Business Objects
Desktop Intelligence
Desktop Intelligence
Desktop Intelligence is an integrated query, reporting and
analysis solution for business professionals that allows you to
access the data in your corporate databases directly from your
desktop and present and analyze this information in a
BUSINESSOBJECTS document.
A report is a document characterized by information.
As for format, reports range from a simpler format with headings to
indicate topics, to more complex formats including charts, tables,
figures, pictures, tables of contents, abstracts, summaries, footnotes
and hyperlinks.
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Wizard
Starting Desktop Intelligence using a Wizard
Desktop Intelligence starts
and the New Report
Wizard appears in a
new window.
Step 1
You can choose report layout
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1)
Generate a Standard
report
2)
Select a template
3
Wizard
Step 2
Select the universe
radio bottom to
generate report from
an universe
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Wizard
Step 3
Select Universe from the
available list
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Wizard
Step 4
You can see the Query
Panel with classes and
objects of selected
universe
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Wizard
Step 5
Select objects You want
in repot to Result Objects
panel and conditions
Click Run
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Wizard
Step 6
Report appears with
select columns.
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Sample Report
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Query Panel
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Query Panel-Details
a. Classes appear as folders.
b.
Objects appear as cubes (for dimensions), spheres
(for measures) or pyramids (for details).
c.
This button displays the universe’s predefined
conditions.
d. This button, selected by default, displays the
universe’s classes and objects.
e.
Information on the selected class or object appears
here
f.
This button enables you to set options before running
the query, for example to specify a maximum number
of rows.
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Query Panel-Details
g. The Result Objects box displays the objects that are included in the
query.
h. The Conditions box displays conditions on the query.
i. Save and Close lets you save the query you have defined without
running it. You can run it later on by using the Refresh command.
j.
When you click View, the raw data retrieved by the query appears in
the Data Manager. From the Data Manager, you can edit, accept or
cancel the query.
k.
When you click Run, the query connects to the database and the data
appears in the report.
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Data Providers
 Universes
 Stored Procedures
 Free-hand SQL
 Personal data files
 VBA Procedures
 OLAP servers & SAP
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Data Providers
Click on Other radio button
You can Chose
Stored Procedures
Free-hand SQL
Personal data files
OLAP servers & SAP
Select Personal data files
Click Finish
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Personal Data Files(Data Provider)
In the dialog box that
appears,
Browse to the Excel file that
contains your personal data.
Click Run.
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Understanding Conditions
 You can restrict a query so that it returns data related to a subset of
values for an object rather than all values.
 Let’s examine the condition:
Store Equal to e-Fashion Austin Magnolia.
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Understanding Conditions (continued)
 A condition has three elements. These are (for example):
Store
Equal to
e-Fashion Austin Magnolia
object
Condition
operator
operand

These three elements are defined as follows:
 Object :
a field or column of data
 Operator :
specification of the relationship between the
object and the operand
 Operand :
the object value to be searched for
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Types of Conditions
 There are four types of conditions that you can use in BusinessObjects:
 Single- and multi-value conditions
 Prompted condition
 Multiple condition
 Predefined condition
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Applying Single-Value Conditions
 With a single-value condition, you limit data returned from a single result
object.
 For example, you need to produce a report showing Sales revenue for all
stores in 1999.
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Applying Single-Value Conditions
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Applying Single-Value Conditions (cont.)
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Module 2
Data Synchronization
Document Centricity
 Document Centricity combines blocks of data from multiple sources in
one document
e-Fashion universe
BusinessObjects
document
1
2
e-Staff universe
3
4
Excel file
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Multiple Blocks from the Same Query
 Blocks 1 and 2 are multiple blocks from the same query
e-Fashion universe
BusinessObjects
document
1
2
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Combining Data from Multiple Queries
 Block 3 displays a view of the data provider produced by a second query
on the e-Fashion universe
e-Fashion universe
BusinessObjects
document
1
2
3
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Combining Data from Multiple Universes
 Block 4 displays a view of the data provider produced by a query on the
e-Staff universe
e-Fashion universe
BusinessObjects
document
1
2
e-Staff universe
3
4
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Combining Different Types of Data
 Block 5 is a view of the data provider produced from an Excel file
e-Fashion universe
BusinessObjects
document
1
2
e-Staff universe
3
4
Excel file
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Combining Different Types of Data
Data from the
e-Fashion and
e-Staff
universes
Data from
an Excel
spreadsheet
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Synchronization
 Synchronization allows you to combine data from multiple sources into a
single block
e-Fashion universe
BusinessObjects
document
1
e-Staff universe
2
Excel file
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Synchronizing Data Providers - Linking
 Linking identifies the objects that are common to both data providers
LINK
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Module 3
Presentation Styles
Presentation Styles
 Business Objects has four different block types that you can use to
format data in your report:
Table Block
Financial Table
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Chart Block
Crosstab Block
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Creating Tables
In a report, click the Insert
Table button in the Report
Toolbar.
Click where you want the top left
hand corner of the block to appear,
then drag to make a rectangle.
Select objects
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Creating Cross tabs
 There are two ways to create a cross tab:
 Convert an existing table into a cross tab
 From scratch, using the Cross tab Wizard
 We will review how to convert a table into a cross tab
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Creating a Cross tab from a Table
Select the
column of data
you want to
move.
Drag and drop the data to
the top right corner.
Tip: If you drop in the
wrong place, you won’t get
a crosstab. Don’t worry just click the Undo button
and try again.
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Creating Charts
 There are 2 ways to create a chart:
 Convert an existing table or crosstab into a chart
 From scratch, using the Chart Wizard
 We will review how to convert a crosstab into a chart
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Creating a Chart from a Cross tab
Select the
crosstab.
Click the Chart Type
button in the Report
Toolbar.
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Module 4
Functions
Exploring the Slice and Dice Panel
 The Slice and Dice Panel is a pop-up window that provides a graphical
representation of the structure of the report you are working on.
 The following picture describes the panel sections.
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Exploring the Slice and Dice Panel (cont.)
a
b
a
e
c
b
f
d
c
g
g
f
e
d
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Shows the
or hides
the
variables
different areas
of the
displayed
and the
Slice and of
Dice
structure
thePanel.
active
table, chart, or
Apply breaks, filters,
crosstab.
sorts, rankings and
Shows
the name and
calculations.
type (table, chart, or
Lets you Apply
crosstab) of each
(accept), Reset (resets
Provides
information
block in the
report.
all formatting to the
on the tasks you
original default style),
perform. You can
or Undo (cancel
rename, transform,
operations you
reset or delete a block
performed).
by clicking its tab with
Shows
variables
the
rightthe
mouse
button,
that are
available
in
then
clicking
a
the data provider.
command
on the popup menu that appears.
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Understanding Aggregations
 Aggregation is a process that adjusts and displays measurable quantities
at various requested levels. Only objects that measure quantities can be
aggregated.
 For instance, examine the sales revenue for each store on a quarterly
basis, then on a yearly basis (without the benefit of drilling).
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Applying Aggregations
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Applying Aggregations (cont.)
Drag and drop
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Viewing Data In Different Presentation Styles
 With slice and dice you can change the block style in which you view the
data.
 By dragging and dropping icons in the Block Structure box of the Slice
and Dice Panel, you can convert between the block types:
 Tables
 Charts
 Crosstabs
 Financial blocks
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Converting to a Crosstab
 Where you have at least two dimensions and a single measure object in a
block, it is often easier to analyze the data in a crosstab.
 For example, you have a table and need to view it in a crosstab so that
you can better compare sales revenue between stores and years.
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Converting to a Crosstab (cont.)
Note: To convert
back to a table, drag
Year back down to
where it was.
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Converting to a Chart
 When you want a chart, you need at least one dimension and a single
measure object in a block.
 Pie charts work better when there are only a handful of dimensions,
whereas bar charts can represent more dimensions more effectively.
 For example, you have a table and need to view it in a chart presentation
to visually compare revenue between years.
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Converting to a Chart (cont.)
Right click the tab.
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Converting to a Chart (cont.)
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Converting to a Chart (cont.)
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Applying Functions
 The Slice and Dice Panel Toolbar makes some of the core features of
BusinessObjects easy to access.
Insert Calculation
Apply Ranking
Apply Sort
Apply Filter
Apply Break
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Sorting Data
 With slice and dice you can re-sort the rows of your data block.
 The sort function can order rows alphabetically or numerically and can
be ascending or descending.
 For example, to view the stores having the lowest and highest sales
revenues, you need to sort the rows by revenue.
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Sorting Data (continued)
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Sorting Data (continued)
To sort in descending
order, double click
the icon.
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Filtering Data
 Sometimes you may want to view only the data you need and hide the
data you do not want to view.
 For example, you need to focus only on store revenue for 1999.
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Filtering Data (continued)
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Applying Calculations to Data
 You can insert calculated values into your report block.
 For example, find the total revenue for the period 1999-2001. You also
need to know how many stores have reported revenue and how many
rows of data are in the report.
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Applying Calculations to Data (continued)
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Applying Calculations to Data (continued)
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Applying Calculations to Data (continued)
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Applying Breaks to Data
 With slice and dice you can break your report block into logical parts; or
in other words, according to selected data and values.
 This function also gives you the important feature of displaying
subtotals.
 For example, show 1999 revenue subtotals for each region in a table.
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Applying Breaks to Data (continued)
Select 1999.
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Applying Breaks to Data (continued)
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Ranking Data
 You may only want to show the extreme ranges of the data (the largest
numbers and the smallest numbers in a report). Like filtering, it hides the
data you do not want to display.
 You can rank data contained in tables, crosstabs or master cells in
master/detail reports.
 For example, you need to display a report showing the three stores with
the highest sales revenue.
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Ranking Data (continued)
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Ranking Data (continued)
 You need to total the revenue figures for the top three stores of each year.
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Creating a Sectioned Report
 This report is similar to the one you just made by breaking a table, but it
effects the entire report rather than the way the break function effected
only a data block.
 For example, compare sales revenue figures for each store and every
year in separate sections of your table.
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Creating a Sectioned Report
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Creating Variables
 A variable is a formula or calculation that has a name.
 Variables are usually displayed in columns alongside corresponding
data.
 Variables are useful when:
 You want to use a formula repeatedly.
 You want to use the same formula in different blocks and on different report
tabs within a document.
 You want to process data from different databases.
 You want to use variables for analysis in drill mode.
 For example, create a variable in a separate column to calculate the sales
tax for each product line.
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Creating Variables (continued)
Right click the column
to display the speedmenu.
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Creating Variables (continued)
Sales Tax
Type the name of your
variable: Sales Tax
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Creating Variables (continued)
17.5 %
Your new
variable.
Type the amount of your
value: 17.5
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Creating Variables (continued)
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Creating Alerters
 Use alerters to draw attention to items of data in a block. Alerters can
highlight data in two ways:
 By changing the format of values
 By displaying a comment next to certain results
 For example, highlight (in large, bold, red letters) Sales Tax amounts over
40,000 for any product line.
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Creating Alerters (continued)
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Creating Alerters (continued)
Big Tax
40000
Type the name of your
alerter: Big Tax
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Type the amount:
40000
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Creating Alerters (continued)
Be sure to select the Font tab.
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Creating Alerters (continued)
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Grouping Data
 You can create new variables by grouping the values of existing variables
or objects.
 For instance, you have a report showing the revenue per quarter but you
would like to display revenue per half year.
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Creating a Data Grouping
 Since you have the data for each Quarter, you can easily do this task.
 The Quarter measure returns four values:
Q1 + Q2
Q3 + Q4
Half1
Half2
• By grouping Q1 and Q2 into one value (Half1),
and Q3 and Q4 into another value (Half2), you
can create a new variable for the half years.
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Creating a Data Grouping (continued)
Hold down
the CTL key
while
selecting Q2.
Half1
Type the name
of your group:
Half1
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Creating a Data Grouping (continued)
Repeat the same
process to combine
Q3 and Q4 into
Half2.
If there was no Q1 or Q2 for a
particular region and year, then
there is no corresponding Half1.
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Removing a Data Grouping
Q1 and Q2 restored.
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Calculating the Variance Between 2 Values
 You need to find the difference between revenues in Q1 and Q2 for each
year.
 From the last table, prepare a table report as shown.
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Calculating the Variance (continued)
Change your table into a
master/detail report as shown.
Hold down the CTL key as you select Q2.
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Calculating the Variance (continued)
The variance between
Q1 and Q2
for each year.
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Module 5
Drill Techniques
Understanding Drill Concepts
 Drill mode lets you break down data and view it from different angles and
at different levels of detail to discover the driving factors behind a good
or bad business result.
 The following concepts help you understand drilling:
 Hierarchies
 Drill Mode
 Scope of Analysis
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Hierarchies
 Objects in a BusinessObjects universe are grouped in folders and
organized in a specific (hierarchical) order.
 The eFashion universe uses the following hierarchies:
 Store (Region, State, City, Store name)
 Time Period (Year, Quarter, Month, Week)
 Products (Lines, Category, SKU desc, Color, Unit Price MSRP)
 The following diagram shows how the Store hierarchy is structured.
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Hierarchies (continued)
West
California
LA
Colorado
San Francisco Colorado Springs
Denver
e-Fash. LA
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Drill Mode
 Drill hierarchies only contain dimension objects. In drill mode, you drill
on dimension objects, for example from Year to Quarter to Month.
 At each level, measures such as Sales Revenue are aggregated.
 You can only drill on dimension objects, not measures (such as revenue)
or details (such as a store’s postal code).
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Scope of Analysis
 The scope of analysis follows the
hierarchical structure as shown in
this dialog box.
 Before you can analyze data in drill
mode, you must set up the scope
of analysis.
 “Analysis” in this context means
data at different levels of detail.
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Using Default Hierarchies
 Each class within a universe with its associated dimensions provides the
default hierarchies that you use for drilling.
 Before you can drill on a hierarchy, you must first set the scope of
analysis.
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Setting the Scope of Analysis
 When you define a default scope of analysis, you use objects from the
same hierarchy.
 For example, analyze Sales revenue figures geographically.
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Setting the Scope of Analysis (continued)
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Setting the Scope of Analysis (continued)
Double click to drill down.
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Drilling Through a Default Hierarchy
 When you are drilling on a hierarchy, you may need to drill further than
the scope of analysis allows.
 Rather than resetting the scope of analysis back in the Query Panel, you
can use a short cut that lets you add more drillable dimensions.
 This process of appending more dimensions “on-the-fly” is called
Drilling Through.
 For instance, drill through your current table to view Store names.
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Drilling Through a Default Hierarchy (cont.)
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Extending the Scope of Analysis
 You learned how to bring in more data from the database by editing the
scope of analysis.
 Extending the scope of analysis is similar, but you add several
dimensions at once.
 For example, extend your analysis by drilling on City and Store name,
which are not available in your current scope of analysis.
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Extending the Scope of Analysis (continued)
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Module 6
Formatting for Printing
Report Printing
 You can display reports in Print Preview to see how they will look when
you print them
 You can set up:
 Page size and orientation (portrait/landscape)
 Fit to print
 Margins
 Page numbering
 Order of printing
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Report Printing - Page Setup
Specify Landscape or
Portrait.
Specify the paper
size.
Specify a percentage
of normal size.
Specify the number
of pages.
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Report Printing - Margins
Specify the margins…
… and see the effects.
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Report Printing - Page Number and Order
Specify the number of
the first page…
…useful if you are
printing part of a
report.
Specify the order the
pages are printed.
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Thank you
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