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Lesson 4: Modifying the business area

Lesson 4: Modifying the business area

It will probably take you about 10 minutes to complete this lesson.

In this lesson you will label information in a business area to help end users identify the information they will want to access. This includes adding a description to the New Video Stores business area and renaming folders and items to more clearly identify the data that they represent.

This lesson consists of the following exercises:

• "Exercise 1: Adding a description to the business area"

• "Exercise 2: Renaming and adding descriptions to folders"

• "Exercise 3: Renaming items in the Time Information folder"

Exercise 1: Adding a description to the business area

In this exercise you will add a description to the business area.

A descriptive phrase about the business area can help remind end users of the purpose of a business area.

To add a description to the business area:

1. Display the Workarea: Data tab.

2. Click the New Video Stores business area.

3. Choose Edit | Properties to display the Business Area Properties dialog.

Figure 5-1 Business Area Properties dialog

Text description of the illustration baprop.gif

4. Click the Description field and type 'Stores Information for 1998, 1999 and 2000'.

5. Click OK.

   Hint: Many Discoverer dialogs have an OK button and an Apply button. If you click the Apply button, Discoverer puts the changes into effect, but does not close the dialog. You can continue making changes to other items using the same dialog. If you click the OK button, Discoverer applies the changes and closes the dialog. If you select the Automatically save changes after each edit check box, you don't have to click the Apply button as changes are saved as you make them.

In this exercise you added a description to the business area.

Exercise 2: Renaming and adding descriptions to folders

In this exercise you will rename and add descriptions to folders.

Folders are the basic elements that end users see when working with a business area. For that reason, folders must have meaningful names as well as useful descriptions that explain the folder's primary use.

To rename and add descriptions to folders:

1. Click the + symbol to the left of the New Video Stores business area in the Workarea: Data tab.

   This expands the list of folders in the business area.

Figure 5-2 New Video Stores business area folders

Text description of the illustration foldrs.gif

2. Click the Store folder on the Workarea: Data tab and choose Edit | Properties to display the Folder Properties dialog for the Store folder.

Figure 5-3 Folder Properties dialog

Text description of the illustration folderpr.gif

3. Click the Name field and rename 'Store' to 'Store Information'.

4. Click the Description field and type 'Store details including values such as name, floor plan type, and location'.

   The folder name and description will be visible in Discoverer Plus and Discoverer Viewer.

5. Click Apply and repeat the steps for each folder using the new text listed in the table below under the column heading New folder name.

   Table 5-1 Renaming folders

   Original folder name	New folder name
   Product	Product Information
   Sales Fact	Sales Details
   Times	Time Information

6. Click OK when you have completed renaming the folders.

   Hint: While the Properties dialog is open, you can click another object in the Workarea to switch your view to the properties for that object.

Now that you have given the folders more meaningful names and provided a description for the contents of each folder, end users can see the new names and descriptions when deciding which folders to use in a report.

In this exercise you renamed and added descriptions to folders.

Exercise 3: Renaming items in the Time Information folder

In this exercise you will rename items in the Time Information folder.

Database columns often have cryptic names that have little meaning for end users. When columns are loaded into a business area, the items that represent them are given the same names, depending on the options you choose. Just as you can change folder names and add descriptions to them, you can also change item names and add descriptions to them.

To rename items in the Time Information folder:

1. Click the + symbol next to the Time Information folder to display a list of all the items in the folder.

Figure 5-4 Displaying the items in the Time Information folder

Text description of the illustration folderit.gif

2. Click the Transaction Date Year item in the Workarea: Data tab

3. Choose Edit | Properties to display the Item Properties dialog for the Transaction Date Year item.

4. Click the Name field and rename 'Transaction Date Year' to 'Year'.

5. Click Apply.

Figure 5-5 Item Properties dialog: General tab

Text description of the illustration itmprop.gif

6. Rename three more items as follows:
   • 'Transaction Date Quarter' to 'Quarter'

   • 'Transaction Date Month' to 'Month'

   • 'Transaction Date Day' to 'Day'

   The change you make in the Name field also automatically registers in the Heading field (you might need to use the scroll bar if you want to display the Heading field).

   You can also change the description. However, in the case of date or time-related items, the default description is adequate.

7. Click OK when you finish renaming the items.

In this exercise you renamed items in the Time Information folder.

Lesson summary

In this lesson you labelled information in a business area to help end users identify the information they will want to access.

In this lesson you completed the following exercises:

• In Exercise 1 you added a description to the business area

• In Exercise 2 you renamed and added descriptions to folders.

• In Exercise 3 you renamed and added descriptions for an item in a folder.

In the next lesson, you will further enhance the business area by creating a custom folder.