By default, PPM Customizing Toolkit provides you with a number of applications that make it easier to configure and manage your PPM client data.
These programs are stored as batch scripts in your PPM client's bat directory. The applications available depend on your client's configuration. The default scripts available have a client-independent configuration and so can be used for any client.
Depending on the configuration of PPM Customizing Toolkit, the corresponding applications are available in the Programs component of the Client module.
All programs first run the script file _param.bat. This file sets environment variables that are used as arguments in the program files. To improve clarity, the names of all environment variables begin with the string PPM_CONF_.
The file _param.bat is automatically managed by PPM Customizing Toolkit. Manual changes to the file _param.bat are not evaluated by PPM Customizing Toolkit but overwritten with the information from the Programs component.
Password request
To run some programs, you need access privileges for the corresponding PPM client server. Before the program is started for the first time, a password is requested. The password is valid only for the current client and for the duration of the ongoing PPM Customizing Toolkit session. This is the password that you use for logging in to your PPM client.
On the Configure programs tab in the Password required column, you can specify whether a password will be required for running individual programs or not.
You can change a wrong password at a later time. To do this, click the Change password button on the Run program tab and enter the correct password.
For client configurations that were created with a version older than CTK 4.1.2, the Password required column is not displayed. To display the column, go to the Configure parameters tab, delete the entry PPM_CONF_PASSWD, and save the configuration.
List of default parameters available
The following parameters are available for configuring scripts if you have selected the base template for your client.
%PPM_CUSTOM_DIR% => <PPM installation directory>\ppmmashzone\server\bin\work\data_ppm\custom\
Name of the environment variable |
Description |
PPM_CONF_COCKPIT_CONF |
File containing the cockpit's technical specifications. Valid value: -cockpitconfiguration <file name> |
PPM_CONF_COCKPIT_DEF |
File containing the cockpit hierarchy model. Valid value: -cockpitdefinition <file name> |
PPM_CONF_COCKPIT_PROCTYPE |
Process type group and, if required, process type at which the user-defined aggregated measures are to be registered. Valid value: -processtype <ptg[\pt]> |
PPM_CONF_DIMDATACSV_FILE |
Files to be imported when the Import dimension values as CSV program is called up. Default value: %PPM_CUSTOM_DIR%\data\dimdata\*.csv |
PPM_CONF_DIMDATAXML_FILE |
Files to be imported when the Import dimension values as XML program is called up. Default value: %PPM_CUSTOM_DIR%\data\dimdata\*.xml |
PPM_CONF_EXPORTPATH |
Directory to which a configuration is saved using the programs Export PPM configurations or Import PPM configurations. |
PPM_CONF_IMPORT_MODE |
Option in the Import PPMconfigurations program. Valid values: -overwrite or -replace to overwrite or replace existing configurations. |
PPM_CONF_INITDB_OVERWRITE |
Defines whether any existing content is to be overwritten (= -overwrite) or not (no value) when Initialize database is called up. |
PPM_CONF_JDBC_PARAMS |
Options applied when JDBC2PPM Extractor is run |
PPM_CONF_LANGUAGE |
Language parameter for PPM commands |
PPM_CONF_SAP_PARAMS |
Options applied when SAP2PPM Extractor is run |
PPM_CONF_PASSWD |
Password of the PPM user |
PPM_CONF_PIKICSV_FILE |
Files to be imported when the Import process instance-independent measures as CSV program is called up. Default value: %PPM_CUSTOM_DIR%\data\piki\*.csv |
PPM_CONF_PIKIXLS_FILE |
Files to be imported when the Import process instance-independent measures from Excel program is called up. Default value: %PPM_CUSTOM_DIR%\data\piki\*.xls |
PPM_CONF_PIKIXML_FILE |
Files to be imported when the Import process instance-independent measures as XML program is called up. Default value: %PPM_CUSTOM_DIR%\data\piki\*.xml |
PPM_CONF_PROTOCOL_ERROR |
Flags whether PPM tool errors are to be logged or not. Valid values: yes: Errors are logged no: Errors are not logged |
PPM_CONF_PROTOCOL_INFO |
Flags whether PPM tool information output is to be logged or not. Valid values: yes: Information is logged no: Information is not logged |
PPM_CONF_PROTOCOL_WARNING |
Flags whether PPM tool warnings are to be logged or not. Valid values: yes: Warnings are logged no: Warnings are not logged |
PPM_CONF_USER |
PPM user used for executing PPM commands |
PPM_CONF_UPDATE_RECOVERY_FILE |
Analysis server recovery file for data import operations Valid values: yes: always update no: never update |
PPM_CONF_MAKEZIP_DIR |
Target directory for client archiving Default value: <PPM installation directory>\server\bin\work\data_ppm\custom\archive |
PPM_CONF_PIKIEXPORT_FILE |
File to be used for the export when the Import process instance-independent measures as XML program is called. Default value: %PPM_CUSTOM_DIR%\data\piki\piki_export.xml |
PPM_CONF_AS_STARTEMPTY |
Specifies if a dump is used when calling Start analysis server. Valid values: startempty: Dump is not used No value: Dump is used |
PPM_CONF_CONVERTER_CHECK |
Specifies if only the database version is checked when calling Convert PPM database. Valid values: check: Is checked No value: Is converted |
PPM_CONF_CONVERTER_IGNOREPIKIDATA |
Specifies if existing PIKI cubes are considered when calling Convert PPM database. Valid values: No value: The converter does not start if PIKI cubes still exist in the database ignorepikidata: Existing PIKI cubes will be deleted. |
In the development phase of your project, assign the PPM_CONF_INITDB_OVERWRITE parameter the value -overwrite to allow the database to be initialized again using the runinitdb command. When the development phase has been completed, reset the value to prevent the database from accidentally being overwritten.
List of default programs available
The following list contains a selection of default programs available in PPM Customizing Toolkit, if you selected base as the template for your client.
Program |
Script file |
Description |
Customizing |
|
|
Recalculate measures |
keyindicatornew.bat |
Recalculates all the client's measures and dimensions. |
Activate configuration of the Attributes module |
activate_attributes.bat |
Imports all the configurations edited in the Attributes module into the client. |
Activate configuration of the Measures and dimensions module |
activate_ki.bat |
Imports all the configurations edited in the Measures and dimensions module into the client. Since new attributes may also be imported, all the configurations in the Attributes module are imported so as to ensure that the configuration is imported correctly. |
Activate configuration of the Merge module |
activate_merger.bat |
Imports all the configurations edited in the Process merge module into the client. Since new attributes may also be imported, all the configurations in the Attributes module are imported so as to ensure that the configuration is imported correctly. |
Activate configuration of the Processes module |
activate_ptree.bat |
Imports all the configurations edited in the Processes module into the client. Since new attributes, measures and dimensions may also be imported, all the configurations from the Attributes and Measures and dimensions modules are imported so as to ensure that the configuration is imported correctly. |
Import |
|
|
Initialize database |
runinitdb.bat |
Re-initializes the client's database if the database is empty. If the variable PPM_CONF_INITDB_OVERWRITE=-overwrite has been set, the existing database is overwritten. Warning All data will be lost. In addition, all the log files in the log directory are deleted prior to initialization. |
System |
|
|
Reinitialize PPM analysis server |
initanalysisserver.bat |
Reinitializes the client's PPM analysis server |
Start PPM client |
rungui.bat |
Starts PPM without a browser |
Create new user passwords |
renew_userpasswords.bat |
Creates new, random passwords for all users in central user management and e-mails them to the respective users. |
Run report automation |
startreportautomation.bat |
This program starts report automation. To call it, you must specify user name and password of a user with the Report management user privilege. Nevertheless, the report automations are run under the account of the user with which they are associated. |
Start PPM servers and analysis server |
startup.bat |
Starts the PPM server of the client and the associated analysis server |
Stop PPM servers and analysis server |
shutdown.bat |
Stops the PPM server of the client and the associated analysis server |
Stop PPM server |
stopserver.bat |
Stops the client's PPM server |
Run PPM server |
runserver.bat |
Starts the client's PPM server |
Update the recovery file of the PPM analysis server |
update_recoveryfile.bat |
Updates the recovery files of the PPM analysis server |
Other |
|
|
Stop PPM analysis server |
stopanalysisserver.bat |
Stops the client's PPM analysis server |
Start PPM analysis server |
runanalysisserver.bat |
Starts the client's PPM analysis server |
Start suspected deviation analysis |
ppmanalytics.bat |
This programs runs a suspected deviation analysis for the current client data. The analysis result is sent to the users with the corresponding privileges. |
Create client documentation |
createdocu.bat |
Creates documentation for the measures and dimensions in HTML format from the current client configuration (the configuration files in the xml directory). The result is stored in the docu directory under <client>.html and can be copied to the >PPM> Web server using the <Publish program. |
Anonymize organizational units |
anonymize_orgunits.bat |
Anonymizes organizational units |
Export PPM attributes |
exportattributes.bat |
Exports PPM attributes into the directory PPM_CONF_EXPORTPATH. Attribute names are not exported. the client's XML directory is the default directory, i.e., the existing configuration files are overwritten. |
Convert PPM database |
runppmconverter.bat |
Converts an existing PPM database. If the variable PPM_CONF_CONVERTER_CHECK=-check is set, the system checks if the database must be converted or if it is up to date. |
Export PPM process tree |
exportprocesstree.bat |
Exports the process tree from the PPM database into a file. |
Merge processes and calculate measures |
ppmimport.bat |
Merges the imported process data and calculates the measures and dimensions. |
ZIP archiving of a client |
make_zip.bat |
Archives the contents of a client directory in ZIP file. |
Export PPM configuration |
exportconfig.bat |
Exports a user-defined selection of configurations to the PPM_CONF_EXPORTPATH directory. This is done by commenting the corresponding lines in the file in and out. By default, all configurations are exported to the client's XML directory. All existing configuration files are overwritten. |
Activate cockpit data |
activatecockpit.bat |
Generates the favorites structure and user-defined measure for aggregation from a cockpit definition file in the cockpits subdirectory and imports this information to the PPM client. |
Import dimension data in CSV format |
dimdataimport_csv.bat |
Imports all the dimension data from the PPM_CONF_DIMDATACSV_FILE directory (under <client>/data/dimdata by default) in CSV format (*.cvs) with <; as the separator. |
Import dimension data in XML format |
dimdataimport_xml.bat |
Imports all the dimension data from the PPM_CONF_DIMDATAXML_FILE directory (under <client>/data/dimdata by default) in XML format (*.xml). |
Create client documentation with function overview |
createfuncdocu.bat |
Creates technical documentation for the client's measures, dimensions, processes and functions. The result is stored in the docu directory under <client>.html and can be copied to the PPM Web server using the Publish program. The data is extracted from the client, i.e., the client server must be running. |
Create technical client documentation |
createtechdocu.bat |
Creates technical documentation for the measures and dimensions in HTML format from the current client configuration (the configuration files in the xml directory). The result is stored in the docu directory under <client>_tech.html. |
Import process instance-independent measures as CSV |
pikiimport_csv.bat |
Imports all process instance-independent measure series from the PPM_CONF_PIKICSV_FILE directory (under <client>/data/piki by default) in CSV format (*.csv). |
Import process instance-independent measures as XML |
pikiimport_xml.bat |
Imports all process instance-independent measure series from the PPM_CONF_PIKIXML_FILE directory (under <client>/data/piki by default) in XML format (*.xml). |
Import process instance-independent measures from Excel |
pikiimport_xml.bat |
Imports all process instance-independent measure series from the PPM_CONF_PIKIXLS_FILE directory (under <client>/data/piki by default) in XLS format (*.xls). |
Publish cockpits, Management views, and documentation |
publish.bat |
Copies data from the custom directory to the corresponding PPM installation directories: Performance cockpits from the cockpits directory Management views from the managementviews directory Reports from the reports directory Client documentation from the docu directory |
Import specific PPM configurations |
importconfig.bat |
Imports a user-defined selection of configurations. This is done by commenting the corresponding lines in the file in and out. |
Export process instance-independent measures as XML |
piki_export.bat |
This program exports all process instance-independent measure series in XML format (*.xml) into the file PPM_CONF_PIKIEXPORT_FILE. |
You can add further available programs s to the list. To do so, select the relevant programs on the Configure programs tab. When you open the Programs component again, the selected programs are displayed in the Program groups list.
You can transfer any of the programs from the list to the quick launch bar. This enables you to run frequently used programs just by clicking them. Click Edit program favorites to run the corresponding administration component.
If you want to modify certain scripts for a client, you can configure the programs appropriately and define your own parameters. All batch script parameters are set in the _param.bat file in your client's bat directory that every batch script calls up when it is run.
You can find a list of the parameters used by a script in the description of the program in question.
You can set the script parameters on the Configure parameters tab.
Add custom programs
You can also write your own applications and make them available in your client. The file name of your application must not begin with an underscore, e.g., _myprogram.bat.
Save the custom script in the bat directory of your client (<PPM installation directory>\server\bin\work\data_ppm\custom\<client>\bat). When you open the Programs component again, your application will be displayed in the Program groups list.
Guidelines for creating custom scripts
Then use the command prompt pushd to switch to the bin directory of your PPM installation, where you can run any command line programs from your PPM system. Before exiting your script, use the popd command to reset the original working directory.
When you run a PPM command line program, the echo output is activated. Deactivate this immediately after calling up the command line program using the @echo off command (the leading @ character also suppresses output of the echo command itself).
Example
The example below shows the script file rungui.bat, in which the guidelines described can easily be identified.
@echo off
REM **********************************************************
REM ...
REM **********************************************************
REM global variables
call _init.bat
REM backup the current directory and change to PPM_HOME
pushd C:\SoftwareAG\ppmmashzone\server\bin\work\data_ppm\bin
REM start PPM GUI for client
@echo on
call runppmgui -language %PPM_CONF_LANGUAGE% -user %PPM_CONF_USER% -password %PPM_CONF_PASSWD% -client %PPM_CLIENT%
@echo off
REM restore directory
popd