Create and Edit Analyses Using a Wizard

Use the wizards to quickly create and edit your analyses. You can use a wizard to create and edit most of your analytics, for example to select columns, add filters or views.

You can also use advanced business intelligence features to create or edit dashboards or manage analyses and other objects in the catalog.

1. Start the wizard from the Reports and Analytics work area or the Reports and Analytics panel tab (if available).

   • To create a new analysis click Create and select Analysis. Select a subject area for your analysis and click theContinue button.

   • To edit an existing analysis, in the Reports and Analytics work area, select it in a folder or the favorites list, click its ellipsis icon and select Edit. In the Reports and Analytics panel tab, click the analysis, then click Edit.

2. In the Select Columns page, optionally, click Add/Remove Subject Areas and, in the Add/Remove Subject Areas dialog box, select more subject areas or remove any that you no longer need, and click OK. You can't remove the original subject area selected for the analysis. To remove any other subject area, first remove its columns from the analysis.

3. From here on, make selections in a series of analysis-definition pages, selecting Next or Back to navigate among them.

   • In the Select Columns page, expand your subject area and folders within it to choose the columns to include in your analysis. Also set options for those columns.

   • In the Select Views page, determine whether your analysis is to include a table, a graph, or both. For either, select among several types. If you include both, select the order in which they appear.

   • In Edit Table and Edit Graph pages, select options that apply to your table and graph layouts. Each of these pages is active only if you selected the item it applies to in the Select Views page.

   • In the Sort and Filter page, optionally apply filters to columns to refine the selection of records in your analysis, and apply sorts to them to order your results.

   • In the Highlight page, optionally add color highlights based on numeric thresholds you set.

   • In the Save page, enter a name for the analysis, select a catalog folder to save it in, and click Submit.

In general, these pages are designed so that procedures for using them are readily apparent. Even so, here are some things you will want to know.

Select Columns Page

For each column in your analysis, you select an Interaction option.

• Two of the options, Default and Drill, do the same thing: If you click on a column header, the analysis adds a column displaying values at the next hierarchical level. (For example, if you click on Control Name, the analysis adds a Control ID column.) If you click on a column value, the analysis adds the subordinate column, but also filters to display only records containing the value you clicked.

• Navigate to Transaction: If you click on a value from a column for which this option is set, the analysis presents a link to the record of an object the value applies to.

  For such links to work, however, further configuration is required: You need to define paths to the records that are to be opened. If you want to use this option, you're probably better off creating the analysis in the BI Catalog. However, you can create it in the wizard, then edit it in the BI Catalog. See the topic titled Link Analyses to Application Pages.

• None: This option in effect turns the Default option off and turns nothing on. Nothing happens if you click on a value in a column for which this option is set.

For each column, you can also select a Hidden option. This prevents the analysis from displaying the column, but leaves its values available for use behind the scenes, for example in filters.

Select Views Page

You can add a graph to your analysis only if it includes at least one column from a fact folder. (You can include a table in your analysis no matter what columns you select for it.) A fact column contains numeric values, such as counts of incidents returned by advanced controls. Other columns contain attributes of objects, such as names of advanced controls. Without numeric values, there's nothing to base a graph on.

You can create a title for the analysis in this page, but doing so is optional. You also create a name for the analysis in the Save page, and that one is required. If you create both, the analysis displays both; they don't have to be the same.

You can use a Preview option to ensure the analysis returns data you expect. Turn it on or off in this page or in subsequent wizard pages. Once it's on, the preview remains on in other wizard pages you navigate to, unless you turn it off.

Edit Table Page

Here are the layout options you can select for tables:

• Columns: This is the default. Each column you assign this value to appears as a column in the table.

• Prompt For: In a prompt field, you select among values from the column you're configuring. For example, you would select a date if the column were Calendar Month Start Date. The table would then display only rows containing the value you selected.

• Section By: The table is divided into sections. Each value of the column you're configuring becomes a header, and the section beneath each header includes rows containing that value.

• Excluded: The column you select is no longer available to the view you're configuring. The column is hidden, and its values are unavailable for behind-the-scenes tasks such as filtering. However, the column remains available to other views in your analysis.

Edit Graph Page

You can't apply layout options to fact columns. For other columns, graph layout options include Prompt For, Section By, and Excluded, which have the same effect as they do in tables. You can also apply these options in graphs:

• Vary Color By: Each value in the column you're configuring is represented by a distinct color in the graph.

• Group By: Values in the columns you assign this option to are combined in the graph. For example, if you select this option for the State and Calendar Month Start Date columns in a bar graph, each bar represents a particular status on a particular date.

Highlight Page

You can use this feature only if your analysis includes at least one fact column, and you can apply it only to fact columns.