Document Viewer

Functional explanation

The Document Viewer shows a document inside a runtime page. The file is requested over an authenticated address, so it stays behind the login and does not have to be published for anonymous access.

The object holds the full path of the file. Which files may be shown is decided in one place, the Document viewer access parameter, where an administrator lists the folders that may be served and the user groups that may see them. A file outside those folders is never served, whoever asks for it.

Use it to put a rendered report, a batch record, a manual or a drawing directly on an operator page.

The following file types are shown: PDF, PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF, TXT, CSV, XLSX, XLS, DOCX, DOC, PPTX and PPT.

A CSV file is shown as plain text.

XLSX, XLS, DOCX, DOC, PPTX and PPT files are displayed by an Office viewer extension in the browser of the client. On a client without such an extension the browser downloads the file.

Object name

Set the object name shown in the Document Viewer decorator context.

Settings

Configure which document the frame shows. The frame loads a new document whenever the resolved path changes, so binding Document Path to a variable is all that is needed to switch documents at runtime.

Document Path accepts either a full path or the name of a variable. When the value is the name of a variable, the value of that variable is used as the path. A client variable is the usual choice, so the operator can select what the frame shows through a button, a drop down or an input on the same page. A value that contains a space is always used as a path, so a document at D:/Manuals/Pump 1.pdf works as typed.

The Document Path button opens the variable picker, as it does on every setting.

Which documents can be shown

Open Parameters, section Engineering Settings, and complete Document viewer access. Each rule is one folder and the user groups that may see it. A rule covers the folder and everything below it.

The field is empty by default, and while it is empty the Document Viewer shows nothing at all. This is deliberate: the object holds a path, so the list of folders is what keeps that path inside the documents you intended to publish.

Leave the user groups of a rule empty to allow every user group. When several rules match, the most specific folder decides, so a rule on a sub folder can be stricter than the rule on its parent folder. Guests never have access. Administrators are not exempt either: an administrator who needs another folder adds it to the list, where everyone can read it.

Where documents come from

Any folder works, as long as it is listed in Document viewer access and the server can reach it. A folder on the server, a folder on another drive, or a network share are all valid.

For rendered reports, list the folder configured as Output to on the report itself. The report writes a new file for every run, named after the report and the period start date, so the file name of a specific run is what goes in Document Path.

Files are read where they are. On a redundant system the two nodes serve their own copies, so use a shared network folder when both nodes have to show the same documents.

Position / Size

Configure the position and size of the Document Viewer object.

Border

Configure the border drawn around the Document Viewer object.

Access Control

Configure access control for the Document Viewer object. This decides whether the object is shown on the page for a user group. The Document viewer access parameter decides whether the server hands out the file, and applies on top of it.

Visibility

Configure the runtime visibility and blinking behavior for the Document Viewer object.