give the infoLink builder in information designer the look and feel of the data canvas

This one seems to have lost attention, which is undeserved.

I also want to information links add a layer of data quality and protection to data sets.  The administrator is someone who knows the data and how to join it.  Many of our users can't join data and need that to be given to them.  If we push them to connectors, they will end up with bad data without a doubt. 

Aboslutley. Just shared a meeting invite with you. It's after my upcoming vacation.

Thomas this might be a good thing to have a chat about.  I believe you have my contact info you think a discussion would be beneficial.  

Thanks for more feedback! Is it the IL cache to sbdf on the Spotfire Server disk that's appreciated? Because connectors also support Scheudled Updates and Automation Services.

You can use service accounts with connectors. Credentials profiles are used or if you area able to give a group of Consumers access to an analysis, credentials can be stored in the data source object.

With data connections stored in the library end users should be able to use them just as easily as clicking opening an IL. If this is not the case we need to look into how this can be improved. Connectors should be all about ease of use and quick (ad hoc) access to data.

I agree in part with Julie, to me the most important aspect of the infolink is the possibility for caching (and with that scheduled pre-loading), which limits the burden on the underlying databases and gives the users an experience of high speed. I believe this to be a very important feature of the tooling. A connectors only system will make the tool too difficult to use in self-service.

I fear that TIBCO will drop the optimal user experience for the most interesting technological solution. The first is what software should be built for, the latter is programmers hobby-ism. 

Thomas, relative to your comment about connectors, our IT department doesn't want people using connectors.  They don't want to manage individual permissions to databases.  It's too administratively burdensome and they can't control who is connecting to what when in order to best manage resources.  The information designer will continue to be important to Spotfire administrators.

The information designer hasn't been touched in years and definitely needs a face lift.  It also has many issues -- SQL not updating, can only edit one column at time, changing column names is tedious.  Since this is under consideration, please give weight to efficiency and making the information designer less tedious and more efficient.

Thank you for the positive Data Canvas feedback. We are focusing more on connectors than Information Services. Please reach out to me directly on tblomber@tibco.com if there is anything we can do to make it possible to switch from IS to connectors.