OVERVIEW OF BOXI-R2:

Before you switch over to BO in detail, you should have of an idea of what the BO is all about. BO is an enterprise who itself has some ETL tools in addition to the reporting part. BO provides the ETL tools like 1. BODI 2. DATA FEDERATOR Unlike BO, some other reporting tools are available e.g.COGNOS, MICRO STRATEGY, ESSBASE, CRYSTAL REPORT Initially BO 5X/6X was there in market. But it gets closed on Oct 2005.so BOXI-R1/R2 came to lime light with some additional features which was not there in the previous versions. But right now the CRYSTAL REPORTS (core reporting tool), FIRST LOGIC; SRC (performance mgmt) is being bought by BO. So in BO you have that flexibility to access all the feature of CRYSTAL REPORTS. The basic difference between R1 and R2 is that in R1 only you can access WEBI (i.e. thin client), but in R2 you can access all those features as its previous versions had had. So far as the R2 is concerned, you may encounter the following terms so frequently while going in deep of BOXI-R2. 1. DESIGNER 2. DESKTOP INTELLIGENCE 3. WEB INTELLIGENCE 4. CMC 5. CCM 6. CMS 7. INFO VIEW 8. PUBLISHING WIZARD 9. IMPORT WIZARD 10. AUDITOR 11. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT (EPM) 12. REPORT CONVERSION TOOL 13. CRXI Apart from this you may come across some other components (like LIVE OFFICE, INTELLIGENT QUESTIONS, PROCESSS TRACKER) which are of no more importance as compared to the top listed components Now you will discuss in brief about those aforementioned components. DESIGNER: software to create universe (abstraction of DW) As you know lots of tables are there in the database, but as per our requirement you only fetch those from the data base which are necessary in order to make the report. So it does the work of bringing definitions of fewer tables along with its joins for making universe which is in turn helps for creating reports. DESKTOP INTELLIGENCE: Its a thick client reporting tool for which client Installation is required. With the help of this you can generate the reports and publish the contents. WEB INTELLIGENCE: its a thin client reporting tool for which no client installation is required. Through web server u can access the WEBI. Some of the common web servers are like TOMCAT, AAP TOM CAT.

CMC: CENTAL MANAGEMENT CONSOLEIt does the administration activity. Generally used for user management, content management, scheduling the reports. CCM: CENTRAL CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENTits a server component. it wont come with the client. Preferably use for stopping, enabling and disabling the server components as because BO itself has 25-30 server components. CMS: CENTARL MANAGEMENT SERVER: its just like a repository which stores all the information pertaining BO in five tables. But you used to have 64 tables in 6xs and 5xs.During the time of installation the tool will prompt for a database for creating this repository. By default it would take mysql unless you choose the database from a given list. INFO VIEW: its a lunch point for various other channels of BOXI-R2.it can be accessed via web. (N.B. the URL for both info view and CMC are same, but the difference lies in the machine name and the port number) PUBLISHING WIZARD: A tool to add some extra content to the existing features of BOXI-R2. IMPORT WIZARD: Its used for migrating reports from lower version to higher version. (I.e. migrating reports from 5x/6x to BOXI-R2.So it is backward compatibility.) AUDITOR: you are using ACTIVITY universe .it has all the auditing information. EPM (ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT): It includes dashboard manager and performance manager. What-if analysis is carried out here. REPORT CONVERSION TOOL: Used for getting reports in webi which are already being made in desktop intelligence. CRXI: Its a core reporting tool. The main discrimination in case of BO 6X/5X and the BOXI-R2 is about its security level. In 6 xs and 5x, user level security was there but in BOXI-R2 object level security came into picture there by object has the right that who will use it.

BUSINESS OBJECTS ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE

This section provides an overview of the BusinessObjects Enterprise architecture, describes the different components, and identifies how they work together to distribute reports over the web. Click the appropriate link to jump to that section: Architecture overview and diagram Client tier Application tier Intelligence tier Processing tier Data tier Report viewers Information flow Choosing between live and saved data

Architecture overview and diagram:

BusinessObjects Enterprise is a multi-tier system. Although the components are responsible for different tasks, they can be logically grouped based on the type of work they perform.

Client Tier:
The client tier is the only part of the BusinessObjects Enterprise system that administrators and end users interact with directly. This tier is made up of the applications that enable people to administer, publish, and view reports and other objects. The client tier includes: InfoView BusinessObjects Enterprise comes with InfoView, a web-based interface that end users access to view, schedule, and keep track of published reports. Central Management Console (CMC)) The Central Management Console (CMC) allows you to perform user management tasks such as setting up authentication and adding users and groups. Central Configuration Manager (CCM) The Central Configuration Manager (CCM) is a server-management tool that allows you to configure each of your BusinessObjects Enterprise server components. Publishing Wizard The Publishing Wizard is a locally installed Windows application that enables both administrators and end users to add reports to BusinessObjects Enterprise. Import Wizard

The Import Wizard is a locally installed Windows application that guides administrators through the process of importing users, groups, reports, and folders from an existing BusinessObjects Enterprise, Crystal Enterprise, or Crystal Info implementation to BusinessObjects Enterprise.

Application Tier:
The application tier hosts the server-side components that process requests from the client tier as well as the components that communicate these requests to the appropriate server in the intelligence tier. The application tier includes: Application tier components Web development platforms Web application environments Application tier components For both the Java and .NET platforms, the application tier includes the following components: Application server and BusinessObjects Enterprise SDK Web Component Adapter (WCA) Application server and BusinessObjects Enterprise SDK BusinessObjects Enterprise systems that use the BusinessObjects Enterprise Java SDK or the BusinessObjects Enterprise .NET SDK run on a third party application server. The application server acts as the gateway between the web server and the rest of the components in BusinessObjects Enterprise. The application server is responsible for processing requests from your browser. It also supports InfoView and other Business Objects applications, and uses the SDK to convert report pages (.epf files) to HTML format when users view pages with a DHTML viewers Web Component Adapter (WCA) The Web Component Adapter (WCA) runs within the application server and provides all services that are not directly supported by the BusinessObjects Enterprise SDK. The web server passes requests directly to the application server, which then forwards the requests on to the WCA. The WCA has two primary roles: It processes ASP.NET (.aspx) and Java Server Pages (.jsp) files It also supports Business Objects applications such as the Central Management Console (CMC) and Crystal report viewers (that are implemented through viewrpt.aspx requests). Web development platforms BusinessObjects Enterprise supports the following web development platforms: Java platform Windows .NET platform Java platform All UNIX installations of BusinessObjects Enterprise include a Web Component Adapter (WCA). In this configuration, a Java application server is required to host the WCA and the BusinessObjects Enterprise Java SDK. Windows .NET platform

BusinessObjects Enterprise installations that use the .NET Framework include Primary Interop Assemblies (PIAs) that allow you to use the BusinessObjects Enterprise .NET SDK with ASP.NET, and a set of .NET Server Components that you can optionally use to simplify the development of custom applications. Web application environments BusinessObjects Enterprise supports Java Server Pages (.jsp) and ASP.NET (.aspx) pages. BusinessObjects Enterprise includes web applications developed in .aspx, such as InfoView and the sample applications available via the BusinessObjects Enterprise Launchpad. Java Server Pages (.jsp) and ASP.NET (.aspx) pages allow you to develop cross-platform J2EE and ASP.NET applications that use the BusinessObjects Enterprise SDKs in conjunction with third party APIs.

Intelligence tier:
The intelligence tier manages the BusinessObjects Enterprise system. It maintains all of the security information, sends requests to the appropriate servers, manages audit information, and stores report instances. Central Management Server (CMS) The CMS is responsible for maintaining a database of information about your BusinessObjects Enterprise system, which other components can access as required. The CMS also maintains the, and a separate audit database of information about user actions. This data allows the CMS to perform its four main tasks: Maintaining security Managing objects Managing servers Managing auditing Cache Server The Cache Server is responsible for handling all report viewing requests. The Cache Server checks whether or not it can fulfill the request with a cached report page. By storing report pages in a cache, BusinessObjects Enterprise avoids accessing the database each and every time a report is requested. File Repository Servers There is an Input and an Output File Repository Server in every BusinessObjects Enterprise implementation. The Input File Repository Server manages all of the report objects and program objects that have been published to the system by administrators or end users (using the Publishing Wizard, the Central Management Console, the Import Wizard, or a Business Objects designer component such as Crystal Reports or the Web Intelligence Java or HTML Report Panels). The Output File Repository Server manages all of the report instances generated by the Report Job Server or the Web Intelligence Report Server, and the program instances generated by the Program Job Server. Event Server The Event Server manages file-based events. When you set up a file-based event within BusinessObjects Enterprise, the Event Server monitors the directory that you specified.

When the appropriate file appears in the monitored directory, the Event Server triggers your file-based event: that is, the Event Server notifies the CMS that the file-based event has occurred. The CMS then starts any jobs that are dependent upon your file-based event. After notifying the CMS of the event, the Event Server resets itself and again monitors the directory for the appropriate file. When the file is newly created in the monitored directory, the Event Server again triggers your file-based event.

Processing tier:
The processing tier accesses the data and generates the reports. It is the only tier that interacts directly with the databases that contain the report data. The processing tier includes: Report Job Server A Job Server processes scheduled actions on objects at the request of the CMS. You can configure a Job Server to process either report objects or program objects when you add it to your BusinessObjects Enterprise system. If you configure a Job Server to process report objects, it becomes a Report Job Server. Program Job Server A Job Server processes scheduled actions on objects at the request of the CMS. You can configure a Job Server to process either report objects or program objects when you add it to your BusinessObjects Enterprise system. If you configure a Job Server to process program objects, it becomes a Program Job Server Web Intelligence Job Server The Web Intelligence Job Server processes scheduling requests it receives from the CMS for Web Intelligence documents. It forwards these requests to the Web Intelligence Report Server, which will generate the instance of the Web Intelligence document. Web Intelligence Report Server The Web Intelligence Report Server is used to create, edit, view, and analyze Web Intelligence documents. It also processes scheduled Web Intelligence documents and generates new instances of the document, which it stores on the Output File Repository Server (FRS). Report Application Server (RAS) The Report Application Server (RAS) processes reports that users view with the Advanced DHTML viewer. The RAS also provides the ad hoc reporting capabilities that allow users to create and modify reports over the Web. However, the RAS uses an internal caching mechanism that involves no interaction with the Cache Server. Destination Job Server When you add a job server to your BusinessObjects Enterprise system, you can configure it to process report objects or program objects, or to send objects or instances to specified destinations. If you configure it to send objects or instances, it becomes a Destination Job Server. List of Values Job Server The List of Values Job Server processes scheduled list-of-value objects. These are objects that contain the values of specific fields in a Business View. Page Server The Page Server is primarily responsible for responding to page requests by processing reports and generating Encapsulated Page Format (EPF) pages.

Data tier:

The data tier is made up of the databases that contain the data used in the reports. Business Objects Enterprise supports a wide range of corporate databases.

DESIGNER AND UNIVERSE FUNDAMENTALS

Business Objects Designer is a software tool that allows you to create universes for Web Intelligence and Desktop Intelligence users.

What is a universe?
A universe is a file that contains the following: Connection parameters for one or more database middleware. SQL structures called objects that map to actual SQL structures in the database such as columns, tables, and database functions. Objects are grouped into classes. Objects and classes are both visible to Web Intelligence users. A schema of the tables and joins used in the database. Objects are built from the database structures that you include in your schema. The schema is only available to Designer users. It is not visible to Web Intelligence and Desktop Intelligence users. Web Intelligence users connect to a universe, and run queries against a database. They can do data analysis and create reports using the objects in a universe, without seeing, or having to know anything about, the underlying data structures in the database.

What is the role of a universe?

The role of a universe is to provide an easy to use and understand interface for non technical Web Intelligence users to run queries against a database to create reports and perform data analysis. As the universe designer, you use Designer to create objects that represent database structures, for example columns and database functions, that users need to access and query, to get the information necessary to meet their business requirements. The objects that you create in the universe must be relevant to the end user business environment and vocabulary. Their role is to present a business focused front end to the SQL structures in the database. The following diagram shows the role of objects as the mapping layer between a database schema and the Query work area in Web Intelligence that users use to create queries to run against database tables.

What are universe parameters?

Universe parameters are definitions and restrictions that you define for a universe that identify a universe and its database connections, specify the type of queries that can be run using the universe, and set the controls on the use of system resources. You can define the following universe parameters: Definition: Universe name, description, and connection parameters and information. These are the parameters that identify the universe. Summary Information: Version and revision information, designer comments, and universe statistics. Strategies: Indicates the strategies used by the universe. A strategy is a script used to extract structural information from a database. Controls: Indicates the limitations set for the use of system resources. SQL: Indicates the types of queries that the end user is alloyoud to run from the Query pane. Links: Indicates the settings defined for linked universes.

Defining and editing connections

A connection is a named set of parameters that defines how a Business Objects application accesses data in a database file. A connection links Web Intelligence to your middleware. You must have a connection to access data. You can create three types of connections with Designer: Personal Shared Secured Each connection type is described as follows:

Personal connections Restricts access to data to the universe creator and the computer on which it was created. Shared connections Allows access to data for all users. These connections are unsecured in terms of Business Objects products security. Secured connections Centralizes and controls access to data. It is the safest type of connection, and should used be to protect access to sensitive data. You can create secured connections with Designer. You must use secured connections if you want to distribute universes through the CMS. Secured connections can be used and updated at any time.

Selecting strategies
A strategy is a script that automatically extracts structural information from a database or flat file. Strategies have two principle roles: Automatic join and cardinality detection (Join strategies) Automatic class, objects, and joins creation (Objects and Joins strategies)

Using built-in strategies Built-in strategies are default strategies that are shipped with Designer. There are built-in strategies for all supported databases. These cannot be modified. Built-in strategies appear by default before external strategies in the strategy drop-down lists. Indicating resource controls Designer offers a number of options that let you control the use of system resources.

Indicating SQL restrictions You can set controls on the types of queries that end users can formulate from the Query pane in Web Intelligence. You can indicate controls for the following areas of query generation: Use of subqueries, operators, and complex operands in individual queries. Generation of multiple SQL statements. Prevent or warn about the occurrence of a cartesian product.

Schema design and the universe creation process

Creating a schema is the first phase of the implementation stage of the universe development cycle. The user analysis and planning phases can all be done without using Designer; however, creating your schema is the first step using Designer to build your universe.

Inserting tables
You start designing a schema by selecting tables from the target database and inserting symbols that represent the tables in the Structure pane. In Designer, the table symbols are referred to simply as tables. You use the Table Browser to select insert tables into your schema. The Table Browser is an independent window that shows a tree view of the tables available in the target database.

Defining joins
Once you have inserted more than one table in the schema, you need to create joins between related tables. Joins are as important as the tables in a schema, as they allow you to combine data from multiple tables in a meaningful way. Defining specific types of joins You can define the following types of joins in Designer: Equi-Joins: Link tables based on the equality between the values in the column of one table and the values in the column of another. Because the same column is present in both tables, the join synchronizes the two tables. You can also create complex equi-joins, where one join links multiple columns between two tables. Theta Joins: Link tables based on a relationship other than equality between two columns. Outer Joins: Link two tables, one of which has rows that do not match those in the common column of the other table.

Shortcut Joins: Join providing an alternative path between two tables, bypassing intermediate tables, leading to the same result, regardless of direction. Optimizes query time by cutting long join paths as short as possible. Self restricting joins: Single table join used to set a restriction on the table.

Understanding the cardinality of a join Cardinalities further describe a join between 2 tables by stating how many rows in one table will match rows in another. This is very important for detecting join problems and creating contexts to correct the limitations of a target RDBMS structure. You should set cardinalities for each join in the schema. Designer can automatically detect and set cardinalities, but you should always manually check the cardinalities, taking into account the nature of the keys that are joined.

Checking the universe

As you design your universe, you should test its integrity periodically. You can verify universe integrity as follows: Automatically: You can set Designer options to check the SQL syntax of universe structures at creation, universe export, or when a universe is opened. Manually: You run Check Integrity to check selected universe structures.

What does a universe contain?

A universe contains the following structures: Classes Objects Classes A class is a logical grouping of objects within a universe. It represents a category of objects. The name of a class should indicate the category of the objects that it contains. A class can be divided hierarchically into subclasses. Objects An object is a named component that maps to data or a derivation of data in the database. The name of an object should be drawn from the business vocabulary of the targeted user group. For example, objects used in a universe used by a product manager could be Product, Life Cycle, or Release Date. A universe used by a financial analyst could contain objects such as Profit Margin, and Return on Investment. Types of objects In Designer, objects are qualified as one of three types: dimension, detail, or measure. Dimension: Parameters for analysis. Dimensions typically relate to a hierarchy such as geography, product, or time. For example Last Name and City_Id

Detail: Provide a description of a dimension, but are not the focus for analysis. For example Phone Number Measure: Convey numeric information which is used to quantify a dimension object. For example Sales Revenue How are objects presented in a universe? Objects are displayed as nodes in a tree explorer view in the Universe pane. You use the object explorer to create, delete, copy, view, and move classes and objects. Each object type is shown below.

Object properties You define the following object properties from the Edit Properties dialog box for a selected object: 1. Definition The Definition page is shown below:

2. Properties The Properties page is shown below:

3. Advanced The Advanced page is shown below.

Defining object security and user rights To define security and user rights for an object: 1. Double click an object. The Edit Properties box for the object appears. 2. Click the Advanced tab. The Advanced page appears. 3. Select a security access level from the Security Access Level drop down list box. 4. Select one or more check boxes in the Can Be Used In group box. 5. Type a date format in the database Format text box, if you want to modify the default date format. 6. Click OK.

Viewing the universe window The Universe window in Designer is shown below. It contains both the Universe pane (also visible in Web Intelligence) and the Structure pane (visible only in Designer).

What is a join path problem?

A join path is a series of joins that a query can use to access data in the tables linked by the joins. Join path problems can arise from the limited way that lookup and fact tables are related in a relational database. The three major join path problems that you encounter when designing a schema are the following: loops chasm traps Fan traps Designer provides a number of following methods for detecting and solving join problems: Loop: Creating aliases and contexts to break loops. Chasm trap: Creating a context. Using the feature Multiple SQL statements for each measure. Creating multiple universes (Web Intelligence only). Fan trap: Creating an alias, creating a context using the alias, and then building affected measure objects on the alias. Using Multiple SQL Statements for Each Measure. Defining aliases

Aliases are references to existing tables in a schema. An Alias is a table that is an exact duplicate of the original table (base table), with a different name. The data in the table is exactly the same as the original table, but the different name "tricks" the SQL of a query to accept that you are using two different tables. The Beach universe schema appears below. It contains two alias tables; Resort_Country and Sponsor:

Defining contexts Contexts are a collection of joins which provide a valid query path for Web Intelligence to generate SQL. The most common use of contexts is to separate two query paths, so that one query returns data for one fact table, and the other query returns data for another fact table. You use contexts to direct join paths in a schema which contains multiple fact tables. Aliases are not appropriate in such schema.

Resolving loops In a relational database schema, a common type of join path that returns too few rows is called a loop. What is a Loop? A loop is a set of joins that defines a closed path through a set of tables in a schema. Loops occur when joins form multiple paths between lookup tables. An example of a loop is shown below.

If you created a universe based on the above structure, any query run against the tables in the loop would return only results where the country values for resorts and the country values for customer origin are equivalent. This double restriction on the shared lookup Country table returns fewer rows than expected. How does an alias break a loop? An alias breaks a loop by using the same table twice in the same query for a different purpose. The alias is identical to the base table with a different name. The data in the alias is exactly the same as the original table, but the different name tricks SQL into accepting that you are using two different tables. How does a context resolve a loop? A context resolves a loop by defining a set of joins that specify one specific path through tables in a loop. It ensures that joins are not included from different paths within the same SQL query. You often use contexts in schema that contain multiple fact tables (multiple stars) that share lookup tables. Resolving Chasm Traps A chasm trap is a common problem in relational database schemas in which a join path returns more data than expected. What is a Chasm Trap? A chasm trap is a type of join path between three tables when two many-to-one joins converge on a single table, and there is no context in place that separates the converging join paths. The example below shows a part of the Beach universe schema. The three tables have been separated from the rest of the schema to illustrate the chasm trap. It uses the same Club connection for data. The Service table receives the one ends of two one-tomany joins. The chasm trap causes a query to return every possible combination of rows for one measure with every possible combination of rows for the other measure.

Using contexts to resolve chasm traps You can define a context for each table at the many end of the joins. In our example you could define a context from SERVICE to RESERVATION_LINE and from SERVICE to INVOICE_LINE. When you run a query which includes objects from both contexts, this creates two Select statements that are synchronized to produce two separate tables in Web Intelligence, avoiding the creation of a Cartesian product. Using Multiple SQL Statements for Each Measure

If you have only measure objects defined for both fact tables, then you can use the Universe Parameters option Multiple SQL statements for each measure. This forces the generation of separate SQL queries for each measure that appear in the Query pane. This solution does not work for dimension and detail objects. Resolving Fan Traps A fan trap is a less common problem than chasm traps in a relational database schema. It has the same effect of returning more data than expected. What is a Fan Trap? A fan trap is a type of join path between three tables when a one-to-many join links a table which is in turn linked by another one-to-many join. The fanning out effect of one-to-many joins can cause incorrect results to be returned when a query includes objects based on both tables.

Using aliases and contexts to resolve fan traps You create an alias table for the table producing the aggregation and then detect and implement contexts to separate the query. Using Multiple SQL Statements for Each Measure If you have only measure objects defined for both tables at the many end of the serial one-to-many joins, then you can use the Universe Parameters option Multiple SQL Statements for Each Measure. This forces the generation of separate SQL queries for each measure that appear in the Query pane. You cannot use this method to generate multiple queries for dimensions. If an end user can include dimensions from any of the tables that reference the measure objects in the query, then you must use an alias and context to resolve the fan trap.

4. Keys
The Keys tab allows you to define index awareness for an object. Index awareness is the ability to take advantage of the indexes on key columns to speed data retrieval. The objects that you create in Designer are based on database columns that are meaningful to an end user. For example, a customer object retrieves the field that contains the customer name. In this situation the customer table typically has a primary key (for example an integer) that is not meaningful to the end user, but which is very important for database performance. When you set up index awareness in Designer you tell Designer which database columns are primary and foreign keys. This can have a dramatic effect on query performance in the following ways: Designer can take advantage of the indexes on key columns to speed data retrieval.

 Designer can generate SQL that filters in the most efficient way. This is particularly important in a star schema database. If you build a query that involves filtering on a value in a dimension table, Designer can apply the filter directly on the fact table by using the dimension table foreign key. This eliminates unnecessary and costly joins to dimension tables. Designer does not ignore duplicates with index awareness. If two customers have the same name, Designer will retrieve one only unless it is aware that each customer has a separate primary key.

Using the SQL editor to define an object

You can use an SQL editor to help you define the Select statement or a Where clause for an object. The SQL Editor is a graphical editor that lists tables, columns, objects, operators, and functions in tree views. You can double click any listed structure to insert it into the Select or Where boxes.

How are measures different from dimensions and details?

Measures differ from dimensions and details in the following ways: Measures are dynamic Measures can project aggregates Both these properties are described as follows:

How do measures behave dynamically?

Returned values for a measure object vary depending on the dimension and detail objects used with the measure object in a query.

Defining restrictions for objects

A restriction is a condition in SQL that sets criteria to limit the data returned by a query. You define restrictions on objects to limit the data available to users. Your reasons for limiting user access to data should be based on the data requirements of the target user. A user may not need to have access to all the values returned by an object. You might also want to restrict user access to certain values for security reasons. You can define two types of restrictions in a universe: 1. Forced: Restriction defined in the Where clause for an object. It cannot be accessed by users and so cannot be overridden in Web Intelligence. 2. Optional: Restriction defined in special condition objects that users can choose to use or not use in a query. A condition object is a predefined Where clause that can be inserted into the Select statement inferred by objects in the Query pane. Defining a Where clause for an object You apply a further restriction on an object by adding a condition in the Where box from the Definition page of the Edit Properties dialog box for an object. You can define the condition at object creation, or add it to the object definition at any time.

Defining condition objects A condition object is a predefined Where clause that can be inserted into the Select statement inferred by objects in the Query pane. Condition objects are stored in the Conditions view of the Universe pane. You access the conditions view by clicking the Conditions radio button at the right bottom of the universe pane. The condition objects for the Beach universe and the Where clause that the Young American condition infers are shown below.

Advantages and restrictions for using condition objects Using condition objects has the following advantages: Useful for complex or frequently used conditions. Gives users the choice of applying the condition. No need for multiple objects. Condition objects do not change the view of the classes and objects in the Universe pane.

Defining hierarchies
You create object hierarchies to allow users to perform multidimensional analysis. What is multidimensional analysis? Multidimensional analysis is the analysis of dimension objects organized in meaningful hierarchies. Multidimensional analysis allows users to observe data from various viewpoints. This enables them to spot trends or exceptions in the data. A hierarchy is an ordered series of related dimensions. An example of a hierarchy is Geography, which may group dimensions such as Country, Region, and City. In Web Intelligence you can use drill up or down to perform multi dimensional analysis.

Drill
A user can use drill to navigate through hierarchical levels of detail. Users can drill up or drill down on a hierarchy. For example, a manager wants to track reservation data over time. As the universe designer, you could set up a Reservation Time hierarchy to include the dimensions Reservation Year, Reservation Quarter, Reservation Month, and

Reservation Date. From a higher level of aggregation for example Reservation Quarter, the manager can drill down to a more detailed level such as Reservation Month or Reservation Date. He or she could also drill up from Reservation Quarter to Reservation Year to see a more summarized view of the data.

Setting up hierarchies By default, Designer provides a set of default hierarchies for multidimensional analysis. These are the classes and the objects arranged in the order that they appear in the Universe pane. When you create objects, you should organize them hierarchically, to ensure that default hierarchies have a sense to users.

Defining how a list of values is used with an object

When you create a dimension or detail object in Designer, it is automatically assigned an associated list of values. This list does not physically exist when you create an object, but by default, the object has the ability to query the database to return a list of its values when used in the Query pane.

Creating a hierarchy for a list of values To create a hierarchy for a list of values: 1. Double click an object. The object Edit Properties sheet appears. 2. Click the Properties tab. The Properties page appears. 3. Select the Associate a List of Values check box. 4. If you want to rename the list, then type a name for the.LOV file in the List Name box. 5. Click the Edit button. The Query pane appears. The active object is listed in the Result Objects pane. 6. Drag the objects that you want to place in the hierarchy into the Result Objects box to the right of the existing object, as shown below:

7. Click OK. 8. Click Display to view the restricted list of values. A blank list appears. 9. Click Refresh.

Desktop Intelligence
Desktop Intelligence is an integrated query, reporting and analysis solution for business professionals that allow you to access the data in your corporate databases directly from your desktop and present and analyze this information in a Desktop Intelligence document. Desktop Intelligence makes it easy to access data from your corporate database because it has a business-intelligent, semantic layer that isolates you from the technical issues of the database. This semantic layer is called a universe. A universe maps to data in the database, using everyday terms that describe your business environment. Two-tier Three-tier 2-tier Desktop Intelligence Desktop Intelligence in 3-tier mode, is deployment has a specific client the lighter version of the Desktop server configuration where the Intelligence in 2-tier mode. It has a program files to run the report engine specific configuration where a light are on the same machine our local client version of the Desktop machine as the middleware used to Intelligence report engine connects to connect to our data. Technically, we the web server for all the middleware have all the necessary files to connect used for data connections. Users to our corporate or local repository on access Desktop Intelligence in 3-tier our machine. mode via InfoView or from the Start menu if they have a connection to a Business Objects server. Desktop Intelligence lets you access data from a wide range of sources. You can access data from: Universes Personal Data Files Stored Procedures Freehand SQL Server XML Data Provider VBA Data Provider

The Repository
Desktop Intelligence uses the repository to secure access to your data warehouse and to provide an infrastructure for distributing documents to be shared with others. The Repository organizes documents into Folders and Categories in an orderly system that permits easy access for you and others working with documents. You select the documents you want to import from or export to Desktop Intelligence.

Folders and Categories

Folders Folders are the physical place where documents are stored. Only one document with a given name may be placed in a folder or category. It is possible to place documents in several categories. If necessary change the name of the document or give it a number to place it in the same folder or category. Shortcuts and copies may be placed in other folders or categories. Your Repository is organized into Folders and Categories to help you organize your documents. It is possible to create or delete sub-folders. There are 2 types of folders:

 My Folders with 2 sub-folders: Favorites (Generally reserved for often used documents) Inbox (Generally reserved for documents received from other users Public Folders (For shared documents.) Categories Categories are used for classifying information regardless of its storage location. There are two types of Categories: Corporate Categories Personal Categories

Building a data provider when you create a new document

Building a data provider when you create a new document is a typical way of using Desktop Intelligence. You create the document in order to see your business data; to do that, you have to build a data provider to access data from a data source. To help you build a data provider when you create a new document, Desktop Intelligence launches the New Report Wizard when you start the application for the first time.

To run this wizard once you have launched Desktop Intelligence, click New Report Wizard on the Standard toolbar. To build a new data provider using the wizard: 1. Select an option for the report layout, then click Begin. The Specify Data Access dialog box appears:

2. If you chose to build a query on a universe in the previous step, the Select a Universe dialog box appears:

3. Select the universe that you want to use, then click Finish. The Query Panel appears with the classes of the Island Resorts Marketing universe displayed:

Building a query in the Query Panel and running the query

Building and running a query includes the following steps: 1. Display all the objects that you can include in a query 2. Include objects in a query 3. Remove objects from a query 4. Change the order of objects in a query 5. Run the query

Defining scope of analysis

Analysis means looking at data from different viewpoints and on different levels of detail. In reports, you can use scope of analysis to ensure that the data included in your report can be displayed at the appropriate level of detail for your analysis. Setting a scope of analysis allows you to work in drill mode, which enables you to display data in progressively greater detail. Scope of analysis means a subset of data, returned by a query that you will use for analysis in your report. The data for your scope of analysis does not appear in the report until you decide that you want to use it in analysis The scope of analysis you can define depends on hierarchies in the universe. A hierarchy, which the designer sets up when creating the universe, consists of dimension objects ranked from less detailed to more detailed. The objects that belong to hierarchies are the ones you can use to define scope of analysis.

Applying conditions
A condition is a way of limiting the data that a query returns. In Desktop Intelligence, we can set three types of conditions on a query: Predefined conditions: When universe designers build universes, they can create predefined conditions for us to use. Simple conditions: Enable us to limit data returned by a result object. Complex conditions: Enable us to limit the query results by any object in the universe.

Applying sorts
Sorts control the order in which data appears: ascending or descending. For example, you can apply a sort on a measure object so that its data appears in ascending order, from lowest to highest values. To apply a sort on an object 1. Click an object in the Result Objects box. 2. Click the Sort button on the toolbar. A sort icon appears below the object icon in the Result Objects box. Applying a sort on report data 1. Click the cell, column, row or chart element containing the data you want to sort. 2. Click the toolbar button for the sort you want to apply. The data appears in order, and the button you clicked remains pushed, to show that the data has been sorted. Inverting a sort 1. Click the data you have already sorted 2. Click one of the sort buttons on the toolbar. T ext Numbers Dat Ascending A-Z lowest to highest past to present Descending Z-A highest to lowest present to past

Custom Place values in the order you want Removing a sort The Sort buttons work as toggle buttons turning sorts on and off. To remove a sort: 1. Click the data you have already sorted. 2. Click the button you used to apply the sort. Applying a custom sort 1. Click the cell, column, row or chart element where the data you want to sort is displayed. 2. Click Custom Sort on the toolbar. The Custom Sort dialog box opens.

3. Either choose an option from the Sort Option list box: or drag and drop the values in the list into the desired order use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to place the values in the desired order 4. Click OK to close the Custom Sort dialog box.

Setting options and running a query

Before running a query, you can set options that enable you to: Specify the number of rows of data that you want the query to return. The Default Value option corresponds to the maximum number of rows that the universe designer specified for queries on the current universe, in the <BOProductName>Designer module. Eliminate duplicate rows of data. This feature is useful if you think that the query will return many rows containing the same data. Retrieve no data when you run the query. In this case, Desktop Intelligence generates the query SQL but does not connect to the database. The names of the objects included in the query appear as column headings in the report. This option is useful if you want to save the query you have built, but refresh it at an offpeak time.

Building combined queries

Desktop Intelligence lets you combine the data returned by up to eight queries as one set of results. These combined queries enable you to: obtain a single column of data from multiple objects obtain data common to two sets of results, such as customers from a given region and a given age group exclude the results of one query from the results of another

Restrictions on combined queries You need to be aware that: Queries that you combine must contain the same number of objects in order to return the same number of columns of data. These objects must be of the same data type. You can include up to eight queries in a combined query.

What is drill mode?

Drill mode is a Desktop Intelligence analysis mode that allows you to break down data and view it from different angles and on different levels of detail to discover what the driving factor is behind a good or bad result. How does drill mode work? When you make a query on a Desktop Intelligence universe, the objects you can include are grouped in folders and organized in a specific order. The person who creates the Desktop Intelligence universe organizes objects in hierarchies, with the most general object in the class at the top and the most detailed at the bottom. Objects are grouped in this way to make it easy for you to find what you are looking for. They are classified inside the groups so that if you want to make a high level report you know you need to include objects at the top of the list in your query and if you want a more detailed report then you choose objects from further down the list.

Hierarchies
Objects are also organized in this way for drilling. When you analyze data in drill mode, you use hierarchies. The universe classes are the default hierarchies you use for drilling but the universe designer can also set up custom hierarchies. You can also create and edit hierarchies in your reports. Drill hierarchies contain dimension objects only. In drill mode, you drill down on dimensions, for example from Year to Quarter to Month. At each level Desktop Intelligence recalculates measures such as Revenue or Profit Margin. The classic dimensions on which a designer or advanced user creates hierarchies are geography, time and product. In the demo universe, Island Resorts Marketing, there are four hierarchies: Resort (Country, Resort, Service Line, Service) Sales (Year, Quarter, Month, Week, Invoice Date) Customer (Country of Origin, Region, City, Customer) Reservations (Reservation Year, Reservation Quarter, Reservation Month, Reservation Week, Reservation Date)

When you set up a report for drilling, you include high level objects to display in your table or chart but include more detailed objects in your scope of analysis. Desktop Intelligence retrieves these objects from the database and stores them behind the scenes in your report so that they are there when you need them. Before you can analyze data in drill mode, you have to set up this behind the scenes data. Slice-and-dice mode Slice-and-dice mode enables you to switch the position of data in a report, for example by moving columns to rows to create a crosstab. You can also use slice-and-dice mode to: Work with master/detail reports display and remove data rename, reset and delete blocks turn tables and crosstabs into charts, and vice versa apply, edit and delete breaks, filters, sorts, rankings and calculations You access slice-and-dice mode through the Slice and Dice Panel, a pop-up window that provides a graphical representation of the report you are working on. You carry out sliceand-dice tasks by dragging and dropping icons that represent your data.

a. Sorts b. Ranking c. Calculations d. Breaks e. Filters

Calculations
Desktop Intelligence has standard calculation functions that enable you to make quick calculations on the data in reports. These calculations are available directly from a menu. The most commonly used calculations are also available on the Report toolbar. Adding simple calculations to reports To add a simple calculation to a report: 1. Select the row or column on which you want to make the calculation. 2. Click Data, then the calculation you want, on the Calculations menu.

Limiting the data displayed

You might not want to display all the data returned by a data provider in a report. You might want to focus on a selection of it only, which is difficult if there is a lot of data on the screen. A filter enables you to hide data you do not want to view behind the scenes and display only the data you need. There are two types of filter. A global filter affects the whole report. A block specific filter filters data for the specified chart, table or crosstab only. Inserting a filter You can insert a filter on data in tables, crosstabs or charts. To insert a filter 1. Click the row, column or chart element you want to filter. 2. Click the Insert Filter button on the Report toolbar, or click Filter on the Insert menu. The Apply a Filter On dialog box appears. It displays the values you can select for the filter: 3. Hold down the Ctrl key and click the values you want to include in the report, then click OK. The dialog box closes, and the report includes only the values you selected. The Insert Filter button on the toolbar is dimmed. To remove the filter, click inside the filtered data, then click Insert Filter.

Using ranking to view the top and bottom values

You might want to show just the extreme ranges of your data, for example your top ten customers. Ranking enables you to look at the largest and smallest numbers in a report. Like filtering, it hides the data you do not want to display. Desktop Intelligence does not delete the data from the report; you can view it again whenever you like by removing the ranking. Ranking also sorts the data in descending order. Thus, the largest value of the ranking is always at the top of the ranked column and the smallest value at the bottom. You can rank data in tables, crosstabs or master cells in master/detail reports. Applying a ranking on report data To apply a ranking: 1. Click to select the data you want to rank. For example, if you want to rank the data for customers, click the column where this data appears. 2. Click Apply Ranking on the Report toolbar, or click Ranking on the Format menu.

3. The Select Top/Bottom Variable Name dialog box appears.

4. Click the ranking values you want to display in your report, and then click OK or Apply. The report displays ranked data for the values you selected only. The Apply Ranking button on the toolbar is dimmed.

What is a break?
A break does what its name implies. It breaks up the data in a table or crosstab by grouping the data according to a selected value. This allows you to display all the data for each value of a dimension variable together, and more importantly, it allows you to display subtotals.

Inserting a break To insert a break: 1. Click the column or row where you want to insert a break. 2. In the Report toolbar, click Insert Break. The data in the table is broken up and Insert Break dims. Removing a break To remove a break: 1. Click where you inserted the break. In the Report toolbar the Insert Break dims showing that the break has been applied to the selection. 2. In the Report toolbar, click Insert Break. The Break is removed from the table or crosstab. Hiding columns and rows of data You can hide columns or rows of data so that the data is not displayed in your table but still remains in the report. To do this: 1. Right-click inside the table or crosstab. 2. Click Table or Crosstab on the Format menu. 3. Click the Pivot tab in the dialog box that appears.

Hiding Data
In the Used Variables box, click the variable you want to hide, then click Hide. To hide more than one variable at the same time, hold down the Ctrl key, click the variables, then click Hide. Hidden variables are grayed in the Used Variables box.

Showing data
To display a previously hidden variable, click it in the Used Variables list, then click Show.

Highlighting data
You can highlight data in a Desktop Intelligence report using alerters. Alerters use special formatting to make data that fits certain conditions stand out from the rest of the data. This helps draw attention to trends and exceptions in report data. Creating an alerter There are 4 steps involved in creating an alerter: Step 1: select the data 1. In a report, click a cell, row or column of data. 2. Click Alerters on the Format menu. 3. In the Alerters dialog box that appears, click Add. Step 2: name and describe the alerter 1. In the Name box in the Definition tab, type a name for the alerter. 2. In the Description box, type a help text on the alerter to remind you and others what the Alerter is set to highlight. 3. Click the Conditions tab.

Step 3: Set the conditions 1. Choose a variable from the Variable to Compare listbox. 2. Choose an operator from the Operator 1 listbox. Type a value (number, character or date), or Click the down arrow button to the right of the Value 1 box, then click Variables or List of Values. Select a variable or a value. 3. If operator 1 requires the use of a second operator, click the operator to use in the Operator 2 box. 4. Click inside the Value 2 box and repeat step 2.

Step 4: Set the formatting Specify different formats for each range, using fonts, colors and borders, for example. Or you can enter a text or select a variable that will mask the data that satisfies the conditions you set. 1. Click the arrow next to the Cell Content box. A shortcut menu appears. 2. To have the alerter display text, click Text.

3. Type the text, then click OK. 4. To have the alerter display a variable or a formula, click Variables. 5. To format the cell contents, click Format. 6. In the Cell Format box, format the text, then click OK. 7. Click OK to return to the Edit Alerters dialog box. Once you have created an alerter you can apply it, hide it or display it.

Formulas
When you run a query, Desktop Intelligence makes calculations on the data at the query level and returns the results as variables. You can also make calculations on report data using the built-in calculations available on the calculations menu or toolbar. This section explains how you can set up your own personalized calculations on data in your reports by writing Desktop Intelligence formulas. Creating formulas There are three ways of creating formulas. You can: type your formula directly into a cell type your formula in the Formula Bar

use the Formula Editor

The Formula Editor allows you to create your formula by choosing variables, functions and operators directly from the lists. The Formula Editor has four main parts: Formulas box: Displays the formula. We use this box to write or edit formulas.

Variables box: Displays a list of all the variables in the document, which can be local variables or variables returned by the data provider. You can include these variables in your formula. Functions: Displays a list of all Desktop Intelligence functions. Operators: Operators define the relationship between elements in a formula. A formula must begin with an "equal to" sign. If you remove this sign, the formula is considered as a constant or as text. Variables included in formulas must be surrounded by a less than sign (<) and a greater than sign (>),for example, <Revenue>. Text included in formulas must be surrounded by double-quotes (")

Local variables
A local variable is a named formula. Local variables appear in the list of variables in the Report Manager Data tab; you can use them to build tables, charts and crosstabs in the same way as you use variables returned by a data provider.

Functions
Desktop Intelligence contains many built-in functions which greatly extend its capabilities. Functions are pre-defined formulas. A function consists of the function name followed by a pair of parentheses. The parentheses can contain arguments and arguments supply functions with values on which to operate. Arguments can be objects, constants or other functions. The entire set of functions is organized in nine folders in the Functions box of the Formula Editor: All: All functions in alphabetical order. Aggregates: Functions that return aggregate totals (for example sums or averages). Numeric Functions: Functions that operate on numerical arguments. Character Functions: Functions that operate on character objects and text strings. Date Functions: Functions that operate on dates. Logical Functions: Functions that return true or false. Document Functions: Functions that return information about a document. Data Provider Functions: Functions that return information about a data provider.

Miscellaneous Functions: Functions that cannot be categorized into one of the seven category folders.

Exporting data from Desktop Intelligence

We can export data from Desktop Intelligence to the following local file formats: Text Files: we can open the text file in many different applications, and on platforms other than Windows (Macintosh, OS/2 or UNIX, for example). dBASE Files: we can create a separate .dbf file that can be distributed and shared with other databases. Spreadsheet format (Microsoft Excel 97 and Microsoft Excel): When we view the exported data in the spreadsheet application, each value appears in a separate cell. XML Files

Web Intelligence
Viewing and printing reports
Once logged into the business intelligence portal InfoView, you can access Web Intelligence documents and view reports. Onscreen navigation is made easy with page-topage navigation buttons and a document map that allows you to jump from section to section or report to report. The same document can provide the information adapted to each user due to prompts that request each user, who opens the document, to specify the data they want to return to the reports. When you print reports, Web Intelligence automatically generates a copy of reports in Portable Document Format (PDF) format for optimum print quality.

Creating and editing Web Intelligence documents

You can create or edit Web Intelligence documents using one of several tools: Java Report Panel Query HTML HTML Report Panel This section explains the differences between each tool.

Web Intelligence Java Report Panel

The Java Report Panel is designed for users who need more flexibility with designing report layout and defining formulas and variables. A graphical Formula Editor enables you to build formulas rapidly using drag-and-drop.

Web Intelligence Query HTML

Designed for users requiring a pure HTML environment to build data providers, Web Intelligence Query HTML offers the ability to define the data content of documents on multiple data sources. You can use Query HTML to create new documents from scratch or edit the data providers in documents created using any of the other Web Intelligence tools. Used together with On-Report Analysis, Query HTML provides a complete solution for building data providers and designing powerful reports in a pure HTML environment. Once you have run the data providers to generate a standard report, you can leverage Web Intelligence On-Report Analysis features to format multiple reports, add formulas, and create variables.

Web Intelligence HTML Report Panel

Designed for users who need to build basic reports, the HTML Report Panel provides query and report features in a simple wizard-like interface. Each document is based on a single data source and can contain multiple reports, displaying different subsets of information. In addition, the HTML Report Panel is 508 compliant and can be customized for specialized deployments.

Logging in and out of InfoView

You access Web Intelligence by using your web browser to log into InfoView, the corporate business intelligence portal. Once you are in InfoView, you can analyze Web Intelligence reports and create or edit Web Intelligence documents. This section tells you how to: log into InfoView log out of InfoView

Creating new documents

You create Web Intelligence documents by selecting a universe in InfoView. Each universe maps to a database containing corporate business information. This database can be a relational database or an OLAP (On-Line Analytical Processing) database. Although the data is stored differently in relational and OLAP databases, you access it in the same way through a universe. When you connect to a universe, Web Intelligence launches a report panel automatically. You use the report panel to define the data and the reports you want to include in the new document. selecting a universe and launching a report panel To select a universe and launch a report panel: 1. On the InfoView Home page, click New Document. 2. Click the title of the universe on which you want to create a document.

Editing existing documents Viewing a document and switching to Edit mode To view a document and then switch to edit mode: 1. Make sure you are logged into InfoView. 2. On the InfoView home page, navigate to the document you want to open. You do this by clicking the folders in My Folders or Public Folders, or by entering a keyword or the title of the document in the Search box on the InfoView home page. The list of documents appears. 3. Click the document title. 4. If the document contains any prompts, you need to select the value(s) you want returned to the document, and then click Run Query. The Java Report Panel launches and displays the document.

Editing a Web Intelligence document directly To edit a Web Intelligence document directly:

1. Make sure you are logged into InfoView. 2. On the InfoView home page, navigate to the document you want to open. You do this by clicking the folders in My Folders or Public Folders, or by entering a keyword or the title of the document in the Search box on the InfoView home page. The list of documents appears. 3. Click Modify below the document name.

4. The document contains any prompts, you need to select the value(s) you want returned to the document, and then click Run Query. The Java Report Panel launches and displays the reports in the document.

Java Report Panel interface tour

The Java Report Panel provides a rich interface for working with Web Intelligence documents. You interact with documents in two ways: through toolbars through report tabs This is what the the interface looks like:

What is a data provider?

A data provider contains one or more queries that return data from a database. A query requests data from the database. If the data is available, then the requested data is returned by default in the form of a table which contains rows and columns. When you build a query, you are creating a request for information from a database. A request can be very simple, for example; give me total sales in California for the first quarter of last year, or more complicated, for example; give me an average age of customers who bought sweaters during the spring television promotion in Paris. Queries are sent to the databases in a language called SQL (Structured Query Language). However, when you use Web Intelligence you do not have to know any SQL. The Web Intelligence report panel presents the information available in the database as objects that have names and meanings familiar to you. These objects are organized in a structure called a universe. You build data providers by combining objects in a universe. The universe translates the objects presented in your business language to SQL, and then sends the request for information to the database. Web Intelligence can generate SQL data providers of unlimited length. When the data is returned to the Web Intelligence report panel, it is presented in a table form, with columns that have the same names as the objects that you used in the query. The data is arranged in rows. You build data providers and queries in the Java panel using objects in a universe. A universe is a representation of the information available in a database. This information is presented in everyday terms that describe your business situation. The universe appears on the Data tab to the left of the Result Objects and Query Filters panes.

Using multiple data providers

When multiple data providers are necessary? When the data you want to include in a document is available on multiple universes. When you want to create several differently-focused data providers on the same universe. Note: You can present the information from all of the data providers on a single report or on multiple reports in the same document. A maximum number of 15 data providers are supported per document. After adding a new query to an existing query click on Run Query. The new Query dialogue box appears.

Duplicating, renaming and moving data providers Right-click the query tabs and then select Duplicate Query from the dropdown menu. Web Intelligence creates a duplicate of the selected query and adds it to the report panel. If you select Rename Query then the control will go to properties tab and you have to give a new name. You can move a query left or right by selecting Move Query. And select the proper option where to move either left or right.

Purging data from multiple data providers: When you purge data from a document you remove all data from the document, while leaving the document structure intact. Click the Purge button on the toolbar to purge the whole document. The values are removed from all report cells throughout the document. To return the data to the document, click Refresh Data. Purging data from a specific query:

Setting the scope of analysis

In a universe, the objects within each class are usually represented in a hierarchy. For example, a class called Time period contains the objects Year, Quarter, Month, and Week arranged in a hierarchy as follows:

Setting the Scope of Analysis To set the scope of analysis:

1. Verify that you are in Query View. The Edit Query button on the Web Intelligence toolbar is pressed in when you are in Query View. 2. Click the Show/Hide Scope of Analysis Pane button so that it appears pressed in. The Scope of Analysis panel appears at the bottom of the Result Objects pane. The default scope of analysis is none. Each dimension in the Result Objects pane appears in the Scope of Analysis pane.

3. Click the down arrow in the Scope of Analysis drop-down list box. 4. Select a level for the scope of analysis. The level appears in the list box and the dimensions that are hierarchically below each dimension in the Result Objects pane appear in the Scope of Analysis pane.

5. If you want to add selected dimensions to the scope of analysis or create a custom scope of analysis, select dimensions in the Query Manager and drag them across to the Scope of Analysis panel.

Defining query properties

You can set properties for the query that can optimize the time taken for the query to run, or the amount of data returned, set security options, specify the order of prompts in the report, and control potential ambiguous query results. The query properties options are grouped together in sections on the Properties tab in Query View. Name: The name you specify for the selected query is displayed on the corresponding query tab. Data: Retrieve duplicate rows In a database, the same data may be repeated over many rows. You can choose to have these repeated rows returned in a query, or to have only unique rows returned. Limits: Max rows retrieved Maximum number of rows of data that can be returned when a query is run. If you only need a certain amount of data, you can set this value to limit the number of rows of data that is returned to your document. This prevents a query from taking too much time or from returning unnecessary data to the document. Max retrieval time Maximum time that a query can run before the query is stopped. This can be useful when a query is taking too long due to an excess of data, or network problems. You can set a time limit so a query can stop within a reasonable time. Security: Allow other users to edit all data providers When selected, other users who have the appropriate editing rights can access Query View and modify the data providers in the document. When cleared, only the report creator can modify the data providers. This option is selected by default. Unlike the other query properties, which only apply to the selected query, this option applies to all of the data providers in the document.

Prompt Order: Prompts are listed in the list. You can use the up and down arrows to move a prompt up or down the list to change the order. Contexts: Displays contexts selected during the previous refresh of the report. Reset contexts on refresh When selected, you are prompted to choose a context each time a query requiring a context is run. When unselected, Web Intelligence retains the context specified the first time you run the query. Clear contexts All selected contexts are removed from the context list. The user is prompted to select a context when the report is refreshed. Setting query properties To set query properties: 1. Verify that you are in Query View. The Edit Query button is pressed in when you are working in Query View. 2. Click the Properties tab. The Query Properties options appear. 3. Click the Fold/Unfold arrows at the top right of each section of the options to expand or close the property groups. 4. Select or type query property options.

Running a simple query Once you have built your query by adding the required objects to the Result Objects pane, set the scope of analysis and defined query properties, you are ready to run the query. When you run a query, the universe asks the database to find the data that

corresponds to the demands of each of the objects in the query. You run a query by clicking the Run Query button. What is an ambiguous query? An ambiguous query is a query that contains one or more objects that can potentially return two different types of information. In a universe, certain dimensions may have values that are used for two different purposes in the database.

What is a context?
A context is a defined group of objects that share a common business purpose. This business purpose is usually the type of information that these related objects represent. For example, a sales context is a grouping of all the objects that can be used to create sales data providers. A reservations context is a grouping of all the objects that can be used in reservation data providers. Contexts are defined in a universe by the universe designer.

Interrupting data providers

When you interrupt a query, only partial data is returned to the document. The values displayed in the document do not accurately reflect the definition in the query. Before returning the data to the document, Web Intelligence requests you to choose which version of the data you want retrieved. Interrupting a query To interrupt a query: 1. On the Retrieving Data dialog box, click Cancel.

The Interrupt Data Retrieval dialog box appears. 2. Select one of the following options: Restore the results from the previous data retrieval Web Intelligence restores the values to the document that were retrieved the last time the query was run. The values displayed will not be the most up to date information available on the database. You can run the query later to return the up to date values from the database. Purge all data from the document Web Intelligence displays the document empty of values. The structure and formatting of the document is retained. You can run the query later to return the up to date values from the database. Return the partial results Web Intelligence displays the new values retrieved so far in the appropriate parts of the document. The rest of the document will display the values retrieved the last time the query was run. 3. Click OK. Web Intelligence displays the results on the reports, according to the option you selected.

Combined query
Combined queries allow you to answer questions that are otherwise difficult or impossible to frame in a single Web Intelligence query. You can combine queries in three relationships: Union Intersection Minus In a union combination, Web Intelligence takes the all the data from both queries, eliminates duplicate rows, and builds a combined data set. In an intersection combination, Web Intelligence returns the data that is common to both queries. In a minus combination, Web Intelligence returns the data in the first query that does not appear in the second.

Merging dimensions
You can include multiple data providers in a Web Intelligence document. You often need to synchronize the data returned by these data providers. You do this by incorporating common dimensions into a merged dimension. Merged dimensions often have the same name in both data sources, but this is not obligatory. It can make sense to merge dimensions with different names if they contain related data. To merge dimensions: 1. Click Merge Dimensions button on the toolbar. The Merge Dimensions dialog box appears. 2. Select the dimensions you want to merge in the boxes at the top of the dialog box. 3. Click Values to view the values associated with the dimensions. 4. Click Merge. The Create Merged Dimension dialog box appears. You use this dialog box to specify the properties of the merged dimension. 5. Select the dimension in the Source Dimension drop-down list. The source dimension provides the default name, description and number formats for the merged dimension. 6. Type the merged dimension name in the Merged Dimension Name box and the merged dimension description in the Description box. 7. Click OK. The merged dimension name appears in the Merged Dimensions box and the dimensions that are part of the merged dimension appear in the boxes alongside it. Because an original dimension can be part of one merged dimension only, it no longer appears in the box above that lists the original dimensions in the query.

8. Click OK to close the Merged Dimensions dialog box. Web Intelligence adds the merged dimensions to the list of merged dimensions in the Data tab. Automatic merging You can set Web Intelligence to merge dimensions automatically under the following circumstances: The dimensions have the same name. The dimensions have the same data type. The dimensions are in the same universe.

To do this: 1. Right-click outside any block or chart 2. Click Document Properties on the popup menu. 3. Click Auto-merge dimensions. Working with merged dimensions in reports Merged dimensions appear under the Merged Dimensions folder in the Data tab. You can expand each merged dimension to see the dimensions that are merged in it. To edit merged dimensions right click on it and select Edit Merged Dimension. To delete merged dimensions right click on it and select Delete Merged Dimension. To add a merged dimension to a report select the dimension in the Merged Dimensions folder and drag it to the report.

Filters
You can apply filters at two levels within a document: Query filters these filters are defined on the query; they limit the data retrieved from the data source and returned to the Web Intelligence document report filters these filters limit the values displayed on reports, tables, charts, sections within the document, but they dont modify the data that is retrieved from the data source; they simply hide values at the report level Query filters You define query filters in Query View. Users without the security profile to edit the query cannot modify the query filters you define. This ensures that the data saved with a document is appropriate for those who view or analyze the data within that document. Report filters Filters you apply to the data displayed in the report are called report filters. You use report filters to limit the values displayed in the reports within a document. You can filter each report to display a different subset of the same data. The data hidden by the report filters remains saved with the Web Intelligence document. You can modify the report filters to display different data in the report or remove the report filters altogether to display all the data defined in the query. You define report filters in Report View. Types of query filters You can apply four types of filters to data providers when you build data providers using the Java Report Panel: Predefined filters created by your administrator

 Custom filters you define on the query prompts you define these dynamic filters to display a question or a list of values so you or other users can select different filter value(s) at each document refresh advanced filters subqueries and rankings Using predefined filters Predefined filters are a method of making the specific data you most typically need for reports permanently available in the Web Intelligence data tab. They are created by an administrator and saved with the universe. Predefined filters often contain complex expressions that require a detailed knowledge of the database structure. Including predefined filters on the universe means you dont need to create the same custom filters every time you create new Web Intelligence documents based on the same universe. including a predefined query filter To include a predefined query filter: 1. Make sure you are in Query View. The Edit Query button is pressed in when you are in Query View. Web Intelligence displays the universe objects on the Data tab. 2. Double-click the objects you want to include in the query. Or Drag and drop the objects onto the Result Objects pane. The objects appear on the Result Objects pane. 3. Double-click the predefined filter. Or Drag-and-drop the predefined filter to the Query Filters pane. The predefined filter appears on the Query Filters pane. When you run the query, the data corresponding to the query filter(s) you selected is returned to the report. You can apply multiple filters to the same query by combining predefined filters with custom filters. Creating custom query filters You create custom query filters to limit document data to information corresponding to: a specific business question the business information needs of a specific group of users

What is a subquery?
A subquery is a more flexible kind of query filter that allows you to restrict values in more sophisticated ways than with an ordinary query filter. Subqueries are more powerful than ordinary query filters for the following reasons: They allow you to compare the values of the object whose values are used to restrict the query with values from other objects. They allow you to restrict the values returned by the subquery with a WHERE clause. Subqueries allow you to pose complex questions that are difficult or impossible to formulate with simple query filters. Building a subquery You build a subquery in the Query Filter pane of the Query Panel. To build a subquery 1. Add the objects that you want to appear in the query to the Result Objects pane. 2. Select the object that you want to filter with a subquery. 3. Click Add a subquery. The subquery outline appears in the Query Filters pane. By default the object you selected appears as the FIlter object and Filter By object.

4. To add a WHERE condition to the subquery, drag a report object to the area of the subquery below the Drop an object here boxes. 5. Select the operator and values used to filter the object in the WHERE condition. 6. Click Subquery to add an additional subquery to the query filter.

What is a database ranking?

When you rank data you sort and filter it according to ranking criteria. Web Intelligence allows you to return unranked data from a database, and then rank it in Web Intelligence. A database ranking allows you to specify a ranking at the query and database level so that the data returned to Web Intelligence by the query is already ranked. This has the following advantages: Ranking data can be processing-intensive. By ranking at the database level you allow the server, which is typically far more powerful than the client machine, to perform this processing. Pre-ranking data reduces the amount of data retrieved across the network and stored in Web Intelligence. A database ranking works by modifying the SQL that Web Intelligence generates to retrieve the query data. If your database supports ranking, Web Intelligence generates SQL to rank the data. To create a database ranking 1. Add the objects that you want to appear in your query to the Result Objects pane of the Query Panel. 2. Select the dimension that you want to rank by. 3. Click Add a database ranking on the toolbar. The ranking outline appears in the Query Filter pane. The dimension you selected appears as the ranking dimension and the first measure in the query appears as the ranking measure in the Based on box. 4. Select the ranking direction (Top or bottom.)

5. Type the number of records you want the ranking to return in the box next to Top/Bottom. 6. Drag the dimension that provides the calculation context for the measure to the For Each box. This dimension is optional. To display the For Each box, click the arrow to the right of the Based on measure. 7. Drag any dimensions that you want to include in the WHERE restriction to the area at the bottom of the ranking. 8. Click Run Query. What are prompts? A prompt is a dynamic filter that displays a question every time you refresh the data in a document. You answer prompts by either typing or selecting the value(s) you want to view before you refresh the data. Web Intelligence retrieves only the values you specified from the database and returns those values to the reports within the document. Prompts allow multiple users viewing a single document to specify a different sub-set of the database information and display it in the same report tables and charts. Prompts also reduce the time it takes for the data to be retrieved from the database. Example: Enable users in the Accounts department to specify the period for which they want to view customer payment information In this example, the document has a prompt filter on [Invoice Date] so that account managers can specify a period, for which they want to display the payment status of invoices by customer: When you refresh the data in the report, the prompt displays to request you to specify the start date and end date of the period, for which you want to return data to the document.

To create a prompt, you need to specify three elements: a filtered object an operator a prompt message When you run the query or refresh the document data, Web Intelligence displays the prompts.

Merging prompts on multiple data providers

When a document contains multiple data providers, prompts on those data providers are merged, if the following three parameters in the prompts are the same: the objects are the same data type the operators are the same operator type the prompt text is the same If these three parameters are the same for multiple prompts, then whenever all the data providers in the document are refreshed, only one prompt message appears for those prompts. The display properties of the merged prompt The display properties specified for the two prompts are applied to the merged prompt. There are 4 display property constraints as shown in the figure. If any property is selected in one prompt and not selected in another prompt then the selected one has the more priority and will be applied to the merged prompt. The List of Values displayed by the merged prompt is the list associated with the object in the prompt that has the most display property constraints. Prioritizing the order of prompts Click the Properties tab. The prompts are listed in order in the Prompt Order list box. Now select the prompt you want to give more or less priority. Drag the selected prompt up or down for giving more or less priority respectively.

Working with Reports

Working in Structure or Results View Structure View enables you to make multiple formatting changes quickly and preview them.

 In Results View, Web Intelligence requests the server to apply the changes and returns the modified format in a single operation. Structure view

Filtering results on reports

Report filters can be used to filter the data displayed in Web Intelligence reports to focus on the information that is required for a specific business purpose. Three type of report filters can be created: Quick filter It allows to filter the data in one dimension or measure. Combined filter -It allows you to filter the data in multiple dimensions and measures and allows filters to be combined. Nested filters It allows to set up an order of precedence between simple and combined filters

Using Alerters
Alerters enable you to highlight specific ranges of results in a format that makes those results stand out on reports. Properties of alerters: highlight particularly high or low results with a specific color or with a text comment Alerters are dynamic (highlight the new results on refreshing reports) Example: Highlight sales results that exceeded the quarterly target Alerters can be applied to table body cells (by column or row), to section cells, to header cells and to free-standing cells. However, you cannot apply alerters to entire tables or forms or to charts. Business Objects officially supports up to 30 alerters in a Web Intelligence document and 10 different alerters on a single cell. If an alerter is applied to a table row or column with a break, it is only activated when the value that meets the condition in the alerter appears on the first row of that break. Priority can be set if multiple alerters are there for a single cell.

Creating custom calculations

It allows the user to add additional calculations to the report beyond its base objects and the standard calculations provided by Web Intelligence. You add a custom calculation by writing a formula that Web Intelligence evaluates when you run the report. A formula can consist of: base report variables Functions operators Calculation contexts.

Using the Formula toolbar:

display the Formula toolbar by clicking the Show/Hide Formula Toolbar button. when you select a cell, its formula appears in the Formula toolbar.

Saving formulas as variables:

Functions in WEBI:
Functions describe the relationships between variables and allow you to determine the value of one variable given the value of another variable or variables.

Example of a function: Highlighting values using the If function If([Sales Revenue]>2000000;"High Revenue"; "Low Revenue")

Drill Analysis
Extending scope of analysis: When you are drilling a Web Intelligence report, you may want to drill up or down to a dimension that lies outside the scope of analysis defined for the document. To return the additional data, Web Intelligence must run a new query that includes the additional dimension(s) you specify. This is called extending the scope of analysis. When you extend the scope of analysis, you can to limit the data Web Intelligence retrieves when running the new query. This saves time, if you are working with a large document. If you have several reports in one document, and you select filters when you extend the scope of analysis, those filters affect all the reports in the document.

Drilling on measures in tables and sections When you drill on a measure value, Web Intelligence performs the drill action one level down for each related dimension in the block and displays the new measure calculation for the displayed dimensions.

After drilling, the contribution of each resort present in France in each quarter of year 2000 is only displayed.

Query Drill
When query drill is activated and used, Web Intelligence drills by modifying the underlying query i.e. adding and removing dimensions and query filters in addition to applying drill filters. Web Intelligence does not allow to drill up beyond any dimension that appears as one of the report objects. For example, if your report displays Year, Quarter and Revenue, you cannot drill up from Quarter to Year because this would remove quarter from the list of report objects.

If your document contains other reports that contain dimensions on which you drill in query drill mode, these reports are affected because the query drill modifies the dimensions they contain. To avoid this you should use another data provider for all other reports. Where query drill should be used? Query drill is used when the report contains aggregate measures calculated at the database level. It is designed in particular to provide a drill mode adapted to databases such as Oracle 9i OLAP, which contain aggregate functions that Web Intelligence either does not support, or cannot calculate accurately at the report level during a drill session. Query drill modifies the query at each drill operation; it ensures that these aggregates are recalculated by the server each time you drill. Query drill is also useful for reducing the amount of data that Web Intelligence must store locally during a drill session.

CMC (CENTRAL MANAGEMENT CONSOLE)

CMC is a web-based application. Main Functions Perform user management tasks Adding users and groups Setting up Authentications Allows you to publish, organize, and set security levels

Default Accounts
Main task is to create, map, change, and organizing user and group information Administrator is a default BO Enterprise account with NO Password The Administrator user belongs to the Administrators and Everyone groups Admin user can perform all tasks in all BusinessObjects Enterprise applications (for example, the Central Management Console, Central Configuration Manager, Publishing Wizard, and InfoView) The Guest user is a member of the Everyone group This user can view reports that are found within the Report Samples folder. Generally, the Guest user accesses reports through InfoView

Folder
It contains actual copies of data. It is the physical place where documents are stored. Creating Folders 1. In the Central Management Console (CMC), 2. Go to the Folders management area of the CMC. 3. Click New Folder. 4. On the Properties tab, type the name, description, and keywords of the new folder. This example creates a new Marketing folder

Adding a report to a folder 1. To add a report to a new folder 2. Once you've created the new folder, click its Objects tab.

Objects
Objects those who are similar in nature can be placed under a folder.

Groups
Administrators Users belongs to this group can perform all the task By default, The Administrator group contains only the Administrator user. BusinessObjects NT Users This group is also added to Windows on the local machine and the user who installed BusinessObjects Enterprise is automatically added to this group BusinessObjects NT Users can use their NT accounts to log on to BusinessObjects Enterprise Everyone Each user is a member of the Everyone group. By default, the Everyone group allows access to all the reports that are found in the Report Samples folder Universe Designer Users Users who belong to this group are granted access to the Universe Designer folder and the Connections folder. They can control who has access right to the Designer application. You must add users to this group as needed. By default, no user belongs to this group. Adding Users to Groups 1. In the Groups management area of the CMC, click the link for the group. 2. Click the Users tab. 3. Click Add Users. 4. Select the users to add to the group; then click the > arrow. 5. Click OK. 6. The Users tab appears. It lists all of the users who belong to this group.

Adding subgroups 1. You can add an existing group as a subgroup to another group. A subgroup inherits the rights of the parent group. 2. In the Groups management area of the CMC, click the link for the group. 3. Click the Subgroups tab. 4. Click Add/Remove Subgroups. 5. Select the groups that should be members of this new group; then click the > arrow. 6. Click OK

Users
Unlike group it will have two types of users by default. One is administrator and the second one is guest. If you log in to CMC without typing any password, then directly you will get in to the guest account. Creating a New User 1. Go to the Users management area of the CMC. 2. Click New User. 3. Select the Enterprise authentication type 4. Type the account name, full name, email, and description information 5. Specify the password information and settings 6. Select the connection type Concurrent Named 7. Click on OK Modifying a user account 1. Go to the Users management area of the CMC. 2. Under Account Name, click the link to the user whose properties you want to change. 3. Make the required changes, as necessary, in the available fields. In addition to all of the options that were available when you initially created the account, you now can disable the account by selecting the "Account is disabled" check box. 4. Click Update.

Profiles
To customize the report we usually need this.e.g (if a report is to be sent to a client of a particular country at particular time always, then it can be customized for that client at the CMC level).generally used for report bursting.

Server group
By clubbing different server components, we can make different groups out of this.

Servers
Here we can get all the servers those are available in the BO and to which server group they belong can also be known as well.

Categories
They are used for classifying information regardless of its storage location. Documents with a given name may be placed in folder and category. 1. BusinessObjects Enterprise provides two types of categories 1. Corporate 2. Personal Creating a Category

1. In the Central Management Console (CMC) 2. Go to the Categories management area to create new categories and to add subcategories to the existing hierarchy of category objects. 3. Go to the Categories management area of the CMC. 4. Click New Category. 5. On the Properties tab, type the name and description of the new category. 6. Click Update. 7. The new category is added to the system, and its Properties tab is refreshed. You can now use the Documents, Subcategories, and Rights tabs to add objects and to change settings for this category

Inbox
The documents which are to be sent to the personal folder of the users will remain in the inbox of theirs respectively.

Universe connection
What all connections strings we have in order to have a connection with the database for fetching the data, we may get those connections in this.

Universes
All the default universes along with the prepared ones will be displaying over here.

Settings
Here we can know about data source, database name, user name, product version.

Business object enterprise application

All type of features of BO will be displaying over here.

License key
Information about licenses is stored in the license key. It must have the license for dashboard manager, enterprise manager, set analysis, BO enterprise, and productive analysis.

Authentication
Enterprise authentication Use the system default Enterprise Authentication if you prefer to create distinct accounts and groups for use with BusinessObjects Enterprise Windows NT authentication If you are working in a Windows NT environment, you can use existing NT user accounts and groups in BusinessObjects Enterprise LDAP authentication If you set up an LDAP directory server, you can use existing LDAP user accounts and groups in BusinessObjects Enterprise. When you map LDAP accounts to BusinessObjects Enterprise Windows AD authentication If you are working in a Windows 2000 environment, you can use existing AD user accounts and groups in BusinessObjects Enterprise To change password settings Go to the Authentication management area of the CMC. Click the Enterprise tab.

Password Setting Minimum Must contain at least N 0 characters characters Must change password 1 day every N days Cannot reuse the N most 1 password recent passwords Must wait N minutes to 0 minutes change password Disable account after N 1 failed failed attempts to log on Reset failed logon count 1 minute after N minutes Re-enable account after N 0 minutes minutes Click Update.

Recommended Maximum 64 characters 100 days 100 passwords 100 minutes 100 failed 100 minutes 100 minutes