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The
CompleteReference
SAP"
BusinessObjectsBl 4.0
Third Edition
Cindi Howson
Elizabeth Newbould
McGraw
New York Chicago San Francisco
Lisbon London Madrid Mexico CityMilan New Delhi San Juan
Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto
Contents
Acknowledgments xviii
Introduction xix
Part I Getting Ready for Business Intelligence
Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Intelligence 3
The Background of Business Intelligence 3
Business Intelligence Is Born 6
Data Warehouse Speeds BI Adoption 8
The Internet Influence 10
Competing on Analytics 10
A Broader BI Suite 11
Data Integration 11
Query and Reporting 13
Analysis 15
Analytic Applications 16
Dashboards and Scorecards 16
Visual Data Discovery IV
Predictive Analytics and Data Mining 17
The History of SAP BI and SAP Business Objects the Company 18
The Future 20
Summary 20
Chapter 2 Goals of Deploying SAP BusinessObjects 21
IT Goals 21
Reporting Directly Against a Transaction System 23
Why Use OLTP Directly? 23
Precautions for OLTP-Based Deployments 24
Aligning BI to Business Goals 25
Business Goals for BI 26
BI Standardization: AJoint Goal 28
Measures of Success 29
Measuring Business Benefits 29
ROI as a Measure of Success 30
Summary . 32
Chapter 3 Right Tool for the Right User 33
What Is Segmentation? 33
Defining BI User Segments 34
Primary Versus Secondary 34
Job Level 35
vi
Contents VM
Job Function 35
Degree of AnalyticJob Content 36
ERP or Source System Use 36
Level of Data Literacy 37
Level of Spreadsheet Usage 37
Amount of Travel 38
Implementation Phase 38
Internal Versus External Users 38
Others Who Affect Implementation Efforts 38
Gatekeepers 38
Influencers 40
Deciders 40
When to Analyze Segments 41
Positioning the Module to the User Segment 41
Project Roles 43
Summary 47
Part II Universes and the Information Design Toot
Chapter 4 Universe Design Principles 51
Universe Building Blocks 51
Connections 52
Data Foundation 52
Business Layer 57
Folders, Dimensions, and Measures 57
The Universe 58
Keeping It Simple 58
Target User Groups 59
Technical Realities 60
Aligning with Business Goals 60
Existing Data Warehouse 60
New Data Warehouse 61
Transaction System 61
Evolving the Universe 62
How the Information Design Tool Works 63
Universe Storage During Development 63
Universe Storage for Deployment 64
Crystal Business Views 65
Universe Design Tool 65
Summary 66
Chapter 5 Getting Started with the Information Design Tool 67
Launching the IDT 67
Retrieving and Opening a Universe 69
Creating a Project 69
Importing a Universe 70
Working with the IDT Workspace and Toolbar 71
Understanding Connections 73
Approaches to Login Parameters 73
Connection Parameters 76
Creating a Connection 78
Summary 80
Viii SAP BusinessObjects Bl 4.0: The Complete Reference
Chapter 6 Data Foundation Basics 81
Creating a Data Foundation 81
Inserting Tables 82
Families 82
BasicJoins 82
CreatingJoins Using Detection 82
Modifyingjoins 84
Getting Row Counts 85
Detecting Cardinality 86
OuterJoins 87
Loops and Contexts 91
Business Questions That Demand Contexts 91
Inserting Contexts 93
Modifying a Context 95
IsolatedJoins 96
How Contexts Are Used 97
Processing Contexts on the RDBMS 98
Are Loops a Bad Thing? 100
Chasm Traps and Contexts 102
Fan Traps and Many-to-ManyJoins 103
Composite Keys and ComplexJoins 104
Aliases 106
Detecting Aliases 106
Inserting Aliases Manually 108
Aliases in SQL 108
Contexts Versus Aliases 109
Self-Joins and Aliases 109
Implementing a Self-Join 109
Forcing aJoin Ill
ShortcutJoins HI
Derived Tables 112
Data Foundation Properties 113
Summary 115
Chapter 7 Business Layer Basics 117
The Business Layer Pane 117
Business Layer Objects 119
Folder Objects 119
Dimension Objects 119
Measure Objects 120
Filter Objects 121
Attribute Objects 121
Object Ordering 122
Object Naming Conventions 123
Naming Principles 123
Warning: Cutting and Pasting Objects and Object IDs 124
Creating a Business Layer 126
ModifyingObjects 127
Object Types Versus Database Field Format 128
Dimension Keys'
129
Contents ix
Advanced Object Settings 132
Object Source Information 135
Working with Objects 136
Renaming an Object 136
Deleting an Object 136
Changing an Object's State 137
Creating an Attribute Object 138
Converting a Dimension to a Measure 138
About Aggregates 139
SQL Aggregates 139
Projection Aggregates 140
Universe Parameters and Query Options 141
Query Limits 141
Query Options 142
Summary 145
Chapter 8 Lists of Values and Parameters 147
How List ofValues Works 147
List of Values Settings 150
When to Disable Lists of Values 150
Measures 150
Nonindexed Fields 151
Attributes 151
Simple List ofValues Customizadon 151
Adding a Description Object to an ID Object 151
Cascading Lists of Values 156
Reusable Lists of Values 160
Static Lists of Values 160
Static Lists ofValues from Imported Data 160
Static Lists of Values Created Manually 162
List of Values Custom Hierarchy 163
Parameters and Prompts 165
Building a Parameter Step by Step 167
Pseudo Optional Prompts 168
Summary 168
Chapter 9 Beyond the Basics 169
Reducing Maintenance with Base Objects and ©Select 169
The SQL Expression Editor 170
Some Caveats About SQL Functions 171
SQL Parameters and the PRM File 171
Multiple Arguments and Prompt Messages 173
Filter Objects 173
Creating a Filter Object 174
Filter Object with Subquery 176
Filter Object with HAVING 177
Filter Properties 178
Time Conditions 178
Reusing Interactive Objects with ©Variable 179
Reusing Interactive Objects with ©Where 179
Prompts in Objects Versus Reports 179
X SAP BusinessObjects Bl 40: The Complete Reference
Aggregate Awareness 180
Creating Aggregate Fact Tables 182
Identifying Dimension Tables Irrelevant to Aggregate Tables 183
Adding Aggregate Awareness to Measure Objects 184
Accessing the Aggregate Table 185
Specifying Which Objects Are Not Compatible with
the Aggregate Table 186
Testing and Viewing SQL Statements 188
Derived Tables 191
Popular SQL Functions 194
Concatenated Objects 194
Time Objects 195
If-Then-Else Logic with CASE 198
Counting Objects 201
Rank 204
Ratio to Report 206
Summary 207
Chapter 10 Multisource Universes 209
Multisource Concepts 209
Creating a Universe for SAP BW 210
Creating a Connection to BW 210
Creating the Data Foundation 213
Creating the Business Layer 214
Joining Data from Another Data Source 215
Creating a Shared Connection 216
Adding Connections to the Data Foundation 217
Multisource SQL Server and Microsoft Access 219
Summary 224
Chapter 11 Multidimensional Analysis 225
What Is Multidimensional Analysis? 225
Navigation Paths 226
Default Navigation 226
Custom Navigation 226
OLAP Universes 228
Creating an OLAP Connection 231
Creating a Business Layer 232
Creating a Named Set 234
Summary 236
Chapter 12 Securing the Data 237
The Enterprise Environment: What Needs Securing 237
Introducing the Central Management Console 238
Authentication 239
Enterprise Authentication 240
Adding Users 242
External Authentication with Windows AD 244
Defining Groups 246
Planning for Authorization 247
Understanding Your Company's Organization . 247
Contents xi
Access Levels 248
Folders and Categories 249
Centralized or Decentralized Security 254
Granting Access to Universes 254
Further Securing the Data: Column- and Row-Level Security 256
Object-Level Security 256
The Security Editor 259
Business Security Profiles 259
Data Security Restrictions 262
Table Mappings 266
Setting Restriction Priorities 267
Previewing Net Restrictions 268
Summary 269
Chapter 13 Design Principles: Where to Put the Intelligence 271
What Is Intelligence? 271
Places for Intelligence 272
Evaluating the Pros and Cons of Each Alternative 273
OLAP Databases 273
Relational Tables 277
Universe 280
Web Intelligence Reports 283
Summary 288
Chapter 14 Universe Maintenance, Life Cycle Management, and Co-Development 289
Linked Universes and Reusability 289
Approaches to Development, Test, and Production Universes 291
Multiple CMSs and BIAR files 292
Promoting Content 293
Test Folders 296
Multiple Designers and Project Synchronization 300
Creating a New Shared Project 300
Sharing an Existing Project 300
Working on Shared Projects 302
Summary 303
Chapter 15 Universe Integrity, Quality Assurance, and Usage Monitoring 305
Universe Integrity 305
Universe Documentation 308
Quality Assurance Checklist 312
Benchmark Queries 315
Use Cases 316
Performance Bottlenecks 316
Monitoring User Activity 319
Real-Time Monitoring 319
Auditing 320
Summary 321
Part III Reporting and AnalysisChapter 16 Navigating in BI Launch Pad 325
Logging in to BI Launch Pad 326
xii SAP BusinessObjects Bl 4.0: The Complete Reference
The BI Launch Pad Interface 328
The Header Panel 328
The Home Tab 329
The Documents Tab 329
Navigating in the Documents Tab 330
Document Display and Organization 333
Sorting and Filtering the List Panel 333
Organizing Documents 334
BI Launch Pad Preferences 336
General 336
Locales and Time Zone 338
Web Intelligence 339
BI Workspaces 341
Creating a New BI Workspace 341
Editing a BI Workspace 342
Setting Your BI Workspace As the Default Home Tab 344
Summary 344
Chapter 17 Interacting with Documents 345
Working with the Web Intelligence Web Viewer 346
Opening a Document 346
Web Viewer Status Bar 347
Web Viewer Toolbar 348
Web Viewer Navigation Map 357
Understanding a Document's Structure 357
Components of a Report 358
Page Header and Footer 360
Sections 360
Blocks 361
Variables and Cells 361
Refreshing a Document 361
Canceling a Query 362
Lists of Values 362
Multiple Prompts 364
Saving Documents 365
Saving a Document in Excel or PDF Format 366
Using Advanced Save As Options 367
Scheduling a Document 367
Logging Off 370
Summary 371
Chapter 18 Report-Based Analysis and Formatting 373
Web Intelligence Report Design Mode 373
Block Types ..' 374
Working with Tables 375
Working with Crosstabs 377
Working with Charts 380
Master/Detail Reports 381
Sorts 383
Managing Multiple Sorts 384
Creating Custom Sorts 384
Contents xiM
Breaks 386
Adding a Break 387
Managing Breaks 387
Calculations 389
Filters 390
Adding and Removing Filters 392
Filtering on Measure Objects 393
Using Report Filters 393
Nested Filters 394
Ranking 396
Drilling Within Reports 399
Understanding the Data 399
Drilling Down 401
Drilling Up 402
Drilling By 402
Drilling Across 403
Drilling Through to Detail 403
Synchronized Drilling 405
Adding Snapshots 405
Summary 405
Chapter 19 Creating a New Query 407
Formulating a Business Question 407
Web Intelligence Versus Web Intelligence Rich Client 409
The Query Panel 409
Launching the Query Panel 410
Working in the Query Panel 412
Creating a Simple Report 413
Result Objects 416
Scope of Analysis 416
Scope Levels by Number 417
Custom Scope Levels 419
Query Filters 420
Quick Filters 421
Predefined Conditions 422
Query Filter Panel 422
Operators 424
Operands 424
Filters on Dates 426
Prompts 426
Query Properties 430
Query Refresh on Open 431
BEx Queries 432
Summary 435
Chapter 20 Advanced Report and Chart Formatting 437
Formatting Components 437
Formatting a Cell 437
Document Summary Options 446
Default Styles 448
Inserting and Deleting Report Tabs 450
Xiv SAP BusinessObjects Bl 4.0: The Complete Reference
Working with Table Blocks 451
Inserting a New Table Block 451
Deleting a Table Block 454
Inserting a New Column in a Table Block 455
Deleting a Column in a Table Block 456
Formatting Cross Tables 457
Structure Only Mode 462
Additional Table Block Formatting 463
Conditional Formatting 470
Creating a Conditional Format 470
Custom Text in Conditional Formatting 473
Charts 474
Inserting a New Chart 474
Formatting Charts 476
Formatting Reports 478
Report Format Options 478
Formatting Master/Detail Reports 479
Web Intelligence Options 480
Summary 481
Chapter 21 Formulas and Variables 483
Creating Formulas and Variables 483
Syntax for Formulas in Web Intelligence 484
Creating a Formula 485
Creating a Variable 488
Using Operators in Formulas 491
Mathematical Operators 492
Conditional Operators 492
Logical Operators 492
Where Operator 493
Context and Function-Specific Operators 493
Using Functions in Formulas 493
All Functions 501
Aggregate Functions 501
Character Functions 512
Date and Time Functions 520
Document Functions 524
Data Provider Functions 526
Miscellaneous Functions 529
Logical Functions 535
Numeric Functions 537
Set Functions 543
Calculation Contexts and Extended Syntax 545
Summary 550
Chapter 22 Complex Queries 551
Multipass Queries 551
Multipass Business Questions 553
The Two-Table Problem 553
Multiple Data Providers 555
Linking Multiple Data Providers 556
Contents XV
Manually Merging Dimensions 558
Setting Data Merging Options 560
Measure Conditions with Aggregate Functions 562
Complex Query Filters 563
OR Operand and Nested Conditions 564
Combined Queries 565
Subqueries 569
Object Equal to Object from this Query 571
Summary 572
Part IV Dashboards and More
Chapter 23 Introduction to Dashboards 575
Embedded Query Designer and Direct Data
Binding: Pros and Cons 576
Creating a Simple Dashboard 577
Planning the Dashboard 578
Developing a Simple Dashboard 578
Summary 593
Chapter 24 Dashboard Design Workspace and Menus 595
Starting Dashboard Design 595
Dashboard Design Panels and Toolbars 596
Dashboard Design Toolbars 597
The Dashboard Design Canvas 601
The Components Panel 602
The Excel Panel 603
The Object Browser 603
The Properties Panel 605
The Query Browser 605
Customizing the Workspace Panels 606
Opening and Saving Models 607
Creating a New Model 607
Opening an Existing Model 608
Saving a Model 609
Setting Document Properties 609
Defining Preferences 610
Document Preferences 611
Grid Preferences 611
Open Preferences 611
Languages Preferences 611
Excel Options 612
Exporting a Dashboard Design Model 613
Dashboard Design Samples, Templates, and Add-ons 614
Viewing Samples 614
Using Templates 615
Managing Add-ons 616
Summary 617
XVi SAP BusinessObjects Bl 4.0: The Complete Reference
Chapter 25 Dashboard Design Components 619
Component Categories and Views 619
Charts 620
Types of Charts 620
Containers 628
Types of Containers 628
Selectors 630
Types ofSelectors 630
Single-Value Components 634
Types of Single-Value Components 634
Maps 636
Text Components 636
Types of Text Components 637
Other Components 637
Types of Other Components 637
Art and Backgrounds Components 639
Types of Art and Background Components 639
Web Connectivity 641
Types of Web Connectivity Components 641
Universe Connectivity 642
Types of Universe Connectivity Components 642
Summary ...642
Chapter 26 Properties, Excel, and Colors 643
Properties Overview 643
General Properties 644
Insertion Properties 647
Behavior Properties 648
Appearance Properties 652
Alerts Properties 654
Dashboard Design and Excel 656
Importing Spreadsheets 656
Exporting Spreadsheets and Snapshots 657
Model Design Considerations 657
Excel Functions 658
Using Themes and Colors in Dashboard Design 663
Dashboard Design Themes 664
Color Schemes 665
Color Binding Properties 666
Summary 671
Chapter 27 Data Sources 673
Embedded Spreadsheets 673
Adding Data to the Embedded Spreadsheet 674
Using Functions in the Embedded Spreadsheet 674
Setting Preferences for the Embedded Spreadsheet 675
Binding Components to Embedded Spreadsheets 675
Universe and BEx Queries 678
Binding Components to Universe or BEx Queries 683
Inserting Query Data into the Embedded Spreadsheet 684
Contents XVM
Live Office Connections 685
Creating the Live Office Object 685
Setting Live Office Object Properties and Refresh Options 690
Creating a Live Office Data Connection 691
External Data Connections 694
Creating a Query as a Web Service Connection 694
Summary 699
Chapter 28 Explorer 701
Explorer Concepts 701
Creating an Information Space 702
Exploring the Data 704
Filtering 705
Working with Charts 706
Creating Exploration Views 707
Exporting Data 707
Explorer on the iPad 708
Summary 709
Index 711