the following observations and requested enhancements …perunapartners.com/obiee/obiee enhancement...
TRANSCRIPT
The following observations and requested enhancements are based on OBIEE 11.1.1.6.6 and the
related FMC/WLS releases, installed on Windows 2008 Server 32-bit SP2 with 8 GB memory.
Analytics
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Adding Columns to analysis
When on the Results tab, double-
clicking a column in the Subject
Area list does not add the column
into the last position on the Criteria
tab. Instead, the new column is
positioned one column to the left of
the end. For example, select three
dimension columns and one fact
column, and display the results.
While still on the results tab, add
another fact column by double-
clicking it. Return to the Criteria
tab and see that the new column is
not in the last position.
Confusing interface, unexpected
results.
When a column is added from the
Subject Area directly onto the
results tab, place it into the last
position on the Criteria tab.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Views header
On the Views header, the close
proximity of the Delete View icon,
positioned directly between the
Duplicate View and Rename View
icons, makes it very easy to
inadvertently delete a view from the
analysis.
There is no warning when deleting a
view from the analysis.
Add a confirmation question: "Are
you sure you want to delete this
view from the analysis?"
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Column Headings
There is no way to align column
headings in the center or on the
right of a table or pivot table view.
Column headings are always left
justified.
Getting the maximum number of
columns into the minimum amount
of horizontal space is impossible.
Enable the ability to left-justify or
center column headings in table and
pivot table views.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Passwords not saveable
OBIEE analytics passwords can't be
saved in the browser.
Some people like to save passwords
in their browsers, and it's inefficient
to have to type them in every time.
Big Brother is not needed here.
This shouldn't be a decision made
by Oracle. It should be a decision
made by each customer.
Allow saving of passwords in the
browser.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Saved icon disappears
After saving an analysis or
dashboard prompt, the Saved icon
disappears after a few seconds.
If it stayed visible until another
action was performed, a user could
always know that the most recent
action taken was a save. Did I save
or not? If the word Saved was kept
on the screen until another action
was performed, I would know.
Keep the word Saved on the screen
until another action is taken.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Dropdown for variable names
There is no dropdown list for
variable names anywhere in the
Analytics interface.
Repository and Session variable
names must be separately exposed
to users in some manner, resulting
in extra work for developers and for
administrators.
Provide a dropdown list for
repository variables and for session
variables wherever they are
currently used (i.e. any place we
have to type them in).
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Format dialog
When viewing a format dialog,
there's no way to tell at a glance if
an object has been assigned no
color, or if it has been assigned
white as its color. Both show up the
same on the dialog. The only way
to know is to actually click the color
icon, and see if there is a hex color
such as #FFFFFF shown on the
color dialog.
Inefficient UI. Some sort of indicator - such as an
X in the color box on the format
dialog – would be helpful.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Tickers
There is no color selector dropdown
for the background color of a
Ticker.
Analysis developers must specify a
hex color code.
Add a regular color selector to the
Ticker background color field.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Column Sort Order Indicators
When at least three columns in an
analysis have been assigned sort
orders, and any of those columns
(except the last one) are deleted
from the analysis, the sort orders do
not automatically renumber.
Ambiguity and uncertainty as to the
remaining sort orders.
Restore the 10g behavior of
renumbering sort orders when a
sorted column is deleted from an
analysis.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Gauges
When minimum and maximum
limits have been manually defined
for a series of gauges, any
observations that fall above the
maximum, or below the minimum,
are not represented with a gauge
needle. The gauge needle just
disappears. In 10g, such
observations just "pegged" the
gauge needle at the bottom or top of
the dial, as appropriate.
This behavior has gone unaddressed
in 11g since the very first beta
versions over three years ago.
Imagine that we want the gauge to
display the year-over-year
percentage sales change for a series
of products. If we started selling a
product on December 30th last year,
its year-over-year sales change
might be huge, in the tens of
thousands of percent. Such an
observation currently requires that
the gauge maximum be unnaturally
large in order to actually see the
gauge needle, in which case the
more "ordinary" observations would
all be pointing to more or less the
same spot on the gauge.
Restore the 10g behavior of
"pegging" a gauge needle that falls
above or below a custom maximum
or minimum for the gauge.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
PeriodRolling
The second and third arguments in
the Period Rolling function require
hard-coded integer values.
This is inflexible. I want my users
to be able to enter a value in a
dashboard prompt, store that value
in a session variable, the refer to the
session variable in the
PeriodRolling function so that they
can have a flexible display of the
number of periods THEY want to
see at a given time.
Allow the use of integer columns
and/or session variables as the
second and third arguments to the
PeriodRolling function.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
No Results
A custom No Results message for
an analysis does not display the
filters. The default message does.
Why did the analysis return no
rows? Oracle apparently feels that
it's important to show the filters
with its default No Results message.
Why not with a custom message?
Just replace the default message
with the custom message, and allow
the developer to either include or
exclude the filters that are produced
with the default message.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Default Borders
When viewing a format dialog for
an object that has a default border,
the sample border area on that
dialog doesn't show anything. For
example, the thin gray line at the
bottom of the Title view is its
default border. However, there's no
way to know that just by looking at
its format dialog. Same for the thin
black border around the legend and
gauge views. There is a thin black
border around the gauges, but the
format dialog shows this:
There is visual no difference
between "no border" and the
"default border". If we click inside
that box twice, we remove the
default border, but the picture is
exactly the same. There is no visual
indication of any change from the
default.
Modify the
icon to show the actual border
format, even if it is the default.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Catalog Sort Order
When viewing the Catalog sorted in
Name A-Z order, Scorecards appear
at the top of the list, followed by all
OTHER objects in A-Z order.
Confusing UI.
When the user has requested to sort
the catalog in Name A-Z order, do
so.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Home Page
The Introduction to Oracle BI and Oracle BIEE
Documentation links both go to the same place:
http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E14571_01/index.htm
Two adjacent links
going to the same place
is nonsense.
Remove one of the links.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Graph Prompts and Sections
The Prompts zone and the Sections
zone of the pivot table view include
an option to apply an aggregation in
order to see a total of all values.
There is no such option in the graph
view.
It's a very useful feature that has
been left out.
Add the same summary icons for
Prompts and for Sections on the
graph view.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Bins
When defining the first bin for a
column, if the name of the bin is a
string such as Excellent, this error
will be thrown:
Formula syntax is invalid.
[nQSError: 10058]
A general error has occurred.
[nQSError: 43113]
Message returned from OBIS.
[nQSError: 27005] Unresolved
column: "Excellent". (HY000)
The problem exists because there is
no way to unclick the Treat as
numeric value or expression
checkbox prior to typing the name
of the bin.
Untick that checkbox by default.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Selection Steps
The Selection Steps panel is always
visible at the bottom of the Results
tab. It is not always visible at the
bottom of the Criteria tab.
Since Selection Steps are basically
fancy filters, the Selection Steps
panel should be visible by default
on the Criteria tab
Make the Selection Steps panel
visible by default at the bottom of
the Criteria tab, just as it is on the
Results tab.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Conditional Formatting
When using Internet Explorer to
define a column's Conditional
Formatting using images, clicking a
category icon (left side of the
Graphics dialog) once, clicking a
different category icon, then
clicking the original one again may
cause the icons to be suppressed, in
which case we see several
occurrences of the icon instead.
This bug does not occur in any
version of Firefox, and occurs in
most versions of IE, including IE9.
Short of logging out and logging
back in, there is no way to see the
icons once they are displayed with
the icon.
Fix the bug.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Creating a Navigate to Web Page action
Create a new action (Navigate to a Web Page).
Paste this URL into the URL field on the New Action dialog:
http://maps.google.com/maps?&q=@{1}&radius=@{2}
Click Define Parameters
The URL has been changed to:
http://maps.google.com/maps?=@{1}&q=@{1}&radius=@{2}
Notice the addition of an extra =@{1} that we didn't specify.
It shouldn't do that. Fix the bug.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Calculated Groups
Calculated Groups can return
incorrect results in this case:
Create and save a calculated group:
Start with one value of the lowest
level of a dimension, such as
Atlanta (City)
New Step: Add all children of a
value of the next higher level, such
as children of Florida (state).
New Step: Explicitly remove some
of the added children, such as (in
the example above) Orlando and a
few other cities in Florida.
Save the Group.
Display an analysis of the group and
a data field such as sales. The
results still include the explicitly
removed children.
Incorrect results are returned. The
custom group must be deleted and
recreated in order to return the
correct results. SE is the custom
group in this table.
Fix the bug.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Calculated Groups
When a single Calculated Groups is
displayed in an analysis, its expand
icon is not shown.
There must be at least one other
expandable object in the analysis
before the Calculated Group's
expand icon appears.
There is no way to drill down to see
the components of a calculated
group unless some other group is
present.
Display the expand/collapse icons
for calculated groups in all cases.
Dashboard Editor
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Dashboard Section Properties
When setting the properties of
sections on a dashboard, there are
too many clicks required. For
example, to set four properties
(Drill in Place, Collapsible, Show
Section Header, and Show Section
Title), a total of eight mouse clicks
are required.
Inefficient UI. Too many mouse
clicks required to do a simple job.
It would be more efficient to set
each of those options with
checkboxes that could be set at the
same time with much less required
mouse movement.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Dashboard Section Properties
In the dashboard editor, there is no
way to see what options are selected
for a section without accessing the
Properties for that section. For
example, we cannot see the status of
either Drill in Place and Collapsible
unless we view the Properties
dialog for the section.
Inefficient UI. Too many mouse
clicks required to do a simple job.
Enhance the dashboard editor to
include icons or some other means
of seeing the status of selected
options, much the same as the
icons show the current orientation
of the section.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Renamed Views
When selecting a specific view of
an analysis for display on a
dashboard, the original view names
(e.g. Graph 1, Graph 2, Table3) are
shown, rather that the names
assigned during the Rename View
action.
Table 2 was renamed Second Table
but it still says Table 2 here.
Dashboard developer must know
beforehand which view represents
what.
Display analysis views with their
renamed versions and not their
original meaningless names.
Web Logic Security
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Adding new users in WLS
On the myrealm page, the Users and
Groups tab: After clicking New to
add a new User, the cursor focus is
not initialized into the Name field.
It's ergonomically inefficient. The
most logical and ergonomically
efficient place to focus the cursor on
the Create a New User screen is in
the Name field, so that the user
doesn't have to waste time moving
the mouse.
When the Create a New User page
is displayed in WLS, position the
cursor focus into the Name field.
Fusion Middleware Control
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Activating an RPD
In FMC, when uploading a
repository and activating it for use,
we must type and confirm a
Repository Password, then click
Apply. Clicking Apply does not
confirm that the password is correct.
It only confirms that we typed the
same password twice.
After clicking Apply, when we
navigate to the Availability tab and
attempt to restart the BI Server
service, it first brings that service
down, then tries to restart it. If the
typed password was wrong, BI
Server will not restart.
When clicking Apply on the
Deployment tab, check right then
to make sure the repository
password is correct. Also, there
should only be the need for one
password field. There's no need for
a confirmation password if the
entered password is to be confirmed
as right or wrong.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Creating new roles in FMC
The Create icon for creating a new
role is grayed out. It can be turned
on by clicking Edit for an existing
role then clicking Cancel.
A bug with a non-obvious
workaround.
Fix the bug.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
FMC Progress Spinner
Instead of placing the activity
indicator spinner on the browser tab
where people are accustomed to
looking, it's been placed all the way
over on the right side of the screen
next to the page refresh date.
Inconsistent UI. If you're looking in
the "usual" place, you won't think
anything is happening, resulting in
additional (possibly conflicting)
clicks.
Standardize the progress indicator
throughout the UI.
Repository Administration Tool
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Online repository green checks
The icons next to any object in the
repository are completely hidden by
the green checkmarks when
working in Online mode. For
example, when looking at columns
in a logical table, it's virtually
impossible to tell at a glance which
ones are keys and which ones aren't,
because the green checkmark is so
intrusive.
Inefficient UI. Use a different icon, or a smaller
green check mark.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
References to the USER session
variable in a physical select table
throws consistency check warning
When defining a physical table as a
select statement with this code:
select distinct g_name from groupmembers where g_member = 'valueof(NQ_SESSION.USER)'
This warning is seen in the
consistency checker:
The repository variable, USER, has no value definition.
No way to hide the warning, so
consistency check can never return
a clean result.
Fix it.
BI Publisher
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
BI Publisher Data Model
In previous releases, creating the
Sample XML for a BI Publisher
data model displayed the data in
XML mode. Now it's just a huge
run-on sentence of the rows of data.
Impossible to read. Put it back the way it was prior to
11.1.1.6.6.
KPIs
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
KPI Preview
There is no Preview icon for KPIs.
The only way to see what the KPI
looks like is to save it then open it.
Inefficient UI. Include a Preview icon for KPIs
similar to that for analyses or
dashboard prompts.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
KPI Preview
When running a KPI, there is no
Edit button at the bottom left of the
KPI results as there is for an
analysis.
Inefficient UI. Include an Edit link for KPIs similar
to the one present when running
analyses.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
KPI Finish Button
There is a Finish button but no Save
button when creating a KPI.
Inconsistent UI. Get rid of the Finish button, use an
ordinary Save icon instead.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
KPI Custom Attributes
When defining a Custom Attribute
for a KPI, the "Formula" field does
not recognize the Home and End
keyboard keys. To move to either
end of a formula, the left arrow and
right arrow keys must be used.
Inefficient UI. Permit the use of Home and End
keyboard keys on the Formula field.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
KPI Display Format
There isn't an obvious way to set a
data display format for any custom
attributes. Any numeric custom
attributes are displayed using the
same data type as the Actual value
for the KPI. For example, if the
KPI Actual is Profit Percent, and its
default data format is percentages
with 1 decimal, then EVERY
custom column in that KPI will be
displayed as percentages with 1
decimal.
Inefficient UI. Allow custom attributes to have
their own data display formats.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
KPI Display Format
The % Variance column is
displayed as an integer, with no
apparent way to display it in any
other format. The Target and
Variance columns are displayed
using the same data format as the
Actual value, again with no way to
display it any differently.
Inefficient UI. Allow Target and Variance columns
to have their own data display
formats.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
States tab UI misalignment
On the States tab of the KPI
definition, the lines running
horizontally between the status
labels do not consistently match up
with the Thresholds boxes on the
right.
Difficult to read and interpret. Make the lines and boxes line up
properly.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
KPI assessment range color
The color selector for KPI
assessment ranges uses a different
widget than does every other color
selector in OBIEE, and it's also
better. All hex color fields on all
color dialogs other than Scorecards
require the use of a # sign as a
prefix. The hex color fields on the
Scorecard dialogs do not.
Inconsistent UI. Standardize the entire system on
one color selector or another.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
KPIs defined with variables
KPIs which refer to a session
variable or presentation variable in
either the Actual Value or the
Target Value do not change when
the session variable is changed.
KPI displays can't be changed
interactively through the use of a
dashboard prompt.
When a KPI's Actual Value or
Target Variable refer to either a
session variable or to a presentation
variable, make that KPI respond to
changes made to the variable's value
via a dashboard prompt.
The KPI definition screen allows us to define a custom formula for either Actual Value or Target Value, and we
can include the values of session variables or presentation variables in that custom formula. But the KPI is not
responsive to changes to the values of those variables when modified using a dashboard prompt.
Watchlists, Scorecards
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Removing KPI from scorecard
When removing a KPI from a
scorecard, the word DELETE is
used, rather than REMOVE.
Scary to click anything labeled
Delete.
Use the word Remove.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
KPI Watchlist Pinnings
Watchlist entries that are pinned to
a session variable do not "respond"
to changes in that session variable
during an OBIEE analytics session.
KPI Watchlists can't be changed
interactively through the use of a
dashboard prompt.
When a KPI Watchlist entry is
pinned to a Session variable, make
that entry respond to changes made
to that variable's value via a
dashboard prompt.
Even though a session variable can be designated when pinning a column value to a KPI in a watchlist, the value
of the variable is apparently grabbed once, when the watchlist is displayed, and then is not updated, even if the
value of that session variable is changed via a dashboard prompt. I have a watchlist entry that is pinned to a
session variable called Selected_Month, which has an initial value of Jul-2009. I can change Selected_Month to
May-2009 via a dashboard prompt, and I can see that the change actually happens by displaying the
Selected_Month session variable in a simple analysis. But that change is not reflected on the KPI watchlist. The
watchlist still shows the data associated with Jul-2009.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Add KPIs to watchlist and to
scorecard
In most other places we see a
greeen plus sign. On a KPI
watchlist and a scorecard, adding a
KPI is actually hidden under the
Objects menu.
Inconsistent UI makes the product
more difficult to learn and use.
Use a green plus sign to add KPIs to
a watchlist or scorecard.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Add KPIs to watchlist and to
scorecard
When adding a KPI to a watchlist,
or scorecard the system doesn't
remember the last place you pulled
a KPI from. You have to constantly
drill down and find the same folder
over and over again.
Inconsistent UI makes the product
more difficult to use.
Remember the most recent folder
from which a KPI was added to a
watchlist or scorecard.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Watchlist Status Indicators
The status indicators at the top right
of a watchlist are shown in the order
in which they appear in the
watchlist.
That's totally arbitrary, and makes
no sense. It would be much more
logical for them to be listed from
best to worst, as they are in a
scorecard.
Display the status indicators from
best to worst, as they are in a
scorecard.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Watchlist Status Column
When applying a descending sort on
the Status column on a watchlist,
the symbols are sorted based on the
reverse order of the status column
of unsorted list. Basically all that
happens is that the list is flipped
upside down. It isn't sorted based
on status.
That's totally arbitrary, and makes
no sense.
It would make much more sense to
sort them in best-worst or worst-
best order, like a Scorecard does.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Watchlist Column Width
There isn't a way to manually resize
the columns on a watchlist or
scorecard. For example, the first
column (Label) is about 4 times as
wide as it needs to be, and there's no
way to reduce the width.
Inefficient UI. Allow columns in watchlists and
scorecards to be resized.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
KPI Score missing on Watchlist
On watchlists and scorecards, there
isn't a way to report the scores
computed by the KPIs based on the
conditions on the States tab.
The scores are an important feature
of KPIs, and they are totally ignored
in the interface.
Display the KPI scores on
watchlists and scorecards.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Scorecard icons
When assigning images for a
scorecard Assessment Range, the
Replace Icon dialog always opens
on the Custom Image tab.
Inefficient UI. It would be better if the dialog
returned to the most recently used
tab and subcategory like the
conditional formatting dialog does.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Scorecards missing in recent list
Scorecards don't show up in the
Recent area on the Home screen.
Inconsistent UI. Display scorecards in the Recent
area on the Home screen.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Scorecards actions
When assigning Actions to a
scorecard, it would be nice to be
able to create a single link that
applies to more than one Status.
Inefficient UI. Allow the creation of a single action
link that applies to more than one
status.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
KPI Watchlist pinning
KPI watchlist entries cannot be
pinned to a presentation variable.
Even if the problem mentioned
above is addressed, KPI watchlists
still can't be instructed to change
interactively unless a session
variable is already pre-defined in
the repository
Permit KPI watchlist entries to be
pinned to presentation variables.
This would resolve an inconsistency between the functionality available for KPIs and for Watchlists.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Editing KPIs on Scorecards
Once a KPI has been added to a
Scorecard, there is no way to edit
that scorecard entry.
Any minor change to the Scorecard
entry, even to fix a misspelled label,
requires that the KPI be deleted and
readded to the scorecard.
Allow KPI entries on a scorecard to
be edited just as they can on
watchlists.
When a KPI is added to a KPI Watchlist, and needs to be modified, the developer can click Objects … Edit
Watchlist Entry. There is no similar function when a KPI is added to a Scorecard.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Reordering KPIs on Scorecards
There is no way to permanently
reorder KPIs on a scorecard or
watchlist short of deleting them and
reading them.
After KPIs have been added to a
watchlist or scorecard, we might
want to rearrange their order.
Add a way to reorder the KPIs on a
scorecard and watchlist.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Returning KPIs to unsorted order
After using the arrows to sort
any column on a watchlist or
scorecard, there is no way to put the
KPIs entries back into their initial
positions.
We put the KPIs into the watchlist
or scorecard in a particular order for
a reason. A simple resorting
destroys that order unless we reopen
the watchlist or scorecard.
Add an option to return the KPIs on
a watchlist or scorecard back into
their assigned positions.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Replicating KPIs on watchlist
There is no way to replicate a KPI
entry on either a scorecard or a
watchlist.
We want the watchlist or scorecard
to use the same KPI 5 times, one
pinned to each of 5 different
Operating Units. This requires
adding the KPI multiple times, and
selecting all of its pinned values
every time.
Allow the right-click of existing
KPI entries on watchlists and
scorecards, select Duplicate, then
immediately bring up a dialog that
is already filled in, ready for
whatever change we want to make.
Currently, we have a KPI that needs to be placed onto a watchlist and pinned to the Current Month repository
variable, as well as to a single value of Operating Unit. It would be nice to not have to manually redefine the
Current Month repository variable pinning every single time we add that same KPI to the watchlist.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Turning KPIs into analyses
When a KPI is turned into an
analysis by selecting Analyze from
a watchlist, the resulting analysis
does not have a filter for any
columns that are pinned to
repository variables in the KPI. It
DOES have a filter for any static
values that are pinned.
Inconsistent usage. If a dimension
of a KPI is pinned to a static column
value, a filter is created for the
analysis. If the dimension is pinned
to a repository variable, a
corresponding filter is not created.
It seems logical to assume that we
would want to filter the analysis
with that repository variable.
If a dimension of a KPI is pinned,
and that KPI is turned into an
analysis using the Analyze option,
create filters or selection steps for
the pinned values in all cases.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
KPI Pinning
The definition of a KPI can only
include a pinning filter for a specific
value of a dimension column, not a
variable. When adding a KPI to a
watchlist, only THEN can it be
pinned to a variable.
Missing functionality. Add the ability to pin a KPI to a
variable, not just to a specific value
of a dimension column.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Using KPI watchlist for scorecard
Our KPI watchlist holds exactly the
KPIs that we want on our scorecard,
but there is no way to bring it into
the scorecard.
It's inefficient to have to basically
recreate the exact same thing all
over again in a scorecard, when the
exact contents that we need in that
scorecard already exist in a
watchlist.
Allow a watchlist to be used to
initially populate the KPIs in a
scorecard. This would include all
of its pinnings.
Observations added January, 2013
Analytics
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Dashboard Preview
There is apparently no way to
execute the Dashboard Preview icon
and see anything except the default
compound layout view. Even if a
different compound layout is on the
Answers screen, the default
compound view is shown in the
preview window.
No way to preview additions
compound layouts.
Make the Dashboard Preview icon
display whatever view is visible in
Answers at the moment.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Pivot Table Prompts
When moving a column tile into the
Pivot Table Prompts zone in the
Layout editor, the dropdown does
not immediately work in Firefox,
either on the design window or in
the Dashboard Preview.
Cannot test the prompt dropdown. Fix it.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Adding Columns
When adding columns to the criteria
tab, those columns are immediately
moved into the visible area of all
existing tables, pivot tables, and
graphs. The option to avoid this
behavior is set on an analysis by
analysis basis, and apparently the
default behavior cannot be changed.
After I've gone to the trouble of
putting everything exactly where I
want it in multiple pivot tables and
graphs, OBIEE decides that I want
it to mess up my hard work when I
add a column to the criteria tab.
This was NOT the default behavior
in 11.1.1.3.
Either restore the 11.1.1.3 default,
which was to NOT mess up my
hard work, or allow us to set an
option in a configuration file that
will tick the 2nd
radio button on the
Data tab, so that new columns are
automatically placed into the
Excluded zone in existing views.
Don't make us change it on each
and every analysis.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Actions
If an Action is created using New
… Action, its parameters cannot be
tied to a subject area column. If an
action is created "inline" as part of
an analysis, its parameters can be
tied to a subject area column, but
the action cannot be saved properly
in the web catalog. The association
with that column is discarded when
saving.
I need to create a Navigate to Web
Page action that always uses my
Geog.Address column as its third
parameter. There is no way to save
that.
Allow actions to be saved with
parameters that are linked to subject
area columns.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Actions
When creating an Action in which a
parameter references a subject area
column, the parameter field is free
form text.
Values of a parameter that are tied
to a specific subject area column
might need to reference the exact
values from that column (such as an
address) and ONLY those values.
When creating an Action in which a
parameter references a subject area
column, allow the parameter field to
be a dropdown list of valid column
values, instead of just a free text
field.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Column Default Settings
After creating a couple of actions in
the Interaction tab for a column, we
can click Save as Default.
However, when adding that column
to a new analysis, the new actions
are not automatically shown.
Instead, we must click the green +
icon to actually make the actions
show up under Action Links.
It's misleading. If I'm looking at the
Interaction tab, and it's exactly what
I want to use as the column defaults,
then clicking Save as Default for
that column should do exactly what
it says.
Make Save as Default for
interactions actually save the listed
interactions as the defaults for the
column.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Search for Filter Condition
When creating a new column filter,
clicking on the field glasses icon
brings up a search window. On that
screen, the Match Case checkbox
cannot be checked.
Unable to select case-sensitive vs.
case-insensitive search. Fix it.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Drag Field on Pivot Table editor
On the Pivot Table layout, pick up a
folder heading and try to drag it
into a new position on the layout
(yes, I know you're not supposed to
do that). It doesn't work, and that's
fine. But now pick up a column
from that folder. It won't stick.
You have to close the editor and
come back in.
Obvious. Fix it.
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
Adding to a Column Selector
When you double-click a column n
the selection panel to add it to the
column selector, the values of that
column become visible in the
selection panel.
As far as I can tell, those values
can't be clicked on, so displaying
them adds confusion to the user's
experience.
Don't "drill down" to display a
column's values when adding that
column to a column selector.
WebLogic
Observation Why is it a problem Requested Change
No Test button for alternate
authentication providers
When adding an alternate
authentication provider to WLS,
there is no test button.
See below. Add a TEST button to the screen
when adding an external
authentication provider.
In class, students entered incorrect connection information into the configuration fields, as follows:
Principal field should be cn=Administrator,cn=users,dc=MavAD,dc=net
Student had entered cm=Administrator,cn=users,dc=MavAD,dc=net
Principal field should be cn=Administrator,cn=users,dc=MavAD,dc=net
Student had entered cn=Administrator,cn=user,dc=MavAD,dc=net
In these first two cases, the LDAP could not be reached because of incorrect configuration settings. From that
point forward even the User IDs stored directly in WLS became unusable. We were unable to log in to Analytics
or connect to the Repository in online mode using any login at all, even the ones stored right there in WLS.
So Oracle has created a situation in which you can disable or hobble the use of perfectly good logins that are
STORED IN WLS, those having nothing at all to do with the external LDAP, and that would work just fine in
the absence of the authentication provider you just added.
And it gets worse.
Principal field should be cn=Administrator,cn=users,dc=MavAD,dc=net
Student had entered cn=Administration,cn-users,dc=MavAD,dc=net
The use of the minus sign instead of the equals sign is a serious error that actually prevents the Admin Server
service from starting. I had to perform a search of every file in my c:\mw_home1, looking for cn-users and
changing it to cn=users. Only at that point would the admin services restart.
All because of the lack of a Test button.