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Siebel Business Analytics Server Administration Guide > Using Variables in the Analytics Repository > Using the Variable Manager >
About Session Variables
Session variables are like dynamic repository variables in that they obtain their values from initialization blocks. Unlike dynamic repository variables, however, the initialization of session variables is not scheduled. When a user begins a session, the Analytics Server creates new instances of session variables and initializes them. Unlike a repository variable, there are as many instances of a session variable as there are active sessions on the Analytics Server. Each instance of a session variable could be initialized to a different value. Session variables are primarily used when authenticating users against external sources such as database tables or LDAP servers. If a user is authenticated successfully, session variables can be used to set filters and permissions for that session. For a discussion of the use of session variables in setting up security, see Security in Siebel Business Analytics. This section includes the following topics:
For more information, see Creating New Variables. Using System Session Variables
System session variables are session variables that the Analytics Server and Siebel Business Analytics Web Server use for specific purposes. System session variables have reserved names, that cannot be used for other kinds of variables (such as static or dynamic repository variables and nonsystem session variables). For information about using the GROUP system session variable in conjunction with the SA System subject area to provide group membership and external email addresses to Delivers, see Setting Up the Repository to Work with Delivers. NOTE: When you use these variables for Siebel Business Analytics Web, preface their names with NQ_SESSION. For example, to filter a column on the value of the variable LOGLEVEL set the filter to the Variable NQ_SESSION.LOGLEVEL.
Table 42 describes the available system session variables.
Table 42. System Session Variables
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USER |
Holds the value the user enters as his or her logon name. |
GROUP |
Contains the groups to which the user belongs. These are used by both the Analytics Server and Siebel Business Analytics Web Server. When a user belongs to multiple groups, separate the group names with semicolons. Do not delimit text (for example, do not surround the text with single or double quotes). Use a Varchar column in a database table to contain the group memberships. For example, if a user belonged to groups called Sales US, Sales UK, QA and Dev, and Doc, the text entered into a Varchar data type column in a database table would be: Sales US;Sales UK;QA and Dev;Doc
Note: The Siebel Business Analytics Web administrator needs to make sure that the names of Web groups are different from any user IDs that will be used to log on to Siebel Business Analytics Web. If a user and a Web group share the same name, the user will receive an Invalid Account message when attempting to log on to Siebel Business Analytics Web. |
DISPLAYNAME |
Used for Siebel Business Analytics Web. It contains the name that will be displayed to the user in the greeting in the Web interface. It is also saved as the author field for catalog objects. For internal analytics repository users (nondatabase users), this variable is populated with the user's full name. |
PORTALPATH |
Used for Siebel Business Analytics Web. It identifies the default dashboard the user sees when logging in (the user can override this preference after logged on). |
LOGLEVEL |
The value of LOGLEVEL (a number between 0 and 5) determines the Logging level that the Analytics Server will use for the user's queries. This system session variable overrides a variable defined in the Users object. If the Administrators Users object has a Logging level defined as 4 and the session variable LOGLEVEL defined in the repository has a default value of 0 (zero), the value of 0 applies. |
WEBGROUPS |
Specifies additional groups specific to Siebel Business Analytics Web, if any. The use of Web groups provides a mechanism for more granular Web content control. |
REQUESTKEY |
Used for Siebel Business Analytics Web. Any users with the same nonblank request key will share the same Web cache entries. This tells Siebel Business Analytics Web that these users have identical content filters and security in the Analytics Server. Sharing Web cache entries is a way to minimize unnecessary communication with the server. |
SKIN |
Determines certain elements of the look and feel of the Siebel Business Analytics Web interface. The user can alter some elements of the user interface by picking a style when logged on to the Web. The SKIN variable points to a Siebel Business Analytics Web folder that contains the nonalterable elements (for example, graphics such as GIF files). Such directories begin with sk_. For example, if a folder were called sk_companyx, the SKIN variable would be set to companyx. |
EMAIL |
Contains the user's default email address for use with Answers. If the delivery feature of Answers is enabled, an email device using this address will be created for the user upon first log in. Users can override this address by changing their account settings in Siebel Business Analytics Web. |
Using Nonsystem Session Variables
The procedure for defining nonsystem session variables is the same as for system session variables. A common use for nonsystem session variables is setting user filters. For example, you could define a nonsystem variable called SalesRegion that would be initialized to the name of the user's sales region. You could then set a security filter for all members of a group that would allow them to see only data pertinent to their region. NOTE: When you use these variables for Siebel Business Analytics Web, preface their names with NQ_SESSION. For example, to filter a column on the value of the variable SalesRegion set the filter to the Variable NQ_SESSION.SalesRegion.
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