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Pentaho User Console

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  1. Log in to the User Console
  2. About PUC Perspectives
    1. Home
    2. Browse Files
    3. Opened
    4. Schedules
      1. Schedule Reports
    5. Administration
      1. Manage Users and Roles
  3. Additional Features
    1. Themes
    2. Plugins
    3. Data Source Wizard
    4. Data Source Model Editor

The Pentaho User Console (PUC) is a web-based design environment where you can analyze data, create interactive reports, dashboard reports, and build integrated dashboards to share business intelligence solutions with others in your organization and on the internet. In addition to its design features, the PUC offers a wide variety of system administration features for configuring the Pentaho Server.

Log in to the User Console

Get started with PUC by following these steps to login:

  1. Launch a Web browser and enter the URL of the Pentaho server. The page loads an introductory screen with a Login section.
  2. Enter your user name and password and click Login.
    PUC_Login_Hitachi.png

  3. You are now logged into the User Console and ready to start creating and running reports and dashboards.

About PUC Perspectives

The PUC interface uses perspectives to extend your ability to work on different tasks at any given time. By default PUC has the Home, Browse, Opened, Schedules and Administration perspectives. You can also extend certain perspectives with plugins from the Pentaho Marketplace.

Home

The first thing you see after you log into the User Console is the Home perspective, which serves as the portal for you to access Pentaho tools and features. Home contains easy access buttons so that you can Browse Files, Create New reports and dashboards, view Pentaho Documentation, and quickly open recently viewed or favorite files.

ssPucHomeScreen.png

Item

Name

Function

File:Documentation/5.4/0L0/120/010/grCallout1.png

Home indicator

Indicates the current User Console perspective that you are using. The Home menu lets you flip easily from page to page, or return to your Home page.

File:Documentation/5.4/0L0/120/010/grCallout2.png

Getting Started

Displays some resources to help you get familiar with the User Console. The Welcome tab shows an introductory video about Pentaho products. The Samples tab holds a variety of small sample reports and dashboards that you can use to get familiar with the software. The Tutorials tab contains a number of tutorial videos that give you a visual guide to the software.

File:Documentation/5.4/0L0/120/010/grCallout3.png

Current User

Shows the name of the person currently logged in to the User Console. Clicking the arrow next to the name lets you log out of the User Console.

File:Documentation/5.4/0L0/120/010/grCallout4.png

Browse Files

Brings you to the Browse Files window, where you can locate your files using the Browsing and Files panes, and manage them using the Actions pane.

File:Documentation/5.4/0L0/120/010/grCallout5.png

Create New

Gives you the option to create a new Interactive Report, Analyzer Report, or Dashboard. If you have permissions to work with Data Sources, this button also gives you the option to create a new Data Source.

File:Documentation/5.4/0L0/120/010/grCallout6.png

Documentation

http://help.pentaho.com - documentation for Pentaho products.

File:Documentation/5.4/0L0/120/010/grCallout7.png

Recents

Shows a list of your most recently opened files. Clicking on the star next to a recently opened file adds it to your Favorites list.

File:Documentation/5.4/0L0/120/010/grCallout8.png

Favorites

Shows a list of your favorite files for quick access.

Browse Files

The Browse Files perspective helps you keep your files and folders organized and makes them easier for you to find and work with.

ssPUCBrowseTour.png

Item Name Function
File:/grCallout1.png Browse Files indicator

Indicates the current User Console perspective that you are using. Browse Files shows you how to locate your files and folders and the different actions you can do with them.

Displays the Folders, Files, and Actions panes.
File:/grCallout2.png Folders

Shows a list of folders that you can browse through to locate your files. You can also use the Browsing pane to create new folders or delete old ones.

After you select something in the Browsing pane, the Actions pane populates with a list of things you can do with the folders.
File:/grCallout3.png Files

Generates and shows a list of all files contained in the folder that is selected in the Browsing pane.

After you select a file, the Actions pane populates with a list of things you can do with the file.
File:/grCallout4.png Actions

The actions displayed depend upon the selection made in the Folders pane, as follows: 

  • The Folder Actions pane gives you the ability to:
    • Create, delete, and rename folders
    • Paste files in a folder
    • Upload files
    • Download folders
    • View the Properties, Allow Scheduling, set to Hidden, and control the folder’s permissions for Users and Roles (Manage Permissions, Delete, Write, and Read).
  • The File Actions pane gives you the ability to:
    • Open files in the current window or in a new one
    • Run files in the background
    • Edit, delete, cut, copy, or paste files or folders
    • Share files with others
    • Schedule reports to run automatically
    • Add files to your Favorites widget
    • View the Properties of a file or folder.
  • The Actions for Trash gives you the ability to:
    • Restore a file in Trash Contents
    • Permanently delete a file.

Opened

The Opened perspective uses plugins to provide access to different analytic capabilities.This perspective activates after you open a file from the Browse Files page. It provides a simple space to work with your files.

Depending on your subscription, you may have access to any of the following plugins:

  • Analyzer
  • Interactive Reporting
  • Dashboard Designer
  • CTools

    ssPucOpenedPage.png
Item Name Function
File:/grCallout1.png Opened indicator

Open...

New Interactive, Analyzer, Dashboard, or Data Source

Indicates the current User Console perspective that you are using. Opened displays the files that you access from the Browse Files pane.

  • Open... serves as a quick way to browse for more files to open without leaving the Opened page. These additional files open in new tabs across the Report Window.
  • Quick start buttons to create a new Interactive or Analyzer, Dashboards. You can also use this button to create a new Data Source, if you have permissions to work with data sources.
File:/grCallout2.png Edit, Save, and Save As

Gives you the ability to perform these functions on the active file in the Report Window: edit, save the file with a default name in the same location, or save the file with a different name and in any location on the repository or your desktop.
File:/grCallout3.png Report Window

Displays the file or report that is currently opened, and lets you edit or work with the file.

Schedules

All of your active scheduled reports appear in the list of schedules, which you can get to by clicking the Home drop-down menu, then the Schedules link, in the upper-left corner of the User Console page.

The list of schedules shows which reports are scheduled to run, the recurrence pattern for the schedule, when it was last run, when it is set to run again, and the current state of the schedule.

ssPucSchedulesPage.png

Item Name Function
File:/grCallout1.png Schedules indicator

Indicates the current User Console perspective that you are using. Schedules displays a list of schedules that you create, a toolbar to work with your schedules, and a list of times that your schedules are blocked from running.
File:/grCallout2.png Schedule Name

Lists your schedules by the name you assign to them. Click the arrow next to Schedule Name to sort schedules alphabetically in ascending or descending order.
File:/grCallout3.png Repeats Describes how often the schedule is set to run.
File:/grCallout4.png Source File

Displays the name of the file associated with the schedule.
File:/grCallout5.png Output Location

Shows the location where the scheduled report is saved.
File:/grCallout6.png Last Run

Shows the last time and date when the schedule was run.
File:/grCallout7.png Next Run

Shows the next time and date when the schedule will run again.
File:/grCallout8.png Status

Indicates the current Status of the schedule. The state can be either Normal or Paused.
File:/grCallout9.png Blockout Times

Lists the times when all schedules are blocked from running.

You can edit and maintain each of your schedules by using the controls the following table. Learn more

Icon Name Function
File:/sspucRefreshIcon.png Refresh Refreshes the list of schedules.
File:/sspucRunNowIcon.png Run Now Runs a selected schedule(s) at will.
File:/sspucStopScheduleIcon.png Stop Scheduled Task Pauses a specified schedule. Use Start Schedule to start paused jobs.
File:/sspucStartScheduleIcon.png Start Scheduled Task Resumes a previously stopped schedule.
  Edit Scheduled Task Edits the details of an existing schedule.
File:/sspucRemoveScheduleIcon.png Remove Scheduled Task Deletes a specified schedule. If the schedule is currently running, it continues to run, but it will not run again.

Schedule Reports

You can use the Browse perspective to schedule a report to run at regular intervals, on certain dates and times, and with different parameters.

Learn more

Administration

In PUC, the Administration can be used by logged-on users assigned a role that has permissions to administer security can perform system configuration and maintenance tasks. If you see Administration in the left drop-down menu on the Home page, you can click it to reveal menu items specific to administration of the Pentaho Server. If you do not have administration privileges, Administration does not appear within the console.

ssBaservAdminPerspective.png

Item Control Name Function
grCallout1.png Administration In PUC, open the Administration perspective. The Administration perspective enables you to set up users, configure the mail server, change authentication settings on the Pentaho Server, and install software licenses for Pentaho.
grCallout2.png Users & Roles Manage the Pentaho users or roles for the Pentaho Server. Learn more
grCallout3.png Authentication Set the security provider for the Pentaho Server to either the default Pentaho Security or LDAP/Active Directory. Learn more
grCallout4.png Mail Server Set up the outgoing email server and the account used to send reports through email.
grCallout5.png Licenses Manage Pentaho software licenses. Learn more
grCallout6.png Settings Manage settings for deleting older generated files, either manually or by creating a schedule for deletion.

Manage Users and Roles

Add, assign, and delete users/roles in the Manage Users and Manage Roles tabs.

Learn more

Additional Features

Themes

The User Console has three themes built in, called Crystal, Ruby, and Sapphire. Ruby is the default theme. To change the theme to Crystal or Sapphire, follow these instructions.

Before proceeding, save any edits you have made in the User Console to your reports, dashboards, etc. 

  1. From any page of the User Console, click View in the upper-left menu bar.
  2. Select Themes, then select the theme you want to use from the drop-down menu.
  3. When prompted, select Yes, Change Theme.
  4. The Home page refreshes and appears with your chosen theme.

This sample screen is the Crystal theme:

Crystal Theme selected screen.png

 

Plugins

  • Analyzer Reports
    Conceptualize your data, add query parameters and filters, drill-down links, and create visualizations.
     
  • Interactive Reports
    Create simple and on-demand operational reports without depending on IT or report developers.
     
  • Dashboard Designer
    Create dashboards that help decision makers gain critical knowledge at a glance.
     
  • CTools
    Use a set of community-driven tools to help you develop and define your data structure, which you can then use in dashboards.
 

Data Source Wizard

The Data Source Wizard helps you define a data source that contains your information and guides you through the creation of your first relational or multidimensional data models for use in creating reports and analysis.

Learn more

Data Source Model Editor

The Data Source Model Editor allows you to change relational and multidimensional data models to make your data more accessible.

Learn more