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CAST AI Administrators

Summary: This page provides instructions for configuring tags and categories for filtering data in the Health Dashboard.

When your Health Dashboard contains multiple Applications, It is possible to "group" these Applications using Categories and Tags. These Categories and Tags can then be used to "filter" your dashboard display - i.e. you can choose to only see results from Applications that have certain Tags and Categories assigned to them. Tags and Categories work best in situations where you have multiple Applications consolidated in your dashboard and you want to filter them using your own terms.

Automatic assignment

By default, CAST will automatically assign the Category "Technologies" and the technology "Tags" to your Applications. In other words (and for example), Applications containing Cobol source code will be tagged with "Cobol" in the "Technologies" Category. You can see this in action here:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > tag_categories.jpg

You can extend this automatic tagging system as described below enabling you to filter your data more easily.

Manual assignment

If you have multiple Applications and need to filter the data they contain more easily then you can do so manually.

Categories/Sub-categories/tags

You can define Categories, Sub-categories and Tags - take the following example:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > tags_categories_example.jpg

In other words, you can define:

a simple Category > Tag relationship
a more complex Category > Sub-Category > Tag relationship

Note that the above configuration can be created by using the Get an example button in the Edit tab (see below).

Editing your configuration

To edit your own Categories/Sub-categories/Tags, you first need to load a special "static" page in the Health Dashboard:

http://<server>:<port>/CAST-AAD/static/tags.html

Each section in the page must be used in the specified order as described below:

1) Login

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > tag1.jpg

You first need to login to the Health Dashboard with a user that has the ADMIN role (see HD - Configuring user authentication):

Enter the user name and password
Click the Login button
If the login is successful, the next step will be displayed.

2) Select a domain

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > tag2.jpg

Assuming your Health Dashboard is using the AAD "domain" (unless you have specifically modified this it will use "AAD"), choose the default "AAD" domain in the drop down list box.
The next step will be displayed.

3) Set categories and tags

This section governs the creation of your Categories/Sub-Categories and Tags. There are two methods you can use to create the Categories and Tags:

Tree-view > this option is by far the easiest method and allows you to use a GUI to create the required Categories and tags
CSV > this option is a manual editor that you can use to create bulk Categories and Tags using Excel imports

The examples below show both methods.

Example 1 - Adding a simple category and tag

If you want to create a simple Category > Tag relationship, then you can do so as follows. We will create a Country Category and two Tags (UK and France):

Tree-view

Click Add button next to Add Category

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview1.jpg

Select the newCategory(0) that will now be displayed:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview2.jpg

Enter the name for the Category (Country in this example), then click the Update button:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview3.jpg

Select the Country category
Now click the Add button next to Add Tag:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview4.jpg

Select the newTag(0) that will now be displayed
Enter the name for the Tag (UK in this example), then click the Update button:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview5.jpg

Select the Country category again
Now click the Add button next to Add Tag
Select the newTag(0) that will now be displayed
Enter the name for the Tag (France in this example), then click the Update button
You should now see the following:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview6.jpg

Now click the Save button:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > save.jpg

The Category Key and Item Key IDs will be populated automatically and the Categories will be added to section 4. Assign tags to Applications
See Example 1 - Adding a simple category and tag below for more information about what you now need to do in 4. Assign tags to Applications

CSV

Click the Get AppMarq Example button and then remove everything except the first line
On the second line enter the Category name (Country in this example)
Followed by two semi-colons (this is to leave a space for the Category Key ID)
Followed by the word TAG
Followed by the first Tag name (UK)
Followed by one semi-colon to finish (an Item Key ID will be added after this semi-colon)
On a new line enter the Category name (Country in this example)
Followed by two semi-colons (this is to leave a space for the Category Key ID)
Followed by the word TAG
Followed by the first Tag name (France)
Followed by one semi-colon to finish (an Item Key ID will be added after this semi-colon):

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > simple_cat_tags.jpg

Now click the Save button. The Category Key and Item Key IDs will be populated automatically and the Category will be added to section 4. Assign tags to Applications
Now use the Tree-view tab to check that the configuration is as you require:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview6.jpg

See Example 1 - Adding a simple category and tag below for more information about what you now need to do in 4. Assign tags to Applications

Example 2 - Adding a category, sub category and tag

If you want to create a Category > Sub-category > Tag relationship, then you can do so as follows. We will create a Region Category, two Sub-categories (North America and Europe) and two Tags (US and France):

Tree-view

Click Add button next to Add Category

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview1.jpg

Select the newCategory(0) that will now be displayed:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview2.jpg

Enter the name for the Category (Region in this example), then click the Update button.
Select the Country category
Now click the Add button next to Add Category again (this will add a sub-category):

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview7.jpg

Select the newCategory(0) that will now be displayed
Enter the name for the sub-category (Europe in this example), then click the Update button.
Select the Region category again
Now click the Add button next to Add Category again (this will add another sub-category)
Select the newCategory(0) that will now be displayed
Enter the name for the sub-category (North America in this example), then click the Update button. You should now see this:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview8.jpg

Select the Europe sub-category
Now click the Add button next to Add Tag:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview4.jpg

Select the newTag(0) that will now be displayed
Enter the name for the Tag (France in this example), then click the Update button:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview5.jpg

Select the North America sub-category
Now click the Add button next to Add Tag
Select the newTag(0) that will now be displayed
Enter the name for the Tag (US in this example), then click the Update button.
You are now complete:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview9.jpg

Now click the Save button.

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > save.jpg

The Category Key and Item Key IDs will be populated automatically and the Categories will be added to section 4. Assign tags to Applications
See Example 2 - Adding a category, sub category and tag below for more information about what you now need to do in 4. Assign tags to Applications

CSV

Create the Category and Sub-categories

On a new line enter the Category name (Region in this example)
Followed by two semi-colons (this is to leave a space for the Category Key ID)
Followed by the word CATEGORY
Followed by the first Sub-category name (North America)
Followed by one semi-colon to finish (an Item Key ID will be added after this semi-colon)
On a new line enter the Category name (Region in this example)
Followed by two semi-colons (this is to leave a space for the Category Key ID)
Followed by the word CATEGORY
Followed by the first Sub-category name (Europe)
Followed by one semi-colon to finish (an Item Key ID will be added after this semi-colon).

Create the Tags

On a new line enter the first Sub-category name that you already created (North America in this example)
Followed by two semi-colons (this is to leave a space for the Category Key ID)
Followed by the word TAG
Followed by the first Tag name (US)
Followed by one semi-colon to finish (an Item Key ID will be added after this semi-colon)
On a new line enter the second Sub-category name that you already created (Europe in this example)
Followed by two semi-colons (this is to leave a space for the Category key ID)
Followed by the word TAG
Followed by the first Tag name (Europe)
Followed by one semi-colon to finish (an Item Key ID will be added after this semi-colon):

Now click the Save button. The Category Key and Item Key IDs will be populated automatically and the Categories will be added to section 4. Assign tags to Applications
Now use the Tree-view tab to check that the configuration is as you require:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > treeview9.jpg

See Example 2 - Adding a category, sub category and tag below for more information about what you now need to do in 4. Assign tags to Applications

4) Assign tags to applications

This section enables you to assign your Tags to your Applications, thereby making an Application belong to a certain Category.

Example 1 - Adding a simple category and tag

When you click the Save button in section 3), some data will be automatically displayed in this section. For example:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > tag4_assign.jpg

The first line contains REF, NAME and DB (for internal requirements) and all the Categories you have created. In the above example, there is only one Category: Country. You do not need to alter this line manually.
Each subsequent line refers to an Application that has been consolidated into the Health Dashboard (two Applications in the above example)
To assign a tag to an Application, simply modify each line referring to an Application by adding the Tag separated by a comma. For example I am going to assign the Tags "UK" and "France" to each of my Applications:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > tag4_add.jpg

When complete, click the Save button in the bottom left hand corner of the screen:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > tag4_save.jpg

Your modifications are now saved and can be viewed immediately:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > tags_complete.jpg

Ticking a manually created tag (or tags) will only display data for Applications that have been assigned that (or those) tags. You will also be shown how many Applications out of the total number of consolidated Applications are being displayed:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > tags_ticked.jpg

You can also use the Categories in certain drill-down pages:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > filter.jpg

Example 2 - Adding a category, sub category and tag

When you click the Save button in section 3), some data will be automatically displayed in this section. For example:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > tag4_assign2.jpg

The first line contains REF, NAME and DB (for internal requirements) and all the Sub-categories you have created. In the above example, there are two Sub-categories: Europe and North America. You do not need to alter this line manually.
Each subsequent line refers to an Application that has been consolidated into the Health Dashboard (two Applications in the above example)
To assign a tag to an Application, simply modify each line referring to an Application by adding the Tag separated by a comma. For example I am going to assign the Tags "US" and "France" to each of my Applications. The France tag will be assigned to the Europe sub-category and the US tag will be assigned to the North America sub-category - this achieved using the positioning of the semi-colons:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > tag4_add2.jpg

When complete, click the Save button in the bottom left hand corner of the screen:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > tag4_save2.jpg

Your modifications are now saved and can be viewed immediately:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > tags_complete2.jpg

Ticking a manually created tag (or tags) will only display data for Applications that have been assigned that (or those) tags. You will also be shown how many Applications out of the total number of consolidated Applications are being displayed:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > tags_ticked2.jpg

You can also use the Categories in certain drill-down pages:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > filter2.jpg

Tips

General

You do not have to assign a tag to an Application
You can assign multiple tags to the same Application: separate them using commas
A tag or category can only have ONE parent.
When you create multiple Categories, Section 4 will update accordingly when the Save button is clicked in Section 3:

In the example above, we now have two Categories: Country and Region. You can see that after the name of the Application (MEUDON) there are two semi-colons ";" - you should enter your tags in-between the appropriate semi-colon, separated by commas. For example we have assigned the Tags "UK" and "France" from the "Country" Category, as well as the Tag "Europe" from the "Region" Category.

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > multiple_categories2.jpg

AppMarq example

When using the CSV editing facility, it is possible to get an example Tag and Category configuration, based on the exact configuration used in CAST's AppMarq benchmarking facilty:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > appmarq.jpg

This button will open a popup as follows:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > appmarq2.jpg

You can use example to help create your own tag and category configuration.

Categories and Sub-categories

A category can be a parent of another category
A category must define items (at least one tag or one category)
A category has a unique name
A category cannot define both tags and categories
For a given category a tag has a unique name
Parent categories MUST NOT define circular relationships
A category cannot be empty
If you have created a category > sub-category relationship, it is only possible to assign tags to an Application via the sub-category, not the parent category

Using Excel

You can use Excel to help define your Categories/Sub-categories/Tags. This is particularly useful if you have created a large number of Categories/Sub-categories/Tags and you have multiple Applications:

Copy the content of the Edit tab (section 3. Set categories and tags) into the current clipboard.
Paste the result into the first cell in an Excel sheet.
Go to the "Data" section of Excel, select the first column, and select "Text To Columns" menu item.

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > excel1.jpg

A wizard will be displayed in Excel - choose the default "Delimited" option and click Next in the wizard

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > excel2.jpg

Select "Tab" and "Semicolon" as the delimiters and click Finish:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > excel4.jpg

Your data will be modified and re-organized with appropriate columns for each Category:

CAST AIP 8.3.x Documentation > HD - Tag and category management > excel3.jpg

You can now enter your Tags data in Excel (which is easier to use) and then copy and paste the updates back into 4. Assign tags to Applications - the correct delimiters will be used.
Remember to separate Tags with commas (not semi-colons) in a cell.
In addition, you can Save the Excel file so that you have a copy to re-use.