Black Box ICOMP User Manual

Black Box ICOMP User Manual

Icompel data engine v3.1.2
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iCompel Data Engine V3.1.2
Set up vibrant, real-time digital displays easily and affordably.
All-in-one, plug-and-display unit works right out of the box.
V3.1.2 (30971)

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Summary of Contents for Black Box ICOMP

  • Page 1 iCompel Data Engine V3.1.2 Set up vibrant, real-time digital displays easily and affordably. All-in-one, plug-and-display unit works right out of the box. V3.1.2 (30971)
  • Page 2 iCompel Data Engine Federal Communications Commission and Industry Canada Radio Frequency Interference Statements This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio-frequency energy, and if not installed and usedproperly, that is, in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, may cause inter-ference to radio communication. It has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A computing device in accordance with the specifications in Subpart B of Part 15 of FCC rules, which are designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment.
  • Page 3: Instrucciones De Seguridad

    NOM Statement Instrucciones de Seguridad (Normas Oficiales Mexicanas Electrical Safety Statement) 1. Todas las instrucciones de seguridad y operación deberán ser leídas antes de que el aparato eléctrico sea operado. 2. Las instrucciones de seguridad y operación deberán ser guardadas para referencia futura. 3.
  • Page 4 Trademarks Used in this Manual Black Box and the Double Diamond logo are registered trademarks of BB Technologies, Inc. Any other trademarks mentioned in this manual are acknowledged to be the property of the trademark owners. All rights reserved. No parts of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems - without the written permission of the publisher.
  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    ........................42 3.4.2 Outstanding Actions ........................43 3.4.3 View Status ........................44 Bulk Modify Connections ........................... 45 Connection Retry and Backoff Policies ........................... 47 Configuration ........................... 47 ..............................50 Application Licensing 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 6 Calendar Widget Settings ........................84 - Timeline Widget Settings ..................................84 - Diary Widget Settings ..................................85 - Room Summary Widget Settings ..................................85 ..............................88 Contact Black Box Index 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 7 Part iCompel Data Engine Overview...
  • Page 8: Icompel Data Engine Overview

    Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2) 1. iCompel Data Engine Overview The iCompel Data Engine, from Black Box Corporation, is a solution for capturing, collating and presenting data held in external systems for graphical display on a Black Box Digital Signage System.
  • Page 9 Part Building a Connection...
  • Page 10: Building A Connection

    The following steps show how to configure a new Connection: 1. Start the iCompel Data Engine Connection Editor application. ® ® A link will be found in the Black Box iCompel Data Engine entry on the Microsoft Windows Start menu, and may also be found on your Windows desktop.
  • Page 11: Connectors And Data Sources

    Click on an entry to select the Connector to use. The tab pages that follow allow various Connector properties to be configured, and will be dependent upon the selected Connector. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 12: Microsoft Excel Connector

    To specify a range of cells in a named worksheet, then specify the worksheet name, followed by a dollar symbol, and the cell range on the named worksheet. For example would read cells Year2009$A1:D30 from the worksheet Year2009 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 13 For example: would process cells "[Year2009$A1:D30],[Year2008$A1:D30]" from worksheet and cells from worksheet Year2009 Year2008 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 14: Advanced Settings

    The Processing setting specifies the culture setting used when processing dates and numbers. Note this setting does not control how date and number values are presented by the media - see the following section for more information. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 15 If the file contains heading text which are dates, then the checkbox should be unchecked if the dates are not correctly detected by the iDE. The remaining fields are described in the Advanced Microsoft Excel Query Settings section. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 16: Microsoft Exchange Server Connector

    This user must also have an Exchange Mailbox account, and the ® Exchange user must have been granted permission to view all resources listed in the Mailboxes section. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 17: Google Calendar Connector

    Calendars are shown. To add a new Google Calendar, click the Add button. To ® modify or remove an existing Google Calendar, select the entry, and press Modify or Remove buttons respectively. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 18: Sql Connector

    ODBC Data Source Administrator application. Please refer to this section if using the application on a 64bit operating system. Note: This Connector may require an additional license to operate. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 19: Advanced Settings

    To use this Connector, please select the XML option from the Data Source page, and visit the XML Location and XML Schema pages to specify the configuration properties. Note: This Connector may require an additional license to operate. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 20: Settings

    (below) will update to show up to ten values retrieved from the source for the selected item. If there are no values found, then ' ' is displayed. [No Values] The Schema is refreshed by clicking the Refresh button. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 21: Text Connector

    To use this Connector, please select the Text option from the Data Source page, and visit the Text page to specify the configuration properties. Note: This Connector may require an additional license to operate. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 22: Basic Settings

    Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2) 2.3.6.1 Basic Settings The Text page specifies where the text data will be retrieved from. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 23: Format Settings

    The ColNameHeader entry should be specified, and if set to false, then the fields must be specified in the Settings, as described in the 'Specifying the Fields' section of the above web page. The CharacterSet entry should be specified 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 24 = hour, nn = minute, ss = second Number Formatting By default, a period symbol is assumed for number and currency separators. These can be modified by using custom schema information settings. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 25: Advanced Settings

    To ensure the widest possible compatibility with media, by default, the iDE will write all numbers and dates in a general, non-locale specific manner. However, in some instances, particularly when using the native iCOMPEL features, it will be necessary to write data values using a specific locale representation. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 26: Results

    In most cases, the results will be written as XML to one or more Players (the first option). This section describes the various result output data formats available, and their typical uses. The Media page allows the user to set the following output formats: 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 27: Xml Output Format

    Modify. Allows the properties for the selected iCOMPEL to be modified. At least one Player must be specified. These settings are described in more detail on the Specifying the Destination Players and Limiting Output Size section. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 28: Locating Media Items Using The Media Item Finder

    To select and use a specified media item, select the media item and press the OK button, or simply double click the required entry. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 29: Copying And Modifying Media Items

    The Name property is mandatory, and Description property is optional. These properties are displayed on the Media Item Finder dialog. The OK button will apply the specified changes. Cancel will ignore changes and close the dialog. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 30: Text Output Format

    Note that the Character set option for the media item on the iCOMPEL should be set to UTF-8. Output Location The exact destination filenames are dependent upon the iCompel Data Engine (iDE) Source Data, Destination and iCOMPEL (iCOMPEL) User settings. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 31 (right angle bracket) > (pipe) Note in all cases, the case is preserved, so Name is different from name. Output Location Example For example, if the Media Folder for user fred 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 32: Custom Output Formats Using A Presentation Format File

    Presentation Format file. The Presentation Format file must be text based, but can contain any content. This allows highly customized content, without requiring custom media creation. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 33 The following field names are reserved for use by the iCompel Data Engine (iDE). These field names may be used within the Presentation Format file. If the result data contains identical field names, the result data value will be used in preference to the iDE supplied value. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 34 Location page. relative output folder setting indicates the source of the data. This is always set to for the SQL source data container name Connector. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 35 SQL Business Connector. The query results contain the following: Item Name Price Tuna Chocolate £1.12 The Presentation Format file contains the following text: Special offer {Item Name} - {Price}. Today Only! 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 36: Specifying The Destination Players And Limiting Output Size

    Note the player will contain to display the last results written (if any). Modify. Allows the properties for the selected iCOMPEL to be modified. Pressing Add or Modify button will display the Player Details dialog: 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 37: Applying A Player Data In License

    (iCOMPEL) and may require specific minimum iCOMPEL firmware version. If licensing is required but not installed, then an error message, such as shown below, will be displayed clearly indicating the cause and resolution. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 38: Specifying When To Execute

    Note that the Connection is executed once only each time the Test button is pressed. The log message window shows execution and other status messages. Right click on the message window to copy messages to the clipboard, or to clear the message window. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 39 Part Monitoring and Managing Connections...
  • Page 40: Monitoring And Managing Connections

    1. Start the iCompel Data Engine Connection Manager application. ® ® A link will be found in the Black Box iCompel Data Engine group on the Microsoft Windows Start ® menu, and may also be found on your Windows desktop.
  • Page 41: System Status

    Successfully executed. Failed to execute. The Last Status column will indicate the reason. Unknown. Unknown means the Service Manager was unable to obtain the status from the Connection Service. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 42: Managing Connections

    Manager interface. Note that execution will not start until changes are Applied in the Connection Manager (see below). Add an existing Connection file Select Add Existing... from the File menu, then select the Connection file to add. Click OK to add the Connection. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 43: Outstanding Actions

    A summary of the outstanding actions is shown on the Status page. The following Actions may be listed. Connection will be added The listed Connection will be added and made Active, when the Apply button is pressed. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 44: View Status

    When an Active Connection is not working as expected, detailed status messages can be viewed by selecting the Active Connection from the Active page, then View Status Messages... from either the right click context menu or the Connection menu. The following dialog is shown: 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 45: Bulk Modify Connections

    If a new iCOMPEL (iCOMPEL) is added to an existing signage network, or a iCOMPEL is replaced or user credentials modified, the Bulk Modify feature can be used to quickly update all available Connections with the Player details. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 46 Modified Connections, providing the Connection has 2 or more players already. Note that all Active, Added, and Modified Connections are updated. If changes have been made, these will need to be Applied. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 47: Connection Retry And Backoff Policies

    The second setting specifies the maximum number of old log files to keep. Pressing the View... button will show the following dialog, allowing the user to view the contents of each log file. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 48 Connections have been created. ® The Service must be manually restarted after these settings are changed. This can be performed from the Microsoft Services control panel. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 49 Part Application Licensing...
  • Page 50: Application Licensing

    To successfully complete the Licensing wizard you will need: Your unique five digit iCompel Data Engine serial number. This can be found on your original installation CD, or purchase order. Please contact Black Box Corporation Black Box Network Services if you are unable to locate your serial number.
  • Page 51 Only licenses for this iCompel Data Engine installation on the local machine can be applied. The application will restart when the dialog is closed, if one or more new licenses have been entered successfully. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 52 Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2) 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 53 Part Deployment Considerations...
  • Page 54: Deployment Considerations

    The following topics discuss various deployment considerations. 5.1 Deploying to a Black Box Channel iCompel Data Engine (iDE) media can be included and distributed as part of a Black Box Channel. There are three approaches to achieve this: a. iDE media is deployed on the Publisher only, and is referenced by Playlist items within a Publisher Channel.
  • Page 55: User Management

    5.4 FTP and Proxy Details The iCompel Data Engine supports passive mode FTP transfer only. Proxy support is available for HTTP transfers when using the Microsoft Exchange, Google Calendar, XML or Text Connectors. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 56 Part Using the SQL Connector...
  • Page 57: Using The Sql Connector

    3. Locate the file ' odbcad32.exe 4. Double click the above file to run. The correct program is started if the ODBC button is pressed from the SQL Command page. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 58: Connecting To A Black Box Idigitalmanager

    Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2) 6.3 Connecting to a Black Box iDigitalManager This page describes how to use a iCompel Data Engine (iDE) to access and display data from a Black Box iDigitalManager (iDM) version 2.1 or above.
  • Page 59 Name' drop down list. You may need to click the Refresh button to update the list. 3. In the SQL Query text box enter: select * from dsm_view_basic.func_current_organisation_operational_summary(); To display the results using a Pie chart, the following SQL should be used: 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 60 # These control the colour and size of all labels, including caption and axis labels. chart.all_labels.colour=#000000 chart.legend.position=se chart.legend.background_colour=#CCCCCC # Controls the colours the pie segments are displayed in. # Pipe character seperates colours. chart.series.colours=#60BB22|#B80028 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 61 Part Using the Excel Connector...
  • Page 62: Using The Excel Connector

    Advanced Query Example Display the number of celebrities born in London. The spreadsheet is replicated in entirety below: Name BirthCity A A Milne London Abi Titmuss London Ainsley Harriott London 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 63 8 rows, the driver may ignore or truncate values. The current setting is displayed in the Test window when a Excel connection is tested from the Connection Editor application. To avoid this, please follow the advice in Microsoft knowledge base article 189897. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 64 Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2) 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 65 Part VIII Using the Microsoft Exchange Connector...
  • Page 66: Using The Microsoft Exchange Connector

    By default, the iCompel Data Engine will use Exchange Web Services (EWS) calls to obtain information from your ® Microsoft Exchange Server. If EWS is not available or configured on your server, then the WebDAV protocol can be used. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 67 If the calendar event applies to different time zone from that specified on the player displaying the media, the event times will be displayed at the wall clock time they would occur in the players time zone. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 68 Part Using the Google Calendar Connector...
  • Page 69: Using The Google Calendar Connector

    7. Select the full address in the browser address entry, and copy to clipboard. Note: This address can be used by any user to view the contents of the specified calendar! 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 70 Part Media Widgets...
  • Page 71: Media Widgets

    Select the first file and click the Open button. 4. Click the Install button, and please wait a few moments while the Layout Package installs. Repeat this for each file uploaded above. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 72: Charts And Tabular Widgets

    Remove any non-required columns from the output. Reduce the size of the font used to display the table content. See the tabular.content.font_size setting. Using the default tabular Widget settings, results are shown as follows: 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 73 Media Widgets Bar Chart Widget Using the default bar chart Widget settings, results are shown as follows: 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 74 Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2) Line Chart Widget Using the default line chart Widget settings, results are shown as follows: 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 75 Media Widgets Pie Chart Widget Using the default pie chart Widget settings, results are shown as follows: 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 76 The above screen shots use the following spreadsheet (top left cell is ). This spreadsheet is included in the ' Black ' folder as Box Corporation iDE Media\ExcelExample huntley_sales.xls 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 77: Calendar Widgets

    Up to six different resources can be represented on a single Diary widget. Different resources are shown in different colors (olive green, light blue, orange, purple, pink, golden yellow). 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 78 The Room Summary widget shows all events except all day events for the current day. The current event is shown in the central area, with a timeline summary below. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 79: Widget Settings

    Black Box iDE folder. Media\media\source Many other options are also available - please contact Black Box Network Services if you have additional requirements. Configuration Settings Each non-blank text line is interpreted as a containing a configuration setting or a comment line.
  • Page 80: Charts And Tabular Widget Settings

    _files %ASSETS_DIR%/large_fade_background.jpg in JPEG format. This value defaults to (white). #FFFFFF Data Processing Options data.series.orientation Indicates if each data column is a series or each row contains series data. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 81: Tabular Widget Settings

    If left blank, and title text was found in the data, then this will be displayed, otherwise not title is shown. Default is blank. tabular.title.subcaption Specific the chart sub-title. If left blank, no subtitle will be displayed. A subtitle is only displayed if a title is displayed. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 82: Chart Widget Settings

    If left blank, and title text was found in the data, then this will be displayed, otherwise not title is shown. Default is blank. chart.title.subcaption Specific the chart sub-title. If left blank, no sub-title will be displayed. A sub-title is only displayed if a title is displayed. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 83 Defaults to blank, which indicates use the source data label if present. chart.y_axis.label.text Optional y-axis label, which overrides an y axis label determined from the data. Defaults to blank, which indicates use the source data label if present. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 84: Calendar Widget Settings

    10.4.2.1 Timeline Widget Settings calendar.timeline.display_days Which days we display only, expressed as 0-6 (where 0 is Sunday). Day numbers are separated with a comma. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 85: Diary Widget Settings

    The label used for resource busy in the status bar top of screen. The default value is 'Busy'. calendar.room_summary.label.readout.title Title label of the readout section. The default value is 'Now'. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 86 The label used for free timeline events. The default value is 'Free'. calendar.room_summary.label.timeline.today The label for Today's events section. The default value is 'Today's Bookings'. calendar.room_summary.label.timeline.tomorrow Tomorrows events label. The default value is 'Tomorrow's Bookings'. 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 87 Part Contact Black Box...
  • Page 88: Contact Black Box

    Data Engine - User Guide (V3.1.2) 11. Contact Black Box If you have any questions about the iCompel Data Engine or iCOMPEL please contact Black Box Network Services Name Contact Email: techsupport@blackbox.com Telephone: +1 (724) 746-5500 Fax: Not available 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com...
  • Page 89: Index

    Log files View Status Messages for Active Connections - E - Connection Status Messages Excel Connector Connection Windows Service Advanced query example Overview Advanced query settings Connector Advanced settings 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 90 Diagnostics Exchange Emails View - R - - M - Result location See destination Managing Connections Adding Retry Creating Connection policy Outstanding Actions - S - Overview Sample media 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 91 View Status Messages Overview 41, 44 - W - Widget Configuration Bar chart Bar chart Widget settings Diary Diary Widget settings Line chart Line chart Widget settings Pie chart 724-746-5500 | blackbox.com Copyright (c) 2009 - 2012 Black Box Corporation...
  • Page 92 24/7 Tech support available in 30 seconds or less. © Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Black Box® and the Double Diamond logo are registered trademarks of BB Technologies, Inc. Any third-party trademarks appearing in this manual are acknowledged to be the property of their respective owners.

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