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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).