Understanding Analytic Grid Design

The analytic grid retrieves data from the analytic server and displays it in a grid format on a PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture page. This grid is the centerpiece for the Analytic Calculation Engine user interface, enabling end users to view, edit, and drag and drop data from an analytic model's cube collection.

Note:

Within an application, a PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture page that contains an analytic grid may be referred to as an interactive report. Interactive reports are typically read only, but in some cases may also be editable.

Constructing a PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture pages that contain an analytic grid consists of these basic steps:

  1. In PeopleSoft Application Designer, create an analytic model.

    See Understanding the Analytic Model Definition Creation Process.

  2. Use PeopleSoft Application Designer to design the page that contains the analytic grid.

    See Application Designer Developer’s Guide: Understanding PeopleSoft Application Designer, Application Designer Developer’s Guide: Using PeopleSoft Application Designer.

  3. Insert the analytic grid into the page and associate the grid with the analytic model by using the Analytics tab in the Analytic Grid Properties dialog box.

    See Setting Analytic Grid Analytic Properties.

  4. Define the initial layout and characteristics of the analytic grid.

    Producing an analytic grid involves many of the same tasks as generating a regular grid. These include inserting and resizing grid controls, inserting and manipulating grid columns, and setting column properties. In addition, you set certain analytic grid properties by using the Analytics tab, Use tab, Label tab, and General tab in the Analytic Grid Properties dialog box.

    See Setting Column Properties for Analytic Grids, Setting Analytic Grid Label Properties, Setting Analytic Grid Use Properties, and Setting Analytic Grid General Properties.

    You can also control the analytic grid layout programmatically using analytic grid APIs.

    See PeopleCode API Reference: GetLayout method: CubeCollection class, and PeopleCode API Reference: SetLayout method: AnalyticGrid class.

You can populate the grid with data in two ways: use the PeopleCode analytic grid classes or have the system populate the analytic grid with data automatically.

See PeopleCode API Reference: Understanding the Analytic Calculation Engine Classes, PeopleCode API Reference: Using the Analytic Grid in PeopleCode.

To populate the analytic grid data automatically:

  1. Select Start, and then Programs, and then PeopleTools 8.5x, and then Application Designer to access PeopleSoft Application Designer.

  2. After signing in to the PeopleSoft Application Designer, create or open a page definition.

  3. Insert into the page any control from which you can obtain analytic instance values—for example, an edit box.

  4. Set this control's properties to the analytic instance (select the appropriate record and field name on the Record tab).

    This will be the analytic instance field you select in the Analytics tab of the Analytic Grid Properties dialog box.

  5. Drag the appropriate record onto the grid.

Although the developer determines the initial layout of the analytic grid using PeopleSoft Application Designer, one of the primary advantages of the analytic grid is that end users can also modify the layout of the grid at runtime. Among other things, end users can use the analytic grid to:

  • Pivot data—for example, swap row and column orientations.

  • Perform hierarchy-related actions such as expanding, collapsing, drilling in, and drilling out in the data.

  • Slice data, for example, view a subset of a multidimensional array.

  • Hide non-dimensional fields.

  • Modify data.

  • Save the current view settings.

  • Restore the defaults as specified by the application.

See Applications User’s Guide: Working with Analytic Grids.