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SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 Cookbook

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SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 Cookbook

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SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 Cookbook
Mar, 2015 | 452 pages
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Table of Contents (26 chapters)
SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 Cookbook
SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 Cookbook
Credits
Credits
Foreword
Foreword
About the Author
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
About the Reviewers
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Preface
Free Chapter
1
Staying in Control
Staying in Control
Introduction
Using the Object Browser
Searching for components
Grouping the canvas components
Making the spreadsheet more readable with colors
Making the spreadsheet more readable with comments
Making the spreadsheet more readable with borders
Using named ranges
Copying the format of one cell to another cell or range
Debugging the spreadsheets
Navigating between worksheets
2
Data Visualization
Data Visualization
Introduction
Adding a line chart to your dashboard
Using a bullet chart
Using sparklines
Using a combination chart
Using a waterfall chart
Using a pie chart
Using a scatter plot chart
Using a bubble plot chart
Using a radar chart
Using an OHLC chart and a candlestick chart
Sorting series
Zooming in on charts
Scaling the y-axis
Using a tree map
Showing a trend without a chart
Displaying raw data
Illustrating single values
3
From a Static to an Interactive Dashboard
From a Static to an Interactive Dashboard
Introduction
Selecting your data from a list
Drilling down from a chart
Using the Filter selector component for hierarchies
An alternative hierarchy selection method
Using the Hierarchical Table
Using Filtered Rows
Using maps to select data of an area or country
Adding a Mac OS X-looking dock to your dashboard
Resetting your data (the reset button)
Making selections from a custom image (the push button and image component)
Inputting data values
Using the Play Selector / Play Control component
Opening up a Web Intelligence report using dashboard parameters
Selecting calendar dates
Using sliders to create a what-if scenario
4
Dynamic Visibility
Dynamic Visibility
Introduction
Switching between different charts
Building a pop-up screen
Creating a mouseover help text popup
Password protecting your dashboard
5
Using Alerts
Using Alerts
Introduction
Adding alerts to a column chart
Making alert ranges dynamic
Displaying alerts on a map
Displaying alerts of different thresholds on a map
Using bindable colors to control alert coloring from a central location
Using alerts in a Scorecard
6
Advanced Components
Advanced Components
Introduction
Printing your dashboard
Grouping and organizing components with the Canvas Container
Using dashboard scenarios
Using the Grid component
Creating a slideshow
Using the Panel Set component
Using the History component
Inserting data with the Source Data component
Analyzing trends
7
Dashboard Look and Feel
Dashboard Look and Feel
Introduction
Changing the look of a chart
Adding a background to your dashboard
Using color schemes
Sharing a color scheme
Working with themes
Making component colors dynamic
Dynamic XY positioning and sizing of components
Using the Panel Container
Using the Tab Set container
Making tables look pretty
Using quadrants smartly
Creating/using a dashboard template
8
Dashboard Data Connectivity
Dashboard Data Connectivity
Introduction
Creating a news ticker with Excel XML Maps
Using Query as a Web Service (QaaWS)
Using Live Office Connection
Using BI Web Services to consume a Webi report
Using the SAP NetWeaver BW Connection
Using the Query Browser
Passing values from dashboard to dashboard with Flash Variables
9
Exporting and Publishing
Exporting and Publishing
Introduction
Exporting to SWF, PPT, PDF, and other file types
Publishing to SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform
Housing your dashboard in a BI Workspace
Publishing to SAP BW
Going mobile
10
Top Third-party Add-ons
Top Third-party Add-ons
Introduction
Managing add-ons in SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards
Connecting to CSV files with the CSV Connector
Integrating Google Maps with the CMaps plugin
Connecting to Salesforce.com with DashConn
Presenting micro charts in a Tree Grid
Integrating Web Intelligence with Antivia XWIS Advantage Express
Advanced printing with Xcelsius Dashboard Printer
SUCCESS with graphomate charts
11
Performance Tuning
Performance Tuning
Introduction
Improving Excel spreadsheet performance
Using scheduled Webis to save on querying time
Running connections after loading the dashboard
Checking master data loading performance of connections
Optimizing BEx Query performance
Using Fiddler to identify the cause of performance issues
12
Increasing Productivity
Increasing Productivity
Introduction
Using the Spreadsheet Table component to debug
Time-saving tips during dashboard development
Fixing corrupt XLF files
Real-world Dashboard Case Studies
Real-world Dashboard Case Studies
What-if scenario – Mortgage Calculator
Sales/Profit dashboard example
Additional Resources – Supported Excel Functions and System/Software Requirements
Additional Resources – Supported Excel Functions and System/Software Requirements
Online resources
Supported Excel functions
System and software requirements
The Future of Dashboarding with SAP Design Studio
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
Index

Using named ranges

With named ranges, it is possible to define a worksheet cell or a range of cells with a logical name.

Getting ready

You can use one of the dashboards from the previous recipes, or just create a new blank dashboard.

How to do it...

  1. Select a range of cells (for example, B1:B12).

  2. Insert a description (for example, Total_Sales) for this range in the Name Box in the upper left-hand side of the worksheet.

  3. Now, this named range can be used in formulas in other worksheet cells. Type the formula =SUM(Total_Sales) in cell B13.

How it works...

Using named ranges makes your formulas more readable, especially when you are working with multiple worksheets and using formulas that refer to cells in other worksheets.

Note

There is a restriction to using named ranges in SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards: the defined named range must refer to a single cell or must use formulas that return a single value from a range of cells. For example, let's say we have two named ranges: Sales (A1:A12) and Cost (B1:B12). A supported formula would be =SUM(Sales)-SUM(Cost). An unsupported formula would be =Sales-Cost.

There's more...

In this section, we will discuss two ways to select and manage your named ranges.

Defined named ranges

Clicking on the little triangle in the Name Box will show a list of all your defined named ranges in all your worksheets.

The Name Manager

If you use a lot of named ranges, the Name Manager can be a helpful tool to manage your named ranges. Here, you can also edit and delete the existing named ranges. You can find the Name Manager under the Defined Names section of the Formulas tab or by using the shortcut Ctrl + F3.

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