Distributing the Quick Data Add-In File

Topics:

How to:

WebFOCUS Quick Data add-in allows you to bring a large amount of enterprise information to the familiar Excel environment, and interact with this information without learning any additional software. You can install the WebFOCUS Quick Data Add-in on your desktop, and you can create and edit queries by accessing predefined data sources. You can save a query in an Excel document, and you can refresh it at any time.

Because all WebFOCUS connection and report information can be saved in an Excel workbook, users with the proper security and access rights can share spreadsheets throughout an organization. As a result, you spend less time recreating reports and more time analyzing information for effective decision-making.

Note: Quick Data is a WebFOCUS Business User Edition option, which requires a separate license and installation. For more information about licensing Quick Data, contact your Information Builders representative.

To distribute and enable the Quick Data Add-in in your environment, follow the procedures below.

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Procedure: How to Distribute the Quick Data Add-in File
  1. Copy the wfquickdata.xla add-in file and the configuration file, wfquickdata.cfg, located in one of the following directories:
    • For Windows, drive:\ibi\WebFOCUS_BUE82\WebFOCUS\utilities\quickdata
    • For Unix, /ibi/WebFOCUS_BUE82/utilities/quickdata
  2. Add the files to the following directory on the machines that use Quick Data.

    C:\Users\userid\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\AddIns\

    where:

    userid

    Is the name of the user logged on to the PC.

After the WebFOCUS Quick Data Add-in file is in the proper directory, you must open Excel and select the WebFOCUS Quick Data option in the Add-Ins dialog box, as described in the following procedure.

Note: If you already have Quick Data installed in your environment, be sure to beckup your existing wfquickdata.cfg file to preserve all your customizations. You can then copy your edits from the existing wfquickdata.cfg file to the new file.

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Procedure: How to Enable the Quick Data Add-In in Excel 2016

Use the following steps to enable the Quick Data Add-in in Excel 2016:

  1. Launch Microsoft Excel 2016.
  2. Click the File tab, click Options, and then click the Add-Ins category.
  3. From the Manage dialog box, select Excel Add-ins, and then click Go.

    The Add-Ins dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

    Add-Ins dialog box

    Note: If WebFOCUS Quick Data is not listed in the Add-Ins dialog box, make sure that the add-in is installed and placed in the correct directory.

  4. Select the WebFOCUS Quick Data check box and click OK.
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Procedure: How to Enable the Quick Data Add-In in Excel 2013

Use the following steps to enable the Quick Data Add-In in Excel 2013:

  1. Launch Microsoft Excel 2013.
  2. Click the File tab, click Options, and then click the Add-Ins category.
  3. In the Manage dialog box, select Excel Add-ins, and then click Go.

    The Add-Ins dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

    Note: If WebFOCUS Quick Data is not listed in the Add-Ins dialog box, make sure that the add-in is installed and placed in the correct directory.

    If the Quick Data Add-in was installed in a different directory, use the Browse button in the Add-Ins dialog box to locate it.

  4. Select the WebFOCUS Quick Data check box and click OK.
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Procedure: How to Enable the Quick Data Add-In in Excel 2010

Use the following steps to enable the Quick Data Add-In in Excel 2010:

  1. Launch Microsoft Excel 2010.
  2. Click the File tab, click Options, and then click the Add-Ins category.
  3. In the Manage dialog box, click Excel Add-ins, and then click Go.

    The Add-Ins dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

    Note: If WebFOCUS Quick Data is not listed in the Add-Ins dialog box, make sure that the add- in is installed and placed in the correct directory.

    If the Quick Data Add-in was installed in a different directory, use the Browse button in the Add-Ins dialog box to locate it.

  4. Select the WebFOCUS Quick Data check box and click OK.
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Procedure: How to Enable the Quick Data Add-In in Excel 2007

Use the following steps to enable the Quick Data Add-In in Excel 2007:

  1. Launch Microsoft Excel 2007.
  2. Click the Microsoft Office Button in the top-left corner.
  3. Click Excel Options and then click Add-Ins in the Excel Options dialog box.
  4. From the Manage drop-down list, select Add-ins, and click Go.

    The Add-Ins dialog box opens, with WebFOCUS Quick Data listed as an add-in option, as shown in the following image.

    Note:

    • If WebFOCUS Quick Data is not listed in the Add-Ins dialog box, make sure that the add-in is installed and placed in the correct directory.
    • If the Quick Data Add-in was installed in a different directory, use the Browse button in the Add-Ins dialog box to locate it.

  5. Select WebFOCUS Quick Data, and click OK.

    A WebFOCUS menu opens in the Add-Ins tab. The following image shows an example of the WebFOCUS menu in Excel 2016.

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WebFOCUS Quick Data Options

Once you have distributed the Quick Data Add-in, you can access the WebFOCUS Quick Data Options, which are described in this topic. Except for Settings and Web Servers List, these options are also available from Excel right-click context menus.

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Configuring a Default WebFOCUS BUE Environment

A configuration file is provided with the Quick Data add-in for the Administrator to use as a template when designing a default WebFOCUS BUE environment. The configuration file defines items such as the WebFOCUS BUE web server port number, alias, and client path.

Providing users with a default WebFOCUS BUE environment allows them to bypass the additional step of manually defining web server connection parameters.

The configuration file is named wfquickdata.cfg. It is originally located in the following directory: ..\ibi\WebFOCUS_BUE82\WebFOCUS\utilities\quickdata. After you have distributed the Quick Data Add-in in your environment, the configuration file is placed in the new directory, such as: C:\Users\userid\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\AddIns.

The configuration file can contain multiple WebFOCUS configurations. Keep in mind that if the configuration file contains more than one WebFOCUS configuration, the last one appearing in the file is the configuration that is used when Quick Data is opened.

The configuration file provided as a template with the Quick Data add-in contains examples of configurations and instructions to help you create your own configuration. The following example displays a typical configuration:

SERVER_START
     PROTOCOL=”http”
     HOST=”localhost”
     PORT=”26000”
     HTML_ALIAS=”/ibi_apps/ibi_html”
     CLIENT_PATH=”/ibi_apps/WFServlet.ibfs”
SERVER_END

Note:

Use the following guidelines to create the configuration file:


WebFOCUS

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