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Business Intelligence (BI) General Web Navigation Advanced

Updated: May 26, 2009

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Navigation Block - Display

To view the Navigation Block, click on the Navigation Block icon. The location of the icon may vary from the screen shot example.

Navigation Block Displayed

A. After clicking on the Navigation Block icon… B. You will now see the Navigation Block displayed after the screen refreshes. C. The Navigation Block will display all Characteristics in Rows, Columns, and Free. Free characteristics

may not be displayed in your results but are still available for drilldown and filtering. D. After you are finished with the Navigation Block, you can use the close button to close the block.

Closing the block will simplify the screen layout and allow more screen area for the data.

Since web-based printing will print What-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG), consider closing the Navigation Block prior to printing.

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Navigation Block

The Navigation Block gives the end user the ability to choose navigation functions by Characteristics and Key Figure structures placed in the axes of the query display area. 1. Rows - displays the characteristic(s) currently displayed in rows 2. Columns - displays data currently displayed in columns. This is

usually the Key Figures (number such as Sales, Quantity, Amount, etc.)

3. Free Characteristics - characteristics available for filter, drill down, drill across, swap with existing, etc.)

Navigation Blocks can vary in appearance. The web designer has the ability to decide the format, location, and content of the Navigation Block.

Navigation Block Icons - 1

1. Drilldown in Rows: Clicking on this icon will Drilldown the existing data in the rows by the additional

characteristic. 2. Drilldown in Columns: Clicking on this icon will Drilldown the existing data in the columns (Key

Figures) by the additional characteristic. When drilling down in columns, existing Key Figures will be grouped.

3. Filter: Clicking on the Filter icon will display the options for the Characteristic. It is then possible to select only those Characteristics to view. It is best to limit (Filter) Key Figure data before Drilldown or Drill Across.

Do not drilldown in columns with more than a few characteristic values. It may bring values to drill across on 3 or 4 different fund centers but drilling across by 50 will be difficult to read.

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Navigation Block Icons - 2

1. When a Drilldown or Drillacross has been executed, it can be removed simply by clicking on the

Drilldown or Drilldown in Columns icon again. 2. When data is filtered, the name of the filter value will appear in the Navigation Block next to a trash

can icon. Click on the trash can icon to remove the filter value.

When clicking on an icon in the Navigation Block, or any context menu item, wait for the command to execute and the screen to refresh before clicking on the next command.

Navigation Block and Dropdown Filters

Dropdown filters and the Navigation Block share the same filtering function. If you filter in one, the other will display the filtered value as well. For example, if you select a single value from a dropdown filter for a characteristic that filter value will be displayed in the Navigation Block as well.

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Navigation Block Filtering -

A. Click on the Filter icon to filter the characteristic values. B. After clicking on the Filter icon a new window will open for filter options. C. In the example pictured, the user can select from one or multiple fiscal periods. In this case, the first

six fiscal periods were selected to create a half-year report.

D. After selecting the desired values, click the Transfer button. Wait for your report screen to refresh with the variable values.

E. The filter values will now be displayed in the navigation block next to the characteristic. There is limited space so filter value text may be truncated. If truncated you will see the filter ending with “….” to indicate there are more values that are not displayed.

F. To delete the filter values, simply click on the Trash Can icon.

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Navigation Block Filtering – Search

A. Enter a value for the search. You can enter a numeric key

value or a text value. B. IMPORTANT! Select if you want to search the key or the

text. TEXT SEARCHING IS CASE SENSITIVE! C. Click the Find button to see the search results. D. Select the values you need from the displayed search

results. You can also click on the Select All button to quickly select all values.

E. When the needed values are selected, click the Transfer button and wait for your report to refresh.

The Filter dialog box will display the characteristic’s filter values as the characteristic’s display is set in the properties. For example, if a hierarchy is active in the display properties, then the filter dialog box for that characteristic will display a hierarchy for filtering. If the key and text are displayed, the characteristic’s filter dialog box will allow filtering based on key or text.

Navigation Block Filtering – Using Operators

A. , Click on the Filter

Icon to open the characteristic’s filter dialog box.

B. Use the selection tool to specify a range or use other operators for greater than, less than, etc.

C. Select to include the specified values or exclude them.

D. After transferring the values, the results will display the filtered values.

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Using Blocks

If there are too many values to display in one dialog box, you will see Blocks at the bottom of the filter dialog box. You will need to click on each box to scroll through the values. If you want all values, you need to click on the Select All button for each block.

It is recommended that you try to execute a find command first to reduce the need for scrolling through multiple boxes.

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Search for Display Attributes

A. In the Select Filter Value dialog box, click on the Search for Display Attributes Activated.

B. Enter a filter values for one or more attributes. Don’t forget to check the attribute checkbox.

C. Click on the Find button. D. The characteristic with the attribute values are

returned. In this example, Vendor was filtered on the attribute Region returning all Vendors in Maryland.

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Context Menus

Use The Web items Navigation Block, Table, Chart, List of Exceptions, List of Conditions, and Label have a context menu that you can call up by clicking on a cell text with the right mouse button.

Features The context menu offers various functions depending on the cell context, the Web item used and the settings of the Web template in the Web Application Designer.

The basic menu contains a subset of the enhanced menu. The Web Application Designer has the ability to hide or unhide context menu options so context menu selections may vary by report.

You must see the “hand.” Do not use Internet Explorer context menu.

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Context Menu Options (will vary by report and object selected)

Back Choose Back if you want to undo a navigational step in this query view. This takes you back one step to undo your most recent action.

Back to start Choose Back to Start if you want to undo all navigational steps in this query view. This will return you to the original query view.

Bookmark Creates a bookmark of the page in the current configuration. After bookmarking, simply add the page to your IE favorites for future viewing.

Calculate result as... You use this function to recalculate the results rows and single values that are displayed in the query according to the following criteria: Summation / Maximum / Minimum / Count All Values/ Count all values < > 0 / Average of All Values / Average of All Values < > 0 / Standard Deviation / Variance / Suppress Result / First Value / Last Value.

Calculate single values as... You use this function to recalculate the single values that are displayed in the query according to the following criteria: Normalize result/ Normalize total result/ Normalize../ Ranked list/ Olympic ranked list

Cumulated You use this function to cumulate the individual cells in an area. The first value is added to the second value, the result is added to the third value, and so on. In the columns, the cells are cumulated from top to bottom, and in the rows, the cells are cumulated from left to right. With blocks of single values, that is, a drilldown in both the rows and the columns, the values are cumulated from top to bottom and from left to right.

Distribute Allows for the ad-hoc distribution of a query by e-mail. The Broadcaster Wizard dialog box will display to guide the user through the e-mailing options.

Drilldown → across or down For characteristic descriptions (for example, country), you can choose Drill Down → Vertically in the navigation block or from a label in order to drill down along the axes for the columns or rows.

Export as → CSV file / MS Excel 2000 file MS Excel 2000 file.

The query data is embedded in the BEx Analyzer as with queries: The navigation status does not change and the formatting is transferred. You can see the filter restrictions and the data in the table. Exceptions are highlighted in color in the same way as they are on the Web. You can also use the BEx Analyzer BW functions to continue navigating.

Filter and Drilldown According to → Characteristic Choose Filter and Drilldown According to to fix a characteristic to a value in one step (meaning to filter it) and to drilldown according to another characteristic on the same axis (row axis or column axis).

Goto Choose Goto when you want to access documentation and jump targets using the Report-Report interface.

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Context Menu Options (will vary by report and object selected)

Keep filter value Choose Keep Filter Value if you want to see only the data for a characteristic value. The characteristic value itself is removed from the drilldown.

Fix filter value to axis Choose Keep Filter Value on Axis if you only want to see the data for a characteristic value and, at the same time, you still want to see the characteristic value itself in the drilldown.

Key figure definition Choose Key Figure Definition to see how a concrete figure is comprised in your Web application. You can check whether data has been loaded and analyze errors.

Properties Choose Properties when you want to change different settings for the characteristic or key figure.

Query properties Choose Query Properties when you want to change different settings for the query at run time.

Remove drilldown Choose Remove Drilldown if you want to remove a characteristic from the drilldown.

Select filter value Choose Select Filter Value if you want to filter the Web application according to values.

Sort → Sort ascending / sort descending You can use this function to sort structural component values by ascending or descending order

Sort characteristic You can use this function to sort characteristic values or attributes for a drilldown characteristic in descending or ascending order. You can sort by the key or the name.

Swap axes You use this function to swap the axes of the query. If you have characteristics in the rows and key figures in the columns and you choose Swap Axes, then the key figures are displayed in the rows and the characteristics are displayed in the columns.

Swap characteristic 1 / structure 1 with → characteristic 2 structure 2

You can use this function to swap a characteristic / structure with another characteristic / structure.

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Hierarchy - Activate

Hierarchies are tree-like structures of characteristic values. Example: Hierarchy using cost centers that are assembled in cost center groups. Some queries contain characteristics with hierarchies. Hierarchies are simply grouping of characteristics. If a query has a hierarchy defined for a characteristic, certain hierarchy options will be displayed on the context menu (Basic or

Enhanced).

Hierarchy – Change Levels

When active, the context menu will display other hierarchy options. Hierarchy node: Toggle between Collapsed and Expanded condition Deactivate Hierarchy: Remove the hierarchy condition Expand Hierarchy>: Select the hierarchy levels to display.

Expand Hierarchy > Level X is a fast way to open the hierarchy. Do not spend time clicking on each node to open or close if you need all nodes expanded or collapsed.

Hierarchy Nodes

Hierarchies contain nodes – simply click on the node to expand or collapse the data You can also use the context menu to activate, deactivate, expand, collapse, or select expansion level.

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Bookmark

BI has the ability to save a report view after executing navigation steps. Instead of “slicing and dicing” every time the report is executed to get the desired display, simply bookmark it for future reference.

• After setting the report up with the desired output, click on the Bookmark icon or Bookmark from any context menu

Bookmark ID

After clicking on Bookmark, the page will refresh with a Bookmark ID in the address bar. This is the unique identifier of your special report, including filters, drilldown state, sorting, etc.

After getting the bookmark ID in the IE address bar, you can copy and paste the link in a document, such as email. The link will then access the report in the bookmarked format, assuming the user has the log in authorizations.

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Bookmark – Add to Favorites

1. Add to Favorites… 2. Create a descriptive Name

3. Add to add to your Favorites list

DO NOT FORGET THIS STEP. IF YOU DO NOT ADD TO YOUR FAVORITES IT WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE TO ACCESS THE BOOKMARK.

Bookmark - Open

Now you can access your report with the same “slice and dice” configuration. Simply call your favorite menu and select the report. You can bookmark and save to favorites as many reports as you like. You will be prompted to login to BI.

Watch time variables. The report will be bookmarked with the original variable values including time. Click Variables button on the context menu to change time variables if needed.

Like all Favorites, they are stored on the C drive of your computer. This could cause problems with Citrix, using other computers, etc.

If using Bookmarks, use folders and organize your favorites accordingly

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Create User-Defined View

A user defined view can be created simply by clicking on the Create User Defined Views button next to the view dropdown box. The user can navigate before clicking on the Create User Defined Views button or after clicking on the button. Either way, the view of the data will be saved for the user to recall at a later time. No other users will be able to see the new user defined view.

Save View

After clicking on the Create User Defined Views button, you can save the view by clicking on the Save View

button. If you decide not to save the view, click the Close button. After clicking the Save View button, type the description of the view you wish to save, then click Save.

Open View

After saving the view, you now have the ability to open it at any time using the view dropdown. Notice after opening your view, you now have the ability to delete your view with the Trash Can icon. You cannot delete views that were delivered.

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Bookmark vs. Saved Views

BookmarkAll variable values and drill down state are saved

You will be prompted to logon but will skip the variable entry panel You can click the variable text links and modify the selection criteria (like period) Generates URL that is saved as a favorite locally and in your browser Only available on the PC where the bookmark was created Query can be re-executed by simply accessing your browser favorites You can bookmark the same web page multiple times in different results To display the bookmarked views, the report needs to be executed from bookmark link Bookmarking will save the navigation state of all tabs

The drill down and navigation state is saved but the variable values are NOT saved Saved Views

You will be prompted to logon as usual – entering any variable values You can click the variable text links and modify the selection criteria (like period) Generates URL that is saved on the BI server Available on any computer since it is saved on the BI server Query can be re-executed by simply accessing the original link You can create multiple views When executing the report from the original link all saved views will be available Saved views will only save the view of a single tab

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Suppress Results Rows

There may be a time when you want to quickly remove all the results rows. This can be especially helpful before exporting to Excel – creating a true data list without subtotals. Click on the Suppress Results Rows icon to remove all the results rows.

Repeating Text Display

By default, text is suppressed in a row if the row above it has the same value. To display repeating text, click on the Repeating Text Display button. It is not necessary to do this before exporting to Excel – any export to Excel will display all repeating text on each row.

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Exceptions and Conditions Icon

To view the Exceptions and Conditions block, click on the Exceptions and Conditions icon. The location of the icon may vary from the screen shot.

Exceptions and Conditions Block Displayed

A. After clicking on the Exceptions and Conditions icon… B. You will now see the Conditions and Exceptions block after the screen refreshes. C. If there are any Exceptions or Conditions created already you will see them listed. D. If you want to create a new Exception or Condition, simply click on the Create button. E. After you are finished with the Exceptions and Conditions block, you can use the close button to

close the block. Closing the block will simplify the screen layout and allow more screen area for the data.

Since web-based printing will print What-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG), consider closing the Exceptions and Conditions block prior to printing.

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Exceptions

Queries may contain one or more Exceptions. Additionally, the report consumer can create new Exceptions.

Exceptions provide analysis functionality by color-coding key figures data based user-defined thresholds.

The exception options are three shades of green, three shades of yellow, and three shades of red for a total of nine possible color choices.

If a query has an exception, it can be deactivated by clicking on the exception icon, it can be reactivated by clicking the icon again.

Exceptions - Create

A. Enter a description of the Exception. You can use special characters. Try to explain what the exception is for in case there are multiple Exceptions.

B. Active – check this if you want the exception active when you Transfer it back to the query result.

C. Select a key figure for the exception valuation. Key figures are your columns of numeric data.

D. Select a logical operator such as greater than, less than, between, etc.

E. Select the number for key figure evaluation.

F. Pick the color to be displayed for data that meets the exception criteria. You have three levels or shades of red (bad), three shades of yellow (critical), and three shades of green (good).

G. Select if you want the exception criteria to be applied to the results rows or all rows. H. You can further modify the operators by characteristic. This is optional. I. When finished, click on Transfer.

Don’t forget to change Validity Area to All, otherwise the exception will only be applied to the result.

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Exceptions – Active Display

A. When the display is active… B. You will see the exceptions in your results area.

Click on the Activate/Deactivate button to change the state.

Exceptions - Change

Right-clicking on an Exception will display a context menu. Options for an Exception you created:

• Display • Change • Delete • Deactivate

Options for an existing Exception:

• Display • Deactivate

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Conditions

Queries may also contain one or more Conditions Using conditions, the data to be presented in the query can be restricted based on user defined criteria. Queries may be designed with Conditions or the end user has the option to create Conditions by clicking on the Create button.

Conditions - Create

A. Enter a description of the Exception. You can use special characters. Try to explain what the exception is for in case there are multiple Exceptions. B. Active – check this if you want the exception active when you Transfer it back to the query result. C. Select All Characteristics in Drilldown Independent (typical). D. The condition can also be applied to a single characteristic, regardless of drilldown. E. Select a key figure for the condition valuation. Key figures are your columns of numeric data. F. Select a logical operator such as greater than, less than, between, etc. G. Select the number for key figure evaluation.

H. Several different conditions are linked by a logical AND while several criteria in the same condition are linked by a logical OR. If you want to display Top 5 and Bottom 5, you will need to create one condition with two criteria (logical OR) by inserting a New Row on the condition. If you create two different conditions, one for Top 5 and one for Bottom 5, no data will be displayed since this creates a logical AND (assuming10 or more results).

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Conditions - Operators

[] Range = Equal to a value <> Not equal to a value ][ Not in range <= Less than or equal to > Greater than >= Greater than or equal to < Less than Top Number Top 5 values for example. Top % Top 5 percent (example) Top Sum Top $50,000 (example) Bottom Number Bottom 5 (example) Bottom n Percent Bottom 5 percent (example) Bottom Sum Bottom $50,000 (example)

Conditions - Active Display

Unlike Exceptions that color-code the results, Conditions filter the results. In the example above you see only the top 5 values. Click on the Activate/Deactivate button to change the state.

The Overall Result MAY display the Overall Query result and NOT THE SUM OF THE CONDITION!

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Conditions – Display Sum when Active

To make sure a condition is displaying the sum, open the properties of the key figure through the context menu and adjust the Calculate Result as value. If this value is (Nothing Defined) the condition will display the overall result for the query and not the condition. If you want to see the sum when the condition is active, select Summation and Transfer over the change to the query.

Conditions - Change

Right-clicking on a Condition will display a context menu. Options for a Condition you created:

• Display • Change • Delete • Deactivate

Options for an existing Condition: • Display • Deactivate

End users do not have the ability to delete conditions created by the query designer.

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Characteristic Properties

1. Turn on the key and/or text of

his is for deactivated hierarchies. To set display of hierarchies, see #6.

2. Select a sorting preference. You can sort by key, text, hierarchy, and even by attribute values. 3. Select sort direction ascending or descending. 4. Pick attributes to display and the order of display. 5. Select a hierarchy to activate and the desired expansion level 6. Select the display presentation of hierarchies.

Key Figures Properties

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1. Highlighting will change the key figures to blue. 2. You have the ability to display the key figures as

scaled. For example, $1,234,567 could be displayed as 1.23. To display scaling factor, go to query properties.

3. Set decimal place display. Keep in mind exports to Excel will carry decimals if displayed or not.

4. Set sort order of key figure. 5. Set the action of the results row. For example the

results could be the average instead of the sum. 6. Set the action of individual cells. For example, the

single values could be a ranked order instead of the actual value.

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Broadcasting- Display

To view the Broadcaster, click on the Broadcaster icon. The location of the icon may vary from the screen shot example.

Broadcaster Displayed

A. After clicking on the Broadcaster icon… B. You will now see the Broadcaster displayed after the screen refreshes. C. You can open the New Setting display or D. Create new settings with the Wizard. This will guide you through the two step process or ad hoc one-

time broadcasting or four steps for scheduling a job. E. Start all scheduled jobs with Z followed by your university number. Never schedule before 8:00AM or

after 6:00PM to avoid conflicts with BI background jobs. F. Open .pdf help file (this document). G. Close the Broadcaster

Since web-based printing will print What-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG), consider closing the Navigation Block prior to printing.

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Broadcasting-Broadcaster Window

A. Description of the job. This is the text entered by the user when creating a broadcast job. This is the name of the job.

B. Technical Name is what the user enters as the technical name when the job is created. ALWAYS START WITH Z FOLLOWED BY YOUR UNIVERSITY NUMBER.

C. The Owner is the person who created the job. D. Last Changed is when the job was created or last modified. E. Scheduled yes or blank. If yes, there is a schedule set up for the broadcast job. If blank, a job was

created but it is not scheduled to broadcast.

Broadcasting-Broadcaster Wizard

A. Click on the Create New Setting with the Wizard button to open the broadcasting wizard. You can

open the wizard to set up a one-time broadcast or schedule a job.

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Broadcasting-Determine Basic Settings

1. From the Broadcasting Wizard first dialog

as the Output format. You can also select to send a link to the web application.

2. Uncheck As ZIP File 3. Continue

Broadcasting-Enter E-Mail Message

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1. Enter SMTP email address or addresses.

to separate email addresses.

2. Enter a subject that will appear as the subject on every email delivered by this broadcast job.

3. Enter Comments if necessary. Comments will appear as plain text before your template in the body of the email.

4. Continue

(If you click execute at this point, the job will execute and be delivered to the recipients without being scheduled.)

Broadcaster will begin to build an “address book” for you as addresses are added.

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Broadcasting-Save Broadcast Settings

1. Enter a Technical Name for the broadcast

2. Enter a description for the broadcast job

3. Continue

Set up technical naming conventions. Starting with Z, and university number then consider, time, frequency, your initials, etc. Example: Z70_0805_BUDGET_SAS

Broadcasting–Determine Scheduling Details

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1.

New Scheduling checkbox

2. Check the Periodic All Check box and select frequency and periodic time unit.

3. Select the start date of the job and select the start time. The format is hour:minute:second. Hour is on a 24-hour clock.

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Broadcasting-Confirmation and Editing

A. You will now notice your scheduled job in the Settings window for the web template. You can set up multiple jobs for a single query.

B. A Right-Click on the job descriptions will give you the options to Edit, Delete, Execute, or Dispatch the job.

You can “Execute” from the shortcut menu to force delivery of a job. The job will still remain scheduled.

Setting – Recipient(s)

A. The Description of the broadcast job B. The Technical Name of the broadcast job. This cannot be changed. C. The Distribution Type – only Broadcast Email at this time. D. Output format. Select MHTML or Online Link E. The Recipient tab is where you enter or edit the people or distribution list. This must be SMTP email

but can be a SMTP distribution list. F. Save if changes are made or if creating a new broadcast from Settings G. Save as if you want to create one job based on another. H. Schedule will allow you to create or change the scheduled broadcast I. Execute will run the job J. Close will close the settings window.

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Setting - Texts

A. The Texts tab has additional settings B. Enter the Subject as you wish it to appear in the recipient’s Inbox C. You can set the importance level D. Contents text will display at the top of the email body, before any query results or links.

Email Example of MHTML

An example of a broadcast job as it will appear when sent by MHTML. The job can be edited from clicking on the link at the bottom of the email if the recipient has authorizations to change the job.

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Printing with Internet Explorer 7

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To print reports, first select Print Preview…

On the Print Preview screen, select Only the selected frame and Shrink to Fit from the dropdown boxes.

To print reports with formatting as displayed on the screen, you need to enable background printing.

On the Tools button, select Internet Options

On the Advanced tab of the Internet Options dialog box, scroll down to the Printing options

Check the box Print background colors and images.

Click [OK]

Now your reports will print with formatting as displayed on screen.

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Run Time Out Error – 500 Connection timed out

If the report you are running exceeds the maximum run time limit, you will get a connection error message. Even though you get the time out error, the queries will still run and complete in background. For this reason, the queries will be cached after completing in background so simply execute the report again and is should appear without the error.

Current Run Time Out setting:

10 minutes

Idle Time Out Error – 400 Session timed out

If your BI web application sits idle on your screen for too long, you will get a session error message. You need to run the report again to reestablish a BI connection and enable functionality. You will lose the current navigation status.

Current Idle Time Out Setting:

120 minutes

If you need to leave you computer for over 30minutes (over

lunch for example) and do not want to lose your navigation status, you can bookmark or temporarily personlize your page to save it for use later.