Filtering data based on user

Hello,

We are developing a dash/mashboard and have a number of tabs already created with some sample reports.

I want to be able to allow users to log on and create some reports that are filtered based on their login credentials. For example, i want myself to have access to the raw data that i am allowed to and want the other perople to log in and see their own data.

I was thinking of having a lookup table in SQL that has a look up table in with all the usernames and passwords and then filters the raw data based on those.

Is this the best way of doing it and if so how do i use those as parameters that are already populated once the person is logged into the mashboard?

Cheers

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bhanley

Have you taken a look a the Actuate mashboard? It comes complete with role and user-based security that can do exactly what you are looking for. Best of all, the Framework is free on the BIRT Exchange DevShare. 
 
Here is an overview video to give you afeel for what you can do with the Mashboard itself: <a class='bbc_url' href='http://www.birt-exchange.org/devshare/deploying-birt-reports/814-full-actuate-mashboard-overview/#description'>Full Actuate Mashboard Overview - Tutorials - BIRT Exchange</a> 
 
As for doing this on your own with BIRT, you can certainly add a filter to your table and apply that per user. I would look at it in two stages. first you need to build in a mechanism to determine who is logged in. Once you do that, you need to bind that login to the data tier. You can do this through a filter on the data set at run-time. Just make sure the data set is able to have the metrics on it to successfully filter (probably through a clever DB join).

Matt_t_t

Hello,

Thanks for the reply. We are currently developing the Actuate mashboard and already are making some very good progress with simple reports and portlets. I will try what you suggested and let you know

Thanks

Matt

Matt_t_t

How do i determine who is logged on?

Matt

bhanley

It is not a straightforward action to determine who is logged in. This is by design, as there needs to be some obfuscation with respect to security. in order to do what you are looking for, you will implement page level security within you BIRT report design. You can then allow the iServer to worry about who is logged in (the "who" is encoded into the iServer session represented by the iPortalID the user is assigned when they log in the Mashboard). When configured for user-based filtering, the iServer will handle all the heavy lifting at run-time. You will only need to make sure all the moving parts are set up correctly. 
 
You can have security enforced at the report level or on individual components inside the report (table, chart, etc...). Security is a really custom thing, not easy to generalize with exapmples. Take a look at these docs and see if that gets you going. 
 
<a class='bbc_url' href='http://www.birt-exchange.org/documentation/ActuateBIRT10/UsingActuateBIRT/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href=pgesec.8.1.html'>http://www.birt-exchange.org/documentation/ActuateBIRT10/UsingActuateBIRT/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href=pgesec.8.1.html</a> 
 
Please ping this thread with any follow-on questions, I hope this at least got you looking in the right direction. If I am off-base in trying to look at what you need let me know and we can re-group.