Bookshelf v10.1.3.2: Using Oracle BI Answers to Create, Modify, and Save Requests

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Using Oracle BI Answers to Create, Modify, and Save Requests

This section contains information about working with requests in Oracle BI Answers. It contains the following topics:

NOTE: For information about working with Briefing Books, see Working with Oracle BI Briefing Books.

Accessing Subject Areas and Requests Using the Oracle BI Answers Start Page

The Oracle BI Answers start page provides access to subject areas and saved requests.

NOTE: What you see in Oracle BI Answers depends on the permissions granted to your user ID, so you may not see everything that is described in this section.

The start page has two main areas:

Selection pane. The selection pane, located on the left side of the screen, shows content saved in the Presentation Catalog, such as personal and shared requests and filters, and your briefing books (if your organization licensed this feature).
Workspace. The workspace, located to the right of the selection pane, initially shows the subject areas you can work with to create requests.

When you make a selection from the selection pane, such as clicking a saved request, your selection appears in the workspace so you can work with it.

When you click a subject area in the workspace to create a new request, the selection pane changes to show the columns and filters for that subject area that you can include in a request, and the workspace displays the tabs for working with requests.

To view saved requests organized by dashboard

Access Oracle BI and click the Dashboard tab.
Click the Dashboard tab in the selection pane.

To view saved requests as stored in the Presentation Catalog

Access Oracle BI and click the Answers link.
Click the Catalog tab in the selection pane.

To search for a saved request

Type all or part of its name into the Search text box, and then click the Search button.
Search results are listed in the workspace.

NOTE: If you use a backslash character (\) in an iBot name (for example Na\me), the search string used to find it must contain an additional backslash (called an escape character). For example, an iBot called Na\me would require the search string Na\\me, to retrieve details for that iBot. Without the additional backslash an error message is displayed.

To return to the Oracle BI Answers start page

Click the Answers link from anywhere within Oracle BI.

Accessing the Tabs in the Oracle BI Answers Workspace

The Oracle BI Answers workspace displays the following tabs for working with a request:

Criteria tab. This tab provides access to the columns selected for the request, and buttons to access the most common view types.
Results tab. This tab allows you to work with the results of the request.
Prompts tab. This tab allows you to create prompts to filter the request.
Advanced tab. This tab allows advanced users to work with the XML and logical SQL for the request.

Each tab contains on-screen information and buttons to help you create, access, and manage requests. On each tab, you can pause your mouse over each button for a description of what it does. Table 4 provides additional information about each tab.

To access the tabs in the Oracle BI Answers Workspace

Click a subject area to create a new request, or modify a saved request.
The workspace displays the tabs for working with the request.

Table 4 describes the tabs in the Oracle BI Answers workspace.

Table 4. Tabs in the Oracle BI Answers Workspace
Tab	Description
Criteria Tab	Use the Criteria tab to view or change the columns and filters for the request. You can specify the order in which the results should be returned, column subtotals, formatting (such as headings and number of decimal places), and column formulas (such as adding a Rank or Percentile function). You can also add or modify column filters. Four common views are available from this tab by clicking the appropriate view button: Displays the compound layout view, where you can combine individual views and arrange them for display on a dashboard. Displays the table view, where you can show results in a table. Displays the chart view, where you can show results in different kinds of charts. Displays the pivot table view, where you can take row, column, and section headings and swap them around to obtain different perspectives.
Results Tab	Use the Results tab to work with the results of a request, and create different views of the results such as charts, tickers, and pivot tables. You can add a variety of views, including charts and pivot tables that show the data, plain or formatted text that describes the results, HTML, and more. The default results view is a simple table with a title. Your Oracle Business Intelligence Presentation Services administrator may have configured a different default results view for your organization. You can combine views and position them anywhere on the page. For example, you can create side-by-side pivot tables that reflect different views of the data, charts that allow you to explore interrelationships in depth, and filters that limit the results. If the request is embedded in a dashboard, the dashboard page can also include links to additional requests of interest, related graphics, news stories, and so on.
Prompts Tab	Use the Prompts tab to create prompts that allow users to select values to filter a request. Prompts allow users to select values that dynamically filter all views within the request.
Advanced Tab	Use the Advanced tab to work directly with the XML and logical SQL generated for the request. If you know SQL and the structure of your underlying data sources, you can use the Advanced tab to view and work directly with the SQL statements generated for the request. For example, you can change the subject area or add advanced SQL statements. The Advanced tab also provides access to links that you can use to execute saved requests from an external Web page, portal, or application. NOTE: The Advanced tab is recommended for use only by developers or experienced users with complex data analysis needs and capabilities. Only users with the appropriate responsibilities are given access to the Advanced tab.

Running a Request from the Oracle BI Answers Start Page

This section explains how to run a request from the Oracle BI Answers start page. You can run a saved request or create a new request.

Your My Folders folder is designed to hold the requests that you run most often. This folder is located at the top of the selection pane on the Catalog tab. The first time you see this folder, it will be empty. You can populate it by saving requests to it. For more information about saving requests, see Saving an Oracle BI Request to a Personal or Shared Folder.

To run a saved request

In the selection pane, click a saved request from your My Folders list or from a shared folder.
NOTE: Selecting a request from a folder causes the request to be executed immediately.

To create a new request

Click a subject area, select the columns and filters to include in the request, and then click the Results tab or one of the result view buttons.
For more information, see Creating a New Oracle BI Request or Changing the Criteria for an Existing Request.

Creating an iBot in Oracle BI Delivers directly from a saved request in Oracle BI Answers

This section explains how to create an iBot in Oracle BI Delivers directly from a saved request in Oracle BI Answers.

To create an iBot in Oracle BI Delivers directly from a saved request in Oracle BI Answers

In the selection pane in Oracle BI Answers, click the Create iBot link for a saved request from your My Folders list or from a shared folder.
NOTE: The Create iBots link is not available if your organization is not using Oracle BI Delivers.

Oracle BI Delivers displays the Schedule tab where you specify iBot schedule settings for the saved request.

For more information, see Scheduling an Oracle BI Delivers iBot.

Creating a New Oracle BI Request or Changing the Criteria for an Existing Request

Use the following procedure to select the columns and filters to include in a request. The subject area for the request is listed on the Catalog tab in the selection pane, together with the tables and columns the request contains.

CAUTION: If you click your browser's Refresh button before you are done creating a request, be aware that the browser will reload all frames and discard your changes.

To create a new request or change the criteria for an existing request

Perform one of the following actions:
- To modify an existing request, click it on Catalog tab in the selection pane, and then click the Modify button.
  The Criteria tab appears in the workspace.
  
  TIP: To go directly to the Criteria tab, press and hold down the CTRL key when you click the request.
- To create a new request, click a subject area at the Oracle BI Answers start page, or click the button to create a new request (located at the top of the Catalog tab in the selection pane, and when you are working with a request, in the upper right corner of the workspace).
  Creating a new request clears any previous request from the workspace, and allows you to continue working with the same subject area.
  
  The subject area for the request appears in the selection pane, together with its columns.
Click on columns to add them to the request.
TIP: In general, the request should contain at least one column from the Facts table in the selection pane. Facts are the key additive measurements of business performance, such as dollar sales per store, or the number of service requests opened and closed each day. Running a request without including any facts generally produces reports that are not meaningful, and can cause poor query performance or unexpected results. If you want to build a request without any facts, you should first consult your Oracle BI administrator.
Use the column buttons to control the use of each column in the request.
For information about the column buttons, see Table 5.
To reorder columns in the workspace, drag and drop a column name from its current location to another location.
To preview the results, perform any of the following actions:
- Click one of the result view buttons for a table, chart, or pivot table near the top of the workspace.
- Click the preview button to see how results will look on the dashboard:
  
  NOTE: If the preview button is not available, your Oracle BI Presentation Services administrator has suppressed its display.
- Click the Results tab and choose a view from the drop-down list.
To save the request, perform one of the following actions:
- Click the Save Request button.
  For more information, see Saving an Oracle BI Request to a Personal or Shared Folder.
- Click the Save and Schedule button to save the request in Oracle BI Answers, and create an iBot in Oracle BI Delivers for the saved request.
  NOTE: The Save and Schedule button is not available if your organization is not using Oracle BI Delivers.
  
  Oracle BI Delivers displays the Schedule tab for the new iBot.
  
  For more information, see Scheduling an Oracle BI Delivers iBot.

Table 5. Oracle BI Request Column Buttons
Button	Description
	Order By. The Order By button specifies the order in which results should be returned, ascending or descending. You can order results by more than one column. If you choose more than one column, the order is shown on the Order By button. You can click the Order By button to remove or change the sort order from a column by clicking until the sorting is changed or removed. Different images appear on the button, depending on the selected sort order. The example button in this table shows two arrows side by side, one pointing up, the other pointing down. For information about the forms an Order By button can take, see Table 6.
	Format Column. The Format Column button lets you edit various format properties for the column. The button displays the image of a hand with its index finger pointing to the left and down. For more information, see Using Column Formatting Functions in Oracle BI Answers.
	Edit Formula. The Edit Formula button lets you change the column heading and the formula for the column, such as adding a Rank or Percentile function. You can also combine multiple values or ranges of values from a given column into bins. The button displays the image of lowercase, italic characters fx. For more information, see Editing the Formula of a Column.
	Filter By Column. The Add Filter button lets you create or edit a filter for the column. The button displays the image of a funnel. For more information, see Using Column Filters in an Oracle BI Request.
	Remove Column. The Delete button removes the column from the request. The button displays the image of an uppercase X.

Specifying the Sort Order for Columns in Oracle BI Requests

In Oracle BI Answers, you can specify the sort order for one or more columns that appear in a request. When you click the Order By button, it shows a new image to indicate the sort order that the selected column will apply to the results.

To sort a request based on columns in Oracle BI Answers

In Oracle BI Answers, display the request with which you want to work.
Click the Order By button for the column you want to sort by.
The button changes to indicate the sort order.
Continue clicking the Order By button until the sort order you want appears.

Table 6 describes the available sort orders and the images on the Order By button that represent them.

Table 6. Forms of the Oracle BI Answers Order By Button
Form	Description
	The image of two arrows—one pointing up, the other pointing down—indicates that the selected column will not be used to sort the results.
	The image of an up arrow indicates that the results will be sorted in ascending order, using the items in the selected column.
	A number that appears on an Order By button indicates that the column is not the primary sort column applied to the results. The number corresponds to when the sort order is applied. In this example, which shows an up arrow with the number two, the column is used as the second sort order column. The up arrow indicates that the results are sorted in ascending order, using the items in the selected column.
	The image of a down arrow indicates that the results will be sorted in descending order, using the items in the selected column.
	A number that appears on a Order By button indicates that the column is not the primary sort column applied to the results. The number that appears corresponds to when the sort order is applied. In this example, which shows a down arrow with the number two, the column is used as the second sort order column. The down arrow indicates that the results are sorted in descending order, using the items in the selected column.

Refreshing Information in the Oracle BI Answers Selection Pane

When changes have been made to saved content or to the Oracle BI Server metadata, you can refresh the display to see the most current information.

To refresh information in the selection pane for saved requests, filters, briefing books, and dashboard content

Click the following link at the bottom of the selection pane:
Refresh Display

To refresh information in the selection pane for the view of the Oracle BI Server metadata for subject areas

Click the following link at the bottom of the selection pane:
Reload Server Metadata

Viewing and Working with Oracle BI Answers Results

The following procedure explains how to view and work with basic Oracle BI Answers results.

To view and work with the results

Click the Results tab.
The results appear in the workspace, in a table.
(Optional) Perform one or more of the following actions:
- To page forward and backward through the results, use the paging buttons at the bottom of the page.
  NOTE: The paging buttons appear only when two or more pages of results are present.
- To edit the criteria used in the request, click the Criteria tab or the option to show header toolbars.
- To add prompts to the request, click the Prompts tab.
- To edit the XML or logical SQL for a request, click the Advanced tab.
  NOTE: The Advanced tab is for advanced users and developers only. Only users with the appropriate responsibilities are given access to the Advanced tab. For more information, see Examining or Editing the Logical SQL Generated for an Oracle BI Request.
- To add grand totals or column totals to a result, use the table or pivot table view:
  - To add grand totals, click the Grand Totals button at the top of the workspace.
  - To add totals for an individual column, click the Total By button for that column.
    NOTE: The Total By button is available only for columns that can be totaled.

Saving an Oracle BI Request to a Personal or Shared Folder

When you save a request in one of your personal folders, only you can access it. When you save it in a shared folder, users with permission to access that folder can access it too.

Your top-level personal folder is called My Folder. Every user with a unique user name has a folder called My Folder. This is designed to hold the requests that you run most often, and other content that you access frequently.

When you click the Refresh Display link at the bottom of the selection pane, the request is listed under the folder in which you saved it.

To save a request to a personal or shared folder

Click the Save Request button.
The Choose Folder dialog box appears.
Choose a personal or shared folder in which to save the request.
To specify a subfolder, perform one of the following actions:
- Navigate to it.
- Click Create Folder to create a new subfolder.
- Type the path in the Folder box.
Type a descriptive name for the request.
The name will appear when a user pauses the mouse on the request in the selection pane.
(Optional) Type a description for the request.
Descriptions are displayed when Oracle BI administrators use the Oracle Business Intelligence Catalog Manager.
Click OK.

Saving Oracle BI Reports to a Lotus Notes Database

There are two approaches to adding Oracle BI reports to a Lotus Notes database:

Save the report to a Web archive file (file extension .mht), and then upload the file to the Lotus Note database.
Schedule the report using Oracle BI Delivers to be emailed automatically to a specific address on a Lotus Notes server. The Lotus Notes server can then process the email and write it to the database.