Once the Visual KPI Designer is installed, you’ll want to connect it to a site on your Visual KPI Server. You can connect to as many Visual KPI sites as you want. These are referred to as instance connections, and each one has its own URL (for example, http://demo.transpara.com/powergen).
Instance Connection Tools
Instance Connections tools allow you to connect the Visual KPI Designer to sites, see your sites in a browser, and see the current site to which you are connected.
Visual KPI Instance Connections allow you to define/edit connections to different Visual KPI websites.
The View Website icon () allows you to open the Visual KPI site to which you are currently connected. Just click, and your website opens in a browser.
Once connected, the name of the site to which you are connection will appear alongside the instance connections tools.
Connect the Visual KPI Designer to a Site
Click the Visual KPI Instance Connections icon in the Visual KPI Designer addin to pair the Visual KPI Designer with an instance.
Name your instance. You can use any name you want as this is just for display within the Visual KPI Designer. Everyone who connects to this instance can each give it his or her own name.
Enter the Web service URL where your site lives. This URL is the first part of your site’s address plus /webservice/kpiws.asmx. For example, if your site’s URL in the browser is http://demo.transpara.com/powergen, your Web service URL would be http://demo.transpara.com/powergen/webservice/kpiws.asmx.
Learn more about managing instances and URLs using Visual KPI Server Manager.
Note: Your site’s address could also be an IP address, server name, or localhost.
Test Your Site Connection
- Click Test Connection to see if you are indeed connected and have access to the server.
- Once your server connection is successful, click OK.
You’ll see your server connection in the Visual KPI Designer addin, just to the right of the View Site icon.
Note: Once you have set up connections, the Visual KPI Designer remembers what sites you have connected to and the one you were last working in. When you close the Visual KPI Designer and reopen, the Visual KPI Designer will open to the last instance you were working in.
Add More Visual KPI Sites
- To create additional connections, click the Instance Connections icon, then click New.
- Simply follow the steps in Connect the Visual KPI Designer to a Site.
- Click Apply after adding each new instance and testing the connection.
Delete a Visual KPI Site
- Select the site under the Instance Connections icon.
- Click Remove.
Set Up Security for Visual KPI Designer
If you want only authenticated users to have access to the Visual KPI Designer and security has been enabled on your server, enter the authentication type and credentials here.
- Leave Anonymous to allow all access, or select an authentication type and add User Name and Password.
- Click Apply to add each user.
Troubleshooting Instance Connections
If you open the Visual KPI Designer and can’t connect to Instances, you may need to upgrade to the latest version. You may see a message telling you that this version of Visual KPI Designer is not compatible with the current Visual KPI Server version.
The best practice is to completely uninstall the Visual KPI Designer, and then follow the steps in Visual KPI Designer Install to complete a new installation. See Upgrade Visual KPI Sites and Install Visual KPI Designer.
Configure a Different Visual KPI Site or Instance
- To change which Visual KPI site/instance you are configuring, click the Instance Connections icon.
- Under Connections, select the instance you want to switch to and click OK.
Open a Visual KPI Site
- To see the current Visual KPI site in your Web browser (what the end user would see), click the View Site icon in the Visual KPI Designer addin.
- A browser window opens, and you are taken to your Visual KPI site.
Learn more
Configure Visual KPI Sites and Interfaces
Visual KPI Server Manager Quick Start
Upgrade Visual KPI Sites
Install Demo Data
Delete a Visual KPI Interface