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Best way to deliver PDF download link in dashboard

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User_J4AXS
User_J4AXS Rank 3 - Community Apprentice
edited Aug 13, 2024 5:29PM in Oracle Analytics Cloud and Server

Hi,

I've got a requirement to be able to download a file from a dashboard, this is OBIEE 12c. Explored a few options

1 ) The 'analyticRes' approach. This is successful and I am able to get a link to a file directly to display in the browser/download. The problem is that there's no security in this (or at least the doc didnt explain how to).

I am able to generate a url to view a file directly without any kind of authentication to the bi server e.g. https://hostname:port/analyticRes/1.PDF and this will bring up the file instead of taking me to the start page asking for a login.

Is there a fix for this?

2) Manually upload flies to the catalog. i have thousands of files so it is unrealisting and there's no way to upload this through a command prompt as a scripted process.

Is this correct?

3) Store the files in a LOB column. Again the only approach I could find on the web/metalink is an unsupported one through a javascript setup in a sampleapp Doc ID 2106746.1

Appreciate your input/assistance in this.

Thanks

Answers

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Rank 2 - Community Beginner

    ad 1) There's no "fix" since the deployment and its stored files are...a deployment and files. Not web catalog objects.

    ad 2.) Correct

    ad 3.) Let's not go there just yet.

    The question is - what's your end game? User OBIEE as a kind of Sharepoint? I.e. use an analytics platform as a document management system?!

  • User_J4AXS
    User_J4AXS Rank 3 - Community Apprentice

    Hi,

    Thanks for your reply.

    No, that is not the end game just a particular requirement for one business scenario. Dashboard related to financial data and they would like to view  actual documents tied to said data instead of having to retrieve them from a different system.

    Thanks

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Rank 2 - Community Beginner

    In that case maybe better choose your first path - storing the file in the analyticsRes deployment.

    BUT

    Since you can't put security on it, make the security dependent on presentation catalog objects. Have some way of create the URL dynamically (maybe stored in a metadata table) and then construct the URL to the PDF inside the analysis which holds the respective data.

    The PDFs might not be actually inaccessible to people, but the URL to go there is only shown when you have access to the analysis. And that one is secured.

  • User_J4AXS
    User_J4AXS Rank 3 - Community Apprentice

    That we already do. The link is dynamically generated as part of the dashboard so yes, you have to know the location and logic of the filenames to be able to manipulate the URL and bypass the login to get files.

    Im still uneasy about this and that's why Im still looking for options

    Thanks

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Rank 2 - Community Beginner

    Securing the files themselves will require uploading them to the catalog and secure them with application roles.

    There is no command line option to bulk upload though and I haven't checked whether there is a web service. @Gianni Ceresa ?

  • Gianni Ceresa
    Gianni Ceresa Mod

    Something similar to "analyticsRes", but using a different deployment, could make it.

    "analyticsRes" is generally used by various things custom styles etc. which doesn't require any security.

    Nothing prevent you from deploying another folder in the same way you did with "analyticsRes" (so it will have a different path in your server http(s)://hostname:port/somethingElse/...).

    Weblogic support various security methods, they will probably link back to weblogic users and groups, not sure if there could be any link with application roles as those are "outside" weblogic and are an app thing of OBIEE. How to do that? The weblogic documentation give various examples of possible security setup, I would imagine that kind of security doesn't only work for java files but also for static files likes your PDF. Would be worth to ask to the weblogic experts (do they have a forum? Worth looking).

  • Gianni Ceresa
    Gianni Ceresa Mod

    The UI allows to upload a file, looking at the URL called in the background with the POST request (I believe it's a POST, didn't check) and the few fields passed with the file would allow to easily automate the process with cURL or something similar.

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Rank 2 - Community Beginner

    facepalm - true, curl would be quite easy