BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence Training Guidemyinfo.sysco.com/Learning/content/BO/BusinessObjects...Chapter 2-InfoView Basics Accessing EDW using InfoView . . . . . . . . .

EDWBusinessObjects XI R2

Web IntelligenceTraining Guide

Copyrights and Trademarks

© 2009 by SYSCO Corporation. All rights reserved.

No part of this document may be reproduced without written permission from SYSCO Corporation.

The software described in this document is a copyrighted, confidential, propri‐etary product of SYSCO Corporation.

BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence Training Guide © 2009 by SYSCO Cor‐poration

Part Number 10907001‐02 released 03 2009

Information in this document is subject to change without notice.

SYSCO® is a registered trademark of SYSCO Corporation.

1390 Enclave ParkwayHouston, Texas 77077(281) 584‐1390

© SYSCO Corporation iiiFebruary 2009

Contents

Chapter 1-Getting Started

Training Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Training Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Training Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Document Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Typographic Cues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Flags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Requesting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Instructor Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Introducing BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Describing the Semantic Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Universes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Querying Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Reporting Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Analyzing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Sharing Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Remember It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Chapter 2-InfoView Basics

Accessing EDW using InfoView . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Logging on to the EDW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Logging Off of InfoView . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Describing Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Using the Header Panel Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Using the Navigation Panel Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Using the Workspace Panel Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Using the Workspace Page Control Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Contents

iv BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence Training Guide

Using the Navigation Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Describing Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Expanding Folders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Creating Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Describing Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Viewing Corporate Categories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Creating a Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Moving Folders and Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Deleting Folders and Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Managing Lists and Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Organizing a Document List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Sorting the Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Filtering Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Organizing Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Copying Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Moving Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Creating Shortcuts for a Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Adding a Hyperlink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Assigning a Category to a Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Deleting Personal Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Searching for Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Performing a Quick Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Performing an Advanced Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Setting Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Setting General Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Setting Web Intelligence Document Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Working with a Web Intelligence Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Using the Document Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Viewing Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Refreshing Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Using the Document Save Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Using the Save As Option. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Saving the Document to your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Printing Web Intelligence Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Accessing Online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52TE1-Training Exercise-InfoView. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Remember It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Contents

© SYSCO Corporation vFebruary 2009

Chapter 3-Creating Web Intelligence Documents with Queries

Describing the Query Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Describing Universes and Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Describing the Document Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Creating a Web Intelligence Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Saving a Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Modifying a Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Locating Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Adding Objects to a Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Projecting Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Understanding Data Aggregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Viewing Query Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Viewing the Query SQL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75TE2-Training Exercise-Building a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Remember It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Chapter 4-Restricting Data

Describing Query Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Describing Query Filter Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Describing Query Filter Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Applying a Predefined Query Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Applying a Single-Value Query Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Creating a Single-Value Query Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Using Wildcards in a List of Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Editing a Single-Value Query Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90Deleting a Query Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

TE3-Training Exercise-Restricting Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Using Prompted Query Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Creating a Prompted Query Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Editing a Prompted Query Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

TE4-Training Exercise–Adding Prompts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Using Complex Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Using Multiple Filters with And Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Using the Or Operator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102Prioritizing Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Contents

vi BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence Training Guide

TE5-Training Exercise-Applying Multiple Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Remember It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Chapter 5-Report Design

Describing Document Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109Working with Report Design Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111Working with Report Manager Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114Configuring Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Adding Reports to Your Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118Working with Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Creating a Vertical Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121Creating a Horizontal Table Using a Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122Creating a Crosstab Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124Creating a Form Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Modifying Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Changing Table Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Adding Data to an Existing Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128Duplicating Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Deleting Tables or Rows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Presenting Data in Free Standing Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131Adding a Free Standing Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131Increasing the Cell Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132Changing the Date/Time Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132Adding Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133Applying a Style to Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Presenting Data in Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Creating a Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137Working with Chart Placeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138Adding a Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Applying a Different Chart Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Creating a Chart from a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140Changing a Chart to a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Displaying Document Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143TE6-Training Exercise-Report Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145Remember It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Contents

© SYSCO Corporation viiFebruary 2009

Chapter 6-Organizing a Report

Using Breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151Applying a Break . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151Deleting a Break . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Using Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Inserting a Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Inserting Multiple Calculations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Deleting a Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Sorting Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157Working with Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Creating a Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161Displaying an Aggregate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163Inserting a Block in Each Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164Navigating Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166Deleting a Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Using Report Filters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169Creating a Report Filter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169Deleting a Report Filter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Ranking Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172Applying Ranking to Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172Removing Ranking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

TE7-Training Exercise-Breaks, Calculations, Sorts, and Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175Using Alerters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Creating a Basic Alerter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177Creating the Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177Setting up the Alerter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178Formatting the Alerter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Using an Existing Alerter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180Creating a Complex Alerter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Creating the Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181Setting the First Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Setting the Second Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183Formatting the Complex Alerter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

TE8-Training Exercise-Complex Alerters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187Copy Data to Other Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Copy a Data Block Using the Clipboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189Copy Data Blocks to MS PowerPoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Contents

viii BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence Training Guide

TE9-Training Exercise-Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191Remember It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Chapter 7-Sharing Web Intelligence Documents

Sharing Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197Sending a Document to InfoView Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197Sharing Documents with Non-BusinessObjects Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199Adding a Document to InfoView . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Scheduling a Web Intelligence Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203Viewing Document History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205TE10-Training Exercise-Sharing Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207Remember It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Chapter 8-Formatting Reports

Selecting Documents Elements for Formatting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211Describing Reporting Toolbar Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211Viewing Report Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Modifying Report Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214Modifying Table Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Formatting Header Cells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217Repositioning the Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218Modifying Cell Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218Modifying Cells in Multiple Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219Inserting Page Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Modifying Section Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222TE11-Training Exercise-Formatting Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223Formatting Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Selecting a Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225Changing an Element Font Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226Displaying Data Values for a Bar Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227Displaying Axis Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228Displaying Data Values for a Pie Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

TE12-Training Exercise-Formatting Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231Remember It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Contents

© SYSCO Corporation ixFebruary 2009

Chapter 9-Creating Formulas and Variables

Describing Formulas and Variables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237Using Formulas and Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Creating a Formula to Capture a Prompt Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238Creating the Formula to Capture Prompt Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239Defining the Formula as a Variable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241Creating a Variable to Calculate Percent Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Inserting a Column for the Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243Creating the Formula and Projecting the Calculated Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243Formatting the Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244Defining the Formula as a Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245Naming the Added Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Modifying and Deleting Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248Modifying a Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248Deleting a Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Using Document Formula Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250Displaying Author Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250Displaying Document Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Accessing Online Help About Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253TE13-Training Exercise-Formulas and Variables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256Remember It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Chapter 10-Synchronizing Data

Working with Multiple Data Providers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261Describing Data Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262Creating Multiple Queries in a Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Projecting Data: Single Query/Multiple Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263Projecting Data: Multiple Queries/Single Universe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Renaming the Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266Running the Second Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Projecting Data from a Merged Dimension into a Single Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268Changing the Automatic Merge Dimension Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Working with Queries and Multiple Universes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271Synchronizing Data with Merged Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Explaining Importance of Synchronization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275Synchronizing Queries by Manually Merging Dimensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Merging Item Number Dimension Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Contents

x BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence Training Guide

Viewing Merged Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279Reviewing Synchronizing Rules for Merged Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281TE14-Training Exercise-Synchronizing Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282Remember It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

Chapter 11-Analyzing Data

Reviewing the Data Provider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287Defining Drill Down and Scope of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288Setting Drill Preferences in InfoView. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289Setting the Scope of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Customizing the Scope of Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292Creating a Crosstab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Drilling Down Data in a Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295Drilling Down Two Hierarchies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296Editing the Scope of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Snapshotting the Drilled Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298Using Query Drill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Knowing When to Use Query Drill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300Setting Query Drill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

TE15-Training Exercise-Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302Building the Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302Changing a Table to a Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302Drilling the Chart Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Remember It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Appendix A-SYSCO Universes

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308Merchandising Universe Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Aggregate Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309Current and Historical Reporting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309Dimensional Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310BI Security Application Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Differences between Merchandising Universes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311Merchandising-Inventory Analysis Universe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311Applications Referred . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Differences between Sales and Satrak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

Contents

© SYSCO Corporation xiFebruary 2009

Current Versus Historical Data in Satrak. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314Current Versus Historical Data in the Sales Universe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314Satrak and Sales Universes Query Comparisons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Sales Universe Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317Sales Metrics in the Sales Universe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318Basic Guidelines and Mandatory Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319Dimensional Reporting Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320Resolving Context Pop-ups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

Appendix B-Working in Interactive View

Setting Up Interactive View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322Using Interactive View Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324

Viewing Document Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324Viewing Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

Selecting Information for the Left Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327Navigation Map Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327Document Summary Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328Data Summary Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328Charts and Table Types Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329Document Structure and Filters Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329Available Objects Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330User Prompt Input Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

Modifying a Document in Interactive View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331Adding a Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332Creating a Filter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332Adding a Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333Changing the Table to a Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Adding Formulas and Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335Inserting and Naming a Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335Creating a Formula in Interactive View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336Saving the Formula as a Variable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

Appendix C-Dashboards

Using Dashboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340Creating a Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340Setting the Dashboard as Initial View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

Contents

xii BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence Training Guide

Remember It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

C h a p t e r 1

Getting Started

Topics

• Training Approach

• Document Conventions

• Requesting Help

• Introducing BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence

Chapter 1: Getting Started

2 BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence Training Guide

Chapter 1 presents key BusinessObjects XI R2 Business Intelligence concepts and terms along with information on how to use this training guide.

Why is Getting Started Important?

The Getting Started chapter introduces you to BusinessObjects XI R2 Business Intel‐ligence and provides key concepts to help you make better use of this training guide.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this Getting Started training session, you will be able to:

• Explain how BusinessObjects XI R2 Business Intelligence allows you to access corporate or operating company information

• Describe the semantic layer that allows you to query your databases using your business terms

Looking Ahead

At the end of the BusinessObjects XI R2 Business Intelligence training course, you will be able to:

• Access, view, create, and assign folders and categories to public and personal documents, as well as share documents with other users

• Create documents with queries

• Restrict data returned by a query

• Display information in different table styles and charts

• Enhance the presentation quality of a report

• Format reports

• Create formulas and variables

• Synchronize data from multiple universes

• Analyze data using drill mode

Training Approach

© SYSCO Corporation 3February 2009

Training ApproachThis section provides an understanding of the training approach taken for BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence, which includes strategies and training materials used in the course.

Training StrategiesThe BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence training course is designed so you can learn quickly. We incorporated the following training strategies into this course.

• Process focused topics are linked to a function you perform to view or create reports. Linking each topic to a process helps you see how the topic relates to your job.

• Focus on highest impact topics so you spend the most time learning informa‐tion with the greatest impact on your work.

• Varied learning approach uses classroom instruction as a launching pad for various learning activities including class discussions, question and answer ses‐sions, hands‐on exercises in the BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence training environment, assessments, and evaluations.

• Participant involvement, through the use of exercises, provides you with the best learning experience possible.

Training MaterialsThe BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence training course uses the following materials:

• Training guide that consists of chapters applicable to viewing and creating reports. Each chapter contains a Remember It section noting key topics covered in the chapter.

• Handouts for exercises and written evaluations.



Document ConventionsDocument conventions include visual cues, such as a symbol, text, or font differ‐ences, and flag paragraphs, such as note, tip, and warning paragraphs, that help you quickly understand the system and its procedures.

Typographic CuesTypographic cues provide a visual alert, such as font color, size, symbols, and terms, that help you understand the content of this manual. Table 1 lists the typo‐graphic cues and their description.

FlagsParagraph flags call attention to information. Table 2 lists the four flags, in order of urgency (least to most), and a description of each.

Table 1 Typographic Cues

Cue Description

Blue Text

Blue text Displays a cross-reference in online documentation. Click the blue text to jump to the section or document it represents. Note: The page numbers in the table of contents, tables, and figures are links. Click the page numbers to go directly to a specific page.

Underlined blue text Links to a website. Click the link to access the web page it represents.

ItalicScreen names mentioned in a procedure display in italic font.

On the Entity Maintenance screen, select the user ID.

Bold Italic Any error or system messages displayed on screen display in bold italic typeface. For example, Record not found. Contact Support Team.

Bold

In a procedure, field names, buttons, keyboard keys, or function keys you press to perform a step display in bold font. For example,

1. Press F1 (Help).2. In the Status field, type ABC123.

Click Position the cursor on an on-screen button and press the left mouse button. For example, Click Save.

Greater-than sign (>)

Points to the next step in a menu selection path. For example,Select File > New > Folder

PressUse a key on the keyboard to perform a specific action. For example,

Press Enter.

Table 2 Flags

Flag Description

Note Calls attention to useful information

Tip! Identifies helpful information or steps

Caution Warns of potential errors, data loss, or pitfalls

Warning! Prevents errors or data loss

Requesting Help


Requesting HelpIf you find you need help understanding the documentation, a new concept, or an existing feature, send feedback or request technical support. During the training sessions, your instructor is also available to answer questions or listen to feedback.

FeedbackIn an effort to improve our documentation and ensure you find what you need, please email your feedback to [email protected] or click the Send Feedback link located in the Bookmarks tab of the Adobe Acrobat PDF file.

Technical SupportFor technical support, contact your local operating company help desk or the SYSCO Customer Support Group (CSG) at extension 1190.

Instructor InformationThe instructor for this training course:

Contact information:

mailto:[email protected]?Subject=BusinessObjects%20XI%20R2%20Web%20Intelligence%20Training%20Guide%20feedback



Introducing BusinessObjects XI R2 Web IntelligenceBusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence, a web‐based reporting tool, gives you access to data from various databases using your business terms in an easy‐to‐use interface.

InfoView, BusinessObject’s portal interface, provides access to the Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) and the ability to manage and refresh the reports you create and the Web Intelligence reports found in the corporate repository. And, after you ana‐lyze the report information, you can share it with others over intranets and extra‐nets. Figure 1 shows the workflow.

Using Microsoft (MS) Internet Explorer (IE) version 6.0 or higher, access the Web Intelligence reporting tool by logging in to the EDW.

Describing the Semantic LayerBusinessObjects uses a semantic layer to isolate you from the technical complexities of the databases SYSCO uses to store data. The semantic layer consists of:

• Universes

• Objects

• Classes

UniversesA universe maps to data in the database relevant to a specific area of business, such as Merchandising, Sales, Inventory, and so on. Designers at SYSCO create these uni‐verses using BusinessObjects Designer. The designers then make universes avail‐able to you and other users so that you can access the data through an intuitive, user‐friendly interface.

Universes consist of objects and classes with names that describe your business environment.

Figure 2 shows the semantic layer for the Merchandising‐Inventory Analysis uni‐verse.

Figure 1 Workflow example

Introducing BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence


ObjectsObjects map to a piece of information, such as an operating company number or buyer ID, as seen in the Organization class in Figure 2. Use objects within a uni‐verse to create reports.

ClassesClasses are logical groupings of objects that display as folders. In the example in Figure 2, the Organization class contains all relevant details about the operating company, such as the operating company name, product manager, product special‐ist, and so on. Classes can contain sub‐classes. Inventory age, a sub‐class of Merch‐Inventory, contains objects related to inventory age, such as the on‐hand quantity, pallet quantity, inventory value, and so on.

Querying DataA query is a request for information. You build a query using an editor called the Java Query panel (Figure 3). In the Java Query panel, shortened to Query panel throughout this training guide, you add and organize objects from a universe.

Figure 2 Merchandising–Inventory Analysis universe

Class

Organizationclass objects



W

When you build a query, BusinessObjects converts your query to sequel query (SQL) statements, the language that queries the database, and sends the query to the database. The SQL query retrieves and returns the data as a microcube of data called a data provider that BusinessObjects formats and presents in the form of a Web Intelligence report (Figure 4).

Reporting OptionsUse Web Intelligence document features to create professional reports from the data you retrieve. BusinessObjects offers several ways to present the data:

Figure 3 Java Query panel

Figure 4 Query flow

Introducing BusinessObjects XI R2 Web Intelligence


• As a table (horizontal, vertical, or form)

• As a crosstab

• As a chart (bar, line, area, pie, or radar)

Analyzing ReportsAnalyze your reports by dragging and dropping data, inserting calculations, and changing the display to make important information easy to see at a glance.

Perform multi‐dimensional analysis by looking at results at a global level or drilling down to a more detail level of information.

Sharing DocumentsUse InfoView to share your documents with other associates. You can:

• Send documents to another user or group of users.

• Save documents as files on your computer in Adobe Acrobat PDF or MS Excel format.

• Schedule documents for refresh and automatic transmittal. When you schedule a document, specify a time and date.



Remember ItThe Remember It section helps to reinforce the topics covered in this training mod‐ule.

Semantic Layer

Consists of:

• A universe that maps to data in the database relevant to a specific area of busi‐ness, such as Merchandising, Sales, Inventory, and so on.

• Objects that map to a piece of information, such as an operating company num‐ber or buyer ID.

• Classes display as folders and contain a group of related objects.

C h a p t e r 2

InfoView Basics

Topics

• Accessing EDW using InfoView

• Describing Toolbars

• Using the Navigation Panel

• Managing Lists and Documents

• Searching for Documents

• Working with a Web Intelligence Document

• Accessing Online Help

Chapter 2: InfoView Basics


Chapter 2 provides you with the fundamentals of using InfoView, the web portal that provides access to the EDW and your documents.

Why are InfoView Basics Important?

The InfoView Basics chapter introduces you to InfoView where you access and manage your documents. This basic knowledge is necessary to create and view reports.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this training session, you will be able to:

• Log on to EDW using the InfoView portal

• Access documents

• Manage documents

• View documents

• Use online help

• Log off InfoView

Accessing EDW using InfoView


Accessing EDW using InfoViewAccessing EDW requires the use of IE version 6.0 and J2SE Runtime Environment (5.0 Update 6). Higher versions of IE and JAVA causes hanging issues in this envi‐ronment.

Logging on to the EDWTo log on to the EDW:

1. Open IE.

2. In the Address field, type http://bi.na.sysco.net.

Note: As a best business practice, add this address to your browser favorites for future use.

The Sysco Business Intelligence home page displays (Figure 5) displays.

3. Click EDW Login. The Sysco Business Intelligence ‐ Login screen (Figure 6) dis‐plays.

Figure 5 Sysco Business Intelligence home page

EDWLogin

Figure 6 Sysco Business Intelligence - Login page



4. In the User name field, type your network login user ID.

5. In the Password field, type your network password.

6. Click Log On or press Enter. The BusinessObjects XI Home page (Figure 7) dis‐plays.

Tip! Contact CSG at 281‐584‐1190 for problems accessing EDW.

Header Panel Acts as your main menu within InfoView. Table 3 on page 16 describes the buttons available on this panel. These buttons do not change as you move through the different pages of the portal.

Navigation Panel Consists of expandable folders or categories that contain other folders or objects, referred to as documents in this training guide. For a complete list of documents that InfoView can store, see Figure 23 on page 28.

The Navigation panel also contains a toolbar for organizing folders and catego‐ries. The My Folders expandable folder contains a Favorites folder and your Inbox.

Expandable Folder Displays with a + and signifies that other folders exist within the expandable folder. Click the + sign to view the other folders. Click on the folder name to view its contents in the Workspace panel.

Workspace Panel Displays a list of documents connected to a selected class (folder) or classes. The Workspace panel also contains options to organize, delete, and fil‐ter documents.

Note: After completing the entire training course, use http://bi.na.sysco.net to access the live environment. Do not use this address during the training course. Before logging in to the live environment, be sure to click Request Access,

Figure 7 BusinessObjects XI Home page

Navigation toolbarand expandable

folders

Workspace panel

Header panel

Log off icon

Navigation panel

Page control toolbar

Accessing EDW using InfoView


complete the form that displays, and submit the form as directed. Even though you can login using your network login and password, no information is available until this process is complete.

Logging Off of InfoViewTo log off InfoView, click Log Off located in the upper right hand corner of the Header panel toolbar (Figure 7 on page 14). When you log off InfoView, you also log out of EDW.



Describing ToolbarsInfoView supplies three sets of toolbars. Each toolbar contains buttons that perform different functions.

• Use the Header panel toolbar to change your view and to search, create, and send documents.

• Use the Navigation panel toolbar when working with folders and categories.

• Use the Workspace panel toolbars when working with documents. When you place your mouse over a toolbar button, InfoView displays the name of the button.

Using the Header Panel ToolbarThe Header panel toolbar displays across all pages and does not change as you move from one page to another. Table 3 describes the Header panel toolbar buttons.

Table 3 Header Panel Toolbar Button Descriptions

Button Mouse Over Name Description

HomeDisplays the BusinessObjects XI Home page (Figure 7 on page 14) or your dashboard, depending on your privileges.

Toggle Navigation Hides and displays the Navigation panel.

Applications Not currently used.

Create a New item Creates a new folder, category, hyperlink, or docu-ment.

Refresh Refreshes the Workspace panel.

Send a document Sends documents to a file location, your Inbox, an FTP location, or a user in an email.

My InfoView

Provides the ability to create a dashboard, a custom-ized view that contains the documents (for example, reports, documents, and websites) you view on a reg-ular basis.

Describing Toolbars


Using the Navigation Panel ToolbarThe Navigation panel toolbar displays at the top of the Navigation panel. Use these buttons to navigate and manage your folders and toggle between folder and cate‐gory view.

Table 4 describes the Navigation panel toolbar buttons.

Search Options Searches all documents based on your entry.

Preference Allows you to set up defaults and how information dis-plays.

Log Off Logs you off InfoView and EDW.

Help Displays online help for InfoView.

Table 3 Header Panel Toolbar Button Descriptions (continued)


Table 4 Navigation Panel Toolbar Button Descriptions

Button Mouse OverName Description

Show Folders Displays the available folders in the Navigation panel.

Show Categories Changes from folder view to category view.

Refresh Refreshes the Navigation panel.

* Properties Sets properties for the selected folders or categories.

* Move Moves the selected folder or category.



Note: For authorized users, buttons with an * (asterisk) apply to both personal and public folders and categories. For other users, buttons with an * (asterisk) apply only to personal folders.

Using the Workspace Panel ToolbarThe Workspace panel toolbar displays at the top of the Workspace panel. Use these buttons to help organize documents and filter lists that display in the Workspace panel.

Table 5 describes the Workspace panel toolbar buttons.

Copy Copies the selected folder to a folder you specify. This button does not display when you use category view.

* Delete

Deletes the selected folders and all its contents. For cat-egories, deletes the selected categories and the cate-gory assignment for all documents linked to the category.

Table 4 Navigation Panel Toolbar Button Descriptions (continued)


Table 5 Workspace Panel Toolbar Button Descriptions


Organize

Helps you organize your documents using the following options:

Move to New FolderCopy to New FolderAdd Shortcuts to New FolderAdd to My Favorites

Delete Deletes selected documents.

FilterFilters your list in the Workspace panel by object type, such as InfoView doc, MS Excel document, hyperlink, and so on.

Describing Toolbars


Using the Workspace Page Control ToolbarThe Workspace page control toolbar displays at the top of the Workspace panel. Use the Workspace page control buttons to control the appearance of the page.

Table 6 describes the Workspace page control toolbar buttons.

Table 6 Workspace Page Control Toolbar Button Descriptions


Hide the Header Panel

Works like a toggle to hide and display the Header panel.

Maximize this panel

Maximizes the Workspace panel. In some instances, clicking this button hides the Navigation panel when the Workspace panel maximizes.

Restore this panel to its previ-ous state

Returns the Workspace panel to its previous state. NOTE: This button is referred to as Restore throughout this training guide.

Go back to the last main work-space page

Closes the current Workspace panel and displays the previous Workspace panel. NOTE: This button is referred to as Close throughout this training guide..

Show this panel in a new window

Displays a document in a new Workspace panel, which you can minimize and maximize. Allows you to open multiple documents. NOTE: This button is referred to as New Window throughout this training guide.



Using the Navigation PanelThe Navigation panel consists of a tree structure that gives you access to folders. Folders expand when you click the + to display subfolders.

Document types include Web Intelligence documents, shortcuts, hyperlinks, URLs, MS Excel, Adobe Acrobat PDF, and MS Word documents. See Figure 23 on page 28 for a complete list of document types.

By default, InfoView displays in folder view but also provides a category view. You assign categories to documents, which help to further organize documents. Navi‐gating categories is identical to navigating folders.

Describing FoldersBy default, InfoView provides two groups of folders (Figure 8): My Folders (also called personal folders) and Public Folders.

A Favorites folder resides within My Folders for your frequently used personal documents. My Folders also contains an Inbox folder for documents sent to you by other users. InfoView stores these documents on the BusinessObjects server in a space reserved for your own use. Other users cannot see your documents in any of these folders.

Additionally, InfoView provides access to Public Folders that contain public docu‐ments published by a controlled group of authorized BusinessObjects users. You cannot edit public documents but you can copy, view, and run documents in Public Folders.

Note: In the My Folders group, a document cannot reside in more than one folder. You can create new subfolders only under Favorites.

Expanding FoldersWhen you expand a folder, the folder opens to display additional folders that you can expand. Expand folders by clicking the + next to the folder name. The + changes to a ‐ when you expand a folder. The + no longer displays when you reach the last level.

Figure 8 Navigation panel: Folder structure

ShowFoldersbutton

Using the Navigation Panel


To expand to the Merchandising ‐ Inventory folder:

1. Click + next to Public Folders. The Corporate BI Training subfolder displays.

2. Click + next to Corporate BI Training. Two subfolders display.

3. Click + next to Sample Reports. Additional subfolders displays.

4. Click + next to Merchandising ‐ Inventory. No + or subfolders display.

5. Click Merchandising ‐ Inventory (on the name of the folder). InfoView high‐lights the folder name. A Merchandising ‐ Inventory screen (Figure 9) displays a list of documents in the Workspace panel.

Note: From the Navigation panel toolbar, click Show Folders if folders do not display in the Navigation panel.

6. From the Navigation panel toolbar, click Properties. A Properties information screen (Figure 10) displays in the Workspace panel. Because this is a public folder, you cannot change the data in this screen.

7. From the Navigation panel, click Merchandising ‐ Inventory. The Properties screen closes and the Merchandising ‐ Inventory screen (Figure 9) displays.

Figure 9 Merchandising - Inventory screen

Show Foldersbutton

Folder contentsdisplay in

Workspace panel

Propertiesbutton

Figure 10 Properties information screen



8. From the Navigation panel, click ‐ next to Public Folders. All subfolders col‐lapse.

Creating FoldersCreate additional folders, if needed, to organize your documents. You can only cre‐ate folders for Favorites, not for your Inbox or Public Folders.

To create a folder:

1. From the Navigation panel, expand My Folders, if not already expanded.

2. Click Favorites. Any documents in the folder display in the Workspace panel.

3. From the Header panel toolbar, click New. The New drop‐down menu (Figure 11) displays.

4. Click Folder. A Create A New Folder screen (Figure 12) displays.

Note: Unlike public folders, you can edit properties of a personal folder.

5. In the Folder Name field, type a name for the folder. For this lesson, type End of Month Reports.

Figure 11 New drop-down menu

New button

Figure 12 Create A New Folder screen



6. In the Description field, type a description.

7. In the Keywords field, type a keyword. Use a comma to separate keywords. For information on keywords, see Searching for Documents on page 38.

8. Click OK. The Create A New Folder screen closes.

9. Expand My Folders > Favorites. The End of Month Reports folder displays under Favorites in the Navigation panel.

10. Click End of Month Reports. InfoView highlights the folder.

11. Repeat steps 3–8 to create an additional folder using the name Sales Reports.

12. Navigate to and expand End of Month Reports. Your Navigation panel should look like Figure 13.

Describing CategoriesUse categories to further organize your documents. By creating categories, you cre‐ate a filing system where each category displays documents related to a specific aspect of your business.

You can assign a document to more than one category unlike folders where docu‐ments can reside in only one folder.

By default, InfoView provides two categories: personal and corporate.

• Personal categories organize and classify personal documents. Other users can‐not see documents assigned to your personal categories. You can create addi‐tional personal categories.

• Corporate categories classify public documents. You cannot create subcatego‐ries for corporate categories.

Note: Enter a ticket and route it to the Business Intelligence Group to suggest creation of other corporate categories.

Viewing Corporate CategoriesTo view corporate categories:

1. From the Navigation panel toolbar (Figure 14), click Show Categories.

2. Expand Corporate Categories.

3. Click Web Intelligence Samples. A list of documents (Figure 14) displays in the Workspace panel.

Figure 13 Navigation panel displaying new folders



4. From the Navigation panel toolbar, click Refresh. Added documents, if any, dis‐play in the Workspace panel.

5. Click Toggle Navigation Panel. InfoView hides the Navigation panel (Figure 15).

.

6. Click Toggle Navigation. InfoView displays the Navigation panel (Figure 14).

Creating a CategoryCreate additional categories to organize documents. You can only create additional personal categories, not corporate categories.

To create a category:

1. From the Navigation panel toolbar, click Show Categories if in folder view.

2. Expand Personal Categories. Any existing personal categories display.

3. Click Personal Categories. InfoView highlights your selection.

4. From the Header panel toolbar, click New. A New drop‐down menu (Figure 16) displays.

Figure 14 List of documents in the Merchandising-Purchasing folder

Refreshbutton

Show Categoriesbutton

Toggle Navigationbutton

Figure 15 Hidden Navigation panel

ToggleNavigation

Panel button



5. Click Category. A Create A New Category screen (Figure 17) displays.

6. Complete the fields as shown in Figure 17, and click OK. The new Training Exer‐cise category (Figure 18) displays in the Navigation panel.

Figure 16 Using the New drop-down menu

New button

Figure 17 Create a New Category screen

Figure 18 Navigation panel displaying Training Exercise category



Moving Folders and CategoriesYou can only move folders or categories up or down levels; therefore, folder con‐tents and category assignments remain unchanged. The process for moving a folder and a category is the same.

For this lesson, move the Sales Reports folder (Figure 19) up one level to Favorites.

To move a folder up one level:

1. From the Navigation panel, click Show Folders to return to the folder view if you are still in category view.

2. Navigate to and click Favorites. InfoView highlights your selection.

3. Click Move. A Move screen (Figure 20) displays.

4. Navigate to and click End of Month Reports.

5. Click OK. Sales Reports displays under Favorites (Figure 21).


Figure 20 Move screen




Deleting Folders and CategoriesYou can delete personal folders and categories only. When you delete a folder, Info‐View deletes all documents in the folder. When you delete a category, InfoView removes the category assignments from all documents assigned to the category. The process to delete a folder and a category is the same.

For this lesson, delete the Sales Reports folder.

To delete a folder:

1. Navigate to and click Sales Reports. InfoView highlights your selection.

2. From the Navigation panel toolbar, click Delete. A confirmation dialog box (Figure 22) displays.

3. Click OK. InfoView removes the folder from display in the Navigation panel.

Figure 22 Confirmation dialog box



Managing Lists and Documents The Workspace panel contains a list of documents in the selected folder or category. An icon displays next to each document denoting the document type (Figure 23).

Organizing a Document ListUse the sorting and filtering options to organize documents for locating quickly and easily.

Sorting the DocumentsBy default, InfoView sorts documents alphabetically by title in ascending order (Figure 24). You can reverse this order, or you can sort the documents by last run date, type, or owner.

To sort the documents:

Figure 23 Document types

Figure 24 Sorting a list

Use columnheaders for

sorting

Arrow button

Managing Lists and Documents


1. From the Workspace panel, click Type. The documents sorts by document type.

2. Click Type. The documents sort by type but in descending order rather than ascending order, which is the default.

3. Click Arrow. This action toggles display of the document description and links.

Filtering DocumentsBy default, all documents you can access display in your folder and category views. To quickly locate specific types of documents, apply a filter. When you apply a fil‐ter, only documents of that type display in the list.

To filter documents:

1. From the Navigation panel, expand Public Folders > Corporate BI Training > Sample Reports.

2. Click Merchandising ‐ Inventory. A list of documents displays in the Workspace panel.

3. From the Workspace panel toolbar, click Filter and select MS Excel (Figure 25). Only MS Excel documents display.

4. Click Filter and select All Types. All document types display.

Organizing DocumentsYou can organize documents by:

• Moving documents to different folders

• Copying documents from public folders

• Adding documents to your favorites

• Deleting documents. Select one or more documents by clicking the selection box.

Figure 25 Filter document types



Copying DocumentsUse the copy option to copy documents from the public folders to Favorites for modifying. When you copy a document, InfoView provides the option of creating a new folder for the copied document.

To copy a document:

1. Expand Public Folders > Corporate BI Training > Sample Reports.

2. Click Merchandising ‐ Inventory. A list of documents displays in the Workspace panel.

3. Select one or more documents (Figure 26).

4. Click Organize and select Copy to New Folder. The Copy screen (Figure 27) dis‐plays in the Workspace panel. The selected documents display at the top of the screen, and InfoView prompts you to select the location for the copied docu‐ments.

Figure 26 Organize drop-down menu: Copy option

Selection box

Figure 27 Copy screen

Selecteddocuments

Folderselection area



5. In the folder selection area, expand My Folders > Favorites.

6. In the New Folder field, type Sales Reports, and then click Add. A Sales Reports folder displays in the folder selection area.

7. Click OK. The Copy screen closes.

8. Navigate to Favorites, and click Sales Reports. The copied document displays in the Workspace panel.

Moving DocumentsUse the move option to move selected documents from one folder to another. For this lesson, move a document from the End of Month Reports folder to the Sales Reports folder.

To move a folder:

1. Navigate to and click End of Month Reports. A list of documents in the End of Month Reports folder (Figure 28) displays.

2. Select a document.

3. Click Organize and select Move to New Folder. The Move screen (Figure 29) displays in the Workspace panel. The selected documents display at the top of the screen, and InfoView prompts you to select the location for the move.

Figure 28 Organize drop-down menu: Move option

Selection box



4. In the folder selection area, navigate to and click Sales Reports.

Note: As with copying a folder, you can create a folder for the document by typing a folder name and clicking Add.

5. Click OK.

6. From the Navigation panel, navigate to and click Sales Reports. The moved doc‐ument displays in the Workspace panel list.

Creating Shortcuts for a DocumentUse the shortcut option to point to another document in a different folder. Shortcuts make report navigation easier and ensure you are accessing the most up‐to‐date version of the document. Create shortcuts instead of copying or moving documents from one folder to another.

Caution: If the shortcut points to a public folder report, you cannot modify the report unless you have privileges or own the public folder.

To create a shortcut:

1. From the Navigation panel, navigate to Public Folders > BI Training > Sample Reports and click Merchandising ‐ Inventory. A list of documents in that folder (Figure 30 on page 33) displays.

2. Select a document.

Figure 29 Move screen

Selecteddocuments




3. Click Organize and select Add to My Favorites. The Shortcut screen (Figure 31) displays prompting you for the shortcut location.

Note: Click Add Shortcuts to New Folder to create the shortcut in any of your personal folders.

4. Click Favorites or expand and navigate to another folder under Favorites.

5. Click OK.

6. From the Navigation panel, navigate to and click Favorites. InfoView names the document Shortcut to followed by the document name.

Figure 30 Organize drop-down menu: Shortcut option

Selection box

Figure 31 Shortcut screen

Selecteddocuments




Adding a HyperlinkFor easy access to websites, add hyperlinks to your personal folders. InfoView stores the hyperlink like a document and provides the ability to assign a category to a hyperlink.

To add a hyperlink:

1. From the Header panel toolbar, click New. The New drop‐down menu (Figure 32) displays.

2. Click Hyperlink. The Create a new hyperlink screen (Figure 33) displays.

3. In the Title field, type a name to identify the hyperlink when seen in a list. For this training lesson, type SYSCO Documentation Website.

4. In the Description field, type a description.

Figure 32 New drop-down menu: Hyperlink option

Figure 33 Create a new hyperlink screen

Locationsection



5. In the URL field, type the URL. As a best practice, copy and paste the URL address. For training purposes, type http://intranet2.sysco.com/documenta‐tion.

6. In the Location section, navigate to where you want the hyperlink to reside. For our training session, expand Favorites and click Sales Reports.

7. Click OK.

8. From the Navigation panel, navigate to and click Sales Reports.

9. Click SYSCO Documentation Website (the name of the hyperlink). The SYSCO intranet page opens in the Workspace panel.

10. From the Navigation panel, click Sales Reports. The website closes.

Assigning a Category to a DocumentAssigning a category to a document provides another way to quickly locate docu‐ments using the category view.

To assign a category to a document:

1. From the Navigation panel, navigate to and click Sales Reports. A list of docu‐ments contained in that folder (Figure 34) displays in the Workspace panel.

2. Click Properties. The Properties screen (Figure 35) displays.

Tip! If the Properties link is not visible, click the arrow beside the objectʹs title to show all available actions.

.

Figure 34 Sales Reports folder: Properties link

Selection box

Propertieslink



3. Expand Personal Categories. The Training Exercise category displays.

4. Select Training Exercise.

5. Click OK. The Properties screen closes.

6. From the Navigation panel toolbar, click Show Categories.

7. Expand Personal Categories and select Training Exercises. The document you assigned to this category displays in the Workspace panel list.

Deleting Personal DocumentsYou can delete documents in your personal folders only.

To delete personal documents:

1. From the Navigation panel, navigate to and click Sales Reports. A list of docu‐ments contained in that folder displays in the Workspace panel.

2. Select the hyperlink you created in a preceding lesson.

3. From the Workspace panel toolbar, click Delete. A confirmation dialog box (Figure 36) displays.

Figure 35 Properties screen

Expand formore

categories



4. Click OK. InfoView removes the document from display in the Workspace panel list.


Selection box

Delete button



Searching for DocumentsUse the search option to search for documents within categories or folders by object title, keywords, or all fields associated with a document. Use the advanced search engine to be more specific in your search.

Performing a Quick SearchWhen you perform a quick search, InfoView searches all folders.

To quickly search for documents in InfoView:

1. From the Header panel toolbar, in the Search title field (Figure 37), type inven‐tory.

Note: The search function defaults to Search title. Click Search title to view other search options.

2. Click Execute Search. A Search Results: title contains “inventory” screen displays in the Workspace panel with a list of documents meeting the search criteria.

Performing an Advanced SearchUse advanced searching to limit your search to specific folders or categories, a spe‐cific document type, as well as other fields.

To perform an advanced search:

1. From the Header panel toolbar, click Search title. The Search title drop‐down menu (Figure 37) displays.

2. Select Advanced search. The Advanced Search screen (Figure 38) displays.

Figure 37 Search tools

Search titledrop-down

menu

Execute Search button

Searching for Documents


3. From the Search by Location options, select Public Folders. If you do not select a location, InfoView searches all locations.

4. In the Search by Keyword field, type sample.

5. In the Search by Title field, type inventory.

6. In the Search by Type field, select Web Intelligence Document.

7. Click Search. The Advanced Search Results screen (Figure 39) displays.

Figure 38 Advanced Search screen

Figure 39 Advanced Search Results screen



Setting Preferences Set preferences for viewing and creating documents. When you select preferences, a page with multiple tabs displays. Only use the tabs described in this chapter.

Warning! Do not use the following tabs: Desktop Intelligence, OLAP Intelligence, Crystal Report, or Performance Management.

When completing a preferences page, click:

• Apply to acknowledge your changes without closing the preference page.

• OK to save your changes and close the preferences page.

• Cancel to close the preferences page without saving changes. InfoView saves only changes you make on pages you click Apply or OK.

Tip! If all the options do not display in the preferences pages, click Maximize.

Setting General PreferencesFrom the General Preferences page, you can modify the following options:

• The initial view that displays after you log on.

• The maximum number of objects displayed on each page.

• The elements that display on the list in the workspace area.

• The language and time zone. Use the default settings for fields not mentioned in the following procedure.

To set general preferences:

1. From the Header panel toolbar, click Preferences. A General Preferences page (Figure 40) displays. Use the vertical scroll bar for more preferences.

Figure 40 General Preferences page

Maximize button

Setting Preferences


2. From the My initial view is options, select Favorites. Your selection determines what displays in the Workspace panel when you log on. Selecting Favorites dis‐plays all the documents contained in the Favorites folder.

You can also select a specified folder or category by clicking on either option and selecting the folder or category from a selection screen.

Note: As a best practice, leave My InfoView selected if corporate sets up a dash‐board as your initial view. You must log off and log on for the My initial view is preference to take effect.

3. Use the scroll bar to see more preferences (Figure 41).

4. From the My default navigation view is options, leave the default setting of Folder for this training class. Select Category to display in category view.

Figure 41 General Preferences page continued



5. From the My InfoView is options, leave the default setting.

6. From the When creating new dashboards options, select either single or tiered. Create your own dashboard (if one has not been designed for you) using tem‐plates that allow you to design a single or tiered affect. For more information on Dashboard, see Using Dashboards on page 340.

7. In the On my desktop field, type the number of documents to display in the Workspace panel list.

8. From the For each document, show me options, select the fields you want Info‐View to display in the Workspace panel list. The document title and type display regardless of your selection. Description Displays the description you typed in the Description field when you cre‐

ated the document.Owner Displays the user ID of the person who created the document.Date Displays the Last Run column showing the last time the query was run or

refreshed.Instance count Displays the Last Run column showing the last time the report was

run but only for scheduled reports run at predetermined times (monthly: 1st of the month; 15th of the month, month end, weekly, daily, and so on).

Actions and description (if selected) initially not hidden Displays the History/Sched‐ule/Modify/Properties links on the list.

Tip! To simplify the list of documents, select Description only. When viewing a list of documents, press the arrow next to the individual document to see the action links and description.

9. From the View my documents options, select:In a single full screen browser window, one document at a time The document maxi‐

mizes and displays in the window without the Navigation panel. Keep in mind, you can open only one document at a time.

In multiple full screen browser windows, one window for each document Opens multiple documents with minimize and maximize capability.

10. From the When I close my browser window options, select always log me off InfoView for best practice.

Warning! Do not select Never log me off InfoView.

11. In the My Interface locale is field, leave the default setting of Use browser locale to set the language and date format for InfoView.

12. In the My current time‐zone is field, select the time zone where you do busi‐ness. Setting your time zone ensures that processing of your scheduled reports occur in the time zone you are working and have the correct time stamp.

13. Click OK after making selections.

Setting Preferences


Setting Web Intelligence Document PreferencesUse the Web Intelligence Document tab (Figure 42) to define:

• The display of Web Intelligence documents in InfoView.

• The interface used for creation of Web Intelligence documents.

• The multi‐dimensional analysis options in Web Intelligence documents.Use the default settings for fields not mentioned in the following procedure.

To set Web Intelligence Document preferences:

1. From the Header panel toolbar, click Preferences. A General Preferences page (Figure 40 on page 40) displays.

2. Click Web Intelligence Document. The Web Intelligence Document Preferences page (Figure 42) displays.

Figure 42 Web Intelligence Document Preferences page



3. From the Select a report panel options, select Java Report Panel as a best prac‐tice. However, use the HTML report panel if working with a dial‐up connection as the panel launches faster over dial‐up lines and is recommended when your company does not allow Java applets to be downloaded for security purposes. Be aware, however, that queries and documents you design with this panel can‐not be as complex as those you create using the Java Report Panel.

Note: This training guide covers report creation using the Java Report Panel.

4. From the For each new drill session options, select:Start drill on a duplicate report Retains a copy of the original document so that you can

compare the drilled results to the data in the original document. InfoView creates a duplicate of the original report. When you end drill mode, both the original report and the drilled report remain in the document for you to view.

Start drill on the existing report Sets drill mode which modifies your report. When you end drill mode, the report displays the drilled values.

5. From the General drill options, select:Prompt if drill requires additional data Web Intelligence prompts you whenever a drill

action requires a new query to add more data to the document. For example, when you drill the results on a document, you may want to drill to higher or lower‐level information that is not included in the scope of analysis for the document. In this situation, Web Intelligence needs to run a new query to retrieve additional data from the data source. You can choose to be prompted with a message whenever a new query is needed.

Synchronize drill on report blocks Web Intelligence synchronizes drilling on all report blocks. Each table, chart, or free‐standing cell in a report represents a specific block of data.

Hide drill toolbar Web Intelligence hides the Drill toolbar when you switch to drill mode.

6. From the Select MS Excel format options, select the MS Excel format: Prioritize the format of reports in the Excel document Displays the data in a format

that is similar to working in MS Excel.Prioritize easy data processing in the Excel document Displays the data in a text for‐

mat.

7. In the Select default Universe field, click Browse and select a universe from the list of default universes. InfoView displays only the selected universe saving you the time it takes to select a universe.

Working with a Web Intelligence Document


Working with a Web Intelligence DocumentUsing InfoView, view BusinessObjects Web Intelligence documents or other docu‐ments, such as MS Word, Adobe Acrobat PDFs, and so on. This training course deals with Web Intelligence documents only.

After selecting a document in InfoView, perform any of the following functions using the Document toolbar buttons.

• View a document

• Refresh the data

• Save a document

• Print the document

Using the Document ToolbarThe Document toolbar displays beneath the document title bar. Use these buttons to refresh information, save, and print the document. Table 7 describes the Docu‐ment toolbar buttons.

Viewing DocumentsIf you open a document set to refresh when opened, the query underlying the report automatically submits to the database and updates as soon as the document opens. If this is the case, the page can take a little time to load, depending on the size and complexity of the query associated with the document.

To view a document in InfoView:

1. Expand Public Folders > Corporate BI Training > Sample Reports and click Merchandising ‐ Inventory. A list of documents displays in the Workspace panel.

2. Click Inventory Value by OpCo (the document name). The document (Figure 43) displays in the Workspace panel.

Table 7 Document Toolbar Button Descriptions


Document Actions

Allows you to:• Save As a new document• Save to your computer as a different document type• Edit the report

View Creates a PDF.

Refresh Data Refreshes the report with updated values.



.

3. Click Toggle Navigation, which maximizes the Workspace panel (Figure 44.)

4. From the Document toolbar, click Document.

5. Click Toggle Navigation to display the Navigation panel.

Refreshing DocumentsWeb Intelligence retrieves data from the database and returns the updated values to the report when you refresh a Web Intelligence document. You can update the data in a document while keeping the same presentation and document formatting.

To refresh a document:

1. With the report open, click Refresh Data (Figure 45). See Viewing Documents on page 45 for information on opening a document.

Figure 43 Document in a maximized panel

ToggleNavigation

button

Figure 44 Opened document in a maximized panel

Documenttoolbar

Viewbutton



The Please Wait Refreshing Data dialog box (Figure 46) displays. After InfoView refreshes the data, the dialog closes and the report displays in the Workspace panel.

2. From the Documents drop‐down menu, click Close or click Close located on the Workspace Panel toolbar. The document closes and the list displays in the Work‐space panel.

Note: Clicking any folder or category in the Navigation panel immediately replaces the open document with a list of documents in the selected folder or category, effectively closing the document.

Using the Document Save OptionsInfoView provides two save options: Save as and Save to my computer as. The first option saves the document within InfoView, while the latter saves the document as a different file type to your computer.

Using the Save As OptionUse the Save option to save a document with a new name to a specific location or category.

Figure 45 Refresh Data button

Close buttonRefresh Data buttonDocument

button

Figure 46 Please Wait Refreshing Data dialog box



To use the Save As option:

1. With the report open, click Document. See Viewing Documents on page 45 for information on opening a document. The Document drop‐down menu (Figure 47) displays.

2. Click Save As. A Save Document screen (Figure 48) displays.

Figure 47 Document drop-down menu: Save as option

Figure 48 Save Document screen

Locationsection



3. From the Location section, select a personal folder. For this lesson, expand My Folders > Favorites and click Sales Reports. InfoView highlights the current location.

Note: If you do not have permission, InfoView displays an error message pre‐venting you from saving to a public folder.

4. Expand Categories and select a category to assign to the document, if war‐ranted.

Tip! As a best practice, do not select Refresh on Open (located above the Loca‐tion section) as it could slow down opening documents based on the complex‐ity of the query.

5. Click OK. The Save Document screen closes.

Saving the Document to your ComputerUse the Save option to save the document to your computer in a different format. The process is the same regardless of the file format you select.

To save the document to your computer:

1. With the report open, click Document. The Document drop‐down menu (Figure 49) displays. See Viewing Documents on page 45 for information on how to open the document.

2. Select PDF. The File Download dialog box (Figure 50) displays.

Figure 49 Document drop-down menu



3. Click Save. A standard Windows save dialog box displays. Proceed as you would with any Windows file.

Note: Click Open to view or print the document. You must have Adobe Reader at the minimum to work with PDF files. If you have the full Adobe client, open‐ing the document can take some time.

Printing Web Intelligence DocumentsTo print a Web Intelligence document, you must display the document in PDF for‐mat and print the document from within Acrobat Reader. To ensure quality print‐ing, never print using the browser print option.

To print a document:

1. Open a Web Intelligence document following the steps in Viewing Documents on page 45.

2. From the Document Header toolbar, click View. The View drop‐down menu (Figure 51) displays.

Figure 50 File Download dialog box

Figure 51 View drop-down menu

Viewbutton



3. Select PDF mode. A PDF document opens in the Workspace panel.

4. Click Print on the PDF to print the document.

Note: Use Email on the PDF to email the document.



Accessing Online HelpInfoView has extensive online help that provides you with a detailed description of both InfoView and the concepts behind it, as well as complete instructions for using it. The online help system assists you if you need to reference a topic.

To access online help, click Help. The contents page of the general online help por‐tal (Figure 52) displays.

Figure 52 General online help portal

Help button

TE1-Training Exercise-InfoView


TE1-Training Exercise-InfoViewName________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 15 minutesComplete this training review to reinforce your knowledge of InfoView basics.

1. What folders reside under My Folders?

2. Name the two different Navigation panel views?

3. True or False: You can create additional folders in the Public Folders group.

4. True or False: You can copy documents from Public Folders?

5. What button do you click to see categories?

6. What is the purpose of a category?

7. True or False: You should select Refresh on Open when you save Web Intelli‐gence documents?

8. What button do you click if you only want to see Web Intelligence documents in the Workspace panel list?

9. True or False: To print a Web Intelligence document, you must display the doc‐ument in PDF format?




InfoView Panels

InfoView is the portal to BusinessObjectsʹ Web Intelligence XI reporting tool. As when working within a MS Windows environment, you can manipulate the panels or windows by clicking the options in the upper‐right corner.

• The Header panel serves as your main menu and is always available. Hide the Header panel if you need a larger screen workspace as when working with a long report.

• The Navigation panel, on the left‐hand side of the screen, provides a list of doc‐uments within the repository that you can navigate by selecting folders or cate‐gories. Click the left pointing arrow or click Show Navigation to hide the Navigation panel and enlarge the Workspace panel.

• The Workspace panel changes depending on the content you have selected, usually a list of reports.

Accessing Documents

Your permissions control the list of available actions that display in a document list. If, for example, you do not have permission to modify the document, the modify option does not display.

Organizing Documents

• Use categories to create a filing system that helps organize your documents.

• Create additional personal folders.

• Copy or move documents: – If you want to use a document as a starting point for a new document with

modifications, such as different sorts, filters and calculations. Save the mod‐ified report to your personal folders.

– If you want to organize your documents in personal folders based on when the report is run (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and so on) or by topic (Sales, Earned Income, Misc. and so on).

• Create a shortcut to ensure you have the most up‐to‐date version of a document and to simplify navigation, so all your important content can be found in one starting location.

Remember It


Note: If you have a shortcut to a document that is later deleted, the shortcut pointer remains, but the icon becomes a blank piece of paper. You can view or refresh a shortcut, but you may not save changes to the underlying document.

List Management

• Sort the contents of a folder by clicking on headers that display on the list.

• To locate specific types of documents, use the Filter feature available on the Workspace panel.

InfoView Preferences

The first time you work with InfoView, consider modifying some of the options to ensure that you display and build reports in the desired format. To modify the default settings, select Preferences from the top‐right corner of the Header panel.

General Preferences

• Set default for your starting page.

• Set behavior when you open and close a document.

• Set how the list of documents displays.

Tip! To simplify the list of documents, select only the description radio button and leave all the other buttons deselected. When viewing a list of documents, press the arrow next to the individual documents to see the action link and description when necessary.



C h a p t e r 3

Creating Web Intelligence Documents with Queries

Topics

• Describing the Query Workflow

• Describing Universes and Objects

• Describing the Document Page

• Creating a Web Intelligence Document

• Saving a Document

• Modifying a Query

• Viewing Query Properties

• Viewing the Query SQL

Chapter 3: Creating Web Intelligence Documents with Queries


Chapter 3 describes how to create, edit, and run a query. The query determines which data Web Intelligence extracts from the universe.

Why is Creating Web Intelligence Documents with Queries Important?

When creating a new document, it is important to formulate business questions in the form of a query that returns the information you want. This chapter supplies you with an understanding of the data and a clear picture of the results needed to facilitate the well constructed queries.

Learning Objectives


• Describe a universe and object types

• Navigate the document page

• Create a new Web Intelligence document

• Modify a report by adding new objects

• Projecting data onto the report

Describing the Query Workflow


Describing the Query WorkflowTo retrieve new data from data sources with Web Intelligence, create a Web Intelli‐gence document or edit the query associated with an existing document.

Creating a new document involves two steps:

• Selecting a BusinessObjects universe as the data source.

• Using various query panes to create the query that determines which data to extract from the universe and how to format the data.

Using the query panes, construct a business question that represents the informa‐tion you need. Web Intelligence sends the question, in the form of a query, to the EDW server, which retrieves data from the various databases and returns results in the form of a data provider. The data provider then projects the data into a Web Intelligence report in the form of tables, crosstabs, and charts so that you can ana‐lyze the data. Figure 53 displays the query process workflow:

Figure 53 Query process workflow



Describing Universes and ObjectsWeb Intelligence makes it easy for you to access your corporate data by enabling you to work with familiar business terms rather than technical SQL code.

Web Intelligence uses universes that contain objects. These objects equate to your familiar business terms. This training course uses the following universes:

• Merchandising ‐ Inventory Analysis

• Merchandising ‐ Purchases Analysis

• Sales (Integrated with Satrak)Using a universe, retrieve the data that interests you by dragging and dropping the desired objects. Objects, grouped into classes, represent a piece of data in the data‐base, such as item number, item details, or customer name. Figure 54 displays how objects map to data in the database.

Objects come in three types and display with icons as defined in Table 8.

Figure 54 Objects mapped to data in the database

Table 8 Object Type Descriptions

Type Icon Description

Dimension BlueCube

Retrieves character-type data like merchandiser, buyer name, or dates like fiscal year and fiscal quarter. Dimension objects set the level of detail within the report.

Detail Green Pyramid

Displays under dimension objects. Use detail objects to clarify the dimen-sion data. For example, the detail object address is associated with ship from supplier street address. You are unlikely to base a query on the address of the supplier, but you may want to see the address in a report.

Measure PinkCircle

Equates to numeric-data usually resulting from calculations on data in the database, such as quantity on order. Unlike dimension or detail objects whose content is fixed, measure objects return values based on the dimen-sion and detail object you select in your query.

Predefined Query Filter

Yellow Funnel

Restricts information returned, such as revenue, by limiting the data to a specific fiscal quarter or year. Filters can also prompt the user to select a value, such as the query filters Which OpCo?, Which buyer ID?, or Which customer number?.

Describing Universes and Objects


Web Intelligence displays classes and objects in a tree structure (Figure 55), in the same way that InfoView presents folders and categories. BusinessObjects uses images that represent each object type discussed in Table 8.

Figure 55 Merchandising - Inventory Analysis universe

Classes

Detail objects

Measure objects

Dimension objects

Predefined QueryFilters



Describing the Document Page The document page contains several panes. The toolbar buttons and pane data var‐ies based on whether you are in Show Query or Show Report view. Table 9 lists the different pane names based on the page or view on your screen.

Toggle between views using the Edit Query and Edit Report buttons (Figure 56).

Table 10 describes the Standard toolbar buttons used in this chapter.

Table 9 Screen Elements

Page/View Left Right

InfoView Navigation panel Workspace panel

Edit Query Data Manager pane- Result Objects pane- Query Filter pane

Edit Report Report Manager pane Document pane

Figure 56 Document page in Edit Query view

Data Managerpane

Standardtoolbar

Edit Querybutton

Table 10 Standard Toolbar Button Descriptions


Save Document

Only available in Edit Report view. Provides the ability to save the document to a selected folder and category, as well as an option to save the data to your computer.

Show QueryDisplays the Data Manager, Result Objects, and Query Filter panes in Edit Query view where you build queries by selecting objects and creating filters, if needed.

Show ReportDisplays the Document pane and Report Manager pane in Edit Report view where you organize the data retrieved by the query and format the data in the report.

Describing the Document Page


View SQL Allows you to view, copy, and modify the SQL statements that generate the query.

Run Query Runs the query in Edit Query view.

Refresh Data Refreshes the data in Edit Report view.

Table 10 Standard Toolbar Button Descriptions (continued)




Creating a Web Intelligence DocumentWhen creating a Web Intelligence document, use the Result Objects and Query Fil‐ters panes to build queries. The data returned by the query displays in the Docu‐ment pane. When you save the document, Web Intelligence associates the following information with the document:

• Query definition

• Data returned by the query

• One or more reports

• One or more blocks of data (tables or charts) and formatting you apply to the blocks

To create a document:

1. From the Header panel, click New. The New drop‐down menu (Figure 57) dis‐plays.

2. Click Web Intelligence Document. A New Web Intelligence Document page (Figure 58) displays prompting you to select a universe.

3. Click Merchandising. An Edit Query page (Figure 59) displays. The Data Man‐ager pane displays all objects in the selected universe.

Figure 57 New drop-down menu: Web Intelligence Document option

Figure 58 New Web Intelligence Document page

Creating a Web Intelligence Document


4. From the Data Manager pane, expand Time > Year > Fiscal Year. A list of objects related to the fiscal year class displays.

Tip! Hold your mouse over an object to view a brief description about the object or click an object to see the description display in the status bar.

5. Double‐click Fiscal Year Description. When you double‐click to select the object, it moves to the Result Objects pane.

6. Expand Company and select Company Number and Company Name.

7. Expand Sales > Sales $ and select Sysco Brand $. Your screen should resemble Figure 60.

Figure 59 Edit Query page

Data Managerpane

Objectdescription

Figure 60 New Web Intelligence Document page with selected objects

Run Query button

Results Objects pane



8. Click Run Query. The query executes and displays data in Edit Report view (Figure 61) using the default vertical table presentation.

9. Use this query for the next lesson: Saving a Document on page 67.

Figure 61 Edit Report view: Query results

Saving a Document


Saving a DocumentWeb Intelligence documents you save to your personal folders reside in an area on the BusinessObjects server reserved for you. The documents do not save to your computer. However, you can save Web Intelligence documents to your computer in Adobe Acrobat PDF or MS Excel format.

Note: You cannot save a document until you run the query and are in Edit Report view, which provides access to the save function. Save the report you just created.

To save a new document:

1. From the Standard toolbar, click Edit Report if not in Edit Report view. The report data (Figure 62) displays.

2. Click Save. The Save Document dialog box (Figure 63) displays.

Figure 62 Edit Report view: Report data

Savebutton

Edit Reportbutton

Figure 63 Save Document dialog box with completed fields

Location section

Categories



Note: To save the document to your computer, click the Save down arrow, select Save to my computer as, and select Adobe Acrobat PDF or MS Excel. For additional information, see Saving the Document to your Computer on page 49.

3. In the Title field, type Sysco Brand Sales.

4. In the Description field, type Sysco Brand sales for three sample operating companies.

5. In the Keyword field, type exercise, chapter 4, training.

Tip! As a best practice, do not select Refresh on Open, which allows you to view the original data retrieved when you created or last refreshed the document.

6. In the Location section, click Favorites.

7. Expand Categories > Personal Categories.

8. Select Training Exercise.

9. Click OK. The Save Document dialog box closes. The document saves to Favor‐ites and attaches to the selected category.

Note: When you save a document, the document remains on your screen. Use this document for the next lesson: Adding Objects to a Query on page 69.

Modifying a Query


Modifying a QueryAfter running the query, you can change the result by adding or removing objects in the query. If you add dimension objects to the query, run the query again. When in Edit Report view, drag and drop the newly added items onto the report block. This process is called projecting data.

Locating ObjectsIf you know the name of an object but not its location, use the search feature to locate an object rather than opening folders.

To locate objects quickly:

1. Click in the Data Manager pane.

2. Type one or more characters of the object name. For example, if you are trying to locate the Net Sales $ object, start typing net sales. A Search for: field (Figure 64) displays and Web Intelligence highlights the object found with the name you type.

Adding Objects to a QueryWhen you initially run the query, the Data tab (Figure 65) displays only the fields currently used in the query. Switch to Edit Query view to add objects to the query.

To add an object to a query:

1. From the Standard toolbar, click Edit Query (Figure 65).

Figure 64 Search for: field

Search for



The Sysco Brand Sales Report displays in Edit Query view (Figure 66).

2. From the Data tab, expand Item > Category and select Category Description.

3. Expand Sales > Sales ‐ Quantities and select Sysco Brand (cs). The selected objects move to the Result Objects pane (Figure 67).

.

Figure 65 Sysco Brand Sales Report

Edit Querybutton

Standardtoolbar

Data tab

Figure 66 Sysco Brand Sales Report: Edit Query view

Data Managertab

Figure 67 Result Objects pane: Added objects

Modifying a Query


4. Click Run Query. The Sysco Brand Sales Report displays in Edit Report view. Notice that the object you added does not display (Figure 68) in the report. You must project the new data in the report.

Projecting DataWhen you change the definition of a query to retrieve more data, Web Intelligence displays the added object in the Data tab but does not project the added object. To project data onto the report for added dimension objects, work in Edit Report view.

To project data:

1. From the Data tab, click and drag Category Description and Sysco Brand(cs) to the report block. As you move your mouse over the report, a tooltip (Figure 69) displays.

2. Release your mouse at the right edge of a detail cell in the OpCo Name column in the block. The Category Description and Sysco Brand(cs) columns (Figure 70) display with data in the report table.

Note: Drop objects in the detail cells of the block, not into a column header or footer, as the results do not display as expected. If the tooltip Drop here to replace a cell displays, data for the new object replaces current column data.

Figure 68 Edit Report view: Data tab

Report specificdata objects

Figure 69 Projecting data: Insert column

Tooltip



3. From the Standard toolbar, click Save.

Understanding Data AggregationWhen you first ran the query, Web Intelligence broke down the Inventory Value solely based on operating company and totaled the results. This is also known as high‐level aggregation.

When you added the Category Description, Web Intelligence re‐aggregated the Sysco Brand $ by date for each operating company and each category description using a lower‐level aggregation.

You can see the dynamic nature of measure objects (Sysco Brand $) whose values change based on the dimension objects (Category Description) you use with them.

Figure 70 Projected columns

Viewing Query Properties


Viewing Query PropertiesQueries have default properties that you can view and modify while in Edit Query view. Modifications apply to the current query only. Use these properties to:

• Optimize query run time

• Control the amount of data returned

• Set security options

• Specify the order of prompts in the report

• Control potential ambiguous query resultsTo view or modify query properties:

1. Click Edit Query if not in Edit Query view.

2. Click Properties. A Query Properties tab (Figure 71) displays properties you can modify. Web Intelligence groups the properties into sections to minimize scroll‐ing.

3. Click the Expand/Collapse arrows to expand or collapse the query property sections.

4. Modify the properties, if needed, as defined in Table 11.

Figure 71 Query Properties tab

Propertiestab

Expand/Collapse arrows

Table 11 Query Properties Descriptions

Property Description

NameOverrides the naming convention by typing in a name relevant to the query. By default, Web Intelligence names each query in the document sequentially, Query 1, Query 2, and so on.



Limits: Max rows retrieved

Specifies the maximum number of rows you want returned. Use this option to prevent a query processing for an extended period of time or from returning unnecessary data to the document. Note: If this value is greater than the value set by system administrators, Web Intelligence uses the lesser value.

Limits: Max retrieval time

Specifies the maximum time (minutes) that a query can run before Web Intelligence stops the query. This option is useful if a query is processing for an extended period of time due to an excess of data or network problems.

Data: Retrieve duplicate rows

Specifies if Web Intelligence retrieves duplicate rows. Deselect if you want only unique rows returned. In a database, the same data may be repeated over many rows. The default option returns repeated rows.

Security: Allow other users to edit all queries

Specifies if other users can change the document. Deselect to prevent other users from changing the document. This is impor-tant for reports that multiple people access and who intention-ally or unintentionally make changes. Think of it as protecting a spreadsheet in MS Excel.

Prompt Order

Allows you to change the display order of multiple prompts using the up and down arrows.

Reset ContextsClear Contexts

When you run a query or refresh a report that can result in an ambiguous query, a dialog box displays prompting you to select a context.

Reset contexts on refresh–prompts you to choose a context each time a query requiring a context is run. When dese-lected, Web Intelligence retains the context specified the first time you run the query.Clear contexts–removes all selected contexts from the con-text list and prompts you to select a context when you refresh the report.

Table 11 Query Properties Descriptions (continued)

Property Description

Viewing the Query SQL


Viewing the Query SQLWhen you build a query, Web Intelligence automatically generates the appropriate SQL to retrieve the data from the database. Web Intelligence provides you with the ability to view, edit, and copy the SQL statement.

To view the SQL statement for a query:

1. In Edit Query view, click View SQL. An SQL Viewer dialog box (Figure 72) dis‐plays.

2. Click Copy to copy the SQL statements for use in another application. The state‐ments copy to the clipboard. Click Close to close the dialog box.

Figure 72 SQL Viewer dialog box

View SQLbutton

Use customSQL



TE2-Training Exercise-Building a ReportName________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 10 minutesCreate a new document and retrieve data for the document by building and editing a query.

1. Create a document using the Sales universe showing Sold Quantity (cs) by Company Number and Company Short Name.

2. Run the query to view your results.

3. Edit the document you just created to include a listing for Category Descrip‐tion.

4. View the SQL that Web Intelligence creates to retrieve the data.

5. Run the query. Your report should resemble the completed report in Figure 73.

6. Save the document in Favorites as Activity Create Document.

Figure 73 Completed report

Remember It



Semantic Layer

Consists of:

• A universe that maps to data in the database relevant to a specific area of busi‐ness, such as Merchandising, Sales, Inventory, and so on.

• Objects that map to a piece of information, such as an item number or descrip‐tion.

• Classes that group objects.

Object Types

• Dimension objects retrieve character‐type data and dates.

• Measure objects retrieve numerical data.

• Detail objects retrieve informational data that is not used to group data.

View Types

When working with documents, Web Intelligence offers two view types:

• Use Edit Query view to create or modify the query.

• Use Edit Report view to see the data or to project data.

Projecting Data

When you add dimension objects to an existing query, you must project the data into the report block.



C h a p t e r 4

Restricting Data

Topics

• Describing Query Filters

• Applying a Predefined Query Filter

• Applying a Single‐Value Query Filter

• Using Prompted Query Filters

• Using Complex Filters

Chapter 4: Restricting Data


Chapter 4 describes how to set up and group query filters that provide more effi‐cient and relevant results.

Why is Restricting Data Important?

When creating reports, it is important to remember that the various SYSCO data‐bases contain millions of lines of data. Query filters limit the amount of data that is searched and retrieved into your Web Intelligence report. By limiting the data, you:

• Receive more pertinent information.

• Decrease the time required for the results to return.

Learning Objectives


• Restrict data using query filters

• Modify a query with a predefined query filter

• Apply a single‐value query filter

• Use prompts to restrict data

• Use complex filters

Describing Query Filters


Describing Query FiltersQuery filters retrieve a subset of the available data, based on the definition of the filter. For example, apply a query filter on the fiscal quarter dimension in the Mer‐chandising ‐ Inventory universe to view only inventory value for a specific quarter.

Restricting the query data ensures that you retrieve only the data that interests you thereby increasing the usefulness of your reports. Restricting data:

• Minimizes the quantity of data returned.

• Reduces the time required to create and refresh the document over the network.

• Hides data you do not want specific users to use when they access the docu‐ment.

All SYSCO universes contain predefined filters built by the universe designers. Cre‐ate your own query filters when predefined filters are not appropriate to your needs.

Users without rights to edit a query cannot modify the query filter, ensuring that the data saved with a document is appropriate for those who view or analyze the data within that document.

Note: Your administrator can prevent objects from being filtered. If you create filters on protected objects, a warning displays listing the filters that you cannot use. Remove these filters from the query in order to run the query.

You create filters in the Query Filters pane (Figure 74).

Describing Query Filter TypesWeb Intelligence offers four types of query filters (Figure 75). This chapter includes exercises and practice sessions using the four query filter types.

Figure 74 Query Filters pane

Query Filterspane



Describing Query Filter ElementsQuery filters contain three elements (Figure 76).

• An object filters data by a dimension or other object.

• An operator filters data based on the relationship between the object and the operand, such as Equal to, In list, Less than, Greater than or Equal to, and so on as defined in Table 12.

• An operand filters data based on values you define.

Figure 75 Query filter types

Complex filters: using and/or

Prompted filters

Predefined condition, built in the universe

Single Value filter

Multiple Value filter

Figure 76 Query filter elements

Table 12 Query Operators

Operator Retrieves Data Example

BetweenBetween two specified values and includes data for the value you specify

[Buyer ID] between 003 and 012 retrieves data for all buyers with IDs between 003 and 012, including ID 003 and 012.

Both Where two values overlap [B&D Diversity Dimensions] both Small Business and Veteran Owned retrieves data for suppliers that meet both of these diversity dimensions.

Different from pattern

Different from the value you specify

[Fiscal Quarter] different from Q4 retrieves data for all quarters except Q4.Note: Using this operator increases the search time.

Describing Query Filters


Different from pattern

That excludes a specific string of data you type

[Phone] different from pattern 281 retrieves all phone numbers that do not have 281 in them.Note: Using this operator increases the search time.

Equal to Equal to a value you specify [Category] equal to Canned and Dry retrieves data for items only within that category.

Except

Corresponding to one speci-fied value and does not cor-respond to another specified value

[Customer] Telephone No Except Fax No retrieves data for customers who have a telephone number, but do not have a fax number.

Greater than Greater than the value you specify

[Inventory Value $] greater than 100,000 retrieves data for all inventory items whose value is over $100,000.

Greater than or equal to

Greater than or equal to a value you specify

[Inventory Value $] greater than or equal to 100000 retrieves data for all inventory items whose value starting from $100,000 and more.

In list Based on values you specify in a list

[OpCo] in list 004;031;036;045 retrieves data for only those operating companies listed.

Is not null Only if the object contains a value

[365+ Age On Hand Qty (Cases)] is not null retrieves data for any cases in stock that are 365 days or older in age.

Is null Only if the object contains no value

[DSO] is null retrieves data for items with zero days of stock on hand.

Less than Less than the value you spec-ify

[Inventory Value $] less than 100000 retrieves data for all inventory items whose value is below $100,000.

Less than or equal to

Less than or equal to a value you specify

[Inventory Value $] less than or equal to 100000 retrieves data for all inventory items whose value is $100,000 or less.

Matches pattern That includes a specific string of data you type

[Item Number] matches pattern, 0267 retrieves all items with 0267 in the item number.Note: Use the % wildcard character to find all records that contain or being with a particular string. Use underscore (_) to match one particular space. For example:– B%: data that starts with B.– %B%: data that contains B.– _B% data with B in the second position.Using this operator increases the search time.

Not Between Outside the range of the val-ues you specify

[Fiscal Week] not between 1 and 4 retrieves data for all fiscal weeks of the Fiscal Year excluding weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Not in List That excludes what you spec-ify

[Region] not in list Canadian; Specialty retrieves data for all regions except for the ones listed.

Table 12 Query Operators (continued)

Operator Retrieves Data Example



Applying a Predefined Query FilterUse a predefined query filter to restrict the information returned by a specific dimension, detail, or measure object. Predefined query filters, created by a universe designer, display with a yellow funnel icon.

To apply a predefined query filter:

1. Navigate to Public Folders > BI Training > Sample Reports and copy the Mer‐chandising ‐ Query Filters document to a new folder in My Folders > Favorites. Name the folder Inventory Reports. See Copying Documents on page 30 for help.

2. Navigate to My Folders > Favorites > Inventory Reports and open the docu‐ment. The document (Figure 77) displays in the Document pane.

3. Click Hide the Navigation Panel to collapse the Navigation panel and view the document in a full browser window.

4. From the Document drop‐down menu, select Edit. The document (Figure 78) opens in the Document pane.

Figure 77 Merchandising - Query Filters document

Hide theNavigation

panel button

Documentbutton

Applying a Predefined Query Filter


5. Click Edit Query. The document page toggles to Edit Query view (Figure 79) and displays all the classes and objects in the Data Manager pane.

Note: When in Edit Query mode, the Navigation panel becomes the Data Man‐ager pane.

6. Expand Conditions > Item Conditions > Item Brand Conditions.

7. Double‐click Specialty SYSCO Brands. This predefined condition, which limits the data to only SYSCO brands, automatically moves to the Query Filters pane.

8. Click Run Query. After the query runs, the Document pane (Figure 80) displays the retrieved data in Edit Report view.

Figure 78 Document in the Document pane

Edit Querybutton

Figure 79 Edit Query view

Predefined(Condition) filter

Data Managerpane

Query Filterspane



Note: The values in the report change to reflect data for Speciality SYSCO Brands only.

9. Click Save.

10. Keep the document open for the next lesson.

Figure 80 Edit Report view

Report Managerpane

Save button

Close button

New Documentbutton

Applying a Single-Value Query Filter


Applying a Single-Value Query FilterA single‐value query filter limits the data returned to one single value for that object. For example, locate data for a specific customer by building a condition on the dimension customer object and selecting a specific customer number.

This lesson covers creating, modifying, and deleting the single‐value filter.

Creating a Single-Value Query FilterFor this lesson, continue working with the Merchandising Inventory ‐ Query Filters report.

To create a single‐value query filter:

1. Click Edit Query to return to the query panel.

2. From the Query Filters pane, remove the Specialty SYSCO Brands filter.

3. Drag Brand from the Result Objects pane to the Query Filters pane (Figure 81).

4. From the Operator drop‐down list (Figure 82 on page 88), select Equal to. For an explanation of each operator, see Table 12 on page 82.

Figure 81 Query Filters pane

Operatordrop-down list

Operanddrop-down list



5. From the Operand drop‐down list (Figure 83), select Value(s) from list.

In a moment or two, Web Intelligence retrieves values from the EDW and dis‐plays them in a List of Values dialog box (Figure 84). Web Intelligence grays out inappropriate operands based on object selection.

Note: By default, Type a constant displays. Constant represents a value you type in the value field. For example, if you know the exact spelling of the brand, type the brand name in the Value field. Rather than typing a brand name, pro‐ceed to the next step.

Figure 82 Operator drop-down list

Figure 83 Operand drop-down list

Value field

Figure 84 List of Values dialog box

Click to sort

Brand list



Note: Not all brands display in this training environment.

6. From the Brand list, locate and double‐click Borden. Borden moves to the Value(s) Selected field.

Note: Click the Brand header to sort the list content.

7. Click OK. The List of Values dialog box closes and the document page displays.

8. From the Standard toolbar, click Run Query. The report (Figure 85) displays data for only Borden brand items.

9. Save the document in Favorites as Simple Query Filter.

10. Keep the Simple Query Filter document open for the next lesson.

Using Wildcards in a List of ValuesWhen working with a List of Values (Figure 84 on page 88), Web Intelligence pro‐vides the ability to search locate a value quickly using a wildcard, the * (asterisk).

To use a wildcard:

1. Using the Simple Query Filter document, from the Standard toolbar, click Edit Query.

2. From the Operand drop‐down list, select Value(s) from list.

3. In the Search All Values field, type Bor*.

4. Click Search. The List of Values dialog box (Figure 86) displays only brands starting with Bor.

5. In the Search All Values field, delete the current content and type b?rd*.

Figure 85 Report results

Figure 86 List of Values dialog box for bor*

Searchbutton

SearchAll Values

field



6. Click Search. The List of Values (Figure 87) displays all brands that start with b followed by any letter, followed by rd, and any letters.

Editing a Single-Value Query FilterYou can easily change the filter parameters by editing the query filter.

Using the current report on screen:

1. Click Edit Query to ensure you are in Edit Query view.

2. From the Query Filters pane, click Operand and select Matches pattern.

3. In the Value field, type %COCA%. Web Intelligence search for all brands that contain the letters COCA.

4. Click Run Query. The report (Figure 88) displays data for only Coca Cola brand items.

Deleting a Query FilterWeb Intelligence provides several ways to delete a simple query filter.

Using the current report on the screen:

1. Click Edit Query to ensure you are in Edit Query view.

2. From the Query Filters pane, click Brand.

3. Press Delete. The filter no longer displays.

Note: You can also click and drag the Brand filter to the Query Filters pane or right‐click the filter and select Remove.

Figure 87 List of Values dialog box for b?rd

Click to sortlist




4. Click New Document in preparation for Training Exercise TE3. Web Intelli‐gence displays a warning message (Figure 89).

5. Click Yes. The document closes without saving any changes and a new docu‐ment displays in Edit Query view.

Figure 89 Warning message: Changes made



TE3-Training Exercise-Restricting DataName________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 10 minutesApply filters to a query to limit the data returned by objects in the query.

1. Create a document using the Merchandising ‐ Inventory universe showing Fis‐cal Year, OpCo Number, OpCo Name, Category, and Item Count.

2. Create a query filter to show data for the Atlanta operating company.


4. Replace the filter to display figures only for Jacksonville and San Antonio.

Tip! Because Equal to works only for single values, change the filter operator.

5. Run the query. Your report should resemble Figure 90.

6. Save the document in Favorites as Activity Filters 1.


Using Prompted Query Filters


Using Prompted Query FiltersA prompted query filter uses a prompt operand. If you selected a prompt operand, a Prompt dialog box displays when you refresh a document. Prompted filters allow multiple users viewing a single document to specify a different subset of data and yet display the data using the same tables or charts in the document.

Use a prompted filter to define a question, which displays whenever you or other users refresh the data. Answer the prompt by typing or selecting values. Create prompts for any dimension, measure, or detail object listed in the Data Manager pane.

Note: You cannot use the Is Null and Not Null operators when creating prompted query filters.

Creating a Prompted Query FilterFor this lesson, create a report that shows inventory aging by category for an Inven‐tory Snapshot date. Use the Merchandising ‐ Inventory Analysis universe.

To create a prompted query filter:

1. From the Data Manager pane, locate each of the objects shown in Figure 91 and click and drag them to the Result Objects pane.

2. From the Result Objects pane, click and drag Inventory Snapshot Date to the Query Filters pane.

3. From the Operator drop‐down list, select Equal to.

4. From the Operand drop‐down list, select Prompt (Figure 92). The filter defini‐tion displays in the operand Value field and a Prompt button displays on the filter.

Figure 91 Result Objects pane displaying selected objects

Data Managerpane



5. Click Prompt. The Prompt dialog box (Figure 93) displays.

6. In the Prompt text field, type Select an Inventory Snapshot date.

7. Select Select only from list.

8. Leave the other default options, described in Table 13, as they display.

9. Click OK. The Prompt dialog box closes. The prompt text you typed displays in the Value field.

10. Click Run Query. A Prompts dialog box (Figure 94) displays a list of values for selection.

Figure 92 Operand drop-down list after selecting Prompt

Prompt buttonFilter definition

Figure 93 Prompt dialog box

Table 13 Prompt Properties Descriptions

Prompt Property Description

Prompt with List of Values Displays all the values for an object for selection.

Select only from list Prevents users from typing a value that may not exist in the EDW.

Keep last value(s) selected Displays the value last selected when you ran refresh.

Set default value(s) Displays a specific value always. If you select this option, the dialog expands and displays a list of values for selection.



Tip! Click the Inventory Snapshot Date header to sort the list. Click again to reverse the sort.

11. From the list, double‐click 1/6/2007 12:00:00 AM. Your selection moves to the Select a custom date field.

12. Click Run Query. The report results (Figure 95) display showing inventory val‐ues by category for each operating company with an age of 120 days or more.

13. Click Refresh Data. The Prompts dialog box (Figure 96) displays.

Figure 94 Prompts dialog box

Run Querybutton

Click toSort


RefreshDatabutton



14. Click Refresh List to view all values for selection.

15. Double‐click a different Inventory Snapshot date.

16. Click Refresh Data. The data displays for the selected date.

Editing a Prompted Query FilterContinuing with the same report, this lesson covers editing a prompted query filter and changing the filter to use the In List operator.

To edit a prompted query filter:

1. From the Standard toolbar, click Edit Query.

2. From the Query Filters pane, click Inventory Snapshot Date and press Delete. The filter no longer displays.

3. From the Result Objects pane, drag Category to the Query Filters pane.

4. In the Category filter, leave the default In List operator.

5. From the Operand drop‐down list, select Prompt. A Prompt button displays in the filter (Figure 92 on page 94).

6. Click Prompt. The Prompt dialog box (Figure 97) displays.

7. Select Set default value(s). The Prompt dialog box (Figure 98) expands to dis‐play a list for selection.


Refresh Listbutton

Figure 97 Prompt dialog box



8. In the Category list, double‐click Seafood. Your selection displays in the Value(s) Selected list.

9. In the Category list, select Poultry.

10. Click the Selection arrow to move your selection to the Value(s) Selected list.

Note: Press Ctrl or Shift when making multiple selections as with any product running in Windows.

11. Click OK. The Prompt dialog box closes.

12. Click Run Query. A Prompts dialog box (Figure 99) displays. Notice that the val‐ues you set display by default in the Enter Category list.

Note: You can refresh the list and select additional values.

13. Click Run Query.

Figure 98 Prompt dialog box with set default value(s) option selected

Refresh List button

Selection arrow

Figure 99 Prompts dialog box with selections

Run Querybutton



14. From the Standard toolbar, click Save. Save the document in Favorites or share the document with another user (discussed in a later chapter).

The next time you open the document, the report displays the fiscal weeks you selected as the default. When you refresh the data, the Prompt dialog box dis‐plays so you can select different values, if appropriate.

If you save the document after selecting a different value, that value displays because you also selected the Keep last value(s) option.

TE4-Training Exercise–Adding Prompts


TE4-Training Exercise–Adding PromptsName________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 15 minutesApply prompts to a query filter to limit the data returned by objects in the query.

1. Create a document using the Merchandising ‐ Inventory universe showing Opco Number, Opco Name, Inventory Snapshot Date, and Inventory Value($).

2. Add a prompted filter to the query so that you are prompted to select one Opco Number from a list.

3. Run the query to view your results selecting Opco Number 013 for display.

4. Return to Edit Query Mode.

5. Change the prompted filter to select from a list.

6. Change the prompt parameters so that the prompt does not display the last val‐ues selected.

7. Run the query to view the results, selecting Opco Number 002 and 003. Your report should resemble Figure 100.

8. Save the document in Favorites as Activity Filters 2.




Using Complex FiltersApply more than one filter to a query to further refine information Web Intelligence returns to a document. When you specify more than one filter in a query, the rela‐tionship between the filters must use a logical operator–either the and or or opera‐tors:

• Use the and operator when both conditions defined in the two filters must be met for a row of data to be returned when you run the query.

• Use the or operator when either one or the other condition defined in the filter must be met.

The result of combining two or more filters is visually represented in Figure 101.

The two circles each represent rows of information that Web Intelligence returns based on the conditions you define with a filter. The overlapping area represents the row that meets both the conditions defined by the filters.

Looking at Figure 101, using the and logical operator results in fewer rows, those in area C. If you use the or logical operator, all rows represented by condition A and condition B return.

Using Multiple Filters with And OperatorBy default, Web Intelligence automatically places an and operator between two con‐ditions. For this lesson, produce a report showing the inventory value for 2006 only and for all buyers except buyer 004.

To create filters using the and operator:

1. From the Standard toolbar, select New Document.

2. From the Data Manager pane, locate each of the objects shown in Figure 102 and click and drag them to the Result Objects pane.

Figure 101 Diagram representing two or more filters

Using Complex Filters


3. From the Result Objects pane, click and drag Fiscal Year to the Query Filters pane.

4. From the Operator drop‐down list, select Equal to.

5. In the Value field, type 2006.

6. From the Result Objects pane, click and drag Buyer ID to the Query Filters pane. Notice that Web Intelligence automatically applies the And operator (Figure 103).

7. From the Operator drop‐down list, select Not Equal to.

8. From the Operand drop‐down list, select Value(s) from list (Figure 103). In a moment or two, the List of Values dialog box displays.

9. Locate and double‐click 004.

10. Click OK. The List of Values dialog box closes.

11. Click Run Query. The report (Figure 104) displays the inventory value for 2007 only and for all buyers except buyer 004.

Figure 102 Result Objects pane displaying selected objects

Value field

Figure 103 Query Filters pane showing And operator



12. Click Save. The Save Document dialog box displays.

13. In the Title field, type Multiple Filters.

14. In the Location section, navigate to and select Inventory Reports.

Using the Or OperatorUse the Or operator to find data that meets one or more conditions. For this lesson, use the preceding report and add filters to focus on buyers meeting one of two dis‐tinct conditions:

• All buyers in 2006, except buyer 004 or

• Only buyers with an inventory value > 2,000,000.To create filters using the Or operator:


2. From the Result Objects pane, click and drag Inventory Value to the Query Fil‐ters pane. Web Intelligence automatically applies the and operator.

3. From the Operator drop‐down list, select Greater than.

4. In the Value field, type 2000000 (Figure 105).

Note: Do not use dollar signs or commas.

Figure 104 Result Object pane displaying selected objects

Figure 105 Query Filters pane with all needed filters

Using Complex Filters


Now that you have all the filters, group the filters based on the conditions defined at the beginning of this lesson.

5. From the Query Filters pane, click and drop Buyer above Year. Web Intelligence automatically groups the two filters together (Figure 106).

The And operator displays as the default but is inappropriate for our needs.

6. From the Query Filters pane, double‐click the outside And. The And changes to Or (Figure 107).

7. Click Run Query. The report displays all buyers except buyer 004 for the year 2006 and any buyers that have an inventory value > 2,000,000 regardless of the year or buyer ID.

8. In the Document pane, scroll until you see 2007. Notice that all buyers listed have a inventory value greater than 2,000,000 and that buyer 004 displays.

9. Click Save.

Prioritizing OperatorsWhen you combine several filters in a single query, you apply a complex filter. To ensure the filters retrieve the exact data you want, group and prioritize the opera‐tors.

For this lesson, create a document that shows inventory value based on two distinct conditions:

• By buyer ID for OpCo 002 for frozen or

• By buyer ID for OpCo 003 for canned and dry.

Figure 106 Query Filters pane showing grouped filters

All buyers in 2006, except 004

Only buyers with 2,000,000

Before After

Figure 107 Query Filters pane showing Or

And operatorchanges

to an Or operator



To define the priority between complex filters:

1. From the Standard toolbar, click New Document.

2. From the Data Manager pane, locate each of the objects in Figure 108 and click and drag them to the Result Objects pane.

3. Create the filters (Figure 108).

Note: The query cannot return results because Web Intelligence does not know which filter to run or in which order.

4. In the Query Filters pane, drag and drop the filters in the order shown in Figure 109 and change the And to Or.

5. Click Run Query. The report displays inventory value for OpCo 002 for the fro‐zen category only or inventory value for OpCo 003 for canned and dry.

6. Click Save.

7. Save the document in Inventory Reports as Prioritizing Operators.

Figure 108 Result Objects pane displaying selected objects and filters

Figure 109 Result Objects pane displaying grouped and prioritized filters

TE5-Training Exercise-Applying Multiple Filters


TE5-Training Exercise-Applying Multiple FiltersName________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 15 minutesApply multiple filters to a query to limit the data returned by the objects.

1. Create a document using the Merchandising ‐ Inventory universe showing OpCo Name, Item No/Description, and OnHand Qty (cases) where DSO is less than 3 days for OpCo 002.

Tip! Do not have to include DSO in the Result Objects pane.

Your report should resemble Figure 110.

2. Edit the query and add a filter to show On Hand Qty (Cases) of 3 or less.

Tip! Be sure to think about the criteria and apply the correct operator (And/Or).

Your report should resemble Figure 111.

3. Save the report in Favorites as Activity Filters 3.






Restricting Data

Restricting data in the query ensures that you retrieve only the data that interests you. Advantages of restricting data include:

• Minimizing the quantity of data returned

• Reducing the time required to create and refresh the document over the net‐work

• Hiding data from specific users where necessary

Filter Types

Web Intelligence offers four types of query filters:

• Conditions–Predefined query filters built into the universe by the universe designers.

• Single and multi‐value filters defined by the user.

• Prompted Filters–Provide the ability to ask a user what information they want provided in the report.

• Complex filters–Use the Or/And statements and require you to group and pri‐oritize conditions.

Query Filter Components

• Object–A piece of data such as fiscal quarter.

• Operator–Denotes the relationship between the object and the operand such as Equal to, Greater than, Less than, In list, and so on.

• Operand–The value you want in your report, such as 2 (for the 2nd fiscal quar‐ter).

C h a p t e r 5

Report Design

Topics

• Describing Document Components

• Working with Report Design Toolbars

• Working with Report Manager Pane

• Configuring Views

• Adding Reports to Your Document

• Working with Tables

• Presenting Data in Free Standing Cells

• Presenting Data in Charts

• Displaying Document Properties

Chapter 5: Report Design


Chapter 5 describes how to work in Edit Report view where you can add reports to a document. While in Edit Report view, apply templates that transform the data into different types of tables and charts.

Why is Report Design Important?

Using the proper presentation format helps to better analyze the data; therefore, understanding how BusinessObjects presents data in each table or chart type is essential.

Learning Objectives


• Navigate the Report Manager pane

• Change the view of the Report Manager pane

• Add reports to documents

• Create tables and charts using templates

• Add and format labels to reports

Describing Document Components


Describing Document ComponentsA Web Intelligence document consists of:

• One or more reports organized as tabs along the bottom of the window. Reports contain blocks of formatted data, as well as text and graphics. You specify the layout when you create a report and change the layout of existing reports.

• A micro‐cube of data (or data provider) which is a structure that contains the actual data retrieved from the EDW by the query. It contains all the data that can be displayed in the reports inside the document.

• One or more blocks. A block is a table, crosstab, or chart that displays informa‐tion in the report.

Each report in a document can show different views of the same information or show completely different information concerning the same subject (Figure 112).

For the lessons in this chapter, copy a document from the Public Folder:

1. Expand Public Folders > BI Training and click Sample Reports. A list of docu‐ments displays in the Workspace panel.

2. Locate the document titled SMR by Category Sample Report and click Modify. (Figure 113).

The document (Figure 114) opens in the Document pane in Edit Report view.

Figure 112 Sample document with multiple reports

Multiple reports

Multiple blocks

Figure 113 Modify hyperlink




4. Select Save As. The Save Document page displays.

5. Save the document as My SMR by Category Sample Report in Favorites and click OK. Notice that the title bar displays the new name.

Figure 114 Open SMR by Category document

Save button

Documentpane

Report Managerpane

Working with Report Design Toolbars


Working with Report Design Toolbars When you open a report, the report displays in Edit Report view where you interact with and organize the data returned by queries using toolbars and the Report Man‐ager tabs.

Web Intelligence provides four toolbars (Figure 115) for use in creating and editing reports in the Edit Report view.

Note: If toolbar buttons display gray, click in the Document pane which activates the toolbar buttons.

To display the report design toolbars:

1. From the Standard toolbar, click Configure Views. A drop‐down menu (Figure 116) displays.

2. Click Toolbars. A drop‐down list of toolbars displays.

3. Verify that all the toolbars are selected. If not, click to select each toolbar.

Note: Right‐click the empty space in the toolbar area for the same list of avail‐able toolbars.

Figure 115 Edit Report View toolbars

Formatting toolbar

Reporting toolbar

Standard toolbar

Page Navigation toolbar

Figure 116 Configure Views drop-down menu

ConfigureViews button



Table 14 describes the Standard toolbar buttons used in this chapter.

For a description of other buttons on the Standard toolbar, see Table 10 on page 62.

Table 14 Standard Toolbar Button Descriptions


New Document Creates a new document using the current universe.

Save Provides the ability to save the document to a personal folder and category or to save the data to your computer.

Export to PDF for Printing

Enables you to create a PDF file containing the entire report or specific pages for printing.

Configure Views Shows and hides the different Report Manager tabs, as well as each of the three toolbars.

Show QueryToggles your view of the report from Show Report to Show Query view where you define data content of the document.

Show Report Toggles your view of the report from Show Query to Show Report where you edit reports in a document.

Refresh Data Regenerates the query and retrieves the most recent data from the database.

Purge Data

Removes the data retrieved from your document. Use this if you are sharing a report with another user. It purges all data but leaves the report structure in tact. Also, use if you are designing a report and need to clean out data for a fresh look.

Show User Set-tings

Modify measurement settings in the User Settings dialog box.

Help Displays online help for Web Intelligence.

Working with Report Design Toolbars


Table 15 describes the Reporting toolbar buttons used in this chapter. For informa‐tion on other buttons on this toolbar, see Chapter 6: Organizing a Report on page 149.

Buttons on the Formatting toolbar provide standard MS formatting functions and need no description.

Table 15 Reporting Toolbar Button Descriptions


View Structure Displays the object name. Useful if you change the label on the chart or table.

View Results Displays the actual data after clicking View Structure.



Working with Report Manager PaneWhen working in Edit Report view, the Report Manager pane displays on the left, (Figure 117).

Use this pane to manage all the objects and variables in the document, change the type of blocks in the report, format the properties of the report and its contents, and navigate through the document.

The Report Manager pane contains four tabs.

• Data tab–Displays available objects for the report, alphabetically or, if using multiple queries (discussed in a later chapter) by query.

• Templates tab–Allows you to change the type of blocks in a report by dragging and dropping different templates onto a report block.

• Map tab–Allows you to view and navigate through the reports and sections in a document.

• Properties tab–Allows you to format the report and blocks within the docu‐ment.

Figure 117 Report Manager pane

ReportManager

pane

Configuring Views


Configuring ViewsWeb Intelligence provides you with the ability to show or hide the different tabs on the Report Manager pane. Use the My SMR by Category Sample Report for this les‐son.

To configure a view:

1. From the Standard toolbar, click Configure Views. The Configure Views drop‐down menu (Figure 118) displays. By default, the Data tab displays.

2. Select Data/Properties. The Properties tab and the Data tab (Figure 119) displays.

3. Click Configure Views and select Data/Properties on Right. The Properties tab (Figure 120) displays on the right side of the Document pane.

Figure 118 Configure Views drop-down menu

Data tab

Configure Viewoption

Figure 119 Data tab followed by the Properties tab



4. Click Configure Views and select Collapsed Data/Properties. When you col‐lapse a tab, the tab (Figure 121) displays as a button that you can click whenever you want to view the tab.

Note: Clicking Toggle/Auto Hide also collapses a tab.

5. From the vertical toolbar (Figure 122), click Templates. The Templates tab dis‐plays in the Report Manager pane.

Figure 120 Properties tab to right of the Document pane

Toggle/Auto Hide

button

Figure 121 Collapsed tabs

Templatesbutton

Figure 122 Templates tab: Uncollapsed

Configuring Views


6. From the Standard toolbar, click Configure Views and select Data to return to the Report Manager pane default view.

7. Keep the My SMR by Category Sample Report open for the next lesson.



Adding Reports to Your DocumentA document can contain more than one report. Add new reports to a document and duplicate or delete reports while in Edit Report view.

To add a report to a document:

1. Below the Document pane, right‐click Report 1 (Figure 123).

A Report drop‐down menu (Figure 124) displays.

2. Select Insert Report. An empty report tab, titled Report 2, (Figure 125) displays next to Report 1.

3. Right‐click Report 2 and select Rename Report from the resulting drop‐down menu (Figure 124). The Properties tab (Figure 125) displays in the Report Man‐ager pane.

Figure 123 Report tab

Report tab

Figure 124 Report drop-down menu

Adding Reports to Your Document


4. In the Name field, type My New Report, and press Enter. The report tab dis‐plays the My New Report.

Tip! You must press Enter to save the report name.

Figure 125 Report Manager pane: Properties tab



Working with TablesWhen you create a document by building and running a query, the data retrieved generally displays by default in a vertical table as seen in preceding lessons. Web Intelligence provides four table formats as listed in Table 16.

Table 16 Table Format Descriptions and Examples

Format Description/Example

Vertical

The default style displays header cells at the top of the table and the corresponding data in columns. By default, the header cells display the names of the dimensions, details, and measures included in the table. The body cells display the corresponding values. Use when you want to detail information in a list or spreadsheet style.

Horizontal or

Financial

Similar to a vertical table except the data runs horizontally rather than vertically. The row headers display the same information as vertical tables. Use for reports with sev-eral measures, such as financial reports and balance sheets.

Crosstab

Similar to a spreadsheet. Displays data in a matrix with row and column headings describing the content of each cell. Crosstabs display values for dimensions across the top axis and on the left axis. The body displays values corresponding to the cross-section of the dimensions.

Forms

Use forms in a report to display detailed information per customer or product. For example, use a form to display individual customer records with information, such as account, name, and address. Also useful for formatting address labels for envelopes.

Working with Tables


Insert one or more tables into a blank report or add them to an existing report. Insert tables by dragging one of the following elements onto a blank area of the report:

• From the Data tab, click and drag the objects to the Document pane. This is the fastest way to build simple, vertical tables.

• From the Templates tab, click and drag the table template that defines the table structure and then allocate objects. Using templates is a quick way to build more complex tables.

Creating a Vertical TableThis lesson walks you through creating a vertical table. Use this table for lessons on creating other table formats as well.

To create a vertical table:

1. From the Standard toolbar, click New Document and click yes on the resulting dialog. The new document uses the same universe as the current document, which is Merchandising.

2. Build a query by selecting the following objects:

– Time > Fiscal Year > Fiscal Year ID

– Company > Company Number, Company Name

– Company > Buyer > Buyer ID

– Item > Category > Category Description

– Vendor > Ship From Vendor > Ship From Vendor Number

– Purchasing > Purchasing ‐ Quantities > Order Qty (Cs), Received Qty (Cs)

The Result Objects pane should resemble Figure 126.

Figure 126 Merchandising universe query



3. Click Run Query. Your results (Figure 127) display in a vertical table in the Report area.

4. Click Save.

5. Save in Favorites as Tables.

Creating a Horizontal Table Using a TemplateCreate a horizontal table if you want data to display horizontally rather than verti‐cally. This lessons involves adding another report tab to the Tables document.

To create a horizontal table:

1. Insert a second report in the document and name the report Horizontal. Follow the steps in Adding Reports to Your Document on page 118.

2. From the Report Manager pane, click Templates. The Templates tab (Figure 128) displays.

3. Click and drag Horizontal Table to the Report of Report 2. Two empty cells dis‐play: one in blue representing the row header and a blank cell for data.

4. From the Report Manager pane, click Data to display the objects used in the query.

Figure 127 Query results in a vertical table

Figure 128 Templates tab

Working with Tables


5. Click and drag Fiscal Year ID to the Report area. Release your mouse when the tooltip (Figure 129) displays. Fiscal year becomes the row header in the hori‐zontal table.

Note: Web Intelligence displays various tooltips as you move the object over different areas in the table.

Note: Data displays in the cells because you are using information from the Data Provider created when you ran the query for the original report (vertical table). Think of it as a block a data from which you can create additional reports using combinations of data pulled. For data outside this block, you must edit and re‐run the query.

6. Click and drag Received Qty (cs) to the bottom edge of the Fiscal Year ID header cell (Figure 130).

7. Drop the object when the tooltip in Figure 130 displays. Received Qty (cs) dis‐plays as the second row header with Received Qty (cs) data across the row.

Note: You can also press Ctrl while selecting multiple objects and then drag and drop them to the cell at one time.

8. Click and drag Order Qty (cs) and position it above Received Qty (cs) (Figure 131).

9. Click Save.

10. Keep the Tables document open for the next lesson.

Figure 129 Dragging Fiscal Year ID to a cell

Figure 130 Dragging Received Qty (cs) to a cell

Figure 131 Replacing blank cell with Order Qty (cs)



Creating a Crosstab TableUse crosstab tables to show the cross‐section of three axes of information. For this lesson, aggregate Received Qty (cs) to reflect each company’s results per year.

To create a crosstab table:

1. Insert a third report in the document and name the report Crosstab. Follow steps in Adding Reports to Your Document on page 118.


3. Click and drag Crosstab to the Crosstab report. Three empty cells (Figure 132) display: two in blue representing the column headers and a blank cell for data.

4. From the Report Manager pane, click Data to display the objects used in the query.

5. Click and drag Company Name to the Report area. Release your mouse when the tooltip displays (Figure 133).

6. Click and drag Year to the Report area. Release your mouse in the blank column header.

7. Click and drag Received Qty (cs) to the Report area. Release your mouse in a blank cell.

Figure 132 Templates tab

Figure 133 Dragging Company Name to a cell

Working with Tables


The Crosstab report (Figure 134) displays Fiscal Year across the vertical axis, the Company Name across the horizontal axis, and the Received Qty (Cs) in the body of the table. Web Intelligence aggregates the Received Qty (Cs) to reflect the cross‐section of both the Fiscal Year and Company Name dimension objects.


9. Keep the Tables document for this lesson.

Creating a Form TableUse a form to display detailed information about an item, customer, or vendor. This lesson covers creating mailing labels using a form table.

To create a form table:

1. Insert a fourth report in the document and name the report Form. Follow steps in Adding Reports to Your Document on page 118.

2. From the Report Manager pane, click Templates. The Templates tab displays.

3. Click and drag Form to the Form report. Two empty cells display in the Report.

4. Click Edit Query. The Data tab displays.

5. Navigate to Ship From Vendor and add the following objects to the Result Objects pane:

– Ship From Name

– Ship From Address

– Ship From City

– Ship From State

– Ship From Zip

6. Click Run Query. The Form report displays.

7. Click Data. The objects you added display along with the existing objects.

Figure 134 Crosstab report



8. Click and drag Ship From Address to the Report area. Release your mouse when the tooltip displays (Figure 135).

9. Repeat step 8 for Ship From City, Ship From State, and Ship From Zip. The finished Form report should resemble (Figure 136).


Modifying TablesThis section describes how to modify the display of information in tables by chang‐ing table formats, adding data to an existing table, or deleting rows and columns from tables.

Changing Table FormatsWeb Intelligence makes it easy to switch from one table format to another. In this lesson, learn how to change a vertical report to a crosstab report, which makes the report more understandable.

To change a table format:

1. From the report tabs in the Tables document, click Report 1 to return to the orig‐inal report.

Figure 135 Dragging Company Number to a header cell

Figure 136 Form report

Working with Tables


2. From Report 1, click and drag all headers, except those shown in Figure 137, to the Data tab in the Report Manager pane.


4. Click Crosstab and drag to the Report, releasing your mouse over the vertical report.

Web Intelligence automatically converts into a crosstab (Figure 138) showing the Company Name and Fiscal Year ID objects as the row and column headers. It aggregates the Received Qty (cs) by year for each company.

5. In the table, click a Company Name and drag it to the Year header (Figure 139) to switch the Year and OpCo Name objects in the crosstab table.


Figure 137 Report 1

Figure 138 Report 1 in Crosstab format

Figure 139 Switch dimension objects in crosstab



Adding Data to an Existing TableAdd data to your tables by dragging objects from the Data tab. However, if the object is not part of your original query, you must add the object.

To add data to an existing table:

1. From the report tabs in the Tables document, click Horizontal to display the hor‐izontal table you created.

2. From the Standard toolbar, click Edit Query. The universe with all the classes and objects displays in the Report Manager pane.

3. Navigate to (Figure 140) and double‐click Short (cs) to add it to the query.

4. From the Standard toolbar, click Run Query. Web Intelligence runs the query and displays the results in Show Report view.

5. From the Report Manager pane, click Data to display the Data tab. The Data tab displays with the newly added object at the bottom of the list.

6. Click and drag Short (cs) to the Document pane and position beneath the last row.

7. Release your mouse to insert the object. The Horizontal report (Figure 141) dis‐plays a new row in the table containing the Short (Cs) value for year.



Figure 140 Adding SUS Received Qty (Cases)

Edit Querybutton

Figure 141 Horizontal table with added data

Working with Tables


Duplicating TablesYou can easily copy a table and paste it as another block in a report. Use this feature to show the same data but in a different format, such as a table and a chart.

To duplicate a table:

1. Click Horizontal to work with the Horizontal report.

2. Position your cursor on top of any edge of the table. A gray border displays around the table.

Note: If you move your cursor away from the border, the border no longer dis‐plays.

3. Click the gray border. The border edge darkens indicating that you selected the table.

Note: To deselect the table, click the white space in the Document pane.

4. Press Ctrl and click the left border while you drag it to a white space. A copy of the table (Figure 142) displays.


Deleting Tables or RowsWeb Intelligence provides two ways to delete a row or column from a table or the table itself.

To delete selected rows:

1. In the Horizontal report, right‐click the Order Qty (cs) row in the first table. A Table shortcut menu (Figure 143) displays.

Figure 142 Horizontal report with added data



2. Select Remove Row. Web Intelligence removes the row from the table.

3. Click Received Qty (cs) and drag and drop in the Report Manager pane, which also removes the row from display.

To delete an entire table:

1. Right‐click the table border on the first table. A Table shortcut menu (Figure 143) displays.

2. Select Remove. Web Intelligence removes the table.

Note: You can remove the table by dragging the highlighted table to the Report Manager pane.



Figure 143 Table shortcut menu

Table shortcutmenu

Presenting Data in Free Standing Cells


Presenting Data in Free Standing CellsFree‐standing cells stand alone in a report. Use single free‐standing cells to display information that adds meaning to your report, such as:

• Text labels and comments

• Images such as logos, icons, or photographs

• Last refresh data when the document results were refreshed with the most recent data

• Drill filter function that displays the object names used to filter data for a drilled report

• Page numbers

Adding a Free Standing CellThis lesson entails adding the last refresh date and time and a label for the date and time. To add a free standing cell:

1. From the Tables document, click Report 1.


3. Expand Free‐Standing Cells > Formula and Text Cells (Figure 144).

4. From the Document pane, click in the Report Title cell.

5. Drag the cell to the right side of the Document pane.

6. From the Report Manager pane, click Templates.

7. Expand Free‐Standing Cells.

Figure 144 Templates tab showing free-standing cells

Free-standingcell selections



8. Click and drag Last Refresh Date to the Document pane and drop to the left of Report Title. Web Intelligence automatically displays the last refresh date and time in the cell.

Increasing the Cell WidthTo increase cell width:

1. Click in the Last Refresh Date cell, and position your cursor on the right side of the cell until a double arrow (Figure 145) displays.

2. Click and drag the border of the cell to enlarge the cell so the date and time dis‐play completely.

Changing the Date/Time FormatWeb Intelligence provides several formats you can use for date and time free‐stand‐ing cells.

To change the date/time default:

1. From the Document pane, click Last Refresh Date.

2. From the Report Manager pane, click Properties. The Properties tab (Figure 146) displays showing the default properties of the free‐standing cell you added.

Figure 145 Double arrow cursor

Use the double arrow to change size

Figure 146 Properties tab

Expand button fornumber format

Expand TextFormat

Presenting Data in Free Standing Cells


3. Expand Text Format.

4. Scroll to the Number Format property and expand Data/Time by clicking the expand button to the right of Date/Time. The Number Format dialog box (Figure 147) displays.

5. Click September 21, 2004 and click OK. The free‐standing cell displays the new format.

Adding Labels Use free‐standing cells to add labels or other text to your report. To add a label:


2. Expand Free‐Standing Cells > Formula and Text Cells, if necessary.

3. Click and drag Blank Cell to the Document pane.

4. Drop the blank cell to the left of the date cell.

5. Click in the blank cell to display the border.

6. From the Report Manager pane, click Properties. The Properties tab (Figure 148) displays.

Figure 147 Number Format dialog


Type labelname here



7. In the blank field, next to Text under the General heading, type the label name. In this case, type Last Refresh and press Enter. The label name displays in the blank cell.

Applying a Style to TextFormat the content of any free‐standing cell using the buttons on the formatting toolbar. In this lesson, learn how to format the label and the Last Revised date/time free‐standing cells.

Note: If the Formatting toolbar does not display, see Working with Report Design Toolbars on page 111.

To format text:

1. Click the label cell and then click the date cell while pressing Ctrl. Both cells dis‐play highlighted and the Properties tab (Figure 149) displays the default text style for free‐standing cells.

Tip! You can also use the lasso technique to select multiple cells. Click the white space in the Document pane and drag your cursor to highlight the cells you want to select.

2. From the Formatting toolbar, click the Font Size arrow and select 10. The text size changes to 10 pt in both selected cells.

Note: The values on the Properties tab update as you make changes using the Formatting toolbar.




Formattingtoolbar

Formattingdefaults

Presenting Data in Charts


Presenting Data in ChartsWeb Intelligence offers standard chart formats to graphically display your business information. Select one of five basic chart types as defined in Table 17.

Table 17 Chart Type Descriptions and Examples

Type Description and Example

Bar

Bar charts display data in bar form, either vertically or horizontally. Use bar charts to compare similar groups of data, such as one time period to another. Web Intelligence provides five types of bar charts: grouped, bar and line, stacked, percent, and 3D. The vertical grouped bar chart below illustrates changes over time and also helps make comparisons between operating companies.

The 3D bar chart below compares data along three axes.

Pie

Use pie charts to display data as segments of a whole and how each segment con-tributes to the whole. Pie charts use one only measure object. Use a different chart type for multiple measure objects. Web Intelligence provides four types of pie charts: pie, 3D, doughnut, and 3D doughnut.



Line

Use line charts to show trends in data at equal intervals or changes in data over time. Line charts connect specific data values with lines, either horizontally or vertically. Web Intelligence provides five types of line charts: mixed, stacked, percent, 3D line, and 3D surface.

Area

Use area charts to emphasize the size of the total as opposed to the changes in the data. Area charts connect specific data values with lines, either horizontally or verti-cally and then fill the gaps between. Web Intelligence provides five types of area charts: absolute, stacked, percent, 3D area, and 3D surface. Note: You may not want to use an area chart if you have a sharp contrast between specific data points; use a line chart instead.

Radar

Use a radar chart if you want to look at several different factors related to one item. For example, use radar to display SUS ASME data for different operating companies. One axis displays PSMR for Atlanta, another for San Antonio, and another for Jack-sonville. Web Intelligence provides four types of radar charts: radar line, stacked are radar, polar, and scatter. Use a scatter type to make a comparison between specific data points, The radar line chart below positions the overall PSMR per year in a graphical radar image.

Table 17 Chart Type Descriptions and Examples (continued)

Type Description and Example



Creating a ChartNow that you are familiar with the different types of charts, create a vertical grouped bar chart to show freight cost per year. Continue working with the Tables document.

Whenever you use a template to create a chart or a table, you work in View Struc‐ture mode. In this mode, object names display as you click and drag objects to the Document pane and a View Results button displays in the Reporting toolbar. When you click View Results after adding objects to the chart or table, you view the actual data in View Results mode and the View Structure button displays. This is handy if you change the labels on objects.

To create a chart:

1. In the Tables document, insert a report next to the Form report.

2. Rename the report Bar Chart.


4. From the Data Manager pane, expand Purchasing > Purchasing Costs.

5. Click and drag Freight Cost (Extended) $ to the Document pane and click Run Query. A Retrieving Data dialog box displays and the Document pane displays at the completion.

6. In the Document pane, select the table drag off into the Data tab to remove the table from the Document pane and prepare for the next lesson.


8. Expand Charts > Bar.

9. Click Vertical Grouped and drag and drop to the Document pane. An outline of the chart type you selected (Figure 150) displays, prompting you with instruc‐tions on were to place the dimension and measure objects.

Figure 150 Vertical grouped bar chart selected



Working with Chart PlaceholdersIn the preceding lesson, you added a new object to the data block and then deleted the existing table from the Document pane in preparation for this lesson, which instructs you on how to manually control the dimension placement on a chart.

To assign dimensions to a placeholder:

1. From the Report Manager pane, click Data. The Data tab displays a list of all objects used in the query.

2. Click and drag Freight Cost Extended $, a measure object, to the Place measure objects here placeholder at the bottom of the chart. The placeholder displays the measure name (Figure 151).

3. Click and drag Fiscal Year ID, a dimension object, to the Place dimension objects here placeholder in the Document pane. The placeholder displays the dimension name (Figure 151).

Note: You can drag an additional dimension object, such as company name, onto the optional placeholder.

4. From the Reporting toolbar, click View Results. Web Intelligence populates the screen (Figure 152) with data. Clicking View Results toggles your view of the report between View Results and View Structure mode.

Note: You can also click Refresh Data to ensure you are displaying the most recent data when you see the chart in View Results mode.

Figure 151 Objects dragged to placeholders

Figure 152 Vertical grouped bar charts



Adding a LegendLegends displays keys to the color codes on a chart making the chart easier to understand.

To add a legend:

1. Click the chart to the select it.


3. Expand Appearance.

4. Select Legend. A legend displays (Figure 153) in the upper right hand corner of the chart.

Applying a Different Chart TypeYou can quickly see how the data presents in a different chart type by dragging a chart template to the Document pane.


2. Click and drag 3D Bar on top of the existing chart in the Document pane. The data (Figure 154) displays in a 3D Bar chart.

3. From the Standard toolbar, click Save but keep the Tables document open for the next lesson.


Legend checkbox

Legend displays

Figure 154 Objects dragged to placeholders



Creating a Chart from a TableThis lesson covers how to change a table to different charts using the Templates tab. To create a chart from a table:

1. From the Tables document, click Crosstab.

2. Right‐click a fiscal year header cells. A drop‐down list displays (Figure 155).

3. Select Remove Row because you don’t want to see the data by year for this les‐son.


5. Expand Pie.

6. Drag and drop the Pie template onto the table in the Document pane. The table converts automatically to a pie chart (Figure 156) displaying the Received Qty (cs) for each company.

Figure 155 Right-click drop down list: Remove row option

Figure 156 Table converted to pie charts



Changing a Chart to a TableThough you can change a chart to a table using the click and drag template method, Web Intelligence provides a Turn To feature, which is another way to change a chart to a table.

To change a chart to a table using the Turn To feature:

1. From the Document pane, right‐click the pie chart you created in the preceding lesson. A Chart shortcut menu (Figure 157) displays.

Note: To access Turn To for a table, right‐click the table border.

2. Select Turn To. A Turn To dialog box (Figure 158) displays with tabs represent‐ing each type of chart, as well as a table tab.

3. Select Table. The Turn To dialog box displays buttons representing the different table types for selection.

4. Click on each button until you locate the Vertical Table type. As you click, the table type displays at the bottom of the dialog box.

Figure 157 Chart shortcut menu

Figure 158 Turn to dialog box

Table



5. Click OK. The data (Figure 159) displays in vertical table format.

6. Click Close.

Figure 159 Data in vertical table format

Displaying Document Properties


Displaying Document PropertiesIn Edit Report view, display and modify default properties. Open the My SMR by Category Sample Report for this lesson.

To view document properties:

1. From the Reporting toolbar, click View Page Layout (Figure 160). The report dis‐plays in Page Layout mode for viewing reports as they look when printed.

2. Right‐click Report 1. A Report drop‐down menu (Figure 161) displays.

3. Select Document Properties. A Document Properties dialog box (Figure 162) dis‐plays.

Note: You can also right‐click the white space in the Document pane outside of the report details.

Figure 160 Page Layout mode

View Page Layout button

Report tab

Figure 161 Report drop-down menu



Note: To view all the properties, use the vertical scroll bar or click a property header to collapse that section. Collapsing one section allows other sections to display in the pane without having to scroll.

4. Click one of the Collapse/Expand arrows. The section collapses to display the fields in the next section and the arrows display as a down arrow (Figure 163).

5. Click one of the Collapse/Expand arrows. The section expands to display the fields for the section.

Figure 162 Document Properties dialog box

Figure 163 Document Properties dialog

Collapse/Expand arrows

TE6-Training Exercise-Report Design


TE6-Training Exercise-Report DesignName________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 15 minutesCompletion of this review reinforces your understanding of report design features.

1. Create a new document using the Merchandising ‐ Inventory Analysis universe showing Fiscal Year, Fiscal Quarter, and Inventory Value($).

2. Filter to only see results for the 3rd fiscal quarter.

3. Duplicate the table and paste the copy to the right of the right of the existing table.

4. Change the presentation of the second block to a vertical group bar chart (Figure 164).

5. Change the presentation to a horizontal stacked bar chart (Figure 165).

6. Change the presentation to a horizontal table (Figure 166).

Figure 164 Vertical table and vertical group bar chart

Figure 165 Horizontal stacked bar chart



7. Create a radar line chart next to the horizontal table (Figure 167).

– From the Template tab, drag the Radar Line template to an empty spot in the Document pane.

– From the Data tab, drag Year over the Place dimension objects here place‐holder.

– From the Data tab, drag Inventory Value($) over the Place measure objects here placeholder.

– Click View Results.

8. Save the document in Favorites as Activity Table and Charts.

Figure 166 Horizontal table

Figure 167 Radar line chart

Remember It



Using Modify to Open a Document

When you open a report from the InfoView Workspace panel using the Modify link, the following components become available:

• A toolbar for formatting, reporting, and page navigation.

• A Report Manager pane that contains multiple tabs for viewing and working with:– Data

– Report templates and free standing cells

– A document map

– Properties

• A Document pane that contains one or more report tabs. Each report tab can contain a one or more blocks of data, such as:– Tables

– Charts

– Free Standing Cells

Configuring Views

Show or hide tabs on the Report Manager pane or minimize them to better serve how you work.

Tables and Charts

• A single document can contain multiple blocks of data. Combine a crosstab table with a stacked bar chart to quickly interpret the data or use in a presenta‐tion.

• Run a query to pull data into a main vertical table, and then create additional documents using Insert Report to pull sub‐sets of the data into higher level crosstab tables, stacked bar or pie charts.

• Use the templates to quickly create or change report presentation.



Modifying Tables/Charts

Use the Edit Query function to add or delete objects, and then return to Edit Report view to drag and drop new data into a document.

• Use View Structure to view the cell contents rather than the data and for better performance when formatting large reports. All formatting options and Report Manager tabs are available to you when you are in View Results mode.

C h a p t e r 6

Organizing a Report

Topics

• Using Breaks

• Using Calculations

• Sorting Results

• Using Report Filters

• Ranking Data

• Using Alerters

• Working with Sections

• Copy Data to Other Applications

Chapter 6: Organizing a Report


Chapter 6 describes the different tools available to help you organize and enhance a report to get the information you need in the best way possible.

Why is Organizing a Report Important?

Knowing how to organize a report is important as it makes it easier to analyze the report data.

Learning Objectives


• Break data into groups

• Apply calculations, such as sums and counts

• Create report filter

• Apply rankings to show top values

• Create alerters to highlight important information

• Organize your report into sections

• Copy data to other applications

Using Breaks


Using BreaksUse breaks to group data based on specific values. Breaks allow you to more effi‐ciently organize how your data displays and apply subtotals.

When you apply a break to a dimension, Web Intelligence groups the data by dimension and inserts a blank row or column after each break where you can easily insert subtotals for each group.

Web Intelligence automatically sorts the groups in ascending order. Numeric val‐ues sort in numeric order beginning with the lowest number and ending with the highest number. Alphabetical values sort in alphabetical order from A to Z.

Breaks make a long tedious table easy to read and understand. Looking at Figure 168, notice that when you apply breaks to fiscal year and district ID, Web Intelligence organizes the data first by year and then by district, which simplifies the report.

Applying a BreakTo apply a break:

1. From the Header panel in InfoView, click New > Web Intelligence Document and create a document using the Sales universe.

2. Build a query using the following objects:

– Time > Fiscal Year > Fiscal Year

– Time > Fiscal Year > Fiscal Year Month

Figure 168 Table before and after an applied break



– Item > Category ID and Category Description

– Sales > Dollars > Gross Sales $

3. Filter for Current Data and for Fiscal Year Month 200701;200702;200703.

4. Expand Data Type and click and drag the Historical or Current condition to the Query Filters pane.

Important: Whenever you create queries using the Sales Universe, you must apply a query filter using Historical or Current. For information on these data types, see Current Versus Historical Data in the Sales Universe on page 314.

5. Click Run Query. Report 1 (Figure 169) displays in the Document pane.

Note: Gross sales for 2006 displays as zero.

6. Right‐click Report 1 tab. The Report drop‐down menu (Figure 169) displays.

7. Select Duplicate Report. A report tab titled Report 1 (1) (Figure 170) displays.

Figure 169 Report 1

Using Breaks


8. In Report 1(1), click any Fiscal Year Month cell. The column highlights.

9. From the Reporting toolbar, click Insert/Remove Break. Web Intelligence groups the report by Fiscal Year Month (Figure 171) and creates a break for every change in value.

10. Save the document in Favorites as Multiple Breaks.

Deleting a BreakTo delete a break:

1. Click any Fiscal Year Month cell.

Figure 170 Report 1 (1)

Insert/RemoveBreak button

Figure 171 Table grouped by year and district



2. From the Reporting toolbar, click Insert/Remove Break. Web Intelligence removes the break, and the table resembles Figure 170 on page 153.

Using Calculations


Using CalculationsWeb Intelligence provides standard aggregate functions to create quick calcula‐tions. Use the calculation button on the Reporting toolbar to access calculations. Available calculation are:

• Sums

• Count

• Average

• Minimum value for an object

• Maximum value for an object

• Percentage

Inserting a CalculationContinue working with the Multiple Breaks document from the preceding lesson.

1. In Report 1 (1), click any Gross Sales $ cell.

2. From the Reporting toolbar, click Insert Sum. Web Intelligence sums the values and inserts the sum label value in the group footer (Figure 172).

Note: To add a calculation other than Sum, click the Calculation down arrow to display a list of other calculations for selection.

Figure 172 Table with sum label and value

Group footer

Insert Sum buttonand drop-down list



Inserting Multiple CalculationsInclude more than one calculation for a group, such as a count and a sum. Count the occurrence and sum the value.

To add an additional calculation:

1. Click any Gross Sales $ cell.

2. Click the Calculation arrow and select Count. Web Intelligence performs a count, inserts a row after Sum, and displays a count label and value.

3. With the Gross Sales $ column selected, select Percentage from the Calculation button drop‐down list.

Web Intelligence calculates the percentage, inserts a row after count, and dis‐plays a percentage label and value. When you add a percentage calculation, Web Intelligence automatically adds a Percentage column (Figure 173) display‐ing the percent per row.

Deleting a CalculationTo delete a calculation:

1. Right‐click in the row that contains the Count calculation. A drop‐down list dis‐plays.

2. Select Remove Row. Web Intelligence deletes the row from the table.

Note: To remove a percentage column or if working with a crosstab, position your cursor in the column and select Remove Column instead of Remove Row.

3. Click Close to close the document without saving changes. A warning dialog box displays.

4. Click OK.

Figure 173 Table with multiple calculations and percentage column

Percentage column

Sorting Results


Sorting ResultsApply sorts to organize report data in ascending or descending order so that simi‐lar values group together. By default, Web Intelligence sorts in ascending order.

In the examples in Figure 174, the table on the left uses the default sort (first dimen‐sion object in the query), while the table on the right sorts by gross sales $, from high to low. The two tables present the data in very different ways.

Continue working with the Sales universe for this lesson.

To change the sort for a table:

1. From the Standard toolbar, click New Document. A new document displays.

2. From the Data tab, expand Organization Levels and double‐click District ID. The object moves to the Result Objects pane.

3. Expand Time > Fiscal > and click Fiscal Year.

4. Pressing Ctrl, expand Customer > Ship To and click Customer Name and Cus‐tomer Number.

5. Drag and drop the selected objects to the Result Objects pane (Figure 175).

6. From the Data tab, expand Sales > Quantities and double‐click Sysco Brand Qty (cs). The object moves to the Result Objects pane.

7. From the Data tab, expand Sales > Dollars and double‐click Gross Sales $. The object moves to the Results pane. Your Results pane should resemble Figure 175.

8. Expand Data Type and click and drag the Current condition to the Query Filters pane.

9. Create a Company Number filter 013 and Fiscal Year Week 200702.

Figure 174 Tables with different sorts

Sorted bydistrict ID (firstobject in query)

Sorted bygross sales $

(descending order)



10. From the Standard toolbar, click Run Query. Report 1 (Figure 176) displays the query results.

11. Click in the Customer Name column to select the column.

12. From the Reporting toolbar, click Apply/Remove Sort. A drop‐down list (Figure 176) displays.

13. Select Descending. Report 1 (Figure 177) sorts data based on customer name, in descending order, rather than district ID.

Figure 175 Result Objects pane

Figure 176 Report 1 with sort drop-down list

Apply/RemoveSort button

Sorting Results


14. Save the document in Favorites as Sorted Data.

15. Keep the Sorted Data document open for the next lesson.

Figure 177 Report 1 with sort drop-down list



Working with SectionsIn Applying a Break on page 151, you learned how to group data in a block using the break function. This section covers breaking a report into sections.

A header displays outside the block instead of remaining within the block when you use sections (Figure 178). More importantly, a break only groups within a block; sectioning groups the entire report.

Notice that the section lines in Figure 178 run across the width of the report. Sec‐tions provide a number of advantages:

• You can have multiple blocks projected from the same microcube within a sin‐gle report, all sub‐grouped to the sectioned level.

• You can insert subtotal cells, repeated in each section. Figure 179 displays sub‐totals to the right of the section header.

Figure 178 Break versus section

Break Example

Sectionline

Section Example

Working with Sections


Creating a SectionThis lesson covers sectioning a report by Company Name in a table format that includes aggregate totals and adding a chart.

To create a section:

1. Create a document using the Sales universe and the following objects:

– Time > Fiscal > Fiscal Year and Fiscal Quarter

– Company > Company Name

– Sales > Dollars > Gross Sales $

2. Create a query filter excluding Baltimore and Minnesota (Figure 180) and add the Historical or Current condition to the Query Filters pane.

.

Figure 179 Sections with subtotals

Figure 180 Result Objects and Query Filters panes



3. Click Run Query. Report 1 (Figure 181) displays in the Document pane.

4. Right‐click any Company Name cell. A drop‐down menu (Figure 182) displays.

5. Select Set as Section. The column you select defines the object used to make the section. Each object value displays as a section header with the data relating to that value following in table format.

Jacksonville displays as the first value returned by the company name object with data displaying below the header (Figure 183).

Figure 181 Document pane displaying selected objects

Figure 182 Drop-down menu

Figure 183 Section results




7. Save the document in Favorites as Sectioned Data.

8. Keep the Sectioned Data document open for the next lesson.

Displaying an AggregateAn aggregate computes a single result value from a collection of values. Aggregates are sum, count, average, minimum, maximum, and percentage.

To display an aggregate:

1. Click any Gross Sales $ cell.

2. From the Reporting toolbar, click Insert Sum. Web Intelligence sums the values for each operating company (Figure 184) and inserts a new row at the bottom of each section to display the sum.

Note: When you apply a sum in a sectioned report, Web Intelligence does not display a grand total at the bottom of report as it does when you apply a sum using a break.

3. Click any Sum row.

4. Press Ctrl and drag the cell until it is level with the section heading (Figure 185).

Figure 184 Company section sums

Insert Sum button and results

Figure 185 Dragging the sum to section break



5. Release the mouse to insert the cell. The section sum total (Figure 186) displays next to the section header as well as in the table body.

Note: Using the Report Manager’s Properties tab, you can remove default bor‐ders and change font size, color, and so on. For information on formatting tables, see Modifying Table Properties on page 216.



Inserting a Block in Each SectionTo further enhance the report or to make the data easier to analyze, display the data in a chart. In a section, you can use multiple blocks of data. Display your section data in a table block as well as a chart block to improve analysis.

To insert a block in a section:


2. Expand Charts > Bar.

3. Click Vertical Grouped and drag it to the Document pane, dropping it to the right of the table block. The Document pane (Figure 187) displays the report structure in View Structure mode, which displays object names and placehold‐ers.

Figure 186 Section header with sum



4. From the Report Manager pane, click Data. The Data tab displays.

5. Click and drag Gross Sales $ to the Place measure objects here placeholder.

6. Click and drag Fiscal Quarter to the Place dimension objects here placeholder located at the bottom of the chart. The measure and dimension objects position within the chart (Figure 188).

7. From the Reporting toolbar, click View Results. The Document pane (Figure 189) displays in View Results mode with the inserted block for each section display‐ing the values specified.

Figure 187 Document pane with added block

Figure 188 Document pane with added data objects

View Resultsbutton



8. Click a chart. A border displays around the chart.

9. Position your cursor on the right side of the border.

10. When your cursor displays as a double arrow, click and drag the border to the right to adjust the chart width (Figure 190).


Navigating SectionsWeb Intelligence provides an easy way to access different sections in your report. Use the map tab rather than scrolling and paging through the report. Use the Map feature to jump from one report to another, as well as to navigate from one section to another. This is particularly helpful if you have a large document with multiple reports and sections.

To access a section:

1. From the Report Manager pane, click Map. The Map tab (Figure 191) displays all the reports and sections contained in the document.

Figure 189 Document pane with added block for each section

Figure 190 Chart width adjusted



Note: The Sectioned Data document contains only one report.

2. Expand Report 1. All sections in Report 1 display.

3. From the Map tab, click Atlanta. The document scrolls to display the selected section.

Deleting a SectionAs a best practice, use the View Structure mode to delete a section.

To delete a section:

1. In Edit Report view, click View Structure. The report (Figure 192) displays in View Structure mode showing beginning and ending section dividers.

2. Hover your mouse over a section divider. When the mouse displays as a double arrow, click the divider line of the section for deletion.

3. Press Delete.

Figure 191 Map tab

Map tab

Figure 192 View structure mode

Section Start divider

Section End divider

Section cell



4. Click the section cell (see Figure 192) and press Delete. A confirmation dialog box (Figure 193) displays.

5. Click Yes. Your screen should resemble Figure 194.

6. Click View Results. The document displays in Edit Report view as a single table and chart.

Note: The table and chart contains totals for each fiscal quarter but for all the companies (Figure 195).




Figure 194 View structure mode after deletions

Figure 195 Report tab after section delete

Using Report Filters


Using Report FiltersWeb Intelligence provides two filters to restrict data in a document:

• Query filters, as discussed in Describing Query Filters on page 81, limit the amount of data retrieved from the data source. Apply query filters when creat‐ing or editing the query in Edit Query view.

• Report filters restrict the data shown in the repository by hiding data. The data remains in the document but is hidden from view. Apply report filters when editing a document in Edit Report view, using the Filter button on the Report‐ing toolbar.

Tables or other blocks in your reports can be very large. To make a report easier to read, apply a report filter to a specific object so that it displays only the information that interests you.

Web Intelligence provides two types of report filters:

• Global filter, which applies to the entire report, thus affecting all data blocks in the report.

• Block filter, which applies to a section, table, or chart within a report, thus affecting only the data in the block.

Creating a Report FilterFor this lesson, apply a filter to an existing table to show only data for the year 2006. Continue working with the Sorted Data document.

To create a block filter:

1. Click the District ID column.

Note: To create a global filter, click anywhere in the Document pane but outside of the block.

2. From the Reporting toolbar, click Show/Hide Filter Pane. A Filter pane (Figure 196) displays in the Document pane.

Figure 196 Show/Hide Filter Pane

Show/HideFilter Pane button

Filter Pane



3. From the Data tab, click District ID and drag to the Report Filters pane. The Fil‐ter Editor dialog box (Figure 197) displays.

4. In the Operator field, select Equal to.

5. In the Operand Type field, select Value(s) from list. A list of districts displays.

6. Double‐click DSTAP. The district moves to the Value(s) Selected field (Figure 198).

7. Click OK. The Filter Editor dialog box closes. Only data for district DSTAP dis‐plays. Web Intelligence filters out the data for other districts (Figure 199).

Figure 197 Filter Editor dialog box

Figure 198 Filter Editor dialog box

Using Report Filters


.

Note: To change the filter values in the Filter Editor, double‐click the District ID filter in the Report Filter pane.

8. Click Show/Hide Filter Pane. The Report Filter pane no longer displays.

Deleting a Report FilterTo delete a report filter:

1. From the Reporting toolbar, click Show/Hide Filter Pane. The Filter pane dis‐plays.

2. From the Report Filter, click District Id In list: DSTAP.

3. Press Delete. The filter no longer displays, and the report displays data for all districts.

4. From the Reporting toolbar, click Show/Hide Filter Pane.

5. Scroll through the report.

6. Notice that data for all districts display.

Figure 199 Report Filter pane and filtered results

Click to changethe filter value



Ranking DataUse ranking to show extreme ranges of data. Ranking allows you to determine the top or bottom three or more values of a given dimension on the basis of a specified measure. It acts in the same way as a combined filter and sort function to project only, for example, the top three in descending order.

Applying Ranking to DataThis lesson covers ranking customers based on the highest sales of Sysco Brands (cs). To apply ranking:

1. Insert a new report in the Sorted Data document. See Adding Reports to Your Document on page 118, if needed.

2. From the Data Manager pane, select all objects and drop them in the Document pane. The data projects (Figure 200) in Report 2.

3. Click any Customer Name cell.

4. From the Reporting toolbar, click Apply/Remove Ranking. A Rank dialog box (Figure 201) displays.

Figure 200 Report 2

Figure 201 Rank dialog box

Ranking Data


Note: By default, Web Intelligence selects the Top check box displays 3.

5. In the Based on field, select the measure for the ranking. Leave Gross Sales $ selected.

6. Select For each and then select Customer Name.

7. In the Calculation mode field, select Count.

8. Click OK. The Rank dialog box closes, and the Report 2 (Figure 202) displays the top three marketing customers.

Removing RankingTo remove ranking:

1. Click any Customer Name cell.

2. From the Reporting toolbar, click Apply/Remove Ranking. The Ranking drop‐down list (Figure 203) displays.

3. Select Remove Ranking. Web Intelligence removes the ranking, and the report displays all customers (Figure 204).

Figure 202 Report 2 showing top three

Figure 203 Ranking drop-down list

Apply/RemoveRank button



4. From the Reporting toolbar, click Apply/Remove Ranking. The Rank dialog box (Figure 201 on page 172) displays.

5. Deselect the For Each field.

6. Click OK. The Rank dialog box closes, and Report 2 displays the highest three customers but sorts based on district ID (Figure 205).


8. Click Close.

Figure 204 Table with ranking removed

Figure 205 Ranked customers

TE7-Training Exercise-Breaks, Calculations, Sorts, and


TE7-Training Exercise-Breaks, Calculations, Sorts, and Filters

Name________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 15 minutesCreate a document that contains a break, calculations, and a filtered duplicate table.

1. Create a document using the Sales Universe showing Sysco Brand Quantity (cs) by Company Full Name and Fiscal Year.

Note: Add the Historical or Current condition to the Query Filters pane.

2. Apply a break on Company Full Name.

3. Add a sum and a percentage to the Sysco Brand Quantity (cs).

4. Filter the block to show data for only San Antonio.

5. Create a duplicate table below the existing table, and filter it to show only data for Atlanta (Figure 206).

6. Save the document in Favorites as TE7.




Using AlertersUse an alerter to highlight results that meet, exceed, or fall below specific business targets. Some uses of alerters include:

• Highlight particularly high or low results with a specific color or larger font.

• Display a text comment to highlight results, such as High Performer.

• Highlight margin results that exceed $1,100,000. Any margin result greater than that amount highlights every time you refresh the report data.

An alerter contains five elements:

• Name

• Object or contents

• Operator

• Operand values or another object

• Condition formattingThe object or cell contents and the operator and operand create the condition that determines if formatting applies to each cell containing the alerter. When you apply an alerter to a table column, row, or cell on a report, Web Intelligence displays any values that meet the alerter condition with specified formatting.

When creating alerters:

• Apply alerters to tables, forms, section cells, and free‐standing cells.

• Include up to 30 alerters in a document, applied to a maximum of 20 table col‐umns or rows, free‐standing cells, or section cells.

• Apply a maximum of 10 alerters to a single table column or row, free‐standing cell, or section cell.

• Change the format Web Intelligence uses to display the alerter.

• Insert multiple conditions within an alerter.

• Create an advanced alerter by inserting a formula

Note: Alerters cannot be applied to charts.

Using Alerters


Creating a Basic AlerterThis lesson covers applying a a basic alerter to any territory with cost of goods sold over $1,000.

Creating the QueryTo create the query:

1. Create a document using the Sales universe.

2. From the Data tab, drag the following objects to the Result Objects pane:

– Time class > Fiscal > Fiscal Year

– Organization Levels > District ID and Territory Id

– Sales class > Dollars > COGS Ext ($)

– Sales class > Dollars > COGS Ext (Average) $

3. Expand Data Type and click and drag the Current condition to the Query Filters pane.

4. From the Data tab, click and drag Company Number to the Query Filters pane.

5. In the Operator drop‐down list, select Equal To.

6. In the Operand drop‐down list, type 013.

7. From the Standard toolbar, click Run Query. After retrieving data, Report 1 (Figure 207) displays in the Document pane.

8. From the Standard toolbar, click Run Query. After retrieving data, Report 1 dis‐plays in the Document pane.

9. Click any Territory Id cell to select the cell for the alerter.

Figure 207 Report 1 query results

Added measureobject

Alerterbutton



Setting up the AlerterAfter you have your query results, set up the alerter.

1. From the Reporting toolbar, click Alerters. An Alerters dialog box (Figure 208) displays.

2. Click New. An Alerter Editor dialog box (Figure 209) displays.

3. In the Alerter name field, type COGS Ext (Average) $ over $1K.

4. From the Sub‐Alerter section, in the Filtered object or cell field, click the browse button. A drop‐down menu displays.

5. Select Select an object or variable. An Objects and Variables dialog box (Figure 210) displays.

Figure 208 Alerters dialog box

Newbutton

Figure 209 Alerter Editor dialog box

Browsebutton

Drop-downmenu

Format button

Using Alerters


6. Click COGS Ext (Average) $. This is the object that the alerter uses to filter data.

7. Click OK. The Objects and Variables dialog box closes. The Alerter Editor dialog box (Figure 209) displays.

8. In the Sub‐Alerter section, in the Operator field, click Greater than.

9. In the Sub‐Alerter section, in the Operand field, type 1000.

Note: Do not type commas or decimals when specifying number values.

10. Rather than clicking OK, leave the dialog box open for the next lesson.

Formatting the AlerterWeb Intelligence displays the default format in the Sub‐Alerter section next to the Format button.

To change the format of the alerter:

1. From the Alerter Editor dialog box (Figure 209 on page 178), click Format. An Alerter Display dialog box (Figure 211) displays the default formats.

Figure 210 Objects and Variables dialog box

Figure 211 Alerter Display dialog box

Font style

Font size



2. In the Font style field, select Bold Italic.

3. In the Color field, the default displays as red. For this lesson, use red.

4. Click OK. The Alerters Display dialog box closes, and the Alerter Editor (Figure 209 on page 178) displays.

5. Click OK. The Alerters dialog box (Figure 212) displays the alerter you created.

6. Verify that the check box beside the new alerter is selected.

7. Click OK. All territories with over $1000 in average cost of goods (Figure 213) display using the format you selected.

Note: COGS Ext (Average) $ values do not display in the report but Web Intelli‐gence references those values when creating the alerts.

8. From the Standard toolbar, click Save

9. Save the document in Favorites as Alerts.

10. Keep the Alerts document open for the next lesson.

Using an Existing AlerterThis lesson covers how to select an existing alerter and apply the alerter to the fiscal year column.

To apply an existing alerter:

1. Click any Fiscal Year cell.


Figure 213 Territories with alerts

Using Alerters


2. From the Reporting toolbar, click Alerters. An Alerters dialog box (Figure 214) displays.

3. Select COGS Ext (Average) $ over $1K and click OK. The Alerters dialog box closes, and the report displays the fiscal year in the format set for the alerter.

Note: To deactivate an alerter, click the column, row section, or free‐standing cell, click Alerters from the Reporting toolbar, and deselect the alerter name check box in the Alerters dialog box.


5. Click Close.

Creating a Complex AlerterFor this lesson, create an alerter for territories with net sales of less than $50k, except in territory D11 (Figure 215).

Formats apply to all conditions. To create different conditions that each implement different formatting, you must define multiple sub‐alerters.

Creating the QueryFor this lesson, create a alerter for territories with sales of less than 50 items except those in territory D11.

To create a complex alerter:

1. Create a document and build a query using the following objects from the Sales universe.

– Time class > Fiscal > Fiscal Year





– Organization Levels > District ID and Territory Id

– Sales > Quantities > Gross Sales $

– Sales > Dollars > Net Sales $

2. Create a query filter for fiscal year equal to 2008 and another for company num‐ber equal to 013.

3. Add the Historical or Current condition to the Query Filters pane.

4. From the Standard toolbar, click Run Query. After retrieving data, Report 1 dis‐plays (Figure 216) in the Document pane.

5. From the Document pane, click any Net Sales $ cell to select for the alerter.

Setting the First ConditionTo create the first condition:

1. From the Reporting toolbar, click Alerters. The Alerters dialog box (Figure 217) displays.

2. Click New. The Alerter Editor dialog box (Figure 218) displays.

Figure 216 Query results with gross sales $ selected

Figure 217 Alerter dialog box

Newbutton

Using Alerters


3. In the Alerter name field, type Net Sales $.

4. Verify that Net Sales $, the object that the alerter uses to filter data, displays in the Filtered object or cell field.

5. In the Sub‐Alerter section, in the Operator field, select Less than.

6. In the Sub‐Alerter section, in the Operand field, type 50000. Keep the Alerter Edi‐tor dialog box open for the next lesson: Setting the Second Condition.

Setting the Second ConditionTo set the second condition:

The first condition tests for Net Sales $. Set a second condition that prevents the alerter from being applied to District 11, even if the first condition is met.

1. In the Alerter Editor dialog box, click + located to the right of the Operand field. A second row (Figure 219) displays in the Alerter Editor dialog box with an And operator for adding another condition.

2. In the second Filtered object or cell field, click the browse button. A drop‐down menu displays.



+ for creating second condition

Second conditionrow



3. Select Select an object or variable. An Objects and Variables dialog box (Figure 220) displays.

4. Click District ID. This is the object that the alerter uses to filter data.

5. Click OK. The Objects and Variables dialog box closes, and the Alerter Editor dia‐log box displays.

6. In the second Operator field, select Not equal to.

7. In the second Operand field, type D11.

Note: You can also click the Browse button, select Select Values from the drop‐down list, and then select D11 from the List of Values dialog box.

8. Rather than clicking OK, leave the Alerter Editor dialog box open for the next lesson: Formatting the Complex Alerter.

Formatting the Complex AlerterNow that you have defined the alerter with two conditions, change the default for‐matting.

1. From the Alerter Editor dialog box, click Format. The Alerter Display dialog box (Figure 221) displays.

Figure 220 Objects and Variables dialog box

Using Alerters


2. In the Font style field, select Bold Italic.

3. Click OK. The Alerter Display dialog box closes, and the Alerter Editor dialog box (Figure 222) displays.

4. Click OK. The Alerter Editor dialog box closes, and the Alerters dialog box (Figure 223) displays the new alerter.

Figure 221 Alerter Display dialog box

Font style

Font size


Two conditions



5. Verify selection of the check box beside the new alerter.

6. Click OK. The Alerters dialog box closes, and the report refreshes and displays any value less than 50000 in the Net Sales $ column using the format set for the alerter, for all districts except D11.


8. Save the document in Favorites as Alerters.


TE8-Training Exercise-Complex Alerters


TE8-Training Exercise-Complex AlertersName________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 15 minutesAt the end of this training exercise, you will understand how to use sub‐alerters.

Working with the Merchandising ‐ Inventory Analysis universe, implement range alerters on the Inventory Value ($) column, and highlight values in the Inventory Value column in the following way:

• Values under $1M

• Values between $1M and $50M

• Values over $50MTo create a complex alerter that contains sub‐alerters:

1. Create a document using the Merchandising ‐ Inventory Analysis universe and the following objects and run the query.

– Organization > Buyer ID

– Merch‐Inventory > Merch‐Inventory Measures > Drillable (mInv) > Inven‐tory Counts) > Item Count

– Merch‐Inventory > Merch‐Inventory Measures > Drillable (mInv) > Inven‐tory Value($)

2. Create an alerter named Inv Value Range and define as:

– Filtered object or cell = Inventory Value($)

– Operator = Less than

– Operand = 1000000

3. Click Add Sub‐Alerter and define as:


– Operator = Greater than or equal to

– Operand = 1000000

4. Click + to add another condition:


– Operator = Less than or equal to

– Operand = 50000000

5. Click Add Sub‐Alerter and define as:




– Operator = Greater than

– Operand = 50000000

6. Click OK. The formatting from the Alerters (Figure 224) displays.

Note: Accept the default formatting so that when you apply the alerter, the $1M values display in red; the $1M to $50M values display in green; and the values over $50M display in blue.

7. Save the document in Favorites as Activity Alerters.

8. Close the document.

Figure 224 Complex Alerter results

Copy Data to Other Applications


Copy Data to Other ApplicationsWeb Intelligence provides an easy way to copy data from a report into other appli‐cations, such as MS Excel or MS Power Point so you can present and share your analysis in different formats.

Copy a Data Block Using the ClipboardUse the standard clipboard to transfer data in picture format between documents or applications, using copy and paste operations.

To copy data to an MS Excel spreadsheet:

1. From the Sectioned Data document, click on the border of the table block (Figure 225).

2. Press Ctrl+C to copy the table block to the clipboard as an image.

Note: Right‐click on the table and select Copy as Text to copy the table cells.

3. Launch MS Excel.

4. Press Ctrl+V to paste the table. The table (Figure 226) displays as an image file in the MS Excel spreadsheet.

Figure 225 Selected table block

Figure 226 Pasted table block in MS Excel



Copy Data Blocks to MS PowerPointTo copy data blocks to MS Power Point:

1. From the Sectioned Data document, click on the chart.

2. Press Ctrl+C to copy the block to the clipboard.

3. Launch MS PowerPoint and open a file that contains slides.

4. Press Ctrl+V to paste the chart. The chart (Figure 227) displays as an image file in the MS PowerPoint slide.

Figure 227 Pasted chart in MS PowerPoint

TE9-Training Exercise-Sections


TE9-Training Exercise-Sections Name________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 15 minutesAt the end of this training exercise, you will know how to create sections and calcu‐lations how to convert tables to charts.

1. Create a document using the Sales universe showing Net Sales $ by Company Name, Region ID, and Fiscal Year. Filter out Baltimore and Minnesota.

Note: Add the Historical or Current condition to the Query Filters pane.

2. Insert sections on both Fiscal Year and Company Name.

3. Include a sum for Net Sales $ for Fiscal Year and Company Name.

4. Create an descending sort on Net Sales $.

5. Position the Sum to display beside the Company Name (Figure 228).

6. In View Structure mode, increase the length of company name section by click‐ing and dragging the End of Section on Company Name divider down.

7. Insert a horizontal grouped bar chart using the Region Id and Net Sales $ objects so that your report resembles Figure 229.

Figure 228 Sectioned report with sum



8. Duplicate the table and convert it to a pie chart (Figure 230).

9. Save the document in Favorites as Activity Sections.

Figure 229 Sectioned report with chart

Figure 230 Sectioned report with two charts

Remember It



Organizing Data

There are several ways to organize a report from the Edit Report view.

• Using Breaks–Keeps all data within the table but sorts the groups in ascending order. Breaks make a long table easy to read and inserts a blank row or column after each break. Use this blank row or column to insert subtotals, a count, an average, percentage, minimum or maximum.

• Using Sections–Creates a header outside the block and groups the whole report. Each section can contain multiple blocks projected from the same microcube with a single report, such as charts and subtotal cells.

• Sorting & Ranking–Sorts a selected column in ascending and descending order while ranking allows you to quickly rank data by the top or bottom 3 or more .

Alerters

Highlight results that meet, exceed, or fall below specific business targets. Set the font formatting by changing font type, size, and color, or using underlines and highlights.



C h a p t e r 7

Sharing Web Intelligence Documents

Topics

• Sharing Documents

• Scheduling a Web Intelligence Document

• Viewing Document History

Chapter 7: Sharing Web Intelligence Documents


Chapter 7 describes how to share your documents with associates, both BusinessObjects users and non‐users, and how to schedule a document to automat‐ically refresh at specified times.

Why is Sharing Web Intelligence Documents Impor-tant?

Knowing your options on how you can share documents is important if you:

• Are responsible for the distribution of reports at regular intervals for a number of people, for example, Sales by MA for DSMs).

• Run reports for a non BusinessObjects user.

• Share reports with other BusinessObjects users.

• Need to print reports for meetings or use in other formats such as MS Excel.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this training module, you will be able to:

• Save documents in various formats

• Share documents

• Add a document from your computer

• Schedule a Web Intelligence document

Sharing Documents


Sharing DocumentsIf you are sharing documents with InfoView users, send your documents directly to their BusinessObjects Inbox. If associates are not InfoView users, save your reports in MS Excel or Adobe Acrobat PDF and send using email.

Note: If you send a document using email or if you save it to a file location, save it first to your computer in MS Excel, PDF, or CSV format, shown later in this chapter. Web Intelligence documents cannot be opened outside of InfoView and have no file extension.

Sending a Document to InfoView UsersSending a document to a user’s BusinessObjects Inbox is the ideal way to communi‐cate information to users or groups of users and allows them to edit, run, or sched‐ule the reports in the document. BusinessObjects sends the documents through the corporate repository for retrieval in their BusinessObjects Inbox.

Note: You can only send documents to users that are setup in the EDW by the administrator.

To send a document to an InfoView user:

1. From the Standard toolbar, click Toggle Navigation to display the Navigation panel (Figure 231).

2. Expand Public Folders > BI Training > Public Folders and click Feature Sam‐ples.

3. Select Inventory Count Reduction Goals.

Figure 231 Navigation panel with document selected

Toggle Navigationbutton

Sendbutton

Navigationpanel



4. From the Header Panel toolbar, click Send and select To BusinessObjects Inbox. The Send page (Figure 232) displays in the Workspace panel.

5. In the Destination field, verify that Inbox displays.

6. Deselect the User the Job Server’s defaults option. An expanded Send page (Figure 233) displays. Use the vertical scroll bar to view the entire page.

7. In the Available Recipients list, scroll and locate your training ID.

8. Click Move. Your ID moves to the Selected Recipients list.

9. In the Look For field, type user ID ISCLP000 and click Search. The searched ID displays in the Available Recipients list. Use this method to locate a user quickly rather than scrolling through a large list of available recipients.

Figure 232 Send page

Deselect

Figure 233 Expanded Send page

Movebutton

Copyoption

Sharing Documents


10. Click Move.

Note: To see entire list, delete the text in the Look for field and click Search again.

11. From the Chose drop‐down list, select Users.

12. From the Target Name options, select Automatically generated.

Note: Use the Specific Name options to specify a different name for the docu‐ment you send.

13. From the Send As options, select Copy.

14. Click Submit. BusinessObjects sends the document to the selected user’s Inbox.

15. From the Navigation panel, click your Inbox. The Inventory Count Reduction Goals document displays in your Inbox.

Sharing Documents with Non-BusinessObjects UsersTo share documents with associates who are not BusinessObjects users, save your reports in Adobe Acrobat PDF or MS Excel format. When you save a document in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, Adode retains the page layout and formatting of the Web Intelligence.

To save a document in other formats from InfoView:

1. From the Navigation panel, expand Public Folders.

2. Click the BI Training folder to view its contents.

3. Click Web Intelligence Sample to open the document. The document opens in the Document pane (Figure 234).

4. Click Document. The Document drop‐down menu (Figure 234) displays.

Figure 234 Open document with Document drop-drop list

Save to mycomputer as

option



5. Select PDF. The File Download dialog box (Figure 235) displays.

6. Click Save. A standard Save As Windows dialog box (Figure 236) displays.

7. Select a file location and click Save. A Download complete dialog box (Figure 237) displays.

8. Click Open so you can see the formatting in the PDF document.

Note: You must have Adobe Reader at the minimum to work with PDF files. You can send the file as an attachment to another user.

Figure 235 File Download dialog box

Figure 236 Save As dialog box

Figure 237 Download complete dialog box

Sharing Documents


Adding a Document to InfoViewIf you receive a document from another user or if you have documents on your computer that you would like to access in InfoView, you can add them for easy access. For this lesson, add the PDF you created and saved to your computer in the preceding lesson in your Favorites folder.

To add a document to InfoView:

1. From the Header Panel toolbar, click New. The New drop‐down list (Figure 238) displays.

2. Select Document from local computer.

3. Select Adobe Acrobat. The Add a document from your local computer page (Figure 239) displays.

4. In the Title field, type Web Intelligence Sample PDF.

5. In the Description field, type Sales Report.

Figure 238 New drop-down list

Figure 239 Add a document from your local computer page



6. In the Keywords field, type Sales.

7. Click Browse and select the document that you saved in the preceding lesson.

8. From the Location list of folders, select Favorites.

9. Click OK. The document displays in Favorites.

Scheduling a Web Intelligence Document


Scheduling a Web Intelligence DocumentScheduling a document allows you to run the query automatically at specified times and send it to specific users. When a scheduled document runs successfully, BusinessObjects creates an instance. An instance is a version of the document con‐taining the data available at the time it was run. Therefore, instances created later contain more recent data.

You can see a list of instances by looking at a document’s history. If you have the rights to view objects on demand, you can view and refresh any instance to retrieve the latest data from database.

Scheduling and viewing instances ensures you have the latest information available for viewing, printing, and distributing. For example, you can schedule a document to run every night so it’s available in the morning.

Note: Before scheduling documents, check your time zone setting on the Preferences pages. The default time zone is local to the web server running BusinessObjects.

To schedule a document:

1. Navigate to the Web Intelligence Sample document located in Public Folders > BI Training (Figure 240).

2. Click Schedule. The Schedule pages (Figure 241) displays.

Figure 240 Schedule link after navigating to the document

Schedulelink

Figure 241 Schedule page

Run Objectfield



3. Click + next to each group of options to view the entire page.

4. In the Run object drop‐down list, select Now.

5. Leave the remaining options at their default settings.

Note: Based on your user access rights, you can specify the Destination, Format, Server Group, and Caching options.

6. Click Schedule. The History pages (Figure 242) displays with the instance at the top of the page and with a status as Running.

7. Click Select.

8. Click Refresh. After the scheduled document runs, the status updates to suc‐cess (Figure 243) in the document history.

Figure 242 History page

Refresh button

Select

Figure 243 History page showing new instance

New instance

Viewing Document History


Viewing Document HistoryBusinessObjects creates a history of document instances, arranged chronologically. History attaches to scheduled documents only when BusinessObjects creates an instance. This history contains information such as:

• Instance time

• Run by

• Parameters

• Format

• StatusTo view the history of a document:

1. Navigate to the Web Intelligence Sample document located in Public Folders > BI Training.

2. Click History (Figure 244).

The History page (Figure 245) displays, displaying the number of times Busi‐ness Objects scheduled the document.

Figure 244 History link

Historylink

Figure 245 History page



Note: Modify the schedule by deleting, pausing, or resuming specific instances or all instances at one time.

3. Click Show only instances owned by me. The History page displays all instances of this document.

4. Deselect Show only instances owned by me. The History page displays all instances, regardless of who ran them.

TE10-Training Exercise-Sharing Documents


TE10-Training Exercise-Sharing DocumentsName________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 15 minutesAt the end of this training review, you will know how to share a document with another user and schedule a document.

1. Select a document in Favorites that you created during this class.

2. Open the document.

3. Save the document to a new personal folder and open the folder to verify that the document is there.

4. Send the document to your Inbox and open the Inbox folder to verify that the document is there.

5. Schedule the document to refresh and view the document instance.



Remember ItThe Remember It section helps to reinforce the topics covered in this training.

Sharing documents

When sharing Web Intelligence documents, remember these simple rules:

• To send a document to a non‐BusinessObjects user, save the document to your computer as an MS Excel or Adobe Acrobat PDF file and then email the docu‐ment using MS Outlook.

• To send a document (outside of Scheduler) to another BusinessObjects user, use the Send button on the Header panel toolbar and select To BusinessObjects Inbox.

• Web Intelligence documents cannot be opened outside of InfoView.

• For documents that must be run and sent out at regular intervals to specific people, use the Scheduler to automate the process.

Using Scheduler

• When using the Scheduler, periodically view the document history to ensure that BusinessObjects is sending the documents. If not, make any necessary changes to the instance.

• You can pause, resume, and delete Scheduler instances.

• Remember to maintain what you have setup as on‐going instances. Documents that are no longer needed waste system resources.

C h a p t e r 8

Formatting Reports

Topics

• Selecting Documents Elements for Formatting

• Modifying Report Properties

• Modifying Table Properties

• Modifying Section Properties

• Formatting Charts

Chapter 8: Formatting Reports


Chapter 8 describes how to make your reports look professional by applying for‐matting. Formatting includes applying backgrounds, changing fonts and font sizes, repositioning data in table cells, applying borders, and so on.

Why is Formatting Reports Important?

To make your report easier to interpret and look professional, you need to know how to use the formatting options.

Learning Objectives


• Describe the report elements you can format

• Modify report, table, and cell properties

Selecting Documents Elements for Formatting


Selecting Documents Elements for FormattingUse Report Manager to select different elements in a document and then modify the default property settings. Select the elements you want to format in a document by clicking on the appropriate part of a report and then changing the settings in the Properties tab of the Report Manager.

Figure 246 illustrates where to point your cursor to select and format elements.

Describing Reporting Toolbar ButtonsTable 18 describes the Reporting toolbar buttons used in this chapter. Other buttons on this toolbar are covered in other chapters.

Viewing Report PropertiesThe content of the Properties tab varies based on the element you select for format‐ting. For example, if you select a cell or cell header, the Text Format section auto‐matically expands to display fields relating to text formatting. If you select a section, the Text Format section is not applicable and therefore is not an option.

Figure 246 Click areas in Report Manager

Report Table

Cell

Section

Table 18 Reporting Toolbar Button Descriptions


View Page Layout Displays the report in print preview. From this view, you can prepare your report for printing.

View Structure Changes objects assigned to placeholders in charts or tables. Toggles to View Results.

View Results Displays the results after changing objects in View Structure mode. Toggles to View Structure.



To view report properties:

1. In Public Folders > BI Training, locate the Web Intelligence Sample document and copy it to Favorites.

2. Locate the copied document in Favorites, and click Modify. The document (Figure 247) displays in the Document pane.

3. From the Reporting toolbar, click View Page Layout (Figure 247). A print pre‐view of the document (Figure 248) displays with a black border around the report designating Page Layout view.

Note: Use this view to modify default margin settings, page size, and header and footer properties, as well as preview the report for printing.

4. Click the white space below the table and chart. A gray border displays indicat‐ing selection.

Figure 247 Document open in Document pane


Figure 248 Print preview of document


Propertiestab

Page Layout Viewborder

Selecting Documents Elements for Formatting


5. Select Properties. The Properties tab (Figure 249) displays the default properties in categories to minimize scrolling. The categories that display vary based on the report element you select.General Change the name and document description.Appearance Change the color of the report background and any web links in the report.Page Layout Change the margins, page orientation, and header and footer properties.

6. Try each Properties navigation button described in Table 19.

7. Keep the Web Intelligence Sample document open for the next lesson.


Categories

Propertiesdescription area

Gray selection border

Table 19 Properties Tab Navigation Button Descriptions


Categorized Organizes and display properties in related groups (Figure 249).

Alphabetic Displays all properties in an alphabetical list without cate-gories.

Show/Hide Description Area

Toggles to show or hide the description of a property you select.

Expand Expands all categories.

Collapse Collapses all categories.



Modifying Report PropertiesIn Page Layout view, use the Properties tab to modify the appearance of the report elements. For this lesson, continue working with the document from the last lesson.

Note: To apply changes in the Properties tab, press Enter or click in the Document pane.

To modify the report background:

1. From the Reporting toolbar, click Page Layout View if document is not in Page Layout view. A thick black border displays when in Page Layout view.

2. Click the white space. A gray border displays report margins indicating selec‐tion.

3. From the Properties tab, in the Appearance section, click Background Color. A Color drop‐down list arrow (Figure 250) displays.

4. Click the Color arrow and select pale blue. The report background changes.

5. Expand Page Layout.

6. Change the top, bottom, left, and right margins to 52 px. The report shifts up to accommodate the margins.

7. In the Page size field, select Letter. The page width changes.

8. In the Page orientation field, select Landscape. The page width changes.

9. In the Show page header and Show page footer fields, verify that Yes is selected.

Figure 250 Background color property and color drop-down list

BackgroundColor

Drop-down list arrow

Pale BlueColor

Modifying Report Properties


10. In the Header height and Footer height fields, type 32

11. Keep the Inventory by OpCo report in the Web Intelligence Sample document open for the next lesson.



Modifying Table PropertiesWhen you select a table element in a report, the Properties tab provides options that allow you to change the default formatting of the selected table, a cell, or header cell.

Note: If a report contains multiple data blocks, formatting changes only apply to tables using the same block. Because the Web Intelligence Sample report contains sections, any change made to a table in one section, applies to all sections.

To change table properties:

1. Position your cursor near the table perimeter until a gray border (Figure 251) displays.

2. Click the gray border to select the table.

3. From the Properties tab General section, in the Name field, change the name to Annual Value.

4. Expand Display. Additional properties display in the Properties tab.

5. Click and drag the bar chart over to the right to make room for the expanded table.

6. In the Cell spacing field, type 12 and press Enter. The spacing between the cells increases in both tables because they are sections within the same report (Figure 252).

Figure 251 Selected table with gray border

Inventory byOpCo report

Gray borderdenotes selected

table

Modifying Table Properties


7. Click and drag the bar chart over to make room for the expanded table.

8. From the Appearance section, in the Background image field, click Browse, located to the far right of the field. The Background Image dialog box (Figure 253) displays.

9. Select Skin.

10. From the Skin drop‐down list, select Curve and click OK


Formatting Header CellsHeader cells define the contents of each column and display at the top of a table. By default, header cells use the object name. Use the Header Cells section of the Prop‐erties tab to change the font, style, color, and other attributes.

To change the format of a header cell:

1. With the table selected, expand Header Cells. Additional properties display.

2. Expand Text Format. Fields relating to font styles (Figure 254) display.

Figure 252 Table with increased cell spacing

Figure 253 Background Image dialog box



3. In the Horizontal alignment field, select Center. The headers center in the cell.


Repositioning the TableControl the position of the table on the report using the Position fields located in the Page Layout section of the Properties tab.

To reposition a table:

1. With the table selected, expand Page Layout > Position. Additional properties (Figure 255) display.

2. In the Left edge field, type 32. The table position adjusts.

3. In the Top edge field, type 52. The table position adjusts.


Modifying Cell PropertiesWhen you modify a cell, including a width change, Web Intelligence applies the change to all cells in the column containing the modified cell, with the exception of calculation cells.

Note: When changing the height of a cell, Web Intelligence applies the change to all cells in all columns.

To modify cells in a table:

Figure 254 Text formats for header cells

Figure 255 Page layout position fields



1. Click any cell other than the header cell in the Inventory Value column. The cells in that column highlight (Figure 256).

2. From the Properties tab, expand Display. Additional properties display.

3. In the Width field, type 116 and press Enter. The width of the cells in the col‐umn adjusts.

4. In the Height field, type 32 and press Enter. The height of all cells in all columns adjusts.

Modifying Cells in Multiple ColumnsWhen modifying cells in multiple columns, make your selection by pressing Ctrl. Remember, when changing a body cell, the changes apply to all cells in each selected column.

For this exercise, continue working with the Multiple Cells report in the Web Intel‐ligence Sample document.

To modify cells in multiple columns simultaneously:

1. From the Report tabs, select Multiple Cells.

2. Click OpCo Number cell header.

3. Press Ctrl and select each cell header.

4. From the Properties tab, expand Text Format (Figure 257).

Figure 256 Inventory value cell highlighted

Highlighted cells



.

5. In the Text color field, select orange. The header cells display with orange text.

6. In the Vertical text alignment field, select Center. The text centers in the header cells.

7. In the Background color field, select Black. The background color of the header cells displays as black.

8. Select a detail row in the Inventory Value $ column. All cells in the column highlight in gray.

9. From the Text Format category, change the font to 10 pt, bold, and blue. The changes apply immediately to the selected column.

10. Pressing Ctrl, select all the cells in the bottom row of the table.

11. In the Text Color field, select red. The bottom row displays in red.

12. Keep the Web Intelligence Sample document open in View Page Layout mode for the next lesson

Inserting Page NumbersUse free standing cells to add page numbers in the document footer zone. For more information on using free standing cells to display other information in your report, see Presenting Data in Free Standing Cells on page 131.

To add page numbers to your report:

1. From the Report tabs, select Inventory by OpCo.


Figure 257 All header cells highlighted

Multiplehighlighted

cells

Text colorfield



3. Expand Free‐Standing Cells > Page Number Cells (Figure 258).

4. Scroll to the bottom of the report.

5. Click the white space beneath the page margins until the footer zone highlights.

6. From the Templates tab, click and drag Page Number to the footer zone (Figure 258). The page number displays in the footer of your report.

7. Scroll to the top of the report.

Note: The report contains a header zone where you can insert page numbers. Click the area immediately above the report to display the header zone.

8. Keep the Web Intelligence Sample document open for the next lesson.


Free standingPage number in

footer zone



Modifying Section PropertiesWhen you change section properties, the change applies to all sections in the report. In this lesson, practice using a few of the options available to you for formatting sections. Continue working with the Inventory by OpCo report.

To change section properties:

1. Click within the section to select it. A dotted gray line (Figure 259) displays above the section header and frames the entire section.

2. From the Properties tab, in the Background image field, click Browse. The Back‐ground Image dialog box (Figure 260) displays.

3. Select Skin, then, from the drop‐down menu, select Dots.

4. Click OK. The background of all sections in the report changes.

5. Close the document without saving it.

Figure 259 Section report with highlighted section

Section framehighlight

Figure 260 Background Image dialog box

TE11-Training Exercise-Formatting Reports


TE11-Training Exercise-Formatting ReportsName________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 15 minutesReinforce your understanding of report formatting by completing this exercise.

1. Create a document using the Merchandising ‐ Inventory universe showing Fis‐cal Year, by OpCo Name, Buyer ID, and 120+Age Inventory Value($).

2. Insert a section on Fiscal Year and OpCo Name.

3. Insert a sum total for each Fiscal Year and OpCo Name using white text on a blue background.

4. Insert a Vertical Group bar chart to show 120+Age Inventory Value($) by Buyer ID and resize as appropriate so that your report resembles Figure 261.

Note: Change your page layout to accommodate both blocks on the page.

5. Name the report Formatting Reports.

6. Insert another report in the same document showing 120+Age On Hand Qty (Cases) by Fiscal Year, OpCo Name, and Buyer ID.




Tip! Add 120+Age On Hand Qty (Cases) to your data provider.

7. Insert a break on Fiscal Year and OpCo Name.

8. Insert a sum on 120+Age On Hand Qty (Cases).

9. At the report level, change the margins to 60 px and page orientation to Land‐scape.

10. At the table level, format alternating rows to display in light yellow.

11. At the cell level, adjust the column widths of all columns. Display the year in bold red text with a yellow background and center vertical alignment. Your table should resemble Figure 262.

12. Save the document in Favorites as Activity Format Reports.


Formatting Charts


Formatting ChartsLike tables, charts contain elements that format separately. This section covers changing chart elements to make your charts more attractive and easier to read.

Before formatting a chart, create a new report with a chart:

1. Open the Tables document in Favorites.

2. Click Edit Query and add a query filter for San Antonio.

3. Click Run Query. The chart displays in the Document pane.

4. Insert a new report into the document. See Adding Reports to Your Document on page 118 if needed.

5. Drag and drop a Vertical Grouped bar template in the new report.

6. Drag and drop the SUS PO Count object to the measures object placeholder in the Document pane.

7. Move the Buyer ID object to the dimension object placeholder in the Document pane.

8. Drag the Fiscal Year object to the optional dimension object placeholder in the Document pane.

9. Click View Results. The chart (Figure 263) displays with data in the Document pane.

Selecting a ChartUse the chart you just created for the remaining lessons in this chapter.

To select a chart:

1. Click anywhere on the chart to select it. A gray border displays around the chart indicating selection.


Figure 263 Chart with data



3. From the Report Manager pane, click Properties. The Properties tab displays the default properties set for the chart.

Changing an Element Font SizeTo change the font size, continuing working with the report from the previous les‐son:

1. From the Properties tab, expand Display. Additional properties (Figure 265) dis‐play.

2. In the Width field, type 640.

3. In the Height field, type 300 to make the chart more visually appealing. The chart width and height increases, making it easier to read.

4. From the Properties tab, expand X Axis > Values. Additional properties (Figure 266) display.

5. In the Text Format field, click Browse. The Format Text dialog box (Figure 267) displays.

Figure 264 Selected chart with Properties tab

Selectionborder

Propertiestab

Figure 265 Display section properties

Figure 266 X Axis section properties

Formatting Charts


6. In the Size field, type 6 and click OK. The font size for Buyer IDs in the X axis displays at 6 pt (Figure 268).

Displaying Data Values for a Bar ChartDepending on the data, displaying values in a chart can make it easier to interpret the data.

To display values for each buyer ID:

1. From the Properties tab Appearance section, expand Data > Values.

2. In the Show Data field, select Yes. The data values (Figure 269) display above each bar in the chart.

Figure 267 Format Text dialog box

Figure 268 Chart with enlarged width and small X axis font size



3. Keep the report open for the next lesson.

Displaying Axis LegendAs with displaying data values, displaying legends makes the chart easier to read and also helps to better interpret data on the chart.

To display the axis legend:

1. Insert a new report.

2. From the Templates tab, expand Charts > Pie.

3. Drag and drop Pie to the new report.

4. From the Data tab, drag Buyer ID to the dimension object placeholder and SUS PO Count to the measure object placeholder.

5. Click View Results. The pie chart (Figure 270) displays in the report.

Note: The small gray arrow at the bottom of the Buyer ID list indicates more buyers. Resize the chart to display all the buyers.

6. Click the pie chart. A gray border displays around the chart indicating selec‐tion.

7. From the Report Manger pane, click Properties. The Properties tab (Figure 271) displays.

Figure 269 Chart displaying values

Figure 270 Pie chart showing legend

Formatting Charts


8. From the Properties tab, expand Display.

9. In the Width field, type 450 and press Enter. The width of the chart increases.

10. In the Height field, type 500 and press Enter. All the buyer IDs display.

11. From the Properties tab, expand Appearance.

12. In the Show floor field, select Yes.

13. In the Wall color field, select light yellow.

Displaying Data Values for a Pie ChartDepending on the data, displaying values on a chart can make it easier to interpret the data.

To display values for each buyer ID:

1. From the Properties tab Appearance section, expand Data > Values.

2. In the Show Data field, select Yes. The values (Figure 272) display as labels.

Figure 271 Properties tab for a pie chart

Figure 272 Pie chart showing data values



3. In the Show as percentages field, select Yes. The data values displays as per‐centages (Figure 273).

4. Experiment with the different features available in Web Intelligence for format‐ting charts.

5. Close the document without saving.

Figure 273 Pie chart showing data values as percentages

TE12-Training Exercise-Formatting Charts


TE12-Training Exercise-Formatting ChartsName________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 15 minutesReinforce your understanding of report formatting by completing this exercise.

1. Create a document using the Merchandising ‐ Inventory universe showing Fis‐cal Year, Category, and Inventory Value($).

2. Add a query filter for the category object and select seafood, poultry, and meats.

3. Run the query.

4. Drag the Vertical Grouped bar chart template on top of the vertical table in the document.

5. Format the bar chart:

– Adjust the width and height of the chart.

– Display the legend (years).

– Remove the axis names.

Your chart should resemble Figure 274.

6. Insert a new report and create a Vertical Stacked area chart showing Inventory Value($) for each filtered Category by Fiscal Year. Format the chart:


– Display the legend to the left of the chart.

Figure 274 Bar chart with legend



– Remove the axis names for Inventory Value($) and Category.

– Show the chart grid.

– Show the chart data values in a bold, dark blue, and 10 pt font size.

– Show Inventory Value($) without cents.

– Add a chat title of Vertical Stacked Area Chart.


7. Insert a new report and create a 3D pie chart showing Inventory Value($) by Category.

8. Format the chart:


– Show the Inventory Value($) data values as percentages in white.

– Create a background color of dark gray.


9. Save the document in Favorites as Activity Format Charts.

Figure 275 Vertical Stack Area chart

Figure 276 3D pie chart

Remember It



View Options

Change the view of the document to:

• View Page Layout to display the report as it looks when printed.

• View Structure to see the dimensions, details, or measures assigned to place‐holders in tables or charts. Toggle between View Results and View Structure.

• View Results to see the results after changing objects in View Structure mode .

Document Properties

The Report Manager provides you with the ability to modify the default property settings for the different elements in a document. Control how your document looks by changing:

• General settings such as the name of the report.

• Appearance settings that control the background, how hyperlinks are dis‐played, and so on.

• Page layout options for margins, page size, and orientation.

Table and Chart Properties

• Modify table properties that control the appearance of header cells, body cells, page layout, breaks, and sorts.

• Modify chart properties that control appearance of page layout, breaks, and sorts, as well as legends and display of data values.



C h a p t e r 9

Creating Formulas and Variables

Topics

• Describing Formulas and Variables

• Accessing Online Help About Functions

• Using Formulas and Variables

• Modifying and Deleting Variables

• Using Document Formula Functions

Chapter 9: Creating Formulas and Variables


Chapter 9 describes how to use formulas to display information or calculate data that you cannot retrieve using exiting objects in the universe. It also explains how to define a formula as a document variable, so that the formula is available for use in other reports and blocks of data in the document.

Why is Creating Formulas and Variables Important?

Formulas provide a powerful way to enhance your reports by transforming col‐umns of data into more meaningful information. Use formula to create one‐time and unanticipated calculations that do not exist in the universe.

Learning Objectives


• Define formulas and variables

• Explain the advantage of saving a formula as a variable

• Explain how to get online help for Web Intelligence functions

Describing Formulas and Variables


Describing Formulas and VariablesCreate a formula to display data not retrieved by existing objects in the universe. Add custom calculations to reports using formulas you create and that Web Intelli‐gence evaluates when you run the report.

A formula can consist of data objects, functions, operators, and calculations. Create formulas directly in a report cell or save a formula as a variable. Saving a formula as a variable, makes the formula available for use in all reports in a document with‐out having to recreate the formula.

You add formulas in two ways:

• Type or drag and drop the formula components into the Formula toolbar. Use this method if you are an experienced user.

• Use the Formula Editor to build the formula. If you are not familiar with formu‐las, use the Formula Editor, which allows you to select the different formula components such as operators and objects.

A variable is a formula that you save with a name. Variables act as objects in the doc‐ument and display in the Data tab.

Create a variable when:

• You want to use a formula repeatedly in a report.

• You want to use the same formula in different blocks and on different reports in a document.

User‐defined formulas are document specific and cannot be shared with other users or documents. Differences in the way report authors create similar formulas can create multiple versions of the truth.

For these reasons, if you feel the formula or variable is one that should be a uni‐verse object available to all other users, contact CSG and enter your request as a ticket to the Business Intelligence team.



Using Formulas and VariablesThere are three methods for creating variables and their associated formulas:

• Create a variable that captures and displays the response to a prompt when you refresh the report.

• Create a variable that calculates data and projects the calculation in a new col‐umn.

• Create a variable that displays document information, such as the author and document name, using document functions.

In the following lessons, build a report that displays the Net Sales $ for each ship to customer for a given fiscal week using a prompt that requires you to select the dis‐trict ID each time you refresh the report. Using this formula, the district ID you select updates in the report title.

Creating a Formula to Capture a Prompt ResponseTo create a formula that captures a prompt response:

1. From Public Folders > BI Training> Sample Reports, locate the Using Formulas and Variables Sample report.

2. Copy the report to your Favorites.

3. From Favorites, click Modify to open the report (Figure 277).

4. Click Refresh Data. The Prompts dialog box (Figure 278) displays with two prompts. The Fiscal Year (YYYY) prompt displays 2008. Do not change this value.

Figure 277 Query objects and prompted filter

Refresh Data button

Using Formulas and Variables


5. Click the Enter District Id prompt. The selection field header name changes based on your prompt selection.

6. In the Enter District ID selection field, type D11 or click Refresh List and dou‐ble‐click D11 to move the value to the selection field. Your selections display at the top of the Prompts dialog box (Figure 279).

7. Click Refresh Data. The Prompts dialog box closes, the query runs, and the data displays in the Document pane.

Creating the Formula to Capture Prompt ResponseThe Using Formulas and Variables Sample report prompts for a district ID and fiscal year when you run the query or refresh the data. To capture and display the district ID in the report title, create a formula using the formula editor.

Note: When creating a formula, always begin with the equal (=) sign and always display report objects inside square brackets.

To create the formula for the prompt response:

1. Click Report Title. A gray border displays around the cell showing selection (Figure 280).


Click District Id tosort the list

Two prompts

Selection field header

Figure 279 Prompts dialog showing prompt data selected



2. From the Reporting toolbar, click Show/Hide Formula Toolbar. The Formula toolbar displays.

3. Click Formula Editor (Figure 280). The Formula Editor dialog box (Figure 281) displays.

4. In the Formula field, with Report Title highlighted, type = to start the formula definition. As you make selections and type, the formula also displays in the Formula toolbar.

5. Type (including the quotes) “Customer Sales ‐ District ”. Keep your cursor at the end of the statement.

Tip! If you want spaces between the last word of the title, in this case District, and the prompted text, include the spaces inside the quotation mark.

Figure 280 Report Title highlighted

Formula Editor button onthe Formula Toolbar

Show/HideFormula Toolbar

button

ReportTitle cell

Figure 281 Formula Editor dialog box

Validatebutton

FormulaEditor button

Formulafield



6. From the Operators tab, double‐click +. The + displays at the end of the state‐ment you typed in the Formula field.

7. From the Data tab, click District ID.

8. Click Validate. A dialog displays showing syntax errors in the formula, if any. As an added help, Web Intelligence highlights the area of the formula that is problematic.

9. Click OK. The report refreshes and the title displays the district ID you selected when prompted (Figure 282).

Note: If the spacing between district ID and D10 is not correct, fix the spacing problem in the Formula toolbar. Click Validate to save your edits.

10. Refresh the report and select a District D11. Notice that the title updates with District D11.

11. Save the report in Favorites as Formulas.

12. Keep the Formulas document open for the next lesson.

Defining the Formula as a VariableNow that you have a formula, turn the formula into a variable so that it displays in the Data Manager and is accessible for use in the document.

To define the formula as a variable:

1. Select the Report Title cell.

2. From the Formula toolbar, click Create Variable. The Create Variable dialog box (Figure 283) displays with the formula you created in the previous exercise in the Formula field.

Figure 282 Report title displaying district

Validatebutton



3. In the Name field, type _REPORT_TITLE_WITH_PROMPT.

4. From the Qualifications drop‐down list, select Dimension.

5. In the Formula field, verify that the formula shown is the one you created in the preceding lesson, and click OK. The Create Variable dialog box closes.

6. From the Standard toolbar, click Refresh Data.

7. Select District Id D11 in the Prompt dialog box. The report title displays District D11.

8. From the Data Manager, select Data. The variable (Figure 284) displays and can be used as universe‐based objects.


Creating a Variable to Calculate Percent ChangesWeb Intelligence provides a way to display calculated values in a column in the same way you display object values. For example, display the percentage of change (+/‐) on Net Sales $ between specific fiscal years for specific months.

Because the percentage of change value is calculated and not stored as an object in the universe, create a formula and then define the formula as a variable so you can use it when you refresh the data or insert new reports or blocks in the document.

This process involves:

• Inserting a column for the new variable.

Figure 283 Create Variable dialog box

Create Variablebutton

Figure 284 Data tab showing variable

Variable



• Creating the formula and projecting the data.

• Defining the formula as a variable.

Inserting a Column for the FormulaBefore creating the variable, add a column to the report for the formula results.

To insert a column:

1. Click the Net Sales $ ‐ TY column. The column highlights indicating selection.

2. Click the Insert Row Above drop‐down arrow. A drop‐down list (Figure 285) displays.

3. Select Insert column after. A column inserts to the right of the Net Sales $ ‐ TY TM column.

4. Click the blank column. The column highlights.

Creating the Formula and Projecting the Calculated DataAfter inserting a column, create the formula and then project the calculated data into the column. The formula takes this fiscal year value less the last fiscal year value and then uses the difference to calculate the percentage.

To create the formula and project the calculated data:

1. Verify that the new column displays highlighted in your table.

2. From the Reporting toolbar, click Show/Hide Formula Toolbar. The Formula toolbar displays.

3. From the Formula toolbar, click Formula Editor. The Formula Editor displays.

4. From the Data tab, double‐click Net Sales $ ‐ TY. An equal sign followed by the object displays in the Formula field.

5. From the Operators tab, double‐click ‐ (minus).

6. From the Data tab, double‐click Net Sales $ ‐ LY.

Figure 285 Insert Row Above drop-down list

Insert Row Above button



7. Insert an opening parenthesis between the = and the first bracket and a closing parenthesis after the last bracket. Your formula display as:

=([Net Sales $ ‐ TY]‐[Net Sales $ ‐ LY])

8. From the Operators tab, double‐click / (divide) and then reposition your cursor after the / in the Formula field.

9. From the Data tab, double‐click Net Sales $ ‐ LY. Your formula should display (Figure 286).

10. Click Validate to ensure that the formula uses the correct syntax.

11. Click OK. The Formula Editor dialog box closes and the percentage (Figure 287) displays in the new column.

Formatting the ValuesAfter projecting the calculated data, format the column data to display in percent‐age format.

To format the values to percentage format:

1. Right‐click a cell in the new column. A drop‐down menu (Figure 288) displays.

Figure 286 Formula toolbar showing completed formula

Validate button

Completedformula in the

formula toolbar

Figure 287 Report data with calculated percentage data

New percentage column



2. Select Format Number. The Number Format dialog box (Figure 289) displays.

3. Click Number. A list of options for Number displays in the Properties box.

4. Select the last option in the list (Figure 289) and click OK. The Number Format dialog box closes and the cells (Figure 290) display the selected format.

5. Keep the Formulas document open for the next lesson.

Defining the Formula as a VariableNow that you have a formula, turn the formula into a variable so that it displays in the Data Manager and is accessible for use in the document.

To define the formula as a variable:

1. Click a cell in the new column.

Figure 288 Right-click drop-down menu

Format Numberoption

Figure 289 Format Number dialog box

Figure 290 New column cells in percentage format

New numberformat applied



2. From the Formula toolbar, click Create Variable. The Create Variable dialog box (Figure 291) displays.

Note: Because you highlighted the column that displays the calculated data, the formula you created displays in the Formula field.

3. In the Name field, type Percent Change.

4. From the Qualification drop‐down list, select Measure.

5. In the Formula field, verify that the formula shown is the one you created in the preceding lesson, and click OK. The Create Variable dialog box closes.

6. From the Data Manager, click Data. The new Percent Change variable (Figure 292) displays and can be used as universe‐based objects.

Naming the Added ColumnWhen you add a column, the column heading displays blank. Use the Properties tab to name the column.

To name an added column:

1. Click the blank header cell.

2. From the Data Manager, click Properties. The Properties tab (Figure 293) dis‐plays.

Figure 291 Create Variable dialog box with completed information

Create Variablebutton

Figure 292 Data tab showing Percent Change variable

Percent Changevariable



3. In the General section, next to the Text field, type Percent Change and press Enter. The name displays in the header cell.

4. Save the document in Favorites as Net Sales TFY vs. LFY.


Text field



Modifying and Deleting VariablesAs discussed previously, variables display in the Data Manager. To delete or mod‐ify a variable, right‐click a variable in the Data Manager.

Modifying a VariableTo modify a variable:

1. Navigate to Public Folders > BI Training and click Feature Samples.

2. Select the Inventory Count Reduction Goals document and copy in Favorites. See Copying Documents on page 30, if needed.

3. Navigate to My Folders > and click Favorites.

4. Locate the copied document and click Modify. The document opens in Edit Query view.

5. From the Data Manager, click Data. The Data tab (Figure 294) displays.

6. Right‐click Reduction Goals (5%). A list of options display.

7. Select Edit Variable. The Variable Editor dialog box (Figure 295) displays.

Figure 294 Data tab with right-click options

Figure 295 Variable Editor dialog box

Modifying and Deleting Variables


8. In the Formula field, change 0.05 to 0.06.

9. In the Name field, change 5% to 6%.

10. Click Validate.

11. Click OK. A confirmation dialog box (Figure 296) displays.

12. Click Yes. The Variable Editor dialog box closes, and the report displays the new reduction goal percent.

Deleting a VariableDelete the Reduction Goals variable you modified in the preceding lesson.

To delete a variable:

1. From the Data Manager, click Data. The Data tab (Figure 297) displays.

2. Right‐click Reduction Goals (5%). A list of options displays.

3. Select Delete Variable. A dialog box (Figure 298) displays confirming your deletion request.

4. Click Yes. The Variable Editor dialog box closes. Web Intelligence removes the variable from the Data tab and deletes the report cell data.

5. Keep the Inventory Count Reduction Goals document open for the next lesson.


Figure 297 Data tab with right-click options

Figure 298 Deletion confirmation dialog box



Using Document Formula FunctionsUse formula document functions to create variables for information about your document, such as the author’s name, the report creation date, the last print date, and so on.

Displaying Author NameUse this feature to display your user ID (document creator) on the report.

To display the author’s name in your report:

1. From the Data Manager, click Templates. The Templates tab displays.


3. Drag and drop Blank Cell in the Document pane. A line (Figure 300) displays when you release the mouse.

4. Click the blank cell line. A gray border displays.

5. Click and drag the border edge to expand the cell.

6. From the Reporting toolbar, click Show/Hide Toolbar. The Formula toolbar dis‐plays.

7. Click Formula Editor. The Formula Editor dialog box (Figure 301) displays.


Free-standing blank cell

Figure 300 Blank cell displays as a line

Blank cell

Using Document Formula Functions


8. From the Functions tab, collapse All and expand Document.

9. Double‐click DocumentAuthor. The function displays in the Formula field.

10. Click Validate.

11. Click OK. The Formula Editor dialog box closes, and the author’s name displays in the free‐standing cell.

12. Keep the Inventory Count Reduction Goals document open for the next lesson.

Displaying Document NameAnother way to insert document information in a report is to use the document information cells from the Template tab.

To display the document name in your report:

1. From the Data Manager, click Templates. The Templates tab displays.


3. From the Templates tab, drag Document name to the Document pane. The docu‐ment name (Figure 303) displays in the Document pane.

Figure 301 Formula Editor

Figure 302 Template tab showing a document name free-standing cell

Document name



Figure 303 Report showing document name

Document name

Accessing Online Help About Functions


Accessing Online Help About FunctionsUse the online help to view a complete list of available functions as well as exam‐ples on how to use them.

To access online help for creating formulas:

1. Create a new document.

2. Select the Sales universe.

3. From the Standard toolbar, click Help, and from the drop‐down menu (Figure 304), select Web Intelligence Help.

A Help Contents list (Figure 305) displays.

4. Expand Creating and Editing > Adding Calculations, Alerters, Formulas, and click Creating Formulas to display information about creating formulas.

Figure 304 New document


Help button

Figure 305 Creating Formulas help screen

Help Contentslist



The Creating Formulas topic describes how to enter a formula using the for‐mula toolbar or the formula editor. Each topic contains links to other topics that provide more information.

5. Browse to the bottom of the topic and click Index to Web Intelligence Func‐tions. A list of functions (Figure 306) displays along with links to information for each function.

6. Click DaysBetween. The DaysBetween help page (Figure 307) displays. This help page displays the syntax for the DaysBetween function, an example of how to use it in a formula, and links on other similar functions.

Figure 306 Index to Web Intelligence Functions help page

Days BetweenFunction

Figure 307 DaysBetween help page

Accessing Online Help About Functions




TE13-Training Exercise-Formulas and VariablesName________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 15 minutesCreate a new document that includes a table, prompt, percentage formula, variable, and title cell that displays the results from the prompt.

1. Create a document using the Sales universe showing gross sales $ for this year and last year by district ID for customer numbers 000091–360000. Include the customer name, if you wish.


3. Add a column to the table.

4. In the new column, create a formula to display the percentage change from last year to this year.

5. Format the new column to display the value as a percentage.

6. Format the column cell header to display Percentage Change.

7. Create a prompted query filter on district ID.

8. Insert a formula in the report title cell to show the district ID chosen from the prompt. Refresh the document for DSTDA and resize to fit text.

9. Save the document in Favorites folder as Activity Formulas.

10. Create a cell showing the name of your document in the report header. Your report should resemble Figure 308.

11. Save the document.

Figure 308 Completed report

Remember It



Creating Formulas

• Formulas are document specific and cannot be shared with other users or docu‐ments.

• Display the results in a block on your report or as a new column in a report.

• If new to creating formulas, use the Formula Editor and select formula compo‐nents from three tabs. Data Tab Contains universe object variables and any user‐defined variables.Functions Tab Contains the many functions available for formulas.Operators Tab Contains the operators to perform numeric and comparison operations

in your formulas.

Invoke the Formula Editor by clicking the Formula Editor button on the for‐mula toolbar.

• For those more comfortable with formulas, type the formula or drag and drop the formula components directly in the formula toolbar.

Creating Variables

Variables, like formulas, are document specific and cannot be shared with other users or documents.

Turn your formula into a variable to:

• Use a formula within another formula.

• Give the formula a meaningful name.

• Reuse a formula throughout your document.



C h a p t e r 1 0

Synchronizing Data

Topics

• Working with Multiple Data Providers

• Describing Data Synchronization

• Creating Multiple Queries in a Document

• Working with Queries and Multiple Universes

• Synchronizing Data with Merged Dimensions

• Reviewing Synchronizing Rules for Merged Dimensions

Chapter 10: Synchronizing Data


Chapter 10 describes how to use multiple queries, from a single universe or from multiple universes, and then synchronize the multiple data providers by merging (also known as joining) them on common dimensions. After merging the common dimensions, you can place the dimensions from different data providers in a single document.

Why is Synchronizing Data Important?

Merged dimensions and data synchronization enormously increase the power and flexibility of Web Intelligence by allowing you to synthesize data from different sources in the same report, rather than simply including the data.

Learning Objectives


• Create multiple queries in a document

• Synchronize data from multiple data sources

• Synchronize data with merged dimensions

Working with Multiple Data Providers


Working with Multiple Data ProvidersWhen you run a query against a single data source, the query results reside in the document’s microcube, also known as the data provider. A data provider only holds data from a single data source.

This structure allows you to include data from several sources in a single docu‐ment. It also means you can present related information in a way that helps you compare or analyze data more meaningfully.

After the basic report is built with blocks of related data, you can:

• Compare and contrast the information in a single table.

• Format the data.

• Add calculations across data sources.

• Create new variables.Figure 309 illustrates this concept.

• Blocks 1 and 2 display different views of the data provider created by a single query using the Merchandising universe.

• Block 3 displays a view of the data provider created by a second query using the Merchandising universe. When you use block 3 in the same document as blocks 1 and 2, Web Intelligence combines data from multiple queries in a single universe.

• Block 4 displays a view of the data provider created by a query using the Sales universe. When you use block 4 in the same document with the other blocks from the Merchandising universe, Web Intelligence merges data from multiple queries and multiple universes.

Figure 309 Multi-universe data providers



Describing Data SynchronizationSynchronization is the term used to describe the merging of data from multiple data providers into a single block in a report. Synchronization increases the power and flexibility of Web Intelligence by allowing you to merge the data from different sources in the same report, rather than simply including the data.

To synchronize data, merge data providers on common dimensions. Merging of data providers can be automatic or manual.

Figure 310 illustrates how data from more than one source combines in synchro‐nized blocks in the same document.

• Blocks 1 combines data from two different data providers that contain the results of queries using the Merchandising universe.

• Block 2 combines data from data providers that contain the results of queries using the Merchandising and Sales universes.

Figure 310 Synchronized blocks

Creating Multiple Queries in a Document


Creating Multiple Queries in a DocumentAfter completing this section, you will be able to:

• Project data from a single query in different report bocks.

• Project data from more than one query using a single universe.

• Set options to automatically merge dimensions with the same name.

• Project data from queries using multiple universes.

Projecting Data: Single Query/Multiple BlocksFor this lesson, create a document to analyze the specific product purchases for last year’s first quarter compared to this year’s first fiscal quarter and display the quan‐tities ordered and confirmed.

At the end of this lesson, Block 1 in Figure 311 displays the designated products on order while Block 2 displays a subset of this information from the same query.

To project data from a single query in multiple blocks:

1. Create a new document using the Merchandising universe and build a query by selecting the following objects:

– Time > Quarter > Fiscal Quarter Id

– Item > Item Details > Item Number, Item Description

– Purchasing > Purchasing ‐ Quantities > Order Qty (cs)

– Purchasing > Purchasing ‐ Quantities > Confirmed Qty (cs)

2. Create a query filter for Fiscal Quarter Id 200701; 200801 and the following item numbers: 0062737; 0698670; 0709378; 0859348; 0953281.

Caution: For item number query filters, do not use the Values from a List option in the Operand drop‐down list, because of the large number of items. Type the values in the Value field and be sure to use a semicolon between values.

3. Click Run Query. Report 1 (Figure 312) displays a vertical table showing orders versus confirmed quantities for each fiscal quarter per item.

Figure 311 Single query/Multiple data blocks



4. From the Data tab, click Fiscal Quarter Id

5. Press Ctrl and click Order Qty (cs) and Confirmed Qty (cs).

6. Drag selected objects together and drop them in the space next to the first block of data. A second block of data (Figure 313) displays.

– Block 1 displays ordered and confirmed quantities for each item for each of the two quarters.

– Block 2 displays the total ordered and confirmed quantities for all items by the two fiscal quarters.

Web Intelligence built both blocks using data from a single query.

7. Save the document in Favorites as Multi Block 1.

8. Keep the Multi Block 1 document open for the next lesson.

Figure 312 Report 1 results

Figure 313 Report results with second block

Block 2Block 1



Projecting Data: Multiple Queries/Single UniverseFor this lesson, add a third block to the Multi Block 1 document using objects from the same universe. When you add a query, the objects used in both queries display in the Data tab in Edit Report view.

To project data from two queries in multiple blocks:


2. From the Query toolbar (Figure 314), click Add Query.

The Universe dialog box (Figure 315) displays.

3. In the Universes used in this document list, select Merchandising and click OK. The Universe dialog box closes and another query (Figure 316) displays as a tab beneath the Data Manager pane. The Query 2 tab becomes active. Use these tabs to move between queries.

Figure 314 Query toolbar

Add Querybutton

Figure 315 Universe dialog box



4. In the Query 2 tab, select and move Item Number, Item Description, and Received Qty (cs) to the Result Objects pane.

5. Create a query filter for Fiscal Quarter Id 200701; 200801.

Renaming the QueryRename the queries to better identify them.

1. From the Data Manager pane, click Properties. The Query Properties tab (Figure 317) displays.

2. In the Name field, type Received Qty and press Enter.

Note: You must press Enter for your name change to take effect.

3. Click Query 1. The Edit Query view switches to the query definition for Query 1.

4. Right‐click Query 1. The Query drop‐down menu (Figure 318) displays.

Figure 316 Data Manager pane displaying second query

Query 2 tab

Figure 317 Query Properties tab



5. Select Rename Query. The Query Properties tab (Figure 317) displays for Query 1.

6. In the Name field, type Ordered Qty and press Enter.

Running the Second QueryAfter creating the second query, run the query using the Run Query drop‐down list. Running the second query creates another block of data.

To run the second query:

1. From the Standard toolbar, click the Run Queries arrow. The Run Queries drop‐down menu (Figure 319) displays allowing you to select any query or all the queries at one time.

2. Select Received Qty. A Retrieving Data dialog box displays followed by the New Query dialog box (Figure 320).

3. Select Insert a table in the current report and click OK. Web Intelligence exe‐cutes the selected query or queries and projects the new data in a new table in the current report.

Figure 318 Query drop-down menu

Figure 319 Run Queries drop-down menu

Figure 320 New Query dialog box



Note: Web Intelligence positions the new table somewhere in the report, even on top of existing tables (Figure 321). Scroll to locate the new table and drag and drop it to a blank space in the report.

4. From the Data tab, click + next to Item Number. Web Intelligence displays a + sign next to an object along with a double‐cubed, blue dimension icon indicat‐ing a merge of objects from multiple queries (Figure 322).

5. Click Arranged By and select Query to distinguish the objects pulled by each query (Figure 322).


Projecting Data from a Merged Dimension into a Single BlockIn the last lesson, you used Item Number and Item Description in two different queries. When you ran the queries, Web Intelligence automatically merged the two instances of the same object and created a merged object for each, identified by a double‐cubed, dimension icon.

However, to display the data from the second query, you project the data which results in two separate data blocks. The following lesson covers how to project the merged objects in one single block.

Figure 321 New table displaying atop existing table

Table resulting fromReceived Qty query

Plus sign signifyingmulti-query objects

Figure 322 Data tab showing different views

Expanded objectshowing multiple

queries

Arranged by Alpha-betic order Arranged by Query



To project data from a merged dimension into a single block:

1. Insert a new report in the Multi Block 1 document. See Adding Reports to Your Document on page 118, if necessary.

2. From the Data tab, click Fiscal Quarter Id and press Ctrl while you click on the following items:

– The merged Item Number

– The merged Item Description

– Order Qty (cs)

– Confirmed Qty (cs)

– Received Qty (cs)

Note: The order you select items, determines the column order in the table.

3. Drag all selected objects and drop them in the Document pane. Web Intelligence retrieves the aggregate data for orders and quantities received per item from the two queries and displays the data (Figure 323) in one single block.

4. Set Fiscal Qtr Id as a section.



Changing the Automatic Merge Dimension SettingIn the last lesson, you used Item Number and Item Description in two different queries. When you ran the queries, Web Intelligence automatically merged the two instances of the same object and created a combined object identified by the double‐cubed dimension icon.

Web Intelligence automatically merges dimensions only when you use the same object in more than one query. Ideally, a universe does not have two objects with the same name; however, if this occurs, and you use them in more than one query in the document, Web Intelligence automatically merges them.

Figure 323 Objects from multiple queries in one single block



If you do not want Web Intelligence to automatically merge multiple instances of the same object in a single document, deselect the Auto‐Merge dimensions option at the document level.

To change the automatic merge dimension setting:

1. From the Report Manager pane, right‐click anywhere outside the report blocks. A drop‐down menu displays.

2. Select Document Properties. A Document Properties pane (Figure 324) displays on the right side of the Report Manager pane.

3. Leave the Auto‐merge dimensions setting selected for the lessons in this chap‐ter.

Note: If you deselect the Auto‐merge dimensions option, your change takes placed the next time you create a document with two queries that reference the same object. Deselecting the option does not impact the current document.


Figure 324 Document Properties pane

Working with Queries and Multiple Universes


Working with Queries and Multiple UniversesYour first report, Multi Block 1, displays order quantities and actual delivery (received) quantities for each filtered item in the first quarter 2007 and 2008. The second report, Multi Block 2, displays data from both queries in a single block because you projected the automatically merged dimensions into a single table.

So far, you used data only from the Merchandising universe to produce the blocks in both reports. The remaining lessons in this section deal with using multiple uni‐verses.

The first lesson in this section covers adding a second block to the Multi Block 2 report using data from the Sales universe. In this block, show the sales quantities for each item, which helps you see if order quantities match sales demand. Figure 325 displays the data provider structure.

Displaying data from two different data sources in two tables side by side in a report allows you to compare information.

To display data from two data sources in multiple blocks:

1. From the Standard toolbar, click Edit Query to begin adding the third query.

2. Click Add Query. The Universe dialog box (Figure 326) displays.

Figure 325 Multi-universe data providers



3. In the Other available universes list, select Sales as the data source for the third query and click OK. The Universe dialog box closes and a third query tab (Figure 327) displays beneath the Data Manager pane and becomes the active tab. Use these tabs to toggle between the three query definitions.

4. In the Query 3 tab, select the following objects and move them to the Result Objects pane:

– Time > Fiscal > Fiscal Quarter

– Item > Item Details > Item Number

– Sales > Quantities > Sold Qty (cs)

Figure 326 Universe dialog box

Figure 327 Data Manager pane showing three query tabs

Working with Queries and Multiple Universes


5. Create a query filter for fiscal quarters 200701; 200801 with the item numbers from the Ordered Qty query.

Tip! Toggle to the Ordered Qty query and copy the item numbers, and then paste them into the filter in this query.

6. Add the Historical condition to the Query Filters pane.

7. Rename the query Sales Qty. See Renaming the Query on page 266, if necessary.

8. From the Standard toolbar, click Run Queries arrow and select Sales Qty. The New Query dialog box (Figure 328) displays.

9. Select Include the result objects in the document without generating a table and click OK. The Item Number and Quantity Sold objects from the Sales query display (Figure 329) in the Data tab.

10. From Report 2, in the Data tab, click Item Number,.

11. Press Ctrl and click Sold Quantity (cs) object.

12. Drag the selected objects and position them next to the existing table in the Report Manager pane. The table from the Sold Quantity query (Figure 330) dis‐plays next to the existing table from the last lesson.

Figure 328 New Query dialog box

Figure 329 Data tab showing all objects from all universes





Report 2 displays data from two different data sources in two tables, side by side. These tables allow you to compare each item’s order and sales history.

Both data sources, Merchandising and Sales, contain data concerning the same items. The next lesson shows how to display the same data in one single block or table. To accomplish this, manually merge two dimension objects for projection of the items in a single column in the table. This is known as synchronizing data.

Figure 330 Sold Query table displaying next to existing table

Synchronizing Data with Merged Dimensions


Synchronizing Data with Merged DimensionsIn preceding lessons, you projected data in a document from multiple queries and from both single and multiple universes and displayed the data in multiple blocks.

This section covers displaying data from multiple queries and universes in a single block. To achieve this, synchronize the data by merging the dimension objects. Because the data comes from two different data providers, Web Intelligence does not know how the data is related until you synchronize the dimensions.

Learning objectives for this section:

• Explain why it is important to merge dimensions that retrieve related data.

• Synchronize data by manually merging dimensions.

• List rules that are important to be aware of when merging dimensions.

Explaining Importance of SynchronizationIn the preceding lesson, you retrieved data from two universes for five item num‐bers. The item number objects in both universes have the same name and data type so Web Intelligence automatically synchronizes the two objects.

But if two dimension objects have different names, Web Intelligence cannot auto‐matically merge the dimensions, even though they retrieve similar data. For exam‐ple, the Merchandising universe contains the Fiscal Quarter Id object and the Sales universe contains the Fiscal Quarter object.

Because Web Intelligence cannot interpret the relationship between the two objects, data displays incorrectly when you combine data from two objects in a single block with synchronizing the dimensions first.

To see what happens without manual synchronization:

1. In the Multi Block 3 report, insert a new report.

2. From the Data tab, click the merged Item Number object.

3. Press Ctrl and click the merged Item Description, Received Qty (cs), and Sold Quantity (cs).

Note: Item number, item description, and received qty (cs) are from the Mer‐chandising universe. Sold quantity (cs) is from the Sales universe.

4. Drag and drop the selected objects to the Document pane. Web Intelligence auto‐matically projects (Figure 331) the data into a vertical table. Notice that every item appears to have 1,685 cases sold, which is the total number of cases sold for all items.

This incorrect value results from un‐synchronized queries. Web Intelligence does not make any assumptions and does not know how to properly interpret the data. Because item number, item description, and received qty (cs) come



from the same universe, Web Intelligence aggregates the received qty (cs) cor‐rectly but not the sold quantity (cs).



Synchronizing Queries by Manually Merging DimensionsDefine the relationship between objects from different universes by manually merging the dimensions. Merging dimensions synchronizes the data they retrieve. Synchronizing dimensions allows you to compare information between the queries more accurately.

To manually merge dimensions with different names:

1. In Edit Report view, make sure that the Reporting toolbar displays.

2. From the Data tab, click Fiscal Quarter Id, the object used in the Ordered Qty query. Notice that Fiscal Quarter (Figure 332) displays in italics, indicating you can merge the selected object with another dimension object.

3. From the Reporting toolbar, click Merge Dimensions. The Merge Dimensions dia‐log box (Figure 333) displays the dimensions available for merging in the Avail‐able Dimensions zone, categorized by the query they belong to.

The Merge Dimensions zone displays existing merged dimensions. In this example, Item Description and Item Number display, the dimensions that Web

Figure 331 Un-synchronized Sold Quantity (cs) column

Unsynchronized data

Figure 332 Data tab

Similar objects initalics

Merge Dimensionsbutton



Intelligence automatically merged when you created the two queries using the Merchandising universe.

4. From the Ordered Qty‐Merchandising Available Dimension list, click Fiscal Quar‐ter Id. Web Intelligence grays out all objects except Fiscal Quarter in the Sales Qty ‐ SALES list.

5. From the Sales Qty‐Sales Available Dimension list, click Fiscal Quarter.

6. Click Values. The Merge Dimensions dialog box (Figure 334) displays a new row with values returned by the dimensions you selected, allowing you to ensure the values are alike. The values may not be identical but they should be of a similar type, in other words both years, quarters, or dates.

Note: Fiscal Quarter displays only 20007101 and 2000801 because you filtered the query. Without the filter, 199901, 199902, 199903, and through 200804 would display in the second column of the Values for dimensions row.

Figure 333 Merged Dimensions dialog box

Merge thesedimensions

Existing mergeddimensions

Values for thedimensions

Figure 334 Merged Dimensions dialog box showing values zone

Values for thedimensions



7. Click Merge. The Create Merged Dimensions dialog box (Figure 335) displays allowing you to change the source and the name of the merged dimension and type a description.

8. Click OK. The Create Merged Dimensions dialog box (Figure 336) displays the Fiscal Quarter and Fiscal Quarter Id in the Merge Dimensions list.

Merging Item Number Dimension ObjectNotice that Item Number displays in the Sales Qty ‐ Sales Available Dimensions list. Merge this dimension with the Item Number dimensions from the other que‐ries.

To merge the Item Number dimension object:

1. From the Sales Qty ‐ Sales Available Dimensions list, click Item Number.

2. From the Merge Dimensions list, click Item Number (Figure 337).

Figure 335 Create Merged Dimensions dialog box

Figure 336 Merge Dimensions dialog box showing merged fiscal quarter dimensions



3. Click Merge. Item Number from Sales Qty‐Sales moves to the Item Number row in the Merge Dimensions list. Because this dimension has the same name as those Web Intelligence automatically joined, the Create Merged Dimensions dia‐log box does not display.

4. Click OK to close the Merge Dimensions dialog box.

Viewing Merged DimensionsNow that you merged all the objects, you synchronized the data. Looking at the Data tab (Figure 338), note that the Fiscal Quarter ID and Item Number display as merged dimension objects. Expand each of the merged dimensions

When you project data into a block using the merged Fiscal Quarter and Item Num‐ber dimensions, Web Intelligence retrieves data from the Sales Qty query as well.

When you merge dimensions, Web Intelligence creates a new dimension that retrieves all the values from the original dimensions that make up the merged dimensions.

To display data from merged dimensions:

1. Insert a new report.

2. From the Data tab, collapse any expanded objects.

3. Select all objects and drag to the Document pane to display the synchronized

data (Figure 339).

Figure 337 Create Merged Dimensions dialog box showing item number selections

Figure 338 Data tab showing all merged dimension objects





Figure 339 Document pane showing synchronized data

Reviewing Synchronizing Rules for Merged Dimensions


Reviewing Synchronizing Rules for Merged DimensionsMerging dimensions is the process of creating a link between two queries based on an object with common values so that in effect, the objects become one.

There are a number of rules to remember when merging dimensions from multiple queries:

• Link only dimension objects, for example, vendor name or number, item num‐ber, and so on.

• Dimension objects do not require the same name.

• Dimension objects must have a common data format. For example, you cannot link a character‐based object with a numeric object.

• All data held in the data provider is case sensitive and therefore any common values must be in the same case.

• The format of the values must be the same. For example, FY04 and 2004 would be seen as two separate values. Extra spaces in some values can also mean that you cannot merge the objects.

• Link any number of queries by common dimension objects.

• Merge any number of dimension objects between two queries..

• You can synchronize a dimension object only to the lowest level of detail com‐mon between the two different data sources. For example, you can link a query with Year to another query with Year and Month. Be aware, however, that the synchronized block displays only data at the Year level.



TE14-Training Exercise-Synchronizing DataName________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 15 minutesCreate a document and synchronize data from two different data provides.

1. Create a document using the Sales universe .

2. Build a query that shows net sales for item numbers: 0062810, 0062968, 0063040, 0104547, and 0126003.



5. Add a query to the document using the Merchandising universe.

6. Build a query that shows total EI$ for the same items by fiscal year, OpCo, and item number.

7. Run both queries so that the new table inserts into the existing report.

8. Synchronize the data so that you can display both the net sales and the total EI$ in a single data block. Your report should resemble Figure 340.

9. Save your document in Favorites as Activity MultiDP.


Remember It



Multiple Data Providers

Web Intelligence creates multiple data providers when you have multiple queries against a single universe or against multiple universes in a document.

Data Synchronization

Synchronization is the merging of data from multiple data sources into a single block in a report.

Merged Dimensions

• Web Intelligence automatically merges objects that are the same when you project data from multiple queries using a single universe.

• Merged objects display as a double‐cubed dimension icon in the data tab.

• If two objects with the same name but with different data types exists, you can set the document properties to not auto‐merge dimensions.

• Manually merging dimensions from different universes allows you to identify objects that retrieve common data. After you merge the objects, Web Intelli‐gence synchronizes the data, making results more accurate.

• Dimensions do not have to have the same name to manually merge them but they must meet the rules for merging dimensions.

Rules for Merging Dimensions

Some of the most significant rules for merging dimensions are:

• Merge dimension objects only.

• Dimension objects must have common data formats.

• Values for merged objects are case‐sensitive and must match.

• Value formats must match (mm/dd/yy instead of yyyy/mm).



C h a p t e r 1 1

Analyzing Data

Topics

• Reviewing the Data Provider

• Defining Drill Down and Scope of Analysis

• Setting Drill Preferences in InfoView

• Setting the Scope of Analysis

• Drilling Down Data in a Hierarchy

• Snapshotting the Drilled Report

• Using Query Drill

Chapter 11: Analyzing Data


Chapter 11 describes how to create documents that you or associates can analyze in drill mode. Use drill mode to view data from different levels of detail and zoom in on different trends.

Why is an Analyzing Data Important?

When viewing data at a high summary level, you may also want to analyze the data at lower levels to identify the trends or reasons behind that data. By drilling through data, you can quickly move through data hierarchies to view details at lower levels.

Learning Objectives


• Describe how data retrieved by a query is stored in the document data cube

• Explain scope of analysis

• Set Web Intelligence drill options

• Build a drillable document and drill down the data in the hierarchy

Reviewing the Data Provider


Reviewing the Data ProviderAs described earlier, Web Intelligence stores data returned by a query in the docu‐ment’s data provider. Visualize the returned data as being organized in a cube. In your document, the data displays as a table, a flat two‐dimensional view of the data cube.

Each of the columns in a table represents an axis in the cube. Edit the document by swapping and manipulating the data within the cube on any axis. When you swap or change data between different axes, the new result is projected as a flat table in the document.

The data stored in the cube allows you to create a report corresponding to your business needs without having to send another query to the database.

Figure 341 shows the interaction between you, the servers, and the data provider.

Figure 341 User, database, and data provider interaction



Defining Drill Down and Scope of AnalysisThe process of refining the data to lower levels of detail is called drilling down. Set‐ting a report to drill down involves defining your scope of analysis. In a Business Objects universe, the scope of analysis corresponds to the hierarchy levels below an object in the query.

For example, if your Sales universe query contains the year object, the scope of anal‐ysis one level down is the quarter object (Figure 342).

Though the lower hierarchy data does not display in the report, it is stored in the data provider when you run the query, which allows you to pull this data into the report for more detail.

Figure 342 Scope of analysis for year

Setting Drill Preferences in InfoView


Setting Drill Preferences in InfoViewBefore you begin the drill process, specify how drill mode activates when you view Web Intelligence documents. When you modify your drill options, Web Intelligence implements your changes the next time you start drill mode.

To set general drill options:

1. From the Header panel toolbar, click Preferences. The General preference page displays.

2. Click Web Intelligence Document. The Web Intelligence Document page (Figure 343) displays the drill options.

3. Set drill preferences using the option descriptions in Table 20 as a guideline.

Figure 343 Drill options on Web Intelligence document page

Drilloptions

Preferences button

Table 20 Drill Option Descriptions

Options Description

Start drill on a duplicate report

Select this option for best practice. Inserts and activates a dupli-cate report in your document when you click the Drill button on the Reporting toolbar so you can use the duplicate to perform your drill work and keep your original report in tact.

Start drill on the existing report Allows you to perform the drill down in the current report.

Hide drill toolbar

Hides the drill toolbar to display. By default, the drill toolbar displays at the top of the drilled report and displays the values on which you drilled and allows you to select other values in order to filter the results differently.For example, if one of your drilled objects is year, click the year filter on the drill toolbar and select any year to view data for that year.



4. Click OK to accept the new settings. The InfoView Home page displays.

The next time you create a Web Intelligence document and define the scope of analysis for drilling, the settings you define apply, regardless of the Web Intelli‐gence report panel you opt to use for creating documents.

Prompt if drill requires additional data

Select this option for best practice. Displays the Extend the Scope of Analysis dialog box (Figure 344) when you drill to a higher or lower level than what you scoped, necessitating a new query. Use this dialog box to specify the level and apply filters to any dimen-sions you include in the new query. This means you can restrict the size of the query to just the data necessary for your analysis.

Synchronize drill on report blocks

Synchronizes drilling across all the blocks in a report. The next dimension in the drill path replaces the previous dimension in all blocks of the report, not just the block you selected.If you do not select this option, the drill operation applies only in the selected block of the report.

Table 20 Drill Option Descriptions (continued)

Options Description

Figure 344 Extend the Scope of Analysis dialog box

Setting the Scope of Analysis


Setting the Scope of AnalysisTo create a report with drill down capability, you must select a hierarchy level from the Scope of Analysis pane. The level applies to all dimension objects in your Result Objects pane. Web Intelligence then displays the hierarchical objects for each of these dimension objects.

When you run the query, Web Intelligence retrieves values for all the objects in the hierarchy but only displays the data for objects in the Result Objects pane. The remaining objects display in the Data tab but do not project into the report auto‐matically. This means that the document contains more data than shown in the report.

To define the scope of analysis:

1. Create a new document using the Sales universe and the following objects:

– Time > Fiscal > Fiscal Year

– Organization Level > Region Name

– Sales > Dollars > Net Sales $


3. Click Show/Hide Scope of Analysis Pane. The Scope of Analysis pane (Figure 345) displays.

Note: The dimension objects in your Result Objects pane display in the Scope of Analysis pane if part of a hierarchy.

Figure 345 Scope of Analysis pane

Show/Hide Scopeof Analysis button

Scope of Analysispane

Hierarchiesoption



4. Resize the Query Filters and the Scope of Analysis panes by clicking and dragging on the borders.

5. Select the Hierarchies option located below the Data Manager pane. All the pre‐defined hierarchies set in the Sales universe display. For example, the dimen‐sion objects linked with the fiscal hierarchy (Figure 346) display under Fiscal.

6. Expand the other hierarchy folders to display the hierarchy of other objects in the universe.

7. From the Scope of Analysis pane, click Scope of Analysis drop‐down. A list of hierarchy levels (Figure 347) displays.

8. Select Three levels. Objects three‐levels down for the selected dimensions (Figure 348) display in the pane.

Customizing the Scope of AnalysisWhen you select a level from the Scope of Analysis drop‐down menu, Web Intelli‐gence displays all the objects in the hierarchy for each dimension object in your Result Objects pane. However, you can delete or add dimension objects to the Scope of Analysis.

To customize the scope of analysis:

1. From the Scope of Analysis pane, remove Fiscal Year Week by clicking and drag‐ging the objects away from the pane.

Note: The Scope of Analysis drop‐menu displays Custom.

2. Remove District ID.

Figure 346 Hierarchy view of objects

Figure 347 Scope of Analysis drop-down menu

Scope of Analysis drop-down menu

Figure 348 Scope of Analysis pane showing three levels of hierarchy

Setting the Scope of Analysis


3. Add a query filter for Region Name specifying Region East, Region West, Region‐North, and Region‐South. See Creating a Single‐Value Query Filter on page 87, if needed.

4. Click Run Query. The Edit Report view (Figure 349) displays the values retrieved in a vertical table.

Note: The Data tab displays all objects referenced by the level chosen in the scope of analysis. The objects do not project in the report but are available for drill down.

Creating a CrosstabIn most circumstances, it is more effective to use a crosstab table for displaying drill information.

To create a crosstab:

1. Click outside the table to highlight the table.

2. Right‐click the highlighted gray border around the table.

3. From the shortcut menu, select Turn To. The Turn To dialog box (Figure 350) displays.

Figure 349 Edit Report view

Data tab showingother levels

Figure 350 Turn To dialog box

Crosstabtable



4. Select Crosstab and click OK. The vertical table changes to a crosstab table (Figure 351).

5. Save the document in Favorites as Drilled Report.


Figure 351 Crosstab table

Drilling Down Data in a Hierarchy


Drilling Down Data in a HierarchyNow that you defined your scope of analysis and set your drill preferences, you can begin the drill down process.

To activate drill mode:

1. From the Reporting toolbar, click Drill. The cell values (Figure 352) display underlined with hypertext links, allowing you to drill down the hierarchies to see data at a more detailed level.

2. Position your cursor over the Region East row header. A tooltip (Figure 353) dis‐plays the next level of detail in this hierarchy of data.

Note: You can also right‐click the Region East row header for the next level on the shortcut menu or click the up arrow to drill up, which initiates a new query.

Figure 352 Cell values with hypertext links

Drill button

Hypertext links

Figure 353 Tooltip displaying next level or right-click displaying next level



Warning! If the tooltip shows (new query), the Extend the Scope of Analysis dialog box Figure 344 on page 290 displays, meaning you requested a drill to a lower or higher level than scoped. In class, notify your trainer. If not in class, click cancel on the Extend the Scope of Analysis dialog box and see Editing the Scope of Analysis on page 297.

3. Click the Region East row header to drill down to the next level of data. Two things occur:

– The table displays rows of data applicable only to the cell selected and at the next level of the hierarchy, District Name.

– The Drill toolbar (Figure 354) displays a filter containing the values selected for drilling, in this case the region names. The Drill toolbar filter reminds you that you drilled down on the Eastern Region. The displayed data reflects the net sales for the Eastern Region only.

Note: An arrow displays next to the drilled‐down data. To drill up, click on the arrow beside a cell.

4. From the Drill toolbar filter, select Region South. Note the values change to reflect that region only.

Drilling Down Two Hierarchies When you clicked on the Region, you drilled down to the District level. Drilling down the values in the year columns allows you to view the Net Sales $ by fiscal quarter and the next level down in Organization Level, which is territory.

To drill down two hierarchies:

1. From the Drill toolbar filter, select Region South, if not already selected.

2. Position your cursor over the Net Sales $ hyperlink for Dist‐Espinoza for 2007. A tooltip (Figure 355) displays, indicating a drill down to both the Fiscal Quar‐ter/Territory ID levels at one time.

Figure 354 Drill down showing District Name

Drill toolbarfilter

DrillUp arrow

Drilling Down Data in a Hierarchy


3. Click the hyperlink to drill down to the Fiscal Quarter/Territory ID level. Two things occur:

– The net sales$, by fiscal quarter, (Figure 356) displays for each territory within the Espinosa district.

– The Drill toolbar filters display, one for each drilled object, allowing you to view data for a different region, fiscal year, or district.

Editing the Scope of AnalysisWhen you drill on a hierarchy, you may discover that you need to drill to a lower or higher level than you allowed for when you set the scope of analysis.

To edit the scope of analysis:

1. Click Edit Query to return to your query.

2. From the Scope of Analysis drop‐down menu, select the appropriate level.

3. From the Standard toolbar, click Run Query. The new drilled report displays. The additional object required for the drill down displays on the data tab.

4. Keep the Drilled Report document open for the next lesson.

Figure 355 Tooltip displaying next drill down

Figure 356 Net Sales by territory and fiscal quarter within the Espinosa district



Snapshotting the Drilled ReportYou can save a version of your drilled results by taking a snapshot of the report, which is useful if you want to isolate certain drilled results but continue working in drill mode.

When you take a snapshot, Web Intelligence inserts a new report after your last report in the document. You can continue working in your current report and switch to the snapshot at any time by clicking the new report tab.

To snapshot your analysis:

1. From the Reporting toolbar, click Take Snapshot of Drilled Report. Web Intelli‐gence creates a tab (Figure 357) with a copy of the current report.

2. Click Report 1 (1). The copied report from the snapshot (Figure 358) displays.

Note: The icon on the report tab differs from the original tab.

Figure 357 Take Snapshot button

Take Snapshot ofDrilled Report button

creates new reporttab

Figure 358 Copied report

Snapshotting the Drilled Report


3. Save the document in Favorites as Drill Down.




Using Query DrillWhen you create, edit, or view a Web Intelligence document, Web Intelligence can drill in query drill mode, which behaves differently from the standard drill mode described so far in this chapter.

When you activate query drill, Web Intelligence drills by modifying the underlying query (adding and removing dimensions and query filters) and applying drill fil‐ters.

Knowing When to Use Query DrillUse query drill when your report contains aggregate measure objects percentages, distinct counts, ranks, standard deviations and variances, running aggregates, and lead and lag. Because query drill modifies the query at each drill operation, it ensures these aggregates are recalculated at the source each time you drill.

Table 21 displays data in a report without query drill. In this table, the sum equals the total of the values in column 3.

The sums for columns A and B are correct in Table 21, but the sum for column C is not. The sum of [(10*1)+(20*2)+(30*3)] is not the same as the sum of [(10+20+30)*(1+2+3)].

The same report using query drill provides different results (Table 22) because the sum calculates at the year level from the data source.

Query drill reduces the amount of data Web Intelligence stores locally in the data provider because it reduces the scope of analysis when you drill up. Web Intelli‐gence purges the necessary data.

Table 21 Report Without Query Drill

Year Month Measure Object A

Measure Object B

Report CalculationA * B

200801 10 1 10

200802 20 2 40

200803 30 3 90

2008 Sum 60 6 140

Table 22 Report Using Query Drill

Year Month Measure Object A

Measure Object B

Report CalculationA* B

200801 10 1 10

200802 20 2 40

200803 30 3 90

2008 Sum 60 6 360

Using Query Drill


The initial report refresh is fast because Web Intelligence fetches the data at the summarized level (not at every drill level); however, the drill process is slower because every time you click to drill, Web Intelligence executes a new query.

Setting Query DrillWhen setting query drill, be aware that query drill:

• Is incompatible with drill snapshots because subsequent drill actions can change the snapshots.

• Can affect other reports based on the same data provider because the drill actions modify the data provider.

• Controls the scope of analysis automatically. You cannot modify the scope in query drill mode

Use the Drill Down report from the preceding lesson.

To set query drill in the Java Report panel:

1. From Favorites, open the Web Intelligence Sample document using the Mod‐ify link.

2. From Edit Report view, right‐click Inventory by Opco and, from the shortcut menu, select Document Properties. The Document Properties pane (Figure 359) displays.

3. Scroll to the Document Options zone.

4. Select Use query drill.

5. Save the document in Favorites as Query Drill. The next time you click Drill on the Reporting toolbar, Web Intelligence activates query drill mode.


Figure 359 Document Properties pane

Document Options



TE15-Training Exercise-PracticeName________________________

Date_________________________

Instructor____________________

Time to complete: 15 minutesCreate a document containing a pie chart and perform a drill down.

Building the Query1. Create a drill down pie chart that displays gross sales by fiscal year for the East,

West, North, and South using the Sales universe.


3. Select three levels of analysis for the scope of this report.

4. Add and delete objects until the Scope of Analysis pane contains only:

– Fiscal Year, Fiscal Quarter, and Fiscal Year Month

– Department Name, Region Name, and District Name

5. Run the query. The table displays in the Document pane.

Changing a Table to a Chart1. Highlight the table and, from the right‐click shortcut menu, select Turn To.

2. Select Pie chart and click OK. The table displays as a pie chart (Figure 360).

3. Resize the chart so all elements display.

Figure 360 Pie chart

TE15-Training Exercise-Practice


4. From Report Manager, click Properties. The Properties tab (Figure 361) displays.

5. Highlight the chart.

6. From the Properties tab, expand Appearance > Data > Values > Text Format.

7. In the Size field, type 7. The data values display in 7 pt font.

8. In the Show data field, select Yes. The gross sales $ values display for each year.

Drilling the Chart Data1. From the Reporting toolbar, click Drill.

2. Position your cursor over the Street Sales / 2007 section of the pie chart. A tooltip displays indicating the next level.

3. Click the Street Sales/2007 section of the pie chart. The filter drop‐down menus display in the Drill toolbar, and the values (Figure 362) display for the each region in the department and for each quarter.

Figure 361 Properties tabs

Show Datafield

Text Formatfields



4. From the Drill toolbar, click the Year filter and select 2008. Values display for each region for 2008.

Tip! Use the right‐click shortcut menu (Figure 363) to drill across or up.

5. Save the document in Favorites as Chart Drill Down.


Figure 362 Drill down to region/fiscal quarter

Figure 363 Right-click shortcut menu

Remember It



Web Intelligence Drill Options

When you need to analyze data at different levels of the organization, set your Web Intelligence Document options:

• To start drill on a duplicate report. Setting this option preserves the original report and saves the drilled report in the same document.

• Prompt if drill requires additional data. The prompt alerts you that a new query must be run and lets you to decide if you want to run the additional query. It also lets you apply filters to the extra dimensions included in the new query.

Scope of Analysis

• Use the Scope of Analysis function to set the desired drill down path and level for a document.

• Use the custom level to select specific dimensions in a universeʹs hierarchy.The extra data retrieved from the database does not display in the initial docu‐ment results but displays in the Data Manager and resides within the data pro‐vider so you can pull it into the report at any time.

Snapshots

• Use the Snapshot feature to save a version of drilled results. This feature allows you to isolate a set of results but continue working in drill mode.

• When you take a snapshot, Web Intelligence inserts a new report after the last report in your document.

Query Drill

• Use this method to drill in a report when calculations or aggregations must be done at the data source level.

• Reduces the amount of data stored with the document and purges unnecessary data because it requires a new query each time you drill.



A p p e n d i x A

SYSCO Universes

Topics

• Overview

• Merchandising Universe Features

• Differences between Merchandising Universes

• Differences between Sales and Satrak Universes

• Sales Universe Features

Appendix A:


OverviewSYSCO has a variety of universes, grouped by logical segments, designed to accom‐modate the reporting needs of its business units. This appendix provides informa‐tion about two redesigned universes:

• Sales

• Merchandising Universe

Merchandising Universe Features


Merchandising Universe FeaturesThe Merchandising ‐ Inventory Analysis universe migrated as is from the old ver‐sion of BusinessObjects.

The new Merchandising universe provides a one‐stop‐shop for all purchasing related reporting requirements, replacing the Merchandising ‐ Purchasing universe in BusinessObjects 5.1. To alleviate the need to create universe joins for business units, the new Merchandising universe also contains basic sales information.

To assist you with the transition, universe designers incorporated the majority of the dimensions and metrics from the old version into the new version, while keep‐ing the naming standards for objects the same as often as possible to reduce confu‐sion. See the Objects Mapping tables given to you during class for details on mapping of the old universe objects to the new universe.

Aggregate TablesAggregate tables and built‐in intelligence redirect report queries to the right table (Aggregate, PO Header, or PO Detail) depending on the level of information you require. If the query requires an aggregate, Web Intelligence prompts you for the proper level of the aggregate tables when you run the query. The mechanism ensures that queries pull data from the PO Detail table if, and only if, you require PO Line level information. This approach ensures improved performance, while hiding the complexity.

Current and Historical ReportingAt SYSCO, it is not uncommon for customers to change customer types or items to change status. Attribute changes occur frequently across the company. Previously, universes contained information based on the latest attributes and lacked the abil‐ity to track history (attribute value as of any given date). In the Merchandising uni‐verse, two condition objects (Figure 364) display under the data type folder.

Use these conditions in any query. The default is for current data, eliminating the need to select it for every query. However, if you want historical data, use the His‐tory Data condition in the query.

Figure 364 Data Manager panel

Data typefolder

Appendix A:


For example, assume that a customer moved from TRS (Territory Street Sales) to TRP (Territory Program Sales) account type in February 2008. If you run a report for this customer for January and February and display the account type against the customer, the type displays as TRP because that is the latest account type for the customer. If you pull the History Data condition into the same query, the account type displays as TRS for January and TRP for February.

Dimensional ReportingBoth the old and new Merchandising universes are fact based which means the report queries always go through the purchasing or sales tables. However, business requirements warrant a display of dimensional information.

For example, to display all customers associated with an operating company, the query uses the customer table and the company table, which normally would be connected through the purchasing and sales tables.

When you query the purchasing tables, the report displays only those customers who purchased from the operating company, which is a subset of the total custom‐ers associated with that operating company.

The universe designers addressed the issue in the new Merchandising universe by creating the Dimensional Reporting folder. If you want to see dimensional data in the report, pull the objects from the Dimensional Reporting folder to ensure that the queries are not directed through the fact tables.

Note: You cannot combine the objects in the Dimensional Reporting folder with objects from any other folder.

BI Security Application SetupThe BI Security application implements access and security for the Merchandising universe. There are two high‐level user groups:

• Corporate Users–Unrestricted access to all data from the universe, all operating companies, merchandisers, buyers, categories, and so on.

• OPCO Users–Separated into three categories:Merchandiser–Access to your operating company data, but for all the buy‐ers under you.

Buyer–Access to your operating companyʹs data but limited for items you purchase.

Category Specialist–Access to your operating companyʹs data limited to only your category of items.

Differences between Merchandising Universes


Differences between Merchandising UniversesThere are significant differences between the Merchandising ‐ Purchasing and Mer‐chandising universes. Figure 365 provides a graphical representation of the major differences. See the tables at the end of this appendix for a detailed comparison.

• The Merchandising ‐ Purchasing universe contains purchasing information only, whereas the Merchandising universe contains purchasing and sales infor‐mation.

• The supplier diversity information present in the Merchandising ‐ Purchasing universe is not available in Merchandising universe.

• The Merchandising ‐ Purchasing universe contains PO Header and PO Fact tables only for displaying purchasing information, whereas the Merchandising universe contains an extra aggregate table for purchasing information.

• The Merchandising ‐ Purchasing universe contains only current reporting capa‐bility, whereas the Merchandising universe contains both current reporting and historical reporting.

• The Merchandising ‐ Purchasing tables are based on DB2 database, whereas the Merchandising universe tables are based on a faster Netezza database.

Merchandising-Inventory Analysis UniverseThe Merchandising ‐ Purchasing universe is built around the inventory fact and inventory age fact tables. Use this universe to:

• Perform slice and dice analysis of inventory and aging data

• Retrieve inventory data at a granular level

• To retrieve summary values. The universe facilitates analysis of inventory by different dimensions such as time, operating company, and so on (Figure 366).

Figure 365 Graphical representation of universe relationship

Appendix A:


Use the Merchandising ‐ Inventory Analysis universe to retrieve inventory data at the following levels:

• For a specified time period

• By company

• By merchandiser

• By supplier

Note: There are provisions to apply filters or analyze data based on supplier diversity criteria (such as D&B certified, disabled owned, minority owned, small business, veteran owned, ethnic classification, and so on).

• By item

Note: There are provisions to apply filters or analyze data based on item parameters, such as category, major/intermediate/minor class, item brand, UPC, pack, size, hazard code, grade, container, manufacturer product code, and so on.

Important details to retrieve from this universe include:

• Inventory aging details, such as:Inv age

0‐30 age inventory value ($)

31‐60 age inventory value ($)

61‐90 age inventory value ($), and so on

Similarly, inventory aging data is available for cases and splits too.

• Inventory details, such as:On hand qty–Cases and Splits

Pallet qty

DSO

Slot count

Inventory value

Item counts

Figure 366 Graphical representation of Merchandising - Inventory Analysis universe

Differences between Merchandising Universes


TY and LY value for all of the above

• Vendor details, such as:True vendor

Pay to supplier

Ship from supplier

Corporate supplier

The universe contains a set of objects designed to get the TY (this year) and LY (last year) values from one query. When using objects with names such as DSO TY and DSO LY, a prompt dialog box displays when you run the query asking for the cur‐rent year (TY). The TY and LY values display based on the time period entered at the prompt.

Applications Referred The Merchandising ‐ Inventory Analysis universe is not directly based on any source system. The tables referred in this universe are from the EDW.

Merchandising ‐ Inventory universe uses:

• Company table

• Supplier tables

• Item master

• Inventory age fact

• Inventory factThe inventory fact and the inventory age fact tables update on a weekly basis for operating companies and on a daily basis for RDCs.

Appendix A:


Differences between Sales and SatrakThere are significant differences between the Satrak and Sales universes.

• The Satrak universe contains multiple objects for the same data. For example, region ID exists in seven folders; whereas, the Sales universe consists of one object for one field or metric, which eliminates confusion and simplifies the uni‐verse.

• Using the Satrak universe, you retrieve current versus historical data based on the tables you use in your query. The Sales universe provides a straightforward method of selecting current versus historical data for your reports by using con‐ditions.

Current Versus Historical Data in SatrakBecause organization and customer information changes, you need to decide whether to pull current or historical data in your reports. With the Satrak universe, you need to know which folders to use based on whether you wanted current or historical data.

The Satrak universe contains fact tables that store historical dimension values. Each fact table resides in a folder with related objects and links to the Customer Master and Organization hierarchy master tables.

The Customer Information folder contains customer master objects. The Current Organization Levels folder contains current organization hierarchy objects. If you pull objects from these folders along with metrics from folders like Customer Obli‐gation Detail or Sales Summary Information, the query returns current data.

If you pull trade sales $ for region ID from the Sales Summary Closed Objects folder, Web Intelligence returns historical data. However, if you pull region ID from the Current Organization level folder and trade sales from the Sales Summary Closed Objects folder, Web Intelligence returns current (as in the first table of Figure 367 on page 315).

Current Versus Historical Data in the Sales UniverseGenerating current versus historical data is easier using the Sales universe. The Sales universe provides two data types: current and historical data. Consider the following conditions.

Customer C1 moves from MA1 to MA2 in month two of FY 2008. The customer had sales of $100 for month one under MA1 and $200 for month two under MA2. When you run a report at the end of month two showing the customer, MA and sales dol‐lars, you select either current or historical data (Figure 367).

Differences between Sales and Satrak


Using current reporting, the data displays based on the most recent attributes of the customer (or any applicable dimension). However, historical reporting represents data as on the date of the transaction.

When running reports using the Sales universe, always select the current or histori‐cal condition object that displays under the Data Type folder (Figure 368) to iden‐tify the type of information you want.

Satrak and Sales Universes Query ComparisonsThis section includes sample queries to help you better understand the differences between the Satrak and Sales universes.

Figure 369 displays the queries from both universes that pull current data. The Satrak query pulls information from:

• Customer Obligations & Summaries > Sales Price

• Time > Fiscal Year, Fiscal Week, and Organizational Fiscal Year conditions

• Current Organizational Levels > Territory ID and Organizational Fiscal Year

Figure 367 Current versus historical query results

Historical

Current

Figure 368 Data Types folder: Current and historical conditions

Data Typefolder

Appendix A:


The Sales universe pulls the Territory Id and Account Type Code from the Cus‐tomer > Ship To folder. Note the Current Data condition. The output of this report matches the output of the Satrak query.

Figure 370 displays the queries from both universes that pull historical data. The Satrak query pulls information from Sales Summary Information > Sales Summary Closes objects.

Recreating this report from the Sales universe is very simple. The query is similar to the Sales universe query in Figure 369 with two exceptions: the Historical Data con‐dition replaces the Current Data condition, and the query contains an extra restric‐tion because the Sales universe has all sales information and the summary table in Satrak stores only trade sales information.

Figure 369 Queries for current data

Satrak universe Sales universe

Figure 370 Queries for historical data

Satrak universe Sales universe

Sales Universe Features


Sales Universe FeaturesThe Sales universe contains four subject areas, grouped together in separate folders (Figure 371).

Do not mix objects from these folders in one query. That is, if you want Sales and Accounts Receivable (AR) information in the same report, create one query for Sales and another one for AR.

Creating a new query in Web Intelligence XI is easier than creating a new query in other versions of Business Objects. Use the Duplicate Query option (Figure 372) to modify the new query as required.

As an example, create two queries, one using Sales objects and one using AR objects (Figure 373). The query titled Sales uses Net Sales$ whereas the query titled AR uses Accounts Receivables$.

Figure 371 Sales universe subject areas

Subject areas

Figure 372 Duplicate Query option

Duplicate Query

Appendix A:


When you run this report, all objects from all queries display in the Data Manager pane (Figure 374).

Sales Metrics in the Sales UniverseThe metrics in the Sales universe are broadly divided into four subject areas (fold‐ers):

• Sales

• Accounts Receivables

• Orders

• AgreementsThe Sales folder further breaks down metrics into four classes making it easier to locate an object in the universe:

• Quantity–Contains metrics relating to quantities, such as sold quantity.

• Dollars–Contains metrics relating or dollars such as sales dollars.

• Others–Contains metrics relating to miscellaneous items such as number of stops.

• TY / LY metrics–Contains classes for quantities, dollars, and others. Use these metrics to compare this year versus last year. All the TY / LY metrics automati‐cally present prompts for fiscal year.

Figure 373 Two queries in one document

AR Query Sales Query

Figure 374 Data Manager pane

Sales Universe Features


For example, to compare sales dollars for month one through month five or FY 2008 with the sales dollars for the same period in FY 2007, pull objects seen in Figure 375.

When you run the query, Web Intelligence prompts you for the fiscal year num‐ber, which represents this year. If you type 2008 in the prompt, the TY metric displays your data for 2008 and the LY metric displays data for 2007.

Basic Guidelines and Mandatory ConditionsEnsure that you satisfy all of the conditions for any report you create using the Sales universe.

• Always restrict the data to a limited time frame. If you fail to specify a time con‐dition, the queries scan the entire table and display data for the entire time frame.

• Always select the Current Data or Historical Data condition from the Data Type class, depending on your reporting requirement.

• For corporate users, use an operating company restriction. Your user profile controls whether you have access to data from multiple companies. Pull the operating company number or name object into your query so that you can split the metrics for each operating company.

• Consider using a condition when pulling non‐trade or trade sales data. The Sales universe has both Trade and Non‐Trade Sales data. Use the Trade Sales Only condition located under Sales folder if creating a report for Trade Sales data only. Similarly, if you want only Non‐Trade Sales data, use the Non‐Trade Sales Only condition. For reports that contain both Trade and Non‐Trade Sales data, do not use these conditions.

• Make your queries subject area specific. As discussed earlier, the Sales universe caters to four main subject areas. The objects from these different areas are clas‐sified into separate folders and should not be pulled together. If you pull objects from multiple subject areas into a query, Web Intelligence may display the Select Context dialog or an Incompatible combination of objects error. If you have to display metrics from two subject areas in the same report, create two queries.

Figure 375 Sample query using TY / LY metrics

Appendix A:


Dimensional Reporting FolderThe Dimensional Reporting folder contains subfolders with customer and organi‐zation information. Use dimensional reporting if your query contains dimension objects only, meaning no metrics. For example, to see a complete list of customers associated with the operating company, regardless of whether the customer has a sale or not, you must use the objects in the Dimensional Reporting folder.

If you use objects outside of this folder, the query diverts to a fact table (like Sales for example) and Web Intelligence displays only those customers who had a sale, which is a subset of the actual list of customers associated with the operating com‐pany.

Be aware of the following guidelines when using dimensional reporting:

• The Dimensional Reporting folder is a standalone folder. Do not combine objects from this folder with objects from any other folder.

• Do not use the Current or Historical Data conditions for dimensional reporting queries.

• Dimensional Reporting queries do not require a time restriction. That is, you need not apply any time restrictions on Dimensional Reporting queries.

Resolving Context Pop-upsThe context popup is not an error. It just indicates that Web Intelligence requires more information to create an optimized query. A context popup displays if:

• The query does not contain the current or historical data condition. Resolve by using the current or historical condition based on your reporting requirement.

• The query covers objects from multiple subject areas. Resolve by creating sepa‐rate queries for each subject area.

• The query does not have any metrics in it. For details regarding how to resolve this issue, see Dimensional Reporting Folder on page 320.

A p p e n d i x B

Working in Interactive View

Topics

• Setting Up Interactive View

• Using Interactive View Tools

• Selecting Information for the Left Panel

• Modifying a Document in Interactive View

• Adding Formulas and Variables

Appendix B:


Setting Up Interactive ViewInteractive viewing mode allows you to modify Web Intelligence documents in InfoView without actually having to edit the query used to create the document.

When you view a Web Intelligence document in Interactive view, many reporting options become available for analyzing the information in your document. You also have access to tools that allow you to modify data display.

This includes the ability to:

• Add and remove objects used in the report.

• Filter data to limit data shown in the report.

• Apply alerters to highlight important information.

• Sort values to change the order of the information shown in the report.

• Create custom sorts to reorder the values in a specific manner.

• Organize blocks of data into sections.

• Insert columns and rows of data in tables.

• Add predefined calculations on data, such as sums, count totals, averages, and percentages.

• Create complex calculations using the formula editor, and save your formulas as variables in the document.

• Analyze data in deeper levels of detail if the document is set for drill analysis.

• Format the document to your specific requirements.Earlier lessons detailed these reporting activities and others using the Java Report panel. This appendix provides a brief introduction to the same reporting features, which you can use as you view a document in InfoView using Interactive View.

To change your view preferences to use Interactive view:

1. From the InfoView Home page, click Preferences located on the Header Panel tool‐bar. The Preferences page (Figure 376) displays.

2. Click Web Intelligence Document to display the Web Intelligence Document tab.

3. From the Select a view format options, select Interactive.

Figure 376 Preferences page: Web Intelligence Document tab

Setting Up Interactive View


4. Click Apply to save your settings.

5. Close the preference page.

Appendix B:


Using Interactive View ToolsIn Interactive view, the menus, the available toolbars, and panes expand. In this les‐son, explore the expanded tools available for analyzing and modifying the docu‐ment information.

Viewing Document PropertiesThe Document Properties dialog box displays information about the document, such as the name of the author, when the document was last refreshed, and the doc‐ument’s regional locale. It also allows you to change certain document settings, dis‐cussed later in this appendix.

To view the document properties dialog box:

1. In Favorites, locate the Web Intelligence Sample document.

Note: If not found, navigate to Public Folders > BI Training and copy the Web Intelligence Sample document in Favorites.

2. From Favorites, click Web Intelligence Sample. The document (Figure 377) displays in the InfoView window.

3. From the Document toolbar, click Document. The Document menu (Figure 378) displays.

Figure 377 Web Intelligence Sample document

Documenttoolbar

Using Interactive View Tools


4. Click Properties. The Document Properties dialog box (Figure 379) displays.

5. Click OK to close the Document Properties dialog box.

Viewing ToolbarsWhen working in Interactive view, use the toolbars’ submenu to display or hide the toolbars. The buttons available from these toolbars provide many features for orga‐nizing and analyzing the information, as well for enhancing the report presentation in the document.

To view toolbars:

1. From the Document toolbar, click View and select Toolbars. A submenu (Figure 380) displays a list of the three toolbars available when working in Interactive view.

Figure 378 Document menu

Documentmenu

Figure 379 Document Properties dialog box

Appendix B:


2. Select each of the toolbars so that they display (Figure 381) below the Document toolbar.

Figure 380 Toolbars submenu

Figure 381 All toolbars displayed

Selecting Information for the Left Panel


Selecting Information for the Left PanelWhen working in Interactive view, select the information you want to display in the left panel.

To select information for the left panel:

1. If no left panel displays, from the Document toolbar, click View and select Left panel. The Left panel works as a toggle.

2. Click the Left panel drop‐down menu (Figure 382). A list of panes for selection displays.

3. From the Left panel drop‐down menu, select a pane. Descriptions of each pane follow.

Tip! After selecting a pane, click the right border of a pane and drag it to the left to widen the pane for a better view.

Navigation Map Pane The Navigation Map pane (Figure 383) displays a list of all the reports in the docu‐ment. If the report contains sections, section names display when you expand a report.

Figure 382 Left panel selections

Left paneldrop-down

menu

Figure 383 Navigation Map pane

Appendix B:


Document Summary PaneThe Document Summary pane (Figure 384) displays information about the docu‐ment, such as the author name, document creation date, and last refresh date.

Data Summary PaneThe Data Summary pane (Figure 385) displays information about the query used to retrieve data in the document:

• Name of the universe.

• Objects that make up the query definition.

• Number of rows returned by the query.

Figure 384 Document Summary pane

Figure 385 Data Summary pane

Selecting Information for the Left Panel


Charts and Table Types PaneThe Charts and Table Types pane (Figure 386) displays all the templates available in Interactive view. Use the templates to modify the way data presents in the docu‐ment. All the templates available to you in the Java Report panel are also available in Interactive view.

Drag and drop or click the Insert and Turn To buttons in this pane to transform a table or chart to another format or to insert a new block.

Document Structure and Filters PaneThe Document Structure and Filters pane (Figure 387) displays all the elements that make up the document, such as sections, report blocks, headers, footers, and so on.

Figure 386 Charts and Table Types pane

Figure 387 Document Structure and Filters pane

Appendix B:


Available Objects Pane The Available Objects pane (Figure 388) displays a list of objects used in the docu‐ment’s query. Drag and drop objects in and out of blocks of data or create new blocks of data.

User Prompt Input Pane The User Prompt Input pane (Figure 389) displays a list of prompts, if any, for the queries in the document.

Figure 388 Available Objects pane

Figure 389 User Prompt Input pane

Modifying a Document in Interactive View


Modifying a Document in Interactive ViewThis section covers modifying a Web Intelligence document using the Interactive menus, toolbars and left panes.

To modify data using Interactive view:

1. From the Navigation Map panel in the Web Intelligence Sample document, click Inventory by OpCo.

2. From the Left panel drop‐down menu, select Navigation Map. The Inventory by OpCo report tab (Figure 390) displays.

3. Right‐click in the OpCo Name column. The Interactive Reporting menu (Figure 391) displays.

Figure 390 Inventory by OpCo report

Selection activatesthe report pane

Figure 391 Interactive Reporting menu

Appendix B:


Adding a ColumnTo add a new column:

1. Click Insert > New Column > Right to add a blank column to the report.

2. Position your cursor over the right border of the new column. When your cur‐sor turns to a crosshairs, click and drag it to expand the width of the column.

3. Move the bar chart over to allow for the wider column.

4. From the left panel, select Available Objects. The list of available objects (Figure 392) displays.

5. Click and drag Category to the newly inserted column. The report updates with the new column of data showing item count for each category.

Creating a FilterTo create a filter:

1. Right‐click the Category column.

2. From the Interactive Reporting menu (Figure 391 on page 331), select Quick Fil‐ter. The Quick Filter dialog box (Figure 393) displays.

Figure 392 Available Objects pane

Figure 393 Quick Filter dialog box

Modifying a Document in Interactive View


3. Double‐click Chemical/Jantrl and Paper & Disp. The objects move to the Cate‐gory section.

4. Click OK to save the filter. The report displays information about the selected categories only.

Adding a CalculationTo add a calculation:

1. Right‐click the Item Count column.

2. From the Interactive Reporting menu (Figure 394), select Calculation > Sum.

Web Intelligence inserts a new row showing the total combined item counts for the filtered Chemical/Jantrl and Paper & Disp categories (Figure 395).

3. Right‐click the OpCo Name column. The Interactive Reporting menu (Figure 394) displays.

Figure 394 Interactive Reporting menu: Calculation

Figure 395 Modified report showing sum

Appendix B:


4. Select Remove > Column. Web Intelligences removes the column from the report.

Changing the Table to a ChartTo change the table to a chart:

1. From the Left panel drop‐down menu, select Charts and Table Types. All the templates available in Interactive view (Figure 396) display.

2. Expand Bar Charts.

3. Click and drag Vertical Grouped to the table in the Document panel. The table changes to a vertical grouped bar chart (Figure 397).

Note: To format the chart, right‐click in the chart and select Format from the resulting menu.

4. Resize the table as required.

5. Close the Web Intelligence Sample document.

Figure 396 Charts and Table Types pane

Figure 397 Vertical Grouped bar chart

Adding Formulas and Variables


Adding Formulas and Variables This lesson covers adding customer calculations and formulas that average the number of lines per PO for each operating company. The existing reports show the number of POs and the number of lines by operating company and merchandiser.

To add a formula:

1. Navigate to Public Folders > BI Training.

2. Copy the Interactive Report Sample in Favorites.

3. From Favorites, open the document.

4. Click View > Toolbars and display both the Report and Formula toolbars.

Inserting and Naming a ColumnTo insert and name a column for your formula or variable:

1. Click in the # of Lines column.

2. From the Report toolbar, click Insert > New > Right to insert a column. A new column (Figure 398) inserts to the right of the # of Lines column.

3. Click the empty column header.

4. In the Formula toolbar, type “Avg Lines per PO”. Be sure to type the quotes.

5. Click Validate Formula to validate the syntax. The column header displays the text you typed.

Figure 398 Interactive Report Sample document with toolbars and new column

Report andFormula toolbars

New column

Validate formulabutton

Appendix B:


6. Right‐click in the Avg Lines per PO cell and select Format > Cell. The Format Cells dialog box (Figure 399) displays.

7. On the General tab, select Wrap Text and click OK to save the change.

8. Drag the bottom of the header cell down to display all the text.

Creating a Formula in Interactive ViewTo create a formula in interactive view:

1. Highlight the new column.

2. On the Formula toolbar, click Formula Editor. The Formula Editor dialog box (Figure 400) displays.

3. Create the following formula, {# of Lines}/{# of POs}, using the available objects, functions, and operators (Figure 400).

Figure 399 Format Cells dialog box

Figure 400 Formula Editor dialog box

Adding Formulas and Variables


4. Click Validate. If correct, a confirmation dialog box displays.

5. Click OK.

6. Click OK to close the Formula Editor dialog box. The column (Figure 401) dis‐plays with the calculated data.

7. Save the document in Favorites as Avg Lines per PO.


Saving the Formula as a VariableNow that you have a formula, save the formula as a variable in the document.

1. Highlight the Avg Lines per PO column in the Ave Line per PO document.

2. From the Formula toolbar, click Create a Variable. The Create New Variable dialog box (Figure 402) displays.

Figure 401 Added column with data

Figure 402 Create New Variable dialog box

Create a Variablebutton

Appendix B:


3. In the Name field, type Avg Lines.

4. In the Qualification field, select Measure.

5. In the Formula field, verify that the formula is the one you just created.

6. Click OK.

7. From the Left panel drop‐down menu, select Available Objects. The Available Objects pane (Figure 403) displays. The variable displays as an available object so you can use it in any new blocks you create in the document.

8. Drag and drop the Avg Lines variables to the empty cell in the Sum row of the first report block. The Avg Lines calculation displays for each operating com‐pany.

Figure 403 Available Objects pane with variables expanded

Variables

A p p e n d i x C

Dashboards

Topics

• Using Dashboards

• Remember It

Appendix C:


Using DashboardsA dashboard provides a way to view information from different data sources at the same time. You create a dashboard to display important information (reports, docu‐ments, websites, and so on) on a regular basis. You create dashboards using the dashboard builder, My InfoView.

Warning! InfoView allows for only one dashboard. If you have a preset dashboard, you cannot modify the dashboard.

Creating a DashboardUse the dashboard builder in InfoView to create one or more dashboards.

To create a dashboard:

1. From the Header panel toolbar, click My InfoView. A My InfoView screen (Figure 404) displays using the single‐panel template choice by default.

2. Click Two‐Row template. The My InfoView dashboard page (Figure 405) dis‐plays, containing two panes. You set the layout of the objects for each panel in your dashboard. Each panel can contain only one object.

Each panel contains a toolbar that allows you to change the appearance of the panel. You can:

– Split the panel horizontally

– Split the panel vertically

– Apply panel properties, such as borders, captions, and URLs

Figure 404 My InfoView page

Two-rowtemplate

Using Dashboards


– Delete a panel

3. From the bottom panel toolbar, click Split Vertically. The panel splits into two separate panes (Figure 406).

4. From the bottom panel toolbar, click Close.

5. From the top panel, click Define Content. The Dashboard Properties dialog box (Figure 407) displays. Use this dialog box to set borders, captions for headers and footers, and to select the objects to display in the panel.

Note: You can also click Properties on the toolbar to display the Dashboard Properties dialog box.

Figure 405 My InfoView dashboard page

Split Verticallybutton


Properties button

Close button

Appendix C:


6. In the Web Address field, type http://www.businessobjects.com. Be sure to select the Web Address option.

7. In the Caption field, located in the Header section, type BusinessObjects Web‐site.

8. In the Caption field, located in the Footer section, type Technical Support Web‐site.

9. Click OK. The dialog box closes, and the panel (Figure 408) displays the BusinessObjects website.

Figure 407 Dashboard Properties dialog box

WebAddress

field

Figure 408 My InfoView dashboard page with the BusinessObjects website

Using Dashboards


10. From the second panel, click Define Content. The Dashboard Properties dialog box (Figure 409) displays.

11. In the Object section, expand Public Folders > BI Training > Sample Reports > Merchandising ‐ Inventory.

12. Locate and click Web Intelligence Report. By default, the document name selected displays in the Caption field, and the Object radio button highlights.

Tip! When adding a document to the dashboard, the document toolbar displays with buttons that you use to save, refresh, and navigate the document. The next chapter details these functions.

13. Click OK. The Dashboard Properties dialog box closes and the panels (Figure 410) display your content.

Figure 409 Dashboard Properties dialog box

Objectsection

Objectradio

button

Appendix C:


14. Click Save.


Save button Close button


Maximize buttonReopen in New Window button

Using Dashboards


15. Click Maximize in the first panel. The page enlarges.

16. Click Maximize in the first panel. The page returns to its original frame size.

17. Click Reopen reopen in new window. A separate window opens.

18. Click Close. The dashboard closes, and the last workspace page displays.

19. From the Header panel toolbar, click My InfoView. The dashboard displays.

Setting the Dashboard as Initial ViewTo see the dashboard when you first log on to InfoView:

1. From the Header panel toolbar, click Preferences. The General Preferences page (Figure 412) displays.

2. From the My initial view is options, select My InfoView to set the dashboard as your initial view.

3. Click OK.

4. Click Log Off. The Log On to InfoView screen displays.

5. In the Password field, type your password. The dashboard displays after log on.

Figure 412 General Preferences page

Appendix C:



Dashboards

Use a dashboard to display documents or websites you most frequently access. If you do not already have a pre‐set dashboard, you can customize your own and set it as your starting page when you log in or you can navigate to it by selecting My InfoView from the Header panel.


Index

Aaccessing

eDW using InfoView, 13online help, 52

actions and description (if selected) initially not hidden, field, 42

addingcolumn, 243data to an existing table, 128documents to InfoView, 201free standing cell, 131hyperlink, 34labels, 133legend, 139objects to a query, 69query, 265reports to your document, 118to my favorites, 33

aggregate table, 309aggregation, 72, 155, 163alerter name, field, 178alerters, 176

basic, 177complex, 181conditions, 183creating, 178formatting, 179overview, 176sub‐alerters, 187using, 180

allow other users to edit all queries, field, 74analyzing reports, 9and operator, 100applying

breaks, 151

different chart types, 139ranking to data, 172single‐value query filter, 87styles to text, 134

area chart, 136arranged by, 268assigning a category to a document, 35available objects, interactive view, 330average, 155axis legend, 228

Bbar charts, 135based on, field, 173blue text, 4break, 151

applying, 151deleting, 154

businessobjects xi r2 web intelligence, introducing, 6buttons

add query, 265alerters, 181apply/remove ranking, 172apply/remove sort, 158close, 86configure views, 111, 112copy, 18create variable, 241define content, 341, 343delete, 18, 27, 36document, 46, 84document, interactive view, 324drill, 295edit query, 69

C C


edit report, 62export to PDF for printing, 112filter, 29filter all types, 18formula editor, 240go back to the last main workspace page, 19help, 112hide the header panel, 19hide the navigation panel, 84insert sum, 155, 163insert/remove break, 153maximize, 345maximize this panel, 19merge, 278merge dimensions, 276move, 17my InfoView, 340, 345new, 22, 34new document, 86, 91, 112organize, 18page layout view, 211preferences, 40, 289prompt, 94properties, 17, 21purge data, 112refresh, 17, 24refresh data, 63, 112reopen dashboard in new window, 345restore this panel to its previous state, 19run query, 63, 71save, 67, 112save document, 62save, dashboard, 344scope of analysis, 291search, 89search title, 38send, 198show categories, 17, 24, 36show folders, 17, 21show query, 62, 112show report, 62, 112show this panel in a new window, 19show user settings, 112show/hide filter pane, 169show/hide formula toolbar, 240split vertically, 341take snapshot of drilled report, 298toggle navigation, 24two‐row template, 340values, 277values, merged dimensions, 277

view, 50view results, 165, 168view SQL, 63view structure, 167

Ccalculation mode, field, 173calculations, 155

deleting, 156inserting, 155inserting, multiple, 156

caption, field, 342categories

assigning to a document, 35creating, 24deleting, 27describing, 23moving, 26viewing, 23

cellsdocument variables, 250free‐standing, 131modifying properties, 218width, 132

changingchart to a table, 141element font size, 226table formats, 126the date/time format, 132

chartsarea, 136bar, 135changing the type, 139creating from a table, 140data values, 229drilling, 302font size, 226interactive view, 329legend, 139line, 136pie, 135radar, 136scatter, 136show percentages, 230types, 135

classes, 7clear contexts, field, 74close document, 47column

insert, 243

D D


naming, 246complex filters, 100conditions

adding to alerter, 183data type, historical or current, 309, 314

configuring views, 115constant operand, 88context popup, 320converting

chart to a table, 141table to a chart, 140

copy as text, 189copying

data blocks to ms powerpoint, 190data blocks using the clipboard, 189data to other applications, 189documents, 30

count, 155creating

basic alerters, 177categories, 24charts, 137charts from a table, 140complex alerters, 181crosstab tables, 124dashboards, 340folders, 22form tables, 125horizontal tables using a template, 122prompted query filters, 93report filters, 169sections, 161shortcuts for a document, 32single‐value query filters, 87the query, 177, 181variables, 241vertical tables, 121web intelligence documents, 64

crosstab, 120, 293cues, typographic, 4current data, 309, 314

Ddashboards

creating, 340preferences, 345reopen in new window, 345saving, 344set as initial view, 345split vertically, 341

datacurrent, 309, 314historical, 309, 314

data manager, 85data provider, 287

multiple, 261data summary, interactive view, 328data tab, 114data values, 229data warehouse, enterprise, 6date/time, 132deleting

breaks, 153calculations, 156categories, 27folders and categories, 27personal documents, 36query filters, 90report filters, 171row, 129sections, 167tables, 129tables or rows, 129variable, 249

describingcategories, 23document components, 109folders, 20query filter elements, 82query filter types, 81query filters, 81query workflow, 59reporting toolbar buttons, 211the document page, 62toolbars, 16universes and objects, 60

description, field, 23, 68dialog boxes

alerter display, 179alerter editor, 178alerters, 178, 180background image, 217create merged dimensions, 278create variable, 241dashboard properties, 341extend the scope of analysis, 290file download, 49, 200filter editor, 170format text, 226formula editor, 250list of values, 88

E E


merge dimensions, 276new query, 267number format, 245objects and variables, 178prompt, 93, 94, 242prompts, 95rank, 172, 173save as windows, 200save document, 67SQL viewer, 75turn to, 293universe, 265variable editor, 248

dimensional reporting, 310, 320dimensions, merged, 268displaying

an aggregate, 163axis legend, 228data values for a bar chart, 227data values for a pie chart, 229document properties, 143

documentcomponents, 109properties, 301properties, interactive view, 324save options, 47structure and filters, interactive view, 329summary, interactive view, 328

document author function, 251document conventions, 4documents

adding reports, 118adding to InfoView, 201assigning categories, 35copy, 30creating Web Intelligence, 64deleting, 36move, 31printing, 50properties, 143refresh, 46save, 67scheduling, 203search, 38sending, 197sharing, 9, 197shortcuts, 32types, 28viewing, 45viewing instance history, 205

documents, training

activity alerters, 188activity create document, 76activity filters 1, 92activity filters 2, 99activity filters 3, 105activity format reports, 224activity formulas, 256activity multiDP, 282activity sections, 192activity table and charts, 146alerters, 186alerts, 180chart drill down, 304drill down, 299formulas, 241inventory count reduction goals, 248inventory value LFY vs. TFY, 247inventory value report, 68multi block 1, 264multi block 2, 269multi block 3, 274multi block 4, 276multi block 5, 280multiple breaks, 153multiple filters, 102my SMR by category sample report, 110net sales TFY vs. LFY, 247query drill, 301sales reports, 49sectioned data, 163simple query filter, 89sorted data, 159tables, 122, 225web intelligence sample, 212

drillchart, 302down, 288filters, 297snapshot, 298toolbar, 296up, 296

duplicate query, 317duplicating tables, 129

Eediting

a prompted query filter, 96single‐value query filter, 90

EDW, 6, 12, 313enterprise data warehouse, 6, 12

F I


expanding folders, 20extend the scope of analysis dialog box, 290, 296

Ffavorites, 20feedback, 5filter object or cell, field, 178filtering a list, 29filters

complex, 100, 103drill, 297elements, 82interactive view, 329operand, 88predefined query, 84, 85prioritize, 103prompted query, creating, 93query operators, 82query types, 81report, 169report, deleting, 171report, global, 169single‐value query, creating, 87

financial table, 120finding objects, 69flags, 4folder name, field, 22folders

creating, 22deleting, 27expanding, 20moving, 26my folder, 20viewing properties, 21

font, 226footer, 220, 221format

date/time, 132number, 132, 245

formattingcharts, 225header cells, 217the alert, 179the alerter, 184

forms, 120, 125formula

as a variable, 241editor, 237functions, document, 250prompt, 239

formula editor, 240formula, field, 251free‐standing

adding, 131, 133cells, 250change size, 132formatting, 134inserting page numbers, 220resizing, 132

functionsadding document dates, 250days between, 254document author, 251online help, 253

Ggeneral preferences, 40global report filter, 169

Hheader panel toolbar, 16header zone, in report, 221help

accessing online, 52functions, 253requesting, 5

hide drill toolbar, 289hide drill toolbar, field, 44hierarchies, 288, 292historical data, 309, 314historical reporting, 309, 314history, 309

hyperlink, 205instances, 205

horizontal table, 120hyperlinks

adding, 34history, 205modify, 109properties, 35schedule, 203

Iin a single full screen browser window, one document at

a time, field, 42in list operator, 96in multiple full screen browser windows, one window

for each document, field, 42inbox, 20, 198

J O


increasing the cell width, 132inserting

a block in each section, 164break, 153calculations, 155column, 243multiple calculations, 156page numbers, 220report, 118sum, 155

instance, 203instance count, field, 42instructor information, 5intelligence, introducing businessobjects xi r2 web, 6interactive view

available objects, 330charts and table types, 329data summary, 328document properties, 324document structure and filters, 329document summary, 328left panes, 327navigation map, 327setup, 322toolbars, 325user prompt input, 330variables, 337

Jjava query panel, 7joins, 260

Kkeep last value(s) selected, field, 94keyword, field, 23, 68

Llabels, 133layer, semantic, 6legend, 139, 228line charts, 136list of values, 89lists

filtering, 29sorting, 28

locating objects, 69logging off, 15logging on

live environment, 14

training environment, 13logical operators, 100

Mmanaging lists and documents, 28map tab, 114, 166max retrieval time, field, 74max rows retrieved, field, 74merchandising universe, 309merge dimensions button, 276merge dimensions dialog box, 276merged dimensions, 268metrics, sales universe, 318modify hyperlink, 109modifying

a query, 69cell properties, 218cells in multiple columns, 219document in interactive view, 331hyperlinks, 109report properties, 214section properties, 222table properties, 216tables, 126

movingdocuments, 31folders and categories, 26

multiple filters with and operator, 100multiple queries, 265my current time‐zone is, field, 42my interface locale is, field, 42

Nname field, query properties, 73navigating sections, 166navigation map pane, interactive view, 327navigation panel

toolbar, 17using, 20

navigation panel toolbar, 17new query dialog box, 267

Oobjects, 7, 60

locating, 69projecting, 71types, 60

on my desktop, field, 42operands

P Q


constant, 88prompt, 93value(s) from list, 88

operators, 82and, 100in list, 96logical, 100or, 102wildcards, 83

or operator, 102organizing

add shortcuts to new folder, 33add to favorites, 33copy to new folder, 30documents, 29move to new folder, 31the list, 28

owner, field, 42

Ppage navigation toolbar, 111page numbers, 220panels, 85

header, 14left, 62navigation, 14, 20, 62right, 62workspace, 14, 28

panesavailable objects, interactive view, 330charts and table types, interactive view, 329data manager, 62data summary, interactive view, 328document, 109document properties, 270, 301document summary, interactive view, 328navigation map, interactive view, 327query filters, 62, 81, 85report filter, 171report manager, 62, 114results objects, 62scope of analysis, 291, 292user prompt input, interactive view, 330

pattern, matches, 83PDF, 49, 51, 199, 200percentages, data values displayed as, 230performing

a quick search, 38an advanced search, 38

pie charts, 135

predefined query filter, 84, 85preferences

drill down, 289general, 40interactive view, 322web intelligence document, 43

presenting data incharts, 135free standing cells, 131

printing web intelligence documents, 50prioritizing operators, 103projecting data, 71prompt

if drill requires additional data, field, 44, 290in a title, 239operand, 93text, field, 94variable, 238with list of values, field, 94

prompt order, field, 74prompted query filters, 93properties

dashboards, 341document, 143folders, 21hyperlink, 35

properties navigation buttons, 213properties tab, 114public folders, 20purge data, 112

Qquery

add, 265adding objects, 69arranged by, 268duplicate, 317filter elements, 82filter types, 81multiple, 263, 265operators, 82predefined filters, 84rename, 267single with multiple blocks, 263view SQL, 75workflow, 59

query drill, 300query filter pane, 62querying, 7

R T


RR2 web intelligence, introducing BusinessObjects XI, 6radar chart, 136ranking

applying, 172remove, 173

refreshing documents, 46removing

break, 153row, 156

removing ranking, 173renaming

query, 267report, 118

reopen in new window, dashboard, 345report

filter, 169insert, 118renaming, 118sorting, 157

report properties, modifying, 214report title, 239reporting, 8reporting toolbar buttons, 211repositioning the table, 218requesting help, 5reset contexts, field, 74resizing, free‐standing cells, 132results objects pane, 62retrieve duplicate row, field, 74

Ssatrak, 314save as, 47save document button, 112saving

document, 67, 112document, different file type, 49document, to computer, 49new document, 67

scatter chart, 136schedule hyperlink, 203scheduling web intelligence documents, 203scope of analysis, 288, 291scope of analysis pane, 292search all values, field, 89searching

advanced, document, 38for documents, 38objects, 69

quick, document, 38section components, 167sections

creating, 161deleting, 167modifying properties, 222navigating, 166overview, 160

security, 310select a report panel, field, 44select an operating company ,field, 95select default universe, field, 44select MS Excel format, field, 44select only from list, field, 94selecting

a chart, 225documents elements for formatting, 211

semantic layer, 6sending documents, 197set as section, 162set default value(s), field, 94setting

dashboard as initial view, 345general infoview preferences, 40up the alerter, 178web intelligence document preferences, 43

sharing documents, 9with BusinessObjects users, 197with non‐BusinessObjects users, 199

shortcuts, creating, 32show data, field, 303show/hide formula toolbar, 240show/hide scope of analysis pane, 291snapshot, 298sorting

a list, 28apply/remove, 158results, 157

SQL, view query, 75start drill on a duplicate report, field, 44, 289start drill on the existing report, field, 44, 289sub‐alerters, 187sum, 155support, technical, 5synchronize drill on report blocks, field, 44, 290

Ttables

adding new objects, 128aggregate, 309

U W


changing formats, 126copy, 129crosstab, creating, 124delete, 129delete rows, 129delete table, 129duplicating, 129form, creating, 125format descriptions, 120horizontal tables, creating using a template, 122interactive view, 329modifying, 126properties, modifying, 216vertical, 121

technical support, 5templates, 124, 125, 164, 220

using templates, 122templates tab, 114text, blue, 4title, field, 68toolbars

document, 45drill, 296formatting, 111formula, 239header panel, 16interactive view, 325navigation panel, 17properties, 213reporting, 113, 211standard, 62, 112workspace page control, 19workspace panel, 18

Training ExercisesTE10‐Training Exercise‐Sharing Documents, 207TE11‐Training Exercise‐Formatting Reports, 223TE12‐Training Exercise‐Formatting Charts, 231TE13‐Training Exercise‐Formulas and Variables, 256TE14‐Training Exercise‐Synchronizing Data, 282TE15‐Training Exercise‐Practice Charts, 302TE1‐Training Exercise‐InfoView, 53TE2‐Training Exercise‐Building a Report, 76TE3‐Training Exercise‐Restricting Data, 92TE4‐Training Exercise–Adding Prompts, 99TE5‐Training Exercise‐Applying Multiple

Filters, 105TE6‐Training Exercise‐Report Design, 145TE7‐Training Exercise‐Breaks, Calculations, Sorts,

Filters, 175TE8‐Training Exercise‐Complex Alerters, 187TE9‐Training Exercise‐Sections, 191

turn to, 141, 293typographic cues, 4

Uunderstanding data aggregation, 72universe, 6, 60

merchandising, 309setting default, 44

user prompt input, interactive view, 330

Vvalue field, 102value(s) from list operand, 88value(s) selected, field, 89value, field, 88, 101variable editor, 248variables

creating, 241deleting, 249description, 237document functions, 250interactive view, 337modify, 248prompted, 238

vertical table, 120view my documents, fields, 42view results, 168view structure, 167viewing

corporate categories, 23documents, 45properties, 211query properties, 73results, 138the query SQL, 75

views, 62configure report manager panel, 115

Wwarehouse, enterprise data, 6web address, field, 342web intelligence, introducing businessobjects xi r2, 6when creating new dashboards, field, 42when I close my browser window, field, 42wildcards, 83

in list of values, 89wildcards, in a list of values, 89working with

a web intelligence document, 45

X X


an existing alerter, 180report design toolbars, 111report manager panel, 114sections, 160tables, 120

workspacepage control toolbar, 19toolbar, 18

XXI R2 Web Intelligence, introducing BusinessObjects, 6