introduction to business objects 5i

8/9/2019 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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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.