Mstrintro

Introduction to MicroStrategy
Evaluation Guide
Version: 8.0.1
Document Number: 09420801
Thirteenth Edition, July 2005, version 8.0.1
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CONTENTS
Preface Document description................................................................ xi

Who should use this guide?.................................................... xii
Prerequisites ........................................................................... xii
Objectives .............................................................................. xiii
About this book ............................................................................ xiii
Typographical standards ..............................................................xv
For online and printed documentation ....................................xv
For printed documentation only ............................................. xvi
Resources.................................................................................. xviii
Product documentation ........................................................ xviii
Installed documentation ......................................................... xix
International support .................................................................... xxi
User assistance .......................................................................... xxii
Online help............................................................................ xxii
Technical Support ................................................................. xxii
Feedback ..................................................................................xxviii
1. Evaluate the Introduction.................................................................................. 1

MicroStrategy
Evaluating MicroStrategy ............................................................... 2
Platform
2. Install the Introduction.................................................................................. 3

MicroStrategy
MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition hardware requirements............. 4
Evaluation Edition
MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition software requirements .............. 5
Installation...................................................................................... 6
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. iii

Contents Introduction to MicroStrategy
Verifying installation ............................................................... 19

Uninstalling a MicroStrategy component ..................................... 20
3. View Reports in a Introduction................................................................................ 23

Windows Interface
Log in to MicroStrategy Desktop as User.................................. 25
Get started with reports ......................................................... 27
Explore additional reports ...................................................... 45
Create your own report .......................................................... 52
Next steps.............................................................................. 53
Learn about application development.......................................... 55
Learn about application objects ............................................. 56
Learn about schema objects.................................................. 57
Review hierarchies................................................................. 58
Learn about system administration.............................................. 59
4. View Reports in a Web Introduction................................................................................ 61

Browser
Log in to MicroStrategy Web as User........................................ 63
Get started with reports ......................................................... 64
Deliver reports ....................................................................... 88
Explore additional reports ...................................................... 95
Create your own report .......................................................... 97
Next Steps ............................................................................. 98
Viewing reports with MicroStrategy Web Universal ..................... 99
Before you begin.................................................................. 100
Configure MicroStrategy Web Universal.............................. 101
5. View Reports in Introduction.............................................................................. 105

Microsoft Excel
Begin the MicroStrategy Office Tutorial ..................................... 106
Perform one-click refresh of multiple reports ............................. 107
Next steps.................................................................................. 108
Learn about adding reports to Excel.......................................... 109
Launch Microsoft Excel........................................................ 109
Connect to your project........................................................ 109

Microsoft PowerPoint
iv 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Introduction to MicroStrategy Contents
Next steps.................................................................................. 117

Learn more about adding reports to PowerPoint ....................... 118
Launch Microsoft PowerPoint .............................................. 118

Microsoft Word
Next steps.................................................................................. 126
Learn about adding reports to Word .......................................... 127
Launch Microsoft Word ........................................................ 128
8. Deliver Reports Introduction.............................................................................. 131

About the MicroStrategy Tutorial for Narrowcast Server ........... 132
Begin the Narrowcast Server Tutorial........................................ 133
Explore usage scenarios ........................................................... 136
Create Your Own Service .......................................................... 137
Delivery methods ................................................................. 138
E-mail (SMTP) content......................................................... 138
Subscriptions and schedules ............................................... 139
Run your first service ........................................................... 140
Subscribe Users ........................................................................ 141
Next steps.................................................................................. 144
Explore Narrowcast Administrator ....................................... 145
Find additional resources..................................................... 145
Solve common problems ..................................................... 146
9. Build a Reporting Introduction.............................................................................. 147

Application
Starting Project Builder .............................................................. 148
My Database.............................................................................. 150
My Business Model.................................................................... 151
My Reports ................................................................................ 155
Project Complete ....................................................................... 157
Exercises ................................................................................... 158
Access your report in MicroStrategy Desktop............................ 158
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. v

Access your report in MicroStrategy Web ................................. 159

Access your report using Microsoft Office products .................. 161
Create a Narrowcast Server service for your report .................. 162
Delivery methods ................................................................. 164
Message contents................................................................ 164
Subscriptions and schedules ............................................... 166
Run your service and view it in Subscription Portal ............. 167
10. View Business Introduction.............................................................................. 169

Intelligence
Explore the Human Resources Analysis Module....................... 170
Applications
View reports in a Web browser ............................................ 171
Explore other Analytics Modules in a Web browser............. 173
View reports in a Windows interface.................................... 174
Explore other Analytics Modules in a Windows interface .... 177
Next Steps ........................................................................... 177
Explore additional Analytics Modules ........................................ 179
Customer Analysis Module .................................................. 180
Financial Reporting Analysis Module................................... 181
Sales Force Analysis Module............................................... 182
Sales and Distribution Analysis Module............................... 183
Web Traffic Analysis Module ............................................... 184
Benefits of Analytics Modules.................................................... 185
Analytics Modules components ................................................. 185
Next steps.................................................................................. 186
11. Next Steps Introduction.............................................................................. 187

Enhancing your project .............................................................. 188
Creating documents................................................................... 190
Getting started with the Document Wizard .......................... 192
Using the Document Editor .................................................. 195
12. Information for SIs, Introduction.............................................................................. 201

VARs, and OEMs
Overview.................................................................................... 202
SDK usage scenarios .......................................................... 203
The MicroStrategy APIs............................................................. 205
Intelligence Server API ........................................................ 205
Web API............................................................................... 206
Narrowcast Server API ........................................................ 207
vi 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Documentation........................................................................... 208
Development tools ..................................................................... 209
Embedding and packaging tools................................................ 210
Summary ................................................................................... 210
A. Business Intelligence Introduction.............................................................................. 211

and the MicroStrategy
Introduction to business intelligence.......................................... 212
Platform
Leading national bank.......................................................... 212
Vehicle fleet management service ....................................... 212
Other business intelligence applications.............................. 213
Business intelligence trends ................................................ 214
MicroStrategy product overview ................................................ 219
MicroStrategy Intelligence Server ........................................ 219
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server ........................................ 220
MicroStrategy Desktop......................................................... 221
MicroStrategy Web and MicroStrategy Web Universal........ 221
MicroStrategy Office ............................................................ 223
MicroStrategy Architect........................................................ 223
MicroStrategy Administrator................................................. 224
MicroStrategy SDK .............................................................. 224
MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit............................................ 224
MicroStrategy technical architecture.......................................... 225
Data layer ............................................................................ 227
Report servers ..................................................................... 228
Interactive reporting and analysis ........................................ 228
Information delivery and alerting.......................................... 230
Design and administration ................................................... 231
Integration and customization .............................................. 231
B. MicroStrategy Tutorial Introduction.............................................................................. 233

What is the MicroStrategy Tutorial?........................................... 233
The MicroStrategy Tutorial data model...................................... 236
Geography hierarchy ........................................................... 238
Products hierarchy ............................................................... 240
Customers hierarchy............................................................ 241
Time hierarchy ..................................................................... 244
Promotions hierarchy ........................................................... 245
Viewing the MicroStrategy Tutorial data model ................... 246
The MicroStrategy Tutorial schema........................................... 247
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. vii

Geography schema ............................................................. 249

Products schema ................................................................. 250
Customers schema .............................................................. 251
Time schema ....................................................................... 252
Promotions schema ............................................................. 252
Sales fact tables .................................................................. 253
Inventory fact tables............................................................. 254
Miscellaneous fact tables..................................................... 254
Viewing the MicroStrategy Tutorial schema......................... 255
C. Introduction to Data Introduction.............................................................................. 257

Modeling
The logical data model............................................................... 257
Components of a Logical Model .......................................... 259
Building a logical data model ............................................... 265
Additional logical data modeling conventions ...................... 270
The logical data model summary ......................................... 273
The physical warehouse schema .............................................. 274
Columns............................................................................... 275
Tables .................................................................................. 275
Schema types ...................................................................... 283
Design trade-offs ................................................................. 287
D. Troubleshooting the Introduction.............................................................................. 289

Evaluation Edition
Troubleshooting installation and configuration .......................... 290
Next button grayed out on Customer Information screen .... 290
Missing Requirements screen opens................................... 290
Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Desktop tutorial.................. 291
Link on Welcome Screen is not active ................................. 291
Cannot log in........................................................................ 291
Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Web tutorial........................ 292
The Web page cannot be displayed .................................... 292
MicroStrategy Web is running, but there are no projects..... 293
Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Office tutorial...................... 295
Links on Welcome Screen are not active............................. 295
There is no MicroStrategy Office toolbar ............................. 295
Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server tutorial . 296
An e-mail address was not provided.................................... 296
No printer is available .......................................................... 297
viii 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

The system could not be updated........................................ 298

The Subscription Book could not be accessed .................... 299
The Subscription Book does not contain any users............. 300
A running Intelligence Server was not provided................... 300
Intelligence Server information is invalid.............................. 302
SequeLink ODBC Socket Server is not running on this machine
303
The Subscription Portal is not running on this machine....... 303
This machine is currently in use by system <system name>304
Please review the configuration log file to learn more ......... 305
Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Project Builder tutorial........ 305
Glossary ................................................................................... 307
Index ......................................................................................... 349
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. ix

x 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

PREFACE
Document description
Thank you for your interest in MicroStrategy

8Industrial-Strength Business Intelligence. The
MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition is intended for first-time
users who would like to evaluate the MicroStrategy platform
for their business intelligence needs. This manual guides you
through the evaluation process from beginning to end.
Specifically, this guide
outlines the overall, recommended evaluation process
provides step-by-step instructions to install and configure

the Evaluation Edition
describes the purpose of each of the MicroStrategy

platform products and reveals key functionality through
tutorials of each product using the MicroStrategy Tutorial
provides step-by-step instructions on how to create your
own simple reporting applications
explains what you can do next with the MicroStrategy

platform once you have completed the evaluation process
describes how you can evaluate the Analytics Modules
explains what you need to do to embed or resell

MicroStrategy technology in your own applications
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. xi

Preface Introduction to MicroStrategy
Who should use this guide?

Anyone who is interested in evaluating and using the
MicroStrategy platform can use this guide to learn about the
products in the platform and use tutorials that demonstrate
their functionality. Some specific audiences in mind for this
guide include:
Administrators who install and configure information

technology (IT) systems, define users and user groups,
and assign login accounts and privileges. They typically
monitor, analyze, and tune the systems to ensure the
smooth and balanced operation of the IT environments
Project Designers who are familiar with the application

model and functionality of system tools, and access the BI
environment on a daily basis. They create and update the
system objects
Knowledge Analysts who access the BI systems and may

slice and dice, manipulate, and format the information to
further their BI needs
Application Developers who build customized

applications that reflect enterprise-wide IT requirements
Prerequisites
This manual is written with the assumption that you
understand standard Microsoft Windows terminology and
usage, such as using a mouse, opening a menu, selecting
options in a dialog box, and so on.
Knowledge of relational databases and data modeling is

helpful, but not necessarily required.
xii Who should use this guide? 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Introduction to MicroStrategy Preface
Objectives
After reading this manual, you will be able to
describe and use the major features and functions of most

of the products in the MicroStrategy platform
build a reporting application using the MicroStrategy

Tutorial sample data
understand what you can do with the MicroStrategy

Software Development Kit (SDK) and other application
program interfaces (APIs)
describe and use the Analytics Modules
About this book

This book is divided into chapters and reference appendixes.
The chapters provide the following information:
Chapter 1, Evaluate the MicroStrategy Platform,

describes the evaluation process.
Chapter 2, Install the MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition,
walks you through the installation and configuration
procedures for the MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition.
Chapter 3, View Reports in a Windows Interface,

introduces you to MicroStrategy Desktop and walks you
through a product tutorial.
Chapter 4, View Reports in a Web Browser, introduces
you to MicroStrategy Web and walks you through a
product tutorial.
Chapter 5, View Reports in Microsoft Excel, introduces

you to MicroStrategy Office and walks you through a
product tutorial.
Chapter 6, View Reports in Microsoft PowerPoint,

introduces you to MicroStrategy Office and walks you
through a product tutorial.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Objectives xiii

Chapter 7, View Reports in Microsoft Word, shows you

how you can use MicroStrategy Office to integrate with
Microsoft Word.
Chapter 8, Deliver Reports, introduces you to

MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server and walks you through
a product tutorial.
Chapter 9, Build a Reporting Application, walks you
through the process of creating your own business
intelligence application based on the MicroStrategy
Tutorial. You will learn how to create some of the
functionality you explored in the product tutorial.
Chapter 10, View Business Intelligence Applications,

describes how you can use Analytics Modules to add
best-of-breed analytics to your existing data warehouses
without needing to build or standardize on a
vendor-specified data model or warehouse schema.
Chapter 11, Next Steps, provides some guidance about

what to do after you have completed the evaluation; where
to learn how to build applications using your own data;
where to learn how to configure a larger,
production-ready environment; and so on.
Chapter 12, Information for SIs, VARs, and OEMs,
describes what you need to do to embed or resell
MicroStrategy technology in your own applications.
Each chapter begins with a brief overview of the content

within the given chapter. The chapter is then divided into
subsections organized in the best method to promote
learning. If applicable, a series of steps may be provided to
carry out tasks and to facilitate the learning process.
The appendixes contain additional reference information:
Appendix A, Business Intelligence and the MicroStrategy

Platform, provides general information about the
business intelligence market and trends. The second half
of this appendix provides a technically detailed
description of the MicroStrategy platform, the products it
contains, and the interactions between them.
Appendix B, MicroStrategy Tutorial, describes the

MicroStrategy Tutorial and its corresponding logical data
model and physical schema.
xiv About this book 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Appendix C, Introduction to Data Modeling, provides a

brief introduction to data modeling, including how to
create and read logical data models and physical schemas.
Appendix D, Troubleshooting the Evaluation Edition,

helps you work through some problems you may
encounter while using the MicroStrategy Evaluation
Edition.
When you are looking for specific information, you can use
the table of contents or index to quickly locate the
information.
Typographical standards
For online and printed documentation

MicroStrategy online and hard copy documentation follows
presentation conventions and cues to help you locate,
identify, and understand important concepts and procedures.
The following table lists these conventions.
Type Indicates
bold button names, check boxes, dialog boxes,

options, lists, and menus that are the focus of
actions or part of a list of such GUI elements and
their definitions
text to be entered by the user
italic new terms defined within the text and in the

glossary
names of other product manuals
when part of a command syntax, indicates
variable information to be replaced by the user
Courier calculations
font code samples
registry keys
path and file names
URLs
messages displayed in the screen
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Typographical standards xv

Type Indicates
UPPERCASE keyboard command key (such as ENTER)

shortcut key (such as CTRL+V)
+ A keyboard command that calls for the use of more

than one key (for example, SHIFT+F1)
For printed documentation only

The following are explanations of the font style changes,
icons, and different types of notes that you may see in this
guide.
Actions
References to screen elements and keys that are the focus of

actions are in bold Arial font style. Following is an example:
1 Click Select Warehouse.
Code
References to code, formulas, or calculations within

paragraphs are formatted in regular Courier New font style.
Following is an example:
Sum(sales)/number of months
Data entry
References to literal data you must type in an exercise or

procedure are in bold Arial font style. References to data you
type in that could vary from user to user or system to system
are in bold italic Arial font style. Following is an example:
Type cmdmgr -f scriptfile.scp and press ENTER.
Type copy c:\filename d:\foldername\filename
xvi Typographical standards 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Keyboard keys
References to a keyboard key or shortcut keys are in

uppercase letters. Following is an example:
To bold the selected text, press CTRL+B.
New terms
New terms to note are in regular italic font style. These terms
are defined when they are first encountered in the course
material. Following is an example:
The aggregation level is the level of calculation for the

metric.
Notes and warnings
This note icon indicates helpful information.

This warning icon calls your attention to very
important information that should be read before
continuing.
Heading icons
The following heading icons are used to indicate specific

practice and review sections:

Precedes a Case Study. Cases Studies are real-life examples
from companies that are using MicroStrategy products.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Typographical standards xvii


Precedes a Business Scenario. Business Scenarios are
examples from the MicroStrategy Tutorial. They explain how
to accomplish complex tasks using the MicroStrategy
platform.
Resources
Product documentation
The MicroStrategy platform includes a full set of product
manuals, designed to help you find the information you need
to install, configure, design, and administer your business
intelligence application.
A list of documentation links is available to access all

documentation installed from your CD-ROM. Most of these
documents have been provided in Acrobat Portable
Document format (PDF).
Adobe Reader is required to view these

documents. If you do not have Adobe Reader
installed on your computer, you can download it from
http://www.adobe.com. Also, you must install the
MicroStrategy platform and Adobe Reader to
access the MicroStrategy product documentation.
xviii Resources 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Installed documentation
To access an installed manual
1 From the Start menu, choose Programs, MicroStrategy,

then Product Manuals. A Web page opens with a list of
available manuals in PDF format.
2 Click the link for the desired manual.
3 Some information is provided in HTML help format.

When you select one of these guides, the Download file
dialog box will open. Select the Open this file from its
current location option and click OK.
IfAcrobat
bookmarks are not visible on the left side of an
document, select Bookmarks and Page from
the View menu, then select the topic and section you
want to see. You can also scroll from the title page of
the guide to its table of contents, and select from there
the topic you want to read.
The following documents are provided on your CD-ROM in

PDF format:
MicroStrategy Overview
Introduction to MicroStrategy: Evaluation Guide
MicroStrategy Quick Start Guide
Manuals for Query, Reporting, and Analysis

Products
MicroStrategy Installation and Configuration Guide
MicroStrategy Upgrade Guide
MicroStrategy Basic Reporting Guide
MicroStrategy Advanced Reporting Guide
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Resources xix

MicroStrategy Document Creation Guide
MicroStrategy System Administration Guide
MicroStrategy Analytical Functions Reference
MicroStrategy Web SDK
The Web SDK is available in the MicroStrategy

Developer Library, which is sold as part of the
MicroStrategy SDK.
Manuals for Information Delivery and Alerting

Products
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server Getting Started Guide
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server Installation and

Configuration Guide
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server Application Designer

Guide
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server System
Administrator Guide
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server Upgrade Guide
Manuals for Analytics Modules

Business Intelligence Developer Kit (BIDK) Installation
and Porting Guide
Customer Analysis Module Reference
Sales Force Analysis Module Reference
Web Traffic Analysis Module Reference
Financial Reporting Analysis Module Reference
Sales and Distribution Analysis Module Reference
Human Resources Analysis Module Reference
xx Resources 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Software Development Kits

MicroStrategy Developer Library
MicroStrategy Web SDK
The Web SDK is available in the MicroStrategy

Developer Library, which is sold as part of the
MicroStrategy SDK.
Narrowcast Server SDK Guide
The SDK is not provided with the Evaluation Edition.

If you would like to evaluate the SDK, contact your
MicroStrategy Account Executive or e-mail
MicroStrategy directly at info@microstrategy.com.
International support
The MicroStrategy platform supports several locales. Support
for a locale typically includes native database and operating
system support, support for date formats, decimal formats,
currency symbols, etc., and availability of translated
interfaces and documentation. The level of support is defined
in terms of the components of a MicroStrategy Business
Intelligence environment. A MicroStrategy Business
Intelligence environment consists of the following
components, collectively known as a configuration:
warehouse, metadata, and statistics databases

MicroStrategy Intelligence Server
MicroStrategy Web Server
MicroStrategy Desktop client
Web browser
The MicroStrategy platform is certified in homogeneous

configurations (where all the components lie in the same
locale) in the following languagesEnglish (US), French,
German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian),
Spanish, Chinese (simplified) and Swedish.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. International support xxi

The MicroStrategy platform also provides limited support for

heterogeneous configurations (where some of the
components may lie in different locales). Contact
MicroStrategy Technical Support for more details (see
Technical Support starting on page xxii).
A translated user interface is available in each of the above

languages. In addition, translated versions of the online help
files and product documentation are available in several of
the above languages.
User assistance
The following paragraphs describe the types of assistance
available to answer questions you may have regarding
MicroStrategy products.
Online help
The MicroStrategy platform provides several modes of access
to online help:
From the Help menu, by selecting Contents and Index to

see the main table of contents for the help system
By pressing F1 to see context-sensitive help addressing

the function or task you are currently performing
Technical Support
If you have questions about a specific MicroStrategy product,
you should:
1 Consult the product guides, online help, readme files, and

release notes
2 Consult the online knowledge base at

http://www.microstrategy.com/support/
k_base/index.asp
xxii User assistance 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Aprobably
technical administrator in your organization can
help you resolve some of your issues
immediately.
3 If the resources listed in steps 1 and 2 do not provide you

with a solution, contact MicroStrategy Technical Support
directly. To ensure the most effective and productive
relationship with MicroStrategy Technical Support,
review the Policies and Procedures document posted at
http://www.microstrategy.com/Support/
Policies. Please refer to the terms of your purchase
agreement to determine the type of support available to
you.
The table on the following page shows where, when, and how
to contact MicroStrategy Technical Support. If you are unable
to reach MicroStrategy Technical Support by phone during
the hours of operation, you have the option to leave a
voicemail message or send electronic mail.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. User assistance xxiii

North E-mail: support@microstrategy.com

America Web: https://support.microstrategy.com
Fax: (703) 8488710
Phone: (703) 8488700
Message: (703) 848-8709
Hours:
9:00 A.M.7:00 P.M. Eastern Time (14000000 GMT),
MondayFriday except holidays
Europe, the E-mail: eurosupp@microstrategy.com

Middle East, Web: https://support.microstrategy.com
and Africa Fax: +44 (0) 208 396 0001
(EMEA) The European Technical Support Centre is closed on certain
public holidays. These holidays reflect the national public
holidays in each country.
Phone:
United Kingdom: +44 (0) 208 396 0085
Benelux: +31 20 346 9210
Finland: +35 8 9 6937 9620
France: +33 1 41 91 86 49
Germany: +49 69 95096206
Ireland: +35 3 1242 1522
Italy: +39 02696 33 456
Spain: +34 91 406 90 10
International distributors: +44 (0) 208 396 0080
Hours:
United Kingdom: 9:00 A.M.6:00 P.M. GMT, Monday-Friday
except holidays
Mainland Europe: 9:00 A.M.6:00 P.M. CET, Monday-Friday
except holidays
Asia Pacific E-mail: apsupport@microstrategy.com

Web: https://support.microstrategy.com
Fax: +81 3 5456 5464
Phone:
APAC (except Korea): +81 3 5456 5618
Korea: +82 2 565 2525
Hours:
9:00 A.M.6:00 P.M. JST (Tokyo), Monday-Friday except
holidays
Latin America E-mail: latamsupport@microstrategy.com

Web: https://support.microstrategy.com
Fax: +55 11 3044 4088
Phone: LATAM (except Argentina): +55 11 3054 1010
Argentina: 0 800 444 MSTR
Hours:
9:00 A.M.6:00 P.M. (San Paulo), MondayFriday except
holidays
xxiv User assistance 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Technical Support may be obtained by a Customers Support

Liaisons. A "Support Liaison" is defined as a person whom
the customer has designated as a point-of-contact with
MicroStrategys support personnel. All customer inquiries
and case communications must come through these named
individuals. The customer may designate two employees to
serve as their Support Liaisons. Customers may change their
Support Liaisons two times per year, if necessary, so long as
they provide written notice to MicroStrategy Technical
Support of such change.
During the course of troubleshooting and researching issues,

MicroStrategy Technical Support personnel may make
recommendations that require administrative privileges on
the MicroStrategy projects or that assume that the designated
liaison has a security level that permits them to fully
manipulate the MicroStrategy projects and has access to
potentially sensitive project data such as security filter
definitions. Although not a requirement, we recommend that
customers only designate Support Liaisons who have
permissions to be MicroStrategy project administrators. This
will eliminate security conflicts and improve case resolution
time.
When contacting MicroStrategy Technical Support, please

provide the following information:
name (first and last)

company
customer site (if different from company)
phone and fax numbers
e-mail address
MicroStrategy software product(s) being used, including

version nubmer(s)
error message(s)
brief description of the case
priority of the case
steps taken to troubleshoot the case thus far
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. User assistance xxv

If the Support Liason is unable to reach MicroStrategy

Technical Support, the Support Liason can leave a voice mail
message or contact Technical Support via e-mail. The
Support Liason should include the following information in
his/her message:
name
company
brief description of the case
preferred contact method and contact information
If this is your first call, you should also be prepared to provide

the following:
street address
phone number
fax number
e-mail address
To help your Technical Support representative work with you

to resolve the problem promptly and effectively, be prepared
to provide the following additional information:
issue numberplease keep a record of the number

assigned to each problem logged with MicroStrategy
Technical Support, and be ready to provide it when
inquiring about an existing issue
software version and product registration numbers of the
MicroStrategy software products you are using
xxvi User assistance 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

problem description:
What causes the condition to occur?
Does the condition occur sporadically or each time a

certain action is performed?
Does the condition occur on all machines or just on

one?
When did the condition first occur?
What events took place immediately prior to the first

occurrence of the condition (for example, a major
database load, a database move, a software upgrade)?
If there was an error message, what was its exact
wording?
What steps have you taken to isolate and resolve the

issue? What were the results?
system configuration (the information needed for this

purpose depends on the nature of the problem; not all
items listed may be necessary):
computer hardware specifications (processor speed,

RAM, disk space, and so on)
network protocol used
ODBC driver manufacturer and version
database gateway software version

(for MicroStrategy Web-related problems) browser
manufacturer and version
(for MicroStrategy Web-related problems) Web server
manufacturer and version
If the issue requires additional investigation or testing, you

and the MicroStrategy Technical Support representative
should agree on certain action items to be performed. You
should perform any agreed-upon actions before contacting
Technical Support again regarding the issue. If the Technical
Support representative is responsible for an action item, you
may call Technical Support at any time to inquire about the
status of the issue.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. User assistance xxvii

Feedback
Please send any comments or suggestions about user
documentation for MicroStrategy platform products to:
documents@microstrategy.com
Send suggestions for product enhancements to:
support@microstrategy.com
When you provide feedback to us, please include the name

and version of the products you are currently using. Your
feedback is important to us as we prepare for future releases
xxviii Feedback 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

1
1. EVALUATE THE
MICROSTRATEGY PLATFORM
Introduction
This chapter provides an outline of the various steps in the

evaluation process and the purpose of each step. Depending
on your particular business needs, you may skip some steps
and concentrate on others. This manual provides you with all
the information you need for a successful evaluation. If you
are new to MicroStrategyor to business intelligence
applications in generaland want to learn more about the
MicroStrategy platform and what it can do for you, see
Business Intelligence and the MicroStrategy Platform
starting on page 211.
This guide features a variety of products that represent

the full functionality of the MicroStrategy platform.
For details about the specific features that each
product includes, go to the following MicroStrategy
websites and review the feature comparison charts:
http://www.microstrategy.com/Software/
Products/
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. 1

1 Evaluate the MicroStrategy Platform Introduction to MicroStrategy
Evaluating MicroStrategy
The following steps describe the recommended evaluation
process.
To evaluate the MicroStrategy platform
1 Install the evaluation software. Chapter 2 helps you with

the installation process. It describes the minimum
hardware and software requirements to ensure adequate
product performance during the evaluation. Then it
provides step-by-step instructions for each product.
2 Explore the MicroStrategy platform using the guided

tutorial. Chapters 3-8 walk you through tutorials for each
product.
3 Build your own reporting application using the sample

data warehouse provided with the evaluation software.
Chapter 9 introduces Project Builder and walks you
through the process of creating your own application.
4 Chapter 10 describes how you can explore the Analytics

Modules, which you can use as starter kits to begin
developing your own custom analytic applications.
5 When you have finished learning about the different

products, Chapter 11 directs you to other resources about
creating a production-ready application using your own
data.
6 Finally, Chapter 12 describes where you can learn about

integrating, extending, and fully exploiting the power of
the MicroStrategy platform through a set of rich APIs that
expose all the functionality of the platform.
2 Evaluating MicroStrategy 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

2
2. INSTALL THE MICROSTRATEGY
EVALUATION EDITION
Introduction
This chapter walks you through the process of installing the

MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition on your machine. It is
recommended that you accept all default selections in the
Setup Wizard.
This chapter provides the hardware and software

requirements for the MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition as
well as step-by-step instructions on installing and
uninstalling MicroStrategy products.

2 Install the MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition Introduction to MicroStrategy
MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition hardware

requirements
For the most up-to-date hardware requirements,
access the ReadMe file from the MicroStrategy Main
Menu window by clicking Documentation and then
View ReadMe File.
For evaluation purposes, install the entire MicroStrategy

platform on a single computer.
Although you will run the entire MicroStrategy

platform on one machine for this evaluation, you
should never do this in a production environment. In
production, you should distribute the products across
multiple machines that are networked together. For
information about sizing a production installation,
refer to Installation considerations in Chapter 2 of the
MicroStrategy Installation and Configuration Guide.
If you adhere to the following hardware recommendations,

you should get acceptable performance while evaluating the
MicroStrategy platform. For the evaluation, it is assumed that
one to four users are using the system.
Processor: 1.8 GHz or faster Pentium-compatible
Memory (RAM): 1 GB or more
Minimum storage space required: 1 GB or more
Regardless of where you choose to install the

Evaluation Edition, you must have at least 50 MB of
free space on your C: drive for a set of system files that
MicroStrategy installs. For example, even if you
choose to install the entire Evaluation Edition on your
D: drive, you will still have 50 MB of system files
installed on your C: drive. This storage requirement is
in addition to the 1 GB mentioned in the above list.
4 MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition hardware requirements 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Introduction to MicroStrategy Install the MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition 2
MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition software

requirements
For the most up-to-date software requirements, access
the ReadMe file from the MicroStrategy Main Menu
window by clicking Documentation and then View
ReadMe File.
The following list describes the MicroStrategy Evaluation

Edition software requirements:
Windows 2000 SP4, Windows 2003, or Windows XP

Professional Edition (all Windows operating systems are
32-bit)
3 MB of Windows registry space
Windows fonts display set to small fonts (96 dpi)
Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) version 5.0

or later
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6.0 SP1 or later
Display set to 16 bit colors or higher
Microsoft Data Access Component (MDAC) version 2.6

SP1 or higher (installed automatically if not already
present)
Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5.0 or higher

Microsoft Excel version 2000 SP3 or higher
Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, or

Microsoft Word, all version 2000 SP3 or higher, for
evaluating MicroStrategy Office
RealPlayer 8 Basic or higher for evaluating Project
Builder
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition software requirements

Installation
This section helps you install the MicroStrategy platform
using the Setup Wizard.
During the installation, accept all default product

selections. These default selections are described
below.
MicroStrategy Desktop Products include MicroStrategy

Architect and Project Builder, which are used to build
reporting applications using MicroStrategy.
MicroStrategy Administrator is a suite of tools that
facilitate specific administrative tasks such as handling
large numbers of system users, user groups, and other
system-level objects; tracking and analyzing system
traffic; replicating project information; and upgrading
distributed projects. MicroStrategy Administrator is not
covered in this guide. For detailed information about this
product and its capabilities, refer to the MicroStrategy
System Administration Guide.
MicroStrategy Intelligence Server is an

industrial-strength analytical server optimized for
enterprise querying, reporting, and OLAP analysis. For
more information about the Intelligence Server, see the
MicroStrategy System Administration Guide.
MicroStrategy Web provides query and reporting
functionality using a Web browser. For information about
this product and its capabilities, see View Reports in a
Web Browser starting on page 61.
MicroStrategy Web Services integrates MicroStrategy
Web with the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) and
Web Services Description Language (WSDL) Internet
technologies.
MicroStrategy Office allows you to integrate the

MicroStrategy platform with Microsoft Office products
as described in chapters 5-7. Since this application is built
using Web Services, you must also install MicroStrategy
Web Services if you want to evaluate this product.
6 Installation 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server is used to deliver

reports via e-mail, send reports to a printer, and send
reports to a file. For information about this product and
its capabilities, see Deliver reports starting on page 88.
MicroStrategy eTrainer for Web is a hands-on training

solution that combines task-based activities with
educational materials to train users on MicroStrategy
Web. MicroStrategy eTrainer for Web is not covered in
this guide.
MicroStrategy Tutorial is a MicroStrategy project

(metadata and warehouse are included) with a set of
demonstration applications designed to illustrate the rich
functionality of the MicroStrategy platform.
The Analytics Modules are a set of packaged analytic

components built using the MicroStrategy platform. The
modules are designed to be mapped directly to your
existing data warehouse as opposed to being hard-coded
to a vendor-provided data model and data warehouse.
Toyourinstall MicroStrategy products, you must log on to

computer using an account that has Windows
administrative privileges for the computer.
During the installation, accept all default selections.

To access the Setup Wizard
1 Log on to the computer where you want to install

MicroStrategy products.
2 It is recommended that you close all Windows

applications before initiating the installation process.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Installation 7

3 Insert CD-ROM Disk 1 into the CD-ROM drive and wait a

few moments for the MicroStrategy Main Menu window
to display automatically.
Ifdisplay,
the MicroStrategy Main Menu window does not
run MicroStrategy.exe.
4 Click Evaluate Software.
5 If you already have your license key, continue to the next

step. If you do not have a license key, click Request
Evaluation License Key to obtain one. This takes you to
the MicroStrategy website (you need Internet access)
where you can register your MicroStrategy Evaluation
Edition. You need to provide your e-mail address and the
promotion code included with your software. This
promotion code can be found on the inside of the
evaluation CD mailer. If you downloaded the Evaluation
Edition, you should have received the promotion code in
the welcome communication from MicroStrategy.
IfMicroStrategy
you do not have a promotion code, contact
Technical Support (see Technical
Support starting on page xxii).
6 Click Install MicroStrategy Platform.
7 If this is the first time you are running this install, you are
prompted to choose the language for the wizard. Select
the appropriate language from the drop-down list and
click OK.
8 The Setup Wizard opens and walks you through the rest of
the installation process. The following sections describe
the actions you need to take for each page in the wizard.
Attheanyinstallation.
time during the setup, click Cancel to quit
Welcome
Page Content Options
welcome statement Read the information on the

Welcome screen and click Next to
proceed.

License Agreement
license-related terms and Read the license agreement.

conditions Select to accept or to decline
the agreement (if you choose to
decline, you cannot install
MicroStrategy products).
Click Next to proceed.
Click Back to return to the
previous page.
Customer Information
boxes for name, company name, Enter your name.

and product license key Enter the name of your
company.
Enter the license key (this is the
evaluation license key you
should have obtained through
the MicroStrategy website).
previous page.
Setup Type
Setup Options: typical or Select Typical (recommended)

advanced to place all products in a given
root directory.
Select Advanced to specify a
different directory for each
MicroStrategy product to be
installed.
previous page.
For this evaluation, choose Typical.

There are two significant differences between a typical

and an advanced setup:
With the Typical option, all products you install are

placed in the same root location; with the Advanced
setup option, you can select a different location for
each product you install.
With the Typical option, the system assigns the

common file location to C:\Program
Files\Common Files\ MicroStrategy;
with the Advanced setup option, you can select a
location for the common files.
Choose Destination Location
location where the MicroStrategy Click Browse to select a

products will be installed location different from the
default value (see the following
Note).
previous page.
With both typical and advanced setup types,

MicroStrategy allows you to select the location for a
product only if that product is not already installed on
your computer. Otherwise, the product can only be
installed in the existing directory and you do not see
this page.
Select Components
a list of MicroStrategy products Select or clear the appropriate

space needed for the check boxes (accept all default
MicroStrategy products selections for this evaluation).
selected; the space estimate Click Next to proceed.
changes dynamically as check Click Back to return to the
boxes are selected and cleared previous page.
details about each
MicroStrategy product

For this evaluation, we recommend that you accept all default

selections. This ensures that all the components necessary for
the MicroStrategy Tutorial are installed. If you are prompted
to stop your Web server, click Yes.
If your machine does not meet the recommended minimum

system requirements, a message alerting you of this is
displayed. Click OK to continue with the understanding that
you may experience less-than-adequate performance.
For details about the different products available, see

Business Intelligence and the MicroStrategy Platform
If you have not uninstalled previous versions of

MicroStrategy products, you are prompted to overwrite them.
If you have an old metadata repository and warehouse
(perhaps from a previous evaluation) and you want to keep
them, rename them or move them to another location;
otherwise, they will be overwritten. If you are prompted to
overwrite existing files, click Yes to ensure that all products
and product tutorials work properly.
MicroStrategy Web (ASP.NET) setting
box to specify the name of the Specify the name of the IIS
Microsoft IIS virtual directory to be virtual directory to be created
created for MicroStrategy Web.
previous page.
Since you installed MicroStrategy Web (ASP.NET), this page

appears. In IIS, a virtual directory is the home location for a
set of Web pages that the Web server will host. In this case,
you need to specify a name for the home location for the
ASP.NET pages used by MicroStrategy Web. For this
evaluation, accept the default, MicroStrategy.

MicroStrategy Subscription Portal setting
created for MicroStrategy Subscription
Portal.
previous page.
Since you installed MicroStrategy Subscription Portal, which

is a component of Narrowcast Server, this page appears. In
IIS, a virtual directory is the home location for a set of Web
pages that the Web server will host. In this case, you must
specify the home location for the Subscription Portal pages.
For this evaluation, accept the default, NarrowcastServer.
Subscription Portal offers you the ability to subscribe

to and view Narrowcast Server services, service
descriptions, and their most recent modification dates
on the Web. For complete information about
Subscription Portal and other components of
Narrowcast Server, refer to the MicroStrategy
Narrowcast Server documentation.
MicroStrategy Web Services setting
created for MicroStrategy Web
Services.
previous page.
Since you installed Web Services (Web Services is required to

evaluate MicroStrategy Office), this page appears. In IIS, a
virtual directory is the home location for a set of Web pages
that the Web server will host. In this case, you must specify
the home location for the Web Services pages. For the
evaluation, accept the default, MicroStrategyWS.

MicroStrategy eTrainer for Web setting
created for MicroStrategy Web
Services.
previous page.
Since you installed MicroStrategy eTrainer for Web, this page

appears. In IIS, a virtual directory is the home location for a
set of Web pages that the Web server will host. In this case,
you must specify the home location for the eTrainer pages.
For the evaluation, accept the default, eTrainer.
Select Program Folder
box to specify the name of the Type a folder name different

program folder in your Windows from the default or select an
Start menu from which existing folder; otherwise
MicroStrategy products will be accept the default
accessed (recommended).
list of the existing program Click Next to proceed.
folders found under the Click Back to return to the
Windows Start menu previous page.
For the evaluation, accept the default, MicroStrategy.

MicroStrategy Intelligence Server Setting
Check box: option to not set Select the check box to bypass
the service account account initiation
Login: Windows login with (recommended).
administrative privileges (in the Enter the necessary data and
format domain\user) click Next to establish the
Password: valid password for account.
the login entered in the Login
box
Confirmation: retype the
password to confirm
Since the Intelligence Server was installed, this page appears.

The MicroStrategy Intelligence Server service requires a
Windows account with administrative privileges under which
to run. For the evaluation, select the check box to have the
service run under the local system account.
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server setting
Check box: option to not set Select the check box to bypass
the service account account initiation (NOT
Login: Windows login with recommended).
administrative privileges (in the Enter the necessary data and
format domain\user) click Next to establish the
Password: valid password for account (recommended).
the login entered in the Login
box
Confirmation: retype the
password to confirm
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server allows you to proactively

distribute MicroStrategy reports and other personalized
information to employees, business partners, and customers
through a variety of devices, including mobile phones, PDAs,
e-mail, Web pages, and pagers. In addition, Narrowcast
Server functionality can be integrated with MicroStrategy
Web to allow users to deliver reports via e-mail directly from
MicroStrategy Web, send reports to a printer, or save reports
to a file.

The MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server service requires a

Windows account on the machine with administrative
privileges under which to run. Enter the necessary
information and click Next.
Ifselect
you do not provide this information and instead
the check box, you will not be able to send
e-mails using Narrowcast Server. If you do not have an
active e-mail address from which to send and receive
Narrowcast Server e-mails, you may select the check
box and proceed. You will be able to see sample
e-mails, but you will not be able to send and receive
them.
MicroStrategy Office URL setting
box to specify the MicroStrategy Specify the check boxes next to

Web Services URL for the applications to be used.
MicroStrategy Office Click Next to proceed.
previous page.
Since you installed MicroStrategy Office, this page appears.

The URL depends on the name of the IIS virtual directory
that you specified on the MicroStrategy Web Services Setting
page. Assuming that you kept the default value on the
MicroStrategy Web Services Setting page, you should use the
default URL provided:
http://localhost/MicroStrategyWS/MSTRWS.asmx
MicroStrategy Office configuration
check boxes to specify the Select the check boxes next to

Microsoft Office applications to the applications to be used.
integrate with using MicroStrategy Click Next to proceed.
Office Click Back to return to the
previous page.

You see this page only if you chose to install MicroStrategy

Office and only if you do not have a previous version of
MicroStrategy Office installed. This adds the MicroStrategy
Office toolbar to the Microsoft Office applications that you
select. In this version, you can use MicroStrategy Office to
integrate with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint,
or Microsoft Word.
Start Copying Files
Current Settings: Click Next to proceed.

products that will be installed or Click Back to return to the
updated previous page.
locations in which the products
will be installed (target
directories)
name of the Windows Start
menu program folder
virtual directories for Web,
Subscription Portal, Web
Services and eTrainer
Web Services URL to be used
for MicroStrategy Office
Microsoft Office applications to
be used with MicroStrategy
Office
service account for
MicroStrategy Narrowcast
Server
location of the installation log
file
license details for each product
Click Next and the installation process begins, which can take
10-15 minutes or more depending on the hardware
configuration of your computer.
When the installation process has finished, you are prompted

to either view the ReadMe file or not. If you want to view the
ReadMe, select Yes. If you want to go directly to the
InstallShield Wizard Complete page, select No.

InstallShield Wizard Complete
message confirming installation Select Yes to restart the

options (yes/no) to restart the computer (recommended).
computer (if required) Select No to continue without
check box to open the ReadMe restarting.
file (if restarting is not required) Select the check box to open
instructions to empty drives and the ReadMe file (if restarting is
click Finish not required).
Click Finish to complete the
setup.
When your computer restarts and you log back in, the
Installation Wizard completes the installation and the
MicroStrategy Welcome screen opens automatically as shown
in the following figure:
Iffrom
the Welcome screen does not open, you can open it
the Windows Start menu. Point to Programs,
then MicroStrategy, and then choose Welcome
Screen.

To begin the guided tour of the MicroStrategy platform,

perform the following steps in order:
To use the MicroStrategy Desktop tutorial, click View

reports in a Windows interface and skip to Chapter 3
of this guide, View Reports in a Windows Interface.
To use the MicroStrategy Web tutorial, click View reports

in a Web browser and skip to Chapter 4 of this guide,
View Reports in a Web Browser.
To use the MicroStrategy Office tutorial, click View

reports in Microsoft Excel and skip to Chapter 5 of this
guide, View Reports in Microsoft Excel.
To use the MicroStrategy Office tutorial with PowerPoint,
click View reports in Microsoft PowerPoint and skip
to Chapter 6 of this guide, View Reports in Microsoft
PowerPoint.
To use the MicroStrategy Office tutorial with Word, click

View reports in Microsoft Word and skip to Chapter 7
of this guide, View Reports in Microsoft Word.
To use the MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server tutorial, click

Deliver reports, and skip to Chapter 8 of this guide,
Deliver Reports. If you installed Narrowcast Server to see
the integration with MicroStrategy Web, click Deliver
reports, and go to the Deliver reports section of Chapter
4.
To use the Project Builder tutorial, click Build a

reporting application and skip to Chapter 9 of this guide,
Build a Reporting Application.
To explore the Analytics Modules, click View Business
Intelligence Applications and skip to Chapter 10 of this
guide, View Business Intelligence Applications.

Verifying installation
During installation, the Setup Wizard gathers and records
information about your system and your installation
selections. You can verify installation information through
the install.log log file, located by default in C:\Program
Files\Common Files\MicroStrategy\.
The installation log file includes the following information:
installation date
license details
target directories
program folder name
operating system identification
hardware specifications
selected installation options
registry paths
registered files
The installation log file can be particularly helpful if you

encounter errors during the installation process. For
example, the log can tell you if a registry key or path was not
added or if a critical file was not registered successfully.

Uninstalling a MicroStrategy component

Tomustinstall or uninstall MicroStrategy products, you
log on to your computer using an account that
has Windows administrative privileges for the
computer.
To uninstall a MicroStrategy product
1 Close all installed MicroStrategy products.
2 On the Windows Start menu, point to Settings and then

choose Control Panel.
3 In the Control Panel window, double-click the

Add/Remove Programs icon. The Add/Remove
Programs dialog box opens with a list of programs.
4 From the list, select MicroStrategy 8 and click

Change/Remove.
5 The InstallShield Wizard opens and walks you through

the rest of the uninstall process. The following sections
describe the actions you need to take for each page in the
wizard.
Atquitanythetime during the uninstall, click Cancel to

process.
Welcome
Modify: select program Select an option.

components to add or deselect Click Next to proceed.
currently installed components
to remove
Repair: reinstall all program
components installed by
previous setup
Remove: remove all installed
components
20 Uninstalling a MicroStrategy component 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

To remove all evaluation products, select Remove and click

Next. In the MicroStrategy Setup dialog box that opens, click
Yes to confirm the uninstall. As the uninstall progresses, you
are prompted with the following questions:
stop certain Windows services to proceed with the

uninstall
stop your Web server
uninstall the virtual directories MicroStrategy,

NarrowcastServer, MicroStrategyWS, and eTrainer
Click Yes for each. The uninstall can take 10-15 minutes or
more depending on the hardware configuration of your
computer.
Maintenance Complete
Window Content Options
message confirming uninstall Click Yes to restart the

options (Yes/No) to restart the computer.
computer Click No to continue without
instructions to empty drives and restarting.
click Finish Click Finish to complete the
setup.
Toshould
ensure that the uninstall process is complete, you
restart your computer at this time.
The client product for MicroStrategy Office has a separate

installation and appears in the list of installed products as a
product separate from the MicroStrategy platform. To
remove this product, select MicroStrategy Office in the
Add/Remove Programs dialog box and click
Change/Remove. You proceed through the same process as
you did for the rest of the platform. Again, restart your
computer after the uninstall process is complete.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Uninstalling a MicroStrategy component 21

22 Uninstalling a MicroStrategy component 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

3
3. VIEW REPORTS IN A WINDOWS
INTERFACE
MicroStrategy Desktop Tutorial
Introduction
This chapter helps you access a set of predesigned reports

and documents from the MicroStrategy Tutorial in a
Windows client-server environment using MicroStrategy
Desktop. The reports and documents are designed to
demonstrate some of the sophisticated capabilities of the
MicroStrategy platform.
This chapter leads you through the Desktop tutorial. The next
chapterView Reports in a Web Browsertakes you
through a similar tutorial using MicroStrategy Web.
ToQuery,
use this product tutorial, you must have installed
Reporting, and Analysis Products. Specifically,
you need all components of MicroStrategy Desktop
and Intelligence Server. If you have not installed these,
see Install the MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition
starting on page 3 for instructions. In addition, you
need Adobe Reader version 5.0 or later to view
documents. You can download Adobe Reader for
free at http://www.adobe.com.

3 View Reports in a Windows Interface Introduction to MicroStrategy
This chapter describes features that represent the full

functionality of MicroStrategy Desktop. All the
Desktop features are not available in all versions. For
details about the specific features that each version
includes, go to the following MicroStrategy website
and review the feature comparison chart:
Products/Desktop/
Both MicroStrategy Web and Desktop offer a variety of query

and reporting features; you can see many of these features
demonstrated throughout this book. The following table is a
quick summary of the major query and reporting features
that MicroStrategy provides. This is not an exhaustive feature
list, and you may not necessarily use all of the features listed
in the table while following this book, but you can always
explore them on your own using the Basic Reporting Guide,
Advanced Reporting Guide, and the online help to assist you.
Feature Purpose
add and remove allows you to add objects to a report and remove
objects objects from a report
aliasing allows you to change the name of an object header

for display purposes
conditional allows you to customize the appearance of your

formatting report depending on the data found within the report
derived metrics allows you to add a new metric to a report based on

other metrics and data already present in the report
exporting allows you to export report data to a variety of other

applications like Microsoft Excel and Microsoft
Access
formatting allows you to format the appearance of report data,

headers, background, and so on
outline mode allows you to create an indented grouping of related

elements to make reports neater and easier to read
page-by allows you to display report results as separate

pages or subsets of data according to the objects
you are paging-by
pivoting allows you to reorganize report data by swapping

objects within an axis or by moving objects from one
axis to another
printing allows you to print your report
24 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Introduction to MicroStrategy View Reports in a Windows Interface 3
Feature Purpose
sorting allows you to choose the order in which data is

displayed
subtotals allows you to display quantified data along attribute

groupings that you specify for a report
view filter allows you to narrow down the amount of data

displayed at a time without accessing the warehouse
Log in to MicroStrategy Desktop as User

To use the MicroStrategy Desktop tutorial, you must log in to
MicroStrategy Desktop.
To log in to MicroStrategy Desktop
Ifinstallation
you are reading these instructions after reading the
instructions in Chapter 2, then you may
have already completed step 1 and you can skip to
step 2.
1 To open the Welcome screen, on the Windows Start menu

point to Programs, then MicroStrategy, and then choose
Welcome Screen.
2 Click View reports in a Windows interface. A dialog

box opens reminding you to log in as User with a blank
password. Click Continue to close the dialog box. You can
log in using either the User, Developer, or Administrator
user name. Each login ID grants you a specific level of
access to the MicroStrategy platform.
If you log in as User, you can perform most functions
in MicroStrategy; these functions include creating and
executing reports.
If you log in as Developer, you can view objects that

are required to develop reports.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Log in to MicroStrategy Desktop as User 25

If you use the Administrator login ID, you are granted

super user access, which includes the ability to
manipulate schema objects such as attributes.
However, be careful if you log in as Administrator;
you bypass the following tutorial steps and
permanently lose any objects you delete.
To follow along with this tutorial, use the User login ID to

log in. Leave the password blank and click OK. The User
Homepage is displayed.
Ascustomized
shown in the previous graphic, you can have a
screen (called a project homepage) that is
custom-fit to your user login. The project homepage
shown above is for the user login User. Later, you
can see different project homepages with different
options for Developer and Administrator users.
26 Log in to MicroStrategy Desktop as User 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Get started with reports

A report allows you to analyze information by querying data
from a relational database and presenting it in a visually
pleasing manner. The following sections describe reports and
documents that illustrate some of the key reporting features
offered by MicroStrategy Desktop.
To access the tutorial reports
1 From the User Homepage, click Get Started with

Reports.
2 The Get Started with Reports screen opens, displaying

links to the tutorial reports and documents described in
the following sections.
Enterprise Performance Management Dashboard
The Enterprise Performance Management Dashboard report

shows a classic management dashboard that uses gauges and
bar graphs to consolidate business information across the
enterprise.
Technically, this report is a Report Services document. A

document is a MicroStrategy object that allows you to create
boardroom quality presentations of information. They are
used to create the highest quality, pixel-perfect reports such
as scorecards and dashboards, managed metrics reports,
production and operational reports, and more.

To see the document, click Enterprise Performance

Management Dashboard. Notice how the document (see the
following image) contains a variety of different types of
information, including headers, static text, gauges, bar
graphs, and page numbers.
Close the document when you have finished looking at it.

There is no need to save it.
Operational Metrics
The Operational Metrics document shows a managed metric

report with a quantitative focus on operational metrics such
as revenue, profit, and margin within a corporation.

To see the document, click Operational Metrics. The

Operational Metrics document opens (see the following
image).
Notice the use of conditional formatting and graphical

indicators that highlight the data in this report.
Conditional formatting allows you to customize the

appearance of your report depending on the data found
within the report. You can highlight particular data that
meets specific conditions with different cell formats, symbols,
images, or replacement text.
One useful way to highlight the data is to set colors for

different ranges of values in a report. Conditional formatting
is employed on the right side of this sample document for the
% Difference from LM and % Difference from TM LY metrics;
negative values appear in red.
You can base conditional formatting definitions on the data

displayed, on data that is not necessarily displayed, and even
on additional calculations on the data.

On the left side of this report, graphical indicators are used to

indicate Status and Trend depending on the metric value in
the appropriate row (for instance, the Status and Trend of the
Revenue metric). For example, the green triangle in the
Trend column of the Revenue metric indicates that the
Revenue increased by five or more percent over the last
month. The yellow triangle in the Trend column of the
Margin shows that the percent change in Margin over the last
month fell between -5% and 5%. Red triangles indicate a drop
of 5% or more over the last month.
For more information about conditional formatting

and how to create graphical indicators, see Chapter 4,
Report Manipulation Essentials, of the Basic
Reporting Guide.

There is no need to save it, so click No if prompted.
Transactional Sales Detail Report by State
The Transactional Sales Detail by State report provides

transactional sales information (such as Revenue, Profit, and
and Profit Margin) about the categories and subcategories of
products sold in various customer states. This report also
highlights a useful feature available within MicroStrategy
documents: the ability to page through a large amount of data
and narrow the information to just the section you need. To
see this document (see the following image), click
Transactional Sales Detail Report by State.

To narrow your search, you can use the PDF bookmarks on

the left side of the PDF, as well as the page through section at
the top left of this document.
For example, you can view the sales information for all the
movies (Category: Movies) sold in New York. To do so, in the
Customer State drop-down menu at the top left of the screen,
select New York. Notice how the data in the report changes
and reveals data only for New York. From the Category
drop-down menu, select Movies. Make sure [All] is selected
in the Subcategory drop-down menu.
The current report now only reveals information about all the
movie sales in New York.
Another way to navigate through large amounts of

information in a document is to use the PDF bookmarks on
the left side of the page (see the following image). In this
document, the bookmarks represent the tree structure of the
page-by sections you selected at the top of the document.

You just selected New York as the Customer State and

Movies as the Category. Now, notice that New York appears
as a bookmark on the left side of the page. From this
bookmark, you can navigate to the Movies category and the
various subcategories within the Movies category.
To expand the information within the New York bookmark,

double-click New York. Then, double-click Movies to see the
various subcategories available within the Movies category.
You can think of the PDF bookmarks as links to the various
subsections of data within a document.

Revenue vs. Forecast
This Revenue vs. Forecast report is a parameter-driven

(prompted) report that provides you with a guided analysis
experience through a wizard. To see this report, click
Revenue vs. Forecast.

From a user perspective, prompts allow you to choose at run

time the data you want to see for a particular report from a
predefined list of options. From the perspective of a report
developer, prompts allow you to satisfy many different
reporting requirements with just one report. You will run this
report twiceonce with the default selections and again with
different selections.
To run the report with default selections
1 On the Get Started with Reports screen, click Revenue

vs. Forecast.
2 In the wizard screen that opens, click Next until you see
each step in the wizard.
3 Click Finish to generate the report. The report opens, as

shown in the following image.

The report opens with outline mode enabled. With outline

mode you can create an indented grouping of related
elements to make reports neater and easier to read. This
function is particularly useful in instances where the
information displayed would otherwise involve repetitive
entries.
Outline mode is already enabled in this report. Notice the

numbers 1, 2, and 3 in boxes located above the report on the
left. These indented groupings organize the reports
attributes from least expanded (1) to most-expanded (3).
To toggle outline mode on or off in a report, from the Grid

menu, choose Display Outline Results. The report changes
from outline mode to regular mode.
For more information about outline mode, see Chapter

4, Report Manipulation Essentials, of the Basic
Reporting Guide.
Outline mode also allows you to collapse and expand the

sections of related data. However, for data to appear in a
collapsed levelfor the Northeast region, for exampleyou
must turn on subtotals.
To show subtotals
1 Make sure outline mode is enabled in the report. If it is

not, from the Grid menu, choose Display Outline
Results.
2 From the Data menu, choose Subtotals. The Subtotals

dialog box opens.
3 Select the Total check box and click OK. The report now
shows subtotals for all levels of information.
4 In the grid, double-click Northeast to collapse the

information. Now you see the Average subtotal for the
Northeast region, even in its collapsed outline state.

You can add, remove, and edit subtotals at different levels for
metrics on a report using a variety of functions like average,
mean, count, standard deviation, and even create custom
subtotals. You can choose the level at which a subtotal applies
and the position of the subtotal on the report.
For more information on subtotals, see Chapter 4,

Report Manipulation Essentials, of the MicroStrategy
Basic Reporting Guide.
Now that you have subtotals displayed, you can collapse the
different levels of information in outline mode.
To collapse and expand levels in outline mode
1 Make sure outline mode is enabled in the report. If it is

not, from the Grid menu, choose Display Outline
Results.
2 Make sure the Northeast information is expanded. If it is

not, double-click Northeast then double-click the
Electronics.
3 Double-click Mid-Atlantic and Southeast to collapse the

Mid-Atlantic and Southeast information.
After displaying subtotals and collapsing the Mid-Atlantic

and Southeast information, your report now looks like the
following image.

MicroStrategy Desktop (as well as Web) allows you to sort the

data within a report in a variety of ways, allowing you to
organize information in ways that suit your business needs.
To sort the revenue data for Q2 2004
1 Right-click any cell in the Revenue column under 2004

Q2.
2 On the right-click menu, point to Sort rows by this

column, and then choose Ascending. As shown in the
following image, the data for the 2004 Q2 column is
sorted in ascending order.
This is just one example of the many sorting options

that Desktop offers. For more information about the
sorting functionality, see Chapter 4, Report
Manipulation Essentials, of the Basic Reporting
Guide.
Now run the same report again, but this time choose different
selections.

You can choose different prompt selections without having to

close the report. From the Data menu, select Re-prompt,
then continue to Step 2 of the following exercise.
To run the report with different selections
1 On the Get Started With Reports page, click Revenue vs.

Forecast.
2 In the wizard screen that opens, click << to remove all of

the elements from the list of selections.
3 In the list on the left, select 2004 Q1 and 2004 Q2, click >
to add them to your selection, and then click Next.
4 Select Electronics in the list on the right half of the

screen and click < to remove it from the list of selections.
5 In the list on the left, select Movies, click > to add it to

your selection, and then click Next.
6 In the wizard screen that opens, click << to remove all of

the elements from the list of selections.
7 In the list on the left, select Central, South, and

Northwest and click >. Then click Next.
8 The Summary page shows you a summary of your

selections. Click Finish to see the report with your new,
customized selections, as shown in the following figure.

You have most of the data you want to see, but you may want
to add an additional calculation to the report. For example,
even though the graphical indicators and conditional
formatting highlight key points of interest, you may want to
see the actual numbers for the Percent to Total of the
Revenue metric.
The Percent to Total metrics are only one kind of shortcut

metric available in MicroStrategy. Percent to Total metrics
display the percent, in relation to a selected total of each item
affected by the metric. The total can be by column, by row, by
page, for each value of the attribute, or the grand total.
For more information about shortcut metrics, see the

Advanced Reporting Guide.
To add a new calculation to the report
1 Right-click a Revenue metric header. The headers read

Revenue and are located in the blue header bar at the
top of the report.

2 From the right-click menu, select Insert, then Percent to

Total, and then Grand Total. This new metric calculates
what percent of each products sales in a given state
contributed to the grand total of that product across every
state.
Since this is a Percent to Total calculation, viewing the actual

totals of the metrics in this report should help us analyze this
report better.
3 To enable Grand Totals, select Grand Totals from the

Data menu or press F11. The Grand Totals for each
attribute appear at the bottom of the report.
When you are finished, your report should appear as shown

in the following figure. You should also notice that, on the left
side of the window, a Percent to Grand Total metric has been
added to the Report Objects window.
Often, you want to only view data that falls within a certain
metric range. For example, you may want to see data for
Revenue that was greater than $6,000. This way, you can
pinpoint categories and subcategories of products that
contributed more than $6,000 to the grand sales total.

You can accomplish this by adding view filter conditions that

filter the results within your report to only the data you wish
to see. A view filter is an additional filter applied in memory
to the report results. It affects only the view definition,
restricting the amount of data displayed on the report. The
view definition represents how the data is viewed and
manipulated in the Intelligence Server.
To add a view filter condition
1 Reveal the View Filter by selecting View Filter from the

View menu.
2 In the View Filter pane, select Click here to start a new

qualification.
3 Click Field and, from the drop-down list, select Revenue.
4 The Operator list automatically opens. Select Greater

than.
5 The Value list automatically opens. Select Type a Value.
6 Type 6,000 and press Enter.
7 Click the Apply button. Any Revenue metric value less

than $6,000 is removed from the report, and any
Revenue metric value greater than $6,000 remains on the
report. The report should look like the following figure.

For more information about the view filter and the

different kinds of filter conditions you can add to a
report, see the Advanced Reporting Guide.
Close the report when you have finished looking at it. There is
no need to save it, so click No if prompted.

Product Sales Report by Region
This graphical report shows revenues and profits for all

categories for the regions selected by the user over a two-year
period. To see this report, click Product Sales Report by
Region. The prompt selection screen is displayed; accept the
defaults, click Next until you reach the last page of prompt
selections, and then click Finish.
Notice that the report has four items in the page-by field. You
can page by categories and metrics, and the graph updates
automatically as you make your selections. Page-by causes
the report results to be divided into separate pages or slices
according to the objects you are paging by.
For more information about page-by, see Chapter 4,

Report Manipulation Essentials, of the MicroStrategy
Basic Reporting Guide.

To page by region
1 Click the page-by button that reads Region: Mid Atlantic.

A list of three regions and Total appears.
2 Select Northeast. The graph now only shows data from

the Northeast region.
If you want to see a graph that depicts the 2004 Revenue and
Profit for each Subcategory in the Northeast, you can drill on
this graph to find the information.
Drilling allows you to look at specific data at levels other than

that of the originally displayed grid or graph. With this
function, you can drill down, up, or across attributes, custom
groups, and consolidations displayed in a report.
Drilling down allows access to data at progressively lower

levels within a hierarchy. For example, if the attribute level
displayed for geography is region, drilling down would allow
you to see information at the state, city, or store level. You
can also drill up, across, and to a template.

You can also drill up to see higher level data and across
to see related information from other hierarchies.
Also, you can drill to templates that you create. For
more information about drilling, see the Drill Maps
chapter of the Advanced Reporting Guide.
To drill from Region to Subcategory
1 To drill down one level from Region to Subcategory for

2004, right-click the tallest green bar in the graph
(Electronics).
2 Click Drill on Category.
3 Highlight Down, and select Subcategory.
4 A new graph report is executed; it should look like the

following figure.
You can also change the graph type of your report. For this
exercise, return to the User Homepage, select Get Started
With Reports, and click Product Sales Report by Region.

To change a reports graph type
1 From the Gallery menu, select a graph type. For this

exercise, select Vertical Line.
2 From the drop-down menu that opens to the right, select

Stacked. Your report is displayed in the Vertical Line
Stacked graph type.
When you are finished, close any open reports. There is no

need to save them, so click No if prompted.
Explore additional reports

Now that you have been introduced to some of the reporting
capabilities that Desktop offers, you can explore some other
reports on your own.
To explore more reports
1 To go back to the User Homepage, click the Home icon

(upper right corner of the page or choose Home from the
Go menu).
2 Click Explore Additional Reports. A new screen opens

with six report categories.
3 Click a category to see the reports contained in that

category.

4 For example, click Enterprise Reporting Documents. A

collection of Enterprise Reporting Documents appears, as
shown in the following figure.
This folder contains documents while the other folders

contain more reports like the ones you have been
manipulating in this chapter so far. Ignore the
subfolder you see here; they contain the underlying
objects that are used to create the documents.
5 To run a document or report, double-click it. Be sure to

close each document and report when you finish using it.
There is no need to save them, so click No if prompted.
6 To return to the User Homepage, select Home from the

Go menu.
The following subsections describe the different categories of

reports and documents available to you.

Enterprise Reporting Documents
The Enterprise Reporting Documents folder contains various

types of documents such as scorecards and dashboards,
managed metrics reports, production and operational
reports, invoices and statements, and business reports.
Document Description
Balanced Scorecard This document shows a scorecard that

Strategy Map consolidates enterprise data into four business
perspectives: Internal, Growth, Financial, and
Customer. The user specifies at run time the
time period for which they want to see data.
Category Sales and This document shows a classic production and

Profit Performance operational report that lists the sales cost and
profit margins for various categories across
different regions. This is a stacked version of
the other document that has the same name.
Inventory by This document shows a business report that

Subcategory lists detailed inventory information for
subcategories.
Invoice Statement by This document shows an invoice for purchases

Selected Customers made for each customer.
Management This document shows a scorecard that

Scorecard consolidates sales information for country,
region, distribution center, and manager from
across the enterprise.
Operational Metrics This document shows a managed metric report

with a quantitative focus on operational metrics
such as revenue, profit, and margin within a
corporation.
Profitability Analysis This document shows a profitability

performance analysis that allows you to page
by category, month, and region.
Regional Enterprise This document shows a classic Enterprise

Performance Performance Dashboard with gauges.
Management
Dashboard
Sales and Inventory This document shows a classic production and

for Best Selling operational report that provides sales and
Products inventory information on best selling products.
Shipping Analysis This document shows a classic production and

operational report that focuses on the
effectiveness of the distribution centers in
fulfilling orders.

Document Description
Supply Chain This document shows a classic supply chain

Management Report report that reveals enterprise data relating to
gross margin, inventory turns, and more.
Transactional Sales This document provides transactional sales

Detail Report by State information about the categories and
subcategories of products sold in various
customer states.
Financial Reports
The Financial Reports folder contains all reports related to

corporate revenues, forecasts, and margins.
Report Description
Profit Forecast This report shows the profit forecast for all
categories and subcategories.
Quarterly Profit This report shows Quarterly Profit Margins for

Margins each subcategory (shown within each region).
Profit Margins above 25% are shown in bold
green; margins below 10% are shown in bold
red.
Regional Profit and This report shows Profit and Profit Margins at a
Margins yearly level for each call center.
Revenue Forecast This report shows the revenue forecast for all
categories and subcategories.
Human Resources Reports
The Human Resources Reports folder contains all reports

related to employees, including headcount, compensation,
and birthdays.
Report Description
Call Center This report shows the timeliness of each call

Timeliness center in filling orders.
Employee Birthdays This report displays employee birthdays by day

of year. It acts as a morale builder.

Report Description
Employee Headcount This report displays the current employee

by Country headcount in each country.
Employee Headcount This report displays the current employee

by Region headcount in each region.
Length of This report lists all employees by hire date and

Employment duration of employment with the company in
years.
Top 5 Employees by This report displays the top five employees in

Revenue, Select a the company by the amount of revenue
Quarter generated for a particular quarter. The
determination of the top five is performed
dynamically by MicroStrategy.
Yearly Salary This report shows the yearly salary

Expenditures expenditures for employees broken down by
manager and region. The report runs with all
levels of Outline mode collapsed - to see more
detail, open various levels of the report.
Inventory Reports
The Inventory Reports folder contains all reports relevant to

inventory, such as unit sales, unit tracking, and inventory
received from suppliers.
Report Description
Cost, Price, and Profit This report is run in Outline mode with all levels
per Unit collapsed. It includes average cost, price, and
profit at the subcategory level.
Inventory and Unit This report shows inventory (end on hand) and
Sales - TVs unit sales figures for Televisions for quarters
selected by the user.
Inventory Received This report shows the number of units received

from Suppliers by from suppliers on a quarterly basis.
Quarter
Unit Tracking by This report shows each supplier and the

Supplier number of units received by the store for each
quarter. You can drill directly from supplier to
item.

Product Sales Reports
The Product Sales Reports folder contains all reports related

to product sales, including market basket analysis, regional
sales, and revenue growth.
Report Description
Average and This report shows the average and maximum

Maximum Revenue revenues per call center transaction. The
per Call Center revenues are shown for all call centers,
Transaction distributed by region.
Eastern Region This graphical report compares the average

Average Revenue per revenues for the three eastern regions
Customer (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast) on a
quarterly basis.
Electronics Revenue This report shows yearly revenues at the

by Region regional level.
Electronics Sales This report shows the pattern of monthly sales

over Time for each subcategory within the category
Electronics.
Market Basket This report shows the correlation and

Analysis probability of purchase for the top 10 correlated
items against a selected reference item.
Monthly Sales and This report shows sales and profit margin report
Margin - Custom at the monthly level for a custom group defined
Categories by category and metric qualifications on
revenue contribution for top five items, revenue
for the top 10% of employees, and revenue for
the bottom three suppliers.
Number of Customers This graph report depicts the number of

by Region customers in each region.
Number of This graph report shows the number of

Electronics Items per electronic items in stock, organized by product
Brand brand.
Revenue over Time This graphical report traces store revenues over
a period of time.
Revenue, Costs, and This report shows revenues, costs, and units
Units Sold by Call sold for US call centers.
Center
Sales by Region This report shows revenue and units sold at the
subcategory level. You are prompted to select a
particular region and category for which you
want to see the information.

Report Description
US Revenues by Call This report shows yearly revenues at the call

Center center level in a graphical format.
US Revenues by This report shows yearly revenues at the

Region regional level in a graphical format.
Yearly Revenue This report shows revenue and percent growth

Growth by Customer at the regional level.
Region
Supplier Reports
The Supplier Reports folder contains all reports related to

suppliers, such as brand sales and sell-through percentage.
Report Description
Average, Maximum, This report shows customer revenue that is

and Minimum related to products from a particular supplier.
Revenue per
Customer
Electronics Supplier This report shows the sell-through percentage

Sell-Through for each supplier in the Electronics Category.
Supplier Profit This report shows revenue, profit margin, and

Margin, Percent percentage growth for each supplier.
Growth Percentage growth numbers are in red if below
0 and in green if above 25%.
Supplier Sell-Through This report analyzes sell-through for each

Analysis supplier (page by Year and Category)
Supplier Sell-Through This report shows the sell-through percentage

Percentage for each supplier.
Units Sold and Profit This report shows the number of units sold, the
by Supplier, Select a total revenue, and the profit for all items for a
Category particular category from a particular supplier.

Create your own report

So far, you have been running predesigned reports that
provide little flexibility in what you can see and do. This
section of the tutorial describes how you can create your own
reports from a set of related objects.
To create your own report
1 Close any reports that you have opened from previous

sections. You do not need to save any of them; so click No
if prompted.
2 To return to the User Homepage, click the Home icon

(upper right corner) or choose Home from the Go menu.
3 Click Create Your Own Report. A new screen opens with

five report creation options.
These options are designed to help get you started

building reports in specific areas of analysis.
4 Click an option to create a report. For example, click

Customer Analysis. A blank grid opens with the Report
Objects pane displayed on the left side of the window.
IfReport
you do not see the Report Objects pane, choose
Objects from the View menu to display it.

5 To create your report, double-click items from the Report

Objects pane to add them to the grid. For example, if you
double-click Customer Region and Profit, you get the
following report.
6 You can also drag items from the Report Objects pane and
drop them on the grid to add them. To remove an item
from the grid, right-click the object and choose Remove
from Grid or drag it from the grid and drop it back in the
Report Objects pane.
To perform other report creation functions, you can follow

steps similar to those just described in Step 6.
Next steps
You have learned the basics of MicroStrategy reporting using
a Windows interface. Now you are ready to explore additional
features and functionality of the MicroStrategy platform.
To see the Next Steps screen
1 Close any reports that you have opened from previous

sections. You do not need to save any of them, so click No
if prompted.
2 To return to the User Homepage, click the Home icon

(upper right corner) or choose Home from the Go menu.

3 Click Next Steps. The Next Steps screen opens.
4 From here you have the following options:
To explore products other than Desktop, close Desktop

and return to the Welcome screen (on the Windows
Start menu, point to Programs, then to
MicroStrategy, and then choose Welcome Screen).
Follow the instructions on the Welcome screen to
access other product tutorials.
To learn about analyzing and manipulating reports
through the same Windows interface, click Learn
About Application Development and skip to the
section of the same name in this chapter.
To learn about system administration through the

same Windows interface, click Learn About System
Administration and skip to the section of the same
name in this chapter.
To explore the additional BI applications, click View

BI Applications and see View Business Intelligence
Applications starting on page 169.
Itentire
is strongly recommended that you complete the
tutorial prior to evaluating the Analytics
Modules.

Learn about application development

This section introduces you to some of the report
development concepts and functionality available to report
developers. Until now, you have been using MicroStrategy
Desktop as an end user would. In this section, you log in
using a different user name to see what a report developer
can do with the product.
To log in to MicroStrategy Desktop as Developer
1 On the Next Steps screen, click Learn About Application

Development. A login dialog box opens prompting you to
log in as Developer with a blank password.
2 Click OK to log in. The Developer Homepage opens as

shown in the following picture.
3 From here, you have the following options:
Click Learn About Application Objects for an

overview of application objects and their organization
in the MicroStrategy Desktop interface.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Learn about application development 55

Click Learn About Schema Objects for an overview

of schema objects and their organization in the
MicroStrategy Desktop interface.
Click Review Hierarchies to learn about the business

model that supports the MicroStrategy Tutorial.
Click Next Steps to explore the following additional

features and functionality of the MicroStrategy
platform:
To explore products other than Desktop, close

Desktop and return to the Welcome screen (on the
Windows Start menu, point to Programs, then to
MicroStrategy, and then choose Welcome
Screen). Follow the instructions on the Welcome
Screen to access other product tutorials.
To reconnect as Developer and learn how to analyze
and manipulate reports, click Learn About
Application Development and see Learn about
application development starting on page 55.
To learn about system administration through the

same Windows interface, click Learn About
System Administration and skip to the section of
the same name in this chapter.
Learn about application objects

The Learn About Application Objects screen displays the
different application objects available in the MicroStrategy
environment. You can use each of these objects to add
different types of reporting flexibility and functionality to an
application. There is a short description of each object on the
screen, but for a thorough, detailed discussion of these
application objects and the functionality that each one
provides, refer to the Advanced Reporting Guide.
When you click a link, the Folder List opens on the left, and
the contents of the selected folder are displayed on the right.
The Folder List is a Windows Explorer-like way to navigate
through the contents of a project. All application objects are
stored in the Public Objects folder.
56 Learn about application development 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Right-click an object and choose Edit to view it in the objects

editor.
For example, if you click Filters, the Folder List opens to the
Filters folder, and the contents of the folder are displayed on
the right. Right-click the filter Select a Region and choose
Edit to open the Select a Region filter in the Filter Editor.
Close all editors when you are finished. There is no need to

save any changes, so click No if prompted.
To return to the Developer screen, from the Go menu, choose

Home.
To show or hide the Folder List, from the View menu, choose
Folder List.
Learn about schema objects

The Learn About Schema Objects screen displays a list of the
different schema objects available in the MicroStrategy
environment. Schema objects map the physical columns,
tables, and data in the warehouse to the MicroStrategy
environment. There is a short description of each object on
the screen, but for a thorough, detailed discussion of the
schema objects and the functionality that each one provides,
refer to the Advanced Reporting Guide.
When you click one of the links, the Folder List opens on the
left, and the contents of the folder are displayed on the right.
The Folder List is a Windows Explorer-like way to navigate
through the contents of a project. All schema objects are
stored in the Schema Objects folder.
Expand and select the folders to see their contents.

Right-click an object and choose Edit to view it in the objects
editor.
For example, if you click Facts, the Folder List opens to the
Facts folder, and the contents of the folder are displayed on
the right. Right-click the fact Cost and choose Edit to open
the Cost fact in the Fact Editor.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Learn about application development 57

Close all editors when you are finished. There is no need to

save any changes, so click No if prompted.
To return to the Developer screen, from the Go menu, choose

Home.
Folder List.
Review hierarchies
On the Review Hierarchies screen you see a list of the
hierarchies that make up the business model for the
MicroStrategy Tutorial. A hierarchy is an ordered set of
attributes that defines a meaningful path for navigating
through the data in your warehouse.
Click the links to see a graphical representation of each

hierarchy. To learn more about hierarchies, refer to the
Advanced Reporting Guide. To learn more about the
MicroStrategy Tutorial business model, see MicroStrategy
Tutorial starting on page 233.
To return to the Developer Homepage, from the Go menu,

choose Home.
Folder List.
58 Learn about application development 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Learn about system administration

In this section, you log in as an administrative user to learn
about the system administration features and functionality
available to you.
To log in to MicroStrategy Desktop as Administrator
1 On the Next Steps screen, click Learn About System

Administration. A login dialog box opens prompting you
to log in as Administrator with a blank password.
2 Click OK to log in. The Administrator screen opens as

shown in the following picture.
On this screen you see a list and short description of the

different administrative tools available to you. Click the
Administration icon in the Folder List to access the tools.
For detailed information about each of these tools and about

administrative concepts in general, refer to the
MicroStrategy System Administration Guide.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Learn about system administration 59

To return to the Administrator Homepage, click the

MicroStrategy Tutorial project in the Folder List or choose
Home from the Go menu.
Folder List.
Once you are finished exploring the Administrator

functionality, close MicroStrategy Desktop and return to the
Welcome Screen to continue with the evaluation.
60 Learn about system administration 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

4
4. VIEW REPORTS IN A WEB
BROWSER
MicroStrategy Web Tutorial
Introduction
This chapter helps you access a set of predesigned reports

and documents from the MicroStrategy Tutorial using
MicroStrategy Web. The reports demonstrate some of the
sophisticated capabilities of the MicroStrategy platform.
This chapter takes you through the MicroStrategy Web

tutorial. The previous chapterView Reports in a Windows
Interfacetook you through a similar tutorial using
Note the following:

To use this product tutorial, you must have installed
MicroStrategy Web and Intelligence Server. If you
have not installed these, see Install the MicroStrategy
Evaluation Edition starting on page 3 for
instructions.

4 View Reports in a Web Browser Introduction to MicroStrategy
If you want to learn how to deliver reports via e-mail,

send reports to a printer, or save reports to a file from
MicroStrategy Web, you must also have installed the
information delivery and alerting products.
Specifically, you need all components of MicroStrategy
Narrowcast Server. Again, see Install the
MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition starting on page 3
for instructions.
This chapter describes features that represent the full

functionality of MicroStrategy Web. All MicroStrategy
Web features are not available in all versions. For
details about the specific features that each version
includes, go to the following MicroStrategy website
and review the feature comparison chart:
Products/Web/
MicroStrategy Web Universal is a version of
MicroStrategy Web that provides Web-based query
and reporting from a platform independent
architecture. MicroStrategy Web Universal runs on
Windows or UNIX operating systems and on a variety
of application servers including IBM WebSphere,
BEA WebLogic, Sun ONE, Oracle, and Apache
Tomcat.
To evaluate MicroStrategy Web Universal, see

Viewing reports with MicroStrategy Web Universal

Introduction to MicroStrategy View Reports in a Web Browser 4
Log in to MicroStrategy Web as User

To use the MicroStrategy Web tutorial, you must log in to
MicroStrategy Web. The following steps explain this process.
To log in to MicroStrategy Web
Iftheyouinstallation
are reading these instructions after reading the
instructions in Chapter 2, then you
may have already completed step 1, and you can skip
to step 2.

point to Programs, then to MicroStrategy, and then
choose Welcome Screen.
2 Click View reports in a Web browser. A dialog box

opens reminding you to log in as User with a blank
password. Click Continue to close the dialog box.
3 MicroStrategy Web opens and prompts you to log in. Log

in as User. Leave the password blank and click Login.
MicroStrategy Web opens with the User Homepage
displayed (see the following image).
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Log in to MicroStrategy Web as User 63

Get started with reports

A report allows you to analyze information by querying data
from a relational database and presenting it in a visually
pleasing manner. The following sections describe reports and
documents that illustrate some of the key reporting features
offered by MicroStrategy Web.
To access the tutorial reports
1 From the User Homepage, click Get Started with

Reports. The Get Started With Reports page opens
displaying links to tutorial reports and documents
described in the following subsections.
64 Log in to MicroStrategy Web as User 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Enterprise Performance Management Dashboard
The Enterprise Performance Management Dashboard report

shows a classic management dashboard that uses gauges and
bar graphs to consolidate business information across the
enterprise.
Technically, this report is a Report Services document. A

document is a MicroStrategy object that allows you to create
boardroom quality presentations of information. They are
used to create the highest quality, pixel-perfect reports such
as scorecards and dashboards, managed metrics reports,
production and operational reports, and more.
To see the document, click Enterprise Performance

Management Dashboard. Notice how the document (see the
following image) contains a variety of different types of
information, including headers, static text, gauges, bar
graphs, and page numbers.

There is no need to save it.

Operational Metrics
The Operational Metrics document shows a managed metric

report with a quantitative focus on operational metrics such
as revenue, profit and margin within a corporation. To see the
document, click Operational Metrics. The Operational
Metrics document opens (see the following image).
Notice the use of conditional formatting and graphical

indicators used to highlight certain data in this report.
Conditional formatting allows you to customize the

appearance of your report depending on the data found
within the report. You can highlight particular data that
meets specific conditions with different cell formats, symbols,
and images or replacement text.
One useful way to highlight the data is to set colors for

different ranges of values in a report. Conditional formatting
is employed on the right side of this sample document for the
% Difference from LM and % Difference from TM LY metrics;
negative values appear in red.
You can base conditional formatting definitions on the data

displayed, on data that is not necessarily displayed, and even
on additional calculations on the data.

On the left side of this report, graphical indicators are used to

indicate Status and Trend depending on the metric value in
the appropriate row (for instance, the Status and Trend of the
Revenue metric). For example, the green triangle in the
Trend column of the Revenue metric indicates that the
Revenue increased by five or more percent over the last
month. The yellow triangle in the Trend column of the
Margin shows that the percent change in Margin over the last
month fell between -5% and 5%. Red triangles indicate a drop
of 5% or more over the last month.
For more information about conditional formatting

and how to create graphical indicators, see Chapter 4,
Reporting Guide.
Another unique and useful feature found in MicroStrategy

Web is Editable View Mode. Editable View Mode allows you
to edit and make a variety of changes to a Report Services
document.
When you enable Editable View Mode by selecting the

Editable View Mode icon from the Standard toolbar in
MicroStrategy Web, you can edit a Report Services document
from within the Document view. If the icon is not selected,
you cannot modify your document in any way.

To enable Editable View Mode and edit the document
1 Click the Editable View Mode icon located second from

the left side on the Standard Toolbar. The Dataset Objects
window opens on the left side of the report (see the
following image); it allows you to modify objects used in
this document.
2 Click the title of the document. Once you click the text,
handles appear around the text. This text is now an object
that you can move around the document.
3 Click in the middle of the text and drag and drop the text
anywhere else in the document.
Another useful feature found in Web is the Undo function.

You can undo any action you previously performed while
editing your document in Web. For example, let us assume
you want the title text field to return to its original location.

To use the Undo function
1 From the Edit menu, select Undo or click the Undo icon
on the standard toolbar. The title text field returns to its
original position at the top of the document.
2 Now, return to the original view by clicking the Editable

View Mode icon (located second from the left on the
Standard toolbar). The document opens as it did at the
beginning of this exercise.
One thing you may notice about MicroStrategy Web is the use
of toolbars such as the Standard toolbar and the Formatting
toolbar. The toolbars in Web help provide you with easy
access to report functions and a streamlined interface in
which to work. You can toggle the various toolbars on or off.
When a document is not in Editable View Mode, only the

Standard toolbar is visible in MicroStrategy Web. If you
enable Editable View Mode, however, additional toolbars
appear on the screen.
To toggle a specific toolbar on or off
1 To enable Editable View Mode, click the Editable View

Mode icon located second from the left side on the
Standard Toolbar.
2 From the View menu, select Toolbars. A drop-down

menu opens to the right.
3 Select the toolbar you wish to open. If a check already

appears next to the toolbars name, the toolbar is already
enabled.
The toolbars available in Web include:
Standard
Controls
Crosstab
Panels

Graph
Grid
Formatting
For information about each toolbar, refer to the online

help for Web.

Transactional Sales Detail Report by State
The Transactional Sales Detail by State report provides

transactional sales information (such as Revenue, Profit, and
Profit Margin) about the categories and subcategories of
products sold in various customer states. This document also
highlights a useful feature available within MicroStrategy
documents in Web: the ability to page through a large
amount of data and narrow the information to just the
section you need.
To see this document, click Transactional Sales Detail

Report by State (see the following image).

You can use the Grouping editor to narrow your search. The
Grouping editor allows you to select the specific attributes for
which you want to have data shown. It allows you to analyze a
slice of data. For example, you can view the sales information
for all the movies (Category: Movies) sold in New York. To do
so, in the Customer State drop-down menu in the Grouping
editor, select New York. Notice how the data in the report
changes and reveals data only for New York. From the
Category drop-down menu, select Movies. Make sure [All] is
selected in the Subcategory drop-down menu.
Iffrom
you do not see the Grouping editor, select Grouping
the View menu.
The current report now only reveals information about all the
movie sales in New York (see the following image).
You can drill on this document down to the Region level, and
from there, down to the Customer level. This means, starting
from this document, you can get transactional sales
information for any customer.
For this exercise, select new attributes in the Grouping editor

before drilling down from Customer State to Customer.

To drill on a document
1 From the Customer State drop-down menu in the

Grouping editor, select Virginia.
2 From the Category drop-down menu, select Electronics.
3 From the Subcategory drop-down menu, select Cameras.

As shown in the following image, new data appears in the
document.
Now that the transactional sales information for Virginia is

displayed, drill from Customer State (Virginia) to Customer
City. From there, you can drill to Customer.
4 On the left side of the document, click the hyperlink that

reads Virginia. After a few moments, new data is
displayed; this is transactional sales data from the city of
Alexandria. Notice that in the Grouping editor, Customer
City now appears as a drop-down menu. You can now
select the customer city in Virginia for which you want to
see data.

5 On the left side of the document, click the hyperlink that

reads Alexandria. This drills the document down to
Customer. You can now select the customer in Alexandria,
Virginia for which you want to see data.
6 From the Customer drop-down menu in the Grouping

editor, select Hawk: Kurt. The transactional sales
information for Kurt Hawk is displayed (see the following
image).
ToHomepage,
return to the original document, return to the User
click Get Started with Reports, and then
click Transactional Sales Detail Report by State.

Revenue vs. Forecast
This Revenue vs. Forecast report is a parameter-driven

(prompted) report that provides you with a guided analysis
experience through a wizard.
From a user perspective, prompts allow you to choose at run

time the data you want to see for a particular report from a
predefined list of options. From the perspective of a report
developer, prompts allow you to satisfy many different

reporting requirements with just one report. You will run this
report twiceonce with the default selections and again with
different selections.
ToReports
return to the User Homepage at any time, click My
on the red bar at the top of the page, and then
click User Homepage.
To run the report with default selections
1 On the Get Started with Reports screen, click Revenue

vs. Forecast. The prompt selection screen opens with a
summary of the selections on the left and the prompt
questions and check boxes on the right. For now, leave
leave the default prompt choices selected.
2 Click Run Report to generate the report. The report

opens with information for the default selections (see the
following image).
The report opens with outline mode enabled. With outline

mode you can create an indented grouping of related
elements to make reports neater and easier to read. This
function is particularly useful in instances where the
information displayed would otherwise involve repetitive
entries.

Outline mode is already enabled in this report. Notice the

numbers 1, 2, and 3 in boxes located above the report on the
left. These indented groupings organize the reports
attributes from least expanded (1) to most-expanded (3).
To toggle outline mode on or off in a report in Web, from the

Format menu, choose Grid Options. Then, select the Outline
check box. The report changes from outline mode to regular
mode.
For more information about outline mode, see Chapter

4, Report Manipulation Essentials, of the Basic
Reporting Guide. For specific information about using
the outline mode in Web, refer to the Web online help.
Outline mode also allows you to collapse and expand the

sections of related data. However, for data to appear in a
collapsed levelfor the Northeast region, for exampleyou
must turn on subtotals.
To show subtotals
1 Make sure that outline mode is enabled in the report. If it

is not, from the Format menu, choose Grid Options and
select the Outline check box.
2 From the Data menu, choose Edit Totals. The Totals

dialog box opens.
3 Select the All Subtotals check box in the Average row

and click OK. The report now shows Average subtotals for
both the collapsed and expanded levels of information.
4 Click the minus sign to the left of Northeast to collapse

the information. Now you see the Average subtotal for the
Northeast region, even in its collapsed outline state.
5 From the Data menu, choose Edit Totals. The Totals

dialog box opens. Clear every check box in the dialog box
to remove all subtotals from the report.

You can add, remove, and edit subtotals at different levels for
metrics on a report using a variety of functions like average,
mean, count, standard deviation, and even create custom
subtotals. You can choose the level at which a subtotal applies
and the position of the subtotal on the report.
For more information on subtotals, see Chapter 4,

Reporting Guide. For specific information about using
subtotals in Web, refer to the Web online help.
Now that you have subtotals displayed, you can collapse

different levels of information in outline mode.
To collapse and expand levels in outline mode
1 Make sure that outline mode is enabled in the report. If it

is not, from the Format menu, choose Grid Options and
select the Outline check box.
2 Make sure the Northeast information is expanded. If it is

not, click the plus sign next to Northeast and then click
the plus sign next to Electronics.
3 Click the minus signs next to Mid-Atlantic and Southeast

to collapse the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast information.
After displaying subtotals and collapsing the Mid-Atlantic

and Southeast information, your report now looks like the
following image.

MicroStrategy Web, like MicroStrategy Desktop, allows you

to sort the data within a report in a variety of ways, allowing
you to organize information in ways that suit your business
needs.
To sort the revenue data for Q2 2004
1 Right-click the header of the Revenue column under 2004

Q2.
2 On the right-click menu, point to Sort, and then choose

Ascending. As shown in the following image, the data for
the 2004 Q2 column is sorted in ascending order (see the
following image).
This is just one example of the many sorting options

that MicroStrategy Web offers. For more information
about sorting functionality, see Chapter 4, Report
Manipulation Essentials, of the Basic Reporting
Guide.
Now run the same report again, but this time choose different
selections.

You can choose different prompt selections without having to

close the report. From the Data menu, select Re-prompt,
then continue to Step 2 of the following exercise.
To run the report with different selections
1 On the Get Started With Reports page, click Revenue vs.

Forecast.
Tothereturn to the User Homepage, click My Reports on

red bar at the top of the page, and then click User
Homepage.
2 In the wizard screen that opens, clear all of the Quarters

in the list on the left except 2004 Q1 and 2004 Q2.
The Summary section on the left side of the prompt

selection screen shows you a list of the prompts that
require answers for the report to execute. Click a link
to proceed to a specific prompt in the screen.
3 In Step 2 of the prompt selection screen, clear the

Electronics check box. Select the Movies check box.
4 If you cannot see Step 3, scroll down until you see the rest
of the prompt selection screen. In the region selection list,
clear all the check boxes in the list and select the Central,
South, and Northwest check boxes.
5 Click Run Report. The new report is executed as shown in

the following image.

You have most of the data you want to see, but you may want
to add an additional calculation to the report. For example,
even though the graphical indicators and conditional
formatting highlight key points of interest, you may want to
see the actual numbers for the percent to total of the Revenue
metric.
The Percent to Total metrics are only one kind of shortcut

metrics available in MicroStrategy. Percent to Total metrics
display the percent, in relation to a selected total of each item
affected by the metric. The total can be by column, by row, by
page, for each value of the attribute, or the grand total.
For more information about shortcut metrics, see the

Advanced Reporting Guide.
To add a new calculation to the report
1 Right-click a Revenue metric header. The headers read

Revenue and are located in the blue header bar at the
top of the report.

2 From the right-click menu, select Insert Metric, then

Percent to Total, and then Grand Total. This new metric
calculates what percent of each products sales in a given
state contributed to the grand total of that product across
every state.
Since this is a Percent to Total calculation, viewing the

actual totals of the metrics in this report should help us
analyze this report better.
3 To enable Sum totals, from the Data menu, select Edit

Totals, and then select the Sum check box in the All
Subtotals column. If any of the other check boxes for other
kinds of totals (for example, Average) are selected, clear
them before proceeding.
4 Click OK. The Sum totals for each attribute appear at the
bottom of the report.
When you are finished, your report should appear as shown

in the following image. You should also notice that, on the left
side of the window, a Percent to Grand Total metric has been
added to the Report Objects window.
Having quick access to report objects is useful when creating

or modifying reports; the Object Browser can easily provide
this convenient access. The Object Browser provides a view of
the objects contained in a report.

To open the Object Browser
1 From the View menu, select Object Browser.
2 The Object Browser appears to the left of the report (see

the following image).
In the Object Browser, objects that are being used in the

report are shaded in gray. Objects that are available for use in
the report, but are not currently present, appear in black text.
For more information about the Object Browser, see

the Advanced Reporting Guide.
To close the Object Browser
1 From the View menu, select Object Browser.
2 The Object Browser closes.
Before proceeding to the following exercise, make sure the

Object Browser is closed.

Often, you want to only view data that falls within a certain
metric range. For example, you may want to see data for
Revenue that was greater than $6,000. This way, you can
pinpoint categories and subcategories of products that
contributed more than $6,000 to the grand sales total.
You can accomplish this by adding view filter conditions that

filter the results within your report to only the data you wish
to see. A view filter is an additional filter applied in memory
to the report results. It affects only the view definition,
restricting the amount of data displayed on the report. The
view definition represents how the data is viewed and
manipulated in the Intelligence Server.
To add a view filter condition
1 Select View Filter from the View menu. You can also click
the View Filter icon located on the right side of the Grid
toolbar.
2 In the View Filter pane, select Add condition.
3 From the Filter on: drop-down menu, select Revenue.
4 From the next drop-down menu, select Greater than.
5 In the next field, type 6,000.
6 Click the Apply icon (the check mark). Any Revenue

metric value less than $6,000 is removed from the report,
and any Revenue metric value greater than $6,000
remains on the report. The report should look like the
following figure.

7 To close the View Filter pane, click the X icon in the

upper-right corner of the View Filter pane.
For more information about the view filter and the

different kinds of filter conditions you can add to a
report, see the Advanced Reporting Guide.
Before proceeding to the next exercise, close the View Filter

pane.
If you wish, you can easily swap the rows and columns of your
report. For this exercise, open the original Revenue vs.
Forecast and run it with the default selections.
To swap a reports rows and columns
1 To open the original Revenue vs. Forecast report, click the

My Reports link at the top of the page and click User
Homepage.
2 In the User Homepage, click Get Started with Reports,

and then click Revenue vs. Forecast.
3 Accept the default prompt selections and click Run

Report.

4 Once the report is open, from the Data menu, select Swap
Rows and Columns. The rows and columns of your
report change places.
Close the report when you have finished looking at it. There is
no need to save it, so click No if prompted.
Product Sales Report by Region
This graphical report shows revenues and profits for all

categories for the regions selected by the user over a two-year
period. To see this report (see the following image), click
Product Sales Report by Region. The prompt selection
screen is displayed; click Run Report to run the report with
the default prompt selections.
Notice that the report has four items in the page-by field. You
can page by categories and metrics, and the graph updates
automatically as you make your selections. Page-by causes
the report results to be divided into separate pages or slices
according to the objects you are paging by.
See Chapter 4, Report Manipulation Essentials, of the

Basic Reporting Guide for more information about
page-by.

To page by region
1 Click the drop-down menu in the Page-by field that reads

Region: Mid-Atlantic. A list of three regions and Total
appears.
2 Select Northeast. The graph now only shows data from

the Northeast region.
If you want to see a graph that depicts the 2004 Revenue and
Profit for each Subcategory in the Northeast, you can drill on
this graph to find the information.
Drilling allows you to look at specific data at levels other than

that of the originally displayed grid or graph. With this
function, you can drill down, up, or across attributes, custom
groups, and consolidations displayed in a report.
Drilling down allows access to data at progressively lower

levels within a hierarchy. For example, if the attribute level
displayed for geography is region, drilling down would allow
you to see information at the state, city, or store level. You
can also drill up, across, and to a template.

You can also drill up to see higher-level data and

across to see related information from other
hierarchies. Also, you can drill to templates that you
create. For more information about drilling, see the
Drill Maps chapter of the Advanced Reporting Guide.
To drill from Region to Subcategory
1 To drill down one level from Region to Subcategory for

2004, click the tallest green bar (in the Electronics
section) in the graph.
2 A new graph report is executed; it should look like the

following figure.
You can also change the graph type of your report. For this
exercise, open the original Product Sales report.

To change a reports graph type
1 On the User Homepage, select Get Started with Reports,

then click Product Sales Report by Region.
2 On the prompt selection screen, click Run Report.
3 From the Format menu, select Graph.
4 From the Graph Type drop-down menu, select Horizontal

Bar.
5 From the Graph Sub-Type drop-down menu, select

Dual-axis Stacked.
6 Click OK. Your report is displayed in the Vertical Line

Stacked graph type (see the following image).
When you are finished exploring the Product Sales Report by

Region report, close any open reports.

Deliver reports
MicroStrategy Web users can subscribe individuals and
groups to send and receive reports via e-mail, send reports to
a printer, or save them to a file on a scheduled or event basis.
This functionality is achieved through integration with
MicroStrategys information delivery and alerting product,
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server. This integration with
Narrowcast Server provides an easy and inexpensive way to
send information to employees, customers, and partners.
See the Narrowcast Server System Administrator

Guide for additional information about this
functionality.
To learn how to deliver reports from MicroStrategy Web
1 Navigate to the User Homepage.
ToReports
return to the User Homepage at any time, click My
on the red bar at the top of the page, and then
click User Homepage.
2 Click Deliver Reports. The Deliver Reports page opens

displaying links to the three steps in the process (see the
following image).

Configure Narrowcast Server
Before you can deliver reports via e-mail, send reports to a

printer, or send reports to a file in MicroStrategy Web, you
must install and configure MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server.
For installation instructions, see Install the MicroStrategy
Evaluation Edition starting on page 3. Configuration
instructions are as follows:
To configure MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server

Welcome Screen.
2 On the Welcome Screen, click Deliver Reports. The

Narrowcast Server Welcome dialog box opens.

3 Do one of the following:
If you have access to an active e-mail account, select

the Deliver messages check box. Type the e-mail
address in the E-Mail Address box and click OK. The
tutorial messages are delivered to the e-mail address
you specified.
If you do not have access to an active e-mail account,

select the option Save message to file. The Save
messages in dialog box opens. Specify the location of
the folder in which to save the files and click OK. The
tutorial messages are saved in the location you
specified.
This setting determines the location to which

Narrowcast Server delivers tutorial messages.
While sending reports via e-mail from
MicroStrategy Web, you can choose to send them
to any e-mail address you like.
4 If you have a default printer defined on your machine,

Narrowcast Server is automatically configured to use that
printer for printing, and you can proceed to Step 6.
5 If you do not have a default printer defined on your

machine, the Select Printer dialog box opens prompting
you for a printer name. Do one of the following:
If you have access to a printer, type the name of the

printer in the Printer Name text box and click OK.
If you do not want to specify a printer at this time,
click Cancel. The Narrowcast Server tutorial
configuration continues, but you cannot use
Narrowcast Servers printing functionality.
6 In the Summary dialog box, click OK to continue.
Ifduring
Narrowcast Server encounters any problems
the configuration process, you see an error
message in this dialog box. Click the error message
to get more information or see Troubleshooting
the Evaluation Edition starting on page 289.

7 Narrowcast Administrator opens with the User

Homepage displayed. The system is already configured
for you, so you can simply close Narrowcast
Administrator.
If MicroStrategy Web is not open, click View Reports

in a Web Browser on the Welcome screen (on the
Windows Start menu point to Programs, then
MicroStrategy, and then choose Welcome Screen.)
Log in as User (leave the password blank).
If MicroStrategy Web is open, navigate to the User

Homepage (click the My Reports link and then click
User Homepage).
9 On the User Homepage, click Deliver Reports and

proceed to the next section, Immediate Delivery: Send a
report via e-mail.
Immediate Delivery: Send a report via e-mail
This section shows you how you can immediately send

MicroStrategy Web reports to an e-mail address.
To deliver reports immediately
1 Click Immediate Delivery: Send a report via e-mail. The

Profitability Analysis report runs. You should already be
familiar with this report from other parts of the tutorial.
2 From the File menu, select Send Now. The Send Now
dialog box is displayed.
3 In the New Address text box, type the e-mail address to

which you want to send the report.
4 Choose an e-mail client from the drop-down list.
Ifthenyouselect
do not know which e-mail client to choose,
Generic e-mail client.

5 You can send a report in Excel format or PDF format.

Accept the default selection.
you
Selecting the Compress Contents check box allows
to reduce the size of the attachment. For this
exercise, leave the Compress Contents check box
cleared.
6 If you want, edit the information in the subject text box.

This text appears as the subject line in the e-mail. You can
also send a message with the report by typing text within
the Message text field.
7 Click OK. The report is sent to the e-mail address you

specified.
8 When you are finished, click Close and navigate back to

the User Homepage (click the My Reports link at the top
of the page and then click User Homepage) and proceed
to the next section, Automated Delivery: Receive reports
regularly via e-mail.
Automated Delivery: Receive reports regularly

via e-mail
This section shows you how you can send MicroStrategy Web
reports to an e-mail address on a scheduled basis.
To deliver reports on a scheduled basis
1 On the User Homepage, click Deliver Reports and then

click Automated Delivery: Receive reports regularly
via e-mail. The Profitability Analysis report runs.
2 From the File menu, select Scheduled Delivery to, and

then select E-mail Address. The Scheduled Delivery to
E-mail dialog box is displayed.
3 Select a schedule from the drop-down list and select an

e-mail address from the following drop-down menu. The
schedules you see are created using Narrowcast
Administrator.

Toaddress
select a new address, click the Send to a new
link below the e-mail address drop-down
menu.
4 Send a report in Excel format or PDF format. Accept the

default selection.
you
cleared.
5 If you want, edit the information in the subject text box.

This text appears as the subject line in the e-mail. You can
also send a message with the report by typing text within
the Message text field.
6 If you want to see a preview of what you will receive as per

your selected schedule, select the Send a preview now
check box, which sends the e-mail immediately, so you
can see the scheduled e-mail.
7 Click Create. The report is sent to the e-mail address you

specified on the schedule you chose. The text Your
subscription was created successfully. is displayed at the
top of the dialog box.
Iftheyoutextchose to send a preview, you should also see

You will shortly receive a preview.
8 Click the subscription link at the top of the dialog box to

go to the My Subscriptions page. Information about the
report you just scheduled is displayed in the Scheduled
e-mails list.
9 Click the Edit icon on the right to change the schedule

information (choose a different schedule or a different
e-mail address). Click OK when you are finished. To stop
the schedule from executing, select the check box
corresponding to the scheduled report and click
Unsubscribe.
10 When you are finished, click Close and navigate to the

User Homepage (click the My Reports at the top of the
page and then click User Homepage) and proceed to the
next section, Automated Delivery: Automatic archiving
of reports.

Automated Delivery: Automatic archiving of

reports
This section shows you how you can send MicroStrategy Web
reports to a file on a scheduled basis.
To deliver reports to a file on a scheduled basis
1 On the User Homepage, click Deliver Reports and then

click Automated Delivery: Automatic archiving of
reports. The Operational Metrics report runs.
2 From the File menu, select Scheduled Delivery to, and

then select File. The Scheduled Delivery to E-mail dialog
box is displayed.
3 Select a schedule from the drop-down list. The schedules

you see are created using Narrowcast Administrator.
4 Enter an address in the Address field. This address

represents the path where you want to send the report.
Some examples of Address paths include:
\\corp\sales\username
\\archive-2005\forecast\
\\servername\sharename\path\
5 Send a report in Excel format or PDF format. Accept the

default selection.
you
cleared.
6 If you wish, in the File Name text field, you can edit the
file name of the report you are sending.
7 To see a preview of what you will receive as per your

selected schedule, select the Send a preview now check
box, which sends the e-mail immediately, so you can see
the scheduled e-mail.

8 You can also send a delivery notification e-mail to a

specified address. Just click the Send e-mail to check box
and select an address from the Address drop-down menu.
9 Click Create. The report is sent to the e-mail address you

specified on the schedule you chose. The text Your
subscription was created successfully. is displayed at the
top of the dialog box.
Iftheyoutextchose to send a preview, you should also see

You will shortly receive a preview.
10 Click the subscription link at the top of the dialog box to

go to the My Subscriptions page. Information about the
report you just scheduled is displayed in the Scheduled
e-mail list.
11 Click the Edit icon on the right to change the schedule

information (choose a different schedule or a different
e-mail address). Click OK when you are finished.
To stop the schedule from executing, select the check box

corresponding to the scheduled report and click
Unsubscribe.
12 When you are finished, click Close and navigate to the

User Homepage (click the My Reports at the top of the
page and then click User Homepage) and proceed to the
next section, Explore additional reports.
Explore additional reports

Now that you have seen some of the reporting capabilities
that Web offers, you can explore some other reports on your
own.
To explore more reports
1 On the User Homepage, click Explore Additional

Reports. A new page opens with several report categories.


category. For example, click Enterprise Reporting
Documents. The Enterprise Reporting Documents folder
opens.
This folder contains documents while the other folders

contain more reports like the ones you have been
manipulating in this chapter so far. Ignore the
subfolder you see here; it contain the underlying
objects that are used to create the documents.
3 To run a report or document, click it.
4 To navigate back to the Explore Additional Reports page,

go to the User Homepage (click the My Reports link and
then click User Homepage) and then click Explore
Additional Reports.
The available categories and reports are exactly the same as

the ones you saw in the previous chapter for the
MicroStrategy Desktop tutorial. For a description of each
category and report, see Explore additional reports starting
on page 45.

Create your own report

So far you have been running predesigned reports that
provide little flexibility in what you can see and do. This
section of the tutorial describes how you can create your own
reports from a set of related objects.
To create your own report
1 Navigate back to the User Homepage (click the My

Reports link and then click User Homepage).
2 On the User Homepage, click Create your own report. A

new page opens with five report creation options.
3 Click an option to create a report.
These options are designed to help you get started

building reports in specific areas of analysis.
For example, click Customer Analysis. A blank grid

opens with a message saying that no data was returned
because there are no template objects.
4 To add objects to the template and create your report,

click Please add objects to the template. The Report
Objects pane opens to the left of the empty grid.
5 Double-click items in the Report Objects pane to add

them to the grid. For example, double-click Customer
Region and Profit and you see the following report.

Note the following:

You can also drag items from the Report Objects pane
and drop them on the grid. To remove an item from
the grid, right-click the object and choose Remove
from Grid or drag it from the grid and drop it back in
the Report Objects pane.
To perform other related report creation functions,

you can follow steps similar to those just described in
Step 5.
Next Steps
You have learned the basics of MicroStrategy reporting using
a Web browser. Now you are ready to explore additional
features and functionality of the MicroStrategy platform.
1 Navigate back to the User Homepage (click the My

Reports link and then click User Homepage).
2 Click Next Steps. The Next Steps page opens.
3 From here you have the following options:
To explore products other than MicroStrategy Web,

close your browser and return to the Welcome screen
(on the Windows Start menu, point to Programs, then
to MicroStrategy, and then choose Welcome
Screen). Follow the instructions on the Welcome
screen to access other product tutorials.
To view examples of business intelligence
applications, click View Business Intelligence
Applications and see View Business Intelligence
Applications starting on page 169.
Itrecommended
is recommended that you complete the entire
evaluation process prior to
exploring the Analytics Modules or business
intelligence applications.

Viewing reports with MicroStrategy Web

Universal
MicroStrategy Web Universal provides identical end-user
functionality as MicroStrategy Web. MicroStrategy Web
Universal gives you the option of installing this product
either with an ASP.NET front-end or with a JSP front-end on
computers that run any supported application servers (IBM
WebSphere, Sun ONE Application Server, BEA
WebLogic, Oracle Application Server, or Apache Tomcat)
on any operating system (Microsoft Windows, Sun Solaris,
IBM AIX, HP-UX, or Linux).
You have already been using the ASP.NET version of

MicroStrategy Web throughout this chapter. Because the
end-user functionality is identical, the JSP version of
MicroStrategy Web Universal is not included as part of the
MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition. If you need to evaluate the
JSP version of MicroStrategy Web Universal, contact your
MicroStrategy account executive. If you are not working with
a particular account executive, please contact MicroStrategy
via e-mail at info@microstrategy.com or by telephone at
1-888-537-8135 (US) or +44 (0) 208 396 0000 (Worldwide).
MicroStrategy Web Universal for Windows can be

installed from the disk within your software package,
but it requires a separate license key for installation. If
you need to evaluate MicroStrategy Web Universal for
Windows or for non-Windows platforms, contact your
MicroStrategy account executive.
Assuming that you have received a license key from

MicroStrategy to install MicroStrategy Web Universal, this
section explains the procedure to set up MicroStrategy Web
Universal (the JSP version) to run reports against a
MicroStrategy Intelligence Server. The primary goal is to run
reports against your existing evaluation infrastructure
quickly and easily using a few simple steps.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Viewing reports with MicroStrategy Web Universal 99

Before you begin

This section assumes that you have already installed and
configured all the necessary MicroStrategy and third-party
software that MicroStrategy Web Universal requires to
operate. For information on installing MicroStrategy
products, see Install the MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition
starting on page 3.
Note the following requirements for MicroStrategy Web

Universal:
You need an installed MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition.

This has a MicroStrategy Intelligence Server
preconfigured to run against MicroStrategy Tutorial. The
only information that you need as part of the
configuration steps for MicroStrategy Web Universal is
the name of your Intelligence Server machine.
You need one of the following Web application servers
installed:
IBM WebSphere
BEA WebLogic
Sun ONE (formerly known as iPlanet)
Oracle Application Server
Apache Tomcat
Refer to the Setup Guide for MicroStrategy Web

Universal Products for detailed information on
how to deploy MicroStrategy Web Universal on
these application servers.
The instructions assume that you are using the default
Web server provided by the Web application server. For
example, Microsoft IIS.
You need an installed Evaluation Edition of MicroStrategy

Web Universal on the same machine as your Web
application server. Follow the installation instructions
contained within the Installation and Deployment Guide.
100 Viewing reports with MicroStrategy Web Universal 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.
The Web application server must be configured to deploy

MicroStrategy Web Universal. Refer to the Installation
and Deployment Guide for specific version details.
You need to define a user with administrator privileges for

your chosen Web application server.
If you are having trouble configuring your application server

to deploy MicroStrategy Web Universal, refer to the
MicroStrategy Web Universal Release Notes or the
Installation and Deployment Guide, both of which contain
pertinent information for all certified and supported Web
application servers.
IfMicroStrategy
you are having problems setting up the
Evaluation Edition or you need
additional help installing or configuring any of the
above instructions, contact MicroStrategy Technical
Support (see Technical Support starting on
page xxii).
Configure MicroStrategy Web Universal

To use MicroStrategy Web Universal to execute reports
contained in the MicroStrategy Tutorial, you must install
MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition. You must first configure
MicroStrategy Web Universal. Configuration instructions are
as follows:
set the document directory in MicroStrategy Desktop
connect to MicroStrategy Intelligence Server
access MicroStrategy Web Universal
Set the document directory in MicroStrategy

Desktop
By default, the document directory in MicroStrategy Desktop

is configured for use by MicroStrategy Web. For evaluation
purposes, a similar folder for MicroStrategy Web Universal is
installed. MicroStrategy Tutorial projects default document
directory must be updated to point to the MicroStrategy Web
Universal subfolder.
To set the document directory
1 Open MicroStrategy Desktop and expand the

MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit project source. If you
are prompted to log in, enter Administrator as the Login
ID with a blank password. Click OK.
2 Right-click the MicroStrategy Tutorial project and choose

Project Configuration.
3 Under the Project definition category, select Advanced.
4 If you have installed MicroStrategy Tutorial in the default

location, change the Document directory to C:\Program
Files\MicroStrategy\Tutorial
Reporting\WebUniversal.
5 Click OK to save your changes.
Iftutorial
you want to return to using the MicroStrategy Web
(as opposed to the MicroStrategy Web
Universal tutorial), reset the document directory to
C:\Program Files\MicroStrategy\Tutorial
Reporting. If you do not reset the document
directory, parts of the tutorial will not work properly.
Connect to MicroStrategy Intelligence Server
After you have set the document directory to point to the

correct folder, you must connect MicroStrategy Web
Universal to MicroStrategy Intelligence Server.
To connect to the Intelligence Server
1 Launch an Internet browser and type the URL for the

administration page in the MicroStrategy Web Universal
application. This URL takes different forms depending on
how you have deployed the application.
2 Assuming that you have the MicroStrategy Web Universal

application deployed under the default context, you need
to point your browser to
http://[machine IP address]:[port
number]/MicroStrategy/
servlet/mstrWebAdmin/
where [machine IP address] is the address of your

Web application server machine and [port number] is
the default port for the Web application server. For
example, if your machine IP address is 1.1.1.1, and the
default port number is 5555, the URL would be:
http://1.1.1.1:5555/MicroStrategy/servlet/
mstrWebAdmin/.
3 You are prompted for a login and password. Specify the

User ID and Password for the user that you defined earlier
with an administrator role for the Web application server
(see Before you begin starting on page 100).
4 After you have been authenticated, you are taken to the

MicroStrategy Web Universal Administrator page.
5 Enter the name of the MicroStrategy Intelligence Server

that you obtained when you installed the MicroStrategy
Evaluation Edition.
6 Click Connect. The Intelligence Server has been

connected to MicroStrategy Web Universal.
Use MicroStrategy Web Universal
After you have set the document directory and connected

MicroStrategy Web Universal to the Intelligence Server, you
may begin using the tutorial for MicroStrategy Web
Universal.
To access MicroStrategy Web Universal
1 Launch an Internet browser and type the URL for

accessing MicroStrategy Web Universal.
2 Assuming that you have the MicroStrategy Web Universal

application deployed under the default context, you need
to point your browser to
http://[machine IP address]:[port
number]/MicroStrategy/
servlet/mstrWeb/
where [machine IP address] is the address of your

Web application server machine and [port number] is
the default port for the Web application server. For
example, if your machine IP address is 1.1.1.1, and the
default port number is 5555, the URL would be:
http://1.1.1.1:5555/MicroStrategy/servlet/
mstrWeb/.
3 Click MicroStrategy Tutorial to begin the evaluation.
4 Log in as User with a blank password.
You may begin evaluating MicroStrategy Web Universal by

following the steps for the MicroStrategy Web tutorial that
were described earlier in this chapter (see Get started with
reports starting on page 64).
5
5. VIEW REPORTS IN MICROSOFT
EXCEL
MicroStrategy Office Tutorial
Introduction
This chapter walks you through a demonstration of

MicroStrategy Office, which allows you to integrate
MicroStrategy with Microsoft Office products like Excel,
PowerPoint, and Word. You can execute MicroStrategy
reports directly from the Microsoft Office applications,
refresh their data, format the results, and save them to be
used for offline analysis. With MicroStrategy Office, users can
access a wide variety of reports from multiple different
MicroStrategy projects within a single Microsoft Office
document. Refreshing the data assures users that the data is
current, relevant and secure.
ToMicroStrategy
use this tutorial, you must have installed
Office, MicroStrategy Web Services,
and MicroStrategy Intelligence Server. If you have not
installed these, see Install the MicroStrategy
Evaluation Edition starting on page 3 for
instructions. For Microsoft Excel version
requirements, see MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition
software requirements starting on page 5.

5 View Reports in Microsoft Excel Introduction to MicroStrategy
Begin the MicroStrategy Office Tutorial

To use the MicroStrategy Office tutorial, you must open the
Excel workbook that contains the set of MicroStrategy
reports to be executed.
To begin the MicroStrategy Office tutorial
Ifinstallation
step 2.

Welcome Screen.
2 Click View Reports in Microsoft Excel.
3 Microsoft Excel opens with the User Homepage displayed

as shown in the following figure.
106 Begin the MicroStrategy Office Tutorial 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Introduction to MicroStrategy View Reports in Microsoft Excel 5
Perform one-click refresh of multiple reports

The User Homepage is actually a cover sheet for a collection
of reports that appear on the various worksheets in the
workbook. Click Perform One-Click Refresh of Multiple
Reports to go to the Executive Sales Analysis worksheet.
On this worksheet, click the links (or the graphics at the

bottom) to view each worksheet. For example, to see the Sales
Trends reports, click Sales Trends. The Sales Trends
worksheet opens. To go back to the cover page, click the link
Back to Executive Sales Analysis (located at the top right
of each worksheet).
Notice there is no data for any of the reports. This is because

they need to be refreshed. Refreshing executes all
MicroStrategy reports in the Excel workbook just as if they
had been run from any other MicroStrategy product like
MicroStrategy Desktop or Web. MicroStrategy Office
retrieves the data and uses it to populate the reports in the
workbook.
To refresh the data in the workbook
1 On the MicroStrategy Office toolbar, click Refresh.
IfView
the MicroStrategy toolbar is not displayed, on the
menu, point to Toolbars and then choose
MicroStrategy Office.
2 In the login dialog box, type User for the login ID, leave
the password blank, and click OK.
The refresh may take a few minutes depending on your

computers hardware configuration.
3 All reports in the workbook are refreshed. Navigate to the

various worksheets to see the reports that are now
populated with data.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Perform one-click refresh of multiple reports 107

Next steps
You have seen one of the common ways in which
MicroStrategy Office can be used to integrate with Microsoft
Excel. To learn more about MicroStrategy Officesuch as
how to add a MicroStrategy report to an Excel worksheet,
navigate to Next Steps.
1 Click the first worksheet in the Excel workbook, and then

click Next Steps.
2 From here, you have the following options:
To learn about how you can add reports to an Excel

worksheet, click Learn about Adding Reports in
Excel.
If you want to explore products other than

MicroStrategy Office, close the Excel workbook and
return to the Welcome screen (on the Windows Start
menu, point to Programs, then to MicroStrategy, and
then choose Welcome Screen). When you close the
workbook, you are prompted to save your changes.
You do not have to save your changes; if you do, the
reports and data are saved in the workbook. Follow the
instructions on the Welcome screen to access other
product tutorials.
108 Next steps 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Learn about adding reports to Excel

So far, you have used MicroStrategy Office to perform a
one-click refresh of MicroStrategy reports in an Excel
workbook. However, you did not place those reports in the
worksheet. This workflow might be similar to how field
personnel in your organization would interact with
MicroStrategy Office. They may have a standard Excel
workbook they want to update periodically and take with
them for offline analysis.
This section shows you what the designer has to do to get

those reports into the worksheet.
To add a MicroStrategy report to an Excel worksheet
1 On the Next Steps worksheet, click Learn about Adding

Reports in Excel.
2 The Adding Reports to Excel page opens. This section and

the following sections describe the steps you need to take
to add a report to Excel using MicroStrategy Office.
Launch Microsoft Excel

Open the Excel workbook to which you will add the
MicroStrategy report. Excel opens with a blank worksheet
displayed.
Byfromdefault, you can usually start Microsoft Excel

the Windows Start menu.
Connect to your project

Now you need to connect to the MicroStrategy project that
has the reports you want to add to the Excel worksheet. The
following steps walk you through the process for connecting
to the MicroStrategy Tutorial project.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Learn about adding reports to Excel 109

To connect to the MicroStrategy Tutorial project
1 On the MicroStrategy Office toolbar, click MicroStrategy.
IfthetheView
MicroStrategy toolbar is not displayed, on
2 In the Connect to MicroStrategy dialog box, select

MicroStrategy Tutorial from the list of available project
sources, type User for the login ID, leave the password
blank, and click Get Projects.
3 From the list of available projects, select MicroStrategy

Tutorial and click OK.
4 A browsing window similar to MicroStrategy Desktop

opens as shown in the following figure.
5 To locate the reports and HTML documents to include in

the Excel worksheet, you can navigate through a project in
this window just as you would in MicroStrategy Desktop.
You can add any report, HTML document, or document to
the Excel spreadsheet. For this tutorial, select the report
Revenue vs. Forecast from the Shared Reports folder
and from the Reports menu, choose Run Report.
110 Learn about adding reports to Excel 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Notice all the available options on the Reports menu.

You can add the report to the Excel spreadsheet as a
grid, graph, PivotTable, and so on. For details about
these and other options available to you, refer to the
MicroStrategy Office online help. To access the help,
click MicroStrategy on the MicroStrategy Office
toolbar and in the dialog box that opens, press F1.
6 Since this report has three prompts in it, you see the
prompt windows just as you would in MicroStrategy
Desktop. Leave the default prompt answers and click
Execute Report.
7 The report runs and the results displaywith the reports

formattingin the Excel worksheet.
There are various settings and options that determine the

precise manner and location in which the report is placed in
the worksheet. For details about these settings, refer to the
MicroStrategy Office online help. To access the help, click
MicroStrategy on the MicroStrategy Office toolbar and in the
dialog box that opens, press F1.
Now that you have seen how MicroStrategy Office can be

used with Excel, close any open windows (there is no need to
save anything) and go to the next chapter in this book (see
View Reports in Microsoft PowerPoint starting on page 113)
to learn about how MicroStrategy Office can be used with
PowerPoint.
MicroStrategy Office gives you the ability to access

multiple MicroStrategy projects from within a single
Microsoft Office document. You can try this yourself
by adding one report from the MicroStrategy Tutorial
and another from the Human Resources Analysis
Module (HRAM). To learn about HRAM, see View
Business Intelligence Applications starting on
page 169. It is recommended that you complete the
entire recommended evaluation process prior to
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Learn about adding reports to Excel 111

112 Learn about adding reports to Excel 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

6
POWERPOINT
Introduction

current, relevant and secure.
In the previous chapter, you used MicroStrategy Office to

integrate with Microsoft Excel. This chapter walks you
through another demonstration; this time, you can see how
MicroStrategy reports integrate with Microsoft PowerPoint.

6 View Reports in Microsoft PowerPoint Introduction to MicroStrategy
Note the following:

To use this Tutorial you must have installed
MicroStrategy Office, MicroStrategy Web Services,
Evaluation Edition starting on page 3, for
instructions.
For Microsoft PowerPoint version requirements, see

requirements starting on page 5.
MicroStrategy Office uses Excel components to
function so you must at least have Excel installed
(even if you only plan to use MicroStrategy Office with
PowerPoint, for example). For Microsoft Excel version
software requirements starting on page 5

To use the MicroStrategy Office tutorial, you must open the
PowerPoint presentation that contains the set of
MicroStrategy reports to be executed.
Ifinstallation
step 2.

Welcome Screen.
2 Click View Reports in Microsoft PowerPoint.

Introduction to MicroStrategy View Reports in Microsoft PowerPoint 6
3 Microsoft PowerPoint opens with the User Homepage

displayed as shown in the following figure.
Links remain inactive unless you view the slides in

Slide Show mode (from the View menu, choose Slide
Show). Press ESC to return to Normal mode.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Begin the MicroStrategy Office Tutorial 115


The User Homepage is actually the first of several slides in a
slideshow used to explain how MicroStrategy Office can be
integrated with Microsoft PowerPoint. To begin the
slideshow, press F5.
In Slide Show mode, click Perform One-Click Refresh on

Multiple Reports. You should see that this slide is a
summary of the other slides in the presentation. To return to
the User Homepage at any time, click the Home icon located
at the top right of each slide.
Most of the slides in the presentation contain blank spaces.

This is because they contain MicroStrategy reports that need
to be refreshed. Refreshing executes all MicroStrategy reports
in the PowerPoint presentation just as if they had been run
from any other MicroStrategy product like MicroStrategy
Desktop or MicroStrategy Web. MicroStrategy Office
retrieves the data and uses it to populate the reports in the
presentation.
To refresh the data in the presentation
1 If the presentation is currently in Slide Show mode, press

ESC to return to Normal mode.
IfView
The refresh may take several minutes depending on

the hardware configuration of your computer.
4 During the refresh, the prompt selection screens of the

three reports appear, one at a time. Accept the default
prompt selections and click Execute Report to continue
the refresh.
116 Perform one-click refresh of multiple reports 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

5 When the refresh is complete, return to Slide Show mode

and view the presentation. All reports in the presentation
are refreshed. Navigate to the various slides to see reports
that are now populated with data.
Next steps
PowerPoint. To learn more about MicroStrategy Office, such
as how to add a MicroStrategy report to a PowerPoint
presentation, navigate to Next Steps.
1 View the presentation in Slide Show mode.
2 Click the Home link (in the upper right corner of the
slides) and then click Next Steps.
3 You have the following options:
To learn about how you can add reports to a

PowerPoint presentation, click Learn about Adding
Reports to PowerPoint.
To explore products other than MicroStrategy Office,

close the PowerPoint presentation and return to the
Welcome screen (on the Windows Start menu, point to
Programs, then to MicroStrategy, and then choose
Welcome Screen). When you close the presentation,
you are prompted to save your changes. You do not
have to save your changes; if you do, the reports and
data are saved in the presentation. Follow the
instructions on the Welcome screen to access other
product tutorials.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Next steps 117

Learn more about adding reports to PowerPoint

one-click refresh of MicroStrategy reports in a PowerPoint
presentation. However, you did not place those reports in the
slides. This workflow might be similar to how field personnel
in your organization would interact with MicroStrategy
Office. They may have a standard presentation they want to
update periodically and take with them for meetings with
customers or other field personnel.

those reports into the presentation.
To add a MicroStrategy report to a PowerPoint presentation
1 On the Next Steps slide, click Learn More about Adding

Reports to PowerPoint.
2 The Adding Reports to PowerPoint page opens. This page

and the following sections describe the steps you need to
take to add a report to a PowerPoint slide using
Launch Microsoft PowerPoint

Open the PowerPoint presentation to which you will add the
MicroStrategy report.
Byfromdefault, you can start Microsoft PowerPoint


has the reports you want to add to the PowerPoint
presentation. The following steps walk you through the
process for connecting to the MicroStrategy Tutorial project.
118 Learn more about adding reports to PowerPoint 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.
IfthetheView

3 In the list of available projects, select MicroStrategy


2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Learn more about adding reports to PowerPoint 119

the PowerPoint presentation, you can navigate through a
project in this window just as you might in MicroStrategy
Desktop. You can add any report or HTML document to
the PowerPoint presentation. For this tutorial, select the
report Revenue vs. Forecast from the Shared Reports
folder and from the Reports menu, choose Run Report.

You can add the report to the PowerPoint presentation
as a grid, graph, PivotTable, and so on. For details
about these and other options available to you, refer to
the MicroStrategy Office online help. To access the
help, click MicroStrategy on the MicroStrategy Office
6 Since this report has three prompts in it, the prompt

windows open just as they would in MicroStrategy
Execute Report.

formattingin the PowerPoint slide.

precise manner in which the report is placed on the slide. For
details about these settings, refer to the MicroStrategy Office
online help. To access the help, click MicroStrategy on the
MicroStrategy Office toolbar and in the dialog box that opens,
press F1.
Now that you have seen how MicroStrategy Office can be

used with PowerPoint, close any open windows (there is no
need to save anything) and go to the next chapter in this book
(see View Reports in Microsoft Word starting on page 123)
to learn about how MicroStrategy Office can be used with
Word.

2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Learn more about adding reports to PowerPoint 121
7
WORD
Introduction

current, relevant, and secure.
In the previous chapter, you used MicroStrategy Office to

integrate with Microsoft PowerPoint. This chapter walks you
through a demonstration of how MicroStrategy Office allows
you to integrate your reports with Microsoft Word.

7 View Reports in Microsoft Word Introduction to MicroStrategy
Note the following:

To use this tutorial you must have installed
MicroStrategy Office, MicroStrategy Web Services,
Evaluation Edition starting on page 3, for
instructions.
For Microsoft Word version requirements, see

requirements starting on page 5.
MicroStrategy Office uses Excel components to
function so you must at least have Excel installed
(even if you only plan to use MicroStrategy Office with
Word, for example). For Microsoft Excel version
software requirements starting on page 5.

To use the Office Tutorial, you must open the Word
document that contains the set of MicroStrategy reports to be
executed.
Ifinstallation
step 2.

Welcome Screen.
2 Click View Reports in Microsoft Word.

Introduction to MicroStrategy View Reports in Microsoft Word 7
3 Microsoft Word opens with the User Homepage displayed

as shown in the following figure.

The User Homepage is actually a cover sheet for a collection
of reports that appear on the following pages of the
document. Click Perform One-Click Refresh of Multiple
Reports to go to the Human Resources Analysis reports
page.
On this page, follow the instructions on how to refresh the

Human Resources Analysis reports within the Word
document.
Most of the pages in this Word document contain blank

spaces because they contain MicroStrategy reports that need
to be refreshed. Refreshing executes all MicroStrategy reports
in the Word document just as if they had been run from any
other MicroStrategy product like MicroStrategy Desktop or
MicroStrategy Web. MicroStrategy Office retrieves the data
and uses it to populate the reports in the document.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Perform one-click refresh of multiple reports 125

To refresh the reports in the document
IfView
The refresh may take several minutes depending on

the hardware configuration of your computer.
3 When the refresh is complete, all reports in the

presentation are refreshed. Navigate to the various pages
to see reports that are now populated with data. You may
also notice that the Employee Attrition - Quarter report
refreshed in an Excel spreadsheet, as well as within the
Word document.
Next steps
Word. To learn more about MicroStrategy Office, such as how
to add a MicroStrategy report to a Word document, navigate
to Next Steps.
1 Navigate to the first page in the Word document.
2 Click the Next Steps link on the right.
3 You have the following options:

To learn about how you can add reports to a
PowerPoint presentation, click Learn about Adding
Reports to Word.

To explore products other than MicroStrategy Office,

close the Word document and return to the Welcome
screen (on the Windows Start menu, point to
Programs, then to MicroStrategy, and then choose
Welcome Screen). Follow the instructions on the
Welcome screen to access other product tutorials.
Learn about adding reports to Word

one-click refresh of MicroStrategy reports in a Word
document. However, you did not directly place those reports
into the pages of the document. This workflow might be
similar to how field personnel in your organization would
interact with MicroStrategy Office. They may have a standard
document they want to update periodically and take with
them for meetings with customers or other field personnel.

those reports into the Word document.
To add a MicroStrategy report to a Word document
1 On the Next Steps slide, click Learn about Adding

Reports to Word.
2 The Adding Reports to Word page opens. This page and

the following sections describe the steps you need to take
to add a report to a Word document using MicroStrategy
Office.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Learn about adding reports to Word 127

Launch Microsoft Word

Open the Word document to which you will add the
MicroStrategy report. You can choose to either create a new
document or open a saved document into which you want to
add reports.
Byfromdefault, you can usually start Microsoft Word


has the reports you want to add to the Word document. The
following steps walk you through the process for connecting
to the MicroStrategy Tutorial project.
IfthetheView

3 In the list of available projects, select MicroStrategy

128 Learn about adding reports to Word 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.



the Word document, you can navigate through a project in
this window just as you might in MicroStrategy Desktop.
You can add any report or HTML document to the Word
document. For this tutorial, select the report Revenue vs.
Forecast from the Shared Reports folder and from the
Reports menu, choose Run Report.

You can add the report to the Word document as a
grid, graph, PivotTable, and so on. For details about
these and other options available to you, refer to the
MicroStrategy Office online help. To access the help,
click MicroStrategy on the MicroStrategy Office
6 Since this report has three prompts in it, you see the
prompt windows just as you would in MicroStrategy
Execute Report.

formattingin the Word document.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Learn about adding reports to Word 129


precise manner in which the report is placed on the slide. For
details about these settings, refer to the MicroStrategy Office
online help. To access the help, click MicroStrategy on the
MicroStrategy Office toolbar and in the dialog box that opens,
press F1.
Now that you have finished the MicroStrategy Office tutorial,

you are ready to explore other parts of the MicroStrategy
platform. Close any open windows (there is no need to save
anything) and proceed to the next chapter in this book (see
Deliver Reports starting on page 131) to learn about
information delivery and alerting using MicroStrategy
Narrowcast Server.

130 Learn about adding reports to Word 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

8
8. DELIVER REPORTS
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server
Tutorial
Introduction

MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server. In this chapter you can
create a simple Narrowcast Server service and learn how to
subscribe to your service via the Web. Then you can explore
two of the predefined tutorial services that come with the
product. Finally, you can explore some of the functionality
available in Narrowcast Administrator and learn more about
administering a Narrowcast Server system.
ToMicroStrategy
use this tutorial, you must have installed
Narrowcast Server. If you have not
installed Narrowcast Server, see Install the
MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition starting on page 3,
for instructions.

8 Deliver Reports Introduction to MicroStrategy
About the MicroStrategy Tutorial for

Narrowcast Server
The MicroStrategy Tutorial for Narrowcast Server has a
variety of predefined services that demonstrate how
Narrowcast Server can be used in diverse areas such as
business activity monitoring, supply chain management, and
customer relationship management.
This chapter focuses on two services designed for business

activity monitoring. To learn about the other predefined
services (there are six more in addition to the two you learn
about here), see the MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server
Getting Started Guide.
When you get to the sections for the predefined services, you
are encouraged to first read each section to understand the
business purpose behind the functionality used in each
service. Then you can deliver the service and view the
resulting messages. Finally, you can edit the service
definition to explore how the service is constructed.
132 About the MicroStrategy Tutorial for Narrowcast Server 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.
Introduction to MicroStrategy Deliver Reports 8
Begin the Narrowcast Server Tutorial

Before you begin using Narrowcast Server, you must specify
the e-mail address to which Narrowcast Server can send the
Tutorial services. The Tutorial services deliver messages to an
e-mail recipient, so you must provide an e-mail address to
which the services can be sent. In addition, if you do not have
a default printer configured for your machine, you are asked
to provide a printer so that Narrowcast Server can properly
configure the send-to-printer support.
Note the following:

You must have an active Internet connection for
Narrowcast Server to send services to you via e-mail. If
you do not have access to an active Internet
connection or to an active e-mail account in which you
can receive the messages from the Tutorial, you can
choose to save the messages as files in a location of
your choice. This allows you to view the messages in
your e-mail application, but you do not need to have
network access. To see the e-mails in this case,
double-click the .eml files (located in your
installation folder by default in
C:\Program Files\MicroStrategy\
Narrowcast Server\Delivery Engine\
SavedMail) and they open in your e-mail application.
If you have already configured Narrowcast Server to

support report delivery via e-mail from MicroStrategy
Web, you will not be prompted to do it again. Just click
Deliver reports via e-mail on the Welcome Screen (on
the Windows Start menu point to Programs, then
MicroStrategy, and then choose Welcome Screen)
and skip to the next section, Explore usage scenarios.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Begin the Narrowcast Server Tutorial 133

To begin the tutorial for Narrowcast Server
Ifinstallation
step 2.

Welcome Screen.
2 On the Welcome Screen, click Deliver reports. The

Narrowcast Server Welcome dialog box opens.
If you have access to an active e-mail account, select

the Deliver messages option. Type the e-mail
address in the E-Mail Address text box and click OK.
The Tutorial messages are delivered to the e-mail
address you specified.
If you do not have access to an active e-mail account,
select the Save messages to file option. The Save
messages in dialog box opens. Specify the location of
the folder in which to save the files and click OK. The
Tutorial messages are saved in the location you
specified.
This setting determines the location to which

Narrowcast Server delivers Tutorial messages.
While sending reports via e-mail from
MicroStrategy Web, you can choose to send them
to any e-mail address of your choice.
4 If you have a default printer defined on your machine,

Narrowcast Server is automatically configured to use that
printer for printing and you can proceed to Step 6.
5 If you do not have a default printer defined on your

machine, the Select Printer dialog box opens prompting
you for a printer name. Do one of the following:
If you have access to a printer, type the name of the
printer in the Printer Name box and click OK.
134 Begin the Narrowcast Server Tutorial 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

If you do not want to specify a printer at this time,

click Cancel. The Narrowcast Server Tutorial
configuration continues, but you cannot use
Narrowcast Servers printing functionality.
6 Review the information in the Summary dialog box and

click OK.
Ifyouyouseeencounter any problems during configuration,

a message describing the problem. Click the
message or see Troubleshooting the Evaluation
Edition starting on page 289 for troubleshooting
information.
7 Narrowcast Administrator opens with the User

Homepage displayed as shown in the following figure.
8 Click Explore Usage Scenarios and proceed to the next

section of this chapter.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Begin the Narrowcast Server Tutorial 135

Explore usage scenarios

The left half of the page provides a brief overview of
Narrowcast Server and its features and benefits. Links to
sample messages are displayed on the right half of the screen.
To see the samples
1 Click the title of a message to view it. The message opens

in your default e-mail application.
2 Close the message when you have finished viewing it.
One of the examplesSales Analysis with Excel

Workbookhas an attachment in the form of an
Excel workbook. Be sure to open the attachment
and explore.
3 Click Explore Additional Services to see additional

examples.
The services demonstrate how Narrowcast Server can

improve information flow within your business by proactively
delivering information to key decision-makers.
When you have finished looking at the different examples,

close them and click the Home icon in the upper right corner,
to return to the Tutorial Homepage.
136 Explore usage scenarios 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Create Your Own Service

You can create a simple Narrowcast Server service using the
Service Wizard in Narrowcast Administrator. All of the tasks
you are about to perform are also described in detail in the
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server Application Designer
Guide.
Toin this
create your first service, follow the steps provided
section or in the tutorial pages. To conserve
space, the steps in the tutorial pages are a condensed
version of the steps provided here.
To begin creating your first service
1 If you are on the User Homepage, click Create Your Own

Service to open the Create Your Own Service page.
2 Read the introductory information and click the Service

Wizard link to open the Service Wizard.
3 The Service Wizard opens with the Welcome page

displayed. On the Welcome page, you can see the major
tasks through which the wizard guides you:
Delivery Methods
Message Contents
Subscriptions and Schedules
4 Read the Welcome page and click Next on the lower right
corner of the Welcome page, to proceed to the Delivery
Methods page in the Delivery Methods step.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Create Your Own Service 137

Delivery methods
You can select the delivery method for your service. Services
can deliver content by one or more delivery methods
including e-mail, wireless device, and by publishing to the
Subscription Portal.
To select a delivery method
1 Since this is your first service, keep it simple. Select only

the E-mail (SMTP) check box and click Next to proceed to
the E-mail (SMTP) Content page of the Message Contents
step.
E-mail (SMTP) content

You can specify the content of your service for e-mail
subscriptions. When the service runs, the subscribers receive
the content that you specify.
To specify the content for your service
1 Click Edit Subject to define the e-mail message subject of

your service.
2 Replace the text Insert your subject here... with

Congratulations, you have successfully created a
service! This text appears in the subject line of the e-mail
messages generated by this service.
3 Click Return to Service Wizard to save your changes.
4 Click Edit Message Body (HTML) to begin defining the

body of your e-mail service. Delete the text you see in the
message body.
138 Create Your Own Service 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

5 On the Insert menu, point to MicroStrategy Tutorial

(Manager Subscriptions), and then choose
MicroStrategy Grid Report. This opens a browsing
window that allows you to find the report you want to
insert. Navigate to the Public Objects folder, then
Reports, and then select Electronics Revenue vs.
Forecast.
Notice that the report definition displays on the right in

the Report Layout pane.
6 Click Finish to insert this report into your e-mail service.
7 Delete the instructions and click Return to Service

Wizard.
8 Click Next to finish defining the e-mail message contents

for your service and proceed to the Subscriptions and
Schedules page of the Subscriptions and Schedules step.
Subscriptions and schedules

You can specify the subscriptions to your service and define
the schedules on which those subscriptions receive the
service.
To define subscriptions and schedules for the service
1 Click the text Click here to define subscriptions and

preferences... to begin creating a subscription set for
your service.
2 Choose Static Subscription Set and click OK. The Static

Subscription Set Editor opens.
3 In the list on the left of the page, select Welcome E-mail

Address and from the Edit menu, choose Subscribe
Addresses.
4 If a Did you know? dialog box opens, click OK to close it.

A subscription for the selected address displays in the list
on the right.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Create Your Own Service 139

5 Click Save and Close to return to the Service Wizard.
6 Click the text Click here to use an existing schedule...

The Use an existing schedule dialog box opens.
7 Choose Weekday Mornings and click OK. This service

executes in the morning of every weekday.
8 Click Next to proceed to the Service Summary page.
9 Read the service summary information and click Finish to

save your new service and exit the Service Wizard.
Run your first service

You have successfully defined a service with a report in the
message body and Congratulations, you have successfully
created a service! in the subject line. You do not need to wait
until the following weekday morning for your service to run.
You can run your service immediately by clicking the deliver
your service link at the end of the instructions.
To run your first service
1 If you are not on the User Homepage, click the Home icon
in the upper right corner to get there and then click
Create Your Own Delivery Service to open the Create
Your Own Delivery Service page.
2 Click the deliver your service link, located below step 3

of the instructions.
3 You may be prompted to start the system. If you are, click

Yes.
140 Create Your Own Service 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Your service might take a few minutes to execute, depending

on the power of your machine and on the other software that
is running on it. When the service finishes, you have a new
e-mail in the inbox of the e-mail account you specified when
you configured the MicroStrategy Tutorial for Narrowcast
Server.
After you get your message, return to the User Homepage,

click Subscribe Users and proceed to the next section in this
chapter.
Subscribe Users
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server provides a variety of
methods for subscribing users to services. The following
subsections describe these methods in detail.
Deliver via MicroStrategy Web
MicroStrategy Web integrates seamlessly with MicroStrategy

Narrowcast Server to enable easy and inexpensive
information sharing among employees, customers, and
partners.
To learn about this functionality, open the Welcome Screen

(on the Windows Start menu point to Programs, then
MicroStrategy, and then choose Welcome Screen) and click
View Reports in a Web Browser. Log in as User (leave the
password blank), click Deliver Reports and see Deliver
reports starting on page 88.
You may have already done this as part of the

MicroStrategy Web Tutorial in Chapter 4.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Subscribe Users 141

Allow User Self-Subscription
You can subscribe to selected services via Narrowcast Server

Subscription Portal. Subscription Portal allows you to
subscribe to services, make changes to your addresses, define
preferences, and so on.
To use Subscription Portal
1 On the User Homepage, click Subscribe Users.
2 On the Subscribe Users page, click the here link in the

text under Allow User Self-Subscription. The Allow User
Self-Subscription page opens.
3 Read the introductory information on the left of the

screen and click the link to go to the Subscription Portal
homepage (on the left side of the screen).
4 Click the My First Application channel link at the top

right of the screen.
5 Type New User for both the user name and password
(both are case-sensitive; make sure the N and U are
capitalized) and click Login.
6 Create a new subscription. Click Sign up for a Service.

Click New Service to subscribe to the service that you
created earlier. Specify the schedule and e-mail address
for the service and click Next. Click OK to see the delivery
services to which you are subscribed.
7 Change an address. Click Addresses (in the upper right

portion of the screen) at any time to go to the Addresses
page. From here, you can create a new address, modify an
existing address, or delete an unused or unwanted
address.
142 Subscribe Users 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

8 View reports. If you have subscribed to a service that

delivers to the Subscription Portal (currently there are
none), click Reports (in the upper right corner of the
page) to view these reports.
9 When you are finished, click Logout to log out of

Subscription Portal, and then close your Web browser.
Create Users in Narrowcast Server
Administrators can create and subscribe users using

Narrowcast Administrator. You can import user groups from
external sources such as corporate address books or you can
create user groups manually. Refer to Chapter 4 of the
Application Designer Guide for more information about
creating and managing users.
Integrate with External User Sources
If user information already exists in an external source,

Narrowcast Server can retrieve recipient data during service
execution or import recipient data into the Subscription
Book. Refer to Chapter 4 in the Application Designer Guide
for more information about creating and managing users.
When you have finished learning about user subscription,

return to the User Homepage, click Next Steps and proceed
to the next section.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Subscribe Users 143

Next steps
Now that you have learned about the basics of information
delivery using Narrowcast Server, you can explore some
additional features as described in the sections that follow.
From the Next Steps page, you have the following options:
To explore products other than Desktop, close Desktop

and return to the Welcome screen (on the Windows
Start menu, point to Programs, then to
MicroStrategy, and then choose Welcome Screen).
Follow the instructions on the Welcome screen to
access other product tutorials.
To learn more about system administration in

Narrowcast Server, click Explore Narrowcast Server
and skip to the section of the same name in this
chapter.
To locate additional product documentation and

on-line resources pertaining to Narrowcast Server,
click Find Additional Resources and skip to the
section of the same name in this chapter.
To learn how to solve common problems related to

Narrowcast Server, click Solve Common Problems
and skip to the section of the same name in this
chapter.
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server gives you the ability

to deliver reports from multiple MicroStrategy
projects within a single service. You can try this
yourself by creating a service using one report from
the MicroStrategy Tutorial and another from the
Human Resources Analysis Module (HRAM). First,
though, you must configure Narrowcast Server to be
able to use HRAM. To learn how to do this, see the
Narrowcast Server Installation and Configuration
Guide. To learn about HRAM, see View Business
Intelligence Applications starting on page 169. It is
recommended that you complete the entire
recommended evaluation process prior to exploring
the Analytics Modules or business intelligence
applications.

Explore Narrowcast Administrator

You can explore the various functions and features that
Narrowcast Administrator provides for administering
Narrowcast Server systems. Read the information and click
the links provided to explore Narrowcast Administrator.
Changing the system configuration or subscription

information may result in unexpected behavior and
may cause the MicroStrategy Tutorial for Narrowcast
Server to stop functioning correctly. It is strongly
recommended that you do not change any settings or
options you come across while exploring, especially in
the Configuration Wizard and Subscription Book.
For more detailed information about the functionality

provided by Narrowcast Administrator, refer to the
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server documentation (especially
the System Administrator Guide), which is described in the
Next steps section (see Find additional resources starting
on page 145).
Find additional resources

You can learn about the additional resources available to help
you learn more about Narrowcast Server such as:
Narrowcast Server Readme

MicroStrategy corporate website
Narrowcast Server product documentation and help
Click the links on the page to access the different resources.

When you are finished, close Narrowcast Administrator and
proceed to the next chapter, Build a Reporting Application.
If you encounter any problems while using the Narrowcast

Server Tutorial, go to the Tutorial Homepage, click Next
Steps, then click Solve Common Problems and proceed to
the next section in this chapter.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Next steps 145

Solve common problems

This page provides a list of errors you could encounter when
you use the Narrowcast Server Tutorial. Click the links or see
Troubleshooting the Evaluation Edition starting on
page 289 of this guide to get information about how to
resolve the problems.

9
9. BUILD A REPORTING
APPLICATION
Project Builder Tutorial
Introduction
Project Builder is a wizard that provides you with an easy,

step-by-step process for creating a reporting or a business
intelligence application. Using the detailed instructions and
the context-sensitive help within the wizard, you can rapidly
build project prototypes, proof-of-concept tests, and the
foundation for any MicroStrategy project.
Projects are MicroStrategy objects stored in the

metadata that identify different business intelligence
applications. They store the mapping between other
MicroStrategy objects, the MicroStrategy user
community, and the physical data warehouse.
This chapter walks you through the project creation process

using the MicroStrategy Tutorial. After you finish creating a
project with Project Builder, you can learn how to access your
project through Microstrategy Web, MicroStrategy Desktop,
MicroStrategy Office, and Narrowcast Server.

9 Build a Reporting Application Introduction to MicroStrategy
Starting Project Builder

To start Project Builder
Ifinstallation
have already completed step 1, and you can skip to step
2.
1 To open the Welcome screen, on the Windows Start

menu, point to Programs, then MicroStrategy, and then
choose Welcome Screen.
2 Click Build a reporting application. Project Builder

opens with the Welcome page displayed.
3 From the File menu, choose New. The Create a New

Account dialog box opens. While creating a new project
for the first time, you must set up a user who creates and
owns the objects that you create. This user has all the
administrative privileges in your project and can access
any project you create using Project Builder.
You can close Project Builder at any time without

losing the work that you have already done by
clicking the File menu and choosing Exit. Project
Builder automatically saves your work and reopens
the last project you accessed when you use Project
Builder again. You are prompted for the user name
and password that you specify in this step.
4 Type your name, a login, and a password, and the confirm

your password.
148 Starting Project Builder 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Introduction to MicroStrategy Build a Reporting Application 9
5 Click OK. Project Builder initializes a new project, and the

Project Builder Home page opens. On the Home page you
can see the major tasks that Project Builder guides you
through:
My Database
My Business Model
My Reports
6 Click Next (on the bottom right of the Home page) to

proceed to the Overview page in the My Database step.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Starting Project Builder 149

My Database
Project builder allows you to name your project and select the
database that contains your business information. In this
tutorial, you use the tutorial database.
To name your project and select your database
1 Read the Overview page and click Next. The Identify

project page opens.
2 Leave the default project name and description and click

Next. The Define data connection page opens.
3 Identify the location of the data that you want to analyze

with this project. To do this, choose an ODBC data source
name (DSN) that connects your computer to your
database.
A DSN has already been created for the MicroStrategy

Tutorial warehouse. Choose
MicroStrategy_Tutorial_Data from the list.
4 Next, select the type of database platform in which your

data is stored. This lets MicroStrategy generate
platform-optimized queries to extract the data. Choose
Microsoft Access 2000/2002/2003 from the list.
Notice that MicroStrategy supports all the major

relational database platforms.
Since Microsoft Access does not require a user name and
password, leave these two boxes blank.
5 Click Test my data connection to verify the connection

to the warehouse. Click Yes to verify that you want to test
the connection without a password. A dialog box opens
telling you that the test was successful. Click OK to close
the dialog box.
6 Click Next. The Summary page opens. Review the

information and click Next to move to the Overview page
of the My Business Model step.
150 My Database 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

My Business Model
You can identify relationships that define the structure of the
business information in the warehouse. Project Builder uses
this structure to help you analyze the data.
To define your business model
1 Read the Overview page and make sure that you select the
Calculate the number of rows in each table check box.
2 Click Next. The Choose a fact table page opens, where you
can identify the fact table in the warehouse. A fact table is
generally a large table in the data warehouse that contains
detailed quantitative data or facts that you want to
analyze.
3 Since fact tables are usually among the largest tables in

the data warehouse, the tables are shown in size order.
You can change between ascending and descending size
order by clicking the Rows label. You can also sort by
table name by clicking the Name label.
Tosample
help you identify your fact table, click Show
data to see the first 100 rows of the
selected table. To see the structure of the selected
table (column names and data types), click Show
table structure. To return to the Project Builder
page from either dialog box, click Close.
Select the ORDER_DETAIL table and click Next.
4 The Identify metrics page displays a list of the columns in

your chosen fact table. From the Available columns list,
select the columns that you want to use for metrics and
click > to add them to the Metrics list. You can select
multiple metrics by pressing the CTRL key while selecting
metrics. Metrics are analytical calculations based on the
columns you identify from the fact table.
Choose the following columns:
Discount
Qty_Sold
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. My Business Model 151

Unit_Cost
Unit_Price
You can select a metric and click Modify to make some

changes to the metrics such as changing the metric
name, adding a description to the metric, or choosing
another aggregation function (by default, Project
Builder creates all metrics using the SUM aggregation
function). For this tutorial, though, leave everything as
the default.
5 Click Next to move on to the Extend business model page.

On this page, you add the rest of the tables you want to
use in your project and map their columns to metrics,
attributes, and attribute forms.
Attributes represent entities in the business model and

are normally identified by a unique ID column in the
warehouse. Attributes must be distinct and group
elements but not share elements. For example, City might
be an attribute while New York City, Baltimore, and
Boston are elements within that attribute. Attributes
allow you to define the level of aggregation for a
metricsales at the city level, for exampleand can be
used for filtering data and for building reports.
An attribute form describes an attribute, and one
attribute can have many forms. For example, Last Name,
First Name, E-mail, and Address can be forms of a
Customer attribute. Forms are displayed on reports.
Continue creating your project by performing the
following steps:
Select the following tables and click > to add them to
the list of selected tables:
LU_CALL_CTR LU_CATEGORY LU_COUNTRY
LU_CUST_CITY LU_CUST_REGION LU_CUST_STATE

LU_CUSTOMER LU_DAY LU_DIST_CTR
LU_ITEM LU_MONTH LU_ORDER
LU_QUARTER LU_SUBCATEG LU_YEAR
152 My Business Model 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Collapse all the tables (click - next to the table names)

except for LU_DAY and ORDER DETAIL (click + to
expand the ORDER_DETAIL table). Examine the
LU_DAY and ORDER_DETAIL tables. Notice that the
Day attribute is present in both tables, but has a
different name and column name in each tableDay
Date (Day_Date) in the LU_DAY table and Order Date
(Order_Date) in the ORDER_DETAIL table. To tell
Project Builder that these two columns represent the
same attribute in different tablesthe date, in this
caseselect the Day Date attribute in the LU_DAY
table and click Link objects. In the Link Object dialog
box, select the attribute to linkin this case choose
Order Dateand click OK. Notice that attribute
names are now the same, but that the ID columns are
different in each table.
Expand the LU_DIST_CTR table. The Dist Ctr Name

attribute form is assigned to the wrong attribute. This
is because the Dist Ctr attribute has a compound key
(COUNTRY_ID and DIST_CTR_ID) and Project
Builder has no way to know which part of the key the
description is intended to describe. Select the Dist Ctr
Name (DIST_CTR_NAME) attribute form and click
Modify. In the Type details section, change the
attribute to which the form belongs from Country to
Dist Ctr and click OK.
6 Click Next to move on to the Define hierarchies page. On

this page, you group the related attributes that you have
defined into hierarchies. Hierarchies are ordered groups
of attributes that you create to reflect their relationship
with each other, from the most summarized to the most
granular. For example, you might create a hierarchy
called Geography that includes attributes like Country,
Region, State, and City.
To create a new hierarchy, double-click the text in the

Hierarchies list. Project Builder creates a new
hierarchy named Hierarchy.
To rename the hierarchy, double-click the hierarchy
name. In the Hierarchy Properties dialog box, type a
new name and an optional description and click OK.
To add attributes to the highlighted hierarchy, select

the attributes you want to add and click >.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. My Business Model 153

To reorder attributes within a hierarchy, select the

attribute you want to move and click the up and down
arrows as required.
Create four hierarchies as shown in the following figure,

ensuring that the attributes in each hierarchy are in the
order shown below. When you have finished, click Next.
7 The Define compound metrics page lets you create more

sophisticated metrics by using existing metrics, constants,
and arithmetic operators to create calculations. Click Add
to create a new compound metric.
8 In the New Metric page, type a name and optional

description for the metric. To use existing metrics in the
compound metric definition, select the metric you want to
use and click > to add it to the definition. Click the
arithmetic operators and parentheses to add them to the
definition.
Create a compound metric and name it Net Sales with
the following definition:
([Qty Sold] * [Unit Price])
Click Next to create the metric.
154 My Business Model 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

9 Click Next. The Summary page opens.
10 Click Next to move on the next step, My Reports.
My Reports
Project Builder allows you to use the attributes and metrics
you have defined to quickly create various types of reports
based on predefined templates. You can also preview and run
your reports from within Project Builder.
To create reports
1 Read the Overview page and click Next.
2 On the Define reports page, click Add.
3 You can choose from the following report types (a

description of each report type is at the bottom of the New
Report page):
Simple
Pivot Table
Pie Chat
Top Bottom N Analysis
Percentile Bands
Market Basket
Pareto
Segmentation
Benchmarking
Contribution Analysis
This is a just sample listing. You can create different

types of reports through MicroStrategy Desktop.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. My Reports 155

4 Choose Simple for the type of report and click Next. The
New Simple Report page opens, which has the following
sections:
Report description: Displays the report description

as a simple sentence that updates dynamically as you
make selections.
Report parameters: The Template lets you choose the
attributes and metrics that are presented on the
report. The filter lets you choose the elements on
which to focus your analysis. The report shows only
the data that conforms to the criteria that you have
chosen for the filter.
Report preview: Displays an outline of how the data

will be displayed. This updates dynamically as you
make selections.
The layout of this page and the options you see vary
depending on the type of report that you chose to create,
although all of the reports require the same basic
information.
5 For your report, make the following selections and click

Next:
For the metric, choose Net Sales.
For the attribute, choose Category.
For the filter, choose Category.

For the elements, choose Electronics.
6 Name the report My Simple Report and leave the default

description as is.
7 Click Run to run the report. The report displays in a

separate window. Close the window and click Next. Your
report is automatically saved.
8 Click Next.
9 Read the Summary page and click Next.
156 My Reports 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Project Complete
This is the last page of Project Builder. It indicates that you
have successfully built a MicroStrategy project. From here
you have the following options:
If you have MicroStrategy Desktop installed, you can click
MicroStrategy Desktop to run your report and explore
your project in MicroStrategy Desktop.
If you have MicroStrategy Web installed, you can click

MicroStrategy Web to run your report and explore your
project in MicroStrategy Web.
If you have MicroStrategy Office installed, you can use it

to run your report and explore your project in Microsoft
Office products such as Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
Further instructions for viewing the report in each

product are provided on the Project Builder page.
To continue with the tutorial as described in the rest of this

chapter, click MicroStrategy Desktop and proceed to the
exercises in the next section.
Project Builder remains open in the background. However,

you can close it to free up resources on your computer.
When you are finished with this tutorial, you can try
building another application using data from the
Human Resources Analysis Module (HRAM). The
ODBC DSN for this database is HRAM_WH_AC. To learn
about HRAM, see View Business Intelligence
Applications starting on page 169. It is recommended
that you complete the entire recommended evaluation
process prior to exploring the Analytics Modules or
business intelligence applications.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Project Complete 157


Exercises
In the previous sections, you created a simple project and
report in Project Builder using the tutorial data. The exercises
in this section explain how to manipulate that report using
the rest of the MicroStrategy products. You can run the report
in MicroStrategy Desktop, MicroStrategy Web, and
MicroStrategy Office, and create a MicroStrategy Narrowcast
Server service based on the report.
Access your report in MicroStrategy Desktop

You do not have to do any additional work to see your project
in MicroStrategy Desktop; all you need to do is log in and
locate your project. The following steps explain how to do
this.
To access your report through MicroStrategy Desktop
1 Open MicroStrategy Desktop (on the Windows Start

menu, point to Programs, then to MicroStrategy, then to
Desktop, and then choose MicroStrategy Desktop).
2 Log in using the login ID and password for the account

you created when you first started Project Builder.
3 If the Folder List is not displayed, choose Folder List

from the View menu to open it.
4 Expand My First Project, which is located under the

MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit (Direct) project source.
5 Expand the Public Objects folder and then select the

Reports folder. The report you created in Project Builder
is stored in this folder, and you can see it on the right side
of the screen. Double-click the report to run it.
158 Exercises 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Access your report in MicroStrategy Web

Before you can access your project in MicroStrategy Web, you
must first make sure that your project is registered with
Intelligence Server.
To register your project
1 Click MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit (not

MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit [Direct]) to log in to the
MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit project source using the
Administrator login with a blank password.

3 Under the MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit project

source (the one you just logged in to), select the
Administration icon.
4 On the Administration menu, point to Projects, and then

choose Select Projects. The Intelligence Server
Configuration Editor opens with the Projects - General
section displayed.
5 Make sure the My First Project check box is selected and

click OK.
6 Now your project displays in the list of projects for the

Intelligence Server project source.
7 When you are finished, close MicroStrategy Desktop.
Now that your project is registered, make sure that

MicroStrategy Web can connect to the Intelligence Server.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Access your report in MicroStrategy Web 159

To connect MicroStrategy Web to the Intelligence Server
1 Make sure your Web server is running. For instructions,

see Troubleshooting the Evaluation Edition starting on
page 289.
2 On the Windows Start menu, point to Programs, then to

MicroStrategy, then to Web, and then choose Web
Administrator).
3 In the text box labeled Add a server manually, type the

name of your machine and click Connect. The server
name is added to the list of connected servers.
4 Click MicroStrategy Web Home (near the top of the

page). The MicroStrategy Web Home page opens
displaying a list of projects.
5 Click the name of the project you created in Project

Builder, My First Project. The Login page opens.
6 Type the user name and password for the account you
created when you first started Project Builder and click
Login.
7 Click Shared Reports to locate your report. Click the

report name to execute it.
160 Access your report in MicroStrategy Web 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Access your report using Microsoft Office

products
MicroStrategy Office allows you to integrate MicroStrategy
functionality with Microsoft Office products like Excel,
PowerPoint, and Word. This section walks you through the
steps required to integrate with Microsoft Excel, but the steps
are nearly identical for PowerPoint and Word.
To access your report in Microsoft Excel, open an empty

workbook and then add your report to a worksheet using
To access your report in Excel
1 Open a new Microsoft Excel workbook.
IfthetheView
3 In the Connect to MicroStrategy dialog box, type the user

name and password for the account you created when you
first started Project Builder and click Get Projects.
4 In the list of available projects, select the project you

createdMy First Projectand click OK.
5 In the project browsing window, click Shared Reports

and select the report you created. Right-click the report
and choose Run Report.

formattingin the Excel worksheet.
ToMicrosoft
access your report using Microsoft PowerPoint or
Word, follow the above procedure except
open a blank Microsoft PowerPoint presentation or
blank Microsoft Word document in step 1.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Access your report using Microsoft Office products 161
Create a Narrowcast Server service for your

report
Before you can create a service from your project, you must
first register your project with Narrowcast Server.
To register your project with Narrowcast Server
1 To open Narrowcast Administrator, on the Windows Start

menu, point to Programs, the to MicroStrategy, then to
Narrowcast Server, then choose Narrowcast
Administrator).
2 You cannot register a project while the system is running.

On the System menu, point to Tutorial System, and then
choose Stop System. If the system is running, it stops.
(This may take a few minutes. If it is already stopped, a
dialog box opens telling you so.)
3 On the System menu, point to Tutorial System and then

choose Edit System Configuration. The System
Configuration Wizard opens.
4 On the top of the page, click Configure Sources. The

Specify Project page opens.
5 Expand the Servers Available on the Network icon to

see a list of available Intelligence Servers.
6 Locate your machine and expand it. The Connect to

Intelligence Server dialog box opens.
7 Type the login ID and password for the account you

created when you first started Project Builder and click
OK. You see a list of projects available from the
Intelligence Server.
8 Expand your Project Builder project (My First Project)

and select the Enable report delivery from Narrowcast
Server and Web option.
162 Create a Narrowcast Server service for your report 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.
9 Select all three check boxes and click Next. The project is
now available as an information source for Narrowcast
Server.
10 Close the System Configuration Wizard to return to

Narrowcast Administrator.
To define a new Narrowcast Server service with the simple

report you created in Project Builder
1 If it is not already opened, open Narrowcast

Administrator (on the Windows Start menu, point to
Programs, then to MicroStrategy, then to Narrowcast
Server, then choose Narrowcast Administrator).
2 If it is not already connected, connect to the tutorial

system by clicking click here to connect to Tutorial
System.

4 In the Folder List, expand the Tutorial System and the

Applications icons.
5 In the Folder List, select the My First Application folder.
6 On the Edit menu, point to New, and then choose Service

(Wizard) to open the Service Wizard. The Service Wizard
opens with the Welcome page displayed.
7 The Service Wizard opens with the Welcome page

displayed. On the Welcome page, you see the major tasks
that the wizard guides you through:
Delivery Methods
Message Contents
Subscriptions and Schedules
8 Read the Welcome page and click Next (on the bottom
right of the Welcome page) to proceed to the Delivery
Methods page in the Delivery Methods step.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Create a Narrowcast Server service for your report 163
Delivery methods
You can select the delivery method for your service. Services
can deliver content by one or more delivery methods
including e-mail, wireless device, and by publishing to the
Subscription Portal.
To select a delivery method
1 Select the E-mail (SMTP) and Web (Portal) check boxes

and click Next to proceed to the E-mail (SMTP) Content
page of the Message Contents step.
Message contents
You can specify the content of your service for e-mail
subscriptions.
To specify the content for your service
1 Click Define Subject to define the e-mail message subject

of your service.
2 Replace the text Insert your subject here... with My

simple report service and click Return to Service
Wizard. This text appears in the subject line of the e-mail
messages generated by this service.
3 Click Define Message Body (HTML) to define the body

of your e-mail service.
4 In the Select Type dialog box, select the Create a new

Narrowcast Server document option and click OK.
5 Replace the text Insert your Message Body (HTML) here...

with Simple report:.
6 Position the cursor at the end of the line of text that you
typed, and press ENTER to insert a new line after the
message text.
7 On the Insert menu, point to My Evaluation Project on

server name, and then choose MicroStrategy Grid
Report. This opens a browsing interface that allows you to
find the report you want to insert.
8 Double-click the Public Objects folder and then

double-click the Reports folder to locate your report.
9 Select your report (My Simple Report), click Finish to

insert this report into your e-mail service, and then click
Return to Service Wizard.

for your service and proceed to the Web (Portal) Content
page.
11 Click Define Document body. Select the Create a new

Narrowcast Server document option, choose HTML
Content, and click OK.
12 Replace the text Insert your Attachments body here... with

Here is My Simple Report:.
13 Position the cursor at the end of the line of text that you
typed, and press ENTER to insert a new line after the
message text.
14 On the Insert menu, point to My Evaluation Project on

server name, and then choose MicroStrategy Grid
Report. This opens a browsing interface that allows you to
find the report you want to insert.
15 Double-click the Public Objects folder and then

double-click the Reports folder to locate your report.
16 Select your report (My Simple Report), click Finish to

insert this report into your e-mail service, and then click
Return to Service Wizard.

for your service and proceed to the Subscriptions and
Schedules page of the Subscriptions and Schedules step.
Subscriptions and schedules

You can specify the subscriptions to your service and define
the schedules on which those subscriptions receive the
service.
To define subscriptions and schedules for the service
1 Click the text Click here to define subscriptions and

preferences... to begin creating a subscription set for
your service.
2 Choose Static Subscription Set and click OK. The Static

Subscription Set Editor opens.
3 In the list on the left of the screen, select Welcome E-mail

Address, and from the Edit menu, choose Subscribe
Addresses.
4 If a Did you know? dialog box opens, click OK to close it.

A subscription for the selected address displays in the list
on the right.
5 Click Save and Close to return to the Service Wizard.
6 Click the text Click here to use an existing schedule...

The Use an existing schedule dialog box opens.
7 Choose the Sunday Morning schedule and click OK. This

service executes once a week on Sunday mornings.
8 Click Next to proceed to the Service Summary page.
9 Read the service summary information and click Finish to

exit the Service Wizard and save your new service.
10 In the Save Service dialog box, name your service My

Simple Report Service and save it in the My First
Application folder.
Run your service and view it in Subscription Portal

You have successfully defined a service with a report in the
message body and the subscribers first name (your first
name) in the subject.
To run your service now
1 Locate the service you just saved (My Simple Report

Service) by using the object browser interface in
Narrowcast Administrator. It should be in the My First
Application folder under Applications.
2 Select your service. Then, from the Edit menu, select Run
Immediately. If your system is not running yet, you are
prompted to start it. Click Yes to start your system and
allow the service to run.
When the service finishes, you have a new e-mail in the inbox
of the e-mail account you specified when you configured the
MicroStrategy Tutorial for Narrowcast Server.
To view your service in Subscription Portal
1 Go to the Subscription Portal site by typing the following

URL into your Web browser:
http://localhost/NarrowcastServer/
login.asp
2 On the Login page, type New User for both the user name
and password (these are case-sensitive; make sure the N
and U are capitalized) and click Login.
3 Now you see two channels, My First Application and

MicroStrategy Tutorial for Narrowcast Server. Click the
My First Application channel and then select Sign up for
a Service.
4 Click your service to subscribe to it. Leave the default

options and click Next to proceed.
5 Click OK to see your subscriptions. The service for which

you just signed up is listed in the Deliveries section. On
Sunday morning, you will automatically receive the
simple report you created in Project Builder in your
e-mail.
6 Click the Reports link. On the left side of the page you see
your service listed in the Reports list. Once the service
executes, you will also be able to come here to see the
report.
10
VIEW BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
10.
APPLICATIONS
Introduction
The Analytics Modules or business intelligence applications

are a set of packaged analytic components built using the
MicroStrategy platform. The modules are designed to be
mapped directly to your existing data warehouse as opposed
to being hard-coded to a vendor-provided data model and
data warehouse. You can also use the Analytics Modules as
starter kits to begin developing your own custom analytic
applications.
MicroStrategy currently provides Analytics Modules for

customer analysis, financial reporting, human resources,
sales analysis, sales and distribution, and Web traffic
analysis. All the Analytics Modules are part of a product
bundle called the MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit. The
MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit is a unique software bundle
for rapid application development that provides you with an
ideal analytical framework to jump start your application
initiative. It consists of MicroStrategy Desktop,
MicroStrategy Architect, and the Analytics Modules. Each
module comes with a sample data model and a collection of
packaged reports that allow dozens of analytical variations.

10 View Business Intelligence Applications Introduction to MicroStrategy
This chapter walks you through a tutorial for accessing the

Analytics Modules. To view them in a Web browser see View
reports in a Web browser starting on page 171. To view them
in a Windows interface, see View reports in a Windows
interface starting on page 174.
Itrecommended
is recommended that you complete the entire
evaluation process prior to exploring
applications.
Explore the Human Resources Analysis Module

MicroStrategys Human Resources Analysis Module
(HRAM), built using the MicroStrategy platform, provides
the power, scalability, and sophistication to analyze human
resources data on all summary and detail aspects. The
module ships with a sample data model and a collection of
packaged reports that allow dozens of analytical variations.
HRAM, which queries HR data optimized for OLAP reporting

and analysis, is deployed on top of your existing HR
management system. From HRAM, you can extract reports
that can replace those typically produced manually directly
from the HR management systems. However, you can also
obtain additional numerous business reports that allow
managers at all levels to focus on the performance of their
employees, drill down to an individual employee detail level,
view trends, and extract intelligence not otherwise evident.
The module can be easily modified and extended to meet

additional reporting and data requirements. Summary and
detailed reports are broken into areas such as:
Attrition Reports
Compensation
Departures, Transfers, and New Hires
Employee Expenses
Employee History and Detail
Headcount Reports and Organizational Structure
170 Explore the Human Resources Analysis Module 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.
Introduction to MicroStrategy View Business Intelligence Applications 10
To view detailed descriptions of reports in HRAM, download

the report screen shots and white paper from the following
Web location:
Applications/HRAM/
View reports in a Web browser

Because the products within the MicroStrategy platform are
seamlessly integrated, you can explore the Human Resource
Analysis Module as an end user using either MicroStrategy
Desktop or MicroStrategy Web.
This section describes how to use MicroStrategy Web to

explore the Human Resources Analysis Module. To learn
about using the analysis module in MicroStrategy Desktop,
see View reports in a Windows interface starting on
page 174 of this chapter.
To access HRAM using MicroStrategy Web
1 Return to the Welcome screen. If the Welcome screen is

not open, you can open it from the Windows Start menu.
Point to Programs, then MicroStrategy, and then choose
Welcome Screen.
2 On the Welcome screen, click View business

intelligence applications. MicroStrategy Web opens.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Explore the Human Resources Analysis Module 171
3 You are prompted to log in. Use the User login with a
blank password and click Login. The User Homepage
displays as shown in the following image.
4 To access the Human Resources Analysis Module, click

Human Resources Analysis Module. The HRAM User
Homepage (see the following image) displays as shown in
the following image.

category. To run a document or report, click it.
Explore other Analytics Modules in a Web browser

After you have finished viewing the reports in the Human
Resources Analysis Module, you can explore the remaining
Analytics Modules in a Web browser.
To explore other Analytics Modules in a Web browser
1 To return to the User Homepage, click the My Reports

link and select BIDK User Homepage.
2 Click the name of an Analytics Module to see the reports

contained in that module.
3 To run a document or report, click it.
4 To return to the User Homepage of the Analytics Module

you are currently exploring, click the My Reports link at
the top of the screen, and then select the User Homepage
for the particular Analytics Module.
Tobusiness
access the other Analytics Modules, click the View
intelligence applications link. You return
to the User Homepage that lists the various Analytics
Modules.
View reports in a Windows interface

You have now explored the business intelligence applications
using MicroStrategy Web. Now, explore them using
To access HRAM using MicroStrategy Desktop
1 From the Start menu, select Programs, then

MicroStrategy, and then click Desktop. Log in as User
with a blank password.
2 If it is not displayed, open the Folder List by selecting

Folder List from the View menu.
3 From the Folder List, double-click the Human

Resources Analysis Module project to open the HRAM
User Homepage (see the following image).
4 Click Human Resources Analysis Module on the User

Homepage. Different types of Human Resources reports
and documents are displayed in separate sections (see the
following image).
Iftheyouupper
want to close the Folder List, click the X icon in
right corner of the Folder List pane.
5 To run a document or report, click the document or

reports link. Be sure to close each document or report
when you finish using it. You do not need to save any
changes, so click No if prompted.
To explore additional reports in the areas of Attrition

Analysis, Recruitment Analysis, or Compensation
Analysis, click the More reports... link at the bottom of
the appropriate section.
To view additional areas of analysis, click More Areas of

Analysis at the bottom of the HRAM User Homepage.
To return to the HRAM User Homepage, double-click the

Human Resources Analysis Module project from the
Folder List. Click Human Resources Analysis Module to
open the HRAM User Homepage.
To show or hide the Folder List, from the View menu,

choose Folder List.
Explore other Analytics Modules in a Windows interface

After you have finished viewing the reports for the Human
Resources Analysis Module, you can explore the remaining
Analytics Modules in a Windows interface.
To explore other Analytics Modules in a Windows interface
1 To return to the User Homepage, double-click the Human

Resources Analysis Module project from the Folder
List.
2 Click the name of an Analytics Module to see the reports

contained in that module.
3 To run a document or report, click it.
4 To access the other Analytics Modules, return to the User

Homepage. Select the name of an Analytics Module to see
the reports contained in that module.
Next Steps
If you have worked through all of the chapters and tutorials in
this book, you should know enough about the different
products in the MicroStrategy platform to use them all for
accessing HRAM.
Itrecommended
is strongly recommended that you complete the
evaluation process prior to exploring
applications with other MicroStrategy products.
In addition, the next section, Explore additional Analytics

Modules, explains how to load all of the Analytics Modules. If
you load all of them, you have several projects with which to
experiment: a collection of Analytics Modules; the
MicroStrategy Tutorial; My First Project, which is essentially
empty except for the objects you created as part of the Project
Builder tutorial; and the Enterprise Manager Demo.
Enterprise Manager allows you to analyze

MicroStrategy system performance and usage. See the
System Administration Guide for more information
about Enterprise Manager.
Explore additional Analytics Modules

So far we have seen only those Analytics Modules that were
accessible from the User Homepage. Here, we will access
additional Analytics Modules by registering them with the
MicroStrategy Intelligence Server.
To register additional Analytics Modules with Intelligence

Server
1 Right-click the MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit project

source and choose Disconnect from Project Source.
You are logged out of the project source.
2 Expand the MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit project

source. You are prompted to log in again. This time, use
the Administrator login with a blank password and click
OK.
3 On the Administration menu, point to Projects and then

choose Register Projects. The Server Configuration
Editor opens with the Projects: General category
displayed.
4 In the list of available projects, select the check box next

to each project that you want to use and click OK.
Intelligence Server loads the projects you selected.
This can take a few minutes depending on your

hardware configuration.
5 When the Desktop display refreshes, the project you

selected are available for use. Expand a project to explore
its contents and run reports and documents.
To run reports in any of the additional Analytics Modules
1 Expand any of the Analysis Modules.
2 Expand the Public Objects folder and then the Reports

folder.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Explore additional Analytics Modules 179

3 Expand the areas of analysis for each module, and

double-click any report to execute it.
The following sections provide information about the other

Analytics Modules.
Customer Analysis Module

The Customer Analysis Module focuses on customer-centric
information and includes the following areas of analysis:
Segmentation reports provide you with the ability to

analyze customer segments based on demographic,
psychographic, geographic, and profitability profiles.
Profitability and cross-sell reports provide insight on

trends in customer profitability, product preferences,
contributions, and affinities of products to be sold
together. These reports identify your most profitable
customers, what they are buying, and which products sell
well together.
Acquisition, retention, and attrition reports focus on

understanding customer churn and its impact on overall
revenue and profitability. These reports provide insight
on trends and profiles of customers being lost, acquired,
and retained.
To learn more, go to the following Web location:
Applications/CAM/
180 Explore additional Analytics Modules 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Financial Reporting Analysis Module

The Financial Reporting Analysis Module provides the
power, scalability, and sophistication to analyze summary
and detail level financial data.
The Financial Reporting Analysis Module, which queries

financial data optimized for OLAP reporting and analysis, is
designed to be built on top of your existing financial
accounting system. From the Financial Reporting Analysis
Module, you can extract GAAP-compliant reports directly
from the accounting system and replace those typically
produced manually by finance or accounting departments.
You can also obtain numerous additional business reports
that allow managers at all levels to focus on the performance
of their organization, drill down to a transactional detail
level, view trends, and extract intelligence not otherwise
evident.
The module can be easily modified and extended to meet

additional reporting and data requirements. Summary and
detailed reports are broken into the following areas of
analysis:
accounts payable and accounts receivable
balance sheet
cash flow reporting
costs/expenses
forecasts
invoiced sales
organization and accounting structure
profit and loss statements
Applications/FRAM/

Sales Force Analysis Module

The Sales Force Analysis Module focuses on information
captured during the sales process. This includes data from
sales force automation systems, point of sale systems, and
sales operations systems. The following areas of analysis are
covered in the Sales Force Analysis Module:
Leads analysis reports provide insight into sales lead

generation, lead qualification, and lead conversion. These
reports identify the most popular sources for leads and
the characteristics of leads with the highest return on
investment (ROI).
Pipeline analysis reports provide insight into all open

opportunities and deals in your sales pipeline. These
reports measure the current status of your sales pipeline,
detect changing trends and key events, and identify
opportunities for closing deals faster.
Product sales analysis reports provide insight into trends

in product sales across your sales organization and
customer base. These reports identify product sales
momentum and the role of various products in key sales
cycles.
Sales performance analysis reports provide insight into
the current and historical performance of your sales
organization. These reports identify problems and
potential problems in your sales organization so that you
can take timely corrective action.
Applications/SAM/

Sales and Distribution Analysis Module

MicroStrategys Sales and Distribution Analysis Module, built
on the MicroStrategy platform, provides power, scalability,
and sophistication to analyze and gain insight into your
mission critical sales and distribution process.
MicroStrategys Sales and Distribution Analysis Module

provides insight into the main processes of sales and
distribution, including customer inquiries for specific
products or material, quotation generation for customers,
order transaction processing, and order delivery.
The Sales and Distribution Analysis Module has been

designed so that you can incorporate the packaged analytics
directly against data coming from your ERP systems, such as
SAP, PeopleSoft, and JD Edwards. The module can be easily
modified and extended to meet additional reporting and data
requirements. The module provides both summary and
detailed reports classified into five main areas of analysis that
are aligned with the various stages of the Sales and
Distribution process. The areas of analysis are:
inquiry analysis
quotation analysis
sales order analysis
delivery analysis
sales and delivery service analysis
Applications/SDAM/

Web Traffic Analysis Module

The Web Traffic Analysis Module provides in-depth analysis
of website information captured by Sane Solutions Web data
collection technology and includes the following areas of
analysis:
Web traffic highlight reports provide insight on trends on

page views, visitors, and the number of visits across your
website.
Web visitor analysis reports provide detailed insight on

the behavioral trends of both registered and anonymous
Web visitors. These reports identify what is attracting
visitors and customers, the success rates of converting
visitors to friends and friends to customers, and the
causes of customer and visitor defection.
Web content analysis reports provide insight that allows
you to optimize your static and dynamic website content
to improve attraction, conversion, and retention of online
visitors.
Applications/WTAM/

Benefits of Analytics Modules

The Analytics Modules are the industrys first packaged
reports that are not hard-coded to a predefined warehouse
schema. You can deploy the packaged analytic components
against the data warehouse of your choice without breaking
the analytic components. Thus, the Analytics Modules are the
first portable analytics in the business intelligence industry.
The Analytics Modules greatly reduce the time and cost of

developing and deploying analytic applications.
Implementing portable analytics ensures your reports are
always safe from future changes to the data warehouse and
that your reports evolve with your organizations needs.
Analytics Modules components

Each module contains a MicroStrategy application metadata,
default data model and a reference guide.
MicroStrategy application metadata: The Analytics
Modules come with database files of the application
metadata. MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit also includes a
utility that allows you to migrate the metadata to a
supported database platform of your choice.
Default data model and warehouse schema: The Analytics

Modules come with a default data model and warehouse
schema. As discussed earlier, the reports are designed to
be ported from the default warehouse schema to any
warehouse of your choosing. The MicroStrategy BI
Developer Kit includes all the components required for
the porting process.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Benefits of Analytics Modules 185

Documentation: The documentation explains the

components of the Analytics Modules, making it easier for
you to use, customize, extend, and port the packaged
reports and metrics. This documentation includes
detailed descriptions of analysis areas in each module,

the purpose and use of each report, and a glossary for
key business concepts and metrics
all business dimensions, attributes, their

relationships, and facts in the data model described in
detail to facilitate gap analysis
the data dictionary of the default physical schema,
which enables you to use, customize, and extend the
default schema if you use it for your application
You must purchase the MicroStrategy BI Developer

Kit to access the documentation.
Next steps
For the production version of the Analytics Modules, you
need to purchase the MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit. This kit
allows you to configure the Analytics Modules to a production
environment and includes detailed documentation on the
metadata, data model, and installation.

11
11. NEXT STEPS
Introduction
This chapter directs you to other product documentation

resources to help you start creating sophisticated applications
using the MicroStrategy platform. In addition, there is a
section that provides high-level steps to help you begin
creating documents on your own.

11 Next Steps Introduction to MicroStrategy
Enhancing your project

Though this manual has taken you through most of the
fundamental features of the MicroStrategy platform, there is
a universe of additional functionality to discover. The
following table lists some ways in which you might want to
further enhance your project. It also provides a pointer to the
MicroStrategy manuals that can help you accomplish these
tasks. All of the manuals are provided in PDF format on the
MicroStrategy CD. You must have installed the MicroStrategy
platform to access the product documentation.
To Learn How To: Use This Manual:
Add new facts, attributes, and Advanced Reporting Guide

hierarchies to your project
Modify existing facts, attributes, Advanced Reporting Guide

and hierarchies
Create sophisticated reports and Advanced Reporting Guide

metrics
Create and maintain a security System Administration Guide

architecture including users,
groups, security roles, and security
filters
Create schedules System Administration Guide
Monitor the MicroStrategy system System Administration Guide
Format and manipulate reports Basic Reporting Guide and

Advanced Reporting Guide
Use MicroStrategy Office with MicroStrategy Office online help

other Microsoft Office applications
Upgrade an existing MicroStrategy Upgrade Guide

system to the current
MicroStrategy platform
Create more sophisticated Application Designer Guide

Narrowcast services
Create and manage MicroStrategy Application Designer Guide

Narrowcast Server subscriptions
188 Enhancing your project 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Introduction to MicroStrategy Next Steps 11
To Learn How To: Use This Manual:
Create and maintain a Application Designer Guide

subscription portal
Create boardroom quality Document Creation Guide

documents using MicroStrategy
Report Services functionality
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Enhancing your project 189

Creating documents
Report Services is an available extension to MicroStrategy
Intelligence Server that delivers the most flexible report
layout, with drag-and-drop simplicity, and provides
comprehensive formatting capabilities to MicroStrategy
Desktop users. MicroStrategy Desktop Designers can build
pixel-perfect documents such as scorecards and dashboards,
operational reports, invoices and statements, managed
metrics reports, and more. These documents can be
distributed to MicroStrategy Web, MicroStrategy Office,
MicroStrategy Desktop, and MicroStrategy Narrowcast
Server users.
In this section, you will create a boardroom presentation

quality document using an existing report as a dataset from
MicroStrategy Tutorial. Before starting on this document
creation example, refer to the MicroStrategy Document
Creation Guide to familiarize yourself with the fundamentals
of MicroStrategy documents.
190 Creating documents 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

The Regional Profit and Margins report, shown below, is

available in Public Objects/Reports/Financial Reports.
Using this report as a dataset, the following sections walk you

through the process to create a fairly simple, formatted
documentRegional Profit and Marginsthat looks like the
following figure.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Creating documents 191

Getting started with the Document Wizard

The Document Wizard provides an easy way to create a basic
document you can use as a starting point. Once you have the
basic document, you can use the Document Editor to further
refine the documents definition, formatting, and layout to
create a sophisticated, visually pleasing, boardroom-quality
document. The following steps walk you through the
Document Wizard.
To create a document using the Document Wizard
1 Documents are created in MicroStrategy Desktop so, to

get started, the first thing you must do is open
MicroStrategy Desktop (on the Windows Start menu,
point to Programs, then MicroStrategy, then Desktop,
and then choose Desktop).
2 Log in to the MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit project

source using the login ID User. Leave the password blank
and click OK.

3 Expand the MicroStrategy Tutorial project, then expand

My Personal Objects, and then select My Objects. This
is where you can create your document.
4 On the File menu, point to New and then choose

Document. The New Document dialog box opens. Select
Document Wizard and click OK.
5 The Document Wizard opens displaying the Welcome

page, which explains the process through which the
wizard guides you. Click Next to begin.
6 The first thing you must do is specify the object to be used

as the source for the documents data; this is typically a
report. Click ... to browse for the report to be used. Locate
and select the Regional Profit and Margins report (in
Public Objects/Reports/Financial Reports) and click
Select. In the Document title box, type Regional Profit
and Margins and then click Next.
7 On the Select fields for the document page, click >> to

move all the objects into the Selected fields list and click
Next. This determines the objects to be used in the
document initially, but you can always add or remove
objects later using the Document Editor.
8 On the Select how the document is grouped page, select

Region and click > to move it to the right side of the page.
Select Year and click > again. Region should be above
Year in the Selected fields view. Use the up and down
arrows to change the order if necessary. This determines
how the data is grouped in the document. In this case,
data is grouped first by Region, and then by Year within
each region. When you are finished, click Next.
9 Leave the default selections on the Specify group sorting

page and click Next.
10 On the Select a template for the document's layout page,

select Stepped in the list of Available layouts. Then select
the Portrait orientation option and click Next. This
determines the general layout to be used as a starting
point. Later you learn to modify the layout of the
document using the Document Editor.

11 On the Select the document's formatting Autostyle page,

select the Tutorial Sample Autostyle and click Finish.
12 The document is created and displays in the Document

Editor with all your selections appearing in the
appropriate sections as shown in the following figure.
The layout and formatting options such as colored sections

and text characteristics are already applied as a result of the
layout and autostyle you selected.
The next section describes how you can further refine the
documents definition using the Document Editor.

Using the Document Editor

Now that you have a basic document to work with, you can
use the Document Editor to refine the documents definition.
The following steps describe some of the things you can do
with the Document Editor, but there is much more that is
beyond the scope of this guide. For complete details about
document layout and design, refer to the MicroStrategy
Document Creation Guide.
To enhance the documents design using the Document Editor
1 First, look at how the document will look when it is

viewed as a PDF. To do this, from the View menu, choose
PDF. The document opens in Acrobat Reader and you can
see how it will look when others view the document. Go
back to the Design view by choosing Design from the
View menu.
2 From the File menu, choose Save to save the document.

You can name it anything you like, but for this tutorial,
call it Regional Profit and Margins, the same name as
the report being used as the data source for the document.
It is not a problem to save both the report and document
with the same name in the same folder; you can identify
them by their different icons and object types.
3 Navigate to the My Objects folder, which is in the My

Personal Object folder and save the document there.
4 Now format the document title and add a description for

the document below the title. Click the title Regional
Profit and Margins so the text box gets highlighted
(indicated by tiny red squares), and drag and drop the text
field from the center to the top left corner. Then click the
red square on the bottom right of the text box and drag it
to expand the size of the text field so you can see the entire
title.

5 Now add a description below the title as described in the

following steps:
To make room for the description in the Document

Header, click and drag the horizontal section divider
below the Regional Profit and Margins field.
From the Insert menu, choose Text. Using your

mouse, click and drag to create a text box below the
title. In this empty text box, type the following
description:
This product and operational report shows Profit and

Profit Margins at a yearly level for each call center.
Financial data is available for the years 2002 and
2003. The information provided is first grouped by
Region and then by Year.
Click in the white space outside of the text box. Extend

the right side of the text box by clicking the red square
on the right side and dragging it to the 6-inch mark.
Extend the bottom of the text box by clicking the red

square on the bottom and dragging it until you see all
of the text.
If necessary, select the text box and position it on the

left side of the document and directly below the title.
To modify the font, select the description text box and

from the Format menu, choose Format. In the Format
Objects dialog box, select the Font tab, choose the
Trebuchet MS font, and click OK.
Your document header should now look like the following
figure.
6 From the View menu, choose PDF to view your progress.

Notice that the headers Region, Year, Call Center, Profit
and Profit Margin are not centered in the teal-colored
horizontal bar. Go back to the Design view by choosing
Design from the View menu.

7 To move all the headers upwards at the same time, hold

the CTRL key and click each header field until all of them
are selected. Drag the headings up so they are aligned
with the horizontal section divider as shown in the
following figure.
8 Now add a horizontal line in the Region Header section so

that the region is displayed above the horizontal line,
which serves as a separator. From the Insert menu, select
Line. Using your mouse, drag and create a horizontal line
below the {Region} text box. Make this line span the
entire document by selecting 100% for the Length Mode
in the Property List.
9 Now change the formatting for the way the years are
displayed so they are differentiated from the rest of the
values. The following steps explain how you can do this by
placing the Year values in a colored, horizontal rectangle.
From the Insert menu, choose Rectangle.
In the Year Header section, click and drag to create a

rectangle directly on top of the {Year} text box (in the
Year header) and extending all the way to the right
edge of the document.
With this rectangle selected, in the Property List select

Backcolor. Click ... to open the Color dialog box.
Choose a light orange color and click OK.
The filled rectangle now hides the {Year} text box. You
can change the order of display by sending the
rectangle to the back and bringing the {Year} text box
in the front. To do this, select the rectangle, and on the
Format menu, point to Order and then choose Send
to Back.
Now select the {Year} text box and change the font
color to white. Right-click the text box, point to Font
Color, and choose the white color.


Your document should like the following figure. Go back
to the Design view by choosing Design from the View
menu.
11 Now add page numbers to the document in the format

Page x of y where x is the number for the current page
and y is the total number of pages.
If the Page Footer section is collapsed, expand it by

clicking the + icon next to the Page Footer section.
Create a text box in the Page Footer section that spans
the width of the document. In the text box, begin by
typing Page. Then, from the Insert menu, point to
Auto Text and choose Page Number. The auto text
code {&PAGE} is inserted. Continue by typing a space
after the auto text code, then of, and then insert the
Total Pages auto text code.
Select the text box and in the Text section of the
Properties List, choose Center for the Horizontal
Alignment to center the page footer.


Notice that information for the South region is split
between two pages as shown in the following figure. You
can prevent this by specifying that the groups must always
be together. To fix this, return to Design view by choosing
Design from the View menu.
13 In the Grouping section at the top of the document,

right-click Region and choose Grouping Properties.
Select the Keep group together option and click OK.
14 Now when you view your document as a PDF, you can see
that all the information for the Central region is kept
together on the second page of the document.
Now that you know the basics of document creation, you are
ready to learn how to create more sophisticated documents.
To learn more about documents, refer to the MicroStrategy
Document Creation Guide.


12
INFORMATION FOR SIS, VARS,
12.
AND OEMS
Customizing and Embedding
MicroStrategy Functionality
Introduction
Many MicroStrategy customers want the power and

sophistication of the MicroStrategy platform but have specific
requirements that require a customized solution. For
example, you may want to create an application that is
consistent with your corporate standards, or you may want to
embed MicroStrategy functionality into your existing
systems. You may even want to build and resell
MicroStrategy-based products or applications suited to
particular industries. All of these types of customizations are
possible using the MicroStrategy Software Development Kit
(SDK).
This chapter introduces you to the MicroStrategy SDK

and describes what you can do with it. The SDK is not
provided with the Evaluation Edition. If you would
like to evaluate the SDK, contact your MicroStrategy
Account Executive or e-mail MicroStrategy directly at
info@microstrategy.com.

12 Information for SIs, VARs, and OEMs Introduction to MicroStrategy
Overview
The MicroStrategy SDK is a comprehensive development
toolkit that allows you to incorporate query, reporting, and
analysis capabilities into your own applications. It contains
open application programming interface (API): complete
set of MicroStrategy APIs that serve as the building blocks
for the MicroStrategy platform
documentation: printed and online documentation,

reference guides, and education courses for SDK
developers
development tools: sample application code using a

variety of different technologies and standards,
administration tools, and project maintenance utilities
features for embedding and packaging MicroStrategy

business intelligence technology into other applications
The MicroStrategy SDK includes the following APIs:
MicroStrategy Intelligence Server API: The client-server

API used for Windows-based (Component Object Model,
or COM) 32-bit client-server applications running against
MicroStrategy Web API: The API is a multi-layered

architecture that offers a series of Java-based APIs
together with MicroStrategy Custom HTML Tags that
offer both J2EE tag libraries and ASP.NET Web controls
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server API: includes the
Narrowcast Server API and the Subscription Portal API
MicroStrategy Office API Reference: A .NET API that is

used by MicroStrategy Office available to C# and VB.NET
developers for report and uses Microsoft Web Services
202 Overview 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Introduction to MicroStrategy Information for SIs, VARs, and OEMs 12
SDK usage scenarios

With the MicroStrategy SDK, you can
create a completely personalized business intelligence

solution that caters to your business standards and
requirements and integrate the solution into your existing
IT infrastructure
expose MicroStrategy functionality within any new or

existing interface (which you can customize) of your
choosinge-mail, wireless, Web, and so on
build applications and products using best-in-class

business intelligence technology that you can resell to
your customers
Any application that provides reporting or data analysis to

the end users can benefit from the MicroStrategy SDK.
Examples include Web portals, ERP systems, CRM
applications, sales force automation tools, B2B supply chain
applications, and any information delivery system. These
applications can be used in various industry verticals,
including retail, financial services, telecommunications,
health care, and manufacturing. In addition, the SDK offers
Web Services integration and extensibility, providing more
opportunities for customization.
The following list describes some examples of SDK usage

scenarios:
Basic Web customization

change logo and graphics for look and feel
modify the existing Web style and architecture to suit

the current corporate needs
Enterprise application integration
integrate MicroStrategy Web reports into existing

corporate portals
integrate database-driven reports with non-structured

data
integrate with current security system
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Overview 203

allow mobile Internet users to subscribe to

information services
display data on mobile device (XML to WML) and

proactively distribute data on alert basis
create dashboard User Interface to represent data
build advanced project and system administration

functionality
Platform integration
integrate ROLAP engine with WebSphere services
integrate platform that supports AIX and MQ-Series
Embedding new applications
build a new analytical backbone (such as a Web-based

click stream analysis product) based on MicroStrategy
code and then package it for selling
204 Overview 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

The MicroStrategy APIs

The following subsections describe the various MicroStrategy
APIs that are available to you.
Intelligence Server API

The foundation of the SDK is the Intelligence Server API,
which can access many aspects of application modeling and
development, including
data warehouse modeling and schema creation
object creation and management
report execution
result set manipulation
application administration and monitoring
security
The Intelligence Server API is written in C++ and has the

following features:
fully thread-safe
object-oriented, with thousands of documented methods

and properties
COM-compliant: developers can use any COM-compliant
language (such as C++, VB, VBA, or Delphi) to develop
their applications and make calls to the Intelligence
Server API
This API is typically used to build 32-bit, Windows-based

applications or utilities that run on top of the MicroStrategy
Intelligence Server. If you want, you can even build a
customized Intelligence Server with this API.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. The MicroStrategy APIs 205

Web API
The Web API is used to build new and customize existing
Web applications that work with the MicroStrategy
Intelligence Server to provide Web-based reporting
functionality and analysis.
The architecture of MicroStrategy Web products is open and

highly customizable. All the pieces of MicroStrategy Web
products are structured as components with highly
specialized functionality that is exposed through object
interfaces. Since the architecture is built on the themes of
componentization and application-independence, all objects
can be reused as building blocks for a customized application.
MicroStrategy Web products Page Configuration file and

Style Catalog Configuration file help facilitate application
customizations. The Page Configuration file is an XML file
that defines the framework for the entire MicroStrategy Web
application. It is responsible for defining the structure for
every page in the application. For each page, it defines the
page's name, sections, shortcuts, Web components, styles,
and so on. The Style Catalog Configuration file defines the
transforms and styles for the entire application. Together, the
Page Configuration file and Style Catalog Configuration file
provide a streamlined method of customizing your
applications.
Using the Web API, you can develop Web applications (JSP
as well as ASP.NET front-ends) to run in a UNIX or a
Windows environment. It supports a variety of operating
systems and Web servers such as Sun Solaris, IBM AIX,
Websphere, iPlanet, IIS, and Apache.
The functions Web API provides include
connection and clustering management
user authentication
object browsing
report execution
scheduling
206 The MicroStrategy APIs 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

report manipulation
prompting
When a user makes a request from the JSP or ASP.NET

interface, the request is sent to the custom application, which
generates an XML representation of the request and passes it
to MicroStrategy Intelligence Server, where it is queued and
executed like any other client request.
Narrowcast Server API

The Narrowcast Server API, installed with MicroStrategy
Narrowcast Server, exposes the functionality of
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server. It consists of the following
related APIs:
Narrowcast Server API: A COM-based API that exposes

the content generation, formatting, and delivery
functionality
Subscription API: A Java-based API that exposes the

subscription functionality
You can use the Narrowcast Server API to build, for example,
a new Information Source Module to allow Narrowcast
Server to access and deliver content from a proprietary
system. You can also use it to customize the formatting
component of MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server to deliver
content to a new type of pager. A possible use of the
Subscription API is to develop custom Web applications that
allow users to subscribe to Narrowcast Server services from a
corporate Web page, rather than through the Narrowcast
Server out-of-the-box Subscription Portal.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. The MicroStrategy APIs 207

Documentation
The comprehensive MicroStrategy APIs are supplemented by
extensive documentation to help you efficiently build
applications. There are thousands of pages of documentation
about the various methods and properties in the APIs. The
documentation includes the following:
MicroStrategy Developer Library
The MicroStrategy Developer Library is available

in versions 7.3.0 and later. It provides a single,
integrated, online interface for accessing all
MicroStrategy SDK- and API-related
documentation.
SDK for Intelligence Server and Web Developer Guide:

Common Functions
SDK for Intelligence Server Developer Guide: Extended

Functions
SDK for Web Developer Guide: Web Application

Development (for COM Web API)
JavaDocs for Java Web API
JavaDocs for Java Web Objects API
Developer Reference (for client-server COM API)
XML Reference
Narrowcast Server SDK Guide
208 Documentation 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Development tools
MicroStrategy provides development tools in a variety of
formats, such as sample code, utilities, and Web objects.
Sample code is available in the following languages:
Java
Visual Basic
VBA
C++
ASP.NET
In addition, the Portal Integration Kit is another valuable

resource provided with the SDK. The Portal Integration Kit is
a set of sample code and documentation that serves as a
starting point for integrating your MicroStrategy Web
product with your enterprise portal.
In terms of security, the MicroStrategy SDK provides the

External Security Plug-In. It may be desirable to authenticate
a user against a non-MicroStrategy source if your
organization already has an authentication system in place.
This is particularly common in corporate portals where the
objective is to integrate disparate applications with a single
sign-on. MicroStrategy Web products provide the flexibility
of using an External Security Plug-in that integrates your
security mechanism and policies into the application without
having to modify any of the original source code. The
External Security Plug-in enforces security through
authentication and authorization techniques.
The MicroStrategy SDK also comes with several utilities you

can use immediately to assist in either the development
process or other environments. For example, the XML
Converter utility helps you to analyze the XML used in the
Web API.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Development tools 209

Embedding and packaging tools

The MicroStrategy SDK has simple silent installation and
run-time procedures designed to help embed and package
MicroStrategy SDK in any custom installation program.
Summary
The MicroStrategy SDK provides a comprehensive set of APIs
and documentation support to build applications that can
range from very simple to very complex. For example, you
can create a simple application that logs into a project,
browses the metadata, and executes a report using only four
different API calls. The entire MicroStrategy platform was
built on top of the MicroStrategy SDK, using the full range of
over 3200 methods and properties. The wide range of
features and functionality available in the MicroStrategy
platformproject creation, report execution and
manipulation, SQL generation, iterative analysis,
administrative functionality, personalization, proactive
information delivery, security, failover, and morepresents
the ultimate testament to the power and functionality of the
MicroStrategy SDK.
210 Embedding and packaging tools 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

A
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND
A.
THE MICROSTRATEGY
PLATFORM
Introduction
This appendix provides some general information about

trends in the business intelligence market and describes the
architecture of MicroStrategy 8Industrial-Strength
Business Intelligence. It shows how the platform meets the
needs of modern business intelligence applications. It has the
following sections:
Introduction to business intelligence
MicroStrategy product overview
MicroStrategy product technical architecture

A Business Intelligence and the MicroStrategy Platform Introduction to MicroStrategy
Introduction to business intelligence

Business intelligence (BI) is the insight gained from your
business intelligence system. It allows you to fully leverage
your data warehouse investment to facilitate informed
decisions that benefit your business and your customers.
Many companies are using their data warehouse to make

mission-critical decisions. The following paragraphs describe
just two of the many success stories using the MicroStrategy
platform.
Leading national bank

Before using a business intelligence system, a leading bank
was unable to determine which of its 16 million customers
were most valuable. To solve this common business problem,
the company spent four weeks building reports against their
27-terabyte data warehouse. With the insight gained from
these reports, they have more than doubled responses to their
direct mail campaigns. They expect over $100 million in
returns.
Vehicle fleet management service

One of the worlds largest vehicle fleet management
companies collects information on fuel usage, maintenance
histories, and accident reports. The company needed to
simplify billing procedures and remind drivers about
maintenance procedures like oil changes and tune-ups. With
their business intelligence system, the company created a
paperless billing system and started sending personalized
messages to drivers to remind them about scheduled
maintenance. The reduction in paperwork alone has already
saved the fleet management service almost $5 million.
212 Introduction to business intelligence 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Introduction to MicroStrategy Business Intelligence and the MicroStrategy Platform A
Other business intelligence applications

Companies have discovered limitless ways in which BI
applications can help them run their businesses more
efficiently. To show what other companies are doing, the
following table lists some of the more common BI
applications:
Category Application
customer relationship customer segmentation

management
customer profitability
supply chain management inventory analysis
trade fund analysis
asset management capital budgeting
HR allocations
vendor performance analysis service level agreement
charge-back analysis
financial analysis P&L reporting
profitability analysis
sales performance analysis market basket analysis
store/geographic analysis
risk analysis risk management
fraud detection
operations analysis Web traffic analysis
compliance reporting
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Introduction to business intelligence 213

Business intelligence trends

Current trends in information technology (IT), specifically in
business intelligence, affect your system requirements.
Companies are placing heavy emphasis on how their business
intelligence products meet the following challenges:
data and user proliferation
integration with other applications and the ability to

customize to suit your personal business needs
increased reliance on Internet-based applications
The following subsections describe how MicroStrategy meets

all of these challenges.
Data and user proliferation
As time passes, both the data warehouse and the number of

users on the system grows. The data warehouse grows
because new days or months of data are added or because
new sources of data are added. With many companies, the
data warehouse quickly reaches the multi-terabyte size. This
is especially true for companies interested in analyzing Web
logs, which generate massive amounts of data every day. The
diagram below shows a few of the potential sources of data
feeding into a data warehouse.

The number of users using the system also grows. Although

the initial users of a business intelligence system may be
within one department, more departments may be added.
Sales people or managers across the country or the world may
be added. Suppliers may be added. Even customers or
consumers may be given access to the system.
To fully realize the potential of the data warehouse, a

business intelligence platform must have a scalable
architecture, one that can handle the addition of data and
users without affecting performance or quality of reporting.
Integration and customizability
Two major requirements for a BI platform are that the

platform be complete and that it be an integrated system of
products that provide a full range of functionality.
In addition, a platform should be extensible. It requires an

open interface and the use of common software standards to
enable easy customization and integration with existing
applications. MicroStrategy 8Industrial-Strength Business
Intelligenceis built using and is designed to use many
industry standards and technologies, including

ANSI SQL 89 and 92
COM
ODBC
XML and XSL
HTML and DHTML
CSS
OLE DB for OLAP (ODBO)
MDX
Java, C++, and Visual Basic
.NET
Web Services
Increased reliance on the Internet
As the number of users increases, it becomes less likely that a

client/server application can meet all users needs. A
well-built application available over the Web or via pager,
e-mail, or PDA can provide a huge advantage to a company
that needs to distribute information to geographically diverse
populations, to individuals outside of the corporationsuch
as suppliers and customersor even to people without ready
computer access.
For a Web application to satisfy its many users, the business

intelligence platform must meet several requirements:
support for hundreds or even thousands of users over the

Internet
fast performance for reports
rich functionality for running, formatting, and

manipulating sophisticated reports
compatibility with almost any browser
rapid deployment over the Internet
easy integration with existing corporate websites

Summary
Many companies already have some pieces of the BI puzzle in

place, and a well-constructed BI platform easily fits in with
your existing IT infrastructure. The following diagram shows
how the different layers of IT technology fit together to form a
complete BI framework.
Business Intelligence Technology Stack

Packaged BI
Applications
BI Platform
Data Warehouses
& Data Marts
Extract / Transform /
Load (ETL)
Operational
Systems
Operational systems collect and store business data.

These systems usually are databases or mainframes, and
the data they store typically is limited to recent or current
data.
ETL software combines, cleanses, and moves data from
the different operational systems to an integrated data
warehouse.
The data warehouse is a relational database that stores a

long-term history of data, usually two to five years or
more.

The BI platform is where applications are created to

analyze and manipulate the data in the data warehouse.
The BI platform requirements described in the previous
sections are necessary for a well-architected, complete BI
solution.
BI applications used to analyze the data are constructed

using the BI platform. Business analysts are fast to reap
the benefits from creating their applications with the
MicroStrategy platform, starting with the many prebuilt
analytics available from MicroStrategy in diverse areas
such as customer, sales, financial, human resources, or
Web traffic analysis. For more information about the
prebuilt analytics that MicroStrategy offers, see View
Business Intelligence Applications starting on page 169.
MicroStrategy designed and built its MicroStrategy platform

from the ground up with the goal of easy Internet
accessibility, rapid deployment, fast responses to report
requests, and sophisticated analysis and reporting
functionality. The following diagram shows the rich set of
business intelligence functionality that the MicroStrategy
platform provides.

MicroStrategy product overview

The following diagram shows the various products that make
up MicroStrategy 8Industrial-Strength Business
Intelligence. The subsections that follow briefly describe each
product. There is a more technically detailed discussion of the
MicroStrategy architecture later in this appendix.

MicroStrategy Intelligence Server is the architectural
foundation of the MicroStrategy platform that ensures the
scalability and fault tolerance required for sophisticated
analysis of terabyte databases and deployments to millions of
users. MicroStrategy Intelligence Server is specifically
optimized for all major relational databases and contains the
load distribution, prioritization, and system tuning
capabilities required for large-scale implementations. It also
handles all communication with the relational data
warehouse.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. MicroStrategy product overview 219

Report Services is an available extension to MicroStrategy

Intelligence Server that delivers the most flexible report
layout, with drag-and-drop simplicity, and provides
comprehensive formatting capabilities to MicroStrategy
Desktop users. Desktop Designers can build pixel-perfect
documents such as scorecards and dashboards, operational
reports, invoices and statements, managed metrics reports,
and more. These documents can be distributed to
MicroStrategy Web, Desktop, and Narrowcast Server users.
OLAP Services is another available extension to

MicroStrategy Intelligence Server that allows MicroStrategy
Web and Desktop users to manipulate Intelligent Cubes.
End users can add or remove report objects, add derived
metrics, and modify the filterall with speed of thought
response time using Intelligent Cubes. OLAP Services enables
full multi-dimensional OLAP analysis within Intelligent
Cubes, while retaining users ability to seamlessly drill
through to the full breadth and depth of the data warehouse.
An additional Intelligence Server option is clustering, which

lets you join multiple individual servers together without any
additional software or hardware components. Built-in
failover support ensures that if a server experiences a
hardware failure, the remaining MicroStrategy Intelligence
Servers pick up the failed jobs.

MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server proactively distributes
personalized information to employees, business partners,
and customers through a variety of devices, including mobile
phones, PDAs, e-mail, Web pages, and pagers. The
distribution of personalized messages and targeted offers is
triggered according to predefined schedules and exception
criteria, delivering information in a timely and convenient
manner. MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server also provides a
self-subscription portal, easing administrative
responsibilities and empowering information consumers to
choose the information they receive. Narrowcast Server can
draw information from relational or non-relational sources.
220 MicroStrategy product overview 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

MicroStrategy Desktop
MicroStrategy Desktop is the business intelligence software
component that provides integrated query and reporting,
powerful analytics, and decision support workflow on the
personal computing desktop. It provides a wide variety of
features for online analysis of data. Reports are easy to create
and can be viewed in various presentation formats, polished
into production reports, distributed to other users, and
extended through a host of ad hoc features including drilling,
pivoting, and data slicing. The interface itself is customizable
to different users skill levels and security profiles.
MicroStrategy Desktop comes in the following versions:
Desktop Designer: Full-featured version for power

analysts and application developers. With a full range of
analytical functionality, a rich function library, and
intelligent workflow, Desktop Designer is well suited for
both report developers and power users.
Desktop Analyst: Simplified version providing the basic

interactive functionality required by managers.
For details about the specific features that each version

includes, review the feature comparison chart at
Products/Desktop/feature_comparison.asp
MicroStrategy Web and MicroStrategy Web Universal

MicroStrategy Web is a powerful and user-friendly
environment for interactive analysis. A full set of data
surfing, drilling, and reporting development capabilities
enable stream-of-consciousness navigation. Boardroom
quality reports can be generated using a wide range of
charting and formatting options.

MicroStrategy Web Universal is a version of MicroStrategy

Web that provides Web-based query and reporting from a
platform independent architecture. MicroStrategy Web
Universal runs on Windows or UNIX operating systems and
on a variety of application servers including IBM
WebSphere, BEA WebLogic, Sun ONE, Oracle, and
Apache Tomcat.
All functionality for MicroStrategy Web and MicroStrategy

Web Universal is exposed via a J2EE compliant Web API.
Application logic is packaged in Java Beans for easy
integration of MicroStrategys business intelligence
functionality into websites, portals, and other applications.
MicroStrategy Web and MicroStrategy Web Universal come

in the following versions:
Web Professional or Web Universal Professional:

Full-featured version lets you create Intelligent Cubes and
reports for user consumption. Full reporting, ad hoc, and
OLAP capabilities are integrated with seamless ROLAP
analyses.
Web Analyst or Web Universal Analyst: Simplified
version provides ad hoc analysis from Intelligent Cubes
with interactive OLAP.
Web Reporter or Web Universal Reporter: Enterprise

reporting version allows you to view scheduled reports
and interactively analyze data, with printing, exporting,
and e-mail subscription to reports.
For details about the specific features that each version

includes, review the feature comparison chart at
Products/Web/feature_comparison.asp

MicroStrategy Office
MicroStrategy Office brings business intelligence to the
Microsoft Office productivity suite. With simple, one-click
access to corporate data, MicroStrategy Office users can run
any report from within Excel, Word, and PowerPoint for
visually pleasing reports in a familiar environment.
MicroStrategy Office also offers simple, one-click bulk refresh
that repopulates multiple reports within one Office file.
MicroStrategy Office, just like all of MicroStrategy's
integrated user interfaces, inherits all the platform benefits
such as security, prompting, centralized metadata, scalability.
MicroStrategy Office provides access to MicroStrategy

business intelligence functionality through Microsoft Excel.
The following table summarizes how the above is achieved.
MicroStrategy Office
MicroStrategy Office supports the

following Microsoft Office
productsExcel, Word and
PowerPoint as interfaces.
MicroStrategy Office browses and

runs reports defined in a
MicroStrategy project.
MicroStrategy Office uses Web

Services to request and display
MicroStrategy reports in Microsoft
Office products.
Microsoft Office Integration uses

standard worksheets and tables as
well as Pivot Tables/Charts.
MicroStrategy Architect
MicroStrategy Architect is a rapid development environment
for business intelligence systems. The information-mapping
module separates underlying information structures from
applications, providing flexibility.

MicroStrategy Administrator
MicroStrategy Administrator is a comprehensive
management environment. Usage patterns and trend
analysis facilitate performance tuning and resource planning.
User and object management capabilities provide a
structured process for developing systems from deployment
to production environments.
MicroStrategy SDK
MicroStrategy SDK creates an open architecture that enables
developers to integrate, extend, and fully exploit the power of
the MicroStrategy platform through a set of rich APIs that
fully expose all platform functionality. Businesses can
leverage this powerful development environment to rapidly
deploy custom applications and embed intelligence into any
website. For more information about customizing and
embedding MicroStrategy functionality see Information for
SIs, VARs, and OEMs starting on page 201.
MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit

The MicroStrategy BI Developer Kit (not shown in the
diagram) is a unique software bundle for rapid application
development. The bundle consists of
Analytics Modules

The Analytics Modules are analytical starter kits designed to

speed up development of analytics on the MicroStrategy
platform. The modules can also serve to evaluate the
MicroStrategy platform more easily on the example of
real-life business reports. The starter kits are equipped with a
sample data model and numerous reports and analytics in
areas such as customer, sales, financial, human resources, or
Web traffic analysis. The modules are architected to be easily
extendable and adaptable, thereby providing rapid return on
investment and time to value.
For more information about the Analytics Modules, see View

Business Intelligence Applications starting on page 169.
MicroStrategy technical architecture

With all of the requirements of an enterprise class business
intelligence system in mind, MicroStrategy has produced a
tightly integrated platform solution written in C++ and Java
with Visual Basic, J2EE and .NET interfaces. There are two
front end layersone built using JSP, the other using
ASP.NET which provides the flexibility to run on either
UNIX or Windows operating systems. The platform uses a
COM-compliant, parallel processing architecture that
conveys the ability to reallocate processor and computing
resources based on the nature of the current reporting load.
COM is a Microsoft standard software architecture that

allows applications and systems to be built from different
components. COM components are
built using interoperability standards
programming language-independent
available on different operating systems
easy to troubleshoot
easy to upgrade
As you have already learned, the MicroStrategy platform

consists of ten tightly integrated products, shown in the
following diagram, which provide the following functionality:
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. MicroStrategy technical architecture 225

report servers
interactive reporting and analysis
information delivery and alerting
design and administration
database writeback
integration with other applications
Design & Interactive Reporting & Info Delivery &

Administration Analysis Alerting
Wireless,
HTML Excel, Word E-Mail
Portals Desktop Excel / HTML
Portals,
Browser PowerPoint Printers
Office
Web SDK
SDK
Web & Services Narrowcast
Web Universal Server
Administrator
SDK - Open APIs
OLAP Report
Services Intelligence Server Services
Architect Optimized
Non- relational
Multi- pass SQL
Data Stores
Metadata
Excel
Relational Data Warehouses Text
Flat files
Oracle Teradata
DB2 Informix
SQL Server Nonstop SQL
Sybase Netezza
226 MicroStrategy technical architecture 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Data layer
The business intelligence system rests atop a data layer as
highlighted in the following diagram.

Wireless,
HTML Excel, Word E- Mail
Portals,
Office
Web SDK
SDK
Administrator
SDK - Open APIs
OLAP Report
Architect Optimized
Non- relational
Multi- pass SQL
Data Stores
Metadata
Excel
Flat files
Oracle Teradata
DB2 Informix
Sybase Netezza
This layer includes the following systems or databases:
metadata repository
relational data warehouse(s)
non-relational data stores
OLTP systems
Web systems
The metadata repository contains information used by all the

MicroStrategy products to operate. The rest of the data layer
consists of different systems, which contain data that can be
passed to clients in MicroStrategy reports or delivery
services. The platform can also write data back to these
systems, enabling what-if analysis and closed-loop
transactions.
Also, MicroStrategy was the first to provide Query Tonea

concept similar to a dial tone, where data is available at your
fingertips, anytime and anywhere. With Query Tone,
MicroStrategy users can perform advanced analysis and
high-performance queries to get exactly the information they
need, where they need it, to improve performance across the
enterprise.

Report servers
MicroStrategy Intelligence Server and MicroStrategy
Narrowcast Server (highlighted in the center and right-center
of the diagram below) are the primary report servers,
providing on-demand interactive reports and scheduled or
triggered proactive reports to users in a variety of formats
and interfaces.
Wireless,
Portals,
Office
Web SDK
SDK
Administrator
SDK - Open APIs
OLAP Report
Architect Optimized
Non- relational
Multi- pass SQL
Data Stores
Metadata
Excel
Flat files
Oracle Teradata
DB2 Informix
Sybase Netezza
Interactive reporting and analysis

The interactive reporting and analysis interfaces (highlighted
in the upper left of the architecture diagram) allow users to
perform on-demand reporting and data manipulation.
Interactive Reporting
&
Design& Info Delivery&
Analysis
Administration Alerting
Wireless,
Portals,
Office
SDK
SDK Web
Web& Services Narrowcast
Administrator
SDK- Open APIs
OLAP Report
Architect Optimized
Non- relational
Multi- pass SQL
Data Stores
Metadata
Excel
Flat files
Oracle Teradata
DB2 Informix
Sybase Netezza

The interactive interfaces include standard and customized

solutions, and are accessible through either a Web browser or
a client/server interface. The following table shows the
options:
Interface Web browser

Client/Server environment
type environment
Standard MicroStrategy Web MicroStrategy Desktop

Interface MicroStrategy Office
Customized Custom Web Custom Windows application
Interface interface Custom Microsoft Office
Web portal application
The Web browser applications such as MicroStrategy Web

and MicroStrategy Web Universal access the MicroStrategy
reporting functionality and the MicroStrategy Intelligence
Server through a Web server, highlighted in the center right
of the architecture diagram below.

Wireless,
Portals,
Office
Web SDK
SDK
Administrator
SDK - Open APIs
OLAP Report
Architect Optimized
Non- relational
Multi- pass SQL
Data Stores
Metadata
Excel
Flat files
Oracle Teradata
DB2 Informix
Sybase Netezza
Users of the Microsoft Office productivity suite can browse

and run all MicroStrategy reports from within Excel, Word,
and PowerPoint with simple, one-click access to corporate
data through MicroStrategy Office.

Information delivery and alerting

The proactive information delivery and alerting interfaces
(highlighted in the upper right of the architecture diagram
below) allow users to receive proactive information delivery
services, delivered on a schedule or only when a certain
condition is triggered.

Wireless,
Portals,
Office
Web SDK
SDK
Administrator
SDK - Open APIs
OLAP Report
Architect Optimized
Non- relational
Multi- pass SQL
Data Stores
Metadata
Excel
Flat files
Oracle Teradata
DB2 Informix
Sybase Netezza
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server sends the delivery services

to the medium of the recipients choice, including the
following:
wireless devices (PDA, for example)
e-mail (text or HTML messages, with attachments such as

Excel spreadsheets)
Web-based information portals
printers
file systems

Design and administration

The MicroStrategy business intelligence platform comes with
design and administration products (highlighted on the left
side of the architecture diagram) below to hasten project
development and to enable fast, simple, and centralized
administration.

Wireless,
Portals,
Office
SDK
SDK Web
Administrator
SDK - Open APIs
OLAP Report
Architect Optimized
Non- relational
Multi- pass SQL
Data Stores
Metadata
Excel
Flat files
Oracle Teradata
DB2 Informix
Sybase Netezza
MicroStrategy Architect is a design and development product

that enables the project developer to quickly and easily
develop MicroStrategy projects. MicroStrategy Administrator
enables centralized administration, project management,
script-based administration, and trend analysis for the
MicroStrategy business intelligence system.
Integration and customization

Integration with existing systems and the ability to build
customized applications is possible through the
MicroStrategy Software Development Kit, and the set of open
APIs and supporting API documentation that come with
every MicroStrategy product (represented by the gray bands
around the various MicroStrategy products).
Each of the MicroStrategy products are built using the

MicroStrategy SDK and APIs, and the products can be
customized, extended, and integrated with other products
using the SDK and APIs.


B
B. MICROSTRATEGY TUTORIAL
Introduction
This appendix provides information on the MicroStrategy

Tutorial, including the data model and physical warehouse
schema.
What is the MicroStrategy Tutorial?

The MicroStrategy Tutorial is a MicroStrategy project
(metadata and warehouse are included) and a set of
demonstration applications designed to illustrate the rich
functionality of the MicroStrategy platform.
A project is the highest-level intersection of a data

warehouse, metadata repository, and user community.
Conceptually, the project is simply the environment in which
all related reporting is done. A typical project contains
reports, filters, metrics, and functions. You create the
projects that users access to run reports.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. What is the MicroStrategy Tutorial? 233

B MicroStrategy Tutorial Introduction to MicroStrategy
The theme of the MicroStrategy Tutorial project is a retail

store for the 2002-2003 time period that sells electronics,
books, movies, and music. The key features include
Five hierarchies: Customer, Geography, Products,

Promotions, and Time. Each hierarchy can be viewed
graphically through MicroStrategy Desktop and the Web
(through documents).
10,000 customers and 400,000 items purchased.
Six reporting areas: Enterprise Reporting Documents,

Human Resources, Inventory, Financial, Product Sales,
Supplier.
Options to create reports from MicroStrategy Web or
MicroStrategy Desktop focusing on a particular analysis
area, such as Customer, Inventory, Time, Products,
Category, Employee, or Call Center.
MicroStrategy Tutorial reporting areas
As noted above, the analysis areas are grouped into six

categories that illustrate the various types of business
analysis possible with the MicroStrategy platform:
Enterprise Reporting Documents: This folder contains

various examples of the different types of standard
enterprise reporting documents, such as scorecards and
dashboards, managed metrics reports, production and
operational reports, invoices and statements, and
business reports.
Financial: Reports in this folder contains information

based on time, geography, and products, such as Regional
and Quarterly Profit Margins.
The Financial Reports represent the types of financial
reports used in any business. These reports include profit
and loss information, company forecasts, and margin
reports. These reports give executives, general managers,
and operations managers immediate access to financial
data so that they can quickly analyze trends and key
performance indicators. They ensure that all
decision-makers have access to a single repository of
financial information, so executives can be sure that
234 What is the MicroStrategy Tutorial? 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Introduction to MicroStrategy MicroStrategy Tutorial B
departments are all working from the same set of facts.

Decision-makers are able to determine immediately the
profitability of categories, departments, districts, and
business units. Individual managers are able to determine
their own performance against budget plan and standard
business performance metrics. Furthermore,
decision-makers can get timely reports on key metrics,
uncover opportunities to raise revenue and lower costs,
track changes in operational costs, analyze categories and
business units, and compare actual performance against
budget.
Human Resources: Reports containing information on
employees; headcount, birthdays, length of employment,
top five employees by revenue. These reports are based on
employees, time, geography, and sales.
The Human Resources Reports provide insight into

human capital so that managers can boost the efficiency
and effectiveness of their employees. Human Resource
Representatives can highlight under-performing
employees and misallocated headcount. Managers at all
levels can focus on the performance of their people, drill
down to an individual employee detail level, view trends,
and extract intelligence not otherwise evident.
Inventory: Reports containing information based on

supplier, product, cost, and profit, such as Inventory and
Unit Sales, or Inventory Received from Suppliers by
Quarter.
The Inventory Reports track inventory information within

the company and through to suppliers. Essentially, these
reports show how many units of an item are on hand, how
many are expected from a particular supplier, and how
many units have been sold. Inventory reports are used to
ensure that the supply chain is as efficient as possible.
Using these reports, employees can analyze trends and
details, quickly adjust inventory and distribution, and
understand underlying supply chain costs and
inefficiencies.
Product Sales: Reports that allow for market basket
analysis, such as Sales by Region, Revenue over Time, and
Yearly Revenue Growth by Customer Region.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. What is the MicroStrategy Tutorial? 235

The Product Sales Reports allow managers and analysts to

monitor and analyze sales trends, track corporate revenue
goals, compare store-to-store performance, and respond
more quickly and accurately to feedback from the
marketplace. In turn, executives can analyze sales trends
and details, quickly adjust pricing and promotions,
identify product affinities, key profit centers, and
understand costs and revenue trends.
Supplier: Reports containing supplier, sales, profit, and

revenue information, such as Brand Sales by Supplier,
Supplier Sell-Through Percentage, and Units Sold and
Profit by Supplier.
The Supplier Reports allow managers and analysts to
monitor and analyze vendor performance so that they can
quickly identify performance problems. These reports
track brands and items sold that came from a particular
vendor. They also correlate profit and revenue
information with particular suppliers so that relationships
with key vendors can be strengthened.
These reports are located in the Reports folder of the

MicroStrategy Tutorial project.
Once the areas of analysis are determined, a data model is

created.
The MicroStrategy Tutorial data model

A logical data model graphically depicts the flow and
structure of data in a business environment. It provides a way
of organizing facts so that they can be analyzed from different
business perspectives. For example, a simple logical data
model for a retail company might organize all necessary facts
by store, product, and timethree common business
perspectives typically associated with retail business.
For more detailed information about data modeling, see

Introduction to Data Modeling starting on page 257 in this
guide or to the data modeling appendixes in the Advanced
Reporting Guide or Basic Reporting Guide.
236 The MicroStrategy Tutorial data model 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

For the purpose of the MicroStrategy Tutorial, the areas of

analysis discussed earlier, Financial, Product Sales, Human
Resources, and so on, are organized into the following
hierarchical groupings:
geography
products
customers
time
promotions
These MicroStrategy Tutorial hierarchies are displayed on

the following pages for your reference.
Data modeling notations
The following notations are used in the graphical depictions

of the following hierarchies:
Symbol Indicates Definition
entry point An entry point is a shortcut to an attribute element in the Data Explorer.
Creating an entry point grants you faster access to the attribute without
having to browse through multiple attributes to reach different levels of
the hierarchy.
attribute A data level defined by the system architect and associated with one or
more columns in the data warehouse lookup table. Attributes include
data classifications like Region, Order, Customer, Age, Item, City, and
Year. They provide a handle for aggregating and filtering at a given
level.
one-to-many An attribute relationship in which every element of a parent attribute

relationship relates to multiple elements of a child attribute, while every element of
the child attribute relates to only one element of the parent. The
one-to-many attribute relationship is the most common in data models.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. The MicroStrategy Tutorial data model 237

Geography hierarchy
The Geography hierarchy in the MicroStrategy Tutorial
contains attributes such as Country and Region, as well as
Distribution Center, Call Center, and employee-specific
attributes. It might be easy to understand why Country and
Region are in the Geography hierarchy, but what about
Distribution Center, Call Center, and the employee-related
attributes?
The data used in the MicroStrategy Tutorial is based on a

fictitious company that sells electronics, movies, music, and
books. The company does not have physical stores; it does
business from catalog and Web sales. Customers review the
products in a printed or online catalog and call in their order
over the phone. The order is processed by an employee
located at a call center and fulfilled by a distribution center
that sends the order via one of the shippers.
The Geography hierarchy contains the following attributes.
Attribute Description Example
Country Countries where the company does or hopes to do business in USA, Spain, France
the future. Also, Countries where employees work.
Region Each country is split into Regions. Central, Northeast,

Southwest
Call Center Where product phone-in orders are taken. Each Call Center is Atlanta, Boston,
located in a different city. Charleston
Distribution The location where product orders are sent out to customers. Miami, New Orleans,
Center Currently, each is located in the same city as the Call Center it Fargo
services.
Manager Person responsible for a specific Call Center Peter Rose, Alice
Cooper
Employee The number of years an employee has worked for the 3, 5, 6

Experience organization
Hire Date The date on which a particular employee was hired 2/16/03, 3/15/03
Salary The amount of money an employee makes per year 24,000, 35,000
Employee The age of each employee 29, 36, 52

Age

Employee The date on which each employee was born 5/6/56, 1/1/77
Birth Date
Employee The lowest level in the Geography hierarchy, representing the Jennifer Lee, Laura
individual responsible for each order placed Kelly
Refer to the graphic below to see how all these attributes are
organized into the MicroStrategy Tutorial Geography
hierarchy.

Products hierarchy
The products hierarchy contains attributes such as category,
brand, catalog, and supplier. It should be noted that the
attributes Transaction, Warranty, and Discontinued Code are
not part of the main data modelthese are extra attributes
that were introduced to support the MicroStrategy
Narrowcast Server demos.
The Products hierarchy contains the following attributes.
Category Products are organized into Categories at the highest level Electronics, Music
Subcategory Used to further differentiate a subset of Products within a Business, Cameras,

Category Drama
Warranty The time period in months during which a manufacturer 3, 5

repairs a broken item (specific to Narrowcast Server)
Brand The manufacturer or artist for a particular product Ayn Rand, 3Com, Sony
Catalog The medium used to sell products Spring 2002, Fall 2003
Supplier The distributor for a set of Brands McGraw Hill, Disney

Studios
Discontinued (Currently not implemented in the project.) 0 = discontinued

Code product, 1 = non-discontinued product.
Item The individual Product sold The Great Gatsby, Sony

Discman
Transaction Describes a resupply transaction from the fictitious company

that the MicroStrategy Tutorial product uses to its suppliers
for additional stock

organized into the MicroStrategy Tutorial Products
hierarchy.
Customers hierarchy
The Customers hierarchy contains customer demographic
and purchase information, such as Customer Age, Income
Bracket, Payment Method, and Ship Date.
The Customers hierarchy contains the following attributes.
Customer The highest level of differentiation for where Northeast, South, France
Region Customers live
Customer State Each Customer Region is divided into multiple States Main, North Dakota

Customer City Each Customer State is broken down into Cities Albany, Chicago, Memphis
Customer Age The Age of a particular customer at a current point in 26, 38, 59
time
Customer Birth The Date on which the Customer was born 8/4/50, 4/30/72
Date
Income Bracket The salary range reported by the Customer $31,000 - 40,000, $61,000 -
70,000
Zip Code The lowest level of differentiation for where 07026, 36303
Customers live
Customer The name of the individual Customer Selene Allen, Chad Laurie
Shipper The vendor used to send Products to the Customer Pronto Packages, MailFast
Rush Order (Currently not implemented in the project.) Indicates

whether a customer chose to expedite delivery of an
Order
Payment The way a Customer pays for an Order Amex, Check

Method
Ship Date The Date on which an Order is shipped from the 9/15/02, 3/26/03
Distribution Center
Order The tracking number associated with a particular 167, 2635

group of Items purchased

organized into the MicroStrategy Tutorial Customers
hierarchy.

Time hierarchy
The Time hierarchy contains time-specific attributesYear,
Quarter, Month, and Day.
The Time hierarchy contains the following attributes.
Year Calendar Year of purchase 2002, 2003

Quarter Calendar Quarter of purchase Q2 02, Q3 03
Month of Year Calendar Month of purchase January, November
Month Month of purchase Jul 02, Aug 03
Day Calendar Date of purchase 5/14/02, 12/26/03
organized into the MicroStrategy Tutorial Time hierarchy.

Promotions hierarchy
The Promotions hierarchy contains Promotion and
Promotion Type. This hierarchy is useful for recording
whether a sale was a promotional purchase.
The Promotions hierarchy contains the following attributes.
Promotion Type (Currently not implemented in the project.) Type of Mothers Day, Labor Day
discount period offered (Sale type)
Promotion (Currently not implemented in the project.) Date range 9/1/02 - 9/4/02, 2/16/03 -
for a particular discount period under which an Item is 2/19/03
purchased (Sales Date)
organized into the MicroStrategy Tutorial Promotions
hierarchy.

Viewing the MicroStrategy Tutorial data model

Although the MicroStrategy Tutorial data model is displayed
in the previous pages, you can also view it directly in the
product.
To view the MicroStrategy Tutorial data model
1 If you are not already using the tutorial, log in to the

project source containing the MicroStrategy Tutorial and
expand the MicroStrategy Tutorial project. You must log
in as an Administrator (user name Administrator, no
password) to complete these steps.
2 From the Schema menu, point to Graphical View and

then choose Hierarchies. Once loaded, the Hierarchies -
MicroStrategy Tutorial dialog box opens.
3 To view a different hierarchy, select it from the Hierarchy

drop-down menu on the toolbar.
4 To focus on a different entry point, select it from the Entry

Point drop-down menu on the toolbar.
5 To view the entire hierarchy in the window, click Fit in

window from the toolbar.
6 You can rearrange the attributes by dragging and

dropping them.
This does not affect the browse order, but allows

you to view the hierarchy in a way meaningful to
you.
7 To return to the default view, click Auto arrange on the

toolbar.
8 To save the layout view of the hierarchy, click Save on the

toolbar. The next time you open the Hierarchy Viewer,
this saved view is displayed.
Once the data model is created, the next step is the schema.

The MicroStrategy Tutorial schema

A schema is a logical and physical definition of warehouse
data elements, physical characteristics, and
interrelationships.
The logical data model is a picture of all the pieces of

information necessary to understand your data and how it
relates to your business. It is a graphic-intensive technique
that results in a data model representing the definition,
characteristics, and relationships of data in a business,
technical, or conceptual environment.
The physical warehouse schema is based on the logical data

model, such as Day, Item, Store, or Account. Several physical
warehouse schemas can be derived from the same logical
data model. While the logical data model tells you what facts
and attributes to create, the physical warehouse schema tells
you where the underlying data for those objects is stored. The
physical warehouse schema describes how your data is stored
in the data warehouse.
This appendix shows the physical warehouse schema with

datatypes shown.
For more detailed information on the schema, refer to the

Data modeling appendix in the Basic Reporting Guide or
Introduction to MicroStrategy manuals.
The MicroStrategy Tutorial schema is divided into the

following parts:
geography
products
customers
time
promotions
fact tables
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. The MicroStrategy Tutorial schema 247

Schema notations
The following notations are used in the graphical depictions

of the following MicroStrategy Tutorial schema.
Symbol Indicates Definition
LU_ a lookup table A database table used to uniquely identify attribute elements. They
typically consist of descriptions of dimensions. Lookup tables are
usually joined to fact tables in order to group the numeric facts in the
fact table by dimensional attributes in the lookup tables.
a primary key In a relational database, the set of columns required to uniquely

identify a record in a table.
REL_ a relationship While lookup tables store information about one or more attributes,
table relate tables store information about the relationship between two
attributes. Relate tables contain the ID columns of two or more
attributes, thus defining associations between them.
PMT_ a partition A warehouse table that contains information used to identify the
mapping table partitioned base tables as part of a logical whole. Also referred to as a
PMT.
The schema also contains fact tables. A fact table is a

database table containing numeric data that may be
aggregated along one or more dimensions. Fact tables
may contain atomic or summarized data. The basic
facts from which all metrics in the MicroStrategy
Tutorial were created from are listed below:
Fact Description
Cost The total amount charged by the supplier to the company

Discount A monetary reduction made from a regular price
End on hand The number of individual items remaining at the close of each month
Freight The compensation paid for the transportation of goods

Profit The excess of the selling price of goods over their cost
Revenue The total income produced by a given source accounting for all product sales deducting
discounts
Rush Charge The amount of money charged to expedite delivery service
Unit Cost The amount of money charged by the supplier to the company per individual item
purchased
248 The MicroStrategy Tutorial schema 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Fact Description
Unit Price The amount of money charged by the company to the customer per individual item sold
Unit Profit Unit price - unit cost
Units The number of individual items acquired from a supplier

Received
Units Sold The number of individual items bought by customers
Geography schema

Products schema

Customers schema

Time schema
Promotions schema

Sales fact tables

Inventory fact tables
Miscellaneous fact tables

Viewing the MicroStrategy Tutorial schema

Although the MicroStrategy Tutorial physical schema is
displayed in the previous pages, you can also view it or the
logical schema directly in the product.
To view the MicroStrategy Tutorial schema
1 If you are not already using the tutorial, log in to the

project source containing the MicroStrategy Tutorial and
expand the MicroStrategy Tutorial project. You must log
in as an Administrator (user name Administrator, no
password) to complete these steps.
2 From the Schema menu, point to Graphical View, and

then choose Tables. Once loaded, the Tables -
MicroStrategy Tutorial dialog box opens with the physical
view displayed.
3 To switch to the logical view, select View, then Logical

View.
4 To change display preferences for the physical view, use

the following from the Options menu:
Show joins: Select whether to connect the tables to
represent the joins between the warehouse tables.
Use circular joins: Select whether to use circular

joins.
Show column data types: Select whether to show the
data type and size for each column.
Show table prefixes: Select whether to display the

table prefix as part of the table name.

5 To change display preferences for the logical view, use the

following from the Options menu:
Show joins: Select whether to connect the tables to

represent the joins between the table columns.
Use circular joins: Select whether to use circular

joins.
Show relationships: Choose whether to map the

relationships between the tables.
Show relationship types: Choose whether to

differentiate between one-to-one, one-to-many,
many-to-one, and many-to-many relationships.
Show columns: Select whether to display the

warehouse columns that define each attribute, as a
link between the logical and physical views.
6 To switch back to the physical view, select View, then

Physical View.
7 To view the entire schema in the window, click Fit in

window from the toolbar.
8 You can rearrange the tables by dragging and dropping

them.
This does not affect the relationships or joins, but

allows you to view the tables in a way meaningful to
you.
9 To return to the default view, click Auto arrange on the

toolbar.
10 To save the layout view of the tables, click Save in the

toolbar. The next time you open the Table Viewer, this
saved view is displayed.
11 To copy the layout view, select Copy as Metafile (.wmf)

from the File menu.

C
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
C.
MODELING
Introduction
This appendix documents the two major components of data

modeling:
logical data model
physical warehouse schema
The logical data model

A logical data model is similar in concept to needing a map
and an itinerary when going on a trip. You need to know
where you are going and how to get there. You need a plan,
one that is visible and laid out correctly.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. The logical data model 257

C Introduction to Data Modeling Introduction to MicroStrategy
The logical data model is a picture of all of the pieces of

information necessary to understand your data and how it
relates to your business. It is a graphic-intensive technique
that results in a data model representing the definition,
characteristics, and relationships of data in a business,
technical, or conceptual environment. In simple terms, a
logical data model is a top-level blueprint of underlying
data.
Logical data models are independent of a physical data

storage device. This is the key concept of the logical data
model. The reason that a logical data model must be
independent of technology is simply because technology is
changing so rapidly. What occurs under (so to speak) the
logical data model can change with need or with technology,
but the blueprint remains the same, and you do not need to
start over completely.
A logical data model is an arrangement of data that is

arranged logically for the general user, as opposed to the
physical data model or warehouse schema, which arranges
data for efficient database use.
A logical data model graphically depicts the flow and

structure of data in a business environment. It provides a way
of organizing facts so that they can be analyzed from different
business perspectives. For example, a simple logical data
model for a retail company might organize all necessary facts
by store, product, and timethree common business
perspectives typically associated with a retail business.
Ifmodeling,
you are familiar with multidimensional data
logical data modeling is basically the same
thing. Since the MicroStrategy platform does not
require you to define dimensions explicitly, logical is
a more accurate term than multidimensional. While
a multidimensional data model must have one or more
dimensions, a logical data model may or may not have
any explicitly defined dimensions.
The scope and complexity of a logical data model depend on

the requirements of the user community that the data model
serves and the availability of source data. The more
sophisticated and complex the reporting requirements and
source data, the more complex the logical data model will be.
258 The logical data model 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Introduction to MicroStrategy Introduction to Data Modeling C
The logical data modeling process produces a diagram similar

to the following diagram.
Components of a Logical Model

A logical data model is a graphic representation of the
following concepts:
facts
attributes
hierarchies
Facts
One of the first things you do when you create a logical data
model is determine what the facts are. Facts equal a unique
situation given a certain attribute combination. They relate
numeric data values from the data warehouse to the
MicroStrategy reporting environment. Facts allow you to
access data stored in a data warehouse, and they form the
basis for the majority of analyses and reports your users
require.

Facts can conceptually be thought of as business

measurements, data, or variables that are typically numeric
and suitable for aggregation. Sales, Inventory, and Account
Balance are some examples of facts that you may use as
business measurements.
Without facts, you cannot create any business

measurementsor metricsfrom which to derive insight.
Therefore, facts are the initial focus. The rest of data
modeling consists mostly of providing context for these facts.
In a data warehouse, facts exist as columns featured in the

fact tables. They can come from different source systems, and
they might have differing levels of detail. For example, you
might capture sales data in one system and track it daily,
while you capture stock and inventory data in another system
and track it weekly.
To those familiar with SQL, facts generally represent the

numeric columns in database tables on which you perform
SQL aggregations such as SUM and AVG.
For example, in the following SQL statement, the

ORDER_AMT column in the warehouse might correspond to
the Order Amount fact in the MicroStrategy environment:
SELECT sum(a21.ORDER_AMT) EMP_NAME

FROM ORDER_FACT a21
JOIN LU_EMPLOYEE a22
ON (a21.EMP_ID = a22.EMP_ID)
WHERE a22.CALL_CTR_ID in (5, 9, 12)
In addition, while ORDER_AMT is the fact,

sum(a21.ORDER_AMT) represents a metric.

Attributes
Once the facts are determined, attributes must be identified.

Attributes allow you to answer questions about a fact and
provide a context for reporting those facts.
For example, consider the fact Sales. If you were informed

that your company had sales of $10,000, there would be little
useful information. To make that number meaningful, you
would need to know more about the source of that number,
such as
a time frame for the sales

who and how many people contributed to the sales total
what products were sold from which department
the scope of the sale; national, regional, local, or one store
currency used for the purchases
In answering these types of questions about facts, attributes

provide categories and levels for convenient summarization
and qualification of data. They are used to answer business
questions about facts at varying levels of detail. For example,
if your sales data is stored at the day level, a Month attribute
allows you to see the same sales data summarized at the
month level.
To those familiar with SQL, attributes generally represent the

non-numeric and non-aggregatable columns in database
tables. These columns are used to qualify and group fact data.
For example, in the following SQL statement, the MONTH_ID

column in the warehouse might map to the Month attribute
in the MicroStrategy environment:
SELECT a11.MONTH_ID MONTH_ID,

max(a12.MONTH_DESC) MONTH_DESC,
sum(a11.TOT_DOLLAR_SALES) DLRSALES
FROM MNTH_CATEGORY_SLS a11
join LU_MONTH a12
on(a11.MONTH_ID = a12.MONTH_ID)
WHERE a11.MONTH_ID in (200301,200302,200303)
GROUP BY al1.MONTH_ID

Attribute elements
Attribute elements are the unique values or contents of an

attribute. For example, 2002 and 2003 might be elements of
the Year attribute while, New York and London might be
elements of the City attribute.
Attribute elements are the data shown on a report. Data

usually refers to metric values. Attribute elements also allow
you to qualify on data to get very specific results. In other
words, a Month attribute allows you to see sales data at the
month level, and you can qualify on the elements of the
month to see sales data for a particular month.
The following diagram shows some examples of attributes

and attribute elements.
By knowing and understanding the elements of an attribute,

you can better design your data model and project. Although
attribute elements are not included in the logical data model,
they are necessary in understanding attribute relationships.
Attribute relationships
Attribute relationships are essential to the logical data model.

Without relationships, there is no interaction between data,
and therefore no structure. The relationships give meaning to
the data by providing logical associations of attributes based
on business rules.

Every direct relationship between attributes has two partsa

parent and a child. A child must always have a parent, and a
parent can have multiple children. The parent attribute is at a
higher level than the child. For example, in a relationship
between Year and Quarter, Year is the parent attribute, and
Quarter is the child.
Related attributes
Three types of relationships can exist between

directly-related attributes, and they are defined by the
attribute elements that exist in the related attributes:
One-to-one: Each element in the parent attribute has one

and only one corresponding element in the child attribute.
A common example of a one-to-one relationship is Citizen
and Taxpayer ID. A citizen can have only one taxpayer ID,
and a taxpayer ID can be assigned to only one citizen.
One-to-many: Each element in the parent attribute

corresponds to two or more elements in the child
attribute. These are the most common types of attribute
relationships. Year has a one-to-many relationship to
quarter. One year has many quarters, but a specific
quarter can be in one year only.
Many-to-many: Each element in the parent attribute can

have multiple children, and each child element in the
child attribute can have multiple parents. In banking,
customers and accounts are an example of a
many-to-many relationship. One customer may have
many accounts, and each account may be associated with
many customers (such as in the case of a joint checking
account).
Non-related attributes
While care must be taken when using non-related attributes

on a single report, these attributes are relatively
straightforward to deal with from a project design
perspective.

The primary thing to remember when designing attributes in

your project is that if there is no relationship defined between
two attributes in a lookup or relationship table, a metric
based on the relating fact must be present on the report to
avoid a cartesian join, which is generallythough not
alwaysundesirable.
Again, in the absence of a metric based on a fact that relates

two nonrelated attributes, a relationship filter can be used to
force the engine to establish the relationship in the table of
your choice.
Once attributes have been defined and relationships

established, you are ready to define hierarchies, a way of
grouping related attributes.
Hierarchies
Hierarchies in a logical data model are ordered groupings of

attributes arranged to reflect their relationship with other
attributes. Usually the best design for a hierarchy is to
organize or group attributes into logical business areas. For
example, you can group the attributes Year, Month, and Date
to form the Time hierarchy.
In a logical data model, hierarchies contain attributes that are

directly related to each other. Attributes in one hierarchy are
not directly related to attributes in another hierarchy.
For example, Year and Quarter are attributes that are usually
directly related to each other. One year has many quarters,
and both attributes are in the Time hierarchy. You do not
need any additional information to establish the relationship
between the two attributes.
Year and Customer are attributes that are usually not in the
same hierarchy and are not directly related to each other.
However, if you want to create a report that shows
information about customer purchases in a particular year,
there must be some way to determine how these two
attributes are related. Year and Customer are related through
a fact. It is the existence of a fact that ties the Time hierarchy
to the Customer hierarchy. In this case, the fact is a customer
purchase.

Therefore, facts exist at the intersection of hierarchies. They

are identified by multiple attributes, which represent the
level at which a fact is stored. These attributes act as the
gateway to the hierarchies to which they belong.
Sample data model
When all of the components are placed in a single

diagramfacts, attributes, relationships, and
hierarchiesyou get a logical data model.
The following diagram is an example of a logical data model.
Building a logical data model

The first thing you must do before creating a logical data
model is to study the factors that will influence your design.
Some of the things to consider when creating a logical data
model are
user requirements
existing systems and source data
technical considerations

User requirements
The primary goal of logical data modeling is to meet the

needs of your users reporting requirements. Developing such
a model involves the identification of requirements, the
design of solutions, and the evaluation of those solutions.
Logical data modeling is a transforming process, where
additional questions and concerns arise with each draft of the
logical data model.
Your user community might consist of people with vastly

different requirements. For example, company executives are
typically interested in overall trends and might want reports
showing data aggregated across the company and across long
periods of time. Lower-level managers are typically interested
only in data about their particular areas of responsibility.
Perhaps they want reports about their specific region or store
over short and long-term periods.
When creating the logical data model, you must think about
all the potential users and how to accommodate their varied
requirements. In some cases, lack of data in the source
systems can limit user requirements. Sometimes, to satisfy
user requirements, you can derive additional data not found
in the source systems.
Existing source systems
Understanding what data is available is an important step in

creating a logical data model. Existing data is usually
abundant, consisting of a large number of facts and
attributes. You must determine what facts and attributes in
the existing data are necessary for supporting the decision
support requirements of your user community.
While a review of your data is initially helpful in identifying

components of your logical data model, you might not find all
the facts and attributes to meet your needs within the data
itself. The existing data will suggest a number of facts,
attributes, and relationships, but a substantial portion of the
work in creating a suitable logical data model involves
determining what additional components are required to
satisfy the needs of the user community.

For example, an insurance companys transactional system

might record data by customer and city, but the business
analysts might want to see data for different states or regions.
State and region might not appear in the existing source data,
and you might need to extract them from another source. In
addition, although data can be stored at a daily level in the
source system, users might want to see data at the monthly or
yearly level.
Although some data might not exist in a source system, this

does not mean that it should not be included in the logical
data model. Conversely, everything that you find in the
source data does not necessarily need to be included in the
logical data model. User requirements should drive the
decision on what to include and what to exclude.
Converting source data to analytical data
If there are no existing systems and you are just beginning

your data warehousing initiative, then simply build the
logical data model based on current user requirements.
However, most logical models begin with an examination of
the source data. The source data usually has some sort of
documented physical structure. For example, most OLTP
systems have an entity relationship diagram (ERD). An ERD
provides a graphical representation of the physical structure
of the data in the source system, which lets you easily
recognize tables and columns and the data stored in those
columns.
If you start from nothing or have an existing source system to

use, there are four steps for creating a logical data model.
1 Identify the facts.
2 Identify the attributes.
3 Determine the relationships between attributes.
4 Define hierarchies.
The details in the following four steps are related to

using an existing source system.

Step 1: Identify the facts
Using your existing data, make a list of all facts. Remember

that facts are usually things that can be calculated and are
usually numeric and aggregatable, like sales and profit. Once
you have all of the facts listed, determine the level at which
each fact is recorded. For example, in retail models, sales
facts are often stored at the store/item/day level, meaning
that a sale takes place in a particular store, for a particular
item, on a particular day. A product inventory fact, however,
might be stored at the region/item/week level.
Step 2: Identify the attributes
Uncover attributes by considering the levels at which you

would like to view the facts on your reports. Start by looking
at the levels at which each fact is recorded and build from
there.
For example, in the existing data there might be only facts

recorded at the date level. However, your users are also
interested in analyzing data at more than just the date level.
They also want to view their data at the Year, Month, and
Week levels.
Although only a Date attribute is represented in the existing

data, you can use Date to create other attributes representing
the other levels of time such as Year, Month, and Week.
Depending on the functionality of the existing system, your
data warehouse platform, and the particular datatype used to
record the fact, you might be able to derive hours and seconds
if your users require that level of detail.

Bethancareful not to include more facts and attributes

necessary. Only include those that will serve your
user community and not necessarily bring all data
from the source system into the analytical
environment. Logical data modeling is an iterative
process; if necessary, you can always add more later.
Step 3: Determine attribute relationships
If attributes answer the same business question at different

levels, then they probably are directly related to each other.
For example, all attributes associated with time answer
questions about when a fact occurred, so attributes like Year,
Month, and Date are directly related.
In addition, you should determine the type of relationship.

For example, Year has a one-to-many relationship to Month,
and Month has a one-to-many relationship to Date.
If you have documentation for the existing datasuch as an

ERDit is likely that the documentation provides some
additional details about the nature of the data and any
inherent relationships.

Step 4: Define hierarchies
In the context of a logical data model, think of hierarchies as

logical arrangements of attributes into business areas. For
example, you can organize all time-related attributes into the
Time hierarchy. You might have a Customer hierarchy
containing all attributes related to your customers and a
Supplier hierarchy for all attributes related to supplier data.
Depending on the complexity of your data and the nature of

your business, you may have very few hierarchies, or you may
have many. It is possible that all of the data is directly related,
in which case you might have one big hierarchy. Again, the
requirements of your user community should help you
determine what hierarchies are necessary.
Additional logical data modeling conventions

There are numerous logical data modeling conventions that
you can use to enhance your logical data model, such as
unique identifiers
cardinalities and ratios
attribute forms
These logical modeling conventions can provide cues for

system optimization opportunities, help with system
maintenance, and make for a more robust logical data model.
Although the user community is the ultimate beneficiary of a
well-optimized and maintained system, these conventions
are primarily intended for project designers, administrators,
and advanced report designers.

Each convention also adds more information about the data

to the logical data model. This additional information can be
particularly useful to a new person learning about the system.
Unique identifiers
An additional modeling convention is to add unique

identifiers for each attribute and fact. Unique identifiers
denote the key that maps an attribute to its source data in the
source system, when applicable. This information can help
define primary keys in the physical warehouse schema.
Remember that facts are usually identified by multiple

attributes and therefore will have multiple unique identifiers.
The following diagram shows a logical data model with
unique identifiers added.
Cardinalities and ratios
Another enhancement to the logical data model is the

addition of cardinalities and ratios for each attribute.
Cardinality is the number of unique elements for an
attribute, and ratios are the ratios between the cardinalities
of related attributes.
This additional information can be invaluable to database

administrators and project designers. Cardinalities help the
database administrator estimate the size of the data
warehouse and help project designers determine the best

paths for users to navigate through the data. Ratios can be

particularly helpful when you are trying to decide where
creating aggregate tables will be most effective.
The following diagram shows a logical data model with

cardinalities and ratios added.
Attribute forms
Attribute forms contain additional descriptive information

about a given attribute. For example, suppose you create an
attribute to represent customers in your systemthe
Customer attributeand it is part of the Customer hierarchy.
Each element of the Customer attribute represents a different
customer, and in the data you store the following information
about your customers:
customer number (some numeric code used to uniquely
identify customers)
first name
last name
address
e-mail address

In your logical data model, you could have included each of

these pieces of information such as attributes, each with a
one-to-one relationship to the Customer attribute. In reality,
though, these attributes simply provide additional
information about the Customer attribute; they do not
represent different levels within the Customer hierarchy.
When a one-to-one relationship exists between them, you can

model these additional pieces of descriptive information as
attribute forms.
The following diagram shows how you add attribute forms to

a logical data model.
The logical data model summary

To construct a logical data model, you must include
everything from the source system and be certain to address
the following reporting requirements of the user community:
Users want to analyze data at different levels of time.
Users want to analyze customer purchases by age.
The four steps for creating a logical data model:
1 Identify the facts.
2 Identify the attributes.
3 Determine where there are attribute relationships.
4 Define hierarchies.

The physical warehouse schema

The physical warehouse schema is based on the logical data
model. It is a detailed graphic representation of your business
data as it is stored in the data warehouse. It organizes the
logical model in a method that makes sense from a database
perspective.
The logical data model is only concerned with logical objects

of the business model, such as Day, Item, Store, or Account.
Several physical warehouse schemas can be derived from the
same logical data model. It depends on how the data
representing those logical objects is to be stored in the
warehousein the same table, separate tables, duplicated
across several tables, or in some other arrangement.
While the logical data model tells you what facts and
attributes to create, the physical warehouse schema tells you
where the underlying data for those objects is stored. The
physical warehouse schema describes how your data will be
stored in the data warehouse.
Two key components make up the physical warehouse

schema: columns and tables. Columns and tables in the
physical warehouse schema represent facts and attributes
from the logical data model. The rows in a table represent
attribute elements and fact data.
274 The physical warehouse schema 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Columns
Columns are fields in the warehouse that hold attribute and
fact data. There are three types of columns:
ID columns: Contain attribute element identification

codes. These codes are typically numeric because
computers can process numbers much more rapidly than
text. All attributes must have an ID column.
Description columns: Contain text descriptions of

attribute elements. Description columns are optional.
An ID column can serve a dual purpose as both an ID and

description. Date is one example of an attribute that
usually does not have a description column.
The majority of attributes typically have an ID column

and at least one description column. If an attribute has
many attribute forms, they are represented by additional
description columns.
Fact columns: Contain fact data.
Tables
There are three types of tables:
lookup tables
relate tables
fact tables
Lookup tables
Lookup tables are the physical representation of attributes.

They provide the ability to aggregate data at different levels.
Functionally, lookup tables provide the information for an
attribute through data stored in their ID and description
columns.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. The physical warehouse schema 275

Depending on how you choose to organize the physical

schema, a lookup table might store information for one or
more related attributes. If a table only stores data about one
attribute, it is said to be a normalized table. If a table holds
data about multiple attributes, it is said to be a denormalized
table.
The following diagram shows two different ways in which you

might store the same attribute information.
You can use either structure for any table in the physical
warehouse schema, though each comes with its own
advantages and disadvantages.
Key structures
In relational databases, each table has primary key that

creates a unique value identifying each distinct data record
(or row). There are two types of keys:
Simple key: A simple key requires only one column to

identify a record uniquely within a table.
Compound key: A compound key requires multiple
columns to identify a unique record.

Which key structure you use to identify a unique attribute in

a table depends on the nature of your data and business
requirements. The following diagram shows how the
different key structures might be used to identify a call
center.
The simple key example shows how you could identify a call
center with only its Call_Ctr_id. This means that every call
center has its own unique ID.
In the compound key example, call centers must be identified

by both Call_Ctr_id and Region_id. This means that two
call centers from different regions might share the same
Call_Ctr_id. For example, there may be a call center with
ID 1 in region A, and another call center with ID 1 in region B.
In this case, you cannot identify a unique call center without
knowing both the Call_Ctr_id and the Region_id.
Simple keys are generally easier to handle in the data

warehouse than are compound keys because they require less
storage space and they allow for simpler SQL. Compound
keys tend to increase SQL query complexity, query time, and
required storage space. However, compound keys have a
more efficient ETL process.
Which key structure you use for a particular attribute

depends entirely on the nature of the data and your system.
Consider what key structures work best when creating lookup
tables in the physical warehouse schema.
Homogeneous versus heterogeneous column naming
Suppose the data warehouse has information from two

source systems, and in one source system the date is
identified by column name DATE_ID and in the other the
column name is DATE.

For consistency, it is a good idea for columns that contain the

same data to have the same column name. This is called
homogeneous column naming. In this case, the Region_ID
column is in both tables, as shown in the following diagram.
In reality, it is possible that the two columns will not have the
same name. For example, perhaps the data for the
Lookup_Region table came from a source system different
from the data for the Lookup_Call_Ctr, and the source
systems might have different naming conventions. There
might be a Region_ID column in one table and a Reg_ID
column in the other. Though the columns have different
names, they store the same data. This is called heterogeneous
column naming, and it is shown in the following diagram.
Relate tables
While lookup tables store information about one or more

attributes, relate tables store information about the
relationship between two attributes. Relate tables contain the
ID columns of two or more attributes, thus defining
associations between them.

With attributes whose direct relationship is one-to-many, you

define parent-child relationships by placing the ID column of
the parent attribute in the lookup table of the child attribute.
The parent ID column in the child table is called a foreign
key. This technique allows you to define relationships
between attributes in the attributes lookup tables, creating
tables that function as both lookup tables and relate tables as
the following diagram shows.
In the case of a many-to-many relationship, you must create a

separate relate table as shown in the following diagram.
You rarely use separate relate tables in the physical

warehouse schema except in the case of many-to-many
relationships.

Attribute relationships and lookup table structure
Attribute relationships are a major factor in determining the

structure of lookup tables in a physical warehouse schema. In
general, the following guidelines apply:
One-to-one relationships usually denote the existence of
an attribute form. The description column for the
attribute form should simply be included as an additional
column in the attributes lookup table.
There are various ways to model one-to-many

relationships in the physical warehouse schema, each
with its own advantages and disadvantages.
Many-to-many relationships usually require the use of a

relate table distinct from either attribute lookup table.
The relate table should include the ID columns of the two
attributes in question.
Fact tables
Fact tables are used to store fact data. Since attributes are
what give meaning to fact values, both fact columns and
attribute ID columns are included in fact tablesthat is, facts
exist at the intersection of indirectly related attributes. The
attribute ID columns included in a fact table represent the
level at which the facts in that table are stored.
For example, fact tables containing sales and inventory data

might look like the tables in the following diagram.

Base fact columns versus derived fact columns
There are two types of fact columns: base fact columns and
derived fact columns.
Base fact columns are represented by a single column in a

fact table. The following diagram shows an example of a fact
table and base fact columns.
Derived fact columns are created through a mathematical

combination of other existing fact columns. The following
diagram shows an example of a fact table and how you can
create a derived fact column from base fact columns.
Because facts in different fact tables are typically stored at

different levels, derived fact columns can only contain fact
columns from the same fact table.
There are advantages and disadvantages to consider when

deciding if you should create a derived fact column. The most
obvious advantage for storing derived fact columns in the
warehouse is that the calculation of data is previously
performed and stored separately, which translates into
simpler SQL and a speedier query at run time. The
disadvantage is that it requires more storage space and more
time during the ETL process.

Homogeneous versus heterogeneous fact tables
It is possible for the same fact data to exist in different fact

tables, and the fact column may or may not have the same
name in the different tables.
Fact table levels
Facts and fact tables have an associated level based on the

attribute ID columns included in the fact table. For example,
the following diagram shows two facts with an Item/Day/Call
Center level.
Fact levels become especially important when you begin to

have complex queries with multiple facts in multiple tables
that are stored at levels different from one another, and when
a reporting request involves still a different level.

Schema types
There are many ways to structure your data warehouse, and
no method is inherently right or wrong. How you choose to
structure the warehouse depends on the nature of the data,
the available storage space, and the requirements of your
user community. Typically, one of the schema types, or a
combination of them, is used to organize the physical schema
to optimize query performance. These schema types are
highly normalized
moderately normalized
highly denormalized
In each of these schemas, there usually is a base fact table and

any number of aggregate fact tables. Fact table keys consist of
attribute keys relevant to the level of data stored in the table.
The schema examples that follow show data at the Item/Call
Center/Date level.
Highly normalized schema
The following diagram is an example of a highly normalized

schema.

In highly normalized schemas, lookup tables contain unique

developer-designed attribute keys such as Call_Ctr_id,
Dist_Ctr_id, and Region_id. They also contain attribute
description columns such as Call_Ctr_desc,
Dist_Ctr_desc, and Region_desc. Also, the lookup table
for an attribute contains the ID column of the parent
attribute such as Dist_Ctr_id in the Lookup_Call_Ctr
table.
The following diagram shows what physical lookup tables

might look like in the warehouse.
Moderately normalized schema
The following diagram is an example of a moderately

normalized schema.

This schema type has the same basic structure as the highly
normalized schema, but here the higher-level attribute ID
columns are present within all related tables. For example,
Region_id is included in the Lookup_Call_Ctr table.
The fact table structure is identical to that of the highly

normalized schema.
The following diagram shows what physical lookup tables

might look like in the warehouse.
Highly denormalized schema
The following diagram is an example of a highly

denormalized schema.

This type also has the same basic structure as the other two
schema types. With this type, not only are higher-level
attribute ID columns present within all related tables, but the
description columns are present as well. For example,
Region_desc is included in the Lookup_Call_Ctr table.
Fact table structure for the highly denormalized schema is

identical to that of the highly normalized schema.
The need for higher level lookup tables
When using the highly denormalized schema, it is possible to

eliminate most of the lookup tables and leave just three, as
shown in the following diagram (this is sometimes called a
star schema).
There are trade-offs to consider when you determine what

type of schema to create. Such as, if you have the storage
space necessary to accommodate data in a star schema, it
might seem that you would never want to normalize your
schema. However, SQL queries directed at a consolidated
table require the use of a DISTINCT operator, and these
types of queries tend to be very expensive in terms of
database resources and processing time. The use of a
resource-intensive DISTINCT query could therefore negate
any performance gain achieved by reducing the number of
joins between higher-level lookup tables.
In addition to the previous points, you need higher-level

lookup tables to take advantage of aggregate tables.

Design trade-offs
Constructing a logical data model and physical warehouse
schema is an iterative process of compromises and trade-offs.
The following diagram shows the three major requirements
that must be balanced to create an effective system.
Each of these categories affects the others. If you try to satisfy

every single user requirement from the simplest to the most
complex, you will likely have to create a very complex logical
data model and warehouse schema to support those
requirements. This creates increased complexity in the
warehouse, which results in slower query performance and
greater maintenance for the database administrator. You
must decide which factors are most important in your
particular environment and weigh them against the other
factors.

Schema type comparison
One way to achieve balance in your schema design is to use

the different schema types in your physical warehouse
schema. One hierarchy can be highly normalized while
another can be highly denormalized. You can even use
different schema types within the same hierarchy.
Schema Comparison
Schema Lookup Table

Advantages Disadvantages
Type Structure
Normalized Contains an Minimal storage Requires

Schema attributes ID space and minimal numerous joins
and description data redundancy to get information
columns as well from higher level
as the ID lookup tables
column of its
parent
Moderately Contains an Greatly reduces Requires some

Normalized attributes ID the number of joins redundant
and description necessary to relate storage
columns as well an attribute to its
as the ID grandparents
column of its
parent and
grandparents
Fully Contains an Further reduces Requires the

Denormalized attributes ID joins necessary to most amount of
Schema and description retrieve attribute storage space
columns as well descriptions
as the ID and
description
columns of its
parent and
grandparents

D
TROUBLESHOOTING THE
D.
EVALUATION EDITION
Introduction
This appendix is designed to help you work through some

problems you may encounter while using the MicroStrategy
Evaluation Edition.
The topics in this appendix do not address every

possible problem. If you cannot resolve your issue,
refer to the MicroStrategy Installation and
Configuration Guide or contact MicroStrategy
Technical Support (see Technical Support starting
on page xxii).

D Troubleshooting the Evaluation Edition Introduction to MicroStrategy
Troubleshooting installation and configuration
Next button grayed out on Customer Information screen

The Next button remains grayed out, and you cannot proceed
past this screen until you enter a valid license key.
Make sure you have the correct license key and that you have
typed it in correctly. The key is case-sensitive, so beware of
common typing mistakes like using the letter O instead of
the number zero (0) or b instead of B.
If you have the license key in an electronic form (for example,

in the e-mail you received when you registered), the easiest
thing to do is simply cut and paste the license key into the
Customer Information screen. Make sure that there is no
space at the end of the license key after it is pasted; otherwise,
the Next button remains grayed out.
Missing Requirements screen opens

If you choose to install a product but do not have the
appropriate hardware or software requirements on your
computer, this screen opens and tells you what requirements
are missing and for what products. You must either install the
missing requirements or choose not to install the products at
this time.
For example, you will see this screen if you try to install
MicroStrategy Web on a machine that does not have
Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) installed. To
install MicroStrategy Web, you must exit the installation and
install IIS. Another option would be to go back and choose
not to install MicroStrategy Web. Assuming that was the only
product with missing requirements, you will be able to
continue and install the other products you want to use.
290 Troubleshooting installation and configuration 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Introduction to MicroStrategy Troubleshooting the Evaluation Edition D
Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Desktop

tutorial
Link on Welcome Screen is not active

The link on the Welcome Screen remains grayed out until all
of the necessary components are installed for that particular
part of the tutorial. You must install MicroStrategy Desktop
for this link to be active.
For detailed instructions on installing MicroStrategy

Desktop, see Install the MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition
starting on page 3.
Cannot log in
If you cannot log in, first make sure you are using the correct
login ID and that you have not mistyped. If you are still
having trouble, make sure the Intelligence Server is running.
The following steps explain how to do this:
To start MicroStrategy Intelligence Server

MicroStrategy, then to Tools, and then choose Service
Manager. The MicroStrategy Service Manager opens and
shows you the status of your Intelligence Server.
2 If your Intelligence Server is not running, click Start. The

server will start (it may take a few minutes), and the status
will change accordingly.
3 When you are finished, close the Service Manager

window.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Desktop tutorial 291

Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Web tutorial

part of the tutorial. You must install MicroStrategy Web and
Intelligence Server for this link to be active.
For detailed instructions on installing MicroStrategy Web,

see Install the MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition starting on
page 3.
The Web page cannot be displayed

Just like any other Web application, MicroStrategy Web
cannot run unless the Web server that hosts it is running. If
you try to access MicroStrategy Web and get a standard page
not found error, make sure that the Microsoft Internet
Information Services (IIS) are running.
To start Microsoft IIS
1 On the Windows Start menu, point to Settings, and then

choose Control Panel. Double-click the Services icon to
open the Services dialog box.
2 Locate the IIS Admin Service. If it is stopped, select it and

click Start.
3 Once the IIS Admin Service is running, locate the World

Wide Web Publishing Service. If it is stopped, select it and
click Start.
4 After the services start, click Close to close the Services

dialog box and then close the Control Panel window.
292 Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Web tutorial 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

MicroStrategy Web is running, but there are no projects

MicroStrategy Web relies on the availability of the
MicroStrategy Intelligence Server for the majority of its
functionality. If the Intelligence Server is not running or if
MicroStrategy Web is not connected to the Intelligence
Server, you will see a page with one of the following
messages:
You must be connected to at least one project

to begin using MicroStrategy Web.
or
The contents of this page cannot be displayed

because the MicroStrategy Server is not
running.
The first thing you should do is make sure that Intelligence

Server is running.


3 When you are finished, close the Service Manager

window.
Once the Intelligence Server is running, MicroStrategy Web

should automatically connect. Click the Refresh button on
your browsers toolbar to refresh the page.
If for some reason it does not connect automatically, the

following steps explain how to connect MicroStrategy Web to
the Intelligence Server.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Web tutorial 293

To connect MicroStrategy Web to the Intelligence Server

MicroStrategy, then to Web, and then choose Web
Administrator.
2 In the Add a server manually field, type the name of the

machine on which MicroStrategy Intelligence Server is
running and click Connect. By default, this should be
your machine name (see below to learn how to find out
your machine name). The Intelligence Server displays in
the list of Connected servers.
3 Click the Home icon (upper left) to return the

MicroStrategy Web homepage.
4 Now you see a list of available projects. Click

MicroStrategy Tutorial to log in to the project. Log in as
User with a blank password.
5 To navigate to the User Homepage, click My Reports and

then click User Homepage.
To find out what your machine name is
1 In Windows 2000, right-click My Computer.
2 Click the Network Identification tab. Your computer

name is shown on the Network Identification tab.
294 Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Web tutorial 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Office

tutorial
Links on Welcome Screen are not active

The links on the Welcome Screen remain grayed out until all
part of the tutorial. For these links to be active, you must
install all components of MicroStrategy Office, MicroStrategy
Web Services, and MicroStrategy Intelligence Server. In
addition, you must have Microsoft Office version 2000 or
later, with at least Excel installed.
For detailed instructions on installing the required

MicroStrategy products, see Install the MicroStrategy
Evaluation Edition starting on page 3.
There is no MicroStrategy Office toolbar

To see the MicroStrategy Office toolbar, you must have
installed MicroStrategy Office. If Office is installed and you
do not see the toolbar, it just may be hidden, and you can
show it by going to the View menu, pointing to Toolbars, and
then choosing MicroStrategy Office.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Office tutorial 295

Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Narrowcast

Server tutorial

part of the tutorial. You must install all components of
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server and Intelligence Server for
this link to be active.
For detailed instructions on installing MicroStrategy

Narrowcast Server, see Install the MicroStrategy Evaluation
Edition starting on page 3.
An e-mail address was not provided

If you selected the option to deliver messages via e-mail, you
must specify an e-mail address. This address is used for two
purposes. First, since Narrowcast Server delivers e-mail
messages, Narrowcast Server needs to have an e-mail address
to use as the sender address. For example, if Narrowcast
Server sends you an e-mail message, some address is listed as
the sender address. Second, Narrowcast Server needs an
e-mail address to which Narrowcast Server can deliver the
tutorial services.
If you click Cancel in the Welcome dialog box, the

configuration process continues. However, this error is listed
in the Summary dialog box. To resolve this problem, simply
close and reopen Narrowcast Administrator. You are
prompted for this address again, and the configuration
should proceed without this error. If this error is not
resolved, a preconfigured dummy address is used for both
the sender address and for the tutorial service addresses, and
you do not receive any tutorial service sample messages sent
via e-mail.
296 Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server tutorial 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.
No printer is available
To enable Narrowcast Server print functionality, you must
specify a printer to use. This information is in the Narrowcast
Server print device definition. (If the device is set to allow
user addresses to override this printer, the recipients printer
as defined in his or her physical addresses is used.)
The Narrowcast Server tutorial configuration process tries to

automatically configure a default printer device for you,
using the default printer from your computer. If no default
printer can be found, the configuration process prompts you
for a printer.
To resolve this problem
If no printer is specified in this step, you must do one of the

following:
Specify a default printer in your computer, and rerun the
configuration process.
Edit the definition of the default printer device, which

can be found in your Narrowcast Server tutorial system,
under System Administration/Devices/Print/.
Create a new print device to point to a printer of your

choosing.
If you do not need print functionality at this time, you can

safely ignore the warning and revisit the print devices at a
later time. All other Narrowcast Server functionality will
continue to work as expected.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server

The system could not be updated

an e-mail address. Once you provide an e-mail address,
Narrowcast Administrator uses this address for both the
sender address when delivering e-mail messages and for the
recipient address for the tutorial services. To update the
sender address, Narrowcast Administrator updates the
system with this information. If for some reason the system
cannot be contacted or the address information cannot be
updated, this error results.
1 Ensure that the tutorial system database is available in the

correct location. The file TUTORIAL_DELIVERY_7200
must exist in the folder../Program_File_Path/
Narrowcast Server/Tutorial/Database, where
Program_File_Path is the file path selected during
installation where program files should be installed.
2 Ensure that you have a system data source name on the

local machine named MicroStrategy_Tutorial_Delivery.
This data source name must point to the database file
described in the previous step. Authentication should not
be required.
3 Ensure that this database is not set as read only.
Once you have resolved the underlying problem, simply close

and reopen Narrowcast Administrator to complete the
configuration step automatically.
The Subscription Book could not be accessed

recipient addresses, Narrowcast Administrator updates the
Subscription Book with this information. If for some reason
the Subscription Book cannot be contacted or the address
information cannot be updated, this error results.
1 Ensure that the tutorial system database is available in the

correct location. The file TUTORIAL_DELIVERY_7200
must exist under in the folder ../Program_File_Path/
Narrowcast Server/Tutorial/Database, where
Program_File_Path is the file path selected during
installation where program files should be installed.
2 Ensure that you have a system data source name on the

local machine named MicroStrategy_Tutorial_Delivery.
This data source name must point to the database file
described in the previous step. Authentication should not
be required.
3 Ensure that this database is not set as read only.
4 Ensure that the correct data source name is provided for

the tutorial system Subscription Book. Select Edit
System Configuration from the System menu. In the
Subscription Book section, ensure that the data source
name described above is specified. No login, password, or
database name is required.

configuration step automatically

The Subscription Book does not contain any users

tutorial service recipient addresses, the Subscription Book
used by the tutorial system must contain the tutorial users. If
the Subscription Book is empty, this error results.
Reinstall the MicroStrategy Tutorial for Narrowcast

Server and choose to overwrite the tutorial repository
when prompted.
You lose all changes made to both the tutorial

system and the Subscription Book.
Manually add a user with an e-mail address to the

Subscription Book.
If you choose the option to manually add a user, the tutorial

services are not delivered when executed since the users
subscribed to these services no longer exist. Once you have
resolved the underlying problem, simply close and reopen
Narrowcast Administrator to complete the configuration step
automatically.
A running Intelligence Server was not provided

The tutorial services deliver reports from the MicroStrategy
Tutorial project. As a result, for the tutorial services to work
properly, Narrowcast Server must be able to connect to a
running MicroStrategy Intelligence Server with the tutorial
project available. If you installed both Intelligence Server and
Narrowcast Server on the same machine, Narrowcast Server
should locate this Intelligence Server and project
automatically and connect to the Intelligence Server without
asking. However, if Narrowcast Server cannot find a running

MicroStrategy Intelligence Server with the tutorial project
available or cannot connect to it using the default login and
password (login: Administrator, password: blank), you are
prompted to provide the location of this machine as well as
the login and password. If you do not provide the location,
login, and password of a suitable MicroStrategy Intelligence
Server, this error displays. To correct this problem, ensure
that
MicroStrategy Intelligence Server is installed on a

networked machine in a trusted domain
the tutorial project is available
the Intelligence Server is running
the product versions of Narrowcast Server and

Intelligence Server are the same
you can provide the correct login and password when
prompted by Narrowcast Server

It may take a few minutes for Intelligence Server to start after

you restart your computer. If the Intelligence Server does not
start, the following steps describe how to start it.


3 When you are finished, close the Service Manager and

reopen Narrowcast Administrator to complete the

Intelligence Server information is invalid

One or more of the following errors has occurred:
A running Intelligence Server was not found on machine

<machine name>.
The login/password for the Intelligence Server <machine

name> are invalid.
The tutorial project is not available on the Intelligence

Server <machine name>.
The tutorial services deliver reports from the MicroStrategy

Tutorial project. As a result, for the tutorial services to work
properly, Narrowcast Server must be able to connect to a
running MicroStrategy Intelligence Server with the tutorial
project available. If you installed both Intelligence Server and
Narrowcast Server on the same machine, Narrowcast Server
should locate this Intelligence Server and project
automatically and connect to the server without asking.
However, if Narrowcast Server cannot find a running
MicroStrategy Intelligence Server with the tutorial project
available or cannot connect to it using the default login and
password (login: Administrator, password: none), you are
prompted to provide the location of this machine as well as
the login and password. If you do not provide the location,
login, and password of a suitable MicroStrategy Intelligence
Server, this error displays. To correct this problem, ensure
that
MicroStrategy Intelligence Server is installed on a

networked machine in a trusted domain
the tutorial project is available
the Intelligence Server is running
the product versions of Narrowcast Server and

Intelligence Server are the same
you can provide the correct login and password when

prompted by Narrowcast Server

SequeLink ODBC Socket Server is not running on this machine

The MicroStrategy Tutorial for Narrowcast Server provides a
fully configured Subscription Portal so that you can subscribe
to tutorial services without customization. For this
functionality to work, all Narrowcast Server product
components including the Subscription Portal and SequeLink
ODBC Socket Server must be installed on the local machine.
You cannot install these components on a separate machine
and select these machine locations for use by the tutorial
system. You can, however, install all product components on
the local machine and then configure your Subscription
Portal at a later time to use distributed system components.
To resolve this problem, ensure that
you have installed the Subscription Portal and SequeLink

ODBC Socket Server on the local machine (SequeLink
ODBC Socket Server is automatically selected to be
installed whenever Narrowcast Server Administrative
Console or Subscription Portal are selected to be
installed)
you restarted your machine after installation
the following services are started:
SLAgent54
SLSocket54

The Subscription Portal is not running on this machine

fully configured Subscription Portal so that you can subscribe
to tutorial services without customization. For this
functionality to work, all Narrowcast Server product
components including the Subscription Portal and SequeLink
ODBC Socket Server must be installed on the local machine.

You cannot install these components on a separate machine

and select these machine locations for use by the tutorial
system. You can, however, install all product components on
the local machine and then configure your Subscription
Portal at a later time to use distributed system components.
To resolve this problem, ensure that
you have installed the Subscription Portal and SequeLink

ODBC Socket Server on the local machine (SequeLink
ODBC Socket Server is automatically selected to be
installed whenever Narrowcast Server Administrative
Console or Subscription Portal are selected to be
installed)
you restarted your machine after installation
the following services are started:
SLAgent54
SLSocket54

This machine is currently in use by system <system name>

fully configured system so that you can deliver tutorial
services without making any changes. To do this, Narrowcast
Server adds the following Narrowcast Server system
components to the local machine: a distribution manager, an
execution engine, and a MicroStrategy Logging Server.
However, since any given machine can only be used by one
Narrowcast Server system, this step is not completed if the
local machine is currently in use by another system as a
distribution manager, execution engine, or MicroStrategy
Logging Server. To resolve this problem, reconfigure the
system that currently has one or more components on the
local machine and remove this machine from the system.
Please review the configuration log file to learn more

To learn more about the specific error you encountered,
review the log file DELogXXX.TXT where XXX is the date and
time in Universal Time Coordinated (UTC). If this log does
not identify your problem, contact MicroStrategy Support
(see Technical Support starting on page xxii).
Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Project

Builder tutorial

part of the tutorial. You must install all components of
MicroStrategy Desktop and Intelligence Server for this link to
be active.
For detailed instructions on installing these products, see

Install the MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition starting on
page 3.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Project Builder tutorial

306 Troubleshooting the MicroStrategy Project Builder tutorial 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.
GLOSSARY
access control A facility of the MicroStrategy security subsystem that

defines and enforces the rights of users in accessing and
modifying MicroStrategy objects such as reports and filters.
access control list A list of users and groups and the access permissions that
each has for an object.
active user A user who logs in to a MicroStrategy system. When a user

logs in to the system, a user session is established and
remains open until the user logs out of the system or the
system logs the user out. Users that are logged in but are not
doing anything still consume some resources on Intelligence
Server.
ActiveX Data Objects A set of interfaces designed for accessing a wide variety of
data sources through OLE DB system interfaces. ADO MD
(multidimensional) provides a set of interfaces that are
optimized for multidimensional data applications.
ad hoc query An SQL query dynamically constructed by desktop tools and

indeterminate prior to issuance. The user is asking a new
question that has not been answered by an existing report.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. access control 307

Glossary Introduction to MicroStrategy
additive The characteristic of facts that can be summed or otherwise

aggregated.
See aggregate function.
administrator The user category of one who installs and monitors software
and user configurations, maintains the state of the software,
and administers the different MicroStrategy servers in the
platform. An administrator also defines users, assigns user
login accounts and user privileges, and analyzes the
performance of the system.
ADO See ActiveX Data Objects.
ADO-MD See ActiveX Data Objects.
aggregatable The characteristic of facts that can be summed or otherwise

aggregated.
aggregate data Information or facts added together or aggregated to form

summaries of information considered as a whole. For
example, weekly revenues are aggregated to determine the
company's monthly profits.
aggregate function A numeric function that acts on a column of data and

produces a single result. Examples include SUM, COUNT,
MAX, MIN, and AVG.
aggregate navigation Following the traversal paths among facts at different levels
of aggregation in different tables. The engine uses aggregate
navigation to go to the smallest table where the fact exists at
the requested level. For example, from a Store attribute, a
user may be able to move up to the State, District, Region,
and Country levels.
308 additive 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Introduction to MicroStrategy Glossary
aggregate table A fact table that stores data that has been aggregated along
one or more dimensions.
See pre-aggregation.
aggregation The combining of numeric data at a specific attribute level.

The most common function is sum, which creates an additive
total.
See also aggregate function.
allocation An optional aspect of a fact extension that allows distribution

of values according to a user-defined calculation expression.
Compare degradation.
analysis object 1) A MicroStrategy object used by applications and

comprising the following classesproject, report, template,
filter, metric, folder.
2) In Narrowcast Server, a Delivery Engine component that

creates and defines the message, defines recipients, and
schedules message transmission. This object is created by
service designers and administered by the application
administrator. The analysis object types are document,
imported file, information object, publication, question
object, schedule, service, and subscription set.
analyst The user category of one who accesses reports, performs

drilling, does exception reporting, generates report
requirements, and is aware of the necessary analysis. An
analyst receives useful data from information devices like
alphanumeric pagers, fax machines, and e-mail without fully
understanding how such information is derived or delivered.
analytical application In MicroStrategy, a software application designed to provide

predefined reports and other analytics, based on a predefined
metadata repository, for various industries to gain insight
into their business data. The application is not fixed to a
specific physical schema, giving it the flexibility to be ported
to a company's existing data warehouse.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. aggregate table 309

Analytical Engine A component of the MicroStrategy Intelligence Server that

performs all advanced analytical functions. The Analytical
Engine evaluates functions not supported by the data
warehouse RDBMS and it cross-tabulates reports.
API See application program interface.
application object MicroStrategy object used to provide analysis of and insight

into relevant data. Application objects are developed in
MicroStrategy Desktop and they are the building blocks for
reports and documents. Application objects include these
object types: report, document, template, filter, metric,
custom group, consolidation, prompt.
application program A set of related functions that provides an interface between

interface (API) existing applications and new applications. The API can be
seen as a platform over a set of services on which new
applications can be built. The functions, or interfaces, are
implemented in a Dynamic Link Library and are defined in a
standardized syntax. Application functionality available in
the platform can be integrated or embedded into other
applications through the use of the APIs.
application-level In application-level partitioning, the application rather than

partition the database server manages the partition tables.
MicroStrategy supports two methods of application-level
partitioning: metadata partition mapping and warehouse
partition mapping.
Compare database-level partition.
apply function A function that allows you to insert custom SQL into an
expression.
310 Analytical Engine 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

attribute A data level defined by the system architect and associated

with one or more columns in a data warehouse lookup table.
Attributes include data classifications like Region, Order,
Customer, Age, Item, City, and Year. They provide a means
for aggregating and filtering at a given level.
See also:
attribute element
attribute form
child attribute
constant attribute
derived attribute
parent attribute
attribute drill path In MicroStrategy, a path that determines which attributes are
presented to an interface; typically a project defines drill
paths from parent attributes to their children.
attribute element A value of any of the attribute forms of an attribute. For

example, New York and Dallas are elements of the attribute
City; January, February, and March are elements of the
attribute Month.
attribute form One of several columns associated with an attribute that are
different aspects of the same thing. ID, Name, Last Name,
Long Description, and Abbreviation could be forms of the
attribute Customer. Every attribute supports its own
collection of forms.
attribute qualifier A filter that qualifies on an attribute.
attribute relationship See relationship.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. attribute 311

attribute role A database column that is used to define more than one
attribute. For example, Billing City and Shipping City are two
attributes that have the same table and columns defined as a
lookup table.
authentication The system process of validating user login information. A

login ID and password are compared against an authorized
list, and if a match is detected, specific access rights are
granted to the user.
authentication object A MicroStrategy object that specifies both who the user is and
the security context within which that user will interact with
the system. An authentication object contains the security
information required (such as user login ID and password) to
make a connection or perform task execution.
auto text code Dynamic text that is populated by the document or dataset,
consisting of the document's or dataset's properties rather
than data from the data warehouse. Examples of auto text
codes, which can be considered as a type of variable, are
document name, page number, and execution time. Auto text
codes are contained in text field controls on a document.
See also:
data field
text field
autostyle 1) A set of predefined formatting settings that can be applied

to a report in either MicroStrategy Desktop or MicroStrategy
Web.
2) A document that stores formatting properties for various

control types in a document.
312 attribute role 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

axis A vector along which data is displayed. There are three

axesRow, Column, and Page. When a user defines a
template for a report, he places template unitsattributes,
dimensions, metrics, consolidations, and custom
groupsalong each axis.
See also:
column
row
banding A method of organizing values according to a set of

descriptive or meaningful data ranges called buckets. For
example, customers in the age ranges of 1020, 2130, and
3140, where each set of ages is a band. Banding is also used
for display purposes, where every other row is a different
color and the two colors alternate.
Compare consolidation.
base fact column A fact column represented by a single column in a fact table.
base table A fact table that stores data at the lowest level of
dimensionality.
Boolean A logical value that is either TRUE or FALSE (sometimes

implemented as 1 and 0, respectively).
browse To scan for an element in a hierarchy. Generally, browsing

implies viewing, rather than changing information.
browse path A navigation path used for browsing metadata.
business intelligence A system that facilitates the analysis of volumes of complex

(BI) system data by providing the ability to view data from multiple
perspectives.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. axis 313

cache A special data store holding recently accessed information for

quick future access. This is normally done for frequently
requested reports, whose execution is faster because they
need not run against the database. Results from the data
warehouse are stored separately and can be used by new job
requests that require the same data. In the MicroStrategy
environment, when a user runs a report for the first time, the
job is submitted to the database for processing. However, if
the results of that report are cached, the results can be
returned immediately without having to wait for the database
to process the job the next time the report is run.
cache hit An indicator determining whether a cache has been used by

job execution or not.
cardinality The number of unique elements for an attribute.
catalog The table that contains the names of all non-temporary tables
in a data warehouse.
characteristic attribute An attribute that is a parent of a child attribute, but not part
of the main hierarchy associated with the child attribute.
For example, consider a hierarchy consisting of Year, Month,
and Day. Day of Week is a parent of Day, and a characteristic
attribute.
child attribute The lower-level attribute in an attribute relationship.
See also:
parent attribute
relationship
child dependency Occurs when an object uses other objects in its definition.
See also parent dependency.
314 cache 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

client The type of computer that users employ to access

applications in one or more common server computers.
See also server.
cluster A collection of two or more machines that provide services to

a common set of users. Each machine in the cluster is called a
node.
See also clustering.
clustering A configuration strategy that provides uninterrupted access

to data, enhanced scalability, and increased performance for
users.
See also cluster.
column 1) A one-dimensional vertical array of values in a table.
2) The set of fields of a given name and data type in all the
rows of a given table.
3) MicroStrategy object in the schema layer that can

represent one or more physical table columns or no columns.
See also:
axis
row
component A named major piece of a MicroStrategy software product.
compound attribute An attribute that has more than one key (ID) form.
compound key In a relational database, a primary key consisting of more

than one database column.
compound metric A metric that cannot have a level placed on the entire metric,
although it can be set separately on each of the components.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. client 315

concurrent users Users that execute reports or use the system in one way or
another at the same time.
conditional formatting A method used to format specified controls in a document

depending on predefined criteria. It allows certain properties
of controls, including sections, to be controlled by
data-driven conditions.
conditional metric A metric containing filter criteria in its definition.
configuration object A MicroStrategy object appearing in the system layer and

usable across multiple projects. Configuration objects include
these object types: users, database instances, database login
IDs, schedules.
console user A user who works with the Narrowcast Administrator

console, managing subscriptions, developing services, and
administering the system, in contrast to an end user.
See also end user.
consolidation An object that can be placed on a template and is made up of

an ordered collection of elements called consolidation
elements. Each element is a grouping of attribute elements
that accommodates inter-row arithmetic operations.
Compare custom group.
consolidation element A line item in a consolidation based on attribute elements.

For example, Year=2002 / Year=2003.
constant attribute See implicit attribute.
316 concurrent users 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

control Any item in a Report Services document's Layout area that

you can select. This can be a text field, line, rectangle, image,
or Grid/Graph object. These different kinds of controls are
referred to as control types.
See also:
Grid/Graph
text field
control default A set of properties that can be set for each type of control and
each section in a document. You can set the defaults
according to the control that is currently selected; afterward,
its format is applied to any object of the same type that you
create in the document.
cross-tab To reconfigure a grid report by moving elements to different

axes. Includes the pivot function.
cross-tabulation Reformatting tabular data into data organized by multiple

axes: rows, columns, and in some cases, pages.
custom group An object that can be placed on a template and is made up of

an ordered collection of elements called custom group
elements. Each element contains its own set of filtering
qualifications.
custom SQL Additional SQL code independently created by the user for
execution against the data warehouse.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. control 317

data field Dynamic text that is populated from a dataset with data that
originated in the data warehouse (or an Intelligence Server
cache). A data field is only a reference to the metric, attribute,
consolidation, or custom group on a report. Data fields are
contained in text field controls on a document.
See also:
auto text code
text field
data repository A logical and sometimes physical partitioning of data in

multiple databases that apply to specific applications or sets
of applications. For example, several databases (revenues and
expenses) that support financial applications (A/R, A/P) can
reside in a single financial data repository.
See also repository.
data source name Referred to as a DSN, stores all necessary information for
(DSN) locating and logging in to a specific database. This
information varies depending on the particular database
server, but a DSN generally includes such information as host
machine name or IP address, instance name, and database
name.
data warehouse 1) A database, typically very large, containing the historical

data of an enterprise. Used for decision support or business
intelligence, it organizes data and allows coordinated updates
and loads.
2) A copy of transaction data specifically structured for query,

reporting, and analysis.
database administrator One who manages a database. The database administrator

determines the content, internal structure, and access
strategy for a database, defines security and integrity, and
monitors database performance.
318 data field 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

database connection Stores all database-specific connection information such as

DSN, driver mode, and SQL execution mode as well as
connection caching information.
database instance 1) Database server software running on a particular machine.

Though it is technically possible to have more than one
instance running on a machine, there is usually only one
instance per machine.
2) The MicroStrategy object that represents a logical

definition of a data warehouse. It stores all information
necessary for MicroStrategy to access the data warehouse for
a particular project.
database login Stores the login ID and password that MicroStrategy

Intelligence Server uses to connect to a particular database.
See also:
login ID
password
database-level partition In database partitioning (sometimes called server

partitioning), the database server rather than MicroStrategy
manages the partitions. Typically, the original table is not
physically broken into smaller tables. Instead, the database
server logically partitions the table according to parameters
specified by the database administrator. Since only the logical
table is displayed to the end user, database partitioning is
transparent to MicroStrategy and you do not need to take any
action in MicroStrategy to support this kind of partitioning.
See also application-level partition.
data mart 1) A database, usually smaller than a data warehouse,

designed to help managers make strategic decisions about
their business by focusing on a specific subject or
department.
2) A database instance used to store result sets saved to data

mart tables.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. database connection 319

data mart report A special kind of report that saves its report data in a
database rather than returning those results to the user. Data
mart reports either create a new table in the database to store
the report data or append the report data into an existing
table.
dataset A MicroStrategy report that retrieves data from the data

warehouse or cache. It is used to define the data available on
a document.
Dataset Objects 1) A panel in the Document Editor that shows all objects
(grouped by datasets) that can be used in the document.
2) All objects that can be used in the document as supplied by

the datasets. Dataset Objects are attributes, consolidations,
custom groups, and metrics.
DBA See database administrator.
deciling The method by which a group is broken up into ten groups of

equal elements. The first decile consists of the top ten
percent; the second, the 11th to 20th percent; the third, the
21st to 30th percent; and so on.
decision support A set of software applications intended to allow users to

system search vast stores of information for specific reports that are
critical for making management decisions. These
applications also allow end users to create ad hoc queries.
See also business intelligence system.
degradation A type of fact extension in which values at one level of

aggregation are reported at a second, lower attribute level.
Compare allocation.

derived attribute An attribute calculated from a mathematical operation on

columns in a warehouse table. For example, Age can be
calculated from the expression [Current DateBirth Date].
See also:
attribute
implicit attribute
derived fact column A fact column created through a mathematical combination

of other existing fact columns.
derived metric A metric based on data already available in a report. It is

calculated by the Intelligence Server, not in the database. Use
a derived metric to perform column math, that is,
calculations on other metrics, on report data after it has been
returned from the database.
description column Optional column that contains text descriptions of attribute

elements.
developer The user category of one who develops custom applications

using common programming languages such as Visual Basic,
VC++, PowerBuilder, Delphi, and the MicroStrategy SDK.
document 1) A container for objects representing data coming from one

or more reports, as well as positioning and formatting
information. A document is used to format data from
multiple reports in a single display of presentation quality.
2) The MicroStrategy object that supports the functionality

defined in (1).
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. derived attribute 321

drill 1) A method of obtaining supplementary information after a

report has been executed. The new data is retrieved by
requerying the Intelligent Cube or database at a different
attribute or fact level.
2) A link from one document to another document, report, or

HTML document. Prompt answers for the destination can be
included in the drill.
See also:
page-by
pivot
sort
subtotal
surf
drill across The drilling function in which the dimension is changed, as in

from Store to Product.
drill down A method of exploring for more detailed data by revealing

lower-level data than previously displayed. For instance, you
can drill down from State to City. Available levels depend on
the granularity of the data in the data warehouse.
drill link A URL hyperlink to a destination, defining the parameters,

such as the document name and prompt answers, for the
drill. When the document is viewed in Web, a user can click
the link to navigate to the link's destination.
drill up A method of exploring for more widely summarized data.

Available levels depend on the granularity of aggregates in
the data warehouse.
See also aggregation.
322 drill 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

driver A hardware device or a program that controls or regulates

another device.
See also:
ODBC
VLDB settings
DSN See data source name.
dynamic aggregation Rollup of metric values that occurs when an attribute is

moved from the report grid to the Report Objects. Whenever
the attributes in the Report Objects are not the same as the
attributes on the grid, dynamic aggregation has occurred.
Dynamic aggregation happens on-the-fly, in memory.
element See attribute element.
end user (n.) In Narrowcast Server, a subscriber, the person receiving

messages from a Delivery Engine service, in contrast to a
console user.
See also console user.
endpoint Port inside the computer where a server listens for incoming
messages. When several servers are running concurrently on
the same machine, the port assignments differentiate one
from the next.
end-user (adj.) Pertaining to an end user.
entity relationship A diagram that provides a graphical representation of the

diagram (ERD) physical structure of the data in the source system, which lets
you easily recognize tables and columns and the data stored
in those columns.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. driver 323

expression Formulas built from functions, attributes, facts, metrics, and

consolidations that can be used to define attribute forms, fact
calculations, metrics, or filters.
See also aggregate function.
fact 1) A measurement value, often numeric and typically

aggregatable, stored in a data warehouse.
2) A schema object representing a column in a data

warehouse table and containing basic or aggregated
numbersusually prices, or sales in dollars, or inventory
quantities in counts.
See also metric.
fact column A column in a database table that contains fact data.
fact extension A virtual table created at run time to extend the level of a fact
from its original level to that required by the report. Defines
how a fact that does not relate to all levels, relates to any
unrelated levels.
fact table A database table containing numeric data that can be

aggregated along one or more dimensions. Fact tables can
contain atomic or summarized data.
filter A MicroStrategy object that specifies a set of criteria used to

limit the data returned in a report. Specifically, it limits the
returned values of an attribute in the result set to a specified
range. It is normally implemented in the SQL WHERE
clause. Examples include 2003, All weekdays in May,
Stores in the Northeast.
folder A MicroStrategy object used for grouping and storing in a

single place a set of objects that are similar, such as filters,
templates, and reports.
324 expression 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

form One of several columns that are different representations of

the same thing, such as ID, Name, Long Description,
Abbreviation.
See also attribute form.
formatting layer The part of a report that allows you to control how a report
looks. The basic formatting layers are zones, which are the
rows and headers of a report, and grid units, which are the
attribute values. Other formatting layers, such as thresholds
and subtotals, can be thought of as extensions of these two
basic types.
formatting zone Determines what formatting is applied to any data or object

located in the zone. When an object on a report is moved
from one formatting zone to another (as a result of pivoting,
for example), the formatting of the object changes based on
the new zone.
four-tier In the context of MicroStrategy system configurations, a

four-tier system consists of a Web browser client, the
MicroStrategy Web Server, the MicroStrategy Intelligence
Server, and the database.
Compare:
two-tier
three-tier
function plug-in Allows user-defined functions to be used by the

MicroStrategy Analytical Engine.
governor One of several parameters set by the administrator that

collectively and under certain conditions prevent a job from
executing or a user from making a connection.
graph view Report viewing mode that displays results as a graphical

chart.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. form 325

grid view Report viewing mode that displays result data in a tabular
format.
Grid/Graph A control placed in a document that displays information in

the same way a MicroStrategy report does.
heterogeneous column Columns in different tables in a database that store the same
naming data but have different names. For example, one column
named Customer in one table and one named Customer
Name in a different table, both containing customer names.
hierarchy A set of attributes defining a meaningful path for element

browsing or drilling. The order of the attributes is
typicallythough not alwaysdefined such that a higher
attribute has a one-to-many relationship with its child
attributes.
highly denormalized Schema type where not only are higher-level attribute ID
schema columns present within all related tables, but the description
columns are present as well.
highly normalized Schema type where lookup tables contain unique

schema developer-designed attribute keys.
history cache A report result saved for future reference via the History List
by a specific user.
History List The portion of the interface that allows users to retrieve the
results of previously executed or scheduled reports and
HTML documents.
homogeneous column Columns in different tables of a database that contain the

naming same data and have the same column name.
HTML document 1) A compound report displaying multiple grids and graphs.
2) The MicroStrategy object that supports such a report.
326 grid view 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

ID column A column that contains attribute element identification

codes. All attributes must have an ID column.
implicit attribute An attribute that does not physically exist in the database
because it is created at the application level. Such an attribute
has its expression defined as a constant value, though
nothing is saved in a column. For example, you may want to
create columns in the database with a value of 1 for every row
to get around COUNT limitations. You don not have to
actually create the column, though, because in the Attribute
Editor, you can just enter a 1 in the expression to create a
count. Implicit attributes are useful in analyzing and
retrieving information. When analyzing data, you can use
constant attributes to create a COUNT to keep track of the
number of rows returned. You can use constant attributes
when building metrics, where you can sum the column
holding the constant to create a COUNT. Any constant is
acceptable.
Compare derived attribute.
incremental fetch A feature that returns a large result set to the client in
numerous small pieces. This ensures that network traffic and
client processing is kept to a minimum.
inbox synchronization The process of synchronizing inboxes across all nodes in the
cluster, so that all nodes contain the same History List
messages.
Intelligent Cube A copy of the report data saved in memory and used for
manipulation of the view definition. This division allows
multiple reports with different views to share a common data
definition.
job An instance of a report or a document execution in the

join A SQL operation that combines data from multiple tables into
a single result table.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. ID column 327

joint children Joint child relationships are another type of many-to-many

relationship where one attribute has a many-to-many
relationship to two otherwise unrelated attributes. These
relationships can be modeled and conceptualized like
traditional attributes, but like facts, they exist at the
intersection of multiple attribute levels.For example,
consider the relationship between three attributes:
promotion, item, and quarter. In this case, promotion has a
many-to-many relationship to both item and quarter. An
example of a promotion might be a Red Sale where all red
items are on sale. A business might run this promotion
around Valentine's Day (Q1) and again at Christmas time
(Q4).
key form One of a set of attribute forms required for unique

identification of an element within an attribute. Also called
the ID or ID form.
See also attribute form.
level 1) In a data warehouse, facts are said to be stored at a

particular level defined by the attribute IDs present in the fact
table. For example, if a fact table has a Date column, an
Item_ID column, and a fact column, that fact is stored at the
Date/Item level.
2) With regard to metric calculation, the level is the level of

calculation for the metric. For example, a metric on a report
with Year and Store attributes would be calculated at the
Year/Store level.
See also level of aggregation.
level of aggregation The point in an attribute hierarchy where aggregation is

performed. For example, in the geographical
State--City--Store hierarchy there are three possible levels of
aggregation.
328 joint children 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

load balancing A strategy aimed at achieving even distribution of

MicroStrategy Web user sessions across MicroStrategy
Intelligence Servers. MicroStrategy achieves four-tier load
balancing by incorporating load balancers into MicroStrategy
Web.
lock schema An application designer can lock the schema while making
changes to the schema to ensure that no other users are
making changes at the same time.
locked hierarchy A hierarchy that has at least one attribute that may not be
browsed by end users. Application Designers typically lock
hierarchies if there are so many attribute elements that
element browsing is not usable.
log A file that traces and records events that occur in the
MicroStrategy environment. Primarily used for
troubleshooting.
logical data model A graphical representation of data that is arranged logically

for the general user, as opposed to the physical data model or
warehouse schema, which arranges data for efficient
database use.
login ID A text string usually entered along with a password during

login; sometimes called a user name.
lookup table A database table used to uniquely identify attribute elements.

They typically consist of descriptions of dimensions. Lookup
tables are usually joined to fact tables to group the numeric
facts in the fact table by dimensional attributes in the lookup
tables.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. load balancing 329

many-to-many An attribute relationship in which multiple elements of a

parent attribute can relate to multiple elements of a child
attribute, and vice versa.
See also:
one-to-one
one-to-many
many-to-one
relationship
many-to-one An attribute relationship in which (1) multiple elements of a

parent attribute relate to only one element of a child
attribute, and (2) every element of the child attribute can
relate to multiple elements of the parent.
See also:
one-to-one
one-to-many
many-to-many
relationship
matching cache Report results retained for the purpose of being reused by the
same report requests later on.
matching-history cache A Matching cache with at least one History List message
referencing it.
metadata A repository whose data associates the tables and columns of

a data warehouse with user-defined attributes and facts to
enable the mapping of the business view, terms, and needs to
the underlying database structure. Metadata can reside on
the same server as the data warehouse or on a different
database server. It can even be held in a different RDBMS.
330 many-to-many 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

metadata partition A type of application-level partitioning where the mapping of

mapping partitions is carried out and maintained in the project
metadata.
metadata The process of synchronizing object caches across all nodes in

synchronization the cluster.
metric 1) A business calculation defined by an expression built with

functions, facts, attributes, or other metrics. For example:
sum(dollar_sales) or [Sales] - [Cost]
2) The MicroStrategy object that contains the metric

definition.
See also fact.
metric qualifier A filter that qualifies based on the value of the metric.
MicroStrategy object The objects available in MicroStrategy applications, such as

reports, documents, filters, metrics, attributes, and so on.
moderately normalized Schema type having the same basic structure as the highly
schema normalized schema, but here the higher-level attribute ID
columns are present within all related tables.
MOLAP Multidimensional online analytical processing.
multidimensional A form of analysis of the data in a data warehouse that

analysis includes many relationships, each representing a dimension.
For example, a retail analysis may seek to understand the
relationships among sales by region, by quarter, by
demographic distribution (income, education level, gender),
and by product. Multidimensional analysis provides results
for these complex relationships.
multidimensional Copy of the report data saved in memory. This cache is used
cache for manipulation of the view definition. Also called an
Intelligent Cube.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. metadata partition mapping 331

multiprocessing Characteristic of an application that supports the

simultaneous execution of more than one process.
multithreaded Characteristic of a process that supports the simultaneous

execution of multiple threads. The startup code initiates the
primary thread of a process by passing the main function
address to the operating system. When the primary thread
terminates, the process terminates.
nonaggregatable A metric that is not additive along all dimensions. For

metric example, Stock On Hand at End of Week is not additive
across time: the stock on hand at the end of the week is not
the sum of the stock on hand at end of each day in the week.
object template Prebuilt guidelines for creating application objects such as

reports, filters, and templates.
ODBC See Open Database Connectivity.
one-to-many An attribute relationship in which every element of a parent

attribute can relate to multiple elements of a child attribute,
while every element of the child attribute relates to only one
element of the parent. The one-to-many attribute
relationship is the most common in data models.
See also:
one-to-one
many-to-many
many-to-one
relationship
332 multiprocessing 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

one-to-one An attribute relationship in which every element of the

parent attribute relates to exactly one element of the child
attribute, and vice versa.
See also:
one-to-many
many-to-one
many-to-many
relationship
Open Database An open standard with which client computers can

Connectivity communicate with relational database servers. Client
machines make a connection to a particular logical database,
on a particular physical database server, using a particular
ODBC driver.
outline mode Report viewing mode that creates indented, collapsible

groupings of related elements to make reports neater and
easier to read.
page-by Segmenting data in a grid report by placing available

attributes, consolidations, and metrics on a third axis called
the Page axis. Since a grid is two-dimensional, only a slice of
the cube can be seen at any one time. The slice is
characterized by the choice of elements on the Page axis. By
varying the selection of elements, the user can page through
the cube.
See also:
drill
pivot
sort
subtotal
surf
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. one-to-one 333

parent attribute The higher-level attribute in an attribute relationship with

one or more children.
See also:
child attribute
relationship
parent dependency Occurs when an object is used as part of the definition of

other objects.
See also child dependency.
partial relationship An attribute relationship in which elements of one attribute

relate to elements of a second attribute, while the opposite is
not necessarily true.
See also:
relationship
one-to-many
many-to-one
many-to-many
partition A relational database table broken down into smaller

component tables. This can be done at the database level ar at
the application level.
See also:
application-level partition
database-level partition
334 parent attribute 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

partition base table A warehouse table that contains one part of a larger set of
data. Partition tables are usually divided along logical lines,
such as time or geography. Also referred to as a PBT.
See also partition mapping.
partition mapping The division of large logical tables into smaller physical tables
based on a definable data level, such as month or department.
Partitions minimize the number of tables and records within
a table that must be read to satisfy queries issued against the
warehouse. By distributing usage across multiple tables,
partitions improve the speed and efficiency of database
queries.
password Preserves user account integrity in an application. Many

applications can associate both a password and a password
hint with each user.
physical warehouse A detailed graphic representation of your business data as it

schema is stored in the data warehouse. It organizes the logical data
model in a method that make sense from a database
perspective.
See also schema.
pivot To reconfigure data on a grid report by placing report objects

(attributes, metrics, consolidations) on different axes. Also,
to reconfigure a grid report by interchanging row and column
headers, and hence the associated data. Subset of cross-tab.
See also:
drill
page-by
sort
subtotal
surf
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. partition base table 335

plugin An application that can easily be installed and executed by

the MicroStrategy Intelligence Server in one of several
identical interfaces. For example, advanced statistical and
financial functions can be added as additional processing
components.
See also server-compliant.
pre-aggregation Aggregation, or the calculation of numeric data at a specific

attribute level, that is completed before reports are run, with
the results stored in an aggregate table.
See also:
aggregate table
aggregation
primary dataset The dataset used to define the grouping and sorting of a
document. Although a document can contain multiple
datasets, only objects from the primary dataset can be used to
group and sort the document.
See also dataset.
privilege Facility of the security subsystem in a MicroStrategy

environment that defines the functionality available to a user
e.g. which objects a given user can create and which
applications and editors he can use.
process An executing application comprising one or more threads.

Processes use temporary private address spaces and control
operating system resources such as files, dynamic memory
allocations, pipes, and synchronization objects.
processing unit MicroStrategy Intelligence Server component that

coordinates the execution of tasks. A processing unit allocates
the thread resources that the server uses to execute tasks.
336 plugin 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

project 1) The highest-level intersection of a data warehouse,

metadata repository, and user community, containing
reports, filters, metrics, and functions.
2) An object containing the definition of a project, as defined

in (1). The project object is specified when requesting the
establishment of a session.
project designer The user category of one who creates projects and all of the
schema objects (facts, attributes, hierarchies) for a project. A
project designer is thoroughly familiar with the data model
and schema object editors and wizards.
project source Defines a connection to the metadata database and is used by

various MicroStrategy products to access projects. A direct
project source is a two-tier connection directly to a metadata
repository. A server project source is a three-tier connection
to a MicroStrategy Intelligence Server. One project source
can contain many projects and the administration tools found
at the project source level are used to monitor and administer
all projects in the project source.
prompt 1) MicroStrategy object in the report definition that is

incomplete by design. The user is asked during the resolution
phase of report execution to provide an answer that
completes the information. A typical example with a filter is
choosing a specific attribute on which to qualify.
2) In general, a window requesting user input, as in type

login ID and password at the prompt.
Property List The list of settings used to specify the appearance or any
other characteristic of a control on a document.
PU See processing unit.
quality relationship The relationship between a parent attribute and two or more
joint child attributes. The parent attribute is referred to as a
quality because its definition is complete only with the
intersection of its joint children.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. project 337

query A request for data from a database or data warehouse. A

report is a database query.
Query Engine The MicroStrategy component responsible for submitting

SQL code to the database.
ratio The relationship in quantity, amount, or size between the

cardinalities of related attributes.
relate table A table containing the ID columns of two or more attributes,

thus defining associations between them.
relationship The logical structure or topology of associations between the

elements of a higher-level attribute (the parent) and the
elements of lower-level attributes (the children).
See also:
parent attribute
child attribute
partial relationship
quality relationship
one-to-one
one-to-many
many-to-one
many-to-many
report The central focus of any decision support investigation, a

report allows users to query for data, analyze that data, and
then present it in a visually pleasing manner.
See also:
filter
template
338 query 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

report designer The user category of one who creates all application objects
such as grid and graph reports, filters, templates, documents,
consolidations, and custom groups. The report designer
understands all of the business intelligence capabilities of the
system.
repository A SQL database that stores the following information: logins,

addresses, styles, groups, services, schedules, static
subscription lists, and report names.
See also data repository.
result set The data resulting from any stage of report execution,
although the final stage is usually meant.
role 1) Exists when one entity within a model serves multiple

purposes. In a schema model, attribute State can have the
roles of Supplier State and Customer State.
2) In the MicroStrategy security model, the set of permissions

or privileges that any given user can have over an object or an
application.
row The horizontal axis of a report.
See also:
axis
column
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. report designer 339

runtime environment The collection of installed software files on a machine that

provide all of the underlying functionality of a platform
product, but excluding the files that provide a user interface
to that functionality. There are two runtime environments
that make up the MicroStrategy platform - the Web Runtime
and the Client/Server Runtime. Each of these can be installed
separately and, therefore, are distributable runtime
environments. The primary function of a distributable
runtime environment is to provide an OEM partner with
packageable version of the product which only exposes the
APIs that their product needs to be fully functional.
See also application programming interface (API).
schema 1) The set of tables in a data warehouse associated with a

logical data model. The attribute and fact columns in those
tables are considered part of the schema itself.
2) The layout or structure of a database system. In relational

databases, the schema defines the tables, the fields in each
table, and the relationships between fields and tables.
schema object MicroStrategy object created, usually by a project designer,

that relates the information in the logical data model and
physical warehouse schema to the MicroStrategy
environment. These objects are developed in MicroStrategy
Architect, which can be accessed from MicroStrategy
Desktop. Schema objects directly reflect the warehouse
structure and include attributes, facts, functions, hierarchies,
operators, partition mappings, tables, and transformations.
SDK See Software Development Kit.
search-result folder A folder made by MicroStrategy typically containing shortcut

objects that point to the results of a search.
security Data and system protection from harm, corruption, and loss.
Especially on systems accessed by many users, this prevents
system access and use by unauthorized individuals.
340 runtime environment 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

security filter A qualification associated with a user that is applied to all

queries executed by that user.
security role In a MicroStrategy security model, the set of privileges that a

user can have.
server In a client/server computing environment, the server

receives and processes all requests that come from the client.
See also client.
server-compliant A component that obeys certain requirements to be used by

service 1) A mode of operation for applications running on Windows.

Services can be configured to start automatically when the
machine where they are located starts. A user is not required
to be logged on for a service to run. To set up an application
as a service, you must be the Windows administrator.
2) In Narrowcast Server, an object that provides all the

information needed for the Delivery Engine to generate
messages correctly. That information includes the delivery
conditions, content, personalization rules, and subscriptions
for sending messages for a particular purpose. For example,
one service delivers a daily message containing a stock
portfolio update, while another delivers alerts to wireless
devices when the value of a stock changes significantly. A
service comprises at least one schedule-subscription pair and
a set of publications.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. security filter 341

session 1) In general, the time during which a program is running. In

most interactive programs, a session is the time during which
the program accepts inputs and processes information.
2) In the context of MicroStrategy Intelligence Server, a

session is a connection from a client to the Intelligence
Server. Properties of a session include project source, project,
user name, password, and authentication mode.
3) An interactive client/server computing facility in which a

program in a server accepts inputs from a client and
processes information on behalf of an end user. Before the
session begins, a connection must be established between
client and server. A session is active when the programs are
running.
simple key In a relational database, a primary key that requires only one
column to uniquely identify a record within a table.
Software Development A distribution package of application program development

Kit software and the instructions for its use.
sort Arranging data according to some characteristic of the data

itself (alphabetical descending, numeric ascending, and so
forth).
See also:
drill
page-by
pivot
subtotal
surf
SQL See Structured Query Language.
342 session 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

SQL Engine The MicroStrategy Intelligence Server component that in

report execution converts report requests into SQL to be used
for a database query.
Structured Query The query language standardized in 1986 by the American

Language National Standards Institute (ANSI) and used to request
information from tables in a relational database and to
manipulate the tables structure and data.
subtotal A totaling operation performed for a portion of a result set.
See also:
drill
page-by
pivot
sort
surf
surf To add filters, attributes, attribute elements, metrics, and

functions to existing analysis objects.
See also:
drill
page-by
pivot
sort
subtotal
system hierarchy The superset hierarchy containing all attributes in a project.

Unlike a browse hierarchy, it is not explicitly created but is
automatically deduced by the MicroStrategy platform from
all information available to it.
Compare user hierarchy.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. SQL Engine 343

system tables The table or set of tables containing the names of, and
information about all non-temporary tables in a data
warehouse.
table The primary physical component of a data warehouse,

logically consisting of columns of data of varying types.
table partitioning A database design technique used to break down a large fact
table into smaller tables. MicroStrategy supports two
variations of partitioning: Metadata and Warehouse
partitioning.
task The smallest logical unit of work that MicroStrategy

Intelligence Server performs when processing a job. Some
tasks involved in processing a report include report
resolution, SQL generation, SQL execution, data
arrangement, and statistical analysis of the data.
template The data definition portion of the template consists of the

group of objects (attribute, metrics, custom groups, and so
on) that defines the columns of data to be included in the
result set. The layout and format of these objects are defined
within the template's view definition.
temporary table A physical data table that is created in the warehouse, stores
intermediate results sets, and allows query processing to
occur within the warehouse. The table is removed after query
processing completes.
344 system tables 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

text field A type of control in a document that displays text in the

document. These different types of text content are static
text, which does not change and serves as a label, and
dynamic text, which is populated by the document or dataset.
There are two types of dynamic text:
data field, which is populated from a dataset with data

that originated in the data warehouse (or an Intelligence
Server cache). A data field is only a reference to an object
on a report.
auto text code, which is populated by the document or

dataset, consisting of their properties rather than data
from the data warehouse
You may also have a combination of the above types in one

text field
See also:
auto text code
data field
thread The execution of a sequence of CPU instructions that exists

within a process. It is the basic unit of execution to which
Windows allocates CPU time. Each thread in a process is
associated with a set of CPU registers and a stack. A thread
can be the execution of any part of the code, including a part
currently associated with a different thread. All threads of a
process share the virtual address space, global variables, and
operating system resources of the process.
See also:
multithreaded
thread-safe
thread-safe Indicates that a class, code library, function, or any piece of

code can be safely called, or accessed simultaneously, by
several threads (re-entrance property) while ensuring that
one thread does not inadvertently replace the work of another
thread.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. text field 345

three-tier 1) A client/server architecture in which software systems are

structured into three layers: the user interface layer, the
business logic layer, and the database layer.
2) In the context of MicroStrategy system configurations, a

three-tier system consists of a MicroStrategy Desktop client,
the Intelligence Server, and the database.
Compare:
two-tier
four-tier
threshold Used to create conditional formatting for metric values. For

example, if dollar sales is greater than $200, format that cell
to have a blue background with bold type.
total A totaling operation performed either for an entire result set

(a grand total) or a portion of the set (a subtotal).
transformation A schema object that encapsulates a business rule used to

compare results of different time periods. Transformations
are used in the definition of a metric to alter the behavior of
that metric.
transformation metric An otherwise simple metric that takes the properties of the
transformation applied to it. For example, a metric calculates
total sales. Add a transformation for last year and the metric
now calculates last year's total sales.
346 three-tier 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

two-tier 1) A client/server architecture in which software systems are

structured into two layers: the user interface/business logic
layer and the database layer. Fourth-generation languages
like 4GL have helped to popularize the two-tier client/server
architecture.
2) In the context of MicroStrategy system configurations, a

two-tier system consists of a MicroStrategy Desktop client
and the database.
Compare:
three-tier
four-tier
user An individual who uses a computer system, application, or

resources. This person is usually associated with a user
account.
See also end user.
user account In a multi-user computer system, an established means for an

individual to gain access to the system and its resources.
Usually created by the system administrator, a user account
consists of information about the user, such as password,
rights, and permissions.
user category A classification of users of software. Generally speaking,

MicroStrategy has the following user categories:
administrator, application administrator, analyst, developer,
project designer, report designer, service designer,
subscription administrator, system administrator, system
developer.
user hierarchy Named sets of attributes and their relationships, arranged in

specific sequences for a logical business organization. They
are user-defined and do not need to follow the logical model.
Compare system hierarchy.
2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. two-tier 347

user name Login identifier, usually supplied with a password.
See also login ID.
view 1) In a database, an entity that behaves exactly like a table but

has no independent existence of its own.
2) In security terms, the complete set of permissions that a

particular user or group of users has.
view filter The set of criteria that restricts the report data that is
currently being viewed. It may include conditions based on
any of the report objects.
VLDB settings Settings that affect the way MicroStrategy Intelligence Server
interacts with the data warehouse.
warehouse partition A type of application-level partitioning where the mapping of

mapping partitions is carried out and maintained in the warehouse.
MicroStrategy uses a partition mapping table (PMT), which
lists the partition base tables (PBT) and relationships of the
smaller tables to the original table.
348 user name 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

INDEX
A attribute forms 152

defining with Project Builder 152
Analytics Modules 225
many-to-many relationships 263
components 185
one-to-many relationships 263
Customer Analysis Module 180
one-to-one relationships 263
documentation 186
overview 261
Financial Reporting Analysis
Module 181 attribute element defined on 262
Human Resources Analysis attribute form defined on 152
Module 170 defining in Project Builder 152
Sales and Distribution Analysis overview 272
Module 183
Sales Force Analysis Module 182
B
API
base fact column defined on 281
documentation 208
business intelligence defined on 212
in the MicroStrategy SDK 202
and Web applications 216
MicroStrategy Intelligence Server 205
architecture 218
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server 207
data proliferation 214
MicroStrategy Web 206
examples 212
application development
technology stack 218
learn about 55
trends 214
application objects
user proliferation 215
learn about 56
architecture
MicroStrategy 218 C
attribute defined on 152 calculation

Index Introduction to MicroStrategy
adding a derived metric 38, 79 with the MicroStrategy SDK 203

adding a new calculation 38, 79 entity relationship diagram
cardinality defined on 271 (ERD) defined on 267
catalog. See project. entity. See hierarchy.
category. See hierarchy. evaluation process 1, 2
class. See hierarchy. expression. See metric.
column defined on 275
base fact column 281 F
derived fact column 281
fact defined on 259
description 275
fact column defined on 275
fact 275
fact table defined on 151
heterogeneous 278
in Project Builder 151
homogeneous 278
overview 280
ID 275
Financial Reporting Analysis Module 181
compound key defined on 276
financial reports 48
compound metric
Folder List 56
creating in Project Builder 154
formatting
conditional formatting 29, 66
data slices 42, 84
creating projects with Project Builder 148
graphs 42, 84
creating reports
outline mode 34, 74
in MicroStrategy Web 97
page-by 42, 84
steps 52
formula. See compound metric.
Customer Analysis Module 180
G
D
graph reports 42, 84
data proliferation 214
data warehouse 217, 274, 283
delivery method, specifying with the Ser- H
vice Wizard 138, 164 heterogeneous column
derived fact column defined on 281 naming defined on 278
description column defined on 275 hierarchy defined on 153
detail. See fact. defining with Project Builder 153
dimension. See hierarchy. in logical data model 264
Drill mode. See page-by. in the MicroStrategy Tutorial 58
highly denormalized
schema defined on 285
E highly normalized schema defined on 283
enterprise application integration homogeneous column

Introduction to MicroStrategy Index
naming defined on 278 message content

HTML document defined on 27, specifying with the Service
defined on 65 Wizard 138, 164
Human Resources Analysis Module 170 metric defined on 151
human resources reports 48 compound metric 154
creating with Project Builder 151
I Microsoft Excel
MicroStrategy Office integration 106
ID column defined on 275
Microsoft PowerPoint, MicroStrategy Of-
installation fice integration 114
log file 19 Microsoft Word, MicroStrategy Office
uninstalling MicroStrategy integration 124
products 20 MicroStrategy
verification 19 architecture 218
Intelligent Cubes 220 product overview 219
international support xxi technical architecture 225
inventory reports 49 MicroStrategy Administrator
in platform architecture 224
K overview 6
MicroStrategy Analytics Modules
key
Web Traffic Analysis Module 184
compound 276
simple 276
key performance indicator. See fact.
overview 6
L accessing reports 158
level in platform architecture 221
fact table level 282 logging in 25
license key 8 MicroStrategy e-Trainer for Web 7
logical data model defined on 257, 262, MicroStrategy Intelligence Server
267, 273 API 202, 205
lookup table defined on 275 connecting to MicroStrategy Web 160
attribute relationships and 280 in platform architecture 219
the need for 286 registering a project 159
MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server 7
M API 202, 207
defining a service 163
many-to-many defined on 263
measure. See metric.

MicroStrategy Office 6, 106, 114, 124 one-to-many defined on 263

MicroStrategy SDK one-to-one defined on 263
APIs 202 online help
development tools 209 accessing xxii
enterprise application integration 203 outline mode defined on 34,
in platform architecture 224 defined on 74
overview 202 collapsing levels 35, 76
platform integration 204 expanding levels 35, 76
usage 203
Web customization 203 P
MicroStrategy Web
package. See project.
accessing reports 160
page-by defined on 42, defined on 84
API 202, 206
parameter-driven report 32, 73
connecting to MicroStrategy Intelli-
performance indicator. See fact.
gence Server 160
physical warehouse
schema defined on 274, 274, 287
logging in 63
platform integration, with the MicroStrat-
overview 6 egy SDK 204
MicroStrategy Web Universal Portal Integration Kit 209
configure 101 prerequisites xii
connecting to Intelligence Server 103 product sales reports 50
setting the document directory 102 project defined on 147
using 104 creating with Project Builder 147
viewing reports 99 registering with MicroStrategy Intelli-
moderately normalized gence Server 159
schema defined on 284 Project Builder
accessing 148
N choosing a database 150
creating compound metrics 154
Narrowcast Administrator, starting 163
creating metrics 151
Narrowcast Server
creating reports 155
creating a service 137
defining a business model 151
running a service 140, 167
defining attribute forms 152
Service Wizard 137
defining attributes 152
defining hierarchies 153
O prompts defined on 33, defined on 73
object. See attribute.
objectives xiii

Introduction to MicroStrategy Index
Q Wizard 139, 166

schema
query model. See project.
design trade-offs 287
highly denormalized 285
R highly normalized 283
ratio defined on 271 moderately normalized 284
relate tables 278, defined on 278 schema objects, learning about 57
relationship defined on 262 scope of analysis. See Intelligent Cubes.
report defined on 27 service
accessing through MicroStrategy creating with the Service Wizard 137
Desktop 158 running immediately 140, 167
creating in MicroStrategy Desktop 52 Service Wizard
creating in MicroStrategy Web 97 creating a service 137
creating with Project Builder 155 specifying delivery methods 138, 164
financial reports 48 specifying message contents 138, 164
human resources reports 48 specifying schedules 139, 166
inventory reports 49 specifying subscriptions 139, 166
parameter-driven simple key defined on 276
in MicroStrategy Desktop 32, 73 source data 258, 267, 271
product sales 50 source system 267, 273, 277
prompted SQL defined on 260
in MicroStrategy Desktop 32, 73 general 260, 277
supplier 51 queries 286
Report Objects pane star schema 286
adding and removing objects from a Structured Query Language. See SQL.
report 53
subscriptions
in MicroStrategy Web 98
specifying with the Service
using 53 Wizard 139, 166
reports, graph reports 42, 84 subtotal defined on 34, defined on 75
requirements supplier reports 51
hardware 4 support
software 5 international xxi
system administration, learning about 59
S
Sales and Distribution Analysis T
Module 183
table
Sales Force Analysis Module 182
fact 260, 280
schedules, specifying with the Service
lookup 275, 286

relate 278
technical architecture
data layer 227
design and administration 231
information delivery and alerting 230
integration and customization 231
interactive reporting and analysis 228
report servers 228
technical support xxii
transformer model. See project.
U
uninstalling MicroStrategy products 20
universe. See project.
user proliferation 215
V
variable. See compound metric.
view filter 40, 82
W
Web customization, with the MicroStrate-
gy SDK 203
Web Traffic Analysis Module 184
Welcome screen 17

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Introduction to MicroStrategy

Document number: 09420801

Copyright 2005 by MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Preface Document description................................................................ xi

1. Evaluate the Introduction.................................................................................. 1

2. Install the Introduction.................................................................................. 3

2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. iii

Verifying installation ............................................................... 19

3. View Reports in a Introduction................................................................................ 23

4. View Reports in a Web Introduction................................................................................ 61

5. View Reports in Introduction.............................................................................. 105

6. View Reports in Introduction.............................................................................. 113

iv 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Next steps.................................................................................. 117

7. View Reports in Introduction.............................................................................. 123

8. Deliver Reports Introduction.............................................................................. 131

9. Build a Reporting Introduction.............................................................................. 147

2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. v

Access your report in MicroStrategy Web ................................. 159

10. View Business Introduction.............................................................................. 169

11. Next Steps Introduction.............................................................................. 187

12. Information for SIs, Introduction.............................................................................. 201

vi 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

A. Business Intelligence Introduction.............................................................................. 211

B. MicroStrategy Tutorial Introduction.............................................................................. 233

2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. vii

Geography schema ............................................................. 249

C. Introduction to Data Introduction.............................................................................. 257

D. Troubleshooting the Introduction.............................................................................. 289

viii 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

The system could not be updated........................................ 298

Glossary ................................................................................... 307

Index ......................................................................................... 349

2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. ix

x 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

Thank you for your interest in MicroStrategy

outlines the overall, recommended evaluation process

provides step-by-step instructions to install and configure

describes the purpose of each of the MicroStrategy

explains what you can do next with the MicroStrategy

explains what you need to do to embed or resell

2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. xi

Who should use this guide?

Administrators who install and configure information

Project Designers who are familiar with the application

Knowledge Analysts who access the BI systems and may

Application Developers who build customized

Knowledge of relational databases and data modeling is

xii Who should use this guide? 2005 MicroStrategy, Inc.

describe and use the major features and functions of most

build a reporting application using the MicroStrategy

understand what you can do with the MicroStrategy

describe and use the Analytics Modules

About this book

Chapter 1, Evaluate the MicroStrategy Platform,

Chapter 3, View Reports in a Windows Interface,

Chapter 5, View Reports in Microsoft Excel, introduces

Chapter 6, View Reports in Microsoft PowerPoint,

2005 MicroStrategy, Inc. Objectives xiii

Chapter 7, View Reports in Microsoft Word, shows you

Chapter 8, Deliver Reports, introduces you to

Chapter 10, View Business Intelligence Applications,

Chapter 11, Next Steps, provides some guidance about