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Frequently asked questions

We will keep this page up-to-date with frequently upcoming questions. If you have a problem or issue with your dashboard, please use the issue function of the simple dashboard to report errors.

What is the minimal version of a dashboard?

The minimal version is the auto-generated SimpleDashboard, which can be generated here: DashboardGenerator

What should the minimal version of my desktop contain?

The minimal version should contain a minimal selection of static content of your demonstrator.

  • ContactCard
  • 2x Textboxes
  • 2x Images

The user should become a basic understanding of your project by looking at it for a short period of time.

Who updates my dashboard?

If you do not touch the code of your SimpleDashboard, we will take care of everything. But if you do so, your dashboard will automatically become an AdvancedDashboard.

What is an AdvancedDashboard?

All dashboards with modifications exceeding the integrated editor are called AdvancedDashboards. You should be familiar with Git and Gitlab to proceed.

They can contain multiple pages, visualizations and data sources and have to be updated manually.

Which knowledge is required for creating a dashboard for my project?

You don't need any advanced knowledge for the creation of a dashboard. The minimal version can be generated by using our provided DashboardGenerator and by filling the requested fields.

If you want to show interactive elements, you should have basic knowledge about the following topics:

  • HTML
  • CSS (media queries, classes)
  • Javascript (jQuery, HTTP-Requests)
  • C# (optional)

If you want to work with data you should have a basic understanding of object-oriented programming.

Do I need a specific software? Can you recommend one?

No, you don't need any special software for creating a dashboard. The generation process is triggered via a Web-Application and all code changes can be performed in the Gitlab WebIDE or via the integrated Markdown-Editor in the Generator.

What is Gitlab?

GitLab is a web-based software that allows the management of Software projects and source code. It comes with the local installation of git for version control.

About the editing

Visual Studio 2017/2019

Visual Studio is an Integrated Development Environment for developing and debugging various kinds of software projects. We use Visual Studio 2017 for the development of our WebApps. On the Getting Started page we offer a quick tutorial on how to start developing.

Please keep in mind, that Visual Studio 2015 is not suitable for developing Apps for/with Dotnet Core/ASP.Net Core. In this case you should consider upgrading to a newer version or to use Visual Studio Code.

Furthermore we want you to understand, that the usage of the Community edition for developing is not permitted. Please contact your IT department for the Profession Editions, if they are not yet installed on your device

Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is a free Text editor developed by Microsoft. It can be enhanced by a tremendous plugin structure. See the Getting Started page for a tutorial on how to use it for developing you dashboard.

HTML-Editor

Your online SimpleDashboards can be edited using the Web-Editor. Just put in the content you want to. You can also add HTML-based strings to add additional formatting/functions.

Which language should I use?

All dashboards for AWK should use English as their primary language.

My Umlauts in a .json file / ContactCard are displayed by cryptic icons - what should I do?

Save the whole document in UTF-8 encoding by using Visual Studio Code. This error most likely occurs by saving *.json - files in Visual Studio 2017, which uses a different format.

What resolutions should my images and design elements have?

The following resoltutions are generally minimum values - consider using this or a higher resolution.

Where can I create a QR-Code and which data should it contain?

The QR-Code in the ContactCard is for providing a fast and easy way to save the contact data of a project. We use https://www.qrcode-generator.de/ to create QR-Codes for each dashboard. The data is a vCard including your name, the institution name and your mail/phone.

Which audience do I have?

Your audience has limited time and may lack detailed knowledge of your research field. Handle their time in a respectful way and don't waste it by providing overloaded dashboards. Take care, that your dashboard may needs a human assistant to help understanding complex topics.

How do I keep my dashboard up-to-date

Most basic maintence stuff is performed by us. You don't have to care about hosting process, as long as you commited your changes to the master-Branch and the pipeline finishes succesfully.

Which database should I use? Can you recommend one?

We provide a fully-managed MongoDB instance in the Fraunhofer Cloud, also known as VFK (Virtual Fortknox). See here for detailed instructions.

We also provide a MariaDB (SQL) in a separate virtual machine (VM). See here for detailed instructions.

What is MongoDB?

MongoDB is a No-Sql-Database, which means that it is not organized like traditional SQL databases in organizes tables, but in so-called documents which are described by BSON (JSON-like binary encoded format for better performance). There is no predefined structure and no complex database schemas have to be created before starting to collect data.

A typical MongoDB instance consists of the following types of elements:

  • Databases: Typical each dashboard has a single database for itself. It gets automatically generated during the creation process by the DashboardGenerator. It should at least contain a single collection.
  • Collections: A database can have multiple collections, each with a different stored type of document. The objects in a collection are called documents and have a similar structure to each other. MongoDB automatically creates an index if none is defined by the developer. It is typically denoted as _id.
  • Documents: A document contains the JSON-like encoded data structure filled with one or multiple data fields.
  • Fields: Each field contains a single data value.

Tags: database, data storage, mongodb

I cant't access the provided MongoDB - what should I do?

Please check, that the following conditions are met:

  • Access to VFK network via Aruba VPN client
  • Correct login data (URL, Port)

Can I use another backend like Angular, React or Node.JS?

Yes and No - we strongly control that the provided pipeline stays in shape, our provided ipt_dashboards.css - file is used to ensure a constant user experience and that all dashboards are packed as a docker container. Please contact us, before implementing your own solution.

I have already implemented a fancy dashboard or app by using another framework - what now?

First, you should reflect yourself whether your implementation is a good choice for being displayed on an exhibtion. What is your target group? Will they stay long enough on your demonstrator to understand the basic idea and concepts behind?

Usually, you will come to the conclusion that you can reduce the amount of displayed information to a minimum. Therefor a reimplementation as a dashboard is not that much of work and can be done in a fraction of time you have spend in creating your demonstrator itself. If you think, that you don't have to reduce your solution, you should take a look at iFrames.

How can I restart my dashboard manually?

You can restart your dashboard by hand, if you perform the following steps:

  • Navigate to your Gitlab project
  • Go to CI/CD section (left nav menu)
  • Open the Pipelines section
  • Push the Run Pipeline button
  • Select masterbranch
  • Press Run Pipeline button

Your pipeline is triggered and the full build and deploy process starts again. Please note, that all deploy steps are only performed when runing a pipeline for the master branch. You can change this, by modifying the .gitlab.ci.yml file in your project.

Is there a restart policy for my dashboard?

All dashboards will restart automatically after crashing. This is realized by a docker restart flag --restart always.

Click here for more information.

Additionally we will restart all dashboards automatically after 7 days, usually on sundays. You can deactivate this, by deactivating the scheduled Nightly build and restart-Job in your corresponding Gitlab project.

I can't clone code / my project from GitLab

There are at least two login methods: Auth via Username (FraunhoferId, e.g. mm1234567) or Oauth2 / Authentification via Token

Tags: Authentification, Gitlab, Credentials, Cloning

Method 1: Authentification via Username and Password

You may reset your Git Credential Manager to enter valid login data.

Method 2: Oauth2 / Private Access Token

  • Create a new Personal Access Token in Gitlab See here
  • Enter "oauth2" as your username
  • Use your generated token as your password

You can clone your project via the following command to your machine:

RWTH/WZL: $ git clone https://oauth2:<your-token>@git-ce.rwth-aachen.de/<your-project>.git

Fraunhofer: $ git clone https://oauth2:<your-token>@gitlab.cc-asp.fraunhofer.de/<your-project>.git

How can I create a new PAT (Personal Access Token)?

You can find the official Docs here. Otherwise you can use the appended instructions.

  1. Select Access Tokens in User Settings.

    pat1

  2. Enter a name of your choice and select the read_repository and write_repository options. Click on Create personal access token.

    pat2

  3. Your created access token gets displayed. Copy it so a safe location. You will not be able to request it again.

    pat3

  4. You can revoke/delete your token by clicking the `Revoke button.

    pat4

Tags: Token, Clone, Authentification, Login

How can I switch the display order of my SimpleDashboard in mobile view?

The item order of images and textboxes in your SimpleDashboard can be changed, by editing the ~YourDashboard/wwwroot/js/index.js file.

The order of items is defined by the following code:

        //re-add them in desired order
        /*
         * [ second | cell ][ ContactCard]
         * [ first  | cell ][ ContactCard]
         */

        var firstRow = document.getElementById("secondCell")
        firstRow.appendChild(img1div);
        firstRow.appendChild(text2div);

        var secondRow = document.getElementById("firstCell");
        secondRow.appendChild(img2div);
        secondRow.appendChild(text1div);

What are the environments for the online version?

The online version runs in a containerized linux machine, with english locale. This espacially means:

  • Filenames are case-sensitive (other than Windows)
  • Default serialization of numbers/dates is different (e.g. 1.25 instead of 1,25) - Hint: Use InvarianCulture in your Code to be independent

I have an advanced dashboard, but my contact card contents are not the same as in the local version

The folders assets and archive are overriden in the online version. To change the contents of the contact card, you need to perform the changes via the edit mode (recommended) or hard code it into the dashboard code (not recommended)

I have no team members, but my contact card shows "Team" with an empty list

Please refresh the page and refresh the cache (in most browsers ctrl+F5 or shift+F5), that should do the trick.