Contents

Title and Copyright Information

Preface

• Intended Audience
• Documentation Accessibility
• Oracle BI Discoverer Keyboard Navigation
• Related Documents
• Conventions
• Prerequisites to run Discoverer Desktop

Part I Getting Started

1 Discoverer Desktop Overview

• 1.1 What is Oracle Business Intelligence Discoverer?
• 1.2 New Discoverer Desktop Features
• 1.3 How Discoverer Desktop Works
  • 1.3.1 What is a Business Area?
  • 1.3.2 Understanding Workbooks and Worksheets
  • 1.3.3 About Worksheets and Queries
• 1.4 Opening a Workbook
  • 1.4.1 Opening Another Workbook
  • 1.4.2 Opening Workbooks in a Non-Oracle Database
  • 1.4.3 Looking at a Workbook's Properties
  • 1.4.4 Switching to Another Worksheet
• 1.5 Saving a Workbook
  • 1.5.1 Deleting a Workbook
    • 1.5.1.1 Deleting a Workbook from Your Computer

2 What You See on the Screen

• 2.1 The Workbook Window
• 2.2 The Four Types of Display
  • 2.2.1 Table Layout
    • 2.2.1.1 Table Layout with Page Details
  • 2.2.2 Crosstab Layout
    • 2.2.2.1 Page Detail Crosstab Layout
    • 2.2.2.2 A Note About Crosstabs
• 2.3 Selecting Sections of a Worksheet
  • 2.3.1 About the Axis Item Markers
  • 2.3.2 Selecting Axis Item Markers
• 2.4 Seeing the Next Page of Data
• 2.5 Formatting a Worksheet
  • 2.5.1 Rearranging the Columns on Tables
  • 2.5.2 Resizing Columns
  • 2.5.3 Formatting Headings, Data, and Titles
    • 2.5.3.1 Editing Column Header Text
    • 2.5.3.2 Reformatting a Column Heading on a Table
    • 2.5.3.3 Reformatting a Column Heading on a Crosstab
    • 2.5.3.4 Reformatting Data
    • 2.5.3.5 Adding Bars to Numeric Data
  • 2.5.4 Formatting a Worksheet Title
    • 2.5.4.1 Adding Text Variables to Titles
    • 2.5.4.2 Adding Bitmaps to Titles
  • 2.5.5 Renaming a Worksheet
• 2.6 Some Helpful Shortcuts
  • 2.6.1 Right Mouse Support
  • 2.6.2 Resizing Windows

3 Presenting Data on a Graph

• 3.1 The Features of a Graph
  • 3.1.1 The Graph Tool Bar
• 3.2 Creating a Graph
  • 3.2.1 Updating the Data on a Graph
• 3.3 Modifying a Graph
  • 3.3.1 Selecting a New Graph Type
  • 3.3.2 Displaying the Graph Legend and X Labels
  • 3.3.3 Resizing the Window and Graph
  • 3.3.4 Reference Lines and Pull-outs on a Graph
  • 3.3.5 Rotating Graphs
  • 3.3.6 Changing the Graph's Colors and Patterns
    • 3.3.6.1 Creating Custom Patterns
    • 3.3.6.2 Creating Custom Colors

Part II Working with Discoverer Desktop

4 Pivoting, Drilling, and Sorting Data

• 4.1 Pivoting Data
  • 4.1.1 Pivoting for Comparison and Analysis
  • 4.1.2 Pivoting Data on a Table
  • 4.1.3 Pivoting Data on a Crosstab
    • 4.1.3.1 Producing erroneous results when pivoting
  • 4.1.4 Duplicating Tables and Crosstabs
• 4.2 Drilling Into and Out of Data
  • 4.2.1 Drilling down using the Drill icon
  • 4.2.2 Drilling out using the Drill icon
  • 4.2.3 Drill examples
  • 4.2.4 Quick Drilling by Double-Clicking
  • 4.2.5 Drilling with the Drill Dialog Box
• 4.3 Sorting Data
  • 4.3.1 Sorting Data on Tables
    • 4.3.1.1 Sorting Data Within Data
    • 4.3.1.2 Group Sorting
    • 4.3.1.3 Sorting from the Tool Bar
  • 4.3.2 Sorting Data on Crosstabs
    • 4.3.2.1 Sorting Crosstabs Data from the Tool Bar
    • 4.3.2.2 Sorting Across an Axis
    • 4.3.2.3 Sorting Crosstabs Data from the Sort Crosstab Dialog Box

5 Working with Discoverer Desktop

• 5.1 Using Discoverer Desktop Tools to Analyze Your Data
  • 5.1.1 Viewing Tool Definitions for Specific Items
  • 5.1.2 Creating New Tool Definitions
  • 5.1.3 Editing Existing Tool Definitions
  • 5.1.4 Deleting Tool Definitions
• 5.2 Finding Exceptions to Data
  • 5.2.1 Creating a New Exception
  • 5.2.2 Editing an Exception
• 5.3 Totaling Numeric Data
  • 5.3.1 Creating a New Totals Definition
  • 5.3.2 Totals and Calculations
  • 5.3.3 Editing a Totals Definition
• 5.4 Using Percentages
  • 5.4.1 Using the Percentages Tool
  • 5.4.2 Creating a New Percentages Definition
  • 5.4.3 Editing a Percentage Definition
• 5.5 Finding Data that Meets Conditions
  • 5.5.1 Creating Conditions
  • 5.5.2 Editing and Removing Condition Expressions

6 Reporting Results

• 6.1 Preparing Reports for Printing
  • 6.1.1 Selecting Print Options
  • 6.1.2 Previewing a Report
• 6.2 Sending Reports with E-Mail Messages
• 6.3 Exporting to Other Applications
  • 6.3.1 Exporting to Oracle Reports
  • 6.3.2 Exporting to Microsoft Excel
• 6.4 Producing Scheduled Reports
  • 6.4.1 Seeing the Results of a Scheduled Report
    • 6.4.1.1 Viewing Scheduled Workbooks when connected as an Oracle Applications User
  • 6.4.2 Working with the Scheduling Manager
    • 6.4.2.1 Viewing Errors
• 6.5 Sharing Workbooks

7 Building Worksheets and Workbooks

• 7.1 Building a New Workbook or Worksheet
  • 7.1.1 Selecting Display Type
  • 7.1.2 Selecting the Data
  • 7.1.3 Arranging the Layout
  • 7.1.4 Selecting Conditions for the Data
  • 7.1.5 Sorting the Data in a New Worksheet or Workbook
  • 7.1.6 Selecting Calculations for the Data
• 7.2 Editing a Worksheet
  • 7.2.1 Adding and Deleting Items on a Worksheet
  • 7.2.2 Editing the Layout
  • 7.2.3 Editing the Conditions
  • 7.2.4 Editing the Sorting
  • 7.2.5 Editing Calculations

Part III Advanced Concepts

8 Advanced Discoverer Desktop Features

• 8.1 Retrieving All Rows and Counting the Number of Rows
  • 8.1.1 Refreshing the Worksheet
• 8.2 Creating Parameters
  • 8.2.1 Loading Multiple Values
• 8.3 Creating Calculations
• 8.4 Creating Advanced Conditions
  • 8.4.1 Creating Subqueries
    • 8.4.1.1 Using Correlated Items
  • 8.4.2 Editing a Subquery
• 8.5 Setting Options
• 8.6 Using Command-Line Options
• 8.7 Using SQL
  • 8.7.1 Looking at the SQL Statements for Worksheets
  • 8.7.2 Importing SQL
  • 8.7.3 Using the Discoverer Execution Plan
    • 8.7.3.1 About Summaries
    • 8.7.3.2 Types of Summary
  • 8.7.4 Looking at an SQL Execution Plan
  • 8.7.5 Viewing the SQL and Execution Plan with an Oracle Enterprise Edition database
  • 8.7.6 Configuring the SQL type used
  • 8.7.7 Exporting SQL without running a Workbook

A Calculation Examples

• A.1 Getting More Information
• A.2 About the examples in this chapter
• A.3 Additional formatting
• A.4 Simple Calculation Examples
  • A.4.1 Calculate the number of rows returned by a query
  • A.4.2 Calculate a 25% increase in sales
  • A.4.3 Convert text to upper-case
• A.5 Analytic Function Examples
  • A.5.1 Analytic Function Categories
  • A.5.2 Calculations and Drilling Into and out of data
  • A.5.3 About The Analytic Function Template
  • A.5.4 Ranking Function Examples
    • A.5.4.1 About Ranking
    • A.5.4.2 Assign Ranks to sales figures
    • A.5.4.3 Assign Ranks to sales figures within Region
    • A.5.4.4 Show the top three selling Cities per Region
    • A.5.4.5 Show the top three and bottom three selling Cities per Region
  • A.5.5 Banding Function Examples
    • A.5.5.1 About Banding
    • A.5.5.2 Producing equi-width Bands (1)
    • A.5.5.3 Producing equi-width Bands (2)
    • A.5.5.4 Producing equi-height Bands
  • A.5.6 Windowing Function Examples
    • A.5.6.1 About Windowing
    • A.5.6.2 Calculate a three month moving sales average
    • A.5.6.3 Show the cumulative values of sales
  • A.5.7 Reporting Function Examples
    • A.5.7.1 About Reporting Functions
    • A.5.7.2 Calculate annual sales by Year
    • A.5.7.3 Calculate annual sales by region
    • A.5.7.4 Calculate percentage of annual sales by Region
    • A.5.7.5 Calculate sales as a percentage of total Sales
  • A.5.8 Lag/Lead Function Examples
    • A.5.8.1 About Lag/Lead Functions
    • A.5.8.2 Compare sales figures across time
    • A.5.8.3 Calculate sales growth across time
    • A.5.8.4 Rank sales growth
  • A.5.9 Statistical Function Examples
    • A.5.9.1 About Statistics Functions
    • A.5.9.2 Calculate linear regression
• A.6 More about the Analytic Function Template
• A.7 Analytic Functions and Sequencing

B Oracle Applications Support

• B.1 Supported Features
• B.2 Prerequisites
• B.3 Connect dialog settings for Oracle Applications Users
  • B.3.1 Before you start
  • B.3.2 Connecting to Discoverer Desktop as an Oracle Applications User
  • B.3.3 Configuring the Oracle Applications user Connect dialog
    • B.3.3.1 Entering details into the fields GWYUID/Password and FNDNAM
  • B.3.4 Configuring Discoverer Desktop to use standard EULs
  • B.3.5 Connection Configuration
    • B.3.5.1 Editing your Discoverer Desktop shortcut icon
    • B.3.5.2 Specify a basic Connect
    • B.3.5.3 Specify a Connect with an automatic Responsibility
    • B.3.5.4 Bypass the Connect dialog with an automatic Connect

Glossary

Index