Intro To BO 65

Introduction to
BusinessObjects
2 Introduction to BusinessObjects
Appropriate Use And Security Of Confidential And Sensitive

Information
Due to the integrated nature of the various Human Resources, Finance and Student
modules in Banner and the reporting information in the Enterprise Data Warehouse
(EDW), you may have access to information beyond what you need to perform your
assigned duties. Your access to Banner and the EDW has been granted based on
business need, and it is your responsibility to ensure the information you access is used
appropriately.
Here are some reminders of good data stewardship to help you carry out your
responsibility:
• Do not share your passwords or store them in an unsecured manner. Do not
leave your workstation unattended while logged on to administrative
information systems. You are responsible for any activity that occurs using your
logon id.
• Do not share confidential and sensitive information with anyone, including
colleagues, unless there is a business reason.
• Retrieve printed reports quickly, and do not leave the reports lying around in
plain view.
• Secure reports containing confidential and sensitive information (e.g., FERPA,
EEO or HIPAA protected data).
• When disposing of reports containing confidential or sensitive information,
shred the documents in a timely manner.
Your responsibilities regarding the protection and security of administrative information

are outlined in the University of Illinois Information Security Policy posted at
http://www.obfs.uillinois.edu/manual/central_p/sec19-5.htm. Any violation could
subject you to disciplinary action, which could include dismissal or, in those cases
where laws have been broken, legal action. You should have signed a compliance form
that indicates you have read, understand and agree to comply with the University's
Information Security Policy for Administrative Information. If you have not already
signed the compliance form, please see your Unit Security Contact, who is responsible
for maintaining these forms.
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3
Introduction to BusinessObjects
Table of Contents
Appropriate Use And Security Of Confidential And Sensitive Information ............................................ 2
About this Course......................................................................................................................................... 5
Objective............................................................................................................................................. 5
Instructor Led Course ......................................................................................................................... 5
Training Data ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Practice............................................................................................................................................... 5
Files .................................................................................................................................................... 5
How To’s and Tips.............................................................................................................................. 5
Chapter 1 ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
Creating a Basic Report ........................................................................................................................ 7
Business Objects Products................................................................................................................. 7
Logging into BusinessObjects from EDDIE ........................................................................................ 7
Using the New Report Wizard ............................................................................................................ 9
The Query Panel ...............................................................................................................................11
Classes and Objects..........................................................................................................................12
Object Types .....................................................................................................................................12
Finding Objects..................................................................................................................................12
Adding Objects ..................................................................................................................................13
Parts of a BusinessObjects Document ..............................................................................................15
Toolbars.............................................................................................................................................15
Resizing columns and rows ...............................................................................................................16
Changing the report title ....................................................................................................................17
Edit Data Provider .............................................................................................................................18
Working with the Query Panel ...........................................................................................................18
Changing objects...............................................................................................................................18
Moving Columns................................................................................................................................19
Drag and drop method.......................................................................................................................20
Slice and Dice method.......................................................................................................................21
Saving a document............................................................................................................................22
Saving Changes as a New Document ...............................................................................................22
Starting BusinessObjects from the desktop .......................................................................................23
Exercise 1: Creating Reports ..............................................................................................................24
Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................................................................25
Sorting .................................................................................................................................................25
Default Sorting...................................................................................................................................25
Inserting Sorts ...................................................................................................................................25
Format Sorts......................................................................................................................................26
Custom Sort.......................................................................................................................................28
Exercise 2: Sorting..............................................................................................................................30
Chapter 3 ....................................................................................................................................................31
Breaks and Calculations ......................................................................................................................31
Breaks..................................................................................................................................................31
Inserting a break................................................................................................................................31
Calculations .......................................................................................................................................32
Count vs. Count All............................................................................................................................32
Adding a Sum ....................................................................................................................................33
Adding a Percentage .........................................................................................................................33
Adding an Average ............................................................................................................................34
Removing calculations.......................................................................................................................35
Page Layout ......................................................................................................................................35
Format Breaks ...................................................................................................................................35
Format Table .....................................................................................................................................36
Folded Breaks ...................................................................................................................................37
Creating Sections ..............................................................................................................................37
Using the Map ...................................................................................................................................38
Format Section ..................................................................................................................................39

Exercise 3: Breaks and Calculations...................................................................................................40
Chapter 4 ....................................................................................................................................................41
Conditions............................................................................................................................................41
Predefined Conditions .......................................................................................................................41
User Defined Conditions....................................................................................................................42
Complex Conditions ..........................................................................................................................44
And vs. Or .........................................................................................................................................44
Indenting Logical Operators ..............................................................................................................46
Exercise 4: Conditions ........................................................................................................................48
Chapter 5 ....................................................................................................................................................49
Prompts ...............................................................................................................................................49
Multiple prompts ................................................................................................................................51
Displaying Prompt Values .................................................................................................................52
Insert Special Fields ..........................................................................................................................53
Exercise 5: Prompts............................................................................................................................56
Chapter 6 ....................................................................................................................................................57
Filters and Rankings ............................................................................................................................57
Filters.................................................................................................................................................57
Applying a Filter.................................................................................................................................57
Removing a Filter ..............................................................................................................................58
Rankings ...........................................................................................................................................58
Exercise 6: Filters and Rankings ........................................................................................................61
Chapter 7 ....................................................................................................................................................63
Variables..............................................................................................................................................63
Insert a blank column ........................................................................................................................63
Create a variable ...............................................................................................................................64
Functions...........................................................................................................................................68
Exercise 7: Variables ..........................................................................................................................71
Chapter 8 ....................................................................................................................................................73
File Types and Sending Reports..........................................................................................................73
Exporting Data...................................................................................................................................73
Save as XLS......................................................................................................................................73
Save as PDF .....................................................................................................................................74
Advantages of Working with Personal Documents............................................................................75
Saving a Personal Document ............................................................................................................75
Retrieving a Personal Document .......................................................................................................76
Sending an Inbox Document .............................................................................................................77
Sending a Document via Email .........................................................................................................79
Appendix A – BusinessObjects Online Help ...............................................................................................81
Appendix B – Decision Support On-Line Help ............................................................................................85
Appendix C – Setting the Passwords ..........................................................................................................89
Appendix D - Installing BusinessObjects ....................................................................................................91
Appendix E – Query Panel Toolbar.............................................................................................................95
Appendix F – Condition Operators..............................................................................................................97
Appendix G – Condition Operand Options ..................................................................................................99
Appendix H – Review question answers ...................................................................................................101
Appendix I - AITS Help Desk ....................................................................................................................103
5
About this Course

Objective
The objective of this course is to teach the basic functionality of the BusinessObjects
editor for creating reports from the Enterprise Data Warehouse.
Instructor Led Course
This course is presented in a computer lab with an instructor. The instructor presents
the information by completing the examples in each chapter on the screen. The students
in the class follow by doing the same steps as the instructor. At the end of each chapter
the students complete an exercise, which is similar to the example.
Training Data
Two generic universe/databases are used in the course. The eFashion universe is used
for all the examples. This universe is very small and easy to use. The EDW R&A
Training universe is used for all the exercises. While this is still generic data, it is
more like the production universes. The data was used as test data for Recruiting and
Admissions.
Practice
To repeat the examples and exercises on your own, you can use “play” accounts which
have access to the training data. These accounts have the same access as the accounts
used during the class. The play accounts are: dsplay1, dsplay2, …, dsplay10. The
password for all these accounts is 1234.
Files
Completed versions of the examples an exercises are available in a zip file at the
following location: http://www.ds.uillinois.edu/training/intro_files.zip
How To’s and Tips
Demonstrations and documents explaining various BusinessObjects features can be

found at: http://www.ds.uillinois.edu/how_to.asp. You can find a more detailed
description of How To’s and Tips in Appendix B.
Chapter 1: 7
Chapter 1
Creating a Basic Report
Business Objects Products
Business Objects is a software suite of report creation, viewing, and distribution tools.
Business Objects is composed of applications that are accessible through the web or
reside on your desktop computer. The major components are InfoView, for viewing
reports, and BusinessObjects, for creating reports.
InfoView
InfoView is a web-based application to view, print, and distribute documents. Reports
the user can access are presented as documents in lists, and can be displayed in different
formats.
BusinessObjects
BusinessObjects is an editor that allows you to create and edit BusinessObjects
documents. Using the BusinessObjects editor the user has the ability to create simple
reports very quickly as well as create more complex reports including multiple data
sources and user-defined variables.
BusinessObjects can be started either through InfoView or from the Windows desktop.
A portion of the software is installed on your PC, while most of the application remains
on a server. This allows for easy installation and centrally administered maintenance.
Updates and bug fixes are initiated and applied through the server.
Logging into BusinessObjects from EDDIE
To use the BusinessObjects editor the first time it must be installed from the EDDIE
web site. This will install the software on your computer. Once installed, the editor can
be started from the desktop.
1. Open a web browser.
2. Enter the url: https://eddie.ds.uillinois.edu/wijsp.
3. Click the Log In button.
The login window appears.
4. Enter your user name and password and then click the OK button.
The Welcome page appears.
5. Click Options in the navigation bar along the top of the screen.
The Personal Options screen displays. The screen allows you to customize the
InfoView screens.
6. Click the Create/Edit tab along the top of the Options page.
This screen allows you to select the editor to use when creating new documents.
7. Select BusinessObjects as the type of document to create.
Chapter 1: 9
; Note: The Download and Install BusinessObjects link will install the BusinessObjects
editor on the PC.
8. Click the Apply button to save the setting.

9. Click the Home button in the navigation bar along the top of the screen.
10. Click BusinessObjects under the New Document heading to open the
BusinessObjects editor.
Using the New Report Wizard
The BusinessObjects editor starts and the Welcome screen of the New Report Wizard
displays.
This wizard walks you through creating a new document.
1. Select Generate a standard report for the report layout.

2. Click Begin to go to the Specify Data Access screen.
3. Select Universe as the way you want to access data.

The Others option allows you to read data from other sources such as text files,
Microsoft Excel files, Dbase files, and XML files.
The Select Universe screen appears. The universes listed are the ones you can
access based on your security profile.
Chapter 1: 11
A universe is a database interface, which maps objects to fields in a database. The

universe simplifies the report creation process by eliminating the need to know the
database structure. It also provides automatic joins between database tables based
on key values.
4. Select the eFashion universe.
; Note: The eFashion universe is a very small and simple universe that comes with
Business Objects for training purposes.
The Query Panel appears.
The Query Panel is used to create the query that retrieves data from the database.
The data returned when the query is run is called a data provider. The data provider
is stored in the document and becomes the source of the data displayed in the report.
The Query Panel
The Query Panel has three main panels:

• Classes and Objects: This panel displays the universe. The universe is divided
into folders called classes. A class can be expanded or collapsed by clicking the +
or - to the left of the folder.
• Result Objects: This panel holds the objects to be included in the report. Each
object added to the Result Objects panel produces a column in the report table.
• Conditions: This panel contains selection criteria for the query. The conditions
determine which rows from the database are included in the report. Clicking the
funnel radio button at the bottom left-hand corner of the Query Panel displays pre-
defined conditions. These are conditions that have been created by the universe
designers and are stored in the universe.
Classes and Objects
A universe is a collection of objects. Related objects are grouped into classes. Objects
represent fields in a database table. The object names will be everyday terms instead of
the cryptic field names in the database.
Classes
Classes are logical groupings of objects to make the objects easier to find. For example,
all address fields might be grouped together in one class.
Object Types
There are three different types of objects: Dimension, Detail, and Measure
Dimension
• Dimension objects are either text or dates, such as Name, City, UIN, or Application
Date.
• Dimension objects represent the basic structure of the data.
Detail
• A detail object is always associated with a dimension object.
• A detail object provides additional information about the dimension object. For
example, College Description could be a detail object associated with the College
Code dimension object.
Measure
• Measure objects are numeric values that are the result of calculations.
• A measure’s value changes depending on the context of the report. For example,
the values displayed for a Salary object differ if the report is for one pay period or
for one year.
Finding Objects
Most of the production universes you will be working with contain a large number of
classes and objects. When you first begin to use a universe, finding the objects can be
difficult. One way to make this easier is to use the Find option in the Query Panel.
As you enter the name of the object the location of the object will be displayed in the
Classes and Objects panel.
Chapter 1: 13
Adding Objects
The simplest query is a list of objects. Sorts and conditions will be added later.
There are three ways to add an object to the Result Objects panel:
• Double-click the object.
• Drag the object to the Result Objects panel.
• Highlight the object and then press Enter.
1. Click in the Find Text field .

2. Type Year in the Find Text field.
The Year object will be selected in the Classes and Objects list.
3. Double-click the Year object to add it to the Result Objects panel.
The Year object appears in the Result Objects panel.
; Note: There are three ways to delete an object from the Result Objects panel:
• Click the object and then press the Delete key.
• Right-click the object and then select Remove.
• Drag the object to the Classes and Objects panel.
4. Use the Find Text field to find the City object.

5. Double-click the City object to add it to the Results Objects panel.
It appears to the right of Year.
6. Drag the Store Name object (not the Store folder) from the Classes and Objects
panel to the right of City in the Result Objects panel.
7. Press the down arrow key to move the highlight to the Measures class.
8. Press the right arrow key to expand the Measures class.
9. Press the down arrow key to highlight the Sales revenue object.
10. Press the Enter key to add the Sales revenue object.
When you are done the Query Panel should look like this:
11. Click the Run button to run the query.

12. After the query runs, the data returned from the database is stored in the document
and displayed as a table.
Chapter 1: 15
Parts of a BusinessObjects Document
Document: A document is the file created by BusinessObjects. A document can

contain multiple data providers and multiple reports.
Data Provider: A data provider is the data returned when a query is run. A report gets
its data from one or more data providers.
Report: A report is any formatted display of data. A report can include one or more
blocks.
Block: A block is a collection of data in a particular format. In BusinessObjects, the
block types are table, crosstab, and chart. Multiple blocks can appear in a single report
and each block can display data from the same or different data providers.
Toolbars
In this class we use three of the available toolbars; Standard, Formatting, and Report.
To select the toolbars to display:
1. Click ViewToolbars.
2. Select the Standard, Formatting, and Report toolbars from the list.
The top of the BusinessObjects editor window should now look like:
Standard Toolbar
Formatting Toolbar
Report Toolbar
Let’s look at some of the most useful buttons in these toolbars.

New Report Wizard: This button starts a wizard that steps you through
creating a new document. The name is a little misleading because it actually creates a
new document, not a new report.
New: This button also creates a new document. It either starts the New Report
Wizard or creates a blank document, depending on a setting in Tools/Options. Creating
a blank document provides a more flexible process for creating new reports than with
the New Report Wizard.
Report Manager: This button toggles the display of the Data and Map tabs in
order to provide additional display area for reports.
Edit Data Provider: This button displays the Query Panel so that you can
change the result objects or conditions of the query.
Refresh Data: This button reruns all queries in the document. This updates the
data in the data providers.
Resizing columns and rows
As you can see, the Store name column is too narrow to display the complete store
names. You can resize columns and rows by dragging the column border.
1. Position the cursor over the right border of the Store name column, but don’t select
it.
Drag the column

border to resize
; Note: If you resize a column while it is selected, the header and the body separate.
Always click outside the table prior to resizing to make sure nothing is selected.
Chapter 1: 17
2. When the cursor changes to the Resize cursor, drag the edge to increase column
width.
; Note: If you are not happy with the formatting results, use the Undo button on the
Standard toolbar, Ctrl+Z, or EditUndo … to undo the last action. You can undo the last
ten actions.
Another way to resize a column is by double-clicking the column border. This

resizes the column or row to fit the cell contents.
3. Double-click the right border of the Year column.
; Note: The height of a row can be resized automatically in the same way.
A third way to resize a column is to set the width or height of the cell by clicking
FormatCell Height and Width….
The height of a row can be increased (or decreased) in the same way by dragging
the bottom edge of the row.
4. Double-click any horizontal line in the body of the table to resize the height of the
rows.
Changing the report title
When you generate a standard report using the New Report Wizard, a title is
automatically added at the top of the first page. The default text for the title is Report
Title. To change the title:
1. Double-click the text Report Title.
2. Enter the new title Sales Revenue by Year.
3. Press Enter.
4. Drag the title box to center it over the table.
Edit Data Provider
Most reports will require changes to the data after the query is run the first time.
Objects will need to be removed or added. BusinessObjects refers to this as Editing the
Data Provider. The Data Provider is the results of the query, the data that was returned
from the database when the query ran. To change this data, you need to use the Query
Panel to change the selected objects. We will now change the data for this document.
To add or remove objects or conditions you need to edit the data provider. The changes
are made using the Query Panel.
; Note: After changing the objects in the Query Panel, you must run the query again to retrieve
different data from the database.
1. Click the Edit Data Provider button.

The Query Panel appears.
Working with the Query Panel
As was described earlier, the Query Panel builds the query that retrieves data from the
database. The objects, conditions, and parameters in this window determine what data
is included in the data provider.
Changing objects
We will now add a new object to the query and save the report.
1. Remove the City object by dragging it to the Classes and Objects panel on the left.
You could also right-click the object and select Remove.
Chapter 1: 19
2. Add the State object by dragging it and dropping it between Year and Store name.
The Results Panel should look like this:
3. Click the Run button.

The revised query returns the following report.
Note that State is the third column from the left, even though it was positioned as
the second column in the Query Panel. The order of the columns in the table match
the order of the objects in the Query Panel only when the table is first created. Once
the table is created, changing the object order in the Query Panel changes the order
of objects in the data provider, but does not change the order of columns in the
table. So we need to move columns in the table.
Moving Columns
There are two methods of moving columns within BusinessObjects. The first method
involves dragging and dropping a column to the desired location with the mouse. The
second method requires the use of the Slice and Dice panel. We will look at the drag
and drop method first.
Drag and drop method
Click on a value in the State column and release the mouse button.The background of
the column will change to black except for the cell that was clicked. This cell becomes
your “handle” for the column. You drag this cell to move the column.
; Note: Never click the column heading to select the column. This will select only the
heading and not the data of the column.
4. Drag the selected cell and drop it in the middle of the Store name column.
As the mouse pointer moves across different parts of the table you see three
different cursors:
Large transparent rectangle:
Releasing the mouse over another column results in the two columns
exchanging locations.
Right-facing transparent bracket:

Releasing the mouse on the divider line results in the column being inserted to
the right of the column divider line.
Left-facing transparent bracket:

Releasing the mouse on the divider line results in the column being inserted to
the left of the column divider line.
5. The order of the columns in the table should be:

Year State Store name Sales revenue
Chapter 1: 21
Slice and Dice method
An advantage of using the Slice and Dice method of moving columns is that it
eliminates the possibility of accidently misaligning table cells.
1. Click the Slice and Dice icon.
2. The Slice and Dice panel appears.
3. Select the Object icon so that the Available Variables panel appears on the left.
4. Remove the City object by dragging it to the Available Variables panel on the left.
You could also right-click the object and select Remove.
5. Add the State object by dragging it and dropping it between Year and Store name.
; Note: You can also rearrange the object order by clicking and dragging on the object so
that it is in the location you want.
6. The Slice and Dice panel should look like this:
7. Select Apply.
8. Close the Slice and Dice panel.
9. The order of the columns in the table should be:
Year State Store name Sales revenue

Saving a document
Save the document in the same way you save other documents in Windows.
1. Click FileSave.
The Save As dialog box displays.
The default location for BusinessObjects documents is:

My Documents\My Business Objects Documents\userDocs
2. Name the file Sales Revenue by Year.
The file will be saved with an extension of .rep.
3. Click the Save button.
Saving Changes as a New Document
1. Click the Edit Data Provider button.

2. Add the Month Name object from the Time period class to the Result Objects
panel.
; Note: When a detail object is added to the Results Objects, the dimension object it is
attached to is also added.
3. Remove the Month object. Month Name will remain.

4. Run the query.
5. Move the Month Name column between Year and State.
6. Change the title to Monthly Sales.
Chapter 1: 23
The top of the report should look like this:
7. Use FileSave As… to save the document as Monthly Sales.

8. Close the document by clicking the lower of the two close buttons.
9. Close the editor by clicking the close button in the title bar.
10. Log out of EDDIE and close the browser.
Starting BusinessObjects from the desktop
Once BusinessObjects has been installed, you can start it from the Windows desktop.
1. Click the Start button on the task bar.
2. Select ProgramsBusinessObjectsBusinessObjects.
At this point the User Identification screen appears:
3. Enter your User Name and password.
Exercise 1: Creating Reports

Review
1. A _______________ is a database interface, which maps objects to data in a
database.
2. A _______________ is a logical grouping of objects.
3. The _______________ object type is always text or dates and is the structure of the
data.
4. The _______________ object type provides additional information on dimension
objects.
5. The _______________ object type are always numeric and are the results of
calculations.
6. Two methods for adding objects to the Results Panel are _______________ or
_______________.
Exercise
Use the New Report Wizard to create a new report. Use the EDW R&A Training
Universe. Use the Find option to select the following objects in order:
Campus Desc
College Desc
Department Desc
Last Name
First Name
High Rank
Resize the columns as necessary.

Change the title to Applications by Department.
Save the document as Intro Exercise 1. You will use this in a later exercise.
Finished Report
Chapter 2: 25
Chapter 2
Sorting
In this chapter we discuss the ways to sort the data in a report. Sorting determines the
order of the rows of data in the table.
Default Sorting
Even if no sorting has been applied, the report is sorted by default. The dimension and
detail objects are sorted from left to right in ascending order. Measure objects are not
sorted by default. We’ll now override the default sorting on the previous example by
specifying the sort order for some columns.
Inserting Sorts
1. Open the Monthly Sales document.

The default sorting is in effect, so the table is sorted by Year in ascending order
first. Within Year, the report is sorted by Month Name in ascending order. Within
Month Name, it is sorted by State. Finally, it is sorted by Store name.
; Note: Specifying a sort on the Query Panel only sorts the table when it is created. After
that, it only sorts the data in the data provider, not the columns in the table.
Let’s place a sort on Year.

2. Select the Year column by clicking any value in the body of the column.
Once a column is selected, the Sort button on the Report toolbar is enabled.
3. Click the down arrow attached to the Sort button.
The sorting toolbar appears.
4. Click the Descending Sort button.

The report should be sorted by Year in descending order. Within Year, the default
sorts on Month Name, State, and Store name are applied.
Now we apply a secondary sort to the Sales revenue column.

5. Select the Sales revenue column.
6. Click the descending sort button in the Report toolbar.
The table is now sorted first on Year in descending order and then by Sales revenue
in descending order.
7. Select the Month name column.

8. Click the down arrow attached to the Sort button.
9. Click the button for an ascending sort.
The order of the objects did not change. The second sort on Sales revenue makes the
third sort on Month Name irrelevant. The only way the third sort would have an
effect is if two rows had the same value for Sales revenue.
Format Sorts
There is a better way to keep track of the sorts on a table. The Format Sorts…option
allows you to add, remove, or rearrange multiple sorts for a table. You must have a cell
in the table selected in order to display the sorts that are currently applied to the table.
1. Click anywhere on the table to select it.

2. Click FormatSorts….
The Sorts dialog box is displayed.
Chapter 2: 27
The sorts are applied from the top down. The blue arrows to the left of the object
icons points up for an ascending sort and down for a descending sort.
3. Click Month Name, which is the bottom sort.
4. Click the Move Up button to make this the second sort.
5. Click Year, which is the first sort.

6. Click the Ascending button to change the sort to Ascending.
Custom Sort
Now we look at custom sorts. A custom sort specifies the order of the values for the
object. You use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to arrange the values in the
desired order.
There are also two special Sort Options available, Month and Day. The Month option
will sort month names chronologically: January, February, March, etc. The Day option
will sort day names chronologically: Monday, Tuesday,…
Let’s change the order of the month names.

1. Select the sort for Month Name.
2. Click the Custom radio button.
3. Click the Values… button to display the Custom Sort dialog box.
The Custom Sort dialog box is displayed.
4. Click the down arrow for Sort Option.

5. Click Month in the Sort Option drop down list.
The months will be sorted into chronological order.
6. Click OK to close the Custom Sort dialog box.
7. Click OK to close the Sorts dialog box.
Chapter 2: 29
The table is now sorted in chronological order on year and month and then by sales
in descending order.
8. Save the changes and close the document.

Exercise 2: Sorting
Review
1. BusinessObjects does not automatically sort your report: True or False?
2. _________________ displays a list of all the sorts for a report.
3. A _________________ allows you to arrange the values in the order you want.
Exercise
Open the document for Exercise 1. Add the following sorts in order:
• Campus Desc in the following order: Springfield, Chicago, Urbana-Champaign.
• College Desc in ascending order
• Department Desc in ascending order
• High Rank in descending order
Save the document as Intro Exercise 2.
Finished Report
Chapter 3: 31
Chapter 3
Breaks and Calculations
Breaks
So far, the reports have contained one continuous table. We can also break reports into
smaller tables, one for each value of an object. In the following example, totals, sub-
totals and percentages are applied to a table with a break on the State column.
Inserting a break
We will apply a break on the Year object so that the report is divided into a table for
each year.
1. Open the Sales Revenue by Year document.
2. Select the Year column.
3. Click the Break button on the Report toolbar.

The rows for each state now display in separate tables.
Calculations
BusinessObjects calculations enable you to quickly add information to your report. You
can sum the values in a column, count the number of values in a column, and display
the average of the values. Many of the calculations only work with measure objects
because they are number-based. The type of object determines which calculation
functions are available.
The following table shows the available calculations and data types:
Calculation Object Type Returns

# of distinct values
Count
# of rows
Count All # of rows.
Maximum Maximum value.
Minimum Minimum value.
Sum sum of all values
Average average of all values
Percentage Each rows percent of the total
Variance difference between two dimension values
difference between two dimension values as a

Variance Percentage percentage.
Count vs. Count All
The Count and Count All calculations display a count of rows in the report. However,
there is a big difference between the two calculations:
Count All counts all the rows in a column, including duplicates and empty rows.
Count returns different values depending on the type of object. For dimension objects,
Count returns the number of distinct values. For measure objects, Count returns the
number of rows. So, for measure objects, Count behaves the same as Count All.
; Note: It’s better to establish the breaks before the calculations. Inserting a break erases the
calculations. To see the calculations again you have to remove and recreate the calculations
after the break is added.
Chapter 3: 33
Adding a Sum
The following instructions demonstrate how to apply some calculations using the
Report toolbar. Only five of the most commonly used calculations appear on the Report
toolbar.
The Sum calculation adds the values in a column of a measure object.

2. Click the Sum button in the Report toolbar.

The sum of the Sales revenue values is added for each state and for each year.. The
name of the calculation is added to the previous column, if one exists.
; Note: You can also add calculations using DataCalculations…, or through the pop-up
menu which appears when you right-click.
Adding a Percentage
It is often necessary to have numeric data expressed in terms of percentages. In our

example we can quickly add each store’s percent of the sales for all stores.
We add a Percentage calculation to the same report.

1. Select the Sales revenue column if it isn’t already selected.
2. Click the Percentage button in the Report toolbar.

The Percentage calculation is unique in that it also adds a new column called
Percentage. The values in this column are each row’s percent of the total for the
report. In this example, the values are each store’s percent of the year’s sales. The
year’s percent of the sales for all years appears at the bottom of each table for a
year.
Adding an Average
Not all calculations have a button on the Report toolbar. To add the other calculations,
you can either use DataCalculations…, or right-click to display a pop-up menu.
Now we apply an Average calculation:

1. Right-click the Sales revenue column.
The pop-up menu is displayed.
2. Select Calculations.
3. Click Average.
The average sales for each year is added as a new row.

Chapter 3: 35
Removing calculations
To remove calculations from a report using the pop-up menu, do the following:
2. Click the Percentage button in the Report toolbar to remove it.
; Note: Calculations can also be removed using the pop-up menu. The calculations that
have been applied have a depressed icon or check mark to the left of the name.
Page Layout
In order to see the page as it will be printed you can change to Page Layout view. The
report will be divided into pages and the margins will be displayed as dashed lines.
1. Click ViewPage Layout or the Page Layout button to change the view to
display the report in page layout mode.
Page Layout shows the page breaks and the margins.
2. Scroll down to see the bottom of the first page and the top of the second page.
The table for 2001 starts on the first page and ends on the second page. The next
change will prevent a page break in the middle of the table.
Format Breaks
As with sorts, there is a dialog box for breaks that allows you to add, remove, and edit
all the breaks applied to a table.
2. Click FormatBreaks….
The Breaks dialog box is displayed.
3. Turn on the Break Header option.

The Break Header is similar to the Table Header that is already displayed. The
Table Header appears at the top of the table, the Break Header appears for each
value for Year. When the Break Header is added there will be two headers at the
top of the table.
4. Turn on the Center Value Across Break option.
This moves the year value to be centered across the rows for that year.
5. Turn on the Avoid Page Break option.
This prevents a table from starting on one page and continuing on the next page.
6. Click the OK button to apply the changes and close the dialog box.
Table header
Break header
Format Table
When both the Table Header and the Break Header are displayed, there are two headers
at the top of the table. We will remove the Table Header to prevent this.
Chapter 3: 37
1. Click FormatTable.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Turn off the Show Header option.
Folded Breaks
Folding a break hides the body of the table and only shows the break header and footer.
This is useful to see the sub-totals of the report without seeing the details.
2. Click FormatBreaks.
3. Turn on the Fold option.
4. Click the Apply button to see the change without closing the dialog box.
Now the folded break on Year only displays the footer, which contains the
calculations. The detail rows are not displayed.
5. Turn off the Fold option.

6. Close the Breaks dialog box.
Creating Sections
Sections are similar to breaks in that the report is divided into smaller tables, one for
each value of an object. Unlike breaks, the object is removed from the table and placed
above the table. Also, the calculations only show the values within the section and there
is no grand total at the end of the report as there is when using breaks.
Let’s divide the Monthly Sales report into sections.


2. Select the Year column.
3. Click the Set as Master button in the Report toolbar.

The report now looks like this:
; Note: Other ways of creating sections are by dragging an object above the table, or by
dragging and dropping the icon in the Slice and Dice panel to the Section panel.
4. Select the Month Name column.

5. Drag the selected cell to just above the upper-left corner of the table.
6. Click just outside the cell for Month Name.
The dividing lines for the sections will be displayed.
Using the Map
The Map option in the Report Manager is a navigation tool that allows you to go
directly to the start of a section.
Chapter 3: 39
1. If the Report Manager is not already displayed, click the Report Manager
button.
2. Click the Map tab of the Report Manager.
3. Click the + to the left of 2000 to expand the section for the year 2000.
4. Click April to go to that part of the report.
Format Section
Formatting options for sections include starting each new value on a new page, avoiding
page breaks within the section, hiding section headers and footers, and adding shading
to the background of the section.
We start each year on a new page.
1. Scroll to the top of the report.
2. Click just outside the cell for Year.
3. Click FormatSection….
4. Select the Start on a new page option.
5. Click OK to close the Section Format dialog box.
6. Change to Page Layout mode.
7. Use the Map option to go to the start of year 2000 to verify each year starts a new
page.
8. Save the document.
Exercise 3: Breaks and Calculations

Review
1. The Break Header is automatically display for all breaks: True or False?
2. The calculation values are displayed in the Break ____________.
3. The Count calculation on a measure object returns the number of rows: True or
False?
Exercise
Create a new report using the EDW R&A Training universe. Include the following
objects in order:
Campus Desc
College Desc
Department Desc
College PGPA
Divide the report into sections based on Campus Desc.

Display the average College PGPA for each department, college, and campus.
Finished Report
Chapter 4: 41
Chapter 4
Conditions
Conditions are added to a query to limit data returned from the database. So far, our
queries have had no conditions. As a result, they have returned all the rows in the
database for the specified objects. This hasn’t been a problem, because there are
relatively few rows in the data for the training universes. However, if you try this with
a production universe, the query may run for hours. In this chapter we add conditions to
limit the data returned from the database. There are two types of conditions, predefined
conditions and user-defined conditions.
Predefined Conditions
Predefined conditions are time savers that are created by a universe designer. Pre-
defined conditions are created for conditions that are complicated and/or commonly
used. They are stored within the universe and are available to all users. They save time
because instead of creating the condition yourself, you can select them as you would
select an object.
To view the available pre-defined conditions, click the funnel radio button located
under the Classes and Objects panel of the Query Panel.
When you click the desired condition, a definition appears in the information bar at the
bottom of the Query Panel, providing that the universe designer has included a
definition for the condition.

2. Edit the data provider.
3. Click the Predefined Conditions button to display the predefined conditions

panel.
4. Expand the Time period class.
5. Double-click the This year condition to place it in the Conditions panel.
; Note: The name for the This year condition is misleading. The condition is actually:
Year = 2001.
The Query Panel should look like:
6. Click the Run button.

Only rows with Year equal to 2001 appear in the report.
User Defined Conditions
If there is no predefined condition for the condition you need, you can easily create your
own user-defined condition. A condition contains three elements: the object, the
operator, and the operand. The object determines what to compare, the operator
determines how to compare it, and the operand determines what to compare it to.
These conditions can be combined with And or Or logical operators to create complex
conditions.
We start by building a simple condition of: Sales revenue greater than 150000.
Chapter 4: 43

2. Expand the Measures class.
3. Drag the Sales revenue object to the Conditions panel.
At this point the Query Panel should look like this:
<Select an operator> appears in the new condition for Sales revenue, and a list of
available operators is displayed in the left section of the Query Panel.
4. Double-click the Greater than operator to select it as the operator for the condition.
A list of ways to enter the operand appears in the left pane of the Query Panel.
5. Double-click the Type a new constant option.

6. Enter 150000 and press Enter.
; Note: When entering a number, never include commas as separators. The commas are
misinterpreted when the query runs.
7. Run the query.

The report should look like:
Complex Conditions
BusinessObjects permits the creation of complex conditions in which conditions can be

grouped together. Complex conditions are created by grouping and connecting
conditions with logical operators.
Brackets and shifting are applied by right-clicking the And or Or operator, and then
selecting either Shift Right or Shift Left from the drop-down menu.
And vs. Or
And requires that all conditions must be true for the row to be included in the query.
For example:
returns rows for stores located in New York for the year 2000.
But
returns no data because no row will have a value for Year that is equal to both 2000 and
2001.
Chapter 4: 45
Or requires that only one of the conditions be true.

For example:
returns rows that either have a value for Year of 2000 or have a value of New York for
State.
In the following example we want to show stores you met the monthly sales quotas for
this year and last year. The quota for this year is $150,000. The quota for last year was
$75,000.
2. Add the predefined condition for Last Year.
3. Add a condition for Sales revenue Greater than 75000 at the bottom of the
Conditions panel.
The Conditions panel should look like:
4. Run the query.

The following message is displayed.
This message indicates the query ran, but no rows were found that met the
conditions. No rows were returned because the condition for This year is Year =
2001 and the condition for Last year is Year = 2000. No row can have both values
for year.
The “No data to fetch” message usually indicate there is a problem with the
conditions which eliminates all rows.
5. Click OK.
The report is displayed with no data.
Indenting Logical Operators
We know there are stores with monthly sales in 2001 greater than $150,000. We also
know there are stores with monthly sales in 2000 greater than $75,000. We want to see
the stores that meet either the first condition, or the second condition. In order to get
the desired results, we have to reorganize our query. Indenting the conditions allows us
to do this.
We need to group the pairs of conditions together and connect these two groupings with
an Or operator.
2. Right-click the top And operator, and select Shift Right from
the pop-up menu.
The conditions attached to the operator are bracketed and
indented. The condition should now look like this:
• Do the same with the bottom And operator to indent the last two conditions.
3. Double-click the middle And operator to change it to an Or.

The completed complex condition should look like:
Chapter 4: 47
4. Click Run.
So, to be included in the query results a row must either have sales greater than
$150,000 for a month in 2001 or have sales greater than $75,000 for a month in
2000. The report appears as follows:

Exercise 4: Conditions
Review
1. Describe the button which allows you to view the predefined conditions in the
universe.
2. Name the three parts of a user-defined condition.
3. What is the difference between the And and Or operators?
Exercise
Create a table from the EDW R&A Training universe containing columns in the
following order:
Last Name
First Name
High School GPA
ACT Composite Score
Use the predefined condition to query for the Chicago campus only.
Display applicants with a High School GPA greater than or equal to 3.85 or an ACT
Composite Score greater than 32.
Finished Report
Chapter 5: 49
Chapter 5
Prompts
It is possible to create a condition that prompts the user to supply the operand for the
condition. Refreshing the report and choosing different values at the prompt produces
different data. A condition with a prompt is more flexible because it does not have to
be edited to return different data. Prompts allow users to control what data is returned
from the database, so that users see only the data they need.
Let’s use the query we created in Chapter 6 using the e-Fashion universe. This time
we’ll prompt the user to supply the year for which report rows will be displayed.
1. Open the Sales Revenue by Year document.
3. Add a condition for Year.
4. Select Equal to as the operator.
The Operands list displays.
5. Double-click Type a new prompt for the operand.

6. Enter the text Which year? in the text field which now appears in the condition.
After you press Enter or click outside the condition, the condition changes from:
to:
7. Run the query.

The prompt appears:
8. Click the Values… button to display the list of available values.
9. Select 2001 and click OK.

10. Click OK to run the query for 2001.
You could enter the value, but if you don’t type it correctly you get no data.
However, if the object in the prompt has hundreds or thousands of values, your
better off entering the value.
The first time you choose to see the values for an object, all values are retrieved
from the database and stored in a file on the hard-drive. This can take some time.
The next time you choose to see the list of values for the same object, the values
will be read for the local file, which is very fast.
Chapter 5: 51
The report should look like this:
Multiple prompts
You can also have multiple prompts within a report. A prompt can be applied to any
user-defined condition. We want our report to prompt the user for the year and state.
2. Add a condition for the State object.
3. Select In list as the operator.
4. Select Type a new prompt as the operand.
; Note: The prompts are displayed in alphabetical order. If you want them in a specific
order, start the prompt text with a number, such as “1. Year”.
5. Enter Which states? for the prompt text.

The conditions should look like:
6. Run the query.

The prompts are displayed.
You can enter multiple values for State by either, clicking the Values button and
then clicking on values while holding down the Ctrl key, or by typing values
separated by semicolons.
7. Click the Values button.
8. Select California, New York, and Texas for State.
9. Click OK to close the values dialog box.
10. Click OK to run the query.
Displaying Prompt Values
If you have added prompts to your report you should display the values that were
entered at the prompt. This way, someone looking at the report will know why the
report includes the data that it does.
We will first create the labels for the values.
2. Place the mouse cursor on the border of the table.
The mouse cursor will change to a four-headed arrow.
3. Drag the border to move the table down about an inch.

4. Click in the white area to deselect the table.
5. Click the Insert Cell button in the Report Toolbar.
Chapter 5: 53
6. Click just below the lower-left corner of the title cell.
7. Type Year: and press Enter.

8. Add a second cell below the first with the text State(s):.
The report should now look like:
9. While holding down the Crtl key, click both of the label cells.
10. Click the Align Right button in the Formatting Toolbar.
11. Click in the white space to deselect the labels.
Insert Special Fields
1. Click Insert Special Field Query Prompt….

The prompts for the report are displayed.
2. Select Which year? from the list of prompts.

3. Click just to the right of the Year: label.
4. Place the value for the Which state? prompt to the right of the State(s): label.
5. Resize the cell for the state values to allow for two lines.
The cell has to be large enough to display all the values for state if they are selected
at the prompt.
The report should now look like:
6. Right-click on the cell with the state values.

7. Select Format Cell… from the pop-up menu.
8. Click the Alignment tab.
9. Select Top for the Vertical alignment.
10. Select Wrap Text under the Settings area.
11. Click OK to close the Cell Format dialog box.
Chapter 5: 55
The finished report should look like:

Exercise 5: Prompts
Review
1. In which part of a condition can you insert prompts?
2. When is the prompt displayed?
3. You can only have a prompt for one object per query: True or False?
Exercise
following order:
Last Name
First Name
Campus Desc
Department Desc
High School GPA
• Use the predefined condition to query for the Urbana-Champaign Campus only.
• Create a condition that prompts the user for a Minimum High School GPA value.
After you have created the report:
• Run the query and enter a value of 3.0 when prompted, and then view the report.
• Sort by the High School GPA in descending order.
Finished Report
Chapter 6: 57
Chapter 6
Filters and Rankings
Filters
Filters allow you to display a subset of the data in the data provider, without deleting
any data. They are particularly useful when a query returns a large amount of data, and
you only want to focus on a portion of that data. Applying and removing filters are
simple actions in BusinessObjects.
There is a subtle difference between conditions and filters. Conditions limit the amount
of data returned from the database, while filters hide the data we have already received
from the database.
Applying a Filter
We want to apply a filter to display only the rows for New York.
2. Select the State column.
3. Click the Apply Filter button.

An Apply Filter on State dialog box appears.
4. Click New York.

5. Click the OK button.

Only the rows for New York are displayed in the table.
Removing a Filter
6. Select the State column.
7. Click the Apply Filter button to remove the filter.

Rows for all states are displayed again.
Note: For more complex filters using formulas use FormatFilters….
Rankings
A ranking sorts the rows like a descending sort on a measure object. The largest values
are displayed at the top of the list, while the smallest values are at the bottom of the list.
A ranking permits you to specify the number of rows displayed based on the highest or
lowest values of a measure object.
In our example, we want to see the two stores with the greatest sales revenue for a
month.
1. Select the Store name column.
Chapter 6: 59
2. Click the Apply Ranking button.

The Select Top/Bottom for Store name window appears.
3. Select Top to get the stores at the top of the list.

4. Enter 2 for the number of stores to select.
5. Click OK.
The following warning appears because of pre-existing sorts.
6. Click Yes.
The resulting report contains only rows for the two stores with the highest sales for
each month.
7. Click the Apply Ranking button again to remove the ranking.

8. Close the document without saving the changes.
Chapter 6: 61
Exercise 6: Filters and Rankings

Review
1. What is the difference between a filter and a condition?
2. You can’t add a Ranking on a Measure object: True or False?
Exercise
following order:
UIN
Last Name
First Name
Campus PGPA
Add a condition Fall term at UIC: Term Code Entry = 220028.
Add a ranking to display only the 5 applicants with the highest Campus PGPA.
Finished Report
Chapter 7: 63
Chapter 7
Variables
BusinessObjects allows you to add data to a report by creating variables. A variable is a
formula with a name attached to it. Variables are stored in the document and appear in
the list of variables in the Report Manager panel. Variables can be used like an object
in the data provider.
Insert a blank column
In this example, we need to display the sales tax paid on sales for each store, assuming a
tax rate of 5.0%. First we add a new blank column to our table, and then we create a
local variable with a formula for calculating the 5.0% sales tax.
1. Create a new document based on the eFashion universe.
2. In the query panel include the following two objects:
Store name Sales revenue
3. Run the query.
4. Resize the Store name column.
The report will look like this:
We will now add a new tax column to the report.

5. Click a value in the Sales revenue column to select it.
6. Click Insert on the main menu and choose Column.
7. Select Insert a Column to the Right of the Selection on the Insert a Column
dialog box.
8. Click OK.
A new blank column appears to the right of Sales Revenue.
Create a variable
We will now create the new variable:

1. Right-click the blank column to select it and display the pop-up menu.
2. Select Variables from the pop-up menu.
The Variables dialog screen displays the variables available for the report. It also
has buttons to Add, Group, Edit, and Remove variables.
3. Click the Add button.

Chapter 7: 65
The Variable Editor is displayed. It has two tabs; Definition is for entering the
name and type of variable, Formula is for entering the variable’s formula.
4. Click the Definition tab.

5. In the Name field, enter Tax as the name of the new variable.
In the Qualification area below, you specify the type of variable to create.
However, the final qualification may change. If the formula produces numeric
values, the qualification will be changed to Measure. When you specify a Detail
variable, you must specify the dimension object it is associated with.
6. Click the Formula tab.
The Formula tab has four main parts:

• The Formula input area, where formulas are entered and edited
• The Variables list, which displays all the variables in the document that can be
included in the formula
• The Functions list of all available functions
• The Operators list, which lists operators that are available based on the current
formula. The operators change as the formula changes.
; Note: Formula Syntax –

• Every formula must begin with an equal sign (=).
• Variable used in the formula must be embedded in angle brackets <>, for
example <Sales revenue>
• Any literal text used in the formula must be embedded in double quotes.
7. Double-click the Sales revenue object in the Variables list to add it to the formula.
The Operators list has now changed based on the current context of the formula.
8. Double-click the multiplication symbol (*) in the Operators list to add it to the end
of the formula.
9. Type 5.0 into the formula for the tax rate.
10. Double click the percent sign (%) in the Operators list to complete the formula.
The Formula box now has the following values:
11. Click the Definition tab.

The qualification for the new variable has been changed to Measure.
Chapter 7: 67
12. Click OK to close the Variable Editor.

You have just created a new measure variable. You return to the Variables dialog
box, where the new Tax variable appears in the list. Note that the formula for the
variable is displayed in the Description box at the bottom.
13. Click the Insert button to insert the Tax variable into the selected column.
The new column has Tax in the header because, by default, the name of the variable
is used as the header. The values in the column are 5% of the value for Sales
revenue.
Functions
We will create a second variable that uses one of the many built-in functions. We will
also use some shortcuts to reduce the number of steps. The new variable will display
the ranking of the store based on sales.
1. Right-click on the Variables part of the Report Manager.
A pop-up menu is displayed.
2. Select New Variable… from the menu.

3. Click on the Definition tab.
4. Enter Rank as the variable name.
5. Click on the Formula tab.
6. Expand the Numeric functions list.
7. Click the Rank function.
8. Click the Function help button to display the description of the Rank function.
The rank function takes two arguments, the dimension object to be ranked and the
measure object to rank them by. It returns the ranking number for each value of the
dimension object.
Chapter 7: 69
9. Close the Function Help window.

10. Double-click the Rank function.
The Rank function is added to the formula and the cursor is placed in the location
for the first argument.
11. Double-click the Store name variable to add it as the first argument.
12. Double-click the Sales revenue variable to add it as the second argument.
The formula should now look like:
13. Click OK to close the Variable Editor.

The new Rank variable has been added to the variable list.
14. Drag the Rank variable and drop it on the line between Store name and Sales
revenue to insert it as a new column.
The table should now look like:
15. Resize the Rank column.

16. Click a value in the Rank column to select it.
17. Click the Remove a decimal place button in the Formatting toolbar to remove
the decimal places.
The table should now look like:
18. Close the report without saving it.

Chapter 7: 71
Exercise 7: Variables
Exercise
following order:
Last Name
First Name
College Desc
ACT Composite Score
High School GPA
• Use the predefined condition to query for the Urbana-Champaign Campus only.
• Create sections for the College desc object.
• Create a variable named Score with the following formula:
=<ACT Composite Score>+ (9 * <High School GPA>) + 28
• Add the variable as the last column in the table.
• Sort by Score in descending order.
Finished Report
Optional Exercise
Create a new variable named Sort code, which contains the first three characters of the
Last Name in lower case.
Chapter 8: 73
Chapter 8
File Types and Sending Reports
In addition to saving a document in the standard file type (.rep), you can also save the
file in different formats such as .xls and .pdf. You can also export the data in the data
provider to various file formats.
Exporting Data
There are several ways to download, extract, or copy data retrieved through a
BusinessObjects report.
The View Data button on the Report toolbar displays the Data Manager dialog
box. From this dialog box you can export the data in the data provider to .xls, .dbf, .csv,
.txt, .prn, and .asc file formats. You can also refresh the data provider, or purge the
data from the data provider.
Save as XLS
While it is possible to copy and paste data from a BusinessObjects report to another
application, the most straightforward method is to export data directly from a data
provider. Remember that a data provider contains the results of a query. When data is
exported from a data provider, only the data is exported, not any of the formatting from
the report.
1. Open the Monthly Sales document:
2. Click FileSave As….
The Save As dialog box is displayed.
3. Click the down arrow for File Type.

4. Select Microsoft Excel Worksheet (*.xls) from the drop-down menu.

The file was saved in the default location: My Documents\My Business Objects
Documents\userDocs with the same name, but as an Excel file.
6. Open the .xls file through Excel.
The Excel file looks like this:
7. Close the xls file and return the BusinessObjects.
Save as PDF
Adobe Acrobat Reader has fairly extensive controls for viewing and printing reports.
1. Click FileSave As….
2. Click the down arrow for File Type.
3. Select Portable Document Format (*.pdf).
5. Open the .pdf file.
Chapter 8: 75
The Acrobat Reader launches, assuming it has already been installed.
6. Close the pdf file and return to BusinessOjects.
Besides being saved in various file formats, a report can be:

• Saved and retrieved from your own Personal Documents
• Sent to another user’s Inbox Documents.
• Sent to another user using standard email.
Advantages of Working with Personal Documents
Personal Documents are documents saved in a user’s own personal storage area in the
Business Objects Repository on the server. The reasons you might want to store a
document in your Personal Documents storage area are:
• It provides a safe and consistent location for long-term storage of completed
documents or templates.
• You can easily view the documents from any location.
Saving a Personal Document
To save a document to your Personal Documents, do the following:

1. Click FileSend ToPersonal Documents….
The following dialog box appears, listing the BusinessObjects documents currently
stored in Personal Documents. You also have the opportunity to change the
document’s name before saving it.
2. Click the Save button to save the document.
Retrieving a Personal Document
To retrieve the document from your Personal Documents, you would:

1. Close the document.
2. Click FileRetrieve FromPersonal Documents….
The Retrieve Personal Document window opens.
3. Select the document.

4. Click Open to open a copy of the document.
Chapter 8: 77
You are prompted that a copy of the report already exists locally, and asked if the
existing local version should be overwritten.
5. Click Yes to complete the retrieval.
; Note: You can also save the report from Personal Documents in InfoView as an xls, pdf,
or .rep file.
Sending an Inbox Document
The easiest way to distribute BusinessObjects documents is to send them to the person’s
Inbox Documents.
To send a document to another user:

1. Click FileSend ToUsers….
The Send window appears.
2. Click the To… button.

The Select Users and Groups dialog box is displayed:
3. Enter adhoc in the Search input box.

4. Click the Search button
5. Select the adhoc account you are using from the list of users.
6. Click the Add button.

7. Click Ok to close the Select Users and Groups dialog box.
Chapter 8: 79
8. Click Ok to send the document to the user.

The following message is displayed after the document has been sent.
Sending a Document via Email
Lastly, you can send a document using your default, installed email application. This
method is similar to the one used to send a document to a user’s InfoView Inbox.
1. Open the document.
2. Click FileSend ToMail….
Your default email application appears with the BusinessObjects document inserted
as an attachment.
The recipient can either open the document within the email, or save the attachment
in a location to be read later by BusinessObjects.
; Note: To view any report with a .rep extension, you must have the BusinessObjects
application installed on the workstation. To refresh a document you must also have
security access to both the universe and the database.
3. Close the email window without sending the message.

4. Close BusinessObjects.
Appendix A: 81
Appendix A – BusinessObjects Online Help

BusinessObjects provides on-line assistance and information about basic product
features, as well as information to help you troubleshoot and solve common problems.
The following choices are available from the BusinessObjects drop-down Help menu:
Quick explanation of each option follows:
BusinessObjects Help…
This is similar to the standard Windows help found in most applications. Topics can be
located using an index or Find command. It tends to provide explanations and
definitions of available options and parameters, and does not describe processes.
Business Objects User’s Guides…

The Business Objects User's Guide has been split into two with the release of Business
Objects 6.5:
Accessing Data and Data Analysis…

If you are a beginner or an advanced BusinessObjects user you can use this guide for
information on accessing different data providers, creating queries, setting up drillable
reports, creating variables and using the BusinessObjects functions to analyze the data
in the reports. A significantly expanded section on functions and formulas provides
examples and tips to put the information to use.
Reporting Techniques and Formatting…

If you are a beginner or a more experienced BusinessObjects user, this guide provides
the information you need to view reports, edit and reformat data, as well as how to share
BusinessObjects documents in different formats such as Microsoft Excel.
Getting Started…
This tutorial aims to introduce first-time users to BusinessObjects. Each lesson in the
tutorial takes you through the steps required to build a BusinessObjects report to answer
a specific business question. Getting Started is a good resource for those beginning
BusinessObjects users. It can be used as a preliminary introduction to the product
before taking organized training, or as a review tool to reinforce and review organized
training.
InfoView User’s Guide…

This guide explains all you need to know about viewing, managing, distributing,
scheduling and printing documents in BusinessObjects. It also explains how to use 3-
tier BusinessObjects in a web browser. Some information is repeated in the
BusinessObjects User's Guide: Reporting Techniques and Formatting.
Data Access Guide…

The Data Access User Guide includes information on how to connect your RDBMS to
Business Objects products. Most BusinessObjects users will not have this capability.
Quick Tours…
This provides a brief animated overview of some major features with fairly standard
examples. While many subject areas are missing, the information it does contain is
helpful.
Resources on the Web…

Business Objects offers online access to its product documentation as well as online
information and entry points to customer support, education and consulting. The Online
Customer Support website is at: www.techsupport.businessobjects.com
Glossary…
This guide describes frequently used terminology in:
• the business intelligence industry
• reporting, querying and analysis
• database access
• deployment
• customizing Business Objects products.
The terms in this glossary apply to BusinessObjects 6.5 products.
Error Messages Explained

This is a list of Business Objects error messages, along with associated error message
numbers, in Adobe Acrobat format. This documentation can be searched, and is
valuable in deciphering error messages that may appear in BusinessObjects (or other
Business Objects components).
Appendix A: 83
Install Help Files…

When you install BusinessObjects from InfoView via an Internet browser, the online
help install at the same time as the product. The electronic guides, however, are not
installed with the product. They remain on the server to which you connected to open
InfoView. You will use the server version when you open a guide from the Help menu.
You may install the electronic guides and reinstall the online help files to your computer
by clicking Install Help Files from the Help menu.
Appendix B: 85
Appendix B – Decision Support On-Line

Help
Decision Support also provides on-line assistance and information about
BusinessObjects product features. This information resides on the Decision Support
website (http://www.ds.uillinois.edu).
To see demos and tutorials of various BusinessObjects features, first click the Training
Sessions, Webcasts, Demos, and Hands-on Assistance link to navigate to the Get
Help menu. Then click Demos & Tutorials in the menu bar in the left margin.
The Demos & Tutorials section contains demos and documents which explain various
commonly used BusinessObjects features.
No software download is required to use the demos, as they run within your web
browser.
You can control the demonstration pace by using the video controls in the upper right
corner of the screen.
Appendix B: 87
The documents are in .pdf format, so all that is required is Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Appendix C: 89
Appendix C – Setting the Passwords

When a document retrieves data from the EDW, it accesses an Oracle database. You
must have an account on that database. Business Objects then passes your user name
and password to Oracle. This means your Business Objects password and your Oracle
password must match.
There are two ways of navigating to the Password Management Application where you
can set your EDDIE and Oracle passwords.
Method 1
1. Start your browser and enter the URL: https://eddie.ds.uillinois.edu

2. Click the DS Self-Service Password Management link.
3. Enter your Bluestem netid and password.
Method 2
1. Go to the Decision Support web site (http://www.ds.uillinois.edu)
2. Mouse over the Get Help link, and select Change or Reset Passwords from the
drop-down menu.
3. Enter your Bluestem netid and password.
Changing passwords
Once you are at the EDDIE and Data Warehouse Password Management Application
screen, you can change your passwords.
4. Click the Reset Password button.

5. In the New Password field, enter your new password. If your new password meets
all requirements, the text will appear in green.
6. In the Verify field, re-enter the password you just entered in the New Password
field.
7. Click the Reset Password button.
8. Click the Logout link or close the window.
Appendix D: 91
Appendix D - Installing BusinessObjects

To install BusinessObjects, you need to start EDDIE (InfoView).
1. First set your password. (See Appendix C.)
2. Start your browser and enter the URL: http://eddie.ds.uillinois.edu
3. Click the Login button.
4. Enter your Business Objects user name and password.

Installing the editor

1. Click the BusinessObjects link under New Document. An installation routine
starts, which installs BusinessObjects on your computer.
2. Click Install to start the process.
3. Select English for the language.
4. Click Next to start the Installation Wizard.

Appendix D: 93
5. Agree to the license agreement.

6. Click Next repeatedly and then Install. The install will take about 10 minutes.
7. After the installation is complete, close the BusinessObjects editor, log out of
EDDIE and close the browser.
Installing the key file

1. Log into EDDIE again.
2. Click the BusinessObjects link again.
This step is necessary because it downloads a key file, which indicates which
universes you can access.
After this, you can start the BusinessObjects editor from the Windows Start button.
Appendix E: 95
Appendix E – Query Panel Toolbar

Let’s take a moment to discuss the buttons along the top of the Query Panel. We use
some of them in our following discussions and examples.
Show/hide all Displays or hides the Classes and Objects box in the Query Panel.
classes
Show/hide help on Displays a definition of selected object. Note: not all objects have
selected item definitions.
Wrap Result Displays the objects in the Result Objects panel in rows and
Objects columns, rather than in one long row. This is especially useful if the
query includes many result objects.
Simple condition Applies a simple condition on the object currently selected in the
Result Objects box.
Sort Applies an ascending sort on the current object. You can invert a
sort by double-clicking the icon that appears below the object. These
sort settings are only applied to the table when it is created. This
option sorts the results of the query and places the sorted data in the
data provider.
Default Scope of Allows you to define scope of analysis based on the objects in the
Analysis Result Objects box. (This is related to drilling, which is not covered
in this class.)(Icon is missing)
Scope of Analysis Enables you to select the dimensions you want to include in your
scope of analysis. (This is related to drilling, which is not covered in
this class.)
Manage Sorts Enables you to work with multiple sorts simultaneously. As with the
Sort icon above, the sorts will only be applied when the table is
created.
View SQL Displays the SQL statement for the query. Allows you to view,
refresh and edit the SQL, as well as save it to a text file.
User Objects Lets you create your own objects based on the definition of other
objects in the current universe. (Not covered in this class.)
Combine Queries Enables you to combine the results of two queries. The queries can
be combined with a UNION, INTERSECT, or MINUS operator. (Not
covered in this class.)
Help Standard Windows-type help.
Appendix F: 97
Appendix F – Condition Operators

The following table helps you to select the operator you need:
Operator Description Example

Equal to Is equal to one given value Year Equal to 2005
Different from Is different from, or not equal Employee Status Code
to, one given value Different from ‘T’
Greater than Is greater than a given value GL Detail Credit Amount
Greater than 100
Greater than or equal to Is greater than or equal to a GL Detail Credit Amount
given value Greater than 100
Less than Is less than a given value Job Detail Annual Salary
Less than 20000
Less than or equal to Is less than or equal to a given Employees who are 60 or
value under
Between Is greater than or equal to the Job Begin Date Between
first given value and less than 1/1/2004 12:00:00 AM and
or equal to the second given 12/31/2004 11:59:59 PM
value
Not between Is less then the first given Employee Age Not
value or greater than the Between 18 and 60
second given value
In list Is equal to any of a list of Empolyee Campus Address
values Code In list (‘C1,C2’)
Not in list Is different from all of a list of
Employee Detail
values Department Code Not in
list (‘103,714,715’)
Is null Contains empty rows Employee Campus Email
Addr Type CD Is null
Is not null Does not contain empty rows Employee Campus Email
Addr Type CD Is not null
Matches pattern Contains the same character(s) Employee Last Name
as the given pattern Matches pattern ‘S%”
Different from pattern Does not contain the same Financial Account Code
characters as the given pattern Different from pattern ‘9%’
Both Satisfies two conditions on Prior Degree Year Both
one object ‘2001,2004’
Except Excludes a given value Employee Status Code
Except ‘T’
Using In list
You type your list of values in the text field of the Enter or Select Values dialog box or
if you click Values in this dialog box you can select them from a list. When you type
values, separate each value with a comma (,). The maximum number of values allowed
in a list is 256.
Using Different from, Not in list and Except

Different from, Not in list and Except are all operators that exclude certain data from
your query results. For example, you could use this condition to obtain a list of
customers who have not stayed at Bahamas Beach. However, when you use Different
from or Not in list, you might still get the values you don’t want. The condition
illustrated above would not exclude customers who had stayed at Bahamas Beach if
these customers had also stayed at other resorts. However, if you used Except, the query
would exclude all Bahamas Beach customers, whether they had stayed at other resorts
or not.
Note also that:
You can only specify one value with Different from, but multiple values with Not in list.
Using wildcard characters

Conditions with the Match pattern and Different from pattern operators are great for
finding lists of similar values, such as customer names beginning with S.
Wildcard Description
% Replaces several characters, or in the response to a prompt.
For example, N% returns all values beginning with an N (New York, Nevada,
etc.)
_ Replaces a single character in a constant.
For example, GR_VE returns Grave, Grove, Greve, etc.
Appendix G: 99
Appendix G – Condition Operand Options

The following table helps you to select the operand option you need:
Operand Option Description Enter by…

Type a new constant Values that you type Type the values with a
separator (comma,
semicolon, etc.) between
each one. The separator to
use is defined in the
Windows Control Panel
(Regional Settings).
Show list of values Values that you select from 1. Hold down the Ctrl key.
the object’s list of values 2. Click the value(s) you
want, then click OK.
Type a new prompt Values that you will select Type your question.
when you run the query
Show list of prompts Select from existing prompts 1. Press the Enter key.
2. Select a prompt from the
dialog box that appears.
Select an object Another object (which can Double-click the object in
be a user object) the Classes and Objects
panel.
Create a subquery (ANY) Any value returned by Build a query in the new
another query query tab that appears.
This is covered in the
Complex Queries in
BusinessObjects class.
Create a subquery (ALL) All values returned by Build a query in the new
another query query tab that appears.
This is covered in the
Complex Queries in
BusinessObjects class.
Calculation The result of a calculation Follow the screens of the
(sum, minimum, maximum, wizard that appears. This
average or count) is covered in the Complex
Queries in BusinessObjects
class..
Appendix H: 101
Appendix H – Review question answers

Exercise 1: Creating Reports
1. A universe is a database interface, which maps objects to data in a database.
2. A class is a logical grouping of objects.
3. The dimension object type is always text or dates and is the structure of the data.
4. The detail object type provides additional information on dimension objects.
5. The measure object type are always numeric and are the results of calculations.
6. Two methods for adding objects to the Results Panel are double-click or drag &
drop or highlight and press Enter
Exercise 2: Edit Data Provider

1. Which icon allows you to edit the data provider?
2. What is the name of the folder where BusinessObjects documents are stored by
default on your PC? My Documents\My Business Objects Documents\userDocs
Exercise 3: Sorting
1. BusinessObjects does not automatically sort your report: False
2. FormatSorts… displays a list of all the sorts for a report.
3. A Custom Sort allows you to arrange the values in the order you want.
Exercise 4: Breaks and Calculations

The Break Header is automatically display for all breaks: False
The calculation values are displayed in the Break Footer.
The Count calculation on a measure object returns the number of rows: True
Exercise 5: Sections
1. The Set as Master button in the Report Toolbar allows you to create sections.
The Map option in the Report Manager can be used to navigate the sections in the
report.
Exercise 6: Conditions
1. Describe the button which allows you to view the predefined conditions in the
universe. The funnel radio button near the bottom of the Query Panel.
2. Name the three parts of a user-defined condition. Object, Operator, Operand.
3. What is the difference between the And and Or operators? And means both
conditions have to be true, Or means only one has to be true.
Exercise 7: Filters and Rankings

1. What is the difference between a filter and a condition? A condition is on the query
and determines what data is returned by the query. A filter determine what data is
displayed, but does not remove any data.
2. You can’t add a Ranking on a Measure object: True
Exercise 8: Prompts
1. In which part of a condition can you insert prompts? Operand
2. When is the prompt displayed? Every time the query is run or refreshed.
3. You can only have a prompt for one object per query: False
Appendix I: 103
Appendix I - AITS Help Desk

For further assistance, or to report problems, call the AITS Help Desk.
Chicago (312) 996-4806
Urbana & Springfield (217) 333-3102

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About this Course

Instructor Led Course

How To’s and Tips

Demonstrations and documents explaining various BusinessObjects features can be

Logging into BusinessObjects from EDDIE

8. Click the Apply button to save the setting.

Using the New Report Wizard

This wizard walks you through creating a new document.

1. Select Generate a standard report for the report layout.

2. Click Begin to go to the Specify Data Access screen.

3. Select Universe as the way you want to access data.

A universe is a database interface, which maps objects to fields in a database. The

The Query Panel appears.

The Query Panel

The Query Panel has three main panels:

Classes and Objects

1. Click in the Find Text field .

4. Use the Find Text field to find the City object.

11. Click the Run button to run the query.

Parts of a BusinessObjects Document

Document: A document is the file created by BusinessObjects. A document can

Let’s look at some of the most useful buttons in these toolbars.

Resizing columns and rows

Drag the column

Another way to resize a column is by double-clicking the column border. This

Changing the report title

Edit Data Provider

1. Click the Edit Data Provider button.

Working with the Query Panel

3. Click the Run button.

Drag and drop method

Right-facing transparent bracket:

Left-facing transparent bracket:

5. The order of the columns in the table should be:

Slice and Dice method

1. Click the Slice and Dice icon.

2. The Slice and Dice panel appears.

6. The Slice and Dice panel should look like this:

8. Close the Slice and Dice panel.

9. The order of the columns in the table should be:

Year State Store name Sales revenue

The default location for BusinessObjects documents is:

Saving Changes as a New Document

1. Click the Edit Data Provider button.

3. Remove the Month object. Month Name will remain.

The top of the report should look like this:

7. Use FileSave As… to save the document as Monthly Sales.

Starting BusinessObjects from the desktop

Exercise 1: Creating Reports

Resize the columns as necessary.

1. Open the Monthly Sales document.

Let’s place a sort on Year.

3. Click the down arrow attached to the Sort button.

The sorting toolbar appears.

4. Click the Descending Sort button.

Now we apply a secondary sort to the Sales revenue column.

7. Select the Month name column.

7. Use FileSave As… to save the document as Monthly Sales.

1. Click Insert Special Field Query Prompt….