What the button is for
A launch button lets a user execute a prepared UBC Data Bridge flow without opening the designer. It can be placed beside a report or work form on an allowed HTTPS website. Clicking starts the author-defined sequence: data acquisition, parameter entry, validation, transformation and result delivery.
An example label is “Update management report”. The label explains the action's result. Other suitable labels include “Send approved budget”, “Update sales forecast” and “Load department data”.
The button invokes a Data Bridge flow. If that flow includes a TurboIntegrator destination, it can also run an IBM process. For a PAW book, see the separate IBM Planning Analytics Workspace guide.
Capabilities and scenarios
| Capability | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Launch from a work page | Update a report or transfer data from the place where the user analyzes the result. |
| One button — one flow | A clear label, defined permissions and a controlled execution scenario. |
| Status on the button | An indicator, progress bar when data is available, and an explanatory tooltip. |
| Interactive wizard | File, parameters, data preview, choices and messages according to the flow's blocks. |
| Execution without forms | A flow with predefined values runs without additional windows after any necessary login. |
| Centralized management | The administrator sets the label, appearance, allowed sites and users. |
Opening a page containing the button does not itself start anything. The complete log and execution result are stored in Data Bridge.
Configuration in Data Bridge
- Prepare the flow and check sources, destinations and interactive steps. Publish a validated Production version for working use.
- Sign in as an administrator and open the required flow's “Workspace button”. This command name also applies to other allowed websites.
- Select “Enable this flow's button”. In “Button label”, enter “Update management report”.
- In “Allowed Workspace addresses”, add the container site's address: protocol, server and port. Examples:
https://portal.example.comorhttps://portal.example.com:8443. One address per line, without a page path, URL parameters or*. - Choose “Administrators and selected users” or “Everyone with permission to run this flow”. In the first mode, add the required users. An empty list leaves access to administrators only.
- Configure the appearance, check the preview and click “Save settings”.
- Click “Copy address”. Embed the generated button address itself.
A typical address structure is https://bridge.example.com/embed/flows/…; if installed in a subdirectory, that directory is included in the URL. The example domain is illustrative: copy the complete address from your installation.
Embedding through a link
On the other site, add a “Webpage”, “Embedded content” or iframe component and insert the button URL. Start with 280 × 44 px. This is the button size on the page, not the wizard size.
<iframe
src="СКОПІЙОВАНА_HTTPS_АДРЕСА_КНОПКИ"
title="Оновити управлінський звіт"
width="280" height="44"
style="border:0">
</iframe>Replace the placeholder in src with the address from Data Bridge settings. The container site must permit this embedded content and the launch window. If the platform restricts iframes, agree on required permissions with its administrator.
An ordinary hyperlink opens a page containing the button. To display its status beside a report, use an embedded web component. The address contains no password and does not itself grant execution permission.
Statuses and indicators
The main label remains during an ordinary run. Status is conveyed by an icon, progress bar and hover tooltip. A blue focus outline indicates button selection, not successful completion.
| State | Appearance and meaning | User action |
|---|---|---|
| Ready | Custom label without an indicator. | Click once to start. |
| Signing in / starting / “Queued” | Spinner and moving bar: login, preparation or waiting for an executor. | Wait for the required form or processing to begin. This is not yet a confirmed write. |
| “Running” | Spinner; progress when a percentage is available. A moving bar without a percentage indicates an unknown duration. | Watch the status. |
| “Waiting for user action” | Yellow pause and yellow bar. A file, parameters, choice or confirmation is required. | Complete the wizard step; clicking returns to the current window. |
| “Succeeded” | Green ✓ for approximately 8 seconds, then ready state. | Verify the business result. |
| “Failed” | Red ! and red border. | Read the tooltip and log and correct the cause before retrying. |
| “Partial result” | Red !; the tooltip gives the exact status. Some actions are confirmed. | First reconcile what has already completed. |
| “Reconciliation required” | Red !; the target system has not provided unambiguous confirmation. | Check its state before running again. |
| “Stopped” | The button is ready again. The next run starts from the beginning. | Account for confirmed external actions: stopping does not roll them back. |
A brief connection loss may show a spinner and an automatic-reconnection message in the tooltip. Service problems can temporarily change the label to “Allow pop-ups”, “Launch failed”, “Disconnected” or “Button unavailable”. Check details in the execution log.
Which wizard can open
The wizard shows steps configured by the flow author. Their sequence depends on links and the active branch. A universal form is not added before every run.
| Step | What the user sees | Flow configuration |
|---|---|---|
| File update | Select or drag a file; see its format, reading rules and validation result. | A “File” block from File Manager → “Ask the user for an updated file”. |
| Run parameters | Period, scenario, department, text, numbers, switches or dimension elements. | “Run parameters” → display in the wizard or a separate dialog. |
| Data preview | A table for checking rows and fields. | A data-preview block displayed in the wizard. |
| Route selection | A continuation choice that determines the active branch. | A Choice block and configured transitions. |
| Message | An explanation, validation result or warning. | A Message block and its display mode. |
| Save result | Obtain the generated file on the computer. | A file destination configured for the appropriate purpose. |
Flow execution
Upload a new version of Management reporting.xlsx. This example uses the “ReportData” named range.
When updating a linked file, the saved version is not substituted for a new file. “Continue” becomes available after upload and successful reading. In working execution, the confirmed file is saved as a new version under the File Manager object's name, even if the local filename differs. Simulation or validation does not save a new version.
For a new flow, use the current “File” block. The separate legacy file-selection block remains for compatibility with existing flows. For run parameters, the author can change button labels and availability, dimensions and the separate dialog's title.
Login, windows and repeated clicks
If there is no valid session, Data Bridge login opens. On another domain, interactive forms open in a separate browser window: allow it for the Data Bridge address. If the container page and Data Bridge share protocol, domain and port, the form can appear over the page.
If the window is already open, clicking again returns to it. For your own active run without forms, another click does not create a second concurrent run. Closing the active wizard in any way stops that run. The next start begins from the beginning, without rolling back confirmed external actions.
Flow-defined messages can appear in a window or the button area. A flow without visible steps runs without extra forms or automatically opening the log.
Permissions and integration boundaries
The user must have flow execution permission in Data Bridge and satisfy the button's access rule. Access to the external website does not replace these permissions. IBM also requires appropriate permissions for the TM1 connection account.
Changing allowed addresses or the user list, or disabling the button, revokes its active grants and stops unfinished runs. Label and appearance changes do not require another login; the new appearance loads when the container page is refreshed.
Filters and selected values on a third-party site are not automatically passed to the flow. Set them in the parameter form or the flow itself. After writing, refresh the report if it still shows old data.