Using DrillDown Layout Formats
Basic DrillDown layouts typically have one data row and one data column. These simple layouts take data already selected on a report and expand it in two dimensions. Both columns and rows may specify nPlosion and automatic labeling of inherited and nPloded data.
Note: A DrillDown layout can be as complex as you like. For example, if you are building a DrillDown layout you expect to be used from a corporate-level management report, you could design it with departments grouped into regions, with nPlosion to detail. If you drill down to this layout from a regional report, PS/nVision filters the layout criteria through the inherited criteria, and all the other regions have zeros.
Because DrillDown layouts are based on a simple matrix, you can set up a library of layouts based on the field and TimeSpan combinations most common for your reporting and analysis needs.
For example, if you frequently select an amount from a summary income statement and expand it to show that amount broken down by individual accounts, you could create a DrillDown layout that uses nPlosion to expand account detail in the rows and that breaks out a TimeSpan to the individual accounting periods in the columns. Alternatively, you might want to see the value broken out by department in the rows and product in the columns.
Let’s say that you specify All Detail Values in the DrillDown layout as the selection criterion for a field, and the cell you are drilling down from on the original report used a specific tree node for its criteria. In this case, the report from the DrillDown nPlodes only the detail values for that tree node, creating a row or column for each in addition to a summary column based on the tree node.
If the parent cell had no criteria for a field specified on the child as all detail values, the child report lists amounts for all values in the specified field.
When using DrillDown from a report based on a summary ledger, you can either translate summary ledger criteria into the corresponding detail ledger or drill down within the summary ledger.
To drill down within the summary ledger using the web, define the name NvsTranslateLedger in the DrillDown layout. PS/nVision reads this defined name at runtime.
If the value is Y, summary ledger criteria is translated into the corresponding detail ledger.
If the value is N, DrillDown within summary ledger is selected.
If NvsTranslateLedger is not defined, summary ledger criteria is translated into the corresponding detail ledger.
To define the name NvsTranslateLedger in the DrillDown layout:
Use the Excel Insert, Name, Define command to define the name NvsTranslateLedger.
Define the name as a string with either Y or N for the value.
Note: If you are using the Windows client, PS/nVision continues to ask whether to drill within the summary ledger or drill to the corresponding detail ledger.
When drilling down from a ledger-based report, you can use predefined queries (built into PeopleSoft Query) in the following ways:
Use a matrix DrillDown layout that specifies query, rather than ledger, criteria.
This provides a matrix report that accesses tables other than ledgers, but inherits all the field criteria (business unit, account, and so on) from the parent report.
Drill down to a tabular layout, inheriting the field criteria from the parent report.
This is useful for seeing the details of transaction data, such as journals and voucher lines.
Drill down to a query without a layout.
The query inherits the criteria and runs to Excel in QueryLink mode.
When drilling down from a query-based report, you can use another query in a matrix layout, in a tabular layout, or without a layout. The query you use must be capable of inheriting the criteria from the cell you are drilling down from.
In any case, PS/nVision bends the rules of inheritance slightly to enable you to see the needed data. The ledger construct (which implies a special query against a specific type of table defined in PeopleSoft General Ledger) is replaced by the query specification. The implied field criteria for the inherited ledger (for example, LEDGER=ACTUALS) may or may not be inherited. While drilling down to journals within the PeopleSoft General Ledger application requires criteria for the LEDGER field (because journals may exist for various ledgers), drilling down to Accounts Payable voucher data only makes sense from the Actuals ledger, and the voucher tables do not include the LEDGER field. PS/nVision thus looks at the records being queried and includes criteria for the Ledger field only if it is present.
Use a three-character naming convention for DrillDown layouts, so that the fields and accounting periods in the layout are easily identified in the Open Layout dialog box. The PS/nVision DrillDown layouts supplied with the system use the abbreviations described in the following table.
|
Abbreviation |
DrillDown Layout |
|---|---|
|
ACT |
Account |
|
BUS |
Business Unit |
|
DEP |
Department ID |
|
PRD |
Product |
|
PRJ |
Project |
|
PER |
Accounting Period |
Each layout is named RRRCCCXX.XNV, where RRR is the abbreviation for a field expanded in the rows, CCC is the abbreviation for a field expanded in the columns, and XX is an optional identifier for a specific layout or version of RRRCCC.
Note: With recent versions of Windows, file names can be long and descriptive, but a consistent convention is still a good idea. For example, you might want to name a DrillDown layout DepartmentByProduct.
Store DrillDown layouts in a separate directory from the parent standalone layouts. You specify the directory path on the nVision tab of the PeopleTools Configuration Manager. The DrillDown layout path can contain multiple directories, which are searched in sequence. The DrillDown directory is also defined in the PeopleSoft Process Scheduler configuration for your report server.