Web Intelligence Core Functions Web Intelligence allows business users to access and analyze corporate data from heterogeneous data sources, online or offline They can also share the data and insights with colleagues, customers and partners over intranets and extranets To access Web Intelligence, you can log into the BI launch pad, the Business Intelligence portal via your internet browser Using the BI launch pad, you can share documents with other users. You can also use the Web Intelligence Desktop whilst connected to the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform repository repository is known as the Central Management Server, or “the CMS” If you use the Web Intelligence Desktop whilst connected to the CMS, you are working in “connected” mode. In connected mode, you can publish documents that you have created locally, so that BI launch pad users can access them in the CMS repository The SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform stores Web Intelligence documents, as well as SAP Crystal reports, Desktop Intelligence documents, SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards models, Voyager workspaces, spreadsheets, and other documents
The data sources include: Relational databases (RDBMS) Online analytical processing (OLAP) server Personal data providers such as Microsoft Excel or CSV files Business Explorer (BEx) queries based on SAP Info Cubes Web services Advanced Analysis workspaces The SAP High-Performance Analytical Appliance (HANA) data source which allows you to benefit from in-memory computing
Understanding the Semantic Layer Web Intelligence allows you to access and analyze your organization's data from Relational databases and OLAP servers by means of a semantic layer in one or more SAP BusinessObjects universes Web Intelligence uses universes to provide access to data. Using a universe's business-oriented view of the data, you can create queries in Web Intelligence and get information using your own everyday terms The terms you need to be familiar with in order to understand how this semantic layer functions for relational databases are: • Object • Class • Predefined query filter • Universe
Querying with Web Intelligence When you build a query in the Web Intelligence Query panel, you select the universe objects and query filters that represent your business question. The query is sent to the Web Intelligence server when it is executed, if you are connected to the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform CMS, which generates the final Structured Query Language (SQL) statements, the language used to query the database
webi represent data in multiple ways As a table (horizontal, vertical, form or cross table) As a chart (bar, box, column, line, map, pie, point, radar or tag cloud) As a multiple-block report containing large amounts of data
BI Launch Pad a web desktop that acts as a window to a broad range of useful business information around your company
The BI launch pad collects and consolidates a company’s BI information and presents it in a secure, focused, and personalized view to users inside and outside an organization The BI launch pad lets users personalize how they view, manage, and distribute BI content. It is both a standalone BI portal (BIP), as well as a BI content provider for enterprise information portals (EIPs).
Sharing Documents with BI Launch Pad Users The BI launch pad allows you to share your documents with colleagues. You can choose to save them as public documents, and if your colleagues are BI launch pad users, you can send your documents directly to them. The SAP BusinessObjects Central Management Server (CMS) stores sent and public documents and enables others to retrieve them. If they do not use the BI launch pad, you can export your documents to Microsoft Excel or Adobe PDF format, or alternatively export the query data to csv
Sharing Web Intelligence documents: Save documents as files on your workstation, in Web Intelligence WID format, or in Adobe PDF, Microsoft Excel, or export to .CSV format Send in an E-mail as an attachment, in Web Intelligence WID, Adobe PDF, or Microsoft Excel format Publish documents to the CMS as a public or personal document From within the BI launch pad, send a document to another user or group of users From within the BI launch pad, save a document as a public or personal document in the CMS From within the BI launch pad, schedule documents to be refreshed and sent automatically by using the BI launch pad scheduler
Query Process Using one of the Web Intelligence query panels, you construct a business question, or query, that represents the information you need
The query is sent to the Web Intelligence server. The Web Intelligence server retrieves the data from the database and stores it in a microcube. The contents of the microcube is then formatted and displayed in a Web Intelligence report in the form of tables, cross tables and charts for your analysis
Universes and Objects A SAP BusinessObjects universe is the semantic layer that maps everyday business terms that describe your business environment to data stored in the database
Universe;There are three different types of objects: Dimension - Retrieves the data that provides the basis for analysis in a report. Dimension objects typically retrieve character-type data, for example, customer names, store names or dates. Detail - Provides descriptive data about a dimension. A detail is always attached to the dimension for which it provides additional information. For example, the Customer dimension could have Age and Address associated with it because they provide additional information about a Customer. When you build a *.unx universe in the Information Design tool, a detail is the same as an Attribute. Measure - Retrieves numeric data that is the result of calculations on data in the database. For example, Revenue is the calculation of the number of items sold multiplied by the item price. Measure objects are often located in a Measures class A Query Filter restricts the information returned by objects
You can launch Web Intelligence Desktop in one of three working modes
Connected mode: Web Intelligence Desktop is connected to the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform repository, also known as the Central Management Server, or CMS. You can work with documents from the SAP BusinessObjects repository or with local documents. In connected mode, user authentication may be handled by different security models: Enterprise, LDAP, Windows AD, Windows NT, or SAP. Offline mode: Web Intelligence Desktop is not connected to the CMS repository, but applies CMS security. You can work with local documents and universes that are secured by the CMS you select at logon, or with unsecured local documents and universes. In Offline mode, you cannot retrieve documents from or publish documents to the CMS repository Standalone mode: Web Intelligence Desktop is not connected to a CMS and no security is enforced. You can work with local, unsecured documents and universes only. You cannot retrieve documents from or publish documents to a CMS.
The Web Intelligence Desktop consists of two separate panels: The Query Panel. The Web Intelligence Desktop main window
To create a new Web Intelligence document, you: Choose a data source for the query. Build and run a query Save the new document. The data returned is displayed in a new document in the Web Intelligence Desktop main window. The values returned by the objects you selected are presented by default in a vertical table
Saving a New Document
You can save a *WID document that you have created with Web Intelligence Desktop locally on your desktop or you can publish it to the CMS To see the most recent data available in the database, users can refresh the document manually when they open it. Or, you can choose to select this option to ensure that the data is updated automatically each time the document is opened If you select the Permanent regional formatting check box, it overrides the user’s default viewing options and always displays the document’s original regional setting for language and time stamping When you save the document as a Web Intelligence document, choose options: *Refresh on open The document automatically refreshes when it is opened. * Permanent regional formatting The current regional settings (locale) for formatting are applied regardless of what the locale is on the machine where it is opened * Save for all users All security information stored in the document is removed, making it accessible to all users and able to be opened in Standalone mode. * Remove document security Default document security is removed you can save in three formats: • Web Intelligence document • PDF document • Excel document
the Query Panel consists of separate panels The Data Outline panel. The Result Objects panel. The Query Filters panel. The Data Preview panel.
Query Panel Options Add Query Allows you to add a new query to the document
Data Outline Panel Allows you to show or hide the data outline, which contains the Master Perspective and the Display by Navigation Path views Filters Panel Allows you to show or hide the Query Filters panel. Data Preview Panel Allows you to show or hide the Data Preview panel. Scope of Analysis Panel Allows you to show or hide the Scope of Analysis panel Add a combined query Allows you to combine the data retrieved from more than one query using one of the following operators: • minus • union • intersection Query Properties Allows you to display the query properties. View Script Allows you to view, copy and modify the SQL script used to generate the query. Run query Allows you to run the query you built and retrieve the data from the database. The results of the query are displayed in a report in the Web Intelligence Desktop main window. Close the query panel Allows you to close the Query Panel. The down arrow to the right of the button allows you to apply query changes and close, or to revert the query and close
Result Objects Panel Add Quick Filter Allows you to apply a filter on an object that is selected in the Result Objects panel. Remove Allows you to remove the selected object from the Result Objects panel Remove All Allows you to remove all objects from the Result Objects panel Add a subquery Allows you to run a subquery to restrict the data returned by the query. Add a database ranking Allows you to use the database ranking feature to retrieve only top or bottom values from the database
Remove Allows you to remove the selected object from the Query Filters panel. Remove All Allows you to remove all objects from the Query Filters panel.
The query properties allow you to: Limit the runtime for the query or the amount of data returned. Set security options. Specify the order of prompts in the report Control potential ambiguous query results Restrict the retrieval of duplicate data rows
Properties tab Name Universe Limits; Max rows retrieved Sample;The Sample result set property determines the maximum number of rows that a query returns The Sample result set option in the Query Panel is only available for relational unx universes, and not for OLAP .unx universes or BEx queries Data;Retrieve duplicate rows(by default);The option is not available in BEx queries or if it is not supported in the underlying database. Retrieve empty rows; Retrieving or excluding empty rows is available only in universes based on OLAP data sources. Not available in BEx queries Security;Allow other users to edit all queries Prompt Order Contexts;In a few cases, your universe structure may require you to specify a context for your report. In these cases, you receive a prompt to select a context and your selection determines the dataset returned by your query
Viewing the Query's SQL When you build a query, Web Intelligence automatically generates the appropriate SQL to retrieve the data from the database that you are accessing. You can view and edit this SQL, and even copy and paste it to another application
The Purpose of Query Filters Query filters retrieve a subset of the available data, based on the definition of the filter Some universes have predefined filters built into them by the universe designer
Using query filters has the following advantages: You retrieve and are able to focus on only the data you need to answer a specific business question You limit data you do not want specific users to see when they access the document You minimize the quantity of data returned to the document to optimize performance
Components of a Query Filter Object - the object on which you want to filter data. Operator - the relationship between the object and operand. Common operators are: Equal to, Not Equal to, Greater than, Greater than or equal to, Less than, and Less than or equal to. Operand - the object values to be used for filtering.
operators you can choose Equal to
Different from Greater than Greater than or equal to Less than Less than or equal to Between Not Between In List Not in List Is null Is not null Matches pattern Different from pattern Both Except
Types of Query Filters Predefined query filters - these are built right into the universe Single and multi-value filters. Prompted filters Complex filters
Predefined Query Filter A predefined query filter is an element in the universe that allows you to restrict the information returned by specific dimension, detail or measure objects. Predefined query filters are created by the universe designer and appear in the list of classes and objects in the Query Panel
Single-value Query Filter
When you add a single-value query filter to a query, you limit the data returned by a specific object to one single value
Using Wildcards in Query Filters You can use wildcards in query filters to search for partial values rather than the entire value In Web Intelligence, use the following wildcards: • _ for any single character • % for any number of characters You can use wildcards as placeholders for partial pattern searches When you create the query filter using a wildcard, you must use one of the following relational operators: • Matches pattern: to find values that match the pattern you specify. • Different from pattern: to find values different than the pattern you specify.
Prompted Filters The prompt dialog box allows you to specify the data to retrieve and display in the report Prompted filters allow multiple users viewing a single document to specify a different subset of the data and display it in the same tables and charts in the report Prompts can be defined on any dimension, measure or detail object listed in the Universe outline in the Query Panel. You cannot use the operators Is Null and Not Null when creating prompted filters The Parameter Properties: * Prompt text * Prompt with List of Values * Select only from list * Keep last values selected * Optional prompt: Select this option to allow users to refresh the document without responding to the prompt or by responding only partially to the prompt. * Set default values
When the document contains multiple data providers and the exact same prompt and prompt text are included in them, Web Intelligence displays the prompt only once When you make a prompt optional, the prompt dialog box displays text to inform report users that when they do not provide a value for the prompt, the filter does not apply
Prompts Dialog Box The options you define for the prompt determine how the Prompts dialog box displays to the report consumers and how they can specify the+ values for their reports in the Prompts dialog box The dialog box displays all the prompts for the report in the Prompts Summary. The Prompts Summary also indicates when a prompt is optional. When the Prompts dialog box displays a list of values from which the report users can select the values for the report, it also displays the last refresh date and time for the list of values Editing a Prompted Query Filter;You can make changes to the prompted query filter by editing the query in the Query Panel
Using Logical Operators for Multiple Conditions To produce a report that focuses more precisely on certain data, you may need to apply more than one filter. When you specify more than one filter in a query, the relationship between the filters must use either the AND or OR operator. These are known as logical operators. The AND operator is used when both conditions defined in the two filters must be met for a row to be returned from the database when you run a query The OR operator is used when either one or the other of the conditions defined in the filters must be met for a row to be returned from the database when you run a query The result of combining two or more filters can be visually represented using a Venn diagram
Using the AND Operator When you add a second filter to a query in a new Web Intelligence document, Web Intelligence automatically places either an AND operator between the two conditions
when your query had a second filter that you removed from the query and you add a new second filter, by default, Web Intelligence applies the logical operator that was last used
Using the OR operator When you use the AND operator to group two query filters, your report returns data only if the conditions of both query filters are met. When you use the OR operator to group two query filters, your report returns data if the conditions of either of the query filters are met. For this reason, the OR operator returns more data than the AND operator
Prioritizing Operators You are applying a complex filter when you combine several filters in a single query In the Query Filters panel, by positioning the query filter statements and deciding how to group them together, you define which filters will be processed first. The positioning and grouping of the filters depends on the logic of the information you are trying to retrieve The grouping of the query filters, represented by the brackets, determines which query filters will be processed first Do not use commas in the numerical notation when creating the filter
Components of a Web Intelligence Document One or more reports: One document may contain several reports, organized as tabs along the bottom of the window. Reports contain blocks of formatted data as well as text and graphics. You specify the layout when you create a report, and you can also change the layout of existing reports. One or more blocks: A block is a table, cross table, form, or chart that displays information in the report. The microcube of data returned by the query, or other data provider The microcube contains the actual data that was retrieved from your corporate database. The microcube is the structure in which the retrieved data is stored in the document. It contains all the data that you can display in the report(s) inside the document
About the Web Intelligence Desktop Reporting Interface The Left Panel that provides different views of the current document The toolboxes, toolbars and buttons that allow you to control the data that displays in the Report Panel. The toolboxes, tabs and toolbars for interacting with the data in the report that are available to you depend on the application mode you use to work in the Web Intelligence Desktop application When you right-click the report elements in the Report Panel, the contextual menu also gives you quick access to the functions available for the element in the application mode you use to work, in the Web Intelligence Desktop application As a report designer, you work principally in the Design mode. However, the report users may work principally in the Reading mode so you need to be familiar with the features available in the other modes. As a report designer, you may also need to work in Data mode
Application Mode Data In Data mode you can create, edit and manage queries that supply data to reports. Data mode provides access to the Data Access toolbox with features that allow you to: • Create a new document • Edit, purge and refresh an existing document • Create a new variable • Merge objects from different data sources Data mode also provides you access to: • The File tab with the main toolbar where you can open, save, print and search a document and send it as an attachment by E-mail. • The Properties tab where you can set document and application properties.
Reading In Reading mode, you can view and perform some analysis tasks on reports. When you open an existing report, it displays in Reading mode. Reading mode provides you access to the main toolbar that allows you to: • Create a new document • Open, save, print, search a document • Send a document as an E-mail attachment • Edit a document with copy, cut, paste, undo and redo buttons • Refresh a document • Activate data change tracking, drill up or down in the data in a report designed for drilling • Show or hide report filters and outlines Design In Design mode, you have access to the features available in Data and Reading modes and additional analysis and formatting features. Design mode provides you access to the following toolboxes and their associated functions: • Report Element: Allows you to define the tables, charts, cells and sections in which your data displays, the colors, position and alignment of the report elements and the hyperlinks they contain. • Format: Allows you to define formatting options including font, color, borders, text alignment, padding and background images. • Data Access: Allows you to create a new document, edit, purge and refresh an existing document, create a new variable and merge objects from different data sources. • Analysis: Allows you to perform extensive analysis tasks. You can apply report filters, ranking, input controls, data tracking, breaks, sorts, conditional formatting rules, drill up or down on data when drilling is enabled, apply calculations and show or hide outlines. • Page Setup: Allows you to add, delete, rename, duplicate and move reports, define page orientation, headers, footers and margins and scale a report to a number of printed pages, Design mode also provides you access to: • The File tab with the main toolbar that allows you to open, save, print and search a document and send it as an attachment by E-mail. • The Properties tab that allows you to set document and application properties.
Customizing Your User Preferences
You can personalize the following settings of the Web Intelligence Desktop application in the User Preferences dialog box preferences on different tabs General: General preferences Viewing: Document viewing preferences Locale: Preferences for interface and formatting locales and how to use them Drill: Document drill preferences Proxy: Proxy settings for hosts and ports
Web Intelligence Desktop General Preferences Select Default Universe When you define a default universe, the Universe dialog box displays with the default universe selected each time you create a new document on a universe. You can use the default universe or select another one. No default universe Select a universe.... Select Default Folders In this section, you choose the default folders in which to store user documents, universes, and help files. To change the default locations, click Browse, then browse to and select a folder. When Web Intelligence Desktop is downloaded and installed from BI launch pad, help files are not installed locally. However, they are installed on the BI launch pad server. Contact your company's SAP Business Objects administrator to get the URL of the help files on the server, then enter the URL here for help to be available
Select Microsoft Excel Format In this section you choose the format to use when you save a document in Microsoft Excel format: *Prioritize easy data processing in the Excel document *Prioritize the format of reports in the Excel document
Measurement Unit you set the unit of measurement for report display: pixel, inch, or centimeter.
Grid Options: Show grid: When this is selected, a grid displays to help align page elements Snap to grid: When this is selected, page elements align to the grid to enable accurate repositioning Grid spacing: This defines the distance between lines on the grid
Web Intelligence Desktop Locale Preferences Locales A locale is a combination of language and geographical area. • Product locale: Select an available locale to set the application interface language. When you change this setting, you must restart Web Intelligence Desktop for the change to be taken into account. • Preferred viewing locale: The user's preferred locale for displaying document data. When a user creates a document, the preferred viewing locale is always assigned as the initial Document locale saved with the document. Formatting Locale This option determines how Web Intelligence formats the data in your documents. • Use the document locale to format the data: When this is selected, data is formatted according to the document locale. The document locale can be saved with the document by means of the permanent regional formatting option that you can select when saving. • Use the preferred viewing locale to format the data: When this is selected, data is formatted according to your preferred viewing locale preference. This overrides the document locale.
Web Intelligence Desktop Drill Preferences
Drill Session: • Start drill on duplicate report: When you start a new drill session, a duplicate report is opened in the document and you drill on the duplicate. When you end drill mode, both the original report and the drilled report remain in the document. • Start drill on existing report: When you start a new drill session, the current report becomes drillable. When you end drill mode, the report displays the drilled values
Drill Options Prompt when drill requires additional data: You are prompted when Web Intelligence needs to retrieve additional data to complete the drill, and can decide whether to go ahead. If the amount of data is large, the retrieval can take time and you may decide not to drill. When this option is not selected, Web Intelligence retrieves the additional data without prompting you. Synchronize drill on report blocks: When this is selected, drilled values are shown in all the report blocks in the report. When it is not selected, drilled values are shown only in the report block selected for the drill Hide drill toolbar on startup: When this is selected, the drill toolbar that is normally displayed at the top of drilled reports is not shown. The drill toolbar displays the value on which you drilled. It is only useful when you want to select filters during your drill session
Proxy Options Define the proxy settings when you use an internet proxy server to access URLs or images in your reports. You do not need to define proxy settings for images embedded in a report • Http Host and Port Settings: Type the appropriate proxy information in each field. • Https Host and Port Settings: When the https proxy settings are the same as the http proxy settings, select same as Http Proxy. When they are different, type the appropriate proxy information in the fields.
From Data or Design mode, click the Tools button Login as…
Change Password Import Universe Mange BI Services Options. • General: to set general preferences • Viewing: to set document viewing preferences • Locale: to set preferences for interface and formatting locales and how to use them • Drilling: to set document drill preferences • Proxy: to set proxy host and port
To Change Your Password You can only change your password from the Web Intelligence Desktop if you are in clientserver connection mode: you must have launched the Web Intelligence Desktop locally rather than from the BI launch pad
Web Intelligence Application Structure The Web Intelligence application has the following components in Design mode: • The File and Properties tabs The File tab contains the toolbar that allows you to open, save and print documents. The Properties tab allows you to set document and application properties and to determine the display of the different components and panels in the application. • Toolboxes Toolboxes appear at the top of the application and provide access to tabs and toolbars that allow you to perform related tasks. The toolboxes include: Report Element, Format, Data Access, Analysis, Page Setup. • The Left Panel The Left Panel contains several panes that provide different views of the current document. • The Status Bar The Status Bar appears beneath the report and allows you to activate data tracking or change the way the report displays between Quick Display and Page modes
Working with the Left Panel Views The Left Panel in the Design mode of the Web Intelligence Desktop;provide different views of the current document • The Document Summary provides an overview of the document properties. You can print or edit the properties using the buttons at top of the Document Summary. • The Report Map lists all the reports in the document displayed in the Report Panel. You can navigate among the reports and report sections via the Report Map. • The Input Controls pane allows you to add and edit input controls applied to the document. • The Web Services Publisher pane lists the BI Services published from the document • The Available Objects pane lists the data providers and objects available for building your reports • The Document Structure and Filters pane displays the structure of the document in a tree view and displays the filters applied to the different report elements In Data mode, only the Data pane appears in the Left Panel. The Data pane allows you to navigate the data providers in a document. In Reading mode, only the Document Summary, the Report Map and the Input Controls pane appear in the Left Panel, but the report user cannot modify the information in the panes. By default, the Left Panel tab displays the Available Objects pane in the Web Intelligence Desktop main window. This tab displays the title of the document, plus all the objects (and variables, when pertinent), available in this document
Displaying the Document Summary In the Left Panel of the Web Intelligence Desktop main window, you can display and modify properties that are assigned by default to the Web Intelligence document.
Document Summary section
General Displays details about the document, such as the title, who created the document, the creation date, keywords that were defined to identify the document, and a description. Locale Displays the document’s international formatting locale. The locale affects the behavior of, for example, date display, number display and sort order. For example, if the document formatting Statistics Displays details about the last refresh, the duration of the last refresh, the last modification to the document and the username of the person who made the modification Document Options Displays the document options available and whether they are activated for the current document. Enhanced viewing: Optimizes the document appearance for on-screen viewing. Refresh on open: Refreshes a document automatically each time a user opens it. By default, this option is not selected so that users always see the original data that was retrieved when the document was last refreshed, and which was stored in the document when it was saved. To see the most recent data available in the database, users can refresh the document manually when they open it. Or you can choose to select this option to ensure that the data is updated automatically each time the document is opened. Permanent regional formatting: Bases document formatting on the document's locale. The document maintains the formatting for its locale even when a viewer defines a different locale. You can select this option here or in the Save a document dialog box when you save the document. Use query drill: Drills in query drill mode, instead of in the standard drill mode. Enable query stripping:Enhances performance during query refresh by generating queries that only retrieve the data for the objects that contribute to the reports in which they are used. At each query refresh, Web Intelligence ignores the non-contributing objects and retrieves only the relevant data from the data provider Data Options Data tracking: When activated, displays the date of the reference data set for tracking change in data. Auto-merge dimensions: Synchronizes data providers by merging dimensions automatically under certain conditions. Extend merged dimension values:Extends dimension values in reports with synchronized data providers. Parameters Provides the document prompts and keydates
Managing Reports In the Web Intelligence Desktop main window, you can add new reports to a document, and duplicate or delete reports as you like
About Tables Vertical Tables The vertical presentation style is the default style for presenting data. Vertical tables display header cells at the top of the table and the corresponding data in columns. By default, the header cells display the names of the dimensions, details, and measures included in the table. The body cells display the corresponding values. Horizontal Tables or Financial Tables A horizontal or financial table is similar to a vertical table except that the data runs horizontally rather than vertically. By default, the row headers display the names of the dimensions, details, and measures included in the table. The body cells display the corresponding values. This table format is useful for reports with several measures, such as financial reports and balance sheets Cross Tables A cross table looks similar to a spreadsheet and displays data in a matrix with row and column headings describing the content of each cell. Cross tables are most commonly used to show the cross-section of three axes of information. Cross tables display values for dimensions across the top axis and on the left axis. The body displays the values of a measure that correspond to the cross-section of the dimensions. Forms Forms are useful in a report if you want to display detailed information per customer, product, or partner. For example, a form is a useful way of displaying individual customer records with information such as the customer account, name,and address. Forms are also useful for formatting address labels for envelopes. When you first create a new document by building and running a query, the data retrieved is generally displayed in a vertical table. By default, all documents display in the Quick Display mode View Page mode displays the results retrieved in a page layout with margins, headers and footers
You change between Quick Display and Page modes by clicking the Quick Display or Page buttons in the Status Bar. In Design mode, you can also choose to work with the report structure only. No data appears in the table. Working with the report structure only allows you to make modifications without accessing the server. When you work with reports populated with data, each change you make is applied on the server. When you want to make many modifications, a best practice is to work with the report structure only, and to populate the report with data when you have finished your modifications To work in Structure mode, click the drop-down arrow beside Design in the upper right-hand corner and select Structure only Working in Structure mode allows you to define and preview the new table without requesting the server to apply each of your modifications. You then apply all of your modifications and display the results in the new table by changing to With Data mode.
Duplicating Tables You can use the copy-and-paste method that you prefer to easily copy a table and paste it as another block in the report. This is useful in order to show the same data, but in another format, perhaps as a chart with formatting to highlight certain information Methods of Table Duplication: * Contextsensitive menu * Toolbar buttons * Keyboard shortcuts Please note that to select a whole table (and not just parts of it) you need to click the rim of the table. When clicking the rim the mouse symbol should change into a cross. When the table has a border around it and four small squares in the corners you know that you have selected the whole table
Free-standing cells Free-standing cells are single cells that stand alone in a report
free-standing cells to display information that adds meaning
to your report, such as • Text comments: Type messages or questions or add titles. As a report designer you can add tips to the report consumers on how they can use the report interactivity for additional information • Images: display logos, icons or photographs • Formulas or calculations: Add custom formulas or calculations • Last refresh date: Display the date when the document results were refreshed with the most recent data from the database. • DrillFilter functions: Display the names of the objects by which the data on a drilled report is filtered. • Page numbers: Display the page number of each report page.
pre-defined cells, including: • Document name • Last Refresh Date • Drill Filters • Query Summary • Prompt Summary • Report Filter Summary • Page Number • Page Number/Total Pages • Total Pages
To Modify the Default Text style in Multiple Cells Simultaneously;Formatting Cells: Font: To define font size and type. Border: To define borders and border color. Cell: To merge or clear cells.
Style: To display the font in bold, italics or underlined and to define the font color. Also to define the cell background or color Numbers: To format numbers. Alignment: To define the alignment of the text. Size: To define cell size Padding: To define the spacing between the cell contents and the cell borders.
Column Charts Column charts are useful for showing data changes over a period of time or for illustrating comparisons among items. Column charts display a series as a of vertical bars that are grouped by category.
column charts: • Column chart • Column chart with dual values • Combined column and line chart • Combined column and line chart with dual value axes • Stacked column chart • 100% stacked column chart • 3D column chart
Line Charts Line charts are good for showing trends in data at equal intervals or changes in data over time. Line charts connect specific data values with lines, either horizontally or vertically
line charts • Line • Line with Dual Axes
• Surface Chart
Pie Charts Pie charts are useful if you want to show how each part of your report data contributes to the total. Pie charts display data as segments of a whole. You can only include one measure object in a pie chart. When you have several measures in your report, choose another chart type
pie charts: • Pie chart • Pie chart with variable slice depth • Donut chart
Point Charts Point charts are useful for comparing specific data points. They display data as points and are similar to line graphs, except that the data points are plotted without a line to connect them
point charts: • Scatter chart • Bubble chart • Polar scatter chart • Polar bubble chart
Bar Charts Bar charts are useful for comparing similar groups of data; for example one time period to another. Bar charts display data in bar form, horizontally
bar charts: • Bar chart
• Stacked bar chart • 100% stacked bar chart
Radar Charts Radar charts, also known as spider charts, are useful when you want to look at several different factors related to one item. A radar chart displays several axes starting from a unique origin and with a common scale. Each axis represents an analysis category item. Plots are directly placed on an axis according to the associated values. Plots can be linked by lines
About Breaks Breaks allow you to structure the data in a table into groups and make the data easier to view and interpret. You apply breaks on the data and values that you select When you apply a break, Web Intelligence separates all the data for each unique value of the selected variable. It inserts a blank row or column after each value, which allows you to easily insert subtotals for the group of data Using breaks has two main advantages: • You can more efficiently organize how your data is represented. • You can display subtotals. When you insert a break on a dimension, the values for the dimension are automatically sorted in ascending order. When the values are numeric, the lowest value displays in the first row of the table, the highest in the last row. When the values are alphabetical characters, then the values are sorted in alphabetical order from top to bottom
In the Web Intelligence Desktop application, you can add breaks in the following ways • In the Analysis toolbox, on the Display tab, by clicking Break.
• With the right-click contextual menu, by right-clicking the row or column where you want to add the break and selecting Break>Add Break.
About Calculations Web Intelligence provides standard calculation functions to help you make quick calculations on the data in your reports. These calculations are available in the Analysis toolbox on the Functions tab When you right-click the column or row where you cant to insert the calculation, you can also access the functions by selecting Insert and then the calculation you want to insert You can calculate sums, averages and percentages. You can also calculate the total count, and the minimum and maximum values for a variable When you insert a percentage calculation, the results of the percentage are displayed in an additional column or row of the table with a value for each cell
Sorts in Web Intelligence allow you to apply the following orders: Default This is sometimes referred to as the “natural” order. Depending on the type of data in the column or row, the results are sorted as follows: • ascending numeric order for numeric data • ascending chronological order for date • ascending alphabetical order for alphanumeric data Ascending When selected, results are arranged in ascending order: the smallest value at the top of the column moving to the highest value at the bottom. For example: 100, 200, 300 or California, Colorado, Florida Descending When selected, results are arranged in descending order: the highest value at the top of the column moving to the smallest value at the bottom. For example: 300, 200, 100 or Florida, Colorado, California.
Custom You define your own sort order. Ascending and descending sorts are applied to columns or rows. An ascending or descending sort impacts only the table on which you apply the sort and is independent of sort on other tables in the same report. However, you apply Custom sorts to an object. As a result, all tables in the document that use the object inherit the custom sort. In fact, applying a custom sort sorts the data in the data provider, not just in the table. You can also add a temporary value, a value that does not exist in the database, to your document and include the value in your custom sort Alternatively, you can anticipate the addition of new store to the database. Before the new store name exists in the database, you can add the value as a temporary value and take the new value into account for the design of your documents. The order of the non-measure objects in a table initially controls the way the data is sorted or grouped in the report
How does Web Intelligence Sort Data When you Apply a Break? When you insert a break on a dimension, Web Intelligence automatically sorts the values for the dimension in ascending order. For numeric values, the lowest value appears in the first row of the table, the highest in the last row. For alphabetical characters, the values appear in alphabetical order from top to bottom. You can change this sort order at any time
select the options that correspond to data you want to hide or display in the vertical, horizontal or cross table as follows *Hide the table Hide always *Hide the table when it is empty Hide when empty *Hide the table when a formula is true *Display rows with empty measure values (for vertical and cross *tables) * Display rows with empty dimension values (for a vertical table) * Display columns with empty measure values (for horizontal and cross tables)
*Display columns with empty dimension values (for a horizontal table) *Display rows/columns with empty dimension values (for cross tables)
Controlling Break Headers and Footers Frequently report designers use breaks to structure table data into smaller groups for the purposes of creating subtotals. When you apply a break to a table, the break footer displays as an additional row at the bottom of the table and serves to display the subtotal data clearly each time you place a break on a table, you also create a header. When you know how to control the display of headers and footers you can use them to present your data clearly When you first insert a break on data, the default display options apply to the data, as shown in the previous table.
Formatting Multiple Break Headers and Footers • Display properties or how the results display on the break. • Page layout properties or how the breaks display on the report page.
break properties Break header Displays a header for each part of the table, cross table, or form when you insert a break. Break footer Adds a footer after the last row for a table or the last column for a cross table when you insert a break. When you apply a calculation to the data, the result displays in the footer Apply sort Applies the default sort order to the values in the break Duplicate values: Display all Displays all values in the break, even when they are duplicates Duplicate values: Display first Displays the first value only, when values are duplicates. Duplicate values: Merge Merges cells containing duplicate values and displays a single value over the merged cells.
Duplicate values: Repeat first on new page: Displays the first value in a group of duplicate values at the beginning of the break and on each new page Start on a new page: Displays each part of the table or form created by a break on a new page. Avoid page breaks in blocks: Where possible, keeps each break section on the same page. This option does not apply to blocks larger than one page Repeat header on every page:Repeats the header at the top of the table on every new page when a table displays on more than one page Repeat footer on every page: Repeats the footer at the bottom of the table on every new page when a table displays on more than one page.
About Formatting Breaks Place all needed breaks onto the table before placing any calculations. When you place the calculations first and apply a break on an object, Web Intelligence does not recognize the need for recalculation at the new break level (that is, to create subtotals). Place the breaks first to ensure that the calculations are correct If you place an automatic calculation, for example a Sum or a Count, on a table after you format the breaks, you lose all formatting done on the break footers. The default action for these calculations is to calculate on all break levels present, regardless of how they have been formatted When you have multiple breaks in a document, you can change the default order so that one break is displayed as a higher priority than the other.
Formatting Cross Table Headers Since cross tables contain two levels of dimension objects (object values are located both in the columns and in the rows of the block), several unique formatting issues may occur. When two or more measure objects are used in a cross table, an additional header is needed to display both object names
Ways to Filter Report Data • Query filters allow you to limit the amount of data that is retrieved from the data source and returned by the query to your Web Intelligence documents. You can only apply query filters when you are creating or editing the query in the Query Panel. • Report filters, on the other hand, allow you to restrict the data shown in the report simply by hiding the data that does not interest you. The data is still contained in the document; it is just hidden from the report display. The report users who view the report in Reading mode cannot see what filters are applied to the report. • Input controls, like report filters, restrict the data shown in the report by hiding the data that does not interest you. In addition, input controls empower report users who view the report in Reading mode both to see the input controls applied to the report and to select the filtered values to adapt the report display to their needs You apply report filters and input controls when you are editing a document in the Web Intelligence Desktop window You can define filters and input controls on dimensions, measures, details and variables listed on the Available Objects pane of the document.
Types of Report Filters • Simple report filters offer and easy way to create filters simple filter for one value. They use the Equal to operator only and they filter all the data blocks in the report. The filter is a global filter so it applies to the whole report and affects all the data blocks it contains • Standard report filters offer the most flexibility in the definition of your filter. You can use them to create simple or create complex filters because all filter operators are available and you can filter on single values or lists of values. Standard report filters also offer the most flexibility in selecting the data to which you apply the filter. A standard report filter can be a global filter and apply to the whole report or it can be a block filter and apply to only one data block in the report.
Applying Ranking • Database level: In the Query panel, on the Query Filters panel toolbar, click Add a database ranking (this feature is database–specific). • Report level: In the Report, select the data block to which you want to apply ranking and in the Analysis toolbox, on the Filters tab, click Ranking.
Select the rank calculation mode in the Calculation mode list. The available calculation modes include: • Count: Counts the records and displays the first/last n records in the count, according to the Ranking Selection. • Percentage: Counts the records and returns the ones corresponding to the top/bottom percent of the total records specified in the Ranking Selection. It is not a real percentage, for example, if you want 10% and there are a total of 100 rows, you would receive 10 rows. • Cumulative Sum: Adds up the values and displays the top/bottom n records required to reach the sum specified in the Ranking Selection. • Cumulative Percentage: Counts the total value of all the records and displays the top/bottom n records required to arrive at the percent of the total specified in the Ranking Selection
Tracking Data Changes Web Intelligence allows you to track and highlight data changes so you can identify significant changes quickly, disregard irrelevant data, and focus your analysis on the root cause of the changes Without data tracking, you make ineffective use of your time because you must first identify how the data has changed between two refreshes before you can begin to analyze and address the reasons for the change
Types of Data Change • Added data
• Removed data • Modified data • Increased data values • Decreased data values
Activating Data Tracking You activate data tracking in the Analysis toolbox, on the Data Tracking tab via the Track button on the toolbar. When you click Track, the Data Tracking dialog box displays and allows you to select a particular data set as a reference point for future changes
Data Tracking – Reference data • Compare with last data refresh Uses the current data as the reference data for the next data refresh. The reference data updates automatically at each refresh. • Compare with data refresh from Uses and maintains the data refreshed on the date provided as fixed reference data for all data refreshes.
When you activate data tracking, on the Data Tracking tab: • The Show Changes button becomes available to you and allows you to display or hide the highlighted data changes. • The Status bar indicates track changes is activated and the type of reference data you have defined.
Formatting Data Changes
When you activate the data changes, you can accept the default options for the appearance (font style, size and color) of the data changes or you can define other options in the Data Tracking dialog box on the Options tab
You can separately configure the appearance of the following changes: • Inserted, deleted and changed dimension and detail values. • Increased or decreased measure values Your SAP BusinessObjects administrator defines the default appearance of changed data in the Central Management Server. When you configure the appearance of changed data in Web Intelligence, you override the CMS defaults.
About Conditional Formatting Rules Conditional formatting rules enable you to highlight results that meet or fail specific business targets You can create a simple rule to highlight particularly high or low results with a specific color or advanced conditional formatting rules that display a text comment, such as “High Performer”.
A formatting rule contains five elements: • A name. • An object or cell contents. • An operator. • Operand value(s) or another object. • The conditional formatting.
Additional principles to remember when creating rules or alerters are • You can apply them to tables, forms, section cells, and free-standing cells. • You cannot apply them to charts.
• You can include up to 30 formatting rules in a document. You can apply them to a maximum of 20 table columns or rows, free-standing cells or section cells on the reports. A maximum of 10 formatting rules can be applied to a single-table column or row, free-standing cell or section cell. Web Intelligence applies a default format to display the formatting rule or alerter. You can make changes to this default format. You can insert multiple conditions within a rule. You can also create an advanced formatting rule by inserting a formula
Creating and Activating a Conditional Formatting Rule You create a formatting rule in the Formatting Rule Editor dialog box. When you create the conditions for the rule, you specify the appropriate filtered object or cell, the operator and the operand for the rule
You can apply the rules to the following report elements: • Columns in vertical tables • Rows in horizontal tables • Cells in forms and cross tables • Section headers • Free-standing cells
Creating Multiple Condition Formatting Rules You can apply multiple conditions in a single formatting rule. The data that meets both conditions trigger the formatting that you define. To display the data that meets different conditions with different formatting, you need to create multiple Else conditions, by clicking the Add button at the top of the condition area and define the new condition using different formatting settings You can create a maximum of 30 formatting rules in a document
About Sections You can group data in a block using the break function and using the section
function A section displays the grouped value appears as a header outside the block instead of remaining within the block. More importantly, break only groups within a block, whereas sectioning groups the entire report
section advantages: • You can have multiple blocks projected from the same microcube within a single report, all sub-grouped to the sectioned level. • You can insert subtotal cells, repeated in each section, which are created by the simple process of drag and drop You can apply sorts to the results displayed in section cells, to organize the order in which sections are displayed in report tables Sorting sections allows you to organize the section headers logically in a report
To Create a Section 1. In the report, right-click a cell in the row or column on which you want to create a section. For example, if you want to create a section on State, right-click one of the cells in the State row or column. 2. From the drop-down menu, select Set as Section. The cell you selected defines which object is used to divide the table into sections. Each value of this object is displayed as a section header, and the table below each section header displays the data concerning that value A new row or column displaying the aggregate is inserted in the table in each section. When you display an aggregate in a sectioned report, the overall total is not calculated and displayed, like it is when you use a break and then apply an aggregation.
Navigating from Section to Section The Report Map panel in the main window of the Web Intelligence Desktop displays all the reports and sections contained in a document. You can navigate from section to section by clicking on the section names in the Report Map
To Delete a Section 1. In the sectioned report, right-click the section cell and, from the contextual menu, click Delete 2. Select Section and Cell to delete the section. 3. Save the document.
Copying Data Blocks to Other Applications When you copy and paste a chart into an external application, the chart displays as an image in the target document. When you copy and paste a table into an external application, the technique for copying and pasting that you use determines how the data displays and whether you can manipulate the data in the target application: • To display the data in a table in the target application and you can manipulate the data contained in the table, copy and paste the table. • To transfer the table to the target application as an image and maintain the formatting from Web Intelligence, but not be able to manipulate the data, drag the table to target application.
To Format a Document To format your documents and the various report elements they contain, right-click the report element in the Report Panel or in the Document Structure and Filters pane and, from the contextual menu, select the corresponding Format item.
To Format a Report • General: to define the report name, page layout, scaling, margins and content. • Appearance: to define the report color, pattern and hyperlink color. • Header: to define the report header show option, size, background image or color.
• Footer: to define for the report footer show option, size, background image or color.
To Format a Table • General: to define the table name, show rows or columns options, show measure and dimension value options, hide options, show table header and footer options • Border: to define the appearance of borders • Appearance: to define the background image or color, spacing and padding and alternate row colors. • Layout: to define horizontal and vertical start on new page, avoid page break and repeat on every page options and to define relative position of the table on the page.
To Format a Cell • General: to define the cell name, size, display or hide options. • Alignment: to define alignment of text within the cell, cell padding and display options • Font: to define the cell font. • Border: to define the appearance of borders. • Appearance: to define the background image or color. • Layout: to define horizontal and vertical start on new page, avoid page break and repeat on every page options and to define relative position of the cell on the page.
To Format a Section • General: to define the section name, height, and hide options. • Appearance: to define the background image or color. • Layout: to define vertical start on new page, avoid page break and repeat on every page options.
Preparing Documents for PDF and Printing When you prepare documents for a PDF file or printing, you can use the format options at various levels of your document to ensure that the data displays on the page in a way that is easy to view and interpret
You format a chart in two steps. 1. Apply a chart style: A chart style is a group of settings stored within a source file. The chart style allows you to manipulate many aspects of the chart. Chart styles group together a set of predefined settings including where chart items are placed within the chart, color palettes, textures, shadows, fonts. You can select the styles Flashy, Normal or High Contrast. 2. Change the default format options in the Format Chart dialog box. The Format Chart dialog box provides two levels of tabs to allow you to manage the many aspects of chart display. When you change the default format options and then apply the chart style, the settings in the chart style can result in the modification of the format options you defined You can also access the Format Chart dialog box in the Report Element toolbox on the Chart Style tab, by clicking the Format Chart button.
Formulas A formula is a calculation that you create to display data that is not retrieved by existing objects in the universe
You can add formulas in two ways: • Type or drag and drop the formula components into the Formula toolbar. • Use the Formula Editor to build the formula. The Formula Editor is an interface that allows you to select the different components of your formula (operators, objects) and add them to it.
Variables A variable is a formula that you save with a name and, based on the formula, a qualification is automatically assigned to it. It acts as an object in the document, and is displayed in the Available Objects pane in the Web Intelligence main window just like any other data object. You can then use the variable as you would any object: to display the results of the calculation in multiple blocks and reports throughout the Web Intelligence document The advantage to creating a variable is that you can reuse the formula without having to enter it each time. Variables are defined according to the formula you enter when you create them, but they behave like standard objects in the query and document. They are saved in the document and so can be used in any report within the document. Given the advantages of a variable, when possible, create a variable instead of a formula. When required, you can create a formula and later convert it to a variable, but creating the variable directly saves you time and effort. Variables are useful when you require a calculation and plan to use it more than once and in different blocks and report tabs within your document
Creating a Variable as a Response to a Prompt When you create a report that prompts users to select the values on which they want to filter the report data, you can also create a formula that allows you to use the user selected prompt values in the title of the report To successfully create the variable, you must enter the exact prompt value text that you entered when you created the prompt. The data provider has stored that value, and the text you enter in the formula must match it exactly for the formula to be valid. Before you create the variable, you may want to edit the prompt and copy the prompt value text into a text file from which you can copy it when you create the formula. In the Create Variable dialog box, you define the characteristics of a formula by selecting data objects, functions and operators from the lists in the tabs. The formula appears in the Formula area as you build it.
Creating a Variable for Complex Calculations • When you create a formula that you want to be able to easily reuse in a document, you need to save it as a variable
• You can also use the value of one variable as the basis of the calculation of another variable. By building one variable on another, you can display the results of complex calculations in a variable
Creating a Variable from Document Functions You can use document functions to create a variable that displays information about your document, such as the author and document name in a report.
Synchronizing Data from Multiple Data Sources You can include on e or more queries in a single Web Intelligence document. When you include multiple queries, those queries can be based on a single universe or on multiple universes available to you in BI launch pad You can also include data in your document that you retrieve from data files, such as Excel spreadsheets, text files and CSV files. These data sources are known as local data providers When you run a query against a single data source, the results of the query are stored in the document's microcube, and the query is identified as a data provider. You can also retrieve data using local data files, such as such as Excel spreadsheets, text files and CSV files. All of these data sources, queries as well as local data files, are known as “data providers” in Web Intelligence Each data provider only holds data from a single data source
What is Data Synchronization? This lesson describes how to synchronize multiple data providers in a Web Intelligence report by merging them on common dimensions. After merging common dimensions you can place dimensions from different data providers in the same block Merged dimensions and data synchronization enormously increase the power and flexibility of Web Intelligence by allowing you to synthesize data from different sources in the same report, rather than simply including the data
When you combine data from more than one source in synchronized blocks, you can create a document that contains: • One block that combines data from two different data providers which contain the results of queries using the Universe A. • A second block that combines data from data providers which contain the results of queries using both Universe A and Universe B.
Projecting Data from a Single Query into Different Blocks You can use multiple blocks of data to project different views of data from a single query. Two blocks can show different sets of data retrieved from the same query, and the same universe You can also choose to add a second query to the document, select different objects from the same universe, and expand the document's data by using two separate data providers. display in two levels: • The top-level object is identified by a double-cubed, blue dimension icon, indicating that the two have been automatically merged to create a single- dimension object. • The second level shows a dimension icon, the dimension name and the name of the different queries next to them.
About Automatically Merged Dimensions When you use the same object in two different queries from the same universe, Web Intelligence automatically merges the two instances of the same object and creates a combined object, identified by the double-cubed dimension icon The objects are shown as combined into a single object because the Store name objects come from the same universe and, as a result, have the same object and universe ID Web Intelligence automatically merges dimensions only when the same object is used in more than one query from the same universe in a document. Ideally, a well-designed universe does not have two different objects of the same name, or of different data types, but if this does occur and you use them in more than one query in a document, Web Intelligence will automatically merge them
If you do not want Web Intelligence to automatically merge multiple instances of the same object in a single document, you can clear the Auto-merge dimensions option in the Document Summary pane or dialog box In the Document Summary panel or dialog box, the Auto-merge dimensions option tells Web Intelligence whether it should automatically merge a dimension when the same object is used in more than one query in a single document
What Happens When Dimensions are not Synchronized? the dimension objects come from different universes, Web Intelligence cannot automatically merge the dimensions. If you try to combine data from the two objects in a single block, Web Intelligence will not automatically be able to interpret the relationship between them. You can define the relationship between objects from different universes by manually merging the dimensions to synchronize the data they retrieve. Merging dimensions manually allows you to identify the objects that retrieve common data in both queries. After you merge the dimension, you can compare information between the queries more accurately.
To Manually Merge Dimensions from Different Universes Optionally, to view the dimension objects available for merging with dimension you want to merge, in the Available Objects panel, click the dimension you want to manually merge. All the dimension objects listed in the Available Objects panel display in italics. These objects are highlighted in italics because they are all the same type of object as the selected object: that is, they are all dimension objects. Web Intelligence indicates that you could choose to merge the selected object with any of the other dimension objects in the document's queries. The dimensions that are available to be merged appear in the top zone of this dialog box, categorized by the query that they belong to. you see in the Available Objects pane that the merged dimension you created includes both of the dimensions you selected to merge. This is known as synchronizing data using merged dimensions
Rules about Synchronizing with Merged Dimensions Merging dimensions is the process of creating a link between two queries based on an object with common values so that in effect the objects become one
There are a number of rules to remember when merging dimensions from multiple queries • You can only link on dimension objects, for example, Store name and Store. • The dimension objects do not have to have the same. • The dimension objects must have a common data format. For example, if one object is character–based and the other numeric you cannot link the objects. • Although the actual values do not have to be the same, all data held in a data provider is case–sensitive, and therefore any common values must be in the same case. • The format of the values must be the same. For example, FY04 and 2004 would be seen as two separate values. Extra spaces in some values can also mean that the objects cannot be merged • Any number of queries can be linked by common dimension objects. • Any number of dimension objects can be merged between two queries. • A measure object can be synchronized successfully only to the lowest level of detail that is common between the two different data sources.
Using Personal Data The Web Intelligence Desktop application allows you to upload personal data to a document along with corporate data. Acceptable personal data formats are: • Excel • Text • CSV
When a query is based on a personal data file and you refresh the query, Web Intelligence Desktop searches for the personal data file in specific files: • The folder where the local data file was stored when the data provider was created. • The same folder as the Web Intelligence document. • The default user document folder (C:\Documents and Settings\%currentUser%\My Documents\My Business Objects Documents\userDocs).
To Upload Personal Data to a Document From the initial window of the Web Intelligence, in the Choose a data source to create a new document area, click the link for the type of personal data provider you want to use: • Excel • Text: Use this link for *.txt or *.csv files. Add a query on a personal data provider to a document that already contains at least one query 1. From the document, in the Data Access toolbox, on the Data Provider tab, click Edit. The Query Panel displays. 2. Click Add Query and, from the drop-down menu, select the personal data provider you want to use: • Excel • Text: Use this link for *.txt or *.csv files Depending on the format of your personal data file, the Custom Provider dialog box displays the options that you can define for the data and display: • For a Text or CSV file, the dialog box allows you to specify the data separator, text delimiter, locale and date format. • For an Excel file, the dialog box allows you to specify the sheet name and the field selection.
In the Query panel, you see: • In the Result Objects panel, objects corresponding to the column of data in your personal data provider. • A Data Sample panel that displays some of the data in your personal data provider. • The Object Properties panel where you can define the objects from your personal data provider.
Linking Personal Data to Universe Data; advantages • Generally, personal data allows you to supplement the data from the universe with additional, pertinent information. In some cases, the data from the universe and a local data provider is most meaningful when you can present it in a single table or data. • Just as when you combine data from separate universes, you need to synchronize the data from a universe and local data provider. You can use the Merge button to select common dimensions from queries on different data sources and merge them into a single dimension • Remember that the dimensions must be the same data type and retrieve semantically-related data in order for them to qualify as merged dimensions
Analyzing the Data Cube Drill mode is a feature that allows you to view data from different levels of detail and zoom in on different trends. If a Web Intelligence document has been enabled for drill analysis, users viewing the document either in BI launch pad or in the Web Intelligence Desktop can drill down to get more details on one of the data objects used in a table or chart. The data that is returned by a query is stored in the document’s data provider. It is convenient to visualize the returned data as being organized as a cube. In your document, the data is displayed as a table. The table is a flat two-dimensional view of the data cube. Each of the columns in a table represents an axis in the cube. You can edit the document by swapping and manipulating the data within the cube on any axis. When you swap or change data between different axes, the new result is again projected as a flat table in the resulting document
The data stored in the cube allows you to create a report that corresponds to your business needs without having to send another query to the database.
What is Scope of Analysis? The scope of analysis for a query is extra data that you can retrieve from the database to give more details about the data returned by each of the objects in the query. This extra data does not appear in the initial document results, but it remains available in the data provider, so that at any time, you can pull this data into the report to allow you to access more detail. The process of refining the data to lower levels of detail is called drilling down on an object. In an SAP BusinessObjects universe, the scope of analysis corresponds to the hierarchical levels below the object selected for a query. For example, a scope of analysis of one level down for the object Year, would include the Quarter object, which appears immediately under Year. These hierarchical navigation paths are defined in the universe by the universe designer You can set the scope of analysis level when you build a query. It allows objects lower down the hierarchy to be included in the query, without them actually appearing in the Result Objects panel The hierarchies built in a universe allow you to choose your scope of analysis, and correspondingly the level of drill available You can also create a custom scope of analysis by selecting specific dimensions in the Scope of Analysis panel
Publishing a Web Intelligence Document Documents are published to the CMS in their current state, including all modifications made since they were created or opened. This means that in addition to locallysaved documents, you can publish a document to the CMS without saving it locally. A newly created document that is published before being saved will be given the name “Document X�, where X is the document creation order in the session.
Folders and Categories
When you publish a document to the CMS, you need to select the folder in which you want to save the document, and can optionally select a category with which you want to associate the document Can be Public (Public Folders) or Personal (My Favorites). – Files stored to Public Folders are available to other BI launch pad users. – Files stored to folders within My Favorites are only accessible to you.
About BI Launch Pad Categories In BI launch pad, documents can also be organized in Personal or Corporate Categories. Using categories in BI launch pad is a way of grouping documents together, regardless of which folders they are actually stored in Folders and subfolders are used to organize documents, while categories are a way to classify your information. For example, you could place your financial reports and documents into a folder named Finance and you could classify or tag your reports that deal with specific financial matters as Payroll, Accounts Payable, and Accounts Receivable From the Document tab in the My Documents area, you can create new documents using Web Intelligence, when your system administrator has authorized your user account to do so
Areas of the BI Launch Pad Page The BI launch pad page is organized into the following areas: • Title Bar: This area contains the desktop logo and a message displaying your user account name. Navigation Bar: This area contains buttons and menus for Applications, Preferences, Help, Log Off. • Home tab: This area displays an overview of recently viewed or run documents, inbox messages and alerts. To the right, display buttons for quick access to applications. • Document tab: This area displays a left pane where you can display tabs for My Documents, Folders, where you find Public Folders, Categories, where you find Public or Personal categories, and Search. The contents of the related tab display in the Workspace Panel. The Document tab toolbar, allows you to work within the different tabs
Document Storage Areas • Public Documents - a catalog of all the documents that you are authorized to access in the SAP BusinessObjects Central Management Server. These documents have been published by other report users. You can access these documents from your BI launch pad Public Folders or Corporate Categories • My Favorites - a catalog of all the documents that you have chosen to save for your own personal use.These documents are stored in space on the SAP BusinessObjects server that has been reserved for your own use. • Inbox - a catalog of documents that other BI launch pad users have sent to you
Folders and Categories in the BI Launch Pad The BI launch pad provides you with two main ways to navigate through documents and organize information: folders and categories. Each of these navigation methods is hierarchical, meaning the BI launch pad displays them in a tree in the Document tab
Searching for Documents • Search for specific documents. • Create a shortcut to a document. • Filter documents in a list. The Search feature in the BI launch pad enables you to search for documents within categories or folders based on words contained in the document title, keywords, or all fields. By default, all documents that you are authorized to view are displayed in your folder and category lists. If you want to temporarily limit the type of documents displayed to improve search capabilities, you can add a filter. Applying a filter to your document lists allows you to view only documents of a certain type
The various document types that you can filter include documents from Web Intelligence and other BusinessObjects end-user querying tools, Microsoft Excel, Power Point, program objects, object packages, and text files. On the Search tab, under Refine search results by, filters display. They allow you to filter the search results based on specific criteria. The number of occurrences that correspond to each filter also display
Viewing Web Intelligence Documents BI launch pad allows you to open Web Intelligence documents for easy access Within the BI launch pad, you can edit Web Intelligence documents if you are authorized to use one of the Web Intelligence report panels (the Interactive HTML querying and/or reporting panels, or the Java Report Panel). You can modify the document's underlying query if you are authorized to access the universe that was used to create the document
Saving a Document in the BI Launch Pad • You can choose to either save the document to a folder in the BI launch pad, or to save it to a location on your computer, in one of several different formats • The Save as dialog box allows you to save the document to your computer in Microsoft Excel, Adobe Acrobat PDF, or CSV format, while the Save Report to my Computer As saves only the report you are currently viewing, in either Excel or PDF format
Printing a Web Intelligence Document To print Web Intelligence documents, you need to display the document in PDF format and print it from Acrobat Reader. To ensure quality printing, never print using the browser print button
Sharing Web Intelligence Documents
If you are sharing documents with the BI launch pad users, you can send your documents directly to their BI launch pad Inbox folder or you can choose to save them as public documents in the corporate repository, when your SAP BusinessObjects system administrator has authorized you to do so. To share documents with other BI launch pad users, you can either send a document to a user's Inbox, or you can save it as a public document, if you are authorized to do so. Sending a Document to Users: • You can choose to either save the document to a folder in the BI launch pad, or to save it to a location on your computer, in one of several different formats. Saving a Public Document: • When you save a document to a public folder or category, you are making it available to a wide audience of users. When given the appropriate access rights, your colleagues can then refresh or modify the document and save it again, making it easy to collaborate with one another. • Public documents remain in the repository until removed by the SAP BusinessObjects system administrator. This method is ideal for communicating information across an organization. You can only send documents to users that have been set up in the system by the administrator You can only save documents to public folders if you have been authorized to do so by the system administrator
Sharing beyond Web Intelligence To share with colleagues who are not users of Web Intelligence or other SAP BusinessObjects querying tools, you can save your reports in Adobe PDF, Microsoft Excel or CSV format. That way, you and your colleagues can easily view and print them using Adobe Acrobat Reader or Excel. When you save a document in PDF format, the page layout and formatting of the Web Intelligence document is retained in the PDF file
Scheduling Documents in the BI Launch Pad
Scheduling a document lets you run it automatically at specified times. When a scheduled document runs successfully, an instance is created. An instance is a version of the object containing the data available at the time it was run. Therefore, instances created later contain more recent data You can see a list of instances by looking at a document's history, and you can click the link to any historical instance. If you have the rights to view objects on demand, you can view and refresh any Web Intelligence document to retrieve the latest data from the database By scheduling and viewing instances, you can ensure you have the latest information available for viewing, printing, and distributing. For example, you can schedule a report object (document) to run every night so it's available for you first thing in the morning. Before scheduling objects, check your time zone setting on the Preferences page in the BI launch pad. The default time zone is local to the web server that is running SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform
To Set General BI Launch Pad Preferences • The initial view that displays after logging onto BI launch pad. • The default view in the Documents tab. • The maximum number of objects displayed on each page. • For lists on the Documents tab, you can determine which document properties are displayed, including the description, owner, date, and instance count. You can also change where documents are viewed: either in the BI launch pad window or in separate browser windows. • Product locale, viewing locale, and time zone settings are also determined on this page
About Document Preferences in the BI Launch Pad In general, the different views are aimed at satisfying one of two things:
• Quality in Viewing: These options are aimed at users that primarily view the reports over the web. These formats are not ideal for printing. Web Intelligence provides Web and Rich Internet Application modes that are intended for users that usually look at reports online. • Quality in Printing: These options are aimed at users that primarily print their reports. These reports print exactly as they appear on the screen and provide much better print quality than HTML. Web Intelligence provides PDF for the users that primarily print their documents.
About Web Intelligence Viewing Settings You can define one viewing format as the default option for your user account by setting the appropriate option in the BI launch pad Preferences page Your choice of viewing modes depends on your license and your security profile. Potentially, you can choose to view Web Intelligence documents in the following formats: • Web: You view documents using the HTML interface within the BI launch pad. • Rich Internet Application: You view documents using the Java interface within the BI launch pad. Note: The Java interface requires the download of a Java applet. • Desktop: You view documents using Web Intelligence Desktop, a standalone interface that works outside the BI launch pad and allows you to work with documents without being connected to a corporate repository. Note: Web Intelligence Desktop requires an install on your local machine. • Portable Document Format (PDF): You view documents statically in PDF format.
Setting Web Intelligence Preferences In Preferences the Web Intelligence area allows you to set a number of options • How you view Web Intelligence documents in BI launch pad. • Which interface you will use to create Web Intelligence documents. • How you will perform multi-dimensional analysis in Web Intelligence
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Closing Your BI Launch Pad Session • By logging off from BI launch pad, you can save any settings you may have changed. Logging off also helps the BI launch pad system administrator keep track of which users are logged onto the system at any given time. This allows the administrator to configure the system and handle transaction loads most efficiently • There is a default time-out setting, after which a user is automatically logged off from the BI launch pad. For more information, see your SAP BusinessObjects administrator