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 Data Server can be installed with Flexmonster CLI — a command-line interface tool for Flexmonster. Install the CLI globally using npm:

npm install -g flexmonster-cli

Now a new flexmonster command is available in the console. Learn more about Flexmonster CLI and its commands in our documentation.

To start using the Data Server, follow these guides:

Installing Flexmonster Data Server
Migrating existing configurations
Connecting to the Data Server

Installing Flexmonster Data Server

Flexmonster Data Server is available for the following operating systems: Windows (both 32-bit and 64-bit), Ubuntu/Linux, and macOS.

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.

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

Flexmonster-Admin-Panel.exe – the executable file to install the Flexmonster Admin Panel.
flexmonster-data-server or flexmonster-data-server.exe for Windows – an executable version of Flexmonster Data Server.
service-install or service-install.bat for Windows – the executable file to install the Data Server as a service.
service-uninstall or service-uninstall.bat for Windows – 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". It will be used only if the Data Server is run as a console application.
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:

Open the Admin Panel.
Go to the Settings tab.
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 web page

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

In pure JavaScript

Complete the Quick start guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:

var pivot = new Flexmonster({
    container: "pivotContainer",
    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
 ref="pivot"
 toolbar>
</Pivot>

Step 2. Configure the report

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

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

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

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

What’s next?

You may be interested in the following articles: