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Lesson 2: Connecting to Discoverer Administrator, using the Load Wizard and the Workarea

Lesson 2: Connecting to Discoverer Administrator, using the Load Wizard and the Workarea

It will probably take you about 15 minutes to complete this lesson.

In this lesson you will connect to Discoverer Administrator, create a business area and get to know the Workarea.

This lesson consists of the following exercises:

• "Exercise 1: Connecting to Discoverer Administrator"

• "Exercise 2: Creating a new business area using the Load Wizard"

• "Exercise 3: Getting to know the Workarea"

Exercise 1: Connecting to Discoverer Administrator

In this exercise you will connect to Discoverer Administrator as the tutorial database user that you created in Lesson 1.

To complete other tutorial exercises you must connect to Discoverer Administrator using the tutorial database user.

To connect to Discoverer Administrator using the tutorial database user:

1. Choose Programs | Oracle Developer Suite - <HOME_NAME> | Discoverer Administrator from the Windows Start menu to display the Connect dialog.

Figure 3-1 Connect dialog

Text description of the illustration conntut.gif

2. Type admintutor followed by your initials (e.g. admintutorjs if your name is John Smith) in the Username field.

   This is the tutorial database username that you created in Lesson 1. You will use your tutorial database user when you connect to Discoverer Administrator for the other lessons in the Discoverer Administrator tutorial.

3. Enter your tutorial database user password (i.e. the one you specified in Lesson 1) in the Password field.

4. Enter the database connect string in the Connect field.

   If you do not know which connect string to use, see your database administrator.

5. Click Connect to display the Load Wizard dialog.

Figure 3-2 Load Wizard dialog

Text description of the illustration lw1a.gif

Once you are connected to Discoverer Administrator you can complete other tutorial exercises.

In this exercise you connected to Discoverer Administrator using the tutorial database user that you created in Lesson 1.

Exercise 2: Creating a new business area using the Load Wizard

In this exercise you will create a new business area using the VIDEO5 tables created for the tutorial. The Load Wizard guides you through each step of the process.

To create a new business area using the Load Wizard:

1. Display the Load Wizard dialog.

Figure 3-3 Load Wizard dialog

Text description of the illustration lw1a.gif

2. Click Create a new business area.

   The Load Wizard prompts you to specify where you want to load the information about the tables and columns in the database from. This information is known as metadata.

Figure 3-4 Load Wizard dialog

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3. Select the On-line Dictionary radio button.

   The on-line dictionary is where you will typically get information about tables and columns in an Oracle database.

4. Click Next to display the Load Wizard: Step 2 dialog.

   The Load Wizard: Step 2 enables you to specify a database link (if required) and identify the database users that own the tables that you want to include in the business area.

Figure 3-5 Load Wizard: Step 2 dialog

Text description of the illustration lw2un.gif

5. Make sure that Default Database is selected from the Select a Database Link drop down list.

6. Select the check box next to the VIDEO5 database user to specify that you want to include objects owned by the VIDEO5 database user in the new business area.

7. Make sure that the Load user objects that match field contains the % symbol.

   The % symbol is a wildcard. Using the % wildcard specifies that you want to include all tables and views belonging to the database user you selected.

8. Before continuing, confirm the Load Wizard: Step 2 dialog looks as shown below.

Figure 3-6 Load Wizard: Step 2 dialog

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9. Click Next to display the Load Wizard: Step 3 dialog.

Figure 3-7 Load Wizard: Step 3 dialog

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The Load Wizard: Step 3 dialog enables you to include individual tables and views in the new business area.

10. Click the + symbol next to the VIDEO5 database user to display the tables owned by the VIDEO5 database user.

Figure 3-8 Load Wizard: Step 3 dialog

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The Available list displays all of the objects that the VIDEO5 database user owns. Discoverer Administrator displays all these objects because you used the % wildcard in the Load Wizard: Step 2 dialog.

11. Move the following tables that you want to load into the business area from the Available list to the Selected list:
    • PRODUCT

    • STORE

    • TIMES

    • SALES_FACT

    You can select more than one table at a time by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking another table.

Figure 3-9 Load Wizard: Step 3 dialog

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12. Click Next to display the Load Wizard: Step 4 dialog.

Figure 3-10 Load Wizard: Step 4 dialog

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The Load Wizard: Step 4 dialog enables you to automatically generate hierarchies, lists of values, and joins for the new business area. You will be able to modify their properties to suit your users' needs later.

Note: For detailed descriptions of the controls in this dialog, click Help.

13. Clear the following check boxes:
    • Yes, create joins from check box(you will create joins manually in "Lesson 6: Creating joins")

    • Summaries based on folders that are created check box

14. Select the Date hierarchies check box (and do not change the default value in the drop down list).

15. Select the Default aggregate on datapoints check box (and do not change the default value in the drop down list).

16. Select the List of values for items of type check box and specify that you want Discoverer Administrator to create lists of values for character and date items as follows:
    • Clear the following check boxes:
      • Decimal check box

      • All keys check box

      • Integer check box

    • Select the following check boxes:
      • Character check box

      • Date check box

17. Make sure that the Load Wizard: Step 4 dialog displays the settings as shown below.

    Figure 3-11 Load Wizard: Step 4 dialog

    
    
    Text description of the illustration lw4.gif
    18. Click Next to display the Load Wizard: Step 5 dialog.

    Figure 3-12 Load Wizard: Step 5 dialog

    
    
    Text description of the illustration lw5un.gif

    The Load Wizard: Step 5 dialog enables you to name the business area, generate object names, and sort folders and items.

    19. Type New Video Stores in the What do you want to name this business area? field.

    20. Type Tutorial Business Area in the What description do you want to use for this business area? field.

    21. Specify how you want Discoverer Administrator to create folder and item names from database object names by selecting the following check boxes:
        • Replace all underscores with spaces check box

        • Remove all column prefixes check box

        • Capitalize check box (and do not change the default value in the drop down list)

    22. Specify whether you want the contents of folders and items to be sorted as follows:
        • select the Sort folders check box

        • clear the Sort items check box

    23. Before continuing, confirm the Load Wizard: Step 5 dialog looks as shown below.

    Figure 3-13 Load Wizard: Step 5 dialog

    
    
    Text description of the illustration lw5.gif
    24. Click Finish to create the new business area.

        Discoverer Administrator displays a progress bar while creating the business area.

        When the business area has been created, Discoverer Administrator displays the Workarea.

    Figure 3-14 Discoverer Administrator Workarea: Data tab

    
    
    Text description of the illustration wkaun.gif

    In this exercise you have created a new business area in Discoverer Administrator using the VIDEO5 tables created for the tutorial.

    In the next exercise you will get to know the Workarea.

    Exercise 3: Getting to know the Workarea

    In this exercise you will look at folders, items, a list of values and the Administration Tasklist in the Workarea:Data tab.

    You will look at other Workarea tabs in subsequent tutorial lessons.

    The four tabs at the top of the Workarea enable you to access the pages of the Workarea. Each tab enables you to work with a different element of the business area design.

    The Workarea is your primary view of the business area, where you modify folders and items to create the business view of data for the end user.

    To get to know the Workarea:Data tab:

    1. Display the Workarea: Data tab, if not displayed already.

    Figure 3-15 Discoverer Administrator Workarea: Data tab

    
    
    Text description of the illustration wkaun.gif
    2. Click the + symbol next to the New Video Stores business area to display the folders in the business area.

    Figure 3-16 Discoverer Administrator Workarea: Data tab

    
    
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    Each folder in the New Video Stores business area represents a table that you loaded from the VIDEO5 database user in "Exercise 2: Creating a new business area using the Load Wizard".

    3. Click the + symbol next to the Product folder to display the items in the Product folder.

    Figure 3-17 Discoverer Administrator Workarea: Data tab

    
    
    Text description of the illustration wkaex2.gif

    The items in the Product folder represent the columns in the Product database table.

    4. Click the + symbol next to the Description item (see above figure) to display the list of values that Discoverer Administrator created in "Exercise 2: Creating a new business area using the Load Wizard".

       The first time you click the + symbol next to an item, Discoverer Administrator displays a warning dialog.

    Figure 3-18 Warning dialog

    
    
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    5. Click Yes to display the list of values for the Description item.

    Figure 3-19 Discoverer Administrator Workarea: Data tab

    
    
    Text description of the illustration wkalov.gif

    The above figure displays a list of values showing the description for each product (this example lists a description of each video tape).

    By default, Discoverer Administrator also displays the Administration Tasklist.

    Figure 3-20 Administration Tasklist

    
    
    Text description of the illustration wktask.gif

    The Administration Tasklist acts as both a reminder of the basic steps involved in preparing a business area and as an interactive method of launching the listed tasks. You do not have to use the Administration Tasklist in this tutorial. However, you might find the Tasklist useful to track your progress.

    In this exercise you have looked at folders, items, a list of values, and the Administration Tasklist in the Workarea:Data tab.

    Lesson summary

    In this lesson you connected to Discoverer Administrator, created a business area, and got to know the Workarea.

    In the next lesson you will make the business area data available to Discoverer Plus and Discoverer Viewer end users by granting access privileges.