Subscriptions are used to export data discoveries and presentations and share them with a distribution list on a scheduled basis.
Once you've saved your data discovery, click the Subscribe icon to open the Subscribe dialog where you can configure a new subscription for the discovery or presentation.
Note: when subscribing to content and distributing it to other users, the subscription runs as the initiating user. The recipient to whom the subscription is distributed receives the same data as the initiating user. This means the recipient may see unsecured data.
If you want to distribute data dynamically, sending different data from the same report to different users, this is done by configuring dynamic distribution of publications. In this case, the recipient will only see data for which they have permissions.
In Discover, Publish, and Tabulate, the Subscribe button can be found on the status bar (right-hand side), above the canvas:
In Present, the subscribe button can only be found from the Presentation Menu when the presentation is running:
Subscribe Dialog
Details
Set the subscription details name and message. This is what will be distributed to your recipients when the scheduled job runs.
- Name: by default the subscription is named according to the report title, but this can be changed.
- Message: change the default message as required.
The default message can be customized, with users having the ability to add certain parameters, using shortcut keys.- [P] - Item Name
- [C] - Creation Date
- [L] - Link to Content
- [S] - Schedule Name
- [M] - Slice Members
- Content Selections: If the report contains slicers, users can choose from the following options:
- Default slicer values: the default value that was selected for the slicer will be used for the subscription.
- Current slicer values: the value displayed at runtime when the subscription was started is the value that will be used in the subscription.
Schedule
Set the schedule for the subscription job. Initially, there is a simple drop down of schedule choices.
Click the advanced button (green arrow below) to see more scheduling options. The subscription can be run on a recurring basis (hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly), or on demand (whenever the underlying data sources are reprocessed).
Recurring
You must enter a start date, and you have the option to enter an end date if relevant. If no end date is defined, the job will continue running according to the schedule indefinitely. Select the required timezone from the Timezone drop-down list.
This scheduler works in the same way as the scheduler used for scheduling publications, models, and alerts, with 2 main differences:
- The schedule frequency (that is, Hourly, Daily, etc) is selected by accessing the relevant tab on the left. The frequency is usually chosen from a drop-down list.
- The subscription scheduler does not offer the option to create a 'one-off' schedule.
On Demand
On Demand Schedules are used to trigger the rendering of specified publications, alerts, and subscriptions when the underlying data model is reprocessed, or via an API.
To configure on demand scheduling for the subscriptions, choose On Demand from the Schedule tab, either from the regular settings or the advanced settings. You must also configure on demand subscriptions for the relevant data models via the Master Flow or APIs.
- Click here to learn more about configuring the schedule.
Distribution
Users can choose to distribute subscription content to a static list of users, user roles, or emails. Subscriptions may be distributed via four methods:
- Bulletin Board: distribute to a list of users or groups via the Pyramid Bulletin Board.
- Email: distribute to a list of email addresses. You have an option to include a link to the content item.
- Phone: distribute to a list of users via SMS.
- Channel: distribute to a channel Webhook. You have an option to include a link to the content item.
You can distribute the subscription to multiple destinations, but the selected destinations must include either the Bulletin Board or Email.
This is because phone and channel distribution do not involve sending the subscription output (the actual exported report). The output itself can only be sent via the Bulletin Board or email.
- Click here to learn more about scheduled distribution.
Output
From the Output tab, choose the required output type, then set your preferences for the selected output. This tab is the same as the General tab of the Print and Export dialog, with the exception that there is no option to spool the print job because this is not relevant for scheduled subscriptions.
- Click here to learn more about the output selection.
Header/ Footer
The Header/ Footer tab is exposed when configuring subscriptions for data discoveries, and allows you to configure headers and footers. You can incorporate dynamic elements into your headers and footers from the 'Add Element' section.
The Header/ Footer tab is identical to the one in the Print & Export dialog in Discover. To use a header or footer, check the relevant box (pink arrow below)
- Click here to learn more about configuring headers and footers.
Commit the Schedule
Once you've configured the subscription, click the Subscribe button to save the schedule.