BusinessObjects XI R1/R2: Desktop Intelligence: Report Design (Advanced)

About this class

Desktop Intelligence is an integrated query, reporting and analysis solution that allows business users to access the data in their corporate databases directly from their desktop and present and analyze this information in a Desktop Intelligence document.

This course is designed to give learners the comprehensive skills needed to apply advanced reporting techniques in the creation of Desktop Intelligence documents. After completing this course learners will be able to apply alternative query techniques in the creation of advanced Desktop Intelligence documents and reports. Learners will also be able to apply character and date string functions, create user-defined objects, group data, and use calculation contexts to further develop their documents and reports.

Who will the lesson benefit?

The target audience for this course is business users who need to generate effective reports using BusinessObjects Desktop Intelligence.

The audience for this course may consist of BusinessObjects 6.5, BusinessObjects XI Release 1 and BusinessObjects XI Release 2 customers. The XI Release 2 icon and the BusinessObjects 6.5 icon have been placed throughout the guide to identify features that are specific to each version, or potential differences.

What delegates will learn

This course is designed to teach learners using the XI R2 version how to apply advanced reporting techniques in the creation of documents using Desktop Intelligence. Note that there is not an XI R1 version of Desktop Intelligence and that the previous version is BusinessObjects 6.x full client.

New features covered in this course include:

• WebConnect is no longer available as a data source for reporting

What prerequisites are required

Experience building Desktop Intelligence reports

Contents of this class

Lesson #1 - Alternative Query Techniques

• Defining Combined Query Types
• Using Combined Queries
• Using Sub-Queries
• Creating a Query on a Query

Lesson #2 - Character and Date String Functions

• Understanding Character Strings
• Using the Replace Function
• Using the Right Function
• Using the SubString() Function
• Using the Pos() Function
• Concatenating Different Data Types
• Using Date Functions

Lesson #3 - User-Defined Objects

• Creating User Objects
• Using a User Object in a Query
• Editing a User Object
• Deleting a User Object
• Storing a User Object

Lesson #4 - Grouping Data

• Grouping Data Using "If.. Then.. Else.."
• Using If.. Then.. Else to Modify Calculations

Lesson #5 - Calculation Contexts

• Understanding Calculation Contexts
• Using Forced Output Calculation Context
• Using Forced Input Calculation Context
• Identifying Input and Output Context

Lesson #6 - Advanced Charting

• Using Charts
• Invoking a Secondary Y-axis
• Applying Multiple Styles on a Single Y-axis

Lesson #7 - Reporting from Other Data Sources

• Using XML as a data source