KB17239: Considerations when using images in Report Services documents for delivery in MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server 9.x - 10.x

Images in a Report Services document can use the following different types of paths:

• UNC path (\\Server\share\...)
  
• Relative path (\folder\...)
  
• Web absolute Path (http://...)
  

 
UNC Path (\\Server\share\...)
This type of path is useful when viewing in Strategy Developer or when exporting with the client software or when delivering through Strategy Narrowcast Server.
When delivering through Strategy Narrowcast Server, the path should always resolve to the correct location regardless of the medium being used (PDF, or Excel.)
 
Troubleshooting a UNC Path:
Use the run dialog box under the Start menu from the Strategy Narrowcast Server 9.x machine to make sure that access to the image is allowed. This step will rule out any misspellings or permission issues with the UNC path.
Once run, the image should display in the default program associated with the file type of the image.
 
Relative Path (\folder\...)
A relative path will be treated differently depending on the delivery medium used. There are two possible scenarios: PDF or Excel.

• PDF
  
  For PDF delivery use %%SYSTEMROOT%%\system32\ on the Strategy Narrowcast Server machine. This is the default path of the account connecting to Strategy Intelligence Server from Strategy Narrowcast Server (MCISM7.exe) spawned by the Execution Engine.
  
• Excel
  
  Images in Excel documents are not embedded by Strategy Narrowcast Server. A link is used to access the image. When opened as an email attachment the link will search the local machine for the image.
  
  For example, if the excel attachment is opened directly from an email client such as Microsoft Outlook then the relative path will resolve to \Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLK###. Where ### is a hexadecimal number.
  
  It is recommended that if Excel is a desired delivery mechanism, then a relative path should not be used. Instead, use an UNC path (\\Server\share\...) or an absolute path (http://...)
  

 
Troubleshooting a Relative Path
Verify that the images are in the correct folder locations and have the correct filenames. For PDF, if the relative path is set to \images\gronx.jpg then there should be a folder called images located in windows/system32 and within that folder there should be an image called gronx.jpg.
 
Issues with Relative Paths
Relative paths will resolve to several different locations and will require multiple copies of images on the Strategy Narrowcast Server 9.x machine. Additionally, when used with Excel images are likely not to appear as the relative path resolves to a user's local machine when opened.
 
Web Absolute Path (http://...)
This is the most Flexible path type available. The only requirement is that the Strategy Narrowcast Server has access to the page. As long as the Strategy Narrowcast Server machine has access to the page the image will be available in both Excel and PDF. This type of path is highly preferred to the other options.
 
Troubleshooting an Absolute Path
Place the path in a web browser on the Strategy Narrowcast Server machine. If the image displays correctly then the Strategy Narrowcast Server has the proper access permissions.
 
Issues with Web Absolute Paths
There is a known issue when using an absolute path that contains https://. This is not compatible with the Web Server as there is a security problem that precludes this access. Https:// is compatible with the Strategy Intelligence Server and Narrowcast Server.