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Transcript of Introduction to Business Objects 5i
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Introduction toBusinessObjects 5i
BusinessObjects 5i is a fully integrated query, reporting andmultidimensional data analysis tool. It enables users to
access and analyse information in the Universitys corporate
database.
Les Brown & Anne McCormick
June 2005Document 318
Computing Services Department
318 MWS
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Contents
1 PRELIMINARIES 1Purpose 1Audience 1Prerequisites 1FurtherInformation 1
2 OVERVIEW OF BUSINESSOBJECTS5I 2TheMain Features 2Universes 2Objects 2Classes 3
3 STARTINGBUSINESSOBJECTS 4Starting BusinessObjects 4UsernameandPassword 4NewReportWizard 4
4 CREATINGANEWREPORT 5Reportsand Documents 5AWorkedExample 5StartingtheNewReportWizard 6UsingtheNewReportWizard 6Stage 1: StandardReportorTemplate? 6Stage 2: Selectinga DataProvider 7Stage 3: Selectinga Universe 7Stage 4: Buildinga Query 8
5 USINGTHEQUERYPANEL 9Displayingthe QueryPanel 9Classesand Objects Box 9QueryResults Box 10Including Objectsina Query 10Removing Objectsfroma Query 10Changingthe Orderofthe Objects 11
Conditions Box 11CreatingYourOwn Objects 11Executinga Queryfromthe QueryPanel 12
6 QUERYCONDITIONS 13ApplyingYourOwnSimpleCondition 13ApplyingComplexConditions 14ModifyingaCondition 14Changingthe ValuesinaCondition 14RemovingaCondition 15
GroupsofConditions 15Pre-definedConditions 15
7 SORTINGQUERYRESULTS 16DataTypeandSort Order 16ApplyingaSort 16Determiningthe OrderofaSort 16SortPriority 17RemovingaSort 17ManagingSortsintheSorts Dialogue Box 17
8 MANAGINGYOURREPORTS 18
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SavingtheReportInsideItsDocument 18Howthe DataisStoredinthe Document 18OpeninganExisting DocumentandReport 19ChangingtheNameofaReport 19RefreshinganExistingReport 20
UsingtheRefreshCommandtoRefreshaReport 20Usingthe DataManagertoRefreshaReport 20Usingthe QueryPaneltoExecutea Query 20
RefreshaReporton Openinga Document 21ScheduledProcessing 21
9 REPORTS-FORMATSAND STRUCTURES 22FormatCommands 22Master/DetailReports 22
BuildingaMaster/DetailReport 23MultiMaster/DetailReports 24
BuildingaMultiMaster/DetailReport 25FormattingReportSections 25Crosstab Reports 25InsertingCrosstabsintoReports 26UsingtheNewCrosstabWizard 26ChangingtheStructureofaCrosstab Report 28
ChartsandGraphs 28UsingtheNewChartWizard 28
UsingtheReportManagerWindow 29ReportManagerDataTa b ReportManagerMapTa b
BuildingReports: FurtherInformation 3010ANALYSINGDATA-SLICE-AND-DICE 32AnalysisTechniques 32Sliceand Dice 32TheSliceand DicePanel 33Section Box 33BlockStructure Box 33
MoreInformationaboutSliceand Dice 3411ANALYSINGDATA-DRILLING 35The DrillExample 35Drilling Down 35Drilling Up 36Drill By 36Hierarchies 36DrillThrough 37Snapshots 37MoreInformationabout Drilling 37
12 BROADCASTAGENT 38The FunctionsofBroadcastAgent 38AdvantagesofScheduledProcessing 38Using BroadcastAgentforScheduledProcessing 38RetrievingProcessed Documentsfrom BroadcastAgent 39Retrieving Documents OptionSet Up 39Retrieving Documents Procedure 39
13EXCHANGINGDOCUMENTS 41Sending DocumentstoAnotherUser 41Retrieving DocumentsfromAnotherUser 42RetrievingCorporate DocumentsfromtheRepository 42
14EXCHANGINGDATAWITHOTHERAPPLICATIONS 44
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DynamicDataExchange 44Exporting Datain Files 45ExporttoExternal Format 45
15REGISTRATION 46ManagedWindowsService 46BusinessObjects 5i 46RegistrationforUseofCorporateInformationSystems Facilities 46
16 INSTALLATION 47Step 1: MappingtheS: Drive 47Step 2: InstallingSQLNet 47Step 3: Installing BusinessObjects 47
Table of Figures
Figure 1: NewReportWizard 4Figure 2: CourseListexamplereport 5Figure 3: SelectaTemplatedialogue box 7
Figure 4: DataAccessdialogue box 7Figure 5: Selecta Universedialogue box 8Figure 6: the QueryPanel 9Figure 7: ListofValues 13Figure 8: Sortsdialogue box 17Figure 9: Opena Documentdialogue box 19Figure 10: the DataManager 21Figure 11: Master/detailreport 23Figure 12: Multi master/detail report 24Figure 13: Crosstab report 26Figure 14: NewCrosstabWizard-selectthevariables 27Figure 15: NewCrosstabWizard pivotdata 27Figure 16: NewChartWizard 28Figure 17: ChartAutoformatdialogue box 29Figure 18: Sliceand DicePanel 32Figure 19: Sendto Userdialogue box 41Figure 20: Retrieve FromCorporate Documentsdialogue box 43
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1 Preliminaries
PurposeBusinessObjectsisanintegratedquery,reportinganddataanalysistool,which makes
iteasyfortheusertoaccessandreportinformationinthe University'scorporate
databases.Thisdocumentisintendedtoprovideanintroductionto Version 5 ofBusinessObjects Version 5 replacesthepreviousversionandprovidesincreased
functionality.
Audience
ThisdocumentisintendedtomeettherequirementsofbothnewandexistingusersofBusinessObjects.Whilst,thedocumentprovidesanoverallintroduction,some
sectionsarespecificallyintendedforexistinguserswhoareupgradingto Version 5.
Prerequisites
BusinessObjects 5iisavailableonlyontheManagedWindowsService.ThisdocumentassumesaworkingknowledgeofWindowsXP.
Further Information
The basicfunctionsofBusinessObjects 5iareintroducedinthisdocument. Forfurtherdiscussionofadvancedtopics,thisdocumentwillreferyoutotheon-linehelp
availablefromthe BusinessObjectsHelpmenu.
The BusinessObjectsHelpmenuhasanumberofoptionsandtheavailableon-linehelptakesvariousforms:
IfyouselecttheBusinessObjects Helpoption,aconventionalhelpwindowpopsupshowing 3 tabs-Contents, IndexandFind.
IfyouselecteithertheBusinessObjects User GuideorGettingStartedoptions,theoriginal BusinessObjectsdocumentsaredisplayed (inAdobeAcrobatpdf
format).
IfyouselecttheQuick Touroption,youwillstartupamultimediacbtsessionwhichprovidesaverylimited butinterestingintroductionto Version 5i.
Outsideofthe BusinessObjectspackage,theCISwebpagescontainalotofBusinessObjectsinformation,particularlyabouttheavailableuniverses. See
http://www.liv.ac.uk/cis/
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2 Overview of BusinessObjects 5i
The Main Features
y Creation,executionandmanagementofyourownreportsusinginformationfromthecorporatedatabases.
y Executionofreportsthathave beenpredefinedanddistributed bytheComputingServices Department.
y Presentinginformationassimple businesschartsorgraphs.
y ExportingdatatootherapplicationssuchasMicrosoft Office.
Universes
Theconceptofauniverseiscentralto BusinessObjects.Auniverseisameaningful,
userorientatedrepresentationofarelationaldatabase.Inpractice,thereareseveral
universes,whichhave beendesigned bytheComputingServices Departmentto
provideparticularviewsofthe Universityscorporatedatabase. Forexample,the
PERSONNL universedealswithstaffinginformation,theSpider - Generaluniverse
makesavailableinformationfromtheSPIDERsystemaboutstudents,programmesof
study,faculties,etc. Newuniverseswill becreatedorexistinguniverseswill be
enhanced bytheComputingServices Departmentaspartoftheon-going
developmentoftheservice.
Whenyoulookatthelistofavailableuniverses,youwillalsofindanumberofdemonstrationuniverses-IslandResort Marketing, Car Lease and eFashion.These
areinstalledwiththe BusinessObjectssoftwareandareusedtoprovideexamplesin
theonline BusinessObjectsdocumentation.
Objects
Eachuniverseisconstructedwithasetofobjects.Anobjectisanitemofinformation
thatisofinteresttoauseroftheinformation.Itcorrespondstoaselectionofdata
fromthedatabaseandis,mostusually,acolumninadatabasetable. Forexample,the
followingobjectscan befoundintheSpider - Generaluniverse: Program FacultyCode,Program Code,andProgram Level Code.
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Classes
Withinauniverse,youwillfindobjectsgroupedtogetherintoclasses.Whenthe
ComputingServices Departmentdesignsauniverse,itgroupsobjectsintoclasses,
solely,toreflecttheusersnaturalgroupingofitemsofinformation.Inturn,someclassescontainsub-classes. Thepurposeofclassesandsub-classesistomakeit
easierforyoutolocateandselecttheobjectsyouwantwhen buildingareport.Theyplaynootherpartinretrievinginformation. Forexample,theSpider - General
universecontainsaclasscalledProgram Data and Curriculum Rules. Theobjects
mentionabovecanall befoundinthisclass.
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3 Starting BusinessObjects
Starting BusinessObjects Tostart BusinessObjects,clicktheBusinessObjectsicon (theinstallation
procedurewillhaveplaced BusinessObjectsiconintheProgramsmenu).
The BusinessObjects UserIdentificationwindowwillpopupaskingyoutoenteryourBusinessObjectsusernameandpassword.
EnteryourBusinessObjectspassword (see below). Donot checkthe Use InOffline Modeoption.
ClicktheOK buttontoproceed.
Username and Password
A BusinessObjectsusernameandpasswordwill beallocatedtoyouwhenyouregisterforBusinessObjectsuse (seeSection 15 Registrationpage 46). Ifyouareauserof
theCISfacilitiesyouwill beallocatedthesameusernameforBusinessObjects.
However,youwill begivena BusinessObjectspasswordthatisdifferentfromany
existingCISservicepassword.YoucanchangeyourBusinessObjectspasswordat
will byusingtheChange PasswordcommandontheTools menu.
New Report Wizard
Whenyouhavesuccessfullyloggedon,the BusinessObjectswindowisdisplayedand
theNewReportWizardisstarted,asshownin Figure 1.WewilldiscusstheNew
reportWizardinsomedetailinSection 4,Creating a New Report. Ifyoudonotwant
tocreateanewreport,clicktheCancel buttontoendtheNewReportWizard.
Figure 1: NewReport Wizard
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4 Creating a New Report
Inthissection,wewilllookathowtheNewReportWizardisusedtocreateareport.Forthispurposewewillworkthroughasimpleexample.Wemuststart,however, by
consideringthedistinctionthat BusinessObjectsmakes betweenreportsand
documents.
Reports and Documents
Thetermdocumenthasaparticularmeaningin BusinessObjects.A BusinessObjects
documentisafilethatcontainsareport.Infact,aswewillseelater,itispossiblefor
onedocumenttocontainmanyreports. BusinessObjectsstoresdocumentsonyour
computerasfiles. Bydefault,itstoresthefilesinyourUserDocsfolder.Thefilesare
givenadefaultfileextensionof.rep. Forinstance,ifyouwereto buildareportcalled
Course List,itwould bestoredonyourcomputerina BusinessObjectsdocument
withthefollowingpathandfilename:
C:\BusinessObjects\BusinessObjects 5.0\UserDocs\CourseList.rep
A Worked Example
Throughoutthissectionwewillrefertoasimpleexampletoillustrateavarietyof
points.TheexamplereportusestheSpider - Generaluniversetoproduceacourse
list,i.e.alistoftheprogrammesofstudywithineachfaculty (see Figure 2 ).The
CourseListwillshowthefaculty,theprogrammecode,adescriptionofthe
programmeandtheprogrammelevel (undergraduate,taughtpostgraduateetc.)Allprogrammesarelistedandtheyarelistedinnoparticularorder.Inlatersectionsof
thisdocumentwewillenhancetheCourseListreporttoillustratefurtherfeaturesof
BusinessObjects,includingselectingtheinformationto bereportedsortingitintoameaningfulorder.
Figure 2: Course List example repor t
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Starting the New Report Wizard
BusinessObjects 5ihelpsyoutocreateanewreportwiththeNewReportWizard.
TheNewReportWizardstartsautomatically, bydefault,whenyouloginto
BusinessObjects.
TostarttheNewReportWizardatanyothertime selecttheNewoptionfromtheFilemenu.
Using the New Report Wizard
Thewizardcreatesanewreportin 4 easystages.
Stage 1: youdecideonthelayoutthatyouwantthereporttohave.Youcangenerate
astandardreport,orselectatemplate.Astandardreportcontainspredefinedstyles
(e.g.fontandcolours)anddisplaysthedatainasimpletabularformat. Ontheother
hand,selectingatemplateenablesyouto buildareportinamorecomplexstructure.Youarerecommendedtooptforastandardreport.Aswewillseelater,youcan
enhanceastandardreportinawholevarietyofways.
Stage 2: youspecifythetypeof data provideryouwanttouse.Thedataprovideristhemechanismthatretrievesdatafromthedatabaseorfile.Themostcommontype
ofdataproviderthatyoucanuseisaqueryonauniverse.Advancedusersmay
chooseothertypesofdataprovider,i.e.storedprocedures, Visual Basicprocedures
orpersonaldatafiles.
Stage 3: youselecttheuniversewithwhichyouwanttowork.
Stage 4: you buildthequery (orothertypeofdataprovider). Buildingaqueryis
doneinthe QueryPanelwhereyoucanselecttheobjectsyouwanttoseeinyour
report.Theobjectscomefromtheuniversethatyouhaveselected.
ThedecisionpointsateachstageintheNewReportWizardarepresentedtoyouindialogue boxes.Thesearedescribedintherestofthissection.
Stage 1: Standard Report orTemplate?
Bydefault,theoptiontoGenerate a standard reportisselectedintheNewReportWizardsfirstdialogue box (asin Figure 1).
Ifyouwantastandardreport,clicktheNext button thiswilltakeyoutotheDataAccessdialogue box.TheexampleCourseListreportiscreatedasa
standardreport.Thisistherecommendedoption.
Ifyouwanttouseatemplateforthenewreport,clicktheSelect a template
optionthiswillpopuptheSelectaTemplatedialogue box,asin Figure 3.
Inthisdialogue box,clickanavailabletemplatetoselectit,thenclicktheNext button thiswilltakeyoutothe DataAccessdialogue box.
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Figure 3: Select a Template dialogue box
Stage 2: Selecting a Data Provider
Inthe DataAccessdialogue box (see Figure 4)youselectthewayyouwanttoaccess
dataforyourreport. Herewedescribe howtoaccessdatawithaqueryonauniverse.
Theothertypesofdataprovider,whichcan beselectedfromthepull-downlist,areusedveryrarely.
Thefirststagein buildingaquery,therefore,istoclicktheUniverseoption.
Then,clicktheNext button thistakesyoutotheSelecta Universedialogue box.
Figure 4: Data Access dialogue box
Stage 3: Selecting aU
niverseIntheSelecta Universedialogue box (see Figure 5)youseealistofuniversesto
whichyouhave beengrantedaccess.
Clicktheuniverseyouwishtouse ifnecessary,scrolldownthelisttofindthe Universeyouwant.Inourexample,theCourseListreportis basedonthe
Spider - General universe.
ClicktheFinish button theSelecta Universedialogue boxendsandtheQueryPanelappears.
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Figure 5: Select a Universe dialogue box
Stage4
: Building a QueryThefinalstepincreatingareport basedonauniverseisto buildthequery. Buildingaquerytoprovidethedataforyoureportisdoneusingthe QueryPanel.The Query
PanelisdescribedinSection 5,Using the QueryPanel.
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5 Using The Query Panel
The QueryPanelisagraphicalinterfacethatenablesyouto buildanewquery.Itisalsousedtoeditanexistingquery.The QueryPanelisillustratedin Figure 6 and
showsthequeryneededtoproducetheCourseListreport.Herewewillintroduce
onlythemainfeaturesofthe QueryPanel. Foracompletedescriptionofallthe
functions,usetheHelp buttononthe QueryPaneltoolbar.
Figure 6: theQuery Panel
Displaying the Query Panel
WhenyoucreateanewreportusingtheNewReportWizard,the QueryPanelis
displayedasthefinalwindowinthedialogue.Alternatively,ifyouwanttoeditthe
dataproviderforanexistingreport,youcandisplaythe QueryPanelasfollows:
EitherclicktheEdit Data ProviderbuttononthestandardtoolbarorselecttheEdit optionfromtheData menu.
Classes and Objects Box
TheClassesand Objects boxinthe QueryPanelpresentstheclasses,sub-classesandobjectsoftheuniversethatyouareusing. Aclassisalogicalgroupingofobjectsand
isrepresented byafoldericon.Classescanalsocontainsubclasses,asfolderscan
containsubfolders.Whenthe QueryPanelisfirstdisplayed,onlytheuniverses
classesarevisible.
Clickthe + plustotheleftofaclassicontoopentheclassandviewitssubclassesandobjects. Clickthe + plustotheleftofasub -classicontoopenthe
sub-class.Youwillseein Figure 6 thattheProgram Data and Curriculum
Rulesclasshas beenopenedtorevealitsobjects.
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Alongsideeachobjectnameisaniconthatindicatesthetypeofobject.Anobjectwill
beoneofthreetypes: dimension,detailormeasure.
Thecubeiconindicatesadimension object. Dimensionobjectsretrievethedata
thatwillprovidethe basisforanalysisinareportandtypicallyretrievecharacter
typedata (e.g.theProgram CodeobjectintheSpider - Generaluniverse).
Somedimensionobjectshaveanassociateddetailobject.Thedetailobjectprovidesmoredetailedinformationaboutthedimension. Forexample,CAPPProgram
DescriptionisthedetailobjectassociatedwithProgram Code. Adetailobjectis
represented bythepyramidiconandcan berevealed byclickingthe + plustothe
leftofthedimension.
Thesphereiconindicatesameasureobject.Measureobjectsretrievenumericdatathatisusuallytheresultofcalculationsondatainthedatabase.Assuch,measure
objectsaresemanticallydynamic thevaluestheyreturndependonthe
dimensionobjectswithwhichtheyaregroupedinaparticularquery.
Query Results Box
Including Objects in a Query
Whenyouincludeanobjectinthequery,youinstruct BusinessObjectstoretrievethe
dataforthatobjectfromthedatabase. Forexample,todisplaytheProgram Faculty
Description, Program Level Description, Program CodeandCAPPProgram
Description informationintheCourseListreportyouincludethoseobjectsinyour
query.
Youincludeanobjectinaquery byplacingitinthe QueryResults box.In F igure 6,the QueryResults boxcontainsthoseobjectsneededtoproducetheCourseList
report.Therearethreewaysofplacingobjectsintothe QueryResults box.Youcan:
DoubleclickanobjectintheClassesand Objectslist.
ClickaniconintheClassesand Objectslist,anddragittothe QueryResultsbox.
Clickaclassfolderanddragittothe QueryResults box.Alltheobjectsintheclassappearinthe QueryResults box.
Onceyouhaveincludedtherequiredobjectsinthe QueryResults box,youhave builta basicquerythatcould beruntoretrievethedatafromthedatabase.Ifyouwishto
trythisnow,youcan jumpaheadtoExecuting a Query from the Query Panelpage
12.
Removing Objects from a Query
Ifyoudecideyouwanttoremoveanobjectthatyouhavepreviouslyincludedinyourquery,selecttheobjectinthe QueryResults box byclickingitsicon.Youcannow
removetheobjectinanyofthefollowingways:
DragtheicontotheClassesand Objectslist.
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PresstheDeletekey.
Clickyourrightmouse button apopupmenuappears. SelecttheRemovecommandonthepopupmenu.
Changing the Order of the Objects
Theorderinwhichtheobjectsappearfromlefttorightacrossthe QueryResults box
determinestheorderinwhichthedatawillappearfromlefttorightacrossyour
report.Tomoveanobject,clickitsicon.Youcannow:
Dragtheicontotheleftortheright,thenreleasethemouse button.
Swaptheiconwithanotherobjecticoninthe QueryResults box, byholdingdowntheShiftkey,draggingituntilitisabovetheobjectyouwanttoswap,
thenreleasingyourmouse button.
Conditions Box
This boxonthe QueryPaneldisplaysanyconditionsthatare builtintothequery.Abasicquery,suchasthequeryusedfortheCourseListreport,hasnoconditionsand
doesnotusetheConditions box (asshownin Figure 6).Inthenextsectionofthis
document (seeSection 6,Query Conditions)wewilldiscusshowtospecify
conditionsinaqueryinordertofilteroutunwanteddatafromareport.
Creating Your Own Objects
BusinessObjectsallowsyoutocreateyourownobjectsthatcanredefineuniverse
objectsinsomewayorother.Theextentoftheredefinitioncan beassimpleasre
namingtheobject,oritcan beasophisticatedproceduretoperformcalculations
combiningseveraluniverseobjects,oritmayinvolvetheuseof SQLfunctionstoformatthedatainaparticularway. Objectsyoucreateareforyouruseonlyanddo
notaltertheuniverseasotherusersseeit.Theyarelistedinthe UserObjectsclassin
theClassesand Objects box.
Tocreateoreditauserobject,clicktheUser Objects buttonontheQueryPaneltoolbar.The UserObjectsdialogue boxpopsupdisplayinga
listofyouruserobjects.
Tocreateanewuserobject,clicktheAdd button.
Toeditanexistinguserobject,highlighttheobjectinthelist,thenclicktheEdit button.
In bothcasesthe UserObjecteditorwindowpopsupenablingyouto buildoralteryouruserobject.
The UserObjecteditorwindowhastwotabs the Definitiontab,whichisdisplayedfirst,andthe Formulatab.
Fordetailedinstructionsonhowto buildauserobject,clicktheHelp buttononeachtab inthe UserObjecteditorwindoworsee User ObjectinBusinessObjectsHelp/Index.
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Executing a Query from the Query Panel
Youcanexecuteyourqueryfromwithinthe QueryPanel.Ifyouhave just builtanew
queryormodifiedanexistingquery,thismethodisconvenient.
Toexecutethequery,clicktheRunbuttonon bottomofthe QueryPanel.
Yourreportisdisplayedinareportdisplayerwindow.
RunningqueriesisdealtwithinmoredetailinSection 8,Managing YourReports.
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6 Query Conditions
A basicquery,suchasthequeryneededtoproducetheCourseList,containsobjectsonly.A basicqueryretrievesallthedatafromthedatabaseforthoseobjects. Forthat
reason,sucha basicqueryissometimescalledanopenquery.Whilstopenqueries
havetheiruses,youwouldnormallywanttofilteroutunnecessarydataorlimityour
queryresultstothedatathatyouparticularlyneed.Inaquery,searchingforparticular
dataorfilteringoutunwanteddataisachieved bytheuseofconditions. Inthis
section,wedescribehowtousethe QueryPaneltoapplyyourownsimple
conditions.WewillcontinuetoworkthroughtheCourseListexample,and builda
conditionintothequeryinordertorestrictthelisttocoursesinparticularfaculties.
Applying Your Own Simple Condition
Asimpleconditionisacondition basedonanobjectthatyouhaveincludedinyour
query. So,tospecifyasimpleconditionyou,first,clicktheobjectsiconinthe
QueryResults boxinthe QueryPanel. Then,clicktheSimple Condition buttononthetoolbar.
Forexample,torestricttheCourseListtocoursesinthe DentistryandMedicine
faculties:
ClicktheProgram Faculty Descriptionobjectinthe QueryResults box.
ClicktheSimple Condition buttononthe QueryPaneltoolbaralistofvaluesfortheobjectisretrievedfromthedatabaseandis
displayedintheListofValuesdialogue box. Figure 7 showstheListofValuesdialogue boxforProgram Faculty Description.
Figure 7: List of Values
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Selectthevalueyouwantfromthelist.Toselectmorethanonevaluefromthelist,holddowntheCtrlkeyonyourkeyboardwhileyouclickthemouse. For
example,toselect both FacultyofMedicineandSchoolofDentistry,clickon
Faculty of MedicinethenholddowntheCtrlkeywhileyouclickonSchool of
Dentistry bothwill behighlighted. (Tip: ifthelistisverylongyoucan
checktheselectionsyouhavemade byclickingtheShow Selected Onlyoption.)
WhenyouhaveselectedthevaluesyouwantfromtheListofValuesdialoguebox,clicktheOKbutton youarereturnedtothe QueryPanel.YouwillnoticethattheConditions boxisnowpopulatedwithyourcondition.
Youcanplacesimplerestrictionsorfiltersonanynumberofobjectsincludedinyour
queryinordertorestrictthedataitretrieves. Forexample,youcouldfurtherlimitthe
querysothatitretrievedonlyundergraduatecoursesin DentistryandMedicine.To
dothis,youwouldneedto buildanotherconditionintothequery.Thenewcondition,
ontheProgramLevel Descriptionobject,wouldlimittheresultstorecordswherethe
ProgramLevel Description isUndergraduate.
Applying Complex ConditionsSofarwehavediscussedsimpleconditionsonlyinasimpleconditionyoucompareanobjecttoavalueorvalueschosenfromalist.Conditions,however,can
befarmoreflexibleandpowerful. BusinessObjectsreferstosuchconditionsas
complex butthatdoesnotnecessarilymeantheyareanymoredifficultto build.
To buildcomplexconditionsyouusetheConditions boxinthe QueryPanel.There
are 3 stagesin buildingacomplexquerycondition:
1. youselecttheobjectyouwant,e.g.Program Faculty Description
2. youselecttheoperatoryouwant,e.g.,equalto
3. youselectthetypeofoperand,e.g.aconstantvaluethatyoutypeintotheconditionoraconstantvaluethatyouselectfromalistofvalues.
Wedonotdiscusscomplexconditionsanyfurtherinthisdocument. Forafull
descriptionseeApplying Complex Conditions on QueriesintheBusinessObjectsUser Guide (page 91).
Modifying a Condition
Onceyouhaveappliedaconditiononanobjectinaquery,youcanmodifyitor
removeit.
Changing the Values in a Condition
Ifyouwanttochangethevaluesto beretrievedforaparticularobject:
IntheConditions boxofthe QueryPanel,clickthevalue(s)thatappear(s)ontheright-handsideofthecondition.TheClassesand Objects box becomesthe
Operands boxandnowliststhevarioustypesofoperandthatcan beapplied.
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DoubleclicktheShow list of valuesoperand.ThepossiblevaluesfortheobjectappearintheListofValuesdialogue box (see Figure 7).
SelectthevalueorvaluesyouwantfromthelistasdescribedaboveinApplying Your Own Simple Condition.
Whenyouhaveselectedthevaluesyouwant,clicktheOK button youare
returnedtothe QueryPanel.YouwillnoticethattheConditions boxnowshowsyourmodifiedcondition.
Removing a Condition
Toremoveacondition,clicktheconditionsiconintheConditions box,thenpresstheDeletekey.
Groups of Conditions
Simpleorcomplexconditionsmayalsoinvolvetheneedtogroupseveralconditions
togetherinordertoseekouttheinformationyouneed.Thismayalsorequirethe useofbothlogicaloperators AND and OR. Formoreinformationaboutgrouping
conditionsseeApplying Groups ofConditionsintheBusinessObjects User Guide(page 105).
Pre-defined Conditions
Inanyuniversetheremay bepredefinedconditionsthatwe,intheComputing
Services Department,havecreatedtosaveyoutime.Wheretheyexist,youcanapply
oneormoreoftheseconditionswhenyou buildaquery.However,youcanneither
deletepredefinedconditionsfromauniverse,norcanyouedittheirdefinition.
Toseewhatpredefinedconditionsexist (ifany)clickthefilterradio buttonatthe bottomoftheClassesand Objects boxinthe QueryPanel thisreplaces
theClassesand Objects boxwiththePredefinedConditions box.The
PredefinedConditions boxliststheavailableconditionsgroupedintoclasses,inthe
samewaythatobjectsaregroupedintoclasses.Toapplyapre-definedcondition:
Dragtherequiredpre-definedconditionintotheConditions box.
ToreturntotheClassesand Objects box,clicktheobjectsradio buttonatthe bottomofthePredefinedConditions box.
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7 Sorting Query Results
Youdeterminetheorderinwhichcolumnsofdataappearfromlefttorightacrossyourreport bythesequenceinwhichyoupositionobjectsintheResultObjects box
inthe QueryPanel.Itisalsoimportanttocontroltheorderinwhichdataappears
downacolumninyourreport.Thisisachieved bysortingonanobject.Sortingcan
bespecifiedeitherwithinorfromthe QueryPanel.
Data Type and Sort Order
Thedatayouretrieveforanobjectcan betext,numbersordates.Youcansortanytypeofdataintoascendingordescendingorder.Thefollowingtablesummarizesthe
effectofsortingeachtypeofdata:
Text Numbers Dates
Ascending Order A- Z LowesttoHighest Pasttopresent
Descending Order Z -A HighesttoLowest PresenttoPast
Applying a Sort
Thesimplestwaytoapplyasortisonanobjectinthe QueryResults boxinthe
QueryPanel.Atthesametimeyoualsospecifythesortorder. Forexample,tolist
coursesinfacultyorderintheCourseListreport,anascendingsortonthe Program
Faculty Descriptionobjectisrequired.Toapplythis:
ClicktheProgram Faculty Descriptionobjectinthe QueryResults box.
ClicktheSortbuttononthe QueryPaneltoolbar(donotconfusethiswiththeManageSorts button,whichisdescribed belowin Managing
Sorts in the Sorts Dialogue Box).Asorticonappears belowtheobject
iconinthe QueryResults box.
ThesorticonshowsthedefaultsortorderwiththeAZ legend,i.e.ascending. Italso
showsanumberthatindicatesthesortpriority.
Determining the Order of a Sort
Whenyouapplyasort, BusinessObjectsassumesthatyouwanttosortinascendingorder.Theeasiestwaytochangetheorderofasortistodoubleclickthesorticonin
the QueryResults box.Adoubleclicktoggles betweenascendinganddescending
order.ThelegendonthesorticonshowsA-ZorZ-Atoindicatetheorderofthesort.
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Sort Priority
Whensortingonmultipleobjectsthepriorityofobjectsisimportant.Priorityis
determinedsimply bythesequenceinwhichyouapplysortstoobjectsinthe Query
Results boxandisindicated bythenumberthatappearsagainsteachsorticon. Forexample,theCourseListreportwould bemoremeaningfulifitweresorted,as
follows: (1)Program Faculty Description, (2)Program Level Description, (3)Program Code.
Removing a Sort
Therearetwowaystoremoveasortfromaqueryusingthe QueryPanel:
Clickthesorticonundertheobjectinthe QueryResults boxandpresstheDeletekey.
Dragthesorticonfromtheobjectinthe QueryResults box,totheClassesandObjectslist,whereyoureleaseyourmouse button.
In bothcases,thesorticondisappearsfromtheobjectinthe QueryResults box.
Managing Sorts in the Sorts Dialogue Box
Thesortingfunctionsdescribedabovecanalso beeffectedintheSortsdialogue box(see Figure 8).Inaddition,youusethisdialogue boxtoapplytransparentsorts,i.e.
sortsonobjectsthatarenotincludedinthequery.
TodisplaytheSortsdialogue box,clicktheManage Sorts buttononthe QueryPaneltoolbar.
FordetailedinformationonusingtheSortsdialogue box,clicktheHelpbuttononthedialogue box.
Figure 8: Sorts dialogue box
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8 Managing Your Reports
Inthissectionwewillconsidervariousaspectsofmanagingyourreports,inparticular:
y Savingareportinadocument
y Openingdocumentsandreports
y Refreshingthedatainareport
Saving the Report Inside Its Document
Aswesawearlier,reportsaresavedinsidedocuments (seeSection 4, Reports andDocuments,page 5).WhenyoucreateanewreportusingtheNewReportWizard,
BusinessObjectsalsocreatesanewdocument.Tosavethedocument:
ClicktheSave buttonontheStandardtoolbar,orselecttheSavecommandontheFilemenu.
TheSave DocumentAsdialogue boxappears. Bydefault,the UserDocsfolderonyourcomputerisactiveandthedefaultfilenameis Documentn (wherenis
anumberallocatedsequentially by BusinessObjects).
Itisrecommendedthatyoutypeadifferentnameinthe FileName box
somethingmeaningfultoyouand/oryourcolleagues,e.g.Course List .
ClickSave.TheSave DocumentAsdialogue boxclosesalthoughyourreportremainsopen.Thenameyougavethedocumentnowappearsinthetitle barof
the BusinessObjectsapplicationwindow.
ThedefaultfileextensionforBusinessObjectsdocumentsis.repandthedefault
folderisyourUserDocsfolder.Normally,youshouldnotchangethesedefaults.
However,therearecircumstanceswhereyoumaywanttosavedocumentsinfolders
otherthanthe UserDocsfolder,andwithfileextensionsotherthan.rep. Forexample,
youcansaveadocumentwiththe.htmextension,whichenablesyoutopostitona
web server. Formoreinformationaboutsavingdocuments,seeSaving a Documentinthe BusinessObjectsonlinehelp.
How the Data is Stored in the Document
Whenyousavea BusinessObjectsdocumentyousavethequery,thereportdefinitionsandalsothelastsetofresultsyouobtained.Thestructurethatstoresthe
queryresultsinthedocumentisknownasthemicrocube.Youcanthinkofthe
microcubeasalocaldatabaseattachedtothedocument.
Althoughthemicrocubestoresallthedataretrieved byyourquery,youmaychoose
inyourreporttoignoresomeoftheobjects.Anynondisplayeddatais,ofcourse,stillpresentinthemicrocube.Thismeansthatyoucanusethatdatawheneveryou
likeinanotherreportinsidethesamedocument.Thisfeatureisparticularlyuseful
whenyouwanttoanalyzeasetofdata: youcananalyzethedataalongdifferent
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dimensionsindifferentreports,eachonedisplayingonlythedatathatispertinentfor
youranalysis.Analysingdataisdescribedin Section 10Analysing Data page 32.
Opening an Existing Document and Report
ThesimplestwaytoopenarecentdocumentistoselectitfromtherecentfilelistontheFile menu.Thisdisplaysuptoninerecentlyusedfiles (youcansettheactualnumberinTools | Options | General).Alternatively,youcanopenanyofyourdocumentsasfollows:
EitherselecttheOpencommandfromtheFilemenuorclicktheOpenbuttononthestandardtoolbar.The Opena Documentdialogue box
appears (see Figure 9).
Usingthe Opena Documentdialogue box,navigatetotherequiredfolder-theUserDocsfolderisthedefaultdisplay.
Clickthedocumentyourequire.Itishighlighted.ThenclicktheOpen button.
Thereportdisplayerwindowisopened.Eachreportinyourdocumentisshownasatab.Thefirstreportisopen bydefault.Toopenadifferentreport
withinthedocument,clicktheappropriatetab.
Figure 9: Open a Document dialogue box
Changing the Name of a Report
BusinessObjectsautomaticallynamesthereportswithinyourdocumenti.e.Report1,Report2 etc.Whenyouhaveadocumentthatcontainsseveralreportsyouwillfindit
usefultorenamethereportswithsomethingmoremeaningful.Yourenameareport
usingtheRenameReportdialogue box. Todisplaythis box:
DoubleclicktheReporttab
orrightclicktheReporttab andselectRenamefromthepopupmenu
orselecttheReport>Renameoptionfromthe Format menu.
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Refreshing an Existing Report
Thereareseveralwaysthatyoucanrefreshthedataassociatedwithareport,i.e.to
runyourqueryagainandobtainthelatestsetofresultsfromthedatabase:
y UsetheRefreshcommand.
y UsetheData Manager.
y UsetheQuery Panel.
y Automaticallyonopeningthedocument.
y UsingtheBroadcast Agenttoscheduletheprocessing
Wewillconsidereachoftheseproceduresintherestofthissection.
Using the Refresh Command to Refresh a Report
Openthedocument.
ClicktheRefreshbuttononthestandardtoolbar.ThisisthesameasselectingtheRefreshoptionfromthe Datamenu.
Using the Data Manager to Refresh a Report
The DataManagerisusedforvariousfunctionsoneofwhichistorefreshqueryresults. Torefreshresultsusingthe Datamanager:
Openthedocument.
SelecttheView DatacommandontheDatamenuorclicktheView
Databuttononthestandardtoolbarthe DataManagerwindowis
displayed (see Figure 10).
Inthe DataProviders boxofthe DataManagerwindow,clicktheiconofthequerythatyouwanttorun.
ClicktheRefresh buttoninthe DataManagerwindow.
Formoreinformationaboutusingvariousfunctionsofthe DataManager,e.g.
refreshingyourresultsatregularintervals,clicktheHelp buttoninthe DataManagerwindow.
Using the Query Panel to Execute a Query
Youcanexecuteaqueryfromwithinthe QueryPanel.Ifyouhave just builtanewqueryormodifiedanexistingquery,thismethodisveryconvenient.
Toexecutethequery,clicktheRunbuttonon bottomofthe QueryPanel.
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Figure 10: the Data Manager
Refresh a Report on Opening a Document
Toautomaticallyrefreshthedatawheneveryouopenadocument,youneedtoseta
BusinessObjectsoption,asfollows:
SelecttheOptionscommandonthe Toolsmenu thispopsupthe Optionsdialogue box.
ClicktheSavetab onthe Optionsdialogue box.
ChecktheRefresh Document when OpeningoptionontheSavetab.Theoptionissetforthecurrentdocumentonly.
Scheduled Processing
BusinessObjectsenablesyoutosubmitadocumentforexecutionataspecifiedtime
anddate.Thisissometimescalledbatch processing. In BusinessObjects Version 5i,
batchprocessingisoneofthefunctionsofBroadcastAgent. BroadcastAgentisdescribedlaterinBroadcast Agentpage 38.
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9 Reports - Formats andStructures
Inthisdocument,thetermformattingreferstothewaytextisdisplayedinareport -whatfontstyleisused,thefontsize,thecolour,thefontalignmentetc. Structure
referstothepositioningofdatainareport-e.g.isyourreportdatastructuredasa
tableorisitstructuredasacrosstab? The bestwaytolearnaboutformattingand
structuringistoallowtheNewReportwizardtogenerateastandard,tabularreport.
Then,usingthenumerousdifferentformatsandstructuresthatareavailable,modify
the basicreportuntilitmatchesyourrequirements.
Format Commands
Datainareportisdisplayedincells. Formattingattributesapplytoindividualcells.Soanydataappearinginareportisdisplayedwiththeformatattributesofthecellin
whichitislocated.Areportisinitiallydisplayedusingthedefaultformats.Tochangetheformats,thegeneralprocedureistoclickthecellthatyouwanttoformat -
youcanalsoselectarangeofcells.Then,applytherequiredformatcommand.
Thecommandscan befoundintheFormat menu.ShortcutstomanyoftheFormatmenucommandsarealsoavailableonanumberoftoolbarsthatareavailable.These
arenotautomaticallydisplayedinyourBusinessObjectswindow.Todisplayanyor
allofthetoolbars:
PulldowntheViewmenu.
SelecttheToolbars optionfromtheViewmenu.ThispopsuptheToolbarsdialogue boxshowingwhichtoolbarsareavailableandwhicharedisplayed.
Clicktherequiredoptions.ThetoolbarsaredisplayedandstayinyourBusinessObjectswindowfromnowon.
FormoreinformationabouttheformatcommandswhichappearintheFormat menuclicktheHelp buttonontheFormat Cellwindow.
Master/Detail Reports
Animportantalternativetothestandardtabularstructureisthemaster/detail
structure.AnexampleMaster/Detailreportisillustratedin Figure 11.Thisshowsthe
CourseListdatapresentedasaMaster/detailreport.
Master/detailreports breakdowntheoverallreportintosections.Eachsectionis
headed byadifferentvalueofthemasterobject intheexample,theProgramFaculty Descriptionisthemasterobject,sothereisasectionfor"Continuing
Education" andanothersectionfor"EducationandExtensionStudies" etc.Thedata
ineachsectionprovidesthedetailforthemastervalue intheexample,each
sectionliststhecoursesforeach Faculty.Thedetailillustratedintheexampleis
structuredasatable.However,aswewillseelater,thedetailcanalso bes hownasa
crosstab orasachart.
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Figure 11: Master/detail report
Building a Master/Detail Report
Itiseasytostructureanexisting,tablereportasamaster/detailreport. Forexample,thefollowingstepswilltransformthestructureoftheCourseListreportfroma
simpletabletoamaster/detail,asillustratedin Figure 11:
Openthereport.
Clickinsidethecolumnorrowthatcontainsthedatayouwanttouseasmasterthecellishighlighted.Intheexample,clickintheProgram Faculty
Descriptioncolumntohighlightit.
ClicktheSet as MasterbuttonontheReporttoolbarorselectthe
Set as MasteroptionfromtheFormatmenu (thisoptionisalsoavailableonthepopupmenuthatappearswhenyouclickyourright
mouse button).Thecolumnorrowofdatathatyouhighlightedisremoved
fromthetableorcrosstab. Foreachvalueofthatobject,asectioniscreated.
Eachsectioncontains:
y Amastercellthatdisplaysonevalue,e.g Program Faculty Description.
y Atablecontainingtherelateddetail.
Section
Section
MasterCellDetail displayed ina table
Section
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Multi Master/Detail Reports
Figure 12 illustratestheCourseListstructuredasamultimaster/detailreport.You
canseethattheCourseListreportnowhastwomasters thetoplevelmasteristhe
Faculty Descriptionand, beneaththat,thesecondmasteristheProgram Level. Forexample,figure 12 showsthe Dentistrycourses,firstly,atPostgraduate (Research)
level,secondly,atPostgraduate (Taught)leveland,finally,at Undergraduatelevel.
Figure 12: Multi master/detail report
Amultimaster/detailreportthathas 2 levelsofmasterisstructuredinto 2 sectionlevels.Thefirstsectionlevelcontainsonlythevaluesofthefirstlevelmaster.The
secondsectioncontainsthesecondlevelmastervaluesaswellastherelateddetail.
Thesecondsectionisrepeatedforeachvaluereportedforthetoplevelmaster.
Master 2Section
Master 2Section
Master 1Section
Faculty
Description isthe first master
Program Level isthe second master
Master 2Section
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Building a Multi Master/Detail Report
TotransformtheCourseListmaster/detailreport (asillustratedin Figure 11)intoamultimaster/detailreport (asshownin Figure 12):
Openthemaster/detailreport.
Clickinsidethecolumnorrowinthetablethatcontainsthedatayouwanttouseasthesecondmaster. Forexample,iftheexistingmasterisProgram
Faculty Description,clickProgram LevelDescriptiontomakethatobjectthesecondmaster.TheProgram LevelDescriptioncolumnishighlighted.
ClicktheSet as MasterbuttonontheReporttoolbar,orselecttheSet as MasteroptionfromtheFormat menu.Thisoptionisalsoavailableonthepopupmenuthatappearswhenyouclickyourrightmouse button.Thecolumnorrowofdatayouclickedisremoved
fromthetableorcrosstab,forexampleProgram LevelDescriptionisremovedfromthedetailtable. Foreachofitsvalues,asecondmastercellis
createdinsideanewsectionthatalsocontainstherelateddetail. Forexample,
Program LevelDescriptionnowoccupiesthesecondmastercellinanewsectionthatalsocontainsthetableofcoursecodesandcoursenames.
Formatting Report Sections
Thesimplestwaytorestructureamaster/detailreportistousetheSliceand DicePanel. Usingadraganddroptechnique,theSliceand DicePanelenablesyoutore
organisethelayoutofobjectsinyourreport,includingchangingthemasterobject(s).
TheSliceand DicePanelisdiscussedinmoredetaillaterinthisdocument (seeSlice
and Dicepage 32).
Tocontrolthehorizontalandvertical behaviourofthemaster/detailreport,suchas
insertingpage breaksortoshadesectionsofthereport,youcanusethe SectionFormatdialogue box:
Clickinsidethesectionofthemaster/detailreportthatyouwanttochange thisselectsthesectiononwhichyouwanttowork.Inthereportdisplayer
window,thesectionisdelineatedandthesectionnameisshown
SelecttheSection commandfromtheFormatmenu,ortheFormat Sectioncommandfromthepopupmenu (rightmouseclick).TheSection Format
dialogue boxappears.
FormoreinformationaboutusingtheSection Formatdialogue box,clicktheHelp buttoninsidethedialogue box.
Crosstab Reports
Inacrosstab report,dataisdisplayedinamatrix.Therowsandcolumnsofthematrix
representdimensionobjects.Thecellsofthematrix,which BusinessObjectsrefersto
collectivelyasthebody,arepopulated bymeasureobjects. Inareport,these
measuresaredynamicallyrelatedtothevaluesoftherowandcolumnobjects. For
example, Figure 13 illustratesasimplecrosstab report.The bodyofthereportshowsthenumbersofregisteredundergraduatestudentsinMedicine. Therowsshowthe
variousvaluesforthe Student Type Code (i.e.theprogrammeyear).Thecolumns
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showthevariousvaluesoftheStudentProgram Code.ThevaluesforPerson Count
arerelatedto boththeyearandthecourseandprovidethebodyofthereport.
Inserting Crosstabs into Reports
TheNewReportWizardwillcreateanewreportwithacrosstab structureifyou
selecttheappropriatetemplate (seeStandardReport or Template? page 6).However,thereisanotherwizard,theNewCrosstabWizard,whichenablesyouto
insertacrosstab intoanexistingreportortoinsertanewcrosstab reportintoan
existingdocument.Inthecrosstab youcandisplayexistingdatafromthedocument
oryoucan bringnewdatatothedocument by buildinganewqueryorotherdata
provider.
Figure 13: Crosstab report
Using the New Crosstab Wizard
Herewewilldescribetheproceduretoinsertacrosstab intoareportusingexistingdatafromthedocument.Ifyouwanttoworkyourwaythroughthisprocedureusing
theabovereportasanonlineexample,youwillfirstneedtoretrievethereport,
spi_Example_Crosstab,fromtherepository. (Ifyouareunsureaboutretrieving
documentsfromtherepository,refertoSection 12, Retrieving Corporate Documents
page 42).
Openthereport,e.g.thespi_Example_CrosstabReport.
Clickinsidethereportina blankspace.
ClicktheInsert CrosstabiconontheReporttoolbarorselecttheCrosstabcommandontheInsert menu.Thecursorchangestoacrosshair.
Clickina blankpartofthereportandholddownyourmouse button. Dragthecrosshairtodrawarectanglewhereyouwantthecrosstab toappear.Afine
gray borderappearsaroundtheareayouhavedrawn.Whenyoureleaseyour
mouse button,theNewCrosstab wizardisactivated.
ARow
The Body
AColumn
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Inthefirstdialogue boxintheNewCrosstabWizard,selecttheUse existingdata from the documentoptionandclicktheBegin button.
Thenextdialog box (see Figure 14)isusedtoselectthevariables (objects)youwanttoseeinyourcrosstab.HolddowntheCtrlkeyandclickthe
variableswhosedatayouwanttodisplay,e.g.StudentProgram Code, Student
Type Code, Person Count.
ClicktheNext button.
Thefinaldialogue box,Pivot DatafortheCrosstab,isshownin Figure 15.Whenthedialogue boxisfirstdisplayed BusinessObjectswillhavestructured
yourcrosstab foryou.Here,youcanchangethestructure;youcanpivotor
rotateyourcrosstab byswitchingthedimensionobjects (variables)from
columnstorowsorviceversa.
InthePivot Datadialogue box,thecolumns,rowsand bodyaredepictedasfolders.Youmoveavariableintheappropriatefolderbysimpledragand
drop.Whenyouarehappywiththestructure,clicktheFinish button.
Fi ure 15: New Crosstab Wizard ivot data
Figure 14: New Crosstab Wizard - select the variables
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Forexample,toproducetheExampleCrosstab report,thereshould beone
column StudentProgram Code. Thereshould beonerow Student Type
Code. Person Countshouldformthe bodyofthecrosstab.
Changing the Structure of a Crosstab Report
Aswiththemaster/detailreport,thesimplestwaytore -structureanexistingcrosstabreportistousetheSliceand DicePanel. Usingadraganddroptechnique,theSlice
and DicePanelenablesyoutoreorganisethelayoutofobjectsinyourreport,such
asmovingthevariablesintherow(s)andcolumn(s).TheSliceand DicePanelis
discussedinmoredetaillaterinthisdocument (seeSlice and Dicepage 32).
Charts and Graphs
Youcaninsertachartorgraphinareport.Inthechartyoucandisplayexistingdata
fromthedocument.So,forexample,yourreportcoulddisplaythesamesetofdatainatableandalsoinagraphicalform. BusinessObjectsprovidesawizardtofacilitate
thecreationof Charts-theNewChartWizard.
Using the New Chart Wizard
Theproceduretoinsertachartinareport,usingexistingdatafromthedocument,isbrieflydescribed below:
Clickinsidea blankspaceinthereport.
ClicktheInsert Chart buttonontheReporttoolbarorselecttheChart optionfromtheInsertmenu. Thecursorchangestoacrosshair.
Clickina blankpartofthereportandholddownyourmouse button. Dragthe
crosshairtodrawtheareawherethenewchartwillappear.Afinegrayborderappearsaroundtherectangleyouhavedrawn.Whenyoureleaseyour
mouse button,theNewChartwizardisactivated (see Figure 16).
Figure 16: New Chart Wizard
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Inthewizarddialogue box,clickthefirstoption , Use existing data from thedocument,thenclicktheBegin button.
Thenextstepistospecifythedatathatyouwanttodisplayinthenewchart.Alistofvariables,i.e.theobjectsselectedinyourquery,ispoppedupinside
thedialogue box.HolddowntheCtrlkeyandclickthevariablesthatyou
wanttodisplay.
Youmustnowspecifythechartstyleyouwant:
Togenerateadefaultchart,whichdisplaystheselectedvariablesinthemost
logicalchartstyle,checktheGenerate a default chartoptionwhichisnowdisplayedinthedialogue box.TheNextbutton becomestheFinishbutton.
ClicktheFinish buttontodisplaythechartintheareayoudrew.
Toselectacharttypeandstyle,leavetheGenerate a default chartoptionuncheckedandclicktheNext button.TheChartAutoFormatdialogue boxappears (see Figure 17).TheChartAutoFormatdialogue boxdisplaysalistof
availablecharttypes.
Clickacharttypetoselectit theappropriatestylesaredisplayedasicons
alongside. Clickastyletoselectit.
ClicktheFinishbuttontodisplaythechartintheareayoudrew.
Figure 17: Chart Auto format dialogue box
Using the Report Manager Window
ReportManagerenablesyoutomanagevariousaspectsofyourreport-youcan
controlallthevariablesinyourreport,workonthestructureandformattingofreport
componentsandnavigatefromsectiontosectionorreporttoreport.
ToopentheReportManagerwindow:
EitherclicktheReport Managericononthestandardtoolbar
OrselectReport ManageroptionfromtheViewmenu.
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WhentheReportManagerwindowopens,itisdockedontheleft-handsideofyourreportwindow.Ifyouwish,youcanundocktheReportManagerwindow
anddragittoanyotherconvenientlocationonyourscreen.Holddownthe
Ctrl keywhilemovingtheReportManagerwindowtopreventitfrom
docking.
Report Manager Data TabThe Datatab isusedtomanagethevariablesinyourreport.Itcontainsalistofthe
variablesandformulasinyourdocument.Youcandragvariablesfromthislistand
dropthemdirectlyintothereportwindowtoconstructoredittablesandother
components.Youcanalsocreatenewvariablesoreditexistingvariables.
Youcan bringnewdataintoyourreportdirectlyfromtheReportManagerwindow.Youcaneditthecurrentqueryorsetupanotherone.Simplyright-clickonafolderor
variableandchoosetheappropriateoptionfromthemenu.
Youcanviewthelistintwodifferentways byclickingtheappropriateradiocontrolbuttonatthefootoftheReportManagerWindow:
y
Inalphabeticalorder: inthisview,allthevariablesinthedocumentarelistedinalphabeticalorderwiththevariablesinthe Variablesfolderandthe
formulasinthe Formulasfolder.
y Byquery: inthisviewthevariablesaregroupedintothequeriesfromwhichtheywerereturned.
Report Manager Map Tab
TheMaptab isusedtomanagethestructureofyourdocument.TwoviewsofthestructureareavailableintheMaptab.Youcantogglethetwoviews byclickingthe
appropriateradiocontrol buttonatthefootoftheReportManagerWindow:
y Navigation View: displaysalistofallthereportsinthe BusinessObjectsdocument. Forthereportcurrentlydisplayedonyourscreenthesectionnames
arealsodisplayed.Youusethisviewtogofromreporttoreportandfrom
sectiontosectionwithinareport.
y Structure View: displaysalistofallthecomponentsintheselectedreport.Eachreportcomponent (header,section,cell,table,chartetc.)isrepresented
byaniconandaname.Thenameofcomponentshiddeninthereportare
displayedinitalics. WhenyouclickonaniconintheReportManagerwindow,thecorrespondingcomponentisdisplayedinthemainreport
window.Youcanrearrangethecomponentsinthereport bydraggingand
droppingthemfromonepositiontoanotherinthislist.Youcanalsoworkon
theformattingofthedifferentreportcomponentsandon breaks,sortsand
filters.Right-clickonaniconinthelistandchoosetheappropriateoption
fromthemenu.
Building Reports: Further Information
IntheBusinessObjects User Guide therearevariouschaptersdealingwithreports.Thefollowing,inparticular,arerecommended:-
Chapter9 Report BasicsandReportManager
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Chapter10 DisplayingDatainTables
Chapter11 Master/DetailReports
Chapter12 Organizing DatainReports
Chapter17 CreatingCharts
Chapter18 FormattingCharts
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10 Analysing Data - Slice-and-Dice
AnalysisT
echniquesIn BusinessObjectsyoucananalysethedatayouhaveretrievedwithyourquery by
lookingatitfromdifferentviewpointsandondifferentlevelsofdetail. Becauseof
thewaythedataisstoredinitsownmicrocube (seeSection 8, How the Data isStored in the Documentpage 18)thiskindofanalysisisveryquickmuchquicker
than buildingandrunninganotherreport.Twomultidimensionalanalysistechniques
can beused:
y Slice-and-dice
y Drilling
Inthissectionwewilldiscusssomeofthe basicfeaturesofworkinginsliceand
dicemode. DrillingisdiscussedindetailinSection 11,Analysing Data - Drilling.
Slice and Dice
Sliceanddice,sometimesreferredtoasrotation,enablesyoutoeasilyswitchthepositionofdatainareport. Forexample,in acrosstab report,youcanveryeasily
movedatafromcolumnstorowsandvice versa. Sliceanddiceoperationsare
carriedoutusingtheSliceand DicePanel(see Figure 18).Thispopupwindowprovidesagraphicalrepresentationofthestructureofthereportyouareworkingon.
Differenticonsrepresentthedatayoucanuse.Youcanstructureyourreport by
dragginganddroppingtheiconsintothepositionyouwant.
Figure 18: Slice and Dice Panel
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The Slice and Dice Panel
TodisplaytheSliceand DicePanel,selecttheSlice and DicecommandontheAnalysismenu,orclicktheSlice and Dice buttonontheStandardtoolbar.
IntheSliceand DicePanelyoucan:
y Buildorreorganizethestructureofreports.
y Displaypreviouslyundisplayeddata.
y Removedatafromthereport.
Section Box
TheSection boxintheSliceand DicePanelisused byMaster/Detailreports.Ifthesection boxisnotdisplayedintheSliceand DicePanel,clicktheShow/Hide
Section buttonontheSliceand DicePaneltoolbartodisplayit.IfyoudroptheiconofanobjectintotheSection box,thatobject becomesamaster.Thus,youcoulduse
theSliceand DicePaneltostructureanexistingtabularreportasaMaster/Detailreport,asfollows:
Youcanuseanobjectthatisalreadydisplayedinthereport.Todothis,draganiconfromthe BlockStructure box,dropitintheSection box.
Youcanalsousedatathatisnotyetdisplayedinthereport.Todothis,draganiconfromtheAvailable Variableslist,dropitintheSection box.
Inasimilarwayyoucanaddnewmasters,say,tocreateamultimaster/detailreport.YoucanalsoremoveamastertochangeaMaster/Detailreporttoastandard,table
report.Toremoveamaster:
ClicktheiconofthemasterintheSection boxtoselectit.
PresstheDeletekey,theiconisremovedfromtheSection box.
Onceyouarehappywithmasterobject(s)shownintheSection box,clicktheApply button.Yourreportwill beredrawn,althoughtheSliceand DicePanelwillremaindisplayedontop.
Block Structure Box
The BlockStructure boxintheSliceand DicePanelshowsaniconforeachobjectthatappearsinatable,crosstab orchart.Theseiconscan bemoved, bydraganddrop,
torepositiontheminyourreport. Objectscan beaddedorremovedtoorfroma block
structureinthesamewayastheycanintheSection box.
The BlockStructure boxisparticularlyusefulformanipulatingcrosstab reports
thematrixstructureisindicated byhorizontalandverticaldottedlines.Iconsshown
abovethedottedlinesignifyobjectsusedtoprovidetheroworXaxisvaluesinthecrosstab.Icons belowleftsignifytheobjectsthatprovidethecolumnorYaxisvalues
ofthecrosstab.Icons belowrightsignifytheobjectsthatappearinthe bodyofthe
crosstab. Forexample,in Figure 18 the BlockStructure boxshowsthestructurethat
underliesthecrosstab reportshownin Figure 13.TheStudent Type Codeobject
providesthevaluesfortherowwhiletheStudentProgram Codeobjectprovidesthe
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valuesforthecolumnofthecrosstab.Thevaluesdisplayedinthe bodyofthe
crosstab aresignifiedinthe BlockStructure box bythePerson Counticon.
More Information about Slice and Dice
FormoreinformationonusingtheSliceand DicePaneltoanalyseyourdata,seeSliceandDice Panelin Business ObjectsHelp.
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11 Analysing Data - Drilling
Drillingisadecidedlyinteractivetechniquethatenablesyoutoanalysethedatainyourreportondifferentlevelsofdetail.Drilling down meansdisplaying
progressivelymoredetaileddata.Drilling upmeansyoudisplaydataatalessdetailed
level. Drillingupanddrillingdownarepossible becauseyourdataisstructuredintoa
hierarchy.
Drillingis bestillustrated bytryingitforyourself online.Ifyouareinterestedinworkingindrillmode,anexamplereportsuitablefordrillingcan beretrievedfrom
therepository.Ifyouareunsureaboutretrievingadocumentfromtherepository,the
procedureisdiscussedalittlelaterinthisdocumentrefertoSection 12,Retrieving
Documents from the Repository page 42.
The Drill Example
Thespi_Example_Drill_Downdocumentcontainsonereport,Reg Stats.Whenyouopenthereportitsimplyshowsthenumbersofstudentsregisteredineachacademic
year (termcode)since 1991-92.
Toenterdrillmode,clickthe DrillicononthestandardtoolbarorselecttheDrill optionfromtheAnalysismenu.
Thiswillopenanewreport,Reg Stats (1),withitsownseparatetab.Youwillusethis
newreportfordrilling. Themagnifyingglassiconinthereporttab indicatesyouareindrillmode.
Youcandrilldownusingthehierarchythathas been builtintothisreport. Atextnoteinthedocumentitselfoutlinesthehierarchy.
Drilling Down
Say,forexample,yourattentionisdrawntothenumberofstudentsregisteredinyear1999-2000,drillingdowntothefirstlevelofdetailenablesyoutofindoutthe
numbersofstudentsineach Faculty.Todothat:
Placeyourmousepointerontheparticularvalueinquestion,year199900.Yourmousepointerchangestoamagnifyingglasscontainingaplus (+)sign.
Thissignifiesthatyoucandrilldown.Atooltipwillindicatethedimension
objectthatisdownonelevel inthehierarchy,in thisexamplethenextlevel
downisStudent Faculty Code.
Todrilldown,doubleclickyourmouse.Alternatively,rightclickthemousetodisplayapopupmenu,then,selecttheDrill Downoption.Twothingshappen. Firstly,thetableinthereportchangestoshowafaculty breakdownof
thetotalnumberofstudentsregisteredinyear1999-2000.Secondly,the Drill
toolbarisdisplayed.
Theselectedvalue,year199900 inourexample,isplacedintothe Drilltoolbar.Eachtimeyoudrilldown,thevalueonwhichyouhavedrilledis
movedtothe Drilltoolbarandthedatainthetableisfilteredaccordingly.You
canexamineanyofthevaluesforthesedimensionobjects byclickingthe
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downarrowtotherightofthevalueinthe Drilltoolbar.Thisdragsdownalist
fromwhichyoucanselectanewvalue.Therelatedtablewillchange
automatically.
Youcancontinuedrillingdowninthiswayuntiltheplus (+)changestoaminus (-)signinyourmagnifyingglass.Thisindicatesthatyouhavereached
thelowestlevelinthehierarchyandyoucandrilldownnofurther.
Drilling Up
Drillinguptakesyou backtoalessdetailedlevelofanalysis,e.g.youcouldlookat
thenumberofstudentsonagivenprogramme,then,drilluptofindthetotalnumber
inthe Faculty:
Placeyourmousepointeronaparticularvalueofadimensionobject.
Ifthemagnifyingglassisshowingaminus (-)sign,then,thetooltipwillindicatethenextlevelupinthehierarchy.Todrillup,doubleclickyour
mouse
Alternatively,rightclickthemousetodisplayapopupmenu,then,selecttheDrill Upoption.
Asyoudrillupthrougheachlevelinthehierarchy,theappropriatedimensionobjectsdisappearfromthe Drilltoolbar.
Drill By
Drill Byallowsyoutogostraighttoaparticularlevelinthehierarchywithouthavingtovisiteachlevelinturn:
Placeyourmousepointeronaparticularvalueofadimensionobject.
Rightclickthemousetodisplaythepopupmenu,then,selecttheDrill Byoption.
Thispopsupalistofthedimensionobjectsinthehierarchy.Selectthedimensionyouwant.Youareimmediatelytakentothatlevel.
Hierarchies
Inthespi_Example_Drill_Downreportthedimensionobjectsthatprovidethe
differentlevelsofanalysisarestructuredintheStudent DataHierarchy.Thishierarchywas builtintothereport.Ifyouwanttocreateareportthatenablesdrilling
youwillneedtoconsiderhowyourdimensionobjectsarepositionedhierarchically.
Youcanusethedefaulthierarchythatisimpliedfromthestructureoftheuniverse
youareusing butitismorelikelythatyouwillwantto buildyourownhierarchy.YoudothiswiththeHierarchyEditor:
TostarttheHierarchyEditor,selecttheHierarchiesoptionfromtheAnalysismenu.Thisallowsyoutocreateyourownhierarchyoramendthedefault
hierarchyasappropriate. Fordetailedinformationaboutitsuse,clicktheHelpbuttonintheHierarchyEditorwindow
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Drill Through
Ifthelowestlevelofdetailyouneedisnotcurrentlyavailableinthereport,youcan
drillthroughtothedatabasedirectlyandgetthedatayouneed.Youdonothaveto
editthequeryinthe QueryPanel.
Placeyourmousepointeronaparticularvalueofadimensionobjectandrightclickthemousetodisplaythepopupmenu.
FromthepopupmenuselecttheDrill Throughoption.The DrillThroughdialogue boxpopsup.Hereyoucanselectadimensionthatyoucandrill
across.
TheHelp buttoninthisdialogue boxprovidesdetailedinstructionsaboutitsuse.
Snapshots
Youmaywanttokeeptrackofthedifferentlevelsofanalysisthatyourevealasyoudrillintoyourdata.Youcandothis bytakingasnapshotofthereportatanystage.
Whenyoutakeasnapshot, BusinessObjectscreatesacopyofthereportinanewtab
insidethedocument.
Totakeasnapshot,selecttheSnapshotoptionontheAnalysismenu.
More Information about Drilling
Formoreinformationaboutanalysingyourdata bydrilling,seeChapter20,AnalysingDatain DrillMode,inBusinessObjects User Guide.
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12 Broadcast Agent
The Functions of Broadcast Agent
BroadcastAgentisusedtoperformthefollowingfunctions:
y ScheduledProcessing (batchprocessing)youcanrefreshadocumentataspecifieddate/time.Thiscan beeitheraoneoffprocessoraprocessto berepeatedatthesametimeeveryday,week,monthetc.
y Sendprocesseddocumenttoyourself,otherusersorgroupsofusers.
y Printthereportsinthedocument.
y SendthedocumenttothePCWeb server. BroadcastAgentsavesthedocumentinHypertextMarkupLanguage (HTML)format,thenpostsittothePCWeb
server.
Wewillconsiderthetoptwofunctionsfromthislistindetailinthissectionofthe
document. Formoreinformationabouttheotherfunctions,clicktheHelp buttononthe BroadcastAgentwindow.
Advantages of Scheduled Processing
Scheduledprocessingenablesyourreportsto beexecutedwhileleavingBusinessObjectsfreetogetonwithotherthings.Evenifyouhaveloggedoutof
BusinessObjectsandturnedoffyourcomputer,thescheduledexecutionofyour
reportscanstilltakeplace.Thereareseveraladvantagestothiswayofworking. For
example,youcouldscheduleadocumentforexecutionovernightatsometimeafter
otherovernight jobshaveupdatedthedatabase.Whenyouloginto BusinessObjects
nextday,yourreportwillhave beenrefreshedandtheresultswill bewaitingforyou.Thescheduledprocessingofdocuments,therefore,cansaveyoutime.Itcanalsohelp
reducetrafficonthenetworkbyrunningreportsatoffpeaktimeswhich,ofcourse,
benefitseveryone.
Using Broadcast Agent for ScheduledProcessing
Whilethedocumentisopen,selectthe
Send To>Broadcast
AgentcommandfromtheFilemenu,orclicktheSend to Broadcast
Agent buttononthe DocumentExchangetoolbar.ThispopsuptheSend DocumentTo BroadcastAgentServerdialogue box.Thereare
severaltabsonthe BroadcastAgentdialogue box.
StartwiththeGeneraltab. OntheGeneraltab: -
SelecttheBCagentserverintheServerlist box.
LeavethePriorityasNormal.
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Typeinan (optional)identifyingtitleforthedocumentto beused byBroadcastAgent.
OntheActionstab:-
Selecttheappropriateaction(s),i.e.Refresh Document
ClicktheAddbutton
OntheSchedulingtab,clicktheChange buttoninordertoenterthefrequencyandthestartdate/timefortheprocessing.
Onthe Distributiontab,clicktheDistribute via the Repositoryoption:
Ifyouwanttosendadocumenttootherusers,clicktheTo buttonintheSendTo boxtheSelect Usersdialogue boxpopsup.
IntheSelect Usersdialogue box,holddowntheCtrlkeyandclickthe
usersyouwant,thenclicktheOK button.Youreturntothe BroadcastAgentwindow.
IfyouclicktheAdd my Name to the Listoption,yourusericonappearsintheSendto box.
Finally,clicktheOK button.Thedocumentissubmittedto BroadcastAgentforscheduledprocessing.
FormoreinformationabouttheseandotherBroadcastAgentoptions,clicktheHelpbuttonontheappropriatetab ontheSend Documentto BroadcastAgentwindow.
Retrieving Processed Documents fromBroadcast Agent
Onceadocumenthas beenprocessed, BroadcastAgentnotifiestheuserswhowerenominatedwhenthedocumentwassubmitted.Ifyouareoneofthoseusers,youcan
nowretrievetheprocesseddocument.However,to benotifiedthatyouhave
documentstoretrievefrom BroadcastAgent,youmustfirstsetanoptionin
BusinessObjects.
Retrieving Documents Option Set Up
Selectthe OptionscommandfromtheToolsmenu thispopsuptheOptionsdialogue box.
IntheGeneraltab oftheOptionsdialogue box,checkNotify Document
Reception,thenclicktheOK button. Fromnowon,apopupwindowwillappearwhenyouloginto BusinessObjectstonotifyyouthatyouhave
documentstoretrieve.
Retrieving Documents Procedure
Youretrievethedocument(s) byclickingtheRetrieve fromBroadcast Agent buttononthe DocumentExchangetoolbar,orbyselectingtheRetrieve From>Broadcast Agentcommandfromthe
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Filemenu theRetrievedialogue boxappears.
IntheRetrievewindow,highlightthedocument(s)youwanttoretrieve byclickingthem.ClicktheRetrieve button.
Documentsareretrieved bydefaulttoyourUserDocsfolder.Tospecifyadifferentfolder,right-clicktheselecteddocumentthenselecttheRetrieveInto
commandonthepopupmenuthatappears.
Formoreinformationaboutretrievingdocuments,clicktheHelp buttonontheRetrievedialogue box.
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13 Exchanging Documents
Sending Documents to AnotherU
ser SelecttheSend To>UsercommandfromtheFilemenuorclicktheSend
To Userbuttononthe DocumentExchangetoolbar.TheSenddialogue boxappears (see Figure 19).
Figure 19: Send to User dialogue box
ClicktheTo button.TheSelect Usersdialogue boxthatappears.Selecttheusersyouwanttosenddocumentsto.HolddowntheCtrlkeytoselectmore
thanoneuser.Whenallusersareselected,clicktheADD buttontoaddthenamestothe DocumentsRecipientslist. Then,clickOK youreturntotheSenddialogue box.Theiconsoftheusersyouhaveselectedappearinthe
Send to box.
ClicktheAdd buttontopopupalistofopendocumentsintheAddDocumentsdialogue box.
Selectthedocument(s)youwanttosend,thenclickOK.YoureturntotheSenddialogue boxandtheselecteddocument(s)appear(s)inthe Documents
toSend box.
IftheAdd Documentsdialogue boxdidnotlistthedocumentsyouwantto
send,clicktheBrowse button.
Selectthedocumentsyouwanttosendinthedialogue boxthatappears,thenclicktheOKbutton.YoureturntotheSenddialogue box.
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Toremoveadocumentfromthe DocumentstoSendlist,highlightthedocumentandclicktheRemovebutton.
Tosendthelisteddocument(s),clicktheSend button.
Retrieving Documents from AnotherUserTo benotifiedthatyouhavedocumentstoretrievefromanotheruser(orfromBroadcastAgent),youmustfirstsettheNotifyDocumentReceptionoption (see
Retrieving Documents OptionSet Up,page 39). Onceyouhavesetthisoption,a
popupwindowwillappearwhenyouloginto BusinessObjectstoinformyouifyou
havedocumentstoretrieve.Toretrievedocuments:
SelecttheRetrieve From>Userscommandfrom the Filemenuorclickthe
Retrieve From Users buttononthe DocumentExchangetoolbar.TheRetrievedialogue boxappearslistinganydocumentsthathave beensentto
you.
Selectadocumenttoreceive.HolddowntheCtrlkeytoselectmorethanone
document.
ClicktheRetrieve button. Bydefaultthedocumentissavedinyourdefaultdirectory,i.e.inthefoldershownintheSaveIn box.
Retrieving Corporate Documents from theRepository
ComputingServices Departmentwillmakedocumentssuchasstandardreportsavailabletoallusersfromtimetotime byplacingtheminacentralrepository.Ifyou
wishtoaccesssuchdocumentsyouwillneedtoretrievethemfromtherepository,as
follows:
Youretrievethedocument(s) byclickingtheRetrieve from CorporateDocuments buttononthe DocumentExchangetoolbarbyselectingtheRetrieve From> Corporate Documents commandfromtheFilemenutheRetrievedialogue boxappearsshowingalistofdocumentsinthe
repository (see Figure 20).
IntheRetrievedialogue box,highlightthedocument(s)youwanttoretrievebyclickingit.Then,clicktheRetrieve button.
Documentsareretrieved bydefaulttoyourUserDocsfolder.Tospecifyadifferentfolder,right-clicktheselecteddocumentthenselecttheRetrieveInto
commandonthepopupmenuthatappears.
FormoreinformationaboutusingtheRetrievedialogue box,clicktheHelpbutton.
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Figure 20:Retrieve From Corporate Documents dialogue box
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14 Exchanging Data with OtherApplications
Youcanusedatafrom BusinessObjectsdocumentsinotherapplications.Thedatayoucanusecorrespondstothecompletesetofresultsobtained byaqueryorother
dataprovider.Youcannotusesubsetsofdata,suchas blocks,columnsetc.
Twomethodsarerecommended.YoucancopyandpastedatausingtheWindowsclipboardand DDE (Dynamic DataExchange),oryoucanexportdatatoafileusing
anyoneofanumberoffileformats.Wewilldescribe boththeseprocedureshere.
Dynamic Data Exchange
Using BusinessObjectsdatainotherapplicationsisenabled by DDE. DDEensuresthatthedatainthetargetapplicationisautomaticallyupdatedifitchangesin
BusinessObjects. Forexample,youcanpaste BusinessObjectsdataintoaMicrosoftExcelworkbookcreatingapermanentlinkto BusinessObjects.Whenyourefresh
yourBusinessObjectsdocument,thedatainyourExcelworkbookisautomatically
updated. (Note: youcanalsopaste BusinessObjectsdataintoanapplicationwithout
the DDElink).
TransferringdatatootherapplicationsisoneofthefunctionsofDataManager.Tostartthe DataManager:
Openthereportwhosedatayouwanttouse.
SelecttheViewcommandonthe DatamenuorclicktheView Databuttononthestandardtoolbarthe DataManagerwindowis
displayed (see Figure 10).
ClicktheExport buttononthe DataManagerwindow.TheExporttoExternalFormatdialogue boxappears.
IntheExporttoExternal Formatdialogue box,clicktheCopy to DDEoption.ClicktheOK button.Thedialogue boxcloses.Theresultsofthereportsqueryorotherdataproviderarecopiedtotheclipboard.Youcannowpaste
theminthetargetapplication.
Inyourtargetapplication,usethePaste Specialfacilityofthetargetapplicationtopastethequeryresults.InMicrosoftExcelthisoptionisonthe
EditmenuandwhenselectedwillpopuptheExcelPasteSpecialdialoguebox.Inthedialogue box,clickonthePaste Linkoption. FormoreinformationaboutthePaste Specialoption,seetheappropriateExcelHelp
text.
Alternatively,ifyoudonotwishtomaintainalinkfromthetargetapplication
backto BusinessObjects,usethePasteoptiontopastethecontentsoftheclipboardintoyourdocument.Thisisastraightforwardcopyofqueryresults,
chartsorreportswithnolinking.
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Exporting Data in Files
Youcanexportdatafrom BusinessObjectsasafile.Severaldifferentfileformatsare
available,includingthefollowing:
y Textformat Youcanopenthetextfileinmanydifferentapplications,and
onplatformsotherthanWindows (Macintosh, OS/2 orUNIX,forexample).Textformatincludesfileswiththe.ascextension,whichmeansthatyoucan
workwiththeexporteddatainapreviousversionofBusinessObjects.
y Spreadsheetformat Whenyouviewtheexporteddatainthespreadsheetapplication (MicrosoftExcelandLotus 123),eachvalueappearsina
separatecell.
Export to External Format
Withyourreportopen,selecttheViewcommandontheDatamenuorclicktheView Data buttononthestandardtoolbarthe DataManagerwindowisdisplayed (see Figure 10).
Inthelistofdataproviders,selectthedataprovideryouwanttoexport,e.g.aqueryonauniverse.
ClicktheExport button theExporttoExternal Formatdialog boxappears.Bydefault,thesettingsfromthelastdataexportareactive.
IntheExporttoExternal Formatdialogue box,clickthe Export to Local File
Format option,thentypethefilenamewhereyouwanttosavethedata. Ifyouomitapath, BusinessObjectswillplaceyourfileinthedefaultfolder (i.e.
UserDocs). Otherwise,youcanusetheBrowse buttontoselectanotherfolderand/orfile.
Then,usethe Formatlist boxtospecifythefiletype.Ifyouwanttousethe
datainMicrosoftWordorExcel,selecttheMicrosoft Excel (*.xls) option.Whenyouselectaformat,theappropriatefileextensionisaddedtothefile
name.
Finally,clicktheOK button. BusinessObjectsexportsyourdatatothefilewhichyoucanthenopeninyourtargetapplication.
FormoreinformationaboutusingtheExport To External Formatfunction,clicktheHelp buttoninthedialogue box.
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15 Registration
Managed Windows ServiceBusinessObjects 5iisavailableonlyontheMWS.Therefore,touseityoumust bea
registeredMWSuser. Membersofstaffcanself-registerforMWSfromany
networkedPCseetheCSD web aboutSelf-Registrationat:http://www.liv.ac.uk/CSD/pg_staff.htmlfordetails. Alternatively,registrationforms
forthispurposecan beobtainedfromtheComputingServicesHelpdesk, Brownlow
Hill Building ( 44567 oremailhelpdesk).
BusinessObjects 5i
ExistingusersoftheCISservicemustalso beregisteredtoinstallanduse
BusinessObjects.Registrationishandled bytheCSD secretaries:
ClaireRiley 43718 emailC.Riley
Lynn Deans 43719 emailL.Deans
Clare Dickinson 43717 emailclared
Registration forUse of Corporate
Information Systems FacilitiesIfyouarenotaregistereduseroftheCISserviceyoumaystilluse BusinessObjects,
providingthat:
y Youareamemberofstaff.
y YouhavecompletedtheformRegistration for use of Corporate InformationSystems (CIS) facilities.
y Youraccessisauthorisedonthisform byyourHeadofDepartment.
y Wherenecessary,youraccessisauthorisedonthisform bythedataowner.
TheformRegistration for use of Corporate Information Systems (CIS) facilities can
beobtainedonlineat:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/CSD/helpdesk/registration.html
orfromtheComputingServicesHelpdesk, BrownlowHill Building ( 44567 ore
mailhelpdesk).
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16 Installation
Youmustinstall BusinessObjects 5ionyourMWSworkstation. Beforehand,youmustinstall (ormusthavealreadyinstalled)theSQLNetsoftwareinorderto
communicatewiththe UniversitysOracle DatabaseServerandyoumustalsomap
theapplicationservertoyourS: drive.
Step 1: Mapping the S: Drive
YourS: drivemust bemappedtotheSenateapplicationserver. Ifthismappinghas
not beenalreadyeffected,youcandothiswithasimpleinstall,asfollows:
FromtheStartMenu,selectInstall > MIS > S Disk.
Step 2: Installing SQL
N
etIfyouhavenotalreadyinstalledSQLNet,thenitmust beinstalled,asfollows:
FromtheStartMenu,selectInstall > MIS > SQLNET 2.3.
Step 3: Installing BusinessObjects
Theprocedureisasfollows:
FromtheStartMenu,selectInstall > MIS > BusinessObjects 5i.