Define Data Visualization

For examples that illustrate the steps in this procedure, see Configuring a Data Visualization.

After you add a data visualization to a page, you can configure the data visualization to present the data retrieved from a data source in a visualization template.

Note:

If changes are made to a custom visualization template or the structure of data retrieved from the data source that is selected in a data visualization, you will need to configure a new data visualization to successfully generate the results of the changes on the page.

To configure a new or existing data visualization:

On the Data Source page, select an existing SQL or REST data source and go to the next step, or create a new REST data source with limited options as follows:
Note:
- The Define Data Visualization wizard supports basic REST data source creation and editing. If you require a REST data source with more options, see Creating a REST Data Source. After creating the data source, you can select it in the Define Data Visualization wizard.
- If you want to select an existing REST data source, but know that the underlying data has changed, you can exit the wizard and go to the Assets page of the portal to edit the data source, where you can select Refresh Schema to refresh the data source and associated business object with changes such as added, deleted, or renamed attributes. For more significant structural changes, you will need to re-create the data source, and any data visualizations where it is used.
1. Click the icons in the row for an existing data source to Copy or Edit the data source, or click Add Data Source to create a new REST data source.
2. In the Data Source wizard, on the Source page, enter a Name and optional Description for the REST data source.
3. Enter a valid Resource Path URL against which the REST data source will be created, then click Test to confirm the resource path is valid and that it returns data. For example, the resource path http://dev.markitondemand.com/Api/v2/Quote?symbol=AAPL provides stock quotes.
  
  Note:
  The Resource Path must support at least the GET method, along with any other method (PUT, POST, DELETE).
4. In the list of Parameters populated based on the resource path provided, remove or add parameters as needed.
  
  Note:
  If you modify the Resource Path URL, the list of parameters will be refreshed, and you may need to respecify the required data source parameters.
5. Select a Data Source Return Type that specifies data type returned by the Resource Path URL. A URL can return data in either XML format or JSON format.
6. Select or deselect Use Portal Proxy and Use Authentication as required. For an external URL, select Use Portal Proxy.
7. Click Next.
8. If you selected Use Authentication:
  - On the Authentication page, select existing credentials, or click Add Credentials to create a new credential (if you have been granted the required permission to create a new credential).
  - On the Credentials page, select from the Select Security Type list:
    - Basic Authentication support is provided through the External Application Service of WebCenter Portal. The username and password for the REST service are stored in the OPSS Credential Store using the External Application Service. When a data visualization is rendered at runtime, WebCenter Portal retrieves these credentials to present the data on the page.
    - OAuth support is provided by OWSM integrated with REST Data Control. ADF REST Data Control supports only OAuth 2.0 using IDM OAuth Servers. External REST services that are protected using a non-IDM solution are not supported.
    - Taleo Token Generator authentication is provided by a custom security provider to propagate security at runtime. If authentication is successful, a Taleo token is issued. That token must be passed to each subsequent resource request to retrieve data.
  - Under Configuration, define or edit the login information, depending on the security type:
    - For Basic Authentication, enter the Login user name, and Password.
    - For OAuth, enter the Login user name, and Password corresponding to the Client ID and Password configured in OAuth server, and enter the Token Generator URL of the OAuth Server.
    - For Taleo Token Generator, enter the Login user name, and Password, and enter the Login URL and Org Code to access the Taleo end point. A user must be authenticated using user name, password, and organization code (company ID) on a defined login URL.
Click Next to display the Template page.
On the Template page:
1. Select a visualization template (presentation type) to present the data retrieved from the data source.
  
  The templates shown are those that are appropriate for the currently selected data source. When you provide the Resource Path URL, WebCenter Portal creates the data source based on the data returned by the URL. If the URL returns only a single record at this time (possibly due to parameter values or limited data currently available), then WebCenter Portal creates the data source with the assumption that a single record will always be returned. In this case, the wizard shows only the Form template for selection, since this template is appropriate for presenting a single data record. It does not show the Table or List templates for selection, because these templates are appropriate for repeating records of data. If you know that the data retrieved by the data source may be repeating and you want to select the List or Table templates, then the Resource Path URL that you specify must return repeating data at the time that the data source is created. Alternatively, you can create a data source on the Assets page, and provide a Response Payload that contains repeating data. Then, if you select that data source here, the wizard will present all appropriate templates for selection, including List and Table.
  
  Note:
  If you select a custom visualization template that was just published while you are in the page editor configuring the data visualization, you may encounter an error. To achieve expected results, do not enter the page editor until after the custom visualization template is published.
2. Click Next to display the Options page for the selected template, showing two tabs: Settings and Parameters.
On the Settings tab, select and set elements to add to the visualization of the retrieved data on the page, dependent on the template you selected.
For templates that define an Output Format for retrieved data, click the current output format (such as General) for a data item to open the Format Column dialog.
Specify the format for the data item as required, selecting General, Currency, Percentage, Number, Link.
Notes:
- For Link, the URL must be either a full URL (beginning with http://) or a URL relative to the portal’s web address.
- In a Table visualization, filtering on a column is not supported. If the SQL query selects data from a database column that includes a timestamp, you must convert the database column to date format in the SQL query when you create the SQL data source as in the following example:
```
TO_DATE(TO_CHAR(date_timestamp_column,'MM/dd/yyyy'),'MM/dd/yyyy') 
```
On the Parameters tab, define:
- Visualization Parameters to get input from other components to the page
- Data Source Parameters to retrieve the data from the data source
Using this tab, you can pass a visualization parameter value to a data source parameter. This creates the master-detail relationship where one visualization can pass values to another visualization, and then this value is passed to a data source through data source parameters to make a back data query. You have the option to create or delete visualization parameters. New data visualizations do not have any parameters.
Click Save.
The new data visualization is added to the page, displaying the data retrieved from the selected data source in the selected visualization template.