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Oracle Business Intelligence (OBIEE): Interactive Dashboards & Answers by Sideris Courseware Corporation Sideris. (c) 2009. Copying Prohibited. Reprinted for Dhanunjayaramu Karna, CGI [email protected] Reprinted with permission as a subscription benefit of Skillport, http://skillport.books24x7.com/ All rights reserved. Reproduction and/or distribution in whole or in part in electronic,paper or other forms without written permission is prohibited.
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Page 1: 42365 Section 6 Building a Dashboard

 

Oracle Business Intelligence (OBIEE): Interactive Dashboards & Answers

by Sideris Courseware Corporation Sideris. (c) 2009. Copying Prohibited.

  

Reprinted for Dhanunjayaramu Karna, CGI

[email protected]

Reprinted with permission as a subscription benefit of Skillport, http://skillport.books24x7.com/

All rights reserved. Reproduction and/or distribution in whole or in part in electronic,paper or other forms without written permission is prohibited.

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Section 6: Building a Dashboard

Section Overview

While reports developers will build requests available to dashboard consumer, each dashboard user has the opportunity to customize their dashboard, including which content should be visible and how that content should be displayed. Furthermore, one may be able to design dashboards which other users could view. In the end, any number of dashboards may be available to a particular user. Within this section we will discuss how one customizes the content and presentation of a dashboard by means of these topics:

n Create a new dashboard

n Manage user privileges assigned to a dashboard

n Define the structure and layout of a dashboard

n Use the Dashboard Editor to customize a dashboard page

n Define overall dashboard properties

n Include saved content on a dashboard page

n Define the properties of request results rendered on a dashboard page

n Manage properties for other dashboard objects

Creating a Dashboard

By default every user has access to their own Dashboard named My Dashboard. One will eventually want to define the content for this dashboard.

Additionally, a series of other dashboards may be accessible to a user. Depending upon privileges they have been granted within the Presentation Catalog, they may be able to view and/or modify these other dashboards as well.

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Thus, one may wish to begin by defining the initial dashboards required. But before doing so, consider how one with appropriate privileges creates additional dashboards.

Manage Dashboards Privilege

In order to create a dashboard, either for ones own use or that of others, one must have the "Admin: General" privilege "Manage Dashboards". This privilege is assigned by the Presentation Catalog administrator using the Settings à Administration à Activities, Manage Privileges link.

Once this privilege has been acquired, one may create a new dashboard using the link Settings à Administration à Activities, Manage Interactive Dashboards to raise the Manage Dashboards screen.

Manage Dashboards

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Existing Dashboards are shown and these options are available.

Properties — One can assign a presentation style and manage the pages contained within the dashboard. This screen is considered later within this section.

Delete — One can delete the dashboard.

Permissions — One can determine which users may access the dashboard. Access permissions include Read, Change/Delete, Full Control and No Access.

Create Dashboard

From the Manage Dashboards page, click on the Create Dashboard button.

From the Create Dashboard page, complete these items to define the new dashboard. As was described above, these

properties may be modified at a later time by clicking the Properties icon for the Dashboard.

n Group Folder — the new dashboard is stored within a shared folder specified here. Users with read permission to this folder may view the dashboard.

n Dashboard Name — the name of the Dashboard

n Dashboard Builder — either an individual user name or group which may modify the dashboard.

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Understanding the Dashboard Structure

Before building a dashboard it is useful to understand the basic structure. As you can imagine, the ultimate goal of the dashboard is to display content. Primarily this will be requests and perhaps dashboard prompts which determine the results produced by the requests. One can also add additional content, such as static text, images and such.

Hierarchical Components

This content is organized within a dashboard according to a well-defined hierarchical structure. This structure is summarized in the following table.

Notice the pages (tabs) within the selected Dashboard, as shown in this example.

Hierarchical Components Illustrated

Once the structure has been defined using these objects, one may add content to sections placed throughout the Dashboard interface. Both of these tasks are performed using the Dashboard Editor.

Component Explanation

Dashboard Each user may create a series of dashboards, with the content contained within each one being very different.

Page Each dashboard may be segmented into multiple pages, with each one highlighted by a tab control.

Column The content on a given page exists within columns. By means of columns one may organize the presentation of content on the page.

Section Within a column are sections. The actual content is found within a section. A section allows the actual content to share certain display properties.

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Using The Dashboard Editor

Edit Dashboard…

When one has Change/Delete permission on a dashboard then one may select the Page Options à Edit Dashboard… link to access the Dashboard Editor. Using the Dashboard Editor one can add content to the page shown. Content consists of the following basic types:

n Dashboard Objects — this is content which can only be visible from a dashboard page. A section or text is an example of such an object.

n Saved Content — this is content stored in the Presentation Catalog by a developer. Requests and dashboard prompts are examples of saved content.

Thus, while Saved Content determines what is shown on the Dashboard, the Dashboard Objects determine how that content will be presented.

From the Dashboard Editor one can drag-and-drop available Dashboard Objects and Saved Content into the workspace. Then, using the icons and controls available either from the Dashboard Editor toolbar and those for the content objects, one can set the specific attributes for the content.

One might begin by adding the columns and sections first, and then dashboard prompts and requests within the sections.

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Using The Editor Toolbar

These controls are available from the Dashboard Editor toolbar:

Dashboard Properties — similar to what is accessible from the Manage Dashboards screen, one can set general properties for the Dashboard as a whole and the pages within the dashboard.

Page — one can navigate to the page selected and define the content to be contained therein.

PDF And Print Control Properties — one can define hardcopy output properties for the page if it is printed by the user.

Add Column — a new column is added to the page.

Allow Personal Saved Selections — will include the Save Current Selections link to the Page Options drop-down list visible when the user is viewing the dashboard. This allows the Dashboard Prompt selections to be saved and applied by the user.

Dashboard Properties Screen

These options are available from this screen:

n Style — HTML style sheets determine the look-and-feel of the dashboard pages. One can choose from a list of system-supplied styles.

n Description — text describing the intent and design of the dashboard.

Individual pages may be managed from this screen using these elements:

Hide Page — the page and its contents remain part of the dashboard but it is not visible to users. One may choose this option for a new page under construction or an existing page undergoing major modifications.

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Rename — the name of the page may be changed.

Delete — the page may be deleted.

Move — the page may be moved up or down relative to the other pages currently on the Dashboard.

PDF And Print Control Screen

The settings available from this screen include:

n Paper Size — one can from any number of US and international sizes.

n Orientation — options are Portrait or Landscape.

n Print Rows — options are Visible or All. When the dashboard consumer prints a dashboard, this will determine whether only those rows visible on the current dashboard page are included in the output or if all rows from all pages are included.

n Include Header — includes a page heading along with the hardcopy output of the Dashboard. One must define the heading text by clicking on the Edit button and completing the Edit Header screen.

n Include Footer — includes a page footer along with the hardcopy output. One must define the footer text by clicking on the Edit button and completing the Edit Footer screen.

Edit Header Screen

Note One could define and retain page header and footer content but periodically not include this within the output by omitting the check of the Include Header or Include Footer options. Even when these options are not enabled, the definition of any header or footer content is still saved and accessible to the Dashboard designer.

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Several areas of text and other data may be included in the header for each page which is output whenever the user clicks on the Printer Friendly icon from the Dashboard. This content is defined from the Edit Header Screen. Using the keyboard and the buttons presented from this screen, one may insert and format the content for any or all of the available header areas.

The header content is expressed using HTML tags. Even though one may not have the expertise to use this language the appropriate HTML tags will be inserted in the text areas when one clicks on the Bold, Italic, Underline or Line Break buttons. On the other hand, if one is versed in HTML, then one can provide actual HTML code and indicate such to BI Presentation Services by checking the Contains HTML Markup option.

The Clear button will clear all text from the various heading areas.

This information may also be output in the browser window when one checks the option Display In Browser When Applicable.

The Insert Field button offers a menu of options for the inclusion of special content produced by the BI environment, known as variables. As you can see, one can include information such as the saved name of the Dashboard Page, the name of the Dashboard designer, and so on. The Image option will present a palette of images which can be included in the heading as well.

Note The identical items are available from the Edit Footer Screen, the obvious difference being the location at which these attributes are effective within the output.

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Finally, each text area offers an Edit Format icon which allows the display properties for that are to be customized. The Edit Format screen is a standard for many elements within the Dashboards and Answers interface, not just page headers.

Once the overall properties for the dashboard and the page have been defined, one can proceed to add and manage the primary content contained on the page.

Managing Saved Content

The properties for both saved content and dashboard objects are both generally accessed by means of a button bar.

Dashboard Prompts

Depending upon the Catalog permissions assigned to the user for a dashboard prompt, the Properties button may offer the Modify link. Selecting this link for saved content navigates the user to the Answers interface where the definition of the content may be modified. All dashboards which consume that content will automatically be updated accordingly.

The Rename button will modify the name of the Dashboard prompt as it exists on the Dashboard page. It will not change the saved name within the Catalog.

Likewise, the Delete button will remove the object from the dashboard page. It will remain within the Catalog.

Requests Properties

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While the Properties button conditionally provides a Modify Request link, similar to what is available for Dashboard Prompts, additional menu items exist for requests.

Requests Properties, Display Results

The Display Results menu item determines how the results for a request are inserted into the section. It offers these options:

n Embedded In Section — this is the default setting. The results are inserted directly into the section. As dashboard prompt selections change the section display may also change, affecting its column and other columns on the same page.

n Link - Within The Dashboard — the results are not displayed on the page and only a link to the results is provided. When the link is clicked, the results consume the entire page. One must click the browser Back button to return to the original dashboard page. The name of the link may either be customized by the dashboard consumer or the standard saved name may be used, as is explained later.

n Link - Within A Separate Window — the results are likewise hidden behind a link. When the link is pressed, the original dashboard page remains in the browser. A new browser window is launched the results of the request are displayed in that window. This option will automatically include the links Return and Create Bookmark Link at the bottom of the separate window.

Requests Properties, Report Links

One can decide which user links to offer for any particular report.

Requests Properties, Show View

The developer of a request has the option to present the results, and other supplemental information, in the form of different views. It is up to the discretion of the developer which views are used and how they are defined.

For example, you probably noticed that some results are presented in tabular form while others in chart form. These are examples of different views, namely Table and Chart respectively. You may also have noticed report title headings in some of the results, and this supplementary information is contained within a Title view.

It is up to the consumer of the results to determine which of the available views should be presented for the request. By default the Compound Layout view will include all views created by the developer and it will show the entirety of the report as the developer intended. However, one can instead limit the results to one of the available views.

A brief summary of the possible view types which might exist for the results is shown here.

View Explanation

Title Generally text, logos or other images, date of execution and other heading information for the results.

Table Default tabular view of the data.

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Requests Rename & Delete

The Rename and Delete buttons function similarly for requests added to the dashboard page as that described for Dashboard Prompts. One difference exists with the Rename button.

When the Use Dashboard Object Name As Link Text is selected, the dashboard-specific name assigned from this screen is used for link text when the request is presented in that form. Otherwise the original saved name of the request is used for link text. In this way one can customize the name and corresponding link text for a request to what is applicable to a specific dashboard.

Managing Dashboard Objects

Like Saved Content, an instance of each Dashboard Object is managed using its button bar.

Rename

Dashboard objects specify the presentation attributes for any elements contained therein. Each instance of a dashboard object is assigned a default name when it is first included in the dashboard. Using the Rename button one can change the name. Columns are not named and therefore this button does not exist for that Dashboard Object.

Chart Selected columns from the tabular view are presented in any one of several available chart types, such as bar, line, pie and others.

Pivot Table Measures are pivoted or sub-totaled along two or more different dimensions. The results from this view may be presented as a table, a chart or both.

Gauge Results are shown in gauges similar to what one might find in the speed control for an automobile. This view is useful to measure actual performance against pre-defined goals.

Filters A text area is describing any filters currently in effect for the view.

Column Selector

This view allows the user to dynamically control which columns are visible in the other views.

View Selector

This view presents a control allowing selection of any other views defined for the results.

Legend Explanatory text which interpret the meaning of columns, display attributes or aspects of the results.

Funnel Chart

Often applied to sales forecast results where the collective probability of business potentially won is plotted over a progressive period of time.

Narrative Text which provides context, explanation or some other supplement to the other views included in the report.

Ticker The results scroll across the page similar to the way that transactions are reported in a stock ticker or news stories are reported in a news ticker.

Static Text A single block of static text which can be arranged to supplement the other views. While it can be used in a manner similar to a Narrative view, Static Text also supports embedding objects such as background images, audio clips and other programming elements.

No Results Custom text which is produced only when no data exists in the other views which match the filter criteria of the report.

Logical SQL

This will reveal the logical SQL code used to fetch the data for the request.

Note Unlike Saved Content objects whose names generally are at least somewhat meaningful, the names of

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Delete

An instance of a Dashboard object may be removed from a page by clicking on the Delete button. There is no confirmation screen before the deletion is executed and no means by which the deletion may be undone.

Properties, Column

The Properties button will produce either a pop-up menu or a screen offering options appropriate for the object to which it is attached. In the case of a Column, the options shown here appear in the menu. Note that the Break… menu option appears only for the second and subsequent columns on a Dashboard page

The Break… menu option determines how the remaining columns are laid out on the page. Options are:

n No Break — the Columns are laid out horizontally across the page.

n Column Break — a break exists for this column where it is placed underneath the previous ones and begins a new horizontal sequence across the page.

n Page Break With Column Break — a new page is produced along with a column break to start the page.

Dashboard Contents are not. It is recommended that you change the system-generated names, such as "Section 1", to something more relevant, such as "Section (prompts)".

Note Clicking the Delete button for a Dashboard object will also delete all other dashboard objects and saved content contained within that object.

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Otherwise, columns are simply containers for other Dashboard objects and saved content. As such, the Column Properties screen simply allows one to define the standard output format attributes which also exist for many other elements within BI Presentation Services. Thus, as you can see from this screen, one can define the Background Color, Border Style and other similar display properties for the column.

Note that whenever one chooses to customize a color attribute for an object, the Color Selector screen appears. One can click on a particular color and view both a representation of that color rendering as well as the Hexadecimal code used within the HTML language to identify that color.

Properties, Section

The menu for section properties offers these options:

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n Guided Navigation… — defines the properties for a conditional display of the section based upon the results of a named source request. Similar to a single guided navigation link, an entire section may be exposed or hidden based upon the results of a source request.

n Format Section… — offers the standard output properties discussed previously for other objects within the Dashboard and Answers interface.

n Drill In Place — by default if one drills into a dimension hierarchy, the original results remain in place in the dashboard page while a new browser window contains the drill-down results. When this option is checked then the drill-down results are displayed directly within the section, modifying the display immediately as necessary to show the new results.

n Arrange Horizontally — objects contained within the section are arranged horizontally. By default vertical arrangement is in place.

n Collapsible — determines whether or not the Collapse and Expand icons exist for the section. When many sections exist on a page, or for sections which contain many objects, it is often helpful for the user to be able to collapse and expand one or more sections.

If the Guided Navigation… menu option is selected, a screen offering these items is presented:

n Reference Source Request — this determines whether or not the section is displayed on a conditional or guided basis. If one selects No, then the section is always displayed just as any other section. If one selects Yes, then it will be conditional based upon the results of the source request.

n Source Request — the results of the source request selected from the Catalog will determine whether or not the section is displayed.

n Show Section — indicates the condition upon which the user is guided into the section, e.g. whether or not the section is displayed.

Properties, Link Or Image

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Static Link Or Images properties exist in the form of this screen rather than a pop-up menu. The items found on this page are:

n Caption — defines the text which will be associated with a navigation link to the content indicated by this screen.

n Destination, URL — defines the content to which the navigation link provides access. In this case it may be an absolute URL or a relative URL to any web-based location, internal or external to the Oracle BI environment.

n Destination, Request or Dashboard — using the Browse button one can navigate through the Presentation Catalog and identify a request or a dashboard page to which this navigation link should provide access.

n Target — when the user is navigated to the content defined by this object, the content will either appear in the current window or a new browser window, as indicated by this selection.

n Image — optionally one can supplement the Caption link text with an image. The user may then click on either the link or the image to navigate to the content.

n Layout — if an image has been defined to compliment the Caption link text, this indicates where the link text should appear relative to the image.

Properties, Embedded Content

The embedded content properties are as follows:

n URL — the web resource to be embedded within the section in which this object exists.

n Width — the width (in pixels) of the browser frame within which the web content is embedded.

n Height — the height of the browser frame within which the web content is embedded.

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n Hide Scroll Bars — by default scroll bars are rendered for the frame, allowing the user to navigate to other portions of the web pages beyond what is visible in the defined frame. If this option is checked the scroll bars are not included in the frame.

Properties, Text

A single HTML block is available, along with the standard buttons Bold, Italic, and so on. One can click the Preview button to obtain an immediate rendering of how the HTML code will appear on the dashboard.

Properties, Folder

One can expose a catalog folder to the Dashboard consumer using the Folder Properties screen and assigning appropriate values to these items:

n Folder — one can use the Browse button to peruse the Presentation Catalog and identify a folder containing requests. The user will be able to optionally view the results of these requests by selecting the request link from the folder as shown on the dashboard page.

n Expand — if this option is checked the folder contents are expanded by default when shown on the dashboard. If this option is not checked the user must manually expand the folder to view its contents.

Note Bear in mind the hierarchical structure of a Dashboard page whenever setting Width and Height properties. In other words, these properties exist for a Column as part of its Additional Formatting Options. Within that column, these same properties exist for the section. And within a section, one may have an Embedded Content object with its own Width and Height settings. All of these settings must be made in context with any higher level settings which have been made. Otherwise, inconsistent results will be seen.

Note A text block is helpful to provide background or explanatory text for any other object which may be included on the same page. One might use these to explain request results, the purpose of static links, embedded content or an entire dashboard page, or any other object.

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n Show RSS Link — this option will expose the XML link which will allow the user to add an RSS feed of the folder contents to an RSS reader defined on their browser.

Properties, Guided Navigation Link

Using this screen one can define both the source request and the target request for a guided navigation link. The conditional link presented for the target may be generated either if the source request returns any rows or if it returns no content.

Although generally the target will be either a request or a dashboard page, by selecting the URL option one could instead guide the user any web-based resource, including content external to the Oracle BI platform.

The conditional link text may assume the name of the Guided Navigation Link object or the Caption text, depending upon whether or not Use Dashboard Object Name As Link Text is checked.

Properties, Briefing Book Navigation Link

One can provide a link to a Briefing Book on the Dashboard page. The book may contain static snapshots of either entire Dashboard pages or specific requests for offline viewing. This link allows the consumer to view the current contents of the book.

Note One must be judicious in the use of guided navigation links, especially when the source request is not already visible on the same dashboard page. Since the BI Presentation Services component must execute and evaluate the results of each source request in order to determine the disposition of the guided navigation links, it can be costly in terms of system resources to determine how to render a page with several of these conditional links or sections.

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One uses the Browse button to locate the briefing book or its contents from the Presentation Catalog. A link to that object is provided along with a Caption defined here to identify the link. The user may either click on the Caption text or the

Briefing Book icon to navigate to its contents.

When the contents are displayed, they are shown either within the Current Window or a New Window of the browser, as specified in the Briefing Brook Link Properties screen.

Properties, BI Publisher Report

Entire BI Publisher reports may be included in the Dashboard contents. Similar to other objects available from the Presentation Catalog, one must indicate the path of the report and how it is results should be viewed from the Dashboard.

Generally, the results of the most recent run of the report are shown. If one checks the View Latest Version option, then the report is scheduled for execution and its results are then shown.

While other dashboard objects may have several instances on a dashboard page, one can only include a single BI Publisher report on any given dashboard page.

Workshop Section Building a Dashboard

Exercises and Solutions

What You Will Do In This Workshop

The fundamental objective of this workshop is to replicate the design of the Dashboard you used in the previous workshop. Further, while we will provide some basic requirements for the design of your dashboard, once you have fulfilled these feel free to expand upon your knowledge and enhance your dashboard even more, if you wish.

The objects to which you will need access to build the dashboard for this workshop should be available to you in a shared

Sideris Curriculum Note 

To learn how to develop complex reports using Oracle BI Publisher see the Sideris course ORACLE BI PUBLISHER.

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folder. If it is not obvious in your installation which folder this is, consult your instructor or your local administrator.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-1

q  To begin this workshop you will need either to create a dashboard or to select any existing one to use for these exercises.

If you wish to use the default My Dashboard and this is currently empty for your account, then you may skip this exercise. Or, if you are unable to create a new Dashboard and must use the default My Dashboard, then proceed onto the next exercise as well. However, if you are able to do so, create a new dashboard named Classroom and set this as the default for your account.

Note The Manage Dashboards privilege is required to create a new dashboard.

?

  BUILD DASHBOARD-2

q  To begin this exercise it is assumed that your default dashboard is empty. If so, proceed to create the page structure for your dashboard. We would suggest these components:

n Create new pages as shown in the sample solution below.

n Change the default name of the first page to match that shown in the sample solution.

?

  BUILD DASHBOARD-3

q  Define the structure of the first dashboard page by first creating two columns. Next, add these Dashboard objects:

n Four sections within the first column.

n Two sections within the second column.

Develop the first column as follows:

n Add a Dashboard object Text to the first section.

n Add the Saved Content prompts objects "Brokerage country (location)" and "Date range" to the second section. Note that the scope of these prompts have been defined to be at the Dashboard, and not the page, level.

n Add a Dashboard object Embedded Content to the third section.

n Add three Dashboard objects Link Or Image to the fourth section.

Develop the sections of the second column in this manner:

n Add a Dashboard object Text to the first section.

n Add the report "Intro analysis" to the first section.

n Add a Dashboard object Guided Navigation Link to the first section.

n Add a Dashboard object Text to the second section.

n Add a Dashboard object Folder to the second section.

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Once the Dashboard has been designed to this extent, access the page as a consumer and save Dashboard prompt settings which you feel are appropriate for this workshop effort.

Note As an alternative to the "Date range" dashboard prompt, you could also use the prompt "Date range (drop down)". While the former uses the more desirable Calendar control instead of a drop-down list, it allows the consumer to enter any date values available from the control, which may not match any available dates found in the data warehouse. The drop-down list, while less intuitive, will only allow one to select date values which actually exist. Feel free to use whichever one you prefer, or you could experiment with both.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-4

q  In this exercise you will continue with the design of the first dashboard page. One of the most helpful things to do at this point is to assign a business name to each of the Dashboard objects. The system-assigned names have limited value. Therefore, assign an appropriate name to each Dashboard object.

Next, it is useful to decide which sections will lay out their enclosed objects horizontally. See that this is done for the last section of the first column.

When you have finished with this exercise, the view of the page should appear to the user similar to what is seen here, with the Latest World News section collapsed.

?

  BUILD DASHBOARD-5

q  The next major step in design of a Dashboard page is to assign appropriate values to the properties for each object. In this exercise make such definitions for the columns and text objects which appear on this page. As a guide, notice these points in particular:

n The width of each of the columns should consume only 45% of the available page space.

n On this page there are the text objects named Instructions Text and About Results Text. You can see in the sample solution shown here the text which should be defined for these objects.

n You will also notice that the Instructions Text object includes a custom setting for the Background Color property. Therefore, implement this feature within your solution as well.

?

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n There is another object named Guided Nav Text. This is only visible to the consumer when no data is shown within the request results. You should define some text for this object which instructs the user either to modify the values selected from the prompts or follow the guided navigation options shown below.

When you have finished with this exercise, the view of the page should appear to the user similar to what is seen here.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-6

q  In this exercise you should define the content which should appear in the Embedded Content object as well as each of the Link Or Image objects.

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While you may choose any web site or resource you wish for these object definitions on this page, likely you will need to consult the solution for this exercise in order to locate images which may be used for the Link Or Image objects.

As you can see, at the completion of this exercise the design of the first column is complete, with just a little more work needed for the second column. The Link Or Image object for your organization is not shown in this sample.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-7

q  There remain a few enhancements for the second column of the first Dashboard page and these relate to the results of the report shown on this page. While the supplementary content defined thus far is useful, the primary content on this page are the actual report results. Specifically, implement these features:

n Include all of the available report links in the display of the report results.

n Define the Guided Navigation link for the report to navigate the user to the second page of the Dashboard for more results related to the report shown on this page.

n Have the Guided Navigation section guide the user to a folder and additional saved content whenever the report shown on this page produces no results. You can browse the catalog and select any folder which seems appropriate to you and for which you have access.

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Notice the appearance of this page, including the Guided Navigation link, whenever the report produces results. The embedded content section has been collapsed by the user.

Notice the guided navigation section whenever the report results do not produce any data.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-8

q  Some sections of this Dashboard page can be considered as indispensable and must always be displayed. Other sections may be considered as secondary and the user could be permitted to collapse these. Decide which sections should or should not be collapsible and modify these settings.

?

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Once you have finished with this exercise the first page of the Dashboard design is complete. You will continue with the rest of this workshop to define the remainder of the Dashboard.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-9

q  The design of the remaining pages of the Dashboard focuses less on supplementary data provided by the Dashboard Objects and more on Saved Content and the data analytics provided by that content. Towards that end, proceed with the design of your dashboard by defining the second page as follows:

n Create two columns.

n Create a section named Results Section in the first column.

n Create two sections named Charts Section and Chart/Selector section respectively in the second column.

n Arrange the content of all of the sections in the second column horizontally.

The next step is to add Saved Content to this dashboard page. The purpose is to reference the same report multiple times, selecting a different view of the report in each instance. For now, add an instance of the "Summary analysis" report to the Results Section and the Chart/Selector Section. Add two instances of this same report to the Charts Section.

Finally, within the Chart/Selector Section add an instance of the report "Summary analysis (View Selector)" to the page.

?

  BUILD DASHBOARD-10

q  The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate how reports which contain many different views may have only selected views consumed by some portion of a dashboard. Towards this goal, define the results for each instance of the report "Summary analysis" to use only one view contained within the report. Specifically the first report instance should display only the Table view of the report results, while the remaining instances should each display one of the different chart views within the report results.

You should find that the data presented on this page is automatically filtered by the Dashboard prompt settings in effect on the first page.

?

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  BUILD DASHBOARD-11

q  The next page of the Dashboard has a very primitive design but very powerful data analytic results. Create a single section and place within that section the report "Pivot by all". This report pivots a measure along all of the primary dimensions within the repository.

?

  BUILD DASHBOARD-12

q  The next page of the Dashboard is likewise primitive in its presentation but powerful in its data analytics. While you can see that there are many interesting features which one can include on a Dashboard, one should never lose sight of the primary purpose of the tool which is analysis and extrapolation of business intelligence from the data. In any case, add the report "Pivot by selection" to this page.

?

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  BUILD DASHBOARD-13

q  The next page of the Dashboard is intended to list more detailed data from the fact table rather than data analysis. Therefore, the design of this page will use its own Dashboard Prompt instances and the settings made by the user for these prompts will filter only this page. Design the page as follows:

n Create two columns on the page.

n Create two sections within the first column. The width of the first column should consume only 33% of the page.

n Within the first column, the first section should contain a Text object with introductory text appropriate for this data analysis. The second section should be arranged horizontally and should include the Dashboard prompts "Location (multi-select)" and "Buy | Sell".

n Add the report "Transaction log" to a section within the second column.

n None of the sections on this page should be collapsible.

?

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  BUILD DASHBOARD-14

q  The last page of the dashboard should include the following elements. It will employ a couple of features which you have yet to use on the other pages of the Dashboard:

n Create three columns on the page, with one section in each column.

n Add a column break to the second column.

n Add the report "Analytics [ticker]" to the section in the first column.

n Add the report "Locations profile" to the section in the second column.

n Add the report "Products profile" to the section in the third column.

?

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Answers

  BUILD DASHBOARD-1

To create a new Dashboard, follow these steps: 1. Click on the Settings à Administration à Manage Interactive Dashboards link.

2. Click on the Create Dashboard button.

3. Select an appropriate folder from the Group Folder drop-down list and enter "Classroom" for the Dashboard Name.

4. Click on the Finished button to dismiss the Create Dashboard screen.

5. Click on the Finished button to dismiss the Manage Dashboards screen.

6. Click on the Close Window button to dismiss the Oracle BI Presentation Services Administration screen.

A sample of what the Create Dashboard screen might appear like is shown here.

To specify that the newly created dashboard should be the default for your account, follow these steps: 1. Click on the Settings à My Account link.

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2. Select the new Dashboard for the Default Dashboard item within the Preferences section of the page.

3. Click the Finished button.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-2

Click on the Page Options à Edit Dashboard link to launch the Dashboard Editor and begin work on the dashboard.

You may create the new pages by following these steps from the Dashboard Editor for each page:

1. Click on the Add Dashboard Page icon.

2. From the Add Dashboard Page screen assign the Page Name and Page Description.

3. Click the OK button.

4. Be sure that the Allow Personal Saved Selections option is checked.

5. Click the Save button.

You may modify the default name of the first page using these steps from the Dashboard Editor:

1. Click on the Dashboard Properties icon.

2. Click on the Rename icon for the default page.

3. Assign a new Name and Description.

4. Click the Update button.

5. Click the Finished button.

6. Click the Save button.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-3

Using the Dashboard Editor, navigate to the appropriate page and follow these steps. First, to create a new column,

click on the Add Column icon.

To add a Dashboard Object to a column, drag-and-drop the desired object from the Dashboard Objects section of the page to the target section.

To add a Saved Content object, such as a Dashboard Prompt, to a column, follow these steps: 1. Navigate through the folder hierarchy of the Saved Content section of the page to locate the desired content.

2. Drag-and-drop the desired content from the Saved Content section of the page to the target section.

Click the Save button when you have finished with these enhancements.

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When you have finished with this exercise, the Dashboard page design should appear similar to what is shown here.

Before completing this exercise, it would be good to access the Dashboard page as a consumer and set the values for each of the Dashboard prompts. In this way as reports are added to the Dashboard they will be immediately filtered. Therefore, using the techniques that you learned earlier in this course, assign appropriate values to these dashboard prompts and save these as default settings for the page.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-4

To rename an object, click on the Rename button and assign an appropriate value. You can reference either the solution we have provided here or the live dashboard you used earlier in this course to determine what would be appropriate names for each of the objects, based upon their usage in the final solution.

Note that when assigning names to Sections you have the option to use that name in the display of a heading for the section. The first and third sections of the first column should employ this option.

Finally, the section used for external Link or Image objects should arrange its contents horizontally. You may do this by selection the Properties à Arrange Horizontally menu item for that section.

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When you have finished with this exercise, the design of the page should appear within the Dashboard Editor similar to what is seen here.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-5

Click on the Properties button for the Instructions Text. Assign whatever text you feel appropriate for this portion of the page. Do the same for the About Results Text and Guided Nav Text objects.

If you wish to format the Instructions Text object exactly as shown in our solution, you may use this HTML code:

Enter a value and click on the Go button for each prompt to filter your results. Click on the tabs at the top of the screen to view other Dashboard pages.[br/][br/]Best wishes in using Oracle BI Dashboards & Answers!

To define a background color for a section, follow these steps. The section for the Instructions Text does employ a custom color in our solution.

1. Click on the Properties à Format Section… menu item.

2. Click on the Background Color item.

3. Select an appropriate color from the Color Selector screen.

4. Click the OK button to dismiss the Color Selector screen.

5. Click the OK button to dismiss the Section Properties screen.

If you wish to format the About Results Text object exactly as shown in our solution, you may use this HTML code:

[b]About Data Analytics[/b][br/]Examine key measures with time, location and product dimensions[br/][br/]

To format the Guided Nav Text object exactly as shown in our solution, you may use this HTML code:

The current Dashboard prompt settings have resulted in no data being found for the primary report on this page. You have two options:[br/][br/] (1) You could modify the Dashboard Prompt settings, or...[br/]

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(2) You could follow the guided navigation found in the folder below to explore other areas of the data.

Now that at least some content is appearing within the page it may be time to decide upon the relative size of the columns. Modify the size of the first column using these steps:

1. Click on the Properties à Column Properties… link.

2. Expand the Additional Formatting Options section of the page.

3. Enter 45% for the Width property.

4. Click on the OK button.

Set the width of the second column to this same value, using this same procedure.

Be sure to click the Save button to save your changes to the design of the Dashboard page.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-6

To define the Embedded Content object, click on the Properties button and perform these steps: 1. Enter a value of a web site or resource within the URL item.

2. Enter a value of 500px for Width.

3. Enter a value of 305px for Height.

4. Check the Hide Scroll Bars option.

5. Click the OK button.

Depending upon the URL you have entered you may need to modify these settings in time, but for now these should be sufficient for the purpose of this exercise.

Similarly, for each of the Link Or Image objects, click on the Properties button and perform these steps: 1. Enter a value for Caption which describes the link.

2. Select the option URL and enter a URL to which the link should navigate.

3. Select Current Window for the Target item.

4. Specify a web-resource for the Image item.

5. Select Above for the Layout item.

6. Click the OK button.

In the event that you do not know of URLs for the web resources of the Link Or Image objects, you might try these:

n http://www.oracle.com

n http://www.sideris.com

If you need URLs for the Image items within the Link Or Image objects, you might try these:

n http://oracleimg.com/admin/images/ocom/hp/oralogo_small. gif

n http://www.sideris.com/training/images/SiderisLogo.png

If you do not have these same resources available to you for your own organization, then you could delete the first Link Or Image object intended for that purpose.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-7

You may include report links with the report results by means of these steps: 1. Click on the Properties à Report Links menu item.

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2. Check each of the available report links for display with the results.

3. Click the OK button.

Click on the Properties button for the Results Guided Navigation Link and follow these steps: 1. Check Yes for Reference Source Request.

2. For the Source Request item, click the Browse button and select the report which is currently being displayed on this page.

3. Check If Request Returns Rows for the Show Link option.

4. For the Target Request item, click the Browse button and select the second page of this Dashboard.

5. Be sure to uncheck the option Use Dashboard Object Name As Link Text.

6. Enter appropriate text for the Caption item.

7. Click the OK button.

Click on the Properties à Guided Navigation… link for the Guided Navigation section and follow these steps: 1. Check Yes for the Reference Source Request item.

2. Click the Browse button and select the report which is currently being displayed on this page.

3. Check the option If Request Returns Nothing for the Show Section item.

4. Click the OK button.

Click on the Properties button for the Folder object and complete these steps: 1. Click on the Browse button and select the folder from which the Saved Content objects you have been using for

this report are stored.

2. Check the Expand option.

3. Click the OK button.

To format the section in which the report results and the associated items defined above are displayed, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Properties à Format Section… menu item.

2. Select Left for the Horizontal Alignment item.

3. Click the OK button.

Before completing this exercise you should test the guided navigation links. With report results displayed, click on the link to access the second page of the Dashboard.

Next, test the guided navigation section when no results are displayed. Return to the first page of the dashboard and select values from the time dimension which you expect not to return any results.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-8

Click on the Properties à Collapsible link to determine what the behavior of each section should be.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-9

This exercise requires solutions which you have already tried earlier in this workshop. Follow the exercise instructions to reach the objective outlined therein.

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When you have finished with this exercise, the design of the page should appear to the user similar to what is seen here.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-10

To isolate only a single view of a report, click on the Properties à Show View à View Name menu item. As required by the exercise instructions, select one appropriate view for each instance of the report shown throughout this page.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-11

There are no specific solutions for this exercise. Simply follow the exercise instructions, using techniques you have employed throughout this workshop. The design of the page should appear as shown here when you have finished with this solution.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-12

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There are likewise no specific solutions for this exercise.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-13

When testing this solution from the perspective of a Dashboard consumer, be sure that you first define the filter settings and save these as the default for this page.

Otherwise, you should be able to perceive what properties should be set for the various objects to match the solution result shown in the exercise instructions. The one hint we will provide is that the customized size of the first column should be set as follows:

1. Click on the Properties à Column Properties… menu item.

2. Expand the Additional Formatting Options section of the page.

3. Enter the appropriate percentage for the Width property.

4. Click on the OK button.

  BUILD DASHBOARD-14

To add a column break to the second column, follow these steps: 1. Click on the Properties à Break… menu item.

2. Select the Column Break option.

3. Click the OK button.

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When you have finished with this exercise, the design of the page should appear to the user similar to what is seen here.

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