Toad Intelligence Central 6.3 - Getting Started Guide

Toad Data Point

Work with Toad Data Point Objects

Toad Data Point allows users to publish data objects (views, snapshots, and datasets), Toad documents (Query Builder, SQL Editor), Automation scripts, database connections, Project Manager projects, and other resources created in Toad Data Point to Intelligence Central.

If you are a Toad Data Point user, your primary method to view and access Intelligence Central objects is through the Toad Data Point application. However, both Toad Data Point users and non-users can view and perform limited operations on Intelligence Central objects using the Web Console.

Download Objects

Users of Toad Intelligence Central can log in through a web browser and download Toad Data Point objects that have been shared with them.

1. Log in through a web browser. See Open the Web Console.
2. Click Home.
3. Locate the object. See Find Objects.
4. Select the object to show details. See View Object Details.
5. Download object. Click in the Details pane to download the object. The location of the downloaded object is determined by your Web-browser settings.

   • Enter Variables—For views containing a variable, Intelligence Central prompts you for a variable value. Enter a new value or use the default. The new value applies to this download only. The default value is specified when the view is published from Toad Data Point and can be modified through Toad Data Point or Intelligence Central. To edit the default value, see Modify Variable Default Value.

     To enter the NULL value, select NULL from the drop-down list.

   • Data objects—For data objects (view, snapshot, or dataset), Intelligence Central prepares the object and displays a Success message when the object is ready to download. Click Download in the Success message to download the result set. For more information about data objects, see Data Connectivity Objects.

     Note: If authentication is required, Intelligence Central prompts you for credentials. For example, you might be required to authenticate the first time you access a View that was published with a personal key, instead of a shared key. See Add Authentication.

6. Filter data. For data objects, you can filter the data before downloading. Click in the Details pane to filter data. See Filter Data Before Downloading for more information.

Automation Scripts

The Intelligence Central Web interface allows you to view and execute Automation scripts that have been shared with you.

View Script Details

Select a script to view script details in the Details pane. See View Object Details for a description of the Details fields. For Automation scripts, the following additional details are provided.

• Schedule—Displays the script execution schedule. Click Schedule to edit the schedule. See Modify Execution Schedule for more information.
• Credentials—Displays the name of the user account specified to run the Automation script. Click Credentials to select or modify the run account. See Alter Automation Script Credentialsfor more information.

• Logs tab—Displays script execution history. Click Expand to expand the Logs tab. This action allows you to view run duration, results, and exit code. Select a run (in the expanded tab) to view the individual execution log.

  Note: Only Administrators and users with Manage privileges to the script can view the detailed execution logs.

Run Automation Scripts

You can execute an Automation script from the Web Console. You can execute scripts that have been shared with you.

1. Log in through a web browser. See Open the Web Console
2. Click Home.
3. Select the Automation script to execute.
4. Click in the Details pane.

   • Enter Variables—If the Automation script executes SQL containing a variable, Intelligence Central prompts you for a variable value. Enter a new value or use the default. The new value applies to this run only. The default value is specified when the script is published from Toad Data Point and can be modified through Toad Data Point or Intelligence Central. To edit the default value, see Modify Variable Default Value.

     To enter the NULL value, select NULL from the drop-down list.

5. To cancel script execution, click the Stop button in the Details pane. You can also click the down arrow in the progress message (located in the page header) and then click Cancel in the Background Tasks pane.
6. In the Success (or Error) message, click View Log to display the execution log.

For more-detailed information about publishing, using, creating, and managing Automation scripts, see the Toad Data Point online Help.

Snapshots

In the Web Console, you can view and refresh Toad Data Point snapshots. You can view snapshots that have been shared with you (any folder) or snapshots that you own (non-secured folder). You can refresh snapshots to which you have Manage privileges.

View Snapshot Details

Select a snapshot to view snapshot information in the Details pane. See View Object Details for a description of the Details fields. For snapshots, the following additional details are also provided.

• Schedule—Displays the snapshot execution schedule. Click Schedule to edit the schedule. See Modify Execution Schedule for more information.
• Columns tab—Displays columns included in the snapshot. Select the Columns tab and click Expand to view more details.

• Query tab—Displays the snapshot's underlying query.

  Note: Only Administrators and users with Manage privileges to the object can view the query text.

Refresh Snapshots

You can refresh a Toad Data Point snapshot from the Web interface.

1. Log in through a web browser. See Open the Web Console
2. Click Home.
3. Select the snapshot to refresh.
4. Click in the Details pane.
5. You can view the refresh progress in the Background Tasks pane. Click the down arrow in the progress message (located in the page header) to open the Background Tasks pane.

For more-detailed information about creating, publishing, using, scheduling, and automating snapshots, see the Toad Data Point online Help.

Filter Data Before Downloading

You can filter the data in a view, snapshot, or dataset before downloading the data. This is useful for large data sets as it allows you to download only the data you need, instead of the entire data set.

To filter data before download

1. In the Web interface, select an object to download on the Home page. See Work with Toad Data Point Objects for more information.

2. In the object's Details pane, click to filter the data.

   • Enter Variables—For views containing a variable, Intelligence Central prompts you for a variable value. Enter a new value or use the default. The new value applies to this download only. The default value is specified when the view is published from Toad Data Point and can be modified through Toad Data Point or Intelligence Central. To edit the default value, see Modify Variable Default Value.

     To enter the NULL value, select NULL from the drop-down list.

   • Download pane—A data grid opens displaying a preview of the data. In this window you can quickly filter a column or you can create a filter in the filter editor.

   Note: If authentication is required, Intelligence Central prompts you for credentials. For example, you might be required to authenticate the first time you access a View that was published with a personal key, instead of a shared key. See Add Authentication.

3. To quickly filter a column, do the following:
   1. Enter a value in the text box below the column header. For date/time columns, click the down-arrow to select a date.
   2. Then click beside the text box to change the operator.
   3. Press Enter to apply the filter.
   4. The text of your filter displays in the upper-left, above the data grid. Click the filter text to open the filter editor and modify the filter further.

   TIP: Filter one or more columns to quickly create the framework for your filter. Then refine it in the filter editor.

4. To create/edit a filter in the filter editor, click Create Filter or click the filter text if you already started a filter.
   1. In the filter editor, click to add an initial condition. The And operator is used by default. To use a different Boolean operation, click And and select a different operator.
   2. To modify an existing condition, click the operator or the value to edit it.
   3. To add another condition, click .
   4. To add another group of conditions, click the operator in the parent group and select Add Group.
   5. Click Save to save your changes and close the editor.

   TIP: To create a complex filter, plan out your filter before building it in the filter editor. Identify grouped conditions (those in parentheses). Identify the Boolean operator for the main expression. Add parentheses to your expression if necessary to help clarify which conditions should be evaluated first.

5. The data grid displays a preview of the filtered data.

6. Click Download in the data grid window to begin the download process.

   Note: This action closes the data grid window containing your filter and preview of filtered data.

   Intelligence Central prepares the filtered data and displays a Success message when the data is ready.

7. Click Download in the Success message to download the filtered data as a .csv file. The location of the download is determined by your Web-browser settings.

Add Authentication

If you attempt to access an object that requires authentication, such as a view published with a personal key for which you have not yet authenticated, Intelligence Central prompts you for credentials to the remote data source.

To add Authentication

1. If you attempt to access an object that requires authentication, the Add Authentication dialog opens. Enter your user name and password to the remote data source.
2. Apply this to other view objects for this source that need authentication—If setting your personal key for a view, select this option to apply these credentials to other views sourced from this data source with a personal key that also require authentication
3. If the object is a cross-connection query, perform the previous steps for each data source in the drop-down list that requires authentication.

See also, Alter Authentication.

Troubleshooting