Chapter 38. Dashbuilder data management in Business Central

Dashbuilder is a dashboard and reporting tool integrated in Business Central and is used by the Datasets editor and Content Manager page. Dashbuilder supports the following data types:

  • Datasets
  • Pages
  • Navigation

You can export, import, and deploy Dashbuilder-related data as ZIP files in Business Central.

Important

This feature is only accessible by administrator users.

38.1. Exporting Dashbuilder data

You can export the Dashbuilder-related data such as datasets, pages, and navigation from Business Central as a ZIP file.

Procedure

  1. In Business Central, select the Admin icon in the upper-right corner of the screen and select Dashbuilder Data Transfer.
  2. To export the Dashbuilder-related data, complete any of the following tasks:

    If you want to export the entire Dashbuilder data as a ZIP file, complete the following tasks:

    1. On the Dashbuilder Data Transfer page, click Export all.

      An export.zip file containing entire Dashbuilder data is downloaded. The export.zip file structure is separated by data type, as shown in the following example:

      dashbuilder/datasets/definitions/dataset-example1.dset
      dashbuilder/datasets/definitions/dataset-example2.dset
      dashbuilder/datasets/readme.md
      dashbuilder/perspectives/page1/perspective_layout
      dashbuilder/perspectives/page1/perspective_layout.plugin
      dashbuilder/perspectives/page2/perspective_layout
      dashbuilder/perspectives/page2/perspective_layout.plugin
      dashbuilder/perspectives/readme.md
      dashbuilder/navigation/navigation/navtree.json
      dashbuilder/navigation/readme.md
      VERSION

    If you want to export the customized user created and provided Dashbuilder data as a ZIP file, complete the following tasks:

    1. On the Dashbuilder Data Transfer page, click Custom export.
    2. Select the datasets and pages that you want to include in a ZIP file in the Export Wizard panel and click Next.

      The Export Wizard panel validates the selected datasets and pages. The summary of the datasets and pages is available on the panel.

      Note

      Navigation is always included in the exported ZIP file.

    3. If your export is ready, click Download.

      An export.zip file containing customized Dashbuilder data is downloaded.

      Note

      You must select the associated pages and datasets in the Export Wizard panel. If you fail to select both datasets and pages, then an error is generated and you cannot download the export.zip file. Therefore, you must select at least one page.

    4. Click Finish.

38.2. Importing Dashbuilder data

You can import Dashbuilder-related data to Business Central from a ZIP file if the archive is structured in the same way as the following example:

dashbuilder/datasets/definitions/dataset-example1.dset
dashbuilder/datasets/definitions/dataset-example2.dset
dashbuilder/datasets/readme.md
dashbuilder/perspectives/page1/perspective_layout
dashbuilder/perspectives/page1/perspective_layout.plugin
dashbuilder/perspectives/page2/perspective_layout
dashbuilder/perspectives/page2/perspective_layout.plugin
dashbuilder/perspectives/readme.md
dashbuilder/navigation/navigation/navtree.json
dashbuilder/navigation/readme.md
VERSION

Procedure

  1. In Business Central, select the Admin icon in the upper-right corner of the screen and select Dashbuilder Data Transfer.

    Warning

    You must import Dashbuilder data to a clean installation of Red Hat Process Automation Manager in order to avoid overwriting data on an existing system.

  2. On the Dashbuilder Data Transfer page, click the Choose File icon.
  3. Navigate to the ZIP file you want to import and select the file.
  4. Click the Upload icon.
  5. Click Import.

38.3. Deploying dashboards from Business Central on Dashbuilder Runtime

You can automatically deploy the dashboards from Business Central on Dashbuilder Runtime. Business Central is linked to Dashbuilder Runtime using a gradual export feature.

Prerequisites

  • Dashbuilder Runtime is configured on your system.
  • You have set the dashbuilder.runtime.multi system property to true in the standalone.xml file.
  • You have set the value of dashbuilder.runtime.location system property to the Dashbuilder Runtime URL, as shown in the following example:

    <property name="dashbuilder.runtime.location" value=" http://localhost:8080"
  • You have set the dashbuilder.export.dir system property to the shared directory where Dashbuilder Runtime reads its model, as shown in the following example:

    <property name="dashbuilder.export.dir" value="/tmp/dashbuilder/models/"

Procedure

  1. In Business Central, go to MenuDesignPages.
  2. In the Components panel, drag and edit the required component types to the canvas as needed and click Save to finish.
  3. Select the Admin icon in the upper-right corner of the screen and select Dashbuilder Data Transfer.
  4. On the Dashbuilder Data Transfer page, click Custom export.
  5. Select the pages that you want to include in the ZIP file in the Export Wizard panel, and click Next.
  6. Select Export Wizard and click Open.

    You can see the Dashbuilder Runtime home page. If you are not logged in, you are redirected to the login page.

  7. Go to DashboardsRuntime Dashboards and you can see the pages.

    The selected data is exported and Dashbuilder Runtime updates the model content when it is opened.