Xtraction: Frequently Asked Questions

Overview
1.

What is Xtraction?
An interactive status reporting and dashboard solution that allows the right information to be presented to
the right staff. A non-technical end-user can quickly create and design interactive dashboards and reports
via drag-and-drop and share with the broader user community for immediate access.

2.

What are the benefits of Xtraction?

i) It offers an easy-to-use and intuitive interface which requires minimal education.
ii) Our drag-and-drop approach to dashboard and report design minimizes the time and effort needed to
build dashboards and distribute them to other users.
iii) Dashboard drill-down capability allows users to be more aware of data and access the levels of
information they need without the need to employ technical staff.
iv) A light footprint and quicker install time allow quicker ROI and leverage of investment.
v) Out-of-box adapters that have pre-mapped tables and fields of the data sources you wish to report
against.

3.

Who would benefit from Xtraction dashboards?

Xtraction provides insights to the data trapped within application databases and presents them as useful,
business oriented dashboards and reports. Benefits span across many areas within both the IT organization
(help desk, change management, asset management, auditors, operations and senior management) and
business focused community.

4.

Who can access Xtraction?

Xtraction is accessed via the browser, which allows easy access to every user. Xtraction will also be available
on the iPad at the end of 2011.

5.

How do I create a dashboard with Xtraction?

Creating a dashboard is done by selecting the desired components and format and dragging them into the
dashboard. These components can be charts or grids and can display in grouping or date-oriented formats.
Anyone who can use a mouse can create a dashboard with Xtraction in only minutes.

6.

Can I save a dashboard and allow other users to access it?

Yes, Designers can save dashboards into private or shared folders. These folders can also be secured or
access-restricted to authorized users.

7.

Does Xtraction allow me to interact and drill-down through the dashboard?

Yes, you can interact with dashboard components, see values and record lists. You can also cross-filter
components in context of values within the dashboard. This enables analysis and drill-down into the
underlying data.

8.

What systems does Xtraction connect to?

A full list of out-of-box connectors is available. These, along with some of our demos, can be viewed at
www.xtractionsolutions.com/xtraction

9.

Can I connect multiple systems to Xtraction?

Yes, data from disparate systems can be displayed into the same dashboard. You can also control who can
access the data within the dashboards via security Data Policies.
10. What is displayed in the Xtraction interface as far as data from these applications?
Xtraction maps all fields and tables within a data source, and displays the fields with a real-world label into
the interface. This makes for easier identification of exactly what fields you may need to build a dashboard
or a report.
11. Can I access underlying applications in context of the records after I have drilled down in Xtraction?
Yes, where the native application allows, you can invoke these applications in the context of the records.

End-users
12. Does Xtraction display real-time information?
Yes, each time you access a dashboard Xtraction will re-source the required data from the data source(s).
13. Is there an ability to automatically refresh the dashboard?
Yes, there is an auto refresh function that can be set to update the dashboard from one to ten minute
intervals. There is also a manual refresh button and you can setup multiple dashboards to automatically
cycle through display and refresh screens.
14. Can I display data from multiple systems in the same dashboard?
Yes, and even on the same charts.
15. Can data be displayed based on Date and Time?
Yes, the Date/Time selection list allows you to quickly choose many pre-set time periods. Pre-sets range
from Last 10 minutes through Days, Weeks, Months, and also Last Year, This Year.
You can also build dashboards with dynamic dates such as; Last Week, This Week, Next Month, which allows
those dashboards to always display data in the context of the ranges you want without having to readjust
them each time a period changes There is also the option to easily hard code date ranges.
16. Can I display comparative data from different time lines?
Yes, information with different time lines can be displayed on the same chart.
17. Can I export the dashboard components?
Yes, a variety of popular formats are available for the export of dashboards and/or selected components and
record lists. You can even save a screen shot of complete and partial dashboards.
18. Can I export information from the dashboards?
Yes, depending upon the component involved, you can export into HTML, XLS, PDF, PNG, RTF, MS
PowerPoint, MS Word, etc.., or export as a screenshot image.
19. Can I export dashboards to reports?
Yes, the Document Designer function allows multiple dashboard components to be exported to your predefined MS Word template. Such templates can be pre-built with title, logos, corporate branding, table of
contents etc. and loaded into Xtraction to have the dashboard components populate it whenever an export
is generated. Documents can also be scheduled.
20. Can I build reports and export them?
Yes, the Document Designer function allows multiple components to be placed into Document, exported to
various formats. Custom reports can be built from entering raw SQL queries and formatted as desired for
export.
21. Can I schedule reports?

Yes, Document Designer allows preconfigured reports to be scheduled at desired times to ensure data is
captured when needed.

Administration
22. Are there different levels of access within Xtraction? Can I restrict who can create and who can view
dashboards?
Certainly. There are five levels of user access you can define within Xtraction; Administrator, Enterprise
Designer, Designer, Private Designer and Viewer. Each level has its own level of functionality.
23. Can I customize the Xtraction interface?
Yes. Customization of colors and column display fields settings can be addressed at two levels:
i) Group level by an Administrator.
ii) Personal level by any end-user. These personal settings override the group level settings.
24. Does Xtraction cater to users in different time zones?
Yes, through both group defined time zones and by individual users.
25. Is there an audit trail for updates made to folders and dashboards by Administrator level users?
Yes, every insert/update/delete on the dashboard database is logged.
26. Where are users authenticated?
Either against the Xtration database or against an Active Directory installation within your environment.

Security
27. Can I restrict what dashboards Viewers can see?
Yes, dashboards can be saved into secure folders that are only accessible by assigned users and/or user
groups.
28. Can I restrict the data users can see within dashboards?
Yes, Data Policies allow for stringent control of what fields and tables various Viewers can see.
29. Can I restrict what data sources Designers can build dashboards from?
Yes, your Data Policies also control such level of data access.
30. Once Xtraction is installed, what needs to be done to allow dashboards to be built?
After spending a few minutes to run the discovery and population process of the data source, Xtraction
establishes the most commonly used fields to automatically build filters etc Once this is done, dashboards
can be built immediately via drag-and-drop.
31. Can I define custom filters easily?
Yes, via both drop-downs and selection lists of the available fields. There is a wide range of filter arguments
available and nested queries can also be built. Filters can be kept private or shared to other users.

Licensing and Requirements

Contact us for detailed information on licensing options and hardware/software system requirements.

Xtraction runs on the MS Windows platform, is built on .NET technology, and supports the Windows IIS web
server environment.
Xtraction can be installed within a virtual VMware environment, and you can easily schedule either a quick
yet thorough demonstration or a free, fully-functional, 30-day trial (against your own test, production or
other data.) Such trials take less than an hour to set up.

Database
32. How does Xtraction connect to the application databases?
Xtraction uses a connection string and read-only userID to connect to application databases. This
information is configured during Xtraction install.
33. Does Xtraction cater to adding custom and proprietary database fields?
Absolutely, this is easily addressed via the Data Model Manager.
34. What databases can Xtraction connect to?
Oracle, Sybase, Informix, and MS SQL server are supported databases.
35. Does Xtraction place much overhead on the application database?
No. The processing and data collection of Xtraction has been highly optimized to ensure overhead is kept to
an absolute minimum. Xtraction has sub-second response and performance and can source large volumes of
information without any detected overhead on the database.