Building & Preparing Models for the Data Explorer

The m-Power Data Explorer allows users to design their own queries based on data sets created for them by m-Power developers. This separation ensures that end-users have access to a wealth of key features, such as:

• · Overall layout (such as data listing, Pivot Table, graphing, etc…)
• · Column choice and ordering
• · Run-time filtering
• · Calculations
• · Dashboard customization
• · And much more
At the same time, end-users do not have to be bothered with how to join tables or worry about other database concerns. Instead, they will have access to a data set that an m-Power developer creates for them. Developers can apply global filtering, row level security, or useful calculations that will automatically be included with the data set. Developers can be confident that end-users won't accidentally create a bad query, because the developer has the ultimate control of the underlying data set presented to the user.

Watch this 5 minute video that illustrates how to create an m-Power Dataset.

This document will walk you through the entire process of installing, configuring, and ultimately deploying data sets for end-user consumption. Please see this document to learn more about how to utilize the Data Explorer at run-time. This document assumed you are running the December 21, 2016 version of m-Power.

One-Time Configuration

1. Contact us for more information on licensing the m-Power Data Explorer. If this is your first experience in working with the Data Explorer, a timed trial license may be available.
2. Install license. Whether you have obtained a permanent or temporary license, you will need to install it to your m-Power server. The private license should be placed in /m-power/proddata/conf. The public license needs to be stored in /m-power/mrcjava/. Please restart Tomcat after completing this step.
3. Ensure that the mrc-runtime.properties file located in /m-power/mrcjava/WEB-INF/classes has valid properties enabled for the mrc_data_store and mrc_data_store_ip. If these values are missing, commented out, or incorrect, your Data Explorer will not work as expected. If you changed anything here, please restart Tomcat. Below is a screenshot of the default value that will work for most customers. Please be sure to adjust your port if you are not using 8011.
   
4. Enable Security. The Data Explorer requires that Data Dictionary security be enabled for the current Data Dictionary.
5. The Data Explorer controls access to data sets based on User Roles. The Data Explorer utilizes the User/Role logic that currently exists for the m-Power end-user menu. When data sets are created, they are assigned to user roles. Only users who belong to this role can access the data set. You can access both User and Roles management via "Admin Menu" -> "Application Menu & Security." You can add users via the "Manage Application Users" button. You can assign these users to roles via the "Assign Roles to Users" button. If you cannot locate these buttons, please contact us.

Each Dataset Build

1. Create Dataset. To create the data set, click the "Data Explorer" button in the left panel. Then click "Create New Dataset." Create your Dataset as you would create any application. Notable differences between this template and other standard templates include:
   • · Data sets can only be run through the Data Explorer. In other words, you cannot run a data set standalone.
   • · Data sets cannot be painted.
   • · Your end-users will have the option to control how they want their data to be grouped/subtotaled at run-time. The only fields available to be sub-totaled will be ones you've included in via "Sequencing."
   • · Developers can be created MTD/YTD calculations within all data set applications.
   • · Users can choose any field that you have included in this data set. To help minimize the number of data set applications you have to create, err on the side of caution and include any columns you think a user may want to see at run-time.
2. Now that your data set has been created, it needs to be assigned to user roles. To do this, click the "Data Explorer" icon in the left panel. Here you should see a list of all data sets created in this data dictionary. To assign, click the "Assign to Roles" icon. Here you can provide/change the name and public description seen by the user at run-time. You can also add an optional "Group" to help better organize the list for your end-user. Finally, choose as many roles as necessary for this dataset. When completed, click "Save and Return Data Sets."
   
3. To share this feature with your end user, click the "Launch Data Explorer" button. Sign on, if you haven't already. Copy and paste the URL and either share directly with users or place in a menu for easier access. Keep in mind this is the link to the "development" instance of the feature. You will want to adjust the URL to point at the production version, when ready.
   
4. Customizing the Dataset. While you cannot use m-Painter for your m-Power Data Set, you can utilize Application Properties to customize the data set properties. Specifically, navigate to the "Filter Options" section to control the "helpers" your users can interact with while entering Filters. For instance, if you want users to pick a value from a list, select "External Dropdown" from the FIELD Filter Type. Then, in the FIELD Filter Info option, click the blue "?" icon to select the External drop-down list application to use. Additionally, if wanting to allow users to filter by a date, select the "Date Picker" from the FIELD Filter Type and choose the date format to filter by. Don't forget to click "Save."
   

Other notes:

• When needing to promote your Data Explorer to production, be sure to copy the saved-data-models.json and the dx_dashboard.html from within /mrcjava/WEB-INF/classes/DATA_DICTIONARY to the production instance.
• Linux users will need to add the following entries into their /mrcjava/WEB-INF/web.xml file:

  <servlet>
  <servlet-name>Analytics</servlet-name>
  <servlet-class>com.mrc.analytic.App</servlet-class>
  </servlet>
  <servlet-mapping>
  <servlet-name>Analytics</servlet-name>
  <url-pattern>/servlet/App</url-pattern>
  </servlet-mapping>
  
  <servlet>
  <servlet-name>analytic</servlet-name>
  <servlet-class>mrc.AnalyticsServlet</servlet-class>
  </servlet>
  <servlet-mapping>
  <servlet-name>analytic</servlet-name>
  <url-pattern>/servlet/mrc.AnalyticsServlet</url-pattern>
  </servlet-mapping>
  

• Question: I've run all the above but am getting a HTTP 404 when trying to run the Data Explorer. What am I missing?
  Please check you /WEB-INF/web.xml file for the following entry. If it is missing, add to the end of the document, directly before </web-app>

  <filter>
  <filter-name>LoginFilter</filter-name>
  <filter-class>mrc.LoginFilter</filter-class>
  </filter>
  <filter-mapping>
  <filter-name>LoginFilter</filter-name>
  <url-pattern>/servlet/App</url-pattern>
  </filter-mapping>
  

  More information about the Login filter can be found here.