OUGF - Hyperion tips and

tricks
Note:
Note:
Some
Someitems
itemsnot
notapplicable
applicable
for
forpre
pre9.3
9.3versions
versions

Prepared by: Aki Moilanen

Oracle Hyperion consulting - Finland

Content
1.

Miscellaneous tips & tricks for Financial Reports, Shared Services,

Workspace

2.

Smart View as efficient tool for both administrators and end users

3.

HFM logs a key thing for all administrators / consultants to know of

4.

Extracting data from HFM what are my options ?

5.

Web data entry forms, how to build what can be done ?

6.

How to efficiently check effects of your application changes ?

7.

From where to get more information ?

Round table material (or if time, in main presentation)

8.

Metadata/rules/member list handling in HFM classic mode

9.

What your HFM rules are doing behind the scenes ?

10.

Keeping maintenance break in HFM

11.

Miscellaneous HFM tips

Note:
Note:Some
Someitems
itemsnot
notapplicable
applicablefor
forpre
pre9.3
9.3versions
versions

1. Miscellaneous tips & tricks for Financial Reports,

Shared Services, Workspace

Workspace

Sending links
Recipients must be defined as a user with a Workspace user name and
password to open the linked item in a Web browser
You must select and send e-mail links one item at a time.

1.

Miscellaneous tips & tricks for Financial Reports,

Shared Services, Workspace

Financial reports custom links (from OpenWorld

2008)

Financial Reports facilitate user defined links

Customization can provide POV (Point of View)
context sensitive links
Examples include
Links to FM Web Data Entry forms
Links to FM Entity Details screens
Web Data Entry form links allow retrieval of
Data entry forms required for correction of
Validation errors
Data entry forms providing cell text entry for
commentary
Data entry forms providing drill-back to FDM
source data
Entity Details links provide drill through to
the source journals for adjustment details

1.

Miscellaneous tips & tricks for Financial Reports,

Shared Services, Workspace

Financial reports custom links (from OpenWorld 2008)

Links include hard-coded server, cluster and application references

http://demodrive:19000/hfm/DocMgr/OpenItemDirect3.asp?workspace=false
&app=TOTCONSOL&cluster=DEMODRIVE&lngid=0&Name=Commentary
&Path=analysis&DocumentType=3&DocumentFileType=3&sso_token=$SSO_TOKE
N$&
$CONTEXT$
Therefore, if reports containing these links are migrated from one
application to another or from one environment to another, the links
must be changed manually

1. Miscellaneous tips & tricks for Financial Reports,

Shared Services, Workspace

Workspace personal pages or HTML

Publish new Personal Pages or replace published Personal Pages using the content
of your Personal Page. Publishing a Personal Page enables other users to copy it.

Or you can have

a link to HTML page
where you store
instructions etc.

1. Miscellaneous tips & tricks for Financial Reports,

Shared Services, Workspace

Shared Services

If you need to do a lot of changes in Shared Services (security)

and/or back up your Shared Services to yourself (always also
have server level backups !)
Consider HSSImportExport utility
With that you can
export and import
.csv format files
to HSS

1. Miscellaneous tips & tricks for Financial Reports,

Shared Services, Workspace

Shared Services

If you need to clean application

from provisioning => you can use de-provisioning
(CONSIDER BACKUPS FIRST )!
HFM: Together with security class None
load (load None to all existing records in
HFM sec class access)
this is a good way to ensure that only latest security relies

2.

Smart View as efficient tool for both administrators

and end users

Excel ad hoc grids

You can type in dimension
members (1)
In active grid you can also
use member selection (2) and
e.g. utilize member lists
(system and your own)
You can: copy paste
columns/rows,
delete rows/columns with Excel
std functions or with Smart
View
buttons etc. etc.

2. Smart View as efficient tool for both administrators

and end users

In grids you can drill

down and up easily
and choose also to
what level to drill
down - among with
many other options (1)
You can drill down
and up: in example
account 300000 was
drilled to (2)
And you can set
multiple options (2),
like
Zoom in method
Indentation
Suppression
(more items in Display
tab!)

2. Smart View as efficient tool for both administrators

and end users

In grids you can also calculate, consolidate and translate

Note though that consolidation status window is not provided in Excel ! (you
can see the status of consolidation from running tasks in HFM web also for
consolidations started in Smart View)

2. Smart View as efficient tool for both administrators

and end users

Copy data point

To present data, Word or PowerPoint is often preferable to Excel. Smart View
enables you to copy data points from Excel and paste them into Word or
PowerPoint, creating linked views (dynamic data) between applications.
Simply copy data point in source (1) and paste it to target (2)

1
2

2. Smart View as efficient tool for both administrators

and end users

Copy data point

Especially in MS Word you can highly benefit from data points simply refresh
from Hyperion menu to get latest data (1)
You can edit POV (2)
and the formula also (by right clicking and choosing toggle field codes) (3)

2.

Smart View as efficient tool for both

administrators and end users

VBA with Smart View

Smart View enables
you to customize and
automate common
tasks by using Visual
Basic for Applications
(VBA) functions.

Think about possibility

to make e.g.
consolidation grids
with macros !

3.

HFM logs a key thing for all administrators /

consultants to know off

Log

Alway
s
On ?

Task Audit

Yes

System Messages

Yes

Data audit

File

Yes

DB

Comment

Yes

Who did and what task ?

When it was started / ended ?

Yes

Error messages
Warnings
Information messages

Yes

Data audit log, who stored what data

and when
If turned on => cleaning/archiving has
to be taken care of !

ALL
ALL (THESE)
(THESE) LOGS
LOGS HAVE
HAVE TO
TO BE
BE
REGULARLY
REGULARLY ARCHIVED/CLEANED
ARCHIVED/CLEANED !!

3. HFM logs a key thing for all administrators /

consultants to know off

Remember to clean all of these reqularly !

It is a good idea to check system messages reqularly during reporting (to
find out if any problematic items)
In next 2 pages Task audit and System Messages explained in more details

3. HFM logs a key thing for all administrators /

consultants to know off
Task audit

You can export this file to CSV => then you can e.g. in Microsoft Excel
- statistics of how long each task has taken (checking performance on system)
- statictics of actions per user (to e.g. Instruct users doing large number of
calculations)
- statictics of who have used system (to identify idle user accounts)
- ...
You can do so much with just a couple of pivots etc !

3. HFM logs a key thing for all administrators /

consultants to know off
System messages
You can check these
1) From web or
2) by using a utility called HFMErrorLogViewer
- Available in installation package (most likely you can
find it from your application server)

2
1

4.

Extracting data from HFM what are my options ?

As quite many of you have asked this

Option

Comments

Data Extract
from
HFM

good for additional backups (not to replace DB backups though !)

for moving data between applications
for checking rules etc.
Note: Only does support e.g. <Entity currency> in value dimension and
part of custom dimensions

Extended
Analytics
from HFM

Report / Smart
View / (forms)

Other options

The only standard way to get e.g. All custom dimension levels out
from HFM
Consider performance ! (idea is not to export everything, but more
like quite limited part of data for e.g. reporting outside Oracle
Hyperion)
Needs preparations before can be done
Mainly for analysis purposes with limited amount of data at once on
the screen (slow/complicated for large amounts of data retrieved at
once)
WriteToFile with rule => slow and complicated to build up (NOT
RECOMMENDED)
Data directly from DB => Difficult/only part of data (NOT
RECOMMENDED)

5.

Web Data entry forms

- how to build, what can be done

Consider building in Excel as an option to Web (both end up to same) !

...5. Web Data entry forms

- how to build, what can be done

You can do (highly) formatted forms (more examples in next pages)

Have comment columns/rows

and line items, etc

...5. Web Data entry forms

- how to build, what can be done (more from
Oow2008
material)

You can insert graphic, such as icons below, like example (pm_fail.gif)
Style:background:url(../images/pm_fail.gif) no-repeat; background-position:center
You can insert these to row headers (1), cells etc.
CustomHeaderStyle:border: ;color: black ;background:url(../images/docdataentry.gif) no-repeat;
background-position:Right;background-color: #cbdae7

To Indent
Text:indent: 8;

Possibilities
Possibilitiesfor
forformatting
formattingare
arevery
very
wide...
You
can
also
wrap
headers
wide... You can also wrap headersetc.
etc.
etc.
etc.

1
Note:
Note:before
beforedoing
doingadvanced
advanced
formatting

check
that
formatting check thatforms
formswork
work
properly
with
formatting
you
plan
properly with formatting you plan
to
touse
use(with
(withbrowser
browserversions
versionsused
used
ininyour
company)
!
your company) !
And
Andremember
rememberalways
alwaysto
toconsider
consider
performance
when
building
performance when buildingforms
forms! !

...5. Web Data entry forms

- how to build, what can be done

Linked forms
Use this option to specify a link to another data form. Use with Link. Links are references in
row
definitions. You can specify up to 64 links (Link1 - Link64). Links do not need to be
numbered
sequentially.
Example
R1=A#Salaries, Cell_Link1
Link1=Dynamic

Addmember (NOTE: you can choose what member list is available for users
instead of [Base] e.g. do your own ACTIVEICP list for intercompany entries etc.)
Use this option within a Row definition to add an icon to the form which, when clicked,
enables users to select members to add to the form. The new members are added to the
form and the user can then enter data for these members. You can use the AddMember
option with the Account, ICP, and Custom1 through Custom4 dimensions.

6.

How to efficiently check effects of your application

changes ?

Use Excel and Smart View to create pre and post comparisons
Sheet or column(s) where you store as values all key accounts/entities/other dimension combinations
before changes (a)
Sheet or column(s) where you have same information coming with HsGetValue formulas (b)
Sheet or column(s) where you compare a and b

For more detailed analysis you can extract data from application before and after (limitation is
that only <Entity Currency> supported)

7.

From where to get more information ?

- HFM (and other Hyperion) information

Discussion groups (a very good way to learn/get advices)

Oracle consolidation group (no membership required)
http://www.oracle.com => in main page, resources: discussion forums
YAHOO HFM group (requires membership)
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/hsfm/

Oracle Hyperion documentation library

Version 9.2.1

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E12032_01/welcome.html

Version 9.3.1

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E10530_01/doc/nav/portal_1.htm

Version 11.1

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E12825_01/index.htm

OUGF - Hyperion tips and tricks

round table part
Note:
Note:
Prepared by: Aki Moilanen
Oracle Hyperion consulting - FinlandSome
Someitems
itemsnot
notapplicable
applicable
for
10th May 2009
forpre
pre9.3
9.3versions
versions

8.

Metadata/rules/member list handling in HFM

classic mode

Often load of metadata fails because of forbidden characters in metadata

(e.g. in member or description fields)

If error message is not telling exact item => check your

metadata/member list rule file section by section to identify false items
(use playground application where nothing important is existing)

Metadata: if you dont know which dimension has problems => load to test
application with merge
dimension by dimension until you find the problematic dimension
Metadata: then if possible take lines away from .app file for that section and
try reloading to identify problematic line(s) in .app file

Consider using Microsoft Word compare and merge documents or

similar tool to find out changed items especially for rules and member
lists
this is a excellent way to confirm changes between situation A and B (e.g. Q2
2009 application vs. Q3 2009 application)
also possible for metadata, especially in .app format

9. What your HFM rules are doing behind the

scenes ?
- note ! In chapter 2 you would not perhaps see

Extract e.g. 10 base entities and some parent entities with extract data
these
-

Select good representatives (e.g. large entities from different BAs if BA-specific rules)
Set extract to include Calculated data
Only typically need to extract base accounts (as their reveal rule errors)
You can start with one period/year and then check more

look for e.g. following items

Zeroes (especially for a lot of those), same number repeated multiple times
-

Changes in lines where you did not anticipate changes (depending on personal
preferences:

use Compare and merge documents

Or e.g. Microsoft Access / Microsoft Excel to compare lines

Create (Excel) grid where you look for values per value dimensions etc.

WriteToFile is a key to find out multiple things

In which value dimension members calculations do happen ?
What is the source account value just before calculation (calculation order) ?
In which section of rules entity does visit
Timing of different rules sections (calculate, consolidate, translate)

9. What your HFM rules are doing behind the

scenes ?
- WriteToFile short version

9. What your HFM rules are doing behind the

scenes ?
- WriteToFile timing your rules

First you store info (1)

Note: you can do this in calculate, translate etc.
And then you write info to file (2)
Note BDebugcalc variable
to control writing to file
DO NOT USE WRITETOFILE IN PRODUCTION
(MENT FOR DEBUGGING IN TEST/DEV!)
CHECK THAT WRITETOFILE LOG IS NOT CREATED
IN PRODUCTION SERVER(S) !!!
-

10. Keeping maintenance break in HFM

Consider setting admin group to HFM application server(s) see HFM

manuals for more info
Note: provision some role to defined admin groups for all applications
Sample of maintenance break steps
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

15 minutes before break - prevent new users from getting into the HFM (see
HFM admin guide)
Notify users that are using the system that they have 10 minutes to exit
utilize e.g. task audit and users in the system functions in HFM
e-mail is often good way to notify users
Throw out users from system who havent logged out in 10 minute time frame
Take data backup (file out)
Do maintenance (load files in)
Test system briefly (e.g. small consolidation)
Let users in
Notify users that HFM can be used again
Monitor system behavior for some time (e.g. 30 minutes)

11. Miscellaneous HFM tips

You can copy paste HFM system reports (e.g. matching and Journal
Reports) to Microsoft Excel by simply
1)
Activating window by clicking it
2)
Pressing CTRL+A to select all (or doing the same from mouse right click
menu)
3)
Pressing CTRL+C to copy content to clipboard ()
4)
Choose empty Excel sheet and Press CTRL+V (or other option from Excel to
paste clipboard content)

If you use standard consolidation rules - consider application setting

Consolidation Rules to be set to R (instead of N) => hard-coding
some of the value dimension members

Consider task automation e.g. for repeated consolidations and data

extracts
(but check performance and stability before taking into production !)

...11. Miscellaneous HFM tips

If you use process control - Locking is not

mandatory to protect data from
changes
Review level 9-approach a equivalent
option (you can give review level 9 access
to only e.g. administrators)
In addition to review level 9 you can do
noinput rules for all previous periods (only
few lines of code and rapid to cache)
No need for unlocking/locking when
needing to apply application
changes

You can make partly dynamic noinputrules with HsGetCell and flag accounts
(from OpenWorld 2008)
-

Use HsGetCell to read from flag accounts

whether to turn certain noinput-rule on or
not for certain POV
Still you need to get HsvDataSourceprocess to restart (all users need to log
out), but you dont need to load rules (no
OK SC situation)

...11. Miscellaneous HFM tips

Extract parent descendant relationships for e.g.
security use