FlashVars are a nice feature for providing a data push method to Xcelsius Dashboards.
A common scenario for using FlashVars is to provide the Webservice-URL to a Dashboard in a multiserver environment. Imagine you are working in a 3 layered Business Objects Enterprise server architecture with a development server, a test server and a production server.

Transporting a Dashboard in a multiserver architecture is easy if you are using the Import Wizard of Business Objects. If you are using LiveOffice connections who should ensure that the ObjectIDs stay stable. For more information about LiveOffice connection migration, take a look at: Migration of LiveOffice Connections.

Adding a FlashVar to you Dashboard is simple and you will find more infos about implementing FlashVars in Xcelsius documentation, SDN or other Xcelsius-Guru-Blogs.

Today we are foccussing on calling Flashvars. In the screenshot below you will see a simple CSV-Flashvar called var1.

There a several ways of calling a FlashVar.

1.) You could write a HTML document and embed the SWF-File and it's properties (including FlashVars).
The following link will provide the standard syntax for embedded Flash Files: Adobe TechNote Macromedia Flash OBJECT and EMBED tag syntax

For adding a FlashVar you habe to add PARAM NAME=FlashVars VALUE="%FLASHVARNAME%=%FLASHVARVALUE$" below the OBJECT-Tag and FlashVars="%FLASHVARNAME%=%FLASHVARVALUE$" into the EMBED-tag

2.) Call a FlashVar as a parameter in an URL String. The syntax is described in the example below:

http://servername:port/dashboard.swf?%FLASHVARNAME%=%FLASHVARVALUE%

3.) Deployed to Business Objects Enterprise you can change the FlashVar in the properties of the object in CMC.

4.) Provide the Flashvariable in an OpenDocument-Call
The syntax is - openDocument.jsp?iDocID=&sIDType=CUID&sKind=Flash&ls[varname1]=[varvalue1]&ls[varname2]=[varvalue2] (Thanks to Pavel)

When you are using a multilayer server architecture with Dashboards deployed to Business Objects Enterprise that have different FlashVar requirements you have to adapt them manually in CMC after every transport because they are overwritten by Import Assistant.

Imagine the following scenario:

• You have a 3-layer BOXI Server architecture. (BOXI_DEV, BOXI_TEST and BOXI_PROD)

  

• You are using Web Intelligence instances for data aggregation and some kind of transformation.
• You have several Xcelsius Dashboards which connects via LiveOffice to the Web Intelligence Layer to refresh data

The migration of this quite complex architecture is not banal. So how would we migrate those files from one server to another server? (e.g. from BOXI_DEV to BOXI_TEST)

1. Migrate the WebI reports via the import assitant to the new server.
2. Change the Webservice-URL of the LiveOffice connections in all Xcelsius files and deploy them to the target BOXI server.
3. Test the migration result on the target system.

The key to success is to know, that LiveOffice connects to the WebI-Reports using the Webservice-URL and the CUID of the embedded object (WebI report) despite in LiveOffice properties it is indicated that LiveOffice connect to the regarding object via %Path%/%Object Name%. (see below) It is non-transparent for the developer that LiveOffice uses the CUID of the object instead of the path and object name during runtime.

So when migrating the WebI report objects to the target server you have to ensure that the CUID of the objects stay the same, otherwise migration will fail!

To ensure, that the CUID of the objects will remain stable you have to use the following import scenario with your import assistant utility:

If the object is still existing, the imported object will be renamed. That's no problem, because LiveOffice connect to the CUID. Eventual renaming has just a cosmetic effect. Ensure that the object IDs of the source system and the target system remain stable, and check this by viewing the object properties in CMC or InfoView:

After successfully migrating the WebI reports to the target environment you have reschedule your instances and redeploy the Dashboards. Before you deploy your Dashboards to the target system, ensure to reconfigure the Webservice-URL, otherwise the Dashboards will connect to the "old" system.

You can either enter the Webservice-URL into the input field of the Xcelsius Data Manager or you can enter a fixed cell reference of the currently used Webservice-URL. The advantage of the second way is, that you just have to change the values in the binded cell (e.g. $B$42). So maintenance of your Dashboard is much easier.

Now you can reploy your Dashboard to the target server.

Best practice would be to fill the binded Webservice-URL cell with a FlashVar so you can tell your Dashboard via a HTTP parameter which server shall be used. When using a FlashVar for Webservice-URL you do not even have to redeploy your Dashboard and can simply migrate the SWF file via import assistant to the target environment.

Last but not least i would recommand to deselect the Enterprise Authentication options of LiveOffice in Excel, which might confuse you while migrating your connections.