IMPORTANT: The following steps outline changes to a configuration file used by the BlackBerry Mobile Data Service. Please ensure you have a backup copy before making any changes to the original file.

In order for PINpoint to determine from which BlackBerry device a request is originating, the Mobile Data Service of your BlackBerry Enterprise Server must be configured to include the email address and PIN number with each HTTP request from the BlackBerry Browser. Follow these steps:

1. On the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, browse to MDS config subdirectory:
   • For Microsoft Exchange or Novell GroupWise, browse to: c:\program files\research in motion\blackberry enterprise server\MDS\servers\<server_name>\config\
   • For IBM Lotus Domino, browse to: c:\program files\research in motion\blackberry enterprise server\MDS\servers\instance\config\
2. Create a backup copy of the rimpublic.property file.
3. Open the rimpublic.property file with Notepad or a similar text editor.
4. Add the following lines to the end of the file:
   [HTTP HANDLER]
   application.handler.http.header=email,pin
5. Save the file.
6. Restart the BlackBerry Mobile Data Service from the BlackBerry Manager or Services control panel.

For PINpoint versions 2.6 and above.

We have created these Configuration Worksheets, to help users organize their ideas and assist in the definition of Documents, Collections and Channels.

PINpoint v2.x (versions below v3.0) require Microsoft .Net Framework v1.1, which is only available in 32-bit mode.

Please refer to our Technical Note, to enable 32-bit operation in a 64-bit server.

PINpoint v2.5 introduces a new feature that greatly enhances its value: the ability to "push" documents to BlackBerry devices, in addition to the traditional Contact Lists.

For example, this feature allows clients to ensure they always have access to the latest Emergency Manuals on their BlackBerry handhelds, even if the organization's systems are down or unreachable.

Using the PINpoint Management Console, the system administrator specifies the URL's of the documents to be pushed, and the sequence in which they will be presented on the handheld. Documents are grouped into Collections, which are then mapped to Groups of recipients. Groups are created dynamically by PINpoint, based on each person's attributes, as defined in the organization's BlackBerry server or Corporate Directory (e.g. Microsoft Active Directory or Novell eDirectory).

This design provides simplicity and flexibility, while greatly reducing or even eliminating the need for any additional maintenance, and ensures that users receive only the information that is relevant to them based on, for example, the city or department they work at, their job title, or they membership in specific groups.

For more information, please refer to our 2-page Product Summary, or watch our latest PINpoint videos in

Older versions of the BlackBerry browser (before v4.2) only cache images in PNG format (Portable Network Graphics). Avoid using jpg or gif image formats for mobile applications.

An ASP.net application deployed on a IIS6/IIS7 server runs under the identity defined at application pool level unless the current logged in user is impersonated programmatically. PINpoint never impersonates the current logged in user.

Microsoft's recommendation is to set the application pool to point to the built-in Network Service account. This account is a low privileged account that satisfies the rights required by a web application to function.

Because the Network Service account is a low privileged account it does not have rights to create/update any files on the file system. At run time PINpoint needs to be able to update application specific files that are stored in the Logs and Resources folders. At installation time PINpoint grants full rights to the Network Service account to the above mentioned folders in the file system (PINpointRootFolder\Logs and PINpointRootFolder\Resources).

The PINpoint application will open connections to the BES SQL Server every time:

• When data is pushed to BlackBerry devices
• When the PINpoint list is refreshed from the device side
• When the PINpoint Administrator is using the PINpoint management Console.

Please see below a description of how PINpoint interfaces with the BES SQL server:

1. PINpoint relies only on SQL authentication. Because of this the BES SQL server should be set-up to support Mixed Authentication.
2. At installation time PINpoint Standard Edition creates the following objects in the BESMgmt database:
   • A role called PINpoint_DataReader
   • Three in-line functions: USR_PINPOINT_GET_BLACKBERRY_USER, USR_PINPOINT_GET_BLACKBERRY_USERS, USR_PINPOINT_GET_CONTENT_LIST
   • The installer will grant SELECT rights to the above In-line functions to the PINpoint_DataReader role. [NB. in a more restricted environment this step could be skipped at installation time: the application ships with the actual SQL scripts that could be handed on to a DBA to run them manually.]
3. Our recommendation is to create a SQL Login that will be used by the PINpoint application to open connections to the BESMgmt database. This login at server level should be member of the public role and at BESmgmt database level should be mapped to a User that is member of the Public role and PINpoint_DataReader.
4. At PINpoint level at configuration time, the above login should be used to set-up the SQL Connection to the BESMgmt Database. This will limit the capabilities the PINpoint application has at SQL level to the three in-line functions specific to the PINpoint application.

1. PINpoint application needs to be able to reach the BES/MDS Server by name or IP Address over HTTP.
2. The server(s) where BES and MDS are hosted need(s) to be able to reach the web server where PINpoint is installed by Name.
3. PINpoint needs to be able to send a SQL Ping to the SQL Server (only applies to the Enterprise version for the secondary BES Database Servers).
4. Our recommendation is to host PINpoint on an internal server, not an external one.

[NB. a SQL Ping, as opposed to a normal ICMP Ping, will actually test if anything listens to port 1434 on the machine where the SQL Server is hosted].

Yes, you can specify override values for specified fields.

From the Management Console:

1. Set menu level to Pro or Expert
2. Go to Content >> Data Overrides
3. Use the Add New option
4. After saving, click Validate to make sure your conditions.

Yes, this is done by defining and mapping Content Scopes to Recipient Groups, as follows:

1. Go to the PINPoint Management Console and change the menu complexity level from Standard or Pro to Expert.
2. Go to the Recipients tab.
3. Go to Group Definition.
4. Add New Group.
5. Type a name for the new group and create an LDAP/SQL rule to identify the members of the group.
6. Go to Content
7. Go to Content Scope.
8. Type a name for the new Scope and create an LDAP/SQL rule to filter the content to be included in this Scope.
9. Go to Map Content to Recipient, and select the Content Scope for your Recipients Group.

Yes, PINpoint ships with three different layouts, which are picked at runtime based on each device model. The mapping of layouts to device models is done through the BBDevices.xsl file in the XSLT folder of the PINpoint subdirectory.

{0} is just a placeholder for a variable. When PINpoint generates the hyperlink for the field, the string {0} will be replaced by the value of the field.

Another example of a placeholder is the variable {email_user}.
 

The main feature included with PINpoint v2.2 is the support for Static Groups in addition to Dynamic Groups (which were introduced in PINpoint v2.1).

The application is now able to generate a contact list that is grouped based on predefined static groups. This allows the PINpoint user to further leverage the concept of master/details enabled by the grouping feature. 
 

PINpoint supports 2 types of groups:

• Dynamic Groups, e.g. grouping by City, Department, Manager, Title, Wireless Carrier, etc.
  • Grouping can be enabled by checking the “Grouped List?” checkbox under the Delivery >> Channel tab. Once enabled, PINpoint will create Dynamics Groups.
  • With Dynamic Groups the contacts are grouped according to the value of the first data column displayed in the list.
  • When Dynamic Groups are used, a contact will show up only once in the entire list (even if it belongs to more than one group). 
• Static Groups, e.g. grouping by alternate organizational structure (e.g. IMS/emergency teams), project teams, etc.
  • To use Static Groups check the “Enabled?” checkbox under the Static Groups section in the Delivery >> Channel tab (please note if Grouped List checkbox is not enabled the Static Groups settings are not displayed).
  • Once Static Groups are enabled, the contacts on the output list will be grouped based on the predefined list of Static Groups (defined using the Maintain Static Groups section under Delivery >> Channel).
  • To determine if a particular contact person is part of a Static Group or not, PINpoint uses the value of the first data field displayed on the list and checks if the value contains the Static Group name. The first data field on the list could be replaced with the Static Group name by checking the “Display Group Name” checkbox in the same section.
  • To accommodate contacts that belong to multiple Static Groups, the first data field may contain a delimited list of group names, separated by the token specified in the “Separator Token” textbox.
    • If the “Separator Token” textbox is left blank, PINpoint will use a "starts-with" condition to determine if a contact is a member of a Static Group.
    • If a Separator Token is entered, PINpoint will use a "contains" condition to determine if a contact is a member of a Static Group (e.g. ~StaticGroupName~ contained in the first data field of the list or test if the first field starts with StaticGroupName~).

PINpoint ships with a proof-of-concept for Static Groups, that allows you to create a Glossary-like contacts list out-of-the box. In order to do this follow these steps:

1. Go to Delivery >> Channel
2. Check the “Grouped List?” checkbox
3. Check the “Enabled?” checkbox under the Static Groups section
4. Ensure that “Display Group Names?” checkbox is unchecked
5. Ensure that “Separator Token” textbox is empty
6. Click the “Add Glossary Groups” button
7. Click the “Save” button to persist your changes
8. Ensure that the first column of your list (as defined in Content >> Data Fields) has the data field based on which you want to generate the Glossary (e.g. Name)
9. Go to Recipients >> List of Recipients
10. Click on the view button for one of the recipients to preview the list that will be pushed to that particular recipient.

[NB. for better performance on the handheld, PINpoint ships with the Grouping feature disabled by default (lists without grouping have the smallest footprint)]. 

PINpoint persists the configuration data in a file called PINpoint.ini under the Resources folder.

If insufficient file access rights are granted to the identity under which the PINpoint application runs, it will fail to persist the data.

Follow these steps to fix the problem: 

1. Find the identity under which PINpoint runs (in IIS Manager, look at application pool level>>Properties>>Identity)
2. At the file system level grant Write rights to the above identity for the Resources and Logs folders.

PINpoint can be configured to use either RIM’s “Push” technology or PAP (Push Application Protocol).

PINpoint ships with a command line utility that can invoke the push engine over HTTP. In order to push the content on a scheduled basis by default PINpoint relies on the Windows Task Scheduler. The command line utility can be run by any other scheduling utility you may currently have in place. In fact, the scheduling utility does not even have to be on the same server as the PINpoint application.

• Delivery >> Channel:
  • Exposed the mapping of design layouts to device models, through the management console.
  • By default all the device models are mapped to the Normal layout, this setting can be overridden through the Management Console.
  • PINpoint displays at run time all the device models defined in the organization’s BES server, and allows the PINpoint Administrator to map each device model to a specific layout.
  • Starting with version 2.1 PINpoint can push grouped lists. By default PINpoint ships with the Grouped List setting disabled. Through the management Console the PINpoint Administrator can enable grouping. Please keep in mind this is a general setting it applies to all existing device models.
  • By default PINpoint ships with the List Headers enabled, if desired the List Headers could be hidden. This feature is exposed through the Management Console, it is a general setting and it applies to all device models.
• Recipients >> List of Recipients:
  • In order to allow a PINpoint Administrator to visualize the list that will be pushed to a specific end user, a View option was add to the recipients list in the management console.
  • By default this option is enabled only on the Management Console, however through settings in the application’s configuration file (web.config) this option can be changed.
• General:
  • Enhanced the way the Pinpoint list is displayed on Bold and Storm devices.

• Content Enhancements:
  • Added support for multiple fields (from 4 fields before, to virtually unlimited now).
  • Hyperlinks can now be created referencing any of the data fields  (e.g {email_address}, {phone}, {department}).
  • Data field overrides now support static and dynamic values.
  • Field definition may include a static prefix in addition to the dynamic data.
  • Option to view and upload images to the application server via Management Console. Stock icons are included.
  • Fields may be flagged as Not Visible if they need to be referenced by a link but hidden from the user.
  • The Content>>Display list on the Mgmt Console displays all the visible fields in the order in which they are rendered on the client side, including column-cell position, and hyperlinks.
  • Five different contact list layouts available (defined as XSLT's).
• Delivery Enhancements:
  • Besides Channel and Message methods, lists can now be pushed directly to cache as Browser Content, i.e. totally transparent to end user.
• Logging Enhancements:
  • Client pull requests are now also logged.
  • Channel deletions are now also logged, whether deleted by end user or by server through management console.

• Added support for delivering richer content.
• Five contact list layouts available, for optimal display on different handheld models.
• Support for image link anchors.  A data field can now contain plain text, hyperlinked text, or hyperlinked images.
• Multiple fields (regardless of content type) can be merged into the same column cell.
• No restriction to the overall number of fields (previous versions supported 4 data fields).
• The content of a data field can be a combination of static text and variable values or static text and an image.
• Channel deletion tracking is enabled (deletion by end user or by server through management console).
• The pushed content does not have to be associated with a Channel or a Message.
• It can be pushed directly to the browser cache, making the pushed content completely transparent to the end user, while it could be referenced by a third-party application.

Do the following:

1. Go to the Blackberry Manager.
2. Click Servers.
3. Select BlackBerry MDS connection service.
4. In the right pane, set as a push server or check if it is not already configured as such.
5. Stop and restart the service.

Do the following:

1. Go to BlackBerry Manager.
2. Go to the Connection Service tab.
3. Click Edit Properties.
4. Click Push/PAP and on the drop down list, select True.
5. Click Ok.
6. Click Restart Service.

On most BlackBerry models:

1. Open BlackBerry browser
2. Click on Options
3. Go to Browser Configuration
4. Make sure the following are checked: Support for JavaScript; Support for Html tables; Support for Style Sheets; Content Mode WML & HTML
5. Save your changes.

At installation time, PINpoint attempts to create a local group called PINpointManagers and makes the current user (the installer's) account a member of this group.

The PINpoint installation automatically grants access rights to the local PINpointManagers group. This can be easily reconfigured through the applications's Web.config file (search for "authorization").

Please check if the group PINpointManagers was created on the local machine and the user you are trying to use is a member of it.

The steps required to upgrade the license are as follows:

1. Back-up the file called PINpoint.ini stored within the Resources folder under the root of the PINpoint application. 
2. Uninstall the current PINpoint version using the Add/Remove feature (the PINpoint configuration settings are not removed during this step).
3. Install the new PINpoint version with the new license key provided and it should pick up all the existing configuration settings.

[Note: you must have an active maintenance agreement to receive support and upgrades to PINpoint.]

Yes, but please keep in mind the following:

• Make sure that your scheduled push interval is shorter than your cache expiration time. If cache expiration time is too high and your push scheduler doesn't refresh often enough, your users could be working with outdated information.
• Conversely, if cache expiration time is too low and you don't refresh often enough, your users will loose access to the contact lists on their device until the next scheduled or manual push.
• You should also consider that during an outage or emergency your systems may not be available to push a fresh contact list, therefore depriving your users of the information when they need it most.
• Lastly, more frequent pushes translate to additional workload for your servers, traffic in your network, and cellular data usage.

Keeping the above in mind, to change cache expiration time:

1. Go to the PINpoint Management Console.
2. Go to the Delivery tab.
3. Under the Channel tab go to Cache Control and change the value there.
4. Press 'Save'

Note: The time is specified in seconds. The default is 6,048,000 sec (= 10 weeks).

Yes, by default the field column size is 15, but it can be modified as follows:

1. Open the PINpoint Management Console.
2. Click the Delivery tab.
3. Under the Channel tab, change the value for Column Width.
4. Press 'Save'

This can be especially helpful for viewing longer data values, like addresses. However, keep in mind that your users may have devices with different screen sizes.

PINpoint Standard Edition is able to collect information and push it to recipients residing in multiple BES/MDS servers, as long as those servers are all part of a single BlackBerry Domain.

In this case PINpoint should be setup to point to the BES/MDS server that is configured as the Master Push server, as it has all the information that PINpoint needs.

If your BES servers are configured as stand-alone (i.e. not part if the same BlackBerry Domain), then you will need to use the Enterprise Edition of PINpoint, and make sure that your IIS application server can see all BES/MDS Servers. Also note that, if you choose to display information from your Corporate Directory, all contacts must be defined in a common LDAP Directory.

PINpoint Enterprise and PINpoint Standard editions have similar features, and both are able to work with multiple BlackBerry Servers.

The main difference is that, when using multiple servers, PINpoint Standard requires all the servers to be defined in the same BlackBerry Domain, whereas PINpoint Enterprise supports users across multiple, separate BlackBerry Servers (BES/MDS). For a full comparison, please refer to this document.

Yes. This can be defined through the PINpoint Management Console by changing the mapping of Content Scopes to Recipient Groups.

Multiple mappings are also possible. For example, PINpoint could be configured to only provide users with contacts in their own department, while executives and disaster recovery personnel could be allowed to see contacts across all departments.

Yes. By default, PINpoint displays all contacts to all recipients, i.e. the Content Scope ALL is mapped to the Recipient Group ALL.

The Administrator, through the PINpoint Management Console, could target specific content to specific recipients by defining groups of contacts, and mapping the content to groups of recipients.
 

These selections can be made based on any attribute of the person or device, as defined in your BlackBerry Server or Corporate Directory.

Yes. The PINpoint list that each BlackBerry device receives is an aggregation based on all the Recipient Groups and Content Scopes with whom the user is associated.

For example if a person is an Executive and also a member of the Emergency Team, the person will receive a list that combines all the contacts that apply to both Executives and Emergency staff.

PINpoint itself doesn't have or set a limitation on the size of your contact list. You can push as many rows of contacts as your device or BES/MDS Server will allow.

However, since PINpoint pushes the contact list and stores it in the cache memory of your BlackBerry, it is not recommended to try to cache thousands of contacts, as this might affect your device performance, or you may run out of memory.

For details, please contact us for our reports on BlackBerry device benchmarks.

Yes. Press the BlackBerry menu key and select 'Find' (or just press 'F' on most BlackBerry models).

You can also use common BlackBerry keyboard shortcuts to navigate the list, including:

• 'F' to Find
• 'T' to go to Top of list
• 'B' to go to Bottom of list
• Space bar to go down one page
• Shift-Space bar to go up one page
• 'R' to refresh the contact list

Note that shortcut behaviour may vary by BlackBerry model; consult your user's manual.

Your PINpoint Administrator can change the default layout for each particular BlackBerry model, by grouping them in narrow, wide or standard, and assigning different templates to each type.

PINpoint ships with several layout templates that your Administrator can choose from. Alternatively, Tenet could create custom designs for you, or somebody with programming experience could modify the XSLT files (XML Stylesheets) to match your requirements. Please make sure you take a backup before making any changes!

Yes. Your Administrator can easily target customized contact lists to specific groups of recipients.

For example, Administrators can filter your contacts so that you see only your department, while another user can see the entire organization. This filtering can be done based on attributes of the target device (e.g. cellular carrier, model, memory, etc) or attributes of the person (e.g. department, city, title, etc).

Your PINpoint contacts are sorted by the first field that is displayed on the list, as per your Administrator's chosen configuration. By default this first field is the person's full name.

By changing the display order of the contact fields, an Administrator can make your contacts appear sorted alphabetically by city, department, or position/title.

Alternatively, starting with v2.1 of PINpoint, your Administrator can define groupings of contacts based on static or dynamic parameters.

To display properly PINpoint requires support for HTML tables, Style Sheets and JavaScript.

These features can be enabled at the BlackBerry device through the BlackBerry browser configuration settings. These settings can also be set centrally by an Administrator through a policy on your BlackBerry Server. For details, refer to our How-To document.

By default PINpoint stores four values for each contact displayed plus the links hidden under each field. By default, these fields are: Full Name, Mobile Phone Number, E-Mail Address and PIN Number.

The Administrator can easily customize PINpoint to provide additional information from BlackBerry Server or from your Corporate Directory. For example, PINpoint can display your contacts' office phone numbers, position titles, departments, or locations.

These information can be presented on the device using different layouts, and combinations of text or icons. The hyperlinks under each field can also be easily customized to, for example, open a map when you click on the zip/postal code of your contact.

No. PINpoint is a corporate application for organizations that use a BlackBerry Server to manage their mobile devices.

No additional maintenance is required.

Once it's configured, PINpoint will automatically collect and deliver the most up-to-date contact lists following the schedule you designated.

PINpoint collect its information from the authoritative sources of data:

• BlackBerry Enterprise Server: this is where your company already activates or deactivates BlackBerry devices.
• Corporate Directory: this is where your company already adds or removes people and organizational data.

By default, PINpoint displays information found on your BlackBerry Server, such as Full Name, Mobile Phone Number, PIN Number and E-Mail Address.

If you want to include additional information, such as other phone numbers, addresses, or departments, the PINpoint Administrator can configure it to retrieve that information from your corporate Directory (e.g. Microsoft Active Directory, Novell eDirectory, Lotus Notes Directory, or any other standard LDAP directory).

Alternatively, you could use our cDir product to create links from the PINpoint list to perform real-time queries against your Corporate Directory and display information such as title, department, groups, addresses, phones, reporting relationships, photos, etc. Note however that, unlike PINpoint, cDir does require your servers to be accessible (i.e. it is not recommended for BCP or CoOP scenarios).

When you do a BlackBerry lookup, your device needs to contact your BlackBerry Server. If your server or network become unavailable, for whatever reason, this information is not available and the lookup will fail.

PINpoint stores the entire PIN list in your BlackBerry's cache memory. With PINpoint you can keep in touch, even during outages and emergencies.

Every BlackBerry ever manufactured has a unique Personal Identification Number (PIN) embedded in it. This unique number stays with the device regardless of who the user is.

PIN messaging is essentially Instant Messaging for BlackBerrys, that uses this PIN identifier to address and deliver text messages. Unlike email, which relies on your own messaging servers to function, PIN messaging is routed and delivered by the global RIM infrastructure, without relying on your IT infrastructure.

This characteristic is what makes PIN messaging a great communications option for Business Continuity Plans (BCP, also known as CoOP Continuity of Operations Plans).

Tenet's PINpoint is the tool that ensures that your users always have the latest list of contacts and their device PINs, to ensure communications may continue even during a major emergency.