Add flexibility into the Library file menu in Spotfire

Ok, you don't understand the logistic of what we have at our company.   Not only do we have thousands of users but also hundreds of companies with various security levels and access points.  Using anything outside of the Spotfire interface would mean we would need to regenerate the entire security structure we have currently laid out.  Again, we simply want the ability to remove the date because we have users who get confused and honestly the modified date for them is completely useless information.   Also, we don't use embedded data but we use scheduled updates.  The mechanism to update  the current data release is dynamically pulled from a sql servers and doesn't require any Spotfire Automation Services so we have nothing currently set up to do that.   There isn't a quick fix for this for us or anyone else who might be in a similar situation which is why I posted this idea.  Also, while the JobXML may take away the need for a database it doesn't change the fact that we have several hundred reports which have enhancements made to them and we typically add and remove 10+ reports and then those would have to be run manually as part of a release and we try to automate as much as possible.  

To be frank, unless you are hosting the application for internal use, the Modified Date and Modified By are information that the users don't really care about since they would only be looking to access reports.  There is already a feature to take out the Modified By, so again, this isn't something outside the realm of feasibility.   If the Scheduled Update isn't an option, then again, just being able to remove the modified date is sufficient.   Allowing additional ability for formatting options would, again, not be necessary but would be a nice to have.  

OK I think there are few things here. Removing the modified date column from the library browser might work as you say but that's hardly a good idea in this case and more like a dirty work around (aka hack). What I don't really get is why you think the Automation Services option takes so much time to develop or maintain. The job itself should take only a few minutes to create. After that you save the Job XML and run it whenever you want to update the report. One thing you may have overlooked is that fact that I suggested to embed the data in the DXP. This is the recommended approach for DXPs that are updated infrequently or at odd times like the one I assumed you have. The time it takes to update the DXP and embed the data should not really be a problem because you will still put the report in scheduled updates since it's a big DXP and you want your users to open it quickly in Web Player. However since the data is embedded in the DXP when the report runs in scheduled updates it will not hit the database or your data sources, it will simply load from the library into the memory cache so even a large DXP will not take long time in scheduled updates. You said "we have several different types of data we release on several different schedules to make sure that the files were updated per the data release schedule". Well sure you currently have some mechanism to update the report in scheduled updates to match your data release schedule. The same mechanism can be used to trigger the Automation Services jobs and subsequently the scheduled updates refresh for quick opening in Web Player. In addition to this if you have different types of data that refresh at different times you could have different Automation Services jobs that only refresh/embed the relevant data tables in the DXP, making the refresh process much quicker as you are only refreshing the data table that changed, not the whole report. This will be a lot more efficient that a standard scheduled update refresh which will hit all your data sources. Finally this approach also allows for Spotfire Analysts and Developers to open the same exact report that the users have on Web Player from the Spotfire Client relatively quickly since the data is embedded in the report so it doesn't need to hit the database. This in turn allows for easier support of data specific issues, etc.

Now let's look at what you are asking which is to have a new column added on the Web Player Library browser showing the last time the report updated in scheduled updates. Ever since 7.5 the Library Browser has been handed over to the Spotfire Server who now serves all Web requests. The concept of putting a report in the cache is completely different than a DXP you have in your library so mixing these two in the library browser will be confusing. While you think this will help your users this will confuse a lot more users actually. But there are other problems with your idea. The responsibility of Scheduled updates is now shared between the Spotfire Server and the Web Player instances under Node Manager. While the Spotfire Server has some scheduled updates information this is not as good as you may think. Rather than implementing a proper API between the SS and WP Tibco did half-baked approach which relies on messages being passed between WP and SS. If these messages are not sent by WP instances or not received by the SS then what you see on the Spotfire Server screens is incorrect. If your WP instance crashes or is restarted then the SS will never know what happened to scheduled updates that were running or even that the WP cache is now empty. Try bouncing node manager in your WP node and check the Scheduling & Routing screen, it will stay say "XX files successfully loaded" but you know that the WP cache is empty as you just restarted all your WP instances. So let's ignore all that and say you still get the new column added on the Web Player Library browser showing the last time a report updated in scheduled updates. What happens if your Web Player instance bounces, or crashes, or your server running them restarts? Assuming the scheduling rule says it should be in the cache the report will cache again and the new column will be updated accordingly. But then this update date/time wouldn't be correct because your data didn't change as per your business rules, it was just an unwanted refresh caused by a server issue. That's why the Automation Services option is better for this case as you control when the DXP is updated and the date and time on the library item will always match the date/time the data was loaded when the report was updated via the AS job. Even if the WP instance restarts. Even if the Spotfire Server restarts. 

Removing the date should be relatively easy to do and while we would like to be able to put in a different date simply being able to remove that from the view of the users would fit our needs.  

In regards to the data updated the report would need to be set up as a scheduled update to be able to give the last time the data was updated.  The only other option would be to allow some type of setting from the file itself but that would probably be impractical.  

The sharepoint/wiki isn't a viable option because of security and other concerns.  The browser is really a good option but I would just like more flexibility and control over how the file are displayed even so much as to be able to affect the layout of the items like you can do with some of the other portions of the interface.  

If we went with the automated services option we would simply have an account set up to open the files and then save them however several of them are extremely large and would require several minutes to open.  In addition we would need to keep a database file since we have several different types of data we release on several different schedules to make sure that the files were updated per the data release schedule.   Again, this is possible but would require a great deal of time, money and manpower to maintain such a solution so this is only going to be a last resort option.

Also consider the following. Even if Tibco wanted to implement your idea, which I find extremely unlikely, how do you think it could be done? How could Tibco know what the date of the data is? Does that apply to one data table or all data tables? Is the date the min/max/avg date of all the updated data tables? How could Tibco track when the data changes? Will it need to store all the data and then re-run the SQL to see if it changed?

If your users are so basic that they can't figure this out then you should embed the report within another portal to hide anything that confuses them. Create a wiki page or Sharepoint page with the report links and have them open the report directly, rather than using Web Player's Library Browser. 

Also I don't see how changing a source file will mean the Automation Services job needs to run. You create a job that runs only when you want, then embeds the data and updates the library item. It's pretty straight forward and the date of the library item will only change when the Automation Services job runs, not when the sources files or database tables change.

That is fine with the analyst but it isn't an option in the Web Player which is what our users use.

In regards to the descriptions I'm looking for adding the description as a column like the modified by if this can be accomplished then that would be helpful 

>> This already exists and has been there since ancient times. See the screen shot show on this post: https://community.tibco.com/questions/dashboard-unavailable-other-users

That's what you get when you do File => Open From => Library in the Spotfire Client which is what I assumed your idea is referring to. 

We have well over 1,000 users and while all are trained with the difference it is simple for them to forget something that is simply a foot note to the training session since some of them only log on one every quarter or for some high level execs maybe once a year. 

We do display the date clearly in all our reports but these users sometimes don't log in to see the date differences between the data and the modified date.

In regards to the descriptions I'm looking for adding the description as a column like the modified by if this can be accomplished then that would be helpful

I have considered the Automation Services option however this is not ideal as if we need to make changes to a file then they can think that the data has been refreshed even though it hasn't been

What you are asking does not make much sense to be honest. If the users are confusing the Library Item "Date Modified" column with when the data was modified then you could train your users so that they understand the difference. Alternatively here are some options:

- Do not use Spotfire Client so that the users access the report via Web Player so they can't see the file modified date. 

- Display the data's date clearly in the report

- Use Automation Services to update the DXP and embed the data when the data is refreshed, that way the Library Item "Date Modified" column will be updated accordingly. 

With regards to DXP Descriptions this is already there, you add Library Item descriptions when you save a report to the Spotfire Library.