Using Flexera Analytics Content Folders and Scheduling Reports

FlexNet Manager Suite version 2019 R2

Flexera Analytics provide two content folders in the left navigation bar that are described in the following table.

Folder name Description Access privileges
My content This is the personal folder unique to every Flexera Analytics user, and is not accessible by any other Flexera Analytics user other than yourself. Everyone has Write access to their My content folder.
Team content This provides workspace for logical groups of teams. Specifically, the Team content folder provides:
  • A series of redirect reports provided in the Redirect reports folder that acts as a liaison between the operational and risk management dashboards to the FlexNet Manager Suite reports. These reports do not provide analytic insights, however they do provide you the ability to drill through links to take you to FlexNet Manager Suite reports.

  • A Shared content folder that some users have Write access to and others have Read access to, depending on their assigned role, as described next in Using the Shared content folder and scheduling reports in Flexera Analytics.
All users except administrators have Read access to this folder.
Note: You can copy content from the Team content folder to your My content folder.

Using the Shared content folder and scheduling reports in Flexera Analytics

The Shared content folder (within Team content) provides opportunities for collaboration, as all Flexera Analytics users have access to the Team content and Shared content folders. The naming convention of this folder is Shared Content - Company name (where your company name is taken from the license file for FlexNet Manager Suite).

Role Privilege Description
Analytics User Read access Read access means you are able to view the Shared content folder contents and are able to copy from this folder. However, the Analytics User role does not allow you to write into or delete from the Shared Content folder, nor use the scheduling feature.
Analytics Explorer Write access
Write access to the Shared content folder allows users to add, edit, delete, and even schedule reports from the folder.
Important: Because Write access provides the ability to delete any content within the Shared Content folder, Flexera Analytics users with Analytics Explorer role privileges should be careful when deleting, making sure that the content is not still required by other operators.
Tip: The Analytics User or Analytics Explorer role can be assigned by selecting a user from the FlexNet Manager Suite Accounts page, choosing the user, expanding the Business reporting portal section, selecting the Analytics Explorer role check box, and clicking Save. Also, existing FlexNet Manager Suite roles can be updated to include either Analytics role. For example, if you have an existing role with a number of users, and would prefer them all to have Analytics Explorer privileges, then you can edit that existing role and apply the Analytics Explorer privilege by selecting it from the Privileges drop-down list (within the Business reporting portal section), and then saving the change. Alternatively, a new role can be created to include Analytics Explorer privileges, and users can be added to this new role.

Users with Analytics Explorer role privileges can schedule any reports that are saved in the Shared Content folder or within their My content folder. With the Flexera Analytics scheduling feature:

  • A report can be scheduled to run at a specific time or on a recurring basis
  • You can email a report on a specified schedule to one or more recipients
  • You can save reports on a specified schedule, which will store a history of versions of the report.
    Note: Flexera Analytics reports support the following output formats: HTML, PDF, Excel, Excel Data, CSV, and XML.

Like all of Flexera Analytics, the scheduling feature utilizes IBM Cognos Analytics out-of-the-box functionality. This following information shows quick steps for how to use the feature, but for complete details, refer to the IBM Cognos Analytics documentation.

Users with Analytics Explorer role privileges can schedule reports by doing the following:
  1. Access the Shared Content folder or My content folder.
  2. Click the ellipsis to the right of the report to be scheduled.
  3. Click Properties and then click Schedule.

A report cannot have multiple schedules. If a schedule already exists for this report, you can edit it, enable or disable it, or delete it. If no schedule exists for the report, click the New button to create a new schedule. From here you can choose your scheduling options and click Create. You can:

  • Set a frequency of report in day (daily, weekly, monthly, or by trigger)
  • Define the start and end date as well as the time of the schedule
  • Choose the format of the report output (HTML, PDF, and so on)
  • Specify the delivery method (email report or save report).
    Tip: When you want a report to be saved on a schedule, this saves the report output within Flexera Analytics and thereby can be accessed by other users. If you do not want users to view your report output, then you should not check the Save report check box. To view saved reports, click the ellipsis to the right of the report, click View versions, and click to select the Show all history check box. The most recent five versions of a report display. The Archives tab provides a link to view archived reports.