368 MWS

Introduction to
BusinessObjects InfoView
InfoView (incorporating WebIntelligence) enables users to
retrieve and analyse information from the University’s
corporate databases using the World Wide Web and a standard
web browser

Les Brown & Anne McCormick

June 2005
Document 368

Computing Services Department

Contents
CONTENTS 1

1 PRELIMINARIES 3
Purpose 3
Audience 3
Prerequisites 3
Further Information 3

2 BUSINESSOBJECTS TOOLS 4
InfoView 4
WebIntelligence 4
Full–Client BusinessObjects 4
Which Tool To Use? 4

3 STARTING INFOVIEW 6
Recommended Web Browser 6
InfoView Home Page 6
Checking Your Browser Settings 7
Logging In 7

4 NAVIGATING INFOVIEW PAGES 8

Modify Your User Options 8
Create New Document 8
Check Your Inbox 9
Personal Documents 9
Corporate Documents 9
Search for Document 9
Help 9
Logout 9

5 THE LAYOUT OF INFOVIEW PAGES 10

The Topbar 10
The Navigation Bar 11

6 VIEWING DOCUMENTS 12
Document Lists 12
What Kinds of Document are Listed? 12
Working with Document Lists 12
Viewing WebIntelligence Documents 12
Viewing Full–Client BusinessObjects Documents 13

7 REFRESHING DOCUMENTS 15
Refreshing a Document Manually 15
Refreshing a Document Containing a User Prompt 15

8 REFRESHING A DOCUMENT WITH BROADCAST AGENT 17

Using Broadcast Agent 17
Monitoring Your Scheduled Documents 17
Broadcast Agent: Further Information 18

9 CREATING YOUR OWN DOCUMENTS — OVERVIEW 19

Universes 19
Objects & Classes 19
Types of Object 19
The Build Procedure 20

10 CREATING YOUR OWN DOCUMENT — A WORKED EXAMPLE 21

Goal 21

1
 Story–line 21
Stage 1: Selecting a Universe 22
Stage 2: The Web Panel 22
Stage 3: Selecting Objects 23
Stage 4: Executing a Query from the Web Panel 24
Stage 5: Saving a Document 24

11 CONDITIONS AND FILTERS 25

Applying Conditions and Filters: Worked Example 25

12 SORTING INFORMATION IN A REPORT 28

Data Type and Sort Order 28
Sort Priority 28
Applying a Sort: Worked Example 28

13 REPORT STRUCTURES & FORMATS 30

Blocks 30
Sections (Master/Detail Reports) 31
Creating Sections: Worked Example 31
Creating an Index of Sections: Worked Example 32
Formatting 33

14 EXCHANGING DOCUMENTS AND DATA 35

Sending Documents to Another User 35
Receiving Documents from Another User 35
Retrieving Documents from the Corporate Documents Repository 36
Downloading Data from a WebIntelligence Document to a Spreadsheet 36

15 REGISTRATION 38
Managed Windows Service 38
BusinessObjects 38
Registration for Use of Corporate Information Systems (CIS) Facilities 38

2
1 Preliminaries

Purpose
InfoView (incorporating WebIntelligence) is an integrated query, reporting and
data analysis tool produced by BusinessObjects S.A. Using the World Wide Web
together with a standard web browser, InfoView will retrieve and report
information from the University's corporate databases. The tools are self–
documented, in that all of the InfoView web pages contain extensive instructions
about their use. This document, therefore, does not aim to reproduce those detailed
instructions. It is intended to get you started, providing an overview of InfoView,
together with some background information.

Audience
This document is intended to meet the requirements of new users of InfoView who
have no experience of BusinessObjects software together with experienced users of
the full–client BusinessObjects package.

Prerequisites
To use InfoView:

• You should be registered with CSD as a BusinessObjects user.

• You must have a connection to the World Wide Web.

• A web browser supported by BusinessObjects must be installed on your

computer — InfoView/WebIntelligence work best with Microsoft Internet
Explorer Version 5 or above.

• This document will assume that you are familiar with the use of your
browser to navigate the World Wide Web.

Further Information
For further discussion of advanced topics, this document will refer you to the on–
line help available within InfoView.

Outside of InfoView, the CIS web pages contain a lot of BusinessObjects

information, particularly about the available universes. See
http://www.liv.ac.uk/cis/bo5/

3
2 BusinessObjects Tools
Business Objects S.A. produces a number of decision support or business intelligence
packages. The original BusinessObjects package has been available, in several versions,
on the CSD managed network services for many years. InfoView and WebIntelligence
are integrated pieces of software which provide much the same functionality over a
World Wide Web connection using a standard web browser.

InfoView
InfoView enables you to read and refresh a variety of documents that report
information from the University's corporate databases. Some of these documents
have been developed by CSD for general use and are stored in a corporate
repository. This is the same repository available to full-client BusinessObjects.
Others documents may have created by you for your own use or may have been
sent to you by other users — these documents are stored in your own personal
storage area.

WebIntelligence
InfoView also provides a window into WebIntelligence. WebIntelligence allows
you to create, format, analyze, and publish your own documents using information
from the corporate databases. These documents can be saved into your own
personal storage area and/or published for use by a wider audience.

Full–Client BusinessObjects
InfoView is separate to the full–client version of BusinessObjects that is available
on the Managed Windows Service. Full–client BusinessObjects does not use the
World Wide Web and, as the name suggests, must be installed as a client on your
computer.

Which Tool To Use?

InfoView (incorporating WebIntelligence) reproduces much of the functionality of
full–client BusinessObjects, which prompts the question: Do I use InfoView or the
full–client package?

When to use InfoView

For general use, InfoView is preferred. There are a number of reasons for this
which are summarised by the web–based nature of InfoView. Providing you have
an internet connection and a suitable web browser, InfoView can be used to access
the University's corporate databases on any computer, anywhere in the world —
the full—client software does not have to be installed on the computer. Thus,
InfoView can be used by MAC users. Also, it can be used when your computer is
not connected to the MWS.

4
When to use Full–Client BusinessObjects
Full–client BusinessObjects can only be used when your computer is connected to
the MWS and when BusinessObjects and the associated SQL*Net software is
installed on your computer. If those conditions are not met, then it cannot be used.
However, where it can be used it provides advantages over InfoView in the greater
functionality it offers for the structuring and formatting of reports. When your
proposed report is particularly demanding in this respect, for example using pre–
printed stationery or adhesive labels, then full–client BusinessObjects is
recommended.

5
3 Starting InfoView

Recommended Web Browser

Although InfoView contains a list of approved web browsers, from our experience
we would strongly recommend you to use Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 5
or above).

InfoView Home Page

Your entry point to both InfoView and WebIntelligence is the InfoView home page
(see Figure 1). The URL or web address of the InfoView home page is
http://www.liv.ac.uk/cis/infoview/. You should bookmark this page.

Figure 1 — InfoView Home Page

6
Checking Your Browser Settings
 If you are a first–time user of InfoView, click the Check Browser button
on the home page. You are taken to a check page.

 The check page will enable you to verify your browser settings to make
sure that the system will run properly. The appropriate settings of your
browser configuration will be displayed. Any necessary adjustments to
your settings will be detailed. Ensure that any recommended changes are
made to your browser settings before you proceed.

Logging In
You are required to log in to InfoView:

 To log in, click the Log In button on the home page (see Figure 1). You
will be prompted to enter your username and password. You use the same
username and password for InfoView as you use for BusinessObjects.
Your username and password will be allocated to you when you register
for BusinessObjects use (see Registration page 38).

The InfoView Welcome page will open when you first login successfully (see
Figure 2).

7
4 Navigating InfoView Pages
The InfoView Welcome page will open when you first login successfully (see
Figure 2). The Welcome page contains short descriptions of InfoView functions
and provides links enabling you to navigate to the functions. These links are
discussed briefly in this section.

Figure 2 — InfoView Welcome Page

Modify Your User Options

Use the Options page to set your personal InfoView preferences, including
changing your BusinessObjects password.

Create New Document

This link opens the WebIntelligence pages. WebIntelligence enables you to create
your own documents. Creating new documents is described in 9 Creating Your
Own Documents — Overview, page 19.

8
Check Your Inbox
Documents sent to you by other users of WebIntelligence or by full–client
BusinessObjects users are initially placed in your inbox. You can browse, refresh
or save those documents to your personal storage area. For more information about
the Inbox, see Viewing Documents page 12.

Personal Documents
This link displays a list of your personal documents. You select a document from
the list to open it and/or refresh it. For more information about the Personal
Documents list, see Viewing Documents page 12.

Corporate Documents
This option opens the list of documents in the corporate repository. You can open
any documents that you can see in the repository. You can refresh their contents
and/or save them into your own personal storage area. For more information about
the Corporate Documents list, see Viewing Documents page 12.

Search for Document

This option allows you to search for a particular document using a number of
criteria such as the document name, author, document key words or by date.

Help
The help contained within the software is extensive and takes a variety of forms:

• Context Sensitive Help — relates directly to the InfoView page you are
viewing. Via the Help Index, you can browse all Help pages by topic.

• Product Documentation — this option on the Help menu allows you to view
a number of official BusinessObjects user guides using Adobe Acrobat.

• CBT (computer based training) — the Quick Tour option provides a short,
animated CBT module.

Logout
To finish using InfoView, you need to log out. Simply closing your browser or
navigating to a different web page is not secure. If you’re inactive longer than
ninety minutes, InfoView logs you out automatically.

9
 5 The Layout of InfoView Pages
InfoView pages have three elements (see Figure 3):

• The topbar

• The navigation bar

• The page contents

Topbar

Navigation
Bar

Page
Contents

Figure 3 — InfoView Page Layout

The Topbar
The Topbar running across the top of the page changes according to the page’s
contents. For example, if the page displays a document list as in Figure 3, the
Topbar is a toolbar. The document list toolbar contains links which allow you to
load documents, delete them, search for them, refresh the document list or display
the list in compact or expanded form. Depending on the nature of the document list
displayed, some of these functions may not be available in the Topbar.

10
 If the page contents display an open document, the Topbar contains links allowing
you to act on that document. For example, you can refresh the document, edit the
document or go to a particular page number within the document.

Otherwise, the Topbar can simply be a graphical header as it is on the InfoView

Home page (Figure 1) or the Welcome page (Figure 2).

The Navigation Bar

The Navigation Bar on the left side of the InfoView pages remains constant no
matter what page you open. It provides a menu of the pages to which you can
navigate. When you click a Navigation Bar option, it is highlighted. For example,
in Figure 3 the Personal Documents option is highlighted in the Navigation Bar
and the page contents display a list of personal documents.

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6 Viewing Documents

Document Lists
Existing documents that you can view are listed under the following headings, as
shown in the Navigation Bar:

• Inbox Documents — documents sent to you by other users of

WebIntelligence or documents sent by full–client BusinessObjects users.

• Personal Documents — documents in your personal storage area.

• Corporate Documents — documents in the corporate repository.

What Kinds of Document are Listed?

InfoView allows you to access documents that have been created using either
WebIntelligence or full–client BusinessObjects. Because you are using a web
browser, you may also read documents containing hyperlinked images and sound
or video objects. In addition, you also have the ability to view documents produced
by other packages, such as Excel spreadsheets, PDF files, and Word documents.

Each document is listed with its own icon which indicates the type of document it
is. For example, in the list shown in Figure 3, the document called Course List by
Faculty is a WebIntelligence document. The document called
spi_Example_Crosstab is a full–client BusinessObjects document. The document
called CSD Document 318 is a Word document.

Working with Document Lists

You can display a document list in expanded or compact format. This is purely a
matter of personal preference. For example, the list shown in Figure 3 is displayed
in expanded format.

 As you view a list you can toggle between either format by clicking
the Expand or Compact option in the Topbar.

 You can set up a default format for each list individually on the
Options | Documents List page.

 Each document is named. To view a document in any of the lists,

click on the document name. This opens the document in the
Document Results page.

Viewing WebIntelligence Documents

Documents created by WebIntelligence are displayed in the Document Results
page in standard HTML format.

12
 Long documents may be broken up into several sections. The Documents Results
page can display such documents with a hyperlinked index on the left–hand side of
the page. This allows you to navigate instantly to a particular section of a report.
An example of an indexed report is spi_Example_Programmes_List which you can
open from the Corporate Documents list.

Viewing Full–Client BusinessObjects

Documents
You can use InfoView to look at documents created with full–client
BusinessObjects. There are 3 formats of viewer that you can use. For Internet
Explorer users the default format is Enhanced Document Format which is
described here.

You will see that most of the corporate documents have been created with full-
client BusinessObjects. These documents may contain a single report showing a
simple table or chart. Or they can be complex documents containing several
different reports.

A complex document has an index which allows you to navigate instantly to a

particular report within the document or a particular section of a report. The index
is displayed in its own frame, called the Sections Tree. .

 To see an example of a complex document that contains several

reports, open spi_Example_multi_reports which you can find on the
Corporate Documents list.

 You can navigate directly to a particular report in the document by

double clicking the report name in the Sections Tree.

 Some reports within a document may be further broken down into

sections. To view the sections in such a report, click the + sign to the
left of the report name in the Sections Tree. Not all reports contain
sections. In this example, all the master/detail reports are broken
down into sections.

 To go to a particular section in a report, double–click the section

name in the Sections Tree.

The Viewer Toolbar

When you open a document in Enhanced Document Format, a further toolbar is
automatically displayed at the top of the Document Results page in addition to the
Document Results Topbar. This is called the Viewer Toolbar. Each of the Viewer
Toolbar buttons has a tooltip. For a more detail explanation of these functions refer
to Figure 4.

A Note about Security Certificates

New users may get a Security Warning pop-up when attempting to use the Report
Viewer for the first time. Existing users will receive the same warning when using
a new version of the Report Viewer for the first time. This is because InfoView
needs to download the necessary applet from the internet. The Security Warning
window certifies that the applet comes from a trusted source. If such a security
certificate is displayed, you are safe to proceed.

13
  Click the Yes button on the Security Warning window to continue.

You will notice that security certificates will pop up in other places in
InfoView. You can assume that it is safe to continue in each case.

Figure 4 — The Viewer Toolbar and Key

Viewing Options
There are a number of InfoView options for viewing full–client BusinessObjects
documents. The format that we have discussed above is called enhanced document
format. This is the optimum viewing format for Internet Explorer and the format
selected by default for Internet Explorer use. It is possible to change the format you
use. The Options | View Documents page enables you to do this (N.B. these
options apply only to viewing full–client BusinessObjects documents). These other
formats, however, are not discussed here.

14
7 Refreshing Documents
A WebIntelligence or full–client BusinessObjects document contains a set of data
which is retrieved from the database by a query. This raw data is formatted into a
report by a set of report definitions that are built into the document. These define
such things as the font size, the font colours etc. and are used to display the report
in the Document Results page.

As such, a WebIntelligence or a full–client BusinessObjects document generated

some time ago represents a snapshot of the data as it existed at that time. That
snapshot can quickly become out of date. But you can update a document by taking
a new snapshot, keeping the same formatting but querying the database for the
most recent data. This is known as refreshing.

Documents can be refreshed in several ways:

• Manually from a Document List — this is the usual method and is discussed
below.

• Automatically at scheduled times or intervals using Broadcast Agent —

scheduled processing is discussed in Refreshing a Document with
Broadcast Agent, page 17.

• Automatically on opening — this is an option that can be set when you save
a WebIntelligence document (see Saving a Document, page 24).

Refreshing a Document Manually

 Click the document’s name in any InfoView document list to open it
in the Document Results page.

 Click Refresh in the Documents Results Topbar. InfoView submits

the document to the server for refreshing, then displays the new
results on the Document Results page.

Refreshing a Document Containing a User

Prompt
User Prompts provide a way to ask for input from users when they run queries. So,
when you refresh some documents, you will be prompted for more information.
For example, the corporate document spi_Dept_Modist which uses the Spider–
General universe, contains two User Prompts. This document provides a list of
modules in a particular department for a particular academic year (term). If you
refresh this document you are requested to specify the department and the term you
want in your report. This information is input in a user prompt dialog box (see
Fig.5) which is popped up when you click Refresh.

15
 F

Figure 5 — User Prompt Dialogue Box

16
8 Refreshing a Document with
Broadcast Agent
Broadcast Agent can be used by both InfoView users and full–client
BusinessObjects users to refresh a document. It allows you to schedule the
processing, i.e. you can refresh the document at a specified date/time. This can be
either a one–off process or a process to be repeated at the same time every day,
week, month etc. Once refreshed, the processed document can be sent to yourself,
other users or groups of users.

Scheduled processing enables your reports to be executed leaving you free to get
on with other things. Even if you have logged out of InfoView and turned off your
computer, the scheduled execution of your reports will still take place. There are
several advantages to this way of working. For example, you could schedule a
document for execution overnight at some time after other overnight jobs have
updated the database. When you log into InfoView next day, your report will have
been refreshed and the results will be waiting for you. The scheduled processing of
documents, therefore, can save you time. It can also help reduce traffic on the
network by running reports at off–peak times which, of course, benefits everyone.

Using Broadcast Agent

 Either, from a document list (in expanded format) select the Send to Users
option for the required document — the Send Document to Users page
opens.

 Or, with the document displayed in the Documents Results page, select
Send from the Topbar — the Send Document To Users page opens.

 In the Refresh Options section of the Send Document To Users page, select
the destination user(s) from the list. To select several users, hold down the
Ctrl key while you click the users you want. N.B. to receive the refreshed
documents yourself, your username must be selected from the list.

 Select Scheduled Refresh option, then click the Send button — the
Scheduling Options page is opened.

 Select your scheduling options. If the document contains User Prompts (see
above), a View Prompts button will be displayed on this page. Click the
View Prompts button in order to specify your parameters.

 When all scheduling options have been selected, click the OK button. The
document is submitted to Broadcast Agent for processing according to your
schedule. On completion, the refreshed document appears in you inbox.

Monitoring Your Scheduled Documents

You can view the progress of the documents you’ve sent to Broadcast Agent by
running the Broadcast Agent Console. The Broadcast Agent Console lists the
documents sent for processing. For each document, the Console displays

17
 information such as document name, status, refresh frequency, and so forth. To
open the Console:

 Click Scheduled Documents in the Navigation Bar.

 Use the View option in the Topbar to select one of the following
Broadcast Agent logs:

• Pending Jobs — to view documents still awaiting refreshing and

distribution. As long as a document is still scheduled to be refreshed
and distributed, it is in this list.

• All Jobs Log — to view the status of all the documents that you
have scheduled

• Failed Jobs Log — to view all the jobs that have not been
successful, along with a description of the problem

 Use the Scheduled By option in the Topbar to choose the name of

the Broadcast Agent server, i.e. BCAgent.

Broadcast Agent: Further Information

For more information about these and other Broadcast Agent options, click the
Help option in the Navigation Bar on the appropriate page.

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9 Creating Your Own Documents
— Overview

Universes
The concept of a universe is central to all the BusinessObjects tools. A universe is
a meaningful, user–orientated representation of a relational database. In practice,
there are several universes, which have been designed by the Computing Services
Department to provide particular views of the University’s corporate databases.
For example, the PERSONNL universe deals with staffing information, the Spider
— General universe makes available information from the SPIDER system about
students, programmes of study, faculties, etc. New universes will be created or
existing universes will be enhanced by the Computing Services Department as part
of the on–going development of the service.

Objects & Classes

Each universe is constructed with a set of objects. An object is an item of
information that is of interest to a user of the information. It corresponds to a
selection of data from the database and is, most usually, a column in a database
table. For example, the following three objects can be found in the Spider —
General universe: Program Faculty Code, Program Code, and Program Level
Code.

Within a universe, you will find objects grouped together into classes. Classes are
built into the Universe design to reflect the user’s natural grouping of items of
information. In turn, some classes contain sub–classes. The purpose of classes and
sub–classes is to make it easier for you to locate and select the objects you want
when building a report. They play no other part in retrieving information. For
example, the Spider – General universe contains a class called Program Data and
Curriculum Rules. The objects mentioned above (Program Faculty Code,
Program Code, and Program Level Code) can all be found in this class.

Types of Object
An object will be one of three types: dimension, detail or measure. Each type of
object has its own icon:

The cube icon indicates a dimension object.

Dimension objects retrieve the data that will provide
the basis for analysis in a report and typically retrieve
character type data (e.g. the Program Code object in
the Spider — General universe).

Some dimension objects have an associated detail

object. The detail object provides more detailed
information about the dimension. For example,
CAPP Program Description is the detail object
associated with Program Code. A detail object is represented by the pyramid icon.

19
 The sphere icon indicates a measure object. Measure
objects retrieve numeric data that is usually the result
of calculations on data in the database. As such,
measure objects are semantically dynamic — the
values they return depend on the dimension objects with which they are grouped in
a particular report.

The Build Procedure

To create a new document, you actually use the WebIntelligence functionality
within InfoView. Moving into WebIntelligence and building a new document is a
simple process from the user point of view. The overall build procedure is outlined
in this section. The detailed procedure is described in the next section, Creating
Your Own Document — A Worked Example

The procedure involves little more than selecting the objects you want to see in
your report from the various classes available in your chosen universe. However,
behind the scenes, WebIntelligence is working hard. Firstly, it constructs the query
that will retrieve the information from the database. Secondly, it builds a default
report structure.

Once you have created the query with its report structure, you will need to run or
execute your query in order to extract the data from the database. The data is
automatically formatted into your report structure when it is retrieved. Running
your query for the first time is basically the same function as refreshing an existing
document.

Having displayed the report in the Documents Results page, WebIntelligence does
not automatically save your document. If you wish to retain your document for
future use, you will need to take a positive step to save it.

20
10 Creating Your Own Document
— A Worked Example

Goal
The goal of this section is to build a simple report (outlined below in the story–
line). There are five stages in the overall procedure. You will be guided through
each stage.

Story–line
You will build a report which uses the Spider–General universe. The report will be
a simple table listing the programmes of study within each faculty (see Figure 6).
The table will show the faculty, the programme code, a description of the
programme and the programme level (undergraduate, taught postgraduate etc.) So,
the objects required are: Program Faculty Code, Programme Code, Program
Description and Program Level Code. These can all be found in the Program Data
and Curriculum Rules class.

Initially, the report will list all programmes and they will be listed in no particular
order. In later sections of this document you will learn how to restrict the data you
retrieve to particular faculties by using query conditions and filters. Also you will
learn how to sort the data into a meaningful order.

Figure 6 — The Programmes List as displayed in the Document Results page

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 Stage 1: Selecting a Universe
 Your starting point in creating a new document can be any Infoview
page that displays a Navigation Bar.

 Click the Create Documents link on the Navigation Bar. This takes
you into the first WebIntelligence page — the Universes page. (New
users may get a Security Warning pop-up at this point, click Yes to
accept. For more information about security warnings see page 13,
A Note About Security Warnings).

 The Universes page (see Figure 7) allows you to select the universe
that your document will use. The Programmes List report will use
the Spider–General universe. Click on this universe in the list. This
opens the Web Panel.

Figure 7 — The Universes Page

Stage 2: The Web Panel

The Web Panel (see Figure 8) is where you build (and edit) the document
definitions you use to generate your documents. These definitions include both the
query you use to retrieve the data from the database and the report’s structure.

The Frames of the Web Panel

The Web Panel contains several frames. For now we will concentrate on just two
of them:

• The All Objects frame — this lists the objects available in your selected
universe. When you first open the Web Panel, the All Objects frame will
display a list of the classes in your selected Universe.

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 • The Block Details frame – this is where you place the objects you want to
see in the main block of your report and, therefore, the objects that will be
included in your query. You include an object in a report by selecting it
from the All Objects frame and, then, placing it in the Block Details frame.
The Block Details frame also determines the position in which the data will
appear horizontally or vertically in your report.

Objects &
Block Details
Classes
Frame
Frame
C

Figure 8 — The Web Panel

Stage 3: Selecting Objects

 Click the plus (+) sign to the left of the Program Data and
Curriculum Rules class to open the class and show the objects
it contains.

 Drag the Program Faculty Code object to the Block Details

frame.

 Click the plus (+) sign to the left of the Program Code object, this
reveals its associated detail i.e. CAPP Program Description.

 Drag the Program Code object to the Block Details frame.

Position it to the left of the Program Faculty Code.

 In the same way, drag the other objects required for the report to the
Block Details frame, i.e. CAPP Program Description and
Program Level Code.

 Once you have included the required objects in the Block Details
frame, you have built a basic query that could be run to retrieve the
data from the database.

Removing Objects from a Query

If you decide you want to remove an object that you have previously included in
your query, select the object in the Block Details frame by clicking its icon. You
can now remove the object in any of the following ways:

23
  Drag the icon to the All Objects list.

 Press the Delete key.

 Click your right mouse button — a popup menu appears. Select the
Remove command on the popup menu.

Changing the Order of the Objects

The order in which the objects appear from left to right or top to bottom in the
Block Details frame determines the order in which the data will appear horizontally
or vertically in your report.

 To move an object, click its icon. You can now drag the icon to the
required position in relation to the other objects.

Stage 4: Executing a Query from the Web

Panel
 To execute the query, click the Run Query button on bottom of the Web
Panel. When the query has completed, your report is automatically
displayed in the Document Results page.

Stage 5: Saving a Document

Documents are not saved automatically. If you want to keep your document for
future use, you must take a positive step to save it:

 From the Document Results page, click Save on the Topbar. This
opens the Save As Personal Document page.

 Type the name of your document in to the Document Name box, call
it Programmes List.

 You must also enter or select the other options you require on the
Save As Personal Document page, including the option to
automatically refresh the document when it is next opened. If you
need more information about the save options, click Help in the
Navigation Bar.

 Finally, to save the document, click the Save button.

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11 Conditions and Filters
A basic query, such as the query needed to produce the Programmes List, retrieves
all the data from the database for those objects you defined. For that reason, such a
query is sometimes called an open query. Whilst open queries have their uses, it is
more usual to restrict the scope of your report. For example, you might want to
restrict the scope of the Programmes List and report only those programmes in a
particular faculty. Or, you may want to list undergraduate programmes only.

Restricting the scope of your report is achieved in two ways:

• Document Filter — a filter is applied to the raw data contained in your

document in order to hide some of that data and display only the
information that you want to appear.

• Query Condition — a condition is built into the query so that when the
query is executed it limits the data retrieved from the database.

Applying Conditions and Filters: Worked

Example

The Goal
Here we will apply a filter to restrict the report to undergraduate programmes only.
Then, we will define a query condition to select programmes in the Faculty of
Medicine and the Faculty of Dentistry only. Both actions will use the Conditions
tab on the Web Panel.

The Web Panel Conditions Tab

 Before you work through these procedures, make sure that your
Programmes List document is open in the Document Results page.

 To apply a condition or a filter, the Web Panel should be open. To

open the Web Panel from the Document Results page, click Edit on
the Topbar.

 There are three tabs at the foot of the Web Panel — click the
Conditions tab to open it.

 The Conditions page (see Figure 9) is divided into three frames: the
Objects frame at the left side of the page and the Query Conditions
frame and Document Filters frame to the right. Initially, the
Document Filters frame and the Query Conditions frame are
empty.

Applying a Document Filter

Here, we will build a filter condition in order to populate the Document Filters
frame as shown in Figure 9.

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  Click the plus (+) sign to the left of the Program Data and
Curriculum Rules class to open the class and show the objects
it contains.

 Drag the Program Level Code object to the Document Filters

frame. This action starts to build the condition in the Document
Filters frame.

 Click the double quotes (") in the condition in order to specify the
operand. This pops up a menu containing two options: Enter A
Constant and Show List Of Values. We are going to specify the
operand by selecting it from a list of possible values.

 Select the Show List Of Values option. This will pop up a list of
possible values for the object, i.e. Program Level Code.

 Select UG from the list and click the OK button. You are returned the
Conditions page where your document filter condition is now
complete (as in Figure 9).

 To execute the query, click the Run Query button on bottom of the
Web Panel.

Figure 9 — Web Panel: Conditions Page

Applying a Query Condition

Here, we will build a query condition in order to populate the Query Conditions
frame as shown in Figure 9.

 Drag the Program Faculty Code object to the Query

Conditions frame. This action starts to build the condition in the
Query Conditions frame.

 The default comparison operator is Equal To. We will change this to

In List. Click the comparison operator in the condition. This pops up
a menu of appropriate comparison operators. Select In List from that
menu.

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  Click the double quotes (") in the condition and select Show List Of
Values option from the pop up menu. This will pop up a list of
possible values for Program Faculty Code.

 To select more than one value from a list of values, hold down the
Ctrl key while you make your selections. Select MD and DN from
the list and click the OK button. You are returned the Conditions
page where your query condition is now complete (as in Figure 9).

 To execute the query, click the Run Query button on bottom of the
Web Panel.

Removing a Filter or Query Condition

Here, we remove the filter and query conditions from the Programmes List
document.

 Drag the Program Faculty Code object from the Query

Conditions frame and drop it anywhere in the All Objects frame. The
query condition is removed

 Drag the Program Level Code object from the Document

Filters frame and drop it anywhere in the All Objects frame. The
document filter is removed.

 You will need to run the query again before you can save your
document in this state.

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12 Sorting Information in a Report
You determine the order in which columns of data appear from left to right across
your report by the sequence in which you position objects in the Block Details
frame in the Web Panel. It is also important to control the order in which data
appears down a column in your report. This is achieved by sorting the data that has
been returned for an object. Data can be sorted into ascending or descending order.
This is called the sort order.

Data Type and Sort Order

Three types of data can be retrieved for an object — text, numbers or dates. You
can sort any type of data. The following table summarizes the effect of the sort
order on each data type:

Text Numbers Dates

Ascending Order A—Z Lowest to Highest Past to present

Descending Order Z—A Highest to Lowest Present to Past

Sort Priority
It is possible to sort on several objects. This way you are able to group information
together when it appears in your report. For example, the Programmes List report
would be more meaningful if it were sorted, firstly, by Program Faculty Code.
Thus, for example, all the programmes in the Faculty of Arts would be grouped
together. Within Program Faculty Code you could, then, sort on Program Level
Code. This would group together all the undergraduate programmes within the
Faculty of Arts, for example.

When sorting on multiple objects the sort priority of objects is important. Priority
is determined simply by the sequence in which you apply sorts to objects in the
Web Panel and is indicated by the number that appears against each sort icon.

Applying a Sort: Worked Example

Goal
Here we will sort the data in the Programmes List using the following objects (the
priority is indicated by the number in brackets):

(1) Program Faculty Code — ascending

(2) Program Level Code — ascending

(3) Program Code — ascending

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Applying Sorts
 Before you work through this procedure, make sure that your Programmes
List document is open and the Web Panel Results Tab is displayed.

 Click the Program Faculty Code object in the Block Details frame in
order select it.

 Click the Insert Ascending Sort button on the Topbar. A sort icon appears
in the object icon in the Block Details frame with its priority no., i.e. 1.

 Repeat for the remaining objects on which you need to sort. The sequence
in which you apply the sorts determines the sort priority.

 You will need to run the query again before you can save your
document in this state.

Removing a Sort
If necessary you can remove a sort:

 Click the sort icon under the object in the Block Details frame. The
Object Properties window pops up.

 The pop–up window has 3 tabs. You want the Sorts tab. Then select
the None option and click the OK button.

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13 Report Structures & Formats

Blocks
A WebIntelligence report is structured into blocks. A simple report such as the
Programmes List comprises a single block. You define the structure of the block as
you build a document by positioning objects into the Block Details frame in the
Web Panel.

WebIntelligence provides several types of block that you can use in reports, giving
you a choice of report style. The most common block type is the table and, for this
reason, WebIntelligence will construct tabular reports by default. The Programmes
List report, for example, is a tabular report.

Choosing a Block Type

You choose the type of block for a report using the Change Block Type option on
the Web Panel Topbar. This option enables you to pull down a menu of general
styles. Further sub–menus allow you to choose a particular block type. For
example, there are four block types available for a Table style of report:

• Table — a sequential, two–dimensional list such as the Programmes List.

• Financial Table — a basic table arranged sideways, so that the headings are
displayed vertically instead of horizontally.

• Form — a form is a design in which each entry in the table is displayed

over multiple lines. For example, you could present the Programmes List
so that each programme was displayed on three short lines instead of one
long line or row.

• Crosstab — in a crosstab, data is displayed in columns and rows just as it is

in tables. However, in a crosstab, the rows have headings in the same way
as the columns. Corresponding data appears where each column and row
intersects: this section is known as the body.

The other report styles available on the Change Block Type menu enable you to
display your information in a chart or graph.

Blocks — Further Information

The way you build a block, in other words the way you position the objects in the
Block Details frame, depends on the block type. When you select a particular block
type, the Block Details frame changes accordingly and displays detailed
instructions about where you should position the objects.

 For more information and examples of the various types of block

available see Block Settings in the Help Index.

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 Sections (Master/Detail Reports)
Breaking a document into sections is a way of splitting large blocks of data into
smaller, more comprehensible parts. A report that is divided into sections is
sometimes referred to as a Master/Detail report. Each section contains at least one
block displaying the detail in any of the block types or styles. Also each section is
headed by at least one section cell, showing the master object. For Example,
Figure 10 shows the Programmes List divided into sections, where the Program
Faculty Code is the Master and each table shows the related program information.

Figure 10 — Programmes List Divided into Sections

Creating Sections: Worked Example

Goal
This procedure will divide the Programmes List report into sections — one section
for each Faculty. The block type will remain as a simple table. See Figure 10.

Creating Sections
 Before you work through this procedure, make sure that your Programmes
List document is open and the Web Panel Results Tab is displayed.

 Click on the Program Faculty Code object in the Block Details frame. This
is the object that we will use as the master.

 Drag the object from the Block Details frame and drop it into the Section
frame. You have now divided the report into sections.

 Click the Apply Format button at the foot of the Web Panel. This opens the
Document Results page displaying the revised report.

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  Remember to save your document in order to preserve it in this state.

Creating an Index of Sections: Worked

Example

Goal
This procedure will create a hyperlinked index of the sections in the Programmes
List report. The index is positioned on the left hand side and will allow you to
navigate instantly to a particular faculty (an example of an indexed report is
spi_Example_Programmes_List which you can open from the Corporate
Documents list).

Creating an Index
 Before you work through this procedure, make sure that your Programmes
List document is open and the Web Panel is displayed. Your Programmes
List report should be divided into sections — one section for each Faculty.

 Click the Settings tab in the Web Panel. The Web Panel Settings page is
displayed (see Figure 11).

Figure 11 — Web Panel: Settings Tab

 The Settings page is divided into two frames — Document Elements frame
and Format frame. The Document Elements frame details the format
settings for each element in the report. The Format frame shows a graphic
representation of the report structure. Drag the right edge of the Document
Elements frame to widen the frame, enough to read each of the setting
details in full.

 At this stage, the Program Faculty Code object should be shown in

the Format frame as the sections master. Click the Program Faculty

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 Code object — this will display the settings for that object in the Document
Elements frame.

 The settings are grouped under various headings in the Document Elements
frame. Look at the settings for the Program Faculty Code object in
the Miscellaneous group. To create an index, change the Show as Index
setting from No to Yes — point at it with your mouse and click. You will
see that this moves the Program Faculty Code into its own Index
frame within the Format frame.

 In the same way, change the Repeat on Each Page setting for the
Program Faculty Code object from No to Yes. This will display the
object in your report as a section heading as well as showing it as en entry
in the index.

 Click the Apply Format button at the foot of the Web Panel. This opens the
Document Results page displaying the revised report.

 Remember to save your document in order to preserve it in this state.

Formatting
The Settings tab on the Web Panel enables you to control many formatting features
of your report. The elements of the report that can be controlled range from an
individual cell to the whole document. The formats of these elements are created
initially with default settings. To change the defaults, the general procedure is:

 In the Format frame click on the element of the report that you want to
format. This will display the settings for that element in the Document
Elements frame where they can be changed.

 When you have completed the format changes, click the Apply Format
button at the foot of the Web Panel. This opens the Document Results page
displaying the revised report.

The following are just some of the settings that may be changed. For more
information about the settings, see Using the Settings Tab in the on–line Help.

• Header & Footer Labels — add boiler plate text to the page header and/or
footer.

• Document Settings — you can set your document's overall properties, such
as the background colour or even a background image.

• Title Block Settings — you can format both the title's placement on your
document page and the title block's background colour. You can also add a
border for the title.

• Title Cell Settings — give the document a title and set the font, title
alignment within the cell, title background etc.

• Section Settings — position the section heading on the document page, and
set the background colour. You can also add a border for the section
heading.

• Index Settings — for reports that have a hyperlinked index, you can set the
colours used for the index font and background.

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 • Block Settings — set the properties for a document's data blocks and the
cells a particular block contains.

• Cell Settings — you can set the font, style and colour of a cell's text, and its
background colour. When you click inside a header cell, you access the Cell
Settings for that header. When you click inside the data cell, you access the
Cell Settings for that group of data cells.

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14 Exchanging Documents and
Data
You can use InfoView to exchange documents with other users. You can also
exchange data with other applications, particularly spreadsheets such as Microsoft
Excel. In this section, we will discuss how to:

 Send either WebIntelligence documents or full–client BusinessObjects

documents to other users.

 Receive either WebIntelligence documents or full–client BusinessObjects

documents that have been sent to you by other users.

 Retrieve either WebIntelligence documents or full–client BusinessObjects

documents from the corporate documents repository.

 Download the raw data from a WebIntelligence document into a Comma

Seperated Values (.csv) file. Such files can be opened by other applications
but they are particularly suited to Microsoft Excel.

Sending Documents to Another User

 To send a document that is open, click the Send option on the Topbar. This
will open the Send Document page.

 If the document you want to send is not open, display your Personal
Documents list and locate the required document.

 Your personal documents should be listed in expanded format. Click the

Send to Users link in the last line of the document entry. This will open
the Send Document page.

 On the Send Document page, select the destination user or users. To select
more than one user from the list, hold down the Ctrl key while you click all
the usernames.

 Finally, click the Send button. A confirmation message will be displayed

when the document has been sent.

Receiving Documents from Another User

 Your Inbox will list WebIntelligence and full–client BusinessObjects
documents that have been sent to you. From your Inbox you can open a
document and/or save a document to your Personal Document list.

 If you wish to open a document, click the document name.

 To save an open document into your Personal Documents list, click the
Save option in the Topbar. This will open the Save As Personal Document
page.

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  If you want to save a document from your Inbox without opening it first,
your Inbox documents should be listed in expanded format. Click the Save
link in the last line of the document entry. This will open the Save As
Personal Document page.

 The Save As Personal Document page presents you with several save
options for the document. Set the save options as appropriate, then click the
Save button. A confirmation message will be displayed when the document
has been saved.

Retrieving Documents from the Corporate

Documents Repository
 The Corporate Document Repository will list both WebIntelligence and
full–client BusinessObjects documents. You can open a corporate document
and/or save a corporate document into your Personal Document list.

 If you wish to open a document, click the document name.

 To save the open document into your Personal Documents list, click the
Save option in the Topbar. This will open the Save As Personal Document
page.

 If you want to save a document from the Repository without opening it first,
you should display the Corporate Documents list in expanded format. Click
the Save link in the last line of the document entry. This will open the Save
As Personal Document page.

 The Save As Personal Document page presents you with several save
options for the document. Set the save options as appropriate, then click the
Save button. A confirmation message will be displayed when the document
has been saved.

Downloading Data from a WebIntelligence

Document to a Spreadsheet
 If the WebIntelligence document is open, click the Download option in the
Topbar.

 Alternatively, from the Corporate Documents or Personal Documents lists

(in Expanded mode), click the Load into spreadsheet link in the last line
in the document entry.

What happens next depends on your web browser settings. Internet Explorer will
pop up the File Download dialogue box. This gives you two options, as follows:

 You can open the data directly in Excel. If Excel isn't installed, the browser
prompts you to indicate an installed application associated with files with
the extension .csv.

 The other option in the File Download dialogue box is to save the .csv file
to a specific location. This option enables you to open the file in Excel (or
other application) at a later time.

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37
15 Registration
Registration is not necessary for existing BusinessObjects users. Existing users are
automatically registered for use of InfoView. The following notes, therefore, apply
to new users of BusinessObjects, the CIS service or PC Services.

Managed Windows Service

BusinessObjects (Version 5) is available on the MWS. Therefore, to use it you
must be a registered PC Service user.

BusinessObjects
Existing users of the CIS service must also be registered to install and use
BusinessObjects. Registration is handled by the CSD secretaries:

Claire Riley  43718 e–mail C.Riley

Lynn Deans  43719 e–mail L.Deans
Clare Dickinson  43717 e–mail clared

You will be allocated the same username as for other CSD services. Your
BusinessObjects password, however, will not be the same.

Registration for Use of Corporate

Information Systems (CIS) Facilities
If you are not a registered user of the CIS service you may still use
BusinessObjects, providing that:

• You are a member of staff.

• You have completed the form Registration for use of Corporate

Information Systems (CIS) Facilities.

• Your access is authorised on this form by your Head of Department.

• Where necessary, your access is authorised on this form by the data

owner.

The form Registration for use of Corporate Information Systems (CIS) Facilities
can be accessed online at http://www.liv.ac.uk/CSD/helpdesk/registration.html or
obtained from the Computing Services Helpdesk, Brownlow Hill Building (
44567 or e–mail helpdesk).

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