Use Data Actions to Connect to Canvases, External URLs, and Use in Publisher Reports

A Data Action link can pass context values as parameters to external URLs, filters to other projects or to visualizations embedded in external containers.

When a link navigates to a project, the data context is displayed in the form of canvas scope filters in the filter bar. The links data context may include attributes associated with the selections or cell from which the link was initiated.

Topics:

• Create Data Actions to Connect Visualization Canvases

• Create Data Actions to Connect to External URLs from Visualization Canvases

• Create Data Actions to Connect to REST APIs from Visualization Canvases

• Use Data Actions to Connect to Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Reports

• Invoke Data Actions from Visualization Canvases

Create Data Actions to Connect Visualization Canvases

You can create data actions to navigate to a canvas in the current project or to a canvas in another project.

You can also use data actions to transfer context-related information (for example, an order number) where the link displays details about an order number in another visualization or project.

1. Create or open a project and confirm that you’re working in the Visualize canvas.
2. Click Menu on the project toolbar and click Data Actions.
3. Click Add Action and enter a name for the new navigation link.
   • You can use only letters and numbers in the navigation link’s name.
   • You can add multiple navigation links.
4. Click the Type field and select Analytics Link.
5. Click the Anchor To field and select the columns from the current visualization to associate with this data action. Don't select measure columns or hidden columns. If you don't specify a value for the Anchor To field, then the data action applies to all data elements in the visualizations.
6. Click the Project field and select the project you want to use for the anchor:
   • Use This Project - Select if you want to link to a canvas in the active project.

     Columns that you select must be in the current visualization.

   • Select from Catalog - Select to browse for and select the project that you want to use.
7. Click the Canvas Link field and select the canvas that you want to use.
8. Click the Pass Values field and select which values you want the data action to pass.
   For example, if in the Anchor To field, you specified order number column, then in the Pass Values field, select Anchor Data to pass the specified column values.
   • All - Dynamically determines the intersection of the cell that you click and passes those values to the target.
   • Anchor Data - Ensures that the data action is displayed at runtime, but only if the required columns specified in the Anchor To field are available in the view context.
   • None - Opens the page (URL or canvas) but doesn't pass any data.
   • Custom - Enables you to specify a custom set of columns to pass.
9. Click Supports Multiple Selection to set the value.
   • On - The data action can be invoked when one or multiple data points are selected.
   • Off - The data action can only be invoked when a single data point is selected.

     This setting is particularly useful when the selection of multiple data points might result in an error (for example, with some third-party REST APIs).

10. Click OK to save.

Create Data Actions to Connect to External URLs from Visualization Canvases

You can use data actions to navigate to an external URL from a canvas so that when you select a column such as the supplier ID, it displays a specific external website.

1. Create or open a project and confirm that you’re working in the Visualize canvas.
2. Click Menu and select Data Actions.
3. Click Add Action and enter a name for the new navigation link.

   You can add multiple navigation links.

4. Click the Type field and select URL Navigation.
5. Click the Anchor To field and select the columns that you want the URL to apply to. If you don't specify a value for the Anchor To field, then the data action applies to all data elements in the visualizations.
6. Enter a URL address and optionally include notation and parameters.

   For example, where http://www.example.com?q=${keyValuesForColumn:"COLUMN"} is displayed like www.oracle.com?q=${keyValuesForColumn:"Sales"."Products"."Brand"} The column names that you select here are replaced with values when you invoke the data action.

7. Click Supports Multiple Selection to set the value.
   • On - The data action can be invoked when one or multiple data points are selected.
   • Off - The data action can only be invoked when a single data point is selected.

     This setting is particularly useful when the selection of multiple data points might result in an error (for example, with some third-party REST APIs).

8. Click OK to save.
9. In the Canvas, click a cell, or use Ctrl-click to select multiple cells.
10. Right-click and select from the menu the navigation name that you created earlier.
    Selecting the cells determines the values to pass to the parameters (that is, the URL tokens).

Create Data Actions to Connect to REST APIs from Visualization Canvases

You can use HTTP API data actions in a canvas so that when you select a column, it sends the value to a REST API which returns a response from the external website.

You must configure the domain that you're trying to connect to as a safe domain before you create an HTTP API data action. See Register Safe Domains.

1. Create or open a project and confirm that you’re working in the Visualize area.
2. Click Menu and then select the Data Actions tab.
3. Click Add Action and enter a name for the new HTTP API data action. For example, enter HTTP API Example.

   You can add multiple HTTP API data actions.

4. Click the Type field and select HTTP API.
5. Click the Anchor To field and select the columns that you want the HTTP API data action to apply to. Don't select measure columns or hidden columns. If you don't specify a value for the Anchor To field, then the data action applies to all data elements in the visualizations.
6. Click the HTTP Method field and select an appropriate value (that is, GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) to send to the REST API.
7. Enter the URL for the REST API that starts with http or https and optionally includes replacement tokens.

   Replacement tokens in the URL pass contextual values to a data action (for example, data values, user name, project path, canvas name).

   For example, you can pass a column value (for example, a value for the Category column) to a REST API (for example, the Google books API) using: http://www.googleapis.com/books/v1/volumes?q=${valuesForColumn:"Category"} The value that you select from a cell in the Category column (for example, "Books") passes to the REST API.

8. If you selected the POST method, a field is displayed where you enter each parameter on a separate line.

   You enter each parameter as a name-value pair with the name and value separated by "=". You can use the same URL token syntax in the name-value pairs as required by the API that you're calling.

   For example:

   • paramName1=paramValue1
   • paramName2=${valuesForColumn:"Product"}
9. Click Supports Multiple Selection to set the value.
   • On - The data action can be invoked when one or multiple data points are selected.
   • Off - The data action can only be invoked when a single data point is selected.

     This setting is particularly useful when the selection of multiple data points might result in an error (for example, with some third-party REST APIs).

10. Click OK to save.
11. Click a data point in the visualization.

    For example, you might select "Books" from the Category column.

12. Right-click and select HTTP API Example to display the result.

    The selected data-points determine which values to pass to the URL tokens.

    A success or failure message is displayed confirming the REST API has been successfully invoked using the selected value.

Use Data Actions to Connect to Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Reports

A data action link can pass context values as URL parameters in Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher reports.

When you click a link to open a BI Publisher report, the link might include attributes associated with the column selected in the visualization.

Topics:

• About Creating Data Actions to Connect to Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Reports

• Create Data Actions to Connect to Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Reports

• Create Custom Column Names in Data Actions to Pass in Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Report URLs

About Creating Data Actions to Connect to Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Reports

You can create a data action to link to an Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher report.

You configure a data action to pass selected column values from a visualization to display in a BI Publisher report.

• You must store your BI Publisher report in a local folder.

• When the BI Publisher report uses the analysis as the data model, prompts in the underlying analysis must have User Input value set to Choice List to enable selected values to pass to prompts in the BI Publisher report.

• You can pass lists of values and list filters to display as prompts in your BI Publisher report. However, you can't pass number filters, date filters, or expression filters.

Create Data Actions to Connect to Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Reports

You can create an analytics data action link to transfer selected data points from an Oracle Analytics project to an Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher report.

The Oracle Analytics project, BI Publisher report, and analysis can be in different folders.

1. Open an Oracle Analytics project that uses the data model used in the BI Publisher report.
2. Click Menu on the project toolbar and click Data Actions.
3. Click Add Action and enter a name for the new navigation link.
4. Click the Type field and select Analytics Link.
5. Enter a name for the data action in the Name field.
6. Click the Target field, select Select from Catalog, then browse to select the BI Publisher report that you want the data action to pass data to, and click OK.
7. Verify that Parameter Mapping is set to Default.
8. Verify the Pass Values field value is set to All.
9. Click Supports Multiple Selection to set the value.
   • On - The data action can be invoked when one or multiple data points are selected.
   • Off - The data action can only be invoked when a single data point is selected.

     This setting is particularly useful when the selection of multiple data points might result in an error (for example, with some third-party REST APIs).

10. Click OK.
11. Select data points in the visualization and choose the data action to test that the values are passed to the BI Publisher report.

Create Custom Column Names in Data Actions to Pass in Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Report URLs

You can create a data action link that passes custom column names in the URL of an Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher report.

1. Open an Oracle Analytics project.
2. Click Menu on the project toolbar and click Data Actions.
3. Click Add Action and enter a name for the new navigation link.
4. Click the Type field and select Analytics Link.
5. Enter a name for the data action in the Name field.
6. Click the Target field, select Select from Catalog, then browse to select the BI Publisher report that you want the data action to pass data to, and click OK.
7. Click Parameter Mapping and select Set Custom Mapping to specify custom column names to pass as URL parameters to the BI Publisher report.
8. Click Add Row and click Select a Column for each column that you want to pass to the BI Publisher report using a custom name.
9. Click Enter Parameter and enter a custom name for each column name that you want to replace.

   The custom name passes to the BI Publisher report in the URL.

10. Verify the Pass Values field value is set to All.
11. Click Supports Multiple Selection to set the value.
    • On - The data action can be invoked when one or multiple data points are selected.
    • Off - The data action can only be invoked when a single data point is selected.

      This setting is particularly useful when the selection of multiple data points might result in an error (for example, with some third-party REST APIs).

12. Click OK.
13. Select data points in the visualization and choose the data action to verify that the custom column names are displayed in the URL of the BI Publisher report.

Invoke Data Actions from Visualization Canvases

You can invoke data actions from a canvas to other canvases and URLs.

1. Create or open a project. Confirm that you’re working in the Visualize canvas.
2. On the canvas that contains a Data Action link leading to another canvas or URL, perform the following steps:
   1. Right-click a data element, or select multiple elements (using Ctrl-click).
   2. Select Data Actions from the context menu.
   3. Complete the Project Properties dialog.
   The name of the data actions that apply in the current view context are displayed in the context menu.
   All the values defined in the Anchor To field must be available in the view context in order for a data action to be displayed in the context menu.
   The following rules apply to matching data elements passed as values with data elements on the target canvas:

   • If the same data element is matched in the target project's canvas, and if the target canvas doesn't have an existing canvas filter for the data element, a new canvas filter is added. If there is an existing canvas filter, it’s replaced by the value from the source project's canvas.

   • If the expected data set is unavailable but a different data set is available, the match is made by using the column name and data type in the different data set, and the filter is added to that.

   • If there are multiple column matches by name and data type, then the filter is added to all those columns in the target project or canvas.

   The data action navigates to the target cell or URL that is mapped and filters the data displayed based on the values specified in the Data Actions dialog.

   The Pass Values context, set in the Pass Values field, consists of data elements used in the visualization from which the data action is invoked. The Pass Values context doesn't include data elements in the project, canvas, or visualization level filters.