To automate the process of saving displays as images or reports, you can configure URLs with parameters that will launch Proficy Portal, open a display, and save it as a PNG (portable network graphics) file or a PDF (portable document format).
For detailed information on how to configure URLs to generate a display as PDF, refer to Natural Printing and URL Parameters for Printing.
IMPORTANT: Reports (.pdf) files must reside in one of the "Reports" (in AllUsers\reports or Users\username\reports) folders in order to be retrieved by the portlet. When you set up the URL for report generation, you have the option of specifying the directory location to save the report to. If you do not use the REPORTNAME parameter in the URL (recommended), and the REPORTLOCAL parameter is either not used or set to TRUE, the .pdf will automatically generate in the Reports folder.
When setting up a URL for saving a display as a PNG file, the following URL line parameters are available:
USER – the user name to use when logging into Proficy Portal.
PASSWORD – the password to use when logging into Proficy Portal.
APP – the applet to load, in this case IMAGE.
DISPLAY – the path and name of the display to save as an image.
The following example URL will save the "BarChartDisplay" display as "BarChartDisplay.png" in the staticDisplays folder in the Users\jane folder:
http://localhost/ProficyPortal/default.asp?USER=jane&PASSWORD=pwd&
APP=IMAGE&DISPLAY=Users\jane\displays\BarChartDisplay
Images are always saved in staticDisplays in either the specified user's folder or the AllUsers folder.
After you have created the URL and tested it, you can use Windows Scheduler to automate the process of saving images on a regular basis. For more information, see Scheduling Printing and Image Generation.
