SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 Cookbook

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 Cookbook

Overview of this book

If you are a developer with a good command and knowledge of creating dashboards, but are not yet an advanced user of SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards, then this is the perfect book for you. Prerequisites include a good working knowledge of Microsoft Excel as well as knowledge of basic dashboard practices.

Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Free Chapter

1. 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

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

Showing a trend without a chart

Displaying raw data

Illustrating single values

3. 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

Introduction

Switching between different charts

Building a pop-up screen

Creating a mouseover help text popup

Password protecting your dashboard

5. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Introduction

Using the Spreadsheet Table component to debug

Time-saving tips during dashboard development

Fixing corrupt XLF files

A. Real-world Dashboard Case Studies

What-if scenario – Mortgage Calculator

Sales/Profit dashboard example

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

Customer Reviews

5 star

4 star

3 star

2 star

1 star

Introduction

An important strength that SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards has is the amount of control it allows a developer to provide the user with. This leads to totally customized dashboards, which give users the interactivity that guides them to make the right business decisions. It is important that developers know what type of interactive tools are available so that they can utilize the power of these tools.

With the right interactivity, users can retrieve information more quickly and efficiently. This chapter will provide developers with recipes on interactivity, which will improve the dashboard user experience.

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 Cookbook

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 Cookbook

Overview of this book

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SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 Cookbook

Introduction