August 31, 2010
OBIEE 11g : New Features
Much awaited requirement :
Now create analysis (requests) from multiple subject areas which are related to each other.
OBIEE 11g : New Feature : Archive – Unarchive : A Powerful Way To Export And Import The Objects
I am sure, in Answers/Dashboards, most othe OBIEE 10g requests developers would have faced a common issue of copying all their objects from one folder to another folder, one environment to another environment (in the developing stage) etc.
If you got the access to the system in which the Catalog is stored then, these action are very easy. But how to do it in Dashboard catalog.
OBIEE 11g came up with a solution for this problem. Archive and Unarchive. In Archive you can archive (export)a folder with diff objects to the local file system. The the archived file can be unarchived (imported) into another folder. So simple… isn’t it?
Archiving
First, select the folder which needs to be archived. For ex, we want to archive Sample Lite folder.
Now, click on the Archive link, which will open a dialog box with some options for the archiving. These options will be discussed in the coming posts.
After clicking OK button, a dialog box will appear asking where the catalog to be saved. Select the desired location and save the file.
Unarchiving
Select the folder into which the archived (exported) filed needs to be unarchived (imported). In our example, we are going to unarchive the Sample Lite folder into a Test folder. Then click on the Unarchive link.
The Unarchive dialog box will appear which allows us to select the file which needs to be unarchived into the currently selected folder ( in our example, its Test).
Select the appropriate archive file name and click on OK (The other available options will be discussed in the coming posts).
OBIEE will unarchive the file into the selected folder.
See, how easily the folders can be copied from one folder to another folder with going into the file system.
OBIEE 11g : Home Page Option
OBIEE 11g came up with a new option called “Home” which is like one page to create new object (like dashboard, analysis, reports), see the recently visited or most populate objects etc.
OBIEE 11g : First Look
Have the first look at OBIEE 11g in Dashboard and Catalog (previously Answers)
Login Screen
Once, you are logged in, you will be taken to your “My Dashboard” which will be empty in the beginning.
Click on the “Edit” link to create the dashboard in the dashboard editor.
August 23, 2010
OBIEE 11g : First Look at (Catalog) Answers
At last, I got a chance to log into OBIEE 11g dashboards and here is the first look at the Catalog (previously Answers)
August 13, 2010
All Columns Prompted : A smarter way to call detail requests from multiple requests in Oracle BIEE
I would like to share of my experience in calling a report from multiple reports.
Let me explain in terms of Paint subject area.
Case 1:
We have a detailed report, which can be called from a master report.
The master report is made of Region column, Year and Dollars.
The detailed report is attached to the dollars column so that the transaction details for the corresponding region and year can be displayed.
When the user clicks on the Dollars column then the detailed report will be called
This will work fine as long as the user clicks on the dollars column.
What if
1. The user drills down to markets first then clicks on the dollars column to get the transaction for the region, market and year?
2. The user drills down to month by licking on the year column and then clicks on the dollars column to get the transactons for a region, year and month?
3. The user drills down to any level of the hierachy and clicks on the dollars column to get the transaction level details of the dims?
In any of the above situtations, the detail report will show the transaction related to the parent region and year column. In order to display the transactions for any level in the markets dim or time dim, all the column of the markets dim and time dim should prompted in the detailed report.
In the same way, if the same detailed report needs to be called from another report constructed using a top level column from products and year column then the detailed report should be ready to accept any level of dim value from product dim or year dim.
In general a detailed report can be called from any master report and the master report can be constructed by using any column at any level from any any dim. So, the detailed report should be ready to display the transaction for any dim value at any level.
For this reason, we can add all the columns from the all the dims as prompted filters to the detailed reports.
Csae 2:
The master report is added to a dashboard page, which is having year prompt and brand column from product dim prompt.
So the master report should be prompted for year and the brand column.
In future if another prompt is added to the same dashboard page then, the master report needs to be modified by added that column as prompted filter.
In other words, the master report shold be ready to accept any dim value from the prompts.
In this case also, we can add all the columns from the dims as prompted filters to the master reports
In both the cases we have added all the columns from the all the dims as prompted filters to both master and detailed reports.
Now, what if, one of the dim is change, like a new column is added or a column is removed?
If the column is added then its ok for the reprots, only thing the reports are not ready to accept the value. But if a column is removed then, we have to open each report and remove the column from the filter; other wise the reports will throw error.
Again, as per the case 1 and case 2, the added column needs to be added as prompted filter in the all reports; means, all the reports needs to be modified one by one.
Changing all the reports is not practically possible.
What we did is, we have created some saved filters, one for each dim. These filters will contain all the columns of the dim as prompted as shown below
A saved filter for all the columns of Markets Dim
A saved filter for all the columns of Products Dim
A saved filter for all the columns of Periods Dim
We have created another saved filter called “All Prompted Objects” which is a combination of all the filter which were created for each dim as shown below
Now we have added this “All prompted Objects” to all the reports (master and detailed).
So if a column is added to the dim (say to Products dim), then we will add the column to the “Products objects filter” and the “All prompted objects” will use that. In the same way, if a column is removed, then the column will be removed from the “prompted objects filter” and the “All prompted objects” filter will not use it.
One of the new joinee in our team asked us, why we have to create the filters first at the dim level and bundel them into one “All prompted obects”, why all the collumns can’t be added directly to the “All prompted object” filter?
Well, the reason is, there are few reports which should not accept the values from one dim (say time dim). For that report we have to create another “All prompted object without time” and add all the columns as prompted. Like we have another report which should not accept values from Region Dim. So have to create another “All prompted objects without Region” filter.
Now, if a column is added or removed from a dim, then we need to modify three “All prompted objects” filter. Instead of that, if we create a save filter for each dim and create “All prompted obects” on top of them, the we have to modify only one saved filter.
Now we have added this “All prompted Objects” to all the reports (master and detailed).
So if a column is added to the dim (say to Products dim), then we will add the column to the “Products objects filter” and the “All prompted objects” will use that. In the same way, if a column is removed, then the column will be removed from the “prompted objects filter” and the “All prompted objects” filter will not use it.
One of the new joinee in our team asked us, why we have to create the filters first at the dim level and bundel them into one “All prompted obects”, why all the collumns can’t be added directly to the “All prompted object” filter?
Well, the reason is, there are few reports which should not accept the values from one dim (say time dim). For that report we have to create another “All prompted object without time” and add all the columns as prompted. Like we have another report which should not accept values from Region Dim. So have to create another “All prompted objects without Region” filter.
Now, if a column is added or removed from a dim, then we need to modify three “All prompted objects” filter. Instead of that, if we create a save filter for each dim and create “All prompted obects” on top of them, the we have to modify only one saved filter.
July 9, 2010
OBI EE 11g : Launch
Oracle is going to release its new version of OBI EE, 11g.
I think it has lot of new features with Flash kind interface and I am sure Oracle will not disappoint us.
April 17, 2010
Presentation Variables as Formual Vairables
We can use the same concept of hidden columns as complex formul for columns
Some times, in a report, we may create a big formula like
((column a + column b )/column c * 100 ) column d
Assume that the same formula is referenced in another column as
((column a + column b )/column c * 100 ) column d + column E
in such case, the formula from the first column can be copied and used again the the second column.
If the same formula is referenced in many columns then also the it can be copied and pasted in all the required places.
Now the problem is what if, the formula in the first column is changed? The report needs to be opened and all the columns should be changed. If the formula is reused in many reports then also we need to do the same thing.
This process can be avoided by using presentation variable and hidden prompts.
Let’s create a report in Paint subject area.
Columns are
Year
Units
Price per unit
Dollars
Derived columns
Column 1: (Price pre unit * units * 100 ) /100 —Some dummy formula
Column 2: (Price pre unit * units * 100 ) / 100 * Units — Another dummy formula
The report will look like this
Now, lets replace the first formula with a presenation variable called “@{pres_dollars_col_1}”
and the second column as
Save the report.
If the report is executed then the output will be
Now lets create a prompt
1. Change the formula to “1” (any unique no which is not used as a column name in any prompt or report)
2. Change the control type to “Edit Box”
3. Defaluts to : Specific Value and the value will be the fromual that we want to reuse.
4. Set Variable : Name of the presentation variable which was used in the report.
Save the prompt.
Place the report and the prompt in a dashboard page
We got the desired output.
Now in the dashboard, we can hide prompt as follows:
Place the prompt in a new section.
Section Properties -> Format Section -> Check the “Use Custom CSS Style” check box and in the text box add the code “Display:None”
Click on ok and return to the Dashboard page
Hope this helps…
Itsourteamwork : More 'WE' Less 'I' 