Upcoming Webinars

The following is a list to our upcoming webinars… Follow the link next to the webinar date to register.

InfoBurst Webinars

November 5 – 11A PST – http://goo.gl/EZpQ
November 8 – 11A PST – http://goo.gl/036g
November 10 – 11A PST – http://goo.gl/8ewE
November 12 – 11A PST – http://goo.gl/6yYs
November 15 – 11A PST – http://goo.gl/vhW2

360 View Webinars

November 4 – 11A PST – http://goo.gl/hCj7
November 9 – 11A PST – http://goo.gl/CdRc

On facebook, follow InfoBurst at www.facebook.com/infoburst

Yolande Grill is the Vice President of Business Development at InfoSol Inc. I would like to think of myself as the Chief Transformation Officer. My favorite quote to ponder is one from Trina Paulus. "How Exactly does one become a butterfly? You must want to fly so badly, that you are willing to give up being a catterpillar"

View the original article here

Integrating Xcelsius into Crystal Reports Series – 2 of 3

As usual, before getting started I want to provide a quick recap of where we are with the Reportapalooza competition. This is the last week of voting before the final winner is announced on Nov 22th!

Challenge #1 (Done) – Winner , Mico Yuk (Check out my Coffee Consumption Calculator)Challenge #2 (Done) – Winner, Mico Yuk (based on traffic sent to Report a Hero Page)Challenge #3 (Done) – Winner, Brian Durning (voted best Crystal Reports Video by Community)Challenge #4 (Done) – Winner, David Deitch (voted best Charity Dashboard by Community)Challenge #5 (In Progress) – What this series of blog post is about.Community Dashboard Challenge (In Progress) – Vote until Nov 12th, 2010 for your favorite community dashboard.

In Part 1 of this series I went over some Q&A on what it would take to embed your Xcelsius visualization (in this case a map) into your Crystal Report, as well as some pros and cons.   In Part 2 I am going to cover how to set up your map in Xcelsius so that it can be consumed by Crystal Reports.  For this example we will be using Google Maps (compliments of Centigon Solutions) as it much more robust than the out of box maps in Xcelsius.

1.       Install Google Maps Plug-in for Xcelsius (more details on how to do this here)

2.       Add the  GMaps Plugin to your Xcelsius dashboard

3. Configure your Excel spreadsheet to hold 2 columns of data for the Google Map: 1) Map Address 2) Map Labels

4.       Go to Data Connections in Xcelsius -> Add the ‘Crystal Reports Data Consumer’ Connection

5.       Configure the ‘Crystal Reports Data Consumer’ Connection so that the ‘Row Headers’ are bound to the  Excel cell area you created in Step #3

In Part 3 I will focus on the final step:  Bringing your Xcelsius Map into Crystal Reports.

One last thing, please don’t forget to cast your votes on the 3 dashboards that were submitted by the community to show your support.

Mico Yuk is a 2010 SAP Mentor and the founder of the Xcelsius Guru Network and the Everything Xcelsius blog. To learn more about her, please visit our About Us page.

Tags: Business Objects, BusinessObjects, Centigon Solutions, Reportapalooza, SAP Crystal Dashboard Design, Xcelsius 2008, Xcelsius 2008 Tips

View the original article here

Difference OpenDocument Crystal Reports and WebI

Posted on 14 April 2010 9:53 am.Femke

I experienced some frustations when trying to open 2 different reports (Crystal Reports and WebI), however both were built on same universe and used same objects, from the same URL button in Xcelsius.

The OpenDocument statement for the WebI report was quickly set up, however the Crystal Reports took some time. Even after consulting chapter 3 Crystal Reports in the PDF Viewing Reports and Documents using URLs (for BOXI 3.1) I could not get it to work.

Finally I figured it out by reading several forum topics, in the end the URL was built as follows:

../../../OpenDocument/opendoc/openDocument.jsp?

Identifies Crystal Reports reportH stands for HTML, unfortunately in 3.1 pdf is not supported anymoreforces reports to open in new windowKeeps Xcelsius dashboard “alive”CustomerCode is name of prompt, 0019 is customer code value, note “” to identify stringfoldername in Infoview, don’t forget []identification type, preferred in OTAP streetsforces reports to open in new windowKeeps Xcelsius dashboard “alive”CustomerCode is name of prompt, 0019 is customer code valueYou can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

View the original article here

Colours and Performance

What makes a Guru? Is it a person that already knows everything on a subject?

I believe it is someone who knows that they do not know everything and is still willing to explore and discover. As I have learned. We’re all quite used to using the RAG / Red Yellow Green / Traffic light approach to performance, but what happens when that fails?

A few years back I was part of a 3 man team involved in a Dashboard development for the Executive Committee of a mine in southern Africa. I was wise in the ways of visualising data, I knew Xcelsius inside out, I could deliver anything they asked for and more. I spent long hours designing and developing numerous different dashboards, from Strategy Scorecards to SHE reports. The main dashboard was the Scorecard and all other dashboards would be accessible from it. The Project Champion (member of Exco) was thrilled with what we delivered, he then presented to the rest of the Exco team…

They loved it, but there was a major issue. 2 Members couldn’t see the KPI performance clearly… Wait what? Our scope was to build the dashboard with large text so the old guys in the back could follow… We couldn’t understand, what had we done wrong? He then continued to explain why, as he himself only just discovered the reason. 2 Members of the 8 man Exco team was colour blind.

This was the first time in my Dashboard Development career that I had come across this particular hurdle. As it turns out, colour blindness is more common than I originally thought, and it’s not as the myth goes, only men that are colour blind.

Visit the Colour Scheme Generator and use the Vision Simulation to see how colour blind people see different colours.

So now we were faced with an interesting problem, since performance is generally displayed as Green – Good / Red – Bad. We needed to come up with a solution and re-present the next day. I thought about it, and the solution was quite simple. We would introduce different shapes along with the performance colours.

As we were using a XY Chart (No Scorecard component back in those days, you whipper snappers have it easy) to show the performance all we needed to do was create a copy and change the shapes, slap in a toggle and Bob’s your uncle.

After presenting the revised Scorecard to the Exco team everyone was happy. This was an interesting lesson to learn and one that I have carried with me for the last couple of years. It has served me well.

My advice to you as my fellow Xcelsius developers is as follows; In the design session with your client raise the subject of colour blindness with relation to performance colours and address the problem before it becomes a problem.

Further more, head over to colour-blindness.com and take the fun Ishihara Test for Color Blindness and the Color Arrangement Test.

Please share your experiences by leaving a comment…

View the original article here

Conditional Formatting in Crystal Reports

What exactly is Conditional Formatting in Crystal Reports?

Conditional formatting, put simply, is formatting  (e.g, font color, font style, etc.) applied to data that meets certain rules or conditions.  For example, the person requesting the report would like the Total Sales field to have a green background if the amount is greater than $5000.

But how is this conditional formatting magic done?

Select the field to be formatted.Right-click and choose the border tab – background color is in the center of that tab.Do not click in the color checkbox, rather click on the X+2 box directly to the right of the background color. The Formula Editor will open.In the Operators column choose Control Structures for the If Then Else.Double-click to bring that down to the work area. At the top of the functions column, you’ll see two new categories associated with formatting text/numbers: Formatting FunctionsColor ConstantsNow the tricky part: you have to construct a formula. I’ve included a couple of examples below.if Sum ({Orders.Order Amount}, {@GroupSort})>5000 then crGreen else crNoColor

Note that the colors are preceded by cr in lower case – Crystal Reports needs this, so do not enter a color name without it.  Also note that the else argument is followed by crNoColor.  The else could also be followed by DefaultAttribute, like so:

if Sum ({Orders.Order Amount}, {@GroupSort})>5000 then crGreen else DefaultAttribute

The results would be the same but the second formula would revert back to whatever the formatting color was that did not meet the condition. Of course, the formulas could be much more complex but the logic remains the same.  If the formula returns true do this othewise do something else.

Happy formatting!

We cover conditional formatting in our Introduction to Crystal Reports class.

View the original article here

Xcelsius Will Always Be Xcelsius

So what’s in a name? Some people will tell you “everything” while others will tell you it depends on what you are naming.

Some products have not only become defined by their name but have been so successful they end up defining all products of the same type like “Kleenex” and “Band-Aid” .  Others have found out that their product name can end up portraying the wrong image like Chevrolet’s Nova car – “No va” meaning “it doesn’t go” in Spanish! The French company Bull Computers also had a hard time with its “Bull” named products in North America.  However, Bull also launched a clever marketing campaign around the ambiguity of its name entitled “Know Bull” which did get some attention.

At this year’s Sapphire, Sir Richard Branson told this great story of how when he went to register the name “Virgin” for his company in the UK, the company registration official turned it down because they deemed the name as rude. So Branson returned the next day with a dictionary showing the definition of “virgin” as being pure and they accepted it.

So I have been somewhat intrigued about recent forum discussions surrounding SAP’s decision to rename Xcelsius – their amazing and very popular dashboard product.

Xcelsius already had some name recognition when Business Objects acquired Infommersion (the original developers) in November 2005 but then proceeded to rename it Crystal Xcelsius. This resulted in a lot of confusion as people started to relate the product to Crystal Reports and thought it was an add-on to this report writer product.  So when the next major release was developed, the decision was made to drop the Crystal name and so Xcelsius 2008 came to market.

For the last two years Xcelsius has become one of the most popular and prolifically used BI dashboard products in the marketplace and its name has become synonymous with data visualization and dynamic dashboards. 

So why would you take this very well known product with such a cool and catchy name as Xcelsius and rename it SAP Crystal Dashboard Design or SAP Enterprise Dashboard Design?

Well apparently this is because SAP uses a “master brand strategy” where SAP is the master brand and the product brand name takes a back seat. 

So why not SAP Xcelsius?

Well this is because SAP also uses “descriptive naming” for all its products so in the case of Xcelsius, the back seat has been completely removed!

Since “SAP Crystal Dashboard Design” is so long, it is bound to become abbreviated. However, I doubt this will be shortened to “SCDD” since a Google search points you to the “California State Council on Development Disabilities” .  It is more likely to become “Dashboard Design” since that is the new descriptive product name.  A Google search on “Dashboard Design” comes up with about 2.5 million results starting off with Qlikview, followed by Tableau Software then Corda and SAP Crystal Dashboard Design comes in at about number 14.  Interestingly, there is little ambiguity when you search on “Xcelsius”.

Translating Dashboard Design into other languages may also prove interesting.  Xcelsius will always translate into Xcelsius in all languages and I have a feeling the name will persist. At the end of the day, it is not just the name that counts, it’s the product itself. Xcelsius is as unique as a product as it is as a name. I will never forget that day in 2005 when I first saw it and was totally blown away. Infommersion created something truly amazing and ahead of its time. It remains top of its class and, for me, Xcelsius will always be Xcelsius.

Paul Grill started his career in Information Technology in the U.K. in 1978, as an Executive Data Processing Trainee for Honeywell. More than thirty years later, he still has a voracious appetite for learning as Information Technology continues to advance at an ever accelerating pace. He was first introduced to the world of Business Intelligence in 1991, in France, when he saw a demonstration of an early version of BusinessObjects on Windows 2.1. He returned to the U.S. to rave about this phenomenal product, but it was many years before BusinessObjects made it into the mainstream. Paul founded InfoSol in 1997, and made Business Intelligence one of the key solutions offered by the company. Today, InfoSol is a leading SAP BusinessObjects solutions partner, known for its expert consulting, education and innovative add-on solutions. Paul is well known within the SAP BusinessObjects community for his extensive knowledge of Business Intelligence, and he has lectured and written many articles on the subject. Paul enjoys writing, running and coaching kids soccer, and is passionate about Ancient Egyptology.

View the original article here

Comparing Xcelsius 2008 Editions

Business Objects Started off Offering Crystal Xcelsius as a single edition. Later with 4.5 they came up with 2 editions, Designer and Workgroup. Starting 2008, they have significantly increased in terms of various flavors of the software. Now they have 4 editions, allowing the customers to choose whatever they want based on the Price and requirements. The 4 editions are below. Detailed Comparison here.

Xcelsius PresentXcelsius EngageXcelsius Engage ServerBusinessObjects Xcelsius EnterpriseBe the first to like this post.

View the original article here

Missing Leo Apotheker

There was a lot of trepidation amongst the BusinessObjects community when SAP acquired Business Objects in January 2008. We had all seen how Oracle had consumed Hyperion (which had, in turn, consumed Brio) to the point of losing its identity as an independent BI solution. The question was would SAP do the same to BusinessObjects?

On the day of the acquisition, I was attending a joint sales and partner meeting for BusinessObjects in Las Vegas listening to a mix of top Business Objects and SAP Executives delivering presentations to motivate sales for the coming year. There was really very little of substance until this man named Leo Apotheker took to the stage. He was engaging and passionate as he explained that Business Objects would remain an autonomous division of SAP so that it could effectively continue to sell Business Intelligence to all. He then went on to explain who SAP was and the core values of the company and how those would benefit the BusinessObjects employees, partners and product suite.  He painted an exciting vision of both the direction for SAP and BusinessObjects. I believe he impressed and inspired a lot of people in the room that day.

The global financial crisis followed later that year and into 2009 and Apotheker had his work cut out for him to steer SAP through a difficult time but he continued to push Business Intelligence to the forefront of SAP as well as actively support the Sustainability solution initiative within SAP.

So at the beginning of 2010 as we emerged from that difficult period, I was both shocked and sad to see Leo Apotheker leave SAP.  Of course, what he put in place has borne remarkable results with now more than 50% of SAP’s license revenues coming from Business Intelligence (not bad when you consider SAP was eight times larger than Business Objects at the time of acquisition) and SAP a clear leader in the Sustainability solution arena.

Leo Apotheker is now the CEO of Hewlett-Packard ( a company eight times larger than SAP – HP Press release ) and I think they are very fortunate to have such a visionary leading them. Unfortunately, we will not see how much further he could have taken SAP but, from where I sit, he certainly set them on the right track.

In searching for a picture to post on this blog, I found the following blog post from Feb 7, 2010  http://www.enterpriseirregulars.com/12079/news-analysis-saps-ceo-leo-apotheker-resigns/ which has many links including one to the official SAP press release.

Paul Grill started his career in Information Technology in the U.K. in 1978, as an Executive Data Processing Trainee for Honeywell. More than thirty years later, he still has a voracious appetite for learning as Information Technology continues to advance at an ever accelerating pace. He was first introduced to the world of Business Intelligence in 1991, in France, when he saw a demonstration of an early version of BusinessObjects on Windows 2.1. He returned to the U.S. to rave about this phenomenal product, but it was many years before BusinessObjects made it into the mainstream. Paul founded InfoSol in 1997, and made Business Intelligence one of the key solutions offered by the company. Today, InfoSol is a leading SAP BusinessObjects solutions partner, known for its expert consulting, education and innovative add-on solutions. Paul is well known within the SAP BusinessObjects community for his extensive knowledge of Business Intelligence, and he has lectured and written many articles on the subject. Paul enjoys writing, running and coaching kids soccer, and is passionate about Ancient Egyptology.

View the original article here

Report Bursting with SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008

(Post #3 of 3 for Reportapalooza – Focused on SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008).

The idea to write about Report Bursting in SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008 came to me on the shuttle bus on the way to the airport in Orlando after a very successful (and one shiny iPad later) ASUG SAP BusinessObjects User Conference. The idea came by way of friend and fellow Reportapalooza expert – Brian Durning.

We were having a conversation about the “Reporting Remix” challenge and I asked his opinion on topics to discuss when writing about SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008. Brian is a highly accomplished SAP Crystal solutions expert and his immediate recommendation was Report Bursting. After some investigation, I now know why he made this suggestion. Report Bursting is a really powerful, convenient, and efficient process that minimizes the need for excessive individual report scheduling.

As the previous paragraph suggests, the inclusion of Report Bursting is one of the most anticipated enhancements to SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008. If setup correctly, this elusive feature is an SAP Crystal and BOE administrator’s dream. But if setup incorrectly, it will quickly become a DBA’s nightmare.  That’s why Report Bursting should be carefully researched and tested before implementing in a production environment. Once you’re ready, scheduling reports will never be the same (in a GOOD way).

What is Report Bursting?

Report Bursting in SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008 allows multiple groups of reports (known as Publications) to be scheduled and distributed to personalized groups of recipients with each group receiving reports containing data filtered differently. This is accomplished when the SQL statement is submitted to the database by the individual SAP Crystal Reports multiple times with different filtered values fetching different data values for each group.

This process provides the most efficient way of scheduling and distributing reports to a large number of users who require the same or similar reports but filtered by different parameters.

The reason that Report Bursting should be entered into cautiously is because of the potential impact on system resources. If the option “One database fetch per recipient” is selected when creating a Publication, the SQL statement of each report will query the database one time for each recipient. This option will almost definitely catch the eye of the DBAs if the recipient list is of significant size. But one database fetch per “batch” of recipients might be much less expensive and fly well below the DBA’s radar.

Creating a New Publication for Report Scheduling

To create a new Publication, begin by selecting a folder from the file menu in InfoView. Once you’ve done this, click New in the default toolbar and select Publication. This is displayed in the screenshot below.

Once “Publication” is selected from the list of choices, you’ll have three options when the “New Publication” window opens.

SummaryGeneral PropertiesSource Documents

In the General Properties section, give your new Publication a name, description (optional), keywords (optional), and then select the Source Documents option. Next click Add to select the reports that will become a part of the Publication that will “Refresh at Runtime”. Multiple reports can be selected as part of a single Publication.

As soon as reports are added, six new options are made available. The “New Publication” now has the following property sections.

SummaryGeneral PropertiesSource DocumentsEnterprise RecipientsDynamic RecipientsPersonalizationFormatsDestinationsAdditional Options

The “Additional Options” section contains eight different options:

Print SettingsDelivery RulesMerged PDF OptionsDatabase LogonRecurrenceEventsScheduling Server GroupAdvanced

Select the Advanced category and you’ll see settings in three different groups:

Profile ResolutionPersonalizationReport Bursting Method

The Report Bursting Methods section provides three choices for bursting:

One database fetch for all recipients (recommended for minimizing the number of database queries)One database fetch for each batch of recipients (recommended for high-volume scenarios)One database fetch per recipient (recommended when using row level security within Universes or Business Views)

Report Bursting Methods Described

One database fetch for all recipients – This option will submit the SQL statement of each report to the database once per report then deliver the data in the specified format to each recipient.  This method uses the database logon credentials of the publisher.One database fetch for each batch of recipients – This is the default option when scheduling Crystal Reports. Batches can run concurrently on different servers to reduce the load on the system (keeping the DBAs happy). The size of the batches depends on the specified personalization. This method uses the database logon credentials of the publisher.One database fetch per recipient – This method uses the data source logon credentials of each recipient as the query is submitted to the database once per report for each recipient in the publication. This option provides the greatest level of security but also produces the greatest load on the system if the recipient list is large.

Publications

In addition to Report Bursting, Publications provide an extensive set of options. Among the options that you’ll want to pay special attention to are the: Print Settings, Delivery Rules, Database Logon Credentials, Recurrence, and Events. Settings such as: Personalization, Formats, and Destinations should also be configured completely before saving and implementing a Publication.

Be sure to view the Summary option and review your selections before finalizing your Publication. You should also test your Publication before making it live. Refer to official SAP documentation for a more in-depth discussion of Publications and information regarding the various other options to configure, save, schedule, and view publication results.

Summary

After finally experiencing SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008, I am surprised at the great deal of sophisticated methods of delivering reports to users across the enterprise. Whether through the convenience of the portal , the use of automated report scheduling, or the use of personalized Publications for Report Bursting, SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008 is an excellent product for sharing information with users.

Questions? Please contact me.
Jim.Brogden@daugherty.com

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Video: Sneak Peek “XWIS Anywhere”

Video: Sneak Peek “XWIS Anywhere” – MyXcelsius.Com div.cute_profiles_sprite{top:275px;left:0px;}//#smooth_sldr{width:550px;height:180px;background-color:#7f6d57;border:2px solid #4f4131;}#smooth_sldr_items{padding:10px 12px 0px 12px;}#smooth_sliderc{width:526px;height:125px;}.smooth_slideri{width:526px;height:125px;}.sldr_title{font-family:Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;color:#ff991b;}#smooth_sldr_body h2{line-height:23px;font-family:Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;color:#f0f0f0;margin:10px 0 5px 0;}#smooth_sldr_body h2 a{color:#f0f0f0;}#smooth_sldr_body span{font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;color:#ffffff;}.smooth_slider_thumbnail{float:left;margin:10px 5px 0 0px;border:2px solid #4f4131;}#smooth_sldr_body p.more a{color:#f0f0f0;font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;}#smooth_sliderc_nav li{border:1px solid #ffffff;font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;}#smooth_sliderc_nav li a{color:#f0f0f0;}.sldrlink{padding-right:25px;}.sldrlink a{color:#ffffff;}MyXcelsius.ComVisual Data Analysis, Information Dashboards and Related Technologies

Skip to Content ?HomeShowcaseVideosVideos from SAPContactAuthorsArchivesVideo: Sneak Peek “XWIS Anywhere”Nov 22nd, 2010

by Kalyan Verma. TweetShareEmailTweetShareEmailXcelsius and Web Intelligence on Samsung Galaxy Tab

Who said Xcelsius cannot render properly on Mobile devices? Here is a video from Antivia, demonstrating Xcelsius and Web Intelligence reports on an Android powered Samsung Galaxy Tablet.

Video after the jump

Highlights:

XWIS Anywhere, from Antivia, is an Android/PC application that allows you to view Xcelsius and Web Intelligence content (Online and Offline) “ANYWHERE”. That is on your PC, Android powered Tablets and Mobile phones. Sorry, no iDevices Xcelsius running natively on the Android device:  The dashboards shown in the demo were built for PC viewing, however they render just fine on the Tablet.The ability to perform slice and dice analysis (Similar to the PC version of XWIS)Break down busy dashboards using the “Mobile View” feature so that the individual blocks render perfectly on small screensConnect to BOBJ Server and view Web Intelligence reports directly in XWIS AnywherePin reports to take them offline (Saves a cached versions)Pinch and Zoom

Innovative solution for Mobile devices. Can’t wait to see it in production.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!No TweetBacks yet. (Be the first to Tweet this post)

Xcelsius and the Object Browser

In Xcelsius, the Object Browser is your new best friend.  It stores and displays all of the components that are on the canvas and allows you to hide them and/or lock them into position.  Xcelsius allows you to design a dashboard  by placing components on the canvas.  It adds exciting visualization to Excel data– trends, what-if, projections and much more.

To add a component to a canvas of the visualization:

Open the spreadsheet that contains the data you want to use.Decide which type of component you need. ( Selectors, Containers, Charts, Gauges.)
Select the component and click on the canvas to insert the object.Use the Object Browser to control the component.Click on the eye to hide temporarily.Click on the padlock to lock the  component position on the visualization.

Once you have completed the components layout, you save it. The process of saving converts your visualization of the Excel data to an .xlf file.  Click on preview and and a .swf file is created.   This file then can be placed in a web page, PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Acrobat.

Xcelsius creates a dynamic, interactive and visual presentation of Excel data and a wow factor to your presentations!

Learn more about the Object Browser and other cool Xcelsius features in our 2-day Xcelsius class.

View the original article here

Crystal Reports Rounding Function

In general, Crystal Reports users set up the default formatting to display the data in the way it is to be used most often. However, when it is necessary to be able to switch quickly to another format – right-clicking to format the field is usually the solution.

If the data field comes down to Crystal Reports with several decimal points, one solution would be to use the remove decimal places button on the tool formatting bar. That button actually rounds up on decimal place numbers greater than 5 and rounds down on decimal place numbers less than 5.

If that data is included in a formula, the Round function could be used on the number to be formatted. To give the report designer more control there are actually two functions for rounding numbers: Round and RoundUp. Each of these rounding functions have two sub-functions, which we will see below.

The syntax is simply Round (x), with x being the numeric or currency field to be rounded. Here are some examples of the Round function:

Round(1.234) = 1Round(1.4999) = 1Round(1.5000) = 2

You can also add a second argument to the Round function to indicate how many places to be rounded to as represented by y here: Round(x, y). Some more examples:

Round(1.234,2) = 1.23Round(1234.2345,2) = 1234.23Round(2345.23456,0) = 2345

The syntax is RoundUp(x), again with x being the numeric or currency field to be rounded. Here are some examples of the RoundUp function:

RoundUp(4.234) = 5RoundUp(1.4999) = 2RoundUp(1.25000) =2

Again, you can also add a second argument to the RoundUp function to indicate how many places to be rounded to as represented by y here: RoundUp(x, y). Some more examples:

RoundUp(1.234,2) = 1.25RoundUp(6.36521,3) = 6.366RoundUp(2345.23456,0) = 2345

If the second argument is left blank then the function rounds up to the nearest integer. In other words, 0 is the default for the second argument.

All this sounds complex, but it really isn’t. I would suggest that you try it on simple numbers with decimals first. Then, when you have the expected results, place it in your Crystal Report using it with the database field.

Taking it a step further, as in Arne’s comment – an if-then-else operator would have to be incorporated using syntax similar to this example:

If region in[CA, MA, FL] then Round({orderdetails.orderamount},2)Else Round({orderdetails.orderamount},0)

Happy Rounding with Crystal Reports!!

View the original article here

Crystal Reports Customized Groups

Did you know that in Crystal Reports you can design your own customized groups for your reports? All you need to do is to decide what the new groups will be called and what the rules or criteria are for the different groups. You are ready to go!

Let’s say that you have a list report containing 250 companies and the total sales amount for the year to date. The Sales Manager would like to see them grouped as follows:

Gold Star Customers (Total Sales Amount greater than $100,000)Silver Star Customers (Total Sales Amount between $50,000. and $99,999)Bronze Star Customers (Total Sales Amount between $10,000. and $49,999)Must Contact Customers (Total Sales Amount less than $9,999)

Here’s how you customize the grouping in Crystal Reports:

Insert a group on the Total Sales Amount field.Select Group from the Insert menuIn the order drop down (second drop-down on Common Tab)—choose Specified Order.A New Tab will open with the label Specified Order.

Type the name of the group ie. ‘Gold Star Customers’ and click on the New button, which opens the following dialog for entering the criteria of this group:

Add your criteria and click OK.Create the other two main groups in the same manner.The last group, Must Contact Customers, will go on the tab for Others.
Select the tab Others – notice the radio button is already there, just change the name in the text box from ‘Others’ to “Must Contact Customers”.You now click on OK and you are done!!

You have now made your first custom grouping for your report! Congratulations.

Happy Reporting!

View the original article here

Drill in chart to different Tab

Posted on 5 October 2010 12:02 am.Femke

If you want to give your users the choice of clicking on a chart (e.g. clicking on the chart title) and then going to a specific tab where the KPI is displayed in more detail, you can use the property “Selected Item: Item (by position)” of the Tab-component and several toggle.

You can even return to the overview tab by using the same method (toggle button). However If you want your users to be able to navigate through BOTH the tab buttons and your toggle buttons, you need to set-up the “return” toggle buttons “with non existing tab positions” as source data. This as the Tab component does not have an insert selection option itself. And when clicking on a tab and then clicking in the chart (on toggle button), the position is not changed and thus it does not trigger the “Selected Item: Item (by position)” property.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

View the original article here

SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.1 SP3 naujienos

Pasirode ilgai lauktas SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.1 Service Pack 3 (SP3) paketas.

Jame yra ištaisyta visa aibe klaidu, kurios iki šiol buvo taisomos tarpiniuose atnaujinimuose (XI 3.1 FixPack 2.x) bei atsirado nauju patobulinimu ir funkcionalumu.

Štai keletas naujoviu:

Itrauktas nauju OS bei duomenu šaltiniu palaikymasWebIntelligence Query Stripping – užklausu optimizavimas eliminuojant ataskaitoje nenaudojamus objektusMerge Dimensions – dimensiju apjungimo ir detalizavimo (drill) patobulinimaiOLAP Universe pre-defined filter editorNauji Xcelsius servisai – Xcelsius Cache ir Processing ServersNajas Crystal Reports duomenu šaltinis – Universal Web Services ConnectorSAP Integration Kit atnaujinimaiKiti patobulinimai

SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.1 Service Pack 3 (SP3) gali buti diegiamas kaip esamu sistemu atnaujinimas arba kaip nauja pilna versija.

View the original article here

Two Advantages of a Manual Maximum Calculation in Xcelsius

By

AmyPublished: August 4, 2010Posted in: Business Intelligence, Tech Tips, Xcelsius, Xcelsius End UserTags: Dashboard design, Xcelsius

Problem A: I have data that could be in the 1000s but sometimes could be 1 or 2.  Users do not want to see a division of 1.5 (or any part of a whole) since the data is tracking incidents and there are never “half incidents.”  How do I force the values to integers without losing the divisors for the high numbers (i.e. when there is 1000 maximum, I want to still see 250, 500, 750 divisors)?

 

Solution: Set a manual calculated maximum

{ =IF(MAX(AE15:AE26)<100,100,MAX(AE15:AE26)) } and then set the division number to 1.  With the division number to 1, it often also looks better to remove the grid lines (in case the data for the charts sometimes is much higher).

          

  Problem B:  I want to display a line chart on top of a stacked bar chart because there is no combination chart with this option.  My data for the stacked bar chart, however, is sometimes over 100 and sometimes under 100 and the extra space shifts the chart so that the two do not align.  How can I make the layered charts always align? 

 

 (Layered line chart does not line up with stacked bar chart when maximum is less than 100)

 

 (Layered line chart lines up with stacked bar chart when the maximum is over 100)

 

Note: If the charts are less than a magnitude different, the following method is a not-so-elegant-but-perhaps-acceptable workaround.  In the example above, I have emphasized the issue of alignment by making the different much greater in which case a more-involved display control of multiple charts may be the only acceptable option. 

Solution: Set a manual calculated maximum within an if() statement so that the maximum is always 100 or greater even if the stacked bar chart total is less than 100. (See above note for exception) 

 

This “fix” may not be acceptable for the right visual consumption. What may need to be done when the data is more than a magnitude of 10 different is to work with display properties for two charts with different widths based upon the maximum chart height formula instead.

View the original article here

Sharing Reports in SAP Crystal Reports Server

In this post, the 2nd in a three part series for the Reportapalooza “Reporting Remix” challenge, I will describe my observations of SAP Crystal Reports Server after logging on with Internet Explorer into the Java Infoview portal.

I logged into SAP Crystal Reports Server as the Administrator and was given two categories of options: Navigate and Personalize. Beneath the Personalize category was a Preferences selection. I’ve never been the type of person to pass on the opportunity to tweak a couple settings, so I clicked Preferences. Below is a screenshot of the initial screen displayed after I logged into the system.

Preferences are available in four categories:

GeneralChange PasswordCrystal ReportsDashboard and Analytics

The General section was expanded by default and the first setting provides the option to change the InfoView Start Page. I modified this selection by clicking the option button beside Folder then browsing to the “Report Samples” folder. By making this selection, all of my subsequent logons to the SAP Crystal Reports Server will no longer display the Navigate and Personalize categories as previously described. Instead, I would be taken directly to the Report Sample folder. 
This option saves time and allows me to get right to the folder that contains the reports I’m most interested in analyzing.

Browsing BusinessObjects InfoView
The contents of the Java Infoview portal, (or BUSINESSOBJECTS INFOVIEW as it’s titled in the upper left corner of the page header), delivers Crystal Reports and other local document types to users in a similar format as Windows Explorer. Users have the ease of navigating through a folder structure on the left side of the page while viewing the contents of the selected folder on the right side of the page.
This basic style should be very familiar to anyone that has spent any time working with a PC. The simplicity in navigation seems like it would lead to a very productive user experience.

Adding Reports to the Portal
To begin sharing reports with other users, I will need to add them to the portal. Will this be difficult or easy? Should I right-click or look for something like “Add”? The answer is: either.
If you want to add a report to the portal, just click Add in the toolbar located across the top of the folder structure. After clicking Add, two choices will be available – Crystal Reports and Local Document. If Local Document is selected, you’ll have the opportunity to browse for a Microsoft Office document (Excel, Word, or PowerPoint), PDF, Text file, or other file type. If Crystal Reports is selected, you’ll be taken to a screen prompting you to select a Crystal Report. The screenshot below shows the Add button in action.

Another way of adding a report to the portal is by right-clicking on a folder and selecting Add. This option is available in the tree of folders on the left side of the screen. You can also right-click on a folders displayed on the right side of the screen to add a Crystal Report to the portal. Picture below is this example.

Sharing Reports with Folders and Categories
Reports can be shared or delivered to authorized users in either folders, categories, or both. Folders are the primary structure for storing published report objects while categories seem to work as custom views that may contain reports from different folders.

My Favorites and Inbox
The My Favorites folder in the Java Infoview portal allows users to save their own personal copies of reports. This is a great place for storing report variations or reports that are still in the development and verification phase.

The Inbox is an extremely useful feature for passing around instances of reports to other authorized users. Also, the Infoview Inbox is a common destination for sending the results of scheduled report instances. Any user with Schedule rights can send refreshed report instances to other users with a valid logon by selecting “Business Objects Inbox” as the scheduled destination while scheduling a report to refresh.

Enterprise Convenience
After spending a short amount of time with SAP Crystal Reports Server, it has become very obvious how powerful this product can be to an organization. A report developer in Mobile can create a report, publish it to the portal, and then have users in Portland, New York, and Atlanta all view it within seconds of publishing it. With this type of collaborative environment, someone in another city can see a report quicker than someone four cubicles away can walk to your desk. Now that is cool!

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. Thank you!

Jim Brogden

jim.brogden@daugherty.com

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Kimono Starts to Open on BusinessObjects XI 4.0 at ASUG BO Conference

The 2010 ASUG BusinessObjects User Conference provided a lot of interest not just for the 1,100 registered attendees but also for the additional 600 attendees of the SAP Fall Focus who shared the same venue. Judging by the number of attendees in the various sessions, it appeared a large number of SAP Fall Focus attendees decided to attend the BusinessObjects tracks. The same was true in the exhibit area as many of the BusinessObjects sponsors were swamped with excited and interested customers.

This year Xcelsius dashboards shared the limelight with Mobile Business Intelligence in terms of the most popular topics being discussed amongst attendees.

There was also some buzz around the new BusinessObjects XI 4.0 release promising to be the first truly integrated business intelligence platform. While there were a few small demonstrations of some of the new XI 4.0 products in the general session, most of the other sessions stuck to slides and pre-recorded Camtasia demonstrations.  With the release moving to “ramp up” stage in November, the kimono was only half opened on some of the new features and functions. These included the new Data Services that will now incorporate Text Analytics in addition to Data Integrator and Data Quality in a single engine solution. Also, there is the new Universal Metadata Layer that not only combines Business Views and Universes but also now provides direct access to Multidimensional OLAP data sources.

Part of the integration approach with XI 4.0  is to provide common services across all the main content provider tools like Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence, Xcelsius, Explorer. These include a common query panel for accessing data through a universe so in the new Xcelsius Enterprise 4.0 developers would have access to universe objects while building the dashboard.

An updated Web Intelligence brings new charting libraries from the Explorer product and an update Crystal Reports delivers a new grid view with drag and drop on graphics capability.

Common platform services like Auditing and Life Cycle Manager now extend across all the content provider tools including Xcelsius.

SAP’s new solution for in-memory analytics, known as HANA (High performance ANalytical Appliance), was also discussed.

Once the ramp up period gets underway, we will have a better chance to more thoroughly explore the new features and functions but based on this sneak preview, there appears to be some promising new functionality in XI 4.

Paul Grill started his career in Information Technology in the U.K. in 1978, as an Executive Data Processing Trainee for Honeywell. More than thirty years later, he still has a voracious appetite for learning as Information Technology continues to advance at an ever accelerating pace. He was first introduced to the world of Business Intelligence in 1991, in France, when he saw a demonstration of an early version of BusinessObjects on Windows 2.1. He returned to the U.S. to rave about this phenomenal product, but it was many years before BusinessObjects made it into the mainstream. Paul founded InfoSol in 1997, and made Business Intelligence one of the key solutions offered by the company. Today, InfoSol is a leading SAP BusinessObjects solutions partner, known for its expert consulting, education and innovative add-on solutions. Paul is well known within the SAP BusinessObjects community for his extensive knowledge of Business Intelligence, and he has lectured and written many articles on the subject. Paul enjoys writing, running and coaching kids soccer, and is passionate about Ancient Egyptology.

View the original article here

Changing Default Field Settings in Crystal Reports

When you design your reports in Crystal Reports, Crystal Reports uses the database format for the database fields.  It also uses the database fonts as I discussed in Setting Default Fonts in Crystal Reports. This, again, requires that you format these fields every time you want to use them in you report.

I recommend you take the time upfront to change these default settings in Crystal Report so that you won’t have to change the settings on each new report you create. Here’s how you change the default field settings in Crystal Reports:

From the File Menu, select Options.Choose the Fields tab.For each field category, select the format you would use regularly. (For example; for Numbers you may like the comma format and 2 decimal places.)Currency could be the same as Number, but with the currency symbol: Floating places the symbol directly to the left of the number, e.g.  $456.87.Fixed places the symbol several spaces away from the number, e.g. $       456.87.Date is often in the database as Date and Time, but your organization does not use the time part!  Format it so that Crystal Reports fixes that so it appears the way you want it on your report.  You can include the leading zero (05/05/2010) or not (5/5/2010.)  Pick the preferred format for your organization.Date and Time should be the same as Date, if your organization does not use the Time part.  Otherwise, format according to the preference of your organization.

Keep in mind, Crystal Reports is considered a presentational report designing tool.  While your report should always look professional, it does not mean the report designer needs to spend hours formatting it.  The report designer needs to present the correct data in a professional manner, but with Crystal Reports, that processt does not have to be difficult!

View the original article here

Upcoming Event – ASUG Arizona Chapter – October 29, 2010

 Paul Grill from INFOSOL will be presenting Xcellent Xcelsius at the upcoming meeting of the ASUG Arizona Chapter. 

Date: Friday, October 29, 2010
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Intel
5000 W. Chandler Blvd. Building CH3, Conference Room
Chandler, AZ 85226 – 112 

For complete information about this meeting refer to your Arizona Chapter Quarterly Update email.

Arizona Chapter Discussion Forum

Yolande Grill is the Vice President of Business Development at InfoSol Inc. I would like to think of myself as the Chief Transformation Officer. My favorite quote to ponder is one from Trina Paulus. "How Exactly does one become a butterfly? You must want to fly so badly, that you are willing to give up being a catterpillar"

View the original article here

Getting Started with SAP Crystal Reports Server

In the fifth and final challenge of Reportapalooza, I’ll be writing a three part series of blog posts about the product at the heart of the SAP Crystal product line – SAP Crystal Reports Server.

My experience with BusinessObjects software goes back to versions 6.1 and 6.5 and the days of Application Foundation and the BOMain.key. Then in 2006, I had the good fortune of being introduced to BusinessObjects XI and the new CORBA architecture. This led to an ongoing string of (mostly) enjoyable experiences installing, deploying, migrating to, and administering BusinessObjects XI R2, XI 3.0, and XI 3.1. These experiences also included many years of developing Universes, building Desktop Intelligence reports, Web Intelligence documents, and finally Xcelsius 4.5 and 2008 dashboards. But my experience with SAP Crystal Reports only goes back to version XI and I’ve never had the opportunity to even see SAP Crystal Reports Server. So I jumped at the opportunity to install and peruse SAP Crystal Reports Server as part of the “Reporting Remix” and Reportapalooza.

Diving right in, I installed “SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008 V1” on my favorite box. My first attempt failed though because I tried to install it on a machine that already had SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.1 installed. My mistake, I should’ve known better.   Not a problem, I moved to another PC.

As the installation began, I started noticing some very familiar screens. These were some of the same exact windows and options that are offered when SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.x is installed. Below is a description of a few of the dialog screens presented during installation.

Install Type selection – Provides the option to install a MySQL Database Server.Server Component Configuration – CMS Port selection and administrator account setup.Server Intelligence Agent – An “umbrella” service that helps manage services (or servers) by automating starting, restarting, and stopping of servers.Web Application Server selection – Java Web Application Server is the default and “WACS” is recommended deployment type. However, the option to install a Tomcat server and deploy to it is provided.  Additional options are also provided, such as:Allowing you to deploy to a pre-installed Web App ServerThe option to manually deploy the WAR file web components after installationInstall an IIS Web App Server (assuming ASP.NET v1.1 already exists)MySQL Database Configuration – Used for storing system data.Web Application Container Server Configuration – HTTP port setting. 6405 is the default.

After making it through the initial series of settings, installation is ready to begin. The screens continue to remind me of installing BOE but they all say “Crystal Reports Server 2008 V1 Setup”. Pictured below is the Server Intelligence Agent dialog screen showing the option to rename the Node Name and manually adjust the Port number. I changed the Node Name but kept the default Port #.

The screenshot below shows the Web Application Server deployment options.

The two screen shots below show the installation in progress. Expect installation to take from 30 minutes to 1 hour.

As my installation moved very close to completion, I was prompted (on Vista) by my Windows Firewall to either Keep Blocking or Unblock “BusinessObjects Enterprise”. “BusinessObjects Enterprise”? Wow, so far, it’s almost exactly like BOE!

Suddenly I remembered the driving force behind the architecture change from BusinessObjects 6.5 to the smooth, elegant, and .WAR filled CORBA architecture in XI. It was because of the powerful and stable SAP Crystal Reports Server.

Installation complete! It’s time to click Start and have a look at what was installed. The screen shot below shows full list of tools installed. The items that jumped out to me are:

Central Configuration Manger (CCM) – Windows based server management utilityCentral Management Console (CMC) – Web based administrative consoleImport Wizard – Tool for migrating objects from one environment to anotherJava Infoview – The reporting portal (and same favicon used by InfoView in BusinessObjects)

The first thing I did was click “Java Infoview” and logon as the administrator. At first glance, it’s identical to SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1. But within minutes I began to notice a couple subtle differences. For one, there were a couple key products missing that I’m used to seeing. Such as:

Universe DesignerWeb Intelligence

Then I realized how long Crystal Reports has been around. And how many clients use Crystal Reports to develop highly refined pixel perfect reports. What is the best method for delivering reports to users in a zero-client environment and not requiring the installation of Crystal Reports on every users PC? The answer is SAP Crystal Reports Server.

In my next two posts I will begin describing some of the common features and primary functions in SAP Crystal Reports and how it relates to an enhanced user experience.

Thank you,
Jim Brogden
jim.brogden@daugherty.com

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Cool Dashboards from ProMorphics

Although I’ve worked in a number of different industry verticals, I’m currently focused on the Utilities vertical.  I’m always on the look out for great dashboards and I found some!  I want dashboards that combine the best features of Xcelsius together with amazing usability and depth of function.  My latest discovery is from ProMorphics.  ProMorphics is a services organization and they have been a member of the SAP Ecosystem for a number of years.   I recently got a chance to view the results of some of their compelling dashboards  and the results speak for themselves.

When I spoke with ProMorphics they talked about their commitment to listen to the customer and to go the extra mile.  They’ve been extremely successful at using Xcelsius as a prototyping/rapid development tool so that they can get feedback and turn the results around extremely quickly.

Their sample dashboards focus on these three areas:

Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S)Field OperationsSales and Financial Performance (Peek Performance)

If you work in a utility related industry, you may want to engage ProMorphics and leverage their expertise.  It’s not surprising that 70% of their business comes from repeat customers.

ProMorphics Operations Dashboard with Custom Xcelsius Controls

Although ProMorphics does not allow you to download their .xlf files, you can view the dashboards via the following website:
http://www.promorphics1.us/22/interactivedemos/demos

Here is a 10 minute video walk-through of their Peak Performance dashboard with Kasia Szewczyk
http://www.promorphics1.us/29/audiovideo/recording

It’s always good to see partners who exploit all the features within a solution.  In the screenshot above, you can see how they have built Google Map integration as well as a custom calendar control.  These are examples of custom Xcelsius controls written in Flex.  I saw example after example of custom controls, developed to make sure they gave the customer exactly what they wanted.  If you engage ProMorphics in a project, they will also make these custom Xcelsius controls available to you.  Some partners like Centigon Solutions do allow you to buy their Xcelsius controls separately but ProMorphics currently does not.

«Good BI»

View the original article here

Visit my new blog @ MyXcelsius.com

News, Articles, Training & More…

Be the first to like this post.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Selectors: 6 steps to Multiple Selection

Posted on 20 August 2010 10:50 am.Femke

As I get more and more request for the multiple select file I have written out below the steps to take (thus I will not send the file anymore, you can follow the steps yourself ). Also I updated the source file to use the push button instead of a second source button as this is easier to understand. I created this initially for a Web Intelligence prompt, but of course you can use it for any prompt.

6 Steps to create a multiple select:

1. create spreadsheet

place in cells A5 to A14 your labels (eg. label 1, label 2 etc)in range B5 to B14 you create the parameter labels as they need to be send through (eg. “label 1?, “label 2? etc)place in C5 to C14 a 0 (zero), these are the ‘old selection values’place in D5 to D14 an incremental number (10 labels = 1 to 10)place in D18 a reference to D2 “=D2? (one of the destination cells of the selector), using this formula reference a delay is created in the overall calculation. When instead the direct input cell is used in the cell range E5:E14 no more then 4 items can be selected before re-initialisation. Using this delay formula enables selection of all items.place in E19 the hard coded value 1 (one), this is a source value for the “new value”place in E5 the “new value” formula “=IF($D5=$D$18,$E$19,$C5)” and drag this formula through to E14place in G5 the formula “=IF($E5=1,B5,”")” and drag through to G14. This is the first part of building the WebI prompt with multiple values.place in H5 the formula “=IF($E5=1,C5,”")” and drag through to H14. This is used in the alert of the selector (enables you to see which labels are selected).Place in J5 the formula “=IF(G5=”",”",G5)” and in J6 the formula “=IF(G6=”",IF(J5=”",”",J5),IF(J5=”",G6,J5&”,”&G6))” drag this formula through to J14. This is the second part of building the webi prompt. Cell J14 is the actual prompt send to WebI.place in L5 to L14 a 0 (zero), these are used by the push button to re-initialise to the last selection.place in cell G2 the formula “=”Reset to only “&B2? (label for push button)

2. place a selector, eg.listbox with the following properties:

Labels: A5:A14Insertion type: rowSource data: B5:E14Destination: B2:E2Selected Item: Dynamicenable alertsalert values: H5:H14by valueselect “low values are good”deselect “enable auto colors”, remove 1 color and enter the value 0.5, the range minimum to 0.5 will be with a white background, range 0.5 to maximum will have a red background.

3. place a label which shows the concatenated prompt value

4. place a source data button with the following properties:

insertion type: columnsource data: E5:E14destination: C5:C14

5. place a push button with the following properties:

label: G2source data: L5:L14destination: C5:C14

6. preview your dashboard.

That’s it. Easy is it not?

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

View the original article here

Add on manager is greyed out

Posted on 24 March 2010 1:33 pm.Femke

After installing Windows 7 the add on manager is greyed out in Xcelsius.

This is due to the default User Account Control settings. Change the setting to the lowest level (9) and then import the add ons. After restart of Xcelsius you can change the level back up again (or leave it).

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

View the original article here

Integrating Xcelsius into Crystal Reports Series – 3 of 3

Thanks to everyone who attended the Reportapalooza “Behind the Reports” webinar yesterday!  Below is  a quick recap of where we are with the Reportapalooza competition.  The final winner will be announced on Nov 22th.

Challenge #1 (Done) – Winner , Mico Yuk (Check out my Coffee Consumption Calculator)Challenge #2 (Done) – Winner, Mico Yuk (based on traffic sent to Report a Hero Page)Challenge #3 (Done) – Winner, Brian Durning (voted best Crystal Reports Video by Community)Challenge #4 (Done) – Winner, David Deitch (voted best Charity Dashboard by Community) Challenge #5 (In Progress) – “Reporting Remix” (What this series of blog post is about).Community Dashboard Challenge (In Progress) – Voting end tomorrow Nov 12th for your favorite community dashboard.Experts Webinar- ”Behind the Reports” (Recording should be available soon) – You don’t want to miss the important tips and answered questions by the experts!

Now for a quick recap of the last 2 posts:

Part 1 – I went over some Q&A on what it would take on a high level to embed your Xcelsius charts and maps into a Crystal Report, as well as some pros and cons of both.Part 2 – I went over how to set up your map in Xcelsius so that it can be consumed by Crystal Reports.  I used Google Maps (compliments of Centigon Solutions) for this example as it much more robust than the out box maps in Xcelsius.Part 3 (the last one) – I am going to show you the  step-by-step process on how to embed your Xcelsius .swf file into your Crystal Reports.

6 Simple Steps to embed your Xcelsius .swf file into your Crystal Report!

1. Open Crystal Reports 2008 -> Click on blue icon to Embed Flash file

2. The Google Map should appear in your dashboard

3. Right click on the Google Map -> Click ‘Flash Data Expert’ to bind the Crystal Report Data

4. Drag the Label field, in this case ‘Sheet1_.Label’ into the 2nd row in the ‘Insert Row Labels’ section

5. Drag the Address field, in this case ‘Lat,Long’ into the 1st row in the ‘Insert Row Labels’ section -> Select ‘OK’. (Note: The map is now connected, so you can see the heat map data display in the preview.)

6. Voila! Your data and your map now appears in your Crystal Report.

As a BONUS, I attached the files that I used for the series.  Click here to download.

Again, just a quick reminder to cast your final votes by tomorrow (11/12) on the 3 dashboards that were submitted by the community to show your support.

Mico Yuk is a 2010 SAP Mentor and the founder of the Xcelsius Guru Network and the Everything Xcelsius blog. To learn more about her, please visit our About Us page

Tags: Business Objects, BusinessObjects, Centigon Solutions, Reportapalooza, SAP Crystal Dashboard Design, Xcelsius 2008

View the original article here