SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 Cookbook

Table of Contents

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 Cookbook

Credits

Foreword

About the Author

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Acknowledgments

About the Reviewers

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Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Downloading the example code

Downloading the color images of this book

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. Staying in Control

Introduction

Understanding the dashboard workspace

Using the Object Browser

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Searching for components

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Grouping the canvas components

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Making the spreadsheet more readable with colors

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Making the spreadsheet more readable with comments

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Making the spreadsheet more readable with borders

Getting ready

How to do it...

There's more...

Using the toolbar border button

Using multiple worksheets

Placing your Excel logic wisely

Using named ranges

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Defined named ranges

The Name Manager

Copying the format of one cell to another cell or range

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Debugging the spreadsheets

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Navigating between worksheets

How to do it...

How it works...

2. Data Visualization

Introduction

Adding a line chart to your dashboard

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Manually binding data

Hide/show series

Other charts

Bar chart and column chart

Area chart

Stacked charts

Marimekko chart

Using a bullet chart

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using sparklines

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Header labels

Low and high values

Using a combination chart

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using a waterfall chart

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using a pie chart

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Using a scatter plot chart

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Using a bubble plot chart

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Using a radar chart

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using an OHLC chart and a candlestick chart

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Sorting series

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Zooming in on charts

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Scaling the y-axis

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Variable maximum limits

Allow Zoom Out Only

Using a tree map

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Showing a trend without a chart

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Displaying raw data

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Illustrating single values

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

3. From a Static to an Interactive Dashboard

Introduction

Selecting your data from a list

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Drilling down from a chart

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using the Filter selector component for hierarchies

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

An alternative hierarchy selection method

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Using the Hierarchical Table

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works...

There's more…

Using Filtered Rows

How to do it...

How it works...

Using maps to select data of an area or country

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Adding a Mac OS X-looking dock to your dashboard

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Resetting your data (the reset button)

How to do it...

How it works...

Making selections from a custom image (the push button and image component)

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Inputting data values

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Using the Play Selector / Play Control component

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Opening up a Web Intelligence report using dashboard parameters

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Selecting calendar dates

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Using sliders to create a what-if scenario

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

4. Dynamic Visibility

Introduction

Switching between different charts

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Building a pop-up screen

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Creating a mouseover help text popup

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Password protecting your dashboard

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

5. Using Alerts

Introduction

Adding alerts to a column chart

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Making alert ranges dynamic

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Displaying alerts on a map

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Displaying alerts of different thresholds on a map

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Using bindable colors to control alert coloring from a central location

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Using alerts in a Scorecard

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

6. Advanced Components

Introduction

Printing your dashboard

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Grouping and organizing components with the Canvas Container

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Using dashboard scenarios

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using the Grid component

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Creating a slideshow

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using the Panel Set component

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Linking to files instead of embedding

Panel behavior

Using the History component

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Inserting data with the Source Data component

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Analyzing trends

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

7. Dashboard Look and Feel

Introduction

Changing the look of a chart

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Adding a background to your dashboard

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using color schemes

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Sharing a color scheme

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Working with themes

How to do it...

How it works...

Making component colors dynamic

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Dynamic XY positioning and sizing of components

Getting ready

How to do it…

There's more…

Using the Panel Container

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using the Tab Set container

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Making tables look pretty

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Using quadrants smartly

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Creating/using a dashboard template

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

8. Dashboard Data Connectivity

Introduction

Creating a news ticker with Excel XML Maps

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Usage tab

Connection Refresh Button

Using Query as a Web Service (QaaWS)

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using prompts

Methods

Using Live Office Connection

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using BI Web Services to consume a Webi report

Getting ready

How to do it...

Creating the BI Web Service

Creating a BI Web Service connection in SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards

How it works…

There's more…

Using the SAP NetWeaver BW Connection

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Using variables and filters

Other Output Values

Returned data format

Using the Query Browser

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Query Refresh Button

SAP BW BEx Query

Using SAP HANA as a data source

Using SAP ECC tables as a data source

Passing values from dashboard to dashboard with Flash Variables

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

9. Exporting and Publishing

Introduction

Exporting to SWF, PPT, PDF, and other file types

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Publishing to SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Housing your dashboard in a BI Workspace

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Setting a BI Workspace as a home tab for BI Launchpad

Support for other types of BI documents

Content linking

Publishing to SAP BW

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Going mobile

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

The Mobile Compatibility panel

Sharing and annotating dashboards from the SAP BusinessObjects Mobile app

10. Top Third-party Add-ons

Introduction

Managing add-ons in SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards

Getting ready

How to do it...

Connecting to CSV files with the CSV Connector

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Integrating Google Maps with the CMaps plugin

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Connecting to Salesforce.com with DashConn

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Salesforce.com Data Manager Connection

Working Mode settings

Presenting micro charts in a Tree Grid

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Integrating Web Intelligence with Antivia XWIS Advantage Express

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

XWIS Slice and Dice component

XWIS Export component

Alerts

Antivia Timer component

Advanced printing with Xcelsius Dashboard Printer

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

SUCCESS with graphomate charts

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

11. Performance Tuning

Introduction

Improving Excel spreadsheet performance

How to do it…

Using scheduled Webis to save on querying time

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Running connections after loading the dashboard

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Checking master data loading performance of connections

Getting ready

How to do it…

There's more…

Optimizing BEx Query performance

How to do it…

Use dashboard specific queries

Use the BEx Query Designer features

Only use and reload necessary (master) data

Using Fiddler to identify the cause of performance issues

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

12. Increasing Productivity

Introduction

Using the Spreadsheet Table component to debug

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Time-saving tips during dashboard development

How to do it…

Global Fonts

Grouping from the Object Browser versus grouping with a Canvas Container

Editing multiple components at once

Using the alignment, sizing, and spacing buttons

Using the arrow keys for precise placement of components

Using the Grid to help with relative positioning

Copying objects from another dashboard

Fixing corrupt XLF files

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

A. Real-world Dashboard Case Studies

What-if scenario – Mortgage Calculator

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Sales/Profit dashboard example

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

B. Additional Resources – Supported Excel Functions and System/Software Requirements

Online resources

Supported Excel functions

System and software requirements

C. The Future of Dashboarding with SAP Design Studio

What is SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio?

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards versus SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio

What is the SAP roadmap for dashboarding?

Index

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 Cookbook

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 Cookbook

Copyright © 2015 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either expressed or implied. Neither the authors, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: May 2011

Second edition: March 2015

Production reference: 1250315