About the Report Launcher for Rational ClearQuest

The Report Launcher for Rational® ClearQuest® is a web application for running data-pull reports that are saved on a server file system.

You can design ClearQuest data-pull reports with SAP Crystal Reports or Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools (BIRT). These reports can be run from the ClearQuest Web Client application with the Report Launcher for ClearQuest.

The Report Launcher for Rational ClearQuest web interface is like a download site. Users click folder links to locate a report. Then, click the report web link to run the report on the report server configured for the Rational ClearQuest reporting environment. The completed report is displayed in the report viewer associated with the report. For example, reports created with BIRT are displayed in the BIRT Report Viewer window embedded in the Report Launcher for Rational ClearQuest web interface.

The Report Launcher uses adapters to start BIRT or Crystal reports from the server. Because the report launcher does not include a specific report engine, the report server runtime for the target reporting system must be installed separately on the same web server as the report launcher.

For a Crystal Reports runtime target, install and configure the Report Server for Crystal Reports. Then, deploy the Crystal Reports runtime to the WebSphere® Application Server using the instructions at Configuring the Crystal Reports Java Reporting Component (JRC) runtime.
For a BIRT server environment, follow the BIRT configuration instructions to install the BIRT server runtime. See Deploying the BIRT server runtime on the WebSphere Application Server.

Note: If you are migrating from ClearQuest version 7.1.2.x and have reports stored in the Report Server for ClearQuest repository, you must migrate these reports to a server file system so they can be accessed using the Report Launcher for ClearQuest. You can migrate reports using the Report Exporter information on technote https://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg24029627.

You can access the Report Launcher for Rational ClearQuest from Rational ClearQuest Client, Rational ClearQuest Web client, or directly from a browser.

This figure illustrates the general structure and operating flow of the Report Launcher for Rational ClearQuest.

This figure shows the Report Launcher for ClearQuest architecture. The Report Launcher has a server component and a web-interface component. A box represents the WebSphere Application Server instance where the server component is located. This box contains additional boxes for the other reporting components needed, including the BIRT Server Runtime Environment, the ClearQuest Report Server for Crystal Reports, and the Crystal Reports Java Runtime Component (JRC). The Report Launcher for ClearQuest is installed on the WebSphere Application Server along with the ClearQuest WebServer. The web-interface component of the Report Launcher for ClearQuest is shown deployed with a secure HTTP connection. Reports can be started from the ClearQuest Client or the ClearQuest Web client interface. The diagram also shows connections from the WebSphere Application Server environment to a Report Server and ClearQuest database. The Report Launcher for ClearQuest retrieves reports from the Report Server and runs them by pulling the requested data from the ClearQuest data sources specified in the report. When running reports, the Report Launcher starts the BIRT Server Runtime environment or ClearQuest Report Server for Crystal Reports to access the ClearQuest data sources, run the report, and display it in the Report Launcher web interface.

When you log on to the Report Launcher for Rational ClearQuest, your user credentials are verified.
Permissions for accessing the Report Launcher are controlled by WebSphere Application Server security.
From the Report Launcher web-interface, navigate the directory tree on the report file server to locate a report.
You can view reports stored in server directories accessible to the Report Launcher for Rational ClearQuest that you have permission to access. Permissions to report folders can be configured using J2EE declarative security as described in Customizing security in WebSphere Application Server
When you click the report web link to start the report, the report runtime for the selected report is started on the server. Report queries are run against one or more Rational ClearQuest data sources as defined in the report design.
You can run a report only if you have access to the Rational ClearQuest data sources used to generate the reports. If a report has been configured to pass credentials at runtime, the user is prompted for user name and password credentials before the reporting engine starts.
Reports are displayed in the viewer associated with the report. For example, when you run a BIRT report, the BIRT Report Viewer opens in the right pane of the Report Launcher for Rational ClearQuest interface.

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