14 Using BI Composer to Work with Analyses

This chapter describes how to use BI Composer to work with analyses. It contains the following topics:

• "What Is BI Composer?"

• "Where Is BI Composer Available?"

• "Creating Analyses Using BI Composer"

• "Editing Analyses Using BI Composer"

• "Viewing Analyses in BI Composer"

What Is BI Composer?

BI Composer is a simple-to-use wizard that allows you to quickly and easily create, edit, or view analyses without the complexities of the "Analysis editor".

Figure 14-1 shows an example of the "BI Composer wizard":

• At the top of the wizard is the BI Composer train, which contains buttons for each step in the wizard. For more information, see "What Are the Steps for Creating or Editing an Analysis in BI Composer?"

• On the left are the Catalog tab and the Subject Areas tab.

• To the right of the tabs is the panel area, where the components for each step are displayed. The figure shows the "BI Composer wizard -- Create Analysis: Select Columns panel".

• To the far right are the Back, Next, Finish, and Cancel buttons.

Figure 14-1 Example of BI Composer

There are two modes in which BI Composer can appear — regular mode and accessibility mode. Accessibility mode has the same functionality as regular mode but is optimized for use with screen reader applications such as JAWS. It makes it easier for users with visual impairments to create, edit, and view analyses.

For more information on the availability of BI Composer, see "Where Is BI Composer Available?"

What Are the Steps for Creating or Editing an Analysis in BI Composer?

The steps for creating or editing an analysis in BI Composer are as follows:

• Select Columns — In this step you select the columns that are to appear in the analysis

• Select Views — In this step you select the views that are to be included in the analysis, such as a title, table, bar graph, and so on. (Note that not all views available in Oracle BI Enterprise Edition are supported in BI Composer.) You can also preview the results.

• Edit Table — In this step you edit the layout of the table (if you have included a table view). For example, you can create prompts, use a column to section the analysis, and exclude certain columns from the table. You can also preview the results.

• Edit Graph — In this step you edit the properties and layout of the graph (if you have included a graph view). For example, you can create prompts, use a column to section the analysis, and exclude certain columns from the graph. You can also preview the results.

• Sort and Filter — In this step you apply sorting and filters to the views. You can also preview the results.

• Highlight — In this step you apply conditional formatting to the table (if you have included a table view). You can also preview the results.

• Save — In this step you save the analysis with the same name or with a different name. You can also:

  • Create new folders in which to save the analyses

  • Rename folders and analyses

  • Delete folders and analyses

  • Expand and collapse folders

Where Is BI Composer Available?

BI Composer is available in:

• Oracle BI Enterprise Edition (if your organization has installed and configured it).

  For information on how to install and configure BI Composer for Oracle BI Enterprise Edition, see "Installing and Configuring BI Composer for Oracle BI EE".

  For more information on its availability in Oracle BI Enterprise Edition, see "Availability of BI Composer Oracle BI Enterprise Edition".

• Any ADF application that has been modified to integrate with Oracle BI Enterprise Edition.

  For more information, see "Adding BI Composer to an ADF Application" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition.

• A WebCenter Portal application or WebCenter Spaces application that has been modified to integrate with Oracle BI Enterprise Edition.

  For more information, see "Adding BI Composer to a WebCenter Portal Application or WebCenter Spaces" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition.

For more information on BI Composer, see "What Is BI Composer?"

Availability of BI Composer Oracle BI Enterprise Edition

In this release of Oracle BI EE, BI Composer is available only in accessibility mode. It is displayed in place of the "Analysis editor" when a user has turned on accessibility mode (by selecting Accessibility Mode On in the "My Account dialog: Preferences tab") and then performs one of the following actions:

• Selects the Analysis option on the New menu in the global header or Create section of the "Home page"

  For more information on how to create an analysis using BI Composer, see "Creating Analyses Using BI Composer".

• Edits an analysis from:

  • The Catalog page or from the Recent section or the Most Popular section of the Home page

  • A dashboard

  For more information on how to edit an analysis using BI Composer, see "Editing Analyses Using BI Composer".

For more information on accessibility features, see Appendix C, "Accessibility Features."

Creating Analyses Using BI Composer

Note:

To create an analysis using BI Composer, you must have accessibility mode turned on. To turn on accessibility mode, select Accessibility Mode On in the "My Account dialog: Preferences tab".

You create a new analyses using BI Composer when you select the Analysis option on the New menu in the global header or Create section of the "Home page"

For more information on BI Composer, see "What Is BI Composer?"

To create an analysis using BI Composer:

1. In the global header, click New, then Analysis. "BI Composer wizard" is displayed.

2. Click the Subject Areas tab.

3. Select a subject area.

4. Click Create. The "BI Composer wizard -- Create Analysis: Select Columns panel" is displayed.

5. Use the Select Columns panel to select the columns to appear in the report. For each column that you want to add:

   1. Select the column in the Subject Area list.

   2. Click Add to move it to the Selected Columns list.

6. Click the Select Views button in the BI Composer train at the top of the wizard. The "BI Composer wizard -- Create Analysis: Select Views panel" is displayed.

7. Use the Select Views panel to specify the views to include.

8. (optional) If you included a table view in the analysis, click the Edit Table button in the BI Composer train. The "BI Composer wizard -- Create Analysis: Edit Table panel" is displayed.

9. (optional) Use the Edit Table panel to edit the layout of the table.

10. (optional) If you included a graph view in the analysis, click the Edit Graph button in the BI Composer train. The "BI Composer wizard -- Create Analysis: Edit Graph panel" is displayed.

11. (optional) Use the Edit Graph panel to edit the properties and layout of the graph.

12. (optional) Click the Sort and Filter button in the BI Composer train. The "BI Composer wizard -- Create Analysis: Sort and Filter panel" is displayed.

13. (optional) Use the Sort and Filter panel to apply sorting and filters to the views.

14. (optional) If you included a table view in the analysis, click the Highlight button in the BI Composer train. The "BI Composer wizard --Create Analysis: Highlight panel" is displayed.

15. (optional) Use the Highlight panel to apply conditional formatting to the table.

16. Click the Save button in the BI Composer train. The "BI Composer wizard -- Create Analysis: Save panel" is displayed.

17. Use the Save panel to save the analysis with the same name or with a different name by specifying the save criteria and then clicking Submit.

Editing Analyses Using BI Composer

Note:

To edit an analysis using BI Composer, you must have accessibility mode turned on. To turn on accessibility mode, select Accessibility Mode On in the "My Account dialog: Preferences tab".

You edit an analysis using BI Composer when you:

• Edit an analysis from the Catalog page or from the Recent section or the Most Popular section of the Home page

• Edit an analysis from within a dashboard

You can also select an analysis for edit directly from the "BI Composer wizard".

For more information on BI Composer, see "What Is BI Composer?"

To edit an analysis using BI Composer:

1. Edit the analysis in one of the following ways:

   • From the Catalog or Home page, navigate to the analysis and click Edit. The BI Composer wizard is displayed.

   • From the BI Composer wizard, click the Catalog tab, select the analysis, and click Edit.

2. Make the changes to the analysis by navigating the steps of the wizard using the buttons in the BI Composer train at the top of the wizard.

3. Click the Save button in the BI Composer train. The "BI Composer wizard -- Create Analysis: Save panel" is displayed.

4. Use the Save panel to save the edited analysis with the same name or with a different name by specifying the save criteria and then clicking Submit.

Viewing Analyses in BI Composer

Note:

To view an analysis in BI Composer, you must have accessibility mode turned on. To turn on accessibility mode, select Accessibility Mode On in the "My Account dialog: Preferences tab".

If you are working in BI Composer, then you can display an analysis for viewing.

For more information on BI Composer, see "What Is BI Composer?"

To view an analysis in BI Composer:

1. Click the Catalog tab.

2. Select the analysis.

3. Click View. The analysis is displayed for viewing to the right of the Catalog tab.