How to: Install Filter Designers

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Where you install an extension—locally or globally—depends on where the extension is in the development cycle. During development of the extension, you can install it locally without deploying it. Then, when you are ready to deploy the extension, you can install it globally so that it becomes part of the ClickOnce installation for PerformancePoint Dashboard Designer. For more information about ClickOnce deployment, see ClickOnce Deployment for Windows Forms Applications in the Microsoft .NET Framework Developer's Guide.

Prerequisites

Before you can deploy the extension, ensure you have met the following prerequisites:

  • You have an Authenticode digital certificate to use to sign the application and deployment manifests.

  • Your custom DLL and all assemblies that it references are signed and you have given them strong names. For information about how to sign an assembly with a strong name and how to create a public/private key pair, see How to: Create a Public/Private Key Pair.

Note

To access the template for your custom filter after you install it, select a dashboard in Dashboard Designer, click the Filters tab, and then click New Filter.

To install a filter designer during development

  1. Copy your DLL into the folder that contains your local PSCBuilder.exe. The default path is drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server\3.0\Monitoring\DesignerInstall\3.0.

  2. In the same folder, open the PSCBuilder.exe.config file.

  3. In the PSCBuilder.exe.config file, add a key for the template class factory in your extension by using the following format: <add key="[Class name]" value="[Namespace name.Class name], [DLL name]" />

    For example, if your extension uses the SqlQueryFilterTemplateFactory class, which is in the Extensions.Dashboard namespace in DashboardFilter.dll, add the following entry to the <ParameterTemplateExtensions> section.

    <add key="SqlQueryFilterTemplateFactory" value="Extensions.Dashboard.SqlQueryFilterTemplateFactory,
    DashboardFilter" />

  4. Save and then close the file.

  5. In the same folder, double-click PSCBuilder.exe to open Dashboard Designer.

To install a filter designer for deployment

  1. On the computer that is running PerformancePoint Monitoring Server, add your signed DLL and any assembly that it references to the global assembly cache. 

  2. Copy your DLL into the folder that contains the Dashboard Designer ClickOnce installation files. The default path is drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server\3.0\Monitoring\PPSMonitoring_1\DesignerInstall\3.0.

  3. In the same folder, open the PSCBuilder.exe.config file.

  4. In the PSCBuilder.exe.config file, add a key for the template class factory in your extension by using the following format: <add key="[Class name]" value="[Namespace name.Class name], [DLL name]" />

    For example, if your extension uses the SqlQueryFilterTemplateFactory class, which is in the Extensions.Dashboard namespace in DashboardFilter.dll, add the following entry to the <ParameterTemplateExtensions> section.

    <add key="SqlQueryFilterTemplateFactory" value="Extensions.Dashboard.SqlQueryFilterTemplateFactory,
    DashboardFilter" />

  5. Save and then close the PSCBuilder.exe.config file.

  6. Rebuild and then sign the application manifest file, as follows:

    1. Copy your certificate file into the folder that contains Mage.exe. The default path is drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\Bin.

    2. Open a .NET Framework SDK command prompt.

    3. Call Mage.exe.

    4. Use the -Update command to add your DLL to the application manifest file.

    5. Use the -CertFile command to sign the certificate.

      The following example assumes that Monitoring Server is installed in the default location and that the name of your certificate file is Cert.pfx.

      mage –Update "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server\3.0\Monitoring\PPSMonitoring_1\DesignerInstall\3.0\PSCBuilder.exe.manifest"
    –FromDirectory "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server\3.0\Monitoring\PPSMonitoring_1\DesignerInstall\3.0" -CertFile Cert.pfx

      Ensure that the DesignerInstall folder contains only Dashboard Designer application files. For more information about using Mage.exe, see Manifest Generation and Editing Tool (Mage.exe).

  7. Rebuild and then sign the deployment manifest file, as follows:

    1. Open a .NET Framework SDK command prompt.

    2. Call Mage.exe.

    3. Use the -AppManifest command to add an application reference to PSCBuilder.exe.manifest file.

    4. Use the -CertFile command to sign the certificate.

      The following example assumes that Monitoring Server is installed in the default location and that the name of your certificate file is Cert.pfx.

      mage -Update "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server\3.0\Monitoring\PPSMonitoring_1\DesignerInstall\PSCBuilder.application"
    -AppManifest "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server\3.0\Monitoring\PPSMonitoring_1\DesignerInstall\3.0\PSCBuilder.exe.manifest" -CertFile Cert.pfx

      For more information about using Mage.exe, see Manifest Generation and Editing Tool (Mage.exe).

See Also

Tasks

How to: Install Data Providers for Filters
How to: Create Filter Designers

Other Resources

Dashboard Filters