With the new BO CMS Data Access Driver from SAP(available from BI 4.2 SP3), we can use the familiar BO reporting interfaces to connect to the CMS data through the customizable BI Platform CMS system database universe. We no longer need to create complicated queries in Query Builder to know more about the objects in the BI Platform – users, connections, custom access roles, reports, dashboards etc.

While the Query Builder is a powerful tool, it has a few disadvantages.

• It is difficult for end users to learn how to query the CMS metadata virtual tables using SQL.
• It is also a hassle to export and distribute the results of the queries without SDKs/macros.

With this new driver and universe,

• We use familiar reporting interfaces like WebI that requires little user retraining
• We also leverage the powerful distribution capabilities of the BI platform.

An earlier blog on our site, BI 4.2 SP3 New feature – CMS Database Data Access Driver, provided an initial look at the driver, how to set it up and execute the ready-to-use queries that are available in the BI Platform CMS system database universe.

This blog will be a deep dive, about how the BI Platform CMS system database universe is structured and how to build your own queries on it to get the required information from the CMS in an effective and efficient manner.

We will first see how the universe is structured.
 

Universe Data Foundation:

 
The BI Platform CMS system database universe consists of a single table called Properties along with four alias tables on the main table.
 

 

Universe Business Layer:

 
The objects from each level reside in a separate folder in the universe. To navigate from one level to another using a query, we need to use an object from the Relationship folder to connect the two levels, and to define what category of data we are looking from the lower level.
 

 

Building a Query on the universe using WebI

 
The query in the screenshot below will list the objects in the Favorites folder for all users.

The query uses objects from two different levels – Level 0 and Level 1.

By adding the query filter Ancestor = 18, we get the all the objects that only belong to User’s personal folder.
 

 
1. InfoObjects (Level 0)
 
We get the following objects from Level 0.

• Object name
• Object type
• Its owner
• Folder path.

The object FolderPath only gives the folder path if the object is a folder. For eg., if the user’s personal folder has subfolders, this object will give its actual folder path.

But for any other type of document (e.g. WebI report or publication) inside the Favorites folder, the object FolderPath would be return a blank value.

For these details, we would need to go one or more levels deeper. But that doesn’t mean we can simply drag and drop objects from the other level (That would throw an error),we would need to define the relationship between Properties table and Level 1 table, and whichever fields we require from the Level 1 table of the BI Platform CMS system database universe.
 
2. Relationship to L1
 
We use the relationship object ParentFolder to communicate to the universe that we are looking for the Parent folder of all the objects that we have retrieved from Level 0/ InfoObjects folder.

We would be getting the following error message if we do not use any relationship object, and instead try to directly use the objects from Level 0 and Level 1 folders.
 

 
The order of objects in the query is also important. We need to use the Relationship object between objects from the InfoObjects folder and the InfoObjects L1 folder in the Query Panel. Otherwise, no data would be returned from the Level 1 folder.

The type of objects retrieved in Level 1 would be “folder”.
 
3. InfoObjects L1 (Level 1)
 
We can get the name of the folder and then the folder path for these folders.
 

 
If we want to move down another level to Level 2, we need to use an object from the folder Relationships L1-To-L2 and then use objects from Level 2 and so on.
 

Summing it up..

 
We can replicate the queries which used to be built in Query Builder using this universe on the familiar WebI interface.

The biggest advantage of the BI Platform CMS System Database universe is that, queries which were previously built on the Query Builder to retrieve information can now be consumed from this universe and analysed on the WebI interface itself.

These WebI reports can also be easily shared and distributed to the users rather than giving the users access to Query Builder. To use the Query builder, the user also requires additional training about the tables in the system and how to retrieve the details of the objects by using SQL.

This bypasses the process of Query builder seamlessly with a much more user-friendly interface alongside a much easier approach.

Got questions? Click here to get in touch.

The post Querying CMS Data on WebI using SAP BI Platform – CMS System Database Universe appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

One of the most common questions that gets posted in forums is, how to dynamically display images based on the values of the measures or how to use image as trend indicators for KPI. Using images in Power BI report is not so difficult if it is going to be a static one but, the challenge is only when we need to dynamically display the images based on the value of the measure.

For example, if the sales of a company have exceeded or met the target value, then a trend-up image should be displayed, if not a trend-down image.

Power BI currently supports conditional formatting of numeric values on scorecards and tables, but it does not support conditional formatting of image URLs.

However, we could accomplish this requirement manually by using custom images and a little workaround. The approach that I followed is three-folded as explained below:

• Set up the data model
• Creation of Measures
• Dynamically display the image

1. Set up the data model

 
Initially, a sample dataset is loaded into the Power BI desktop.
 

 
A calculated column could be added to the above dataset to load the image URLs. But if you notice in the data set, the sales data is flattened out and can be aggregated at different levels like Country, Segment, Product. By design the addition of a calculated column would lead to static value as the image URLs gets preloaded while adding the column itself and a URL gets populated for every row in the data set. And it won’t be possible to dynamically display the image if we roll up or roll down the data hierarchy. Hence added a separate table for the images to cater the requirement.
 

 
Once the data is loaded the data category for the URL column has been updated to Image URL type.

If you miss this step, Power BI would consider the URLs as mere text data.
 

 

2. Create Measures

 
The next step is to create the measures which need to have the conditional formatting on. For the example that I have taken, I’ve created a simple measure that is the aggregate value of the gross sales of the company and included the same measure (Total Sales) to the card visual.
 

 
To add a little more complexity to the business case, I have included a country slicer to see if the measure gets aggregated based on the slicer.

Let’s try playing around with a slicer to see if it’s working as expected.

Initially, Canada is selected on the slicer.
 

 
Now let us try to change it to Mexico and see if the value gets filtered for Mexico alone.
 

 
As expected, the score card reflected the sales based on the selected country.
 

3. Dynamically Display Image

 
Now comes the final and the most challenging part of the requirement.

How to dynamically display the image based on total sales data?

Say for example: A trend-up image to be displayed when the total sales have exceeded the target of 3.5M and a trend-down otherwise.

I have the measure created for total sales and now we need to figure out a logic to filter the images based on the condition.

It is not possible to append the image URL to the filter condition as shown below, as it would change the context and the URLs would be taken as text values.

IF (Total Sales >3500000, <>, <>)

A separate measure, dedicated to filter the images based on the condition is required to address this scenario. Hence, I have added a measure Flag.
 

 
The measure Flag returns the data as shown below when displayed on a table:

After filtering the data based on the condition Flag=1 you will get the desired result.

I have used the custom visual Image by CloudScope for displaying the image in the report. And in the visual filters pane included the condition Flag=1.
 

 
You could now see that the image is displayed dynamically and shows a trend up for Canada where sales > 3500000 and trend down for Mexico where sales< 3500000  
 
We could dynamically display the images based on conditions in a similar manner, even in a table. However, we cannot have control on the size of the image within the table.
 

 
We could also set up different targets at lower levels and can use an entirely different set of image indicators like

1) RED and GREEN lights
2) Thumbs-Up and Thumbs-down arrows
 

 
Adding too much numerical information in dashboards makes it’s difficult to read and get the insights. But with the image indicators the business users can easily get the state of Key Performance Indicator (KPI) at a glance and with this workaround explained above you could also achieve it in your Power BI reports.

Got questions? Click here to get in touch.

The post Dynamically Display Images in Power BI appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

This Blog will focus on migrating environments from BPC 10.x to BPC 11 version for SAP NetWeaver to the version for BW/4HANA.

SAP Business Planning and Consolidation 11.0 comes with a modern interface and provides for high performance by leveraging benefits of the next generation data warehouse BW/4HANA.

While moving from SAP BPC 10.x to BPC 11 version, its required to migrate environments and convert data models. Conversion of data models can be done through migration program UJT_MIGRATE_101_TO_BPC4, This Program is integrated with UJBR transaction so it’s not required to be run separately.

To Perform the Migration of environment, follow the below steps:
 
1. Take Backup of environment from BPC 10.x system using UJBR Transaction
 

 
Select Necessary options to be backed up, Enter Record Count as 0 if all the transaction data is needed.
 
2. Restore the environment into BPC 11.0 system using UJBR Transaction
 

 
Data Model Conversion also takes place during the restore process. Cubes and Multiproviders are no longer used and it is converted into Advance DSO and Composite Provider respectively. Also, the HANA Optimized Parameters ENABLE_ACCELERATOR, ENABE_DISAGGREGATION and ENABLE_NATIVE_HANA_MODEL will be enabled after successful migration.
 

 
Data Model Conversion
 
The models can be migrated from 10.x to 11 and the screenshots shown are for 10.1 but applicable for 10 as well.

Note: – BPC 10.x Includes BPC 10.0 and 10.1

In the next blog we will talk about migrating the front end / troubleshooting your input templates for BPC once the migration is complete.

Got questions? Click here to get in touch.

The post SAP BPC 11.0 Version for SAP NetWeaver – Migration from BPC 10.x to BPC 11.0 appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

This is part of the SAP Lumira Discovery blog series.

According to Wikipedia, Year-to-date (YTD) is a period, starting from the beginning of the current year (either the calendar year or fiscal year) and continuing up to the present day. YTD is used in many contexts, mainly for recording results of an activity in the time between a date (exclusive, since this day may not yet be “complete”) and the beginning of the year.

In SAP Lumira Discovery, we would need to leverage the Calculations function to build a custom dimension for this purpose. The basic requirements for performing this calculation is,

– A date field against which you would want to compare
– A measure that needs to be basis for this calculation
– Year() function
 

 
– CurrentDate() function
 

 
– if-then-else statement
 

 
We can then calculate the YTD custom dimension using the formula below,
 

 
We can then extend the same concept to building QTD (Quarter-to-Date) and MTD (Month-to-Date) calculations as shown below,

YTD:
if Year({Date})=Year(CurrentDate()) and {Date} <=(CurrentDate()) then {Sales} else 0
QTD:
if Quarter({Date}) = Quarter(CurrentDate()) and {Date} <= (CurrentDate()) then {Sales} else 0
MTD:
if Month({Date}) = Month(CurrentDate()) and {Date} <= (CurrentDate()) then {Sales} else 0

This can be even extended to previous duration values as shown below,

PYTD:
if Year({Date}) = Year(CurrentDate()) - 1 and DayOfYear({Date}) <= DayOfYear(CurrentDate()) then {Sales} else 0
PQTD:
if Quarter({Date}) = Quarter(CurrentDate())-1 and DayOfYear({Date}) <= DayOfYear(CurrentDate()) then {Sales} else 0
PMTD:
if Month({Date}) = Month(CurrentDate()) - 1 and DayOfYear({Date}) <= DayOfYear(CurrentDate()) then {Sales} else 0

An important approach would be to create a custom dimension first and then create a measure. This process would work only for imported data, as these measures can be directly inherited from SAP sources via a live connection.

Get your business users trained on more best practices with calculations in SAP Lumira Discovery.

Want to know more? Click here to get in touch.

The post YTD, QTD, MTD Calculations in SAP Lumira Discovery appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

Tile-based dashboards are always popular with users, and this is not without reason. These dashboards have the ability to give the user a high-level overview of the information that he needs to know, while maintaining a clean layout, free from information overload. If the user does require more granular information, we could provide drilldown capabilities, enabling the user to see more data, if he so chooses.

From the end user perspective, what could prove to be very vital to quickly consume information is the order in which these tiles are laid out. Following dashboarding best practices, tiles are generally ordered from top-left to bottom-right, in order of relatively decreasing importance. (This of course could vary depending upon user locale – for instance, some users in the Middle East might prefer the most important information on the right, considering that they read from right-to-left.)

This order is generally decided after many sessions of discussion with the product owners, with much deliberation. However, there are scenarios when one size doesn’t fit all, and a user may want to rearrange the tiles based on their preference. Giving them the end user the power to do this would definitely increase end user adoption as well. To that effect, SAP Lumira Designer would be the right tool to use.

Let’s get a bit technical now. Using the Grid Layout does not allow the developer to enable users to customize the layout of their application at runtime, without having to resort to duplication of components, which in turn would adversely affect performance. However, we can leverage CSS to achieve our end-goal – User Customizability for tiles on an application.

Instead of using the tried and tested method of using the native Grid Layout component, we can size the tiles with relative dimensions. Feel free to check out the link below for understanding how relative units work.

https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/css_units.asp

Just as the width and height are set to relative units instead of pixels, we can do the same for the position of the tiles, by setting the margins with relative units. Here’s an example of the CSS used to position a tile relative to the dashboard body.

.tile1
{

height:46vh !important;
width:23vw !important;
top:6vh !important;
left:2vw !important;
z-index:5 !important;

}

The CSS for the other tiles will need to be specified similarly. Please note that the width, height and margins can be customized to meet your requirements.

Here’s how such a dashboard looks like, with each of the tile dimensions specified in relative units.
 

 

 
Now comes the interesting part. Since the position of the each tile is determined by what CSS class is set, we can provide users the ability to rearrange the tiles by switching the CSS classes at runtime.
 

 

User changes order of tiles using the dropdowns, and hits the Customize button

If the user so chooses, he can always go back and reorder the tiles.

There, you can now allow users to customize your dashboard layout at runtime. This can be scaled across any number of tiles, and also for different dashboard layouts.

Got questions? Click here to get in touch.

The post More Power to Users – Customizing Dashboard Layouts at Runtime appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

One of the biggest challenges faced by users dealing with multiple BI platforms is synchronization of metadata between LDAP – BI Platforms – Portal. Here is a short list of crucial but frequently occurring activities that happen in LDAP and BI platforms and the effort involved in synchronizing those changes with VBI View.
 

 
As illustrated in the above table, all of this content changes happening in BI platforms and LDAP are synchronized with VBI View automatically. This automated synchronization is not just for one or two but 7 BI platforms – SAP BOBJ, Tableau, TIBCO SpotFire, Microsoft PowerBI, QlikSense, Microsoft SSRS and Microstrategy. The existing enterprise BI portals in the market don’t do that.
 

 
This ‘automatic synchronization of metadata between VBI View, LDAP platform and BI platforms’ makes VBI View the best enterprise BI portal in the market and better than any competing products.

Interested in a detailed demonstration or download of a trial version??

Please visit us at, http://visualbi.com/products/vbi-view/

The post Automated Synchronization – A Unique Feature in VBI View appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

In the earlier blog – Innovative UI/UX Using Sap Lumira Designer, we looked at displaying images in a Table along with other unique features. Now let’s look at some of the new features available as part of Visual BI Extensions (VBX) Advance Table, available as part of VBX 2.0 release.

Following are the list of new features available in the VBX Advance Table:

• Data Pivoting
• Export to Excel and CSV
• Enhanced Column resizing capacities
• Calculated Key Figures
• Filtering
• Sorting
• Autosize / fit to all columns
• Ranking
• Expand / Collapse functionality with Count Indicator
• Context Menu option
• Maximize/restore

Runtime Data Pivoting

 
In order to provide customers with some self-service functionality, we added the Data Pivoting option for Advance Table in SAP Lumira Designer. Using the data pivoting option users can now quickly explore, analyze and summarize the data by selecting their desired dimensions and measures from the Tool Pane and customize reports to derive insights. The pivot mode can either be activated at design time or runtime using the context menu option.
 

 

Export

 
As part of our Advance Table data can be exported to both Excel and CSV using the context menu option
 

 
Exported excel file
 

 

Enhanced Column resizing capacities

 
We now provide the flexibility to either make the columns resizable according to the change in screens size or make the columns width fixed in respect to screen change.

a. Fit to window

The ‘Fit to widow’ property provides the ability to truly resize the column width based on the screen size. This means that the columns will shrink or expand based on the screen size without the horizontal scroll bar view for the Table.
 

 

 
b. Column Width based on Key and Index values

The other option is to fix the column width in pixels or percentages, where column width can be specified based on key or Index Values. Fixing the column width in percentages gives you the ability to resize the column width in desired proportion of the screens size.
 

 

Calculated Key Figures:

 
We can create calculated key figures as part of the advance table. This feature comes in handy especially while using SAP Universe as a Data source. There are 2 types of calculation that can be created:

Single Measure: Rank, Olympic Rank and Percentage share of Parent

Two Measures: Add, Subtract, Divide and Multiply
 

 

Filtering and Sorting

 
Both the filtering and sorting options just got a fresh UI upgrade.

a. Filtering: Just like excel we can now filter the columns by either using the context menu or by clicking on the small menu option which is visible on hovering over the columns. The filter option also comes with the built-in search capabilities to select the desired members of the column.
 

 
b. Sorting: The Sort feature in the Advanced Table allows the end users to sort all the columns of the table independent of each other. Sorting can be applied either on dimension alphabetically or on measures, numerically. Note: Multiple columns can be soreted by holding down SHIFT and select multiple columns to be sorted.
 

 

Autosize / fit to all columns

 
Just like excel the VBX Advance Table now provides the column autosize functionality. We can simply double click on the right side of the column border or use the column header menu to autosize the columns.
 

 
Apart from this we also added the ‘fit to all columns’ property so that the table scales up or down automoatically to occupy the avaibale real estate.
 

 

Ranking

 
Im sure a lot of of you would love this feature, where we can quickly look at the top or bottom 5/10.. items using the ranking functionlity added to the advanced table
 

 

Expand / Collapse functionality with Count Indicator

 
The VBX advance table offers the expand/collapse functionality and helps group data by the dimension – Product Category as seen in the below example. Along with this it also provides the count indicator which displays the total count of rows/items falling under each member. For example, as seen below we can notice that 22 rows lie under the Product Category – Bedroom.
 

 

Context Menu

 
Just like the VBX charts, context menu option can also be used to achieve typical end user scenarios like:

• Maximize / Restore
• Auto Size all Columns
• Fit to columns – Ability to scale the table to occupy available real estate
• Tool Panel – Activate pivot Mode
• Export – XLS, CSV
• Total – hide/unhide Total
• Dimension Display – key, text, key & text, text & key
• Filtering – Dimension and Measure
• Ranking – Top/Bottom 5, 10
• Conditional formatting – Enable/ disable conditional formatting rules

 
Looking to leverage Advance Table features for your SAP Lumira Designer dashboards?

Click here to download a FREE 15-day trial of Visual BI’s Extensions for SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio / SAP Lumira Designer (VBX).

The post VBX Advance Table for SAP Lumira Designer appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

Experts from Visual BI are participating at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit 2018.

If you’re going to be at Grapevine, let’s meet up!

Click here to get in touch..

About Gartner Data & Analytics Summit 2018

This conference will give you the tools to build on the fundamentals of data management, business intelligence (BI), and analytics; harness innovative technologies such as AI, blockchain and IoT; and accelerate the shift toward a data-driven culture to lead the way to better business outcomes

The post Visual BI at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit 2018 appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

For many customers moving to HANA as their EDW, it becomes worthwhile to look at moving their existing BW models to native HANA models. In this blog, we look at how to replicate existing BW models into a HANA system. This is not about exposing BW models as external HANA views but to replicate the same data model within HANA.

Let’s consider a scenario where the client has BW system of version 7.3 on HANA and wants to replicate only a part of the module/logic and existing Bex queries in HANA/HCP where we have the following constraints:

• Master data tables must already be present in HCP
• Minimal creation of views / virtual data models
• Replicate some of the BEx features

Now let’s move on how to replicate some of the features in the BW system to HANA/HCP
 

Database Views

 
These views in BW are created using DSO tables or combination of both InfoObject(IO) tables and DSO tables. They can be used as a Datasource for the data flow. However in BW we won’t be able to define the join type but only define the join condition. The following are the joins that needs to be replicated in HANA when we need to join the respective tables.

1. Master Data attribute reference in Transformation

 
Associating the Master’s Attribute in the transformation can be replicated by using Left Outer Join with the Master Table. Also in HANA we can make use of Star Join node for all Master Data Attribute joins provided all the Attributes info is available in form of Dimension type calculation view or Attribute views.
 

2. BW Routines

 
Consider the following scenarios involved in routines where T & F represent Tables & Fields respectively. Here some common scenarios are considered but more complicated scenarios are also possible but that would depend on a case by case basis.

3. DSO overwrite property for Key Figures or Delete adjacent entries after sorting in routines

 
To implement these features in HANA use Rank Node in Calculation view and partition by all the Key fields then choose Ascending (Bottom 1)
 

4. Join between two DSOs on the fields which has NULL values

 
This kind of join is completely possible in BW as it considers record by record for the join conditions to validate. Whereas in HANA, when we have NULL values in the join conditions those records are completely neglected. In order to mimic the same join type as in BW we need to substitute those NULL values with some dummy values by creating a Calculated column and include those columns in the join conditions
 

5. Exceptional Aggregation with Reference Characteristics in BEX

 
Consider we have Company ABC’s Sales Data that has two Key Figures Sales & Profit which is summed up based on Product & Branch characteristic respectively in BEx.

In order to mimic the same kind of aggregation we need to follow the below steps:

a) Create a new Calculation view and include the base view/table that has company ABC’s Sales Data

b) Create 2 separate Aggregation nodes on top of this base projection node

c) In Aggregation 1 node make ‘Sales’ as Aggregated measure and define its Aggregation type as Sum. Set the Keep Flag property as TRUE for ‘Product’ Dimension. Expose all the fields except for ‘Profit’ field

d) In Aggregation 2 node make ‘Profit’ as Aggregated measure and define its Aggregation type as Sum. Set the Keep Flag property as TRUE for ‘Branch’ Dimension. Expose only the Key fields and the ‘Profit’ field

e) Union the above two Aggregation nodes (Left Outer Join) using the Key fields

f) Now the Measures are aggregated based on the Reference Dimensions respectively even though those dimensions are not included in the final query.

These are some of the tips that can be followed during BW to HANA replication.

Got questions? Click here to get in touch.

The post Replicating SAP BW Models to HANA – Tips & Tricks appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

Histogram is an effective way to display the frequency distribution of measures across a continuous data set. They offer an intuitive way to analyze large amounts of data.

While a Histogram is used to plot the frequency of occurrence of data across a continuous data set which is divided into bins, a column/bar chart is used for a variety of other instances.

Data analysis with the help of a histogram proves to be useful in cases where:

1. Reliability of mean value needs to be verified: If a histogram is a bell curve, which means the left and the right half of the histogram are mirror images, then the center of histogram is taken as the mean. If the frequency distribution is left skewed, then mean is lesser than the median. If the frequency distribution is right skewed, then the mean is greater than the median.
2. To capture trends: Histograms, when used to analyze data across time, age groups, salary packages, net worth etc. prove to be a handy visualization tool to capture trends.
3. To identify outliers: It serves the useful purpose of highlighting outliers in a data set. This in turn focuses on probable errors that might corrupt a data set or factors that might have caused this unusual outcome. Identifying outliers is an essential step in data cleansing. Histogram serves this purpose.

Do you have a structured data specific for a histogram? Are you looking for an easy way to design a histogram in SAP Lumira Designer?

With VBX Column/Bar chart, it is possible to transform a Column chart into a histogram in a matter of seconds.

Below is an example of a data that represents the number of unemployed across different age groups
 

 
Start age is placed in the X axis of the chart and Number of Unemployed is placed in the Y axis of the chart.

If this is directly consumed in a column chart, each column would appear as though it is reflecting the value for a discrete data (Example from the above data set: it would appear as though the number of unemployed for age 15 alone is 363998, which is a false representation). However, the data we are using is a continuous data set where the ages are divided into bins of width 10. In the above dataset the Number of Unemployed is grouped across different age groups, example: 15-24, 25-34, 35-44 and so on. A histogram would prove to be an ideal way to represent this data set.

Let’s build a histogram using this data set:

Step 1: Add a VBX Column/Bar chart in your layout.

Step 2: In the additional properties of the chart, go to Appearance->Chart->Chart Theme->Custom theme code and enter the following code. Click on the format and run option to watch your column chart transform into a histogram.
 

 

 
Histogram is ideal for a continuous data set, while a column chart is ideal for discrete dimension members.
 

 
Click here to download a FREE 15-day trial of Visual BI’s Extensions for SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio / SAP Lumira Designer (VBX).

The post Creating Histogram in SAP Lumira Designer Using VBX appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

SAP BusinessObjects Analysis for Office (AO) offers flexibility to swap between connections for an existing AO workbook.

The user may have the need to replace the system in cases where the data availability on the current system is meagre while an alternative system has good amount of data to perform analysis.

On the Components tab in Design Panel, you will be able to manage the system connections at workbook level. You can log off from all the systems that the workbook is connected to, reconnect to the systems or replace a system with another.

Procedure to Replace the system:

1. Logging off from a system:

Firstly, you will have to log off from the system to which the workbook is currently connected.

To disconnect a workbook from the server (BW or HANA), perform the following step.

Go to Display Panel -> Components Tab -> Right Click on Workbook name -> Log Off
 

 
The connections to all systems in the workbook will be logged off and the design panel will be closed automatically.

2. Replacing the system:

Once you log out, the Replace System option gets enabled on the context menu.
 

 
On choosing the Replace system option, you will be able to choose the system from which you need to connect to.
 

 
In the Replace System dialog box, you can select the system that you want replaced (Current System) and the system that you want the current system to be replaced with (Replace by System).

3. Replacing with a BO Connection

If you need the current connection to be replaced by one of the connections that are available in the BO system (BICS, HANA), you may have to logon to the respective BO system by clicking on the BO Connection icon and login to it, using the system credentials, as shown below.
 

 
Once you have logged on to the system, the connections available in the BO System will appear at the tail-end of Replace by system dropdown list.
 

 
For the reports that use BO Connections as a source, a BO session will already be in place and the “Logging onto BO” step can be ignored, unless the user wants to connect to a different BO System altogether.

Conclusion:

For reports built on SAP HANA or SAP BW, the source of data can be easily replaced with a local connection (configured locally in SAP logon) or a connection available on the BO system.

This feature available on Analysis for Office decreases the effort by letting you connect to same datasources available on different systems without having to rebuild the report.

In most business landscapes, the data available in the Development system would be limited and may not be sufficient enough to verify and validate few business logics used in the report. This is the when the user may face the need to quickly repoint to a system with better data (Quality or Production systems). In such cases, the “Replace System” feature comes in handy.

However, this feature should be done only when all the data sources in the workbook are available on both the systems.

Got questions? Click here to get in touch.

The post Replace a System in an Analysis for Office Workbook appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

Analysis for Office can access the existing SAP Business Explorer(BEx) workbooks and migrate them as new AO workbooks. This can be done in versions of Analysis for Office starting from 1.3 and above. Convert BEx workbooks over into the Microsoft edition, and for most of the reports it is a straightforward conversion unless you have custom coding embedded.

Before you start, make sure you set up your desired conversion mode settings in the AO ribbon Settings menu.
 

• Convert All – All objects in the workbook are converted.
• Convert Data Sources and Crosstabs – Data sources and crosstabs are converted.
• Convert Data Sources Only – Only the data sources are converted.

1.1 Summary and Prerequisites

• This is not a tool for mass conversion, you can simply open and use the workbook in AO
• Both BEx 3.5 and 7.0 workbooks are supported
• Only BEx Workbooks stored in BW repository can be converted using this method.
• Converts data sources and some of the important design components but does not convert everything in the report.
• Conversion Logs will be available

Note: AO has different, incompatible API concepts – workbooks with significant customizing need to be adjusted manually
 

1.2 Server Prerequisites

 
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.01 SP 11 or higher.
 

1.3 Procedure

 
1. Select Convert BEx workbook option from File ->Analysis tab.
 

 
2. Log onto the BW system by entering your credentials and click on Next.

3. Select the workbook you want to convert.
 

 
4. Only supported objects are converted and others remain as BEx Objects.
 

 
Note: You can search for the name or technical name of the workbook or you can select it in a folder. BEx Analyzer workbooks have the following icon in the workbook list.

5. Once you choose to convert, the conversion starts right away. Depending on your selection in the platform settings, the following objects will be converted.

1.4 Conversion Log

 
The objects of the BEx workbook are then displayed with the conversion status in three lists: one for data providers, one for planning objects and one for items (all other objects on the workbook).

The list contains the following columns:

Status

The status can be either of the following: Converted, Not Converted or Ignored.

Type

The type of the objects is displayed. Examples are DATAPROVIDER, GRID or NAVIGATION_PANE.

Text

The technical name of the object is displayed.

Data Provider / Alias

The alias of the data provider is displayed.

Message

A message stating the conversion status of the workbook is displayed.

Sheet Range

You can select the sheet range to go to the object in the workbook.
 

 
Option: Refresh Workbook, you can select the following options:

• Always – The workbook is always refreshed after conversion
• Never – The workbook is not refreshed after conversion.
• Use Workbook Settings – The workbook is refreshed after conversion if the corresponding property is active in BEx Analyzer.

 
Setting – Conversion Log. You can select the following options:

• Disabled – No conversion log is created.
• Create on New Visible Worksheet – A log is created and displayed on a new worksheet.
• Create on New Hidden Worksheet – A log is created and stored on a hidden sheet in the workbook.

Option: Show Save Dialog after Conversion

If you select this option, the Save dialog is displayed after the conversion.
 

 
After the conversion, the converted workbook is opened on Analysis for Office. You can save the newly created workbook to any platform viz., SAP Net weaver Platform, SAP BI platform, etc., and go ahead with your analysis.

In Summary, the one click conversion option allows us to migrate and convert the available BEx Workbooks in your systems to AO Reports and perform any kind of simple or advanced analysis with Analysis for Office.
Most of the elements are automatically converted, but there are a few components that needs manual efforts as described in the blog.

Got questions? Click here to get in touch.

The post BEx Workbook to Analysis for Office Report – One Click Conversion appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

Power BI is a data analytics service by Microsoft to aid the process of self-service BI. The tool has been GA since July 2015 and has progressed a lot with its monthly updates. The innovation can also be seen in the leader position of Microsoft in 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant report for Analytics and BI platforms.

But what else is unique about this tool? How does it perform in a larger BI landscape? How well does it integrate with other tech stacks like SAP? The complete findings, compiled in a deck with 45 slides, were presented online – a recording of which is available here. In this blog, we’ll review our approach and summarize the findings.

The Power BI suite provides a wide range of offerings from simple solutions to complex applications:
 

 
We also explore the following self-service BI capabilities of the tool:

1. Acquire data from a wide range of sources (SQL, SAP, Big Data, Azure, Cloud, etc)
 

 
Microsoft and Azure based data sources offering more functionality both at the desktop and service level as it belongs to the same tech stack.

2. Perform robust data preparation to further enhance the data
 

 
3. Build visualizations using simple drag and drop
 

 
4. Compose reports and extend to dashboards
 

 
5. Collaborate with other using Power BI Service and access via O365
 

 
The webinar also covers other interesting features like:

• Custom visualizations and themes
• DAX Scripting for advanced data preparation
• R based Query Editing and visualizations
• Question & Answers with Insights and Cortana Integration
• Preview options to enable new features
• ArcGIS Maps, What-if parameter analysis, Slicer based filtering
• RLS (Row Level Security)
• Pricing and Licensing
• SAP and Microsoft Integration

Conclusion

When considering self-service, Power BI alone might do a good job connecting with multiple data sources and enhancing it locally or collaborating with small teams.
 

 
Ref : https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/whitepapers

But when extending this to an enterprise level application, we would need to leverage the Microsoft technology stack like Azure Platform and Azure Analysis Service to provide live data with RLS enabled.
 

 
Ref : https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/whitepapers

For an in-depth analysis & a list of evidences supporting this conclusion, view our replay here.

The post Leveraging Microsoft Power BI for Enterprise Self-Service BI appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

This time – Orlando, FLorida!

Visual BI is exhibiting and presenting at the 2018 SAPPHIRE NOW + ASUG Annual Conference from June 5th – 7th, 2018 at Orlando, Florida.

2018 SAPPHIRE NOW + ASUG Annual Conference is the largest global business technology event, hosted by SAP and ASUG, where you can connect with a community that uses SAP software everyday.

Stay tuned to know our speaker sessions and booth number.

Click here to register for a face-to-face meeting with us at the event.

The post Visual BI at 2018 SAPPHIRE NOW + ASUG Annual Conference appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

SAP BusinessObjects Analysis for Office (AO) offers flexibility to swap between connections for an existing AO workbook.

The user may have the need to replace the system in cases where the data availability on the current system is meagre while an alternative system has good amount of data to perform analysis.

On the Components tab in Design Panel, you will be able to manage the system connections at workbook level. You can log off from all the systems that the workbook is connected to, reconnect to the systems or replace a system with another.

Procedure to Replace the system:

1. Logging off from a system:

Firstly, you will have to log off from the system to which the workbook is currently connected.

To disconnect a workbook from the server (BW or HANA), perform the following step.

Go to Display Panel -> Components Tab -> Right Click on Workbook name -> Log Off
 

 
The connections to all systems in the workbook will be logged off and the design panel will be closed automatically.

2. Replacing the system:

Once you log out, the Replace System option gets enabled on the context menu.
 

 
On choosing the Replace system option, you will be able to choose the system from which you need to connect to.
 

 
In the Replace System dialog box, you can select the system that you want replaced (Current System) and the system that you want the current system to be replaced with (Replace by System).

3. Replacing with a BO Connection

If you need the current connection to be replaced by one of the connections that are available in the BO system (BICS, HANA), you may have to logon to the respective BO system by clicking on the BO Connection icon and login to it, using the system credentials, as shown below.
 

 
Once you have logged on to the system, the connections available in the BO System will appear at the tail-end of Replace by system dropdown list.
 

 
For the reports that use BO Connections as a source, a BO session will already be in place and the “Logging onto BO” step can be ignored, unless the user wants to connect to a different BO System altogether.

Conclusion:

For reports built on SAP HANA or SAP BW, the source of data can be easily replaced with a local connection (configured locally in SAP logon) or a connection available on the BO system.

This feature available on Analysis for Office decreases the effort by letting you connect to same datasources available on different systems without having to rebuild the report.

In most business landscapes, the data available in the Development system would be limited and may not be sufficient enough to verify and validate few business logics used in the report. This is the when the user may face the need to quickly repoint to a system with better data (Quality or Production systems). In such cases, the “Replace System” feature comes in handy.

However, this feature should be done only when all the data sources in the workbook are available on both the systems.

Got questions? Click here to get in touch.

The post Replace a System in an Analysis for Office Workbook appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

Analysis for Office can access the existing SAP Business Explorer(BEx) workbooks and migrate them as new AO workbooks. This can be done in versions of Analysis for Office starting from 1.3 and above. Convert BEx workbooks over into the Microsoft edition, and for most of the reports it is a straightforward conversion unless you have custom coding embedded.

Before you start, make sure you set up your desired conversion mode settings in the AO ribbon Settings menu.
 

• Convert All – All objects in the workbook are converted.
• Convert Data Sources and Crosstabs – Data sources and crosstabs are converted.
• Convert Data Sources Only – Only the data sources are converted.

1.1 Summary and Prerequisites

• This is not a tool for mass conversion, you can simply open and use the workbook in AO
• Both BEx 3.5 and 7.0 workbooks are supported
• Only BEx Workbooks stored in BW repository can be converted using this method.
• Converts data sources and some of the important design components but does not convert everything in the report.
• Conversion Logs will be available

Note: AO has different, incompatible API concepts – workbooks with significant customizing need to be adjusted manually
 

1.2 Server Prerequisites

 
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.01 SP 11 or higher.
 

1.3 Procedure

 
1. Select Convert BEx workbook option from File ->Analysis tab.
 

 
2. Log onto the BW system by entering your credentials and click on Next.

3. Select the workbook you want to convert.
 

 
4. Only supported objects are converted and others remain as BEx Objects.
 

 
Note: You can search for the name or technical name of the workbook or you can select it in a folder. BEx Analyzer workbooks have the following icon in the workbook list.

5. Once you choose to convert, the conversion starts right away. Depending on your selection in the platform settings, the following objects will be converted.

1.4 Conversion Log

 
The objects of the BEx workbook are then displayed with the conversion status in three lists: one for data providers, one for planning objects and one for items (all other objects on the workbook).

The list contains the following columns:

Status

The status can be either of the following: Converted, Not Converted or Ignored.

Type

The type of the objects is displayed. Examples are DATAPROVIDER, GRID or NAVIGATION_PANE.

Text

The technical name of the object is displayed.

Data Provider / Alias

The alias of the data provider is displayed.

Message

A message stating the conversion status of the workbook is displayed.

Sheet Range

You can select the sheet range to go to the object in the workbook.
 

 
Option: Refresh Workbook, you can select the following options:

• Always – The workbook is always refreshed after conversion
• Never – The workbook is not refreshed after conversion.
• Use Workbook Settings – The workbook is refreshed after conversion if the corresponding property is active in BEx Analyzer.

 
Setting – Conversion Log. You can select the following options:

• Disabled – No conversion log is created.
• Create on New Visible Worksheet – A log is created and displayed on a new worksheet.
• Create on New Hidden Worksheet – A log is created and stored on a hidden sheet in the workbook.

Option: Show Save Dialog after Conversion

If you select this option, the Save dialog is displayed after the conversion.
 

 
After the conversion, the converted workbook is opened on Analysis for Office. You can save the newly created workbook to any platform viz., SAP Net weaver Platform, SAP BI platform, etc., and go ahead with your analysis.

In Summary, the one click conversion option allows us to migrate and convert the available BEx Workbooks in your systems to AO Reports and perform any kind of simple or advanced analysis with Analysis for Office.
Most of the elements are automatically converted, but there are a few components that needs manual efforts as described in the blog.

Got questions? Click here to get in touch.

The post BEx Workbook to Analysis for Office Report – One Click Conversion appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

Power BI is a data analytics service by Microsoft to aid the process of self-service BI. The tool has been GA since July 2015 and has progressed a lot with its monthly updates. The innovation can also be seen in the leader position of Microsoft in 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant report for Analytics and BI platforms.

But what else is unique about this tool? How does it perform in a larger BI landscape? How well does it integrate with other tech stacks like SAP? The complete findings, compiled in a deck with 45 slides, were presented online – a recording of which is available here. In this blog, we’ll review our approach and summarize the findings.

The Power BI suite provides a wide range of offerings from simple solutions to complex applications:
 

 
We also explore the following self-service BI capabilities of the tool:

1. Acquire data from a wide range of sources (SQL, SAP, Big Data, Azure, Cloud, etc)
 

 
Microsoft and Azure based data sources offering more functionality both at the desktop and service level as it belongs to the same tech stack.

2. Perform robust data preparation to further enhance the data
 

 
3. Build visualizations using simple drag and drop
 

 
4. Compose reports and extend to dashboards
 

 
5. Collaborate with other using Power BI Service and access via O365
 

 
The webinar also covers other interesting features like:

• Custom visualizations and themes
• DAX Scripting for advanced data preparation
• R based Query Editing and visualizations
• Question & Answers with Insights and Cortana Integration
• Preview options to enable new features
• ArcGIS Maps, What-if parameter analysis, Slicer based filtering
• RLS (Row Level Security)
• Pricing and Licensing
• SAP and Microsoft Integration

Conclusion

When considering self-service, Power BI alone might do a good job connecting with multiple data sources and enhancing it locally or collaborating with small teams.
 

 
Ref : https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/whitepapers

But when extending this to an enterprise level application, we would need to leverage the Microsoft technology stack like Azure Platform and Azure Analysis Service to provide live data with RLS enabled.
 

 
Ref : https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/whitepapers

For an in-depth analysis & a list of evidences supporting this conclusion, view our replay here.

The post Leveraging Microsoft Power BI for Enterprise Self-Service BI appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

This time – Orlando, FLorida!

Visual BI is exhibiting and presenting at the 2018 SAPPHIRE NOW + ASUG Annual Conference from June 5th – 7th, 2018 at Orlando, Florida.

2018 SAPPHIRE NOW + ASUG Annual Conference is the largest global business technology event, hosted by SAP and ASUG, where you can connect with a community that uses SAP software everyday.

Stay tuned to know our speaker sessions and booth number.

Click here to register for a face-to-face meeting with us at the event.

The post Visual BI at 2018 SAPPHIRE NOW + ASUG Annual Conference appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

For a while now, customers have been waiting for the power of collaboration in SAP Lumira Designer. With the release of SAP Lumira 2.1, this particular requirement has been addressed – the latest version of SAP Lumira Designer brings with it the “Commentary” feature.

A commentary feature has been available on the BI Platform since March 2016, when SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform 4.2 was GA. The same framework has now been extended to SAP Lumira Designer, 2.1 with similar options for implementation. This comes as a new Technical Component within SAP Lumira Designer, and requires scripting for implementation.
 

Setting up Commentary on the BI Platform

 
Comments are managed by a BI Commentary service on the BI Platform, which is available in BI 4.2 or higher. Please note that this runs as a separate application on the BI Platform.
 

 
By default, BI Commentary creates and maintains its tables in the Audit database. However, SAP recommends that you configure a new database to store the comments from BI Commentary application. Even a simple SQL table setup should be sufficient to address this requirement, but more options are available as you can see.
 

 

Security for the Commentary Feature

 

 
Security for comments can be implemented at the Folder or Object level using the BI Platform Security setup. When the feature has been enabled on the SAP Lumira Designer application, users can retrieve, update or delete comments depending on the permissions granted to them by the BOBJ administrator on the folder/object in question.
 

 

Implementing Comments on an SAP Lumira Designer Application

 
To implement the Commentary feature on an SAP Lumira Designer Application, the developer would first have to set it up as a Technical Component on the application and subsequently implement options to Save, Retrieve, Update and/or Delete comments using BIAL scripting on the application.
 

 
Effective implementation of the Commentary feature would also require other components such as the Feed List and the Text Area, but we will cover step by step features to implement a commentary feature in a different blog shortly!
 

Giving Comments a Context

 
The Commentary feature in SAP Lumira Designer 2.1 can be a powerful feature thanks to the ability to give the comments made by user a context if necessary. With the help of the Crosstab, users can leave comments at a Global Level or even for a Data Cell. The different types of contexts that you can assign comments to are:
 

 
1. Custom Context (Seen as ‘CONTEXT’)

This is any ad-hoc custom context that can be assigned to the Comment. This could even be a context such as the current filters of a Data Source. A typical business use case would be when end users want to tag a specific set of filters with a comment. These types of comments will not be visible on a Crosstab.

2. Data Cell (Seen as ‘DATA’)

Comments can be left on a single Data Cell, i.e. just one value within a Crosstab. In a business scenario for example, this type of a context could be used by end users to highlight a particularly bad value and leave their comments explaining it.
 

 
3. Dimension (Seen as ‘DIMENSION’)

Comments can be left for an entire Dimension instead of a single Data Cell within the crosstab. This type of a context is particularly useful when end users want to leave notes pertaining to the dimension, such as to indicate that a dimension (such as Invoice Number) always needs to be viewed with another (such as Invoice Quantity) to give the Key Figure (such as Order Value) a proper meaning.
 

 
4. Dimension Member (Seen as ‘MEMBER’)

Comments can be applied to the Member of a Dimension instead of the Dimension as a whole. An example of where this type of a context would be used is when end-users want to pinpoint one member (such as a store within Stores or a particular Month within Calendar Months) within the list.
 

 
5. No Context (Seen as ‘NONE’)

Comments without any particular context, or ‘Global’ comments can be created to leave notes at the application level rather than for a particular Data Context.
 

Privacy Options

 
When implementing a feature for Commentary, it is also possible to set the privacy settings for these comments. There are 2 privacy settings:

• Public: Whoever has access to the document in BI platform can view these comments.
• Private: Only the creator of the comment may view the comment.

Setting privacy options on Comments is easy – it merely involves adding an additional parameter (isPublic) when saving or retrieving comments.
 

Extended Usage

 
Comments in Lumira Designer uses the BI Platform Commentary service. So, every instance of comments is stored in an Audit database. This would actually allow us to access the comments made within a Designer application even on a WebI (Web Intelligence) report.

This would, of course, entail building a Universe based on the Audit Database. The link below provides detailed information on how this can be done:

http://visualbi.com/blogs/business-intelligence/extending-bi-4-2-commentary-feature-audit-schema/
 

Data foundation layer created on commentary table along with Audit information

Sample – a WebI report created on comments posted in an SAP Lumira Designer application

Managing Comments made in an Application

 
Comments are stored in the Database configured on the BI Platform. However, there are no options to delete, edit or manage comments from the BI platform itself. There are 2 ways this can be done:

• Manage comments – Create, Edit or Delete comments – from within a Designer application.
• Manage comments directly on the database on which they are stored.

Exporting Comments to PDF

 
Comments added to a Lumira Document can be exported as part of a PDF export of the application. These comments are exported as part of the Appendix section, which is a separate page on the same PDF document.

Exporting comments that are a part of the application would require the developer to enable the option on the Export PDF Technical Component within that application.

Only comments with an Ad-Hoc Context (‘CONTEXT’) or No Context (‘NONE’) get exported as part of the PDF report.
 

Export PDF Appendix

PDF exported with Comments in Footer section. (Appendix will export as a separate page.)

Performance Considerations

 
It pays to be a little cautious while implementing a commentary feature in BIP as each comment posted in an application will get saved in BOBJ audit database along with all audit details enabled in BI Platform.

A single comment could generate multiple rows of data when used along with Audit database depending on Audit configurations.

As we can store information relevant to document in database this may encourage users to use it as a repository to store information about their documents. Try not to allow this type of usage.

Certain performance considerations have been observed while working on the Commentary Feature for SAP Lumira Designer on older versions of BOBJ. These can be found on the SAP Note below:

https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2566001

The solution for these issues have been delivered as part of BusinessObjects BI Platform SP5, SP4 Patch 6 and SP3 Patch 13.

With the capability to build robust Analytic Applications and Dashboards, SAP Lumira Designer is already a very powerful tool – especially considering its ability to connect to native SAP Data Sources such as BW or HANA in a way other tools in the market cannot (thanks to BICS). With the introduction of collaborative features such as Commentary and Scheduling, the tool is now more powerful than ever!

Got questions? Click here to get in touch.

The post Comments for SAP Lumira Designer 2.1 and their Usability appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.

Web Intelligence has been one of the most important analytical and ad-hoc reporting tools for a long time. Features like Direct Access to HANA, Commentary, DHTML Mode and Interactive Viewer keeps Web Intelligence relevant and important among newer tools.

Commentary in Web Intelligence is introduced in BI 4.2 with support for comment cell, about which we will be discussing in the later parts of this blog.

From BI 4.2 SP3 Web Intelligence allows you to enter comments for any block or cell within your WebI report and in BI 4.2 SP5 all the features of commentary are supported in the new Interactive Viewer.

For those who haven’t had hands on with the commentary feature, the following section about comment cell will get your thoughts marinated with the bit of it. Later in the blog, I have also brought in the a few of the FAQs related with the commenting feature which will help you get to know about most of it. So, there you go, All about Commentary in Web Intelligence.
 

Comment Cell in Web Intelligence

• Comment cell is a new cell type under Report Elements. The comment cell works like any other cell element in WebI and you can place it anywhere within your report.
• It also lets you change any cell into a comment cell using the formula ‘Comment()’. All the features of the default cell element can be applied to the comment cell too.
• Once the cell is added to the report, the end-user will be able select and enter their comments for that cell on the comments panel.
• Any User who has access to the report will be able to edit or copy the comments. Starting from BI 4.2 SP3 deletion feature also has been included, where the user will be able to delete the comments individually.
• Based on the configuration of the document properties, the comment cell will display the first or the last comment. You can also change the formula of the comment cell to display anything of our choice.

 
Let’s consider an example where the team needs a common discussion panel for the Product Details Report. I have included a comment cell in the Product Details tab and changed the formula of the comment cell to display “Product Sales Discussion”. As discussed before, any user who has access to the report will be able to select the comment cell in reading mode and enter the comments in the comments panel.
 

 

Comment on any cell or block

 
Starting from BI 4.2 SP3, the commentary feature in Web Intelligence has improved, primarily to allow users comment about any cell element of the report.

When a comment is added to a cell, an alert appears in the top right corner of the cell or block. The user should only use the comments panel to add, edit, copy and delete the components. In this example I have used this feature to review a report that is in development. The developer uses the comments from the user as feedback and enhances the report accordingly.

As seen below in GIF animation, the user just clicks on table cell, table and chart to enter the comment in the comment side panel. The developer will be able to see the comments notified by the alert and modify the report. Once the change is done, the developer can update it with a new comment or delete the existing comment once it is resolved.
 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 
1. Will the comments be visible when the WebI is exported as a PDF/Excel?

The last / first comment (based on configuration of the document property) of a comment cell will be visible in PDF or Excel. Comments on a block or a table cell are not visible. However, you can include a new column in a table with formula Comment() which can be used for commenting. And the comments in this column will be visible when the report is exported.
 

 
2. Is the commentary feature in Web Intelligence supported by SAP mobile app?

No. The Commentary feature is not supported on mobile apps yet. Maybe we should look out for it in the future versions of the tool as we do not have any say about it officially from SAP yet.

3. What happens to the comments when you make a copy of the report?

Comments will not be copied when you do a Copy-Paste of the report on the BI Launchpad.
However, if you use the ‘Save As’ option to create a copy application and select the checkbox ‘Save document with comments’ the comments in the report will be retained.
 

 
4. Are comments visible in scheduled documents?

Comments are visible when you schedule a report in the Web Intelligence format and view it from latest instance from the history.

Comments are not visible if the scheduled WebI report is sent to BI Inbox. Also, when the scheduled report is not in WebI format (with .webi extension), the comment cell is visible only when it is exported in excel or PDF format.

5. What happens to the comments in a table when you remove a measure or dimension?

Comments entered in the table cell are specific to dimensions. When a measure is added/removed, the comments stay unaffected, while adding/removing a dimension will make the comments hidden.

For example, in a table that contains Product, Product Category and Sales Amount, a comment in a table cell is specific to a specific Product category and a Product. When a dimension Region is added to the table, the comment that is specific to Product category and Product is hidden and appears only when you delete the Region dimension. Whereas, adding a new column Cost Amount to the report, the comments are unaffected.

6. What happens to the comment when the filter value of a block or report changes?

The comments entered in cell are context sensitive. Any filter, prompt or input control won’t affect the comment unless the data is not visible.

7. Can you make the comments specific to dimensions like store so that a comment for one store is not visible to another?

Let’s consider an example where you have a table that has Product Category, Product and Sales Amount in a report which is filtered for a specific Store Name/Store ID using a prompt. Now, the store entered in the prompt does not affect the comment.

To overcome this, you can add the object Store in the table and hide the dimension(as the same store value will be repeated for all records). Now, any comment entered in the table becomes specific to the Store. So when the user enters a different store in the prompt the comment for other stores are hidden.

8. What happens to the comment when you change the underlying data source using change source property?

Comments are not affected when you change the underlying data source using change source property unless a dimension is added/removed from the table.

In summary, the comment cell and the ability to comment in any cell or block allows us to collaborate better and the latest support of this feature in Interactive Viewer only gains more trust to invest in Web Intelligence.

To learn more about configuring commentary in Web Intelligence with audit schema refer to this blog – http://visualbi.com/blogs/business-intelligence/extending-bi-4-2-commentary-feature-audit-schema/

Got questions? Click here to get in touch.

The post All About Commentary in Web Intelligence appeared first on Visual BI Solutions.