For Essbase, all ad hoc functionality is available from the Essbase ribbon, which is displayed when you connect to Essbase. Planning, Hyperion Enterprise, and Financial Management data providers display Ad Hoc ribbons when you enter ad hoc analysis.
To start ad hoc analysis in data sources other than Essbase:
From Recently Used, Shared Connections, or Private Connections on the Smart View Panel, do one of the following:
Open an ad hoc grid or Smart Slice.
Open a form that has been enabled for ad hoc by your administrator. From the data provider ribbon, click Analyze. If Analyze is disabled, the form has not been enabled for ad hoc analysis.
The Ad Hoc ribbon for your data source is displayed, replacing the original ribbon.
Use the ribbon buttons to perform ad hoc analysis on the current worksheet.
If you are familiar with the dimensions and members of your database, you can use free-form mode by entering dimension and member names directly into cell to design and create an ad hoc grid. See Free-Form Mode.