SAP BusinessObjects Reporting Cookbook

Table of Contents

SAP BusinessObjects Reporting Cookbook

Credits

About the Author

About the Reviewers

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Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. Working with the BI Launch Pad

Introduction

Connecting to the BI launch pad

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Navigating within the BI launch pad

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Using the BI launch pad toolbars

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Adjusting the preferences

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Searching documents

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Launching applications

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

The report menu functionality

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Working with different objects of the BI launch pad

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

2. Creating New Queries

Introduction

The universe structure

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Creating a simple query

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

There's more...

Editing the query

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Filtering the query results

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using prompts

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Using AND/OR logic in conditions

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Creating nested filters

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using a subquery

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Using combined queries

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Adding another query

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Working with several queries

How to do it...

There's more...

See also

Working with the query properties

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Using the data preview

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There is more

See also

Viewing the SQL

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using other query results

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Scope of analysis

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Using database ranking

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Using BEx queries

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

3. Working Inside the Report

Introduction

Understanding the structure of the Report layer

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Understanding the concept of the microcube

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Working with the Left Pane panels

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Working with the report toolbars

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Navigating between the view modes

How to do it...

How it works...

The File and Properties tabs

How to do it...

How it works...

4. Working with Tables

Introduction

Getting to know the structure of tables

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Working with different types of tables

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Formatting tables

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Working with cross tables

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Hiding dimensions

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

5. Working with Charts

Introduction

Working with the Line chart

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Working with different chart types

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Formatting charts

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more…

6. Formatting Reports

Introduction

Using sorts

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using calculations

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Using sections and breaks

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Ranking

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Conditional rules

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Data tracking

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Outline and fold

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

7. Filtering the Report Data

Introduction

Applying a simple filter

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Working with the filter bar

Getting ready

How to do it....

How it works...

There's more...

Using input controls

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Working with an element link

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

8. Merging Data

Introduction

Merging data from several queries

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Understanding the merge logic

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Merging data from different universes

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Merging data from different data sources

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Filtering matched values

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Troubleshooting aggregation problems

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Extending the data synchronization

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

9. Using Formulas and Variables

Introduction

Using formulas

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Working with variables

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using aggregate functions

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Using character functions

How to do it...

How it works...

Using data provider functions

How to do it...

How it works...

Using date and time functions

How to do it...

How it works...

Using document functions

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using logical functions

How to do it...

How it works...

Using misc functions

How to do it...

How it works...

Using numeric functions

How to do it...

How it works...

Using extended syntax

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

10. Using Hyperlinks

Introduction

Connecting reports

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Passing parameters between reports

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Linking to a web page

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Creating and editing hyperlinks manually

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

11. Using Drill

Introduction

Using the scope of analysis

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Using a query drill

Getting ready

How to do it...

Using the drill formula

Getting ready

How to do it...

See also

12. Scheduling Reports

Introduction

Scheduling a report

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Working with instance history

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Publications

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Advanced publication options

Getting ready

How to do it...

13. Working with BI Workspaces

Introduction

Creating BI workspaces

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Working with report parts

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

14. Web Intelligence Rich Client

Introduction

Working with Web Intelligence Rich Client

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Working with local data providers

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Adjusting options

Getting ready

How to do it...

See also

Index

SAP BusinessObjects Reporting Cookbook

SAP BusinessObjects Reporting Cookbook

Copyright © 2014 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: August 2014

Production reference: 1190814

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Livery Place

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Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-78217-243-7

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Cover image by Tony Shi (<shihe99@hotmail.com>)

Credits

Author

Yoav Yahav

Reviewers

Dmitry Anoshin

Charles Davies

Atul Bhimrao Divekar

Commissioning Editor

Antony Lowe

Acquisition Editor

Joanne Fitzpatrick

Content Development Editor

Nadeem Bagban

Technical Editors

Manan Badani

Menza Mathew

Copy Editors

Sarang Chari

Janbal Dharmaraj

Mradula Hegde

Insiya Morbiwala

Sayanee Mukherjee

Aditya Nair

Project Coordinator

Swati Kumari

Proofreaders

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Maria Gould

Ameesha Green

Paul Hindle

Indexer

Hemangini Bari

Graphics

Valentina D'silva

Abhinash Sahu

Production Coordinators

Arvindkumar Gupta

Alwin Roy

Cover Work

Arvindkumar Gupta

Alwin Roy

About the Author

Yoav Yahav is a BI consultant and a SAP BI expert with more than 13 years of experience in data warehouse projects and SAP BI consulting and training.

He has led numerous projects of SAP BusinessObjects implementation, from the server-side architecture through developing universes, reports, dashboards, and security.

In his projects, he implements the best practices approach while focusing on several main objectives: short time to delivery, self-service BI community, and following the most updated and advanced BI trends.

He also has rich international experience in SAP BusinessObjects training, specializing in the core SAP BusinessObjects modules. You can find his BI blog at https://thebobaba.blogspot.com.

About the Reviewers

Dmitry Anoshin is a self-motivated, client-focused, result-oriented certified Senior BI/DWH Consultant with more than 7 years of experience, including solid knowledge of BI tools, such as SAP BusinessObjects, SAS BI, Microstrategy, Tableau, and Microsoft BI as well as BI tools implementations in multiple business areas. He has experience in the data integration process and proficient use of various data warehousing methodologies. He constantly goes beyond project expectations while working for financial, machine tool, and retail industries.

He has completed and met deadlines for a number of multinational full BI/DWH solution life cycle implementation projects based on Teradata and Oracle databases. He has expertise in modeling (Ralph Kimball and Bill Inmon), and a background in multiple relational databases and OLAP systems along with business experience.

Charles Davies started his career in accountancy, gaining qualifications as a Chartered Management Accountant but always sat between the Accountancy and IT departments, when building systems and reports.

He has programmed old SuperCalc spreadsheets for product costing purposes. He has built statistical packages in MS Excel. He has also designed, built, and programmed SAP BusinessObjects solutions. In doing this, he has been challenging the reporting needs of businesses to ensure that the reporting and dashboarding solutions meet those requirements in a timely and cost-effective manner.

He has worked for large corporations in various industry sectors and is currently Director and Consultant of his own company Reportex Ltd., which provides SAP BusinessObjects and Xcelsius Dashboard solutions to large clients in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Atul Bhimrao Divekar has more than 5 years of rich experience in the SAP BO domain. He is currently working with Nomura Services India Pvt. Ltd. as a Senior Analyst for the BI Database and Middleware Technology group. Before joining Nomura, he was associated with Mphasis, L&T Infotech, and Angel Broking. He is a SAP BO, SAP HANA 1.0, ITIL 2011, and Linux administrator certified consultant.

He holds a BSc degree in Computer Science from Mumbai University. Apart from being a SAP BO and SAP HANA mentor, he is an ardent follower of recent technologies. So, if he is not working, then you are sure to find him on the Web learning and getting updated about the recent gadgets, mobile applications, and four wheelers in the international market.

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Preface

BI launch pad (formerly known as Infoview) is the BI web portal of the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) platform.

As a web portal, it provides access to the reports for business users, data consumers, and report developers, which are deployed into business folder structures that contain the BI content that is mainly reports from different kinds and types.

Through BI launch pad, we can open, refresh, manage, and schedule reports in ways similar to how we interact with familiar applications such as Office.

Through BI launch pad, we can run various BI applications that can access various databases and data sources, such as Excel and text files.

The main BI application is Web Intelligence, which is aimed at reporting and analyzing, and by using it, we can accomplish the following:

Create simple and complex reports by using drag-and-drop, ease-of-use techniques

Unify multiple data sources into one report

Format the results with rich capabilities

Perform drills and analyze the data from various angles

Share, schedule and export the report results to various formats, such as Excel, PDF, Word, HTML, and more

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Working with the BI Launch Pad, provides information about the BI launch pad environment, how to work with reports and other types of applications, and how to adjust the BI launch pad preferences to match our requirements.

Chapter 2, Creating New Queries, provides all-round recipes to build simple and advanced queries, create complex filters, and get acquainted with fundamental terms in query building while also using best practices.

Chapter 3, Working Inside the Report, shows the report structure, how to use the various toolbars and functional panes of the report, and how to work with the different application modes and report properties.

Chapter 4, Working with Tables, provides recipes to create tables, explains which type of table is suited for which type of data, and demonstrates how to work with crosstab tables and how to adjust the table properties.

Chapter 5, Working with Charts, teaches you to use the different chart types and helps you understand which chart is suitable for the right type of data.

Chapter 6, Formatting Reports, explains in depth how to work with each toolbar and apply simple and advanced functionality to the report data, such as sorting, calculations, and ranking.

Chapter 7, Filtering the Report Data, explains and provides filtering techniques we can apply to the report tables and charts.

Chapter 8, Merging Data, shows us how to combine and synchronize data from several queries, universes, and data sources as well as using Excel as the data provider.

Chapter 9, Using Formulas and Variables, explains how to use the formula libraries, demonstrates how to build new calculations, and how to use variables in our reports.

Chapter 10, Using Hyperlinks, teaches us how to connect reports, how to pass parameters between them, and how to connect to external websites directly from our reports.

Chapter 11, Using Drill, teaches you how to use the drill, understand the hierarchy structure, and perform drill up, down, and through the data.

Chapter 12, Scheduling Reports, provides recipes to create scheduled jobs and publications that will run and distribute our reports to various destinations and formats.

Chapter 13, Working with BI Workspaces, shows you how to create workspaces that will centralize our most important content and reports' data on one screen.

Chapter 14, Web Intelligence Rich Client, teaches you about the Web Rich Client application, its capabilities, differences, advantages, and disadvantages compared with Web Intelligence.

Appendix, Applying Best Practices, QA, and Tips and Tricks to Our Reports, provides numerous ways to apply best practices, how to perform QA, and provides tips and tricks and useful formulas. You can find this appendix online from: https://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/downloads/2437EN_Appendix.pdf

What you need for this book

In order to use this book, you will require access to:

SAP BI4 server, SP2 and above

Java Runtime Oracle JRE 6(*5)

A Web browser—Internet Explorer 8 and above, Google Chrome, Mozilla, or Safari

You will be required to obtain rights to create Web Intelligence reports and have access to demo universes, such as Island resort marketing, eFashion, Motors, and Warehouse universes.

For the exact supported platforms (PAM) you can refer to the SAP official document at: http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/507d3365-009b-3010-04b0-e5abc8f00c91?QuickLink=index&overridelayout=true&59407987714033.

The data in the examples is quite basic and similar, any one of the universes mentioned can be used to create the reports across the book's chapters.

For Chapter 14, Web Intelligence Rich Client, you will require a local installation of Web Rich Client.

Who this book is for

This book is for Web Intelligence developers who are mainly beginners—users that want to extend their knowledge and get a set of tools of analysis and reporting. The book is also for analysts and data workers who require a better and deeper understanding in the ways they can extract, analyze, and display data. Besides this, the book caters to BI developers that want to get familiar with Web Intelligence and IT staff. Finally, it is also for managers that need to estimate and adopt a new BI technology.

This book provides hands-on and numerous practical examples, concepts, and real-life scenarios based on practical experience.

Conventions

In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.

Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: The behind-the-scenes workflow can be thought of as the detailed query running on the States with sales revenue greater than 7 million table.

New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in the text like this: Variables in the BEx query can be selected or ignored in the Query Panel.

Note

Warnings or important notes appear in a box like this.

Tip

Tips and tricks appear like this.

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Errata

Although we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of our content, mistakes do happen. If you find a mistake in one of our books—maybe a mistake in the text or the code—we would be grateful if you would report this to us. By doing so, you can save other readers from frustration and help us improve subsequent versions of this book. If you find any errata, please report them by visiting http://www.packtpub.com/submit-errata, selecting your book, clicking on the errata submission form link, and entering the details of your errata. Once your errata are verified, your submission will be accepted