Posts tagged BusinessObjects Dashboards
Using “stylesheets” in BusinessObjects Dashboard Design?
1011 months ago
Currently i’m working for a client to build financial dashboards in BusinessObjects Dashboard Design. After getting the requirements, a designing phase was started. The template designed for the dashboard was created by a user experience consultant.
My assignment was to develop the dashboard based on the template. Every color, every font, all allignments are set by the user experience consultant.
During the project, some colors are changed. I was looking for a simple solution in Dashboard Design to use some kind of stylesheets. I can recommend this solution if you’re looking for a best practice.
In the demo below I used a radio button to switch between two stylesheets. I’m showing this functionality only to see that you can have more than one stylesheet in a dashboard.
How does this look like under the hood?
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Supported SAP BO Dashboard Design MS Excel functions
91 year ago
In the new release of SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Design there will be more MS Excel functions available. In the menu below you’ll find all supported functions. For convenience an explanation of each function is added.
If your are interested in the added functions of the new release, you can download the source file here. You can find the comparison on the 3rd excel sheet in the xlf-file.
Interval selection via BICS connection
111 year ago
Is it possible to use interval selection on an object (i.e. month) using the standard SAP BICS connection? One of the solutions is to use the component “List Builder”. In this scenario you can only add individual months to your selection. End-users need to make simple selections with a minimum of mouse-clicks.
Another possible option is to use the “Range Slider” option in a chart. Adjusting the slider will cause i.e. the sales to increase or decrease, which is visualized in the chart. A disadvantage of this option is that it only works for only one chart. In this case we need the functionality of an interval selection which applies to N charts.
Together with my colleague Jeffrey La Grand we found a solution. We designed a simple SAP BEX Query between the dashboard and the SAP BW system. We didn’t use any variables because it restricts the complete dashboard to the selected variables. By executing the dashboard, the standard portal screen with variable selections appears. We think users need to select their variables values in the dashboard itself.
Below you’ll find our solution. Via the dropdown menu’s you are able to select the interval of months.
With this solution it’s possible to restrict the data (via BICS connection) between two months.
You can download the source files. I can’t show the SWF-file, because there is no connection to the SAP BW system.
Update 4/4/2011:
I investigated more time on the Interval Selection since Ingo Hilgefort post a comment on my website. Ingo had any comment on certain points in my article. One of the comments was, the use of the internal key of the date. I changed the internal key to the normal key for performance reasons. Now there is no need to change the date format by a formula in MS Excel.
A second comment of Ingo was to use the SAP BEx variables. In cooperation with my colleague Xavier Hacking I spend some time to find a good solution to use the variables in the right way to use.
The solution is very simple!
When the date-from or date-to has been selected in the dropdown menu, the values will be written to cell B2 and B3. Cell B5 contains the following formula: “=CONCATENATE(B2;” – “;B3)”. This is necessary to post the value to the not mandatory Date variable (see next screenshot). The “-” character need to be used for the interval value!
Bind cell B5 to the Date interval variable.
When we will launch the dashboard, the selected interval value will be posted to the SAP BEx variable. The result is that all graphics (that are binded to the transaction data) will be updated to the selected months. In my opinion this scenario is a standard scenario that can be implemented by a lot of customers.
For those who want’s to download the new XLF file, click here.
Countdown Virtual Launch SAP BI & EIM 4.0
61 year ago
Wednesday, February 23th 2011 is a special day for all SAP BI & EIM consultants. This day the virtual launch of SAP BI & EIM 4.0 take place. In order to don’t miss this event, I thought I create a countdown in SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards.
Don’t miss this great event and register yourself via the official website as soon as possible!
For people who are interested in the source file, you can download it here!
Use selectionscreen in Xcelsius
31 year ago
Since I work with Xcelsius, I learn more and more clever tricks. One of the tricks that I recently discovered is, how to use “Dynamic Visibility” for a selection screen.
By inserting a button into your dashboard, it’s possible to use the function Data Insertion. With this option you’re able to display a few components simultaneously with one mouse-click.
When you need to make selections in your dashboard, you can use the “Dynamic Visibility”.
In this example, with a click on the button “Change Selections”, a number of non visible components suddenly become visible. In this screen (like a pop-up window) you can make selections and provide an update and the content of the graphs and charts are adjusted.
In the example you’ll see how I applied this functionality for a selection screen.
A useful tip if you do not want to display visible selections in your main dashboard.
Show Example (SWF)
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