Need a special offer?Find out if your project fits.
+
  1. API reference
  • Introduction
  • Connecting to Data Source
    1. Supported data sources
    2. Connecting to other data sources
  • Browser compatibility
  • Documentation for older versions
  • Table of contents

    Getting started with Flexmonster Data Server

    This walkthrough describes how to install Flexmonster Data Server. Flexmonster Pivot can be downloaded here.

    Note that this guide is focused on using Flexmonster Data Server as a Windows/Unix service. If you need to reference the Data Server as a DLL, see the following section: The Data Server as a DLL.

    The main benefits of using the Data Server as a Windows/Unix service are:

    • It has a convenient graphical user interface — Flexmonster Admin Panel.
    • It runs in the background and out of sight.
    • It starts automatically on operating system startup.
    • It’s hard for a user to inadvertently quit the application.

    Prerequisites

    • Flexmonster CLI
      Install it with the following command:
      npm install -g flexmonster-cli

    To start using the Data Server, follow these guides:

    Installing Flexmonster Data Server

    Flexmonster Data Server is available for the following operating systems:

    • Windows (32-bit and 64-bit)
    • Ubuntu/Linux (64-bit and ARM64)
    • macOS (64-bit and ARM64)

    Flexmonster CLI downloads the appropriate version of the Data Server depending on your operating system.

    To install the Data Server, run the following CLI command:

    flexmonster add fds -r

    The flexmonster add fds command does the following:

    • Downloads the .zip archive with Flexmonster Data Server.
    • Automatically unpacks the files in the current folder. As a result, the flexmonster-data-server/ folder will appear in your working directory.

    The -r option, which stands for --run, installs the Data Server as a Windows/Unix service and then runs it. Besides, it installs and runs Flexmonster Admin Panel — a graphical user interface for the Data Server.

    Now the Data Server is installed as a service on your machine.

    Package structure

    Let’s have a look at the flexmonster-data-server/ folder’s structure:

    On Windows

    • Flexmonster-Admin-Panel.exe — the executable file to install Flexmonster Admin Panel.
    • flexmonster-data-server.exe — an executable version of Flexmonster Data Server.
    • service-install.bat — the executable file to install the Data Server as a service.
    • service-uninstall.bat — the executable file to uninstall the Data Server as a service.
    • flexmonster-config.json — the Flexmonster Data Server configuration file. It contains a configured ready-to-use CSV data source "sample-index".
      Note that this file will be used only if the Data Server is run as a console application. The Data Server as a service uses another configuration file generated by Flexmonster Admin Panel.
    • sample-data/data.csv — the file with sample CSV data to create "sample-index". It will be used only if the Data Server is run as a console application.

    On macOS

    • Flexmonster-Admin-Panel.dmg — the file to install Flexmonster Admin Panel.
    • flexmonster-data-server — an executable version of Flexmonster Data Server.
    • service-install — the executable file to install the Data Server as a service.
    • service-uninstall — the executable file to uninstall the Data Server as a service.
    • flexmonster-config.json — the Flexmonster Data Server configuration file. It contains a configured ready-to-use CSV data source "sample-index".
      Note that this file will be used only if the Data Server is run as a console application. The Data Server as a service uses another configuration file from Flexmonster Admin Panel.
    • sample-data/data.csv — the file with sample CSV data to create "sample-index". It will be used only if the Data Server is run as a console application.

    On Ubuntu/Linux

    • Flexmonster-Admin-Panel.AppImage — the file to install Flexmonster Admin Panel.
    • flexmonster-data-server — an executable version of Flexmonster Data Server.
    • service-install — the executable file to install the Data Server as a service.
    • service-uninstall — the executable file to uninstall the Data Server as a service.
    • flexmonster-config.json — the Flexmonster Data Server configuration file. It contains a configured ready-to-use CSV data source "sample-index".
      Note that this file will be used only if the Data Server is run as a console application. The Data Server as a service uses another configuration file from Flexmonster Admin Panel.
    • sample-data/data.csv — the file with sample CSV data to create "sample-index". It will be used only if the Data Server is run as a console application.

    Migrating existing configurations

    If you have already used the Data Server, you can import your existing configurations in Flexmonster Admin Panel:

    1. Open the Admin Panel.
    2. Go to the Settings tab.
    3. Scroll down and use Import configuration file functionality.

    See how it can be done:

    Migrate existing Data Server configurations to the Admin Panel

    Connecting to the Data Server

    Step 1. Embed the component into your webpage

    If Flexmonster is not yet embedded, set up an empty component in your webpage:

    In pure JavaScript

    Complete the Integrating Flexmonster guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:

    let pivot = new Flexmonster({
      container: "pivotContainer",
      componentFolder: "node_modules/flexmonster/",
      toolbar: true
    });

    In Angular

    Complete the Integration with Angular guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:

    <fm-pivot
     [toolbar]="true">
    </fm-pivot>

    In React

    Complete the Integration with React guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:

    <FlexmonsterReact.Pivot
     toolbar={true}
    />

    In Vue

    Complete the Integration with Vue guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:

    <Pivot
     toolbar
    />

    Step 2. Configure the report

    To connect to Flexmonster Data Server, configure the report as follows:

    let pivot = new Flexmonster({
      container: "pivotContainer",
      componentFolder: "node_modules/flexmonster/",
      toolbar: true,
      report: {
        dataSource: {
          type: "api",
          url: "http://localhost:9500",
          index: "sample-index"
        }
      }
    });

    Note The "sample-index" is the index predefined in the Admin Panel.

    Open the webpage in the browser: the pivot table with the sample CSV data is shown.

    What’s next?

    You may be interested in the following articles: