps. Firstly, the report administrator assigns permissions of remote design. Secondly, a user establishes a remote directory connection in the local Designer. Thirdly, the user designs the template which he/she is granted permissions.

c) Remote Design does not support hierarchical permissions. The JAR package and plug-in used for Remote Design should be kept consistent with that on the server to avoid any problem caused by mismatching.

Contents of this section:

• Remote Design Permission Management

• Remote Design Data Connection Management

• Remote Design supports export to local PC

• Remote Design Password Strategy
  

1. Administrator connects to the remote server

1. In the local FineReport Designer, click [File]>[Switch Working Directory]>[Others......].

2. Click  to create a new Remote Sever.

3. Type in relevant information to configure the remote directory. [Host Location] is a combination of host name, port, web application, and Servlet, and will be automatically generated when the four items as mentioned previously are filled in. Or you can choose to type in Host Location to automatically generate the four items.

4. After configuration, enter the Username and Password of administrator.

5. Click [Test Connection] to check whether the connection is successful. The following prompt indicates a successful connection to the remote server. Click OK to establish a connection.

6. Upon successful connection, the texts of Remote Server and administrator account will be displayed on the Designer interface, which means the administrator is performing Remote Design.

2. User connects to the remote server

1. In the FineReport Designer, click [File]>[File]>[Switch Working Directory]>[Others......].

2. Select the remote server to perform permission setup. The login Username is Anna, and enter the Password.

3. Test the connection. Upon successful connection, click [OK] to access the working directory of Remote Design.

4. The texts of Remote Server and Anna are displayed on the Designer interface, which means Anna is performing Remote Design.

5. The [Server] menu is not available for general users in remote connection.

Note:If user has no permission of remote design, then the connection is not allowed and an alert will pop up.

1. Overview

1. Template Design Permission Management refers to the fact that different users are assigned with different permissions to templates and the directories where the templates are saved. Such permissions include add, edit, delete, and rename.

2. Users are allowed to add, rename and delete sub-folders under a folder to which they are granted with permissions. They are not allowed to make any operation to the folder itself. New templates can only be saved in a non-root directory that they are granted with permissions.

3. In the event that multiple users share permissions to a folder in the same time, it is essential to ensure data consistency. For example, when user A and user B connect to a remote directory at the same time, and user A deletes template M. As user B is logged in, the template panel will not be refreshed automatically. When user B opens template M, the system will prompt that the template can not be opened as it has been deleted.

4. Only the super administrator can configure the Remote Design Permission Management from the following two perspectives: User and Role.

2. Operating steps

2.1. Administrator connects to the remote server

1. In the local FineReport Designer, click [File]>[Switch Working Directory]>[Others......].

2. Log in with an administrator account.

3. After successful connection testing, click [OK] to connect to the remote server.

2.2. Remote Design Permission Management by User

1. Click [Server]>[Remote Design Permission Management] to pop up the [Remote Design Permission Management] panel.

2. Click the [User] tab. Click  to add a user, as shown in the following diagram:

3. You can search for users in the search box, tick the box following the user name, and view selected users on the right.

4. Click  to deselect a user.

5. Select a user to perform Remote Design Permission Management, for example, Anna. Click [OK].

6. You can select templates and assign permissions to the user on the right of the [Remote Design Permission Management] panel. Here are some folders to which Anna is granted with permissions.

7. Log in with the account of Anna. We can see that Anna is assigned with permissions for several templates.

2.3. Remote Design Permission Management by Role

1. The role-based permissions are introduced to avoid restrictions imposed by departmental permissions to a single user. The administrator is allowed to assign remote design permissions.

2. Log in the Decision-making Platform with a super administrator account. Click [Manage]>[User]>[Role], and then  to create a new role: Data architect.

3. Click [Edit User] on the right to add a user to the role of Data architect. Here we add Anna.

4. Return to the Designer. Click [Server]>[Remote Design Permission Management] to pop up the [Remote Design Permission Management] panel.

5. Click the [Role] tab. Click  to add a new role, as shown in the following diagram:

6. Add [Data architect] and set up template permissions. Here we assign all templates to Data architect.

7. Log in with the account of Anna. We can see that Anna is assigned with permissions for several templates. That’s because the role of Anna is Data architect, which has just been assigned with permissions for all templates.

1. Overview

1. Data Connection Management refers to the fact that different users are assigned with different permissions for data connection in Remote Design.

2. For general users, data connection applies only to options with approved permissions, such as [Database Query], [Saved Procedure], [Data Dictionary], etc. However, [Program Dataset], [File Dataset], [Embedded Dataset], and [Server Dataset] are open to all users as they have no permission control.

3. Though provided with template permissions, general users can not preview a template properly without data connection permissions corresponding to the template dataset. Therefore, when assigning permissions, the administrator should give considerations to both template design and data connection.

2. Operating steps

2.1. Enable data connection management

1. Log in to the report of the remote server, e.g., type in http://ip:port/webroot/decision in the browser address bar.

2. Click [System Management]>[Permission Management], and then click the button of [Global Setting] to display [Data Connection Control]. Click [Save].

2.2. Assign data connection permission

1. After turning on the Data Connection Control button, click [Permission Configuration]>[User]>[Data Connection].

2. Select a user: Anna, and unlock the lock below [Use] on the right to assign the “Use” permission of this data connection to Anna.

3. For a user to edit the data connection, the super administrator should turn on [Hierarchical Permissions] in [System Management]>[Permission Management]>[Global Setting] and assign permissions of [Manage] and [Authorize] to the user. Please refer to Data Connection Control for details.

2.3. Assign remote design permissions

1. In the FineReport Designer, the administrator clicks [Server]>[Remote Design Permission Management].

2. Click  to add a user, for example, Anna.

3. Assign directory permissions to Anna on the right. As shown in the following diagram:

2.4. Remote connection by a user

1. A user clicks [File]>[File]>[Switch Working Directory]>[Others......] in the FineReport Designer.

2. Log in as Anna and enter the password to connect to the remote server.

3. Test the connection. Upon successful connection, click [OK] to access the working directory of Remote Design.

2.5. View data connection permission

1. With a new database query, Anna may use all data tables under data connection to the FRDemo, but cannot edit the data connection. As shown in the following diagram:

2. On the contrary to Anna, the super administrator can manage the data.

1. Application scenarios

1. For customers with strict environment control measures, operators are not allowed to have physical access to the server. In this case, remote connection applies. To analyze a template, you may export the built-in dataset template to a local PC.

2. Operating steps

1. Click [File]>[Export]>[Temple(Built-in Data)] to export templates to local PC, with data inside the templates converted to built-in datasets.

2. If some parameters have been set up for the templates, a Parameter Panel will pop up. In this case, you need to input parameters before export.

When the user enters incorrect username/password, an alert will pop up.

For versions after 2020-12-02 (both server jar and local jar), platform password strategies are supported as below:

1. Login Lock

Before using this function, platform login settings must be configured.

When the number of entering wrong username/password exceeds the limit, connection will be locked and will redirect to the platform for changing the password.

The number of entering wrong username/password will be the sum of both the platform and the remote design connection.

2. Password Limit

Before using this function, platform login settings must be configured.

When the password is correct but does not meet strength limit, an alert will pop up and redirect to the platform to change the password.

3. Password Update

Before using this function, platform login settings must be configured.

When the update period comes and the password has expired, an alert will pop up and redirect to the platform to change the password.

4. Initial password forced update

Before using this function, platform login settings must be configured.

When this setting is enabled, if you connect with the initial password, although it's correct, an alert will pop up and redirect to the platform to change the password.

If the local jar version is not the same as that on the remote server, an alert will pop up indicating which part of functions will be affected.

To use the designer normally and avoid unexpected error, please update the local version to be the same as that on remote server.