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This documentation is for the legacy Izenda 6 product. Documentation for the new Izenda 7 product can be found at https://www.izenda.com/docs/

Table of Contents

Introduction

Izenda Reports lets business users generate simple custom reports without involving SQL experts or developers. Izenda Reports is an agile reporting solution for ASP.NET and can be installed in about an hour. These are the installation instructions for different database versions, if you have a question about the installation process, please contact us. If you have not already downloaded Izenda Reports, you can review this article and request a trial license key.

Supported Databases

Izenda Reports supports the following databases:

  • SQL Server 2000/2005/2008/2012/2014/2016
  • Oracle 9i/10g/11g/12c
  • MySQL 5+
  • PostgreSQL 9+
  • OData (requires FUSION add-on)
  • Web Services and EAV (with custom implementation)

Izenda Fusion (additional module) delivers dynamic real-time analytics from multiple databases and applications without having to do periodic ETL into a data warehouse. Also, support for other database architectures is possible. Please speak to our sales team for more information.

Connecting to multiple data sources

Izenda Reports supports connecting to multiple data sources simultaneously by using views. Views are the simplest and most secure way to connect to many different data sources in order to build reports. For specific examples of how to apply and use views, click here.

Microsoft SQL Server 2000/2005/2008/2012/2014/2016 Setup

Requirements:

  • Follow the directions to setup your web server
  • The database must have at least 1 table

Instructions :

  • You must have a functioning database in order to connect Izenda Reports
  • Important! Ensure that the database login can read the tables and views
  • Open your Izenda Reports Global.asax file in your IDE and find the InitializeReporting() method.
  • Update the LicenseKey and ConnectionString
    • Sample standard connection string (local database):
    • "Server=myAddress;Database=mydb;User ID=myUsername;Password=myPassword;"
    • Sample non-trusted connection string (remote database):
    • "Server=Server\myAddress;Database=myDataBase;Trusted_Connection=True;"
  • Save your global.asax
  • Build your project
  • Start up your project or navigate to your web server via browser
  • Izenda Reports is ready for use

Oracle 9i/10g/11g/12c Setup

Requirements (must be installed prior to database setup):

  • Izenda Reports requires the Microsoft .NET Runtime. Download and install if you do not have it already.
  • Izenda Reports requires the Oracle Data Provider for .NET. Download and install if you do not have it already.
  • Follow the directions to setup your web server.
  • The database must have at least 1 table.

Instructions:

  • You must have a functioning database in order to connect Izenda Reports
  • Important! Ensure that the database login can read the tables and views
  • Open your Izenda Reports Global.asax file in your IDE and find the InitializeReporting() method.
  • Update the LicenseKey and ConnectionString
    • You can use your TNSNames.ora file to create the connection string or you can plug the connection string directly into the OracleConnectionString.
    • Sample standard connection string (using TNS):
    • "Data Source=TORCL;User Id=myUsername;Password=myPassword;"
    • Sample non-trusted connection string (without TNS):
    • "Data Source=(DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS_LIST=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=MyHost)(PORT=MyPort)))(CONNECT_DATA=(SERVER=DEDICATED)(SERVICE_NAME=MyOracleSID))); User Id=myUsername;Password=myPassword;"
  • Save your global.asax
  • Build your project
  • Start up your project or navigate to your web server via browser
  • Izenda Reports is ready for use

MySQL 5+ Setup

Requirements (must be installed prior to database setup):

  • Izenda Reports requires the Microsoft .NET Runtime. Download and install if you do not have it already.
  • Izenda Reports requires the MySQL Connector/Net v5. Download and install if you do not have it already.
  • OR if ODBC then Izenda Reports requires the latest version of MySQL Connector/ODBC. Download and install if you do not have it already.
  • The database must have at least 1 table.

Instructions:

  • You must have a functioning database in order to connect Izenda Reports
  • Important! Ensure that the database login can read the tables and views
  • Open your Izenda Reports Global.asax file in your IDE and find the InitializeReporting() method.
  • Update the LicenseKey and ConnectionString
    • Sample standard connection string (using SSL):
    • "Driver={MySQL ODBC 5.3 ANSI Driver};Server=myServerAddress;Database=myDataBase;User=myUsername;Password=myPassword;sslca=c:\cacert.pem;sslcert=c:\client-cert.pem;sslkey=c:\client-key.pem;sslverify=1;Option=3;"
    • Other sample connection strings: https://www.connectionstrings.com/mysql/
  • Save your global.asax
  • Build your project
  • Start up your project or navigate to your web server via browser
  • Izenda Reports is ready for use

PostgreSQL 9+

About

The PostgreSQLConnectionString is what Izenda AdHoc uses to initialize an PostgreSQL connection. This will do all the heavy lifting for including tables, functions, and stored procedures. It will also build queries utilizing the Izenda PostgreSQL Driver.

Important! Ensure that the database login can read the tables and views

Below is a sample global.asax using the PostgreSQLConnectionString setting. The code block will appear within <script runat="server"> </script> tags within global.asax.

Global.asax (C♯) 

//main class: inherits DatabaseAdHocConfig or FileSystemAdHocConfig
public class CustomAdHocConfig : Izenda.AdHoc.DatabaseAdHocConfig
{
  // Configure settings
  // Add custom settings after setting the license key and connection string by overriding the ConfigureSettings() method
  public static void InitializeReporting() {
    //Check to see if we've already initialized.
    if (HttpContext.Current.Session == null || HttpContext.Current.Session["ReportingInitialized"] != null)
      return;
    AdHocSettings.LicenseKey = "INSERT_LICENSE_KEY_HERE";
    //Creates a connection to Microsoft SQL Server
    AdHocSettings.PostgreSQLConnectionString = "INSERT_CONNECTION_STRING_HERE";  //The relevant setting
    Izenda.AdHoc.AdHocSettings.AdHocConfig = new CustomAdHocConfig();
    HttpContext.Current.Session["ReportingInitialized"] = true;
  }
}

Global.asax (VB.NET)

'main class: inherits DatabaseAdHocConfig or FileSystemAdHocConfig
Public Class CustomAdHocConfig
    Inherits Izenda.AdHoc.DatabaseAdHocConfig

    Shared Sub InitializeReporting()
        'Check to see if we've already initialized
        If HttpContext.Current.Session Is Nothing OrElse HttpContext.Current.Session("ReportingInitialized") IsNot Nothing Then
            Return
        'Initialize System
        AdHocSettings.LicenseKey = "INSERT_LICENSE_KEY_HERE"
        AdHocSettings.PostgreSQLConnectionString = "INSERT_CONNECTION_STRING_HERE"  'The relevant setting
        Izenda.AdHoc.AdHocSettings.AdHocConfig = New CustomAdHocConfig()
        HttpContext.Current.Session("ReortingInitialized") = True
    End Sub

End Class

Parts of a Connection String

Izenda uses a third party .NET data provider to connect to PostgreSQL instances, called Npgsql. There are certain patterns that are recognized as settings within the connection string for Npgsql, such as the User ID and Password, and the structure of the connection string differs from other ODBC, JDBC, and OLE DB providers for PostgreSQL databases. You can read more about the parts of the Npgsql PostgreSQL connection string here. Here are the essential parts of the connection string:

  • Server - Address/Name of PostgreSQL Server.
  • Port - Port to connect to. Default is 5432.
  • Database - The name of the database you want to connect to. Defaults to user name if not specified.
  • User ID - The username that you're logging in as (Not recommended, but still popular). It is recommended to use Integrated Security instead.
  • Password - The password you're using to log into the database (Not recommended, but still popular). It is recommended to use Integrated Security instead.
  • Integrated Security - When false, User ID and Password are specified in the connection. When true, the current Windows account credentials are used for authentication. Recognized values are true or false. Default is set to false.

There are many different constructions of a proper connection string. Please see the link above for more information.

Then you simply have to insert the values you need into the connection string:

public static void InitializeReporting()
{
    String uname = HttpContext.Current.Session["UserName"];
    String pw = HttpContext.Current.Session["Password"]; //unsecure. Use at your own risk. There are many great articles about how to handle usernames and passwords and perhaps your organization already uses one.

    Izenda.AdHoc.AdHocSettings.PostgreSQLConnectionString =
    "Server=zag.izenda.com;Port=5432;Database=Northwind;User ID="+ uname +
    ";Password=" + pw + ";Integrated Security=False";
}

Testing your connection string

If you wish to test your connection string to ensure connectivity, you can perform the following steps:

  • Click the settings button on the ReportList page toolbar
  • The KEY & DB CONNECTION tab should be open
  • The license key and connection string you entered will be hidden, showing only "*******" in its place.
  • Click "Test" below the connection string
  • Text will appear below the field describing either "SUCCESS" or "FAILURE". Failure lists the reason why it failed.

Per-user database connections

If you wish to have different connections for different users, it can be accomplished easily in Izenda by simply setting up a conditional section in your InitializeReporting method to check whether your condition is true or not before setting the connection string. By default, this setting is initialized with each user who logs in or accesses the application. If you already have a login process in place with the conditions for each user's connection already worked out, then it is simply a matter of setting the connection string. Below is an example of a multi-conditional connection string. In the example, WebServiceRequest is a static interface to a web service that has a method called GetCurrentApplicationUser that returns an object of type User.

C♯ example

public static void InitializeReporting() {
    //Check to see if we've already initialized.
    if (HttpContext.Current.Session == null || HttpContext.Current.Session["ReportingInitialized"] != null)
      return;
    User myApplicationUser = WebServiceRequest.GetCurrentApplicationUser(); //your method for obtaining the authenticated user
    AdHocSettings.CurrentUserName = myApplicationUser.UserName; //Set the CurrentUserName
    if (myApplicationUser.IsAdministrator)
      AdHocSettings.SqlConnectionString = WebServiceRequest.GetConnectionStringForAdmin(); //Set the connection string for an admin
    else
      AdHocSettings.SqlConnectionString = WebServiceRequest.GetConnectionStringForUser(); //Set the connection string for a regular user
}

VB.NET example

Public Shared Sub InitializeReporting()
    'Check to see if we've already initialized.
    If HttpContext.Current.Session Is Nothing OrElse HttpContext.Current.Session("ReportingInitialized") IsNot Nothing Then
      Return
    Dim myApplicationUser As User = WebServiceRequest.GetCurrentApplicationUser() 'your method for obtaining the authenticated user
    AdHocSettings.CurrentUserName = myApplicationUser.UserName 'Set the CurrentUserName
    If myApplicationUser.IsAdministrator Then
      AdHocSettings.SqlConnectionString = WebServiceRequest.GetConnectionStringForAdmin() 'Set the connection string for an admin
    Else
      AdHocSettings.SqlConnectionString = WebServiceRequest.GetConnectionStringForUser() 'Set the connection string for a regular user
    End If
End Sub