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Objects Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd

Plot No: 40, Gayathrinagar, Beside Prime Hospital Lane, Maithrivanam, Ameerpet, Hyderabad -38

Index

Introduction to SAP BO

SAP BO Process Flow

Universe Design Tool

Information Design Tool

Web Intelligence Reports & WEBI Rich Client

Dash Boards

Crystal Reports

Advanced Analysis

BI Work Space

Module Library

Live Office

QAAWS

Widgets

Design Studio

SAP Lumira

Predictive Analysis

Explorer

Upgrade Manager

Lifecycle Management

SAP BO with Mobile

SAP BO with SAP BW

SAP BO with SAP HANA

SAP BO Server & Client Tools Installation

SAP BO Security




Plot No: 40, Gayathrinagar, Beside Prime Hospital Lane, Maithrivanam, Ameerpet, Hyderabad -38 Phone:+91-40-40170187 Website: www.objectscs.com

SAP BusinessObjects is an enterprise software company, specializing in business

intelligence. BusinessObjects was acquired in 2007 by SAP AG a German company.

SAP BO

SAP Business Objects software helps organisations gain better insight into their business,

improving decision-making and enterprise performance.

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) platform supports the entire range of end-

user reporting, query and analysis, and performance management uses.

Understanding this infrastructure will help you successfully administer SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) platform.

By understanding Business Intelligence (BI), you will better comprehend how SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) solutions address the BI product spectrum.

Gartner Inc., a research and advisory firm that helps clients leverage technology, coined the

term “Business Intelligence” in the late 1980s.

Business Intelligence, as defined by Gartner, is an iterative user-centered process thatincludes accessing and exploring information, analyzing this information, and developing

insights and understanding that lead to improved and informed decision making.

BI usage crosses the spectrum of users, both internally and externally throughout any

enterprise, and includes rank-and-file workers, executives, analysts, and knowledge

workers.

Examples of internal and external BI applications include:

• Generating a class list for a training session

• Creating an employee performance review

• Scheduling in a health care setting

• Manufacturing computer parts

Business Intelligence can help organizations to:

• Identify and track key performance metrics against their direct competitors and the

overall market

• Improve customer service and target high yield accounts

• Streamline operations and improve supplier and warehouse operations

• Identify successful marketing campaigns

• Improve response time to market trends and customer requests

• Decrease query and reporting time

• Reduce cost and anxiety over compliance

• Deliver true cost of goods and services

• Reduce strain on IT departments

Business Intelligence provides insights that enable business managers to make tactical

decisions, as well as to establish, modify, or tune business strategies and processes in order

to gain competitive advantage and improve business operations and profitability.

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform supports a range of performance

http://www.objectscs.com/








management (Dashboard and Analytics), reporting, querying, and analysis applications.

It also provides an industry-standard, proven architecture and platform-support for

semantic layers, data integration, and security.

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform provides for web-based

administration and configuration of the entire system.

Benefits of Business Intelligence Business Intelligence can help organizations to:

• Identify and track key performance metrics against their direct competitors and the

overall market

• Improve customer service and target high yield accounts

• Streamline operations and improve supplier and warehouse operations

• Identify successful marketing campaigns

• Improve response time to market trends and customer requests

• Decrease query and reporting time• Reduce cost and anxiety over compliance

• Deliver true cost of goods and services

• Reduce strain on IT departments

Business Intelligence provides insights that enable business managers to make tactical

decisions, as well as to establish, modify, or tune business strategies and processes in order

to gain competitive advantage and improve business operations and profitability.

Describing SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform supports a range of performance

management (Dashboard and Analytics), reporting, querying, and analysis applications.

It also provides an industry-standard, proven architecture and platform-support forsemantic layers, data integration, and security.

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform provides for web-based

administration and configuration of the entire system.









Architecture in SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform

1) SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform infrastructure

The infrastructure in SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform provides the

basic messaging mechanism needed for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

platform components to communicate with one another.

The Infrastructure is a series of services that are designed to communicate via CORBA

(Common Object Request Broker Architecture), which runs over TCP/IP.

Note: The Infrastructure establishes connections between clients and servers.

2) SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform service groups andservers

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform can be installed on a single machine,

spread across different machines in an intranet, or separated over a wide area network

(WAN).

Architecture

The architecture of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform is designedto meet the needs of virtually any BI deployment, and is flexible enough to grow

from several users with a single tool, to tens of thousands of users with multiple

tools and interfaces.

Developers can integrate SAP BusinessObjects BI platform into your

organization's other technology systems by using web services, Java, or .NET

application programming interfaces (APIs).









Figure 4: Architecture

Tiers

SAP BusinessObject Business Intelligence platform can be thought of as a series of

conceptual tiers:

Client

Figure 5: Client









Group Tool

BI ClientAnalysis, edition for MS Office (Excel and PPT plugin)

SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office, is a plugin

that integrates into Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint to be

used as an online analytical processing (OLAP) tool. It provides accessto a range of OLAP data sources, and also allows users to combine

information from different systems within a single workspace.

Analysis, edition for OLAP (web client)

SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for OLAP (formerly Voyager) is

an online analytical processing (OLAP) tool for working with multi-

dimensional data. It provides access

to a range of OLAP data sources, and can also combine information

from different OLAP data sources within a single workspace.

BI launch pad (web client) BI launch pad (formerly InfoView) is the main web interface for

business users to view, schedule, and keep track of published

business intelligence (BI) documents.








Group Tool

BI launch pad can access, interact with, and export, any

type of business intelligence including reports, analytics, dashboards,scorecards, and strategy maps. It simplifies information delivery and

delivers secure access to BI content and tools, such as BI workspaces,

SAP BusinessObjects

Web Intelligence, SAP BusinessObjects Explorer, and SAP

BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for OLAP.

BI workspaces (web client)

BI workspaces (formerly Dashboard Builder) helps you track your

business activities and performance using modules (templates for data)

and Business Intelligence (BI) workspaces (for viewing data in one or

more modules). Modules and BI workspaces provide information neededto adjust business rules as conditions change. It helps you track and

analyze

key business data. It also supports group decision-making and analysis

via integrated collaboration and workflow capabilities. BI workspaces

enables you to organize content in pages, create mash ups of Business

Intelligence (BI) content, and present the information in a way that is

tailored to the role of the user, either for personal use or for sharing with

others

Business View Manager

Business View Manager allows users to build semantic layer objects that

simplify underlying database complexity. Business View Manager can

create data connections, dynamic data connections, data foundations,

business elements, business views, and relational views. It also allows

detailed column and row-level security to be set for the objects in

a report. Designers can build connections to multiple data sources, join

tables, alias field names, create calculated fields, and then use the

simplified structure as a Business View. Report designers and users can

then use the business view as the basis for their Crystal reports, rather

than building their own queries from the data directly.

Crystal Reports 2011

SAP Crystal Reports 2011 is a Windows-based report design tool used

to create powerful reports that can be published in the SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform.

Crystal Reports for Enterprise

SAP Crystal Reports for Enterprise is a Java-based report design tool

used to create and integrate powerful reports in the SAP





Group Tool

Crystal Reports Viewer 2011 SAP Crystal Reports Viewer 2011 is a Java-based tool to view

Crystal reports.

Dashboards

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards (formerly Xcelsius) is a tool for data

visualization and the creation of dynamic, interactive dashboards. Data

can be updated dynamically from the SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence platform, and exported to a variety of different formats that

can be viewed by data consumers in standard formats, such as

PowerPoint, PDF, or Flash.

Explorer

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is an information-discovery tool that

empowers everyone in an organization with fast, easy access to

information, so they can explore data, spark new ideas, and find new

insights.

Information Design Tool

The Information Design Tool is an SAP BusinessObjects metadata

design environment that enables a designer to extract, define, and

manipulate metadata from relational and OLAP sources to create and

deploy UNX universes.Live Office

SAP BusinessObjects Live Office integrates with the Microsoft Office

environment, allowing dynamically updated data to be embedded within

Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, and Word documents. In addition, you can

share your documents with others over the web for collaborative

decision-making.

Web Service Query Tool

The Web Service Query Tool (formerly Query as a Web Service) allows

Business Intelligence (BI) queries to be used in custom webapplications. Business users create their own queries from a universe

connection and publish them as web services so they can be

incorporated into client applications.


The Universe Design Tool (formerly Universe Designer) allows data

designers to combine data from multiple sources in a semantic layer

(UNV universe) that hides database complexity from end users. It

abstracts the complexity of data by using business rather than technical









Group Tool

Universe design tool provides a graphical interface to select and view

tables in a database. The database tables are represented as table

symbols in a schema diagram. Designers can use this interface to

manipulate tables, create joins between tables, create alias tables,

create contexts,

and solve loops in a schema. You can also create universes from

metadata sources. Universe design tool is used for the universe

generation at the end of the creation process.

Web Intelligence Desktop

SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence Desktop is an ad-hoc analysis

and reporting tool for business users with or without access to the SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform. It allows business

users to access and combine data from relational, online analytical

processing (OLAP),

spreadsheet, or text file sources, using familiar business terms in a drag-

and-drop interface.Workflows allow very broad

or very narrow questions to be analyzed, and for further questions to be

asked at any point in the analysis workflow. Web Intelligence Desktop

users can continue working with Web Intelligence document files (.wid)

even when unable to connect to a Central Management Server (CMS).

Web Intelligence (web client)

SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence is an ad-hoc analysis and

reporting tool for business users with access to the SAP BusinessObjects

Business Intelligence platform. It allows business users to access and

combine data from relational, online analytical processing (OLAP),

spreadsheet, or text file sources, using familiar business terms in a drag-

and-drop interface.Workflows allow very broad or very narrow

questions to be analyzed, and for further questions to be asked at any

point in the analysis workflow.

Widgets

SAP Widgets are mini-applications that allow easy and fast access tofrequently used functions and provide visual information from your

desktop. SAP Widgets allow

your organization to provide access to existing Business Intelligence

(BI) content on the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence









Group Tool

applications, that are registered as Extensible Business Client

Markup Language (XBCML) widgets on the SAP NetWeaverApplication Servers, as desktop widgets

Admin

ClientCentral Configuration Manager

The Central Configuration Manager (CCM) is a server troubleshooting

and node management tool provided in two forms. In a Microsoft

Windows environment, the CCM allows you to manage local and

remote servers through its graphical user interface (GUI) or from a

command line. In

a Unix environment, the CCM shell script (ccm.sh) allows you to

manage servers from the command-line. The CCM allows you to create

and configure Server Intelligence Agent (SIA) nodes and start or stop

your web application server. On Windows, it also allows you to configure

network parameters, such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption.

These parameters apply to all servers within a node. Note: Most server

management tasks are now handled through the Central Management

Console (CMC), not through the CCM. The CCM is now used for

troubleshooting and node configuration.

Central Management Console (web client).

The Central Management Console (CMC) is the main web interface to

perform administrative tasks in the SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence platform, including user, content, and server management.

It also allows you to publish and organize content, and configure

security settings.

Data Federation Administration Tool

The Data Federation Administration Tool (formerly Data Federator) is a

rich client application that offers easy-to-use features to manage your

data federation service. Tightly integrated in the SAP BusinessObjects

Business Intelligence platform, the data federation service enables multi-

source universes by distributing queries across disparate data sources, and

lets you federate data through a single data foundation. The DataFederation Administration tool lets you optimize data federation queries

and fine-tune the data federation query engine for the best possible

performance.

Lifecycle Management Console (web client)

The Lifecycle Management Console provides a centralized view to

monitor the progress of the entire lifecycle process. It is used to move

content from one SAP BusinessObjects









Group Tool

Report Conversion Tool The Report Conversion Tool converts Desktop Intelligence reports to

Web Intelligence format, and publishes them to a Central Management

Server (CMS). The Report Conversion Tool also lets you audit your

converted reports. This helps identify reports that cannot be fully

converted, and explains why

Repository Diagnostic Tool

The Repository Diagnostic Tool scans, diagnoses, and repairs

inconsistencies that may occur between the Central Management

Server (CMS) system database and the File Repository Servers (FRS)

filestore. It can also report the repair status and completed actions.

Translation Management Tool

The Translation Management Tool defines multilingual universes and

manages translation of universes and their Web Intelligence documents

and prompts.

Upgrade Management Tool

The Upgrade management tool guides administrators through the

process of importing users, groups, and

folders from previous versions of the SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence platform (formerly known as SAP BusinessObjectsEnterprise). It also allows you to import and upgrade objects, events,

server groups, repository objects,

and calendars.

WDeploy

WDeploy is a tool to assist in deploying SAP BusinesObjects Business

Intelligence platform web applications, such as BI launch pad and the

Central Mangement Console, to target application servers.

Note: Key administrative tools for administrators are Central Management Console (CMC), Central

Configuration Manager (CCM), Repository Diagnostic Tool, and Upgrade management tool.









Web

Figure 6: Web

Web Server

The web server receives HTTP requests sent from the web client. The web server

holds and manages static content such as .html and .js files that may be part of a SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence suite web application.

Web Application Server

A web application server acts as the translation layer between a web browser or rich

application, and the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform. The web

application server hosts web applications, web services and Software Development

Kits (SDK). Various web application servers running on Windows, Unix, and Linux

are supported. Note: If you do not have a web application server in place for use with

the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform, the installation program can

install and configure a Tomcat 6 web application server for you.

Web Application Container Server

The Web Application Container Server (WACS) is an SAP BusinessObjectsBusiness Intelligence platform server that allows SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence platform web services and web applications, such as the Central

Management Console (CMC) and BI launch pad, to run without the need for a

previously installed Java web application server.

Web Applications

Web applications run in the web application server to process requests from the

web client. SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence suite web applications

include:









• Central Management Console

• Lifecycle Management Console

• BI launch pad

• BI workspaces

• SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence• SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for OLAP

• SAP BusinessObjects Explorer

Web Services

Web services run in the web application server to process requests from client

applications. Web services can be called remotely using the Simple Object

Access Protocol (SOAP) for exchanging information that is not dependent on

a specific platform, object model, or programming language.

SAP BusinessObjects web services include logic to understand and direct

requests to the appropriate SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

platform server. SAP BusinessObjects web services can be accessed by rich

clients such as Live Office and Crystal Reports, and also by custom-built web

service consumer applications.

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform web services include:

• Session

• BIPlatform

• ReportEngine

• QueryService

• SaveService

• BICatalog

• Publish

• LiveOffice

• managequeryasaservice

• Federator

• XcelsiusWebServices

• BicsRemote

• Gopher









Management

Figure 7: Management

Central Management Server

The Central Management Server (CMS) maintains a database of

information about your SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

platform (in the CMS system database) and audited user actions (in theAuditing Data Store).

All platform services are managed by the CMS. The CMS also controls

access to the system files where documents are stored, and information on

users, user groups, security levels (including authentication and

authorization), and content.

Event Server

The Event Server monitors the system for events, which can act as a trigger

for running a report. When you set up a event trigger, the Event Server

monitors the condition and notifies the CMS that an event has occurred.

The CMS can then start any jobs that are set to run upon the event.

Explorer Master Server

Explorer Master Server manages all of the Explorer processing

servers, including: Explorer Exploration Server, Explorer Indexing

Server, and Explorer Search Server

Server Intelligence Agent

A Server Intelligence Agent (SIA) manages and monitors all of the

servers on a node, ensuring they operate properly. Note: A node is a

group of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform

servers that run on the same host. All of the servers on a node run

under the same user account. One machine can contain many nodes,

so you can run processes under different user accounts.





Storage

Figure 8: Storage

Crystal Reports Cache Server

The Crystal Reports Cache Server intercepts report viewing requests

sent from clients to the Crystal Reports Processing Server.

If the Cache Server cannot fulfill the request with a cached report

page, it passes the request on to the Crystal Reports ProcessingServer, which runs the report and returns the results. The Cache

Server then caches the report page for potential future use

Dashboard Design Cache Server

The Dashboard Design Cache Server determines if a previously served

dashboard viewing request would satisfy the current dashboard viewing

request.

If the request cannot be fulfilled by the Dashboard Design Cache Server,

it forwards the request to the Dashboard Design Processing Server.

The Dashboard Design Cache Server will try to share previous data

results as much as possibleInput File Repository Server

The Input File Repository Server stores all of the documents and

program objects that have been published to the SAP BusinessObjects

Business Intelligence platform. It can store a large variety of file types

Output File Repository Server

The Output File Repository Server stores all of the instances generated by

scheduled jobs for all object types including Crystal Reports, Web

Intelligence, and programs. It also manages instances generated by the

Web Intelligence Processing Server. It can store a large variety of file

types.





Processing

Figure 9: Processing

Adaptive Job Server

The Adaptive Job Server is a generic server that processes

scheduled jobs for a variety of object types. Services that can be

hosted on this server include: Authentication Update SchedulingService, Crystal Reports 2011

Scheduling Service, Crystal Reports Scheduling Service,

Destination Delivery Scheduling Service, Lifecycle Management

Scheduling Service, Platform Search Scheduling Service, Probe

Scheduling Service, Program Scheduling Service, Publication

Scheduling Service, Replication Service, Security Query

Scheduling Service, Visual Difference Scheduling Service, Web

Intelligence Scheduling Service,

Adaptive Processing Server

The Adaptive Processing Server is a generic server that hosts

services responsible for processing requests from a variety of

sources.

Services that can be hosted on this server include: Adaptive

Connectivity Service, BEx Web Application Service, Client

Auditing Proxy Service, Custom Data Access Service, Data

Federation Service, Document Recovery Service, DSL Bridge

Service, Excel Data Access Service, Lifecycle Management

ClearCase Service, Lifecycle Management Console Service,

Monitoring Service, Multi Dimensional Analysis Service, Platform

Search Service, Publishing Post Processing Service, Publishing





Service, Rebean Service, Security Token Service, Translation

Service, Visual Difference Service, Visualization Service, Web

Intelligence Monitoring Service,

Connection Server

The Connection Server provides database access to source data. It

supports relational databases, as well as OLAP and other formats.The Connection Server is responsible for handling connection and

interaction with the various data sources and providing a common

feature set to clients.

Connection Server 32

The Connection Server 32 is responsible for 32-bit database

connectivity to access data.

Crystal Reports 2011 Processing Server

The Crystal Reports 2011 Processing Server responds to Crystal

Reports page requests by processing reports and generating

encapsulated page format (EPF) files. The key benefit of EPF is that

it supports page-on-demand access, so only the requested page is

returned, not the entire report.

This improves system performance and reduces unnecessary network

traffic for large reports.

The Crystal Reports 2011 Processing Server retrieves data for the

report from the latest instance or directly from the data source. After

it generates the report, it converts the requested data to one or more

EPF files. These EPF files are then sent to the Crystal Reports CacheServer

Crystal Reports 2011 Report Application Server

The Crystal Reports 2011 Report Application Server (RAS) provides

ad-hoc reporting capabilities that allow users to create and modify

Crystal reports via the SAP Crystal Reports Server Embedded

Software Development Kit (SDK).

Crystal Reports Processing Server

The Crystal Reports Processing Server responds to Crystal Reports

for Enterprise page requests by processing reports and generating

encapsulated page format (EPF) files. The key benefit of EPF is that

it supports

page-on-demand access, so only the requested page is returned, not

the entire report. This improves system performance and reduces

unnecessary network traffic for large reports. The Crystal Reports

Processing Server retrieves data for the report from the latest

instance or directly from the data source. After it generates the

report, it converts the requested data to one or more EPF files. These

EPF files are then sent to the Crystal Reports Cache Server.





Dashboard Analytics Server

The Dashboard Analytics Server is used by BI workspaces to create

and manage corporate and personal BI workspace module content.

Dashboard Design Processing Server

The Dashboard Design Processing Server responds to Dashboards

requests by processing dashboards and generating the results.

Dashboard Server

The Dashboard Server is used by BI workspaces to create and

manage corporate and personal dashboards.

Explorer Exploration Server

Explorer Exploration Server provides and manages the Information

Space exploration and analysis capabilities including search on data,

filtering and aggregation.

Explorer Indexing Server

Explorer Indexing Server provides and manages the indexing ofInformation

Space data and metadata.

Explorer Search Server

Explorer Search Server processes search queries and returns search

results.

Web Intelligence Processing Server

The Web Intelligence Processing Server is responsible for generating Web

Intelligence documents.

The Web Intelligence Processing Server obtains document creation requests

from the Web Application Server and then communicates with the Input FileRepository Server in order to obtain a copy of the Web Intelligence document

(WID) file and the universe definition. When viewing an existing instance of a

WID, the Web Intelligence Processing Server communicates with the Output

File Repository Server to obtain an existing historical instance of a WID.

Data





Figure 10: Data

CMS system database

The CMS system database is used to store SAP BusinessObjects BusinessIntelligence platform information, such as user, server, folder, document,

configuration, authorization, and authentication details. It is maintained by the

Central Management Server (CMS), and is sometimes referred to as the system

repository.

Auditing Data Store

The Auditing Data Store (ADS) is used to store information on trackable

events that occur in SAP BusinessObjects BI platform. This information can be

used to monitor the usage of system components, user activity, or other aspects

of day-to-day operation.

Lifecycle Management database The Lifecycle Management database tracks configuration and version

information related to an SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform

installation, as well as updates.

Monitoring database

The Monitoring database is an embedded Java Derby database to store system

configuration and component information for SAP supportability in the SAP


Universes (UNV)

UNV Universes are identified by the .unv file extension. They are the legacy type

of universe based on the semantic layer in previous versions of the SAPBusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform (formerly SAP BusinessObjects

Enterprise).

They are built using the legacy Universe Design Tool. A universe is an organized

collection of metadata objects that enables business users to analyze and report on

corporate data in non-technical language.

These objects include dimensions, measures, hierarchies, attributes, pre-defined

calculations, functions, and queries.

The metadata object layer is built on a relational database schema or an OLAP cube,

so the objects map directly to the database structures.

A universe includes connections to the data sources so that users of query and

analysis tools can connect to a universe and run queries and create reports using the

objects in a universe without needing to know about the underlying data structures

in the database.

Universes (UNX)

UNX Universes are identified by the .unx file extension. They are the new type of

universe based on the new semantic layer in the SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence 4.0 platform.

They are built using the new Information Design Tool. A universe is an organized

collection of metadata objectsthat enables business users to analyze and report on

corporate data in non-technical language.





These objects include dimensions, measures, hierarchies, attributes, pre-defined

calculations, functions, and queries. The metadata object layer is built on a relational

database schema or an OLAP cube, so the objects map directly to the database

structures.

A universe includes connections to the data sources so that users of query and

analysis tools can connect to a universe and run queries and create reports using theobjects in a universe without needing to know about the underlying data structures in

the database.

Business Views

Business Views simplify report creation and interaction by abstracting the

complexity of data for report developers.

Business Views help separate the data connections, data access, business

elements, and access control.

Business Views can only be used by Crystal Reports and are designed to

simplify the data access and view-time security required for Crystal report

creation. Business Views support the combination of multiple data sources ina single view.

Flat files

Flat files include .txt, .csv, and .xls files

Relational databases

Relational databases store data in two-dimensional tables.

OLAP data sources

OLAP data sources store data in multi-dimensional cubes.

SAP Business Warehouse

SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse (BW) is the OLAP data source from SAP.

SAP Business Explorer queries

SAP Business Explorer (BEx) queries are used to analyze data in SAP

NetWeaver Business Warehouse. BEx queries are built in the BEx query

designer.



Objects Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd Plot No: 40, Gayathrinagar, Beside Prime Hospital Lane, Maithrivanam, Ameerpet, Hyderabad -38

Phone:+91-40-40170187 Website: www.objectscs.com

1) View all components in BI 4.0

Process Flow for Each Application

This interactive diagram shows important architecture components in the SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence 4.0 platform








CREATING A SEMANTIC LAYER WITH SAP BUSINESS OBJECTS UNIVERSE


MOTIVATION

This material is an introduction to how to develop a SAP Business Objects Universe. It isaimed at students at universities, universities and other educational institutions with limited

experience with Business Intelligence.

It can be used in the classroom or for self-study.

On completion of the course, students will be able to understand the basic concepts of a

universe and how to design and develop a universe.

The material also serves as a reference for occasional users of SAP systems.

This version of the notes is designed for the SAP BOBJ Enterprise version

This version of the notes is designed for the SAP BOBJ Interactive Analysis trail version

LEARNING METHOD

The learning method used is “guided learning.” The benefit of this method is that knowledge

is imparted quickly. Students also acquire practical skills and competencies. As with an

exercise, this method explains a process or procedure in detail.

SAP Business Intelligence provides a broad range of reporting tools to facilitate decision

making of the different end users. These tools can interact with data from different data

sources. SAP Business Objects provides a semantic layer (universe) which facilitates the

interaction with data sources and the extraction of data. This tutorial provided you with astep by step explanation of how to construct a universe which will be utilised in later

reporting exercises.

.

Scenario

Global Bike International (GBI) is a world class bicycle company serving both professional

and amateur cyclists. The company sells bicycles and accessories. In the touring bike

category, GBI’s handcrafted bicycles have won numerous design awards and are sold in over

10 countries. GBI’s signature composite frames are world-renowned for their strength, low

weight and easy maintenance. GBI bikes are consistently ridden in the Tour de France and

other major international road races. GBI produces two models of their signature road bikes,

a deluxe and professional model. The key difference between the two models is the type of

wheels used, aluminium for the basic model and carbon composite for the professional

model. GBI’s off-road bikes are also recognized as incredibly tough and easy to maintain.

GBI off-road bikes are the preferred choice of world champion off road racers and have

become synonymous with performance and strength in one of the most gruelling sports in the

world. GBI produces two types of off-road bike, a men’s and women’s model. The basic

difference between the two models is the smaller size and ergonomic shaping of the women’s

frame.




GBI also sells an Accessories product line comprised of helmets, t-shirts and other riding

accessories. GBI partners with only the highest quality suppliers of accessories which will

help enhance riders’ performance and comfort while riding GBI bikes. Figure 1 displays the

GBI range of products.

Traditionally GBI was a wholesaler who sold their bikes to retailers who then resold the bikes

to the end consumers. Recently GBI has decided to sell their bike to the end consumer via

the internet.

Organisational Structure

GBI’s headquarters are located in Dallas and the European subsidiary company (GBI Europe)

is based in Heidelberg, Germany. In regards to the GBI sales process there are two sales

organisations for America (Eastern US and Western US) and two for Germany (Northern

Germany and Southern Germany). All sales organisations have a wholesale distribution

channel responsible for delivering the products to the customers. However only one salesorganisation is required in each country to support internet sales. The diagram below

displays the GBI organisation to support the sales process.

GBI

BIKE

Bicycles

TOUR

Touring

DXTR

Deluxe touringbike

DXTR 1000

Black

DXTR 2000

Silver

DXTR 3000

Red

PRTR

Professionaltouring bike

PRTR 1000

Black

PRTR 2000

Silver

PRTR 3000

Red

ORBK

Off Road

ORMN 1000

Men’s standard

ORWM 1000

Women’sstandard

ACCR

Accessories

PROT

Protective

PADS

Pads

EPAD 1000

Elbow pads

KPAD 1000

Knee pads

HLMT

Helmets

OHMT 1000

Of f road helmet

RHMT 1000

Road helmets

UTIL

Utilities

SHRT 1000

T-shirt

RKIT 1000

Repair kit

PUMP 1000

Air pump

CAGE 1000

Water bottlecage

BOTL 1000

Water bottle

FAID 1000

First aid kit




Requirements

GBI management currently SAP ECC to manage and automate their business processes. They

have discovered that one of their departments are using a Microsoft Access database to record

sales data. The Department Heads have indicated that they would like the information

provided in a user friendly format. This will facilitate them to gain greater insight to their

sales data to understand the trends and sales performance. In response to these concerns, it

was decided to build a number of reports using SAP Business Objects Interactive Analysis.

To provide the connection between the data source (Microsoft Access) and the reporting tool

a universe needs to be created..




SAP Business Objects Universe

What is a Semantic Layer?A semantic layer is a business representation of corporate data that helps end users access

data using common business terms.

Often when database developers build databases their main objectives involve the efficient

creation, updating and deletion of data. They are not usually concerned about whether non

database people understand the complexities of the underlying structures. While business

users want to create reports based on the data contained in the database to facilitate decision

making. The semantic layer insulates the business users from the underlying data complexity

while ensuring the business is accessing the correct data sources and using consistentterminology.

The semantic layer enables users to use common business terms rather than the technical

database language to access, manipulate, and organise information, it simplifies the

complexity of the business data. The following diagram displays the various components of

the semantic layer.




SAP Business Objects Universe

A Universe is a semantic layer tool used in Business Objects to map the data in your data

source using everyday terms. The Universe enables the user to create a query to extract the

data from a data source, describe it using common business terms and then analyse the data

using different reporting tools. The Universe is used to run queries against the data source toextract data.

.




Below is an example of a Universe based on the GBI data.

The Universe structure contains:

• Connection details to a data source

• SQL structures (called Objects) to map the database structures (columns, tables, anddatabase functions)

• A schema of the tables and joins used in the database

On the right of the screen is the schema of the database. While on the left are Universe

objects that are required for reporting.

A Universe can be used to connect to a variety of data sources (Databases, Excel, XML,

Text, Web Services.

The release of SAP Business Objects 4.0 provided functionality to connect directly with

SAP solutions and thus a universe is no longer required to connect to SAP.




Building a Universe

You use the Business Objects Universe Designer (also referred to as Universe Design Tool)

to create a Universe. However before you create a universe you need to create a database

connection.

Creating a database connection

A data access driver is the software that connects the Universe to your middleware. Data

access drivers provided with Business Objects include: IBM DB2, Informix, Microsoft SQL

Server, Oracle, Sybase, Teradata, Hyperion, Generic OBDC.

For this exercise you are going to use OBDC connection drivers. OBDC (Open Database

Connectivity) is Microsoft’s interface for accessing data in a heterogeneous environment of

relational and non-relational databases.

1. Choose Start Settings Control Panel Administrative Tools

This is dependent on your operating system. An alternative might be:

Choose Start Programs Administrative Tools

2. Double-Click Data Sources (OBDC).

3. Click to move to this screen.

4. Click to display the Create New Data Source screen.




You now need to select the appropriate driver for your data source. For this exercise you

will be using a Microsoft Access database.

5. Click Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb) – need to scroll down.

6. Click to proceed to the next step in the process.

The OBDC Microsoft Access Setup screen appears.

You will now need to name your data source and link it to the GBI database.

7. Type <your name>GBI in the Data Source Name: field.

8. Press <TAB> to move to the next field.

9. Type GBI Data Source in the Description: field.

10. Click to link to the GBI database.

11. Locate the GBI (GBI.mdb) database. Refer to workshop leader for the location

12. Click GBI.mdb to select it.

13. Click .

14. Click




You will notice that your new Data Source connection is listed.

15. Click to complete the process.

Creating a Universe

You create a Universe using the Universe Designer. To access the Universe Designer:

16. Choose Start Programs Interactive Analysis Universe

Designer.

The Universe Designer path maybe different depending on which version of Business

Objects you are using. An alternative path is:

Choose Start Programs SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0

SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise Client Tools Universe Design Tool.

After a short time the Universe Designer Wizard appears.




This wizard walks the user through the steps in creating a basic Universe. For the purpose of

this exercise you will initially us the wizard. You can see that there are four steps in the

process.

20. Click to begin the process.

This step involves linking your new universe to the database connection you created

previously.

Step 1: Define the universe parameters

17, Type <name> GBI Universe in the Enter the universe name field.

Although you have created a ODBC connection you have not created a connection to your

universe.

18. Click to create this connection.

You will select a target database middleware, then configure the data access driver that you

use to access the middleware. You can also set certain parameters to optimize your

connection.

19. Type GBI Connection in the Connection name field.

20. Click to move to the next step in the process.




The Database Middleware Selection screen appears.

21. Type GBI Connection in the Connection Name field.

You will now need to select the OBDC driver for Microsoft Access 2007.

22. Scroll down till OBDC Drivers MS Access 2007 appears.

23. Click this driver to select it.


You now need to specify the logon details to your data source. You are going to accept the

default credentials.

25. Click in the Data Source name: field to display the available options.

Notice that your previously defined data source (<your name>GBI) appears.

26. Click <your name>GBI to select it.

Before you continue any further you should test the data source connection.

27. Click




The following message should appear:

If not contact your workshop leader.

28. Click .


The Configuration Parameters determine how the universe interacts with the data source.

30. Click to accept the defaults and to move to the next step in the

process.

31. Click to complete the connection.

Note more details about settings for the data source connection can be found in Help. You

can access Help by pressing <F1>.

You have now defined the Universe Connection Parameters.

32. Click .




Step 2: Create Classes and Objects

A Universe uses classes and objects to represent the database’s structures. An object

represents a column (data element), calculation or function in a data source. It represents a

meaningful entity, fact, or calculation used in business environment. Objects are selected toconstruct a query. Once the query is performed, the objects are returned with values.

A class is a logical collection of objects. Most classes in Business Objects correspond to a

table in the database. But this may not be user friendly for a business user.

The Create Initial Classes and Objects dialog screen lists the tables in the data source.

.

Your data source may require many tables or columns that are not required in your query for

analysis. This screen gives you the options of only selecting objects you require.

33. Scroll down to display table.

34. Click to select it.

You can view the contents of the table to check that it is the table you require for the query.

35. Click

Some of the Material table values appear.




36. Click to close the screen.

You have determined that the Material table is required for analysis and therefore should be

included in your Universe.

37. Click to include the table in the universe.

Notice how the table now appears in the classes and objects area.

38. Click next to to expand the class and display the objects.

39. Click to close the Material class.

You now need to add the remaining tables to your Universe.

40. Add the following tables to your universe.




Your screen should appear similar to below:


Step 3: Create Measure Objects

Measure

objects retrieve numeric data, or calculated data based on data in the database. A

Measure objects usually reflects the value of a transactions such as amount, quantity etc.Measure objects are usually aggregated (sum, min, max, count etc) in some way.

For the purpose of this exercise you will create Measure Objects using the wizard and

manually. Currently the Create Measure Objects dialog screen appears. Notice that the tables

that were previously were selected for classes and objects appear on the left of the screen.

Also notice that there are different aggregation functions options (count, sum, minimum,

maximum). You will define the Quantity field in the GBI Transactions table as a Measure

Object and use the Sum aggregation function.




42. Click next to to display the fields.

43. Click Quantity to select it.

44. Click to select this aggregation function and define the

Measure Object.

Notice that Quantity now appears on the right of the screen.


Step 4: Generate the Universe

Your Universe has now been generated and can be further enhanced manually. Your screen

should appear similar to below.




46. Click to view your newly created universe.


The Universe Designer appears on screen with the Objects and Classes that you previously

defined.

Screen components

The screen contains a number of areas which you will be using in this tutorial.




Structure Pane

This contains a graphical representation of the underlying target database of the Universe. It

includes the tables and joins to which you map objects that end users use to run their queries

Universe Pane

This contains the Classes and objects defined in the universe. These are the components of

the Universe that users see and use to create their queries.

Adding a Table

Previously you used the wizard to add the necessary tables to your Universe. An alternate

method is to add the tables manually using the Table Browser. You have realised that you

require the Material Group table data for future reports and will need to be added to the

Universe. To add another table:

47. Click on the Editing toolbar to display the Table Browser.




48. Click to select this table.

49. Click to insert the selected table to the Universe.

50. Click the dialog screen.

Notice the new table appears in the Universe.

51. Drag the Material Group table to re-position it near the Product Category table.




Defining Table Joins

You will notice that many of the tables in the Structure Pane are related to each other

through the use of joins. These have been determined by the wizard based on the name of

fields. You need to check these carefully as they can often be incorrect and will impact the

data extracted from the data source. You will also notice that some of the tables (SalesOrganisation, Material Group) are not related to any other tables. You will need to create a

join. You can do this manually by using the mouse to drag a line from a column in one table

to a matching column in another table.

52. Drag the Sales Org field in the Sales Organisation table to the Sales

Organisation field in the GBI Transactions table.

Notice that a line appears between the two fields to indicate a relationship (join).

53. Drag the Material Group field in the Material Group table to the Material

Group field in the Product Category table.




Setting Cardinalities

Setting cardinality is a critical step in a universe design. Cardinality refers to relationship

between two tables based on the join. It indicates how many rows in one table will match

those in the other. You can detect cardinalities automatically or create them manually. You

will notice that the joins between many of the tables looks differently to the joins you justcreated. This indicates that the cardinality has been automatically determined. To

automatically detect cardinality:

54. Click the Material Group join to select it if it is not already selected.

55. Click on the Editing toolbar to detect cardinalities.

56. Click the Sales Org join to select it.

57. Click on the Editing toolbar to detect cardinalities.

Notice that the join graphics have changed. To better understand join characteristics:

58. Double-click the Sales Org join to display the Edit Join dialog screen

Notice the screen explains the type of join and displays the corresponding SQL statement.You could have created the join cardinality manually using this dialog screen




59. Click to close the dialog screen.

Describing Classes and Objects

Using the wizard you defined a number of classes and objects. A class was used to group

related objects.

60. Click next to to expand the class and display its corresponding

objects.

In a Universe you can define three different types of objects. Measure objects are the key

metrics contained in a query. For example, sales amount, quantity, result. They are usually

aggregated. Dimension objects are used to analyse and provide meaning to a Measure

object. For example, product and customer Dimensions objects provide a better

understanding of a quantity measure object. Lastly a Detail object provides a description to

a Dimension object. For example the Distribution Channel Dimension object has the

Distribution Channel Description Detail object. ie “IN” > “Internet”

Defining A Class

A class is a logical grouping of objects in a Universe. The naming of a class should indicate

to the user the type of objects it may contain. Currently the classes contained in the universe

reflect the database design. You need to change these classes to make them appear more

logical to the end user and query developer. The proposed design is:

Class Objects

Material Material Group

Material Group Description

Product Category

Product Category Description

Material

Material Description

Standard Price

Unit Cost

GBI Sales OrganisationLocation




Distribution Channel

Distribution Channel Description

GBI Sales Date (Year of Date, Quarter of Date, Month

of Date)

QuantityRevenue

Cost

You currently don’t have the GBI or GBI Sales classes. You can either create a new class or

rename and existing class.

61. Right-Click <your name> GBI Universe Measures class to display the context

menu.

62. Choose Class Properties to display the dialog screen.

63. Type GBI Sales as the new Class name.

64. Click to accept the change.

Notice that the class has been re-named.

To create a new class:

65. Click on the Editing toolbar.

The Class Properties dialog screen.

66. Type GBI.


You can move objects between classes using drag and drop.

68. Click next to each class to display the contained objects.

According to the proposed design the Material Group object should be part of the Material

class. To achieve this:




69. Drag to .

Notice that the Material Group object now appears in the Material Class. The Material

Group Description should also appear in the Material class. This object does not currently

appear in the Universe Pane. You can create an object by dragging a field from theStructure Pane to the Universe Pane.

70. Drag Material Group Description from the Material Group table to

.

Notice that the Material Group Description object now appears in the Material class.




71. Drag the following objects to corresponding classes:

Class Objects

Material Product Category Description

GBI Sales Organisation

Location



Description

Notice that some Dimensions appear twice in the Universe. You will need to delete these to

prevent any future confusion.

72. Right-click to display the context menu.

73. Choose Clear

74. Press <ENTER> to accept the deletion

75. Delete and .

Defining A Detail Object

A Detail object provides descriptive data about a Dimension and is always attached to a

Dimension. After an analysis of requirements the following Detail objects have been

determined

Dimension Detail

Material Material Description

Standard Price

Unit Cost

Sales Organisation Location

Distribution Channel Distribution Channel

Description

Material Group Material Group Description

Product Category Product Category Description




Currently many of the proposed Detail objects appear as Dimension objects. These can be

changed through the Object Properties.

76. Right-Click Material Group Description dimension to display the context menu.

77. Choose Object Properties to display the dialog screen.

78. Click to display these options.

Notice that you can define the type of object on this screen.

79. Click to select this option.

Notice that options appear to indicate which Dimension this Detail object is associated with.

80. Click to display the Dimensions.

81. Click Material Group to select it.


Notice that Material Group Description appears as a Detail object associated with the

Material Group dimension.

83. Define the following Detail objects:




Creating Measure Objects

In addition to Dimension and Detail objects you can define Measure objects. From the

analysis it has been determined that 3 Measure objects are required: Quantity, Revenue,

Cost. Using the wizard you created the Quantity measure already. You will now create the

other measures:

84. Right-Click Revenue dimension to display the context menu.



87. Click to select this option.

Notice that the aggregation function appears (Sum).


Notice that the Revenue object now appears as a measure.

89. Repeat the process for the Cost measure.

One or the purposes of a universe is to make it easy for the query designer to understand the

business requirements and hide the technical aspects of the underlying data source. To

prevent any confusion:

90. Drag to

91. Drag and to

92. Delete .

93. Rename to Quantity

94. Rename to Sales Organisation Description

Currently end users will be able to analyse the data by the Purchase Date dimension. In

other words they can analyse the date by day. However they would like to be able to also




analyse sales by month, year and quarter to get a better understanding. This can be achieved

by using a time hierarchy.

95. Right-Click Purchase date dimension to display the context menu.


97. Type Date to change the dimension name

Notice that the Universe Design Tool has determined that this dimension is a date type.


As it has been determined that this is a date data type a new option appears.

99. Click

The following screen appears with different date options:

100. Click each date option to select it.

101. Click to accept the changes.

102. Click to accept the changes.

Notice that a next to the Date dimension.

103. Click next to to display the date variables.




You have completed your Universe which will be used as a basis for reporting using SAP

Business Objects Web Intelligence (Interactive Analysis). Your Universe should look

similar to below:

You need to save your Universe.

104. Click on the Standard toolbar to display the save dialog screen.

105. Click to accept the default name and save the Universe.

The Universe you have created can be used as a basis for the Reporting With SAP BusinessObjects Interactive Analysis workshop.




1.




2.




About resources in the information design toolThe information design tool

Resource

provides the following design resources to extract metadata and build

universes.

Description

Project

A project is a named local workspace that contains the resources used to build one or

more universes. A project can be shared so that multiple designers can work on the same resources.

A project can contain any number of independent resources, for example data

foundations, business layers, and connections. All resources contained within a

project can be used interchangeably, for example a connection can be used by

several data foundations within the same project.

Projects and their resources are displayed in the Local Projects View. To open a

resource in the editor, double-click the resource in the Local Projects View.

Connection

OLAP

Relational

A connection is a named set of parameters that define how a universe can access a

relational or OLAP data source. A universe is always associated with at least one

connection. A connection is an independent resource and can be used by several

universes. You can build a multisource-enabled universe that references one or morerelational connections.

Connections can be local (stored in a local file) or secured (an object in a shared

repository that is referenced by a connection shortcut).

Local connections are stored in the local project as .cnx files.

Connection

shortcut

A connection shortcut is an object in the local project that references a secured

connection in a repository. You use a connection shortcut to refer to secure

connections when creating data foundations and business layers based on secure

connections.

Connection shortcuts are stored in the local project as .cns files.

Data

foundation

A data foundation is a schema that defines the relevant tables and joins from one or

more relational databases. You enhance the data foundation by adding derivedtables, alias tables, calculated columns, additional joins, contexts, prompts, lists of

values, and other SQL definitions. The data foundation becomes the basis of one or

more business layers.

Data foundations are stored in the local project as .dfx files.

Business

layer

A business layer is a collection of metadata objects that provides an abstraction of

relational database entities or OLAP cubes, understandable by a business user.

Objects map via SQL expressions to an underlying data foundation, or via MDX

expressions to an underlying OLAP cube. These objects include dimensions,

hierarchies, measures, attributes, and predefined conditions.

You can add dimensions, hierarchies, measures, attributes, and other objects as the

universe design requires. You can validate the SQL or the MDX at any time. You cancreate queries, lists of values, parameters (also called prompts), and navigation path

objects.

The business layer is the universe under construction, and when the business layer is

complete, it is compiled with the connections or connection shortcuts and data

foundation, published, and deployed as a universe.

Business layers are stored in the local project as .blx files.

Query A query is a set of objects that define a request to the database for data. A query can

be defined and saved in the business layer as a metadata object to be used to test

objects in the business layer.

Parameter

List of

A parameter is a variable in the universe that requires a value at query time.

Parameters are often defined to prompt the user to supply a value, and in this case

are referred to as prompts.




values A list of values is a collection of data values that can be associated with an object in

the universe, allowing the user to choose values for a prompt.

Parameters and lists of values can be defined in the data foundation. They are

inherited by all business layers based on that data foundation.

Parameters and lists of values can also be defined in the business layer.

Universe A universe is a compiled file that includes all resources used in the definition of themetadata objects built in the design of the business layer.

The universe is used by SAP BusinessObjects data analysis and reporting

applications, where the business layer objects are visible for analysis and reporting.

Universes are stored either locally or in a repository as .unx files.

Security

Profiles

Data

Business

A security profile is a group of security settings that controls the data and metadata

that are displayed to users and modifies the parameters defined in the data

foundation and/or business layer. Security profiles are defined on published

universes and stored in the repository.

Starting the information design toolThe information design tool is installed with the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform

Client Tools. For more information on installing the BI platform Client Tools, see the SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Suite 4.0 Master Guide, or the SAP Crystal Server 2011

Getting Started Guide.

Once the client tools are installed on your machine, for example in a Windows installation of the BI

platform, you can start the information design tool with the command: Start > All programs > SAP

BusinessObjects BI platform 4 > SAP BusinessObjects BI platform Client Tools > Information Design

Tool.

No authentication is required to use the information design tool

About the information design tool interface

in offline mode (not connected to arepository). You can begin creating and editing local resources.

The information design tool interface is composed of views and editors that let you navigate and work

on different resources. For more information about each view, see the Related Topics.

View Description How to open the view

Local Projects

View

Use this view to create and navigate

local projects, and to open and

validate resources.

Select Window > Local Projects.

Repository

Resources View

Use this view to navigate repository

resources and create securedconnections.

Select Window > Repository Resources.

Data Foundation

Editor

Use this editor to define and maintain

the data foundation structure and its

connections.

Double-click a data foundation in the

Local Projects View.

Business Layer

Editor

Use this editor to define and maintain

the business layer and its data

source.

Double-click a business layer in the

Local Projects View.

Connection Editor Use this editor to edit connection and

connection shortcut parameters.

Double-click a connection or connection

shortcut in the Local Projects View.

To open the editor for a secured

connection, double-click the connectionin the Repository Resources View.




Project

Synchronization

View

Use this view to manage shared

project resources in the repository

and synchronize local resources with

the repository.

Select Window > Project

Synchronization.

Check Integrity

Problems

Use this view to review the results of

last integrity check.

Select Window > Check Integrity

Problems.Query Panel Use this view to run queries on

business layers and published

universes.

To run a query on a business layer, in

the Business Layer Editor Query pane,

edit an existing query, or create a query.

To run a query on a published universe,

in the Repository Resources View, right-

click a universe and select Run Query.

You can also run a query on a published

universe in the Security Editor.

Security Editor Use this editor to define security

profiles and assign profiles to users.

Select Window > Security Editor.

Setting preferences in the information design toolTo set preferences, from the information design tool main menu, select Window > Preferences

Preference

type

. The

following table gives a brief description of the types of preferences you can set. For more information,

see the related topics.

Description

These settings and customizations require a good understanding of the Eclipse

development environment. To learn more about Eclipse, search for the Eclipse

Foundation Web site.

General

Lets you select how you would like the help topics to display when you click the help

icon.

Help

>Content: You can use these settings to include custom help files. These settings

require an understanding of the Eclipse help system. To learn more about Eclipse,

search for the Eclipse Foundation Web site.

Information

Design Tool Lets you set check integrity rules to run automatically when

saving resources. You can also set the severity level of the rules.

For more information, see the related topic.

Check Integrity

Lets you set display options for connections in the data

foundation editor.

Data

Foundation

Editor > Appearance: Set display options for columns, tables, and joins

in the Data Foundation Editor.> Detections: Set whether or not to automatically detect tables,

joins, and cardinalities when inserting tables into the data

foundation.

> Performance: Set options that impact how graphics are

displayed in the Data Foundation Editor.

> Printing: Set print options when saving the data foundation as a

report.

Lets you change the language of the user interface and the

Preferred Viewing Locale.

Languages

Lets you update the link to the online tutorials.Online Tutorials

Lets you set whether to use the server or the local middlewaredriver for secured relational connections.

SecuredConnections




Note: This preference applies only if the "Download connection

locally" right is granted in the Central Management Console for

the connection.

Lets you set how to display table and column values for the

Show Values commands. Show Values

1) Setting preferences for check integrityIn the check integrity preference page, you can select rules to be run automatically whenever you

save a resource. You can also change the severity of the messages returned by each rule.

1. From the information design tool main menu, select Window > Preferences2.

.In the "Preferences" dialog box, expand the Information Design Tool node and select CheckIntegrity

3..

a.

To select rules to be run automatically when you save a resource:

Select the Enable background check integrity on save option.

b. Select the rules to include in the background check.

The Cost

4.

column indicates the relative processing time required to execute the rule.

To change the severity of the messages returned by a rule, click in the Severity

5.

column forthe rule. Select a severity from the list.To restore the default values for check integrity preferences, click Restore Defaults

6..

To save the changes and continue editing preferences, click Apply7.

.To save the changes and close the "Preferences" dialog box, click OK

The background check takes effect immediately.

.

2) Setting preferences for the Data Foundation EditorThe Data Foundation Editor preference pages allow you to change detection options, how objects are

displayed in the Data Foundation Editor, and print options for the data foundation.


.In the "Preferences" dialog box, expand the Information Design Tool node and select DataFoundation Editor

3..

The "Data Foundation Editor"

4.

page allows you to select options for how connections are

displayed in the data foundation.To change other display options, expand the Data Foundation Editor

Page

node and select one ofthe following pages:

Description

Set display options for columns, tables, and joins in the Data Foundation Editor. Appearance

Set whether or not to automatically detect tables, joins, and cardinalities when

inserting tables into the data foundation.Detections

Set options that impact how graphics are displayed in the Data Foundation

Editor.Performance

Set print options when saving the data foundation as a report.Printing




5. To restore the default values for preferences on the current page, click Restore Defaults6.

.To save the changes and continue editing preferences, click Apply

7..

To save the changes and close the "Preferences" dialog box, click OK

3) Setting languages used by the information design tool

.


.In the "Preferences" dialog box, expand the Information Design Tool node andselect Languages

3..

To change the language of the user interface, select the language from the "ProductLanguages"

4.list.

To change the Preferred Viewing Locale

For information about the Preferred Viewing Locale and how it impacts the language display,

see the related topic about multilingual universes.

, select the language from the list.

5. To save the changes and continue editing preferences, click Apply6.

.To save the changes and close the "Preferences" dialog box, click OK

7..

4) Setting middleware for secured relational connections

Exit and restart the information design tool for the language change to take effect.

The secure connections middleware preference applies only if the "Download connection locally" right

is granted in the Central Management Console for the connection.

When running queries on secured relational connections in the information design tool

1.

, you can

choose to run queries on the server using the server middleware driver, or locally using the local

middleware driver.

From the information design tool main menu, select Window > Preferences2.

.In the "Preferences" dialog box, expand the Information Design Tool node and select SecuredConnections

3..

Option

Select the middleware to use:

Description

To use the middleware driver on the repository server. Server middleware

To use the middleware driver on the local machine.Local middleware

4. To restore the default value, click Restore Defaults5.

.To save the changes and continue editing preferences, click Apply

6..

To save the changes and close the "Preferences" dialog box, click OK

.




How to create a universe with the information design toolBefore you begin:

• Make sure the middleware drivers are configured for the data sources to which you want toconnect.

For more information about middleware configuration, see the Data Access Guide

For information about supported data sources, see the Supported Platforms documentation

available at the SAP BusinessObjects Support site at

.

http://service.sap.com/bosap-support.

• Make sure you have the appropriate rights defined in the Central Management Console(CMC). See the related topic about CMC rights for information design tool users.

• Decide if the data foundation type should be single-source or multisource-enabled. The typeand number of connections available, as well as the SQL syntax that is used to define SQLstructures depends on the data foundation type. For more information, see the related topicabout data foundation types.

Connections for multisource-enabled data foundations must be secured, relational

connections, and are managed by the data federation service. Information about tuning the

data federation service can be found in the Data Federation Administration Tool Guide

• The procedure to create a universe varies slightly for different types of data sources. Moreinformation is available about the following types of universes:

.

o Universes on SAP NetWeaver BW o Universes on SAP ERP o Universes on Microsoft Analysis Services (MSAS) o Universes on Essbase o Universes on SAS

o Multilingual universes

Note:

1.

For OLAP universes, you do not need to create a data foundation. The business layer is

built directly from the objects you select in the source cube.

Links to more information on each step in the procedure can be found in the Related Topics.

Create a local project. In the Local Projects View select File > New > Project

The resources you use to build the universe are created and stored in the project.

.

2.o Create a local connection if you want to publish the universe on the local file system.

Later, you can publish the business layer to a repository.

Define the connections. Connections can be local or secured:

o Create a secured connection if you want to create a multisource-enabled universe, orif you want to publish the universe in a repository without first publishing locally. Forsecured connections, you must create connection shortcuts in the local project toreference the secured connections in the repository.

Option Command

To create a local

relational connection

In the Local Projects View, right-click the project folder and

select New > Relational Connection.

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Option Command

To create a local

OLAP connection

In the Local Projects View, right-click the project folder and

select New > OLAP Connection

To create a secured

relational connection

.

In the Repository Resources View, start a repository session. Right-

click the Connections folder or sub-folder and select Insert Relational

Connection.

To create a connection shortcut, select the connection in the

Connections folder of the repository and select Create Relational

Connection Shortcut

To create a secured

OLAP connection

.

In the Repository Resources View, start a repository session. Right-

click the Connections folder or sub-folder and select Insert OLAP

Connection.

To create a connection shortcut, select the connection in the

Connections folder of the repository and select Create OLAP

Connection Shortcut

3.

.

Create the data foundation (relational data sources only). In the Local Projects View, right-click the project folder and select New > Data Foundation

o For a single-source universe, select a single connection identifying the databasesource.

.

o To build a data foundation with multiple relational connections, create a multisource-enabled data foundation.

The data foundation opens in the editor. To build the structure of the data foundation, see the

related topic.

4. Create the business layer. In the Local Projects View, right-click the project folder andselect New > Business Layer

o For relational business layers, select the data foundation to be the basis for thebusiness layer. You can choose to automatically generate objects in the businesslayer for all data foundation structures, or select columns to be mapped as objects.

.

Note:

o For OLAP business layers, select the connection to the OLAP cube. Objects arecreated automatically for all structures in the cube.

To build a universe on multiple data sources (relational data sources only), the

business layer must be based on a multisource-enabled data foundation.

The business layer opens in the editor. To build the business layer, see the related topic.

5.6.

In the business layer, you can create and run queries to validate and test the universe.

o Business layers based on local connections must be published to a folder on the localfile system. Later, you can publish the resulting local universe to a repository.

Publish the business layer:

o Business layers based on one or more secured connections must be published to therepository on the same Central Management System where the secured connectionsare stored.

Option Command

To publish the universe

locally

In the Local Projects View, right-click the business layer and

select Publish > To a Local Folder

To publish the universe to a

repository

.

In the Local Projects View, right-click the business layer and

select Publish > To a Repository.




7.

a.

Follow the steps below if you created a local universe and now want to publish the universe toa repository. Business layers based on local connections can be changed to referencesecured connections and published to a repository.

In the Local Projects View, right-click the local connection and select Publish

Connection to a Repository.

When asked, create a connection shortcut.

b. For relational connections, edit the data foundation and change the connection to

use the connection shortcut.

c. For OLAP connections, edit the business layer and change the connection to use

the connection shortcut.

d. In the Local Projects View, right-click the business layer and select Publish > To a

Repository

.

Define universe security. To open the Security Editor, on the information design tool mainmenu, select Window > Security Editor

Use the Security Editor to define security profiles on the published universe. You also use the

Security Editor to assign profiles to users and groups.

. Open a session on the repository where the universe ispublished.

1) Universes on SAP NetWeaver BWTo build a universe on SAP NetWeaver BW, you must create a multisource-enabled data foundation.

Note: For information on the authorizations needed to allow users of query and reporting applications

to access multisource-enabled universes on SAP NetWeaver BW, see SAP Note #1465871.

Creating the connection

Relational connections to SAP NetWeaver BW are managed by the data federation service. Some

manual configuration of the connection to SAP NetWeaver BW may be required.

When you insert the connection using the "New Relational Connection" wizard, if the Test Connection

fails and you are not able to select an InfoProvider, check and correct your connection parameters.

If the Test Connection fails and you are able to select an InfoProvider

1. In the

, this means you need to

configure the connection manually using the following procedure:

"New Relational Connection" wizard, select the InfoProvider and click Finish

2. Configure the following connector properties using the

to create

the connection.Data Federation Administration Tool

o :

o programIDMapping

o gatewayServiceName

For the property

gatewayHostname

programIDMapping, you need to manually create an RFC on the BW server.

The procedure is documented in the Data Federation Administration Tool Guide in the section

on manually setting the callback ID that SAP NetWeaver BW uses to contact the data

federation service.

For more information on the three connector properties, see the Data Federation

Administration Tool Guide section on configuring connectors for SAP NetWeaver BW.




Mapping of InfoProvider objects

When you add an SAP NetWeaver BW connection to a data foundation, by default tables and joins

are automatically inserted. When you create a business layer on the data foundation, by default

objects are automatically inserted into the business layer.

To turn off automatic insertion, unselect the Detect tables option in the advanced properties of the

connection when you are adding the connection into the data foundation. To turn off automaticinsertion of business layer objects, unselect the Automatically create folders and objects

• I-Table: A table with a name prefixed by I (InfoCube) that maps to the InfoProvider fact table.

option when

selecting the data foundation in the New Business Layer wizard.

The following table describes how the objects in an InfoProvider map to the objects that are

automatically inserted into the data foundation and business layer in the information design tool. The

naming convention for the automatically generated data foundation tables are as follows:

• D-Table: A table with a name prefixed by D (Dimension) that maps to an InfoProvider masterdata table.

• T-Table: A table with a name prefixed by T (Text) that maps to an InfoProvider text table.

InfoProvider

object

Data foundation Business layer

Fact table • Inserts an I-Table mapped to the fact table.

• Inserts D-Tables mapped to each masterdata table.

• Inserts T-Tables mapped to each texttable.

Dimension Inserts a folder in the

business layer for each

InfoProvider dimension

(except for the Data Packageand Unit dimensions).

Business layer objects for the

characteristics in the Unit

dimension are inserted into

the folder for the related key

figure. The Data Package

dimension is not mapped.

Characteristic Inserts a column in the data foundation fact table

that maps to the master data value.Inserts a dimension object

in the dimension folder

associated with the I-Table

column.Creates an alias of the associated T-Table and

links it to the column in the I-table.

The T-Table contains columns for the description

of the master data in short, medium, or long format.

The table also has a column CAPTION which

contains the longest description available for the

characteristic.

Note:

Inserts attribute objects

under the dimension for each

column in the T-Table.

A characteristic of data type DATS or TIMS

has no associated text table because date and

time characteristics do not have descriptions.

Display

attribute* If a characteristic contains at least one displayattribute, inserts an alias of the D-Table. Inserts a

Inserts a folder under the

dimension named for the




column in this table mapped to the display

attribute. The D-Table contains a column for each

display attribute of the characteristic.

parent characteristic.

Inserts dimension objects

in this folder for each column

in the D-Table.

Inserts an alias of the T-Table for each display

attribute.Inserts attribute objects

under the dimension object for

each column in the T-Table.

Navigation

attribute*

Inserts a column in the I-Table and a column in the

D-table mapped to the navigation attribute.

T-Tables are linked directly to I-Table for both the

parent characteristic and its navigation attributes.

Inserts a dimension object

in the dimension folder

associated with the I-Table

column.

The dimension object for the

navigation attribute is at the

same level as the dimension

for the parent characteristic

but not necessarily adjacent.

Tip: Filters on the object for

the navigation attribute are

more efficient than filters on

the display attribute object.

When filtering a navigation

attribute, the fact table is

filtered directly.

Key figureInserts a column in the I-Table with the technical

name of the key figure.For a key figure without unit

or currency, inserts a measure

in the Measures folder.For a key figure with unit or

currency, inserts a sub-folder

in the Measures folder.

Inserts a measure in the

sub-folder for the key figure.

Inserts a dimension in the

sub-folder for each unit or

currency characteristic.

Time-

dependentdata

If the InfoProvider contains time-dependent data,

creates input columns in the appropriate datafoundation tables to handle time-dependent data.

Creates a parameter in the data foundation called

key date for each input column. By default, at

query time, the key date parameter is not

prompted. It is automatically assigned the current

date. You can change this behavior by editing the

key date parameter. For more information on input

columns and editing parameters, see the related

topics.

The business layer inherits the

key date parameter.

* If the flag “Attribute only” is checked for a display or navigation attribute in the InfoProvider, it is not

exposed in the data foundation.

Refreshing a universe




The Insert Candidate Objects command helps you refresh the universe when objects are added to the

underlying InfoProvider. Insert updated objects from the SAP NetWeaver BW connection into the

existing data foundation. Refresh the business layer based on the data foundation changes using

the Insert Candidate Objects

2) Universes on SAP ERP

command. For more information on candidate objects, see the related

topic.

To build a universe on SAP ERP, you must create a data foundation.

When you create a relational connection to the SAP ERP data source, the InfoSets, SAP Queries,

and ABAP functions in the data source are exposed as tables in the connection. For more information

about how ERP data sources are mapped in the connection, see the Data Access Guide.

The data foundation can be single-source to support local connections. However, single-source data

foundations do not support calculated columns or joins between tables inserted from an ERP

connection. For support of calculated columns and joins, create a multisource-enabled data

foundation on a secured connection.

When you insert a table into the data foundation, the table type of InfoSet, SAP Query, or ABAPFunction is saved as a table property in the data foundation.

When you insert an ABAP Function table, one data foundation table is created to map the main

function. The table contains input columns for the input parameters of the function. These parameters

can be mandatory or optional. To assign a value to mandatory parameters, you need to edit the input

columns. To do this, see the related topic.

Restriction: Measures containing aggregate functions cannot be used as filters in the Query Panel.

This limitation is due to the fact that the resulting SQL expression contains the HAVING

3) Universes on Microsoft Analysis Services (MSAS)

clause, which

is not supported by the SAP ERP connection. If you add a measure containing an aggregation

function as a filter, an error occurs when you refresh the query.

When you create a business layer on an MSAS data source, the business layer objects are generated

automatically. The table below gives details about how certain objects in the MSAS cube are mapped

in the business layer.

MSAS

object

Business layer mapping

Perspective When you create a business layer, in the "Select OLAP Connection" page of the New

Business Layer wizard, the base cube in the MSAS data source is listed first in the list

of connection cubes. Additional cubes and perspectives in the data source are mapped

as cubes and are listed in alphabetical order.

The cube you select in the list of connection cubes becomes the basis for the objectsin the business layer.

Dimension Analysis dimensions are created in the business layer for each dimension in the cube.

Display

folder

Folders are created in the analysis dimension to contain the hierarchies in the display

folder.

Hierarchy For value-based (parent-child) hierarchies, a value-based hierarchy is created in the

analysis dimension. The attributes are created in the Attributes folder in the hierarchy.

Note: Unbalanced hierarchies are supported.

For level-based hierarchies, a business layer dimension is created in the analysis

dimension. A hierarchy is created in the business layer dimension with the levels and

their properties (as level attributes) in the Levels folder.

Attributehierarchy

Attribute hierarchies in the cube are created as level-based hierarchies in the analysisdimension.




Named set Named sets are created in the related analysis dimension, in the folder Named sets.

Measure

group

Folders are created to contain the measures in measure groups and subgroups.

Measure

Calculated

measure

Measures and calculated measures are created as measures in the appropriate

measure group folder. A measure attribute is created for the formatted value.

KPI KPIs are not exposed in connection metadata, but you can make the KPI values

available to queries by creating measures in the business layer with the MDX

functions KPIValue and KPIGoal.

For example, if the cube contains a KPI with the name Operating Profit, you can create

measures in the business layer with the following MDX expressions. In this example,

the measures are created in the measure group

folder\subfolder Per f or mance\ Pr of i t

Measure

name

. The name of the KPI value in the cube is

surrounded by double quotes in the MDX function.

MDX Expression

ActualProfit

KPIValue("Operating Profit")

Profit

Target KPIGoal("Operating Profit")

(Profit

Variance

@Select(Performance\Profit\Actual Profit) -

@Select(Performance\Profit\Profit Target))

/ abs(@Select(Performance\Profit\Profit Target))

Profit Pct

Achieved IIF(ISEMPTY(@Select(Performance\Profit\Profit

Target)), null, @Select(Performance\Profit\Profit Variance

) +1)

Visual totals You can use the MSAS-specific function VisualTotals in the MDX expressions for

business layer objects.The business layer can be refreshed to reflect changes in the underlying cube using the Refresh

Structure command in the Business Layer Editor Actions

4) Universes on Essbase

menu.

When you create a business layer on an Essbase data source, the business layer objects are

generated automatically. The table below gives details about how certain objects in the Essbase cube

are mapped in the business layer.

Essbase

object

Business layer mapping

Dimension Analysis dimensions are created in the business layer for each dimension in the

cube. Accounts

dimension

In the New Business Layer wizard, you select which dimension to use to create the

measures in the business layer. By default this is the dimension flagged as the

Accounts dimension. Measures are created in the business layer for each object in

the dimension. The organization of the measures in the Essbase outline is

maintained in the business layer.

Tip: For certain applications you may want to specify a dimension other than the

Accounts-type dimension for the measures. In this case, the measures are created

as an analysis dimension in the business layer and the analysis capabilities of

hierarchies, such as member selection, are available.

Hierarchy For each hierarchy in the cube, a hierarchy is created in the analysis dimension. Allhierarchies are generated as value-based.




Note: When opening the business layer in the Query Panel, hierarchy levels are

determined spontaneously and can be selected in the query. Also, you can insert

levels into the business layer.

User Defined

Attribute(UDA)

UDAs are created as named sets defined on the associated hierarchy and appear in

the analysis dimension.

Attribute Attributes are created in an Attributes folder in the hierarchy.

Attribute

hierarchy

If the attributes are designed as a hierarchy in the cube, an attribute hierarchy is

also created in the analysis dimension.

Dynamic Time

Series (DTS)

A DTS is not generated automatically in the business layer, but you can use MDX

functions, such as HTD, QTD (history-to-date, quarter-to-date) in the object

definitions.

Substitution

variable

Substitution variables are not exposed in the business layer, but you can invoke a

substitution variable in an MDX expression. The substitution variable name must be

prefixed with the ampersand (&) character.

For example, if the cube contains a variable named CurrentMonth, you can use thevariable in the definition of a named set:

WITH SET [Current Month] AS '{[Time].[&CurrentMonth ]}'

Example of the substitution variable in the definition of a calculated member:

WITH MEMBER [Measures].[Current Month Quantity] AS '([Measures]. [Quantity

Sold], [Time].[&CurrentMonth])'

The business layer can be refreshed to reflect changes in the underlying cube using the Refresh

Structure command in the Business Layer Editor Actions menu.

Restriction:

5) Universes on SAS

When you insert an MDX object into an Essbase business layer (for example, a named

set, calculated member, or measure), be sure that the object name is not the same as data in the

cube. For example, if Region is the name of a hierarchical level in the cube, you cannot name a new

MDX object Region. If the new object is given the same name as data in the cube, the object is not

usable in a query.

To build a universe on SAS, you must create a multisource-enabled data foundation on a secured

connection.

Connections to SAS are managed by the data federation service. For information about optimizing

queries to SAS data sources, see the Data Federation Administration Tool Guide

Multilingual universes

.

The information design tool supports the creation of multilingual universes. This feature enables a

multilingual solution using a single universe metadata model:

• The designer creates the universe in the source language in the information design tool.

• Translators translate the metadata in the data foundation and business layer using thetranslation management tool. For more information about translating metadata, see therelated topic.

• Report designers can then build reports once from the same universe that can be displayed inseveral languages based on user preferences.

Three language parameters impact how labels, metadata, and data are displayed in the informationdesign tool:




• The Product Language determines the language of the user interface of the informationdesign tool. This parameter is set in the information design tool preferences.

• The Preferred Viewing Locale is the user's preferred language for viewing report and queryobjects in an application. This parameter is set in the information design tool preferences.

A locale defines a language and a geographical area. Locale abbreviations consist of the

language abbreviation followed by the country abbreviation, for example, fr_FR. A locale also

defines the way data is sorted and how dates and numbers are formatted. Data is displayed

in a fallback locale when viewing a translated document and no translation in the user's

Preferred Viewing Locale is available. The fallback locale can be defined (in the translation

management tool), or defaults to the dominant locale that is automatically defined for every

locale.

• Connection Language: For data sources that support a language parameter, the languageparameter is entered when you create or edit a connection. This determines the language ofthe data.

Metadata source language in the information design toolThe metadata of the data foundation (table and column names) is created in the language of the

metadata in the data source. The metadata that you insert into the data foundation can be entered in

any language.

For SAP NetWeaver BW connections, the data foundation can be generated automatically in the

language specified in the connection language parameter.

The metadata of a relational business layer is created in the language of the data foundation

metadata. For OLAP business layers, the metadata is created in the language of the connection

language parameter. The metadata that you insert into the business layer can be entered in any

language.

Once the business layer is generated, the metadata (when viewed in the Business Layer Editor)

remains in that language, even if you change the connection language parameter.

When designing the universe, with the @Variable function, you can use

the PREFERRED_VIEWING_LOCALE and the DOMINANT_PREFERRED_VIEWING_LOCALE

• Translations are available in the language (metadata)

variables to customize the universe in order to filter multilingual data and retrieve only data in the

user's Preferred Viewing Locale at query time.

Multilingual display in the information design tool

The Preferred Viewing Locale (defined in the information design tool preferences) determines the

language of the metadata and data in the Query Panel, as long as two conditions are met:

• The connection supports the language parameter (data)

When displaying values from the data source in the Connection Editor, the metadata and data

displays in the language of the data source according to the current value of the connection language

parameter.

Translating universe metadataBefore you begin, the universe you want to translate must be created in the source language, and

published to a repository or local folder.

This procedure presents the recommended way to translate the data foundation and business layer

metadata for universes created in the information design tool. For details on the procedures in the

translation management tool, see the Translation Management Tool User Guide

1.

.

In the information design tool, create a local project if you do not already have one.




When creating the project, note the file path to the directory where the project files are saved

in the file system. The default root directory for all projects is workspace.

2.

The information design tool saves the .dfx and .blx files in the local project. These filescorrespond to the data foundation and business layer definitions. These are the files that are

used as the source for the translations.

Retrieve the universe into the local project.

Note:

3.

For OLAP universes, only a .blx file is saved.

a.

In the translation management tool, translate the data foundation metadata (for relationaluniverses):

Import the .dfx file from project folder in the local file system.

b. Translate the metadata.

c. Export the translated content to the local file system.

For details on these workflows, see the Translation Management Tool User Guide

4.

.

5.Follow the same procedure as in previous step to translate the .blx file.

a.

In the information design tool, to see the translations:

In the application language preferences, select translated language as the

Preferred Viewing Language. Exit and restart the information design tool for the

language change to take effect.

b. Open the business layer by double-clicking it in the Local Projects View. You can

see the translated metadata in the Query Panel. To open the Query Panel, select

the Queries pane and click Insert Query

6.

.

For universes published to a repository, you can open the Query Panel on the published

universe by right-clicking the universe the Repository Resources View and selecting

Re-publish the business layer so that translations are available to universe users.

Run

Query

1) About .unv and .unx universes

.

Converting .unv universes

You can use the Convert .unv Universe command in the information design tool to convert a universe

created with other SAP BusinessObjects universe design tools, and universes created in previous

versions. You can then work on the converted universe in a local project as you would a universe

created with the information design tool.

What is a .unv universe?

A .unv universe refers to a universe created with any SAP Business Objects XI 3 design tool, for

example Universe Designer.

The following SAP Business Objects BI 4

• The

design tools create .unv universes:

universe design tool (new name for Universe Designer)




• The universe design tool desktop edition (new name for Universe Designer Personal

The universe is stored with a file name of

)

universe name.unv in a local folder, or in a repository.

What is a .unx universe?

When you publish a universe using the information design tool, the universe is stored with a file name

of universe name.unx. This is called a .unx universe. The Convert .unv Universe

2) About converting .unv universes

command converts a.unv universe to the .unx universe format.

Before working with .unv universes in the information design tool

• Relational universes created using the

, you must convert them.

What .unv universes can be converted?

You can convert the following types of .unv universes:

SAP BusinessObjects BI 4 tools universe design toolor universe design tool desktop edition

• Relational universes created using

.

SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3 design tools.

Note: Before you can convert universes created in version XI 3 that are saved in a repository,

you must upgrade the universes using the upgrade management tool. For more information,

see the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform Upgrade Guide

• OLAP universes

.

You cannot convert the following types of .unv universes:

• Stored procedure universes

• Universes based on a Data Federator data source

• Javabean universes

Note:

Universe to convert

It is not possible to convert Business Views created with Business View Manager XI 3 to a

format compatible with version BI 4 reporting tools.

How to convert .unv universes

How you convert .unv files depends on the software version of the tool that was used to create the

universe, and whether the universe is stored locally or in a repository. The following table describes

the steps to follow for different conversion scenarios. For details of the conversion procedures, see

the Related Topics.

Workflow

A .unv universe that has been saved in a

repository using XI 3 design tools.

First upgrade the universe in the repository to the

latest version using the upgrade management tool.

In the information design tool, follow the procedure forconverting a .unv universe in a repository.

The conversion creates an equivalent .unx universe in

the repository with the associated universe and

connection rights.

A .unv universe that has been saved in a

repository using the universe design tool

In the

release BI 4.0 or later.

information design tool, follow the procedure for

converting a .unv universe in a repository.

The conversion creates an equivalent .unx universe in

the repository with the associated universe and

connection rights.

Any locally-stored .unv universe that has

been created using version XI 3 or laterdesign tools.

In the information design tool

The conversion creates the equivalent universe

, follow the procedure for

converting a locally-stored .unv universe.




Note: resources (data foundation, business layer, and local

connection) in a local project.

Publish the business layer to create the .unx universe.

A locally-stored universe refers to a

non-secured universe that was saved for all

users.

After converting .unv universes

When converting a .unv universe, the .unv universe is preserved. Documents in SAP BusinessObjects

query and reporting tools based on the universe are still linked to the .unv universe. This gives youthe opportunity to check and test the converted universe before changing the documents that depend

on it.

Some features of .unv universes are implemented differently in the .unx universe. Once you have

converted a universe, you can edit the universe resources in a local project in the information design

tool

3) Features supported when converting .unv universes

to check and correct inconsistencies; and to take advantage of new universe features. For a

description of the supported features and how they are implemented in .unx universes, see the

related topic.

After converting the universe, it is recommended to refresh the structure of the data foundation and

run a check integrity on the universe. For tips on resolving check integrity errors on converted

universes, see the related topic.

When converting a .unv universe with the information design tool

Feature in

original .unv

universe

, the conversion process creates

equivalent features in the converted universe. The table below indicates which .unv universe features

are supported and how they are implemented in the .unx universe. For certain features, tips are

described for obtaining best conversion results.

Feature in converted .unx universe

Universe schema The objects in the universe schema are created in the data foundation:

•

Tables• Alias tables

• Derived tables (including nested derived tables)

• Joins (including shortcut joins)

• Self-joins (converted to column filters)

Tip: @Prompt

• Contexts

functions in self-join expressions may require manual

intervention after conversion. See the related topic on resolving check

integrity errors.

Tip: Contexts are converted with all joins explicitly included or excluded.

In the data foundation editor, you can take advantage of the simplified

contexts feature. You can manually restrict the context definition to the

ambiguous parts of the schema using neutral joins. For more information

about contexts, see the related topic.

Universe outline The objects in the universe outline are created in the business layer with all their

properties:

• Classes and sub classes (converted to folders)

• Dimensions. For time hierarchies, a dimension is created for each activelevel in the hierarchy.

•

measures (including aggregation function)• details (converted to attributes)




• conditions (converted to filters, including properties for mandatory filters)

Multilingual

universe

All translated strings, language settings, and locale settings are converted.

Linked universe

(core and derived)

A core universe is converted like any .unv universe. The conversion of a core

universe does not trigger the conversion of the derived universes that depend onit.

A derived universe contains a link to a core universe. When you convert a

derived universe, the conversion automatically includes all core universes that

the derived universe is linked to. You do not need to convert the core universes

ahead of time as a separate step.

The data foundation of the converted universe contains all the tables and joins

from all core universes and any tables, joins, or contexts that were defined in the

derived universe.

The business layer contains all classes, objects, and conditions from all core

universes including the classes, objects and conditions that were defined in the

derived universe.

Universe Controls

Parameters:

Query Limits

Query limits are converted and can be edited in the business layer.

Universe SQL

Parameters: SQL

restrictions

Query, multiple SQL statements, and Cartesian product controls are converted.

You can edit the Allow Cartesian products and Multiple SQL statements for each

context restrictions in the data foundation. Edit all other SQL restrictions in the

business layer.

Strategies Custom strategies are not supported in .unx universes.

Universe

Parameters: SQL

generation

parameters

Customizations to SQL generation parameter settings in the PRM file or in the

universe parameters are not converted. You can add customized values to the

converted PRM file, and customize universe parameter settings in the converted

universe using the information design tool.

Tip: Check and reset custom settings to SQL generation parameters in the data

foundation properties and business layer properties. For information on setting

SQL parameters, see the related topic.

@Functions The following @functions are converted:

•

•

@Aggregate_Aware

•

@Prompt

•

@DerivedTable

•

@Select

• @Variable

The syntax for all functions is supported.

@Where

Tip: The @Prompt function has a new alternative syntax to take advantage of

named parameters. For more information, see the related topic.

Prompts @Prompt functions in dimension and measure expressions in the business layer,

and in SQL expressions in the data foundation are supported.

When converting, you have the option to automatically create a named

parameter for the prompt in the business layer.

@Prompt expressions in the data foundation are not converted. @Promptfunctions in self-join expressions may require manual intervention after




conversion. See the related topic on resolving check integrity errors.

Tip: Parameters and lists of values in the information design tool can be defined

independently from the objects that they reference. You can therefore reference

a named parameter or list of values in more than one business layer object.

Lists of values Named lists of values are created in the business layer for dimension andmeasure objects that specify a list of values.

Access

Restrictions

When converting a universe in a repository, universe Access Restrictions are

converted into security profiles that can be edited using the Security Editor:

• Access Restrictions (except object restrictions) are converted to settingsin a Data Security Profile.

• Object Access Restrictions are converted to Create Query and DisplayData settings in a Business Security Profile.

Tip: Business Security Profiles allow you to secure the metadata

separately from the data. For example, you can allow a user to create a

query although the user is not allowed to see the corresponding data.

For more information about universe security in the information design

tool, see the related topic.

Security

assignments and

priority

When converting a universe in a repository, user and group assignments are

converted.

Tip: In the Security Editor, you can take advantage of the feature allowing you to

assign more than one security profile to a user or group.

Group priority for access restrictions is converted.

Note: For .unv universes, if a user belongs to different groups, the priority

assigned to the groups determines what access restriction the user inherits if he

has no access restriction assigned. In the converted universe, priority is assignedto Data Security Profiles instead of groups. If the priority for the profile assigned

to the group is higher than the priority of the profile assigned to the user, the

group profile is used.

Connections When converting a universe in a repository, the same secured relational

connection is used by both the .unv and .unx universes. If you retrieve the

converted universe into a local project, a connection shortcut is created that

references the secured connection in the repository.

Tip: Relational connections can be created and shared by the universe design

tool and the information design tool. The connections are published in the same

Connections folder in the repository.

When converting a locally-stored (non-secured) universe, personal and sharedconnections are converted to local connections.

4) Tips for resolving check integrity errors after converting .unvuniverses

After converting a .unv universe, it is recommended to run a check integrity in the information design

tool on the converted universe. Certain errors in the check integrity results can be resolved by

following the best practices described below.

Errors on column data types

Refresh the structure in the data foundation just after the conversion. This avoids data-type errors in

the integrity check.

Errors on self-joins with @Prompt




If a join expression in the .unv universe contains an @Prompt with a list of values referring to an

object, the converted join needs to be reworked in the data foundation. The steps to follow for two

possible solutions are described. The descriptions use the following example:

The .unv universe contains a self-join on the dimProductStrings table with a prompt called Language.

The self-join expression is:

dimProductStrings.LanguageID= @Prompt('Language','N','Language\Language Id',mono,constrained) After converting the universe, the data foundation contains a column filter on the dimProductStrings

table. The join expression for the filter contains the @Prompt

1. Open the data foundation by double-clicking the data foundation name in the Local ProjectsView

.

The first solution consists of creating a prompted parameter and list of values in the data foundation:

2. Click the Parameters and Lists of Values3. In the data foundation

tab.Lists of Values pane, define a list of values based on custom SQL for

Language. For example:

SELECT "LANGUAGES"."LANGUAGEID", "LANGUAGES"."LANGUAGECODE" FROM

"LANGUAGES

4. In the data foundation

"

Parameters pane, define a parameter for Language. Select the

option Prompt to users and associate the Language5. In the data foundation, edit the column filter in the

list of values to it.dimProductStrings table. Change the join

expression to reference the new prompted parameter, for example:

dimProductStrings.LanguageID = @Prompt(Language

6. Save and close the data foundation.

)

The second solution consists of using a mandatory filter in the business layer:

1. Open the data foundation in the editor and delete the column filter on the dimProductStrings table that contains the @Prompt

2. Save and close the data foundation..

3. Open the business layer in the editor.4. In the business layer Lists of values

SELECT "

pane, define a list of values based on custom SQL forLanguage. For example:

LANGUAGES"."LANGUAGEID", "LANGUAGES"."LANGUAGECODE" FROM

"LANGUAGES

5. In the business layer

"

Parameters pane, define a parameter for Language. Keep the defaultoption to Prompt to users and associate the Language

6. In the business layer, in the folder associated withlist of values to it.

Product, create a filter with an expressionthat refers to the Language prompted parameter, for example:

dimProductStrings.LanguageID = @Prompt(Language

7. In the

)

Properties tab of the filter definition, select the Use filter as mandatory in the queryoption. Select the Filter scope of Apply on Folder

8. Save and close the business layer..

5) Converting a .unv universe in a reposi tory

The .unv universe to be converted must be stored in a repository compatible with the informationdesign tool. If the .unv universe was created with a design tool version earlier than SAP




BusinessObjects BI 4.0, you must first upgrade the universe using the upgrade management tool. For

more information about upgrading universes, see the SAP BusinessObjects Upgrade Guide

1.

.

If you want to retrieve the converted .unx universe into a local project in order to work on it, you must

first have a local project folder in the Local Projects View.

In the information design tool, select File > Convert .unv Universe2. .In the "Convert a .unv Universe" dialog box, click the Select .unv universe from a repository

icon3.

.Open a session on the repository where the .unv universe is saved, select the universe, andclick OK

4..

Click the Browse button next to the Destination Repository Folder

5.

field, and then select afolder in the repository where you want to save the converted .unx universe.If you want to retrieve the converted .unx universe into a local project in order to work on it,click the Browse button next to the Destination Local Project Folder field, select a projectfolder, and click OK

6..

If you want the conversion to create named parameters for prompts, select the Automaticallyconvert @Prompt expressions into universe named parameters

7.

option. For more information

about named parameters, see the related topic.If you are retrieving the converted universe into a local project and want remove the localsecurity requirement so that any user can open the universe resources without enteringrepository authentication, select the Save for all users

8.option.

Click OK

After conversion, it is recommended to refresh the structure of the data foundation, then run a check

integrity on the universe to detect problems in the conversion. For tips on resolving check integrity

errors, see the related topic.

to start the conversion.

6) Converting a locally-stored .unv universeYou need to define a local project folder in the Local Projects View in which to save the resources of

the converted universe.

1. In the information design tool, select File > Convert .unv Universe2.

.In the "Convert a .unv Universe" dialog box, click the Select .unv universe from the local file

system icon3.

, and select the universe you want to convert.Click the Browse button next to the Destination Local Project Folder field, select a projectfolder, and click OK

4..

If you want the conversion to create named parameters for prompts, select the Automaticallyconvert @Prompt expressions into universe named parameters

5.

option. For more informationabout named parameters, see the related topic.

Click OK

The conversion creates the equivalent universe resources (data foundation, business layer,

and local connection) in the specified local project folder.

At this point, it is recommended to refresh the structure of the data foundation.

You can now publish the business layer to create the .unx universe file. This creates a local

universe. To publish the universe to the repository, continue with the next step.

to start the conversion.

6.

7.

Publish the local connection to a repository.

Edit the data foundation and change the connection to use the secured connection publishedin the last step.




8.

The Publishing Wizard allows you to run a check integrity on the universe (recommended). For tips on

resolving check integrity errors, see the related topic.

Retrieving a publ ished universe

Publish the business layer to the repository.

1) Retrieving a publ ished universe from the local file systemTo retrieve a published universe, you must have a project in the Local Projects View where the

business layer and referenced resources are to be saved.

1. In the Local Projects View, right-click the project folder and select Retrieve Universe > fromLocal Folder

2..

When the wizard finishes, the business layer and its dependent resources (connections, connectionshortcuts, and data foundation) are created in the local project and are ready to be edited.

Follow the instructions on the wizard pages. For more information about what to do on aparticular page, click the help button.

2) Retrieving a publ ished universe from a repositoryTo retrieve a published universe, you must have a project in the Local Projects View where the

business layer and referenced resources are to be saved.

1.

Option

You can retrieve a universe from a repository in two ways:

Command From the Local Projects

View

Right-click the project folder in the Local Projects View and

select Retrieve Universe > from a Repository.From the Repository

Resources View Right-click the universe in the Repository Resources View and

select Retrieve Universe.

2.3.4. By default, the resources are retrieved into the local project and are secured locally by

requiring you to enter your repository system authentication when opening a retrieved datafoundation or business layer.

Note:

5. To remove the local security requirement, select the Save for all users

6.

option when selectingthe universe in the repository.

When the wizard finishes, the business layer and its dependent resources (connections, connection

shortcuts, and data foundation) are created in the local project and are ready to be edited.

Follow the instructions on the wizard pages. For more information about what to do on a

particular page, click the help button.




1) Create a universe using the Universe Wizard




2) Universe Creation Create Project




Create Connections




Create Data Foundation on Single Data Source




3) Convert a local universe from a UNV to a UNX




Connecting to Data SourcesOLAP Connection on SAP BW Cube

Open IDT & Open Session

Provide User name & Password




Expand Session

Create connection under Connection Folder

Select OLAP Connection




Provide name

Select SAP BICS Client




Provide details like Client number, Userid, Password, System Id, Application Server&System Number

Select Bex Query




Test Connection




Creation of OLAP Connection on Bex Query






Expand Session






Provide Client Number, User Name, Pass word, Language, SID, Application, System

Number

Select Bex Query




Test Connection

Test Connection




1) Relational connection

Within the IDT, you can create a relational connection to an SAP BW and build a

universe on top of it.

There are limitations when connecting to SAP BW queries. For instance you will not

be able to gain access to external BW hierarchies, restricted key figures, calculated

key figures, variables, or structures. The benefit is that you can combine a relational

connection with other data sources. All SAP BusinessObjects BI tools that work with IDT can take advantage of this

relational connection.

You can build a universe based on an SAP NetWeaver BW InfoProvider by first

creating a relational connection to the data source.

Note that this type of connection must be created directly on the SAP BusinessObjects

Business Intelligence (BI) platform, rather than being created locally and published to

the platform as a secured connection shortcut.

In this tutorial, you will create a relational connection based on an SAP BW Info

Provider






Expand Session




Provide details like Client Number, User Name, Pass word, Language, SID,

Application, System Number

Select any Info Provider( Master table, Cube, DSO, MP, IS, VP, SPO )




Create Relational connection for SAP HANA




Click on Finish




1) Create an OLAP connection to an SAP HANA view

Log on to IDT & Create connection under System Repository

Select Query




Create a connection to an OData data source




Create a relational connection to SQL Server using OLEDB providers




Create a relational connection to an SAP ERP data source




Structure Design

Create a data foundation based on multiple RDBMS connections




Business Layer

Create a dimension




Create an attribute




Create a measure





BusinessObjects Web Intelligence

Reviewing Web Intelligence Core Report Design

Lesson introduction

In this lesson you will review and consolidate your knowledge of key Web Intelligenceconcepts

required for advanced report design.

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

• Build on your knowledge of the Web Intelligence core reporting concepts reviewed

Reviewing core report design concepts

After completing this unit, you will be able to:

• Build on your knowledge of Web Intelligence core concepts to become an advanced report

designer.

Review: Web Intelligence core report design

1. A Web Intelligence document consists of three components. What are they?

2. A query filter contains three components. What are they?

3. What object type does not have a list of values?

4. When you list values in a formula, what must you use to separate the values?

5. What are the two benefits provided when you apply a break to a table?

6. What are the differences among a query filter, a report filter, and a block filter?

7. What is the difference between a section and a break?

8. What is the difference between an ascending or descending sort and a custom sort?

9. Why purge the data in your document?

10. What is the difference between a dimension and a detail?

11. You have two queries on two different data sources. Query 1 returns 10 rows for Region.

Query 2 returns 12 rows for Region_Area . You synchronize the two data sources by merging

the Region and Region_Area objects.

How many rows appear after the synchronization?

12. You have a report with the objects Region, Year, and Sales revenue in Query 1, and you

have another report on a different data source with Region, Area, and Sales total in Query

2. Which objects do you choose to merge to synchronize the information in one table?









13. When you synchronize two queries from different data sources, what rules must you respect?

14. Can you synchronize the data between a Web Intelligence document and an Excel

spreadsheet?

After completing this lesson, you are now able to:

• Build on your knowledge of the Web Intelligence core reporting concepts reviewed

Working with Advanced Query Techniques

Lesson introduction


• Use combined queries

•

Use subqueries • Create a query based on another query

• Change data sources

Using combined queries

When you design Web Intelligence documents, there are certain instances where you may need

to build two or more queries to retrieve the results you require in your report.

As a Web Intelligence user, there are several techniques available that enable you to do this.

They are:

• Data synchronization using merged dimensions

Data synchronization refers to the process of merging data from multiple sources into asingle block in a document.

Note: This technique is presented in the BusinessObjects Web Intelligence XI 3.0/3.1: Report

Design course.

• Subqueries

The subquery technique enables you to specify the output of a query as the operand value(s)

for a query filter of another query.

Note: The subquery technique is presented later in this lesson.

• Combined queries

The combined queries technique enables you to create two queries and merge the results

of both into a single data provider on a selective basis. This can be done by using the Union,

Intersection, or Minus functions.

Note: In this unit, you will see that combining queries in a single data provider is different

from synchronizing multiple data providers using merged dimensions.

This unit describes how to use combined queries.










• Describe the Union, Intersection, and Minus functions used to combine queries

• Discuss reasons and advantages to using combined queries instead of applying complex

filters

• Create a combined query

• Remove a combined query • List important facts to remember when using combined queries

About combined query functions

Adding single and complex query filters to a query allows you to restrict the amount of

information returned by the query. This standard technique allows you to combine multiple

filters in a single query, and these combinations can be designed to make queries very specific

and limiting.

However, this technique only works with a single query. There may be situations when you

want to combine the results of two queries into a single block. To accomplish this, you must build a combined query. All combined queries are built in the

Query panel, and can only be built using a single universe. Each query needs to have the same

number of objects as well as the same data types.

There are three methods of combining queries:

• Union: combines results which appear in Query 1 OR Query 2.

You use a union query to combine the data from two objects in a single column in a table.

Union queries are especially useful for working with incompatible objects.

For example, if you built a query with two incompatible objects, Web Intelligence would

run separate SQL statements for each object and then return the data in different blocks

(tables). A union query forces Web Intelligence to return the data from both objects together

in one column.

Unions, when used to combine the results of two queries using the same objects, will remove

duplicate values, leaving a single instance of the duplicate in the report.

Note: Union is the default operator for combined queries.

• Intersection: combines results which appear in Query 1 AND Query 2.









You use an intersection query to obtain data common to two sets of results. Like a union

query, Web Intelligence considers each select statement separately and combines their results

in the end.

Unlike a union query, the intersection query only returns those values that are in both

queries. In this sense, it works much the same as using the AND operator when creating a

regular query with multiple query filters.

•

Minus: combine results which include everything in Query 1 except for what is also true in Query 2.

You use a minus query to exclude the results of one query from the main query result (Query

1). For example, a minus query could be used to find out which customers bought product

A but not product B.

You could not obtain this data with standard query filters since the result sets need to be

obtained separately before being combined. Like a union query, the minus query considers

each query separately and combines their results in the end.

When you build minus queries, you must pay attention to the order of the queries, since

the results of Query 2 will always be subtracted from the results of Query 1.

Understanding when to use a combined query

The following is a typical scenario where you might choose to use a combined query:

You need to find the dates on which your customers either made reservations or paid their

invoices. The query requires two incompatible objects: Invoice Date and Reservation Date.

While the data that the objects represent is identical (that is, a date is a date), the intent of the

dates is incompatible and therefore, the objects are incompatible.









Since the objects are incompatible, if you include them in a standard query, Web Intelligence

returns two blocks of data and does not synchronize the values in a single block.

However, by building a combined query using the Union function, with Invoice Date in the

first query and Reservation Date in the other, the data appears in a single column in the block.

Combining queries is similar but not equivalent to Boolean logical operators that you may have

used when combining conditions in a single query. The Intersection function is similar in effect

to AND; the Union function is similar in effect to OR; the Minus function is similar in effect to

NOT.

However, the column of data retrieved by the combined query displays a header that reflects

the date object from the first query only. In other words, using the example above, the query

returns a column entitled Invoice Date, but the column actually contains both invoice dates

and reservation dates. This is important to understand, as it may require you to reformat the

column header.

Advantages of using combined queries

There are a number of reasons why you may want to use combined queries instead of applying

multiple query filters against a single query:

• To make the construction of the query easier

• When it is not possible to set the required query filters using Boolean logic

The downside of using the combined query technique is that because you are actually creating

multiple queries, processing against the database may take longer.

Note: A decision on whether to use query filters or a combined query to retrieve the data you need

often depends on how the data is structured in your database.

Comparing query filters and combined queries

Suppose that you have been asked by the Marketing Manager of the eFashion group to produce

a report listing all products that have not had a special promotion across all stores.

The resulting report should list 203 products that have not had a special promotion.









Note: The table in this image has been truncated.

To produce this report, you need to resolve issues concerning data integrity.

If you create two queries, one to show the total list of product SKU numbers and SKU

descriptions, the other to show the list of SKU numbers, SKU descriptions, and products that

have had a promotion (Promotion y/n), and then apply a count on the SKU number column

for each query, you will see that while the first query produces a list of 211 records, the second

produces a list of only 8.

This is because the eFashion database only has information on product promotions where a

promotion has actually occurred.

In this case, of the 211 records available, there are only 8 records where an entry identifies that

a promotion has taken place. If you apply a query filter to display only those products where

the Promotion y/n value is not equal to Yes, you get a message stating that there is no data to

return. You get the same message if you apply a query filter to display only those products

where the Promotion y/n value is null.

Due to a relational database limitation, when products are listed with a Promotion column,

only products that have a Promotion y/n value will show up in the report. This is a common

data integrity issue. You need to use a combined query to generate the results you require.

Using the combined query technique

The combined query technique combines the results of one query with the results of another

query into a single query, or data provider. The manner in which the data is combineddepends

on the function you choose: Union, Minus, or Intersection .

In the previous scenario, you could not generate a table listing only the products for which









there were no promotions, because the Promotion y/n object only contains data about the

products for which there were promotions. However, you can generate the table you need by

creating a combined query using the SKU Number and SKU desc objects in Combined Query

1, and adding the following query filter to Combined Query 2.

The first query produces a list of all products, and the second query produces a list of only

those products for which there has been a promotion. By using the Minus function to combine

the two queries, you can generate a table that subtracts the 8 records generated by Combined

Query 2 from the 211 generated by Combined Query 1, resulting in a table listing the 203

products for which there has been no promotion.

To build a combined query

1. Create an initial query in the Query panel.

2. Click Combined Query on the toolbar.

Web Intelligence adds a copy of the initial query to the data provider. The second query

has the following characteristics:

• It contains the same objects as the original query.

• It does not contain the filters defined on the original query.

• It is combined with the original query in a Union relationship.

3. To switch to a query, click Combined Query n.

The individual queries in the combined queries are named CombinedQuery n.

4. To delete a query, right-click the CombinedQuery n you want to delete, then select Remove

on the menu.









5. To change the combination type, double-click the operator. The operator moves through

the sequence Union, Intersection, Minus.

6. Build each query within the combined query as you build any normal Web Intelligence

query.

7. Click Run Query.

Important facts about combined queries

Below are some important facts to keep in mind when you use combined queries:

• Queries that you combine must be built using the same universe.

• Queries that you combine must contain the same number of objects to run successfully.

• When you build a combined query to return data from more than one object in a column,

for example, using the Union operator, you must use objects of the same type (character,

date or number).

• Only the objects placed in the first query are displayed in the block after the query is run.

Any object used in a combined query does not display in its own column, but instead, the

values are returned in the same column as the object from the first query.

• Web Intelligence's default behavior when combining queries is to perform a Union (not a

UnionAll) and to return all values less the duplicates. You need to define a custom formula

or variable for Web Intelligence to perform a UnionAll.

Retrieving duplicate or unique rows

In a database, the same data may be repeated over many rows. By default, Web Intelligence

automatically returns all rows, even if they are repeated. This default behavior may cause an

inaccurate count when combining queries, particularly when you use the Minus operator.

You can change Web Intelligence’s default behavior so that only unique rows are returned by

the combined query.

To retrieve only unique rows

1. In the Query panel, display the Query Properties tab.

2. In the Data zone, clear the Retrieve duplicate rows option.

Activity: Combined queries

Objective

• Using Web Intelligence Rich Client, create a document by combining queries, using the

Union, Intersection or Minus functions.

Instructions

Note: To log onto Web Intelligence Rich Client, you need a user name and password for the

BusinessObjects Enterprise server. Refer to your class instructor for this information.









You want to create a query that shows a list of product lines. The list must show:

• Product lines that are colored Anise

AND

• Product lines that are both Coffee colored, and also have sold a greater quantity than 450

units

Using the combined query technique, create the following table:

• Which operator will you use to combine the queries?

Activity: Combined queries - Optional

Objective

• Create a Web Intelligence document by combining queries, using the Union, Intersection

and Minus functions.

Instructions

You are interested in reporting on the relationship between the eFashion stores that earned at

least $3,000,000 in sales revenue and those stores whose margin was at least $1,300,000.

Assume that you already have two reports built using the following queries:

• Report 1:1









• Report 2:1

1. Using the combined query technique, create a table showing all Store names that have both

Sales revenue of $3,000,000 or higher and a Margin of $1,300,000 or higher.


2. Once you run the combined query, apply a Count to the Store name column.

The table should appear like this:

3. Edit the query and update the data in the table so that it shows all Store names that have

had Sales revenue of at least $3,000,000 but not a margin of $1,300,000 or more.


4. Once you run the combined query, check that the Count is still applied to the Store name

column.

The table appears like this:

5. Edit the query to display all Store names that have had either Sales revenue of at least









$3,000,000 or a Margin of at least $1,300,000.


6. Once you run the combined query, check that the Count is still applied to the Store name

column.

The table should appear like this:

7. Which of the previous results could you also achieve using multiple query filters?

8. Save the document as Act_Combinedqueries_Opt.

Using subqueries

A subquery, as its name suggests, is a query within a query. It contains an inner query, which

returns a set of data that is used as the basis for a second, outer (or main) query.


• Describe subqueries

• Create a subquery

Understanding subqueries

Subqueries are used in cases where the results of the main query are dependent upon the results

of the inner query. This means that the inner query must be processed first so that the result

set can be passed on the main query.

Like combined queries, subqueries are always built in the Query panel.

You construct a subquery by placing a query filter on one of the objects in the main query and

then using the operand for that query filter to launch the subquery. The operator you include

in the query filter determines the relationship between the data sets returned by the inner and

outer queries.









Typically you use subqueries when:

• The value of the operand is unknown.

• The query filter for the report involves a value that will change over time.

Creating a subquery

Now you will explore how and when to use subqueries.

Suppose that you have been asked by the Manager of the Chicago 33rd store of the eFashion

Group to produce a report that lists stores and their revenue whenever those stores' revenue

are higher than Chicago 33rd.

To produce the requested report, you need to resolve an issue regarding the query filter. The

query filter for the report involves a value that is not known prior to the query being made,

and it will change over time. Since the revenue of the Chicago 33rd store changes over time,

you cannot enter a hard-coded figure for the sales revenue because the user would never be

able to refresh the report and get accurate results.

To resolve this problem, you can use a subquery. Begin by creating a query using the Store

name and Sales revenue objects, and then, using the Add a subquery button, create a subquery.

By default, the Sales revenue object appears in the subquery definition in the Query Filters

pane. Since you want your report to display the results for all stores with sales revenue greater

than or equal to the Chicago 33rd location, change the operand in the subquery to Greater than

or Equal to. Then, complete the subquery by dragging the Store name dimension just below

the subquery filter definition, and use this syntax:

Store name Equal to e-Fashion Chicago 33rd

When you run the query, the report returns the results for the Chicago 33rd store, as wellas

results for all the other stores with equal or greater sales revenue.

To build a subquery

1. Add the objects that you want to appear in the query to the Result Objects pane.

2. Select the object that you want to filter with a subquery.

3. Click Add a subquery.









The Add a subquery button appears in the toolbar for the Query Filters pane.

The subquery outline appears in the Query Filters pane. By default the object you selected

appears as the Filter object and Filter By object.

4. To add a WHERE condition to the subquery, drag an object to the To filter the query... area.

5. Select the operator and values used to filter the object in the WHERE condition.

You can use a standard query filter as a WHERE condition in a subquery. To do so, drag

and drop the existing filter or subquery to the To filter the query... area. To copy rather

than move the existing filter to the WHERE condition, hold down the Control key while

dragging and dropping. In this case the existing filter remains in its initial place and becomes

part of the WHERE condition of the subquery.

6. Click Subquery to add an additional subquery to the query filter.

In addition to linking subqueries in AND or OR relationships, you can nest them (create

subqueries within subqueries) by dragging an existing subquery to the To filter the query...

area. In this case the inner subquery becomes part of the WHERE condition of the outer

subquery. To copy rather than move the subquery to the WHERE condition, hold down the

Ctrl key while dragging and dropping. In this case the second subquery remains at the

same level as the first, and becomes part of the WHERE clause of the first.

By default the two subqueries are linked in an AND relationship. Click the AND operatorto toggle between AND and OR.

Activity: Using subqueries

Objective

• Create a subquery using the results of one query as the starting point for a second query.









Instructions

You have been asked by the Manager of the Colorado Springs store of the eFashion Group to

produce a report that lists product lines and their Margin, when the lines' Margin is higher

than that of the Sweaters line.

1. Using the eFashion universe, create a new document and build a query using Line and Margin.

2. Using the subquery technique, return those lines with a higher Margin than the Sweaters

line.

3. You also need to display a title.

4. Save the document as Act_Subqueries.

Creating a query based on another query

Web Intelligence allows you to create a query based on the structure of another query.

Consequently, you save time with complex reports and can ensure that different queries aredefined in exactly the same way.


• Duplicate a query in a document to build another query.

Duplicating queries

When you build a report with many queries based on the same universe, duplicating your

query can accelerate the process, especially when the queries have some of the objects in

common.

Suppose that you are asked to create a report for eFashion that displays state, year, and sales

revenue. The report must use a prompted query filter to allow users to select the state for which

to return the results.

To create the query, you place the State, Year, and Sales revenue objects in the Result Objects

pane of the Query panel, and place the State object in the Query Filters pane, using the required

prompt.









Next, suppose that you are asked to generate another report that prompts for state, but that

this time displays sales revenue broken down by store and year, rather than by state and year.

The query you need to create this report is almost identical to that required for the previous

report. The only difference is that in the second query, you must use the Store name object in

the Result Objects pane, where in the first query you used the State object.

To save yourself the effort of creating an entirely new query to generate the second report, you

can duplicate the first query, delete the State object in the Result Objects pane, and replace it

with the Store name object. When you run the new query, it produces the results you require.

To duplicate a query

1. Select the query you want to duplicate by right-clicking the appropriate Query tab at the

bottom of the Query panel.

2. Select Duplicate Query.

A duplicate query appears in the Query panel, and its tab is labeled <query name> (1).

You can now modify the query.

Changing data sources

Web Intelligence allows you to change the data source used to create a document:

• From one universe to another universe

• From a local data source to a universe

You cannot change data sources from a universe to a local data source.


• Change the data source for a document • Map the objects to the new data source

About changing data sources

With the Web Intelligence query interface, you can change the data source for your query when

required.

This is particularly useful when:









• You move a test universe into production and want to use the same documents on the new

universe. For example, you can change the test universe stores to the production universe

eFashion.

• You change between different universes covering different functional areas but based on

the same database.

For example, an organization has a Marketing universe and a Sales universe based on theSales database. The Marketing universe uses objects for companies, contacts, leads, and

promotional efforts. The Sales universe uses objects for companies, contacts, sales orders,

and sales revenue.

The Marketing managers want to know how many contacts established during a promotional

campaign actually led to sales within the six months following the campaign.

With appropriate access to the Sales universe, the managers can take a query that retrieves

the companies and contacts that participated in the campaign, change the universe from

Marketing to Sales, add the Sales Revenue object from the Sales universe to the query and

filter to retrieve data for the six-month period following the campaign.

To change the data source

1. From your document in the Web Intelligence Rich Client main window, click the Edit

Query button.

The Query panel displays.

For a document built on a local data source, the data source appears in the Query Properties

section of the left-hand panel.

For a document built on a universe, click the Properties tab. The Universe field appears on

the Properties tab.

2. To change the data source:

• For a document built on a universe, next to the Universe field, click the … (ellipsis)

button.

The Universe dialog box displays with a list of the universes that you can use to replace

the current one.

• For a document built on a local data provider, next to the Source file field, click the …

(ellipsis) button.









The Choose File dialog box displays for you to browse to a new local data source.

3. To select the new data source:

• In the Universe dialog box, click to select the universe and click the OK button.

• In the Choose File dialog box, browse to select the local data source and click theOpen

button.

The Change Source dialog box displays to show you how the objects from the query on the

original data source map to objects in the new data source. The first column shows the object

from the original query, or the source object, and the second column shows the object in the

new data source, or the target object.

Web Intelligence proposes mapping to objects based on the object name and data type.

• The check mark to the left of the object names indicates that the object is mapped to

another object in the new data source.

• The X to the left of the object name indicates that the object is removed from the query

on the new data source.

• The check mark to the left of the object names indicates that the object is mapped to

another object in the new data source.

• The X to the left of the object name indicates that the object is removed from the query

on the new data source.

4. Optionally, to modify the proposed mapping or removal of an object, click the ... (ellipsis)

button on the line corresponding to the object for which you want to modify the mapping.









The Map Object dialog box displays.

In the Map Object dialog box:

• To remove the object, select the Remove object option .

• To map to a new object, select the Select a new object option and click the object from

the new data source displayed in the Map Object dialog box.

5. Click OK to close the Map Object dialog box.

6. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each object with a proposed mapping or removal that you want to

change.

7. Click OK to close the Change Source dialog box.

In the Query panel, in the Properties tab, the Universe field shows the new data source.

The Result Objects pane shows the objects for the new data source.

8. Click Run Query.

The results of the query on the new data source display in the Web IntelligenceRich Client

main window.

9. Save the document.

Activity: Changing the data source

Objective

• In this activity, you change the data source from the development universe (stores) to the

production universe (eFashion).









Instructions

1. From the course resources, open the Sales per Region.wid document. This document was

created using the stores universe.

The report looks like this:

2. Change the data source to the eFashion universe and map the objects as appropriate.

To achieve the desired results, remove one object from the query and map another object

to a corresponding object in the new universe that has a different name.

Working with Calculation Contexts

Lesson introduction

This lesson provides information on how Web Intelligence performs calculations in reports.

By default, Web Intelligence determines the result of a measure when it is projected in the

report based on the dimension(s) in the part of the report where the measure is inserted (for

example, in columns of a table). These dimensions make up what is called the calculation

context of the measure object or variable.

When you understand the default behavior of contexts, you can also understand how to

manipulate the contexts and force a report to display data in the manner you specify regardless

of the other objects projected.

This lesson demonstrates how to use various operators and keywords to define and redefine

contexts in your calculations.










• Understand calculation contexts

• Redefine calculation contexts

Understanding calculation contexts

This unit introduces key concepts of calculation contexts in Web Intelligence. Calculation

context is the way that Web Intelligence dynamically calculates values projected in a report bymeasure objects or variables.

In a Web Intelligence document, measures are calculated dynamically based on the dimensions

with which they appear. For this reason, it is important to understand that Web Intelligence,

by default, performs calculations at the row level and at the lowest level dimension available

in your block.


• Explain how Web Intelligence calculates data dynamically

• Explain the impact of input and output contexts on how data is calculated

• Explain how you can use extended syntax to change the default calculation context

Dynamic calculations

By default, when objects are placed in a block, the projected values of the measures are

aggregated to the level of the dimensions displayed in the block, as opposed to the level of the

values as stored in the data provider.

For instance, if you create a table showing Year and Sales revenue, the measures will be

aggregated to the Year level, as shown in the first table.

If you added State to the beginning of the table then the Sales revenue would be aggregated

by year for each state, as shown in the second table.









When you remove a dimension from the table (Year, in this case), as in the third table in the

diagram, Web Intelligence automatically recalculates the sales revenue data according to the

new context (State, in this case).

You can see in this example that sales revenue is calculatedat the row level. In Web Intelligence,

this row level calculation is the default calculation context for any measure object or variable

placed in a column.

If you set a section on a report, any measures inserted at the section level are calculated by

default using the section as the calculation context.

In this example, the report is sectioned by state. Beside the section heading is a cell displaying

sales revenue at the state level. Notice that the sales revenue value at the state level matches

the sum of sales revenue results for all of the stores in the state.

Similarly, if you insert a sales revenue cell beside the report title, the calculation context is the

whole report, so the cell displays the sales revenue grand total.









These examples demonstrate the first way of controlling a calculation, where the level of

aggregation is affected by the environment of the report:

• The projected values of a measure are aggregated to the level of the dimensions displayed

in the block.

• The position of the measure within the body of the report can also control the aggregation

level. If a report is sectioned and you place a measure at the section level of the report, the

projected value of the measure will be aggregated at the dimension level on which the

section is based.

The second way of controlling a calculation is to force a level of aggregation other than the

default. For example, you can place a variable or a formula in a table, but force it to aggregate

to the sum of all values for the table. Such functionality is required if you are going to create

percentage calculations across sectioned reports. The remainder of this lesson demonstrates how to force the level of aggregation for measure

values when you project the values in a report.

Redefining calculation contexts

This unit provides reasons why you might choose to redefine the input or output contexts of

measures in your report. It also provides examples of the logic to apply when you redefine the

input or output contexts.

These examples show how to use both extended syntax context operators and keywords.


• Explain the impact of input and output contexts on how measures are calculated

• Define the input context in order to change the level of aggregation

• Define the output context in order to change the level of aggregation

• Use the In context operator with Where to redefine a calculation context









Suppose that you want to create an eFashion report that displays each state, its total revenue,

and the best revenue ever achieved in any one year. To understand how to create a variable

that returns the best revenue achieved in any one year by state, it helps to begin by looking at

a report that shows sales revenue by year, grouped by state.

The Sales revenue column is sorted in descending order, so the top entry in the Sales revenue

column is what you would like to create a variable to identify. Since you don't want your final

report to contain a Year column, you can now insert a new table that contains only the State

and Sales revenue objects.

Now you just need to create a variable that returns the state's best year amount and insert it in

the new table. As your first attempt, you might create a variable called State's best year amount,

using this syntax:

=max([Sales revenue])

If you add the new variable to the table, you get this result:









If you compare the state's best year revenue shown in the first block with the data calculated

by the variable you have just created, you can see that the default behavior of the calculation,

at the row level, is obviously not the correct context.

By default, Web Intelligence does not know that the Year object needs to be included in the

context of the calculation - it uses State as the context to calculate the values, and the result is

the exact same calculation that the Sales revenue object projects.

Now, extend the syntax to specify the correct input and output context so that Web Intelligence

knows how to calculate the data correctly. The syntax for specifying input and output context

is:

Aggregate function([Measure] input_context) output_context

To extend the syntax, the available operators are:

• ForEach

• In

The key syntactic difference between an input and an output context is where the operator is placed. In an input calculation context, the operator is placed within the brackets of the

aggregate:

Syntax: Aggregate(measure FOREACH (dimension list))

For example: =Max([Sales revenue] ForEach ([Year]))

Or

Syntax: Aggregate(measure IN (dimensionlist))

For example: =Max([Sales revenue] In ([Year]))

Suppose that you modify the State's best year amount variable to use this formula:

=Max([Sales revenue] In ([Year]))

The report now looks like this:









This formula does not work because although it includes Year in the calculationcontext, it does

not include State. Even though the table includes a State column, and you would normally

expect the data to aggregate to the state level, the In operator only takes into account dimensions

in the formula's dimension list. Now you can modify the variable to use this formula:

=max([Sales revenue] In([Year] ; [State]))


This formula achieves the desired result. By default, Web Intelligence takes [state] as the output

context. You can create an alternate formula for the variable by using the ForEach operator instead of

In. Unlike the In operator, the ForEach operator takes into account all the dimensions in the

table, so you can achieve the same result using this formula:

=max([Sales revenue] ForEach ([Year]))









only the values retained by the filter.

If you create an Average variable using the same syntax Web Intelligence used to calculate the

average for all stores, and add a new Average column to the table, you get this result:

The Average variable appears in the table, but the values are now calculated at the row level

rather than at the whole table level.

Why is this happening? The default calculation context has changed.

When the formula =Average([Sales revenue]) is placed in:

• The footer: the context is to calculate for the entire table.

• The table: the context is to calculate for each individual row.

If you try to build an alerter to highlight values in the Sales revenue column that are below

the average, the alerter will not work since the Sales revenue values are currently equal to the

Average values.

To solve this, you can use either the ForAll or the In Block operators, using the following syntax:

Aggregate(measure) ForAll(dimensionlist))

For example: =Average([Sales revenue]) ForAll ([Store name];[Year])

Or

Syntax: Aggregate(measure) In Block

For example: =Average([Sales revenue]) In Block

The difference between the two is that the ForAll operator only aggregates the measure for the

dimensions in the dimension list, while the In operator aggregates at the report environment

level, that is, at the body, block or report level.

The key difference is that when you use the In operator, the formula calculation is aggregated

at the specified level regardless of which dimensions or variables are used in the report.

If you update the Average formula to use the =Average([Sales revenue]) In Block formula,









the report looks like this:

Why use this syntax?

By adding In Block as the output context, you are specifying that the calculation should be

displayed at the block (whole table) level, even though the calculation was placed at the row

level.

Why is there no input context?

No input context is needed since the calculation needs to find the average based on the entire

table. By leaving the input context to assume the default, you ensure that no additional objects

are considered when the average is calculated.

Now that the Average variable uses the correct formula, you can create the alerter to highlight

below average results per store.

If you apply this alerter to the Store name column in the report, and remove the Average

column, you get the results you require:









More about the extended syntax keywords

The following keywords can be used with the In operator to control how measures are calculated

at different levels within the document: Report, Section, Break, Block, and Body.

Environment Level Effect

Report The projected value of the measure is aggregated for all dimensions

contained within the page of the report.

Section The projected value of the measure is aggregated for all dimensions

contained within the section of the report.

Break The projected value of the measure is aggregated for all dimensions

contained within the break of the table.

BlockThe projected value of the measure is aggregated across all values

for dimensions contained within the block.

Body The projected value of the measure is aggregated for all dimensions

at the level in the report that it is placed.

Input vs. output calculation contexts

In summary, unless you need the aggregate of a measure to take into account a dimension that

is in the data provider but not in the table, an output calculation will suffice.









When specifying an output calculation context, it is normally best to use the In operator as this

is more flexible and will not need to be changed if the dimensions of the environment are

altered.

Conversely, when specifying an input calculation context, it is normally better to use the ForEach

operator as it will automatically take into account the dimensions in the block.

Using the In context operator with Where

Two of the most widely-used operators used to specify both input and output contexts are Inand Where. Although each operator denotes a different type of calculation environment, the

two may be used together in a single variable.

The In operator specifies all parameters (dimension objects) that are to be included in the

context. When using multiple dimension objects, the dimensions should be listed in order of

granularity and must be separated with ";".

The Where operator instructs the variable to calculate only where certain values are true.

Suppose that you need to produce a report that calculates both the highest sales revenue for

all states as well as specific information for California. You start out creating a query including

the Year, State, and Sales revenue objects, and remove the State column from the table so that

your report looks like this:









Now you can create a Sales revenue By Year for California variable using this syntax:

=[Sales revenue] Where ([State]="California")

This context uses the Where operator to isolate the California state in the calculation. If you

replace the Sales revenue column with this new variable, and apply some formatting to the

table, it looks like this:

Now you want to create a variable to find the highest revenue for any one state. You can use

this syntax:

=Max([Sales revenue] In([State]))

This context uses the In operator to specify input context. This assures that the calculation onlyaddresses the State values when locating a maximum amount.

There is no output context defined, so the calculation uses the default output context of the

entire report, because it was placed at the report level rather than in a table.

Next you can create a Highest annual revenue for California variable using the following

syntax:

=Max([Sales revenue] In([State];[Year]) Where([State] ="California"))

This variable definition uses both the In and Where operators to achieve the correct calculation.

Both operators were used in defining the input context.

• The In operator forces the =Max operator to look in the State values first and then the Year values within each State in order to locate the maximum value.

• The Where operator assures that the =Max calculation is only valid where the state is

California.

Finally, you can create a Sales revenue for California for the 2006 variable using this syntax:

=[Sales revenue] Where([State]="California" And [Year] ="2006")

Like the Sales revenue By Year for California variable, this calculation uses the Where operator

in the input context to ensure that the calculation is valid for only those values denoted by the

Where operators.

It is not necessary to list the components of the calculation in order of granularity when usingthe Where operator. You must list the components when using the In operator.

The following table shows syntax and examples for the Where operator.









Operator: Description: Syntax and Examples:

Where Restricts the data

used to calculate

the measure

expression.

[measure_expression] Where [boolean_expression]

The formula Average ([Sales Revenue]) Where ([Country]

= "US") calculates the average sales where the country is "US".

The formula Average ([Sales Revenue]) Where ([Country]

= "US" Or [Country] = "France") calculates the average sales

where the country is "US" or "France".

The formula [Revenue] Where (Not ([Country] Inlist

("US";"France"))) calculates the revenue for the countries

other than US and France.

The variable [High Revenue] has the formula [Revenue] Where

[Revenue> 500000].

When placed in a block, [High Revenue] displays either the

revenue when its value is greater than 500000, or nothing.

When placed in a footer at the bottom of the [High Revenue]

column, the formula Average ([High Revenue]) returns the

average of all the revenues greater than 500000.

Note: You can use the boolean operators with the Where operator.

Important facts about calculation contexts

• If you do not define an input or output context, Web Intelligence assumes the default context

of where the calculation has been placed.

• When using variables as the basis of an alerter (as in the Average example just seen), it is

necessary to ensure that the calculation has been created as a variable (that is, a formula

with a name), and not as a simple formula.

Note: If the calculation is a formula, show the Formula toolbar, then click the Create Variable

button in order to save it as a variable.

• When using the Where operator, it is necessary to place parentheses around the values listed

after the Where , as in the following example:

=[Sales revenue] Where ([Year] = "2004”)

Activity: Calculation contexts

Objective

• Use extended syntax to redefine the calculation context of measures in a Web Intelligence

document.









Instructions

1. Create a document that shows in a single block:

• Sales revenue for each eFashion store.

• Total sales revenue for all stores.

•

Average revenue for all stores. • Highlight those stores whose revenue was above the average revenue for all stores.

2. Change the name of the report to Revenue Information for All Stores.

3. Save the document as Act_Calculationcontext.

Your document should look like this example:

Activity: Calculation contexts - Optional

Objective

• Use extended syntax to redefine a calculation context of measures in a Web Intelligence

document.

Instructions

1. Create a document that shows in a single block:

• Sales revenue per Year, broken down by Store name.







36 Web Intelligence Advanced Report Design—Learner’s Guide

• The maximum revenue per store, over the three year period.

• Highlight the store name when this maximumrevenue value is greater than$1,000,000.

2. Save the document as Ad_Calculationcontext_2.

Creating Formulas with Character and Date String

Functions

Lesson introduction

The ability to create formulas and define them as variables in Web Intelligence offers the report

designer a very powerful tool. Variables act just like dimension or measure objects. Once you

have created a variable, you can use it throughout the document to display data that you cannot

retrieve by using the existing objects in the universe.

In this lesson, you learn about some of the formula functions available for manipulating character

and date variables. While the syntax may take some time to comprehend, it is well worth the

effort as variables can provide you with more flexibility in reporting.

Note: For more information about creating formulas and defining them as variables, refer to

the BusinessObjects Web Intelligence XI 3.0/3.1: Report Design course.


• Use character strings

• Use the Right() function

• Use the Replace() function

• Use the SubStr() function

• Use the Pos() function

• Concatenate different character strings

• Use date functions

Using character strings

A character string is a series of characters that form either a piece of text or the individual values

of a character-type variable. They are always categorized as dimension objects, but the reverse

is not true. A dimension object can be of character, date, or numeric type.

Using Web Intelligence character-string functions, you can replace, modify, or remove either

all or part of a character string.


• Describe the character-string functions presented in this lesson

About character-string functions

The character-string functions presented in this lesson are:





• Right() - used to extract a given number of characters from the right

• Replace() - used to replace a specified string with another string

• Left() - used to extract a given number of characters from the left

• SubStr() - used to extract a string from within a string using variable length and position

•

Length() - used to identify the length of a string • Pos() - used to identify the position of a character in a string

Replace() , Right(), and Left() are only useful when you want to manipulate a constant string

or a constant number of characters. SubStr() is a more powerful function. You will use the

SubStr() function to extract strings where the length and position are not consistent.

Using functions in formulas and variables

You use the functions presented in this lesson when you are creating a formula. You can create

a formula by typing it in the Formula bar or in the Formula Editor . Either method calculates

the data and displays the resulting values in the column that you have highlighted in the block.

You can also drag and drop objects in the Formula bar and then complete the formula by typing

in the Formula bar.

If you want to use the formula repeatedly in different blocks or different reports in the document,

or if you want to identify the formula as though it were an object in the document, you can

define the formula as a variable.

If you only want to display the calculated value in a single cell, then creating a formula is best.

However, if you want to display the result as a column in a report block, then defining the

formula as a variable is best.

If in doubt, always create a variable rather than a formula, as there are certain things that cannot be done with a formula that can be done with a variable.

Using the Right() function

The Right() function displays a fixed number of characters starting from the right end of the

character string and removes the others.

The syntax for the Right() function is:

string Right(string input_string; integer number_of_characters) input_string

refers to the string from which you want to select characters to display.

number_of_characters sets the number of characters to display from the right of the input string.


• Use the Right() function to display selected characters from a character string

How to extract characters using the Right() function








Suppose that you are working with this report:

The Year object in the eFashion universe is formatted to return the year as a four-digit number

(for example, 2004). However, you need to display the year in two-digit format (for example,

04). To do this, you can use the Right() character string function to remove the first two digits

and display the last two.

Create a new variable called Years, using this syntax:

=Right([Year] ; 2)

where:

Using the Replace() function

The Replace() function replaces a specified string with another string.

The syntax for the replace function is:

string Replace(string input_string; string string_to_replace; string

replace_string)

input_string The input string.

string_to_replace The string within input_string to be replaced.

replace_string The string to replace string_to_replace with.


• Use the Replace() function to replace “Q” with the word “Quarter”

Replacing a string

Suppose that you need to report on quarterly revenue using the word Quarter instead of Q in

the report.





You can create a variable using the Replace() function to modify the character string displayed

in the report using this formula:

=Replace([Quarter] ; “Q” ; “Quarter ”)

where:

Syntax Description

[Quarter] The name of the object that retrieves the data.









Syntax Description

“Q”

The value stored in the database, followed

by 1 through 4 to indicate the first through

fourth quarters of the year.

“Quarter ”

The character string that will replace “Q” in

every instance.

Note: Be sure to add a space after the word Quarter

and before the end-quote.

If you replace the Quarter column with the new variable you created, you get this result:









Using the SubStr() function

The SubStr() function extracts a specified character string from within a string.

The syntax for the SubStr() function is:

string Substr(string input_string; integer start; integer length)

input string is the string from which the substring is to be extracted.

start is the position of the first character in the input string to be extracted (for example, 1).

length is the number of characters (from the initial position forward) to be extracted.


• Use the SubStr() function to extract a character string from within a string

How to extract characters using the SubStr() function

The Store name object in the eFashion universe returns the name of each store in the company,

but prefaces each one with "e-Fashion".

Suppose that you want to remove the e-Fashion portion of the character string. This presents

a challenge since the length of each store's name is different, with or without the "e-Fashion"

portion. Neither the Right() or Left() functions will work here.

The easiest way to achieve the removal is to use the SubStr() function. Create a variable called

Store, and use this syntax:

=SubStr([Store name] ; 11 ; Length([Store name]))

Why?

• "11" represents the starting point at which the formula is to start displaying characters. This

was established by counting the number of characters in "e-Fashion" (9) and then adding a









character to account for the space between the word "e-Fashion" and each store name (10).

Therefore you want the starting point to be character 11.

• The Length() function returns the length of the original store name, including the “e-Fashion”

part of the name.

Note: Don’t forget that the beginning number in the SubStr() function is the beginning character

position that you want the substring to start displaying characters. Character positions identifiedin the SubStr() syntax are those you want to see displayed, not those you want to remove.

If you replace the Store name column with the Store column, the report looks like this:

Using the Pos() function

The Pos() function identifies the first instance of a unique character and returns the number of

characters from the start of a string to that instance of the character.

The syntax for this function is:

integer Pos(string input_string; string pattern)

input_stringdefines the string to be searched for the occurrenceof a character and it's position

in the string.

pattern is the character string you wish to search for.


• Use the Pos() function to return the position of a specific character string

How to use the Pos() function

Suppose that you are working on a report containing these columns:









In the address column, you want to display only the street names for each of the eFashion

stores. The Address object from the universe returns both the building number and the streetname, and the number of spaces before the street name begins is inconsistent. Therefore, you

must create a substring to return only the portion of the address that is needed.

Notice that in each address there is a space after the building number. If you can create a formula

that recognizes at what position the space lies for each value, you can use that position as a

starting point for the SubStr() function.

Create a variable called Space, using this syntax:

Syntax: =Pos([Address] ; " ")

This variable locates the first space within each address string. If you add a Space column to

the report, you get this result:

The integer returned by the Space variable corresponds to the number of characters before the

street address begins. Now you can create a new variable called Store Address, that removes

the building number from the address string. Use this syntax:

=SubStr([Address] ; [Space]+1 ; Length([Address]))









Why?

• The Space variable sits at the 'beginning number' slot of the SubStr() function's syntax. It

contains the variable name and the text pattern you want to locate (a space in this case).

• The +1 tells the function to begin the substring at one position more than the location of the

space so that the space is not returned.

•

The Length() function instructs the system that the number of characters to be displayedfrom each Address string is equal to the length of each address after the character (a space

in this case) in the beginning number position.

If you delete the Space column from the report, and replace the Address column with the Store

Address variable you just created, you get the result you require:

Concatenating different character strings

The character used to link two strings together in a formula, or concatenate data, is the plus

symbol "+". The syntax is:

"String1” + "String2”

Note: You can concatenate as many strings together as you like.


• Combine two strings in a formula using the concatenate function

• Format a date when it is concatenated with a string

How to concatenate a string with a date

To explore concatenating different data types, consider combining a string value with the Last

Refresh Date free-standing cell formula.

The Last Refresh Date free-standing cell displays the date and time that the document was

last executed:









The syntax for the formula of the cell is:

date LastExecutionDate(string data_provider)

Note: This formula returns the date on which a data provider, or query, was last refreshed. If your

report has one data provider only, you can omit the [data_provider] parameter. You must enclose

the name of the data provider in square brackets.

If you insert the Last Refresh Date free-standing cell into a report and view the formula in the

Formula Editor, you see this:

=LastExecutionDate()

To insert a descriptive string prior to the date, you can modify the formula like this:

="Last Execution Date: "+LastExecutionDate()

This formula concatenates the "Last Execution Date" character string with the

LastExecutionDate() function. The Last Refresh Date cell now looks like this:

Formatting a date that is concatenated with a string

You have seen how to concatenate a date with a string. Now you want to display the date using

a character string as well.

Normally, if you had not included the character string Last Execution Date in the formula, you

could right-click the cell and select the Format Number item from the drop-down menu.

Then you would select the date format of your choice from the Date/Time zone of the Number

Format dialog box. However, now that you have edited the formula to add a character string,

you can no longer use the standard formatting method. To format a date so that it is displayed









as a string when it is concatenated with another string, you use the FormatDate() function. The

syntax for this function is:

string FormatDate(date date_to_format; string date_format)

For example:

FormatDate([Start Date] ;"dd/MM/yyyy")

For example, if you modify the Last Refresh Date formula to use the FormatDate() function,

using this syntax:

="Last Execution Date: " + FormatDate(LastExecutionDate() ; "Mmmm dd, yyyy")

The date now displays like this:

Note: To convert a number to a string you can use the Format number() function. The syntax for

this function is:

string Format number(number number_to_format; string number_format)

Using date functions

The three most commonly used date functions are:

• ToDate: changes the data type of a value to date

•CurrentDate: gives the date today

• DaysBetween: calculates the number of days between two dates

In this unit, you will consider the process of converting a string to a date as dates are often

formatted as character type at either the database or universe level.

You will use all of these date functions to create a variable named Trading Years.


• Use date functions to create a variable

• Convert a character string to a date value

Converting a string to a date value

In the eFashion universe, there is no object for number of years trading. The universe only has

the Opening Date dimension object.









Note: The values returned by the Opening Date object are displayed in the format "MM/dd/yy

hh:mm:ss AM."

Suppose that you want to create a variable that calculates the number of years that stores have

been trading, based on the date the stores opened.

If you right-click the Opening Date object in the Data tab, you see that it is a string.

Before you can calculate the trading years you need to strip out the time element of the string

and then convert it to a date type. Then you will be able to perform a date calculation to

determine the difference between today's date and the opening date.

You can use the Substr() function to strip out the time element of the string. However, the date

element is not in a constant format (for example, some days and months are expressed as single

digits while others are two digits).

Since the date is always followed by a space you can use the Pos() function to define the number

of character elements of the Substr() syntax. You can create a variable called Date_Substring

based on this formula:

=SubStr([Opening date] ; 1 ; Pos([Opening date] ;" ")-1)

Then you can create another variable called Open_Date to convert the Date_ Substring values

to date type using this formula.

=ToDate([Date_Substring] ; "MM/dd/yy")

Note: The date must be formatted in the same way as the string that is being converted. For instance,

if the order of the dates in the string is Month/Day, then the date must be formatted the same way.

If the order of the dates in the string is Day/Month however, then the formula must use that format

as well. If you replace the Opening Date column in the report with the Open_Date variable, the

column looks like this:









Using date calculations

Now that you have created a date type variable for the store opening date, you can calculate

the number of days to the current date using the CurrentDate() and DaysBetween() functions.

The syntax of the DaysBetween() function is:

integer DaysBetween(date first_date; date last_date)

first_date The oldest date.

last_date The most recent date. You can create a variable called Trading_Years using this formula:

=DaysBetween([Open_Date] ; CurrentDate())/365.25

Note: To convert the days to years, you must divide by the number of days in a year and in so

doing take account of leap years. Hence, the date calculation is divided by 365.25 days.

If you replace the Open_Date column with the Trading_Years variable you just created, you

achieve the required result:









Converting a string to a date value

In the eFashion universe, there is no object for number of years trading. The universe only has

the Opening Date dimension object.

Note: The values returned by the Opening Date object are displayed in the format "MM/dd/yy

hh:mm:ss AM."

Suppose that you want to create a variable that calculates the number of years that stores have

been trading, based on the date the stores opened.

If you right-click the Opening Date object in the Data tab, you see that it is a string.









Before you can calculate the trading years you need to strip out the time element of the string

and then convert it to a date type. Then you will be able to perform a date calculation to

determine the difference between today's date and the opening date.

You can use the Substr() function to strip out the time element of the string. However, the date

element is not in a constant format (for example, some days and months are expressed as single

digits while others are two digits).

Since the date is always followed by a space you can use the Pos() function to define the number

of character elements of the Substr() syntax. You can create a variable called Date_Substring

based on this formula:

=SubStr([Opening date] ; 1 ; Pos([Opening date] ;" ")-1)

Then you can create another variable called Open_Date to convert the Date_ Substring values

to date type using this formula.

=ToDate([Date_Substring] ; "MM/dd/yy")

Note: The date must be formatted in the same way as the string that is being converted. For instance,

if the order of the dates in the string is Month/Day, then the date must be formatted the same way.

If the order of the dates in the string is Day/Month however, then the formula must use that formatas well. If you replace the Opening Date column in the report with the Open_Date variable, the

column looks like this:









Using If Logic

Lesson introduction

The If() function is a powerful tool available to Web Intelligence report designers. Often referred

to as "If... Then... Else" logic, this function can be used in many different ways to apply custom

formulas in a report.

This lesson shows you how to use the If() function logic in two ways: to group values in a

variable, and to modify the way calculations behave when certain values are returned by an

object.


• Use If() to group data

• Use If() to modify calculation behavior

Using If() to group data In this unit, you will use the If() function to group values returned from the database into

categories. Using the If() in this manner, report designers are empowered to perform the report

equivalent of the Decode, Case, and If functions available to universe designers at the database

level.

If() can be used to group some of the values returned by an object and then to define that

grouping as a new variable in the document.


• Group values using the If() function

• Define the grouping as a new variable in the document

Grouping values with the If() function to show higher levels of

detail

You can use the If() function in Web Intelligence to group values returned by an object into

categories. These categories can then be used as the basis for aggregating measures at higher

levels of detail.

For example, the eFashion universe contains Quarter and Quantity sold objects, which allow

you to analyze the quantity sold totals for each quarter. However, if your reporting requirement

is to display the quantity sold measure aggregated at the half year level of detail, then the

universe does not provide the objects you need to meet this requirement.

By creating a Half Year variable based on the Quarter object, you can aggregate quantity sold

totals for each half of the year. This data can then be presented in the same report with quantity

sold totals for each quarter.









Grouping values with the If() function to show categories

Suppose that you need to display revenue totals in both a table and a 3D pie chart aggregated

for each of the eFashion Market Types. The three Market Types are Top Performers, Average

Performers, and Low Performers. Each store needs to be assigned to the appropriate category

based on the following business rules:

Market Type Sales Revenue

Top Performers Greater than 7,500,000

Average Performers Between 2,000,000 and 7,500,000

Low Performers Less than 2,000,000









You need to display revenue figures including market-type subtotals in the table and

market-type revenue breakdowns in the chart.

You can begin by creating a table using the State and Sales revenue objects.

Next, you need to create a Market Type dimension variable, using this formula:

=If([Sales revenue]>7500000;"Top Performers" ; If([Salesrevenue]Between(2000000;7500000);"Average Performers"; If([Salesrevenue]<2000000;"Low Performers")))

Or

=If[Sales revenue]>7500000 Then "Top Performers" ElseIf[Salesrevenue]Between(2000000;7500000) Then "Average Performers" ElseIf[Salesrevenue]<2000000 Then "Low Performers"

If you add a Market Type e column to the report, apply a break on Market Type, and insert a

Sum on the Sales revenue column, you get this result:

To insert the chart, drag the 3D Pie Doughnut template onto the report and insert the Sales

revenue measure on the Y-axis and Market Type dimension on the X-axis like this:









The finished report looks like this:

Activity: Grouping data

Objective

• Use the If() function syntax to group data values.

Instructions

You want to group states into regions so that you can compare revenue per region.

1. Create a new document using the eFashion universe and select the following objects:

State and Sales revenue

2. Create a variable called Region and group the states by regions, based on the following

categories:









Region State

West

Central

East

California

Colorado

Illinois

Texas

Massachusetts

New York

DC

Florida

3. Insert the Region variable into the table so that its values are projected in a new column in

the table.

Your report should look like this example:

4. Save the document as Act_Groupdata_1.

Activity: Grouping data - Optional

Objective


Instructions

You want to group store managers by their degree of experience managing their store. Then,

you are going to create a report that shows the sales revenue earned by each manager in each

tenure-type category.









It is necessary to create a variable to group the managers into categories, because experience,

or tenure type, is not an object that is available in the eFashion universe.

1. Create a new Web Intelligence document using the eFashion universe.

2. Include the Name of manager, State, and Sales revenue objects in the query.

3. Create a variable called Tenure type.4. Validate the syntax and verify that Web Intelligence has applied the Dimension qualification

to the variable.

5. Define the formula to group each store manager into a category, based on the following

tenure-type categories:

Tenure type Name of manager

Trainee Bennett

Leonard Junior Tuttle

Queen

Senior

Anderson

Barrett

Larry

Mark

Michelle

Quinn

Richards

Steve

6. Insert the Tenure type variable into the table so that its values are projected in the first

column in the table.

7. Format the report so that it is organized in blocks that show the sales revenue earned by

the managers in each tenure-type category.









Your report should look like this:

8. Save the document as Act_Groupdata_2.

Activity: Grouping data - Optional 2 Objective


Instructions

You want to divide products into groups based on Unit Price MSRP ranges to see if there is a

relationship between price range and Quantity Sold.


2. Include the SKU Desc, Unit Price MSRP, and Quantity Sold objects in the query.

3. Create a variable called Price Range, using these categories:

Group Price range

High Price Over $300









Group Price range

Mid Price Between $150 and $300

Low Price Below $150

4. Insert a Price Range column in the table.

5. Apply a break on Price Range, and sort the Price Range column to display the report blocks

in this order:

High Price, Mid Price, Low Price

6. Apply an Average calculation on the Quantity Sold column.

The first block in your report should look similar to this:









Using the If() function to modify calculation behavior

The If() function is useful for extending the functionality and flexibility of calculations in reports.

More specifically, by using the If() function, report designers can change how a measure behaves

based on each value returned for an object.


• Use the If() function to modify how data is calculated depending on the values returned by

an object used in the report

Modifying the way calculations behave

You can also use the If() function to extend the functionality of calculations so that they behave

more dynamically.

The syntax for using the If() function to modify the behavior of calculations is:

=If([object name]= “true value”; [measure] behavior A ; [measure] behavior B)Or

=If[object name]= “true value” Then [measure] behavior A Else [measure] behaviorB

In other words: if the value returned by an object is equal to what is specified in quotes, then

the calculation should behave in a certain manner; otherwise, the value should be calculated

in a different manner.

Suppose that you want to build a report that calculates the target revenue for each store. You

begin by creating a query including the State, Store name, and Sales revenue objects, resulting

in this table.

Now you need to insert a column that shows the appropriate target revenue for each store.

Each store has a different target for the percentage of growth to achieve based on the state in

which the store is located. Therefore, a single calculation will not work.









The stores in the following states are to grow their revenue based on these percentages:

State % Growth Required

California 5%

Colorado 10%

DC 15%

Florida 15%

Illinois 15%

Massachusetts 18%

New York 15%

Texas 15%

You can create a Target Revenue Based on Required % Growth variable using this syntax:

=If([State]="California" ; [Sales revenue]*1.05 ; If([State]="Colorado" ; [Salesrevenue]*1.1 ; If([State]InList ("DC";"Florida";"Illinois";"New York";"Texas "); [Sales revenue]*1.15 ; If([State]="Massachusetts" ; [Sales revenue]*1.18))))

Or, if you prefer to create the formula using text rather than semicolons:

=If[State]="California" Then [Sales revenue]*1.05 ElseIf [State]="Colorado" Then[Sales revenue]*1.1 ElseIf [State] InList ("DC" ; "Florida" ; "Illinois" ; "NewYork" ; "Texas ") Then [Sales revenue]*1.15 ElseIf [State]="Massachusetts" Then[Sales revenue]*1.18

If you add this variable to the report, and apply the appropriate formatting to the column, you

get this result:









Syntax of the If() function

This syntax is based on the If…Then…Else logic and the percentage rates that each state is

supposed to grow by.

Some considerations regarding this syntax are:

• When you list a single state, you place the "=" sign before the State value, but when two (or

more) states are listed, you use the InList operator.

• The syntax requires that when multiple values (States) are listed, all the values must appear

in parentheses and each individual value must be in quotes as well as separated from the

other values by a semicolon.

Activity: Modifying the calculation behavior

Objective

• Use the If() function to create a variable that calculates the projected revenue based on

revenue by store.

Instructions

Using the eFashion universe, you want to display the projected revenue for each store basedon the revenue generated to date. You need to create a variable to calculate this projection

based on the sales revenue.

This variable needs to look at the sales revenue, and if it falls above certain criteria, then a

different calculation needs to be performed.


2. Include the State, Store name and Sales revenue objects in the query.









3. Create a variable called Projected Revenue.

4. Define the formula to calculate each store’s projected revenue based on the following:

Revenue Amount

>=2000000 1.25

>=1500000 1.15

All others 1.05

5. Validate the syntax and verify that Web Intelligence has applied the Measure qualification

to the variable.

6. Drag the Projected Variable variable to the right of the last column in the table.

Your report appears like this example:









Working with Additional Reporting Techniques

Lesson introduction

In this lesson you will explore several reporting techniques, including using data tracking toquickly identify changes in report data, determining whether a character string matches a

particular pattern, overrding report filters or ranking to calculate total values, displaying a

running sum, and displaying drill filters.


• Use data tracking

• Use additional report functions

Using data tracking

With Web Intelligence data tracking, you can quickly identify the data changes and focus on

the most relevant data when you analyze the changes.


• Understand additional aspects of data tracking

• Use formula language to display and perform calculations on the reference data set

Understanding data tracking

With data tracking you can highlight the values that have changed since a previous refresh for

any level of aggregation.

A document with data tracking activated retrieves two microcubes -- one for the reference dataset and one for the current data set. The document compares the data in the two microcubes

and highlights the changes according to the formatting that you defined for the changes.

Similarly, when a document contains calculations on the data set, it compares the calculations

on each data set to display the changes.

A document with data tracking activated contains two times more data than a document for

which data tracking is not active so the data tracking document can take up to three times

longer to refresh.

Certain actions clear the document of the data stored in the microcubes or modify the data

provider. When the document no longer contains the data, the data tracking function cannot

compare the data sets and highlight the changes. Similarly, when the data provider changes,

the current version of the document is not compatible with the reference version so the changed

data does not display.

The actions that clear the document of the data or change the data provider include:

• Drilling out of scope.

• Using the query drill.

• Deleting a query.









• Modifying the SQL generated by a data provider. This includes modifying security rights.

• Purging the document.

Note: When you unintentionally purge a document, you can recuperate the data from the

microcube before you save the purged document. Close the document, do not save it, and

open it again.

Using formula language to track data changes

You can use the formula language to include calculations based on data changes. For example,

you can include a calculation to show the difference between the previous value and the current

value of a measure. You can also use formula language to build custom alerters for formatting

data changes.

To display the reference data set in your report, you can use the RefValue function to create a

formula or variable. This function gives the value of the reference data for the measure. When

there is no reference data, the function returns null.

For example, when the Revenuemeasure currently has the value 1000, and the reference value

is 900, the formula RefValue([Revenue]) returns 900.

The RefValueDate function returns the date of the reference data used for data tracking.

Security for data tracking

Two security options exist for the data tracking feature. Your system administrator determines

the rights assigned to each user. However, when you work with different report users, you

may want to know the different profiles that exist:

• The right to see, but not modify the data tracking.

• The right to see data tracking, and to use the interface elements for data.

Activity: Calculating on changed data

Objectives

• In this activity, you use the refValue and refValue date functions to display the reference

data in your report.

• Note: For this activity, you create a report on the local data source Data Tracking1.xls

and activate data tracking. Then, to simulate a change in the data, you run the report against

Data Tracking2.xlswhich has updated data. You can find these Microsoft Excel spreadsheetfiles in the course resources. You may want to create a backup of both files before beginning

the activity.

Instructions

1. Create a new document from the local data source Data Tracking1.xls.

Note: You can find the Data Tracking1.xls file in the course resources.









2. Format the report to look like the one below:

3. Activate data tracking to use the current data set as the reference data set for all refreshes.

4. Define the formatting for data changes.

5. Make the following changes:

• Create a column to the right of the Sales revenue column for the sales revenue in the

reference data set and display the values.

• Display the reference data set date at the top of the report.

• Display a sum for the Sales revenue column.

• In the cell next to the total Sales revenue sum, place a variable to calculate the difference

between the current sales revenue and the revenue from the reference data set.

The report appears like this:









6. Using Windows Explorer, browse to the location of the Data Tracking 1.xls and Data

Tracking2.xls Microsoft Excel files in your course resources folder.

7. Rename Data Tracking 2.xls to Data Tracking 1.xls.

8. In Web Intelligence, refresh the data in the report.


Using additional report functions

This unit describes several functions that you can use to display specific data in your documents.










• Use the Match() function to determine whether a character string matches a particular pattern

• Use the NoFilter() function to override a report filter or ranking

• Use the RunningSum() function to return the running sum of a set of numbers

• Use the DrillFilter() function to return the drill filters applied to a document or used in drill

mode or use the Drill Filters cell from the Templates tab. • Understand additional functions that enhance the formula language in the Web Intelligence

XI 3.0/3.1 release.

Determining matches in strings

The Match() function allows you to determine whether a character string matches a particular

pattern.

The Match() function is a boolean function and returns 1 if there is a match or 0 if there is no

match.

Syntax:

boolean Match(string input_string; string pattern)

input_string defines the string to be searched for.

pattern is the character string you wish to search for.

The wildcards that you can use with this function include:

• * (asterisk) for any number of characters.

• ? (question mark) for any one character.

Suppose that you want to create a report that identifies eFashion locations with the branding

"Sundance" or "Magnolia" in their store name. You can create a Store Type variable using thissyntax:

=If(Match([Store name] ; "*Sundance") ; "Sundance" ; If(Match([Store name] ;"*Magnolia") ; "Magnolia" ; "Un- Branded"))

Or

=If Match([Store name] ; "*Sundance") Then "Sundance" ElseIf Match([Store name]; "*Magnolia") Then "Magnolia" Else "Un- Branded"

Overriding a report filter or ranking

At times you may need to display a calculation that includes both the data that is shown in the

table and data that is present in the data provider, but not currently shown in the table. Theonly way to achieve this is to force Web Intelligence to ignore a report filter or ranking that has

been applied to an object or variable in the data provider.

Use the NoFilter() function to override a report filter or ranking. NoFilter() includes all of the

values for a variable in the data provider in the calculation, even if the data is not displayed in

the table or block.

Syntax:









expression_output_type NoFilter(expression)

Suppose that you have a report that uses ranking to display the top three stores per year.

Because this report uses ranking, the sum for the Sales revenue column only includes the results

from the three top-performing stores. If you would like to add a row to the report that displays

the total Sales revenue for all the rest of the eFashion stores, you can apply another Sum to the

Sales revenue column, and edit the insertion formula like this:

=NoFilter(Sum([Sales revenue]))-Sum([Sales revenue])

By dissecting this formula, you can see how the formula returns the desired result.

Formula component: Syntax and description:

=NoFilter(Sum([Sales revenue]))

NoFilter(Aggregate([Measure]))

This returns the sum of all the stores and

ignores rank.

-Sum([Sales revenue])

This part of the formula returns the sum of

the stores in the current block (with the rank).

It does not include the stores that have been

excluded.









To add another line to the report, displaying the total revenue for all locations, you can apply

another sum to the Sales revenue column, and modify the insertion formula like this:

=NoFilter(Sum([Sales revenue]))

If you add some text labels to describe the new rows of the table, the report looks like this:

Displaying a running sum

The RunningSum() function is one of a number of running aggregate functions available for

calculating data in Web Intelligence. Others include RunningAverage(), RunningCount(),

RunningMin(), and RunningMax().

A running sum is a total that is accumulated from value to value across a series of values.

You can also use running aggregate functions.

Use the RunningSum() function to return the running sum of a set of numbers. One benefit of

the running aggregate functions is that a reset can be applied to them within the report. This

allows you to start the cumulative total over at a given value, such as at a break.

Syntax: number

RunningSum([measure];[Row|Col];[(reset_dimensions)])

[any measure] refers to any measure object in the data provider.

Row|Col refers to the calculation direction (optional parameter).

reset_dimensions refers to the list of dimensions used to reset the running sum (optional).









Suppose that you are creating a report to show Year, Store name, and Sales revenue, grouped

by State. You would like to add another column to the report to display a running sum. You

can create a Running Total variable using this formula:

=RunningSum([Sales revenue])

If you add a Running Total column to the report, it looks like this:

If you would like the running total to reset for each state, you can modify the formula to reset

the total each time the table breaks:

=RunningSum([Sales revenue] ; ([State]))

Now the report looks like this:









Displaying drill filters in the report

As you drill down and up hierarchies in a document in drill mode, you may want to display

the drill filters that you are using at any given moment. You can then save the document as a

PDF or print it, and other users can see the drill filters you were using as you drilled.

Use the Drill Filters cell, based on the DrillFilters() function to return the drill filters applied

to a document or to an object using drill mode. This is useful if you want to print a drilled

document and show the drill filters along with the report itself.

Note: The Drill Filters cell and the DrillFilters() function only return data when you view the

document with drill mode active.

Syntax:

string DrillFilters([object]; [string separator])

[object] refers to any object in the data provider.

string separator refers to the drill filter separator (optional parameter).

Examples:

For a document in drill mode:









Syntax: Returns:

=DrillFilters() "Colorado - Colorado Springs" if the document has been drilled

into the state of Colorado and into the city of Colorado Springs

When you create a report to display State and Sales revenue, and want to display the drill filters

that are applied when the report is viewed in Drill mode, you can use the Drill Filters cell to

display the drill filters in a single cell. Alternatively, you can create a Drill Filter variable using

this formula to display the drill filters in a column:

=DrillFilters()

The Drill Filters cell or the Drill Filter column display data only when you activate drill mode

and begin to drill in the report. If you drill down the State dimension to the Store name level,

a report with the Drill Filters cell looks like this:

Note: You can change the character used to separate the filter levels by modifying the variable

formula. For example:

Syntax: Returns

=DrillFilters("/") Colorado / Colorado Springs

Understanding additional functions

You can use additional functions not presented in detail in this lesson. Some examples appear

below.

Function: Returns: Syntax and Examples:

Product() The product of a set of

numerical values.

number Product([measure])

=Product([Measure]):

Returns 30 if [Measure] has the values 2, 3, 5 .









Function: Returns: Syntax and Examples:

Mode()

DataProviderType()

The most

frequently-occurring

value in a set of values.

The type of data

provider.

expression_output_type Mode(expression)

Mode([Revenue]):

Returns 200 if [Revenue] has the values 100, 200,

300, 200.

Mode([Country]):

Returns the most frequently-occurringvalue of

[Country].

Note: Mode returns null if the set of values does not

contain one value that occurs more frequently than all

the others.

string DataProviderType (object

data_provider)

DataProviderType([Sales]):

Returns "Universe" if the Sales data provider is

based on a universe.

Note: Enclose the name of the data provider in square

brackets.

Activity: Displaying data restricted by a filter or ranking

Objective

• Build a formula to override a ranking and calculate total values.

Instructions - Example 1

Create a document that displays the best sales revenue achieved for any year by state. For

purposes of comparison, you also want to display the total state revenue.

To achieve this, you need to create a new variable using the NoFilter() function. You will also

apply breaks, ranking and formatting to the table.

1. Use the eFashion universe to build a query with the appropriate objects.









2. Modify the document to display the data as shown in the following screen capture:

Note:

To display the data as shown, apply a break to the table and format the break so the break header and footer do not display.

3. Display a table header.

4. On the Year column, display only the highest earning year for each state.

5. Create a new variable called Total revenue using the following syntax:

=NoFilter([Sales revenue] In([State]))

Note: By putting In([State]) at the end of the formula, you change the way Web

Intelligence calculates data by default. This is known as changing the calculation context.

6. Add the new variable to the table and display the sum in the footer of both the Sales revenue and the new Total revenue columns.

7. Verify the calculation displayed below the Total revenue column. Has the sum calculated

the data correctly?

8. Using the Formula toolbar, modify the formula used in the Total Revenue footer cell to

calculate the sum total accurately.

The final report appears like this:









9. Save the document as Act_NoFilter.

Instructions - Example 2

1. In the same document, build a new query to show the state, store name, year, and quantity

sold with a query filter that prompts the report users to specify the state(s) that they want

to see.

2. Run the new query and choose California and Colorado when prompted.

3. Apply a break to organize the data by state.

4. Display the Quantity Sold totals per state in the break footers.

5. Show only the year that sold the highest quantities.

6. Insert a new footer row and build a formula to show the sum of the quantities sold in the

other two years.

7. Enter text to identify the values displayed in the break footers.

8. In the table footer, build a formula to show the total sum of the quantities sold by all stores.

9. Enter text to identify the value displayed in the table footer.








Creating Hyperlinks—Learner’s Guide 95


Creating Hyperlinks

Lesson introduction

You can create hyperlinks from your documents to URLs and to other documents in Web

Intelligence XI 3.0/3.1.


• Work with hyperlinks in Web Intelligence documents

• Create hyperlinks in the Interactive panel

• Create hyperlinks in Web Intelligence Rich Client and the Java Report Panel

Working with hyperlinks in Web Intelligence documents

In Web Intelligence XI 3.0/3.1, you can create hyperlinks to documents and to URLs.


• Understand the different options for creating hyperlinks in Web Intelligence

• Know the options available to you in the panel that you use

About hyperlinks in Web Intelligence

In your Web Intelligence documents, you can create hyperlinks to: • Other documents such as Web Intelligence documents or Crystal Reports

For example, a document that shows sales results per store can display the store name as a

hyperlink to another document with store details. The details can include the store floor

area, location, number of employees and opening hours.

• URLs or websites

For example, the document that shows store details can display a hyperlink to a website

that shows the promotional offers and merchandise available at the store for the current

period. The website also gives access information and opening hours for the store.

In the Web Intelligence Interactive panel, you can create all hyperlinks via a dialog box. In the Web Intelligence Rich Client main window and the Java Report Panel, you can create

hyperlinks to:

• URLs or websites via a dialog box.

• Other documents via the OpenDocument command.

The appendix to this course, Creating Hyperlinks with the OpenDocument Command,

covers creating hyperlinks with the OpenDocument command.




Creating hyperlinks in the Web Intelligence Interactive

panel

You can create all hyperlinks via a single dialog box in the Web Intelligence Interactive panel.


• Create hyperlinks to URLs and websites in the Interactive panel

• Create hyperlinks to other documents

About hyperlinks in the Interactive panel

When you use Interactive viewing mode to view a Web Intelligence document in InfoView,

you can create a hyperlink with the Create Hyperlink dialog box. The dialog box changes

dynamically to display the options that you can associate with your hyperlink.

When you click the Link to document option, the dialog box displays a field for the path to

the document and a Browse button to help you browse to the document.



Creating Hyperlinks—Learner’s Guide 97

When you click the Browse button, the Choose a document dialog box displays. You can

browse to your document or perform a search for it from the dialog box.

When you select the document, the fields for defining the options associated with the hyperlink

display.





You can choose to:

• Refresh the document when you click the hyperlink.

• Link to a specific document instance.

• Link to a specific area in the document.

• Pass a prompt value to the document.

• Customize the look and behavior of the hyperlink. For example, you can have the hyperlink

display the document in a new window or display a tooltip that describes the document

when you move the mouse over the hyperlink.

When you click the Link to webpage option, the dialog box displays a field for the URL.









When you enter the URL and click the Parse button the fields for defining the options associated

with the hyperlink display.

To create a hyperlink in the Interactive panel

1. Log onto InfoView and display the InfoView Preferences page.

Note: Log onto InfoView using the user name and password provided to you by the class

instructor.

2. In the Web Intelligence Preferences zone, verify that the Default view format option is set

to Interactive.

3. Open or create a new Web Intelligence document in InfoView, then, right-click the cell or

cells containing the text that you want to make a hyperlink and in the context menu, click

Hyperlink > New.

The Create Hyperlink dialog box displays.

4. Depending on whether you want to link to a URL or a document, click the:

• Link to web page button to link to a web page or URL and in the Enter the URL below...

field, type the URL. Proceed to step 5.

• Link to document button and click the Browse button to browse to and select your

document. Proceed to step 6.









5. Click the Parse button.

6. Define the options associated with your hyperlink and click OK .

The value(s) that you selected in your document now appear as (an) active hyperlink(s).

Creating hyperlinks in Web Intelligence Rich Client andthe Java Report Panel

In the Web Intelligence Rich Client main window and the Java Report Panel, you use the

Hyperlinks dialog box to create a hyperlink to a URL.


• Create a hyperlink to a URL with the Hyperlinks dialog box

About hyperlinks to a URL

The Hyperlinks dialog box provides the same functionality for creating hyperlinks to a URL

in the Web Intelligence Rich Client main window and the Java Report Panel as the Create

Hyperlink dialog box provides in the Interactive panel.

The Hyperlinks dialog box is similar to the Create Hyperlink dialog box in the Interactive

panel, but it only applies to links to URLs or web pages and not to links to documents.

When you enter a URL and click Parse, Web Intelligence displays the fields for the URL and

for defining the options associated with the hyperlink display. You can choose to customize

the look and behavior of the hyperlink to display the web page in a new window or to display

a tooltip that describes the web page or URL when you move the mouse over the hyperlink.









To create a hyperlink to a URL 1. Open or create a new Web Intelligence document using either the Web Intelligence Rich

Client or the Java Report Panel.

2. In your Web Intelligence document, right-click the cell or cells containing the text that you

want to make a hyperlink and, in the context menu, click Hyperlinks > New Hyperlink .

The Hyperlinks dialog box displays.

3. In the field that displays in the Hyperlinks dialog box, type, or copy and paste, the URL to

which you want the hyperlink to lead.

4. Click Parse.

The URL displays in the URL field. The fields for the options to customize the hyperlink

display in the Customize the visual and interaction properties of the hyperlink area of

the dialog box.

5. Optionally, define a tooltip for the hyperlink.

6. Optionally, define the target window for the URL. By default, the system selects the current

window.









7. Click OK .

In your document, the value(s) that you selected for the hyperlink now appear(s) as (an)

active hyperlink(s).


Activity: Creating hyperlinks in the Interactive panel

Objectives

• In the Web Intelligence Interactive panel in InfoView, create two documents -- one to show

sales margin for all stores for all years and another to show store details.

• In the sales margin document create a hyperlink to a URL. Also, create a hyperlink on each

store name to open the store details document and display only the data for the store name

displayed in the hyperlink.

1. Log onto InfoView and verify that the Web Intelligence default view and the default

creating/editing preferences are set to Interactive.2. Using the eFashion universe, create the hyperlink target document that displays store details

and save the document in the Favorites folder.

When the hyperlink opens this document, you want the details for a specific store name

value to display so create a prompt on the document.

Without the prompt, your report looks like this:

Save the document as Store Details.wid.

3. Using the eFashion universe, create a second document that displays the sales margin per

store per year and save the document in the Favorites folder.










Save the second document as Sales Margin per Store.wid.

4. From the Sales Margin per Store document, make the report title a hyperlink to a web

page. For the purposes of the activity, use the BusinessObjects Enterprise server URL.

5. From the Sales Margin per Store document, create a hyperlink on the Store name value

to link the two documents. Pass the value of the store name in the hyperlink to the Store

Details.wid document so that it displays the details for a specific store name.

6. Test that the hyperlinks work in the Interactive panel. Save the documents and log off from

InfoView.

Optional End of Course Challenge

Activity: Using advanced querying and reporting

techniques

Objective

• Create a document using the techniques presented in this course.

Instructions

The management team of the Xtreme Sporting Group requires a report of North American

sales by product type.

1. Create a new document using the Xtreme universe to return data for Canada, USA, and

Mexico.

2. Include the following objects in the query:

Country, Product Name, Unit Price, Quantity









Note: Do not display the Product Name object in the table.

The finished document should look like this:

Creating Hyperlinks with the OpenDocument

Command

UsingOpenDocument to create a hyperlink to documents

In Web Intelligence Rich Client and the Java Report Panel, you create a link to a document

with a formula that uses the OpenDocument command. The command can pass detailed data

to the second document, based on the prompted query filter built in the query of the linked

document.

For example, you can create a report with detailed revenue information for a particular state

and create another report with a state-level summary on sales revenue. The second report can

contain a hyperlink on state that opens the detailed revenue report for the state.

OpenDocument URL command syntax

An example of the syntax to use when you want to create a hyperlink on a state object to open

a document with sales details for the state appears below:

="<a href="+"http://<server_name>:8080/OpenDocument/opendoc/openDocument.jsp?"+"&sType=wid"+"&sDocName=Detailed+Sales+Report"+"&lsSEnter+State:="+Replace([State];"";"%20") + "> "+[State]+"</a>"

The table below divides the example of syntax into understandable arguments, and provides

an explanation for each argument.









To use the OpenDocument command for hyperlinks

1. In your Web Intelligence document, select the values that you want to display as hyperlinks.

2. Click the Show/Hide Formula button on the Reporting toolbar.

3. Click the Formula Editor button on the Formula toolbar.

Now you are ready to define the formula to apply a hyperlink to the selected values.

4. Type the hyperlink syntax in the Formula zone of the Formula Editor and click OK .

Note: Verify that there are no blank spaces in the hyperlink formula, or the hyperlink will

not work.

To display the hyperlinks

1. In your Web Intelligence document, select the values that you want to display as hyperlinks.

2. Click the Properties tab.

3. Click + to expand the Display section.

4. Click the Text field next to the Read cell content as option and then click the drop-down

arrow.

5. Select Hyperlink from the list of options.

The value selected displays as a hyperlink.

More about using the OpenDocument URL

Keep in mind the following important points when using the OpenDocument URL command.

URL syntax

The typical URL syntax is as follows:

• For JAVA installations:

http://<hostname>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/openDocument.jsp?

• For COM installations:









Dimensions and Details

Understanding dimensions and details

As an advanced report designer, you are in a better position to communicate your organization'sreporting needs to the universe designer. You can be more effective in that role when you

understand the differences between dimension objects and detail objects, as well as how the

universe designer decides to define an object as a dimension or a detail.

The table below describes dimensions and details and their differences. The key differences

are that dimensions can:

• Be part of the scope of analysis, to enable drilling on the dimension.

• Merge with an object from another data source to synchronize their respective data sources.

Details cannot serve the two purposes above. So when you communicate your reporting needs

to a universe designer, you want to consider what objects you want to use when defining scope

of analysis for drilling, and what objects you want to use for synchronizing different datasources.

Dimensions

Retrieve the data that provides the basis for

analysis in a report.

Can have all data types, character, date, or

number, but typically retrieve character-type

data, for example, customer names, store names,

or dates.

Details

Provide descriptive data about a dimension.

Details are always associated with the

dimension for which they provide additional

information.

Can have all data types, character, date, or

number.

Can contain calculations such as: Return Date,

Age, Days to Ship.

Can contain calculations such as: Return

Date, Age, Days to Ship.

Can be part of the scope of analysis so report

users can drill down on the dimensions.

Cannot be part of the scope of analysis for

drilling.

Can merge with an object from another data

source to synchronize different data sources.

Cannot merge with an object from a data

source to synchronize different data sources.









Understanding the impact of changing the object qualification

When your reporting needs changing and you discover the need to change a dimension to a

detail, or to change a detail to a dimension, the change can impact your reports. When your

universe designer considers making such a change, discuss and plan for the possible

consequences described in this section. When a universe designer changes an object from a detail to a dimension, sometimes:

• Additional objects are available in the hierarchies when you drill in the report.

• More objects are available for synchronization between data sources.

When a universe designer changes an object from a dimension to a detail, sometimes:

• Objects disappear from the hierarchies and existing drill documents have objects missing

from the scope of analysis.

• Objects are no longer at the top level in the class. Instead, they appear as an associated object.

The risk is that they may be associated with the wrong object.

• Objects appear available for data synchronization when they may not be compatible with

objects from other data sources.

Reports which use the dimension object to merge data from multiple data sources no longer

function properly because you cannot merge detail objects.

Review: Dimensions and details

The eFashion Purchasing department requires new reports. Read the user needs below and

decide which objects the universe designer defines as dimensions, which objects the universe

designer defines as details, and why.

1. A group of reports include Store name, Product line, SKU description, Quantity sold, and

Color. The first four objects retrieve important data for the reports. The Color object appearsin only one report. What object type did the universe designer assign to the objects and

why?

2. The Purchasing director wants to analyze the Product Line information and to drill down

to Category, SKU Description, and Promotion. He does not want to drill to SKU number or

Color.

3. A Merchandising manager has access to more than one data source – an Excel Spreadsheet

and a number of universes. She wants to bring the information from these different sources

into one table and to merge for data synchronization on the Store name and Product line

objects.








DASH BOARDS

Dashboards

These dashboards contain various components, such as charts, gauges, and dials, that

are bound to data sources.

is data visualization software that allows you to create and export

interactive dashboards from Excel spreadsheets or other external data sources.

The components display the data in a compact and visual manner.

Presentation Design

Both products have much in common and are documented in this single user guide.

Both products use the term

is a presentation tool that enables users to create and export

interactive dashboards from Excel spreadsheets.

model

Both products also include a fully functioning Excel spreadsheet. Data and supported

Excel formulas can be imported or entered directly into the embedded spreadsheet and

then modified as required. In addition,

to describe the dashboard that is being designed.

Dashboards includes the ability to link external

data sources, such as data stored in SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

platform (the BI platform

Product editions

) repositories, directly to the embedded spreadsheet or

components in the model.

This section lists the features included in each product edition. All editions have the

same basic functionality; the main differences between editions are the formats that

models can be exported to, the ability to access and configure external data

connections, and the number of external data connections that are supported.

• SAP Crystal Presentation Design enables users to create models with Microsoft Excel

spreadsheets. These models cannot be exported to Flash.• SAP Crystal Dashboards, personal edition includes all the features of SAP Crystal

Presentation Design, plus it enables users to create models and connect them to a

maximum of two external data sources. These models can also be exported to Flash.

• SAP Crystal Dashboards, departmental edition includes all the features of the personal

edition, plus it enables users to create models with an unlimited number of data

sources and deploy them as a standalone model, or to SAP Crystal Reports Server.

• SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards enables users to create models with an unlimited

number of data sources and deploy them as standalone models or to SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform (the BI platform), SAP

BusinessObjects Edge Series, or SAP NetWeaver BW environments.

Throughout this guide, these four product versions are collectively referred to as Dashboards.

The following table summarizes the components available in each edition of the software:

Component SAP Crystal

Presentation

Design

SAP Crystal

Dashboards,

personal

edition

SAP Crystal

Dashboards,

departmental

edition

SAP

BusinessObjects

Dashboards

Basic data

presentation




Component SAP Crystal

Presentation

Design

SAP Crystal

Dashboards,

personal

edition

SAP Crystal

Dashboards,

departmental

edition

SAP

BusinessObjects

Dashboards

components

Themes and

color schemes

Play Control,

Play Selector,

and Accordion

Menu

Interactive

Calendar, Panel

Set, History,Trend Analyzer

Reporting

Services button

Slide Show,

Connection

Refresh button,

SWF Loader

Query Refresh

button, Query

Prompt Selector

The following table summarizes miscellaneous features available in each edition of the

software:

Feature SAP Crystal

Presentation

Design

SAP Crystal

Dashboards,

personal edition

SAP Crystal

Dashboards,

departmental

edition

SAP

BusinessObjects

Dashboards

Data

connectivity

None Web Service (2

connections

maximum)

XML Data (2

connections

maximum)

Flash Variables

Crystal Reports

Personal Edition

connections plus:

Web Service

(unlimited)

XML Data

(unlimited)

Portal Data

LCDS Connections

Departmental

Edition

connections plus:

Query as a Web

Service

SAP NetWeaver

BW




Feature SAP Crystal

Presentation

Design

SAP Crystal

Dashboards,

personal edition

SAP Crystal

Dashboards,

departmental

edition

SAP

BusinessObjects

Dashboards

FS Command

External

Interface

Live Office

BI platform

connectivity

Not available Not available SAP Crystal Reports

Server 2011

SAP

BusinessObjects

Business

Intelligence

platform 4.0

Viewing

licenserequired for

connected

dashboards

Not available Not available SAP Crystal

Dashboard Viewingoption

Xcelsius

Interactive viewinglicense

Limitations Does not

support

external data

connections

Maximum of 2

Web Service or

XML Data

connections total

in any one

model

Maximum of 100

named users can

view a given

dashboard

SAP BusinessOne is

the only supportedSAP application

Cannot be used with

SAP

BusinessObjects

Business

Intelligence

platform or SAP

Edge BI

None

Mobilesupport Not available Not available Not available Models can beviewed on

supported mobile

devices

File formats and object types

Dashboards models conform to the Adobe Flash file format, SWF. SWF is the vector-

based graphics format designed to run in the Adobe Flash Player.




Because a Flash file is vector-based, its graphics are scalable and play back smoothly

on any screen resolution, and the file usually has a smaller file size than other

animation formats.

When saved locally, Dashboards files are stored in a zipped format with an XLF

extension. The XLF file format contains the model information and its associated

embedded spreadsheet file. This file must be opened in the designer (Dashboards orPresentation Design).

Note Newer Abode Flash versions have security features that may prevent models

from connecting to an external data source when running them outside the designer.

If you cannot connect to an external data source, see Adobe Flash Player Security

Restrictionsf or more information.

When saved to a BI platform repository, Dashboards models are saved as Dashboards

objects.

These objects contain both the design document (XLF) and the Flash file (SWF) in a

single object.

If the object is opened in Dashboards or in the translation management tool and

modified, the SWF cached in the Dashboards object is automatically updated toreflect the changes. You do not need to re-export the Flash object separately for users

to receive the latest changes.

Connecting to Data Sources

1) Connect to a universe with the Query Browser

Enable Query Browser Window




Provide details

Design Query




2) Connect to an SAP BW BEx query using the Query Browser

Open Query Browser




Select Bex Query option

Select Query




3) Connect to an OLAP universe using the Query Browser

Open Query Browser

Select Universe option

Select Query




Design Query




Map the fields




5) Connect to a new XML definition

Go to Connection

Select Connection type




6) Connect to an external interface

Open Connections

Provide details




7) Create a Web Dynpro Flash Island connection

Provide details




Working with Charts

1) Display a range of data in a chart

Create a report

& Customization




Next Scenario




Working with Other Components

1) Display a single value on a dashboard




2) Group components in a container




3) Add a hyperlink to open a document in the BI platform




4) Add a hyperlink to a dashboard




Setting up Interactive Elements

1) Change the data that displays based on user selection

Design a Query




2) Select an image to filter data in a dashboard




3) Make components visible based user selection




Go to Behaviour Tab




Applying Formatting

1) Set up alerts

Design Dash Board




1)

Creating Dashboards for SAP Business Objects Mobile

Design Query

Save a dashboard for access in SAP Business Objects Mobile





Building a Sales Dashboard Using SAP Business Objects

Dashboard

MOTIVATION

This material explains how to analyze data through the development of a dashboard utilizing

SAP Business Objects Dashboard (formerly xcelsius). It is aimed at students at universities,

universities and other educational institutions with limited experience with Business

Intelligence.

It can be used in the classroom or for self-study.

On completion of the course, students will be able to understand the basic concepts ofdashboards development.

The material also serves as a reference for occasional users of SAP systems.

LEARNING METHOD

The learning method used is “guided learning.” The benefit of this method is that knowledge

is imparted quickly. Students also acquire practical skills and competencies. As with an

exercise, this method explains a process or procedure in detail.

SAP Business Intelligence provides a broad range of reporting tools to facilitate decision

making of the different end users. One reporting format which is gaining increased

popularity is the use of dashboards. Dashboard reports are interactive reports that allow

decision makers to quickly view the key information that is core to their decisions. They

provide simple to use interfaces which can be embedded in a number of applicationsincluding web pages and presentations.

SAP Business Objects Dashboards (formerly Xcelsius) is one of the tools available in the

SAP Business Intelligence suite which can be used to build dashboards. The following

tutorial is designed to introduce you to the fundamentals of building a reporting dashboard

using SAP Business Objects Dashboards. You will create a reporting dashboard that will

provide a summary of sales for Global Bike Inc. SAP enables you to download a trial version

of Business Objects Dashboards to evaluate its capabilities. This tutorial can be completed

using the trial version of Business Objects Dashboards. You can download Business Objects

Dashboard Scenario

Global Bike International (GBI) is a world class bicycle company serving both professional

and amateur cyclists. The company sells bicycles and accessories. In the touring bike

category, GBI’s handcrafted bicycles have won numerous design awards and are sold in over

10 countries. GBI’s signature composite frames are world-renowned for their strength, low

weight and easy maintenance. GBI bikes are consistently ridden in the Tour de France and

other major international road races. GBI produces two models of their signature road bikes,









a deluxe and professional model. The key difference between the two models is the type of

wheels used, aluminium for the basic model and carbon composite for the professional

model. GBI’s off-road bikes are also recognized as incredibly tough and easy to maintain.

GBI off-road bikes are the preferred choice of world champion off road racers and have

become synonymous with performance and strength in one of the most gruelling sports in the

world. GBI produces two types of off-road bike, a men’s and women’s model. The basic

difference between the two models is the smaller size and ergonomic shaping of the women’s

frame.

GBI also sells an accessories product line comprised of helmets, t-shirts and other riding

accessories. GBI partners with only the highest quality suppliers of accessories which will

help enhance riders’ performance and comfort while riding GBI bikes. Figure 1 displays theGBI range of products.

Traditionally GBI was a wholesaler who sold their bikes to retailers who then resold the bikes

to the end consumers. Recently GBI has decided to sell their bike to the end consumer viathe internet.

Organisational Structure

GBI’s headquarters are located in Dallas and the European subsidiary company (GBI Europe)

is based in Heidelberg, Germany. In regards to the GBI sales process there are two sales

organisations for America (Eastern US and Western US) and two for Germany (Northern

BIKE

Bicycles

TOURTouring

DXTR

Deluxe touringbike

DXTR 1000

Black

DXTR 2000

Silver

DXTR 3000Red

PRTR

Professionaltouring bike

PRTR 1000

Black

PRTR 2000

Silver

PRTR 3000Red

ORBKOff Road

ORMN 1000Men’s standard

ORWM 1000

Women’s

standard

ACCR

Accessories

PROTProtective

PADSPads

EPAD 1000

Elbow pads

KPAD 1000

Knee pads

HLMTHelmets

OHMT 1000

Of f road

helmet

RHMT 1000

Road helmets

UTILUtilities

SHRT 1000T-shirt

RKIT 1000

Repair kit

PUMP 1000

Air pump

CAGE 1000Water bottle

cage

BOTL 1000Water bottle









Germany and Southern Germany). All sales organisations have a wholesale distribution

channel responsible for delivering the products to the customers. However only one sales

organisation is required in each country to support internet sales. The diagram below

displays the GBI organisation to support the sales process.

Dashboard

GBI management currently use a spread sheet to analyse their sales information. The CEO

has indicated to his team that while the report contains all the necessary information, it is not

easy to interpret and perhaps this information can be supplied in a more user friendly format

to provide greater insight to their sales data to understand the trends and sales performance.

In response to these concerns, it was decided to build a reporting dashboard that was

interactive, easy-to-use and supplied the necessary information.

GBI management require a sales dashboard to visualize sales data in a number of different

ways. They want to be able to get a quick overview of the data and then be able to zoom and

filter on particular aspects and then get further details as required. The specific information

they are concerned with is.

• Sales Revenue for each Product for each Sales Organisation

• Sales Gross Profit for each Product for each Product Category

The CEO of the GBI needs each morning an overview of how the company is performing.

He has a very busy schedule and needs the information to be displayed in less than 5 seconds.The data has been extracted from the GBI’s SAP enterprise resource planning system and has

been made available in spreadsheet format. See below:









Before the team built the dashboard, they created a design on paper to capture the key

requirements. Often when people build dashboards they spend a lot of time on making it

look good rather than determining what information needs to be displayed.









Once the paper-based design was agreed to, the team built the following dashboard. You can

see from the reporting dashboard below that the information is still available and sales trends









and alerts are easily identified. In this exercise you will build the following dashboard using

SAP Business Objects Dashboards.









Creating a Dashboard

1. Choose Start Programs Xcelsius Xcelsius 2008.

If you have downloaded the demonstration version of Xcelsius from the internet, a dialog

screen will appear with a number of options.

2. Click to continue.

The Xcelsius application appears on screen.

You can see that the screen is divided into a number of areas or frames.

The Canvas frame is the white work area where you can place components in order to create

a dashboard visualization.

The Components frame includes objects that can be added to your Dashboard. There are 3

different ways to view Components in this frame: Category, Tree or List .









The Properties frame contains the setting and format options for the selected component.

After you place a Component on the canvas area, you can access the Properties panel by

double-clicking the selected component. The Properties will vary depending on the

Component.

The Spreadsheet frame incorporates an embedded spreadsheet. This fully functional

spreadsheet is displayed below the Canvas and contains the source data for your

visualizations. You can add, modify, and delete your data directly within the spreadsheet.

Alternatively, you can import an Excel spreadsheet, or import data into the spreadsheet frame

(e.g., from Microsoft Access) using the ‘Get External Data’ option, which is located on theExcel ‘Data’ ribbon.

The Object Browser frame enables you to view and select the Components on your

Dashboard.

Note: Each of these frames can be resized or hidden. To resize an area, drag the edge of the

frame.

Before you start building a dashboard you need to understand of the data that will form the

foundation of the dashboard. For the purpose of this exercise, you will import a spreadsheet

which contains the necessary data. You can do this through the Import command from the

Data menu or the Import Spreadsheet button on the Standard toolbar.

3. Click on the Standard toolbar to import a spreadsheet.

4. Click to close the existing spreadsheet and display the Open dialog box.

5. Locate GBI Sales spreadsheet on your computer. This file is available from your

workshop leader.

6. Select GBI Sales then click to import the spreadsheet.

You should familiar yourself with the spreadsheet data before you start building the

dashboard.

7. Click to display the various options.

8. Select Show Spreadsheet Only to hide the other frames.

9. Scroll through the spreadsheet to view the data









You will notice that there are two main areas of data, Sales and Profit. Within each of these

areas the various Products and their data for each month are displayed. In the Sales

component of the spreadsheet the Products are grouped as per Sales Organsiation (Eastern

US, Western US, Germany North, Germany South). You now need to start building the GBI

dashboard.


11. Select Show My Workspace to return to the original view.

In the paper design it was decided rather than trying to fit too much data on one screen

management would like to have a number of screens in the dashboard which displays

associated data. This can be achieved by using a Tab Set.

Creating Tab Sets

The Tab Set is a type of Container component that enables the user to create separate

canvases for different visualisation.

You insert a component into your dashboard by first selecting the component and then

dragging it onto your canvas.

12. Click to display the available components.

13. Click to select this component. You may have to use the scroll bar if the

component is not visible.

14. Drag the Tab Set onto your canvas.

Your screen appears similar to below:









In the requirements analysis it was decided that 3 Tabs (Revenue, Profit Accessories, and

Profit Bicycles) would be required.

15. Click to select the Tab Set.

Notice that handles appear around the component and two new icons appear . To

add another Tab:

16. Click to display the Insert dialog box.

17. Type Profit Accessories to provide a label for the next Tab.

18. Click to accept the entry.

19. Click to display the Insert dialog box.

20. Type Profit Bicycles to provide a label for the next Tab.

21. Click to accept the entry.









Your Tab Set should look similar to below:

If you make a mistake you can use the Undo button on the Standard toolbar.

You will now need to change the label of Tab 1. At the moment the Tab Set is selected and

the Properties window displays properties associated with the Tab Set. You want to change

the Properties of Tab 1.

22. Click in the body of Tab 1 to select it.

Notice that the Insert/Delete icons disappear and the Properties window displays the

Properties for Tab 1.

23. Type Revenue in the Label text field in the Properties window.

Notice that the Tab label changes to reflect your entry.









You now have three canvases to display data however at present they need to be re-sized to

take up most of the canvas. This is done at the Tab Set level.

24. Click Revenue to select the Tab Set.

Notice that the Insert/Delete icons appear.

25. Drag Revenue towards the top left

26. Drag the handles to resize the Tab Set to cover most of the canvas similar to below.

You should save your dashboard before you continue.

of the canvas.









27. Click to display the Save dialog box.

28. Type GBI Dashboard to name your file.

29. Select an appropriate location for the file to be saved.

30. Click to complete the process.

It is important after you create a component to test how it will appear and behave in the

dashboard. This can be done using the Preview command from the File menu or by clicking

the Preview button on the Standard toolbar.

31. Click to view your dashboard.

32. Click the different Tab labels to select that canvas.

It is difficult to assess at the moment as no content has been added yet.

You can preview your dashboard to view the effect of the Tab Set.

33. Click to return to the canvas view.

Inserting a Chart









As per the design the Revenue Tab is to contain a column chart to display the Revenue for

each Product for each month. Management will use a Selector component to indicate which

Sales Organisation and Product data they require. First you need to insert a column chart on

the Revenue Tab.

34. Click the Revenue label to select this Tab

35. Click to display the various chart components.

36. Drag the Column Chart onto your canvas. You may have to use the scroll bar to

display the component.

Notice that the Properties window changes to reflect that a Column Chart is selected. You

now need to format the chart.

37. Type Sales Revenue in the Chart: text field in the Properties window.

In the Properties window you have the choice to enter the label or reference an area of your

spread sheet which contains the relevant label.

38. Delete the Subtitle: text field.

39. Type $ in the Value (Y) Axis text field to label the Y axis.

Before you complete the formatting of the chart you need to edit your spreadsheet in

preparation for the use of a selector and chart component. You need to create an area of the









spreadsheet where the data will be displayed once it is selected. The following actions occur

in the spreadsheet pane.

40. Type Month in cell A4.

41. Press <ENTER> to accept the entry.

42. Click to right align the text.

43. Drag to select the B11:M11 cell range in the spreadsheet.

44. Click to copy the select range.

45. Click B4 to select this cell.

46. Click to paste the cell range.

47, Press <ESC> to remove the marque.

You now need to indicate a cell range where the chart will reference the selected data.

48. Drag to select the B5:M5 cell range.

49. Click to fill the cells with a suitable colour.

50. Click to save your dashboard.

You are now going to continue formatting your chart.

51. Click to the display more of the Properties pane.

52. Click By Range radio button to select this option if not already selected.

53. Drag to select the B5:M5 cell range in your spreadsheet.

54. Click adjacent to the By Range text field.

A dialog box appears on the screen containing the select range.










The cell range is transferred the By Range text field.

56. Type numbers in each cell in the B5:M5 cell range.

Your chart should change to reflect the values entered. You now need to identify the labelsfor the X axis (horizontal).

57. Click to select it

58. Click adjacent


The cell range is transferred the Category Labels(X): text field.

Notice that the months have now been included in the chart.

to the Category Labels(X): text field.

The Select a Range dialog box appears with the previously selected range.

59. Drag to select B4:M4 cell range.


You now need to include a Selector component to select the relevant data.

Selectors

A Selector is a component that enables an end-user to select a value(s) from a pre-defined

list of values. The selection may then be used, for example, to modify the data set displayedwithin a Chart. For our purposes, we will use a Selector to enable an end-user to select a

particular Sales Organisation and then a Product to update the values displayed in the Chart.

There are a number of Selectors available covering different user requirements. Although

each type of Selector may appear to be quite distinct in appearance, they all have similar

requirements. You have to identify where the source data can be found for the selection and









the destination where the data will be copied to. In your dashboard we have just created the

destination B5:M5 which the chart references.

Your dashboard will include an Accordion Menu selector.

57. Click in the Components frame to display the various

selector components.

58. Scroll if necessary until you find the Accordion Menu icon.

59. Drag and Drop the Accordion Menu icon onto the canvas.

Your screen should look similar to below. Don’t worry if the Accordion Menu is not in the

same location as it can be easily moved at a later stage.

You should also notice that the Properties frame has changed to include the Accordion

Menu properties. You will notice that the Accordion Menu is made up of different

Categories – each of which includes a number of Items.

60. Click the Titles: text box to insert a new menu title.

61. Type Product Revenue as the new title.

You now need to define the Category names (Sales Organsiations), Item names (Products)

and the Source Data (Revenue). In addition, once the Source Data for each Item is selected

you will need to identify the Destination where the data will be copied to. As mentioned









previously, the Destination data will form the data set for the Column Chart created

previously.

62. Click (cell reference) icon next to the Destination: text box to display the Select

a Range dialog box.

63. Drag to select the cell range B5:M5.

64. Click to transfer this range to the text box.

You are now going to define the Eastern US Category.

65. Click at the bottom of the Categories: text box to add a Category.

You will notice that Category1 appears. You can either type a new Name: for this Category

or reference a cell where the Name: exists on the spreadsheet.

66. Type Eastern US in the Name: text box to name this Category.

You will notice that the Category name has changed on the canvas. You now need to

identify the Item labels (Products).

67. Click next to the Labels: text box to display the Select a Range dialog box.

68. Drag to select the cell range A12:A28

69. . Click to transfer this range to the text box

You will notice that the Accordion Menu has changed accordingly to include the different

Products. You now need to identify the Source Data (Revenue) range (B12:M28) associated

with these Items.

Remember you can re-size the different frames if required.

70. Click next to the Source Data: text box to display the Select a Range dialog

box.


72. . Click to transfer this range to the text box









Formatted: Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt

You have completed the process for the Eastern US Category. It is important to test the

menu before you add the other Categories.


74. Click to view your dashboard.

75. Click the different Products on the Selector component.

The Chart should change based on your selection.

.

76. Click to return to My Workspace.

You now need to add the remaining Categories and Items. You do not need to alter the

Destination as data selected will be copied to the same Destination for the Chart.

77. Click at the bottom of the Categories: text box to add a Category.

You will notice that Category 2 appears.

78. Type Western US in the Name: text box to name this Category.

You will notice that the Category name has changed on the canvas. You now need to

identify the Item labels.


80. Drag to select the cell range A34:A50.


You will notice that the Accordion Menu has changed accordingly to include the different

product categories. You now need to identify the Source Data range (B21:M25) associated

with these Items.










box.



You have completed the process for the Western US Category. It is important to test the

menu before you add the other Categories.


86. Click to Preview your dashboard.

Your dashboard appears on screen.

87. Click Western US to display the different Products.

88. Click the various Items and the Chart should change accordingly.


To complete the remainder of the Accordion Menu using the following details:

Category Name Labels Source Data

Germany North A56:A72 B56:M72

Germany South A78:A94 B78:M94



92. Click the various Categories and Items to test that the Chart changes accordingly.

93. Click the Profit Accessories tab.

Notice that the components you created have disappeared, Why?

94. Click Revenue tab to display your components.









You will realise that the different components on your canvas need to be re-sized.


96. Re-size your components to appear similar to below.

Formatting Components

As mentioned previously it is possible for format various aspects of your components to

improve their appearance and control their interactivity. This formatting is performed

through the Properties frame.

First you are going to format your Selector component to change its appearance.

97. Click the Selector component to select it.

98. Click in the Properties frame.









In this area you can change fonts and their format. You will notice that Title is selected by

default.

99. Click to bold the Title.

100. Click Category Names to select this area.

101. Click to bold the Category Names.

You will notice that some of the Product names are quite long. By changing font size could

overcome display problems associated with these names.

102. Click Labels to select this area.

103. Change the font size to 11.




Similar to other charting applications, you can change the appearance or format of the chart.

Changes can be done by selecting the Appearance properties.

107. Click the Chart component to select it.


You will notice that a number of tabs have appeared which group the various Appearance

properties.









You are now going to change the format of the Y-axis labels to indicate they are currency.

109. Click to display the associated properties.

110. Click Vertical (Value) Axis Labels to select it.

111. Click of the list box in the Number Format area to display the different formats

available.

112. Click Currency to select it.

113. Enter the following format details:

Notice that your Chart changes accordingly. Before proceeding further, you should save

your dashboard.




You have now created a chart for Product Revenue for each Sales Organisation. Management

have viewed your dashboard prototype and have indicated that they would like to see the

actual Revenue values.

Grids

The Chart in its present format indicates trends in Revenue but it is difficult to determine the

exact revenue amount. However, you can place the mouse on each of the columns to reveal

the exact amount. Notwithstanding, the BI team has decided that it would be beneficial to

add a Grid component to the dashboard to display the revenue for each month, once the Item

is selected. The dashboard is expected to look similar to the below image.









117. Click in the Component frame to display the various

components.

118 Scroll if necessary until you find the Grid icon.

119. Drag the Grid icon onto the Canvas frame below the Chart and Accordion Menu.

You will notice that the Grid is currently in a 5x3 format. This will automatically change to

reflect the data range chosen to be included in the Grid.

120. Select the range B4:M5 to indicate the data source.

121. Click next to the Data: text box to display the Select a Range dialog box.

You will notice that the cell range that you previously selected appears in the dialog box.


.

The Grid changes to include this data.











You will notice that a number of cells include hash symbols (#) to indicate that the cell is too

small to display the data. You will now edit the size of the font and change the Revenue to

currency.




128. Change the Font Size from 12 to 10.

129. Click of the list box in the Number Format area to display the different formats.

130. Click Currency to select it.

131. Enter the following format details:

You will now have to re-size the Grid to fit your values.

132. Drag the Grid handles re-size the Grid to fit the data.











Test your dashboard by selecting different Categories and Items to see changes to the Chart

and Grid.


You have now added the required content to the Revenue Tab of the GBI Dashboard. In the

design briefing it was decided to display Profit for each Product Category per Month to

provide a real understanding of the Revenue. It was also determined that management

require the ability to compare the Profit of two or more Products within a Product Category.

To achieve this design goal the Business Intelligence team have decided to use the List

Builder Selector component and a Line chart. You will now add the necessary

components to the Profit Accessories Tab of the dashboard. Firstly you need to create a

destination area within your spreadsheet.


137. Select Show Spreadsheet Only to hide the other frames.

136. Drag to select the A100:M111 cell range.

137. Click to copy the select range.

138. Click A130 to select this cell.

139. Click to paste the cell range.

140, Press <ESC> to remove the marque.

The cell range is copied to the new location.

141. Drag to select the A133:M141 cell range.

142. Press <DELETE> to delete the cell contents.

143. Click to fill the destination cells with a suitable colour.


145. Select Show My Workspace to return to the original view.









Once you have defined the destination cells you are ready to add components to the Profit

Accessories Tab.

146. Click to move to this Tab.

List Box Selector

You are going to add a List Builder Selector component. This component enables the user

to select one or more items to be included in chart.

147. Click in the Components frame to display the various

selector components.

148. Scroll if necessary until you find the List Builder icon.

149. Drag and Drop the List Builder icon onto the canvas.

Notice the Properties frame changes accordingly. You need to label your List Builder. As

the Tab indicates that the List Builder is related to Profit Accessories there is no need

provide a title for the List Builder.

150 Type Select Products in the Source List: text field.

151. Type Selected Products in the Destination List: text field.

You now need to include the Products to be selected.


153. Drag to select the cell range A103:A111.












157. Click Air Pump to select this Product.

Test your dashboard by selecting different Categories and Items to see changes to the Chart

and Grid.

There are a number of techniques that can be employed to use the List Builder.

158. Click to move the selected product to the right side of the List Builder.

159. Double Click Knee Pads to move it to the right pane.

160. Drag T-Shirt to the right pane.

161. Drag T-Shirt to the left pane to remove it from the selected items.


You have now identified the labels for the List Builder. The next step is to identify the

Source Data for the labels and how the data will be selected (Insertion Type) and the

corresponding Destination.

163. Click in the Insertion Type to display the options.









164. Click Row to select this option.


box.

166. Drag to select the cell range A103:M111.


168. Click next to the Destination: text box to display the Select a Range dialog box.

169. Drag to select the cell range A133:M141.



You have now indicated that for the selected Products, in the List Builder, data will be

retrieved from the Source Data cell range and copied to the Destination cell range. You are

now going to create a Line chart based on the data in the Destination cell range.

172. Click to display the various chart components.

173. Drag the Line Chart onto your canvas below thje List Builder.









Notice that the Properties window changes to reflect that a Line Chart is selected. You

now need to format the chart.

174. Type Profit in the Chart: text field in the Properties window.

175. Delete the Subtitle: text field.

176. Click By Series radio button to select this option.

177. Click at the bottom of the By Series list box to create a series.

Series1 appears in the list box.

178. Click adjacent


to the Name: text field

179. Click to select the cell A133 in your spreadsheet.

181. Click adjacent


You now need to create the Category Labels.

The cell range is transferred the By Range text field.

to the Values(Y): text field

182. Drag to select the B133:M133 cell range in your spreadsheet.

184. Click adjacent


to the Category Labels(x): text field

185. Drag to select the B132:M132 cell range in your spreadsheet to include the month

labels


You need to test that the cell ranges you have identified work correctly.










189. Click Air Pump to select this Product.

190. Click to move the selected product to the right side of the List Builder.

191. Click to update your Line Chart.

Your chart should include the Air Pump profit data for each month. Obviously you will need

to improve the appearance of the chart at a later stage.

192. Drag Air Pump to the left pane to remove it from the selected items.

193. Double Click Knee Pads to move it to the right pane.

194. Click to update your Lie Chart.

The chart values should change accordingly.

195. Double Click Repair Kit to move it to the right pane.

196. Click to update your Line Chart.

There appears to be a problem as only the profit data fro one product appears in the chart.

The reason for this is that previously you only included the data for one series (one row) in

the destination cell range. In other words you have included the format to display the Profit

for only the first Product selected. You now need to repeat the process to ensure data will be

displayed if all Products are selected.


198. Repeat steps 177 to 178

Name

for the following data.

Values(Y):

A134 B134:M134

A135 B135:M135

A136 B136:M136

A137 B137:M137

A138 B138:M138

A139 B139:M139

A140 B140:M140

A141 B141:M141










Hint if you have followed the steps correctly the should be 9 symbols appearing to the right of

your graph.

200. Re-sizeyour Line Chart and List Builder similar to below.

You need to test that the cell ranges you have identified work correctly.


202. Select different products and update your Line Chart.

Once you have finished testing your dashboard you need to improve the appearance of the

Line Chart. You may have noticed that some of the symbols to represent the different series

are the same. Obviously this will need to change to differentiate the different products.










204. Click the Line Chart to select it.


206. Click to display the format options.

The different symbols, colours and line colours are displayed. Currently the symbols are

quite large compared to the size of the Line Chart. Through changing the marker size the

symbol size will change accordingly.

207. Type 10 in the Marker Size:.

208. Type 1.5 in the Line Thickness list box.

209. Edit the symbols Shape, Line and Fill to create 9 distinct formats.

Remember you can preview your changes at any time


Currently 9 symbols appear even if only 3 Products are selected. You can change this option

in the Behaviour area of the Properties frame.

211. Click to display these properties.

212. Click In Series check box to ignore blank cells.

The final formatting you will need to do is to format the Y axis.











215. Click Vertical (Value) Axis labels to select this item.

216. Click General in the Number Format: to display the options.

217. Click `Currency to select this format.

218. Edit the following options:


220. Click to Preview and test your dashboard.

The Dashboard Appearance

You have now built the fundamentals of your reporting dashboard with all the necessary

information for two of the Tabs. The last task is to format your dashboard to make it more

appealing. The dashboard tool includes a number of options to enhance the dashboard

appearance, including preloaded colour schemes and themes. You can also add graphics

(e.g., company logos) and titles. It is important to remember some fundamental design

guidelines as suggested by Kirby Leong.

Reduce the non-data pixels

This means that formatting not associated with the required data should be kept to the

minimum. This can be achieved by:

• Limiting graphics which are used for decoration.

• Using white space as a border• Use solid colours rather than gradients or shadowing

Enhance data pixels

The required data should be highlighted and non-essential data de-emphasised. This can be

achieved by:

• Removing data that is less relevant.









• Condensing data by summaries and exceptions.

• Emphasizing important data by visual attributes like colour intensity, size, line width.

• Emphasizing important data by its position on the dashboard: top-left and centre are

sections with greatest emphasis.

Group KPIs Logically

For example, by component or KPI type, such as availability or performance. Spatially

separate different groups if they are in one panel.

Keep to Single Screen

By fitting the dashboard onto a single screen, you allow a quick overview at a glance.

Use Appropriate Themes

Use an appropriate theme which defines the visual design of the components, like fonts and

colours and deviate from its default settings only when necessary. Do you know the colours

associated with colour blindness?

Use Few Selectors

Use as few pure selectors as possible (e.g. radio button, combo box, or tab strip.

Avoid 3D

This type of format makes it difficult to identify data values.

Avoid gauges (speedometers)

Provide as much useful information as possible but avoid unnecessary data or decoration.

Although the dashboard tool includes a functionality to enhance the look of your dashboard

these should be treated with caution. People artistic flair over-rides from good dashboard

design principles.

Some of the supplied Themes will change the layout and appearance of different

components. These cannot be undone once applied. As a rule you should save your

dashboard before applying any Themes so you can exit to undo the changes. A safer option

is to use the supplied Colour Schemes available under the Format menu. But you need to

remember the guidelines above. These Colour Schemes will replace any exiting colourformats including those of the markers in your line chart.


222. Select Color Scheme from the Format menu.









223. Click Equity to apply this Colour Scheme to your dashboard.

224. Click to view the impact.


226. Experiment with the different schemes until you find a suitable one.


Dashboard Output

After completing your dashboard, you need to determine how it will be distributed to the

users. Xcelsius dashboard output is saved in flash format. Accordingly this allows you to

embed your dashboard in either Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat,

Email attachment or Web page. These options are available on the Standard toolbar.

The CEO wants to use the dashboard you have created in an upcoming presentation and

therefore requires it embedded in Microsoft PowerPoint.

228. Click on the Standard toolbar to embed the dashboard in Microsoft PowerPoint.

After a short period of time Microsoft PowerPoint appears on screen displaying a blank slide.

229. Start a Slideshow to view your dashboard.

230. Test your dashboard.

Notice that the dashboard interactivity is still available once it has been embedded in

Microsoft

PowerPoint.

231. Press <ESC> to exit the SlideShow.











Defining database concepts

You need to know where your information is stored and in what form before you can

work out your reporting requirements.


• Define database terms

Database terms and definitions

By understanding basic database concepts, you will be better prepared to understand what’s

needed when planning a report.

Term Definition

Database A database is a bank of data that provides the information for a

report. A database is also referred to as a data source.

Table A table is a container of information that can hold many pieces of

data, such as records. Tables are stored in databases.

Record

In a database, a record is a complete unit of related information. Each

record is made up of one or more fields, and each field can hold one

piece of data (known as a value).

Field A field is the basic building block of a record. A field can be empty

(NULL) or contain a value.

Relational database A relational database contains tables that can be linked together based

on the relationship between the fields in two or more tables.

Report

A report is an organized presentation of data. A comprehensive,

customized, and attractive report can provide management with the

information it needs to run an organization effectively.

A link is a field that is common to two or more tables and that serves

as a connecting point between those two tables. Linking means that

Link records are matched up from two or more table(s) and ensures that

all the data in each row of multiple tables refers to the same customer

(transaction, invoice, and so on) on a report.









Planning and developing a report prototype

As a starting point in the report design process, you should outline the information you want

the report to provide.


• Determine the layout and content of a report

• Develop a prototype of a report

Report prototype layouts

By taking a systems-oriented approach to reporting and developing a prototype, you will

produce clearer and more readable reports.

Tip: With the paper prototype in hand, you can put your full effort into learning and using the

program, rather than trying to design and learn at the same time. For more details on the report

planning process, see the Crystal Reports User’s Guide.

Developing a report prototype

To develop a report prototype, gather the information on which the report will be based. This

stage of the report planning process, referred to as requirements gathering, consists of the

report designer asking the report requestor a series of targeted questions, sometimes in the

form of a checklist.

After determining the outline of the report request, you develop the prototype by:

• Sketching the report on a blank piece of paper, usually the size the report will be printed

on.

• Filling in a form.

Sketching the report helps if you need to see the report visually; however, a form with all the

categories listed enables you to develop the prototype without missing a section. As well, the

form is more professional than a quickly sketched visual and can be used as a sign-off point

in a report request. Having a list of questions (based on the Report Requirements Checklist)

can also help to keep you on track.

Note: The Report Requirements Checklist is based on Crystal Reports terminology. Use this checklist

as a starting point for a version specific to your organization’s needs.

Report Requirements Checklist You can use these guidelines to jumpstart the planning process.

• Define the overall purpose of the report.

The purpose statementhelps you focus on your primary needs, and it gives the report both

a starting point and a goal.

• Define the readers of the report.









Plan the report so it includes the information each user is looking for.

• Define the data used in the report.

What type of data source will you need to connect to?

• Determine the report title.

Write out a working title for the report. You may decide to change it later, but at least youwill have a title to use when creating the prototype report.

• Define header and footer identifying information.

Header information typically includes a company logo, a print date, and the title of the

report. Page numbers usually appear in footers.

• Define specific data that should appear in the body of the report.

The body should contain all the data needed to fulfill the statement of purpose you wrote

for the report. It should also contain all of the data needed by the various users that you

have identified.

• Determine if the data is organized into groups.

How? By customer? By date? By hierarchy? Or by other criteria?

• Determine if the data is sorted based on record or group values.

Data can be sorted based on a specific record or on a group.

• Determine if the data exists or if it needs to be calculated.

Some report information can be drawn directly from data fields; other information will have

to be calculated based on data field values.

• Determine if the report is to contain only specific records or groups.

You can base a report on all records in a given database, or on a limited set of records from

the database.

• Determine if the data needs to be summarized.

Do you want to total, average, count, or determine the maximum or minimum value included

in all the values in any column on the report? Do you want to include a grand total at the

bottom of a selected column?

• Define how to identify key information through formatting options.

What formatting options can be used to highlight key data on a report?

Activity: Developing a report prototype









Objective

• Determine the layout and content for a report and then develop a paper prototype.

Instructions

Work through the scenario to determine the basic requirements of a report. Read through the

scenario and then create a report prototype. You can use the Report Requirements Checklistas an aid in this activity or sketch the report prototype on a piece of paper.

To build a prototype, determine these requirements for the report:

• Purpose

• Audience

• Report title

• Database information

• Header and footer information

• Information to be included in the body of the report

• Groups to be set up

• Information to be sorted in a specific order

• Specific records to be displayed

• Calculations or formulas

• Summarized data to be included

• Formatting to highlight specific information

Scenario

You are a new report designer for the Sales team in a bike manufacturing company called the

Xtreme Bike Company. Your first assignment is to create a report that will display orders placed

by each customer of your organization.

The database administrator tells you that the customer information and the order information

are stored in two separate tables in the Xtreme company database. She advises you to use an

ODBC connection to the database.

The sales manager tells you that the standard is to use the company logo at the top of the

report as well as a title and a print date that’s labeled. He also tells you that a page number

that’s labeled in the bottom of the report is the corporate standard as well as the copyright

information. The main section of the report should contain the customer’s name and city. As

well, the order information should include the date the order was placed, the amount of the

order, and the order ID number.

For this report, the team needs to see records selected from the country of the USA and for

2004 only. The customers and the cities should be sorted alphabetically, starting with “A.”

While the report should display USA as the only country group, the only regional groups the

team needs to see at this time are the Western Sales Territory and the Eastern Sales Territory.

They are not interested in any other specific groups at this time, so you can tag them as

“Unassigned Regions.” They also want to see information grouped on the dates that orders

were placed with the order dates sorted with the most recent information first.

The team also needs to see such summarized data as the number of orders for each order date









group. Include the subtotal of the order amount for each order date group as well as a report

grand total for the order amount. As well, include a percentage of the order amount based

on each month’s subtotal compared to the grand total. The team also needs to see the number

of unique customers.

To highlight key information with specialized formatting options, ensure the order date group

as well as the subtotal and grand total is easily found on the report. Format the columnheadings, so that navigating the report is easier. Use two different font styles for the report

title for contrast.

Report Prototype Form


Purpose

Audience

Database information

Report title

Header

Body of report

Groups

Footer

Sorting

Calculations or formulas

Record selection










Summarized data

Key information/Formatting

Signoff:

Debrief: Planning a report

1. Why is it important to plan a report before creating it?









Creating a Report

introduction

Creating a basic report using Crystal Reports will help you turn data into information.

After completing this , you will be able to:

• Create a report

• Add tables

• Describe the design environment

• Insert objects on a report

• Preview a report

• Save a report

• Position and size objects

• Format objects

Creating a report

In order to create a report, you must first connect to your database that contains the data you

need.


• Describe methods of creating a report

• Choose a data source type

Report creation methods

When you launch Crystal Reports, the Start Page appears at the top of the screen.









The Start Page includes links to recent reports you’ve opened, report creation methods, the

Help system, a search functionality, sample reports, and an update service.

You can create a new report with Crystal Reports using these methods:

• Use one of the Report Wizards provided.

A user who is unfamiliar with Crystal Reports, or someone who is familiar but is rushed,

will find it easier to design a report using one of the Wizards, sometimes referred to as

Experts. You step through the report-building process of a specific type of report when

using an Expert.

• Construct the report manually, piece by piece.

You can custom design a report using this method by starting with a blank report and

building the elements of the report from “scratch.”

• Create a report from another report.

Another quick method to build a report is to create it from an existing report. This existing

report can be used as a template since it may already contain much of the information and

formatting you need. After you open the report you want to use as a template, save it to anew file using the Save As command on the File menu.

The Start Page also contains dynamic content from Business Objects.

After you select the type of report you want to build from the Start Page, you choose the data

source you will use to create the report.

Specifying the data source









For any new report you want to create, the first step is to specify the data source.

Regardless of which option you select from the START A NEW REPORT list on the Start Page,

the dialog box that displays will be one of several Data dialog boxes that allow you to specify

the data source from either an existing connection or by creating a new connection.

If you choose to use a blank report as the basis of your new report, the Database Expert opens

automatically.









The options in the Database Expert are:

• My Connections

This option shows all data sources that you are currently connected to.

• Create New Connection This folder contains a number of subfolders of data source options.

The data you use to create reports in your organization is stored in either a client-serverdatabase

such as MS SQL Server, or a PC-type database such as Microsoft Access. You access sources

through either an ODBC layer or directly through native drivers. ODBC stands for Open

Database Connectivity. It is an interface that gives applications the ability to retrieve data in

data management systems.

Note: Salesforce.com is an on-demand customer relationship management (CRM) company.

A salesforce.com driver included with Crystal Reports allows for access to customer data.

Reports that use a salesforce.com driver refresh when deployed to crystalreports.com.

To connect to an ODBC data source

1. From the Database Expert, select Create New Connection.

2. Expand the Create New Connection list and locate ODBC (RDO).

3. Click ODBC (RDO) .

The ODBC (RDO) dialog box opens.









4. Locate and then click the appropriate data source, and then click Next.

The second window of the ODBC (RDO) dialog box appears, displaying the connection

information needed to log onto the selected data source.

5. In the Connection Information section of the ODBC (RDO) dialog box, enter your user ID

and password, if required, and then click Finish.

Tip: In your organization the database may be secure, meaning you might be promptedfor a user ID and password. For this course, the sample database has not been secured.

The Database Exped clisplays with the cOlUlection to the data sotUCe highlighted.

Adding tables

After connecting to your data source, you will add the information upon which the report will

be built.


• Add tables to a report

• Describe linking

Adding tables to a report

After selecting the data source, you can add one or more tables to base your report on.

To add tables to a report









1. From the Database Expert, expand your data source, and then expand Tables.

2. Select the table you want to add to your report.

3. Click the > arrow to add it to the Selected Tables list.

4. Click OK .

Linking database tables

If your report contains data from two or more database tables, you will need to link the tables

when creating your reports. Linking requires that you use a field that is common to both tables.

You link database tables so records from one table match related records from another. You

define the linking setup in the Links tab of the Database Expert.

Auto Link in the Database ExpertLinks tab automatically chooses links for your tables based

on common fields in tables or indexed fields (if your database supports indexed fields).









Note: The color flags indicate that these fields are indexed. Indexed fields can increase the speed

of data access and reduce the time it takes for the program to evaluate data.

The other options in the Links tab include:

• Links display area

The display area shows all the tables currently in your report along with links and indexes.

• Auto-Arrange

When you click this button, the program arranges the tables to fit in the most efficient manner

inside the Links display area.

• Auto-Link

Use this area to choose a method of linking tables. Click By Name to link tables by their

names or By Key to use foreign key information. Click the Link button to link tables

automatically (by name or foreign key, as selected).

• Order Links

To activate this button, you must have more than two tables available for linking. When

you click the button, the Order Links dialog box appears. Establish the link processing order

you want for the available linked tables.

• Clear Links

This option removes all the links in the tables.

• Delete Link

This option removes the selected link.

• Link Options









This option opens the Link Options dialog box when you click a link line to select it.

• Index Legend

This option opens the Index Legend dialog box so you can see a key to the index indicators

(arrows) used in the Links display area. The numbering of the index indicators reflects the

sequence in which the indexes were created. If a field is part of several indexes, the index

indicator in front of the field shows the colors of the indexes the field is part of.

To link tables

1. Confirm the tables are linked correctly.

2. Click OK .

The design environment

The Design window is the environment in which you will create the report.

After completing this unit, you will be able to: • Describe the Design window area

• Describe toolbars

Understanding the Design window

When creating a report, you begin in the Design window, also referred to as the Design tab.

The Design tab is where you do most of the initial work when creating a report. It designates









and labels the various sections of the report. You can do the initial formatting; place objects in

the sections where you want them to appear; specify sorting, grouping, and totaling needs;

and so forth.

While working in the Design tab you manipulate “representatives” or placeholders of objects,

not the objects themselves. The Design tab offers faster previewing of information and layout

because you are not working with the actual data itself. When a field is placed on the report,the program uses a frame to identify the field on the tab; it does not retrieve the data. Thus,

you can add and delete fields and other objects, move them around, set up complex formulas,

and more, without tying up the computer or network resources needed to gather the data.

The report created in the Design tab is a kind of virtual report; it has the structure and

instructions for creating the final report, but it is not the report itself. To turn the Design tab

report into a final report or into a report that you can fine-tune, you add data. Data adding

occurs whenever you preview the report, print it, or output it in any other way. The actual data

appears in the report.

When you begin creating a report, Crystal Reports automatically creates five areas or sections

in the Design window.

• Report Header

This section is used for the report title and other information you want to appear at the

beginning of the report. It can also be used for charts and cross-tabs that include data for

the entire report. Items placed in the Report Header print only on the first page of the report.

Often the name of the report, the print date, company logo, or “title page” information is

included in the Report Header.

• Page Header

This section is used for information that you want to appear at the top of each page. This

can include such things as chapter names, the name of the document, and other similar

information. This section can also be used to display field titles above the fields on a report.

Objects in the Page Header print at the top of every page of the report. Column headings,

print dates, and page numbers are common entries in the Page Header.

• Details

This section is used for the body of the report and is printed once per record. The bulk of

the report data appears in this section. Place the data fields on which you want to report in

this area. This information (database fields and text) prints for every record selected on the









report.

• Report Footer

This section is used for information you want to appear only once at the end of the report

(such as grand totals) and for charts and cross-tabs that include data for the entire report.

Items placed here print only on the last page of the report. Grand totals, total number of

pages, and other summary information are often placed here.

• Page Footer

This section usually contains the page number and any other information you want to appear

on the bottom of each page. Objects placed here print at the bottom of every page. Page

numbers are often placed in the Page Footer.

Note: The names of the five areas can also be shortened to their abbreviated forms (RH, PH, D, RF,

and PF). You set the Short Section Name option in the Design View area of the Layout tab in the

Options dialog box from the File menu. You can also set this option by right-clicking on one of the

section names and selecting Show Short Section Names from the shortcut menu.

Each section is indicated by a section boundary. These lines indicate the separation of the areas

and do not print to paper.

You can move these bars to change the amount of space reserved for each section. You click

and drag the section divider to the desired position; however, you can drag the bottom line

only to affect the size of the section.

Working with toolbars in the Design window The Report Designer window includes several toolbars. Crystal Reports groups several

commonly used commands on a toolbar that remains on screen at all times unless you choose

to turn it off using the Toolbar command on the View menu.

The toolbars are:









• Standard

This toolbar contains several commonly used commands.

• Formatting

This toolbar contains commands for formatting the selected field.

• Insert Tools This toolbar provides quick access to advanced report enhancing features.

• Expert Tools

This toolbar provides quick access to many advanced experts.

• Navigation Tools

This toolbar provides buttons for refreshing a report’s data and for moving around the

report.

• External Command

This toolbar is where organizations can access custom applications or plug-ins that they

have created for Crystal Reports.

Note: The ability to customize Crystal Reports by using Add-ins in the Report Designer allows

report developers to extend the functionality of the application. This customization can include

application-specific toolbars, branded billboards, splash screens, and launching of other applications.

This flexibility provides opportunities to customize Crystal Reports to your company's specifications.

The toolbars are floating toolbars. You can position them on any of the four sides of the screen,

or float them on your design area. Each toolbar displays an icon that visually describes the

command it represents. You activate a toolbar command by clicking the appropriate icon.

To move a toolbar, click and hold in an unused part of the toolbar, between groups of buttons,

or on the unused area at the beginning or end of the toolbar. Drag the entire toolbar to the

desired location. As you approach the edge of the screen, the toolbar automatically stretches

to match that side.

The toolbar eliminates some of the steps needed to activate a command, increasing the speed

with which you create reports.

Tip: If you are not sure about the function of a button on the toolbar, place the pointer over the

icon and hold it there until a tooltip appears.

Inserting objects on a report

To create a report, you need to place information on the report.


• Describe the Field Explorer

• Describe the Report Explorer

• Describe the Repository Explorer

• Describe the Workbench

• Determine data field type









Working with the Field Explorer

Database fields, formula fields, lines, and boxes are examples of the types of objects you can

place, move, and resize on your report. You access and insert these objects onto the report from

the Field Explorer.

Use the Field Explorer to insert, modify, or delete fields on the Design and Preview tabs. You’llsee the Field Explorer after you have:

• Clicked the Field Explorer button on the Standard toolbar.

• Selected the Field Explorer from the View menu.

The Field Explorer displays a tree view of database fields and special fields that you can add

to your report. It also shows formula fields, SQL expression fields, parameter fields, group

name fields, and running total fields that you have defined for use in your report.

You can dock the Field Explorer dialog box. In free-floating mode, drag the Field Explorer to

any location. Alternately, dock the Field Explorer as a tab, similar to the Design tab.

The Field Explorer’s toolbar offers these functions:

• Insert to Report

Use this option to add a field to the report. You can insert more than one field at a time by

selecting multiple fields, right-clicking, and choosing Insert to Report.

Alternatively, to insert a field, you can drag and drop it in the Design or Preview tabs.

• Browse

Use this option to browse data for a database field, formula field, or SQL expression field. • New

Use this option to create a formula field, SQL expression field, parameter field, or running

total field.

• Duplicate

Use this option to make a copy of the formula that you have selected in the Field Explorer.

Once the copy is created you can rename and edit it.









• Edit

Use this option to modify an existing formula field, SQL expression field, parameter field,

or running total field.

• Rename

Use this option to modify the name of an existing formula field, SQL expression field,

parameter field, or running total field.

• Delete

Use this option to remove a formula field, SQL expression field, parameter field, or running

total field. You can also select multiple fields, right-click, and choose Delete to remove them

all at once.

Tip: Each button on the Field Explorer’s toolbar has an associated shortcut option that’s displayed

in the tooltip.

To insert fields onto a report

1. On the Standard toolbar, click Field Explorer.









The Field Explorer dialog box appears. To speed the report building process, this dialog

box remains on screen until you close it. You can move this dialog box wherever you want.

2. Expand the Database Fields folder to see all the tables chosen from the database(s).

3. Expand the individual tables to see all the fields they contain.

4. Select the field you want to appear in the report.

5. Click Insert to Report and then click to place it in the report.

Tip: You can insert more than one field at a time by selecting multiple fields, right-clicking,

choosing Insert to Report, and then clicking in the report to place them. You can also drag

and drop fields to add them to the report. You can right-click the field in the Field Explorer

to invoke a shortcut menu that displays the Insert to Report option.

After you place a field onto a report, a check mark appears on the field in the Field Explorer.

Working with the Report Explorer

The Report Explorer appears when you select the Report Explorer command from the View

menu, or when you click the Report Explorer button on the Standard toolbar. The Report

Explorer displays a tree view of the sections in your report and lists the report objects contained

in each section and works like a “report navigator.” You can work with report objects directly

from the explorer.

The Report Explorer's toolbar provides buttons that let you expand or collapse your report's

tree view and choose the report items to display by type:

• Expand

Use this option to expand all child nodes of the tree view under the selected node. If you

select this option while the root node is highlighted, all remaining nodes are expanded. If

you select this option while a child node is highlighted, only the nodes that are part of the

child are expanded.









Note: This option has no effect if selected while a report object is highlighted, or if the

selected node has no children.

• Show/Hide Data Fields

Use this option to show or hide data fields in your report. Data fields include formula fields,

summary fields, and text objects.

• Show/Hide Graphical Objects

Use this option to show or hide graphical objects in your report. Graphical objects include

charts, maps, boxes, lines, BLOB fields, and OLE objects.

• Show/Hide Grids and Subreports

Use this option to show or hide cross-tabs, OLAP grids, and subreports in your report.

You can dock the Report Explorer dialog box. In free-floating mode, drag the Report Explorer

to any location. You can also dock the Report Explorer as a tab, similar to the Design tab.

The content of the Report Explorer represents the content of the report in a tree view. The root

node is the report itself, while the first-level nodes represent the report's sections.

Within each section, the report's fields and objects are listed. Any item you select in the tree

view will be selected in the report (in either Design or Preview modes).

You can modify report fields and objects by selecting them in the Report Explorer. When you

right-click the selected item, you see a menu that contains the actions you can carry out on the

item.

For example, if you right-click a text object, the menu contains the options to edit the text, toformat its font or color, and so on. Likewise, if you right-click a section node, the menu contains

the options to hide, suppress, format, and so on.









Note:

• You can select multiple fields for formatting by using Ctrl-click; however, you cannot add

additional fields or report objects when using the Report Explorer, but you can delete them.

• Items connected to a BusinessObjects Enterprise Repository are shown with the repository

icon beside them.

• Items with hyperlinks are shown as blue text with a solid underline. Items with Report Part

hyperlinks are shown as green text with a dashed underline. These indicators are availableif you are using a Microsoft Windows operating system only.

• You can use the openDocument function to create hyperlinks to other types of reports (for

example, Web Intelligence reports).

To use the Report Explorer

1. Click the Report Explorer icon on the Standard toolbar.









The Report Explorer appears.

2. Right-click the field you want to format and select the option you want to apply from theshortcut menu.

3. Apply the changes.

Working with the Repository Explorer

The repository is the central location for you to store and manage your report objects. These

objects are accessible to users and report developers for use in new reports. Physically, the

repository is a database that stores supported object types:

• Text objects

• Bitmaps • Custom functions

• Commands (queries)

• List of Values









The Repository Explorer’s toolbar provides buttons that let you add new folders, search for

items, and so on:

• Change view settings

Use this option to open the View Settings dialog box. Use this dialog box to limit the typeof repository items displayed in the Repository Explorer. You can also select options to sort

multiple items by name or by type.

• Advanced filtering

Use this option to display filtering options at the bottom of the Repository Explorer. Use

these filters to find specific items by words from the Name or Author fields in the Add Item

dialog box.

Note: Text entered in the filtering fields of this option is not case sensitive.

• Delete the item/folder

Use this option to permanently remove the selected item or folder from the repository. Whenyou delete a folder, you delete all the items it contains.

• Insert a new folder

Use this option to add a new folder to the repository.

• Logon/Logoff

Use this option to log on/off the repository in BusinessObjects Enterprise.

Note: If you aren’t logged on, a no server connection message is displayed in the Repository

Explorer.

Tip: Hover your mouse’s cursor over any object in the Repository Explorer to see a tooltip. Tooltips

for text objects and bitmaps include Author and Description information as well as the complete

text of the SQL statement.

By maintaining a shared repository of report objects, you can modify a particular object and

update all reports containing that object as they are opened for use. A central location for report

objects also helps with the task of managing your data—an important benefit in maximizing

productivity and minimizing costs at your company.

The BusinessObjects Enterprise Repository is contained in BusinessObjects Enterprise.

Depending on the version of Crystal Reports you have, you can install a version of

BusinessObjects Enterprise to access the repository.

You can dock the Repository Explorer dialog box. In free-floating mode, drag the Repository

Explorer to any location. You can also dock the Repository Explorer as a tab, similar to the

Design tab.

To open the Repository Explorer

1. Click the Repository Explorer icon on the Standard toolbar.









Tip: Another way to do this is to click the Repository Explorer option under the View

menu.

2. If you’re not logged onto the repository in BusinessObjects Enterprise, click the Logon button

on the toolbar in the Repository Explorer.

The Log On to BusinessObjects Enterprise dialog box opens.

3. Enter the appropriate information into the System, User name, Password, and

Authentication text boxes.

4. Click OK .

The Repository Explorer appears, displaying the contents of the repository.

5. Expand the top node to see the repository contents, if required.









Working with the Workbench

The Workbench is a folder structure that can represent the type of projects you work on. In

the Workbench, you can create projects (folders) that contain one or more reports. For example,

if you are a report designer in the financial department of an organization, you could have

separate folders for Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable.

Use the options on the toolbar to add, remove, or rename folders, reports, and object packages.

You can reorganize the files in a folder or folders by dragging and dropping them where you

want them to appear. You can also drag report files from Windows Explorer and drop them

into the folder of your choice in the Workbench.

The Workbench includes a toolbar:

• Add

Use this option to add a new object to the Workbench:

○ Add Existing Report or Add Current Report

When you select this option, the Open dialog box appears so that you can search for a Crystalreport that you have previously created.

○ Add New Project

When you select this option, the program adds a new folder under the root node that is

called Workspace. You can add reports to this folder. Project folders offer a way to organize

the reports in the Workbench.

○ Add Object Package

When you select this option, the program prompts you to log onto your BusinessObjects

Enterprise system. When you have connected to your system, you can choose an object

package to add to the Workbench.

• Open

Use this option to open the report or report package that you have selected in the Workspace

folders.

• Check Dependencies

Use this option to initiate the Dependency Checker, a method of checking for errors in a

report. The option is available for individual reports or for folders of reports. Crystal Reports

begins checking the report(s) immediately and displays the results in the Dependency

Checker.

You can right-click any item in the workspace area of the Workbench to see a shortcut menu.

Many of the options that are available on the shortcut menu are also available on the toolbar.This section describes only the additional options that are not available on the toolbar.

• Rename

Use this option to rename a folder in the Workspace area.

• Remove

Use this option to remove a report, report package, or folder from the Workspace area.









Note:

• You cannot undo this option.

• When you remove a folder, you remove all of the items in it at the same time.

• Publish to BusinessObjects Enterprise

Use this option to publish a folder of reports to BusinessObjects Enterprise. You can publishyour reports individually or as an object package. (Object packages can be scheduled in

BusinessObjects Enterprise as a single entity.) When you choose this option, the Publish

Object dialog box appears.

To add a new project to the Workbench

1. Click the Workbench button on the Standard toolbar.

The Workbench appears.

2. Right-click Create a new project in the workspace of the Workbench, point to Add, and

then click Add New Project.

An untitled folder appears.

3. Enter a name for the project, and then click in the white space area of the workspace to set

the project folder.









To add a report to the Workbench

1. Click the project folder in the Workbench.

2. From the Add menu, click Add Existing Report.

3. Locate the report you want to add from the Open dialog box, and then click Open.

The report is added to the folder.

Determining data field types

You can take a look at a sample of the actual data in the table before you place the field on your

report in the Browse Field Data dialog box.

To browse field data

1. Select the field.

2. From the Field Explorer, click Browse.

The Browse Data dialog box opens.

3. Scroll through the list.

4. Click Close when finished.









Note: The default setting is either to display the first 500 records or to time out at five

seconds, depending on what has been set up. If you have large tables with more than 500

records, you will not see examples of all the data contained in the fields.

Tip: You can also browse the field data in the database tables after you place the field on

the report by right-clicking the field and selecting Browse Field Data from the shortcut

menu.









Previewing a report

When you create a new report, you begin in the Design tab. You can view the report in the

Preview tab to see the results of your design. Once in the Preview tab, you can evaluate the

formatting and layout of your design.


• Describe the methods of previewing a report

• View a report

• Explain the differences between working in the Design and Preview tabs

• Describe page controls

• Describe the status bar

Previewing reports

Once you have placed data fields on your report, you are ready to preview your design. The

methods to switch to the Preview window are:

• Click the Print Preview button on the Standard toolbar.

• Click the HTML Preview button on the Standard toolbar to see an HTML rendering of your

Crystal report as it will appear when published to the web.

• Click the Refresh button to the far right of the Report Designer’s screen.

Tip: The area at the bottom of the Report Designer environment is called the page controls

area, which shows you the date and time that the data was last refreshed.

The program gathers the data, makes the necessary calculations, and displays the report in the

Preview tab. With the data in place, you can review the spacing and formatting of your report

and see the actual results of all your summaries, formula calculations, and record and groupselections.

The program works with data in this manner:

• The first time the Preview tab is used, it retrieves data from your underlying data source(s)

and saves it with the report (unless you have set up the program not to save data).

• From that point on, the program uses the saved data whenever you preview the report

unless you specifically refresh it or add a field that requires the program to retrieve new

data.

When you save data with a report, the data is saved in a cache file with the report on the

client machine.

Note: You retain full design capabilities in the Preview tab.

When you need to make sure that your report design is appropriate and correct over the web

in a zero-client environment, the HTML Preview option lets you see an instant rendering of

your report to HTML without leaving the Crystal Reports design environment. Unlike the

Preview tab, which shows the true report format, the HTML Preview tab shows a converted

format. By switching between the two tabs, you can make adjustments in your report design

to yield the best results on the web.









In the case of reports that are published to BusinessObjects Enterprise (managed reports), you

don’t have to do any special configuration to make the HTML Preview feature work.

For stand-alone reports (unmanaged reports), the program must use a stand-alone ReportApplication Sever (RAS) to generate the preview. In this case, you need to configure the HTML

Preview feature. Do this in the Servers tab of the Options dialog box in Crystal Reports.

If you open a large report in HTML Preview, a progress indicator displays. Once the report is

open in HTML Preview, you will see a stationary group tree to the left of the report and a

stationary toolbar above the report. You can use the group tree and toolbar to navigate from

one page of the report to another without scrolling up and down. The HTML Preview also

displays the page margins so you know what the report will look like if it is printed.

Viewing a report

Crystal Reports provides two views for previewing a report:

• Standard view

• Preview panel

Standard view

In the standard view, the report is displayed one page at a time.









Using the navigation buttons in the Preview tab, you can move to the beginning or end of the

report, or you can move backward and forward through the report one page at a time.

For shorter reports or reports in which you're primarily interested in seeing the “bottom line”

totals, the standard view provides all of the functionality you need.

Preview panel

You can display or hide the Preview panel using Toggle Preview Panel on the Standard toolbar.

The Preview panel view presents a split screen:

• The right pane displays the report.

• The left pane displays a high-level outline of the report, showing the hierarchy of groups

and subgroups in a familiar tree format.

The Preview panel typically displays the names of the groups and subgroups you created in

your report. You can, however, customize these names using the Options tab of the Insert

Group or Change Group Options dialog box.

When you click the tree node for the group that interests you, the program jumps immediately

to the part of the report that contains the information for that group. For longer reports or

reports in which you want to jump back and forth between different groups, the navigation

features of the Group Tree view make your work extremely efficient.









Zooming in and out

Zooming enables you to move from a full-page view to a zoom between 25% and 400% as well

as the Whole Page and Page Width options. Taking a “bird’s-eye view” of your report gives

you an idea of the overall layout of your report, letting you see if graphics are positioned

properly, and so on. Zooming in at a high magnification level lets you focus on the finer details

of your report. Magnification factors can be set to different percentages in the Design and

Preview tabs.

Page controls

Page controls enable you to move forward or backward through the report one page at a time,

to move to the first or last page, to cancel the printing of the report, and to close tabs.

The Data Age indicator indicates the date the data was last refreshed or initially retrieved,

whichever is the most recent. If the data was initially retrieved or refreshed today, it indicates

the time it happened.

The status bar

The status bar is found at the bottom of the Design tab and displays the selected field name,

its position on the report, and how many records were returned. When you hover your cursor

over a button on the toolbars, the status bar displays a tooltip.

You can show or hide the status bar by using the Status Bar command on the View menu. By

default, the status bar is shown (a check mark appears beside the command on the menu).

Working in the Design and Preview tabs

Often, you will find it easier to work in the Design tab when working with multiple sections

and areas. You may sometimes want to work in the Preview tab where you can see the effects

of your changes instantly and how the report will be printed.

You have the same formatting capabilities in the Preview tab as you do in the Design tab.Menus (both menu bar and shortcut menus) and toolbars remain active, providing essentially

the same functionality you have when working with a report in the Design tab. However,

when you are making numerous changes, it is quicker to make the changes in the Design tab.

Some additional things to consider are:

• The Design tab and Preview tab are tied together internally. Any changes made in one are

reflected in the other.









• The Preview tab has a single vertical ruler at the left of the tab rather than the individual

section rulers seen in the Design tab. The functionality of the ruler is the same.

• The Preview tab identifies report sections in the shaded area to the left of the data. With a

quick look you can tell which report section the data is printing from. While section names

appear only once in the Design tab, they print each time a section prints in the Preview tab.

• The record counter, the Data Age indicator, and the Page Forward/Page Back controls areall active in the Preview tab.

• The Preview tab highlights every value when you select a field, whereas, only the field

frame is highlighted in the Design tab.

Working in the Preview tab has a different feel from working in the Design tab. Each field in

a database contains dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of values, depending on the number

of records in the database. When you place a field in the Design tab, a single field frame

represents all those values. When you highlight the field, sizing handles appear on the frame

and the frame changes color.

In the Preview tab, however, you are working with the actual data. Instead of a field frame

representing many field values, the values themselves appear. When you highlight a field or

formula field value, you are actually selecting every value in the field:

• The program places a sizing frame around the specific value you select.

• It highlights every other value in the field.

Aside from the differences in appearance, the process of building and modifying a report is

the same in both the Design tab and the Preview tab.

Tip: When working in the Preview tab, remember that each change you make may require extra

time to process because you are working with the actual data, not just the placeholders (as in the

Design tab).

Saving a report

You can add information to better describe the report and then save your report to a number

of options in the Save dialog box.


• Add summary information

• Save a report

• Check a report for errors

Adding summary information

You can save summary informationwith the report. Summary information contains such things

as the report author, report title, and comments.

There may be times when you want to include non-printing comments with a report (a personal

note to the report recipient, a note to explain more thoroughly the data on which the report is

based, a report title, or a comment about some particular data on the report).

Summary information provides a facility for including anything from a short note to hundreds

of lines of text with your report. The comments do not print with the report; they remain in









the Summary tab of the Document Properties dialog box where they can be reviewed on

demand.

To add summary information

1. Select File ➤ Summary Info.

The Document Properties dialog box appears with the Summary tab active.

2. Enter the desired information and click OK when finished to return to your report.

Saving a report

The saving function is the same in Crystal Reports as in many other applications. The Open,

Save, and Save As dialog boxes enable you to open or save a report conveniently to personalized

folders that are created by your operating system. If one of these folders does not exist on your

machine, the corresponding button will not be displayed.









The personalized folders are:

• Desktop

This folder contains the contents of your Windows Desktop.

• My Documents

This folder typically contains the History, My eBooks, and My Pictures folders.

• Favorites

This folder contains your frequently-accessed files.

• CR.COM

Crystalreports.com is a report-sharing service that you can use to distribute your reportsover the Web, instead of by email or hard copy.

• Enterprise

If your company has deployed BusinessObjects Enterprise, a web-based report management

tool, you can log onto the system so you can view the reports stored on the Enterprise system.

• My Connections

This folder shows a list of data sources to which you are connected.









Saving a preview of a report

You can save the first page of a report as a preview or “snapshot” of a report so that you can

view the report when opening it. You can also preview a sample of the data.

Some considerations include:

• You must preview the report before a snapshot can be taken.

• The snapshot is only updated when you preview. If you turn on the feature in the Design

tab, but do not preview, the snapshot will not be taken. Also, if you modify the report in

the Design tab, and save the report but do not preview, the snapshot will not be updated.

• Because the snapshot is saved in the report file, the addition of the preview picture may

increase the size of the file.

To save a snapshot of a report

1. Preview the report.

2. Select File ➤ Summary Info.

The Document Properties dialog box opens.

3. In the Summary tab of the DocumentProperties dialog box, select the Save Preview Picture

check box, if required.

Note: The Save Preview Picture check box is active by default.

4. Click OK .









To preview the snapshot

1. Click File ➤ Open.

2. Click the Preview button (last button on the toolbar).

3. Click the report you want to preview.

You will see a snapshot of the first page of the report.

Selecting Records

Defining the Select Expert

You can filter or select the records you want to see included on your report in the Select Expert.


• Explain the functionality of the Select Expert and its components

• Define the features of the Select Expert

Using the Select Expert

The report you created previously will print all records in your database. Often, however, you

want to restrict the records printed for a particular set. For example, in the Xtreme database

that ships with Crystal Reports, a number of distributors are listed. You may want to report

on only those in North America or only those who sold more than $30,000 last year.

To do this, you set the record selection of your report to include only the data you want in your

report.









To activate the Select Expert

To activate the Select Expert, you can:

1. Click Select Expert on the Expert Tools toolbar.

2. Choose Report➤ Select Expert from the menu.

3. If the field you want to set record selection on is on your report, right-click that field and

choose Select Expert from the shortcut menu.

The Select Expert opens automatically for the field you select. You are not presented with

a pick list of fields.

If you have not selected a field by clicking it to make it active before using one of these

methods, a dialog box opens, displaying the fields.









Tip: Your record selection criterion does not have to be based on a field in your report. You

can choose any field from the database as a basis for record selection.

Once you have indicated the field you want to set the record selection on and have clicked

OK , the Select Expert opens.

The Select Expert’s features

In addition to the New and Delete buttons, the Select Expert contains several function buttons

including:

• OK : This option accepts any changes you have made and closes the dialog box; the report

is then updated to reflect those changes.

• Cancel: This option closes the dialog box ignoring any changes you made while in the dialog

box; the report is not affected.

• Help: This option opens the Crystal Reports online Help.

• Browse: This option opens a Fields dialog box that shows a sample of values from the

database.

• Show Formula: This option expands the Select Expert to include a display of the formula

created.









Determining the criteria for record selection

Setting the filters or options limits the number of records, which are then displayed in the

report.


• Describe the options that define record selection criteria

• Change record selection to be case insensitive

Defining record selection

The first step in record selection is to define your criteria for selection. For example, do you

want to focus on one city or state, or are you interested in specific regions. Maybe a date range

or all records below a particular value will work best.

Using the drop-down list, you can build selection criteria that meet your needs. Depending on

the field you select, the available options in the drop-down list are:

• is any value

This option selects all records, meaning no selection at all.

• is equal to

This option enables you to specify one specific value as the criteria, so that only matching

records are included on the report; for example, only records from California (CA).

• is one of

This option enables you to specify a series of values as the criteria, so that only records

matching one of these will be included on the report; for example, only records from CA,

BC, or NY. • is not one of

This option enables you to exclude a series of values as the criteria, so that those matching

records will be excluded on the report; for example, not records from CA, BC, or NY.

• is greater than or less than

This option enables you to indicate a specific value that records must be above or below to

be included on the report; for example, only records with sales greater than or over $50,000

for the last year.

• is greater than or equal to or less than or equal to

This option enables you to include all records in which the linked field value is above or below (or equal to) to be included on the report; for example, only records with sales that

are the same amount (that is, $50,000) or greater than or over $50,000 for the last year.

• is between

This option enables you to select records that have a value falling between or matching one

of the two specified values; is inclusive and includes the end values; for example, only

records with last year’s sales between $10,000 and $20,000, including $10,000 and $20,000.









• is not between

This option enables you to exclude records that have a value falling between or matching

one of the two specified values; is inclusive and excludes the end values; for example,

excludes records with last year’s sales between $10,000 and $20,000, including $10,000 and

$20,000.

• starts with

This option enables you to indicate character(s) or value(s) that each data field must begin

with in order to pass the selection criteria; for example, only customers whose names begin

with the letter “A.”

• does not start with

This option enables you to indicate character(s) or value(s) that each data field does not

begin with in order to pass the selection criteria; for example, no customers whose names

begin with the letter “A.”

• is like

This option permits DOS wildcard characters (? and *) to specify criteria that must be met; for example, crystal, comical, and critical could all be selected using “is like c*.”

• is not like

This option permits DOS wildcard characters (? and *) to specify criteria that must be

excluded; for example, using “is not like c*” would exclude crystal, comical, and critical.

• in the period

This option enables you to specify a date range in which records must fall in order to be

included on the report and is only available if a date field is chosen; with this option, a scroll

list of all Crystal Reports date ranges is made available.

• is not in the period

This option enables you to specify a date range in which records must not fall in order to

be included on the report and is only available if a date field is chosen; with this option, a

scroll list of all Crystal Reports date ranges is made available.

• formula

This option expands the dialog box where you enter your criteria.

The Select Expert dialog box defaults to “any value.” If you enter a choice other than “any

value” in the drop-down list box, a second drop-down list appears that contains some sample

data from your database. You can choose values directly from the drop-down list or manually

enter the value at the cursor prompt. Note: If you are familiar with the Crystal formula language, you can enter your formula here.

You can click Show Formula>>> to view the formula(s), if any, used by Crystal Reports. You

can also activate the Formula Editor from this extended window and modify this formula. For

example, you may want only the records in which profits are over a certain percentage. Once

the percentage is calculated, the record selection decides whether or not to allow the record to

pass.









Changing record selection to be case insensitive

If you are not confident that data entry was consistent and California could have been entered

as “CA,” “ca”, Ca,” or even “cA” in your database, you will want to ensure that your record

selection statement is case insensitive. Otherwise, you would not filter out all the records from

California.

To change record selection to case insensitive in a report

1. Click File ➤ Report Options.

The Report Options dialog box appears.

2. Select the Database Server is Case Insensitive check box to control the case sensitivity of

the record selection formula(s) in your report.

3. Click OK .

To change record selection to case insensitive globally

1. Click File ➤ Options.









2. On the Database tab, select the Database Server is Case Insensitive check box to control

the case sensitivity of the record selection formula(s) in all reports.

3. Click OK .









Understanding saved and refreshed data

In Crystal Reports, you have the option to use data that is saved to your local machine or use

data that is directly taken from the data source.


• Describe the difference between saved and refreshed data

Saving data with a report

Reports with saved data are useful for dealing with data that isn't continually updated. When

users navigate through reports with saved data, and drill down for details on columns or charts,

they don't access the database server directly; instead, they access the saved data. Consequently,

reports with saved data not only minimize data transfer over the network, but also lighten the

database server's workload.

You can schedule these reports within BusinessObjects Enterprise, so they automatically refresh

from the database on a predetermined basis. For example, if your sales database is only updated

once a day, or once a week, then you can run the report on a similar schedule and save it with

data. Sales representatives then always have access to current sales data, but they aren't hitting

the database every time they open a report. Alternatively, you can refresh reports with saved

data on an as-needed basis.

Saved data is discarded and refreshed when you perform any of these tasks in a report:

• Select the Refresh command.

• Change your database logon.

• Change the report's parameters.

• Add a new field that doesn't exist in the saved data.

• Drill down in a report where Perform Grouping On Server is selected and the details section

is suppressed.

• Verify the database—if the database structure has changed substantially.

• Change the linking parameter on a subreport (the subreport is refreshed).

• Change the order of groups (only for reports in the Report Application Server).

To save data with a report

1. Click File ➤ Save Data with Report.

2. Save the report.

Note: If the Save Data with Report option is checked, then it’s already active.

Refreshing data in a report

When you refresh a report that doesn't have saved data, Crystal Reports retrieves data from

the database; otherwise, the program discards the report's saved data and retrieves new data.









By design, Crystal Reports only retrieves data when necessary. When you preview your report

in the Preview tab, print the report, or export it to a file, the program runs your report and

retrieves the required data. Once you are working with the data in the Preview tab, the program

runs the report again and retrieves fresh data if you:

• Add fields to the report after the report was run.

• Add a formula that references a field that was not in the report when you ran it the firsttime.

• Expand your record selection criteria to include more records than were needed when you

first ran the report.

Aside from these circumstances, the program will not automatically refresh a report.

However, there may be times when you want to retrieve new data for the report. For example,

you may have created a report several days earlier and you want to see it run with the most

current data. Refreshing report data is intended for times such as this.

To refresh data

1. Click Refresh on the Navigation Tools toolbar.

Alternately, click Report➤ Refresh Report Data or press F5 on the keyboard.

The program runs your report and retrieves the required data.

Applying record selection

When you apply a filter to your report, limiting the number of records returned, you are setting

the selection criteria.


• Set selection criteria

Setting selection criteria

Record selection is determined by the selection criteria. Applying record selection to your report

allows you to limit or restrict the records that are displayed.

To apply record selection

1. Click Select Expert.

The Choose Field dialog box opens.









2. Choose the field you want to use.

3. Click OK .

Clicking OK creates a tab in the Select Expert for that field.

4. From the drop-down list, choose the criteria method.

5. Enter the values to be used by the criteria in the second drop-down list.

You can pick from the list of samples or type in your own choices.

6. Click OK .

Activity: Applying record selection

Objective

• Select only the records you want to see included on your report.

Instructions

1. Open the Positioning+ objects.rptthat you created in the previous .

2. Set record selection so that only companies from British Columbia (BC), Ohio (OH),

Pennsylvania (PA), and California (CA) appear on the report.

3. Save the report as Applying record selection.rpt.

4. Add the report into the folder in the Workbench.

Your report should look similar to this example.









Setting additional criteria

You can also add multiple criteria to record selection, which produces even more refined results.


• Set additional record selection criteria

Setting additional record selection criteria Often, your report will require more than one selection criteria. For example, you may want

to select from a list of clients in certain regions who sold over $30,000.

To do this, you would create a record selection using the appropriate date and, if needed,

formula fields in the Select Expert. Crystal Reports reads the date from your system and displays

the appropriate data each time the report is refreshed.

For example, you need a report that shows each staff member that had been hired between a

certain period. The easiest method is to use the "is between" option in the Select Expert.

To do this, you need to create a report showing staff names and their hire dates. If you want

to see all the employees hired in a specific year, use the "is between" option and enter the firstday of the first month of the year in the top drop-down list and the last day of the last month

of the year in the bottom drop-down list. This record selection will return the records of all

employees who were hired in that year.

Another method is to use "is in the period." This method provides you with options to select

a predetermined start and finish date for the period of time you request.









To set additional selection criteria

1. From the report, activate the Select Expert.

Remember that if the field you want to set criteria on is included in the report, you can select

it first then activate the Select Expert.

2. Click the New tab.

The Choose Field dialog box opens, prompting you to select a field for record selection.

3. Select the desired field.

4. Click OK .

The Select Expert dialog box opens, ready for you to set the criteria as you did for the first

field.

5. Set the criteria for the field.

6. Click OK .

These steps ensure that only the fields that meet all criteria are included on the report.

Activity: Setting additional selection criteria

Objective

• Refine the record selection by adding additional criteria.

Instructions

1. Open the Applying record selection.rptfrom the previous activity.

2. Add a new criterion to your record selection to include all companies with Order Amount

over $1000.

Note: With this step you are narrowing the selection even further. Your report should now

contain only those records that meet both selection criteria.

3. Save the report as Setting additional selection criteria.rpt.











Modifying record selection

You can change the record selection filters or modify the record selection’s formula.


• Modify existing record selection • Modify a record selection formula

Modifying existing record selection

Sometimes you may need to modify the record selection in order to produce the results you

intended.

To modify existing record selection criteria

1. From the Design or Preview tab, make sure no fields are selected, and then click Select

Expert.

The Select Expert opens.

2. Modify the selection.

3. Click OK to apply the changes.

Note: You can remove the record selection by clicking the Delete button in the Select Expert.

Remember that you are only removing the record selection, not the records.

Modifying a record selection formula

You can set up different types of record selection requests without any previous knowledge

of the formula language using the values listed in the Select Expert. However, there may be

times when you want to modify the actual formula of the record selection request.

By default, Crystal Reports links multiple selection criteria with an “and” statement. For

example, selecting the state equal to CA or BC and company sales over $30,000 would result

in Californian or British Columbian companies that sold over $30,000.

For example, using the record selection formula that shows only BC and CA companies with

no other selection criteria, the formula in the Select Expert would look like this:









Using the record selection formula that shows only BC and CA companies with no other

selection criteria, the result set would look like this:

If you wanted to show BC and CA companies with sales over $30,000, the record selection

formula with “and” would look like this:









This record selection would result in:

If you wanted to show BC and CA companies or companies with sales over $30,000, the record

selection formula with “or” would look like this:









The selection formula with “or” would result in:

Because you are asking for companies in BC and CA or companies with sales over $30,000, the

formula gives back all companies in the regions regardless of their last year’s sales.

To change the formula to modify record selection

1. Open the Select Expert and click Show Formula.









The formula is shown in the lower panel.

2. Remove the word “and” and replace it with “or.”

3. Click OK when done.

The record selection in this example will result in a listing of companies that sold over

$30,000 or companies in British Columbia (BC) or California (CA).

Activity: Refining the record selection

Objective

• Modify the record selection to further refine the record selection.

Instructions

1. Open the Setting additional selection criteria.rptfrom the previous activity.

2. Select the region to be only BC and CA.

3. Change your record selection criteria from “and” to “or.”

4. Refresh the report to see the difference in the data displayed.

5. Change your record selection criteria back to “and.”

6. Refresh the report to see the difference in the data displayed.

7. Save the report as Refining the record selection.rpt.


Applying time-based record selection Setting a time-based record selection is useful when you want to determine results based on a

certain date or time range. For example, you may want to find out which customers bought

over $10,000 in product from you in Q1 of your fiscal year.


• Set record selection criteria based on a date

Setting record selection based on a date

Often, you will want to select records based on a date field. You may want to see all accountsthat have not been accessed in the past year, or to show all sales reps that have placed five or

more orders in the past month.

To do this, you would create a record selection using the appropriate date and, if needed,

formula fields in the Select Expert. Crystal Reports reads the date from your system and displays

the appropriate data each time the report is refreshed.

For example, you need a report that shows each staff member that had been hired between a

certain period. The easiest method is to use the “is between” option in the Select Expert.









Tip: Watch out for “is between” and “is less than” when entering dates. If no time is entered, the

program assumes you meant “midnight” and you might miss an entire day’s results.

To do this, you need to create a report showing staff names and their hire dates. If you want

to see all the employees hired in a specific year, use the “is between” option and enter the first

day of the first month of the year in the top drop-down list and the last day of the last month

of the year in the bottom drop-down list. This record selection will return the records of all

employees who were hired in that year.

Another method is to use “is in the period.” This method provides you with options to select

a predetermined start and finish date for the period of time you request.

To apply time-based record selection

1. Right-click the date field and select the Select Expert from the shortcut menu.

The Select Expert opens.

2. In the Select Expert, click the option you want to use from the first drop-down list.

3. Depending on the option selected, enter the appropriate dates.

4. Click OK when you are finished.

Activity: Applying a time-based record selection

Objective

• Create a record selection based on a date.









Instructions

1. Open the Refining the record selection.rptfrom the previous activity.

2. Create a record selection based on the Order Date to show records for orders placed in 2004

only.

3. Preview the report. (Use saved data.) Note the number of records returned with the record selection applied.

4. Save the report as Applying time-based record selection.rpt.


Formatting a Report

introduction

Presentation quality reports are easy to create in Crystal Reports. Many different formattingoptions exist to make the information in your report not only stand out, but be more

understandable.


• Add graphical elements

• Combine text objects with database fields

• Apply specialized formatting

• Insert fields with pre-built functions

Adding graphical elements

If you want to make specific data or summaries stand out from the rest of the report or justwant to improve the overall appearance,you can use graphic elements to enhance your report.

When working with graphic elements, you may prefer to work in the Design window; it is

easier to see in which area you are working, and easier to ensure that graphic elements such

as lines, boxes, and pictures are positioned correctly.


• Add a line to a report

• Add a box to a report

• Add a graphic to a report

• Add a dynamic image object

Adding a line to a report

You can add lines to your report to make information stand out from the rest of the report. For

example, a line in the Group Header section will print once for every group, differentiating

each separate group.









To draw a line

1. Click the Insert Line button on the Insert Tools toolbar.

You can also click Insert ➤ Line.

A pencil cursor appears on the screen.

2. Position the pencil to the place where you want to begin drawing the line and drag your

mouse to where the line should end.

3. Release the mouse button.

To format a line

1. Right-click the line and click Format Line from the shortcut menu.

The Format Editor opens, displaying the Line tab.

2. Make changes to the line.

The Format Line dialog box options include line style (solid, small dash, long dash), width

(thickness), and color.

3. Click OK .

Tip: To avoid the line being dragged out of position, select the Lock Position and Size

check box.

Note: You can also use the Format Painter.

To move a line









1. Click the line to activate the handles on each end.

2. Use the four-way cursor to move your line to a new position.

To resize a line

1. Click the line to activate the sizing handles that appear on each end of the line.

2. If you click one of the handles and hold the left mouse button down, you can resize your

line.

You can draw only straight horizontal or vertical lines using this feature in Crystal Reports.

Adding a box to a report

You can insert square or rectangular boxes into your report as well as ellipses, circles, and boxes

with varying degrees of rounded corners. These shapes are useful if you are creating forms.

Pay close attention to where you are placing your box. A box spanning the group header, details

area, and group footer prints once for every group of records. A box in the Details section printsonce for every record. You can put a box around groups or each individual record in the report.

To draw a box

1. Click the Insert Box button on the Insert Tools toolbar.

You can also click Insert ➤ Box.

A pencil cursor appears on the screen.

2. Use the tip of the pencil to draw with. Position the pencil where you want one corner of the

box and drag your mouse to the opposite corner of the desired box.

3. Release the mouse button.

To format a box

1. Right-click the box and choose Format Box from the shortcut menu.

The Format Editor opens.

2. Make any changes to the box.

The format border options include line style, width, and color. You can also assign a fill

color and a drop shadow.









3. Select the Rounding tab to adjust the corners of the box to the curve you want for the edges

of the box.

4. Use the slider to adjust the curve, or enter a percentage in the Rounding edit box.

Note: If you have specified rounding for a box, you cannot use the Drop Shadow option

that is usually available on the Box tab of the Format Editor.


To move and size a box

1. Click the box.

Handles appear around the box.

2. Move the cursor over the box and use the four-way cursor to move your box to a new

position.

3. Click and drag one of the center handles to stretch the box either horizontally or vertically.

You can also size your box vertically and horizontally at the same time by clicking and

dragging one of the four corner handles.

Adding a graphic to a report

Often, when developing your reports, you will want to include a pictureor graphic. For example,

you might want to put a graphic of your product or the corporate logo at the top of a report.









You will find it easier to work in the Design window when placing a picture on a report so

you can ensure it appears within the section you want.

To insert a graphic

1. Click the Insert Picture button on the Insert Tools toolbar.

You can also click Insert ➤ Picture.

The Open dialog box appears.

2. Locate the graphic file you want to use on the report and click Open.

A picture field object attaches to the cursor.

3. Place the upper left corner of the graphic on your report where you want that corner to be

and click the mouse button to release.

The area or section in which you are placing the graphic automatically expands to

accommodate the graphic.

Tip: When placing an object onto your report, ensure the top edge of the object is placed

in the section in which you want to insert the object. If necessary, the height of the section

is automatically increased to display the object.

To format a graphic

1. Right-click the graphic and choose Format Graphic from the shortcut menu.










2. Make any changes to the box.

You will be able to:

• Suppress the printing of the picture and other properties from the Common tab.

• Crop, scale, and size the picture from the Picture tab.

• Add a border, change the color of the border or fill, and add a drop shadow from the

Border tab.


Adding a dynamic image object

Objects can be inserted into Crystal Reports using OLE (Object Linking and Embedding), which

enables you to add objects from other applications and then use those applications from withinCrystal Reports to edit the objects if necessary. These objects are often referred to as OLE objects.

You can now place pictures and graphics in a report through a link stored in a database, so

that it is no longer necessary to store images within the database. This new feature supports

the common practice of storing images on a web server and storing references to those images

in a database.









A dynamic image object is a picture or metafile (PNG, JPG, WMF, BMP, TIF) that you access

in Crystal Reports by use of a file path or URL. Typically, you use this option when you have

the path to your pictures or metafiles stored as a string field in a database (that is, you do not

have the actual objects stored in the database). You can also use this option when you have

pictures or metafiles stored on a network share, and you know these objects change occasionally.

The functionality of these dynamic image objects is created in Crystal Reports through the use

of a conditional formatting formula that allows you to link to static OLE objects by reference.

Reports that use an absolute or a relative path for a dynamic image object are not supported

in a BusinessObjects Enterprise environment for this release. If you plan to publish reports that

contain dynamic image objects to BusinessObjects Enterprise, it is recommended that you use

URL links for your OLE objects.

Note: This feature is activated when you refresh your report data. You may not notice a change in

the static OLE object until you click the Refresh button in Crystal Reports. Dynamic images are

saved in the report with saved data.

To add a dynamic image object 1. Right-click the image that you inserted and choose Format Graphic from the shortcut menu.

Note: You begin the process of making an image dynamic by inserting the object into your

report as usual. This object becomes the default object. If Crystal Reports cannot find the

dynamic reference to the object, it uses the default object instead.

2. In the Format Editor, click the Picture tab, and then click the conditional formatting button

adjacent to the Graphic Location label.

3. In the Formula Workshop, create the path to your static image object.

4. Click Save and close to return to the Format Editor.

5. Click OK to return to your report.

6. Click Refresh to update the reference link to the image object.

Activity: Adding graphical elements

Objective

• Add graphical elements to your report to make the information stand out.

Instructions

1. Open the Inserting a grand total.rptfrom the previous .

2. Ensure you are logged on to the Repository Explorer. Locate the Xtreme company logo.

Place the logo onto the report in the Report Header. Close the Repository Explorer.

For this activity, you can find the Xtreme company logo in these locations:

• In the Imagesfolder in the repository (under the Repository Itemsfolder).

• In the Company Logofolder in the 5folder in the course resources.









Note: This option is available if there is no access to BusinessObjects Enterprise or if no

logo is found on BusinessObjects Enterprise.

3. Adjust the report title to accommodate the logo.

4. Delete the thin blue lines under the column headings.

5. Place a thick blue line under all of the column headings.

6. Draw a thick blue box bordering the Order Date group.

7. Move the Order Date group name to be more readable, if required.

8. From the Field Explorer insert the Region and Order Date group name into the appropriate

Group Footers.

9. Create a folder called My Picturesin My Documents, if one doesn't exist.

10. From the Original Copyrightfolder in the 5folder in the course resources, copy the copyright.jpg

into the My Picturesfolder in My Documents.

11. Insert the copyright image into the Page Footer from the My Picturesfolder in My Documents.

12. Make this image object dynamic by creating a path to the My Picturesfolder in My

Documents.

Remember to include quotation marks.

13. Refresh the report and view the results.










14. You’ve just been informed by Marketing that the copyright image has been changed. Locate

the new image object in the New Copyrightfolder in the 5folder in the course resources.

Choose to overwrite the existing file when you copy it into the My Picturesfolder in My

Documents.

15. Refresh the report to view the changed copyright image object.

The copyright image changes dynamically to the new version.


16. Save the report as Adding graphical elements.rpt.










Note: The path specified for the dynamic graphic location in the solution report may be

different than the one created on the local machine, resulting in the copyright not updating

in the solution report. If you want the copyright to update on your local machine, open the

formula for the graphic location and change the path to reflect what is being used on the

local machine.

Combining text objects with database fields Data makes up the majority of your report. Often, however, you need to combineor manipulate

data, add labels, or paragraphs to your report to make them more functional.

You have learned how to insert a text object and edit the text within it. You can also create text

objects that contain plain text for use as titles on your report, combine text with different types

of fields and format any element of a text object.


• Embed a database field into a text object

• Prevent the truncation of a text object

• Format individual elements of a text object

Embedding a database field into a text object

To print embedded text and field information or to embed multiple fields, you embed the field

into a text object. For example, you might want to create a form letter with the beginning “Dear

Mr. Smith,” where “Mr.” and “Smith” were part of your database, and you added the salutation.

You can insert a field into a text object by using a menu command, a button, or a dialog box.

Many databases add blanks or spaces after the text of their string fields. Inserting database

fields into text objects with Crystal Reports automatically trims any trailing spaces from the

beginnings or ends of the data.

If you were to put these three data fields into a text object, Crystal Reports trims any excess

characters, and joins them so they flow:

Mr. Paul Smith

Ms. Elaine Jones

Ms. Carol Smith-Jones

To embed a database field into a text object

1. Double-click the text object to enter the edit mode. A blinking cursor appears.

2. In the Field Explorer, select the field you want to add.

3. Drag the field into the text object.

You can also select multiple fields and insert them into the text object simultaneously.

As you approach the text object with the cursor, watch for the vertical insertion line to appear

inside the text object.









Tip: Do not let go of the mouse button until the vertical insertion line is in the position you

want the database field to print.









4. Move the cursor to place the insertion point where you want it to appear in the text object.

If you place the database field correctly, it will look like this:

Tip: Select the Show Field Names option in FileOptions to read the database field names

as you insert them into your text objects.

Note: Embedding a text object within another text object is not possible.

Preventing truncation of text objects

Sometimes it is difficult to predict how long or tall you should make your text objects if the

data fields that have been embedded contain varying lengths of data.

You can use the Can Grow option to prevent truncation of text objects, that is, to allow the text

box to expand vertically, if necessary, to fit all text and data from the embedded fields, like

word wrap in a word processing application.

Remember to size your text objects with the printed result in mind. Do not worry if the full

names of the database or special fields are not visible in the Design tab. The printed result iswhat matters.

To prevent truncation of text objects

1. Right-click the text object and select Format Text from the shortcut menu.










2. Select the Can Grow check box on the Common tab and enter the maximum number of

lines that you want the field to expand.

Note: The Can Grow option does not expand horizontally.

Formatting individual elements of text objects

You can format the individual elements of a text object independently. An element is any single

item that is contained in a text object. The word “report” is made up of six elements, since each

letter could be selected and formatted individually. Each field that is inserted into a text object

is an element.

This text object is made up of eight elements: Four, for each of the letters in the word “Dear,”

one for each of the database fields, and two for the spaces between the words.

Once you select elements, you can format them in much the same way you format the text

object as a whole.









To format text or fields individually within a text object

1. Double-click the text object to put it into edit mode.

The broken line frame and ruler bar appear.

2. Select the element(s) you want to format.

Elements can be a selection of text or a field.

3. Right-click the selected element(s) and select the formatting option from the shortcut menu.

The appropriate dialog box appears.

For example, if you selected text to format, the Text Format dialog box opens:

4. Make the changes you require.

5. Click OK .









To apply a predefined template

1. Click Report ➤ Template Expert.

You can also click the Template Expert button on the Expert Tools toolbar.

The Template Expert appears.









2. Choose a template.

3. Click OK .

Note: If a template has already been applied, you can undo the current template or reapply

the last template in the Template Expert. If you want to have the headings print verticallyto save space on your report, use text rotation, sometimes referred to as vertical text. Designed

primarily to support formatting in foreign languages (for example, Japanese), you can format

string fields, memo fields, and text objects vertically.

Applying text rotation

You can export a report with vertical text to various formats; a report with vertical text can also

be exported to the web and viewed in a report viewer, a type of specialized web browser for

Crystal Reports.

Note: You can only rotate text in a True Type font or printer font.

To apply text rotation

1. Right-click the object and choose the appropriate formatting option from the shortcut menu.

The Format Editor opens, displaying the Common tab.

2. Select the degree of rotation you want from the Text Rotation list.









• 0 degrees: default setting

• 90 degrees: direction of text is bottom to top, left to right

• 270 degrees: direction of text is top to bottom, right to left

3. Click OK .

The text rotation is applied to the object you selected.

Applying accounting conventions

To support conventions used in accounting, you can control how the negative symbol, currency

symbol, and zero value are displayed. You can also reverse the sign when displaying numbers

in accounting reports and determine whether overflow field representation is enabled for the

selected field(s), commonly referred to as field clipping.

To apply accounting formatting

1. Right-click the currency or number field and click Format Field from the shortcut menu.

The Format Editor opens, displaying the appropriate options for the number or currency

field selected.

2. Click the Number tab to make it active, if it is not displayed.

3. Click the Customize button.









The Custom Style dialog box opens.

4. Select the Use Accounting Format check box.

5. Choose the formatting style you want to apply for decimals, negatives, separators, and

rounding.

You can also select the Reverse Sign for Display check box to have the signs of numbers

(plus or minus) reverse their sign when displaying debit or credit amounts in financialreports.

6. Click OK to apply the formatting and close the Custom Style dialog box.

7. Click OK to close the Format Editor.

Applying numeric, currency, date, time, and date/time formatting You can

fine tune the formatting of number, currency, date, time, and date/time fields. Number

field

Use the options on the Number tab of the Format Editor.









You can choose from a list of sample styles, including the system default settings, or you can

customize the style of the number display:

• System Default

Whatever you have specified through your machine’s Control Panel is the designated systemdefault.

• Sample styles

Click one of the sample styles to apply that type of formatting.

• Customize

If you do not choose the system default number format or any of the sample number formats

but want to customize one of these styles further, you make alterations to these styles by

clicking the Customize button.

Currency

You change the formatting of a currency field in the same way as you do a number field in the

Number tab of the Format Editor. Because you select a currency field, the options that appear

in the Style area of the Number tab change to currency formatting examples.

The currency options are listed in the Format Editor.









The options are:

• Display currency symbol

Select Display currency symbol to have the symbol appear on the report. Set whether the

symbol is fixed in one position or whether the symbol “floats” with the currency numbers

by clicking the option buttons.

• System Default

This choice reflects the default format that is set up in your machine’s Control Panel.

• Sample styles

Choose a style that meets your formatting requirements.

• Customize

You can further customize the way your currency formats display on your report.

Date, time, and date/time fields

Use the options in the Date and Time tab of the Format Editor to customize the display of your

date and time fields. Depending on the type of field you have selected to format, the Date and

Time tab of the Format Editor displays the appropriate system default formats and sample

styles for that type of field.









The options are:

• System Default

The choices System Default Long Format and System Default Short Format are the default

formats that have been defined through your machine’s Control Panel. • Sample styles

Use the sample style format to customize the formatting of your date, time, or date/time

fields quickly.

• Customize

If you do not choose any of the system default formats or sample formats, you can further

customize your formatting through the Custom Style dialog box.

To customize a sample style

1. Choose the system default format or one of the sample styles that you think looks closest

in format to the one you want to create for either a number or currency field.

2. Click Customize.










If the field is a number, you make the modifications in the Number tab of the Custom Style

dialog box.

If your selection is a currency field, you make the modifications in the Currency Symbol

tab of the Custom Style dialog box.









3. Make the modifications, as necessary.

4. Click OK .

To customize a date, time, or date/time field

1. Choose a system default format or one of the sample format styles that you think is close

to your requirements.

2. Click Customize.


3. Use the appropriate Date, Time, or Date and Time tabs of the Custom Style dialog box to

further customize the field.

After you have defined a customized format, a new item called Custom Style appears in

the Style area of the Date and Time tab in the Format Editor.

Caution: The Custom Style item only appears in the list of styles if you have defined and

selected it as the style to use for that type of field. If you choose the system default or asample style after using the custom style, the custom style will be discarded. This action

applies to a number, currency, date, time, or date/time field.









Activity: Applying formatting elements

Objective

• Apply formatting elements by embedding database fields into text objects, preventing the

truncation of text, and changing the font and color of a text object.

Instructions

1. Open the Adding graphical elements.rptyou created in the previous activity.

2. Insert all of the subtotals and grand total values into their respective text objects.

3. Prevent the truncation of the subtotal and grand total values by selecting the Can Grow

option.

4. Preview the report to ensure that the subtotals and grand total value appear correctly.

Remember that the Can Grow option doesn’t work horizontally.

5. Adjust the grand total value to display correctly.

6. Align the subtotal and grand total value to the right in the Order Amount column.

7. Select the words “Customers & Orders” within the report title text object and change the

font color to Maroon and font style to bold.

8. Save the report as Adding formatting elements.rpt.


Your report should look similar to this example for the report title.









Inserting fields with pre-built functions

Creating reports that are presentation quality can sometimes take a lot of time. Many factors

can influence how long it takes to create a report: length of the report, volume of data, or the

format in which you want the report presented. You can reduce the amount of time spent

formatting reports by using special fields, which are fields that contain pre-built functions.


• Insert special fields

• Format special fields

• Embed a special field into a text object

Inserting special fields

Special fields contain information that is not included in the database, but is useful to the overall

presentation quality of the report, making your report more readable.

Some of the more commonly used special fields are:

• CurrentCEUser ID: displays the ID number of the current BusinessObjects Enterprise user

(if one exists).

• Current CE User Name: displays the name of the current BusinessObjects Enterprise user

(if one exists).









• Data Date: prints the date the data was last refreshed on a report with saved data.

• Data Time: prints the time the data was last refreshed on a report with saved data.

• File Creation Date: prints the date the file was first created.

• File Path and Name: prints the directory path of the file.

• Modification Date: prints the date the report was last modified.

• Modification Time: prints the time the report was last modified. • Page N of M: prints the current page number of the total number of pages.

Note: Page N of M uses page on demand, meaning that Crystal Reports will not format a

page until it is requested by the user, or until it is required for the total page count.

• Page Number: prints the current page number.

• Print Date: prints the current date as per your computer’s clock.

• Print Time: prints the current time as per your computer’s clock.

• Report Comments: prints the contents of the Comments area in the Document Properties

in the File ➤ Summary Info menu.

• Report Title: prints the contents of the Title area in the Document Properties dialog box

in the File ➤ Summary Info menu.

• Total Page Count: prints the total number of pages in the report.

Tip: If you have created and saved a report and then months later could not remember the file

name or location, put the file name and location into the Title area in the Document Properties

dialog box in the File ➤ Summary Info menu. Then, place the Report Title special fields in the

Report Footer. You can also use the File Path and Name special field to perform the same function.

To insert a special field

1. From the Field Explorer, locate and expand the Special Fields list.









2. Scroll through the list to locate the special field you want to use.

Once you select the field, a box is attached to the cursor.

3. Drag the field in the desired location and click to drop it onto the report.

Formatting special fields

The formatting options for each of the special fields varies depending on the data type the

special field creates.

To format a special field

1. Right-click the special field and choose Format Field from the shortcut menu.

The Format Editor opens with the appropriate tab for the data type you are formatting.

2. Make the desired changes. 3. Click the other tabs to make any other changes.

4. Click OK .









Tip: Changing the date order does not change the placement of the options in the Format

area. To see how your date will print, remember to look at the sample at the bottom of the

dialog box.

Note: The separator boxes can accommodate several characters each. Do not forget to add

a space in the separator box if that is what you want between the date elements.

Embedding a special field into a text object

You can place special fields inside a text object to complete a sentence, or when information

changes if the report changes. For example, if you need to know each time the report was

modified, you would insert a special field into a sentence that states when the report was last

changed.

When inserting a special field into a text object, you follow the same steps as inserting a database

field.

To embed a special field into a text object

1. In the Field Explorer, locate the Special Fields list and expand its contents.

2. Click the field you want to insert into the text object from the scrolling field list.

3. Drag the field from the menu until the cursor shows a vertical insertion point inside your

text object at the position you want the field to print.

You can also select the field, and then click the Insert button at the top of the dialog box.

4. Once the insertion point is in the desired place, click the mouse button to release the field

into the text object.

Activity: Adding special fields

Objective

• Add several special fields to your report to cut down on the time spent formatting individual

elements.

Instructions

1. Open the Adding formatting elements.rptfile you created previously.

2. Add these special fields to your report:

• Print date at the top of the report in the Report Header

• Page number at the bottom of each page.

3. Format the special fields:

• Format the date to print like March 1999.

• Bold the Page Number text object.









4. Insert the print date special field inside of the text object.

5. Insert a text object that says Printed: in front of the print date and bold the Printed: text

object.

6. Insert a text object that displays Page Number: in the Page Footer.

7. Insert the page number special field into the text object.

8. Change the font color of the City column heading to Maroon.

9. Use the Format Painter to apply the new formatting of the City column heading to all the

column headings.

10. Save the report as Adding special fields.rpt.

11. Check the report for errors using the Dependency Checker.


Your report should look similar to this example for the Print date.









Your report should look similar to this example for the Page number.

Debrief: Validating the report design

Objective

• Ensure that the completed report looks similar to the report prototype.

Instructions

1. Map each item on the report prototype form to the completed report:

• The report reflects the purpose of the report.

• The header includes the company logo, a report title, printdate with label, and a copyright.

• The body of the report includes the customers’ names, their location, the date they placed

the order, the amount of their orders, and the locator order number (ID).

• The report displays only the Western Sales Territory and Eastern Sales Territory, with

the other groups not assigned to any specific groups.

• The report contains USA data only and for the year 2004.

• The report displays summarized data:

○ The number of orders by date.

○ A subtotal and a grand total.

○ A percentage of order amount compared to the grand total.

○ The number of unique or distinct customers.









• The key information has been highlighted in some manner.

Creating Basic Formulas

introduction

If you want to display data that is a calculated value, you must create a formula field and place

that formula field on your report.


• Define a formula and its purpose

• Create formulas

• Apply Boolean formulas

• Apply If-Then-Elseformulas

• Apply date calculations

• Apply numeric calculations

• Apply string manipulation

Defining a formula and its purpose

In many cases, the data you want to appear on your report already exists in the database.

Sometimes, however, your report requires data that is derived by manipulating data in an

existing field in the database. In this case, you would use a formula to manipulate the data,

and a formula field to contain the manipulated data.


• Describe a formula

• Describe the components of a formula

• Explain Crystal syntax

• Describe Crystal Reports data types

• Work with formulas in the Field Explorer

Formulas

A formula is used to manipulate data in your report. For example, a formula can perform a

calculation or change the field’s formatting. You can think of a formula as a small piece of

computer programming code that processes and prints its result on your report, just like a

database field. It will print the result wherever you place the formula field.

You can write formulas that are as simple or complex as you need them to be. Understanding

the formula language helps you develop powerful and flexible formulas.

Typical uses for a formula include:

• Calculating a percentage of a number.

• Extracting a single character from a string field.

• Combining a text string with a number or date field.

• Finding the difference between two date fields.









• Performing conditional logic.

The components of a formula

Formulas contain two critical parts: the components and the syntax (or syntax rules). The

components are the pieces that you combine to create a formula. The syntax rules are used toorganize the components. You can use any of the components listed in your formula.

Component Example

Fields {Customer.Customer Last Name}, {Customer.Last Year’s Sales}

Numbers 1, 2, 3.1416

Text "Quantity", ":", "your text"









Component Example

Operators

Functions

Custom functions

Control structures

Group field values

+ (add), / (divide), -x (negate)

Operators are special symbols or words that describe an operation

or an action to take place between two or more values. Operators

are used in formulas. The program reads the operators in a formulaand performs the actions specified.

ToText(x), ToNumber(x)

Functions are built-in procedures or subroutines used to evaluate,

make calculations on, or transform data. Functions perform

calculationssuch as average, sum, and count. All functions available

are listed with their arguments and are arranged by their use.

When you specify a function, the program performs the set of

operations built into the function without you having to specify

each operation separately. In this way, a function is a kind of

shorthand that makes it easier and less time consuming for you to

create reports.

cdFirstDayof Month, cdStatutoryHolidays

Custom functions provide a way to share and reuse formula logic.

They can be stored in the BusinessObjects Enterprise Repository

and then added to a report. Once in the report, custom functions

can be used in the Formula Expert when creating formulas.

"If" and "Select", "For" loops

Control structures control the flow of logic in a formula. You can

use them to build formula setting conditions, that, if met, trigger

specific consequences or repeat a sequence of actions under certain

conditions.

Average (fld, condFld), Sum (fld, condFld, "condition")

Group field values summarize a group. For example, you could use

group field values to find the percentage of the grand total

contributed by each group.

Other formulas {@GrossProfit}, {@QUOTA}

Tip: When you select a function or operator in the appropriate tree, or when you select a function

or operator that is used in the body of your formula, you can press F1 to see help specific to that

function or operator.









Crystal syntax

You write formulas according to a specific set of rules called syntax. The Formula Editor checks

the syntax and helps identify problems so you can fix them before you add the formula to the

report.

Syntax rules are used to create a correct formula. Some basic rules are:

• Enclose text strings in quotation marks.

• Enclose arguments in parentheses (where applicable).

• Referenced formulas are identified with a leading @ sign.

When creating formulas, you have the option of using either Crystal syntax or Basic syntax.

Almost any formula written with one syntax can be written with the other.

Note: You cannot use both Crystal syntax and Basic syntax in the same formula; however, you can

use multiple formulas written in either syntax within the same report.

If you are already familiar with Crystal syntax, you can continue to use it and benefit from the

wide range of functions, operators, and control structures.

If you are familiar with Microsoft Visual Basic or other versions of Basic, then working in the

Basic syntax in Crystal Reports may be more comfortable for you. In general, Basic syntax is

modeled on Visual Basic except that it has specific extensions to handle reporting.

Report processing is not slowed down by using Basic syntax. Reports using Basic syntax

formulas can run on any machine that Crystal Reports runs on. Also, using Basic syntax

formulas does not require distributing any additional files with your reports.

Changing the syntax from Crystal syntax to Basic syntax or going from Basic syntax to Crystal

syntax changes the list of functions in the Functions window as well as the list of operators in

the Operators window. However, the available report fields remain the same since the report

fields are available to both syntaxes.

To set the default syntax type for your report

1. On the File menu, select the Options command.

2. From the Formula Editor tab, use the Formula Language drop-down arrow to select either

Crystal Syntax or Basic Syntax from the list.

Note: For the purposes of this , the Crystal syntax will be used throughout the

examples.









Special characters used in Crystal syntax

Character Description

Denotes everything following is a comment and is ignored by the

// Formula Editor. You must repeat the // for each line you want to be“commented out.”

Denotes the arguments that follow a function. Many functions require

( )more than one argument separated by a comma within the round

brackets. Can also denote precedence, forcing parts of your formula

between the() to evaluate first.

{ }Denotes fields. All types of fields, database, other formulas, special,

and so on are enclosed in French braces.

Denotes subscript or arrays. Square brackets before a functiondenote [ ] an array, whereas square brackets after a function indicate a subscript

(pulling specific characters from a string).

" "

Upper/Lower case

Denotes literals. Any text between the quotes is printed as it appears

between the quotes. This functionality is useful when you want

punctuation, text, or special characters to appear as part of the result.

Single quotation marks (‘ ’)can also be used for this purpose.

Upper or lower case is ignored by the Formula Editor. You can enter

your functions in all caps, all lower, or any mix you prefer.

Carriage returns

Carriage returns are ignored in the Formula Editor. You can have

line breaks and blank lines almost anywhere in the formula. It is

common practice to break up long formulas into chunks to make

them easier to read and edit.

Data types When writing formulas in Crystal Reports, it is important to know the data types of the fields

you are working with:

• Boolean

• String

• Date

• Time









• DateTime

• Number

• Currency

All fields will be recognized as one of these data types. You must always be aware of the field

data type since this can affect which functions can be used with the field.

Note: A field that is larger than 254 characters will be recognized as a memo field. Formulas can

work with memo fields, and they can process strings up to 64K in length.

Working with formulas in the Field Explorer

From the Field Explorer dialog box, you can:

• Create a new formula.

• Edit an existing formula.

• Rename an existing formula.

• Delete a formula.

To create a new formula

1. From the View menu, select Field Explorer.

The Field Explorer dialog box appears.

2. Right-click the Formula Fields tree and select New from the shortcut menu.

3. Type the name of the formula, and then click OK .

Note: The formula name is used as the column heading and is limited to 254 characters.

To edit an existing formula

1. From the View menu, select Field Explorer.


2. Right-click the formula you want to edit and choose Edit.

The Formula Workshop appears.

3. In the Formula Editor area, edit the formula.

4. Click the Check toolbar button to identify any errors in the formula.

5. Fix any syntax errors the Formula Checker identifies.

6. When the formula has the correct syntax, click Save and Close on the Formula Workshop

toolbar.

You return to the Field Explorer dialog box.









To rename an existing formula

1. From the View menu, click Field Explorer.


2. Right-click the formula you want to edit and select Rename from the shortcut menu.

3. Type the new name for the formula, and then press Enter or click off the field.

The formula has been renamed.

Deleting a formula

When a formula is created and added to a report, the Report Designer:

• Stores the specification for creating the formula, using the name you assigned to it.

• Places a working copy of that formula at the point you specify in the report. A working

copy is any occurrence of the formula in the report.

In order to completely delete a formula, you must delete the specification and all working

copies of the formula. You cannot delete the specification without deleting all working copies

of the formula.

Even after the working copies of a formula have been deleted from the report, the formula

specification remains unchanged. The specification is listed in the Field Explorer dialog box.

It is available if you want to enter the formula in the report again. A formula cannot be deleted

from this list if it is referenced by another formula on the report.

To delete a formula

1. In the Report Designer, right-click the formula field you want to delete and select Delete from the shortcut menu.

To delete the formula specification

1. Choose View from the main menu and select Field Explorer.


2. In the Field Explorer, right-click the formula you want to delete and choose Delete.

Note: A dialog box appears if this formula is currently in use in a report. If you delete this

formula, you will delete all references of it in reports. Click Yes to delete.









Creating formulas

Creating basic formulas to include in your report will enhance its usefulness. You can create

formulas in Crystal Reports using either Crystal syntax or Basic syntax.

Note: This course uses Crystal syntax exclusively.


• Define the methods to create formulas

• Create a formula using the Formula Workshop

• Create a formula using the Formula Editor

Formula creation methods

You can create a formula using these methods:

• Formula Workshop

You can create most kinds of formulas in the Formula Workshop. The workshop consists

of a toolbar, a tree that lists the types of formulas you can create or modify, and an area for

defining the formula itself.

• Formula Editor

The Formula Editor is a component of the Formula Workshop. Use the Formula Editor to

create and modify the content of formulas.

• Formula Expert

The Formula Expert is a component of the Formula Workshop. Use the Formula Expert to

create and modify formulas based on custom functions.

Note: Only the Formula Workshop and the Formula Editor will be discussed in this course.

Adding comments to a formula

When you create a formula, always include comments in the formula itself. Formula comments

are notes included with a formula to explain its design and operation. Comments do not print

and they do not affect the formula, but they appear in the Formula Workshop. You can use

comments to explain the purpose of a formula or explain the steps involved in writing it. These

explanations or descriptions of your formulas will help you or others if, after a period of time,

the formula needs to be modified.

Comments begin with two forward slashes (//)and are followed by the text of the comment.

Everything that follows the slashes on the same line is treated as being part of the comment.

Creating a formula in the Formula Workshop

There are many ways to access the Formula Workshop. You see it when you add new formula

fields, when you define selection formulas, when you work with custom functions, and so on.









You can open the Formula Workshop by itself before you begin adding specific kinds of

formulas.

Workshop Tree

The Workshop Tree contains folders for each type of formula you can create in Crystal Reports.

It also contains folders for custom functions and SQL Expressions. If the workshop appears as

the result of using a specific command (for example, you’ve selected the Record command on

the Selection Formulas submenu), the appropriate folder in the tree is selected, and the

appropriate version of the Formula Editor appears.

Expand any folder in the tree to see the formulas that already exist. New formulas can be added,

and existing formulas can be edited or deleted as needed.

Tip: The Workshop Tree can be docked. By default, it appears docked on the left-hand side

of the Formula Workshop, but you can manually dock it on the right-hand side. In free-floating

mode, the Workshop Tree can be dragged to any location in the workshop.

Formula Workshop buttons The main toolbar in the Formula Workshop is made up of three smaller toolbars. Each of these

toolbars contains a set of buttons that is relevant to specific actions: working with the Formula

Workshop as a whole, working with the Workshop Tree, or working with an editor. Individual

buttons are available or unavailable based on the task you are undertaking. Each toolbar can

be moved and docked as you require.

When writing formulas, remember these considerations:

• The online Help file contains explanations and examples of all functions within Crystal

Reports. This file can be accessed from the menu as well as the Help icon on the toolbar in

the Formula Editor. Within the online Help, you can select the Index tab and enter the name

of a function. The program returns an explanation of the function you entered.

• If you need the search and replace functionality within the Formula Editor, you can click

the Find or Replace icon on the toolbar in the Formula Editor. Select the Edit Text search

option to access the search and replace functionality.

• You can create new formulas quickly within the Formula Workshop by clicking the New

button on the Formula Workshop toolbar.

• You can switch between formulas by navigating through the Workshop Tree on the left-hand

side of the Formula Workshop.

• You can change the default syntax type for Crystal Reports formulas when you select the

formula language syntax from the list in the Reporting tab of the Options dialog box under

the File menu. This setting is a global option; however, you can still change the formula

syntax for your formulas on an individual basis in the Formula Workshop.









To access the Formula Workshop

1. On the Report menu, click Formula Workshop.

Alternately, you can click the Formula Workshop button on the Expert Tools toolbar.

The Formula Workshop appears.

2. Click the drop-down arrow on the New button and select the type of formula you want to

create.

The appropriate editor or dialog box appears.

Creating a formula in the Formula Editor

The Formula Editor is a component of the Formula Workshop. Using the Formula Editor, you

combine fields, operators, and functions together to create a working formula. The Formula

Editor enables you to type the components of the formula directly.

Select the various functions, operators, group field values, and other formulas from the available

lists. By double-clicking the item, Crystal Reports inserts it into the formula for you. In theFormula Editor, you can customize your settings with dockable and resizable frame windows,

bookmarks, drag and drop, and search and replace. The Formula Editor has four main windows:

Operators are the "action verbs" you use in formulas. They describe an operation or an action

to take place between two or more values. Examples: add, subtract, less than, and greater than.

Note: Use File ➤ Options➤ Formula Editor tab to set the default text font and font size.

To create a formula using the Formula Editor

1. In the Formula Workshop, click New ➤ Formula.

2. In the Formula Name dialog box, enter the name you want to identify the formula, and thenclick OK .

The Formula Editor appears inside the Formula Workshop.

3. Enter the formula by typing in the components or selecting them from the component trees.

Tip:

• Ctrl + Space brings up a list of available functions. If you have already started typing, it

brings up a list of keywords that are possible matches for what you have already typed.









• A list of available fields automatically appears when you enter an open brace bracket.

Ctrl + Space brings up the list again if you previously pressed Esc to clear it.

4. Click Check to identify any errors in the formula.

5. Fix any syntax errors the Formula Checker identifies.

6. When the formula has the correct syntax, click Save and Close on the Formula Workshop toolbar.

7. In the Field Explorer, select (single-click) the formula, click Insert to Report, and then

position the cursor where you want the formula to appear on your report.

8. Click once to set the field in the desired position on the report.

A formula that is placed on a report is indicated by @(for example, @ProcessTime) on the

Design tab.

Note: You can also use drag-and-drop to add a formula to your report.

Applying Boolean formulas

Boolean formulas incorporate the operators and, or , and notand are used when you want to

signal a condition of true or false.


• Describe a Boolean formula

• Create a Boolean formula

Boolean formulas

A Boolean formula always returns a value of True or False. The result of a Boolean formula

can be displayed as:

• True or False

• T or F

• Yes or No

• Y or N

• 1 or 0

You can change how a Boolean value displays in your report by right-clicking the value and

selecting the Format option. You then have the option to display it as 1 or 0, Y or N, Yes or No,

True or False, or T or F.

You can use Booleans to check for conditions within a field. For example, to determine whetheran order amount matches a certain condition, you would write a formula like this:

{Orders.Order Amount} > 5000

Creating a Boolean formula

Boolean operators are used to create conditions that require a logical relationship between two

or more values. Conditions that use Boolean operators are called Boolean expressions.









• A andB means that both A and B must be true for the condition to be satisfied (to return a

True value).

• A orB means that either A or B (or both) must be true for the condition to be satisfied (to

return a True value).

Several useful examples of Boolean operators are:

• And

• Or

• Not

And

The Andoperator joins the value of x and y. The Andoperator takes two expressions that evaluate

to a Boolean. The expression evaluates True only if both x and y are true. All other combinations

result in a value of False.









Value of x Value of y x and y

True True True

True False False

False True False

False

Some examples include:

False False

Code Description

A > B and B > C Returns True, where A = 10, B = 6, and C = 3 (bothconditions are true). Returns False, where A=10, B=6,

and C=7 (only one of the two conditions are true).

(A>B) and (A * C - D > E)and (E / D <= B)

Or

Returns True, where A = 7, B = 5, C = 3, D = 2, E = 10 (all

three of the conditions are true).

The Oroperator takes two expressions that evaluate to a Boolean. If either expression evaluates

True, the operator returns True. If both expressions evaluate False, the operator returns False

Value of x Value of y x and y

True True True

True False True

False True True

False False False










Code Description

A > B or B > C True, where A = 10, B = 6, and C = 3 (both conditions true).

A > B or B > CTrue, where A=10, B=6, and C=7 (either one of the two

conditions true).

A > B or B > CFalse, where A=5, B=6, and C=7 (neither of the two conditions

true).

(A > B) or(A * C - D > E) or (E / D<= B)

Not

True, where A = 5, B = 5, C = 3, D = 2, E = 12 [at least one of the

three conditions is true. In this case only (A * C - D > E) is true].

The Notoperator reverses the True or False value of x.

Value of x Not x

True False

False

• Not (Not(False)) = False

• Not (Not(True)) = True


True

Code Description

not (A > B and B > C)

If A=5, B = 4, C = 3, the expression (A>B and B>C) is True.

Both conditions tied together by the Boolean operator And

are True; thus, the entire statement has a value of True. The

Not operator changes the value of the expression to False.

If A=3, B = 4, C = 3, the expression (A>B and B>C) is False.

One of the two conditions tied together by the Boolean not (A > B and B > C) operator And is False; thus, the entire statement has a value

of False. The Not operator changes the value of the

expression to True.









Activity: Applying a Boolean formula

Objective

• Create a Boolean formula.

Instructions

1. Open Basic Formulas-1.rpt as the starting point report for this activity.

2. If you want to see the entire report in a horizontal view, click File ➤ Page Setup, and then

select Landscape.

3. Add a Boolean formula named Check for USA, that evaluates the data in the Country field

and determines if it is equal to USA.


5. Either True or False should be displayed in the Check for USA field.

6. Format the Check for USA formula to display Yes or No rather than True or False. 7. Use the Format Painter to format the column heading to be vertical text, that is, rotate the

text.

8. Save the report as Applying a Boolean formula.rpt.











Applying If-Then-Else formulas

The If-Then-Elsetype formula is a conditional formula. That is, if a condition is met, then a

certain action will be taken. If the condition is not met, then some different action takes place.


• Describe an If-Then-Elseformula

• Create an If-Then-Elseformula

If-Then-Elseformulas

If-Then-Elseformulas can check for as many conditionsas required in order for you to achieve the

results you need.

If-Then-Elseformulas have three parts:

• Ifsets the condition or test.

• Thensets the action to be taken if the condition is met, that is, if the test returns a truevalue.

• Else is optional. It sets the action to be taken if the condition is not met, that is, if the test

returns a false value.

Creating an If-Then-Elseformula

Suppose you want to display a rating beside each customer’s order figures in an orders report

depending on the level achieved: high orders or low orders. You can accomplish a task such

as this by using an If-Then-Elseformula.

If {Orders.Orders Amount}>40000

Then "high orders" Else

"low orders"

Tip: The data type must be the same for the Thenand Else parts of the formula (text, numeric, date).

For example, if the Then part of the formula prints a text string, the Else part of the formula must also

print a text string.

Activity: Applying an If-Then-Else formula

Objective

• Create an If-Then-Elseformula.

Instructions

1. Use the Applying a Boolean formula.rpt.

2. Add the formula, Domestic or International, which displays “Domestic” beside Country

equal to USA and “International” beside all others.

3. Format the column heading to be vertical text, that is, rotate the text.









4. SavethereportasApplying an If-Then-Else formula.rpt.


Applying date calculations

A database field can contain a date value, which is recognized as date only, time only, or

date-time.


• Describe a date calculation

• Create a date calculation

Date calculation

Date functions allow you to convert numbers to dates, which you then can format to display

as appropriate, and to convert dates to numbers.

Creating a date calculation

Examples of calculations using date or date/time fields are:

• Current date function

• Addition and subtraction

• Year, month, and day functions

Current date function

To have today’s date appear on a report, use the current date function. For example, to display

today’s date in your report, you would write this formula: CurrentDate

Addition and subtraction

You can add days to date fields by adding a number. For example, if you know an order should

be shipped five days after the order was placed, you would find the expected ship date with

this formula:

{Orders.Order Date} + 5

If the Orders.Order Datewas January 10, then this formula would return January 15.

You can also subtract days from date fields by subtracting a number. For example, if you want

to find the number of days it took to ship an order, if the order date was five days prior to theship date, you would use the formula:

{Orders.Order Date} - 5

If the Orders.Order Datewas January 10, then this formula would return January 5.

The most useful application of these concepts is finding the difference in days between two

date fields. For example, if you want to find the number of days it took to ship an order, you

would use this formula:









{Orders.Ship Date} - {Orders.Order Date}

If the Orders.Ship Datewas January 20 and the Orders.Order Datewas January 10, then this formula

would return 10 days.

Year, month, and day functions

At times, you may need to extract the year, month, or day portions from a date field. To

accomplish this task, you would use the Year ( ), Month ( ), or Day ( )function. For example, if you

were looking for monthly trends in your ordering cycle, you could use the Month ( ) function to

extract the month portion of your order date fields using this formula:

Month ({Orders.Order Date})

If the Orders.Order Datewas January 10, then this formula would return 1.00.

Tip: Commas and decimal places are the default display for numbers in Crystal Reports.

Activity: Applying date calculations

Objective

• Create date calculation formulas.

Instructions

1. Use the Applying an If-Then-Else formula.rpt.

2. Add a formula named Order Process Time that displays the number of days to process

each order from the time it was ordered to the time it was shipped.

3. Format the Order Process Time to display with no decimal places.

4. Add the formula, Month Ordered, which displays the month in the form of a number 1 to

12. This formula is useful if you want to establish trends of the busiest order months overseveral years.

5. Format Month Ordered to display with no decimal places.

6. Add the formula, Days Since Shipped, which displays the number of days between the

ship date and today. The values returned by this formula will change due to the current

date on the actual computer being used.

7. Format Days Since Shipped to display with no decimal places.

8. Remove the Country group.

9. Save the report as Applying date calculations.rpt.










Applying numeric calculations

Some fields contain numeric data that can be used in calculations.


• Describe a numeric calculation • Create a numeric calculation

Numeric calculations

Formulas using numeric fields perform mathematical computations on your data.

Creating a numeric calculation

Numeric calculations can include:

• Arithmetic • Sum

• Count

• Distinct count

Arithmetic

Some arithmetic operators available for use in a formula are:

• addition (+)

• subtraction (-)

• multiplication (*)

• division (/)

For example, you can use the multiplication symbol to find the sales tax charged on a particular

order. If you wanted a sales tax amount of 7% on order amount field, the formula would look

like this:

{Orders.Order Amount} * .07

Sum(number, field)

Summary fields are normally created using the Insert Summary dialog box. They then appear

in the Available Fields tree, and can be used in a formula by double-clicking there. However,

they do not need to be created in this way. You can create a summary field exclusively for use

by your formula by appropriately filling in the arguments to one of the functions in the Summary

functions section. However, any groups in the report that the summary field refers to must

already exist in the report.

For example, two variations of the Sumfunctions are:

• Sum ({Orders.Order Amount})

Returns a total of all order amounts for the entire report.

• Sum ({Orders.Order Amount}, {Customer.Region})









Returns a total of the order amounts for each region.

Tip: A number of options exist for summarizing your data. Sum( ), Count ( ), and Average

( )are the most common. Refer to Summary Functions in the online Help for more information.

Count

This function enables you to count the values that appear in your report (for a specified field).

Some examples include these scenarios:

• If a sales report includes all orders made and the amount of each order, you can compute

the total number of orders that appear on the report (a grand total count).

• If you break orders into groups (for example, orders grouped by the region that they come

from), you can compute the number of orders per group (in this example, per region).

• If you break orders into date or Boolean groups (for example, orders grouped by the month

in which they were placed), you can compute the number of orders per group based on a

particular change in the date or Boolean field (in this case, per month).

DistinctCount

This function enables you to get a distinct count of the values that appear in your report. A

distinct count means that duplicate records are not used in the calculation.


• If a sales report includes all orders made by customers, you can compute the total count of

distinct customers in the report (as grand total distinct count), excluding any duplicate

records. If a customer made more than one order, the duplicate occurrences of that customer

are ignored.

• If you break orders into groups (for example, orders grouped by the region that they come

from), you can compute the count of distinct customers per group (in this case, per region).

Any customers that made more than one order and appear more than once in a group areonly counted once.

• If you break orders into date or Boolean groups (for example, orders grouped by the month

in which they were placed), you can compute count of distinct customers in each group

based on a particularchange in the date or Boolean fields (in this case, the count of customers

that placed orders each month). If a customer placed more than one order within the month,

duplicate instances of that customer are ignored.

Activity: Applying numeric calculations

Objective

• Create numeric calculation formulas.

Instructions

1. Use the Applying date calculations.rpt.

2. Group on the Customer Name, that is, {Customer.Customer Name}.









3. Align the bottoms of the column names in the Page Header and then remove the customer

name field from the Details section.

4. Add the formula, Order Plus Tax, which calculates the Order Amount plus a tax of 7% for

each Order.

5. Add the formula, GT Order Amount, which calculates the grand total Order Amount for

all Orders.

6. Add the formula, GT Order Amount Plus Tax, which calculates the grand total Order

Amount for all Orders including tax for all Orders.

7. Add the formula, ST Order Amount, which calculates the subtotal Order Amount for each

Customer.

8. Add the formula, ST Order Amount Plus Tax, which calculates the subtotal Order Amount

including tax for each Customer.

9. Create labels for the subtotals and grand totals and format the labels to stand out on the

report.

10. Format all formulas to display with a dollar sign.

11. Save the report as Applying numeric calculations.rpt.











Applying string manipulation

String fields contain straight text, characters, numbers, or punctuation; string fields cannot be

added or subtracted from each other like numeric fields can.


• Describe a string manipulation formula

• Create a string manipulation formula

String manipulation

Often, when creating a report, you want to embed the information from several string fields

together as one field. For example, a customer’s first and last name fields can be combined to

be one complete name field. In this way, formatting and moving this single field around the

report is easy.

By using formulas to manipulate the data contained in string fields you can get exactly what

you need from your database.

Creating string manipulation formulas

String manipulation formulas include:

• Subscript

• Concatenation

• Uppercaseand Lowercase

• Left

• Mid

• Right

Subscript

When you want to use only a certain part of a string field, you can extract characters from the

string field using the subscript function.

For example, you may want to use only a first initial of a contact name instead of the entire

name, or you may want to extract several characters from a string field. In the first example,

you would create the formula:

• {Customer.Contact First Name} [1]

Returns "A", where the Contact First Name is Anne-Marie.

When extracting several characters from a string field, you would create the formula:

• {Customer.Contact First Name} [1 to 4]

Returns "Anne", where the Contact First Name is Anne-Marie.









Concatenation

When you want to join two or more components together to form a singular continuous string,

you would use one of the these concatenation symbols:

• &

Enables you to join fields of different data types.

• +

Enables you to join string fields.

For example, if you want to add descriptive text to your data field, you would write the formula:

"This product was shipped on" & {Orders.Ship Date}

Uppercase(string)and Lowercase(string)

When you want to convert all letters in a string field to a specific case, you use the Uppercase ( )

or Lowercase ( )functions. For example, to convert all customer names to uppercase, you would

write the formula:

Uppercase ({Customer.Customer Name})

This example would return EDWARD SMITH, where the customer name is Edward Smith.

Left (str, length)

The Leftfunction consists of a text string (str)and length (length)and obtains a certain number of

characters from the left end of a text string. For instance, you could use the Left function to

obtain just the area code from the values in a field containing phone numbers. You would

write the formula:

Left ({Customer.Phone}, 3)

This formula would retrieve the first three numbers from the phone number, which is typicallythe area code.

Mid (str, start) or Mid (str, start, length)

The Midfunction returns a specified number of characters from a string. The second argument

is the character position where the part to be taken begins. The optional third argument is the

length of the string you want to be taken out. If the third argument is not specified, everything

from the start position to the end of the string is extracted. Use this function when you need

to extract a set of characters from somewhere in the middle of a text string. For example, you

may need to extract the middle two characters of a field as an identifier for customers.

Mid({Customer.CustomerName}, 3, 2)

This formula returns a two-character substring from the inside of the string starting with the

third character position. In the case of Alley Cat Bikes, the identifier is “le”.

Right (str, length)

The Rightfunction extracts the given number of text characters from the right side of the

specified string. Use this function to obtain just the right part of the string. For example, you









may need to obtain the last four digits of social security numbers stored in a field as an employee

identifier.

Right({table.SSNUM}, 4)

This formula returns the last four digits of the social security number as a string.

Activity: Applying string manipulation formulas

Objective

• Create string manipulation formulas.

Instructions

1. Use the Applying numeric calculations.rpt.

2. Add the formula,1st Customer Letter, which extracts the first letter from the customer name

field.

3. Insert a group on the formula.

4. Rearrange the groups. This way, all groups of customers are grouped together beginning

with “A”, and so on.

5. Format the letter in a different color so it stands out.

6. Replace the Group #2 Name field with a formula that displays the Customer Name in

uppercase.

7. Create a formula named DisplaySubtotal to display the following sentence:

"The subtotal for " & {Customer.CustomerName} & " is "& {@ST Order Amount} & "."

8. Remove the Subtotal text object and @STOrderAmount, then replace with the

@DisplaySubtotal.

9. Make sure the formula word wraps, if necessary.

10. Save the report as Applying string manipulation.rpt.










Applying Conditional Reporting

introduction

You can easily apply absolute or conditional formatting, which is applied only under certainconditions.


• Determine trends in data

• Format data conditionally

Determining trends in data

When you want to highlight certain information in a report in order to perform an analysis of

the data, you can quickly establish trends in the data by using the Highlighting Expert.


• Use the Highlighting Expert

Using the Highlighting Expert

The Highlighting Expert enables you to apply conditional formatting to all types of report

fields (Number, Currency, String, Boolean, Date, Time, and Date and Time fields). With the

expert, you format the selected field either by specifying a condition based on that field’s value,

or by specifying a condition based on the value of a different report field.

When used for conditional formatting, the Highlighting Expert allows you to:

• Modify several attributes at once, without writing a formula. • Highlight all field types used in the report.

• Format font style, background color, font color, and border style.

• Format a field based on its own values or the values of another field.

Conditionally formatting fields using the Highlighting Expert

When you need to conditionally format report fields, the Highlighting Expert is quicker and

easier to use than the Formula Workshop. The Highlighting Expert is most commonly used

to highlight field values that are in some way distinguished from other values in the report.

You might, for example, highlight your key customers by printing the {Customer.Last Year’s Sales}field with a red background whenever the sales value exceeds $50,000. Alternatively, to draw

attention to outstanding orders, you might bold the {Product.Product Name}field whenever the

{Orders.Shipped}value is False.

Tip: You can undo highlighting with the Undo button on the Standard toolbar to cancel the

formatting.

Think of the Highlighting Expert as an advanced formula editor that runs the following









equation: If condition is True, then apply these formatting specifications. For this purpose, the

dialog box is divided into two sections, the Item list section, which displays the formula, and

the Item editor, which enables you to set the formula. The Item editor includes a Sample view

to illustrate the formatting specifications applied.

You can create formulas with this dialog box. Each formula appears in the Item list. You can

use the Remove and Remove All buttons to delete formulas as well as use the Priority arrow

buttons to specify the order of priority for each formula.

Tip: The changes in the formatting are seen in the Preview window only.

Setting highlighting priorities

The Priority buttons in the Item list area of the Highlighting Expert allow you to set priorities

for your formulas. This is useful when you have two or more formulas that could offer conflicting

results in some situations.

For example, suppose that you highlight the Unit Price field on the report. You assign to this

field a highlighting formula that shows a yellow background when a unit price is greater than

$100. Then, on this same report, you create another highlighting formula that shows a red

background when a unit price is greater than $200. Considering that 100 is a subset of 200, you

could have Unit Price fields with yellow backgrounds when, in fact, those fields should have

red backgrounds. In other words, a unit price of $300 could receive either a red or a yellow background, depending on which formula has been assigned priority.

To use the Highlighting Expert

1. Right-click the field you want to format and select Highlighting Expert from the shortcut

menu.









You can also start the expert by clicking the Highlighting button on the ExpertTools toolbar,

or by clicking Highlighting Expert on the Format menu.

When opened, the expert is set to format the field that is currently selected on the report.

2. In the Highlighting Expert, click New to create a new conditional formula with default

settings.

3. In the Item editor area, click the Value of list drop-down arrow and select the field that

you want to base your condition on.

The field chosen here is the field upon which your condition is based; this field need not be

the field that is being formatted. To create a condition based on the values of the field thatis being formatted, select the desired field from the list. To base your condition on a different

report field, select it from the list of available fields. The Value of list displays only those

fields that you have added to the report.

4. Select a comparison from the second list (is equal to, is less than, and so on).

This comparative statement works as the operator in the conditional formula created by the

expert.

5. Complete the condition by entering the desired value in the box.

Note: If the field selected in the Value of list is not numeric, the text box turns into a list

of available values, from which you must select one.

6. In the Font style, Font color, Background, and Border lists, specify the formatting changes

that you want to apply to the selected field when your condition is met.

7. Repeat steps 3 and 4 if you want to apply multiple highlighting conditions to the selected

field.

Note: You can use the expert’s Remove button to delete highlighting formulas from the









list.

8. Use the Priority arrows to specify the order in which you want Crystal Reports to apply

your conditions.

Note: A formula has priority over another formula when it is higher in the Items list area.

9. Click OK to return to your report.

Activity: Using the Highlighting Expert

Objective

• Use the Highlighting Expert to determine trends in data.

Instructions

1. Use the Conditional Reporting-1.rptstarting point report.

2. Add highlighting that displays the order amount in red if the order amount is $100.00 orless and blue if it is greater than or equal to $5,000.00.

3. Add purple highlighting for the order amount that is greater than or equal to $10,000.00.

Note: There should be three colors when done; however, you won't see all three colors until

you change the priority of the highlighting. Move to the second page to view the results for

all three colors.

4. Save the report as Using the Highlighting Expert.rpt.










Formatting data conditionally

Conditional formatting is formatting that applies only under certain conditions that you set.


• Describe conditional formatting • Apply on or off properties

• Apply attribute properties

• Apply conditional formatting functions

Conditional formatting

Absolute formatting is formatting that applies under any condition and is used when you want

the same result in all situations. When you need to format objects only in certain cases or apply

the formatting differently for different situations, you use conditional formatting.

With absolute formatting, you follow a “select then apply” procedure. You select the field andapply the formatting. For conditional formatting you follow the same general procedure, but

you go a step further and set conditions that determine whether or not the formatting will be

applied. You specify those conditions using simple formulas. You can apply formatting based

on a condition any time the conditional button appears beside an option. For example,

conditional formatting can be used to display negative amounts in red or to suppress a field

only in a certain situation.

Conditional formatting takes precedence over fixed settings. For example, you may have applied

absolute formatting to the font color of the sales field to appear in blue. If you then conditionally

change the color of the sales field to red if negative and black in all other cases, this change

overrides the original setting. The sales field will appear in red or black in the Preview window

only.

Tip: Each time you see the formula button next to a property or attribute, that property or attribute

can be conditionally formatted.

A conditional property tests to see which of two or more conditions was met and applies the

formatting appropriate to the condition. How you conditionally format an attribute differs

between on or off properties and attribute properties.

Applying on or off properties

An on or off propertyuses a check box. When the check box is turned on, the property is always

applied. When the check box is turned off, the property is never applied. The Drop Shadow

property for a Border is an example of an on or off property. When you conditionally apply

an on or off property, the program applies the attribute when the condition is met and does

not apply the attribute when the condition is not met. Therefore, to set an on or off property,

you must create a Boolean formula that returns yes for every value to which you want to apply

the attribute. Whenever the result of the formula is no, the attribute is set to off.









To apply on or off properties

1. In the report, right-click the field you want to format.

2. On the shortcut menu, click Format Field.

The Format Editor dialog box opens.

3. Click the appropriate tab.

4. Click the conditional formatting button beside the option you want to change.

5. Type a formula as the condition.

6. Click Save and Close.

The condition button changes color from blue to maroon, indicating a condition has been

set.

7. Click OK .

Applying attribute properties

A conditional attribute property tests to see which of two or more conditions is met. The

program then applies the formatting appropriate to the condition. For example, assume that

you want values under quota printed in red and all other values printed in black. The program

tests to see whether the value is under quota or not. If it is under quota, then it applies the red

attribute; if it is not, then it applies the black attribute.

Use an If-Then-Elseformula for this kind of conditional formatting.

When conditional attribute properties are set up, Crystal Reports loads a selection of attributes

into the Functions list in the Formula Workshop. Double-click any of these attributes to add

them to a formula. For example, if you are setting horizontal alignment conditionally, the

Functions list contains attributes such as DefaultHorAligned, LeftAligned, and Justified. If

you are setting borders conditionally, the Functions list contains attributes such as NoLine,

SingleLine, and DashedLine.

Note: Always include the Elsekeyword in conditional formulas; otherwise, values that don’t meet

the Ifcondition may not retain their original format. To retain the original format of values that

don’t meet your If condition, use the DefaultAttribute function.

The program tests each record to see which of two or more conditions was met and applies the

formatting appropriate to the condition. All attribute property options are listed within the

Format Formula Editor for your use.

The ability to conditionally format fields and objects gives you more control over the presentation

of your data in the report.









Applying conditional formatting functions

Conditional formatting functions are found at the top of the Functions tree in the Formula

Workshop whenever appropriate. You can create more complex conditional formatting formulas

in the Formula Workshop using these built-in procedures or subroutines.

Two useful examples of conditional formatting functions are:

• CurrentFieldValue

This function is available only when entering field formatting formulas. The field can be

any type (string, number, Boolean, date, and so on). CurrentFieldValuereturns the current value

of the field about to be printed and is especially useful when conditionally formatting cross-

tabs. For example, the formula if CurrentFieldValue = 0 then Redcan be used to format the font

color in a cross-tab. This function depends on context (that is, if formatting a string field,

then CurrentFieldValueis a string type; if formatting a date field, then CurrentFieldValueis a date

type, and so on).

• DefaultAttribute

This function is available when entering formatting formulas including section formattingformulas, text object formatting formulas, and so on. The value returned by DefaultAttribute

depends on the value selected for the attribute being formatted. For example, if you create

a formatting formula for the font color, and the font color combination box is set to blue,

then DefaultAttributeis blue. If you create a formatting formula for a Boolean attribute such as

Suppress, and if Suppress is checked, then the DefaultAttributeis true. If Suppress is not

checked, then the DefaultAttributeis false. This function depends on context (that is, it may be

a Boolean type, a string type, and so on).

To apply an attribute property

1. In the report, right-click the field to format and select Format Field from the shortcut menu.

2. Click the appropriate tab and add a formula by clicking the conditional formatting button

next to the option you want to change.

Note: You can also use summary values as conditions. For example, you could change the

font color to red if the value is less than the average for the group:

if {Customer.Last Year’s Sales} <Average({Customer.Last Year’s Sales},{Customer.Region}) then Red Else DefaultAttribute

3. Click OK to return to the report.

Activity: Formatting data conditionally

Objective

• Apply conditional formatting to a report.









Instructions

1. Use the previous activity report called Using the Highlighting Expert.rpt.

2. Suppress the duplicated customer names.

3. Use conditional formatting (not the Highlighting Expert) to add formatting that displays

the customer name with a red background and white lettering if the order amounts are $100.00 or less.

4. Use conditional formatting (not the Highlighting Expert) to add formatting that displays

the customer name with a drop shadow if the order amounts are greater than $5000.00.

5. Save the report as Formatting data conditionally.rpt.











Representing Data Visually

introduction

You can include sophisticated, colorful charts in your reports. These charts can enhance theinformation in your reports, making them more comprehensible.


• Create a chart

Creating a chart

Many people find it easier to understand information if it is presented graphically.


• Choose a chart location and type

• Create a chart using the Chart Expert • Chart on summary data

• Chart on details or formula information

• Customize a chart

Choosing a chart location and type

Crystal Reports enables you to include sophisticated, colorful charts in your reports. You can

use charts any time to improve the usefulness of a report.

You can chart on:

• Summary and subtotal fields

• Details, formula, and Running Total fields

• Cross-Tab summaries

• OLAP data

You will typically chart on summary and subtotal information at the group level. Each chart

becomes an object on your report, and therefore can be moved, resized, and so on.

Not all chart styles work with all data. For example, a report that shows the total sales for each

state would make a good pie chart but a meaningless stacked bar chart, since only one series

of data exists. On the other hand, if you had a report that showed inventory levels of certain

items for each quarter of the year, that information would make an excellent stacked bar chart,

but not work in a single pie chart.

Where you place your chart determines what data is displayed and where it is printed. For

example, if you place a chart in the Report Header section, the chart includes data for the entire

report. If you place it in a Group Header or Group Footer section, the chart displays

group-specific data.









Inserting a chart using the Chart Expert

The Chart Expert dialog box allows you to choose the type of chart to display, select the data

on which the chart is based, apply conditional color highlighting, as well as customize the

options and formatting for the chart.

Using the Chart Expert

The Chart Expert is a tabbed dialog box. As you work through each tab, be aware that some

options are not for use with some types of chart.

The tabs in the Chart Expert are:

• Type

• Data

• Axes

• Options

• Color Highlight

• Text

To insert a chart using the Chart Expert

1. On the Insert menu, click Chart.

Another way to do this is to click the Insert Chart button on the Insert Tools toolbar.

An insertion frame appears.

2. Position the top-left corner of the frame in the target location for the new chart. Click once

to insert the chart.

Depending on where you place the chart, the Chart Expert opens automatically or you may

need to right-click the chart once it is placed and select the Chart Expert from the shortcut

menu.

You can customize the chart according to your needs.

3. Click OK after you have finished customizing the chart.

Exploring the Type tab

The first tab in the Chart Expert offers different predefined chart styles to choose from. To

select a particular style, double-click the icon for the desired report.









The most common chart types are:

• Bar

A side-by-side bar chart displays a series of vertical bars and is best suited for showing data

for several years over a period of time. A stacked bar chart also displays data as a series of

vertical bars and is best suited for representing three series of data with each series displayed

as a different color stacked in a single bar.

• Pie

A pie chart displays data as a pie, split and filled with color or patterns, and can only be

used with one group of data.

Other chart types include:

• Line

A line chart displays data as a series of points connected by a line and is best suited for

showing data for a large number of groups.

• Area

An area chart displays data as areas filled with color or patterns and is best suited for

showing data for a limited number of groups.

• Doughnut

A doughnut chart is similar to a pie chart, displaying data as sections of a circle or doughnut.

If, for example, you charted sales by region on a particular report, you would see the total

number of sales (the figure) in the center of the doughnut and the regions as colored sections









of the doughnut. As with the pie chart, you have the option to choose multiple doughnut

charts for multiple groups of data.

• 3D Riser

A 3D riser chart displays data in a series of three-dimensional objects, lined up side by side

in a three-dimensional plane. The 3D riser chart shows the extremes in your report data.

For example, the difference in sales between countries is visually dynamic when presented

in this chart.

• 3D Surface

A 3D surface chart presents a topographic view of multiple sets of data. If, for example, you

need a chart to show the number of sales by customer by country in a visually dynamic and

relational format, you would use a 3D surface chart.

• XY Scatter

An XY scatter chart is a collective of plotted points that represent specific data in a pool of

information. The XY scatter chart enables you to consider a larger scope of data for the

purpose of determining trends. For example, if you input customer information, includingsales, products, countries, months, and years, you would have a collective of plotted points

that represents the pool of customer information. Viewing all of this data on an XY scatter

chart would enable you to speculate why certain products were selling better than others

or why certain regions were purchasing more than others.

• Radar

A radar chart positions group data, such as customers or countries, at the perimeter of the

radar. The radar chart then places numeric values, increasing in value, from the center of

the radar to the perimeter. In this way, you can determine, at a glance, how specific group

data relates to the whole of the group data.

• Bubble A bubble chart displays data as a series of bubbles, where the size of the bubble is

proportional to the amount of data. A bubble chart is effective with the number of products

sold in a certain region; the larger the bubble, the greater number of products sold in that

region.

• Stock

A stock chart presents high and low values for data. With this ability, the stock chart is

useful for monitoring financial or sales activities.

• Numeric Axis

A numeric axis chart is a bar, line, or area chart that uses a numeric field or a date/time

field as its “On change of” field (instead of a string field). Numeric axis charts provide a

way of scaling your X-axis values, thus creating a true numeric X-axis or a true date/time

X-axis.

• Gauge

A gauge chart presents values graphically as points on a gauge. Gauge charts, like pie charts,

are typically used for one group of data (for example, the percentage of sales for the entire

inventory).









• Gantt

A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart often used to provide a graphical illustration of a

schedule. The horizontal axis shows a time span, while the vertical axis shows a series of

tasks or events. Horizontal bars on the chart represent event sequences and time spans for

each item on the vertical axis.

• Funnel

Funnel charts are often used to represent stages in a sales process, for example, the amount

of potential revenue shown for each stage. This type of chart can also be useful in identifying

potential problem areas in an organization’s sales processes. A funnel chart is similar to a

stacked bar in that it represents 100% of the summary values for the groups included in the

chart.

• Histogram

A histogram chart shows the frequency of occurrence of data elements in a data set. The X

axis is divided into intervals that denote ranges of data values. Each histogram bar shows

the number of data elements whose value falls into that interval.

Tip: Not all data ranges work with all chart styles. A summary report showing the total sales for

each region would make a good pie chart. The same report showing the same regions over several

years would make a good multiple pie chart.

Exploring the Data tab

In the Data tab, you select the chart layout type you want to use.









The charting layout types are:

• Advanced

Use the Advanced layout when you have multiple chart values or when you do not have

any group or summary fields in the report.

The Advanced chart layout supports one or two condition fields; with these condition fields,you can create a 2D or 3D chart. Other specific functions with the Advanced layout include:

○ Values can be grouped in ascending, descending, or specified order, as well as by Top

N or Sort totals.

○ Values can be plotted for each record.

○ Values can be plotted as a grand total for all records.

○ Charts can be based on formula and Running Total fields.

Note: You cannot drill down on an advanced chart because the chart is already displaying

all the data for that field.

• Group

With this option, you can create charts based on any group summary or subtotal values.

Note: In order to create a chart using the Group layout, you must have at least one group

and at least one summary field in the report.

• Cross-Tab

The Cross-Tab option is available when a report contains a cross-tab object and enables you

to present the data in the cross-tab graphically. A Cross-Tab chart uses the fields in the

cross-tab for its condition and summary fields.

• OLAP

On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) is a business intelligence tool with the ability to perform “slice and dice” operations for multi-dimensional viewing and manipulation of

data. Use the OLAP layout to chart on an OLAP grid.

Note: In this training guide, you will learn how to create an advanced chart and a group chart.

Once you have selected your chart type, the appropriate choices are presented within the Data

tab. If you have running totals in your report, you can select running totals fields to display

them in the chart. Also, if you want to chart on all records so that the grand totals display, then

select For all records from the drop-down list on the right side of the dialog box and specify a

chart placement of Once per report. You also select the placement and data in the Data tab.

Exploring the Axes tab

In the Axes tab, you can specify properties that control the occurrence and frequency of data

that divides axes on your chart.









By default, the data axis is not scaled automatically and always starts at zero. If you turn the

Auto scale check box on, the data axis scales automatically. However, depending on the data,

the data axis may not start at zero.

Exploring the Options tab

On the Options tab, you can set the color of the chart, data points, customize settings, and

choose whether or not to include a legend. If you do include a legend in a pie or doughnut

chart, you can choose to display the data in percentages or in amounts.









Exploring the Color Highlight tab

The Color Highlight tab lets you conditionally apply color based on chart value fields. You

apply a color to the selected item by specifying a condition.

The tab is divided into two areas: The Item list area displays the formula conditions and the

Item editor area is where you create the formula conditions.

Note: If your chart type is line, the chart must have data markers before you can see conditional

formatting. An area chart must have two On change of values for conditional formatting to appear.









Exploring the Text tab

The Text tab lets you specify different titles to be placed on your report explaining the various

components. This tab always presents all options, even though some charts may not use them.

For example, a pie chart would not have a group title or data title as available text options.

If you accidentally exit the Chart Expert, you can return at any time by right-clicking the chart

in your report and selecting Chart Expert from the shortcut menu.

The chart you see in the Design window is a placeholder that prints the actual chart information

when you switch to the Preview window. Therefore, the chart in the Design window will









probably be different from what you were expecting based on your data. You can always return

to the Chart Expert to redesign your chart.

If you place the cursor over the chart while in the Preview tab, a tooltip with detailed information

appears. For example, a chart that shows sales for different countries would read “USA: Sum

of Customer.1997 Sales: 3410088.85.”

No matter what type of chart you choose, the basic steps to produce a chart are the same.

Charting on summary data

Charting summary and subtotal information (Group layout) is the most common type of chart.

Before you can create a chart, you must have at least one group and one summary or subtotal

in your report. A chart built on summary data offers the benefit of drill-down capability, the

ability to access multiple summaries with the double-click of a mouse button.

To create a summary chart


The Chart Expert appears.

Tip: Another way to do this is to click the Insert Chart button on the Insert Tools toolbar. An

insertion frame appears.


to insert the chart.

Depending on where you place the chart, the Chart Expert opens automatically or you may

need to right-click the chart once it is placed and select the Chart Expert from the shortcut

menu.

3. On the Type tab, in the Chart type list, select a chart type and then click the chart subtype

that best illustrates your data.

4. Click the Data tab.

5. In the Layout area, click Group, if it is not already selected.

6. In the Data area, in the On change of list, click the group field you want to base your chart

on; then, in the Show list, click the summary field you want to display on your chart.

7. If the Axes and Options tabs appear, you can customize some of the chart’s properties, such

as the scaling of the axes, the legend, and the data points.

8. Click the Text tab.

9. Accept the default title information or add new titles to your chart.

10. Click OK .

Your chart is placed in the Header or Footer section of the report, depending on your selection

in Step 6. You may have to refresh your report to preview the finished chart.

When your chart is inserted, it may cover a portion of the report. Move and resize the chart









so that it fits properly within the report.

Drilling down on a chart

Drill-down is a process where the details behind summary information can be revealed by

clicking the summary information contained in a report.

A chart that is based upon summary fields is a candidate for drill-down. For each level of

grouping and summarizing that make up the chart, you can drill down into the data to see the

underlying information that constitutes those totals.

If a chart consists of one or more group fields and you have included a legend, you can drill

down on individual groups through the chart legend. Double-click the cursor on the markers

and text in the legend to view the details about that section of the chart.

For example, on a report showing total sales for each region with a pie chart based on those

subtotals, double-clicking a pie slice opens a drill-down tab showing the individual entries that

make up that subtotal.

When viewing a chart in the Preview window, the cursor changes to a magnifying glass. When

you double-click with this magnifying glass, a new Preview tab opens up and the details behind

that summary are displayed.

You can double-click as many summaries as you want as each one opens its own drill-down

tab.

Note: You cannot drill down on an advanced chart because the chart is already displaying all the

data for that field.

To drill down on chart information

1. In the Preview window, scroll your report so you can see your chart.

2. Move the cursor over the body of the chart until the magnifying glass appears.

You should get a magnifying glass over each piece of a pie chart.

3. When you are positioned over the summary information on which you want to drill-down,

double-click with the magnifying glass.

A new drill-down tab is created for the information you clicked.

Tip: Closing the drill-down tabs does not close the report. However, closing the Preview

tab closes all drill-down tabs. If you made any changes since the last save and you close the

report, you will be prompted to save those changes.

Activity: Charting on summary data

Objective

• Create a chart that is based on summarized data.









Instructions

1. Create a new report from the Customer and Orders table.

2. Place the Customer Name, Order ID, and Order Amount into the Details section.

3. Insert a group based on the order date and set the group options to be displayed by year.

4. Insert a summary on the order amount per the order date group.

5. Create a bar chart in the report header using the group layout to compare order amount

per year.

6. Give your chart a title of “Order Amounts Per Year.”

7. Preview your report.

8. Drill down to view the 2004 information.

9. Save the report as Charting on summary data.rpt.



Charting on details or formula information

The Advanced layout enables you to create a chart based on specific values (details or formula

data). Charts are often based on a summary field in your report in which the values plotted in

the chart depend on the values in the summary field. However, you can also create a chart that

does not have a summary field to chart on. Instead, these types of charts use values that appear









in the Details section of your report.

To create a details or formula chart, you need to specify:

• Condition

The condition is used to indicate when to plot the point. Each time a point is plotted, it is

plotted at the point representing the corresponding value. For example, a chart showing

last year’s sales for your customers uses the Customer Name field as the condition. Each

time the condition changes (that is, the customer name changes), a point is plotted. You also

have the option of plotting a point for each record, or plotting one point for all records.

• Value

The value is used to indicate what is plotted as the points on your chart. Each time a point

is plotted, it is plotted at the point representing the corresponding value.

To chart on details information










Tip: Another way to do this is to click the Insert Chart button on the Insert Tools toolbar.

An Insertion frame appears.


to insert the chart and open the Chart Expert dialog box, if the Chart Expert doesn’t

automatically open. 3. On the Type tab, in the Choose your chart type list, select a chart type.

4. Select the chart subtype that best illustrates your data.

5. Select Vertical or Horizontal depending on the Axes that most clearly illustrates your data.

Note: If you want to make any chart 3D, select Use depth effect.

6. Click the Data tab.

7. In the Layout area, click Advanced, if it is not already selected.

8. In the Data area, specify the database fields you want to use as conditions.

You can select On change of from the list, then add up to two database fields in the box

underneath the list.

The arrow buttons on the Chart Expert dialog box allow you to move fields from one list

to the other. Single arrows move only the selected field; double arrows move all fields at

the same time.

9. Add the database fields you want to use as values to the Show value(s) list.









10. If you do not want Crystal Reports to automatically summarize the chart values for a formula

field, select the Don’t summarize check box.

11. If the Axes and Options tabs appear, you can customize some of the chart’s properties, such

as the scaling of the axes, the legend, and the data points.

12. Click the Text tab.

13. Accept the default title information or add new titles to your chart.

14. Click OK .

Your chart is placed in the location of the insertion frame. You may have to refresh your

report to preview the finished chart.

Note: When your chart is inserted, it may cover a portion of the report. Move and resize

the chart so that it fits properly within the report.

Activity: Charting on detail information

Objective

• Create a chart that is based on details data by using the Chart Expert.

Instructions

1. Open the Charting-1.rptstarting point report.

2. Create a pie chart with 3D visual effects using the Advanced Layout showing the customers

their last year’s sales. Place the chart in the Report Header.

3. Ensure that the legend displays the percentage of the last year's sales.

4. Change the placement of the legend to the left of the chart.

5. Resize the chart to expand to the entire Report Header section.


7. Save the report as Charting on detail information.rpt.











Customizing a chart

Once you have created a chart, you may want to add a new title, headings, or a legend, change

fonts, or even change the type of chart. Crystal Reports provides many options for working

with your existing charts. When you customize a chart, you can:

• Edit a chart using the Chart option menu items

• Use the zooming features with bar and line charts

• Auto-arrange a chart in the report

Editing charts in the Chart Options dialog box

The Chart Options dialog box contains many advanced formatting options. To open the Chart

Options dialog box, right-click any chart and select Chart Options. Each tab in the Chart

Options dialog box varies according to the type of chart selected.

For example, when you open the Chart Options dialog box for a bar chart, the Appearance

tab allows you to change the overlap, gap width, depth, and direction of the boxes. After right

clicking a pie chart and selecting Chart Options, the Appearance tab allows you to change the

tilt, depth, rotation, and explode distance for the pie chart.

On every tab, the graphic on the left side of the dialog box gives an approximationof how your

edits will affect the chart.









To edit a chart by using Chart Options

1. Right-click the chart and select Chart Options from the shortcut menu.

2. In the Chart Options dialog box, make the desired changes.

3. Click OK .

Exploring the Appearance tab

In the Appearance tab, you vary the data elements that affect the appearance of the chart.

Depending on the chart type, the appearance tab offers different data elements. For example,

you can change the degree of tilt of a pie chart, change the style of line in a line chart, or change

the gaps between the bars in a bar chart.

Exploring the Titles tab

In the Titles tab, you can add, remove, or modify the title of your chart.









Here you can add or edit the chart’s title, subtitle, and footnote. For some chart types, the Titles

tab also allows you to add and edit the group and data titles.

Exploring the Data Labels tab

On this tab, you can conceal or reveal values, labels, leader lines, and the name the data fields

used to build the pie name.

You can also specify the location and format of the values and labels you’ve chosen to display.









Exploring the Legends tab

On this tab, you can conceal or reveal the legend.

You can also modify the layout, style, and specify color mode by group or series for the legend.

This tab may not be available for all chart types.

Exploring the Gridlines tab

On this tab, you can conceal or reveal the gridlines.









You can modify the gridlines for Group and Data axes. This tab may not be available for all

chart types.

Exploring the Axes tab

On this tab, you can conceal or reveal the axis labels.

You can also toggle between time, ordinal, and numeric scales.

Using the zooming features with bar and line charts On the Preview tab, you can find commands for zooming bar charts and line charts within

your report. You have the ability to zoom in and out on these chart types at any time, with each

time being referred to as instance specific. If you decide to save the instance of the chart that

has been zoomed in or out, you must save the data with the report.

To zoom in and out on a bar or line chart

1. On the Preview tab, right-click the bar or line chart to bring up the shortcut menu.

2. On the shortcut menu, click Zoom In.

3. Drag the Zoom In cursor around a section of the chart to enclose it within the tracking

rectangle.

The chart zooms in to the section you selected.

4. Repeat the previous step to zoom in further.









Note: To see adjacent areas on a zoomed-in chart view (neighboring bars in a bar chart, for

example), use the Pan option on the shortcut menu. Pull the Pan cursor to the left or right

to move in that direction.

5. To zoom out on a chart, right-click the chart to bring up the shortcut menu.

6. On the shortcut menu, click Zoom Out, and then click the chart. The chart zooms out one level of magnification.

7. Click the chart again to zoom out further.

Auto-arranging a chart

If you move or resize chart objects on the Preview tab, select the auto-arrange chart feature to

reset the chart.

To auto-arrange a chart 1. On the Preview tab, right-click the chart to bring up the shortcut menu.

2. On the shortcut menu, click Auto-Arrange Chart.

Crystal Reports resets the chart to its original size and position.

Activity: Customizing a chart

Objective

• Modify an existing chart in a report by using the Chart Options dialog box.

Instructions

1. Open the Charting on detail information.rptfrom the previous activity.

2. Remove the border from the legend.

3. Expand the pie depth to 75.

4. Show the last year sales values around the pie chart.

5. Display the values as a percentage outside of the slices.

6. Make the pie slices appear to have separated from each other by 20%.

Tip: Use the Explode feature.

7. Save the report as Customizing a chart.rpt.











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22 $401,00 0.

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11/28/2005 4:01PM 0.2, 0.1: 7.9 x 3.0 Re(Qrds: 13 w .'11 100% +









Distributing a Report

introduction

Now that you have a finished report, you may need to share it with other people. One of themost common forms of distributing a report is by exporting it to a different format other than

a Crystal Reports file. You can also save the report to BusinessObjects Enterprise, the web-based

report management system from Business Objects.


• Export a report

• Save a report to BusinessObjects Enterprise

Exporting a report

Finished reports can be exported to a number of popular spreadsheet and word processor

formats, as well as to HTML, ODBC, and common data interchange formats. This makes thedistribution of information easier. For example, you may want to use the report data to project

trends in a spreadsheet package or to enhance the presentation of data in a desktop publishing

package.


• Define exporting

• Define exporting formats

• Define exporting destinations

• Export a report

Exporting reports

Crystal Reports lets you insert objects anywhere on the report page. However, when you export

to formats such as MS Word, MS Excel, and HTML, objects that you placed between lines are

moved to the closest line in the output. To alleviate the formatting problems this behavior could

cause, it is recommended that you use guidelines when designing your reports.

The exporting process requires you to specify a format and a destination. The format determines

the file type, and the destination determines where the file is located.

Exporting formats Crystal Reports provides you with many different export format types:

• Crystal Reports (RPT)

• HTML 3.2

• HTML 4.0

• Microsoft Excel (97–2003)

• Microsoft Excel (97–2003) Data-only









• Microsoft Word (97–2003)

• Microsoft Word (97–2003) - Editable

• ODBC

• PDF

• Record style - Columns with spaces

• Record style - Columns without spaces • Rich Text Format (RTF)

• Separated Values (CSV)

• Tab-separated text (TTX)

• Text

• XML

In addition to the standard export format types installed on your machine you may find

additional export format types are available to you. These format types are determined by the

DLL files on your local machine.

When you export a report to a file format other than Crystal Reports format (RPT), you may

lose some or all of the formatting that appears in your report. However, the program attemptsto preserve as much formatting as the export format allows.

Note: The XML exporting functionality supports the use of transforms. You can export to XML

and then use an industry-specific transform to present the data in an industry-specific format. For

example, you would use the JRDC transform if you worked in the justice/law enforcement area.

Exporting destinations

The destination determines the export location of your report. Crystal Reports enables you to

choose one of six destinations. They include:

• Application • Disk file

• Exchange folder

• Lotus Domino

• Lotus Domino Mail

• MAPI (Microsoft Mail)

To export a report

1. With your report open, and saved if you have made changes, select the Export button from

the Standard toolbar.

The Export dialog box opens.









2. Select a format type from the Format drop-down list.

3. Select a destination type from the Destination drop-down list.

4. Click OK .

5. Enter any additional information that you are prompted for.

For example, if you selected mail as the destination, you will be prompted to enter the

destination names, subject, and message.

Exporting a report to application formats

The export formats supported by Crystal Reports can be broadly categorized in two groups:

Page-based formats and record-based formats.

Page-based formats tend to produce a more exact output. The emphasis of these formats is

layout representation and formatting. Formatting refers to attributes such as font style, text

color, text alignment, background color, and so on. Layout refers to object position, object size,

and the relationship between these attributes and other objects. Depending on the format you

choose, it may not be possible for the program to preserve all layout and formatting perfectly,

but page-based formats, in general, preserve these properties as closely as possible.

With record-based formats, the emphasis is on data rather than the layout and formatting.

However, in some formats—such as Microsoft Excel - Data only—you will notice that some

formatting is exported. Some of the record-based formats are only data-exchange formats.

Exporting a report to Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel format is a page-based format. This format converts your report contents into

Excel cells on a page-by-page basis. Contents from multiple pages are exported to the sameExcel worksheet. If a worksheet becomes full and there is more data to export, the export

program creates multiple worksheets to accommodate the data. If a report object covers more

than one cell, the export program merges cells to represent a report object. Microsoft Excel has

a limit of 256 columns in a worksheet; therefore, any report object (or part of it) that is added

to cells beyond 256 columns is not exported. This export format retains most of the formatting,

but it does not export line and box objects from your report.

Microsoft Excel - Data only, as the name suggests, is a record-based format that concentrates









on data. Even so, this format does export most of the formatting, too. Unlike Microsoft Excel

format, Microsoft Excel - Data only format does not merge cells—each object is added to only

one cell. This format can also export certain kinds of summaries in Crystal Reports as Excel

functions. The summaries that are supported are SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MINand MAX.

Exporting a report to Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word (RTF) is a page-based, exact format that produces an RTF (Rich Text Format)

file. The exported file contains text and drawing objects to represent report objects. Individual

objects are placed in text frames. This format is intended for use in applications such as fill-out

forms where the space for entering text is reserved as empty text objects. Almost all of the

formatting is retained in this export format. Text objects cannot, however, be placed outside

the left edge of the page. Therefore, if you have text objects in your report that are placed before

the left edge of the printable area, they will be pushed right. (This is most noticeable in reports

with wide pages.)

The Microsoft Word - Editable (RTF) format is different from Microsoft Word (RTF) format; it

is a page-based format, but not all of the layout and formatting are preserved in the output.This format converts all of the report object contents to text lines. Unlike Microsoft Word (RTF)

format, this format does not use text frames. Text formatting is retained, but attributes such as

background color, fill pattern, and so on may not be retained. All images in your report are

inlined with the textual content and, therefore, the images automatically shift to accommodate

text when the document is edited in Microsoft Word. This format does not export line and box

objects from your report.

The Microsoft Word - Editable (RTF) format has an option to insert page breaks at the end of

each report page. This option may not correspond to the page breaks created by Microsoft

Word; the option is used mainly to separate your report-page contents.

Saving an export option

You can save an export option for a report that will be exported to various formats. These

export options are then saved in the report and used as the default export options when viewing

or scheduling a report in BusinessObjects Enterprise.

To save report export options

1. Click File ➤ Export ➤ Report Export Options.

The Set Default Export Options dialog box appears.









Your report in Excel should look similar to this example.

5. Export Exporting a Report-1.rpt to Microsoft Excel (97-2003) Data-only. Ensure that the

Xtreme logo is also exported.

6. Save the output as Exporting to Excel Data only.xlsand view the results.









Your report in Microsoft Excel (97-2003) Data-only should look similar to this example when

you first view it in the application.

7. Fix the formatting in the report:

• Expand the columns so all the numbers are visible.

• Add another row and copy the report title into it. Bold the report title to make it stand

out.

• Expand the row with the Xtreme logo to make it visible.









Your report in Microsoft Excel (97-2003) Data-only should now look like this example.

8. Compare the differences between the two export formats:

• The Microsoft Excel (Data only) version needed post-processing work in order to make

it readable.

Activity: Exporting a report to Microsoft Word

Objective

• Export a report to RTF and Microsoft Word (97-2003) - Editable to compare the differences

between the two exporting formats.

Instructions

1. Open the Exporting a Report-1.rpt starting point report.

2. Export the report to RTF and save the output as Exporting to RTF.

3. View the RTF document.









Your exported report should look similar to this example.

4. Open the Exporting a Report-1.rpt starting point report.

5. Export the report to Microsoft Word - Editable and save it as Exporting to Word - Editable.

6. Insert page breaks after each report page.

7. Save the output and view the Microsoft Word document.









Your exported report should look similar to this example.

8. Compare the differences between the two export formats:

• The report title in the RTF version is in a text box; the report title in the Editable version

is not.

• The RTF version is larger in size (approximately 1.62 MB); the Editable version is smaller

at 278 KB.Saving to BusinessObjects Enterprise

You can use design options and considerations that will help improve the performance of your

reports.


• Define viewing requirements in BusinessObjects Enterprise

• Save a report to BusinessObjects Enterprise

• View a report in BusinessObjects Enterprise

Viewing requirements in BusinessObjects Enterprise

When designing your reports, and especially when designing reports for the web, you should

allow report users to drive the data they see. In other words, display summarized information,

so each user can navigate the report quickly and then drill down to access additional data. In

this way, web traffic and response times are minimized, because only the data requested by

the user is transferred from the database server.









These are only a few of the benefits of designing user-driven reports:

• Report users gain interactive control over the type and quantity of information they view

over the web.

• Data transfer and network traffic decrease, because only the information requested by users

is returned from the database server.

• When users need real-time reporting of live data over the web, user-oriented reports respondquickly and communicate efficiently with the database server.

• Reports become more useful, because each user customizes the report’s contents, thereby

creating a reporting solution specific to his or her particular decision-making problem.

Some of the methods you can use to design optimized reports for viewing in BusinessObjects

Enterprise are:

• Using faster report formats

• Choosing between live and saved data

• Designing summary reports

Using faster report formats

The quickest way to improve the performance of reports created in older versions of Crystal

Reports is to save them in the latest Crystal Reports format. It is recommended that you update

your older reports to take advantage of these enhancements.

To update the format of an older report, open it in Crystal Reports and select Save from the

File menu. The older version of the report will be replaced with the newer version report.

Note: If for some reason you need to keep a report in its original file format, use the Save As

command (instead of Save) and enter a new name for the newer version report.

Choosing between live and saved data

When reporting over the web, the choice to use live or saved data is one of the most important

decisions you’ll make. Whichever choice you make, Crystal Reports displays the first page as

quickly as possible, so you can see your report while the rest of the data is being processed.

Live data

Live reporting gives users real-time access to live data, straight from the database server. Use

live data to keep users up-to-date on constantly changing data, so they can access information

that’s accurate to the second. For instance, if the managers of a large distribution center need

to keep track of inventory shipped on a continual basis, then live reporting is the way to give

them the information they need.

Crystal Reports supports live reporting. However, you should first consider whether or not

you want all of your users accessing the database server on a continual basis. If the data isn’t

rapidly or constantly changing, then all those requests to the database do little more than

increase network traffic and consume server resources. In such cases, you may prefer to use

reports with saved data.

Saved data

Reports with saved data are useful for dealing with data that isn’t continually updated. When









users navigate through reports with saved data, and drill down for details on columns or charts,

they don’t access the database server directly; instead, they access the saved data. Consequently,

reports with saved data not only minimize data transfer over the network, but also lighten the

database server’s workload.

You can schedule these reports within BusinessObjects Enterprise, so they automatically refresh

from the database on a predetermined basis. For example, if your sales database is only updatedonce a day, or once a week, then you can run the report on a similar schedule and save it with

data. Sales representatives then always have access to current sales data, but they aren’t hitting

the database every time they open a report. Alternatively, you can refresh reports with saved

data on an as-needed basis.

Saved data is discarded and refreshed when you perform any of these tasks in a report:

• Select the Refresh command.

• Change your database logon.

• Change the report’s parameters.

• Add a new field that doesn’t exist in the saved data.

• Drill down in a report where Perform Grouping On Server is selected, and the Detailssection is suppressed.

• Verify the database—if the database structure has changed drastically.

• Change the linking parameter on a subreport (the subreport is refreshed).

• Change the order of groups (only for reports in the Report Application Server).

To save a report with data, first make sure the Save Data with Report option is selected on the

File menu and then save your report.

Designing summary reports

Designing and distributing summary reports is a relatively easy way to ensure that users

quickly find the data they need over the web. A summary report can include as much data as

any other report. However, by hiding a summary report’s Details section, you avoid

overwhelming users with data they may not immediately need.

When the Details section is hidden, users navigate with the Group tree first, to locate the desired

data. Then, by drilling down on the report, users can request specific data, which is returned

quickly without unnecessary records. This is especially important to improving navigation of

long summary reports, which might consist of hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands

of pages.

To facilitate navigation in this way, you first need to group the data and insert the summary

fields you want to include in your report. Once you’ve grouped and summarized your report

data, hide the Details section (and any other large report sections) so that users can easily

navigate to the data that’s important to them.

Saving a report to BusinessObjects Enterprise

Another way to distribute your reports is through BusinessObjects Enterprise. When you

publish a report to BusinessObjects Enterprise, you can deliver it to end users via any web

application—intranet, extranet, Internet, or corporate portal.









Crystal Reports facilitates the publication of reports through the Enterprise option found in

the Open and Save As dialog boxes. When you choose the Enterprise option in the Open

dialog box, you can select any published report to make changes to it. The same option in the

Save As dialog box lets you save a modified report back to its original location, or it lets you

save a new report to an Enterprise folder, which, in essence, is the same as publishing the report

to BusinessObjects Enterprise.

You can save Crystal reports to BusinessObjects Enterprise folders. Use the Save As dialog box

to save a modified report back to its original location, or use it to save a new report to an

Enterprise folder. Saving a report to an Enterprise folder is the same as publishing the report


You can also view the report in BusinessObjects Enterprise InfoView, the front-end interface


Note: This functionality is available only with a BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.0/3.1 server

environment.

To save a report to an Enterprise folder

1. On the File menu, click Save As.

2. In the Save As dialog box, click Enterprise.

Note: The Enterprise button is not visible if Crystal Reports doesn’t detect BusinessObjects

Enterprise on your machine.

If you have not already logged onto BusinessObjects Enterprise, the Log On to

BusinessObjects Enterprise dialog box appears.

Tip: You can also log onto a Central Management Server (CMS) from the File menu before

you open a report.

3. In the System field, enter or select the name of the BusinessObjects Enterprise system that

you want to connect to.

4. Enter your user name and password.

5. Click the Authentication list to select the appropriate authentication type.









Enterprise authentication requires a user name and password that is recognized by Crystal

Enterprise.

LDAP authentication requires a user name and password that is recognized by an LDAP

directory server.

Windows AD authentication requires a user name and password that is recognized by Windows AD.

Windows NT authentication requires a user name and password that is recognized by

Windows NT.

Note: Enterprise authentication is the default method. LDAP, AD, and NT Authentication

requires special setup.

6. When the Enterprise folders appear, select a folder to save your report in.

You can also create a new folder in which to save your report.

7. Enter a file name for your report, if required.

8. Select Enable repository refresh if you want your report’s repository objects to be updated

when the report is opened again in Crystal Reports or scheduled in BusinessObjects

Enterprise.

9. Click Save to publish your report to BusinessObjects Enterprise.

To view a report in an Enterprise folder

1. On the File menu, click Open.

2. In the Open dialog box, click Enterprise.

3. In the System field, enter or select the name of the BusinessObjects Enterprise system that

you want to connect to.

4. Enter your user name and password.

5. Click the Authentication list to select the appropriate authentication type.

6. Click OK .

The Enterprise folders appear and you can select a report to open in Crystal Reports.

7. Double-click the report you want to view and then click Open.

Note:

• To find a specific report, highlight a folder and select Find from its shortcut menu. You

can then use the Find dialog box to enter the report’s name or a part of its name. • To limit the risk of expanding a folder than contains many hundreds of reports, use the

batch options on the folder’s shortcut menu:

○ First Batch displays the first 100 objects in the selected folder.

○ Next Batch displays the next 100 objects in the selected folder.

○ Previous Batch displays the previous 100 objects in the selected folder.

○ Last Batch displays the last 100 objects in the selected folder.









• Select the Update Repository Objects option to ensure that the report’s repository objects

are updated when the report is opened in the future.

To view a report in BusinessObjects Enterprise

1. Launch BusinessObjects Enterprise InfoView.

The Logon page appears.

2. In the Existing User area of the Logon page, type your user name and password.

3. Click the Authentication list to select Enterprise, LDAP, Windows AD, or Windows NT

Authentication.

4. Click Log On.

The home page reappears and you are logged on with your own account.

5. Locate the report in the folder in the list.

6. Double-click the report link to open and view the report.

Activity: Saving a report to BusinessObjects Enterprise

Objective

• Save a report to a folder in BusinessObjects Enterprise and then view the report in

BusinessObjects Enterprise InfoView.

Instructions

1. Open the Distributing a Report-1.rptstarting point report.

2. Modify the summary info section of the report to include the author name.

3. Save the report as Distributing a Report.rpt. Save the report with data so you can view it in

BusinessObjects Enterprise.

4. Save the report to your Favoritesfolder in BusinessObjects Enterprise by using the

Enterprise folder option in the Save dialog box.

5. Open BusinessObjects InfoView.

6. Log on to BusinessObjects Enterprise.

7. Locate the report you saved.

8. View the report in BusinessObjects Enterprise.









SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office, is a Microsoft Office Add-In that

allows multidimensional analysis of OLAP sources in Microsoft Excel, MS Excel workbook

application design, and intuitive creation of BI presentations with MS PowerPoint. The Add-In

is available for the following Microsoft Office versions:

ADVANCED ANALYSIS

• Microsoft Office 2010 (Excel and PowerPoint)

• Microsoft Office 2007 (Excel and PowerPoint)

• Microsoft Office 2003 (Excel)

In the edition for Microsoft Office, you can use SAP BEx Queries, query views and SAP

Netweaver BW InfoProvider as data sources.

The data is displayed in the workbook in crosstabs. You can insert multiple crosstabs in a

workbook with data from different sources and systems.

If the workbook will be used by different users, it is also helpful to add info fields with

information on the data source and filter status.

Using the design panel, you can analyze the data and change the view on the displayed data.

You can add and remove dimensions and measures to be displayed easily with drag and drop.

To avoid single refreshes after each step, you can pause the refresh to build a crosstab. After

ending the pause, all changes are applied at once.

You can refine your analysis using conditional formatting, filter, prompting, calculations and

display hierarchies.

You can also add charts to your analysis. If you want to keep a status of your navigation, you

can save it as an analysis view. Other users can then reuse your analysis.

For more sophisticated workbook design, the edition for Microsoft Office contains a dedicated

set of functions in Microsoft Excel to access data and meta data of connected BW systems. There are also a number of API functions available that you can use with the Visual Basic

Editor, to filter data and set values for BW variables.

You can also plan business data based on the current data in your data source. You can enter the

planning data manually and you can enter planning data automatically using planning functions

and planning sequences of SAP NetWeaver BW Integrated Planning.

Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office, must be installed on your local machine. You can

connect directly to a SAP NetWeaver BW system or you can connect via a business intelligence

platform (SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise or SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

platform) to include data sources.

You can use both platforms, the SAP BusinessObjects business intelligence platform and the

SAP NetWeaver platform, to store and share workbooks and presentations. Using the business intelligence platform enables you to save workbooks and presentations with

their navigation state in a central management system and to reuse these analysis views in other

applications such as SAP Crystal Reports or Analysis, OLAP edition.

Working with Analysis in Microsoft Excel 2007 and 2010









In Microsoft Excel 2007, Analysis is available as a separate tab in the ribbon. The ribbon is part

of the Microsoft Office user interface above the main work area that presents commands and

options.

Starting in the 2007 Microsoft Office system, this replaces menus and toolbars. Some Analysis

options are available via the Microsoft Office button.

In Microsoft Excel 2010, Analysis is also available as a separate tab in the ribbon. The tab forAnalysis corresponds to the tab in Microsoft Office 2007.

The options that are available via the Microsoft Office button in Microsoft Excel 2007, are

available in the ribbon tab under File Analysis in Microsoft Excel 2010.

The Analysis tab contains the following groups:

• Data Source

• Undo

• Data Analysis

• Display

• Insert Component

• Tools• Planning

• Design Panel

• Settings

Working with Analysis in Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 and 2010

In Microsoft PowerPoint 2007, Analysis is available as a separate tab in the ribbon. The ribbon

is part of the Microsoft Office user interface above the main work area that presents commands

and options.

Starting in the 2007 Microsoft Office system, this replaces menus and toolbars. Some Analysisoptions are available via the Microsof Office button.

In Microsoft PowerPoint 2010, Analysis is also available as a separate tab in the ribbon. The tab

for Analysis corresponds to the tab in Microsoft Office 2007.

The options that are available via the Microsoft Office button in Microsoft PowerPoint 2007,

are available in the ribbon tab under File Analysis in Microsoft Excel 2010.

The Analysis tab contains the following groups: :

• Data Source

• Undo

• Filter and Sort

• Display• Insert Component

• Tools

• Settings









1) Insert a data source directly from BW

Open Advanced Analysis

Select SAP System









Provide uid & Pwd

Select Required Query

Design Report









2) Insert a data source using an OLAP Connection Open Advanced Analysis









3) Create ODBC Connection

Insert a data source using a local connection to SAP HANA









Test it










Select Connection

Select SAP HANA View









4) Sort data by measure Execute Query









5) Sort data by dimension Execute Query









6) Define a conditional format

Execute Query

Set Color Format for Condition & press K









Execute the Query









BI workspaces helps you manage, understand, monitor, and track your business

activities and performance using modules and BI workspaces.

BI WORK SPACE

Management of corporate BI workspaces allow organizations to gain insight from

underlying analysis and alter business rules as conditions change. BI workspaces provides consistent, up-to-date means for monitoring critical business areas.

It also provides tab-based navigation and page creation capabilities for all users.

You can build applications quickly, without programming, and customize existing

applications with a point-and-click assembly.

With BI workspaces, you can:

• Structure your web-based application menus and hierarchy

• Assemble your application by selecting modular components and dropping them

onto the desired pages

• Select a template from a catalog of predefined module templates

• Apply these reusable, prebuilt module templates to a broad range of businessscenarios

• Customize the application

BI workspaces provides a simple web interface that lets you define the look and feel

of the content.

You can easily incorporate existing content in applications, such as Crystal reports,

Web Intelligence documents, and Dashboards models. Users can create their own

application views, while retaining administrative control.

Here you will learn:

• Understand the basic features of BI workspaces

• Understand the different types of BI workspaces and modules

• Create BI workspaces and modules

• Learn about content linking between modules

Note: The Performance Manager, Set Analysis, Predictive Analysis, Process Control

components, and the Dashboards and Analytics setup have been removed. The tracing option

has been moved to the Central Management Console (CMC) server summary and unified

tracing sections respectively.

A BI workspace allows you to organize and display different BI platform data

sources, such as Web Intelligence documents, hyperlinks, Crystal reports, non-visualmodules, or external pages such as web pages via URL, in a single view.

You can analyze and manage complex data effectively, and share the information

across organizations. BI workspaces provides high visibility of your organizational

goals and enables you to monitor your organization's performance and growth.

BI workspaces provides a single view of all the elements of business that you need to

track on a daily basis as well as interportlet communication capabilities for enabling

page components to talk to each other and exchange information.

You can build your own portfolio of reports and categories and create one or more BI

workspaces and display them as needed.

BI workspaces can contain the following types of objects:





• Modules

• Web Intelligence documents, Analysis edition for OLAP documents, and

Dashboards models

• Crystal reports

• Adobe Reader PDF documents

• Microsoft Excel spreadsheets• Microsoft Word documents

• Text files

• Rich text (RTF) files

• Microsoft PowerPoint presentations

• Hyperlinks

You can store your BI workspaces in the folders of the "Documents" tab:

• Public Folders, My Favorites, and Personal Categories

o BI workspaces saved in "Public Folders" contain BI workspaces and

modules created for public viewing. These BI workspaces can be accessedand viewed by everyone.

o BI workspaces saved in "My Favorites" or "Personal Categories" contain

BI workspaces and modules created for personal viewing. They store

information about modules whose parameters can be extended and

modified personally. These BI workspaces cannot be accessed and viewed

by everyone. A BI workspace, whether saved in "Public Folders" or

"Personal Categories", can contain one or more tabs and sub tabs.

For example, you can create a BI workspace that contains a website, a Crystal report

or a Web Intelligence report that you frequently access. You can store this BI

workspace in "Personal Categories" or" My Favorites" folder and set it as your default

view, or click its link in the navigation panel. The default location for a BI workspace

is your favorites folder.

Creating a BI workspace

A BI workspace can contain useful, informative, and motivating content based on

analyzed data.

BI workspaces also help to define strategies. BI workspaces and compound modules

can be created or edited only inside BI launch pad

This includes OpenDocument and PIK as well, even if the user can edit them by

permission.

.

The default BI launch pad home page is read-only. All other custom home pages can

be edited, in BI workspaces.

When custom home pages are edited, the changes are automatically available in BI

launch pad.

To create a BI workspace:

1. o A list of information that you want the BI workspace or BI workspace tab

to transmit. When creating a corporate BI workspace, analyze your

audience to determine the information they need. If you have a lot of

Gather the following:





information, consider creating categories of information and creating a tab

in the BI workspace for each category.

o A list of content that you want to use. Modules can include Web

Intelligence reports, Dashboards models, or Crystal reports.

o A rough sketch of how you want to organize modules on the BI workspace

tabs and sub tabs. More information is not always best, and a cluttered,crowded BI workspace is counter-productive.

o A list of data security issues for corporate BI workspaces. What data is

appropriate for your audience? How much detail do you want them to see?

2. In BI launch pad

o Click

, do the following to create a BI workspace:

Applications > BI workspace

3. .

4. Make the changes that you require, such as adding modules to the workspace.

Click Save or Save As, provide a name and location for the new BI workspace,

and then click OK

The

.

"Save As"

5. dialog box is displayed.

Select a location to save the BI workspace, assign a category, and click OK.

Note: Specify the folder in which you want to save the BI workspace. Store BI workspaces in

either "Personal Categories" or "Public Folders"

6. .

To edit the BI workspace, click Edit BI workspace

The BI workspace opens in edit mode.

.

Editing a BI workspace

To edit a BI workspace:

1. Double-click the name of the BI workspace from "Public Folders" or "Personal

Categories", or browse the categories in "Documents"

The selected BI workspace opens.

.

2. Click Edit BI workspace

The edit BI workspace toolbar and Module Library "handle" are displayed.

.

Note:

3.

The administrator assigns the right to edit a specific BI workspace in CMC.

You must have the appropriate edit rights to edit BI workspaces. If you edit a BI

workspace saved in a public folder, the changes are visible to everyone viewing it. If

you edit a BI workspace saved in a personal category, the changes are visible only to

you.

To configure the workspace properties, click the arrow on the right side of the tab or

sub tab and select Properties

The

.

"Properties" window is displayed.





4. Select the layout style and click OK to close the "Properties" window.

Note:

5.

The layout style that you select is applied to the entire BI workspace, including the tabs

and sub tabs in that BI workspace. However, the layout style that you select from the tab or

sub tab properties window applies only to that particular tab or sub tab and not the entire BI

workspace.

In the Module Library, select and drag module objects to the layout area. Resize and

fit them according to the preferred BI workspace design.

Note: Modules that you drag and drop from the Module Library to the BI workspace are

stored as embedded objects within that BI workspace. Text and compound modules created

through the Applications > Module

6.

option are saved and stored as independent InfoObjects in

the CMS.

7. Add tabs or sub tabs to the BI workspace.

o You can edit the BI workspace using the following toolbar options:

New

Creates a new BI workspace.

o Open

Opens an existing BI workspace stored in the "Public Folders" or "My

Favorites"

o

category.

Save

Applies the latest changes you made to the BI workspace.

o Show Module Library

Opens the Module Library.

o Revert Changes

Cancels any changes entered in the BI workspace and returns to the previouslysaved version.

o Enables content linking between modules.

Content Linking

o Exits edit mode. If you did not save your changes, this action cancels the

modifications made since the last save action.

Exit Edit Mode





Modules are documents into which you insert data for viewing in a BI workspace.

MODULE LIBRARY

Modules can be based on Web Intelligence documents, Crystal reports, Dashboards

models, or non-visualization modules, such as Web Page, Text, or Viewer modules

that display data for analysis. You can create and add modules to your BI workspaces to display data in a

meaningful and efficient manner.

Modules that you create in BI workspaces are saved as embedded objects in the BI

workspace.

The information displayed in the modules is protected at the data source.

To modify a text or compound module, open the module from the "Documents" tab

and click the Edit button in the module toolbar.

We have different types of modules

• BI launch pad modules• Compound module• Text module• Web Page module• Using a Navigation List on a BI workspace tab• Viewer module

1) BI launch pad modules

A BI workspace is used as the primary container for modules. BI launch pad

A common feature is to provide the ability to customize and assign different home pages to different users or groups.

leverages the BI workspace tab framework to display different pages. By default, the

home page opens and is displayed on the first tab.

BI workspace administrators can create custom home pages and assign them through

customization enhancements.

BI launch pad

This enables users to quickly find the business information without having to drill

down through the

uses modules to bring relevant information forward to users on the

home page.

"My Favorites", "Personal Categories", or "Public Folders" listed in

the "Document List"

The following

.

BI launch pad

1. My Alerts

modules can be added to a BI workspace:

2. My Applications

3. My Inbox

4. My Recently Run Documents

5. My Recently Viewed Documents

6. SAP StreamWork Feed

2) Compound module

A compound module is a simplified BI workspace without tabs and sub tabs. It is

integrated with the BI workspace creation workflow.

You can create a compound module from BI launch pad.

http://nw73.objects.com:8080/BOE/portal/1310021638/InfoView/help/en/html/topic157.html#aurora_12345_157

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http://nw73.objects.com:8080/BOE/portal/1310021638/InfoView/help/en/html/topic161.html#task_242EF1DFE97B48FCB2685C538A84A67F_161

http://nw73.objects.com:8080/BOE/portal/1310021638/InfoView/help/en/html/topic162.html#aurora_WSb2e9c9ea17b57e211c602441131a14de7b-8000_162

http://nw73.objects.com:8080/BOE/portal/1310021638/InfoView/help/en/html/topic162.html#aurora_WSb2e9c9ea17b57e211c602441131a14de7b-8000_162

http://nw73.objects.com:8080/BOE/portal/1310021638/InfoView/help/en/html/topic161.html#task_242EF1DFE97B48FCB2685C538A84A67F_161

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http://nw73.objects.com:8080/BOE/portal/1310021638/InfoView/help/en/html/topic157.html#aurora_12345_157





You can create one or more of any combination of modules in a page using a

compound module.

The modules in a compound module are edited individually. The compound module is

useful when you have content that you want to repeat in more than one BI workspace

tab. For example, if you want a BI workspace to have a standard title page or header that

includes the corporate logo, name, and confidentiality information, you can create a

compound module that contains all of this information and save it to a public folder.

In another example, to reuse a specific layout of modules, you can save the modules

in a compound-module "template". You can then create other compound modules

based on this template, but reset the data source in each module instance.

The compound module can work with the Viewer module in a BI workspace, so that

when you click a link in a module, the destination appears in the Viewer page itself,

instead of in a separate browser window.

3) Text module

You use a Text module to add a block of text to a BI workspace. The text can be a

header, descriptive text, HTML or even an OpenModule hyperlink that opens in a BI

workspace viewer. You can create a text module from BI launch pad

Configuring a text module

or from within a

BI workspace.

The best practice when creating HTML code or link text for use in the module is to

create the code in a text editor, and then copy and paste the syntax into the module

text box.

You can set the following properties for this module:

• Type of text (plain or HTML)

• Style sheet used

4) Web Page module

The Web Page module is available in the "Templates"

You can use either a URL or a relative path to an image.

category of the BI workspace

Module Library. You use it in a BI workspace to display web pages or images.

BI workspaces exposes all URL parameters of a Web Page module as in-port

parameters.

This allows the user to change the original parameters in the URL to another value by

sending a value from a linked module located on the same page in the workspace.

5) Using a Navigation List on a BI workspace tab

A "Navigation List "

You can choose from the multiple styles available for presentation of content in the

module, when used with the Viewer module, allows you to

maximize the space on a BI workspace tab by serving as an active table of contents.

"Navigation List" modules.





1. 2. In the BI workspace edit mode, open the Module Library.

From the "Templates" category, drag a Navigation List

3. to the BI workspace layout

area.

From the "Templates" category, drag a Viewer

4. to the BI workspace layout area and

resize as necessary using the lower, right-hand corner resize icon.

Drag a module from any category in the Module Library to the Navigation List.

Note: If you are editing the BI workspace in "Columns"

When you select an item in the Navigation List, it is displayed in the View.

mode, hold down the Control button

to drag-and-drop objects into the Navigation List.

5. The

In the Navigation List toolbar, click the Edit button.

"Edit Contents"

6. dialog box is displayed.

In the "Content"

o Optionally, create folders to organize the modules

tab, you can:

o Organize Navigation List items

o Edit the properties of the Navigation List items, including module properties

o Delete items from the Navigation List

o Change the name of an item

7. In the "Layout"

8. tab, type a title and description for the list, and select the display

options and style sheet.

In the "Viewer"

9. tab, select the viewer to display the contents of the Navigation List

items.

Click OK

6) Viewer module

to save the content and layout configuration.

By default, objects called from a module link, open and occupy the entire BI

workspace space.

The "Viewer"

The Viewer also provides an option to resize the modules.

module offers a way to display the objects called from a Navigation

List through module links that use open module variables.

You can place multiple Viewer modules on a BI workspace page and view the reports

concurrently for deeper analysis.

For example, in a BI workspace tab that contains a Viewer, when you select a module

that contains a report, the destination module appears in the Viewer.

This allows you to see the report itself and the destination module side by side.

In another example, you create a Web Intelligence document and use a Viewer to

display documents selected from links within the main document.

The Viewer module is particularly useful with the Navigation List module. You use

the Navigation List as a table of contents and the Viewer as the viewing portlet.

This saves you BI workspace space.





You can find the Viewer module in the BI workspace Edit mode, in Module Library >

Templates. To add it to a BI workspace, drag a Viewer

Sending information to the Viewer module in a BI workspace using openModule

to the BI workspace layout

area and resize it as necessary using the resize icon at the lower right-hand corner.

Using the openModule syntax, you can send information from the following

documents on the Central Management Server (CMS) to a Viewer module on a BI

workspace:

• Web Intelligence documents

• Crystal reports

• Text module

• Web page module

Sample syntax:

http://<server host>:<server port>/BOE/PerformanceManagement/ jsp/aa-open-inlist.jsp?target="hiddenFrame"&URL=<encoded URL is displayed as target

URL

in the viewer>

For example:

http://ildabvm0012:8080/BOE/PerformanceManagement/jsp/

aa-open-inlist.jsp?target="hiddenFrame"&url=http%3a%2f%2fildabvm0012%3a8080

%2fBOE%2fOpenDocument%2fopendoc%2fopenDocument.jsp%3fsDocName%3dComp%

26sPath

%3d%5bTemp%5d

The key items in the sample are aa-open-inlist.jsp and target='hiddenframe'

1. .

2. In a text editor, copy and paste the sample syntax.

For example:

Replace {<server host>:<server port>} with the web application location after http://.

3. http://<server>:<port>/PerformanceManagement/jsp

4. Enter the correct information after the variables.

5. Replace {URL} in the BI workspace with the name of the {URL} as you want it to

appear.

o For Web Intelligence document or Crystal report copy the text in the cell of

the query and then run a report.

Copy and paste the text in the following location:

o For a Text module, go to Edit mode, paste the text in the "Enter text or HTML

to display" text boxm and select html

o For a Web page module, go to Edit mode, in the

. Save the module in the public folders.

"Content" tab, paste the text

in the "Enter the web page URL" text box, and click OK. In the "Layout" tab,

select from the "Display as" section A link, so only the name is visible

6. .

In BI launch pad, go to Applications > BI workspace

7. .

Enter the title, select a public folder, and click OK

8. to save the BI workspace.

Click Documents and find the BI workspace from the "Public Folders"

9. node.

Select the BI workspace and double-click to open it.





The BI workspace opens.


11. .

From the Module Library, click the Document Explorer

12. tab to find your report, and

drag it to the BI workspace layout.

From the Module Library, click the Templates tab, and drag the Viewer

13. module to the

BI workspace layout.

Click Save, then Exit Edit Mode

Click any linked item in the report and the destination appears in the viewer.

.

Creating and customizing modules

1) Working with modules

You can edit a module based on the type of information or data that you want to

analyze and view. You can perform functions on a module embedded on a BI workspace page.

This section explains how to:

• Add modules to BI workspaces

• Create a module based on an existing module

• Save a module to a BI launch pad

• Delete a module from a

folder

BI launch pad

• Link modules to documents or other modules

folder

2) Adding modules from the Module Library to BI workspaces

A BI workspace is composed of tabs that contain modules that provide key business

information.

BI workspaces can contain modules saved to the Central Management Server (CMS)

or embedded in other BI workspaces.

1. 1. Open an existing BI workspace.

Perform one of the following:

2. Create a new BI workspace.

3. Create a tab or sub tab in an existing or new BI workspace.


3. .

1. To insert a module from the CMS, select it from the

In the Module Library, navigate to the module you want to add:

"Document

Explorer", or "Public Modules" or "Private Modules"

2. To insert a new module and customize it in the BI workspace, drag it

from the

categories and

drag-and-drop it onto the workspace.

"Templates "category to the workspace.

Note: Modules selected from these categories and configured within a BI workspace are

saved as embedded objects in the BI workspace and not as independent InfoObjects on the

CMS. Embedded objects are always refreshed when opened.





4. 5. Edit, resize, and move the module as necessary.

When you have finished editing the BI workspace, save it and click Save > Exit

Edit Mode

3) Data sources for modules

.

BI launch pad

The data can originate from a:

enables you to find the data that you need, and to select the type ofmodule that can display the data most appropriately.

• Dashboards model with data imported from an Excel sheet

• Web Intelligence report created using BI launch pad

• Crystal report generated using Crystal Reports

with data imported from an

Excel sheet

• Text module that contains text or HTML content

• Web page module that contains a URL

4) Module display formats

You can create and display modules only in the HTML format unlike the previous

releases.

• Applet – The Java Applet allows interactive editing of the module.

• Flash – Macromedia Flash provides a more interactive interface and a zero

footprint. Xcelsius is displayed as Flash.

• HTML – The HTML display allows you to provide accessibility for 508-compliant

modules.

The display formats for the modules are shown in the following table.

Table 1: Display formats for modules

Module Applet Flash HTML DHTML

Navigation list No No Yes No

Text No No Yes No

Web page No No Yes No

5) Configuring the display of Crystal Reports

To configure the display settings of a Crystal Report in a BI workspace, click the Edit

icon in the module toolbar, and in the "Contents" tab of the "Edit Contents"

Category

dialog box, select from among the following options:

Option Effect on the report

"Document

to View"

Displays the tree of folders for browsing to the

document. All remaining categories of the table

describe the available options.

Document list

The contents of the report are displayed through the

viewer. No settings are needed with this option.

Viewer

"Retrieve

this

Options for determining the source of the displayed

document

From the source

folder only





Document" By first checking the

Inbox and if no copy

exists, retrieving it

from the source

folder

From the Inbox only"Display

Mode "

Only the first part of the report is visible. This option

is applicable only to reports that have report parts

configured and defined using Crystal Reports. For

more information, see topic

Part view

18.2.1.1.1 Report Part

Viewer in the SAP Crystal Reports 2011 User's

Guide.

The entire report is displayed in the default viewer.Page view

"Zoom

Level"

You can view the report in 25%, 50%, or 100% zoom

levels. For more information, see topic

%

13.3.7

Zooming in and out on a map in the SAP Crystal

Reports 2011 User's Guide.

Specify a zoom level.Custom

"Report

Content "

The report content is refreshed when the report is

opened.

On demand

The report data is from the latest instance in theLatest instance SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform

Scheduler.

The report data is from the latest instance in theLatest instance by

user

SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform

Scheduler for the user whose name you specify in the

User Name field."Report Parts

to Display"

The report opens to the default report that you defined

in the Report Part Viewer.

Default report part

The report opens to the report part that you specify.

Locate the information for this option in the report's

Selected report part

"Report Options"

• dialog box.

Object Name

• : the name of the report object to

use as the destination object

Data Context : the d1ata context to use in the

destination object

6) Configuring the display of Web Intelligence reports

You can control how a Web Intelligence document is displayed in a BI workspace.

Once you have dragged and dropped the report onto a BI workspace, you can

configure the view of the entire report or just one part of it.

• To select a part of the Web Intelligence document, right-click the part and choose

Select this report part. Click Edit

• To deselect a report part, right-click the part and select

to edit the report.

Unselect this report part.





The entire report is displayed.

To configure the display settings of a Web Intelligence report, click the Edit icon in

the module toolbar, and in the "Contents" tab of the "Edit Contents"

Category

dialog box, select

from among the following options:

Option DescriptionDocument to

View

Displays the tree of folders for browsing to the

document. All remaining categories of the table

describe the available options.

Document list

The contents of the report are displayed through

the viewer. No settings are needed with this

option.

Viewer

Retrieve this

Document

Options for determining the source of the

displayed document

From the source folder

only

By first checking the

Inbox and if no copy

exists, retrieving it fromthe source folder

From the Inbox only

"Report

Content"

The report content is refreshed when the report

is opened.

On demand

The report data is from the latest run in theLatest instance SAP

BusinessObjects Enterprise Scheduler.

The report data is from the latest instance run in

the

Latest instance by user

SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise Scheduler

for a specific user, whose name you enter in the

User Name field.

"Display

Mode"

The report is displayed with a toolbar that

includes all options. For information about these

options, see the Web Intelligence

documentation.

Full report

The report is displayed with options determined

by the user's rights. This saves space in the

display of your report. The toolbar is also

displayed.

Compact mode

If you have selected a report part, this option is

activated by default, and the part ID appears in

the text box. You can use this ID in otherapplications.

Selected report part

Note: This option is not valid for the full report

display.

7) Viewing the latest report instance

The view latest report instance feature assists BI workspace users to show the

previously opened and saved documents instead of creating an On Demand report that

requires users to wait for queries to run.





You can select "View Latest Instance" on the "Documents"

You can also see the latest report instance of a Web Intelligence document.

page when adding reports

to the BI workspace page without having to run a Crystal report or an On Demand

report. The latest instance of the previously opened module or report is displayed for

you.

8) Linking module content

To perform content linking with Web Intelligence modules, you need to first do the

following:

1. From the BI launch pad home page, select Preferences. The "Preferences -

Administrator"

2. From the

dialog box is displayed.

"Preferences" list in the left pane, select Web Intelligence

3. From the

.

"View" list of options available in the main pane, select

You can set up dynamic visual communication between Dashboards models, WebIntelligence documents, Crystal reports modules and Web Page modules, all of which

are placed on the same BI workspace tab or sub tab.

Web.

At runtime, the source module sends information to the target module or modules.

The targets use the information sent by the source module as parameter values, which

are used as input for prompts in the case of Web Intelligence documents, Crystal

reports, or Web Page modules, or in the data spreadsheet range of a Dashboards

model.

Remember: To use a Dashboards model in a BI workspace as both a source and a

target module, you must configure the report with an "External Interface Connection"using Dashboards

To facilitate dynamic communication between a source Dashboards or Web

Intelligence module and other target modules, use the

.

External Interface Connection

The user selects the values in the

component.

parameters

To link content:

section to begin linking between the

modules. This information is sent by the source modules to the target modules, and is

substituted as prompt values.

1. 2. From the Module Library, drag the source module to the BI workspace layout.

Drag one or more target modules to the workspace layout.

Note:

o Dashboards models

The following target modules can be configured for content linking:

o Crystal reports

o Web Intelligence documents

o Web Page modules





3. On the BI workspace toolbar, click Content Linking. The "Content Linking"

A visual link represented by a dotted line is created between the modules, displaying a

possible connection. The dotted line indicates that the parameter mapping must be setfor the actual connection to happen. A table with the source and target modules, and

the associated source and target parameters is displayed.

dialog box is displayed with the potential source and target modules. The

parameters are represented visually in a table.

4. From the "Source Parameter" column of the "Parameter Mapping" table, choose

the parameter to map, and from the corresponding row in the "Target Parameter"

The parameter pairing is completed and the modules are linked. The connection is

color-coded and represented by a solid line.

column, select a target parameter for the modules being linked.

Note:

o Granular linking: Rounded icon (connection with parameters)

The content linking connections are represented by the following indicators:

o Imported data: Blue

o Output data: Green

o Linking/connection: Orange

5. Click Close

.





SAP BusinessObjects™ Live Office (Live Office) is an add-on for Microsoft Office

applications that gives you access to up-to-date information stored in SAP


Live Office

With Live Office, you can insert content from Web Intelligence, Crystal Reports, andUniverse Queries in your Microsoft Office documents (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, or

Outlook). When you insert an object, a reference to the SAP BusinessObjects

Business Intelligence platform location is also inserted.

When you open the document later using the Microsoft Office application, you can

refresh the objects and see the current data in your document.

Note: In this release, Live Office does not support SAP Crystal Reports for Enterprise.

Also, Live Office supports only legacy universes (.UNV) created using the universe

design tool and Web Intelligence documents created using the legacy universes.

However, universes created with the information design tool (.UNX) and Web

Intelligence documents based on universes created using the information design tool

are not supported in this version of Live Office.

This version of the software also does not support Web Intelligence documents based

on BEx Query data that is accessed directly.

Note: To use Live Office, you must be able to connect to the BI platform and access data in

the system. If you do not have the appropriate rights to access the data, contact your system

administrator.

To connect Live office provide URL

http://<Serevr-Name>:<Prot-Number>/dswsbobje/services/Session

Live Office Concepts

To understand how Live Office

Report objects

data can answer your business questions, you need to be familiar with the following key concepts:

A report is a document you create containing information presented in tables, charts,

and graphs.

A report object supplies the data to the report. In Live Office

When a report object is created with the

, you work with report

objects because they are connected to the most up-to-date content stored in databases.

Crystal Reports or Web Intelligence

Report instances

designer,

its information may come from various databases. The report object returns data fromthe underlying data source, either on-demand from the database or based on the

refresh option chosen.

A report instance is a version of a report object created by SAP BusinessObjects

Business Intelligence platform when users modify the source document or schedule

reports. Each instance contains data that is current at the time the source report is

processed.





Essentially, a report instance is a report object that contains data retrieved from one or

more databases.

Typically, report objects are designed so users can schedule several instances with

varying characteristics. For example, if users run a report object containing

parameters, they can schedule one instance that contains report data from a particulardepartment, and schedule another instance that contains information from another

department, even though both instances originate from the same report object.

Report parts

Report parts are sections of a report that are displayed by themselves, without the rest

of the report page. More precisely, report parts are objects that use hyperlinks to point

from a source report object to a destination Live Office

Parameters

object. Report parts include

objects such as text or charts.

In Crystal Reports

The information you enter, or the way you respond, determines what information

appears in the report.

, a parameter is a question that you answer before generating a

report.

For example, in a report used by sales people, a parameter might ask for a sales

region.

The report would then return the results for the specified region, instead of returning

the results for all regions.

Parameters are similar to Web Intelligence

Prompts

prompts. Parameters may be mandatory or

optional.

In Web Intelligence

You respond to prompts by typing or selecting the prompt values you want to view

before you refresh the data.

, a prompt is a dynamic filter that displays a question every time

you refresh the data in a report.

Prompts are similar to Crystal Reports

Universe

parameters. Prompts may be mandatory or

optional.

A universe is an abstraction of a database and presents data in non-technical terms for

business users.

A universe is a collection of data objects representing the information available in a

database. Business users of Web Intelligence and Crystal Reports

For example, a database may contain a universe for sales data, and another for

customer service data. Users can perform data analysis and create reports using the

can connect to a

universe and run queries against the database.





objects in the universe, without seeing, or having to know anything about, the

underlying data structures in the database. Universes are created by universe design

specialists.

Context

A universe context indicates what type of business questions are answered by the

same universe objects.

For example, a universe for sales data might have a context for store sales, another for

partner sales, and so on.

Because contexts may share objects that are in the same universe, specifying a

universe context helps to ensure your query retrieves the right data.

For example, data on expenses from an employee expense account may be stored in

the same database as data on expenses from marketing a product.

Choosing the right universe context ensures that you get the appropriate expense data.

Therefore, when you select a universe, you may have more than one universe context

to choose from.

Live Office object types

Live Office supports three types of data objects: Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence

The following table shows how

,

and Universe queries.

Live Office supports fields and report parts, such as

charts and text, for each data type.

Note: Embedded Crystal Reports

Live Office content type

sub-reports are not supported.

Fields Report parts

YesCrystal Reports Yes

Not applicableWeb Intelligence Yes

Universe query Yes Not applicable

To log on to SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform

You can enter your logon information to connect to an SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence platform

1.

Central Management System (CMS) once or select additional options to

automatically sign in using those credentials each time the Microsoft Office application isopened.

2. Open a Microsoft Office application.

On the Live Office ribbon menu, click Live Office > Application Options

3. .

On the "Options" dialog box, select the Enterprise

Option

tab and enter the following

information:

Description

If you wantUse specified

logon criteria

Live Office to automatically connect to the BI platform using

this information when the Microsoft Office application is started, select





this option.

Enter your BI platform logon name.User name

Enter your BI platform password.Password

Enter or verify the server location for theWeb Services

URL

SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence platform web service you want to connect to, for example,

http://businessobjects02:8080/dswsbobje/services/SessionEnter or verify the Central Management System (CMS) you want to

connect to, for example,

System

businessobjects01.

Select the method used to check your logon credentials.Authentication

Method

When enabled,Enable Active

Directory Single

Sign On

Live Office uses these logon credentials to connect to the

data source whenever the user requests report data rather than requiring

another logon. For more information about SSO, see the SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform Administrator Guide

available on the SAP Help Portal.

4. Click Log On.

Log on to Live Office

Live Office Report on Universe

Provide Uid & Pwd





Insert Universe

Select Universe





Design Query

Insert WEBI Report

Office Report on WEBI





Select Report content





Insert WEBI Report

Office Report on Crystal Reports

If there is any input parameters select them





Select Report





Query as a Web Service Designer is an SAP Business Objects application that allows

business users to quickly create queries and publish them as web services.

Query As Web Services

A query as a web service is a SQL statement that has been built on a BusinessObjects

universe and published as a web service to a host server housing web services. The query as a web service is available to any application that uses web services, and

allows users to access data returned by the query from within the application.

It allows Business Intelligence (BI) information to be securely delivered to any

application that can consume web services.

Query as a Web Service Designer has a client component that you use to create

queries from universes, and a server-side web service that allows developers to create

web services from specific Business Objects queries.

Usage of Query as a Web Service Designer

Query as a Web Service Designer

It allows business users define their own query from a universe, and then publish that

query as a standalone web service.

allows BI content to be delivered to any user

interface that can process web services.


• Microsoft Office, Excel, and InfoPath

can be used in a range of client-side solutions in

tools such as:

• SAP NetWeaver

• OpenOffice

• Business rules and process management applications

• Enterprise Service Bus platforms

Query as a Web Service Designer component architecture


• SOAP

works on top of Windows applications. It is based

on the W3C web service specifications:

• WSDL

• XML


has two main components:

Component Description

Server side Included in the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform and stores

the Query as a Web Service Designer catalog, and hosts the published web

services.

Client end Client application used by business users to create and publish queries as web

services. You can install the client on several machines that can then access

and share the same Query as a Web Service Designer catalog stored on the

server.





Note: In this guide, the name Query as a Web Service Designer is used to mean the client.

When information is given that refers to the server component, it is referred to as the server

component of Query as a Web Service Designer

The client communicates with the server components using Web Services.

.

Starting Query as a Web Service Designer for the first time

When you start Query as a Web Service Designer

You can define multiple host servers, but you can only connect to one at a time.

for the first time, you must define a

host server in the CMS where the web services are installed. Once you have defined a

host server, this host is automatically available the next time you start the application.

1. In the Windows Start menu, point to Programs > SAP BusinessObjects BI platform > SAP BusinessObjects BI platform Client Tools > Query As A Web

Service Designer

The

.

"Manage Hosts" dialog box appears. It lists available host servers, and allows

you to add new servers and edit existing ones. The first time you start Query as a Web

Service Designer

2. the list is empty. You must firstly define a host server.

Click Add

The

.

"Edit a Host"

3.

dialog box appears. It contains the parameters that you define to

create a new host server. See the section in Related Topics for a description of each

parameter.

Enter the required information in the "Edit a Host"

The

dialog box.

"Manage Hosts" dialog box appears. It lists available host servers, and allows

you to add new servers and edit existing ones. The first time you start Query as a Web

Service Designer

4. the list is empty. You must firstly define a host server.

The

Click OK.

"Manage Hosts" dialog box appears. The new host is now listed.





5. Select the new host and click Close

The

.

"Select your credentials"

6.

login box appears. The new host information is

available.

Enter your password, then click OK

The

.


Starting Query as a Web Service Designer

client start up page appears.

Note: This information refers to an earlier version of Query as a Web Service Designer and

BusinessObjects Enterprise. For up to date information, refer to the latest version of the

Query as a Web Service user guide on the SAP Help Portal: http://help.sap.com.

Before you start Query as a Web Service Designer

• Your user name must be in the user group

, ensure that you have met the

following pre-requisites, refer to Related Topics for more information.

QaaWS Group Designer

• You have defined a server host to store the query web service. You do this when

you start

, or you must

be logged in as Administrator.

Query as a Web Service Designer for the first time, or at any other time

by adding a host in the "Edit a Host"

You start

dialog box.


Login information

by selecting a host server and entering

login information in the login box. You have the following login fields:

DescriptionHost Server in CMS that stores the query webservices. You must

define a host server before you can create a query.

System Central Management Server (CMS) that houses the host server.

User User name. It must be a member of the QaaWS Group Designer

user group, or an Administrator.

Password User password. This is assigned to you by your administrator.

Authentification Type of authentification service required to access the CMS. This

information is provided by your administrator. The following

protocols are available:

• Enterprise

• LDAP

• Windows AD

Enable Windows Active

Directory Single Sign In

Select if Single Sign In is supported by the Authentification

protocol. This option is only available for Windows AD.

Interface Locale Language used for the user interface. You can select a language

available from the drop down list. This list contains installed

languages supported by the SAP Business Objects BI platform.

http://help.sap.com/

http://help.sap.com/





1. In the Windows Start menu, point to Programs > SAP BusinessObjects BI platform >

SAP BusinessObjects BI platform Client Tools > Query As A Web Service Designer

The login box appears.

2. 3. Select a host server name from the Host drop down list.

4. Enter your System, User Name, and password information.

Click Options

The login box displays Authentication, Single Sign On, and Interface Local options.

.

5. 6. Select login information.

The Query Catalog page appears. You can create, publish, and manage queries as web

services from this page.

Click OK.

Managing Query as a Web Service Designer hosts in the CMS

A Query as a Web Service Designer Host is the server component in the CMS that

stores the Query as a Web Service Designer

You create a host when you start

catalog and stores the published web

services.


You add a host to the CMS and configure the connection parameters for existing hosts

from the

for the first time.

"Manage Hosts"

You access the

dialog box.

"Manage Hosts" dialog box from from the Tools menu, or from the

login box when you log into Query as a Web Service

The

.

"Manage Hosts"

Manage Host option

dialog box lists host servers. You have the following host

administration options:

Description

Click to define a new host.Add

Select a Host name in the list, and click to edit host definition.Edit

Select a Host name and click to remove the host from the list.Delete

Click to clear all hosts in the list.Clear

Adding a new host

You add a new host from the "Manage Hosts"

1. dialog box.

Select Tools > Manage Hosts

The

.

"Manage Hosts" dialog box appears.

Note: You can also access the "Manage Hosts" dialog box from the login box when

you log in to Query as a Web Service.





2. Click the Add

The

button.

"Edit a Host"

3. dialog box appears.

Enter information for the host parameters and click OK

The host is added to the list in the

.

"Manage Hosts"

4. dialog box.

Click Close

Editing a host

.

You edit a host definition from the "Edit a Host"

Edit host parameters

dialog box. You can edit the following host

parameters:

Description

Name of the host server. This is the name that appearsin the

NameHost field in the login box.

The URL address of the host server. A default URL for

the host is automatically entered. You can edit the URL

if required. You should verify that the port address in

the URL is correct.

URL

Name of the CMS that houses the host. This is the

name that appears in the

CMS

System field in the login box.

• •

User

• Authentification

These parameters are described in the section in

Related Topics.

Enable Windows Active

Directory Single Sign In

1. Select Tools > Manage Hosts

The

.

"Manage Hosts" dialog box appears.

Note: You can also access the "Manage Hosts" dialog box from the login box when

you log in to Query as a Web Service

2. .

3. Click a Host in the list.Click the Edit

The

button.

"Edit a Host"

4.

dialog box appears. It contains the parameters that can be editied

for the Host.

5. Enter or modify one of more values.

Click OK then click Close

The login box appears. The modifications to the host apply immediately.

.





Creation of Query

Log on to QAAWS

Create a Query

Provide details





Design Query

Publish our Query





We can use below link in any report





Widgets are mini-applications that allow easy and fast access to frequently used functions and

provide visual information from your desktop.

WIDGETS

The widgets for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform functionality allows your

organization to provide access to existing business Intelligence (BI) content on the BI platform

and Web Dynpro applications on SAP NetWeaver Application Servers to anyone in the

company.

With widgets for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform, you search or browse for

existing content, such as Web Intelligence documents, Dashboards models, and Web Dynpro

applications, then paste the key information onto your desktop so it is readily available when

needed.

As a widget, the content gains the following features from the widget framework:

• User-controlled size and positioning

• Automatic refresh

• Optional setting as the top application window

• Full SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform security (Web Intelligence

report parts and Dashboards models only)

• Saved display

• Saved data context state (Web Intelligence report parts only)

• Web Intelligence OpenDocument links to detailed reports (Web Intelligence documents

only)

• Tabbed views

Creating widgets You can create desktop widgets by dragging Web Intelligence documents and Dashboards

models to your desktop, or by double-clicking XBCML widgets from the repository searchresults or explorer.

To create widgets from Dashboards files in a repository

To access files in the repository, the widgets feature must be logged in to an SAP


You can use Dashboards files available in the BI platform repository to create desktop widgets.

The widget is linked to the source file so if the data changes in the repository, it is updated in

your desktop widget according to the specified refresh schedule.

1. Do one of the following:

•To search for the file, right-click the Widgets button ( ) and select Content Search.

• To browse to the file, right-click the Widgets button ( ) and select Document List

Explorer.

2. Use any of the following methods to create the widget:

• From the Search Results list, double-click a Dashboards file.

• From the "Explorer" pane, drag the Dashboards file to your desktop.

• From the "Explorer" pane, double-click the Dashboards file to open it in the Viewer

pane, and then drag it to your desktop.









To create widgets from local Dashboards SWF files SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards can export the Dashboards models as SWF files.

If you receive a Dashboards SWF file in an email, from a website, or from other sources, you

can import it into the widgets to create a desktop widget.

When you create the widget, it is linked to the source Dashboards

model. If the data changes in the source file, it is updated in your desktop widget accordingto the specified refresh schedule.

1. Right-click the Widgets button ( ) and select Open Widget

from disk .

2. Navigate to the location of the Dashboards SWFfile.

3. Change the "File Type" to Flash file (*.swf) in the "Open Widget

"dialog box.

4. Double-click the SWF file to

open it.

The Dashboards SWF file is displayed as a widget on your

desktop.

To create widgets from Web Intelligence documents When you find Web Intelligence documents in available repositories, you can create desktop

widgets or Microsoft Outlook objects from their report parts.

The widgets are linked to the source Web Intelligence document in the repository so it is updated

when the source data changes.

Note

:

To use Microsoft Outlook objects, Outlook must be configured to use Microsoft Word as the

text editor and HTML-formatted messages.

1. Do one of the

following:

• To search for the document, right-click the Widgets button ( ) and select Content

Search.

• To browse to the document, right-click the Widgets button and select Document List

Explorer.

2. Double-click the document to open it in the Web Intelligenceviewer.

3. To create a widget, drag the report from the viewer to yourdesktop.

Using the Web Intelligence window

The Web Intelligence window includes a toolbar at the top of the window that allows

you to:

• Change the zoom









2. Go to menu option New>SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform and configure the host details. Please

find below example values

Host Name: gyansys20

Username: MNARAYANDAS

Password: ******

Authentication: Enterprise/SAP

Note: Depending on authentication selected you can view only documents accessible throughthe specified authentication for the given user. For example if a user has two ID’s one with

Enterprise and other with SAP authentication, he can see the content that is accessible to the

authentication he is logged in with.

3. You can confirm that you are connected by seeing the status icon which shows green and status

message which shows “Connected” as below.




http://scn.sap.com/servlet/JiveServlet/showImage/102-41093-3-222842/3.jpg







4. Right click on the widgets icon in the task bar at the bottom right of your desktop as below to

access the available options

5. Document explorer opens up and you can navigate to the folder where you have the documents to

be converted as widgets.

6. Double click on the webi document to open in new webi viewer window or click on dashboard file

to open in same window.

Webi:











Dashboard:

7. Select individual report parts like charts/blocks on from web report viewer or dashboard from

explorer window and drag /drop them on the open space on the desktop to create desktop widgets for

webi report parts and dashboard respectively as below











8. You can refresh the widget on the fly using refresh icon or set widget properties as below to auto

refresh, save documents to disk and use resize icon to change the size of the widget on desktop.

General widget options:











Refresh options:











Managingwidgets

After you add widgets to your desktop, you can adjust their position, hide and show them, add

them to the Windows sidebar, or create widget views to manage the information displayed on

your desktop.

Displaying widgets

Your widgets remain on the desktop until you close them. However, as you work with other

applications, those applications may cover the widgets. To view widgets without closing or minimizing other applications, you can display your

widgets in front of other applications. Right-click the Widgets button and click Show Widgets

to enable this setting.

If you do not want other applications to cover the widgets again, you can set individual widgets to

always be visible by clicking the Properties button ( ) and, in the "Widget Properties"

dialog box, selecting the Always on Top option.

To open widgets

If you previously closed a widget, you can open it from a disk or repository or from the widget

history.

• Right-click the Widgets button ( ) on the Windows taskbar and do one of the

following:

• To open a widget from the history, point to Recent Widgets and choose the widget fromthe list.

Note:

The "Recent Widgets" list shows the last five widgets used. To see more recent widgets,

click

More. The "History" dialog box displays the last 50 widgets used.

• To open a widget from a disk, point to Open Widget from Disk . In the "OpenWidget" dialog box, navigate to the location of the widget, select the file, and click

Open.

To close widgets If you no longer want to display a widget on the desktop, you can close the widget. Closing a

widget does not delete it from your system; you can reopen it to show it on the desktop again.

1. Move the mouse cursor over the widget.

The widget menu opens to the right of the widget.

2. Click the Close button ( ) at the top of the widget menu.

3. Click Yes.

The widget closes and no longer appears on the desktop.

To clear widget history

The Widget history keeps the previous 50 widgets that were used on the desktop. If you remove

a widget from the desktop, you can easily reopen it from the Widget history.

If you no longer want to keep the previously used widgets in the history, you can clear the

history.









1. Right-click the Widgets button ( ) in the Windows Notification area and click Recent

Widgets >

More.

2. In the "History" dialog box, click Clear.

To share widgets You can share report parts and Dashboards widgets with other users. First save the widget as a

.bidml file, then email the file to other users. When the recipients open the file, they can access

the widget.

1. Move the mouse cursor over the widget and, from the widget menu, click the Properties

button ( ).

2. In the "Widget Properties" dialog box, under "Export Options", click Save.

3. In the "Save Widget" dialog box, navigate to the location where you want to save the

file, type a filename, and click Save.

The widget is saved as a .bidml file. You can now email the file to other users.

To rename widgets The widget name is displayed in the list of recent widgets and in the widget history.


button ( ).

2. In the "Widget Properties" dialog box, in the Widget Name box, type a name for the

widget.

3. Click OK .

Note:

The widget menu is not available for XBCML widgets and this feature is not applicable to

XBCML

widgets created using the Web Dynpro application.

To refresh Web Intelligence widgets

If you create a widget from a Web Intelligence document, you can specify how and when the

data in the widget will be refreshed.

1. Move the mouse cursor over a Web Intelligence widget and, from the widget menu, click the

Properties button ( ).2. In the "Widget Properties" dialog box, under "Refresh Options", select one of the following

options:

• To update from the latest instance of the Web Intelligence document in the repository,

select

Retrieve Data from LatestInstance.

• To update the data from the source database, select Refresh Data directly from

Database.









Note:

The widget menu is not available for XBCML widgets and this feature is not applicable to

XBCML

widgets created using the Web Dynpro application.

To drag and drop Web Intelligence content

Ensure that the application you want to add content to is open. After you create a widget from Web Intelligence, you can drag Web Intelligence content, such

as a chart or table, to Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, or Outlook.

The Web Intelligence objects provide

a snapshot of the data at the time you added it. The objects are static and not linked to their data

sources.

1. From the system tray, right-click Widgets, and select Document List

Explorer.

The "Document List Explorer" window appears with a list of documents in the "Explorer"

pane.

2. Browse through the folders in the "Explorer" pane, and open the folder that contains Web

Intelligence documents.

The folder displays a list of all the Web Intelligence documents available in the system.

3. From the right pane in the Document List Explorer, open a Web Intelligence

document.

The" Web Intelligence Document Viewer" appears.

4. Select content and drag it to an open copy of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or

Outlook.

To copy and paste Web Intelligence widget content After you create a widget from Web Intelligence, you can copy and paste Web

Intelligence content, such as a chart, table, or cell text into Microsoft Office application

or to any application that accepts content as clipboard data, such as Notepad.

1. Right-click the widget and select

Copy.

2. In an open Microsoft Office application, right-click and select

Paste.

To view and set prompt values for a Web Intelligence widget

For Web Intelligence widgets that retrieve data directly from the source database, you canset values for prompts that have been configured for the document.

The Prompts tab is not available for widgets that use saved data or that refresh from the

latest document instance in the BI platform.

1. Move the mouse cursor over a Web Intelligence widget and, from the widget menu,

click the

Properties button ( ).

2. In the "Widget Properties" dialog box, click

Prompts.









A list of all the available prompt values appears.

3. Click Prompt

Values.

The "Specify Prompt Values" window appears.

4. In the "Specify Prompt Values" window, enter a value and

click OK .

Related

Topics

• To refresh Web Intelligencewidgets

To add widgets to the Windows sidebar

If you are using Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows 7 with the Windows sidebar, you can add

widgets for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform to the Windows sidebar.

First export the widget to your computer and then add it as a gadget to the Windows sidebar.


button ( ).

2. In the "Widget Properties" dialog box, under "Export Options",click Save.

3. In the "Save Widget" dialog box, navigate to a location, enter a filename and

click Save. The widget is saved and ready to be added to the Windows Sidebar.

Using widget views

If you have many widgets that you do not need all the time, you can use Widget views to show

only the widgets you need at one time without completely removing the other widgets.

Widget views help manage which widgets are displayed on your desktop at any time. You can

group widgets and save them as a view, and then switch between views as required. Widgets

that not included in the current view remain connected even when they are not displayed.

The Views bar provides an easy way to create, modify, and switch views.

To create views

1. Right-click the Widgets button ( ) and click Add View.

2. On the Views bar, type a name for the view and click Add View.

A blank view is added to the Views bar.

Once you create a view, you can use the Views bar to rename, delete, or add widgetsto it.

To change widget views

If you have multiple widget views, you can easily switch between them to see different groups of

widgets without disconnecting or deleting widgets that you do not currently need.

Right-click the Widget button ( ), point to Widget Views, and click the name of the view you

want to display.

To show or hide the Views bar

Right-click the Widgets button ( ), point to Widgets Views and click Show Views Bar or









Hide

Views Bar.

The Views bar appears on the desktop and shows a tab for each available view, as well as a

tab to create a view.

To use the Views bar

After you show the Views bar, you can use it to create new views, or to rename, delete, and addwidgets to existing views.

• On the Views bar, do any of the following:

Optio

n

To switch to a

different view

To create a view

To rename a view

To add widgets to

a view

Description

Click the tab for the view that you want to see.

Click the Add View tab, type a name for the view, and click Add

View. Click the arrow beside the tab for the view and click

Rename View. Type

a new name, and press Enter.

Click the arrow beside the tab for the view and click Open Widget.

Select the widget you want to add to the view.

Note:

The widgets available in the list includes only widgets that have

been added to the desktop. To create a widget, use the Widget

button ( ) to open a widget from a disk or to access the

Document List Explorer orSearch Content options.

To delete a view

To move the Views

bar

To close the Views

bar

Click the arrow beside the tab for the view you want to delete andclick

Delete View.

Click the Move button ( ) and drag the bar to a new

location. Click the Close button ( ).

Using RSS feeds RSS is a format for delivering regularly changing content. It allows you to stay informed by

retrieving updated content from the sites you subscribe to and delivering a summary notice to

your desktop.

When you use the widgets feature to subscribe to RSS feeds, RSS entries appear in the RSS

Inbox as they are posted at the RSS URL.

When new entries arrive in the inbox, a desktop message also notifies you that a new entry

was received.

Both the RSS inbox and desktop message contain the title of the new item. You can click the

title to go to the site and read the complete entry.









To subscribe to RSS feeds

1. Right-click the Widgets button ( ) in the Windows taskbar and select RSS Inbox.

2. In the "RSS Inbox" dialog box, select a folder and click New RSS Feed.

3. In the "Subscribe RSS Feed" dialog box, type the RSS URL and click Subscribe.

The feed is added to the feeds list.

To refresh RSS feeds

After you subscribe to an RSS feed, it will generally update automatically whenever the content

on the site changes. However, if you lose the connection, updates may not be delivered. You

can refresh the feed to ensure the content is current.


2. In the "RSS Inbox" dialog box, select the RSS feed you want to refresh and click

Refresh. The content for the RSS feed is updated.

To remove RSS feed items from the RSS inbox

When RSS items are delivered to your RSS inbox, you can click the title to read the complete

entry. Once you are finished with the item, you can remove it from the inbox.


2. In the "RSS Inbox" dialog box, select the RSS feed item you want to remove and click

Remove.

The selected item is deleted from the list.









SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio enables application designers to create analysis

applications and dashboards for browsers and mobile devices (currently only for

iPads) on top of BW and SAP HANA data sources. It is the product of choice when

full support for BW and HANA data models and engine capabilities is required.

SAP Design Studio

The product offers a design tool that allows you to create applications in an easy and

intuitive way without the need for native HTML and iPad UI programming skills.

SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio can be used both locally and integrated in the BI

platform.

In local mode, you can create first analysis applications for presenting and evaluating

SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio with users at customer side.

Basic concepts

1) Entities

The design tool of SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio

These applications are saved in an XML file format. Applications generally consist of

user interface components (such as charts, crosstabs, buttons) and data source aliases.

enables application designers

to create and edit applications.

2) Data source and data source alias

A data source alias represents an instance of a data source (for example, a BW query,

or a SAP HANA data source) at runtime of the application.

A single application can contain multiple instances of one data source. Every instance,

for example, can apply its own filters on the same data source and thus represents its

own subset of data.

You can see the list of components and data source aliases used in an application in

the outline view of the design tool.

3) Data binding

To visualize data from a data source alias in a crosstab or chart, define a data binding

in the design tool for these components.

The data binding is simply a reference to the data source alias which provides the

data. When the data of a data source alias changes (for example, a filter is applied at

runtime), the system automatically updates all components that have a data binding to

that data source alias.

You can also see the data binding relationships between components and data sourcealiases in the outline view

4) User interaction

Typically you create applications that not only visualize data, but which also provide

possibilities for the application user to interact with the data; for example, changing

filters, selecting drill-down dimensions or branching into a details view for a selected

set of aggregated data.

To enable user interaction with the data, add the relevant UI components to the

application. For example, you could provide a row of buttons above a crosstab and

chart component to filter the visualized data by different criteria.





5) Eventing and script API

UI components provide a set of specific events that the application user can execute

on the component. For example, every button provides an on click event. You can see

a list of all available events of the component in the properties view of the design tool.

Here, you can open the script editor and specify which actions should take place whenthe application user triggers the event. The script language is a subset of JavaScript

and allows a sequence of script API method calls to be defined.

The script API provides access at runtime to the application itself as well as to its

components and data source aliases.

Therefore, the application designer has flexible control of the application behavior by

using event scripts.

6) Setting properties in design time and run time

Besides the events, components also offer a variety of other properties in the

properties view of the design tool.

Some properties are common for all or almost all components; the component name

identifies the component within the application,

for example, and the layout properties define the size and position of the component

within the application.

Other properties are specific and depend on the component type.

In all cases, the property values displayed in the properties view define the initial state

of the components at application startup time.

At application runtime, you can enable modification of properties by executing event

scripts, as almost all component properties are accessible through the script API.

1) Create an Application Log on to SAP Design Studio

Create Application





2) Add a data source to an application

We can create Data Source under Application





Browse Available Connections

Note: We can create data Source on SAP HANA Models or BEX Queries

Select any connection

Select Data Source(Bex)





3) Connect to SAP HANA

We can connect Design Studio with SAP HANA using ODBC Connection

Go to preferences

Expand Applications -> Back end connections -> click on ODBC Connection





Select HANA ODBC Driver to create ODBC Connection





Create Data Source





Select SAP HANA Cube

4) Add a hyperlink to an application

Design a Query Select Button Component





Go to properties & Provide Name, extra properties





Write relevant Script

Save the application





5) Display metadata for applications and data sources

Design Query

Select Application & go to Properties

Write required Script





6) Pass URL parameters between applications

Design two applications

Select one of the component of any application

Write script with URL

Go to 2nd

application & apply our URL





Insert Variables

Write script





Execute the Progra





SAP Lumira is a data manipulation and visualization tool. You can connect to various

data sources, select and clean data, manipulate and visualize data with a diverse offer

of graphical charts and tables. SAP Lumira is installed locally and can operate on data

either remotely or on locally stored datasets.

SAP LUMIRA

The charts that are created can be saved and sent out by email. Your datasets can be

published to SAP Hana, SAP Explorer, the SAP Lumira cloud, and SAP Streamwork

activities.

The charts that you create in SAP Lumira are saved in documents with the file format

.SViD. This is a document that contains the data source connection information, the

data definition and data, and the visualizations.

Create a document and acquire a dataset from a Microsoft Excel file

Click on new Document





Acquiring Data1) Acquire a dataset from an SAP HANA analytic view





2) Acquire a dataset from a universe

Create New Document

Provide details

Select Universe





Design Query

3) Acquire a dataset from a database using Freehand SQL

Create new document





Provide details

Select Source table & Write Query





Building Visualizations and Storyboards1) Manage measures in a dataset

Execute Query

Delete column





Create a measure





2) Sort, rank, calculate, and filter values in a visualization

Execute any Query





Select any measure & set order

You can set Rank





Can calculate





Sharing Results

1) Export a dataset as a HANA Execute Query

Provide details of hana





Create a View





2) Publish a dataset to SAP BusinessObjects Explorer

Create a Query & publish to Explorer

Provide details of SAP BO Serevr

Select Folder & Click on Publish





Log on to launchpad & check your report in folder





SAP Predictive Analysis is a statistical analysis and data mining solution that enables

you to build predictive models to discover hidden insights and relationships in your

data, from which you can make predictions about future events.

SAP Predictive Analysis

With SAP Predictive Analysis, you can perform various analyses on the data,including time series forecasting, outlier detection, trend analysis, classification

analysis, segmentation analysis, and affinity analysis.

This application enables you to analyze data using different visualization techniques,

such as scatter matrix charts, parallel coordinates, cluster charts, and decision trees.

SAP Predictive Analysis offers a range of predictive analysis algorithms, supports use

of the R open-source statistical analysis language, and offers in-memory data mining

capabilities for handling large volume data analysis efficiently.

Note: SAP Predictive Analysis inherits data acquisition and data manipulation functionality

from SAP Lumira. SAP Lumira is a data manipulation and visualization tool. Using SAPLumira, you can connect to various data sources such as flat files, relational databases, in-

memory databases, and SAP BusinessObjects universes, and can operate on different

volumes of data, from a small matrix of data in a CSV file to a very large dataset in SAPHANA, select and clean data, and manipulate data.

Basics of SAP Predictive Analysis

Component

A component is the basic processing unit of SAP Predictive Analysis. Each component

contains input and/or output anchors (connection points). These anchors are used to connect

components through connectors. When you connect components together, data is transmittedfrom predecessor components to their successor components.

SAP Predictive Analysis consists of the following components:

Data preparation

Algorithms

Data writers

You can access components from the Designer view of the Predict panel. After you have

added components to the analysis editor, the status icon of a component allows you to

identify its state.

The following are the states of a component:





(Not Configured): This state is displayed when you drag a component onto the

analysis editor. It indicates that the component needs to be configured before running

the analysis.

(Configured): This state is displayed once all the necessary properties are configured

for the component.

(Success): This state is displayed after the successful execution of the analysis. (Failure): This state is displayed if this component causes the execution of the

analysis to fail.

Analysis

An analysis is a series of different components connected together in a particular sequence

with connectors, which define the direction of the data flow.

ModelA model is a reusable component created by training an algorithm using historical data.

In-Database (In-DB)In-database (in-DB) is an analysis execution mode in which data processing is performed

within the database using data mining capabilities. In this mode, the data is never taken out of

the database for processing and hence the processing speed is very high. This mode can be

used to process large data sets. SAP HANA supports in-DB data mining through R

integration and Predictive Analysis Library (PAL).

In-Process (In-Proc)In-Process is an analysis execution mode in which the data processing is performed by taking

data out of the database into the predictive analysis process space. This type of analysis is

also referred to as Out-DB analysis.

To launch SAP Predictive Analysis, choose Start > All Programs > SAP Business

Intelligence > SAP Predictive Analysis >

Understanding SAP Predictive Analysis

SAP Predictive Analysis

When you launch SAP Predictive Analysis

It also has a

, the home page appears. The home page

contains information that helps you get started with SAP Predictive Analysis.

Samples folder, which contains two SAP Predictive Analysis sample

documents such as Customer Satisfaction Analysis and Revenue Forecasting Analysis

You can also view the

.

SAP Predictive Analysis sample documents in SAP Lumira usingSAP Predictive Analysis

To start analyzing data using SAP Predictive Analysis, you need to first connect to the

data source and acquire data for analysis.

license key.

After acquiring data, you can perform the following operations on data:

Prepare data for analysis by applying data manipulation and data cleansing functions

Analyze data by applying data mining and statistical analysis algorithms

Share datasets and charts with external collaborators





Once you have acquired data from the data source, you need to switch to the Predict

Designer View

panel to analyze data

The Designer view enables you to design and run analyses, and to create predictivemodels.

. Results View

The Results view enables you to understand data and analysis results by using various

visualization techniques and intuitive charts.





Using SAP Predictive Analysis from Start to Finish

The following is an overview of the process you can follow to build a chart based on a

dataset. The process is not a linear one, and you can move from one step back to a precedingstep to fine-tune your chart or data.

Steps to work with your

data

Description

Connect to your data

source.

Note: For information on

how to connect to your

data source, see the

Connecting to your data

source section of the SAP

Lumira User Guide.

If your data source is:

RDBMS: Enter your credentials, connect to the database

server, browse and select a data source; for example, if

you are connecting to SAP HANA, you select a view

and cube to build your chart. Flat file: Choose the columns to be acquired, trimmed,

or shown and hidden.

Universe: Enter your universe credentials, connect to

the Central Management Server repository, and select a

universe to build your chart.

View and organize the

columns and attributes.

Note: For information on

how to view columns andattributes, see the

Preparing your data

section of the SAP Lumira

User Guide.

You can view the data acquired as columns or as facets. You

can organize the data display to make chart building easier by

doing the following:

Create filters and hide unneeded columns Create measures, time hierarchies, and geography

hierarchies

Clean and organize the data in columns using a range of

manipulation tools

Create columns with formulas using a wide selection of

available functions

Analyze your data using

predictive analysis

algorithms.

Note: This guide provides

information on how to

analyze data using

predictive analysis

algorithms.

Once you have acquired the relevant data in the Prepare

panel, switch to the Predict panel and create an analysis to

find patterns in the data and predict the future outcomes.

In the Predict panel, you can do the following:

Create an analysis

Build predictive models

View analysis results

View model visualizations

Build charts

Note:

For information on building charts, see the





Visualizing your data section of the SAP Lumira

User Guide.

Save your analysis Name and save the analysis that includes your charts.

Analysis is saved in a document with the file format .SViD in

the application folder under Documents in your profile path.

Connecting to Data Sources

1) Connect to an SAP HANA analytic view

Open Predictive Analysis

Select SAP HANA Online





Specify SAP HANA Details

Select SAP HANA Model





2) Connect to a universe data source

Create new document

Select Required Fields & Filters





3) Connect to a Freehand SQL data source

Open New document & Select any Data Base





Provide Data Base Details

Write SQL Query & Execute it





Manipulating Data

1) Add columns using functions and formulas

Execute predictive Analysis

Go to Manipulation Tools(Tab) & go to Create new Function & Select as “Round”





2) Create data visualizations

Execute Query & Go to Visualization(Tab)

Select Hierarchy, Right Click on it & Select Measure

View data with Geo Code





Sharing Results

1) Share data visualizations

Prepare a report

Paste into Word

Sending Mail





Go to share (Tab)

Select Required formats & Click on send mails





2) Publish dataset to SAP Explorer

Execute Query

Select Excel sheet

Connect to SAP BO Server





Create an Analysis

Open A predictive View

Go to Data Preparation(tab) & Select Sample





Set Options

Go to Algorithms(Tab) & select R-K Means

Select Measures





Run the Query





SAP Business Objects Explorer

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is a data discovery application that allows you to

retrieve answers to your business questions from corporate data quickly and directly.Through the means of search, you can find relevant data that is held within consistent,

meaningful datasets known as Information Spaces.

Explorer

To find your answers, you can filter and drill through Information Spaces and view

only the data you are interested in via advanced visualizations or charts.

You are then able to perform visual analysis to attain the information you are looking

for quickly in the most appropriate format.

Using SAP BusinessObjects Explorer in BI Launch pad, you can launch the Explorer

as application or you can open and explore an Information Space directly from the BI

launch pad document list on the Documents tab.

If you launch Explorer as application, you can manage and explore Information

Spaces. You can define and create new Information Spaces and you can change existing

Information Spaces.

You can also schedule the indexing for Information Spaces and open existing

Information Spaces for exploration.

If you open an Information Space from the document list, you can explore the

Information Space.

To log on to Explorer. Please provide below mentioned URL

http://<Server-Name>:<Port

Information Space

-Number>/explorer/

An information space is a collection of objects that map to corporate data for a

specific business operation or activity, for example product sales, employee

performance, product inventory, delivery tracking, or player statistics for a sporting

event.

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer users type in key words related to a business question

to analyze, to retrieve the information spaces that contain the relevant data.

The data in information spaces is organized in data sets called facets. A facet is a list

of values available for an object in the information space. For example, a facet called

"Vehicle" could include values such as "Car", "Bicycle", "Motorbike", "Truck", and

other types of vehicles. Facets contain the data that you are interested in exploring to find variance and trends.

Information spaces are created in the Managing Spaces part of Explorer by power

users on top of corporate data providers for example SAP Hana, universes, BWA, and

Excel spreadsheets

Exploration view

An exploration view is a saved exploration on an information space. Exploration

views are organized thematically within folders called exploration view sets.

An exploration view can be used to show a detailed analysis on a targeted area of the

data, for example, an exploration view set called Rugby World Cup 2011 could





contain exploration views dealing with specific aspects of the tournement such as

offensive statistics, defensive statistics, or player rankings per game. You access an

exploration view from its exploration view set which is listed in the Explorer Home

tab.

An exploration view set can include exploration views from different informationspaces, so a user can now have quick access to pre-filtered information for a common

information theme over different data sources.

Exploration views and view sets are described as follows:

This... Is...

Exploration

view

A saved exploration on an information space that can be used to expose and

explore a specific part of the data on the information space. An exploration

view can only have one information space as its data source. Within an

exploration view you can edit charts, tables, and filters exposed by the

exploration view set. The exploration view usually represents a very targeted part of the information space that is related to a specific business question or

information theme.

Exploration

view set

A container for one or more exploration views based on either the same, or

different, information spaces. It is the starting point to create or add more

specific explorations using exploration views. Before you create an

exploration view, you must first create an exploration view set as a view

container. Exploration view sets are accessed from the Explorer Home tab.

View

element

Any visual element that is used on the information view, for example, graphs,

tables, and charts.

Note:

Full name

In this guide and in certain parts of the Explorer user interface, the following

abbreviations can be used for exploration views and associated components:

Abbreviated name

Exploration view set View set

Exploration view View

View element Element

Indexing

Indexing refreshes the data and metadata in information spaces.

After indexing, any new data on the corporate data providers upon which those

information spaces are based becomes available for search and exploration. When you modify an information space you need to index it in order for your

modifications to be available to other users.

You have two options when you want to index an information space:

• index an information space manually to update it immediately

• schedule an information space for indexing at a time of your choice, for example,

evenings or weekends when your corporate network is least used.

Managing Information Spaces

1) Create an information space based on a universe





Log on to Explorer & Select manage Spaces

Select Universe & Click on New

Provide name of Query & where it should save & User settings & Go to Objects(tab)

Select required fields & Click on OK

Note: Query must contain at least one Attribute & Measure





Create Index

We can check our report in HOME(Tab)

2) Create an information space based on an SAP HANA InfoCube

Log on to Explorer & Click on Manage Spaces





Select available JDBC Connection & Expand it & select View

Provide Query name, Where it should save

Select Required fields





Create Index

Check report in Home(Tab)

3) Create an information space based on an Excel spreadsheet

Log on to Explorer & go to management spaces & Select Excel sheet





Provide details of Query & folders & go to “Configure Excel File”

Select data types of fields & click on OK





Create Index & Check the report





The upgrade management tool guides you through the process of exporting business intelligencecontent (user accounts, groups, folders, reports, universes, security, and other objects) andupgrading it to the most recent version.

Upgrade Management Tool

The upgrade involves the following steps:Complete Upgrades

1. Select an upgrade scenario.2. Specify the source and destination deployments.3. (Optional) Specify object parameters.4. Perform the upgrade.

Incremental Upgrades

1. Select an upgrade scenario.

2. Specify the source and destination deployments.3. Select objects to upgrade.4. (Optional) Specify object parameters.5. Specify object dependencies.6. Perform the upgrade.

Central Management Server (CMS)

The dedicated Central Management Server (CMS) database (also known as a CMS repository or

a CMS system database) contains configuration and operation information.

A separate Auditing Data Store contains auditing information. You can run business intelligence

reports on this auditing information. The CMS system and Auditing Data Store databases are separate from your organization's

reporting database.

When your deployment is installed and configured, you can establish a read-only connection

between the deployment and your organization's reporting database for business reporting.

Thus, you can analyze your data without changing your production database systems.

Business Intelligence Archive Resource (BIAR) files

A Business Intelligence Archive Resource (BIAR) file contains compressed business

intelligence content.

This content can be easily moved to a different location or SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence platform

During an incremental upgrade, you can select a BIAR file as the source or destination if you

cannot connect to two Central Management Servers directly (for example, if your destination

and source deployments are on different physical networks).

deployment.

You can use the upgrade management tool to import a BIAR file generated using the Import

Wizard from XI Release 2 or XI 3.x.









Note: You cannot export a BIAR file generated using the 4.0 FP3 upgrade management tool into

another 4.0 FP3

Use the lifecycle management console to promote content between two

deployment.

4.0 FP3

To use multiple BIAR files as an upgrade source, ensure that all of the files are located in the

same directory.

deployments.

Depending on your deployment and the complexity of its content, your content may be stored in

multiple BIAR files.

You can select any file in a group to export the contents of all of the files in the group.

Deployments with the same version number

You can use the lifecycle management console to promote content between two SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform 4.0 FP3

You can promote this content as part of the life cycle management process (for example, you

can export content from a development or quality assurance deployment to a production

deployment).

deployments.

Procedure

Before you upgrade your SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform deployment,ensure that all unnecessary servers on the source and destination deployments are shut down, toavoid inconsistent states in your new 4.0 FP3 deployment:

• Stop all of the servers in the source deployment, except the Central Management Server (CMS),and the File Repository Server (FRS).

• Stop all of the servers (including all of the Job Servers) in the destination deployment, exceptthe CMS, FRS, and the Report Application Server (if you plan to upgrade Crystal Reports

documents).• (Optional) Configure the SSL settings of the upgrade management tool.

To launch the upgrade management tool from the Start menu, click Programs > SAPBusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform 4.0 > BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

platform > Upgrade management tool.

To configure SSL settings

If you use SSL, you must configure the SSL settings of the upgrade management tool

in <JARDIR>

SSL properties set on the Java Virtual Machine take precedence over the SSL properties set inthis file.

/upgradeManagementToolSystem.properties

Restriction: You must use the same SSL certificates on the source and destination deployments,

and you must use SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform 4.0 FP3

1.

to generate the

certificates.

Open upgradeManagementToolSystem.properties2. in a text editor.

Enter the values for each setting.









Setting Value

The valueumt.systemVar.ssl.businessobjects.orb.oci.protocol ssl Note: Entering this value enables SSL

communication.The location of keys and certificatesumt.systemVar.ssl.certDir

The name of the trusted certificate fileumt.systemVar.ssl.trustedCert Note: If you specify more than one file, separateyour entries with a semicolon (forexample, fileA;fileB).

The SDK certificateumt.systemVar.ssl.sslCert

The private key of the SDK certificateumt.systemVar.ssl.sslKey

The location of the file that contains the passphrase for the private key

umt.systemVar.ssl.passphrase

3. Caution:4. Do not add or edit any other settings or values.

Save upgradeManagementToolSystem.properties

1) Complete upgrades

Example: SSL settings in upgradeManagementToolSystem.properties

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><!DOCTYPE properties SYSTEM "http://java.sun.com/dtd/properties.dtd"><properties><entry key="umt.systemVar.ssl.businessobjects.orb.oci.protocol">ssl</entry>

<entry key="umt.systemVar.ssl.certDir">/usr/SSLCert</entry>

<entry key="umt.systemVar.ssl.trustedCert">cacert.der</entry><entry key="umt.systemVar.ssl.sslCert">servercert.der</entry><entry key="umt.systemVar.ssl.sslKey">server.key</entry><entry key="umt.systemVar.ssl.passphrase">passphrase.txt</entry>

</properties>

During a complete upgrade, the upgrade management tool copies all content from one

deployment to another and then upgrades it.

Complete upgrades allow you to migrate all business intelligence content (including

dependencies and permissions) from the source deployment to the destination deployment.

Any objects that exist in the destination deployment are automatically overwritten by objects

with the same unique identifiers in the source deployment.

Objects in the source deployment with different unique identifiers but the same name and

location as objects on the destination deployment are renamed when they are upgraded.

This is the simplest and fastest way to upgrade the content of your entire Central Management

Server database.









To perform a complete upgrade on Windows, start the upgrade management tool from SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform 4.0 > SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence platform on the Start Menu, and then click Complete Upgrade on the "Welcome to

upgrade management tool"

The "Welcome" page lets you specify a Complete Upgrade or an Incremental Upgrade. You canalso select the language you want to use (if your deployment has additional languages installed).

page.

Click Next to continue

Log On page

The "Log on"

Upgrade scenarios

page lets you specify an upgrade scenario, and source and destination

deployments.

• Live to Live

Exports content from a source deployment to a destination deployment, and upgrades it.

• BIAR to Live

Exports content from a BIAR file to a destination deployment.

You can use the upgrade management tool to import a BIAR file generated using the ImportWizard from XI Release 2 or XI 3.x.

Caution: If you want to convert your legacy MyInfoView and InfoView objects to 4.0 FP3

•

, do not use

the BIAR to Live upgrade scenario; instead, use the Live to Live upgrade scenario.

Live to BIAR

Exports content from a source deployment to a BIAR file.

Note: You cannot export a BIAR file generated using the 4.0 FP3 upgrade management tool into

another 4.0 FP3 deployment. Use the lifecycle management console to promote content between

two 4.0 FP3 deployments.

Caution: Using the upgrade management tool to import BIAR files generated with biarengine.jar is not

recommended. For more information, see the “Life Cycle Management” chapter of the SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform Administrator Guide, and the Lifecycle management

console for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform guide.

Source and destination deployments









• For the Central Management Server (CMS) that you have selected, enter the user name and password for the administrator account. If the CMS runs on any port except 6400, enter thehostname followed by a colon and a port number (for example, hostname:portnumber

• For the BIAR file you have selected, enter a path and a file name. You can also enter a password to protect your BIAR file and encrypt the local database created during the upgrade

process.

).

Note:

Click

Encrypting a BIAR file may increase the length of the upgrade process and result in decreased

performance.

Next

After you log onto a CMS, you cannot return to this page. To use a different source or

destination deployment, exit the upgrade management tool and restart it.

to continue.

Parameters page

The "Parameters" You can enter a URL for a web service query (for example,

page lets you enter parameters for objects.http://localhost:8080/dswsbobje).

Note:

Click

You must have the right to edit the upgrade management tool object to change its parameters.

Next

Summary page

to continue.

The "Summary"

Complete upgrades

page displays a list of content that the upgrade management tool will export to

the destination deployment.

Review the list, then click Start

Incremental upgrades

to continue.

The list shows your objects' dependencies, and other objects that depend on them. To view an

object's dependencies, double-click it or select it and click <number> objects depend on this

object. The "Dependencies"

You can remove an object by clearing the checkbox next to it. To add other objects to the list,

click

page displays the name, path, number of instances, and object type

of the dependency.

Back and select the objects on the "Object Selection"

To specify name conflict resolution or incremental export options, click

page.

Upgrade Options

Review the list, and then click

.

Start

Export page

to continue

The "Export" page shows information about objects that were upgraded successfully and objects

that could not be upgraded.




http://localhost:8080/dswsbobje









• The General Info• The

tab displays the results of the upgrade process.Object Log

The upgrade management tool writes this information to a log file.

tab displays detailed information about the processed objects.

Performing complete upgrades from the command line You can run a complete upgrade from the command line on a Windows or Unix machine.

Before you run a complete upgrade from the command line on a Unix machine,

include <BINDIR>

export

in your binary search path:

<LIBDIR>=$<LIBDIR>: To perform a complete upgrade, run

<BINDIR> upgrademanagementtool.jar from the <JARDIR> directory.

Note: If your deployment is on the AIX platform, run SAP Java Virtual Machine (JVM)

from <AIXJVMDIR>. For information about using Sun JVM with deployments running on other Unix

platforms, see the “Variables”

Include the following Java parameters to allocate enough memory and specify the path

to

section.

<BINDIR>

-Xmx2g -Djava.library.path="

:

<BINDIR>"Example: Live to Live export

<AIXJVMDIR>/java -Xmx2g -Djava.library.path="<BINDIR>"-jar upgrademanagementtool.jar-mode livetolive

-source mynode1.mycms1:6400-sourceusername "Administrator"-sourcepassword "Password1"-destination mynode2.mycms2:6400-destinationusername "Administrator"-destinationpassword "Password2"-logfile "/usr/logs/myLogFile.csv"

Example: BIAR to Live export

<AIXJVMDIR>/java -Xmx2g -Djava.library.path="<BINDIR>"-jar upgrademanagementtool.jar

-mode biartolive-biarfile "/usr/biarfiles/myBiarFile.biar"-destination mynode2.mycms2:6400-destinationusername "Administrator"-destinationpassword "Password1"-logfile "/usr/logs/myLogFile.csv"

Note: Use BIAR to Live export when the source and destination deployments are on different physical

networks, or when you cannot connect to both Central Management Servers at the same time.









2) Complete upgrades

During a complete upgrade, the upgrade management tool copies all content from one

deployment to another and then upgrades it.

Complete upgrades allow you to migrate all business intelligence content (including

dependencies and permissions) from the source deployment to the destination deployment. Any objects that exist in the destination deployment are automatically overwritten by objects

with the same unique identifiers in the source deployment.

Objects in the source deployment with different unique identifiers but the same name and

location as objects on the destination deployment are renamed when they are upgraded.

This is the simplest and fastest way to upgrade the content of your entire Central Management

Server database.

To perform a complete upgrade on Windows, start the upgrade management tool from SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform 4.0 > SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence platform on the Start Menu, and then click Complete Upgrade on the "Welcome to

upgrade management tool"

The "Welcome" page lets you specify a Complete Upgrade or an Incremental Upgrade. You can

also select the language you want to use (if your deployment has additional languages installed).

page.

Click Next to continue.

Log On page

The "Log on"

Upgrade scenarios

page lets you specify an upgrade scenario, and source and destination

deployments.

• Live to Live

Exports content from a source deployment to a destination deployment, and upgrades it.

• BIAR to Live

Exports content from a BIAR file to a destination deployment.

You can use the upgrade management tool to import a BIAR file generated using the Import

Wizard from XI Release 2 or XI 3.x

If you want to convert your legacy MyInfoView and InfoView objects to

.

4.0 FP3

•

, do not use theBIAR to Live upgrade scenario; instead, use the Live to Live upgrade scenario.

Live to BIAR

Exports content from a source deployment to a BIAR file.









You cannot export a BIAR file generated using the 4.0 FP3 upgrade management tool into

another 4.0 FP3 deployment. Use the lifecycle management console to promote content between

two 4.0 FP3

Using the upgrade management tool to import BIAR files generated with

deployments.

biarengine.jar

• For the Central Management Server (CMS) that you have selected, enter the user name and password for the administrator account. If the CMS runs on any port except 6400, enter thehostname followed by a colon and a port number (for example,

is not

recommended. For more information, Source and destination deployments

hostname:portnumber • For the BIAR file you have selected, enter a path and a file name. You can also enter a

password to protect your BIAR file and encrypt the local database created during the upgrade process.

).

Encrypting a BIAR file may increase the length of the upgrade process and result in decreased performance.

Click Next After you log onto a CMS, you cannot return to this page. To use a different source or

destination deployment, exit the upgrade management tool and restart it.

to continue.

Object Selection page

The "Object Selection"

Object instance settings

page lets you select object instance settings, the content that you want to

export from the source deployment, the dependencies of specific objects, and the CMC tab

access rights.

Click Options

• and select one of the following options:

• Export all instances of an object if the object is selected to have its dependencies exported.

Click

Do not export object instances.

OK to close the "Options"

Objects and dependencies

dialog box.

You can export an object with its dependencies. You can also export an object that other objects

depend on.

Click an object to select one of the following options:

• Export this object and its dependencies

Includes universes, universe connections, and object instances.

• Export this object

Does not export dependencies.









• To apply the same settings to multiple objects, select

Export this object only if it is depended on

Apply to selected objects

Click

.

Next

Users and User Groups Object

to continue.

You can select specific user folders when selecting users and user groups.

Click the Users and User Groups object to display a dialog box. In the "Users and User Groups"

• dialog box, you can right-click a group and select one of the following options:

• Export this group, its subgroups, their users and their users' dependencies.

• Export this group, its subgroups and their users.Export this group, its subgroups and their users only if they are depended on.

Note: To prevent the propagation of settings, hold Shift

Click

while right-clicking a group.

Close to close the "Users and User Groups"

CMC tab rights from previous releases

dialog box.

When upgrading from BI platform 4.0 FP3 to 5.0

• Export a CMC application object with its dependencies.

, use the following guidelines when exporting

CMC tab rights:

• Ensure that users and groups already exist on a destination CMS, or export the users andgroups at the same time.

• Use an Administrator account to define the rights for any new user or group created on a

destination CMS.

Parameters page

The "Parameters"

You can enter a URL for a web service query (for example,

page lets you enter parameters for objects.

http://localhost:8080/dswsbobje).

Note:

Click

You must have the right to edit the upgrade management tool object to change its parameters.

Next

Summary page

to continue.

The "Summary"

Complete upgrades

page displays a list of content that the upgrade management tool will export to

the destination deployment.

Review the list, then click Start

Incremental upgrades

to continue.









The list shows your objects' dependencies, and other objects that depend on them. To view an

object's dependencies, double-click it or select it and click <number> objects depend on this

object

The

.

"Dependencies"

You can remove an object by clearing the checkbox next to it. To add other objects to the list,

click

page displays the name, path, number of instances, and object type of the

dependency.

Back and select the objects on the "Object Selection"

To specify name conflict resolution or incremental export options, click

page.

Upgrade Options

Review the list, and then click

.

Start

Upgrade Options

to continue.

This dialog box allows you to specify name conflict resolution or incremental export options for

the upgrade process.

Name conflict resolution

Select an action for two objects of the same object type that have the same name and location:

• [Default] Rename object to avoid name conflict

Adds a number to the end of an object's file name when it is exported.

• The upgrade options you select apply to all objects during the upgrade. To export multiple

objects with different options, you must perform separate incremental upgrades.

Do not export object

Incremental export options

• Overwrite object content

Overwrites objects on the destination deployment with objects from the source deployment, if

their CUIDs match.

Note: You can prevent a specific object from being overwritten by unchecking its name in the "Except

for the following object types"

• list.

Overwrite object security

Overwrites existing security rights on the destination deployment with security rights from the

source deployment, if their CUIDs match.

Click OK to return to the "Summary"

page.









Perform a complete upgrade

Open Upgrade manager & Select Complete Upgrade Option

Select type of up gradation

Select Source .BIAR file & Target Server details









Select Required Objects

Perform an incremental upgrade

Open Upgrade Manager & Select Incremental Option









Select type of upgradation

Select required objects









Promotion Management

Life Cycle Management

The promotion management

It also supports the management of different versions of the same BI resource.

application enables you to move business intelligence (BI)

resources from one repository to another, manages dependencies of the resources and also rolls

back the promoted resources at the destination system, if required.


You can promote a BI resource from one system to another only if the same version of the SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform application is installed on both the source and

destination systems.

application is integrated with the Central Management Console.

Features


• Promotion - This feature enables you to create or update infoobjects in the destination system.Apart from promoting infoobjects, this feature enables you to perform the following tasks:

application supports the following features:

o Create a new job

o Copy an existing job

o Edit a job

o Schedule a job promotion

o View the history of a job

o Export as LCMBIAR

o Import both BIAR /LCMBIAR

• Managing Dependencies - This feature enables you to select, filter, and manage the dependents

of the infoobjects in the job that you want to promote.• Scheduling - This feature enables you to specify a time for job promotion, rather than promote a

job as soon as it is created. You can specify the time for job promotion by using any of the

following parameters: hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly.

• Security - This feature enables you to promote infoobjects along with the associated security

rights and if required promotes infoobjects associated with application rights.

• Test Promotion - This feature enables you to check or test the promotion to ensure that all the

preventive measures are taken before the actual promotion of the infoobjects.

• Rollback - This feature enables you to restore the destination system to its previous state, after a

job is promoted. You can roll back an entire job or a part of the job.

• Auditing - The events generated by the promotion management

• Override Settings - This feature enables you to scan and promote the overrides through a job

promotion.

tool are stored in the audit

database. This feature enables you to monitor the events that are logged in the audit database.

Application Access Rights

This section describes the application access rights for the promotion management application.

• You can set access rights to the promotion management application within the CMC.









• You can set granular application rights to various functions within the promotion management

application.

To set specific rights in the promotion management application, complete the following steps:

1. Log on to CMC and select Applications2. Double-click

. promotion management

3. Click

.

User Security

4. The following promotion management specific rights are available:

, and select a user. You can view or assign security rights for the user.

o Allow access to edit overrides

o Allow access to Include Security

o Allow access to LCM administration

o Allow access to Manage Dependencies

o Create Job

o Delete Job

o Edit Job

o Edit LCMBIAR

o Export as LCMBIAR

o Import LCMBIAR

o Promote Job

o Rollback Job

o View and Select BOMM (BusinessObjects Metadata) Objects

o View and Select Business Views

o View and Select Calenders

o View and Select Connections

o View and Select Profiles

o View and Select QaaWS

o View and Select Report Objects

o View and select Security settings

o View and select Universes

5. If you wish to assign rights to a selected user, select the appropriate right and click Assign

Security

.










application access rights are set within the CMC.

Import .LCMBIAR file









Select File

Log on to target Server









Apply changes & close

Click on Promote

Click on promote









Wait till job runs successful

You can check all the imported objects in the server









And the Business Objects Mobile Architecture will be like

SAP BUSINESS OBJECT with Mobile

The diagram below shows Mobile Installation on top of Business Objects Enterprise Framework

Three deployment scenarios are supported for SAP Business Objects Mobile. You can choose to deploy

based on your User community.





BlackBerry devices registered on a corporate BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES)

Non-BlackBerry devices and/or BlackBerry devices not registered on a corporate BES. This

requires a proxy server or firewall to ensure security.

User population that includes BlackBerry devices registered on the BES and other devices.

This requires a BES and a proxy server or firewall.

Based on the above deployment scenarios the common architecture of BO Mobile would be

like

Server side requirements

The following components need to be deployed on top of SAP Business Objects Enterprise

Installation.

The Mobile server composed of an authentication server (VAS) and a processing server

(VMS).

A mobile database that logs the user activity and provides information on synchronization of

data between the SAP Business Objects Enterprise server and the mobile devices.

A BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), if you are deploying the application to BlackBerry

device users (Deployment type 1).

A proxy server, if your deployment to BlackBerry devices does not include a BES server or if

your deployment includes non-BlackBerry devices (Deployment type 2 and 3).

To deploy client application to devices through OTA provisioning, you need to install and

deploy the OTA web application, delivered with SAP Business Objects mobile, on a web

application server.

Client side requirements

Based on deployment scenario, SAP Business Objects mobile application can be delivered tousers via

Over-The-Air to BlackBerry devices using the push capability in the BlackBerry Enterprise

Server.

Over-The-Air (OTA) via a secured web site page. This requires you to deploy the OTA web

application delivered with SAP Business Objects Mobile to a secured web application server.

Manually on each device using the client desktop application supplied by device manufacturer.






BO MOBILE CONFIGURATIONEnvironment & Product versions used:

Operating System: Windows Server 2008 R2

BOE XI4.0 with BOBJ MOBILE XI4.0

BlackBerry Email & MDS Simulator

BlackBerry Device simulator

The BO Mobile server was installed on the same machine that hosted the BOE server.

The BlackBerry Email MDS Simulator & BlackBerry device simulator also Installed in the

same machine. This architecture is depicted as below.

Installed Components and CCM:

Business object mobile works only on Tomcat server.






SAP BusinessObjects BI4.0 - installation

After downloading the BI4 installation files from service.sap.com, check the files. There

must be 5 installation files:

Step 1: Click on the first file, create a directory to extract all installation files. After

extraction, you can start the setup from and select your language:

“C:\Software\51040831\DATA_UNITS\BusinessObjectsServer_win\setup.exe”.

Step 2: Check that all requirements have the status “Succeeded”. Click Next and accept the

license agreement.

Step 3: Please insert your license key. A temporary license key can be

downloaded from service.sap.com






Step 4: Select your language. Click Next.

Step 5: Select the option “Full” for a complete installation. Click Next.

Step 6: Choose your destination folder. The standard directory is “C:\Program Files

(x86)\SAP BusinessObjects”. Click Next.






Step 7: Select the first option, we want to use the standard database delivered with

SAP BusinessObjects BI4.0. Click Next.

Step 8: Because we don’t have an application server, we need to install Tomcat. Select

the first option and click Next.

Step 9: Select the first option “Install and use Subversion”. Click Next.






Step 10: For a standard installation, I select the proposed values. The node name is the name ofyour

computer. Click Next.

Step 11: select the standard port 6400. Click Next.

Step 12: Define passwords for the Administrator account and the CMS Cluster Key.

Remember your passwords!!! Click Next.






Step 13: Create passwords for the SQL server administrator and de boeuser account. I use the

same passwords for all. Click Next.

Step 14: Define the standard ports. Remember that port 8080 sometimes will used for a proxy

port! Click Next.

Step 15: Use de default values. Click Next.






Step 16: Use the default port and create a password for the LCM repository. Click Next.

Step 17: Do not configure the connectivity to the SMD agent. Click Next.

Step 18: Use the default option. Click Next.






Step 19: Now the installation progress can be started. Confirm this screen by clicking Next and the

installation will start. This process can take one or two hours. Please have patience ;-)

Step 20: 50 minutes later… installation has finished. Please read the post installation steps and click Next and Finish.

Step 21: A new map with the name “SAP BusinessObjects BI platform 4” is created in the start menu. From these









shortcuts, you can start the Central Management Console and the BI Launchpad. Please test these shortcuts.

Configure the SAP BO role in SAP BW

If you want to synchronize your SAP BW users to SAP BusinessObjects, you’ll need to create a separate

role in transaction PFCG.

Step 1: Create a new role with the name “CRYSTAL_ENTITLEMENT”.

Step 2: Create authorizations in the role CRYSTAL_ENTITLEMENT. Name of

RFC to be protected:/CRYSTAL/SECURI

BDCHBDL5PRGN_J2EE RFC1 SDIFRUNTIMESTPASUNI SUSO SUUS SU_USER, SYST

Step 3: Add the role “CRYSTAL_ENTITLEMENT” to your SAP BusinessObjects users.









Configuration between SAP BW and SAP BO (trusted connection)

In the previous chapter I explained how to installed SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.0. The next step is to connectyour SAP BW environment to SAP BusinessObjects. Read the next instructions to connect your system

successful. These screenshots are original from the SAP© wiki.sdn.sap.com

The keystore is generated at this location

website (Thanks to Sinisa

Knezevic).

This article will explain how to generate the keystore file and the certificate.

In the below example the keystore file name is keystore.p12 and the certificate file name is cert.der. Thekeystore file keystore.p12 has to be imported in BI4.0 CMC on SAP Authentication Option tab. The certificate

file cert.der has to be imported in SAP BW with STRUSTSSO2 transaction.palmtree in the below example is host name of machine where BI4.0 running. mywin in the below example is alias name that you can name the way you want.

Step 1: Generate keystore and certificate Run PKCS12Tool program to generate keystore

PKCS12Tool Windows location: <INSTALLDIR>\SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI4.0\java\lib (Windowscommand line example: "C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP BusinessObjects\SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI

4.0\win64_x64\sapjvm\bin\java"-

jar PKCS12Tool.jar-

alias mywin-

storepass admin1-

dname CN=palmtree )

Generate certificate with keytool

Enter keystore password which is defined in the previous step. (In this example the password is:admin1) (Windows command line example: "C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP BusinessObjects\SAP BusinessObjects









Enterprise XI 4.0\win64_x64\sapjvm\bin\keytool" -exportcert -keystore keystore.p12 -storetype pkcs12 -file

cert.der -alias mywin )

Step 2: Import SAP BO BI4.0 certificate into SAP BW Binary import cert.der into SAP BW with STRUSTSSO2Log into SAP BW and run transaction STRUSTSSO2

Make sure that cert.der is imported Binary into System PSE

Add the certificate to the certificate list

Click button "Add to Certificate List"

Check certificate list to make sure it is in the list ("CN=palmtree" in below example)









Add the certificate to ACLClick button "Add to ACL" to add the certificate to the Access Control List

Enter System ID- This System ID will be used in BI4.0 CMC for setup of SAP SSO Service

Enter Client - Client has to be 000

Save all changes.

Step 3: Setup of SAP SSO Service in SAP BO BI4.0 CMC









Log into the Central Management Console as administrator. Go to authentication SAP. PageEntitlement systems. Enter your SAP system details.

Import the role CRYSTAL_ENTITLEMENT.

Check if the SAP Authentication is enabled.









Import keystore keystore.p12 fileThe message No key store file has been uploaded indicates no previous uploads

Setup Key Store/Private Key password, Private Key Alias and System ID

System ID is PALM in this example. It has been defined when certificate is imported in SAP BW. (In

below example the password is the same for both . It is admin1)

Update the roles and aliases. When you live this screen and go to Users & Groups, you’ll see the SAP BW userswho have the role “CRYSTAL_ENTITLEMENT”.

Login with your SAP BW credentials in BI Launchpad

When launching the SAP BI Launchpad, you are not able to logon with your SAP BW credentials. In the next

steps you will learn how to enable this option.









Step 1: Go to the SAP BI Lauchpad (url: http://localhost:8080/BOE/BI There is no option to choose the login

authentication.

).

Step 2: Stop Tomcat application server

Step 3: Go to the directory:

“C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP BusinessObjects\Tomcat6\webapps\BOE\WEB-INF\config\custom”.

Open notepad and enter the following text “authentication.visible=true”, save your file as

“BIlaunchpad.properties”. Don’t save it as a textfile!!!

Step 4: Restart Tomcat application server and start the BI Launchpad. Now you can choose your own verification

type.




http://localhost:8080/BOE/BI)








1. Stop Tomcat Web application server.

Steps to install Mobile in server:

2. Copy the file MobileBIService.war, as appropriate, to [Tomcat home directory]\webapps folder.

3. Start Tomcat.

Note:

The SAP BusinessObjects Mobile server can be installed on the same Tomcat Web application server on which

other SAP BusinessObjects BI platform Web applications are deployed. It can also be installed on a separateTomcat Web application server.

Configuring Categories

The default configuration for the Mobile server includes the above categories in the mobi.properties file. There isnormally no need to modify this for working with the application. You do have the option however of creating your

own Personal or Corporate categories and assigning documents to them.

Note:

The “MobileDesigned” and “Confidential” categories can only be Corporate. You cannot modify them or addsub-categories to them. If you create new categories or rename existing ones in the report designing tool, you should

update the mobi.properties as explained below:

1. Locate the following file on the Mobile server:

[Tomcat_Home]\webapps\MobileBIService\WEB-INF\mobi.properties2. Add the required categories to the request source (default or iPad or Android) as shown below.

#defaultdefault.corporateCategory=Mobile,Category 1,Category 2...

default.personalCategory=Mobile,Category 1,Category 2.......

#ipad

ipad.corporateCategory=Mobile,Category 1,Category 2...

ipad.personalCategory=Mobile,Category 1,Category 2...iPad.category.mobileDesigned=myMobileDesigned

....

#Androidphoneandroidphone.corporateCategory=Mobile,Category 1,Category 2...

androidphone.corporateCategory=Mobile,Category 1,Category 2...

androidphone.personalCategory=Mobile,Category 1,Category 2...androidphone.category.mobileDesigned=myMobileDesigned

androidphone.category.secure=confidential

androidphone.category.doctypes=webi,CrystalReport

....

#Androidtablet

androidtablet.corporateCategory=Mobile,Category 1,Category 2...androidtablet.corporateCategory=Mobile,Category 1,Category 2...

androidtablet.personalCategory=Mobile,Category 1,Category 2...

androidtablet.category.mobileDesigned=myMobileDesignedandroidtablet.category.secure=confidential









androidtablet.category.doctypes=webi,CrystalReport

….

Note:The “default” section of the mobi.properties file includes the default values for the mobile server

configuration parameters (including categories). The parameters specific to the device (client or OS) type appear inthe corresponding request sources, such as iPad, iPhone, Blackberry phone, or Android phone. To configure

categories for the Mobile for iPad use “iPad” as the request source. To configure categories for the Mobile for

Android use "Android" as the request source. If there are no specific entries for the iPad or Android request source

in the mobi.properties, the values specified for the default request source are used. If there are specific entries for theiPad or Android request source in the mobi.properties, the values specified for the default request source are ignored.

Installing the Configuration Server

To enable users to import connections from the Mobile server to the client application on their devices, you

need to install a configuration server on your premises.Make sure that you have the same version of the Tomcat Web application server and the SAP BusinessObjects BI

platform server. To install a configuration server, perform the following steps:1. Stop the Tomcat Web application server.

2. Copy the MOBIServer.war file from the following SAP BusinessObject BI platform location to the<Tomcat home directory>\webapps folder on your Tomcat server: [Installation Directory]\SAP

BusinessObjects\Mobile 14\server

3. Start the Tomcat server again.

Configuring Connections for Importing to the Mobile Application:

Configuring connections for importing

To configure connections (for importing to the application), you need to update the following file on the

Configuration server:

<webapps ROOT FOLDER>\MOBIServer\WEB-INF\server.propertiesFirst create a back-up of the server.properties file. For every connection that you want to make available for

importing, now set the following connection properties in the file:• DisplayName (mandatory)

• BOBJ_MOBILE_URL

• BOBJ_MOBILE_CMS

• BOBJ_MOBILE_USER_NAME

• BOBJ_MOBILE_USER_PASSWORD

• BOBJ_MOBILE_AUTH_METHOD

• BOBJ_MOBILE_CONNECTION_TYPE

• BOBJ_MOBILE_SAVE_PWD

where,AuthenticationType can have one of the following values:• secEnterprise for Enterprise

• secLDAP for LDAP

• secWinAD for Windows AD• secSAPR/3 for SAP

Connection Types can be set to one of the following values:









• Set 1 for Enterprise• Set 2 for XXX.

• Set 3 for YYY.

For example, you can add a connection to the properties file as follows:

mobi.connections=connection1

connection1.DisplayName=SAMPLE Connection

connection1.BOBJ_MOBILE_URL=http://11.22.33.44:8080

connection1.BOBJ_MOBILE_CMS=55.66.77.88connection1.BOBJ_MOBILE_USER_NAME: john

connection1.BOBJ_MOBILE_USER_PASSWORD:********

connection1.BOBJ_MOBILE_AUTH_METHOD: secEnterprise

connection1.BOBJ_MOBILE_CONNECTION_TYPE:1

connection1.BOBJ_MOBILE_SAVE_PWD: True

Note:Several users of the SAP BusinessObjects BI platform might have common user names. When

configuring BOBJ_MOBILE_USER_NAME, you should therefore create a unique username.

I do not recollect if this category is there by default...I think you have to create it...Or simply put if you do not see a category called Mobile just go ahead and create it and you should include this

category in your report when you save it

These are the steps I followed...(with the help of the setup doc)

note its specific to my server settings, example location and drive..

STEP 1 STOP apache Tomcat

STEP 2 copy MobileBIService.war

FROM C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP BusinessObjects\Mobile 14\Client

TO C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP BusinessObjects\Tomcat6\webapps

STEP 3Start Apache Tomcat

STEP 4SAP BusinessObjects Mobile application displays the available documents from the configured categorieson My Reports screen of iPad device.

add additional categories if you like in mobi.properties in

Here steps that should be followed to connect a mobile device to the SAP BI4 platform .

C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP BusinessObjects\Tomcat6\webapps\MobileBIService\WEB-INF

Mobile Connectivity

The connection I m ade was via the SAP BI app for iPhone (iOS 6.1) and Android.

Details on the extra functionality available on iPad, such as mobile Dashboards , will be available soon

either in this or in a separate document. The system used for testing was BOXI4_Train Virtual Machine









running SP5.

Follow these steps:

1. Install the Mobile server package on the Tomcat Web application server:

a. Stop Tom cat Web application s erver

b. Copy the Mob ileOTA14.war file from the s ource location ( F:\Program Files (x86)\SAP BusinessOb jects\Mob ile

14\Client for the BOXI4_Train VM) to the SAP BO BI platform location ( F:\Program Files (x86)\SAP BusinessOb

jects\SAP BusinessOb jects Enterprise XI 4.0\warfiles on the

VM)

c. Res tart Tom cat

2. Set the Virtual Machine Network connection Settings (if you us e a VM as a s erver)

a. VM Settings -> Network Adapter -> s elect Bridged in the

Network connection panel and tick Replicate phys ical network

connection s tate

3. Create a “Mobile” category in CMC

a. Login to CMC and s elect Categories

b. Click on New Category and nam e the category “Mobile” Note:

The nam e of the category m u s t e “Mobile”.

4. Enable the VPN connection on the mobile device

a. a. Go to Settings -> General ->VPN -> Choos e/Add a Configuration (iPhone)or Settings -> Wireles s &

Network

-> More -> VPN (Android)

b. Select PPTP and fill in the

fields as s hown below c. Turnon the VPN









5. Set up the SAP BI app.

1. Download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play (Android)

2. Select Settings-> Add a Connection. Fill in the details as s hown below.









How to enable SAP BI mobile for iPad

In the next steps you will learn how to configure SAP BI mobile for iPad. First you need to install an applicationon the server. The next step is configure your iPad to access the server. When you want to access the server

with your iPad, be sure that you are on the same network! In my case I need to logon via VPN.

Step1: Download SAP BI mobile from the Apple App Store and install this application on your iPad.

Step 2: Stop Tomcat application server

Step3:Copy the file “MobileBIService.war” From directory: “C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP

BusinessObjects\Mobile 14\Server” Into directory: “C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP

BusinessObjects\Tomcat6\webapps”. Restart Tomcat application server.









Step 4: Configure your iPad:

NAME : Mobile BI4.0Server URL : http://<ipadres BOserver>:8080 CMS Name : <servername>:6400

Authentication : Enterprise or SAP User Name : <your BI4 username>Password: <your BI4 password>









SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) platform provides flexible systems

management for an enterprise BI standard that allows administrators to confidently

deploy and standardize their BI implementations on a proven, scalable, and adaptive

service-oriented architecture.

SAP BW with SAP BO:

Click a BI tool in the diagram to see tutorials that will help you start using the tool

with SAP BW.

1) Information design tool (IDT)

Business Intelligence Consumer Services (BICS) connection – OLAP connection

You can use IDT to create a direct OLAP connection to SAP BW.

Crystal Reports for Enterprise (CRE), Web Intelligence, Dashboards, Analysis for

Office, and Analysis for OLAP can connect to a direct OLAP connection to SAP BW

and use BICS connectivity.

This is the preferred method of connectivity over the IDT relational connection.

The benefit is that you can gain access to external BW hierarchies, restricted key

figures, calculated key figures, variables, and structures.

Note that the direct OLAP connection to SAP BW is visible from within the Central

Management Console (CMC).

In the information design tool, you can create an OLAP connection to connect to SAP

NetWeaver Business Warehouse (BW) using Business Intelligence ConsumerServices (BICS) connectivity.

BICS connectivity is the recommended way for BI tools to connect to Business

Explorer (BEx) queries on the SAP NetWeaver BW server.

In this tutorial, you will create OLAP connections to connect to an SAP NetWeaver

BW data source based on a BW server, a cube, and a BEx query.





Creation of OLAP Connection on CUBE



Expand Session







Provide name





Provide details like Client number, Userid, Password, System Id, Application Server

&System Number

Select Bex Query





Test Connection





Creation of OLAP Connection on Bex Query



Expand Session





Provide name






Provide Client Number, User Name, Pass word, Language, SID, Application, System

Number

Select Bex Query





Test Connection

Test Connection





2) Relational connection

Within the IDT, you can create a relational connection to an SAP BW and build a

universe on top of it.

There are limitations when connecting to SAP BW queries. For instance you will not

be able to gain access to external BW hierarchies, restricted key figures, calculated

key figures, variables, or structures. The benefit is that you can combine a relational

connection with other data sources.

All SAP BusinessObjects BI tools that work with IDT can take advantage of this

relational connection.

You can build a universe based on an SAP NetWeaver BW InfoProvider by first

creating a relational connection to the data source.

Note that this type of connection must be created directly on the SAP BusinessObjects

Business Intelligence (BI) platform, rather than being created locally and published to

the platform as a secured connection shortcut.

In this tutorial, you will create a relational connection based on an SAP BW Info

Provider







Expand Session





Provide details like Client Number, User Name, Pass word, Language, SID,Application, System Number

Select any Info Provider( Master table, Cube, DSO, MP, IS, VP, SPO )





Within the CMC, you can create a direct OLAP connection to SAP BW, which is an

equivalent to the direct OLAP connection that you can also create using IDT.

Central Management Console (CMC)

CRE, Web Intelligence, Dashboards, Analysis for Office, and Analysis for OLAP can

connect to the direct OLAP connection to SAP BW and use BICS connectivity.

OLAP Connections define connectivity from SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence (BI) tools, such as Analysis, edition for OLAP, to SAP NetWeaver

Business Warehouse (BW), via the Business Intelligence Consumer Services (BICS)

connectivity.

BICS connectivity is the recommended way for BI tools to connect to Business

Explorer (BEx) queries residing within the SAP NetWeaver BW server.

OLAP Connections can be created and saved using the Central Management Console

(CMC) or the information design tool.

In this tutorial, you will create three OLAP Connections, using the CMC, to connect

to a BW server, a cube in a BW server, and a BEx query based on a cube in a BWserver.

Log on to SAP BO CMC





You can log in with Enterprise or SAP type Authentication





Go to OLAP Connections

Create new connection

Provide Name of connection





Select Server type

Provide Server Details





Provide UID & PWD





Select Cube





In Crystal Reports for Enterprise, you can access SAP BW data by using an existing

direct OLAP BICS connection created using the information design tool or CMC.

Crystal Reports for Enterprise (CRE)

1) Connect to an SAP Business Explorer (BEx) query using an OLAP Connection

In Crystal Reports for Enterprise, you can view SAP NetWeaver BW data using aconnection to an SAP Business Explorer (BEx) query.

Note that an OLAP connection to the BEx query must already exist in the BI

platform. The connection can be based on a single query, a cube containing multiple

queries, or a server containing multiple cubes.

In this tutorial, you will connect to a BEx query based on a connection that points to

an SAP NetWeaver BW server.

Open Crystal Reports Enterprise





Select Bex Query

Design a Query





2) Connect to an SAP Business Explorer (BEx) query containing a hierarchy

In Crystal Reports for Enterprise (CRE), you can view SAP NetWeaver BW data

using a connection to an SAP Business Explorer (BEx) query.


platform. In this tutorial, you will connect to a BEx query containing a hierarchy and

create a report against it. Refer to the Create OLAP Connections to BW tutorial found

in SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform tutorials for details.

Open Crystal Reports Enterprise





Select Bex Query

Design a Query





3) Connect to an SAP Business Explorer (BEx) query containing a single value

variable

In Crystal Reports for Enterprise (CRE), you can view SAP NetWeaver BW data



platform. In this tutorial, you will connect to a BEx query containing a single value

variable and create a report against it. In CRE, variables in BEx queries appear as

prompts.





Select Bex Query

Design a Query





Using the SAP BW MDX Query driver, you can design formatted Crystal reports that

are based on data that is stored in SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse (BW)

Crystal Reports 2011:

You base these reports either on queries that are created with SAP Business Explorer

(BEx) Query Designer, or directly on the cubes in BW.

In this tutorial, you will connect to an SAP BW system to use an SAP BEx query as a

data source in a Crystal report.





Create Crystal Report





In Web Intelligence, you can access SAP BW data by using an existing direct OLAP

BICS connection created using the information design tool or CMC

Web Intelligence

1) Connect to an SAP Business Explorer (BEx) query using an OLAP Connection

Within Web Intelligence, you can view SAP NetWeaver BW data using a connection

to an SAP Business Explorer (BEx) query.








In Dashboards, you can access SAP BW data by using an existing direct OLAP BICS

connection created using the information design tool or CMC.

Dashboards

Customers using Dashboards on top of SAP NetWeaver BW should strongly consider

building their new dashboards with Design Studio.1) Connect to an SAP Business Explorer (BEx) query using an OLAP Connection

Within SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards, you can view SAP NetWeaver BW data









In Design Studio, you can access SAP BW data by using an existing direct OLAP

BICS connection created using the information design tool or CMC.

Design Studio

Customers using SAP NetWeaver Web Application Designer (WAD) should adopt

SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio as their primary tool for creating dashboards andapplications, both on the Web and on mobile devices, on top of SAP NetWeaver BW.

1) Add a data source to an application

Once you have created an application, you can assign one or more data sources to it,

which enables you to display data in your analytic components.





Design Report





.

In Analysis, edition for OLAP, you can access SAP BW data by using an existing

direct OLAP BICS connection created using the information design tool or CMC.

Analysis, edition for OLAP

Connect to an SAP Business Explorer (BEx) query using an OLAP Connection

In Analysis, edition for OLAP, you can view SAP NetWeaver BW data using a

connection to an SAP Business Explorer (BEx) query. Note that an OLAP connection to the BEx query must already exist in the BI







In Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office, you can access SAP BW data by using a

direct OLAP BICS connection (unmanaged), or an existing OLAP BICS connection

created using the information design tool or CMC (managed).

Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office

Insert a data source directly from BW SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office, is a Microsoft Office

Add-In that allows you to design workbook applications and perform

multidimensional ad-hoc analysis of OLAP data sources in Microsoft Excel.

You can also create intuitive business intelligence presentations in Microsoft

PowerPoint.





Here we can see how SAP BO Read data from SAP HANA to SAP BO

SAP HANA with SAP BO:

Within the information design tool (IDT), you can create a relational connection to an

SAP HANA view or table using JDBC or ODBC drivers, and build a universe using

this connection to provide access via other client tools such as Dashboards and Web

Intelligence.

Information design tool

Alternatively, you can use IDT to create a relational connection directly in the BI platform repository, where it can be used to connect to SAP HANA without a

universe for client tools such as Crystal Reports for Enterprise

1) Create a relational connection to SAP HANA

Create Relational connection for SAP HANA





Click on Finish

2) Create an OLAP connection to an SAP HANA view Log on to IDT & Create connection under System Repository





Select Query

3) Universe on SAP HANA Tables

Create Relational Connection





Click on Finish

Create Data Foundation





Set Parameters





Select Tables Join Them, Set Cardinalities & Save Data Foundation

Create Business Layer

Select Data Foundation





Select Required Dimensions & Measures

Save it

4) Universe on SAP HANA Models

Create Relational Connection





Click on Finish

Create Data Foundation





Set Parameters

Select Tables Join Them, Set Cardinalities & Save Data Foundation





Create Business Layer

Select Data Foundation

Select Required Dimensions & Measures

Save it & Publish





1) Create a connection to SAP HANA using ODBC drivers


Create ODBC Connection

Test it





Log on to Crystal Reports & Create Blank Report





Select ODBC Connection

Provide UID & PWD

Select Table





We can create Reports

In Crystal Reports for Enterprise, you can access SAP HANA data by using an

existing relational connection created using the information design tool.

Crystal Reports for enterprise

You can also connect to SAP HANA using an OLAP connection created using

information design tool or

CMC.

Open Crystal Reports Enterprise & Create

Open Repository

Provide Details





Select The Table & Execute Report





Design Studio can access SAP HANA data by using an existing olap connection

created using the information design tool or CMC.

Design Studio

It can also access SAP HANA outside of SAP BI Platform using ODBC data source.

Customers should adopt SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio as their primary tool for

creating dashboards and applications, both on the Web and on mobile devices, on topof SAP HANA.

1) Connect to SAP HANA using ODBC data source

2) We can connect Design Studio with SAP HANA using ODBC Connection

3) Go to preferences

4) Expand Applications -> Back end connections -> click on ODBC Connection





Select HANA ODBC Driver to create ODBC Connection





Create Data Source





Select SAP HANA Cube





Lumira can connect directly outside of SAP BI Platform to SAP HANA analytic and

calculation views. It can also connect to SAP HANA through SAP BI Platform using

a relational universe.

Lumira (previously known as Visual Intelligence)

1) Connect to an SAP HANA analytic view

Log on to Lumira

Create Report





Provide SAP HANA Details & Select SAP HANA Model

Using ODBC drivers, you can create a local connection to SAP HANA that enables

you to analyze the data in Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office.

Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office

1) Insert a data source using a local connection to SAP HANA

Create ODBC Connection





Test it






Provide SAP HANA Details





In Analysis, edition for OLAP, you can connect to SAP HANA using an OLAP

connection defined in the Central Management Console or in the information design

tool.

Analysis, edition for OLAP

1) Insert a data source using an OLAP connection to SAP HANA

Log on to SAP BO CMC

Create OLAP Connection





Provide details of SAP HANA & Select SAP HANA Model





Log on to SAP BI Launch Pad & Select OLAP Analysis & Select our OLAP

Connection





Execute the Report

You can create an information space based on an SAP HANA view using JDBC drivers.

Explorer

1) Create an information space based on an SAP HANA InfoCube





Design Query

Create Index





BI_4.0_Server_Installation_Configuration









Destination Folder D:\Program Files (x86)\Business Objects\:









Processing Server Configuration Options









Database Selection:







Account Name Description

Administrator This user belongs to the Administrators and

Everyone groups. An administrator can perform

all tasks in all SAP BusinessObjects BusinessIntelligence platform applications (for example, the

CMC, CCM, Publishing Wizard, and BI launch pad).

Guest This user belongs to the Everyone group. This

account is enabled by default, and is not assigned a

password by the system. If you assign it a password,

the single sign-on to BI launch pad will be broken.

SMAdmin This is a read-only account used by SAP Solution

Manager to access SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence platform components.

Account management involves all of the tasks related to creating, mapping, changing, and

organizing user and group information.

ADMINISTRATION & SECURITY

After the user accounts and groups have been created, you can add objects and specify

rights to them. When the users log on, they can view the objects using BI launch pad ortheir custom web application.

User management In the Users and Groups management area, you can specify everything required for

a user to access SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform.

You can also view the two default user accounts summarized by the following table.

User accounts

Role-based licensing

Under the user-role based licensing scheme, there are two roles which can be assigned

to SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform users:

a) BI Analyst

b) BI Viewer

Each role is bundled with specific access levels to SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence platform applications.

You cannot modify or override the access level to either user role. User roles apply to

new user accounts created in SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform orexisting users imported from third party directory services such as Windows AD or LDAP.

Note: Click License Key in the CMC for more information on your licensing scheme.

1) BI Analyst role

The BI Analyst role is designed for users who create content in the SAP BusinessObjects

Business Intelligence platform.

Users who edit or create reports, design and manage universes, or perform any

administrative tasks in the CMC should be assigned the BI Analyst role.

2) BI Viewer role

The BI Viewer role is designed primarily for content consumers. These users onlyview reports but do not modify content.



Users assigned to the BI Viewer role will be prevented by the system from

creating content, modifying reports and performing general administrative tasks in

the system.

The BI Viewer role should not be assigned to users who need to:

Create reports

Update or modify reports

Perform administrative tasks using the CMC

Group management

Groups are collections of users who share the same account privileges; therefore,

you may create groups that are based on department, role, or location.

Groups enable you to change the rights for users in one place (a group) instead of

modifying the rights for each user account individually.

Also, you can assign object rights to a group or groups.

In the Users and Groups area, you can create groups that give a number of peopleaccess to the report or folder.

This enables you to make changes in one place instead of modifying each user

account individually.

You can also view the several default group accounts summarized by the following

table.

Note: To view available groups in the CMC, click Group List in the Tree panel. Alternatively,

you can click Group Hierarchy to display a hierarchal list of all available groups.

Group hierarchy

Account name Description

Report Conversion

Tool

Members of this group have access to the Report

Conversion Tool application.

Translators Members of this group have access to theTranslation

Account name Description

Administrators Members of this group can perform all tasks in

all of the SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence platform applications (CMC,

CCM, Publishing Wizard, and BI launch pad).

By default, the Administrators group contains

Everyone Each user is a member of the Everyone group.

QaaWS Group

Designer

Members of this group have access to Query as a

Web Service.



Universe Designer

Users

Users who belong to this group are granted

access to the Universe Designer folder and the

Connections folder. They can control who has

access rights to

the Designer application. You must add users to

Enable the Guest account

Use

The Guest account is disabled by default to ensure that no one can log on to SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform with this account.

This default setting also disables the anonymous single sign-on functionality of

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform, so users will be unable to

access BI launch pad without providing a valid user name and password.

Procedure

1.Go to the Users and Groups management area of the CMC.

2.Click User List in the Navigation panel.

3.Select Guest.

4.Click Manage → Properties.

The Properties dialog box appears.

5.Clear the Account is disabled check box.

6.Click Save & Close.

7.If you are prompted for confirmation, click OK.

Creating users and groups

New users and groups are created in the CMC. When you create a new user account

in the CMC, you first must specify the user’s properties, before you configure group

memberships for the user.

Groups are collections of users who share the same account privileges. For instance,

you may create groups that are based on department, role, or location. Groups

enable you to change the rights for users in one place (a group) instead of modifying

the rights for each user account individually. Also, you can assign object rights to a group or groups.

Creating and modifying a user account

After a user account has been created, you can modify the account properties. The

properties that can be modified include:

Account Name

The account name is the unique identifier for a user account and is the user name entered

when logging into SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform.

Full Name This optional field is used to capture the user’s full name. It is recommended that you use



this field, particularly when managing many users.

Email

This optional field is used to add the user’s email address. This is for reference only.

For example, if the user forgets their password sometime in the future, you can get their

email address from this field to send them their password.

Description

This optional field is used to add information about the user, such as their position,

department, or geographic location.

Enterprise Password Settings

User password settings allow you to change the password and password settings for

the user.

Global password settings can be configured in the Authentication area of the Central

Management Console.

Connection Type

This option specifies how the user connects to the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform based on the license agreement.

Account is disabled

This check box allows the Administrator to deactivate the user account, instead of

permanently deleting the account.

This is useful when administering users who will be temporarily denied system

access, such as employees taking parental leave

Select the Account is disabled check box to disable the Guest account. This makes it

unavailable for use.

Assign Alias. If a user has multiple accounts within SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

platform, use this feature to link the accounts.

This results in the user having multiple SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

platform login credentials that map to one SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

platform account.

You can also use the New Alias. button to create a new alias.

Create users

In the CMC home page, click Users and Groups.

Click Manage → New → New User. The New User dialog box appears.

Select the Authentication Type.

To create an Enterprise user,

1) Select Enterprise from the Authentication Type list.

2) Type the account name, full name, email, and description information. Use the

description area to include extra information about the user or account.

3) Specify the password information and settings.

To create a user that will logon using a different authentication type, select the

appropriate option from the Authentication Type list, and type the account name.

Specify how to designate the user account according to options stipulated by your SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform license agreement.



If your license agreement is based on user roles, select one of the following options:

BI Viewer: access to SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform applications for

all accounts under the BI Viewer role is defined in the license agreement. Users are

restricted to access application workflows that are defined for the BI Viewer role. Access

rights are generally limited to viewing business intelligence documents. This role istypically suitable for users who consume content through SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence platform applications.

BI Analyst: access to SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform applications for

all accounts under the BI Analyst role is defined in the license agreement. Users can access

all applications workflows that are defined for the BI Analyst role. Access rights include

viewing and modifying business intelligence documents. This role is typically suitable for

users who create and modify content for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

platform applications

If your license agreement is not based on user roles, specify a connection type for

the user account. Choose Concurrent User if this user belongs to a license agreement that states the

number of users allowed to be connected at one time.

Choose Named User if this user belongs to a license agreement that associates a specific

user with a license. Named user licenses are useful for people who require access to

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform regardless of the number of other people

who are currently connected. that are defined for the

BI Analyst role. Access rights include viewing and modifying business intelligence

documents. This role is typically suitable for users who create and modify content for SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform applications

Click Create & Close.

Modify a user account

Use

Use this procedure to modify a user's properties or group membership.

The user will be affected if they are logged on when you are making the change.

Prerequisites

The user account must already exist before it can be modified.

Procedure

In the CMC home page, click Users and Groups.

Select the user whose properties you want to change.

Click Manage → Properties.

The Properties dialog box for the user appears.

Modify the properties for the user.

In addition to all of the options that were available when you initially created the

account, you now can disable the account by selecting the Account is disabled check

box.



Any changes you make to the user account do not appear until the next time the user

logs on.

Click Save & Close.

Creating and modifying a group account

Once a group is created, you can modify its membership to include other groups.Groups can include other groups as subgroups.

Group names must be unique.

After a group is created, you can modify the properties. Properties can include:

1) Group Name

2) Description

3) Users

4) Subgroups

5) Member of

6)

Profiles7) Rights

Delete a user or group

Use You can delete a user or group when that user or group is no longer required.

Note:

You cannot delete the default groups Administrator and Everyone.

The users who belong to a deleted group will be affected by the change the next

time they log on. The users who belong to the deleted group will lose any rights they inherited from

the group.

Procedure

Go to the Users and Groups management area of the CMC.

Select the user or group you wish to delete.

Click Manage → Delete.

The delete confirmation dialog box appears.

Click OK.

Adding users to groups

Once you have created a group structure, you will need to add users to the groups.

You can add users to groups in the following ways:

• Select the group, and then click Actions → Add Members to Group.

• Select the user, and then click Actions → Member Of.

• Select the user, and then click Actions → Join Group.

Add a user to one or more groups

In the Users and Groups management area of the CMC.



Select the user that you wish to add to a group.

Click Actions → Join Group.Note: All SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform users of the system are part ofthe Everyone group. The Join Group dialog box appears.

Select the group that you want to add the user to from the Available Groups list, and click >

to move it to theDestination Group(s) list.

Use SHIFT + click or CTRL + click to select multiple groups.

Click OK.

Add one or more users to a group

1. In the Users and Groups management area of the CMC, select the group.

2. Click Actions → Add Members to Group.

The Add dialog box appears.

3. Click User list.

The Available users/groups list refreshes and displays all user accounts in the system.

4. Select the user that you want to add to the group from the Available users/groups list,

and click >to move it to the Selected users/groups list.

Note:

• To select multiple users, use the SHIFT + click or CTRL +click combination.

• To search for a specific user, use the search field.

• If there are many users on your system, click the Previous and

Next buttons to navigate through the list of users.

5. Click OK.

Result

The user(s) is added to the group.

Creating folders

To create a logical structure in which to store an organization's content you must

create folders. Folders store objects and are used to organize documents.

You can use folders to separate content into logical areas. Every report or document

must reside in a folder.

Because you can set security at the folder level, you can use folders as a tool for

controlling access to information.

Object-level rights are either set explicitly for the object or inherited from the folder

in which the object resides.

Creating and managing folders is typically the responsibility of the SAP

BusinessObjects BI platform administrator, but end users can be given the option to

create their own folders and control the objects within their folders in BI launchpad.

Managing folders in SAP BusinessObjects BI platform is done in the Foldersmanagement area of the Central Management Console.



Create a folder

1. Go to the Folders management area in the CMC.

2. Navigate to where you want to create the folder.

3. Click Manage → New → Folder.

4. Enter a name for the folder and click OK.

The folder is created.

Creating Categories

Categories provide an alternative way of organizing objects, and therefore an

alternative way for users to navigate to them.

For example, you could organize your content into departmental folders, and then

use categories to create an alternate filing system that divides content according to

different roles in your organization, such as managers or VPs.

This organizational model allows you set security on groups of documents based on

department or job role. There are two types of categories: corporate and personal.

Corporate categories are created and administrated by administers with the

appropriate rights, and are only visible to groups and users who have the rights to

view them; personal categories are created by individual users, and are only visible

to themselves.

There are two types of categories:

• Corporate categories are created and administrated by administers with the appropriate

rights,and are only visible to groups and users who have the rights to view them.

• Personal categories are created by individual users, and are only visible to

themselves.

Note: While all objects must reside in folders, category assignment is optional;therefore, it is important to note that:

• While you can assign rights to a category as an object (that is, grant groups and

users rights to it), the objects within the category cannot inherit rights set on the

category itself.

• An object in a category retains its affiliation with the folder it resides in.

• An object can reside in multiple categories.

Create a category

1. Go to the Categories management area of the CMC.

2. Click Manage → New → Category.

3. Type a name for your cateogry.

4. Click OK.

The new category is added to the system. You can now click Manage → Properties

to change settings for this category.



Assign an object to a category

1. Go to the Folders management area of the CMC.

2. Navigate to the object you would like to add to a category and select it.

3. Click Manage → Properties.

4. Under Properties, in the Categories section, select the categories to which you want to add

the object.

5. Click Save & Close.

Delete categories

Use

You can either remove or delete objects from a category. When you remove anobject, you remove it from the category only. When you delete an object, you

remove it from the category and also delete it from the system.

Procedure


2. Double-click the category from which you want to remove or delete an

object.

If the category you want to delete is not at the top level, locate its parent category.

Then make your selection.To select multiple categories, hold down the CTRL or Option key and click each

category, so that you can delete several categories simultaneously.

3. Select the object or objects you want to remove or delete.

4. Remove the object from the category or delete the object.

• Click Actions → Remove From Category to remove the object from the category

only. In this case, the object continues to exist in the system.

• Click Manage → Delete to remove the object from the category and at the same

time delete it from the system.

Move a category

Use

When you move a category, any object assigned to the category maintains its

association with it. All of the category's object rights are retained.

For example, you may have a South American Sales category that is accessible only by

sales people in that region.

You also have a World Sales category that contains worldwide sales reports needed by

all sales people.

For more intuitive organization, you want to move the region categories into the World

Sales category. When you move the South American Sales category into the World Sales category, it retains



its rights settings and associated objects, even though it has become a subcategory of the

World Sales category.

Procedure


2. Select the category that you want move.

If the category you want to move is not at the top level, locate its parent category. Then

make your selection.

3. Click Organize → Move To.

4. Select the Destination category and add it to the Destinations list.

If there are many categories on your system, use the Search title field to search, or click

Previous, Next, and + to browse the category hierarchy.

5. Click Move.

The category you selected is moved to the new destination.

Administering Rights in SAP BusinessObjects BusinessIntelligence Platform Rights play an important role in SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform because

they allow you to control access to your SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform

content, rights enable you to delegate user and group management to different departments, and

to provide your IT people with administrative access to servers and server groups.

Terminology Access levels

Access levels are groups of rights that users frequently need. They allow administrators to set

common security levels quickly and uniformly rather than requiring that individual rights be set one

by one. SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform comes with several predefined access

levels. These predefined access levels are based on a model of increasing rights: Beginning with

View and ending with Full Control, each access level builds upon the rights granted by the previous

level.

Inheritance

Top-level folder security

Top-level folder security is the default security set for each specific object type (for example

Universes, Web Intelligence Application, Groups and Folders). Each object type has its own

top-level folder (root folder) that all the objects below inherit rights from.

If there are any access levels common to certain object types that apply throughout the whole

system, set them at the top-level folder specific to each object type. For example, if the Sales

group requires the View access level to all folders, you can set this at the root level for

Folders.

Folder-level security Folder-level security enables you to set access-level rights for a folder and the objects



contained within that folder. While folders inherit security from the top-level folder (root

folder), subfolders inherit the security of their parent folder. Rights set explicitly at the folder

level override inherited rights.

Object-level security

Objects in SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform inherit security from their

parent folder. Rights set explicitly at the object level override inherited rights.

Setting Rights How rights work in SAP Business Objects Business Intelligenceplatform Rights are the base units for controlling user access to the objects, users, applications,

servers, and other features in SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform.

They play an important role in securing the system by specifying the individual actions that

users can perform on objects.

Besides allowing you to control access to your SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platformcontent, rights enable you to delegate user and group management to different departments, and to provide your IT people with administrative access to servers and server groups. It is important to recognize the difference between rights set on objects or folders, and rights

set on principals (the users and groups) who access them.

For example, to give a manager access to a particular folder, in the Folders area, you add the

manager to the access control list (the list of principals who have access to an object) for the

folder.

You cannot give the manager access by configuring the manager's rights settings in the

"Users and Groups" area.

The rights settings for the manager in the Users and Group area are used to grant other

principals (such as delegated administrators) access to the manager as an object in thesystem. In this way, principals are themselves like objects for others with greater rights to

manage.

Each right on an object can be granted, denied, or unspecified. The SAP BusinessObjects

Business Intelligence platform security model is designed such that, if a right is left

unspecified, the right is denied.

Additionally, if settings result in a right being both granted and denied to an user or group,

the right is denied.

There is an important exception to this rule. If a right is explicitly set on a child object that

contradicts the rights inherited from the parent object, the right set on the child object

overrides the inherited rights.

This exception applies to users who are members of groups as well. If an user is explicitly

granted a right that the user's group is denied, the right set on the user overrides the inherited

right.

Advanced rights settings To provide you with full control over object security, the CMC allows you to set advanced rights.

These advanced rights provide increased flexibility as you define security levels for objects at a

granular level.

Use advanced rights settings, for instance, if you need to customize a principal's rights to a

particular object or set of objects.

Most importantly, use advanced rights to explicitly deny a user or group any right that should not

be permitted to change when, in the future, you make changes to group memberships or folder

security levels.

The following table summarizes the options that you have when you set advanced rights.



Application

These rights are divided according to which SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

platform application they affect. Examples of applications include the CMC and BI launch

pad.

System

These rights are divided according to which core system component they affect.

Examples of core system components include Calendars, Events, and Users and Groups.

Type-specific rights are in the Content, Application, and System collections. In each

collection, they are further divided into categories based on object type.

Troubleshooting user rights Troubleshooting user rights can be a laborious undertaking for a systems administrator. The SAP

BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform contains two tools which are aimed at negating

this challenge.

Permissions Explorer

The Permissions Explorer is aimed at making it easier to pinpoint the source of inherited user

rights.

Security Query

The Security Query tool enables an administrator to list which objects a user can access and

why. It also enables the administrator to interactively make changes to the security settings

from the query result.

Managing security settings for objects in the CMC You can manage security settings for most objects in the CMC with the security options

on the Manage menu. These options let you assign principals to the access control list foran object, view the rights that a principal has, and modify the rights that the principal has

to an object.

Viewing rights for a principal on an object Use You can view the rights for a principal on an object using the Permissions Explorer tool. The Permissions

Explorer saves time when trying to determine where inherited rights originate from in SAP

BusinessObjects BI platform.

Procedure 1. Select the object for which you want to view security settings.

Click Manage→ User Security to display the access control list for the object.

The User Security dialog box appears and displays the access control list for the object.

3. Select a principal from the access control list, and click View Security.

The Permissions Explorer dialog launches and displays a list of effective rights for the principal on the

object. In addition, the Permissions Explorer lets you do the following:

• Browse for another principal whose rights you want to view.

• Filter the rights displayed according to these criteria:



– assigned rights

– granted rights

– unassigned rights

– from access level

– object type

– the name of the right

Sort the list of rights displayed in ascending or descending order according to these criteria:

– collection

– type

– right name

– right status (granted, denied, or unspecified)

Additionally, you can click one of the links in the Source column to display the source of inherited rights.

Checking security settings for a principal In some cases, you may want to know the objects to which a principal has been granted or

denied access.

You can use a security query to do this. Security queries let you determine which objects a

principal has certain rights to and manage user rights. For each security query, you provide

the following information:

Query Principal

You specify the user or group that you want to run the security query for. You can specify

one principal for each security query.

Query Permission

You specify the right or rights you want to run the security query for, the status of these rights,

and the object type these rights are set on. For example, you can run a security query for all

reports that a principal can refresh, or for all reports that a principal cannot export.

Query Context

You specify the CMC areas that you want the security query to search. For each area, you

can choose whether to include sub-objects in the security query. A security query can have a

maximum of four areas.

Access level Access levels are groups of rights that users frequently need. They allow administrators

to set common security levels quickly and uniformly rather than requiring that individual

rights be set one by one.

You can do the following with access levels:

• Copy an existing access level, make changes to the copy, rename it, and save it as a new

access level.

• Create, rename, and delete access levels.

• Modify the rights in an access level.

• Trace the relationship between access levels and other objects in the system.



• Trace the relationship

• Replicate and manage access levels across sites.

• Use one of the predefined access levels in SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform to setrights quickly and uniformly for many principals.

Predefined access levels SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform comes with several predefined access

levels. These predefined access levels are based on a model of increasing rights: Beginning

with View and ending with Full Control, each access level builds upon the rights granted by

the previous level.

The following table summarizes the rights that each predefined access level contains.

Predefined access levels Access level Description Rights involved

View If set on the folder level,

a principal can view the

folder, objects within the

folder, and each object's

generated instances. If

set at the object level, a

principal can view the

object, its history, and its

generated instances.

• View objects

• View document instances

Schedule A principal can generate

instances by schedulingan object to run against

a specified data source

once or on a recurring

basis. The principal

can view, delete, and

pause the scheduling of

instances that they own.

They can also schedule

to different formats

and destinations, set

parameters and database

logon information,

choose servers to process

jobs, add contents to

the folder, and copy the

object or folder.

View access-level rights, plus:

• Schedule the document to run

• Define server groups to process jobs

• Copy objects to another folder

• Schedule to destinations

• Print the report's data

• Export the report's data

• Edit objects that the user owns

• Delete instances that the user owns

• Pause and resume document instances

that the user owns



Access level Description Rights involved

View On Demand A principal can refreshdata on demand against a

data source.

Schedule access-level rights, plus:

• Refresh the report's data

Full Control A principal has full

administrative control of

the object.

All available rights, including:

• Add objects to the folder

• Edit objects

• Modify rights users have to objects

• Delete objects• Delete instances

No Access The user or group is not

able to access the object

or folder.

No rights

Hint: The following rights are required when using these access levels.

Access level task Rights required

Create an access

level Add right on the Access Levels top-level folder

View granular rights

in an access level View right on the access level

Assign an access

level to a principal

on an object

View right on the access level

Use the Access Level for Security Assignment

right on the access level

Modify Rights right on the object, or Securely Modify Rights right onthe object and the principal

Modify an access

level View and Edit rights on the access level

Delete an access

level View and Delete rights on the access level





Access level task Rights required

Clone an access

level

View right on the access level

Copy right on the access levelAdd right on the Access Levels top-level folder

Custom access levels In addition to the predefined access levels, you can also create and customize your own, which can

greatly reduce administrative and maintenance costs associated with security. Consider a situation in which an administrator must manage two groups, sales managers and sales

employees. Both groups need to access five reports in the SAP Business Objects Business

Intelligence platform system,but sales managers require more rights than sales employees.

The predefined access levels do not meet the needs of either group. Instead of adding groups to

each report as principals and modifying their rights in five different places, the administrator can

create two new access levels, Sales Managers and Sales Employees. The administrator then adds both groups as principals to the reports and assigns the groups their

respective access levels. When rights need to be modified, the administrator can modify the access

levels.

Because the access levels apply to both groups across all five reports, the rights those groups have to

the reports are quickly updated.

Inheritance Rights are set on an object for a principal in order to control access to the object however, it is

impractical to set the explicit value of every possible right for every principal on every object.

Consider a system with 100 rights, 1000 users, and 10,000 objects: to set rights explicitly on each

object would require the CMS to store billions of rights in its memory, and, importantly, requirethat an administrator manually set each one.

Inheritance patterns resolve this impracticality. With inheritance, the rights that users have to

objects in the system come from a combination of their memberships in different groups and

subgroups and from objects which have inherited rights from parent folders and subfolders.

These users can inherit rights as the result of group membership; subgroups can inherit rights from

parent groups; and both users and groups can inherit rights from parent folders.

By default, users or groups who have rights to a folder inherit the same rights for any objects that

are subsequently published to that folder.

Consequently, the best strategy is to set the appropriate rights for users and groups at the folder

level first, then publish objects to that folder.

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform recognizes two types of inheritance:

1. Group inheritance

2. Folder inheritance

Group inheritance Group inheritance allows principals to inherit rights as the result of group membership. Group

inheritance proves especially useful when you organize all of your users into groups that









coincide with your organization's current security conventions.

Figure 14: Group inheritance example 1 In Group inheritance example 1, you can see how group inheritance works. Red Group is a

subgroup of Blue Group, so it inherits Blue Group's rights. In this case, it inherits right 1 as

granted, and the rest of the rights as unspecified.

Every member of Red Group inherits these rights. In addition, any other rights that are set on

the subgroup are inherited by its members. In this example, Green User is a member of Red

Group, and thus inherits right 1 as granted, rights 2, 3, 4, and 6 as not specified, and Right 5

as denied. When group inheritance is enabled for a user who belongs to more than one group, the rights

of all parent groups are considered when the system checks credentials.

The user is denied any right that is explicitly denied in any parent group, and the user is

denied any right that remains completely not specified thus, the user is granted only those

rights that are granted in one or more groups (explicitly or through access levels) and never

explicitly denied.

In Group inheritance example 2, Green User is a member of two unrelated groups. From Blue

Group, he inherits rights 1 and 5 as "granted" and the rest as not specified; however, because

Green User also belongs to Red Group, and Red Group has been explicitly denied right 5, Green

User's inheritance to right 5 from Blue Group is overridden.

Figure 15: Group inheritance example 2 Folder inheritance

Folder inheritance allows principals to inherit any rights that they have been granted on anobject's parent folder.

Folder inheritance proves especially useful when you organize SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence platform content into a folder hierarchy that reflects your organization's current

security conventions.

For example, suppose that you create a folder called Sales Reports, and you provide your Sales

group with View On Demand access to this folder.

By default, every user that has rights to the Sales Reports folder will inherit the same rights to the









reports that you subsequently publish to this folder. Consequently, the Sales group will have View

On Demand access to all of the reports, and you need set the object rights only once, at the folder

level.

In Folder inheritance example, rights have been set for Red Group on a folder. Rights 1 and 5

have been granted, while the rest have been left unspecified. With folder inheritance enabled,

members of Red Group have rights on the object level identical to the rights of the group on thefolder level. Rights 1 and 5 are inherited as granted, while the rest have been left unspecified.

Figure 16: Folder inheritance example

Rights override Rights override is a rights behavior in which rights that are set on child objects override

the rights set on parent objects. Rights override occurs under the following circumstances:

• In general, the rights that are set on child objects override the rights that are set on

parent objects.

• In general, the rights that are set on subgroups or members of groups override the

rights that are set on groups.

You do not need to disable inheritance to set customized rights on an object. The child object

inherits the rights settings of the parent object except for the rights that are explicitly set on

the child object. Also, any changes to rights settings on the parent object apply to the child

object.

Rights override example 1 illustrates how rights override works on parent and childobjects. Blue User is denied the right to edit a folder's contents; the rights setting is inherited

by the subfolder. However, an administrator grants Blue User Edit rights to a ocument in

the subfolder.

The Edit right that Blue User receives on the document overrides the inherited rights that

come from the folder and subfolder. Rights override example 2 illustrates how rights override works on members and groups. Blue

Group is denied the right to edit a folder; Blue Subgroup inherits this rights setting. However, an administrator grants Blue User, who is a member of Blue Group and Blue Subgroup,







Edit rights on the folder. The Edit rights that Blue User receives on the folder override the inheritedrights that come from Blue Group and Blue Subgroup.

Complex rights override illustrates a situation where the effects of rights override are less obvious.

Purple User is a member of subgroups 1A and 2A, which are in Groups 1 and 2, respectively.

Groups 1 and 2 both have Edit rights on the folder. 1A inherits the Edit rights that Group 1 has, but

an administrator denies Edit rights to 2A. The rights settings on 2A override the rights settings onGroup 2 because of rights override. Therefore, Purple User inherits contradictory rights settings from

1A and 2A. 1A and 2A do not have a parent-child relationship,so rights override does not occur; that

is, one sub-group's rights settings do not override another's because they have equal status. In the end,

Purple User is denied Edit rights because of the “denial-based” rights model in SAP BusinessObjects

Business Intelligence platform.