Browser Toggle
Previous/Next
Update
Keep Visible
Save
Print
Export
Email
Schedule
Pause
PlayTopics | How To | Troubleshoot | Related Topics
Running the CommNet Browser as a Stand-Alone Application
Running the CommNet Browser as a Remote Web-Based Application
CommNet Browser CommCell Status Icons
Additional CommNet Browser Features
The CommNet Browser is the graphical user interface that allows you to administer and generate summaries and reports on the CommNet domain. The CommNet Browser provides the capability to quickly identify, isolate, and drill-down to the root cause of problems without having to generate multiple reports.
The CommNet Browser can be run in two ways:
For comprehensive information on supported platforms, see System Requirements - CommNet Browser as a Stand-Alone Application.
For comprehensive information on supported platforms, see System Requirements - CommNet Browser as a Remote Web-Based Application.
When you login to the CommNet Browser, the CommNet Server verifies whether the CommNet Browser is up-to-date. If there has been an update to the Browser interface since the last login session, you will be notified by a prompt indicating that an update is available and ready for install. If you opt to install the update immediately, you will be required to restart the CommNet Browser. Additionally, CommNet Browser updates can be retrieved manually by selecting the Check for Updates option in the browser's Setup menu. This is useful if you do not log out of your CommNet Browser for a long period of time. If updates are available, you will be notified by a prompt indicating that an update is available and ready for install; updates are applied automatically upon exiting the CommNet Browser, and visible upon the next login.
The CommNet Browser contains several components:
The CommNet Tree, located in the left pane of the CommNet Browser, presents the CommNet domain's components, as well as the administrative and operational tasks associated with them, in a hierarchical tree structure.
If a particular component is not reachable or not operational, this is indicated by the addition of a red circle with an "x" in the component's icon. If an object has been uninstalled, the icon is dimmed.
The CommNet Dashboard window, which is accessible by clicking the CommCell node in the CommNet Tree, can be customized to display select reports by default. These settings can be made using the Customize Dashboard tab in the Browser Options dialog box. (See Customize the CommNet Dashboard for step-by-step instructions.)
The main window, located in the right pane of the CommNet Browser, presents information about the component selected in the CommNet Tree.
When the main window is maximized in the CommNet Browser, any additional windows opened are displayed on top of the existing window. Conversely, if the window is not maximized, then any additional windows are cascaded or tiled. The Previous/Next buttons can be used to navigate between all open windows.
When you click a different node in the CommNet Tree, any open window from the previous node are closed unless you click the Keep Visible button for that window.
Displays menu choices appropriate to the currently selected node in the CommNet Tree. Not every task can be accessed from the Menu Bar; some are accessible only by right-clicking a particular item in the CommNet Tree.
Provides an alternate means of accessing certain functionalities available from the Menu Bar. This bar can be toggled on/off from View | Toolbars in the Menu Bar.
Located at the bottom of the CommNet Browser, this displays the current status of the connection to the CommNet Server (connected or disconnected, the login, and the language in use. This can be toggled on/off from View in the Menu Bar. Current connection status is indicated as:
The CommNet Browser tries to re-establish lost connections with the CommNet Server using the same user name and password provided during login.
Tasks associated with a selected node are available in three ways; as a right-click option on the node itself, which often contains the most items; in the Tasks window displayed at the lower right hand corner of the Browser; from Tasks in the Menu Bar. This window can be expanded or collapsed.
Several common user buttons in the CommNet Browser are outlined in the following table:
|
Browser Toggle |
Switches the display of the CommNet Tree and Users Task pane on or off. Part of the Standard Tool Bar, which can be toggled on or off from View in the Menu Bar. |
|
Previous/Next |
Pages the display through multiple open windows, such as reports. |
|
Update |
Updates the currently displayed summary. This only appears when updates have been received from a CommCell. |
|
Keep Visible |
Prevents a window from being closed when you select a different node. |
|
Save |
If available, saves the currently active Browser window, report content, or summary as a PDF file. |
|
Print
|
If available, prints the currently active Browser window, report, or summary. |
|
Export |
Exports the currently active Browser window, report, or summary in Microsoft Excel format. |
|
Email |
If available, packages the currently active Browser window in .pdf or .xls format and attaches the report to a new email message. |
|
Schedule |
Opens New Schedule wizard to create a schedule based on the current report or summary. See Create a Schedule. |
|
Pause |
Pauses updates to the current window. |
|
Play |
Resumes updates to the current window. |
Most CommNet Browser components can be saved to a local or network disk, printed to a file or printer, and emailed to one or more email recipients. These capabilities are useful if you wish to share reports, alerts, summaries, details, and other informational entities about the CommNet.
If a particular browser component does not support a save, print, or email operation, the corresponding icon for that operation will be disabled.
Saving Browser Components
CommNet Browser components can be saved to a local disk or network share in .pdf format. Below are some of the most commonly saved components:
See Save Options.
Printing Browser Components
CommNet Browser components can be printed to a file or printer. Below are some of the most commonly printed components:
See Print Options.
| Save and Print options are not available on CommNet Browsers running on Macintosh computers. |
Emailing Browser Components
CommNet Browser components can also be emailed to one or more recipients.
When clicked, the email icon will launch the Email Report dialog box, which provides the facility to create a new email message and select a file format in which the Browser component will be attached (.pdf or .xls).
Note that you must configure the sender address and mail server settings prior to using the email function. This can be done using the Configuration tab in the CommNet Server's Properties dialog box.
See the following for step-by-step instructions:
The stand-alone version of the CommNet Browser can be run either locally from the CommNet Server computer, or remotely on a client. The CommNet Browser is automatically installed during the CommNet Server installation.
Note that the following features are not available when using the CommNet Browser on a Macintosh:
For step-by-step instructions on running the CommNet Browser as a stand-alone application, see:
Once the CommNet Browser software is installed on the CommNet Server computer, you can access the CommNet Browser remotely from any computer using Java Web Start. Thus, the CommNet Browser stand-alone application does not need to be installed on a remote computer that has a Java enabled Web browser. The web-based version of the CommNet Browser has the same appearance and functionality as the installable CommNet Browser stand-alone application.
When accessing the CommNet Browser remotely for the first time, Java Web Start provides you with the option of creating Desktop and Start menu icons for the CommNet Browser. If you choose to create these icons, you will be able to remotely access the CommNet Browser directly from the Desktop or Start menu without having to enter the CommNet Server name and alias in the Web browser each time. You also retain the option of continuing to remotely access the CommNet Browser via a Web browser if desired.
If you choose not to create these shortcuts, you must launch a Web browser and enter the CommNet Server name and alias each time you wish to remotely access the CommNet Browser.
Note that the IIS Server must be configured for accessing the CommNet Browser using Java Web Start. See Set Up IIS Server for Web Administration for more information.
For step-by-step instructions on running the CommNet Browser from a remote computer, see:
The Browser Options dialog box allows users to:
To set or modify the Browser Options, select Setup | Browser Preferences from the CommNet Browser's file menu.
See Browser Options for more information.
The CommNet Tree icons representing a CommCell signify the current status of the CommCell. For more information, see following table.
| Icon | Description | Where Applicable |
 |
CommCell has been recently synchronized, and is currently available. |
|
 |
CommCell has been recently synchronized, and is not currently available. |
|
 |
CommCell has not been synchronized since registration, and is currently available. |
|
 |
CommCell has not been synchronized since registration, and is not currently available. |
|
 |
CommCell has not been synchronized for more than a week, and is currently available. (Only applicable to CommCells with the current version of the CommServe software.) |
|
 |
CommCell has not been synchronized for more than a week, and is not currently available. (Only applicable to CommCells with the current version of the CommServe software.) |
|
|
|
One or more CommCell(s) is not reachable or has never been synchronized. | CommNet node in the CommNet Browser CommNet Tree |
Each user can establish several CommNet Browser preferences which are applied at each login. These preferences, which are explained below, are established when disconnecting from the CommNet Browser using File | Disconnect and selecting to save User Preferences in the displayed prompt.
The following options can be set in the Login dialog box, accessed from File | Login:
The User Preferences dialog box displays the preferences established during the previous login session, including:
If you chose to save your user preferences at the end of your last login session, the CommNet Browser retains the report filter options that were selected during that session. This allows you to quickly generate routinely used reports during each login without the need to re-enter the filter criteria. You can choose whether or not to use these preferences when prompted during login.
The CommNet Browser has been designed to integrate as smoothly as possible with your work environment. To change the style of the CommNet Browser, from the Menu Bar, select View, then Style, then select one of the following styles:
The CommNet server retains the last synchronized cell information as part of user preferences, which is useful for those who regularly synchronize cells. For more information, see Synchronize Cells.
The software provides several facilities to create or edit comments for many CommNet entities. These comments can include a description of the entity itself, special notes for users of the entity, or any other details about the entity that may be of use.
Comments will be automatically pushed to the selected entity once they are saved provided no changes were made to the comment by the entity's user since the last cell synchronization. If an entity's comment was changed after the last cell synchronization, the CommNet user will receive a pop-up message stating that the original comment had been modified. Once the next cell synchronization is complete, the CommNet user may then proceed to make the desired changes to the comment. (See Synchronize Cells for step-by-step instructions on manually synchronizing a cell.)
Note that when a comment is edited for a specific entity, the existing comment is automatically overwritten once the comment is saved. As such, it is recommended that any new comments added be appended to the existing comments. Doing so preserves the history of the comments created throughout the entity's use for future reference.
The following sections describe the areas in which comments can be created or edited.
The Comment Editor window provides the facility to view and edit comments for a CommCell's CommServe, client computers, and storage resources. Comments can be edited by any user with access to the entity selected.
See Add or Edit Comments using the Comment Editor Window for step-by-step instructions.
In addition to the Comment Editor, comments can also be added or edited by right-clicking on the chosen entity and selecting Add Comment. As with the Comment Editor, the Add Comment dialog box displays the original comment, if one exists, and provides space to type a new comment.
See Add or Edit Comments for a Specific Entity for step-by-step instructions.
Comments can be added or edited for select summaries. The following summaries provide the facility to add or edit comments:
Each summary provides a comment editor field in the General section. In addition to providing space to add or edit a comment, an option to Include Comment in Save/Print/Export/Email is provided.
See Add or Edit Comments in Summaries for step-by-step instructions.
The VaultTracker Actions Monitor provides the facility to view information about any VaultTracker actions existing throughout each CommCell.
Included in the VaultTracker Actions Monitor are:
When an action is double-clicked, the action's details are displayed. This dialog box provides a more comprehensive look at the characteristics of the action, media barcode, state, current location and more.
When the VaultTracker Action Monitor is opened, all VaultTracker actions are immediately refreshed and will continue to refresh every two minutes for as long as the VaultTracker Action Monitor is open. When the VaultTracker Action Monitor is not open, VaultTracker actions are refreshed every 20 minutes by default. You can change this interval using the Cell Data Collection Policy dialog box. See Data Collection for more information on configuring data collection.
The VaultTracker Actions Monitor is accessible by selecting the VaultTracker Action Monitor node in the selected CommCell's Task List.
For a comprehensive look at all the VaultTracker operations occurring in one or more CommCells, the VaultTracker report can be generated. You can also view comprehensive information on media throughout multiple CommCells by generating the Media Information report. Both reports are accessible under the Reports | Media Management node in the CommNet Tree.
The CommNet Browser provides several additional features useful in administering the CommNet domain:
Relevant additional information is provided as tool tips in all charts and tables.
The Job and Resource Views also provide a Flags column, which is
located on the left-hand side of the window. The Flags
column displays a
icon for any running jobs that encounter one of the following scenarios:
If neither of the above scenarios are present, the Flags column will remain empty.
Failures, such as CommCells that are not reachable or storage resources that are not operational, are displayed with a hyperlink to more detailed information about the particular failure.
If a job in the CommCell has not completed successfully, the Job Details dialog box for that job will provide a hyperlinked Error Code which links to available troubleshooting and knowledgebase article(s) relevant to that error from the customer support website. These articles may include special considerations for the type(s) of job(s) you are running, suggested workarounds for issues, and common causes for that particular error.
If an error code pertains to more than one issue, the customer support website will display links to all articles for which the code is relevant. Conversely, if an error code does not have any articles associated with it, the customer support website will display a message indicating that no articles exist for that code.
Note the following when obtaining troubleshooting articles using error codes:
See View Troubleshooting Article(s) Available from the Customer Support Website for step-by-step instructions.
When an update is received from a CommCell, the CommNet Browser changes the following to inform you that an update has arrived:
When a node in the tree is selected, a pop-up message appears with an option to refresh the selected node and all corresponding windows. The pop-up messages are optional and can be disabled in the CommNet Browser Options dialog box.
Clicking this icon (or pressing the F5 key) will update the most recent information on the specific summary, but will not update the entire node.
As CommCells are registered/unregistered, a pop-up message will be displayed.
Select About from the Help menu to display the version number and update information of the software installed on the computer.
When viewing a report in the CommNet Browser, you can copy any chart to the clipboard in .bmp format by right-clicking the chart and selecting Copy Chart. This allows you to easily copy a chart into other applications. Note that the Copy Charts function is not compatible with Microsoft WordPad.
