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Opening a R/OLAPXL Report After an appropriate data source has been selected, you may open an existing R/OLAPXL Report. To open an existing R/ OLAPXL Report: Step 1. From the File menu, choose Open. -or- Click on the standard Open button on the MS Excel toolbar. Step 2. Use the dialog box to select the existing R/ OLAPXL file. -or- Type the appropriate path and file name. Use any of the MS Excel files (* .xls) provided in the Samples folder under the RolapXL subdirectory. Step 3. Click on the OK button when done. Note The R/ OLAPXL Client software saves all R/OLAPXL-specific data in MS Excel workbook files. All R/ OLAPXL report files are therefore MS Excel workbook files. Running the R/OLAPXL Report When the report (MS Excel file) has opened successfully, you will find the report as it was last saved. If the report had been run in the past, the retrieved data should still be visible on the worksheet. Running the report causes R/ OLAPXL to retrieve the requested data from the database. Any previously retrieved data are overwritten automatically with "fresh" data from the database. To Run a R/ OLAPXL Report: Step 1. From the R/ OLAPXL menu, choose Run Report. -or- Click on the Run Report button on the R/ OLAPXL toolbar. Note Depending on its size and complexity, a R/ OLAPXL report may take anywhere between a few seconds to several minutes to complete. Printing a R/OLAPXL Report Printing a R/OLAPXL Report is no different from printing a MS Excel worksheet. To Print a R/ OLAPXL Report: Step 1. From the MS Excel File menu, choose Print. Step 2. Use the dialog box to select desired print settings. Step 3. Click on the OK button when done. Note Please refer to MS Excel user's manual for a comprehensive discussion of its printing features. Modifying a R/OLAPXL Report A R/OLAPXL report can be modified through any of the following actions: • Adding a new (R/ OLAPXL or Derived) column • Moving or deleting an existing (R/ OLAPXL or Derived) column • Assigning a new constraint • Editing an existing constraint • Rerunning a report against new data These topics are covered in more detail in the following sections. User's Guide This section guides you through the common tasks associated with using the R/OLAPXL Client software. Basic Concepts R/OLAPXL works with dimensional data warehouses and data marts. An understanding of dimensional modeling concepts is therefore helpful to the proper usage of this software. For further reading on dimensional modeling, please refer to Chapter 12 . Creating a R/OLAPXL Report R/OLAPXL saves data in MS Excel files. MS Excel for Windows 95 saves a set of worksheets together as an MS Excel workbook. The files are saved with the file name extension * .xls. Each workbook contains all retrieved data, charts, formulas, and formats that you have defined. The workbook is also used to store the parameters of the R/ OLAPXL reports you have created. You will find that opening and saving a R/ OLAPXL report is no different from opening and saving an MS Excel workbook. When you open a new MS Excel workbook, the workbook file is a standard MS Excel file with blank sheets. None of the worksheets have been initialized as R/ OLAPXL worksheets. Turn the active MS Excel spreadsheet into a R/ OLAPXL worksheet by selecting a Schema with which to work. By selecting the Schema, you select the database tables from which you will retrieve data. Once a Schema has been selected, R/ OLAPXL loads the appropriate data and transforms the MS Excel worksheet into a R/ OLAPXL worksheet. To create a new R/ OLAPXL Report: Step 1. Open a new MS Excel workbook, or open any existing MS Excel workbook. Step 2. Select a Schema with which to work. From the R/ OLAPXL menu, choose Select Schema. -or- On the R/ OLAPXL toolbar, click the Select Schema button. Step 3. On the pop-up window that appears, click on the desired Schema, then click on the Select command button to confirm your selection. Warning Do not select a new Schema while you are in the process of defining a R/ OLAPXL report. Doing so will make R/ OLAPXL discard any changes made to the currently active sheet. Saving R/OLAPXL Reports When you close a file, MS Excel checks to see whether you've made changes to it. If you haven't made any changes, the file closes. If you have made changes, MS Excel asks you whether you want to save them. To save a R/ OLAPXL Report for the first time: Step 1. From the File menu, choose Save As. Step 2. Type the name of the R/ OLAPXL report. Because this is the first time you are saving the R/ OLAPXL report, you should give it a unique name. Step 3. When you've typed the name of the R/ OLAPXL report and selected the desired directory, choose OK. Note that this procedure is no different from saving an MS Excel workbook for the first time. To save an existing R/ OLAPXL Report: Step 1. From the File menu, choose Save. -or- Click on the Save toolbar button. Note that this procedure is no different from saving an MS Excel workbook. Warning Do not attempt to save a R/ OLAPXL workbook in an earlier version of MS Excel. This tool is not downward compatible. Closing a R/OLAPXL Report Closing a R/OLAPXL Report is no different from closing any MS Excel workbook. To close a R/ OLAPXL Report: Step 1. From the File menu, choose Close. -or- Double-click the workbook's Close box. If you've made changes to the workbook since you last saved it, MS Excel will ask whether you want to save your changes before closing. Step 2. Choose Yes to save your changes and close the workbook. If you don't want to save your changes, Choose No; MS Excel will close the file without saving your changes. Working with R/OLAPXL Columns Specify the data items to be retrieved from the data warehouse or data mart by adding R/ OLAPXL Columns to your worksheet. Note You can only include data items that are available from the Schema you had selected earlier. A R/ OLAPXL column is the most basic unit of data that appears on a R/OLAPXL report. Each column corresponds to a field from either the Fact table or the Dimension tables. You can have as many R/ OLAPXL columns in your report as you wish, provided that these data elements are available from the selected schema or are derivable from fields in the selected schema. Adding a R/OLAPXL Column Add as many R/OLAPXL Columns to the MS Excel spreadsheet as are necessary to produce the report you need. To Add a R/ OLAPXL Column to a Report: Step 1. Position the cursor on the MS Excel column you wish to use. Step 2. From the R/ OLAPXL menu, choose Assign R/OLAPXL Column -or- On the R/ OLAPXL toolbar, click on the Assign R/OLAPXL Column button. Step 3. On the pop-up window, select the appropriate Fact or Dimension Table you wish to use. Step 4. On the same pop-up window, select the appropriate Fact or Dimensional Attribute you wish to use. Step 5. Click on the Place command button to place the selected Fact or Dimensional Attribute on the column. -or- If your cursor is not positioned on the appropriate column, use the Left and Right command buttons to position the cursor on the correct column before clicking on Place. -or- Click on the Insert command button to insert a column. This will also place the selected attribute on the newly inserted column. Step 6. Use the Delete command button to delete the current column if desired. Step 7. Use the Close command button to close the pop-up window when you have finished adding columns to your report. Note On the right-hand side of the pop-up window are two checkboxes labeled Fact and Additive. "Fact" becomes enabled when the selected table is a Fact table. "Additive" becomes enabled when the selected attribute is an Additive Fact. Moving a R/OLAPXL Column You can easily change the sequence of R/OLAPXL Columns in your report by using the R/ OLAPXL toolbar. To Move a R/ OLAPXL Column: Step 1. Select the column you wish to move by clicking on the column heading or on any cell in that column. Step 2. On the R/ OLAPXL toolbar, click on the Move Column to Left or Move Column to Right button, as appropriate. Note Moving a column on a R/ OLAPXL worksheet does not in any way affect the structure or sequence of data in the data warehouse or the data mart. Deleting R/OLAPXL Columns Deleting a R/OLAPXL Column is no different from deleting any MS Excel column. Several options are available, each supported by the standard MS Excel software. To Delete a R/ OLAPXL Column, Option 1: Step 1. Select the column to delete by clicking on the column heading. Step 2. From the Edit Menu, Choose Delete. To Delete a R/ OLAPXL Column, Option 2: Step 1. Select any cell on the column you wish to delete. Step 2. From the Edit Menu, Choose Delete. Step 3. On the pop-up window, Choose Entire Column. Step 4. Click on OK. To Delete a R/ OLAPXL Column, Option 3: Step 1. Use the right mouse button to click on any cell on the column you wish to delete. Step 2. On the pop-up menu, choose Delete. Step 3. On the pop-up window that appears, Choose Entire Column. Step 4. Click on OK. Note Deleting a column from a R/ OLAPXL worksheet does not delete data from the data warehouse or the data mart. Using Derived Columns R/OLAPXL allows you to enter formulas to derive new values based on data retrieved from the data warehouse or data mart. These derived columns can be inserted anywhere in the R/ OLAPXL report. The cells with these formulas automatically recompute when new data are retrieved from the data warehouse or data mart. Using Functions A function can be applied to a fact or dimensional attribute in any R/OLAPXL report. Note By default, no functions are applied to non-numeric attributes, and the SUM function is the default for all numeric attributes. R/ OLAPXL supports the following functions: • SUM. Applicable to numeric attributes, this function causes R/ OLAPXL to add up the values of the factual attribute for all records that meet the constraints of the report. This is the default setting for any numeric fact. • COUNT. Applicable to all attributes, this function causes R/ OLAPXL to count the number of records that meet the constraints of the report. • MIN. Applicable to dates and numeric attributes, this function causes R/ OLAPXL to return the smallest distinct value of the factual attribute for all records that meet the constraints of the report. • MAX. Applicable to dates and numeric attributes, this function causes R/ OLAPXL to return the largest distinct value of the factual attribute for all records that meet the constraints of the report. • NONE. Applicable only to dimensional attributes, this function causes R/ OLAPXL to return one row for each record that meets the constraints of the report. This is the default setting for all dimensional attributes. Note You can enable the DISTINCT option when using R/ OLAPXL functions. It instructs the database server to retrieve relevant rows and apply the used function only on unique instances of a particular record. Drilling Up and Down Using R/OLAPXL Columns R/OLAPXL supports two types of drills: ad hoc drills and hierarchical drills. Ad Hoc Drills Each time you add a Dimensional Attribute to your report, you are performing an ad hoc drill. For example, if your report currently has three columns—Country, Region, and Sales—you can drill further down by adding another dimensional attribute (e.g., Branch) before the Sales Fact column. In general, as the dimensional attributes in your report increase, so will the level of detail of the facts in the report. Hierarchical Drills A hierarchical drill, on the other hand, is a drill-up or drill-down the hierarchy of a particular dimension. R/ OLAPXL recognizes hierarchies within the data warehouse and automatically drills up or down the hierarchy when directed by the user. Consider the following hierarchy in the Product Dimension: [...]... sheet as the data source View R/OLAPXL Pivot Displays the data source for the currently active Pivot Report Source Refresh R/OLAPXL Refreshers the Pivot report, based on the data in the related Pivot Report Pivot Table Field Hide Detail Show Detail Show Pagess report data source Standard Excel Pivot Command Allows users to define Pivot field properties Standard Excel Pivot command Hides source data detail... Between, In, and Not In The Like operator can be used only on character fields Note The Between operator is typically used on numeric or date attributes (e.g., between 10 and 20, or between year 199 7 and year 199 8) However, this operator can also be used on character attributes For example, you may have a constraint for Customer First Name with value BETWEEN A% and B% Note that the Between operator will... page values or data Product Shoes Shirts Shorts Country USA 1,000 2,000 UK 4,000 3,500 2,000 2,500 1,500 Australia Pivot Table Data Sources In order to create a R/OLAPXL Pivot table report, a R/OLAPXL table report is needed to serve as the source report for the Pivot table A R/OLAPXL Pivot report uses an existing table report as the source for its data In contrast, a table report is fed by data fetched... in the dimensional hierarchy, Drill-To allows the user to skip hierarchical levels Constraining Your R/OLAPXL Worksheet Limit the data that R/OLAPXL retrieves from the data warehouse or data mart by using constraints A constraint is a conditional statement with which any data item must comply before R/OLAPXL will retrieve it For example, if a business user wishes to see "sales figures for product X,... automatically rerun the report after the columns have been changed by a drill-up or drill-down If this option is disabled, you will need to explicitly run the report for R/OLAPXL to retrieve data from the data warehouse or data mart To Enable or Disable Automatic Rerun of Reports: Step 1 From the R/OLAPXL menu, choose Options to bring up the R/OLAPXL Options dialog box -orOn the R/OLAPXL toolbar, click on... have finished adding the columns and (optionally) constraints to your R/OLAPXL worksheet, you are ready to run your report Running the report causes R/OLAPXL to retrieve the specified data from the data warehouse or data mart To Run a R/OLAPXL Report: Step 1 From the R/OLAPXL menu, choose Run Report -orOn the R/OLAPXL toolbar, click on the Run Report button Note Depending on its size and complexity,... worksheet so that you can show or hide as much detail as you need Note The Subtotal features described here are applicable only to Excel 97 Unfortunately, Excel 95 does not provide the same level of support for subtotals This feature is therefore disabled on Excel 95 installations R/OLAPXL makes use of standard Excel subtotal functionality but provides its own user interface to ease the management of... basic parts: • Page Shows data for one item at a time in the table • Column Shows items in the field as column labels (Products, in the above example) • Row Shows items in the field as row labels (Country, in the above example) • Data Summarized values in the body of the table With Pivot tables, R/OLAPXL users can now obtain a summarized multidimensional view of the same data, where actual item or... following constraints: • Product = "X" • Branch = "Y" • Day (or Date) = "Z" R/OLAPXL recognizes constraints and limits the data that it retrieves so that users get only the data they need Constraint Sets in R/OLAPXL Each R/OLAPXL report starts with no constraints To limit the data retrieved by R/OLAPXL, you must define one or more Constraint Sets and apply these Constraint Sets to the Facts in the... R/OLAPXL Pivot report uses an existing table report as the source for its data In contrast, a table report is fed by data fetched directly from the database This difference in data sources allows users to do offline or mobile analysis Since a Pivot report fetches its data from just another Excel worksheet, the results of drills and other functions applied on the Pivot report are almost instantaneous R/OLAPXL . delete data from the data warehouse or the data mart. Using Derived Columns R/OLAPXL allows you to enter formulas to derive new values based on data retrieved from the data warehouse or data. R/OLAPXL Columns Specify the data items to be retrieved from the data warehouse or data mart by adding R/ OLAPXL Columns to your worksheet. Note You can only include data items that are available. past, the retrieved data should still be visible on the worksheet. Running the report causes R/ OLAPXL to retrieve the requested data from the database. Any previously retrieved data are overwritten