4 Using Other Functions to Visualize Data

This topic describes other functions that you can use to visualize your data.

Topics:

• Typical Workflow for Preparing, Connecting and Searching Artifacts

• Modifying Text Columns

• Building Stories

• Identifying Content with Thumbnails

• About Composing Expressions

• Using Data Actions to Connect to Canvases and External URLs

• Searching Data, Projects, and Visualizations

Typical Workflow for Preparing, Connecting and Searching Artifacts

Here are the common tasks for using available functions to prepare, connect, and search artifacts.

Task	Description	More Information
Modifying text columns to enhance visualization	Convert text columns into data, time, or timestamp columns and adjust the display format of the columns.	Modifying Text Columns
Build stories	Capture the notes (insights) that you discover in your visualizations into a story that you can revisit later, include in a presentation, or share with team members.	Building Stories
Compose expressions	Compose expressions to use in filters or in calculations.	About Composing Expressions
Create and apply data actions	Create data action links to pass context values from canvases to URLs or project filters.	Using Data Actions to Connect to Canvases and External URLs
Search artifacts	Search for projects, visualizations, and columns. Use BI Ask to quickly build visualizations.	Searching Data, Projects, and Visualizations

Modifying Text Columns

This topic covers how you can work with calendar columns to enhance visualizations displaying date and time information.

Topics:

• Converting Text Columns to Date or Time Columns

• Adjusting the Display Format of Date or Time Columns

• General Custom Format Strings

Converting Text Columns to Date or Time Columns

You can convert any text column to a date, time, or timestamp column.

For example, you can convert an attribute text column to a true date column.

1. Open the project or the data set that includes the column you want to convert. Confirm that you’re working in the Prepare canvas.
2. Mouse-over the column that you want to convert.
3. Click Options, and select a conversion option (for example, Convert to Number, Convert to Date).
   You can also do this from the Data Sets page when you’re editing a data set.

Adjusting the Display Format of Date or Time Columns

You can adjust the display format of a date or a time column by specifying the format and the level of granularity.

For example, you might want to change the format of a transaction date column (which is set by default to show the long date format such as November 1, 2017) to display instead the International Standards Organization (ISO) date format (such as 2017-11-01). You might want to change the level of granularity (for example year, month, week, or day).

1. Open the project or the data set that includes the date and time column that you want to update. If you’re working in a project, then confirm that you’re working in the project's Prepare canvas.
2. Click the date or time column you want to edit.
   For example, click a date in the data elements area of the Data Panel, or click or hover over a date element on the main editing canvas.
3. If you’re working in the main editing canvas, adjust the format by doing one of the following:

   • Click Options, then Extract to display a portion of the date or time (for example, the year or quarter only).

   • Click Options, then Edit to display a Expression Editor that enables you to create complex functions (for example, with operators, aggregates, or conversions).

   • In the properties pane, click the Date/Time Format tab, and use the options to adjust your dates or times (for example, click Format) to select from short, medium, or long date formats, or specify your own format by selecting Custom and editing the calendar string displayed.

4. If you’re working in the data elements area of the Data Panel, adjust the format by doing one of the following:

   • If you want to display just a portion of a calendar column (for example, the year or quarter only), then select and expand a calendar column and select the part of the date that you want to display in your visualization. For example, to only visualize the year in which orders were taken, you might click Order Date and select Year.

   • In the properties pane, click the Date/Time Format tab, and use the options to adjust your dates or times.

5. If you’re working in table view, select the column header and click Options, then in the properties pane click Date/Time Format to display or update the format for that column.

General Custom Format Strings

You can use these strings to create custom time or date formats.

The table shows the general custom format strings and the results that they display. These allow the display of date and time fields in the user's locale.

General Format String	Result
[FMT:dateShort]	Formats the date in the locale's short date format. You can also type [FMT:date].
[FMT:dateLong]	Formats the date in the locale's long date format.
[FMT:dateInput]	Formats the date in a format acceptable for input back into the system.
[FMT:time]	Formats the time in the locale's time format.
[FMT:timeHourMin]	Formats the time in the locale's time format but omits the seconds.
[FMT:timeInput]	Formats the time in a format acceptable for input back into the system.
[FMT:timeInputHourMin]	Formats the time in a format acceptable for input back into the system, but omits the seconds.
[FMT:timeStampShort]	Equivalent to typing [FMT:dateShort] [FMT:time]. Formats the date in the locale's short date format and the time in the locale's time format. You can also type [FMT:timeStamp].
[FMT:timeStampLong]	Equivalent to typing [FMT:dateLong] [FMT:time]. Formats the date in the locale's long date format and the time in the locale's time format.
[FMT:timeStampInput]	Equivalent to [FMT:dateInput] [FMT:timeInput]. Formats the date and the time in a format acceptable for input back into the system.
[FMT:timeHour]	Formats the hour field only in the locale's format, such as 8 PM.
YY or yy	Displays the last two digits of the year, for example 11 for 2011.
YYY or yyy	Displays the last three digits of the year, for example, 011 for 2011.
YYYY or yyyy	Displays the four-digit year, for example, 2011.
M	Displays the numeric month, for example, 2 for February.
MM	Displays the numeric month, padded to the left with zero for single-digit months, for example, 02 for February.
MMM	Displays the abbreviated name of the month in the user's locale, for example, Feb.
MMMM	Displays the full name of the month in the user's locale, for example, February.
D or d	Displays the day of the month, for example, 1.
DD or dd	Displays the day of the month, padded to the left with zero for single-digit days, for example, 01.
DDD or ddd	Displays the abbreviated name of the day of the week in the user's locale, for example, Thu for Thursday.
DDDD or dddd	Displays the full name of the day of the week in the user's locale, for example, Thursday.
DDDDD or ddddd	Displays the first letter of the name of the day of the week in the user's locale, for example, T for Thursday.
r	Displays the day of year, for example, 1.
rr	Displays the day of year, padded to the left with zero for single-digit day of year, for example, 01.
rrr	Displays the day of year, padded to the left with zero for single-digit day of year, for example, 001.
w	Displays the week of year, for example, 1.
ww	Displays the week of year, padded to the left with zero for single-digit weeks, for example, 01.
q	Displays the quarter of year, for example, 4.
h	Displays the hour in 12-hour time, for example 2.
H	Displays the hour in 24-hour time, for example, 23.
hh	Displays the hour in 12-hour time, padded to the left with zero for single-digit hours, for example, 01.
HH	Displays the hour in 24-hour time, padded to the left with zero for single digit hours, for example, 23.
m	Displays the minute, for example, 7.
mm	Displays the minute, padded to the left with zero for single-digit minutes, for example, 07.
s	Displays the second, for example, 2. You can also include decimals in the string, such as s.# or s.00 (where # means an optional digit, and 0 means a required digit).
ss	Displays the second, padded to the left with zero for single-digit seconds, for example, 02. You can also include decimals in the string, such as ss.# or ss.00 (where # means an optional digit, and 0 means a required digit).
S	Displays the millisecond, for example, 2.
SS	Displays the millisecond, padded to the left with zero for single-digit milliseconds, for example, 02.
SSS	Displays the millisecond, padded to the left with zero for single-digit milliseconds, for example, 002.
t	Displays the first letter of the abbreviation for ante meridiem or post meridiem in the user's locale, for example, a.
tt	Displays the abbreviation for ante meridiem or post meridiem in the user's locale, for example, pm.
gg	Displays the era in the user's locale.

Building Stories

This topic covers how you capture insights and group them into stories.

Topics:

• Capturing Insights

• Creating Stories

• Viewing Streamlined Content

Capturing Insights

As you explore data in visualizations, you can capture memorable information to build your story. For example, you might notice before and after trends in your data that you’d like to add to a story to present to colleagues.

1. Display the Narrate pane, and build your story:

   • Use the Search option in the Canvases pane to locate visualizations to include in your story. Right-click each canvas to include and click Add To Story.

   • Click Add Note to annotate your canvases with notes or web links.

   • Use the tabs on the Properties pane to further refine your story. For example, click Presentation to change the presentation style from Compact to Film Strip.

   • To synchronize your story canvases with your visualizations, display the Visualize pane, click Canvas Settings, then Synchronize Visualizations (or click Canvas Properties and select this option).

2. Continue adding notes to build a story about your data exploration.
   The story builds in the Narrate canvas.

Creating Stories

Each project can have one story comprising multiple pages (canvas).

1. In your project, click Narrate.
2. Create the story in the following ways:

   • Add one or more canvases to the story and select a canvas to annotate.

   • To annotate a story, click Add Note. You can add text and web links.

   • To change the default configuration settings for a story, use the properties pane on the Canvases panel.

   • To edit a note, click or hover the mouse pointer over the note, click the menu icon, and select from the editing options.

   • To include or exclude a note, right-click the note and use the Display or Hide options. To display notes, on the canvas property pane, click Notes, then Show All Notes.

   • To show or hide note titles or descriptions, on the canvas property pane, click General, and use the Hide Page and Description options.

   • To rearrange notes, drag and drop them into position on the same canvas.

   • To limit the data displayed in a story, on the canvas property pane, click Filters. If no filters are displayed, go back to the Visualize pane and add one or more filters first, then click Save.

   • To update filters for a story, on the canvas property pane, click Filters, and use the options to hide, reset, or selectively display filters.

   • To rename a story, click the story title and update.

   • To add the same canvas multiple times to a story, right-click a canvas and click Add to Story. You can also right-click the canvases at the bottom of the Narrate pane and click Duplicate.

   • To display the story at any time click Present.

   • To close present mode and return to the Narrate pane click X.

   • To toggle notes use the Show Notes option.

   Note:

   You can modify the content on a canvas for a note. For example, you can add a trend line, change the chart type, or add a text visualization. After changing a note, you'll notice that its corresponding wedge or dot (in the Story Navigator) changes from solid blue to hollow. When you select Update to apply the changes to the note, you'll see the wedge or dot return to solid blue.

Viewing Streamlined Content

You can use the presentation mode to view a project and its visualizations without the visual clutter of the canvas toolbar and authoring options.

1. On the Narrate toolbar, click Present.

   The project is displayed in presentation mode.

2. To return to the interaction mode, click X.

Identifying Content with Thumbnails

You can quickly visually identify content on the Home page and within projects by looking at thumbnail representations.

Project thumbnails on the Home page show a miniature visualization of what projects look like when opened. Project thumbnails are regenerated and refreshed when projects are saved. If a project uses a Subject Area data set, then the project is represented with a generic icon instead of a thumbnail.

About Composing Expressions

You can use the Expression window to compose expressions to use in expression filters or in calculations. Expressions that you create for expression filters must be Boolean (that is, they must evaluate to true or false).

While you compose expressions for both expression filters and calculations, the end result is different. A calculation becomes a new data element that you can add to your visualization. An expression filter, on the other hand, appears only in the filter bar and can’t be added as a data element to a visualization. You can create an expression filter from a calculation, but you can’t create a calculation from an expression filter. See Creating Calculated Data Elements and Building Expression Filters.

You can compose an expression in various ways:

• Directly enter text and functions in the Expression window.

• Add data elements from the Data Elements pane (drag and drop, or double-click).

• Add functions from the function panel (drag and drop, or double-click).

See Expression Editor Reference.

Using Data Actions to Connect to Canvases and External URLs

A Data Action link can pass context values from Data Visualization as parameters to external URLs or filters to other projects.

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:

• Creating Data Actions to Connect Visualization Canvases

• Creating Data Actions to Connect to External URLs From Visualization Canvases

• Applying Data Actions to Visualization Canvases

Creating 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. Confirm that you’re working in the Visualize canvas.
2. Click Project Properties and select the Data Actions tab.

   Alternatively, select Data Actions from the Project menu.

3. Click Add Action and enter a name for the new navigation link.

   For example, Navigate to a Detailed Report.

   You can use letters and numbers in a navigation link's name.

   Note:

   You can add any number of navigation links.
4. Click Type and select Canvas to choose the Data Action that you want to create.
5. In the Anchor To field, select the data item 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. In the Project field, select which project you want to use for the anchor:
   • This Project - Select if you want to navigate 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 you want to use.
7. In the Canvas field, select the canvas that you want to use for:
   • This project.
   • Another project that you selected in the Project field.
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, then in the Pass Values field select Anchor Data to pass the Order number values.
   • All - Dynamically determines the intersection of the cell that you click (for example, “Product and Year”) 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. For example, if you want to navigate to oracle.com without passing any context.
   • Custom - Enables you to specify a custom set of columns to pass.
9. Click OK to save.

Creating 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 click on an attribute such as the supplier ID it displays a specific external website. This might be useful for example, if a product changes to a new supplier.

1. Create or open a project. Confirm that you’re working in the Visualize canvas.
2. Click Project Properties and select Data Actions tab

   Alternatively, just select Data Actions from the Project menu.

3. Click Add Action and enter a name for the new navigation link.

   For example, Navigate to a Detailed Report.

   You can use letters and numbers in a navigation link's name.

   Note:

   You can add any number of navigation links.
4. Click Type and select URL.
5. Click Anchor To and select the data columns that you want the URL 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. Enter a URL address that starts with http: and optionally include a notation and parameters.

   For example, where http://www.address.com?<key>{<value>} appears like www.oracle.com?lob={p3 LOB}&org={D3 Organization}&p1=3.14 Data Visualization displays a list of available matching column names to choose from as you type (for example, P3 LOB, P3k LOB Key). The column names you select here are replaced with values when you pass the URL. So you could select a year, a person, a department.

   In case of multiple values for a specific data element for example, p3 LOB, the LOB appears multiple times in the URL.  www.oracle.com?lob=value1&lob=value2&org=orgvalue&p1=3.14

7. Click OK to save.
8. In the Canvas, click a cell, or use Ctrl-click to select multiple cells.
9. Right-click and select Navigate to <URL name> to display the result.
   Selecting the cells determines the parameters to pass.

Applying Data Actions to Visualization Canvases

You can navigate between canvases and to URLs with links created in Data Actions.

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

   Note:

   Pass Values context 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.

Searching Data, Projects, and Visualizations

This topic describes how you can search for objects, projects, and columns. This topic also describes how you can use BI Ask to create spontaneous visualizations.

Topics:

• Indexing Data for Search and BI Ask

• Visualizing Data with BI Ask

• Searching for Saved Projects and Visualizations

• Search Tips

Indexing Data for Search and BI Ask

When you search or use BI Ask, the search results are determined by what information has been indexed.

Every two minutes, the system runs a process to index your saved objects, project content, and data set column information. The indexing process also updates the index file to reflect any objects, projects, or data sets that you deleted from your system so that these items are no longer displayed in your search results.

For all data sets, the column metadata is indexed. For example, column name, the data type used in the column, aggregation type, and so on. Column data is indexed for Excel spreadsheet, CSV, and TXT data set columns with 1,000 or fewer distinct rows. Note that no database column data is indexed and therefore that data isn’t available in your search results.

Visualizing Data with BI Ask

Use BI Ask to enter column names into the search field, select them, and quickly see a visualization containing those columns. You can use this functionality to perform impromptu visualizations without having to first build a project.

BI Ask is supported only for searching the Oracle BI Repository (RPD file).

1. In the Home Page, click the What are you interested in field.
2. Enter your criteria. As you enter the information, the application returns search results in a drop-down list. If you select an item from this drop-down list, then your visualized data is displayed.

   • What you select determines the data set for the visualization, and all other criteria that you enter is limited to columns or values in that data set.

     The name of the data set you’re choosing from is displayed in the right side of the What are you interested in field. Note the following BI Ask search and visualization example:

     
     Description of the illustration GUID-1A462EC3-0B8E-44FB-925D-C6E9D20ABAF2-default.gif

   • You can search for projects and visualizations or use BI Ask. When you enter your initial search criteria, the drop-down list contains BI Ask results, which are displayed in the Visualize data using section of the drop-down list. Your initial search criteria also builds a search string to find projects and visualizations. That search string is displayed in the Search results containing section of the drop-down list and is flagged with the magnifying glass icon. See Search Tips.

     
     Description of the illustration GUID-EFC73807-BAA8-4356-83AA-187AA978C337-default.gif

   • Excel, CSV, and TXT data set columns with 1,000 or less distinct rows are indexed and available as search results. No database data set data values are indexed and available as search results.

3. Enter additional criteria in the search field, select the item that you want to include, and the application builds your visualization. You can also optionally perform the following steps:

   • Enter the name of the visualization that you want your results to be displayed in. For example, enter scatter to show your data in a scatter plot chart, or enter pie to show your data in a pie chart.

   • Click Change Visualization Type to apply a different visualization to your data.

   • Click Open in Data Visualization to further modify and save the visualization.

4. To clear the search criteria, click the X icon next to your search tags.

Searching for Saved Projects and Visualizations

From the Home page you can quickly and easily search for saved objects.

Folders and thumbnails for objects that you have recently worked with are displayed on the Home page. Use the search field to locate other content.

Note that in the search field you can also use BI Ask to create spontaneous visualizations. See Visualizing Data with BI Ask.

1. In the Home Page, click the What are you interested in field.
2. Enter your search criteria by typing either keywords or the full name of an object such as a folder or project. As you enter your criteria, the system builds the search string in the drop-down list. See Search Tips.

   The drop-down list contains results that match saved objects, but also can contain BI Ask search results. To see object matches (for example, folders or projects), click the row with the magnifying glass icon (located at the top of the drop-down list in the Search results containing section). Note that any BI Ask matches are displayed in the Visualize data using section of the drop-down list and are flagged with different icons.

   
   Description of the illustration GUID-EFC73807-BAA8-4356-83AA-187AA978C337-default.gif

3. In the Search results containing section of the drop-down list, click the search term that you want to use.
   The objects that match your search are displayed in the Home page.
4. To clear the search criteria, click the X icon next to your search tags.

Search Tips

You must understand how the search functionality works and how to enter valid search criteria.

Wildcard Searches

You can use the asterisk (*) as a wildcard when searching. For example, you can specify *forecast to find all items that contain the word “forecast”. However, using two wildcards to further limit a search returns no results (for example, *forecast*).

Meaningful Keywords

When you search, use meaningful keywords. If you search with keywords such as by, the, and in it returns no results. For example, if you want to enter by in the search field to locate two projects called “Forecasted Monthly Sales by Product Category” and “Forecasted Monthly Sales by Product Name,” then it returns no results.

Items Containing Commas

If you use a comma in your search criteria the search returns no results. For example, if you want to search for quarterly sales equal to $665,399 and enter 665,399 in the search field, then no results are returned. However, entering 655399 does return results.

Date Search

If you want to search for a date attribute, you search using the year-month-date format. Searching with the month/date/year format (for example, 8/6/2016) doesn’t produce any direct matches. Instead, your search results contain entries containing 8 and entries containing 2016.

Searching in Non-English Locales

When you enter criteria in the search field, what displays in the drop-down list of suggestions can differ depending upon your locale setting. For example, if you’re using an English locale and enter sales, then the drop-down list of suggestions contains items named sale and sales. However, if you’re using a non-English locale such as Korean and type sales, then the drop-down list of suggestions contains only items that are named sales and items such as sale aren’t included in the drop-down list of suggestions.

For non-English locales, Oracle suggests that when needed, you search using stem words rather than full words. For example, searching for sale rather than sales returns items containing sale and sales. Or search for custom to see a results list that contains custom, customer, and customers.