University of Liverpool BO InfoView

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Introduction toBusinessObjects InfoView

InfoView (incorporating WebIntelligence) enables users toretrieve and analyse information from the Universitys

corporate databases using the World Wide Web and a standardweb browser

Les Brown & Anne McCormickJune 2005

Document 368

Computing Services Department

368 MWS


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Contents

CONTENTS 1

1 PRELIMINARIES 3Purpose 3

Audience 3

Prerequisites 3

Further Information 3

2 BUSINESSOBJECTS TOOLS 4

InfoView 4

WebIntelligence 4

FullClient BusinessObjects 4

Which Tool To Use? 4

3 STARTING INFOVIEW 6

Recommended Web Browser 6

InfoView Home Page 6

Checking Your Browser Settings 7

Logging In 7

4 NAVIGATING INFOVIEW PAGES 8

Modify Your User Options 8

Create New Document 8

Check Your Inbox 9

Personal Documents 9

Corporate Documents 9

Search for Document 9

Help 9

Logout 9

5 THE LAYOUTOF INFOVIEW PAGES 10

The Topbar 10

The Navigation Bar 11

6 VIEWING DOCUMENTS 12

Document Lists 12

What Kinds of Document are Listed? 12

Working with Document Lists 12

Viewing WebIntelligence Documents 12

Viewing FullClient BusinessObjects Documents 13

7 REFRESHING DOCUMENTS 15

Refreshing a Document Manually 15Refreshing a Document Containing a User Prompt 15

8 REFRESHINGA DOCUMENTWITH BROADCAST AGENT 17

Using Broadcast Agent 17

Monitoring Your Scheduled Documents 17

Broadcast Agent: Further Information 18

9 CREATING YOUROWN DOCUMENTS OVERVIEW 19

Universes 19

Objects & Classes 19

Types of Object 19

The Build Procedure 20

10 CREATING YOUROWN DOCUMENT A WORKED EXAMPLE 21

Goal 21

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Storyline 21

Stage 1: Selecting a Universe 22

Stage 2: The Web Panel 22

Stage 3: Selecting Objects 23

Stage 4: Executing a Query from the Web Panel 24

Stage 5: Saving a Document 24

11 CONDITIONSAND FILTERS 25

Applying Conditions and Filters: Worked Example 25

12 SORTING INFORMATIONINA REPORT 28

Data Type and Sort Order 28

Sort Priority 28

Applying a Sort: Worked Example 28

13 REPORT STRUCTURES & FORMATS 30

Blocks 30

Sections (Master/Detail Reports) 31

Creating Sections: Worked Example 31

Creating an Index of Sections: Worked Example 32

Formatting 33

14 EXCHANGING DOCUMENTSAND DATA 35

Sending Documents to Another User 35

Receiving Documents from Another User 35

Retrieving Documents from the Corporate Documents Repository 36

Downloading Data from a WebIntelligence Document to a Spreadsheet 36

15 REGISTRATION 38

Managed Windows Service 38

BusinessObjects 38

Registration for Use of Corporate Information Systems (CIS) Facilities 38

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1 Preliminaries

PurposeInfoView (incorporating WebIntelligence) is an integrated query, reporting and

data analysis tool produced by BusinessObjects S.A. Using the World Wide Web

together with a standard web browser, InfoView will retrieve and report

information from the University's corporate databases. The tools are self

documented, in that all of the InfoView web pages contain extensive instructions

about their use. This document, therefore, does not aim to reproduce those detailed

instructions. It is intended to get you started, providing an overview of InfoView,

together with some background information.

AudienceThis document is intended to meet the requirements of new users of InfoView who

have no experience of BusinessObjects software together with experienced users of

the fullclient BusinessObjects package.

Prerequisites

To use InfoView:

You should be registered with CSD as a BusinessObjects user.

You must have a connection to the World Wide Web.

A web browser supported by BusinessObjects must be installed on your

computer InfoView/WebIntelligence work best with Microsoft Internet

Explorer Version 5 or above.

This document will assume that you are familiar with the use of your

browser to navigate the World Wide Web.

Further Information

For further discussion of advanced topics, this document will refer you to the on

line help available within InfoView.

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

information, particularly about the available universes. See

http://www.liv.ac.uk/cis/bo5/

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2 BusinessObjects Tools

Business Objects S.A. produces a number of decision support or business intelligence

packages. The original BusinessObjects package has been available, in several versions,

on the CSD managed network services for many years. InfoView and WebIntelligence

are integrated pieces of software which provide much the same functionality over a

World Wide Web connection using a standard web browser.

InfoView

InfoView enables you to read and refresh a variety of documents that report

information from the University's corporate databases. Some of these documents

have been developed by CSD for general use and are stored in a corporate

repository. This is the same repository available to full-client BusinessObjects.

Others documents may have created by you for your own use or may have been

sent to you by other users these documents are stored in your own personalstorage area.

WebIntelligence

InfoView also provides a window into WebIntelligence. WebIntelligence allows

you to create, format, analyze, and publish your own documents using information

from the corporate databases. These documents can be saved into your own

personal storage area and/or published for use by a wider audience.

FullClient BusinessObjects

InfoView is separate to the fullclient version of BusinessObjects that is available

on the Managed Windows Service. Fullclient BusinessObjects does not use the

World Wide Web and, as the name suggests, must be installed as a client on your

computer.

Which Tool To Use?

InfoView (incorporating WebIntelligence) reproduces much of the functionality of

fullclient BusinessObjects, which prompts the question: Do I use InfoView or the

fullclient package?

When to use InfoView

For general use, InfoView is preferred. There are a number of reasons for this

which are summarised by the webbased nature of InfoView. Providing you have

an internet connection and a suitable web browser, InfoView can be used to access

the University's corporate databases on any computer, anywhere in the world

the fullclient software does not have to be installed on the computer. Thus,

InfoView can be used by MAC users. Also, it can be used when your computer isnot connected to the MWS.

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When to use FullClient BusinessObjects

Fullclient BusinessObjects can only be used when your computer is connected to

the MWS and when BusinessObjects and the associated SQL*Net software is

installed on your computer. If those conditions are not met, then it cannot be used.

However, where it can be used it provides advantages over InfoView in the greater

functionality it offers for the structuring and formatting of reports. When your

proposed report is particularly demanding in this respect, for example using preprinted stationery or adhesive labels, then fullclient BusinessObjects is

recommended.

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3 Starting InfoView

Recommended Web BrowserAlthough InfoView contains a list of approved web browsers, from our experience

we would strongly recommend you to use Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 5

or above).

InfoView Home Page

Your entry point to both InfoView and WebIntelligence is the InfoView home page

(see Figure 1). The URL or web address of the InfoView home page is

http://www.liv.ac.uk/cis/infoview/. You should bookmark this page.

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Figure 1 InfoView Home Page
http://www.liv.ac.uk/cis/infoview/http://www.liv.ac.uk/cis/infoview/http://www.liv.ac.uk/cis/infoview/


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Checking Your Browser Settings

If you are a firsttime user of InfoView, click the Check Browserbuttonon the home page. You are taken to a check page.

The check page will enable you to verify your browser settings to makesure that the system will run properly. The appropriate settings of your

browser configuration will be displayed. Any necessary adjustments to

your settings will be detailed. Ensure that any recommended changes are

made to your browser settings before you proceed.

Logging In

You are required to log in to InfoView:

To log in, click the Log In button on the home page (see Figure 1). Youwill be prompted to enter your username and password. You use the same

username and password for InfoView as you use for BusinessObjects.

Your username and password will be allocated to you when you register

for BusinessObjects use (see Registration page 38).

The InfoView Welcome page will open when you first login successfully (see

Figure 2).

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4 Navigating InfoView Pages

The InfoView Welcome page will open when you first login successfully (see

Figure 2). The Welcome page contains short descriptions of InfoView functions

and provides links enabling you to navigate to the functions. These links are

discussed briefly in this section.

Figure 2 InfoView Welcome Page

Modify Your User Options

Use the Options page to set your personal InfoView preferences, including

changing your BusinessObjects password.

Create New Document

This link opens the WebIntelligence pages. WebIntelligence enables you to create

your own documents. Creating new documents is described in 9 Creating Your

Own Documents Overview, page 19.

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Check Your Inbox

Documents sent to you by other users of WebIntelligence or by fullclient

BusinessObjects users are initially placed in your inbox. You can browse, refreshor save those documents to your personal storage area. For more information about

the Inbox, see Viewing Documents page 12.

Personal Documents

This link displays a list of your personal documents. You select a document from

the list to open it and/or refresh it. For more information about the Personal

Documents list, see Viewing Documents page 12.

Corporate Documents

This option opens the list of documents in the corporate repository. You can open

any documents that you can see in the repository. You can refresh their contents

and/or save them into your own personal storage area. For more information about

the Corporate Documents list, see Viewing Documents page 12.

Search for Document

This option allows you to search for a particular document using a number of

criteria such as the document name, author, document key words or by date.

Help

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

Context Sensitive Help relates directly to the InfoView page you are

viewing. Via the Help Index, you can browse all Help pages by topic.

Product Documentation this option on the Help menu allows you to view

a number of official BusinessObjects user guides using Adobe Acrobat.

CBT (computer based training) the Quick Touroptionprovides a short,animated CBT module.

Logout

To finish using InfoView, you need to log out. Simply closing your browser or

navigating to a different web page is not secure. If youre inactive longer than

ninety minutes, InfoViewlogs you out automatically.

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5 The Layout of InfoView Pages

InfoView pages have three elements (see Figure 3):

The topbar

The navigation bar

The page contents

Figure 3 InfoView Page Layout

The Topbar

The Topbar running across the top of the page changes according to the pages

contents. For example, if the page displays a document list as in Figure 3, the

Topbar is a toolbar. The document list toolbar contains links which allow you to

load documents, delete them, search for them, refresh the document list or display

the list in compact or expanded form. Depending on the nature of the document list

displayed, some of these functions may not be available in the Topbar.

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Topbar

Navigation

Bar

Page

Contents


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If the page contents display an open document, the Topbar contains links allowing

you to act on that document. For example, you can refresh the document, edit the

document or go to a particular page number within the document.

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

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

The Navigation Bar

The Navigation Bar on the left side of the InfoView pages remains constant no

matter what page you open. It provides a menu of the pages to which you can

navigate. When you click a Navigation Bar option, it is highlighted. For example,

in Figure 3 the Personal Documents option is highlighted in the Navigation Bar

and the page contents display a list of personal documents.

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6 Viewing Documents

Document ListsExisting documents that you can view are listed under the following headings, as

shown in the Navigation Bar:

Inbox Documents documents sent to you by other users of

WebIntelligence or documents sent by fullclient BusinessObjects users.

Personal Documents documents in your personal storage area.

Corporate Documents documents in the corporate repository.

What Kinds of Document are Listed?

InfoView allows you to access documents that have been created using either

WebIntelligence or fullclient BusinessObjects. Because you are using a web

browser, you may also read documents containing hyperlinked images and sound

or video objects. In addition, you also have the ability to view documents produced

by other packages, such as Excel spreadsheets, PDF files, and Word documents.

Each document is listed with its own icon which indicates the type of document it

is. For example, in the list shown in Figure 3, the document called Course List by

Faculty is a WebIntelligence document. The document called

spi_Example_Crosstab is a fullclient BusinessObjects document. The documentcalled CSD Document 318 is a Word document.

Working with Document Lists

You can display a document list in expandedorcompactformat. This is purely a

matter of personal preference. For example, the list shown in Figure 3 is displayed

in expanded format.

As you view a list you can toggle between either format by clicking

the Expand orCompact option in the Topbar.

You can set up a default format for each list individually on the

Options | Documents List page.

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

click on the document name. This opens the document in the

Document Results page.

Viewing WebIntelligence Documents

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

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Long documents may be broken up into several sections. The Documents Results

page can display such documents with a hyperlinked index on the lefthand side of

the page. This allows you to navigate instantly to a particular section of a report.

An example of an indexed report is spi_Example_Programmes_Listwhich you can

open from the Corporate Documents list.

Viewing FullClient BusinessObjectsDocuments

You can use InfoView to look at documents created with fullclient

BusinessObjects. There are 3 formats of viewer that you can use. For Internet

Explorer users the default format is Enhanced Document Format which is

described here.

You will see that most of the corporate documents have been created with full-

client BusinessObjects. These documents may contain a single report showing a

simple table or chart. Or they can be complex documents containing several

different reports.

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

particular report within the document or a particular section of a report. The index

is displayed in its own frame, called the Sections Tree. .

To see an example of a complex document that contains several

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

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

double clicking the report name in the Sections Tree.

Some reports within a document may be further broken down intosections. To view the sections in such a report, click the + sign to the

left of the report name in the Sections Tree. Not all reports contain

sections. In this example, all the master/detailreports are broken

down into sections.

To go to a particular section in a report, doubleclick the section

name in the Sections Tree.

The Viewer Toolbar

When you open a document in Enhanced Document Format, a further toolbar is

automatically displayed at the top of the Document Results page in addition to theDocument Results Topbar. This is called the Viewer Toolbar. Each of the ViewerToolbar buttons has a tooltip. For a more detail explanation of these functions refer

to Figure 4.

A Note about Security Certificates

New users may get a Security Warning pop-up when attempting to use the Report

Viewer for the first time. Existing users will receive the same warning when using

a new version of the Report Viewer for the first time. This is because InfoView

needs to download the necessary appletfrom the internet. The Security Warningwindow certifies that the applet comes from a trusted source. If such a security

certificate is displayed, you are safe to proceed.

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

You will notice that security certificates will pop up in other places in

InfoView. You can assume that it is safe to continue in each case.

Figure 4 The Viewer Toolbar and Key

Viewing Options

There are a number of InfoView options for viewing fullclient BusinessObjects

documents. The format that we have discussed above is called enhanced document

format. This is the optimum viewing format for Internet Explorer and the formatselected by default for Internet Explorer use. It is possible to change the format you

use. The Options | View Documents page enables you to do this (N.B. theseoptions apply only to viewing fullclient BusinessObjects documents). These other

formats, however, are not discussed here.

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7 Refreshing Documents

A WebIntelligence or fullclient BusinessObjects document contains a set of data

which is retrieved from the database by a query. This raw data is formatted into a

report by a set of report definitions that are built into the document. These define

such things as the font size, the font colours etc. and are used to display the report

in the Document Results page.

As such, a WebIntelligence or a fullclient BusinessObjects document generated

some time ago represents a snapshot of the data as it existed at that time. That

snapshot can quickly become out of date. But you can update a document by taking

a new snapshot, keeping the same formatting but querying the database for the

most recent data. This is known as refreshing.

Documents can be refreshed in several ways:

Manually from a Document List this is the usual method and is discussed

below.

Automatically at scheduled times or intervals using Broadcast Agent

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

Automatically on opening this is an option that can be set when you save

a WebIntelligence document (see Saving a Document, page 24).

Refreshing a Document Manually

Click the documents name in any InfoView document list to open it

in the Document Results page.

ClickRefresh in the Documents Results Topbar.InfoViewsubmitsthe document to the server for refreshing, then displays the new

results on the Document Results page.

Refreshing a Document Containing a UserPrompt

User Prompts provide a way to ask for input from users when they run queries. So,

when you refresh some documents, you will be prompted for more information.

For example, the corporate document spi_Dept_Modistwhich uses the SpiderGeneral universe, contains two User Prompts. This document provides a list of

modules in a particular department for a particular academic year (term). If you

refresh this document you are requested to specify the department and the term you

want in your report. This information is input in a user prompt dialog box (see

Fig.5) which is popped up when you clickRefresh.

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F

Figure 5 User Prompt Dialogue Box

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8 Refreshing a Document withBroadcast Agent

Broadcast Agent can be used by both InfoView users and fullclientBusinessObjects users to refresh a document. It allows you to schedule the

processing, i.e. you can refresh the document at a specified date/time. This can be

either a oneoff process or a process to be repeated at the same time every day,

week, month etc. Once refreshed, the processed document can be sent to yourself,

other users or groups of users.

Scheduled processing enables your reports to be executed leaving you free to get

on with other things. Even if you have logged out of InfoView and turned off your

computer, the scheduled execution of your reports will still take place. There are

several advantages to this way of working. For example, you could schedule a

document for execution overnight at some time after other overnight jobs have

updated the database. When you log into InfoView next day, your report will have

been refreshed and the results will be waiting for you. The scheduled processing ofdocuments, therefore, can save you time. It can also help reduce traffic on the

network by running reports at offpeak times which, of course, benefits everyone.

Using Broadcast Agent

Either, from a document list (in expanded format) select the Send to Usersoption for the required document the Send Document to Users page

opens.

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

In the Refresh Options section of the Send Document To Users page, select

the destination user(s) from the list. To select several users, hold down the

Ctrl key while you click the users you want. N.B. to receive the refreshed

documents yourself, your username must be selected from the list.

Select Scheduled Refresh option, then click the Send button theScheduling Options page is opened.

Select your scheduling options. If the document contains User Prompts (see

above), a View Prompts button will be displayed on this page. Click the

View Prompts button in order to specify your parameters.

When all scheduling options have been selected, click the OK button. Thedocument is submitted to Broadcast Agent for processing according to your

schedule. On completion, the refreshed document appears in you inbox.

Monitoring Your Scheduled Documents

You can view the progress of the documents youve sent to Broadcast Agent by

running the Broadcast Agent Console. The Broadcast Agent Console lists the

documents sent for processing. For each document, the Console displays

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information such as document name, status, refresh frequency, and so forth. To

open the Console:

ClickScheduled Documents in the Navigation Bar.

Use the View option in the Topbar to select one of the followingBroadcast Agent logs:

Pending Jobs to view documents still awaiting refreshing and

distribution. As long as a document is still scheduled to be refreshed

and distributed, it is in this list.

All Jobs Log to view the status of all the documents that you

have scheduled

Failed Jobs Log to view all the jobs that have not been

successful, along with a description of the problem

Use the Scheduled By option in the Topbar to choose the name ofthe Broadcast Agentserver, i.e. BCAgent.

Broadcast Agent: Further Information

For more information about these and other Broadcast Agent options, click the

Help option in the Navigation Bar on the appropriate page.

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9 Creating Your Own Documents Overview

Universes

The concept of a universeis central to all the BusinessObjects tools. A universe isa meaningful, userorientated representation of a relational database. In practice,

there are several universes, which have been designed by the Computing Services

Department to provide particular views of the Universitys corporate databases.

For example, the PERSONNL universe deals with staffing information, the Spider Generaluniverse makes available information from the SPIDER system about

students, programmes of study, faculties, etc. New universes will be created or

existing universes will be enhanced by the Computing Services Department as part

of the ongoing development of the service.

Objects & Classes

Each universe is constructed with a set ofobjects. An object is an item of

information that is of interest to a user of the information. It corresponds to a

selection of data from the database and is, most usually, a column in a database

table. For example, the following three objects can be found in the Spider

General universe: Program Faculty Code, Program Code, and Program LevelCode.

Within a universe, you will find objects grouped together into classes. Classes arebuilt into the Universe design to reflect the users natural grouping of items of

information. In turn, some classes contain subclasses. The purpose of classes and

subclasses is to make it easier for you to locate and select the objects you want

when building a report. They play no other part in retrieving information. For

example, the Spider Generaluniverse contains a class called Program Data andCurriculum Rules. The objects mentioned above (Program Faculty Code,

Program Code, and Program Level Code) can all be found in this class.

Types of Object

An object will be one of three types: dimension, detail or measure. Each type of

object has its own icon:

The cube icon indicates a dimension object.

Dimension objects retrieve the data that will provide

the basis for analysis in a report and typically retrieve

character type data (e.g. the Program Code object inthe Spider General universe).

Some dimension objects have an associated detail

object. The detail object provides more detailed

information about the dimension. For example,

CAPP Program Description is the detail objectassociated with Program Code. A detail object is represented by the pyramid icon.

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The sphere icon indicates a measure object. Measureobjects retrieve numeric data that is usually the result

of calculations on data in the database. As such,

measure objects are semantically dynamic the

values they return depend on the dimension objects with which they are grouped in

a particular report.

The Build Procedure

To create a new document, you actually use the WebIntelligence functionality

within InfoView. Moving into WebIntelligence and building a new document is a

simple process from the user point of view. The overall build procedure is outlined

in this section. The detailed procedure is described in the next section, Creating

Your Own Document A Worked Example

The procedure involves little more than selecting the objects you want to see in

your report from the various classes available in your chosen universe. However,

behind the scenes, WebIntelligence is working hard. Firstly, it constructs the query

that will retrieve the information from the database. Secondly, it builds a default

report structure.

Once you have created the query with its report structure, you will need to run or

execute your query in order to extract the data from the database. The data is

automatically formatted into your report structure when it is retrieved. Running

your query for the first time is basically the same function as refreshing an existing

document.

Having displayed the report in the Documents Results page, WebIntelligence does

not automatically save your document. If you wish to retain your document for

future use, you will need to take a positive step to save it.

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10 Creating Your Own Document A Worked Example

Goal

The goal of this section is to build a simple report (outlined below in the story

line). There are five stages in the overall procedure. You will be guided through

each stage.

Storyline

You will build a report which uses the SpiderGeneraluniverse. The report will bea simple table listing the programmes of study within each faculty (see Figure 6).

The table will show the faculty, the programme code, a description of the

programme and the programme level (undergraduate, taught postgraduate etc.) So,

the objects required are: Program Faculty Code, Programme Code, Program

Description and Program Level Code. These can all be found in the Program Dataand Curriculum Rules class.

Initially, the report will list all programmes and they will be listed in no particular

order. In later sections of this document you will learn how to restrict the data you

retrieve to particular faculties by using query conditions and filters. Also you will

learn how to sort the data into a meaningful order.

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

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Stage 1: Selecting a Universe

Your starting point in creating a new document can be any Infoview

page that displays a Navigation Bar.

Click the Create Documents link on the Navigation Bar. This takesyou into the first WebIntelligence page the Universes page. (New

users may get a Security Warning pop-up at this point, clickYes toaccept. For more information about security warnings see page 13,A Note About Security Warnings).

The Universes page (see Figure 7) allows you to select the universe

that your document will use. The Programmes List report will use

the SpiderGeneral universe. Click on this universe in the list. This

opens the Web Panel.

Figure 7 The Universes Page

Stage 2: The Web PanelThe Web Panel (see Figure 8) is where you build (and edit) the document

definitions you use to generate your documents. These definitions include both the

query you use to retrieve the data from the database and the reports structure.

The Frames of the Web Panel

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

of them:

The All Objects frame this lists the objects available in your selecteduniverse. When you first open the Web Panel, the All Objects frame will

display a list of the classes in your selected Universe.

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The Block Details frame this is where you place the objects you want to

see in the main block of your report and, therefore, the objects that will be

included in your query. You include an object in a report by selecting it

from the All Objects frame and, then, placing it in the Block Details frame.

The Block Details frame also determines the position in which the data will

appear horizontally or vertically in your report.

.

Figure 8 The Web Panel

Stage 3: Selecting Objects

Click the plus (+) sign to the left of the Program Data and

Curriculum Rulesclass to open the class and show the objects

it contains.

Drag the Program Faculty Code object to the Block Details

frame.

Click the plus (+) sign to the left of the Program Codeobject, this

reveals its associated detail i.e. CAPP Program Description.

Drag the Program Code object to the Block Details frame.

Position it to the left of the Program Faculty Code.

In the same way, drag the other objects required for the report to the

Block Details frame, i.e. CAPP Program Description and

Program Level Code.

Once you have included the required objects in the Block Details

frame, you have built a basic query that could be run to retrieve the

data from the database.

Removing Objects from a Query

If you decide you want to remove an object that you have previously included in

your query, select the object in the Block Details frame by clicking its icon. Youcan now remove the object in any of the following ways:

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Block Details

Frame

Objects &

Classes

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Drag the icon to the All Objects list.

Press the Delete key.

Click your right mouse button a popup menu appears. Select the

Remove command on the popup menu.

Changing the Order of the Objects

The order in which the objects appear from left to right or top to bottom in the

Block Details frame determines the order in which the data will appear horizontally

or vertically in your report.

To move an object, click its icon. You can now drag the icon to the

required position in relation to the other objects.

Stage 4: Executing a Query from the Web

Panel

To execute the query, click the Run Query button on bottom of the WebPanel. When the query has completed, your report is automatically

displayed in the Document Results page.

Stage 5: Saving a Document

Documents are not saved automatically. If you want to keep your document for

future use, you must take a positive step to save it:

From the Document Results page, clickSave on the Topbar. Thisopens the Save As Personal Document page.

Type the name of your document in to the Document Name box, call

it Programmes List.

You must also enter or select the other options you require on the

Save As Personal Document page, including the option to

automatically refresh the document when it is next opened. If you

need more information about the save options, clickHelp in theNavigation Bar.

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

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11 Conditions and Filters

A basic query, such as the query needed to produce the Programmes List, retrieves

all the data from the database for those objects you defined. For that reason, such a

query is sometimes called an open query. Whilst open queries have their uses, it is

more usual to restrict the scope of your report. For example, you might want to

restrict the scope of the Programmes List and report only those programmes in a

particular faculty. Or, you may want to list undergraduate programmes only.

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

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

document in order to hide some of that data and display only the

information that you want to appear.

Query Condition a condition is built into the query so that when the

query is executed it limits the data retrieved from the database.

Applying Conditions and Filters: WorkedExample

The Goal

Here we will apply a filter to restrict the report to undergraduate programmes only.

Then, we will define a query condition to select programmes in the Faculty of

Medicine and the Faculty of Dentistry only. Both actions will use the Conditions

tab on the Web Panel.

The Web Panel Conditions Tab

Before you work through these procedures, make sure that your

Programmes List document is open in the Document Results page.

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

open the Web Panel from the Document Results page, clickEdit onthe Topbar.

There are three tabs at the foot of the Web Panel click the

Conditions tab to open it.

The Conditions page (see Figure 9) is divided into three frames: the

Objects frame at the left side of the page and the Query Conditionsframe and Document Filters frame to the right. Initially, theDocument Filters frame and the Query Conditions frame areempty.

Applying a Document Filter

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

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Click the plus (+) sign to the left of the Program Data and

Curriculum Rulesclass to open the class and show the objects

it contains.

Drag the Program Level Code object to the Document Filters

frame. This action starts to build the condition in the DocumentFilters frame.

Click the double quotes (") in the condition in order to specify the

operand. This pops up a menu containing two options: Enter AConstant and Show List Of Values. We are going to specify theoperand by selecting it from a list of possible values.

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

Select UGfrom the list and click the OK button. You are returned the

Conditions page where your document filter condition is now

complete (as in Figure 9).

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

Figure 9 Web Panel: Conditions Page

Applying a Query Condition

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

Drag the Program Faculty Code object to the Query

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

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

In List. Click the comparison operator in the condition. This pops up

a menu of appropriate comparison operators. Select In List from that

menu.

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Click the double quotes (") in the condition and select Show List OfValues option from thepop up menu. This will pop up a list ofpossible values forProgram Faculty Code.

To select more than one value from a list of values, hold down the

Ctrl key while you make your selections. Select MD and DN fromthe listand click the OK button. You are returned the Conditions

page where your query condition is now complete (as in Figure 9).

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

Removing a Filter or Query Condition

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

document.

Drag the Program Faculty Code object from the Query

Conditions frame and drop it anywhere in the All Objects frame. The

query condition is removed

Drag the Program Level Code object from the Document

Filters frame and drop it anywhere in the All Objects frame. The

document filter is removed.

You will need to run the query again before you can save your

document in this state.

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12 Sorting Information in a Report

You determine the order in which columns of data appear from left to right across

your report by the sequence in which you position objects in the Block Details

frame in the Web Panel. It is also important to control the order in which data

appears down a column in your report. This is achieved by sorting the data that has

been returned for an object. Data can be sorted into ascending or descending order.

This is called the sort order.

Data Type and Sort Order

Three types of data can be retrieved for an object text, numbers or dates. You

can sort any type of data. The following table summarizes the effect of the sort

order on each data type:

Text Numbers Dates

Ascending Order A Z Lowest to Highest Past to present

Descending Order Z A Highest to Lowest Present to Past

Sort Priority

It is possible to sort on several objects. This way you are able to group information

together when it appears in your report. For example, the Programmes List report

would be more meaningful if it were sorted, firstly, by Program Faculty Code.Thus, for example, all the programmes in the Faculty of Arts would be grouped

together. Within Program Faculty Code you could, then, sort on Program Level

Code. This would group together all the undergraduate programmes within the

Faculty of Arts, for example.

When sorting on multiple objects the sort priority of objects is important. Priority

is determined simply by the sequence in which you apply sorts to objects in the

Web Panel and is indicated by the number that appears against each sort icon.

Applying a Sort: Worked Example

Goal

Here we will sort the data in the Programmes List using the following objects (the

priority is indicated by the number in brackets):

(1) Program Faculty Code ascending

(2) Program Level Code ascending

(3) Program Code ascending

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Applying Sorts

Before you work through this procedure, make sure that your Programmes

List document is open and the Web Panel Results Tab is displayed.

Click the Program Faculty Code object in the Block Details frame in

order select it.

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

Repeat for the remaining objects on which you need to sort. The sequence

in which you apply the sorts determines the sort priority.

You will need to run the query again before you can save your

document in this state.

Removing a Sort

If necessary you can remove a sort:

Click the sort icon under the object in the Block Details frame. The

Object Properties window pops up.

The popup window has 3 tabs. You want the Sorts tab. Then select

the None option and click the OK button.

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13 Report Structures & Formats

BlocksA WebIntelligence report is structured into blocks. A simple report such as theProgrammes List comprises a single block. You define the structure of the block as

you build a document by positioning objects into the Block Details frame in the

Web Panel.

WebIntelligence provides several types of block that you can use in reports, giving

you a choice of report style. The most common block type is the table and, for this

reason, WebIntelligence will construct tabular reports by default. The Programmes

List report, for example, is a tabular report.

Choosing a Block TypeYou choose the type of block for a report using the Change Block Type option onthe Web Panel Topbar. This option enables you to pull down a menu of general

styles. Further submenus allow you to choose a particular block type. For

example, there are four block types available for a Table style of report:

Table a sequential, twodimensional list such as the Programmes List.

Financial Table a basic table arranged sideways, so that the headings are

displayed vertically instead of horizontally.

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

over multiple lines. For example, you could present the Programmes List

so that each programme was displayed on three short lines instead of one

long line or row.

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

in tables. However, in a crosstab, the rows have headings in the same way

as the columns. Corresponding data appears where each column and row

intersects: this section is known as the body.

The other report styles available on the Change Block Type menu enable you to

display your information in a chart or graph.

Blocks Further Information

The way you build a block, in other words the way you position the objects in the

Block Details frame, depends on the block type. When you select a particular block

type, the Block Details frame changes accordingly and displays detailed

instructions about where you should position the objects.

For more information and examples of the various types of block

available see Block Settings in the Help Index.

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Sections (Master/Detail Reports)

Breaking a document into sections is a way of splitting large blocks of data into

smaller, more comprehensible parts. A report that is divided into sections is

sometimes referred to as a Master/Detailreport. Each section contains at least oneblock displaying the detailin any of the block types or styles. Also each section is

headed by at least one section cell, showing the masterobject. For Example,Figure 10 shows the Programmes List divided into sections, where the Program

Faculty Code is the Master and each table shows the related program information.

Figure 10 Programmes List Divided into Sections

Creating Sections: Worked Example

Goal

This procedure will divide the Programmes List report into sections one section

for each Faculty. The block type will remain as a simple table. See Figure 10.

Creating Sections

Before you work through this procedure, make sure that your Programmes

List document is open and the Web Panel Results Tab is displayed.

Click on the Program Faculty Code object in the Block Details frame. This

is the object that we will use as the master.

Drag the object from the Block Details frame and drop it into the Section

frame. You have now divided the report into sections.

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

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

Creating an Index of Sections: WorkedExample

Goal

This procedure will create a hyperlinked index of the sections in the Programmes

List report. The index is positioned on the left hand side and will allow you to

navigate instantly to a particular faculty (an example of an indexed report is

spi_Example_Programmes_List which you can open from the Corporate

Documents list).

Creating an Index

Before you work through this procedure, make sure that your ProgrammesList document is open and the Web Panel is displayed. Your Programmes

List report should be divided into sections one section for each Faculty.

Click the Settings tab in the Web Panel. The Web Panel Settings page isdisplayed (see Figure 11).

Figure 11 Web Panel: Settings Tab

The Settings page is divided into two frames Document Elements frame

and Format frame. The Document Elements frame details the format

settings for each element in the report. The Format frame shows a graphic

representation of the report structure. Drag the right edge of the Document

Elements frame to widen the frame, enough to read each of the setting

details in full.

At this stage, the Program Faculty Code object should be shown inthe Format frame as the sections master. Click the Program Faculty

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Code object this will display the settings for that object in the Document

Elements frame.

The settings are grouped under various headings in the Document Elements

frame. Look at the settings for the Program Faculty Code object in

the Miscellaneous group. To create an index, change the Show as Index

setting from No to Yes point at it with your mouse and click. You will

see that this moves the Program Faculty Code into its own Indexframe within the Format frame.

In the same way, change the Repeat on Each Page setting for the

Program Faculty Code object from No to Yes. This will display the

object in your report as a section heading as well as showing it as en entry

in the index.

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

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

Formatting

The Settings tab on the Web Panel enables you to control many formatting features

of your report. The elements of the report that can be controlled range from an

individual cell to the whole document. The formats of these elements are created

initially with default settings. To change the defaults, the general procedure is:

In the Format frame click on the element of the report that you want to

format. This will display the settings for that element in the Document

Elements frame where they can be changed.

When you have completed the format changes, click the Apply Formatbutton at the foot of the Web Panel. This opens the Document Results page

displaying the revised report.

The following are just some of the settings that may be changed. For more

information about the settings, see Using the Settings Tab in the online Help.

Header & Footer Labels add boiler plate text to the page header and/or

footer.

Document Settings you can set your document's overall properties, such

as the background colour or even a background image.

Title Block Settings you can format both the title's placement on your

document page and the title block's background colour. You can also add a

border for the title.

Title Cell Settings give the document a title and set the font, title

alignment within the cell, title background etc.

Section Settings position the section heading on the document page, and

set the background colour. You can also add a border for the section

heading.

Index Settings for reports that have a hyperlinked index, you can set the

colours used for the index font and background.

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Block Settings set the properties for a document's data blocks and the

cells a particular block contains.

Cell Settings you can set the font, style and colour of a cell's text, and its

background colour. When you click inside a header cell, you access the Cell

Settings for that header. When you click inside the data cell, you access the

Cell Settings for that group of data cells.

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14 Exchanging Documents andData

You can use InfoView to exchange documents with other users. You can alsoexchange data with other applications, particularly spreadsheets such as Microsoft

Excel. In this section, we will discuss how to:

Send either WebIntelligence documents or fullclient BusinessObjects

documents to other users.

Receive either WebIntelligence documents or fullclient BusinessObjects

documents that have been sent to you by other users.

Retrieve either WebIntelligence documents or fullclient BusinessObjects

documents from the corporate documents repository.

Download the raw data from a WebIntelligence document into a Comma

Seperated Values (.csv) file. Such files can be opened by other applications

but they are particularly suited to Microsoft Excel.

Sending Documents to Another User

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

If the document you want to send is not open, display your Personal

Documents list and locate the required document.

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

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

On the Send Document page, select the destination user or users. To select

more than one user from the list, hold down the Ctrl key while you click all

the usernames.

Finally, click the Send button. A confirmation message will be displayedwhen the document has been sent.

Receiving Documents from Another User

Your Inbox will list WebIntelligence and fullclient BusinessObjects

documents that have been sent to you. From your Inbox you can open a

document and/or save a document to your Personal Document list.

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

To save an open document into your Personal Documents list, click the

Save option in the Topbar. This will open the Save As Personal Documentpage.

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If you want to save a document from your Inbox without opening it first,

your Inbox documents should be listed in expanded format. Click the Savelink in the last line of the document entry. This will open the Save AsPersonal Document page.

The Save As Personal Document page presents you with several save

options for the document. Set the save options as appropriate, then click the

Save button. A confirmation message will be displayed when the documenthas been saved.

Retrieving Documents from the CorporateDocuments Repository

The Corporate Document Repository will list both WebIntelligence and

fullclient BusinessObjects documents. You can open a corporate document

and/or save a corporate document into your Personal Document list.

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

To save the open document into your Personal Documents list, click the

Save option in the Topbar. This will open the Save As Personal Documentpage.

If you want to save a document from the Repository without opening it first,

you should display the Corporate Documents list in expanded format. Click

the Save link in the last line of the document entry. This will open the SaveAs Personal Document page.

The Save As Personal Document page presents you with several save

options for the document. Set the save options as appropriate, then click theSave button. A confirmation message will be displayed when the documenthas been saved.

Downloading Data from a WebIntelligenceDocument to a Spreadsheet

If the WebIntelligence document is open, click the Download option in theTopbar.

Alternatively, from the Corporate Documents or Personal Documents lists

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

in the document entry.

What happens next depends on your web browser settings. Internet Explorer will

pop up the File Download dialogue box. This gives you two options, as follows:

You can open the data directly in Excel. If Excel isn't installed, the browser

prompts you to indicate an installed application associated with files with

the extension .csv.

The other option in the File Download dialogue box is to save the .csv file

to a specific location. This option enables you to open the file in Excel (orother application) at a later time.

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15 Registration

Registration is not necessary for existing BusinessObjects users. Existing users are

automatically registered for use of InfoView. The following notes, therefore, apply

to new users of BusinessObjects, the CIS service or PC Services.

Managed Windows Service

BusinessObjects (Version 5) is available on the MWS. Therefore, to use it you

must be a registered PC Service user.

BusinessObjects

Existing users of the CIS service must also be registered to install and use

BusinessObjects. Registration is handled by the CSD secretaries:

Claire Riley 43718 email C.Riley

Lynn Deans 43719 email L.Deans

Clare Dickinson 43717 email clared

You will be allocated the same username as for other CSD services. Your

BusinessObjects password, however, will not be the same.

Registration for Use of CorporateInformation Systems (CIS) Facilities

If you are not a registered user of the CIS service you may still use

BusinessObjects, providing that:

You are a member of staff.

You have completed the form Registration for use of Corporate

Information Systems (CIS) Facilities.

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

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

owner.

The form Registration for use of Corporate Information Systems (CIS) Facilities

can be accessed online at http://www.liv.ac.uk/CSD/helpdesk/registration.html or

obtained from the Computing Services Helpdesk, Brownlow Hill Building (

44567 or email helpdesk).
http://www.liv.ac.uk/CSD/helpdesk/registration.htmlmailto:[email protected]://www.liv.ac.uk/CSD/helpdesk/registration.htmlmailto:[email protected]