Oracle Discoverer Administrator's Guide

Oracle DiscovererTM Administration Edition
Administration Guide
Release 4.1 For Windows
December 2000 Part No. A86730-01
Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide Release 4.1 For Windows Part No. A86730-01 Copyright 2000, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved. The Programs (which include both the software and documentation) contain proprietary information of Oracle Corporation; they are provided under a license agreement containing restrictions on use and disclosure and are also protected by copyright, patent, and other intellectual and industrial property laws. Reverse engineering, disassembly, or decompilation of the Programs is prohibited. The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. If you find any problems in the documentation, please report them to us in writing. Oracle Corporation does not warrant that this document is error free. Except as may be expressly permitted in your license agreement for these Programs, no part of these Programs may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Oracle Corporation. If the Programs are delivered to the U.S. Government or anyone licensing or using the programs on behalf of the U.S. Government, the following notice is applicable: Restricted Rights Notice Programs delivered subject to the DOD FAR Supplement are "commercial computer software" and use, duplication, and disclosure of the Programs, including documentation, shall be subject to the licensing restrictions set forth in the applicable Oracle license agreement. Otherwise, Programs delivered subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulations are "restricted computer software" and use, duplication, and disclosure of the Programs shall be subject to the restrictions in FAR 52.227-19, Commercial Computer Software - Restricted Rights (June, 1987). Oracle Corporation, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood City, CA 94065. The Programs are not intended for use in any nuclear, aviation, mass transit, medical, or other inherently dangerous applications. It shall be the licensee's responsibility to take all appropriate fail-safe, backup, redundancy, and other measures to ensure the safe use of such applications if the Programs are used for such purposes, and Oracle Corporation disclaims liability for any damages caused by such use of the Programs.
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Contents
Send Us Your Comments ................................................................................................................. xix Preface.......................................................................................................................................................... xxi 1 Discoverer Overview
1.1 1.2 1.2.1 1.2.2 1.2.3 1.2.4 1.2.5 1.2.6 1.2.7 1.2.7.1 1.3 1.4 1.4.1 1.4.2 New Discoverer Features ......................................................................................................... Why do you need Discoverer? ................................................................................................. Discoverers Components ................................................................................................. Discoverer Plus ................................................................................................................. Discoverer 4i Plus ............................................................................................................. Discoverer 4i Viewer ........................................................................................................ Administration Edition...................................................................................................... End User Layer (EUL) ...................................................................................................... What is a Business Area?.................................................................................................. Business Area Terminology....................................................................................... Discoverer Features and Benefits............................................................................................. Your Role as Discoverer Administrator................................................................................... Before You Begin ........................................................................................................... Next Steps ....................................................................................................................... 1-1 1-2 1-2 1-5 1-5 1-5 1-5 1-5 1-6 1-7 1-8 1-9 1-10 1-10
2 Setting Up the Database

2.1 2.1.1 2.1.2 Scheduled Workbooks.............................................................................................................. 2-1 Confirming that DBMS_JOBS is Installed....................................................................... 2-1 Specifying Result Set Storage........................................................................................... 2-2
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2.1.2.1 Storing the Result Set in the Users Schema.............................................................. 2.1.2.2 Storing the Result Set in the centralized Repository Users Schema ........................ 2.1.3 Setting the Start Time for Workbook Processing.............................................................. 2.2 Summary Management............................................................................................................. 2.2.1 Confirming that DBMS_JOBS is Installed ....................................................................... 2.2.2 Privileges........................................................................................................................... 2.2.3 Determining Tablespace Quotas ....................................................................................... 2.2.4 Checking Object/Schema Name........................................................................................ 2.2.5 Setting the Start Time for Summary Processing ............................................................... 2.2.5.1 Limiting the Number of Processing Requests that can Run Simultaneously ............ 2.3 Query Prediction....................................................................................................................... 2.3.1 Enabling Query Prediction ................................................................................................ 2.3.1.1 What to do if Certain Views (SYS.V$xxx) are not Available ................................... 2.3.1.2 To Check the timed_statistics Parameter ................................................................. 2.3.1.3 To Analyze Tables ................................................................................................... 2.3.1.4 To Check the optimizer_mode Parameter................................................................ 2.3.2 Reducing Long Query Prediction Times.........................................................................
2-2 2-3 2-4 2-5 2-5 2-6 2-7 2-8 2-8 2-8 2-9 2-9 2-9 2-10 2-10 2-11 2-12
3 Getting Started
3.1 3.2 3.3 3.3.1 3.3.2 3.3.2.1 3.3.2.2 3.3.2.3 3.3.2.4 3.4 3.5 Starting Discoverer Administration Edition ............................................................................. Connecting to the Database ...................................................................................................... The Work Area ......................................................................................................................... Context-sensitive Menus in the Work Area ...................................................................... Pages of the Work Area Window...................................................................................... Using the Data Page ................................................................................................... Using the Hierarchies Page ...................................................................................... Using the Item Classes Page .................................................................................... Using the Summaries Page ...................................................................................... Toolbar Icons.......................................................................................................................... Using the Help Menu.............................................................................................................. 3-1 3-1 3-5 3-7 3-8 3-8 3-12 3-14 3-18 3-19 3-20
4 Tutorial
4.1 4.1.1 4.2 Lesson 1: Creating a private End User Layer........................................................................... 4-2 Create a private End User Layer ....................................................................................... 4-2 Lesson 2: Using the Load Wizard ............................................................................................ 4-7
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4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3 4.2.4 4.2.5 4.3 4.4 4.4.1 4.4.2 4.5 4.5.1 4.5.2 4.5.3 4.6 4.6.1 4.6.2 4.7 4.7.1 4.8 4.8.1 4.8.2 4.8.3 4.8.4 4.8.5 4.9 4.9.1 4.9.2 4.10 4.10.1 4.10.2 4.10.3 4.10.4 4.10.5 4.11 4.11.1
Identifying the Source Location for the Business Area .................................................... Selecting the User IDs and Tables .................................................................................... Selecting Tables and Views to Load into the Business Area.......................................... Default Business Area Design ........................................................................................ Naming the Business Area .............................................................................................. Lesson 3: Getting to Know the Work Area............................................................................ Lesson 4: Granting Access Privileges.................................................................................... Granting Access Privileges to Users ............................................................................... Granting Access to the Business Area ............................................................................ Lesson 5: Modifying the Business Area and Folders............................................................. Adding a Description to the Business Area .................................................................... Renaming and Adding Descriptions to Folders .............................................................. Renaming and Adding Descriptions for an Item in a Folder .......................................... Lesson 6: Designing a Custom Folder ................................................................................... Creating a Custom Folder - Defining the SQL ............................................................... Editing The Custom Folders SQL ................................................................................. Lesson 7: Creating Joins ........................................................................................................ Creating Joins for Folders in the Business Area ............................................................. Lesson 8: Customizing Items ................................................................................................. Hiding Items in the Business Area.................................................................................. Setting the Display Axis for Items and Display Sequence ............................................. Creating Lists of Values.................................................................................................. Creating an Alternative Sort ........................................................................................... Creating a New Calculated Item ..................................................................................... Lesson 9: Designing a Complex Folder ................................................................................. Creating a Complex Folder ............................................................................................. Creating a Condition ....................................................................................................... Lesson 10: Working with Hierarchies ................................................................................... Defining a Simple Item Hierarchy .................................................................................. Defining a More Complex Item Hierarchy ..................................................................... Creating a Date Hierarchy Template .............................................................................. Modifying an Items Content Type................................................................................. Defining Drill to Detail Data .......................................................................................... Lesson 11: Creating Summaries to Optimize Performance ................................................... Creating a Summary Folder ............................................................................................
4-7 4-9 4-10 4-12 4-14 4-16 4-17 4-17 4-23 4-25 4-25 4-26 4-29 4-31 4-31 4-34 4-37 4-37 4-41 4-41 4-42 4-44 4-49 4-55 4-60 4-60 4-63 4-66 4-66 4-72 4-74 4-79 4-82 4-85 4-85
4.11.2 Setting up Internal Summary Combinations ................................................................... 4-89 4.11.3 Setting up the refresh schedule and naming the Summary Folder.................................. 4-91 4.12 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................. 4-92
5 The End User Layer

5.1 5.2 5.2.1 5.2.2 5.2.3 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.6.1 5.6.2 5.6.3 5.6.4 5.7 What is an End User Layer?..................................................................................................... Creating an End User Layer ..................................................................................................... Required Privileges ........................................................................................................... Creating an EUL for an Existing User .............................................................................. Creating an EUL for a New User ...................................................................................... Maintaining an End User Layer ............................................................................................... Deleting an End User Layer ..................................................................................................... Moving End User Layer Elements Between Databases ......................................................... Installing the Tutorial Data..................................................................................................... Required Privileges ......................................................................................................... Installing the Tutorial Data ............................................................................................. Installing the Tutorial Data in several EULs................................................................... Reinstalling the Tutorial Data ......................................................................................... Uninstalling the Tutorial Data ................................................................................................ 5-1 5-3 5-3 5-4 5-6 5-8 5-8 5-10 5-10 5-11 5-12 5-14 5-14 5-14
6 Folders
6.1 6.2 6.2.1 6.2.2 6.2.2.1 6.2.2.2 6.2.2.3 6.2.3 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.6.1 6.6.2 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. Folder Types............................................................................................................................. Simple Folders................................................................................................................... Complex Folders ............................................................................................................... What is a Complex Folder?........................................................................................ Dependencies and Inheritance ................................................................................... Complex Folders vs. Database Views........................................................................ Custom Folders ................................................................................................................. Adding Simple Folders from the Database .............................................................................. Creating Complex Folders........................................................................................................ Creating Custom Folders.......................................................................................................... Editing Folder Properties.......................................................................................................... Editing the Properties of a Single Folder ........................................................................ Editing the Properties of Multiple Folders...................................................................... 6-1 6-2 6-2 6-2 6-2 6-2 6-3 6-3 6-4 6-4 6-6 6-9 6-10 6-10
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6.6.3 6.6.3.1 6.6.3.2 6.7 6.8 6.8.1 6.8.2 6.9 6.10 6.11
The Owner attribute ........................................................................................................ Entering a value into the Owner field ...................................................................... Leaving the Owner field blank ................................................................................ Editing a Custom Folders SQL Statement ............................................................................ Sharing Folders Across Business Areas................................................................................. Assigning Multiple Folders to a Business Area.............................................................. Assigning a Folder to Multiple Business Areas.............................................................. Validating Folders .................................................................................................................. Re-ordering Folders in the Business Area.............................................................................. Deleting Folders .....................................................................................................................
6-11 6-11 6-12 6-13 6-15 6-15 6-16 6-17 6-17 6-18
7 Business Areas
7.1 7.2 7.2.1 7.2.2 7.2.2.1 7.2.2.2 7.2.2.3 7.2.2.4 7.2.2.5 7.2.2.6 7.2.2.7 7.3 7.3.1 7.3.2 7.4 7.5 7.5.1 7.5.2 7.5.3 7.5.3.1 7.5.3.2 7.5.3.3 7.5.3.4 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. Building a New Business Area................................................................................................. Preparing to Build a New Business Area.......................................................................... Using the Load Wizard to Build a New Business Area .................................................... What is the Load Wizard? ......................................................................................... Starting the Load Wizard ........................................................................................... Load Wizard: Step 1, Specifying the Metadata Source ............................................. Load Wizard: Step 2 .................................................................................................. Load Wizard: Step 3, Selecting Tables and Views.................................................. Load Wizard: Step 4, Automatic Attributes ............................................................ Load Wizard: Step 5, Naming the Business Area ................................................... Opening an Existing Business Area ....................................................................................... Using the Load Wizard to Open an Existing Business Area .......................................... Using the Open Business Area Dialog Box .................................................................... Exporting a Business Area to a File ....................................................................................... Importing EUL elements from a file ...................................................................................... About Identifiers ............................................................................................................. Supported File Formats ................................................................................................... Using the Import Wizard to import elements.................................................................. What is the Import Wizard?..................................................................................... Starting the Import Wizard ...................................................................................... Import Wizard: Step 1.............................................................................................. Import Wizard: Step 2.............................................................................................. 7-1 7-2 7-2 7-3 7-3 7-3 7-3 7-5 7-10 7-11 7-13 7-14 7-14 7-15 7-17 7-18 7-18 7-19 7-19 7-19 7-19 7-20 7-20
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7.5.3.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 7.9.1 7.10
Import Wizard: Step 3.............................................................................................. Copying Business Areas Between EULs ............................................................................... Editing Business Area Properties ........................................................................................... Deleting a Business Area........................................................................................................ Synchronizing the Business Area with the Database ............................................................. Refresh from Gateway .................................................................................................... Data migration issues (Analytic Functions) ...........................................................................
7-23 7-24 7-24 7-25 7-26 7-27 7-28
8 Access Privileges and Security

8.1 8.2 8.2.1 8.2.2 8.3 8.3.1 8.3.1.1 8.3.1.2 8.3.2 8.3.3 8.3.4 8.4 8.5 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. Granting Access Permission for Business Areas...................................................................... Specifying the Users / Roles who can Access a Business Area........................................ Specifying the Business Areas a User / Role can Access ................................................. Granting Task Privileges .......................................................................................................... Available Tasks ................................................................................................................. Administration Edition Tasks .................................................................................... Discoverer Plus Tasks ................................................................................................ The Privileges dialog......................................................................................................... Specifying the Tasks a User / Role can Perform............................................................... Specifying the Users / Roles who can Perform a Specific Task ....................................... Specifying Query Retrieval Limits......................................................................................... Specifying Scheduled Workbook Limits................................................................................ 8-1 8-2 8-3 8-5 8-6 8-7 8-7 8-7 8-7 8-8 8-9 8-11 8-13
9 Scheduled Workbooks
9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. What Happens When a Workbook is Scheduled?.................................................................... Enabling Scheduled Workbooks for a User or Role ................................................................ Viewing Information About a Scheduled Workbook............................................................... Viewing an Error Message incurred by a Scheduled Workbook ............................................. Editing a Scheduled Workbook................................................................................................ Deleting a Scheduled Workbooks Result Set from the Database ........................................... Removing a Scheduled Workbook from the Process Queue.................................................... 9-1 9-2 9-3 9-4 9-5 9-5 9-6 9-6
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10 Items and Item Classes

10.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 10.1.1 Items................................................................................................................................ 10.1.2 Item Classes .................................................................................................................... 10.1.2.1 Lists of Values ......................................................................................................... 10.1.2.2 Alternative Sorts ...................................................................................................... 10.1.2.3 Drill to Detail ........................................................................................................... 10.2 Editing Item Properties........................................................................................................... 10.2.1 Editing the Properties of a Single Item ........................................................................... 10.2.2 Editing the Properties of Multiple Items......................................................................... 10.3 Item Content Types ................................................................................................................ 10.4 Creating an Item Class ........................................................................................................... 10.4.1 Starting the Item Class Wizard ....................................................................................... 10.4.2 Choose the Item Class Attributes.................................................................................... 10.4.3 Select the Item that Generates the List of Values ........................................................... 10.4.4 Select the Item that Contains the Alternative Sort Sequence........................................ 10.4.5 Select the Items that Use this Item Class ...................................................................... 10.4.6 Specify the Name and Description for the Item Class .................................................. 10.5 Editing an Item Class ........................................................................................................... 10.6 Adding Items to an Item Class ............................................................................................. 10.7 Viewing the Items that use an Item Class ............................................................................ 10.8 Removing Items from an Item Class.................................................................................... 10.9 Viewing a List of Values...................................................................................................... 10.9.1 Viewing the List of Values for a Specific Item ............................................................ 10.9.2 Viewing the List of Values for an Item Class ............................................................... 10.10 Deleting Items & Item Classes............................................................................................. 10-1 10-1 10-2 10-2 10-3 10-4 10-5 10-5 10-6 10-7 10-8 10-8 10-9 10-9 10-12 10-13 10-14 10-15 10-18 10-19 10-20 10-22 10-22 10-22 10-23
11 Joins
11.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 11-1 11.2 Creating Joins ......................................................................................................................... 11-3 11.2.1 Using the New Join Dialog ............................................................................................. 11-6 11.2.2 Creating Multi-item Joins ............................................................................................... 11-7 11.3 Editing Join Properties ........................................................................................................... 11-9 11.3.1 Editing the Properties of a Single Join............................................................................ 11-9 11.3.2 Editing the Properties of Multiple Joins ....................................................................... 11-10
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11.4 Editing Joins ......................................................................................................................... 11.5 Deleting Joins ....................................................................................................................... 11.6 Fan Traps .............................................................................................................................. 11.6.1 Fan Traps inside Complex Folders................................................................................
11-10 11-11 11-12 11-15
12 Calculations
12.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 12.1.1 What is a Calculated Item?.............................................................................................. 12.1.1.1 Derived Items........................................................................................................... 12.1.1.2 Aggregate Calculations ............................................................................................ 12.1.1.3 Restrictions on Aggregate Calculations ................................................................... 12.1.1.4 Aggregate Derived Items ......................................................................................... 12.1.2 Advantages of Calculations............................................................................................. 12.1.3 Calculations and Analytic Functions............................................................................... 12.1.4 More information ............................................................................................................ 12.2 Creating Calculations ............................................................................................................. 12.3 Editing Calculation Properties................................................................................................ 12.3.1 Editing the Properties of a Single Item ........................................................................... 12.3.2 Editing the Properties of Multiple Items ....................................................................... 12.4 Editing Calculations ............................................................................................................. 12.5 Deleting Calculations ........................................................................................................... 12.6 Registering Custom PL/SQL Functions ............................................................................... 12.6.1 Registering Custom PL/SQL Manually ........................................................................ 12.6.2 Registering PL/SQL Functions Automatically ............................................................. 12-1 12-1 12-2 12-2 12-3 12-3 12-4 12-5 12-5 12-6 12-9 12-9 12-10 12-10 12-11 12-13 12-14 12-15
13 Conditions
13.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 13.1.1 What is a Condition? ....................................................................................................... 13.1.2 Condition Types .............................................................................................................. 13.2 Creating Conditions................................................................................................................ 13.2.1 Single Item Conditions.................................................................................................... 13.2.2 Multiple Item Conditions ................................................................................................ 13.3 Editing Condition Properties .................................................................................................. 13.3.1 Editing the Properties of a Single Condition................................................................... 13.3.2 Editing the Properties of Multiple Conditions .............................................................. 13-1 13-1 13-1 13-4 13-6 13-7 13-9 13-9 13-10
13.4 Editing Conditions................................................................................................................ 13-10 13.5 Deleting Conditions.............................................................................................................. 13-11 13.6 Example Conditions ............................................................................................................. 13-12 13.6.1 Sales in the Last Seven Days ........................................................................................ 13-12 13.6.2 Shipments in Q3............................................................................................................ 13-13 13.6.3 Outer Join with Conditions behavior ............................................................................ 13-13
14 Hierarchies
14.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 14.1.1 What is a Hierarchy?....................................................................................................... 14.1.2 Types of Hierarchy.......................................................................................................... 14.1.2.1 Item Hierarchies....................................................................................................... 14.1.2.2 Date Hierarchies ...................................................................................................... 14.1.3 Date Hierarchy Templates .............................................................................................. 14.2 Creating Hierarchies............................................................................................................... 14.2.1 Creating Item Hierarchies ............................................................................................... 14.2.2 Creating Date Hierarchies ............................................................................................... 14.2.3 Date Format and Date Format Masks ........................................................................... 14.2.3.1 Date Format ........................................................................................................... 14.2.3.2 Date Format Mask ................................................................................................. 14.2.3.3 The EUL_DATE_TRUNC function ...................................................................... 14.3 Editing Hierarchies............................................................................................................... 14.4 Editing Date Hierarchy Templates ....................................................................................... 14.5 Applying Date Hierarchy Templates to Date Items ............................................................. 14.6 Setting the Default Date Hierarchy Template ...................................................................... 14.7 Deleting Hierarchies............................................................................................................. 14.8 Date Hierarchies and Performance....................................................................................... 14-1 14-1 14-2 14-2 14-3 14-4 14-4 14-4 14-7 14-11 14-11 14-11 14-12 14-12 14-13 14-15 14-16 14-16 14-17
15 Summaries
15.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 15.1.1 What is a summary? ........................................................................................................ 15.1.1.1 Summary tables or Materialized Views? ................................................................. 15.1.1.2 What is a Summary Folder?..................................................................................... 15.1.2 Summary Combinations.................................................................................................. 15.1.2.1 Summary Combinations .......................................................................................... 15-1 15-1 15-2 15-2 15-3 15-4
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15.1.3 Summary tables/Materialized Views (MVs)................................................................... 15.1.3.1 Discoverer summary tables versus server Materialized Views (8.1.6+).................. 15.1.3.2 Managed versus external summary tables/MVs ...................................................... 15.1.3.3 Registering external summaries against tables and views in Oracle 8.1.6+ ............ 15.1.3.4 Refreshing summary data......................................................................................... 15.1.4 Summary Redirection...................................................................................................... 15.1.4.1 Summary redirection or query rewrite in Discoverer Plus?..................................... 15.1.4.2 Overview .................................................................................................................. 15.1.4.3 Viewing Summary Redirection in Discoverer Plus ................................................. 15.1.5 An Example................................................................................................................... 15.2 Good Summary Folder Design............................................................................................. 15.2.1 Creating appropriate Summary Combinations .............................................................. 15.2.2 Hints for setting up Summary Folders .......................................................................... 15.2.3 Notes on when an expression will use a summary........................................................ 15.3 How to create Summary Folders .......................................................................................... 15.3.1 Prerequisites .................................................................................................................. 15.3.2 Creating Summary Folders Based on Items in the EUL ............................................... 15.3.3 Creating Summary Folders Based on Query Statistics ................................................. 15.3.4 Creating Summary Folders Based on External summary tables ................................... 15.4 Editing Summary Folder Properties ..................................................................................... 15.4.1 Editing the Properties of a Single Summary Folder...................................................... 15.4.2 Editing the Properties of Multiple Summary Folders ................................................... 15.5 Editing Summary Folders..................................................................................................... 15.5.1 Editing a Summary Folder ............................................................................................ 15.6 Refreshing Summary Folders ............................................................................................... 15.6.1 What Happens When a Summary Folder is Refreshed? ............................................... 15.6.1.1 Manually Refreshing a Summary Folder ............................................................... 15.6.1.2 Refresh following Import/Export across pre-8.1.6 and 8.1.6+ database versions . 15.7 Viewing the Status of Managed summary tables ................................................................. 15.8 Deleting Summary Folders................................................................................................... 15.9 Editing Database Storage Properties .................................................................................... 15.9.0.3 Refresh Options (Oracle 8.1.6+ only) ....................................................................
15-4 15-4 15-5 15-7 15-7 15-7 15-7 15-8 15-9 15-16 15-17 15-17 15-18 15-19 15-19 15-20 15-20 15-28 15-36 15-43 15-44 15-45 15-45 15-45 15-48 15-48 15-48 15-50 15-50 15-51 15-52 15-55
16 Automated Summary Management

16.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 16-2
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16.1.1 What is Automated Summary Management? ................................................................. 16.1.2 How does ASM work?.................................................................................................... 16.1.3 When to use ASM or create summaries manually? ........................................................ 16.1.4 Running ASM ................................................................................................................. 16.1.4.1 How often do I need to run ASM?........................................................................... 16.1.4.2 How do I run ASM?................................................................................................. 16.1.4.3 Using the command line .......................................................................................... 16.1.4.4 Using a batch file and the scheduler ........................................................................ 16.1.4.5 Using the Summary Wizard..................................................................................... 16.1.5 Running ASM after Bulk Load ....................................................................................... 16.1.6 The ASM Policy (User Defined Constraints and Options)............................................. 16.1.6.1 Overview.................................................................................................................. 16.1.6.2 Space options ........................................................................................................... 16.1.6.3 Advanced settings .................................................................................................... 16.1.6.4 Performance versus coverage .................................................................................. 16.2 Running ASM using the Summary Wizard............................................................................ 16.2.1 Prerequisites .................................................................................................................... 16.2.2 Launch the Summary Wizard - Step 1 ............................................................................ 16.2.3 Analyze folders - Step 2................................................................................................ 16.2.3.1 When some folders cannot be analyzed................................................................. 16.2.4 Allocate space for summaries - Step 3.......................................................................... 16.2.5 Recommended summaries dialog ................................................................................. 16.2.6 Change default settings dialog ...................................................................................... 16.2.6.1 Analyze tab ............................................................................................................ 16.2.6.2 Folders tab.............................................................................................................. 16.2.6.3 Query User tab ....................................................................................................... 16.2.6.4 Query Usage tab..................................................................................................... 16.2.6.5 Deletion tab............................................................................................................ 16.2.7 Refreshing ASM summaries .........................................................................................
16-2 16-2 16-3 16-3 16-3 16-3 16-3 16-4 16-4 16-4 16-5 16-5 16-5 16-6 16-7 16-8 16-8 16-9 16-10 16-13 16-15 16-17 16-18 16-18 16-19 16-20 16-22 16-23 16-25
17 Using Discoverer with Oracle Applications

17.1 Supported Features................................................................................................................. 17.2 Prerequisites ........................................................................................................................... 17.2.1 Oracle Applications installed .......................................................................................... 17.2.2 Oracle Applications versions supported by Discoverer .................................................. 17-1 17-2 17-2 17-2
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17.2.3
For Oracle Applications users to launch Discoverer 4i Plus via a link on an Oracle Applications page. ........................................................................................................... 17-2 17.3 Configuring the Connect dialog for Administration Edition and Discoverer Plus (for Windows)... .................................................................................................................................... 17-3 17.3.1 Entering Details into the fields GWYUID/Password and FNDNAM....................... 17-4 17.4 Configuring the Connect dialog for Discoverer 4i Plus and Discoverer 4i Viewer ............... 17-5 17.5 How to use Discoverer Administration Edition in Applications Mode ................................. 17-6 17.5.1 Enable Discoverer Applications Mode ........................................................................... 17-6 17.5.2 Enable Multiple Organizations Support in Discoverer ................................................... 17-6 17.5.3 Changes in Behavior ....................................................................................................... 17-6 17.5.3.1 Privileges and security ............................................................................................. 17-7 17.5.3.2 Managed Summaries................................................................................................ 17-7 17.5.3.3 Secure Views and Language Settings ...................................................................... 17-7 17.6 Create an Applications Mode EUL ........................................................................................ 17-8 17.7 Connect to an Applications Mode EUL ............................................................................... 17-14 17.7.1 Connect as the EUL Owner to grant permissions and task privileges to other Oracle Applications users ............................................................................................... 17-14 17.7.1.1 Grant permissions to Oracle Applications users .................................................... 17-14 17.7.2 Connect as an Applications user ................................................................................... 17-14 17.7.2.1 Before you start ...................................................................................................... 17-15 17.7.2.2 Connect .................................................................................................................. 17-15 17.7.3 Oracle Applications Responsibilities ............................................................................ 17-17 17.8 Granting Access Permission for Business Areas.................................................................. 17-18 17.8.1 Specifying the Users/Responsibilities who can access a Business Area ...................... 17-18 17.8.2 Specifying the Business Areas a User/Responsibility can Access................................ 17-20 17.9 Granting Task Privileges ...................................................................................................... 17-22 17.9.1 Specifying the Tasks a User/Responsibility can Perform ............................................. 17-22 17.9.2 Specifying the Users / Responsibilities who can Perform a Specific Task................... 17-24
A Error Messages
A.1 A.2 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. A-1 Discoverer Administration Edition Errors................................................................................ A-1
B The EUL Status Workbooks

B.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. B-1
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B.2 B.2.1 B.2.1.1 B.2.1.2 B.2.1.3 B.2.2 B.2.2.1 B.2.2.2 B.2.2.3 B.2.3 B.3 B.4 B.5 B.5.1
Installation ................................................................................................................................ Standard EUL Status workbooks install steps .................................................................. Prerequisites............................................................................................................... Install the workbooks................................................................................................. Delete Business Area/remove PL/SQL files.............................................................. Oracle Applications EUL Status workbooks install steps ................................................ Prerequisites............................................................................................................... Install the workbooks................................................................................................. Enable workbooks to run in Discoverer Plus for Oracle Applications EUL ............. Un-installing Discoverer V4 EUL Business Area ............................................................ EUL Data Definition ................................................................................................................ Query Statistics ........................................................................................................................ Creating Your Own Workbooks .............................................................................................. Grant SELECT on dba_jobs_running ...............................................................................
B-2 B-2 B-2 B-2 B-3 B-3 B-3 B-3 B-4 B-5 B-6 B-6 B-7 B-7
C Query Prediction
C.1 C.2 C.3 C.4 C.5 What is Query Prediction? ....................................................................................................... Enabling and Configuring Query Prediction............................................................................ Improving the Accuracy of Query Prediction .......................................................................... Running queries against Secure Views and making Query Prediction faster .......................... Deleting Old Query Prediction Statistics ................................................................................. C-1 C-1 C-1 C-2 C-3
D Command-line Interface
D.1 D.2 D.3 D.4 D.5 D.6 D.7 D.8 D.9 D.9.1 D.9.2 D.9.3 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. How to use the Discoverer Command Line Interface .............................................................. Required Privileges .................................................................................................................. Using Commands ..................................................................................................................... Restrictions............................................................................................................................... Command Syntax ..................................................................................................................... Syntax Conventions.................................................................................................................. Using Command Files.............................................................................................................. Command Reference ................................................................................................................ Quick Guide to commands................................................................................................ How the Command Reference section is arranged ........................................................... Displaying Command-line Help ....................................................................................... D-1 D-2 D-3 D-3 D-4 D-4 D-5 D-5 D-7 D-7 D-8 D-9
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D.9.4 Running Command Files................................................................................................ D.9.5 Connecting to an EUL.................................................................................................... D.9.6 Creating an Applications Mode EUL............................................................................. D.9.7 Setting connection options for Oracle Applications users ............................................. D.9.8 Change an existing standard database user to an Oracle Applications user................... D.9.9 Connect as an Oracle Applications user......................................................................... D.9.10 Creating an EUL............................................................................................................. D.9.11 Bulk Loading Data into an EUL .................................................................................... D.9.12 Deleting a Business Area ............................................................................................... D.9.13 Deleting an EUL............................................................................................................. D.9.14 Deleting an EUL element............................................................................................... D.9.15 Running Automated Summary Management (ASM)..................................................... D.9.16 Refreshing a Business Area............................................................................................ D.9.17 Refreshing a Folder ........................................................................................................ D.9.18 Refreshing a Summary ................................................................................................... D.9.19 Import a Business Area .................................................................................................. D.9.20 Importing EUL elements from an EEX File .................................................................. D.9.21 Exporting EUL elements to an EEX File ....................................................................... D.10 Command Modifier Reference .............................................................................................. D.10.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... D.10.2 How the Command Modifier Reference section is arranged ......................................... D.10.3 /aggregate ....................................................................................................................... D.10.4 /all................................................................................................................................... D.10.5 /apps_grant_details......................................................................................................... D.10.6 /apps_responsibility........................................................................................................ D.10.7 /apps_security_group ..................................................................................................... D.10.8 /asm_space, /asm_tablespace ......................................................................................... D.10.9 /audit_info ...................................................................................................................... D.10.10 /ba_link........................................................................................................................... D.10.11 /business_area................................................................................................................. D.10.12 /capitalize ....................................................................................................................... D.10.13 /condition........................................................................................................................ D.10.14 /date_hierarchy ............................................................................................................... D.10.15 /db_link........................................................................................................................... D.10.16 /description .....................................................................................................................
D-10 D-11 D-12 D-13 D-14 D-15 D-16 D-17 D-19 D-20 D-21 D-22 D-23 D-24 D-25 D-26 D-27 D-28 D-30 D-30 D-30 D-30 D-30 D-31 D-31 D-31 D-31 D-32 D-32 D-32 D-32 D-33 D-33 D-33 D-33
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D.10.17 D.10.18 D.10.19 D.10.20 D.10.21 D.10.22 D.10.23 D.10.24 D.10.25 D.10.26 D.10.27 D.10.28 D.10.29 D.10.30 D.10.31 D.10.32 D.10.33 D.10.34 D.10.35 D.10.36 D.10.37 D.10.38 D.10.39 D.10.40 D.10.41 D.10.42 D.10.43 D.10.44 D.10.45 D.10.46
/eul................................................................................................................................... /folder .............................................................................................................................. /function .......................................................................................................................... /hier_node........................................................................................................................ /hierarchy ........................................................................................................................ /identifier ......................................................................................................................... /insert_blanks .................................................................................................................. /item ................................................................................................................................ /item_class....................................................................................................................... /join ................................................................................................................................. /keep_folder .................................................................................................................... /keep_format_properties ................................................................................................. /log .................................................................................................................................. /log_only ......................................................................................................................... /lov .................................................................................................................................. /multi_commit................................................................................................................. /object.............................................................................................................................. /overwrite ........................................................................................................................ /parameter........................................................................................................................ /password ........................................................................................................................ /private ............................................................................................................................ /refresh ............................................................................................................................ /remove_prefix ................................................................................................................ /rename............................................................................................................................ /schema............................................................................................................................ /show_progress................................................................................................................ /source ............................................................................................................................. /summary......................................................................................................................... /user ................................................................................................................................. /workbook .......................................................................................................................
D-34 D-34 D-34 D-34 D-34 D-35 D-35 D-35 D-35 D-35 D-36 D-36 D-36 D-37 D-37 D-37 D-37 D-38 D-38 D-38 D-38 D-38 D-39 D-39 D-39 D-39 D-40 D-40 D-40 D-41
E Registry Settings
E.1 E.2 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. E-1 Registry Settings ...................................................................................................................... E-2
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F RDB Support
F.1 F.2 Software requirements.............................................................................................................. F-1 Features not supported using RDB........................................................................................... F-2
Glossary Index
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Send Us Your Comments

Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide, Release 4.1 For Windows. Part No. A86730-01 Oracle Corporation welcomes your comments and suggestions on the quality and usefulness of this document. Your input is an important part of the information used for revision.
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Did you find any errors? Is the information clearly presented? Do you need more information? If so, where? Are the examples correct? Do you need more examples? What features did you like most?
If you find any errors or have any other suggestions for improvement, please indicate the document title and part number, and the chapter, section, and page number (if available). You can send comments to us in the following ways:
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Electronic mail: discdoc_us@oracle.com FAX: 650 506 7421 Attn: Oracle Discoverer Postal service:
Oracle Corporation Oracle Discoverer Documentation 200 Oracle Parkway, 2OP10 Redwood Shores, CA 94065 USA If you would like a reply, please give your name, address, telephone number, and (optionally) electronic mail address. If you have problems with the software, please contact your local Oracle Support Services.
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Preface
Welcome to Oracle Discoverer Release 4.1! This guide to the Discoverer Administration Edition explains how to set up and maintain an ad hoc query and analysis interface for business use. It also provides an overview and tutorial to help you get started. To use Discoverer and this guide effectively, you should be familiar with an Oracle database and understand the concepts of databases as they relate to business data analysis.
Intended Audience
This guide is intended for business system and database administrators responsible for Oracle databases that support all aspects of a business environment.
Conventions
Discoverer refers to Oracle Discoverer 4.1. EUL, the End User Layer, refers to the metadata interface between the database and Discover.
Convention . . . ... boldface text Meaning Vertical ellipses in examples indicate omitted information not necessary for the example. Horizontal ellipses in statements or commands indicate omitted material not necessary for the statement or command. Boldface type in text indicates a command name, menu name, file name, keyboard keys, or other choice or selection. Italic type indicates a term defined in the text, the glossary, or in both locations. It can also represent a variable, and be used to provide emphasis.
italic text
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Convention
Meaning Angle brackets enclose user-supplied names. Brackets enclose optional clauses from which you can choose one or none. Text in this format conveys a sequence of choices, i.e., choose the menu, then the command under that menu. Text in this format indicates a command line to be typed.
<> []
Menu name | Command
Courier text
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Discoverer Overview
Discoverer aids business professionals to efficiently discover and analyze the exact data they need to make better business decisions. The Discoverer administrator defines the subsets of data that business professionals need to support their decision-making, and presents it to them in a logical and clearly understandable way. This chapter consists of the following sections:
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1.1 New Discoverer Features 1.2 Why do you need Discoverer? 1.3 Discoverer Features and Benefits 1.4 Your Role as Discoverer Administrator
1.1 New Discoverer Features

Discoverer Administration Edition Release 4.1 supports the following new features:
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Automated Summary Management - improving query performance in Discoverer Plus is now easier with this new feature. See Chapter 16, Automated Summary Management for details. Oracle Applications support - for users using Oracle Applications security. This enables you to connect to Oracle Applications EULs as well as standard Discoverer EULs. See Chapter 17, Using Discoverer with Oracle Applications for details. Identifiers - all objects in a Business Area are now uniquely defined within each EUL by an Identifier. Import now uses Identifiers to match up identical EUL elements. For further details relating to Import see Chapter 7.5, Importing EUL elements from a file. See references to Identifiers in other sections of this guide regarding EUL or Business Area elements.
Discoverer Overview 1-1
Why do you need Discoverer?
Change schema owner - you can now manually edit the schema Owner attribute (for a Folder) or leave it blank. See Chapter 6.6.3, The Owner attribute for details. Support for Oracle 8i Materialized Views. Analytic Functions - perform complex mathematical analysis with this extended range of statistical functions. Refer to the Oracle Discoverer 4i Plus Users Guide for details.
1.2 Why do you need Discoverer?

Databases are designed by information systems professionals whose primary goal is often transaction efficiency, not ease of use by people who want to examine and analyze the data. For example, the database designer usually groups data elements into tables to optimize data capture, but rarely is that grouping the best for people who want to view and use the data. Often the names of the database tables and their columns are cryptic or confusing. In fact, almost universally, the design of an efficient transaction database is in conflict with the information needs of the people responsible for making strategic and day-to-day decisions about topics such as product mix, profit margins, vendor selection, quality assurance, and work-force resources. Business analysts need a way to access a relatively small amount of data, and usually just a few specific records essential for their decision-making. Thats where Discoverer comes in. Discoverer lets the business professional find the data he/ she needs, analyze it easily, and get answers to support business decisions. Thus, Discoverer provides an efficient way to retrieve a few select records or small amount of specific data from the database.
1.2.1 Discoverers Components

Discoverer operates in a client/server and web browser environment and has three main components: Discoverer Plus, Discoverer 4i Plus and Discoverer 4i Viewer The component for end users comprises the Discoverer Plus (Windows), the Discoverer 4i Plus and Discoverer Viewer; these provide the interface that professionals in your company use on a day-today basis to access, view and analyze data. See Section 1.2.2, Section 1.2.3 and Section 1.2.4 for more information. Administration Edition This component is for you, the Discoverer administrator; it is the tool you use to design and present the subsets of datacalled business areasthat end users access from the Discoverer Plus. See Section 1.2.5 for more information. End User Layer The metalayer that shields end users from the complexity of the database. Conceptually, the EUL resides between the database dictionary/table definitions and
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Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide
Discoverer. Physically, it comprises a number of database tables and views. See Section 1.2.6 for more information.
Figure 11 Discoverer Components
Discoverer for Windows
Administration Discoverer Edition Plus Users Administrators build access the business areas that data. contain the specific data users need.
Discoverer for the Web
Discoverer 4i Plus Users access data via web browser and Java Applet.
Discoverer 4i Viewer Users view data via web browser. HTTP
HTTP Server
SQL*Net
IIOP
Servlet IIOP
Application Server
Discoverer Services SQL*Net
End User Layer

The metalayer of tables and views that lies between the database and Discoverer.
Database Server
Relational
Database
Databases are usually complex and not designed for the end user. To shield the user from this complexity, Discoverer supports online transaction processing (OLTP) and data warehouse/data mart schema designs.
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1.2.2 Discoverer Plus

Designed for business professionals who do not have a computer programming or database background, Discoverer Plus is an easy-to-use read-only data access tool. It provides logical and intuitive access to information from your organizations relational databases for ad hoc query, analysis, and reporting.
1.2.3 Discoverer 4i Plus

Discoverer 4i Plus is the internet version of the award-winning Windows product. The two versions are compatible; and you can share workbooks between them.
1.2.4 Discoverer 4i Viewer

Discoverer 4i Viewer is designed for viewing workbooks created by users of the Windows or Web releases of the Discoverer Plus. Using Oracle Discoverers easy to use interface via a web browser, you can view database data.
1.2.5 Administration Edition

Discoverer Administration Edition builds and maintains the End User Layer. Its design determines how users access and view data. This is where administrators define the business areas used by Discoverer Plus.
1.2.6 End User Layer (EUL)

The End User Layer (EUL) insulates end users from database complexity and constant change. It provides an intuitive, business-focused view of the database that can be tailored to suit each user or user group. As such, the EUL lets end users focus on business issues instead, not data access issues. From an operating standpoint, the EUL generates SQL statements on the client and communicates with the database using SQL*Net (see Figure 11). When a user selects objects in the business area, the EUL generates the appropriate SQL statements that define the selections from a table, view, or column. When a user executes a query, the EUL executes that SQL statement and sends it to the database, which in turn sends the results to the Discoverer Plus interface. Thus, the end user does not have to understand any SQL to access and retrieve data. It is all handled by the EUL. NOTE: The metalayer structure of the End User Layer preserves the databases data integrity. Nothing that you or the end user does with Discoverer affects the database; the End User Layer only deals with the metadata in the metalayer.
1.2.7 What is a Business Area?

A business area is a set of folders containing related information with a common business purpose. For example, Figure 12 shows information about budget and revenue stored in a business area for the accounting department, while information about projects is stored in a business area for project leaders. Although some of the data that these professionals need may be the same, such as the budgets folder, the exact combination of tables and views for each department is usually unique.
Figure 12 Business Area Concepts
Budgets Folder
Account Manager Account Analyst 1 Account Analyst 2
Budgets & Finance Business Area
Finance Folder
2000 Projects Folder
Project Analysis Business Area
Project Manager Project Leader Assistant Project Leader
Project Folder
Using Discoverer Administration Edition, you can tailor the grouping of data to provide users with the proper access to the precise data they need for ad hoc query, decision support, and presentation of results. Business Areas:
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Meet the specific data needs of the users Usually contain data from several different tables or views Have tables or views and their associated columns mapped to folders and items respectively Can contain many simple folders and complex folders May contain folders from one or more physical databases
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Include conditions, joins, calculations, formatting, hierarchy structures, and other custom features May be accessible to one or many user IDs or roles; also, a user ID or role may be granted access to many business areas Let users access data, without having to understand the database structure
1.2.7.1 Business Area Terminology

To shield users from the complexity of a database, business areas use more familiar terminology as shown here.
Figure 13 Business Area Terminology
DATABASE VIEW OR TABLE

ROW COLUMN
BUSINESS AREA
A table/view becomes a folder.
A column becomes an item.
Thus, a Business Area is a cohesive set of Folders, Items, and other functions designed specifically for professional business people so they can more effectively use the data in their companys databases. The time invested in creating a well-designed business area has a significant payback in reduced administration and maintenance. It can help you eliminate or greatly reduce the amount of time spent tailoring each users environment at the database level. For more information on this topic, read Chapter 7, Business Areas.
Discoverer Features and Benefits
1.3 Discoverer Features and Benefits

Discoverer Administration Edition lets you quickly and easily create an effective business area. It has these features and benefits:
Table 11 Administration Edition Features and Benefits Feature Load tables and views individually or use bulk load Load tables and views by user IDs or roles Online help One-button load and wizard-style interface Benefits Reduces End User Layer setup time; increases design flexibility. Reduces End User Layer setup time; increases design flexibility. Reduces the need to reference paper material. Context-sensitive help lets users find information more quickly. Provides fast, easy mechanisms for defining and maintaining business areas that significantly reduces administration overhead. Wizards are resizable, making their information easy to read. Reuses database security mechanisms, reducing the workload involved in maintaining access control. Reinforces corporate reporting standards from one centralized repository. Improves ease-of-use for end users; provides for corporate reporting standards. Reuses information stored in the data dictionary; reduces administration overhead. Enables users traverse easily through date structures without requiring additional work by the database administrator. Enables users to easily create error-free inputs for conditions; reduces administration overhead. Conventional sorting presents data in either ascending or descending order. Use alternative sorting to tailor how data is presented. For example, sort data by days of the week, or region, or season, or department. Lets users easily navigate through the data, to drill down for more detail, or drill up for more summary information. Enables users to drill to information in terms of how it is related, rather than through levels in a hierarchy.
Grant privileges to user IDs and roles Specify default properties for items Define formulas/conditions and the logical grouping of items within a business area Automatically define join relationships based on primary/ foreign keys or matching column names Automatically define date hierarchies for all date items Automatically define a list of values for items Define alternative sorting
Define hierarchies between items Define hyperdrills
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Your Role as Discoverer Administrator
Table 11 Administration Edition Features and Benefits Feature Benefits
Automatically create and maintain summary tables or use an Enables users to quickly access data; reduces administration external summary table overhead for maintaining summary tables Use Discoverer with non-Oracle databases Schedule workbooks for processing Provides users with the advantages of Discoverers business analysis tools with any database. Enables you to monitor the status of workbooks scheduled to run automatically. Enables users to run workbooks in batch. Custom folders that support advanced SQL syntax; command-line shortcuts; and use of PL/SQL functions defined to meet the requirements of your users.
Advanced features
1.4 Your Role as Discoverer Administrator

As a Discoverer administrator, you need to understand how to design business areas that support your companys decision-makers. On the database side, you need to know what data is in the database, where its located, how its stored, and how it relates to other data. On the business side, you need to know what data the decision-makers require, what kinds of analysis are necessary, and how the final results should be presented for easy comprehension. This means interviewing end users to find out the types of analysis they need to do and the data they need to do it. Your job is to enable the users to fulfill as many of their requirements as possible with Discoverer Plus connected to one or more business areas. For tips and suggestions on defining user requirements, see the next section, Before You Begin. In addition, you may be responsible for database security. You can use Discoverer Administration Edition to control user access to business areas. The business area forms a secondary security layer. All primary access to database objects (for example, tables and views) is controlled by the database administrator. As the Discoverer administrator, you should:
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Identify user requirements Choose the database tables that best meet the requirement Build useful and robust business areas Create meaningful names for business areas, folders, and items Control user access to business areas Create a usable relational structure in the EUL with joins and complex folders
Create calculations, conditions and drills that support end-user analysis Create summary tables to improve performance
1.4.1 Before You Begin

Implementing Discoverer is like implementing any other IT projectyou need to start with some idea of what the user requirements are. Hold interviews with key users to establish the kinds of queries they want to perform. Be prepared to do some relational design to work out the result sets needed. Requests from users do not have to be precise or even very detailed, but answers to these questions will give some direction when developing the End User Layer:
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What information do they use now? Whats wrong and right with that information? What information would they like to see? What format would they like? Where can this information be found or derived from? What folders, items, and joins would be useful for representing and accessing the information? What are their performance requirements?
This does not mean that user requirements have to be staticthey will certainly change over time, and you can modify the EUL over time to support new requirements, but it is important to have a good idea of current business requirements on which to base future changes. Using Discoverer Plus yourself will help you help users meet as many of their own requirements as possible. There may still be some standard reports that you need to create on their behalf. You can provide these in the form of public queries. Often the biggest changes are requested by users once a system goes live. When users see what Discoverer can do for them, they soon have suggestions for other areas where it could be useful! Above all, most successful systems start off by delivering a simple subset of requirements first, and then extending it over time, once users see what can be achieved.
1.4.2 Next Steps

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Read Chapter 3, Getting Started to introduce yourself to the Discoverer Administration Edition user interface.
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Take the tutorial in Chapter 4 to become familiar with Discoverer Administration Edition features. Take the Discoverer Plus tutorial to learn about Discoverer from the users point of view.
As you work with Discoverer, use the online help for quick answers, or return to this guide for detailed information.
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Setting Up the Database

This chapter describes how to configure the database to enable and disable various Discoverer features. This chapter consists of the following sections:
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2.1 Scheduled Workbooks 2.2 Summary Management 2.3 Query Prediction
2.1 Scheduled Workbooks

The workbook scheduling feature in Discoverer uses native features in the Oracle DBMS, and is therefore only available when running against an Oracle database. This feature uses the same highly scalable and reliable processing procedures within the kernel as the Summary Management feature and the setup for both features is similar. These procedures use standard packages in the DBMS called DBMS_JOB. To enable the processing procedures for Workbook Scheduling in Discoverer:
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Confirm that DBMS_JOBS has been installed. Specify result set storage. Set the time period at which the process kicks in.
These procedures are described in the following sections. For more information about Scheduled Workbooks, see Chapter 9, Scheduled Workbooks.
2.1.1 Confirming that DBMS_JOBS is Installed

1.
Log onto SQL*Plus as the Administrator and execute the following SQL statement:
2-1
Scheduled Workbooks
SQL> select * from all_objects where object_name=DBMS_JOB and object_type = PACKAGE; If the statement returns no rows, use your DBA SQLDBA (Oracle 7.2) or SVRMGRL (Oracle 7.3 or later) to create the necessary packages.
2. 3.
From Windows 95 or NT choose Start | Run. Type in one of the following

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SQLDBA (for Oracle7.2) SVRMGRL (for Oracle 7.3 or later) SVRMGR (for Oracle8i Personal Edition)
4. 5.
When in the DBA facility, type CONNECT INTERNAL Execute the following SQL statement: SQL> start <ORACLE_HOME>/rdbms/admin/dbmsjob.sql; SQL> start <ORACLE_HOME>/rdbms/admin/prvtjob.plb;
NOTE: In some ports, the RDBMS directory is called RDBMS72 or
RDBMS73.
2.1.2 Specifying Result Set Storage

When a Scheduled Workbook is run, the results are stored in database tables within the database. Result set data created as part of the workbook scheduling process may be stored in one of two areas:
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Storing the Result Set in the Users Schema Storing the Result Set in the centralized Repository Users Schema
2.1.2.1 Storing the Result Set in the Users Schema

Advantages: A database limit can be specified on the maximum amount of data a user can store in the database. If the result set is stored under the users schema, then you keep control over the maximum amount of space one individual user can fill with result sets. If the user creates a scheduled workbook that fills that space, it affects only his/her own scheduled workbook. Privileges required: The user must have the following privileges in the database:
2-2
Scheduled Workbooks
Create Procedure Create Table Create View
To grant these privileges, do the following:

1. 2.
Log onto SQL*Plus or SQLDBA as the Database Administrator. Type the following: SQL> Grant CREATE PROCEDURE to <USER>; SQL> Grant CREATE TABLE to <USER>; SQL> Grant CREATE VIEW to <USER>; where <USER> is the userid of the user who is to be allowed to schedule workbooks. These privileges must be granted directly to the user and not to a database role.
2.1.2.2 Storing the Result Set in the centralized Repository Users Schema
In order to enable Workbook Scheduling using a centralized repository users schema, the SQL script batchusr.sql located in [ORACLE_HOME]\discvr4\sql must be run in SQL*Plus or SQLDBA as a database administrator (e.g., SYSTEM). An EUL must exist to run this script against (see Chapter 5.2, Creating an End User Layer). This script creates a new user which is granted the following privileges:
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In addition, the administrator of the End User Layer must change the user so that their Repository User property is pointing to this repository users schema just created. This is done via the Tools | Privileges | Scheduled Workbooks tab; you select the user schema just created from the drop-down list in the field named Select the user to own the result tables created in the database and click OK or Apply. The centralized repository users schema may be customized by the database administrator for space management purposes and underlying data access.
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Scheduled Workbooks
NOTE: SELECT ANY TABLE access is given by the script batchusr.sql, but this may be limited provided the repository users schema is granted access to the underlying data which will be accessed for workbook scheduling.
The repository user created will not be able to directly schedule a workbook through Discoverer Plus. Advantages: Each user does not need DML procedures to run scheduled workbooks. N.B. One user can potentially run a scheduled workbook that fills the available result set space, preventing other scheduled workbooks from running until it is cleared.
2.1.3 Setting the Start Time for Workbook Processing

The Workbook processes run within the database on the server, and are controlled by parameters in the initialization file of the Oracle DBMSthe INIT<SID>.ORA file. To limit the number of processing requests that can run simultaneously: The parameter job_queue_processes specifies the number of concurrent processes to use to process DBMS_JOB. It controls the number of processing requests that can be handled simultaneously. The default value is zero, which means processing requests will not be created. You should set it to a minimum of 2 or more if you have any other applications that use DBMS_JOB. You need more than one job queue process, because if one job fails for any reason, it may keep getting re-submitted and thus prevent everything else in the queue from being completed. If you want to have 10 simultaneous processing requests handled then you will need to set this to 10. The INIT<SID>.ORA parameter job_queue_interval is the time in seconds which controls how often the job processes wake up to process pending jobs. The default is 60, which is quite frequent. What you set this to depends on how frequently you want the process to wake up and serve the requests that have been made. Oracle recommends that you update the 60 second default to at least 10 minutes (a value of 600). Note that this parameter also affects summary management. To enable these parameters:
1.
Locate the INIT<SID>.ORA file.
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Summary Management
For example, on Oracle8i Personal Edition the INIT<SID>.ORA file is held in <ORACLE_HOME>\database. Its default name is INITORCL.ORA where ORCL is the <SID> name.
2.
Enter 2 lines into the file. For example: job_queue_processes = 2 job_queue_interval = 600 (Note: this is equivalent to 10 minutes)
NOTE:The Summary Management and Workbook Scheduling features
both use this scheduling capability within the Oracle DBMS. The interval you specify and the number of concurrent requests affect both features.
2.2 Summary Management

The Summary Management feature in Discoverer uses native features in the Oracle DBMS, and is therefore only available when running against the Oracle database. This feature uses the same highly scalable and reliable processing procedures within the kernel as the workbook scheduling capability and the setup for both features is similar. These procedures use standard packages in the DBMS called DBMS_JOB. For more information about Summary Management, see Chapter 15.1, Introduction or Chapter 16.1, Introduction for details about how Discoverer can manage your summaries for you. To enable the processing procedures for Summary Management in Discoverer you can check the following:
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Confirming that DBMS_JOBS is Installed Privileges Determining Tablespace Quotas Checking Object/Schema Name Setting the Start Time for Summary Processing
2.2.1 Confirming that DBMS_JOBS is Installed

1.
Log onto SQL*Plus as the Administrator and execute the following SQL statement:
2-5
Summary Management
SQL> select * from all_objects where object_name=DBMS_JOB and object_type = PACKAGE; If the statement returns no rows, use your DBA SQLDBA (Oracle 7.2) or SVRMGRL (Oracle 7.3 or later) to create the necessary packages.
2. 3.
From Windows 95 or NT choose Start | Run. Type in one of the following:

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4. 5.
When in the DBA facility, type CONNECT INTERNAL Execute the following SQL statement: SQL> start <ORACLE_HOME>/rdbms/admin/dbmsjob.sql; SQL> start <ORACLE_HOME>/rdbms/admin/prvtjob.plb;
NOTE: In some ports, the RDBMS directory is called RDBMS72 or
RDBMS73.
2.2.2 Privileges
The user ID that you intend to use to create the Summary Folders must have the following database privileges:
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CREATE TABLE CREATE VIEW CREATE PROCEDURE SELECT ON V_$PARAMETER ANALYZE ANY (ASM) CREATE/DROP/ALTER ANY MATERIALIZED VIEW (8.1.6+) GLOBAL QUERY REWRITE (8.1.6+)
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Summary Management
Use SQL*DBA (Oracle 7.2) or SVRMGRL (Oracle 7.3 or later) CONNECT INTERNAL and execute the following SQL statements: (Note: SVRMGR on Oracle8i Personal Edition, SVRMGR23 or SVRMGR30 on WindowsNT Server.)
SQL> SQL> SQL> SQL> SQL> SQL> SQL> SQL> SQL> Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant CREATE TABLE to <USER>; CREATE VIEW to <USER>; CREATE PROCEDURE to <USER>; SELECT ON V_$PARAMETER to <USER>; CREATE ANY MATERIALIZED VIEW to <USER>; DROP ANY MATERIALIZED VIEW to <USER>; ALTER ANY MATERIALIZED VIEW to <USER>; GLOBAL QUERY REWRITE to <USER> WITH ADMIN OPTION; ANALYZE ANY to <USER>;
where <USER> is the userid of the person using the Administration Edition.
Script to enable user to create summaries against an 8.1.6+ database

A script granting privileges required to create summaries against an 8.1.6+ database can be found in [ORACLE_HOME]\DISCVR4\SQL\eulasm.sql.
2.2.3 Determining Tablespace Quotas

A user must have enough quota in their default tablespace to create summary tables. Use SQL*DBA (Oracle 7.2) or SVRMGRL (Oracle 7.3 or later) connect internal and execute the following SQL statement: (Note: SVRMGR on Oracle8i Personal Edition, SVRMGR23 or SVRMGR30 on WindowsNT Server.).
SQL> select * from dba_ts_quotas where username = <user>;
where <user> is the userid of the person using the Administration Edition. Reset the Tablespace Quotas by issuing the following SQL statement:
SQL> alter user <user> quota <n> on <tablespace>;
where <user> is the userid of the person using the Administration Edition where <n> is the quota in K(ilobytes) or M(egabytes) or Unlimited where <tablespace> is the default tablespace name e.g. USERS
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Summary Management
2.2.4 Checking Object/Schema Name

A user should not have an object in their schema with the same name as their username. To check that this is not the case, login to SQL*Plus as the user and issue the following command:
SQL> select object_name from user_objects where object_name = <user>;
where <user> is the same as the login used for SQL*Plus.
2.2.5 Setting the Start Time for Summary Processing

The Summary Management processes run within the database on the server, and are controlled by parameters in the initialization file of the Oracle DBMSthe INIT<SID>.ORA file.
2.2.5.1 Limiting the Number of Processing Requests that can Run Simultaneously
The parameter 'job_queue_processes' specifies the number of concurrent processes to use to process DBMS_JOB. I.E It controls the number of processing requests that can be handled simultaneously. The default value is zero which means processing requests will NOT be created. You should set it to a minimum of 2, or more if you have any other applications that use DBMS_JOB. You need more than one job queue process, because if one job fails for any reason, it may keep getting re-submitted and thus prevent everything else in the queue from being completed. If you wish to have 10 simultaneous processing requests handled then you will need to set this to 10. The INIT<SID>.ORA parameter 'job_queue_interval' is the time in seconds which controls how often the job processes wake up to process pending jobs. The default is 60, which is quite frequent. What you set this to depends on how frequently you want the process to wake up and serve the requests that have been made. We recommend that you update the 60 second default to at least 10 minutes (a value of 600). Note that this parameter also affects summary management. To enable these parameters:
1.
Locate the INIT<SID>.ORA file. For example, on Personal Oracle7 the INIT<SID>.ORA file is held in <ORACLE_HOME>\database. Its default name is INITORCL.ORA where ORCL is the <SID> name.
2.
Enter 2 lines into the file. For example:
2-8
Query Prediction
job_queue_processes = 2 job_queue_interval = 600 (Note: this is equivalent to 10 minutes)
NOTE: The Summary Management and Workbook Scheduling features
both use this scheduling capability within the Oracle DBMS. The interval you specify and the number of concurrent requests affect both features.
2.3 Query Prediction

2.3.1 Enabling Query Prediction
If Query Prediction is not available, a prompt displays during each query execution in Discoverer Plus advising that the query estimate is not available. In addition, the message Query performance prediction not available because <reason> displays. You can find details about the reason in the Database Information dialog, by choosing Help | Database Information. Query Prediction may be unavailable due to any of the following:
s
Connection to a database that does not support query prediction,e.g. Oracle 7.1.x Certain views (noted in the 'Database Information' Dialog) are not accessible:
s
Sys.v$session not accessible Sys.v$sesstat not accessible Sys.v$parameter not accessible
The timed_statistics parameter is set to FALSE in the INIT<SID>.ORA database parameter file. FALSE is the default value of this parameter. Data tables have not been analyzed. The init.ora parameter OPTIMIZER MODE is set to RULE, instead of CHOOSE.
To enable Query Prediction, perform the following steps based on the information displayed in the Database Information dialog.
2.3.1.1 What to do if Certain Views (SYS.V$xxx) are not Available

1. 2.
From Windows 95 or NT choose Start | Run. Type in one of the following:
2-9
Query Prediction
3. 4.
When in the DBA facility, type CONNECT INTERNAL Grant select access on these objects and issue the following: SQLDBA> grant select on v_$session to public; SQLDBA> grant select on v_$sesstat to public; SQLDBA> grant select on v_$parameter to public;
2.3.1.2 To Check the timed_statistics Parameter

To verify whether the Server has timed_statistics already defined:
1. 2.
Run SQL*Plus. Login as SYSTEM/<password> where <password> is your system specific password.
3.
Execute the following query: SQL> select value from v$parameter where name = timed_statistics; This should return the value TRUE. If it returns the value FALSE you need to manually edit the INIT<SID>.ORA file.
4.
Locate INIT<SID>.ORA. For example, on Oracle8i Personal Edition the file INITORCL.ORA is located in <ORACLE_HOME>\database. The <SID> in this case is ORCL.
5.
Edit the file to include the following line: timed_statistics = TRUE
6.
Shut down and restart the server to effect this change.
2.3.1.3 To Analyze Tables

1. 2.
Run SQL*Plus. Login as the data table owner.
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Query Prediction
3.
Execute the following query:

s
For Oracle 7.2 databases: SQL> analyze table <username.tablename> compute statistics;
For Oracle 7.3 (and later) databases: SQL> analyze table <username.tablename> compute statistics for all columns;
NOTE: If you expect the table contents to change significantly over time,
reapply your analysis at regular intervals.
2.3.1.4 To Check the optimizer_mode Parameter

To verify whether the Server has optimizer_mode already defined:
1. 2.
Run SQL*Plus. Login as SYSTEM/<password> where <password> is your system specific password.
3.
Execute the following query: SQL> select value from v$parameter where name = optimizer_mode;
This should return the value CHOOSE. This means that the system will use the Cost optimizer if the tables are analyzed, and the Rule optimizer if they are not. Optimizer_mode may also have the value FIRSTROWS or ALLROWS, both of which force the use of Cost optimizer, even if the tables are not analyzed. If this query returns the value RULE you need to manually edit the INIT<SID>.ORA file. To do this:
1.
Locate INIT<SID>.ORA. For example, on Oracle8i Personal Edition the file INITORCL.ORA is located in <ORACLE_HOME>\database. The <SID> in this case is ORCL.
2.
Edit the file to include the following line: optimizer_mode = CHOOSE
Setting Up the Database 2-11
Query Prediction
3.
Shut down and restart the server to effect this change.
2.3.2 Reducing Long Query Prediction Times

Discoverer uses a Cost-Based Optimizer within its query prediction process (it only parses the statements - the execution of queries is usually governed by the servers default optimizer mode). Unfortunately, the CBO can be inefficient on very large schemas, such as Oracle Applications. When query prediction is used in a large schema environment, such as Oracle Applications, the database server can take a long time to parse a statement using the cost-based optimizer. This can mean that Query Prediction can take several minutes. There are three ways around this problem:
s
Turn off Query Prediction. This can be done by specifying the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Oracle\Discoverer 4\Database\QPPEnable It should be set to a DWORD value of 0 (zero). To re-enable query prediction at some later point in time, either remove the registry key or set it to 1.
Stop Query Prediction forcing the use of the Cost-Based Optimizer. This can be done by specifying the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Oracle\Discoverer PCBOEnforced 4\Database\QP
It should be set to a DWORD value of 0 (zero) which means use of the Cost-based Optimizer (CBO) is not enforced. The CBO will follow the normal rules of the database server.
s
Tune the way the cost-based optimizer uses indexes, for example by adjusting database parameters such as:
s
optimizer_index_cost_adj optimizer_index_caching
For further information refer to Oracle 8i Designing and Tuning for Performance Release 2 (8.1.6) Part Number A76992-01.
2-12
Getting Started
This chapter introduces you to Discoverer Administration Edition: how to start it, how to navigate around the work area, and the tool bar shortcuts to many features. This chapter consists of the following sections:
s
3.1 Starting Discoverer Administration Edition 3.2 Connecting to the Database 3.3 The Work Area 3.4 Toolbar Icons 3.5 Using the Help Menu
3.1 Starting Discoverer Administration Edition

Windows 95 & Windows NT 4.0
s
Choose Programs | Oracle Discoverer 4| Administration Edition from the Start menu.
3.2 Connecting to the Database

When you start Discoverer Administration Edition (see Section 3.1, Starting Discoverer Administration Edition for more information), the Connect to Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition dialog box is displayed (see Figure 31). You can also open this dialog box by choosing File | Connect when Discoverer Administration Edition is already running.
Getting Started
3-1
Connecting to the Database
Figure 31 The Connect to Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Dialog Box
The Connect to Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition dialog box enables you to connect to your database (via an EUL). You need to specify the following information
Username
Specify the user ID for the person that you want to log in as. You can also connect using an Oracle Applications User name. For further information about connecting as an Oracle Applications user see Chapter 17, Using Discoverer with Oracle Applications.
Password
Specify the password for the user ID specified in the Username field.
Connect
Specify your database, using the following guidelines:
s
If you are logging onto the Oracle database running on the same machine as Discoverer Administration Edition, leave this field blank. If you are logging onto an Oracle database on another computer, specify the appropriate SQL*Net connect string. See your database administrator if you do not know the connect string. If you are logging onto a non-Oracle database, specify the following:
ODBC:<data source name>
3-2
TIP for ODBC: If you omit your user ID or password, the Driver Connect
dialog box appears for the data source you specified. If you want to alter or set any driver-specific values, such as languages, simply omit the user ID/password information and type in the relevant data source.
Oracle Applications User

If you are connecting using an Oracle Applications User name see Chapter 17, Using Discoverer with Oracle Applications for further details.
Note: The Oracle Applications User Connect dialog may or may not dis-
play the Oracle Applications user check box. For further details see Chapter 17.3, Configuring the Connect dialog for Administration Edition and Discoverer Plus (for Windows).
Connecting to an EUL
When you click Connect, Discoverer Administration Edition connects to the database and displays the first screen of the Load Wizard (see Figure 32). Discoverer Administration Edition is now running and connected to your database, the next step is to either open a business area or create a new one.
Getting Started
3-3
Figure 32 Using Load Wizard to Open a Business Area
See Chapter 7, Business Areas for a complete description of creating a business area. After you create or open a new business area, the Discoverer Administration Edition main window and tasklist appear (as shown in Figure 33).
3-4
The Work Area
3.3 The Work Area

The work area is your view into the End User Layer (EUL) which is a collection of tables providing a metalayer for your organizations database, controlled by the Oracle database management system (DBMS). For example, you can create new business areas and folders, move items from one folder to another, and create and edit items as needed. This is where you create and manage business areas. Essentially, everything you do that affects the EUL is done in the work area. The work area is organized hierarchically by business areas, which contain folders. Each folder can contain a variety of objects, including items, joins, and filters. Business areas, folders, and all of the items in the folders are represented by icons. The tool bar icons underneath the menus give you quick access to all features. The work area is the primary view for creating and viewing a business area. The work area window is always displayed in the main window, and you can open more than one work area window at a time. This section consists of the following topics:
s
3.3.1 Context-sensitive Menus in the Work Area 3.3.2 Pages of the Work Area Window
Getting Started
3-5
The Work Area
Figure 33 The Administration Edition Work Area and Tasklist
The Administration Tasklist The Administration Tasklist serves as a reminder of the tasks that you need to accomplish to build a complete business area, and the order in which you would normally perform them. You can close and reopen the Administration Tasklist dialog box by choosing View | Tasklist. You can also choose to display the tasklist automatically when you start Discoverer Administration Edition by clicking the check box at the lower left corner of the Administration Tasklist dialog box. Clicking an icon on the tasklist invokes the appropriate wizard or dialog for accomplishing the task. Discoverer does not recognize when the task is completed, but after each wizard has been visited a checkmark appears next to the icon. To learn how to create or edit any element on this list, read the relevant chapter in this book.
3-6
The Work Area
3.3.1 Context-sensitive Menus in the Work Area

Right-clicking on any item in the work area displays a menu that pertains to that item. The commands displayed on the menus are the commands most frequently used for that type of item.
Figure 34 An Example of a Right Mouse Button Menu
If you right-click on the background of the work area with no items selected, the contextsensitive menu displays commands for working with a business area in general, or to the appropriate tab currently displayed.
Getting Started
3-7
The Work Area
3.3.2 Pages of the Work Area Window

The work area window is divided into four pages. Each page displays a different types of EUL items. These pages are:
s
Data Hierarchy Item Class Summary
Clicking one of the tabs near the top of a work area window, displays the relevant page.
3.3.2.1 Using the Data Page Overview

Clicking the Data tab displays the structure and contents of each business area. All of the folders and their contents appear in much the same way as a user will see them in the business area.
3-8
The Work Area
Figure 35 The Data Page
Amongst other things, the Data page enables you to:

s
create calculated items, create Complex Folders, create Joins, create Conditions, create new Business Areas, Folders & Items and modify object properties.
Objects on the Data Page

Business Area The business area icon (a filing cabinet) represents the logical grouping of related objects within the database that users need to issue queries (for example, accounts payable, regional sales performance, or parts inventory within your organization).
Getting Started
3-9
The Work Area
To expand a business area and see the folders and items that it contains, click the plus symbol to the left of the icon. To collapse a business area, click the minus symbol to the left of the icon. Simple Folder A simple folder icon corresponds to a table or view in the database. A one-to-one relationship exists between the tables represented in a business area and the simple folders that the end user sees. These folders are created when you use the Load Wizard to create a business area. A folder is designed to hold or organize items. Each item in a folder must have a unique name. Items in a simple folder are displayed in the order they were loaded from the database. You can change this order using drag and drop or by entering a new position number in the Sequence field on the items Properties dialog box. A business area must be built from items in simple folders, and one simple folder must exist for each table that the end user can view or use in Discoverer Plus. A simple folder cannot contain items from more than one table unless it maps to a database view. Folders can be hidden from the end user, but a folder must still be included in the business area if any of its data is used to derive things such as calculations or conditions. You can copy or move items from a simple folder into a complex folder, but the item must start in a simple folder first. To add simple folders to a business area, choose Insert | Folder, then choose From Database or New. Complex Folder A complex folder icon represents a collection of items copied from the available simple folders in the EUL. For items to be included in a complex folder, the simple folders containing those items must be joined. As long as the simple folders are in the EUL, the items they contain can be copied into complex folders in any business area. You add items from a simple folder to a complex folder by copying and pasting them, or by dragging them. When you add an item to a complex folder, you are making a copy of the item. If you add an item with the same name, Discoverer Administration Edition adds a numeric suffix to the name of the new item. Items in a complex folder must have unique names. Items are initially ordered by the order of placement in the folder. You can control the display sequence by entering a new position number in the Sequence field of the items Properties window.
3-10
The Work Area
Custom Folder A custom folder is created with an SQL statement using the Discoverer interface. The SQL statement can refer to objects in the database. Joins can be set between the items in the custom folder and existing items in other folders in the business area. Axis Item An axis item icon represents an item in a folder. The item may be real, derived, or calculated. The three axis options are top, side, and page. These options refer to the position of the item when the report is displayed. To set the axis position, use the Default Position field on the Item Properties dialog box. By default, all text, date and integer items are initially assigned to be axis items. Data Point Item A data point item icon represents an item that is used in Discoverer Plus as a numeric value. By default, all numeric items that are not integers are initially set as data point items. To make an item a data point, select Data Point in the Default Position field of the Item Properties window. Master to Detail Join A master-to-detail join icon represents a one-to-many relationship between two items in different folders. The primary key is on left (Master), the foreign key is on right (Detail). Create joins while using the Load Wizard to create a business area or by choosing Insert|Join. Detail to Master Join A detail-to-master join icon represents a many-to-one relationship between two items in different folders. The foreign key is on left (Detail), the primary key is on right (Master). Condition A condition icon represents a condition created for use in Discoverer Plus (for example, salary > 2,000). Aggregate An aggregate icon represents arithmetic operations such as sum, count, min, average, and so forth. An item listed in bold represents the default item, which is applied when a data point is chosen.
Getting Started 3-11
The Work Area
Value A value is one of a list of values attributed to an item class. See 3.3.2.3 Using the Item Classes Page.
3.3.2.2 Using the Hierarchies Page Overview

A Hierachy defines a drill path enabling a user to drill directly from one related Item to another. The Hierarchies page displays all of the hierarchies grouped by business area. Use this view of the hierarchies to see the definition of each hierarchy. Although you can create a hierarchy at any time without navigating to the Hierarchies page, creating a hierarchy while all hierarchies are visible helps you manage them more effectively. Also, you can review the contents and organization of each hierarchy, and view the hierarchy templates provided by Discoverer Administration Edition.
Figure 36 The Hierarchies Page
To drill down into the hierarchy, click the plus symbol to reveal the hierarchy nodes. Each node shows the next level of detail. Continue clicking the plus symbol to display succeeding nodes until you reach the end of the hierarchical relationship. To quickly close the entire hierarchy, click the top level.
3-12
The Work Area
Clicking the Show button displays a drop-down menu that shows hierarchy display options as shown in Figure 37.
Figure 37 The Show Menu for Hierarchies
The show menu contains the following options:

s
User Defined This option displays hierarchies that you have explicitly created as system administrator. System Generated This option displays hierarchies that are automatically generated by the system when the business area is created by the Load Wizard. User and System This option displays both user-defined and system-generated hierarchies. Item Hierarchies Date Hierarchies All Hierarchies
The Work Area
Objects on the Hierarchies Page

Hierarchy A hierarchy icon represents a relationship between items so users can drill up and down through data to see different levels of aggregate information. The sequential nature of a hierarchy is clearly visible in the work area window. Date Hierarchy Template Folder A date hierarchy template icon represents a folder that contains all the date hierarchy templates created in the business area. Date Template A date template icon represents a date hierarchy you have created.
3.3.2.3 Using the Item Classes Page Overview

The Item Classes page displays all of the item classes grouped by business area. Use this view to identify the item class components. Although you can create an item class at any time, creating an item class while they are all visible helps you manage them more effectively.
3-14
The Work Area
Figure 38 The Item Classes Page
In each item class folder, you can see a list of values (if there is one) assigned to the item class. Opening a list of values folder displays each unique occurrence of data values as a set. The work area also shows which items currently use the item class, as opposed to the Data tab work area where there is no way to determine which item is using a particular item class without viewing each item property individually. This view of the work area clearly shows which items use a particular item class. You can also identify item classes that have hyperdrill and alternative sort attributes, and whether those options are active. The Show button displays a menu of display options for item classes (see Figure 39).
The Work Area
Figure 39 The Show Menu for Item Classes
The show menu contains the following options:

s
User Defined This option displays item classes that you have explicitly created as system administrator. System Generated This option displays item classes that are automatically generated by the system when the business area is created by the Load Wizard. The Load Wizard automatically creates a list of values for all columns if you select Automatically Generate List of Values for Items in the Load Wizard. User and System This option displays both user-defined and system-generated item classes. List of Values Alternative Sort Drill to Detail All Item Classes
This helps you to determine the exact characteristics of each item class.
3-16
The Work Area
The options on the Show menu are most useful when you have a large number of item classes as being able to display subsets of item classes makes management and review easier. For more information, see Chapter 10, Items and Item Classes
Objects on the Item Classes Page

Item Class An item class icon represents a grouping of items that share similar values. Attributes are a list of values, alternate sort, and hyperdrill. Item classes are used when you create a condition in Discoverer Administration Edition or when the user creates a condition in Discoverer Plus. Expanding an item class shows the list of values and the items using the item class. You can create item classes automatically when you use the Load Wizard to create a business area. You can also create items classes are also created by choosing Item Class from the Insert menu. List of Values A list of values icon represents the unique values that exist in the item class. When the folder is opened, Discoverer Administration Edition retrieves the unique values that currently exist in the database column associated with the item class. Each unique value is displayed with this bullet symbol. To create a list of values choose Insert | Item Class or create it automatically using the Load Wizard. Item Group An item group icon represents all objects that use an item class. To view the items, click the (+) symbol to the left of the icon.
The Work Area
3.3.2.4 Using the Summaries Page Overview

The Summaries page displays all of the summary refresh sets and associated summaries in the business area. You can use the Summaries page to review the organization and definitions of the summaries.
Figure 310 The Summaries Page
Objects on the Summaries Page

Summary Folder A summary folder icon represents a folder that contains items used to optimize query performance. Create a summary item by choosing Insert | Summary.
3-18
Toolbar Icons
3.4 Toolbar Icons

The icons on the tool bar act as shortcuts for the most commonly used menu commands. This section shows these icons and the menu options they represent.
Cut Copy Paste New Business Area New Folder New Item New Condition Properties New Join New Hierarchy New Item Class New Summary Security Privileges
Using the Help Menu
3.5 Using the Help Menu

The Help menu contains the following commands:
Help Topics
Contents of the Administrator Edition on-line help.
Using Help
Online instructions for using the Help system.
Manuals
Launches the Oracle Information Navigator to display manuals in HTML format.
Database Information
Displays a dialog which tells you which database you are connected to. The dialog also lists the functionality that is not available to your users for this database and the reason why the functionality is not available.
Figure 311 Database Information Dialog
3-20
Tutorial
This tutorial uses a hypothetical chain of video rental stores as a business example, to show how to develop a business area using sales and inventory data. Your Discoverer software includes the video store demonstration database (VIDEO4) that this tutorial uses. Please ensure this has been created by your administrator before starting the tutorial. For details of how the administrator can install the tutorial data see Chapter 5.6, Installing the Tutorial Data. This tutorial consists of a set of lessons that show you how to use the main features of Discoverer Administration Edition. Each lesson begins with an introduction and a list of exercises. Before you start each lesson, you may want to survey the list of exercises to get a sense of how much time you need to schedule for completing the lesson. This tutorial consists of the following lessons:
s
Lesson 1: Creating a private End User Layer Lesson 2: Using the Load Wizard Lesson 3: Getting to Know the Work Area Lesson 4: Granting Access Privileges Lesson 5: Modifying the Business Area and Folders Lesson 6: Designing a Custom Folder Lesson 7: Creating Joins Lesson 8: Customizing Items Lesson 9: Designing a Complex Folder Lesson 10: Working with Hierarchies Lesson 11: Creating Summaries to Optimize Performance
Tutorial
4-1
Lesson 1: Creating a private End User Layer
To follow this tutorial you must be able to connect to Discoverer initially as a user with a DBA role (see your database administrator for details). The reason for doing this is because the tutorial involves creating a new database user to run the tutorial. Normal use of Discoverer Administration Edition does not require DBA privileges. Remember that the video store sample database is designed so that you already have read access to the tutorial tables. When you create your own business areas, you will need SELECT access to the database tables you need to access. You will also need to know the user IDs who own the data tables. Remember that this tutorial is your introduction to Discoverer Administration Editions basic features and procedures. When you are working with Discoverer Administration Edition outside the tutorial, you may find that you need more detailed explanations. You should find the online Help system and the rest of this book to be reliable, useful sources of information.
4.1 Lesson 1: Creating a private End User Layer

Lesson 1 shows you how to create a private End User Layer. Creating a private End User Layer for every person taking the tutorial enables each user to have a separate version. The VIDEO4 user, tables and tutorial data need to have been installed by your administrator before users can complete the tutorial (see Chapter 5.6, Installing the Tutorial Data for details). Lesson 1 shows you how to:
s
Create a private End User Layer
4.1.1 Create a private End User Layer

1.
Start the Administration Edition.

s
If you are using Windows 95 or Windows NT, choose Oracle Discoverer 4 | Administration Edition from the Start menu.
This displays the Connect to Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition dialog box.
4-2
Figure 41 The Connect to Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Dialog Box
2. 3. 4.
Specify a Username with DBA privileges. Specify the appropriate password. In the Connect field:
s
If you are logging into your default database, leave this field blank. With 8.1+ databases an entry is required in your tnsnames.ora file for this to work (see your Discoverer Administrator for details). If you are logging into an Oracle database that is not your default database, specify the appropriate SQL*Net connect string. See your database administrator if you do not know the connect string. If you are logging into a non-Oracle database, type ODBC:<data source name>.
5.
Open the EUL Manager dialog: Discoverer Administration Edition behaves differently depending on whether an End User Layer has already been created.
s
If there are no existing End User Layers, Discoverer Administration Edition displays a message asking if you want to create an EUL now. Click Yes to open the EUL Manager dialog box. If one or more End User Layers already exist, Discoverer Administration Edition starts the Load Wizard. Click Cancel on the Load Wizard and choose Tools | EUL Manager to open the EUL Manager dialog box.
Figure 42 shows the EUL Manager dialog box.
Tutorial
4-3
Figure 42 Creating the EUL
6. 7.
Click Create an EUL. The Create EUL Wizard opens. Use this wizard to create your user ID for this tutorial. Make the following selections and text entries:
s
Select Create a new user. Clear Grant access to PUBLIC. Clear New EUL is for use by Oracle Applications users ONLY In the User field, specify admintutor[your first and last initials]. This will be your user ID for the tutorial.
NOTE: Because other users might take this tutorial as admintutor, we
recommend that you uniquely identify your tutorial work by adding your first and last initials to the admintutor user ID.
In the Password and Confirm Password fields, repeat your user ID.
The Create EUL Wizard should look similar to Figure 43.
4-4
Figure 43 Creating the New User ID
8. 9.
Click Next. This displays Create EUL Wizard: Step 2. Select the default and temporary tablespaces. For example, select USER_DATA as your default tablespace and TEMP as your temporary tablespace.
Figure 44 Selecting Tablespaces for the EUL
10. Click Finish.
Tutorial
4-5
11. When Discoverer Administration Edition builds the EUL, a message displays telling
you that the EUL has been created successfully. Click OK.
12. Click NO to the message Do you want to install the tutorial data into your EUL?
This does not need to be done as the tutorial data should already have been installed by your administrator. See Chapter 5.6, Installing the Tutorial Data.
13. Click YES to connect as the owner of the EUL you have just created.
You have successfully created an EUL. You will now create a business area. This is described in Section 4.2.
4-6
Lesson 2: Using the Load Wizard
4.2 Lesson 2: Using the Load Wizard

In this lesson you will learn how to create a business area. The Load Wizard guides you through each step of the process. Lesson 2 consists of the following exercises:
s
4.2.1 Identifying the Source Location for the Business Area 4.2.2 Selecting the User IDs and Tables 4.2.3 Selecting Tables and Views to Load into the Business Area 4.2.4 Default Business Area Design 4.2.5 Naming the Business Area
4.2.1 Identifying the Source Location for the Business Area

The Load Wizard provides options for opening an existing business area or creating a new business area (see Figure 45). You will create a new business area, using tables created expressly for this learning experience.
Figure 45 Creating a New Business Area
1.
Select Create a New Business Area. With this selection, the Load Wizard asks Where do you want to load the metadata from? Your answer to this question tells the Load Wizard where to find the database objects that you want to load into the business area.
Tutorial
4-7
Figure 46 Selecting the Source of the Metadata
2.
Specify where you want to load the metadata from:

s
If you are using an Oracle or ODBC database and want to load metadata from the catalog, select On-line Dictionary. The on-line dictionary is the standard dictionary for all Oracle databases. If you want to load metadata from an external repository or a specialized metadata store such as Oracle Designer, select Gateway and choose a metadata source from the drop-down list.
3.
Click Next. Do not click Finish. This opens Load Wizard: Step 2.
4-8
4.2.2 Selecting the User IDs and Tables

Load Wizard: Step 2 specifies the database link and identifies the user IDs that own the tables that you want to use in the business area.
Figure 47 Selecting the User IDs and Tables
1. 2.
Ensure that the database link is set to Default Database. Tick VIDEO4 only. The tables and views that will be loaded into the business area are objects owned by the user IDs you select.
3.
Ensure that the Load the objects that match field contains %. % is a wildcard. This will load all tables and views belonging to the selected user IDs.
4.
Click Next. This opens Load Wizard: Step 3.
For more information about Load Wizard: Step 2, see Section 7.2.2.4, Load Wizard: Step 2.
Tutorial
4-9
4.2.3 Selecting Tables and Views to Load into the Business Area
Load Wizard: Step 3 is where you select the specific tables or views that you want to load into the Business Area. The left hand side (marked Available) lists all of the objects in tables and views that are owned by the VIDEO4 user ID.
Figure 48 Selecting Objects
To include a table or view in your Business Area, you need to move it to the right hand side (marked Selected).
1. 2.
Expand the VIDEO4 user ID (click the plus (+) symbol next to VIDEO4). This reveals the tables owned by VIDEO4. Move the following tables from the Available list to the Selected list. Ensure that these are selected in the following order:
s
PRODUCT STORE TIMES SALES_FACT
There are three ways of moving tables from one list to the other:
s
Drag & Drop Drag one or more tables from one list to the other.
4-10
Include / Exclude buttons Select one or more tables in a list and then click either the Include (right arrow) or Exclude (left arrow) button. Double-click Double-click a table to move it from one list to the other.
To select more than one table at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the tables. Figure 48 shows how the wizard should look when youre finished.
3.
Tutorial 4-11
4.2.4 Default Business Area Design

Load Wizard: Step 4 offers the opportunity to automatically generate hierarchies, lists of values, and joins and include them in the business area. You will be able to modify those attributes to suit your users needs later. For detailed descriptions of the components in this dialog, refer to Section 7.2.2.6, Load Wizard: Step 4, Automatic Attributes. Make the following choices for your business area:
1.
Under Automatically, select the following check boxes:

s
Capitalize names Replace all underscores with spaces Remove all column prefixes
2.
Under Automatically, clear the Create joins from check box. Joins will not be automatically created here. You will create joins manually later in the tutorial (see Section 4.7.1, Creating Joins for Folders in the Business Area)
NOTE: If the Create joins from check box had been selected (Discoverer
would automatically create the joins for you) you would then need to click the following check boxes as follows:
s
For an Oracle database, you would select Primary/foreign key constraints. For a non-Oracle database, you would select Matching columns. When joins are created automatically using matching columns, the tables chosen first are the master items.
3. 4.
Clear the Summaries based on folders that are created check box. Under Automatically generate, tick the following check boxes:
s
Date hierarchies using Default aggregate on datapoints
In both cases you can accept the default values in the drop-down lists.
4-12
5. 6.
Select the List of values for items of type: check box. This enables the five check boxes in that section. Under List of values for items of type: Select the following check boxes:
s
Character Date
This requests a list of values to be automatically created against all character and date columns.
7.
Under List of values for items of type: Clear the following check boxes:
s
Decimal All keys Integer
TIP: Avoid creating lists of values (LOVs) on columns that will contain many distinct values (E.g. Decimals).
Figure 49 shows how the wizard should look when youre finished.
Tutorial 4-13
Figure 49 Bulk-loading the Business Area
8.
4.2.5 Naming the Business Area

Use Load Wizard: Step 5 to name the business area.
1. 2.
Enter the business area name New Video Stores in the text box. Enter a simple description.
The wizard should look similar to Figure 410.
4-14
Figure 410
Naming the Business Area
3.
Click Finish.
Discoverer Administration Edition displays a progress bar while the Load Wizard creates the business area. Based on information you have supplied in the previous windows, Discoverer Administration Edition creates table folders, and lists of values, and organizes the information in terms of the date hierarchies and data point aggregates that you specified. Congratulations! Youve completed the first part of the tutorial, youve used the Load Wizard to create a business area. The next major step is making the data in the business area available in Discoverer Plus by granting access privileges, which you will do in Lesson 4. But before you take any further steps, its a good idea to learn your way around the work area. This is described in Section 4.3.
Tutorial 4-15
Lesson 3: Getting to Know the Work Area
4.3 Lesson 3: Getting to Know the Work Area

When the Load Wizard finishes creating the business area, a work area window opens.This is your primary view of the business area, where you modify folders and items to create the business view of data for the end-user. You can have more than one work area open at a time.
Figure 411 The Administration Edition Main Window and Tasklist
Key to Figure 411:

a. b. c.
The four tabs for working with different elements of business area design The work area The tasklist
Notice the Administration Tasklist superimposed on the work area window. It acts in two ways, firstly as a reminder of the basic steps involved in preparing a business area and sec-
4-16
Lesson 4: Granting Access Privileges
ondly as an interactive method of launching the listed tasks.You do not need the Administration Tasklist for this tutorial, however, leaving it displayed may help you track your progress. The four tabs at the top of the work area enable you to access the four pages of the work area. Each page lets you work with a different element of the business area design. The remainder of this tutorial shows you how to use the features of each of the pages in the work area.
4.4 Lesson 4: Granting Access Privileges

Access privileges determine who can see and use the data in the business area. The Privileges and Security dialog boxes are your means for setting those rights and privileges for the appropriate users. Data access rights to the application database tables are controlled by the database administrator, and are not affected by Discoverer. Users need SELECT access to the application database tables in order to use Discoverer. Because you logged on as user ID Admintutor[your initials], Admintutor[your initials] is the creator and owner of the business area in this tutorial; therefore it is the only user ID with the authority to grant other users access privileges to the new business area. The owning user ID can also grant administration rights to other users. Lesson 4 consists of the following exercises: 4.4.1 Granting Access Privileges to Users 4.4.2 Granting Access to the Business Area
4.4.1 Granting Access Privileges to Users

The Privileges dialog box enables you to grant access privileges to users.
1.
Choose Tools | Privileges or click the Privileges icon ( This opens the Privileges dialog box. The Privileges dialog box has four pages:
s
) on the toolbar.
Privileges This page presents a check box list of privileges available in Discoverer Administration Edition and Discoverer Plus. This list enables you to grant and revoke privileges to the specified user or role. Users/Roles This page displays a check box list of all user IDs and roles. This list enables you to grant and revoke the specified privilege to users or roles.
Tutorial 4-17
Query Governor This page presents a check box list of limits for running queries. This list enables you to set limits for running queries for the specified user or role. Scheduled Workbooks This page displays limits for running scheduled workbooks. It enables you to set different parameters for scheduling workbooks for each user ID or role that has that privilege.
You will find more detailed information about working with all four pages of the Privileges dialog box in Chapter 8, Access Privileges and Security.
Using the Privileges Page

1.
Click the Privileges tab. This page is for granting access privileges to users or roles.
s
A user is represented by a user ID. A role is defined in the Oracle database; it is a means of grouping users for security purposes.
The database administrator can assign users to a role, and then modify the role to affect its set of users immediately. As Discoverer administrator, this can save you from recreating the same set of privileges over and over. For example, one role might be Store Managers which you can use to assign the same privileges to any manager in the video store chain.
4-18
Figure 412
The Privileges Dialog Box with the Privileges Page Selected
2.
Under Show privileges for:

s
Select User. Clear Role. Select VIDEO4 from the drop-down list.
3. 4.
In the Privileges list, select the User Edition check box. This activates the set of privileges under the User Edition heading. Select all the privileges subordinate to User Edition .
NOTE: Roles and System Profiles are features of the Oracle database. If
you are using a non-Oracle database, these features are unavailable. In addition, the following privileges are not enabled: Set Privilege, Manage Scheduled Workbooks and Schedule Workbooks.
5.
Do not click OK yet.
Tutorial 4-19
Using the User/Role Page

1.
Click the User/Role tab. This page lists the users and roles that have access to a specific privilege, or set of privileges. You can use this tab to grant or revoke access privileges to a specific user or role.
Figure 413
Privileges Dialog Box with the User/Role Page Selected
2. 3.
Under Show users/roles with privilege, select User Edition from the drop-down list. Ensure that VIDEO4 is selected in the user/role list. If you wanted to revoke User Edition privileges to the VIDEO4 user, you would clear VIDEO4.
4.
Click Apply. Do not click OK yet.
4-20
Using the Query Governor Page

1.
Click the Query Governor tab. This page lets you set the query retrieval limits for the specified user or role. In this exercise you will set query limits for the user, VIDEO4.
Figure 414
Privileges Dialog Box with the Query Governor Page Selected
2.
Under Show query limits for:

s
Tick User. Clear Role Select VIDEO4 from the drop-down list.
3.
Under Query Governer, set the query retrieval limits as follows:

s
Tick Warn if predicted time exceeds and set to 2:00 minutes. This option is not available if you are using a non-Oracle database. Tick Prevent queries longer than and set to 15:00 minutes. Clear Limit retrieved data to, so that no limit is set.
4.
Click Apply. Do not click OK yet.
Tutorial 4-21
Using the Scheduled Workbooks Page

1.
Click the Scheduled Workbooks tab. This page enables you to set limits in Discoverer Plus for scheduling workbooks.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Under Show scheduling limits for user, select VIDEO4 from the drop-down list. Under Require users to schedule workbooks, select Never. Tick Maximum number of scheduled workbooks and set to 5 workbooks. Tick Expire results after and set to 3 days. Clear the following check boxes:
s
Commit size Limit scheduling between
The Privileges dialog box should look similar to Figure 415.

Figure 415 Privileges Dialog Box with the Scheduled Workbooks Page Selected
7.
Click OK.
4-22
4.4.2 Granting Access to the Business Area

The Security dialog box provides a further level of security by enabling you to specify which users can see and use specific business areas. To grant users access privilege to the New Video Stores business area,
1.
Open the Security dialog box. There are two ways of doing this.
s
Toolbar Icon Click the Security toolbar icon ( Menu Choose Tools | Security.
).
2.
Click the Business Area->User tab. This page is for granting access privileges to users for specific business areas. The other page is for providing a specific user with access to various business areas.
3.
In the Available users/roles list on the left, select the VIDEO4 user and move it to the Selected users/roles list on the right. There are three ways of moving a user or role from one list to the other:
s
Drag & Drop Drag one or more user/role from one list to the other. Include / Exclude buttons Select one or more user/role in a list and then click either the Include (right arrow) or Exclude (left arrow) button. Double-click Double-click a user/role to move it from one list to the other.
To select more than one user/role at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the users/roles.
NOTE: Discoverer Administration Edition automatically authorizes the
EUL owner to access the New Video Stores business area, because that user is the creator and owner of the business area. Also that user is the only one permitted to make these security changes and to grant administration privileges to other users.
Tutorial 4-23
The Security dialog box should look similar to Figure 416.

Figure 416 The Security Dialog Box
4.
Click OK. This saves your changes and closes the dialog box.
Now that you have created the New Video Stores business area and granted access to it, users can access the business area to perform basic reporting. In other words, all you need to do for basic use is to create a business area and grant access to it. In the next lesson, you will enhance the business area by providing a useful, expanded business view of the data to the end-user. This is described in Section 4.5.
4-24
Lesson 5: Modifying the Business Area and Folders
4.5 Lesson 5: Modifying the Business Area and Folders

This lesson shows how to let users access their information easily. Explanations include how to rename folders, and how to add specific descriptions for each table that clearly identify its contents. This lesson consists of the following exercises: 4.5.1 Adding a Description to the Business Area 4.5.2 Renaming and Adding Descriptions to Folders
4.5.1 Adding a Description to the Business Area

A descriptive phrase about the business area can help remind users of the business areas purpose. This exercise shows you how to add a description to the business area.
1. 2.
Click the Data tab on the work area window. Open the Business Area Properties dialog box. There are three ways of doing this:
s
Double-click Double-click the New Video Stores business area icon on the Data page. Popup Menu Right-click the New Video Stores business area icon on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Menu Click the New Video Stores business area icon on the Data page and choose Edit | Properties.
Tutorial 4-25
Figure 417
Business Area Properties Dialog Box
3. 4.
Change the description to Stores Information for 1998, 1999 and 2000. Click OK.
TIP: Many dialog boxes have an OK button and an Apply button. Clicking Apply
puts the changes into effect, but does not close the dialog box. You can then continue making changes to other items using the same dialog box. Clicking OK applies the changes and closes the dialog box. If you tick Automatically save changes after each edit, you dont have to click the Apply button as changes are saved as you make them.
4.5.2 Renaming and Adding Descriptions to Folders

Folders are the basic elements that the end user sees when working with the business area. For that reason, folders should have meaningful names as well as descriptions that explain the folders primary use.
1.
Click the plus (+) symbol to the left of the New Video Stores business area icon on the Data page. This displays a list of folders contained in the business area.
4-26
Figure 418
Viewing the Business Area Folders
2.
Open the Folder Properties dialog box for the Store folder. There are four ways of doing this:
s
Double-click Double-click the Store folder on the Data page. Popup Menu Right-click the Store folder on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Menu Click the Store folder on the Data page and choose Edit | Properties. Click icon Click the Properties toolbar icon ( ) on the Toolbar Menu
Tutorial 4-27
Figure 419
The Folder Properties Sheet
3. 4.
Click the Name field and enter the new name Store Information. Click the Description field and specify an appropriate description for the Store Information folder. For example, Store Details including values such as name, floor plan type, and location. Both the folder name and description will be visible in Discoverer Plus.
5.
Click Apply and repeat the steps for each folder listed in Table 41.
Table 41 Renaming Folders Original Folder Name Product Sales Fact Times 6. New Folder Name Product Information Sales Details Time Information
Click OK when youre finished renaming the folders.
4-28
TIP: While the properties dialog box is open, you can click another object in the work area to switch your view to that objects properties.
Now that you have given the folders more meaningful names and provided a description of the contents of each folder, users can see the new names and descriptions when deciding which folders to use in a report.
4.5.3 Renaming and Adding Descriptions for an Item in a Folder

Database columns often have cryptic names that dont have much meaning for the end user. When columns are loaded into a business area, the items that represent them are given the same names, depending on the options you choose. Just as you can change folder names and add descriptions to them, you can change item names and add descriptions to them too. These next few steps show how to rename items in the Time Information folder.
1.
Click the plus (+) symbol next to the Time Information folder. This shows a list of all items in the folder, similar to that shown in Figure 420.
Figure 420
Displaying a Folders Items
Tutorial 4-29
2.
Open the Item Properties dialog box for the Transaction Date Year item. There are three ways of doing this:
s
Double-click Double-click the Transaction Date Year item on the Data page. Popup Menu Right-click the Transaction Date Year item on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Menu Click the Transaction Date Year item on the Data page and choose Edit | Properties.
3.
Click the Name field and rename Transaction Date Year to Year. The Item Properties dialog box should look similar to Figure 421.
Figure 421
The Item Properties Dialog
4. 5.
Click Apply. Rename three more items as follows:

s
Transaction Date Quarter to Quarter
4-30
Lesson 6: Designing a Custom Folder
Transaction Date Month to Month Transaction Date Day to Day
The change you make in the Name field automatically registers in the Heading field (you may need to use the scroll bar to display the Heading field). You can also change the description. However, in the case of date or time-related items, the default description should serve the purpose.
6.
Click OK when youre finished renaming the items.
4.6 Lesson 6: Designing a Custom Folder

Folders represent a result set of data, much like a database view. In essence, a folder is a SQL statement that returns a result set. The simple folders youve worked with thus far, refer to SQL statements that are stored in the End User Layer. Using Discoverer Administration Editions custom folder feature, you can construct folders based on arbitrary SQL statements that you specify. Using set operators, such as UNION, CONNECT BY, MINUS, INTERSECT, and synonyms, you can quickly set up a folder representing a complex result set. This lesson consists of the following exercises:
s
4.6.1 Creating a Custom Folder - Defining the SQL 4.6.2 Editing The Custom Folders SQL
4.6.1 Creating a Custom Folder - Defining the SQL

This lesson proposes a situation where the end user needs a local list of values within the EUL for an item that has a small number of possible values. The list of values to be created (Days of the Week) has a numeric sequence that will be used later in the tutorial (see Section 4.8.4, Creating an Alternative Sort). In the following example, we will use a SQL statement to create a custom folder with two Items, one that represents the days of the week (DAY_OF_WEEK) and another Item an alternative sort sequence (ALTERNATE_SORT).
1. 2. 3.
Right-click the New Video Stores business area on the Data page Choose New Custom Folder from the popup menu. Type the following SQL statement into the Custom Folder dialog.
select Monday 1 DAY_OF_WEEK, ALTERNATE_SORT
Tutorial 4-31
from dual union select Tuesday DAY_OF_WEEK, 2 ALTERNATE_SORT from dual union select Wednesday DAY_OF_WEEK, 3 ALTERNATE_SORT from dual union select Thursday DAY_OF_WEEK, 4 ALTERNATE_SORT from dual union select Friday DAY_OF_WEEK, 5 ALTERNATE_SORT from dual union select Saturday DAY_OF_WEEK, 6 ALTERNATE_SORT from dual union select Sunday DAY_OF_WEEK, 7 ALTERNATE_SORT from dual 4.
Enter the new custom folder name Alternate Sort Days into the Name field. The Custom Folder dialog should look similar to Figure 422.
4-32
Figure 422
The Custom Folder Dialog
5.
Click Validate SQL. A prompt displays advising whether the SQL string is valid.
s
If it is not valid, click OK to close the prompt. Then correct the string and click Validate SQL again. If it is valid, click OK to close the prompt. Click OK again to close the Edit Custom Folder dialog and create your custom folder.
The custom folder is now listed in the business area. Note the SQL label on the folder icon. This identifies the custom folder as distinct from simple or complex folders.
Tutorial 4-33
Figure 423
Business Area with Custom Folder
4.6.2 Editing The Custom Folders SQL

1. 2.
Right-click the Alternate Sort Days custom folder on the Data page to open the Custom Folder Properties dialog. Choose Properties on the popup menu. The Custom SQL field contains the SQL statement that defines the folder. You can resize the Custom Folder Properties dialog to view the entire statement.
4-34
Figure 424
Custom Folder Properties Dialog
3.
Click in the Custom SQL field. This opens the Edit Custom Folder dialog which contains the SQL statement (see Figure 425). Do not edit the statement; the purpose of this step is to show how to access the Edit Custom Folder dialog box.
Figure 425
Edit Custom Folder Dialog
Tutorial 4-35
4. 5.
Click Cancel to close the Edit Custom Folder dialog. Click Cancel to close the Custom Folder Properties dialog.
The next lesson shows you how to create joins between folders, this is described in Section 4.8.
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Lesson 7: Creating Joins
4.7 Lesson 7: Creating Joins

Data analysis often requires information that resides in more than one folder. In order for the analysis to occur, the folders must be linked by a join. Joins are part of both the database and the business area design. As the Discoverer administrator you have the option to create joins that provide the information that the end user needs for business analysis.
NOTE: The Discoverer Plus user cannot create joins. If you want Discov-
erer Plus users to create reports that combine information from multiple folders you need to make sure the folders are joined.
In this lesson you will learn how to create the joins that are required in the business area. This lesson consists of the following exercise:
s
4.7.1 Creating Joins for Folders in the Business Area
4.7.1 Creating Joins for Folders in the Business Area

To achieve this you will establish joins to relate the data between the folders that you loaded in Lesson 2 Section 4.2.3, Selecting Tables and Views to Load into the Business Area. Now you will create joins for each folder, using a Key from the Master table and joining to the corresponding Key of the Detail table.
1. 2.
Click the (+) symbol next to the Product Information folder on the Data page Open the New Join dialog. There are three ways of doing this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click the Product Information.Product Key item on the Data page and choose New Join on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the Product Information.Product Key item on the Data page and click the New Join toolbar icon ( ). Menu Click the Product Information.Product Key item on the Data page and choose Insert | Join.
Tutorial 4-37
This opens the New Join dialog box with Product Information.Product Key as the master item.
Figure 426 Creating a Join Between Two Folders
3.
Click the Detail Folder drop-down list. This opens the second New Join dialog box which lists the folders in the New Video Stores business area.
4.
Select Sales Details.Product Key. The New Join dialog box should look similar to Figure 427.
Figure 427
Selecting the Detail Item
5.
Click OK. The New Join dialog (Figure 426, Creating a Join Between Two Folders) should now show Sales Details.Product Key in the Detail Item field.
4-38
Figure 428
Join is now ready to create
6.
Select the equal sign from the Operator drop-down list. This list shows the types of joins that you can create. The equal sign represents an equijoin, which combines rows that have equivalent values for the specified items.
7.
Enter a name for this join. If you dont enter a name Discoverer Administration Edition will automatically create a default name for the join when you click OK. Enter a description. Click OK. The join appears as an item in the Product Information folder. Note the direction of the icon next to it, indicating that the Product Information.Product Key is the master item and the Sales Details.Product Key is the detail item. In this one-to-many relationship, for each product record there are many sales details records. - Store Information - Time Information NOTE: When creating joins for each of the Folders above, you need to use the appropriate Master and Detail Folder/Key values as shown in Table 42 below (refer also to Figure 428 for field names):
8. 9.
10. Now repeat ALL the steps of this exercise to create joins for the following Folders:
Table 42 Master/Detail relationship for the Joins to be created in tutorial
Folder Name Store Information:
Master Folder/Key required Store Information.Store Key
Detail Folder/Key required Sales Details.Store Key
Tutorial 4-39
Time Information:
Time Information.Time Key
Sales Details.Time Key
Now that you have created joins between the Product Information, Store Information, Time Information and the Sales Details folders, they can be used for analysis in Discoverer Plus.
NOTE: Creating joins in Discoverer Administration Edition is essential for
identifying the folders available to the user in Discoverer Plus. When the user selects an item or folder to create a worksheet, only those folders having joins with the selected folder are available. Thus, if you did not create a join between two folders, neither the unselected folder nor its items are available for the worksheet.
For more information about creating and editing joins, read Chapter 11, Joins The next lesson describes how you can customize items in a business area, described in Section 4.8.
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Lesson 8: Customizing Items
4.8 Lesson 8: Customizing Items

The Discoverer Administrators concern is not only what the user views in Discoverer Plus, but that data is presented in a way that makes the information more readable and, therefore, easier to analyze. In this lesson you will learn how to make certain elements invisible, design the axis structure, define lists of values and alternative sorts for them, and how to create derived items and aggregated calculations that are useful for queries and reports. This lesson consists of the following exercises:
s
4.8.1 Hiding Items in the Business Area 4.8.2 Setting the Display Axis for Items and Display Sequence 4.8.3 Creating Lists of Values 4.8.4 Creating an Alternative Sort 4.8.5 Creating a New Calculated Item
4.8.1 Hiding Items in the Business Area

End users may not need to see all the items in a business area. For example, primary and foreign keys, sensitive information such as pay scale and time in service, and some items used in calculations might be inappropriate. The items listed in Table 43 are essential to the business area as they are used in join conditions, but they are of no interest to the business user. Hiding items does not delete them. Deleted items are removed from the business area, whereas hidden items remain in the business area, but are not visible to the end user. In general it is a good idea to hide all items that users do not need to query. This makes the list of items presented to the user shorter, making it easier to find what they are looking for. In the New Video Stores business area, typical items that would be hidden are shown in Table 43:
Table 43 Hidden Items Folder Product Information Time Information Store Information Sales Details Item Product Key Time Key Store Key Time Key Product Key Store Key
Tutorial 4-41
To hide the key items from the end users:

1.
Select the following items:

s
Product Information.Product Key Time Information.Time Key Store Information.Store Key Sales Details.Time Key Sales Details.Product Key Sales Details.Store Key
To select more than one item at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the items.
2.
Right-click one of the selected items and choose Properties from the popup menu. This opens the Item Properties dialog box showing the properties that each of the selected items have in common.
3. 4.
Set Visible to user to No. Click OK.
Note that the items that are hidden from the user are now shown in grayed text.
4.8.2 Setting the Display Axis for Items and Display Sequence
A crosstab worksheet in Discoverer Plus can display data along three axes named top, side, and page (see Figure 429, Rearranging the Display Axes in Discoverer Plus). In Discoverer Administration Edition, you can specify the default axis for each item. Specifying a default axis does not prevent the user from switching an item from one axis to another during data analysis. Set the default position of Store Information.Region to the side axis:
1.
Open the Item Properties dialog box for the Store Information.Region item. There are three ways of doing this:
s
Double-click Double-click the Store Information.Region item on the Data page. Popup Menu Right-click the Store Information.Region item on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu.
4-42
Menu Click the Store Information.Region item on the Data page and choose Edit | Properties.
2. 3.
Set Default position to Side. Click OK.
In Discoverer Plus, the user can rearrange the axes to override the settings you create in Discoverer Administration Edition. Figure 429 shows the Workbook Wizard, Step 3 (in Discoverer Plus), where the user can rearrange the axes.
Figure 429 Rearranging the Display Axes in Discoverer Plus
a b
Tutorial 4-43
Figure 430
A Sample Workbook showing the Axes in Discoverer Plus
a b c
Key to Figure 430 showing how the axes look in the Discoverer Plus worksheet:
a. b. c.
Page axis Top axis Side axis
4.8.3 Creating Lists of Values

Lists of values are created using an Item Class. Most of the item classes for this tutorial were generated automatically when you loaded the EUL in Lesson 2: Using the Load Wizard. However, you can create new item classes that contain lists of the unique data values in an item. In your New Video Stores business area, it would be useful to create a list of values to show each department name, for example.
1. 2.
Click the Item Classes tab in the work area. Open the Item Class Wizard. There are three ways of doing this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click the New Video Stores business area (on the Item Classes page) and choose New Item Class on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the New Video Stores business area (on the Item Classes page) and click the New Item Class toolbar icon ( ).
4-44
Menu Click the New Video Stores business area (on the Item Classes page) and choose Insert | Item Class.
3.
Under Select item class attributes:

s
Tick List of values. Clear Alternative sort. Clear Drill to detail.
The Item Class Wizard should look similar to Figure 431.

Figure 431 Item Class Wizard
4.
Click Next. This opens Item Class Wizard: Step 2.
Tutorial 4-45
Figure 432
Selecting the Item that Generates the List of Values
5. 6.
Select the Product Information.Department item. This will be the source used to create a list of values for the new item class Click Next. This opens Item Class Wizard: Step 3, as shown in Figure 433.
Figure 433
Selecting the Items that Use the Item Class
4-46
7.
Click Next. This opens Item Class Wizard: Step 4.
8. 9.
Specify the Item class name as Departments. Specify the Item class description as Video Store Sales and Rentals. The Item Class Wizard: Step 4 should look similar to Figure 434.
Figure 434
Naming and Describing the New Item Class
10. Click Finish.
This creates a new item class named Departments. The Item classes page of the work area enables you to view the following information about each of the item classes:
s
A list of values that form the item class A list of items that use the item class
To view this information for the Departments item class:

1. 2. 3.
Expand the New Video Stores business area on the Item classes page of the work area (click the plus (+) sign). Expand the new Departments item class. Expand List of Values.
Tutorial 4-47
To build a list of values, Discoverer Administration Edition needs to read every row of the relevant table from the database. If the table has a large number of rows, it can take a long time to build the list of values. Discoverer Administration Edition warns you of this and asks you if you want to continue. Click Yes.
4.
Expand Items using this Item class. The Item Classes page should look similar to Figure 435.
Figure 435
Item Classes Tab with New Item Class and List of Values
What the User SeesSelecting from a List of Values in Discoverer Plus In Discoverer Plus, the user sees the list of values created in Discoverer Administration Edition, and can use this list of values to apply a condition.
4-48
Figure 436
Selecting Item Values from a List of Values in Discoverer Plus
When creating a worksheet, a user creates a condition by selecting the specific item values from the list of values in the Selected column above.
4.8.4 Creating an Alternative Sort

An alternative sort enables users to sort values in a non-standard fashion. For example, standard sorts include alphabetical, numerical, or chronological sorts, whereas a non-standard sort might be by region, such as North=1, South=2, East=3, and West=4 or the days of the week. An alternative sort sorts an item by using a sequence provided by another item (does not apply to ODBC databases). In this exercise we will create an Alternative Sort for the Days of the Week item in the Time Information folder. To do this we will create a new Item Class that defines an alternative sort and apply it to the Days of the Week item. The alternative sort that we will use is Alternate Sort Days, a custom folder we created previously (see Section 4.6, Lesson 6: Designing a Custom Folder).
NOTE: When creating or editing or an item class for an alternative sort
order, a one-to-one relationship must exist between the column (Item) used for the list of values and the column (Item) used for the sort order. The two Items must be in the same folder for the alternative sort order to work.
Tutorial 4-49
1.
From the menu select Insert | Item Class This displays the item class wizard:
Item Class Wizard - Select Alternative Sort
Figure 437
2. 3.
Select the Alternative Sort check box Click Next This displays Step 2 of the item class wizard:
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Figure 438
Item Class Wizard - Select Item for List of Values
4. 5.
Select Day of the Week from the Alternate Sort Days Custom Folder This is the item that will generate the list of values. Click Next This displays Step 3 of the item class wizard:
Item Class Wizard - Select Item containing Alternative Sort sequence
Figure 439
Tutorial 4-51
6. 7.
Select the Alternate Sort Item This item is the one that contains the alternative sort sequence. Click Next This displays Step 4 of the item class wizard:
Item Class Wizard - Select the Items that use this Item Class
Figure 440
In the Item Class Wizard Step 4 you select the item(s) that will use the alternative sort sequence. In this lesson you will choose an item from the Time Information folder.
8. 9.
Open the Time Information folder from the New Video Stores business area. Select the Day of the Week item from the Available Items list.
10. Click the right arrow to move the Day of the Week item into the Selected Items list 11. Click Next
This displays Step 5 of the item class wizard:
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Figure 441
Item Class Wizard - Name the Item Class
12. Enter Days of the Week - Alternative Sort 13. Click Finish
This creates a new Item Class called Days of the Week - Alternative Sort used by the Days of the Week Item in the Time Information folder To see the new alternative sort in the Days of the Week item carry out the following steps:
1. 2.
Return to the Data tab and click on the Time Information folder Expand the Day of the Week item to retrieve the values The list of values using the new Alternative Sort is displayed.
NOTE: Creating a local list of values in the EUL (see Section 4.6.1, Cre-
ating a Custom Folder - Defining the SQL) improves performance in Discoverer Plus as Discoverer can retrieve the values from the EUL and does not need to read every row of the relevant table from the database.
Tutorial 4-53
Figure 442
Alternative Sort - View result in Day of Week folder
The days of the week can now be seen displayed in the sequence defined in the complex folder Alternate Sort Days.
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4.8.5 Creating a New Calculated Item

Calculated items can be a critical part of a report. Typical business calculations include values such as:
s
profit margins, average revenues per month, expected sales percent of profit by product type.
You can improve the usability of the business area, by defining the calculations that an end user is likely to need. Discoverer Administration Edition stores these calculations in the EUL for use in Discoverer Plus. For further information on calculations see Chapter 12.1.1, What is a Calculated Item?. Building a Calculation This exercise shows you how to produce a calculation of profit as a percentage of sales.
1.
Create a new item in the Sales Details folder. There are three ways of doing this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click the Sales Details folder (on the Data page) and choose New Item on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the Sales Details folder (on the Data page) and click the New Item toolbar icon ( ). Menu Click the Sales Details folder (on the Data page) and choose Insert | Item.
This opens the New Item dialog box. The left-hand side lists the Sales Details folder and the items it contains.
2. 3.
Specify Percent Profit as the Name. Specify SUM(Sales Details.Profit)/SUM(Sales Details.Sales) in as the Calculation. You can type the calculation directly or you can use some of these ways to minimize the amount of typing you need to do:
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To add items, select the items from the list on the left and click the Paste >> button to paste them directly into the calculation. To add an operator, click the operator buttons below the Calculation area. To display a list of database functions, click the Functions button.
NOTE: Calculations follow the Oracle calculation standard syntax. For a full description of the Oracle calculation syntax, see the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual.
The New Item dialog should look similar to Figure 443.

Figure 443 New Item Dialog
a b
Key to Figure 443:

a. b. 4.
Calculation Panel Operator buttons
Click OK. This saves the new calculation in the business area.
Examples of Other Calculations

1.
To derive an address record.
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For example: Sidney Sloan, 21 Great Jones Street Apt. 2B, New York City, New York 10012
s
Name: Address Calculation: Name || "," || Street Line 1 || Street Line 2 || "," || City || "," || State || Zip Code
2.
To derive a personnel record. For example: Business Analyst in Accounting Department, $50,000
s
Name: Function Calculation: Job Title || "in" || Department || "," || Salary
3.
To derive annual compensation based on monthly salary and commission. (NVL permits a zero value.)
s
Name: Compensation Calculation: Salary*12+NVL(Commission, 0)
TIP: NVL is a database function that can replace NULL with an alterna-
tive value, such as 0.
Examples of Aggregated Items

1.
Name: Total Compensation Calculation: SUM(Salary + NVL(Commission, 0))
2.
Name: % Commission Calculation: SUM(Commission)/SUM(Salary)
3.
Name: Avg. Units per Customer Calculation: SUM(unit_sales)/SUM(customer_count)
For more detailed information about creating calculations, see Chapter 12, Calculations.
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What the User SeesCalculations in Discoverer Plus Figures 444 and 445 are samples of Discoverer Plus windows showing how the end user will see and use the calculated items you create in Discoverer Administration Edition.
Figure 444 Discoverer Plus Sample: Percent Profit Item in the Worksheet Wizard
Percent Profit, a calculated item created in Administration Edition, is shown in Figure 444 with all of the other items in the Sales Details folder. The user could create a worksheet in Discoverer Plus using the Workbook Wizard. A Table style report could be chosen using the New Video Stores Business Area. The user could select items such as Profit SUM, Sales SUM, Percent Profit from the Sales Details folder and City from the Store Information folder. The Percent Profit item (a calculated item, not an actual column) is displayed with all the other items in the Sales Details folder. When the user runs the query, Percent Profit is displayed in the report.
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Figure 445
The Percent Profit Report with Percent Profit Calculated
Including the Percent Profit calculated item in the report above causes Discoverer Plus to perform the calculation on each row and display the results in a column. To control the display format of numbers for the Percent Profit item the number format was set to the first option of the Percent category list in Discoverer Plus through the menu option Sheet | Format | Format Data | Number. The next lesson takes you through creating a complex folder that is made up of items from other folders in a business area; this is described in Section 4.9.
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Lesson 9: Designing a Complex Folder
4.9 Lesson 9: Designing a Complex Folder

A complex folder is a special type of folder which contains items from other folders. When you place an item from a simple folder into a complex folder, you are really making a reference to the original item. You can simplify the end users data analysis tasks by gathering items from separate folders into one complex folder. This avoids the need for a user to select items from multiple folders and completely hides joins from users.
NOTE: If you drop an item into a complex folder with the same name as
another item, Administration Edition adds a numeric suffix to the duplicate item. You cannot have two items with the same name in a folder.
Discoverer Administration Edition will not allow you to add an item to a complex folder if the item does not have a join associating it with the other items in the complex folder. For more information on this topic, see Chapter 11, Joins This lesson consists of the following exercises:
s
4.9.1 Creating a Complex Folder 4.9.2 Creating a Condition
4.9.1 Creating a Complex Folder

The following exercise shows you how to create a complex folder that the end user can use to analyze profit, product type, product category, and other pertinent information associated with our hypothetical video stores.
1.
Create a new folder in the New Video Stores business area. There are three ways of doing this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click the New Video Stores business area (on the Data page) and choose New Folder on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the New Video Stores business area (on the Data page) and click the New Folder toolbar icon ( ).
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Menu Click the New Video Stores business area (on the Data page) and choose Insert | Folder | New.
This creates a new folder titled NewFolder in the New Video Store business area. Note the difference between the icons representing this complex folder and the simple folders.
2. 3.
Rename NewFolder1 as Store and Sales Details. In the same way, create another new folder and name it Video Analysis.
To make it easier to copy items from one folder to another, you can open another work area window. This provides you with another view on the same work area. The next few steps show you how to do this.
4.
Choose Window | New Window. A new work area window opens, providing you with a second view of the same work area (see Figure 446).
Using Two Work Area Windows
Figure 446
Now youre ready to add some items to your complex folders.

1.
In the left work area window, expand the Store Information folder and select the following items:
s
Store Name
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City Region Floor Plan Type Store Size Reports
2.
Drag the selected items to the work area window on the right and drop them into the Store and Sales Details complex folder. This copies the selected items into the complex folder. As the next few steps illustrate, you repeat the process of copying items from other folders to populate the complex folder with all the items your user needs.
3. 4.
In the same way, copy the Sales Details.Profit item to the Store and Sales Details complex folder. Copy the following items from the Product Information folder into the Store and Sales Details folder:
s
Description Full Description Product Category Department
5.
Copy the following items from the Time Information folder into the Store and Sales Details folder.
s
Transaction Date Year
You are now ready to populate the Video Analysis folder.

1.
Copy the following items from the Sales Details folder into the Video Analysis folder.
s
Sales Unit Sales Cost Profit
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2.
Copy the following items from the Store Information folder into the Video Analysis folder.
s
Store Name City Region Reports
3.
Copy the following items from the Product Information folder into the Video Analysis folder.
s
Description Full Description Product Category Department
4.
Copy the following items from the Time Information folder into the Video Analysis folder.
s
Transaction Date Year Month
5.
Close the second work area window and maximize the first window.
The item classes providing lists of values are now shared between the two complex folders. The items you have copied into the complex folders inherit the properties of the original items. If you delete one of the original items from a folder all references to that item are also deleted.
4.9.2 Creating a Condition

A condition filters retrieved information. For example, you can create a condition for analyzing the chain of video stores that selects only the Video Sale or Video Rentals departments. The user can use this condition in Discoverer Plus to review recent sales activity for each video store in those two departments to determine which stores are most profitable. This exercise shows you how to create a condition.
1.
Create a new condition for the Video Analysis.Department item. There are three ways of doing this:
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Popup Menu Right-click the Video Analysis.Department item (on the Data page) and choose New Condition on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the Video Analysis.Department item (on the Data page) and click the New Condition toolbar icon ( ). Menu Click the Video Analysis.Department item (on the Data page) and choose Insert | Condition.
This displays the New Condition dialog box. Note that Item is set to Video Analysis.Department.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Set Condition to the IN operator because you want to filter the data to only find video sales and rentals. Select Video Rental from the Values drop-down list. Select Video Sale from the Values drop-down list. Clear Generate a name automatically. This enables you to specify your own name for the condition. Change the name of the condition to Department is Video Rental or Video Sale. The New Condition dialog box should look similar to Figure 447.
Figure 447
The New Condition Dialog
7.
Click OK.
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What the Discoverer Plus user sees In Discoverer Plus the user sees the condition represented by a filter icon. Figure 448 shows how the condition appears in Discoverer Plus.
Figure 448 Viewing the Condition in Discoverer Plus
The next lesson takes you through creating hierarchies that help Discoverer Plus users navigate through data; this is described in Section 4.10.
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Lesson 10: Working with Hierarchies
4.10 Lesson 10: Working with Hierarchies

This lesson shows you how to set up items in a hierarchy so that the user can navigate up and down a hierarchy path to view related information. Drilling through a hierarchy involves displaying a lesser or greater detail of aggregated information. For example, drilling through sales figures from the entire company to region to district and finally to an individual video store. Each level of the hierarchy reveals greater detail of aggregated information. Users can perform drill-downs in a filtered or unfiltered fashion. For example, users can select a specific data value in an axis item (for example, the year 2000), or they can select all data values for the axis item (for example, all years) and drill down. You can provide Discoverer Plus users with several methods of drilling into related information. In this section, youll enable the drill up/down capability. This lesson consists of the following exercises:
s
4.10.1 Defining a Simple Item Hierarchy 4.10.2 Defining a More Complex Item Hierarchy 4.10.3 Creating a Date Hierarchy Template 4.10.4 Modifying an Items Content Type 4.10.5 Defining Drill to Detail Data
4.10.1 Defining a Simple Item Hierarchy

Some of the data in a business organization is hierarchical in nature. Store totals naturally fold into district sales, district sales fold into regional sales, and so on until the top of the hierarchy is reached. Defining hierarchies provides users with a very easy way of drilling into summary information without having to know exactly what items make up the hierarchy. This exercise shows you how to create a simple item hierarchy.
1.
Click the Hierarchies tab in the work area. This enables you to work with the hierarchies in the New Video Stores business area.
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Figure 449
The Work Area Window for Hierarchies
2.
Create a new hierarchy in the New Video Stores business area. There are three ways of doing this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click the New Video Stores business area (on the Hierarchies page) and choose New Hierarchy on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the New Video Stores business area (on the Hierarchies page) and click the New Hierarchy toolbar icon ( ). Menu Click the New Video Stores business area (on the Hierarchies page) and choose Insert | Hierarchy.
This opens the Hierarchy Wizard (see Figure 450).
Tutorial 4-67
Figure 450
The Hierarchy Wizard
3.
Select Item Hierarchy Item hierarchies are for drilling up and down through character items and numeric items. Date hierarchies are for drilling up and down through date items (Year, Quarter, Month, Week, Day, etc.).
4.
Click Next.
The next steps show you how to choose the items that you want end users to see in their drill hierarchies. The position of each item dictates how the drill is displayed in Discoverer Plus.
1.
Move the Video Analysis.Region item to the list on the right. There are three ways of moving items from one list to the other:
s
Drag & Drop Drag one or more items from one list to the other. Include / Exclude buttons Select one or more items in a list and then click either the Include (right arrow) or Exclude (left arrow) button. Double-click Double-click an item to move it from one list to the other.
2. 3.
Move the Video Analysis.City item to the list on the right. Move the Video Analysis.Store Name item to the list on the right. The Hierarchy Wizard: Step 2 should look similar to Figure 451.
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Figure 451
Selecting Items for the Hierarchy
4. 5. 6.
Click Next. Enter the name Regional Hierarchy. Enter Region-City-Store as the description. The Hierarchy Wizard: Step 3 should look similar to Figure 452.
Figure 452
Naming and Describing the Hierarchy
7.
Click Finish.
The Hierarchies page of the work area lists the Regional Hierarchy in the New Video Stores business area. You can expand Regional Hierarchy to view the hierarchy (see
Tutorial 4-69
Figure 453). Users can now navigate through all the levels of the hierarchy, skipping levels if necessary.
Figure 453 Regional Hierarchy
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What the Discoverer Plus user sees - Navigating the Hierarchy Figure 454 shows the three levels of the hierarchy (Region, City, and Store Name) in a Discoverer Plus worksheet. The Discoverer Plus user does not have to explicitly set up a hierarchy. When an item is selected for a report that is part of a hierarchy, the user can navigate to any other element in the hierarchy via a pop-up menu.
Figure 454 Navigating Through Items in a Hierarchy
Tutorial 4-71
4.10.2 Defining a More Complex Item Hierarchy

This section shows how to create another, more complex item hierarchy. This example drills into the product details.
1.
s
Popup Menu Right-click the New Video Stores business area (on the Hierarchies page) and choose New Hierarchy on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the New Video Stores business area (on the Hierarchies page) and click the New Hierachy toolbar icon ( ). Menu Click the New Video Stores business area (on the Hierarchies page) and choose Insert | Hierarchy.
This opens the Hierarchy Wizard.

2. 3. 4.
Select Item Hierarchy Click Next. Move the following items (in the order they are listed) to the list on the right:
s
Product Information.Product Type Product Information.Department Product Information.Product Category Product Information.Description Product Information.Full Description
5.
Select the following two items from the hierarchy on the right. Do this by selecting the first item, then hold down the Ctrl key and highlight the second item. Both of the following items should now be highlighted:
s
Product Information.Description Product Information.Full Description
6.
Click Group This groups the selected items so that they appear at the same level in the hierarchy. Grouping items in this manner causes them to be pulled into a user query (from Discov-
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erer Plus) simultaneously. Drilling down from Product Category will display Description and Full Description level at the same time. The Hierarchy Wizard: Step 2 should look similar to Figure 455.
Figure 455 Grouping Items in a Complex Hierarchy.
7.
Click Next. This opens Hierarchy Wizard: Step 3.
8. 9.
Name the hierarchy Product Hierarchy. Enter a description.
10. Click Finish.
The Hierarchies page lists the Product Hierarchy in the New Video Stores business area. If you expand Product Hierarchy, it should look similar to Figure 456.
Tutorial 4-73
Figure 456
Product Hierarchy
4.10.3 Creating a Date Hierarchy Template

Date hierarchy templates enable automatic date hierarchies to be created. For example, a template can be created that enables drilling down from year to month to week to day. Associating a date hierarchy template with a date item automatically creates new items for each date (e.g., year, month, week, day) and defines drill relationships between them. Discoverer Administration Edition already includes a standard date template which includes the hierarchy of year to quarter to month to day. If that template does not meet the user requirements, you can create a new date hierarchy. For example you might want to drill from year to week rather than month, or even drill to hours minutes and seconds for time based data. This exercise shows you how to create an alternative date hierarchy template.
1.
s
Popup Menu Right-click the New Video Stores business area (on the Hierarchies page) and choose New Hierachy on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the New Video Stores business area (on the Hierarchies page) and click the New Hierachy toolbar icon ( ).
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Menu Click the New Video Stores business area (on the Hierarchies page) and choose Insert | Hierarchy.
This opens the Hierarchy Wizard.

2. 3.
Select Date Hierarchy Click Next. This opens Hierarchy Wizard: Step 2.
Figure 457
Selecting Date Items
4.
Move the following date formats (in the order they are listed) to the list on the right:
s
YYYY (in the Year folder). "Q"Q-YYYY (in the Quarter folder). Mon-YYYY (in the Month folder). WW Mon-YYYY (in the Week folder). Dy WW Mon-YYYY (in the Day folder). HH24 Dy WW Mon YYYY (in the Hour folder).
5.
Click Next.
Tutorial 4-75
This opens Hierarchy Wizard: Step 3. This is where you assign the date hierarchy youve just created to items in the business area.
Figure 458 Selecting Items for Date Hierarchies
6. 7. 8.
Move Time Information.Transaction Date to the list on the right. Click Next. Enter the name Y-Q-M-W-H Hierarchy and add a description (see Figure 459).
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Figure 459
Naming and Describing the Date Hierarchy
9.
Click Finish.
Earlier, in Section 4.9, we copied Transaction Date and Year to the Store and Sales Details complex folder. We also copied Transaction Date, Year and Month to the Video Analysis complex folder. The Year and Month items were generated automatically from the Transaction Date item by the Load Wizard using the default date hierarchy template. However, when you apply a new date hierarchy to a date item, the existing date hierarchy is removed. All the Year and Month items (including those copied to the complex folders) were therefore deleted when you applied your new date hierarchy to the Transaction Date item. The next steps recopy the year and month data into the complex folders:
1.
Select the following item on the Data page of the work area:
s
Time Information.Transaction Date YYYY
2. 3. 4.
Choose Edit | Copy. Select the Stores and Sales Details complex folder. Choose Edit | Paste.
Tutorial 4-77
5.
Copy and Paste the following items into the Video Analysis complex folder in the same way:
s
Time Information.Transaction Date YYYY Time Information.Transaction Date Mon YYYY
What the User Sees In Discoverer Plus, the user can navigate through all levels of the hierarchy, skipping levels if necessary. Figure 460 is a Discoverer Plus worksheet that shows the three levels of the date hierarchy: Year, Quarter, and Month. The user does not have to explicitly set up a date hierarchy. When a date is selected for a report that is part of a hierarchy, the user can navigate to any other element in the date hierarchy via a pop-up menu. For more information, read Chapter 14, Hierarchies.
Figure 460 Navigating Through Items in a Date Hierarchy
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4.10.4 Modifying an Items Content Type

Database columns usually contain content which is actual data. This data is displayed in Discoverer Plus as a result of a SQL query. However, you can also put information in a column which is either metadata (data about data) or a reference to data that needs to be run in another application to be displayed correctly. For example, if a file in the local or network file system is a video (.avi) file, a video application has to run to play the file. Where an item contains a reference to a file that requires another application to run, Discoverer finds and loads the application enabling the user to view the data. The items content type needs to be changed so Discoverer can recognize that an external application needs to be launched according to the files extension. A typical file path is C:\ORANT\DISCVR4\DEMO\MEMO.DOC. You specify that an item contains a file name (rather than just text) with the Content Type property. The Content Type item property has two values: FILE or NONE. If FILE is selected, Discoverer launches an application according to the file extension and information defined on the users computer. If NONE is selected the file name will be displayed as text. Table 44 shows some example applications that are typically launched according to their file extensions.
Table 44 File Content Type Examples Application MS Word Media Player MS Excel Lotus Screencam Web Browser File name extension .doc .avi .xls .scm .html
In the New Video Stores business area, the Store Information.Reports item actually refers to a MSWord document, and the information in the database column is the directory path and filename. The Product Information.Full Description item is a Web page containing HTML code, and the information in the column is also the directory path and filename. The Reports document should be opened by a word processor, and the Full Description document should be opened by a Web browser. Heres how to modify the content type so that Discoverer Plus will pass the contents of the items (the directory path and file name) to the operating system, which will launch the appropriate application to view the document:
1.
Select the following items on the Data page of the work area:
Tutorial 4-79
Store Information.Reports Video Analysis.Reports
2.
Open the Item Properties dialog box for the selected items. There are three ways of doing this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected items and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the Properties toolbar icon ( Menu Choose Edit | Properties. ).
3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Set Content type to FILE. Click Apply. Do not click OK. Select the Product Information.Full Description item on the Data page of the work area. Return to the Item Properties dialog box. Set Content type to FILE. Click OK.
What the User SeesExternal Application Icons in the Worksheet When you open these items in Discoverer Plus, the information is displayed in the appropriate word processor and Web browser. The user can tell which items need external applications to run based on the icon displayed in the worksheet. Figure 461 shows an example of a worksheet that can invoke Microsoft Word and an HTML page.
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Figure 461
Discoverer Plus Sample with External Application Icons
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4.10.5 Defining Drill to Detail Data

In Discoverer Plus, users use the hierarchies you create to drill up or down to view different levels of summarized data. There are occasions when the user needs to drill to detail; that is, jump to related information details in the summarized data. For example, your user may be reviewing daily sales results from a number of video stores. He or she may want to see the detail transaction records that comprise the daily total. To enable the user to drill to the detail data, you need to create a drill-to-detail item class. A drill-to-detail item class lets users select an aggregated detail item in a report and drill directly to the source data that was accumulated to produce the result. You can drill to any item that is an item class that contains items from other folders. The two conditions cited above mean that a link exists between the items, and the user can automatically drill to detail to any folder which has an item in the same item class. The following steps show how the Item Class Wizard makes it easy to edit an item class for drilling into related detail information from summary information, and for viewing a list of unique values from the Region column. (The item class was created by the Load Wizard at the start of this chapter.)
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Click the Item classes tab. Expand the New Video Stores business area to display all item classes. Right-click Region and choose Edit Item Class from the popup menu. Click the List of Values tab. Ensure that the Region item class in the Store Information folder is selected (see Figure 462).
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Figure 462
Edit Item Class to Create Complex Folder for Drill-to-Detail
The next steps create a list of unique values in the Region database column.
6. 7.
Click the Select Items tab. Ensure that the Selected items list on the right lists the following:
s
Store and Sales Details.Region Video Analysis.Region Store Information.Region
8.
Tick Use these items to drill to detail. The Edit Item Class dialog box should look similar to Figure 463.
Tutorial 4-83
Figure 463
Selecting Items with the Item Class Wizard
9.
Click OK to record the changes and close the Edit Item Class dialog box.
Now that you have associated a list of values with the Region item, a plus (+) symbol appears next to it on the Data page. Now the user can view the list of unique values in the column. For more information, read Chapter 10, Items and Item Classes. The next lesson takes you through creating summaries. Summaries help reduce the time taken to retrieve data for Discoverer Plus users; this is described in Section 4.11.
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Lesson 11: Creating Summaries to Optimize Performance
4.11 Lesson 11: Creating Summaries to Optimize Performance

The New Video Stores business area is now ready for end users. However, allowing users to analyze data from folders and columns associated directly with the detail tables in the production database may be inefficient, and can sometimes take a long time to return results if the tables contain very large numbers of rows. To improve query efficiency, Discoverer Administration Edition enables you to create summary folders. A summary folder contains pre-aggregated data that you know the end user will want to analyze and display in a final report. Discoverer can redirect queries to the preaggregated table, avoiding aggregating large volumes of detail data on the fly, and therefore optimizing query efficiency. In this lesson, you will create the new summary table and a schedule for updating it. This lesson consists of the following exercises: 4.11.1 Creating a Summary Folder 4.11.2 Setting up Internal Summary Combinations 4.11.3 Setting up the refresh schedule and naming the Summary Folder
4.11.1 Creating a Summary Folder

There are two ways to create Summary folders in Discoverer:
1. 2.
You can create Summary folders manually. You can use Discoverers Automated Summary Management (ASM) facility to create Summary folders for you. For details about ASM see Section 16.2, Running ASM using the Summary Wizard.
NOTE: As a Discoverer Administrator, you are advised to use Discov-
erers ASM facility to create Summary folders.
In order to learn more about how Discoverer creates Summary folders, in this lesson we will create Summary folders manually by specifying Items that exist in the End User Layer.
1.
Start the Summary Wizard. There are three ways of doing this:
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Toolbar Icon Click the New Video Stores business area (on the Data page) and click the New Summary toolbar icon ( ). Menu Click the New Video Stores business area (on the Data page) and choose Insert | Summary. Popup Menu Right-click an existing Summary folder on the Summaries page and choose New Summary on the popup menu.
Summary Wizard - Specify summaries yourself
Figure 464
2. 3. 4.
Click I want to specify the summaries myself Click Next Select From items in the End User Layer. The Summary Wizard should look similar to Figure 465.
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Figure 465
Create a new Summary Folder with the Summary Wizard
5. 6. 7.
Click Next. Under Available Items, choose New Video Stores from the drop-down list. Move the following items from the Available items list to the Selected Items list:
s
Video Analysis.Region Video Analysis.Department Video Analysis.Transaction Date YYYY Video Analysis.Transaction Date Mon YYYY
8.
Move the SUM and COUNT functions, for each of the following data point (numeric) items, from the Available items list to the Selected items list:
s
Sales Cost Profit
The Summary Wizard: Step 3 should look similar to Figure 466.
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Figure 466
Choose the Axis and Summary Table Items
9.
Click Next.
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4.11.2 Setting up Internal Summary Combinations

A combination is a single set of axis and measure items in a summary table. If a user runs a query with the same items as those specified in a combination, the query runs against the summary table instead of the detail data in the database. Consequently, the query process speeds up because it uses the pre-summarized results instead of running calculations on all detail rows. Your next procedure is to choose the summary combinations that you want to be pre-built and managed by Discoverer. In Summary Wizard: Step 4, each numbered column represents combinations in a table.
10. Click Add Combination.
This creates a new combination column.

11. Tick the following items in the new column (marked 1):
s
Region Department Transaction Date YYYY
12. Clear the Transaction Date Mon YYYY item in the new column.
The Summary Wizard: Step 4 should look similar to Figure 467.
Tutorial 4-89
Figure 467
Choosing Internal Summary Combinations
13. Click Next.
This opens Summary Wizard: Step 5.
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4.11.3 Setting up the refresh schedule and naming the Summary Folder
Your next exercise is to schedule the initial summary refresh and periodic refresh intervals then name the Summary folder and schedule its build. The refresh schedule establishes the timeframe in which Discoverer automatically updates the data in the Summary folder. It is important for you, as the Administrator, to set up a periodic refresh that ensures that the summary tables will have current, relevant data at the periods required by users.
Figure 468 Refresh a summary folder
1. 2.
Clear the Automatically refresh this Summary Folder, starting on: check box Click Next. This displays last page of the wizard, Summary Wizard: Step 6 (see Figure 469).
Tutorial 4-91
Conclusion
Figure 469
Name, describe and build the summary folder
3. 4. 5.
Specify a descriptive name such as Video Analysis by Region and Department Specify a description for the Summary folder. Specify when you want to build this Summary folder.
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Click the Build immediately radio button
6. 7. 8. 9.
Click Finish. A progress bar is displayed while the summary is being created. Your new summary is now listed on the Summaries page of the work area. Right-click on the summary youve just created (from the list on the Summaries page) and choose Properties from the popup menu. Ensure Available for queries is set to Yes.
4.12 Conclusion
Congratulations! You have just completed the Discoverer Administration Edition tutorial. By now, you should have a solid understanding of the major features of Discoverer Administration Edition and how it affects every aspect of the users view of database information via business areas in Discoverer Plus.
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Conclusion
Youve just seen that you can use Discoverer Administration Edition to make your end users use of database information much more effective by creating business areas that reflect their view of data, and simplify their tasks by creating all of the conditions and joins they will need to use in reports. If others in your organization plan to use this tutorial, you may want to delete the New Video Stores business area. To do this follow these steps:
1.
Click the Summaries tab If you have completed Lesson 11 you will have created summaries. These must be deleted before you can delete the New Video Stores business area. Delete summaries. There are two ways to do this:
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2.
Popup Menu Right-click the summaries (on the Summaries page of the work area) and choose Delete from the popup menu. Menu Click the summaries (on the Summaries page of the work area) and choose Edit | Delete.
3. 4.
Click Yes in the Confirm Delete dialog This deletes any summaries created as part of this tutorial. You can now delete the New Video Stores business area. There are two ways to do this:
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Popup Menu Right-click the New Video Stores business area (on the Data page of the work area) and choose Delete Business Area from the popup menu. Menu Click the New Video Stores business area (on the Data page of the work area) and choose and choose Edit | Delete.
Discoverer Administration Edition asks you to confirm this action.

5. 6.
Select Delete this business area and its folders. Click OK. This removes all of the work you have done as part of this tutorial from the EUL.
For more information regarding any feature, use online help or refer to the Table of Contents in this book to find the appropriate chapter.
Tutorial 4-93
Conclusion
4-94
The End User Layer

This chapter consists of the following sections:
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5.1 What is an End User Layer? 5.2 Creating an End User Layer 5.3 Maintaining an End User Layer 5.4 Deleting an End User Layer 5.5 Moving End User Layer Elements Between Databases 5.6 Installing the Tutorial Data 5.7 Uninstalling the Tutorial Data
5.1 What is an End User Layer?

The End User Layer (EUL) is the meta data (i.e. data about the actual data in a database) that is simple and easy for users to understand. You use Discoverer Administration Edition to create, customize, and maintain this view for your users so they can easily access data in Discoverer Plus. You must have access to at least one EUL in order to use Discoverer Administration Edition or Discoverer Plus. Access is granted using the Privileges dialog box, described in Chapter 8, Access Privileges and Security. The EUL insulates end users from the complexity and constant change usually associated with databases. It provides an intuitive, business-focused view of the database using terms that a user (or group of users) are familiar with and easily understand. This lets end users focus on business issues instead of data access issues.
The End User Layer 5-1
What is an End User Layer?
The EUL is a repository that contains one or more Business Areas (depending on the needs of the user or group of users accessing the EUL). A Business Area is a conceptual grouping of tables and/or views that apply to users specific data requirements. For example, an accounting department may have an accounting Business Area that represents data about budgets and finance, while project leaders in an engineering department would have a business area specifically for projects requiring budget information. Although some of the items may be the same, the exact combination of tables and views for each department may be different. You create and manage the set of database tables that contain the EUL using the EUL Manager dialog box. The EUL generates SQL statements on the client and communicates with the database using SQL*Net or a non-Oracle database network. When a user defines Folders and Items, the EUL generates the appropriate SQL statements that define the selections from a table, view, or column. When a user executes a query (in Discoverer Plus), the EUL generates the corresponding SQL statement and sends it to the database, which in turn sends the results to the End User interface. Thus, the end user does not have to understand any SQL to access, analyze, and retrieve data. It is all handled in the End User Layer.
NOTE: The EUL preserves the databases data integrity. Nothing that you or the
end user does with Discoverer affects the application data in the database; the EUL only affects the metadata.
An EUL is owned by a individual user (assigned an ID) in the database. The owner maintains and modifies his or her EUL. However, the owner can grant access to other users so that they can either use or make changes to that EUL. You can choose who has access to an EUL when you create it: every user in the database (PUBLIC) or just the EUL owner. You change access to an existing EUL in the Privileges dialog box. To do this, you must be logged in as the owner of the EUL or as a user who has Administrator and Set Privileges privileges. For more information, see Chapter 8, Access Privileges and Security.
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Creating an End User Layer
5.2 Creating an End User Layer

While the steps in this section tell you how to create the actual EUL tables for a specific user, this is only the beginning. Once you have created the EUL, you design Business Areas containing Folders that refer to information in the EUL. You then customize the Business Area to provide maximum ease-of-use for your users. Other chapters in this guide describe how to customize the Business Area to suit your users needs. Section 4.1, Lesson 1: Creating a private End User Layer. of the Tutorial provides an example of creating an EUL. This section consists of the following topics:
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5.2.1 Required Privileges 5.2.2 Creating an EUL for an Existing User 5.2.3 Creating an EUL for a New User
5.2.1 Required Privileges

Oracle Databases You can create an EUL for any user ID in the database you are connected to, provided that the user who will own the EUL has the following database privileges:
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Create Session Create Table Create View Create Sequence Create Procedure
The user also needs to have a default tablespace (do not use a temporary tablespace) and quota set. If you are creating a new user through the Tools | EUL Manager menu option, Discoverer grants the necessary privileges and sets the default tablespace and quota for you. Using the EUL Manager dialog box, you can create a new user, password, and EUL, provided that you have the following database privileges:
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Create User Grant Any Privilege
Non-Oracle Databases To create an EUL for a user ID in a non-Oracle database, the user must have the following database privileges:
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Create Session (use your databases equivalent for this Oracle term) Create Table Create View
Discoverer Administration Edition does not enable you to create new users for non-Oracle databases. Before you can install the tutorial, the tutorial user ID VIDEO4 must exist on the database and it must have the same privileges listed above. Privileges required to create summaries The privileges required to create summaries and Materialized Views (8.1.6+ databases) are detailed in Chapter 2.2, Summary Management.
5.2.2 Creating an EUL for an Existing User

A user can only own one EUL. If you are connected to your own EUL and you attempt to create a new one, Discoverer Administration Edition tells you that you must delete your existing EUL. If you are creating an EUL for another user who already owns another EUL, Discoverer Administration Edition asks if you want to delete their existing EUL. If you click Yes, Discoverer Administration Edition deletes their existing EUL before building the new one.
1.
Choose Tools | EUL Manager. This opens the EUL Manager dialog box (see Figure 51).
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Figure 51 EUL Manager
2.
Click Create an EUL. This starts the Create EUL Wizard with Select an existing user already selected (see Figure 52).
Figure 52 The Create EUL Wizard
3.
Select or clear Grant access to PUBLIC to suit your needs:

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Select this check box to allow all users in the current database access to this EUL.
Clear this check box so only the EUL owner can view data through this EUL.
4.
Select or clear New EUL is for use by Oracle Applications users ONLY to suit your needs:
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Select this check box to restrict the EUL to Oracle Applications users only. See Chapter 17.6, Create an Applications Mode EUL for further details. Clear this check box if you want to create a standard EUL.
5. 6. 7.
Select the user who you want to own the new EUL from the User drop-down list. Specify the new EUL owners password. (This is not necessary if the new EUL is to be owned by the current user.) Click Finish. Discoverer Administration Edition displays the Commit Status progress bar and tells you that it is creating a new EUL for the EUL owners user ID.
Discoverer Administration Edition asks you if you want to install the tutorial data in the EUL. See Section 5.6, Installing the Tutorial Data for more information.
5.2.3 Creating an EUL for a New User

NOTE: This feature is not available with non-Oracle databases. If you are using a non-Oracle database, ask your database administrator to create the necessary user IDs on the database.
1. 2.
Choose Tools | EUL Manager. This opens the EUL Manager dialog box. Click Create an EUL (Figure 51). This starts the Create EUL Wizard.
3. 4.
Select Create a new user. If this option is unavailable, see your database administrator. Select or clear Grant access to PUBLIC to suit your needs:
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Select this option to allow all users in the current database access to this EUL. Clear this option so that initially, only the EUL owner can view data through this EUL.
5-6
5.
Select or clear New EUL is for use by Oracle Applications users ONLY to suit your needs:
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Select this check box to restrict the EUL to Oracle Applications users only. See Chapter 17.6, Create an Applications Mode EUL for further details. Clear this check box to create a standard EUL.
6.
Specify the new users user ID in the User field. The Create EUL Wizard should look similar to Figure 53.
Figure 53 Creating a New User in the EUL Wizard
7. 8. 9.
Specify the new users password in the Password field. Specify the new users password again in the Confirm Password field. Click Next. This opens the Create EUL Wizard: Step 2 (see Figure 54).
Maintaining an End User Layer
Figure 54 Selecting the Default and Temporary Tablespaces
10. Set the default and temporary tablespaces for the new user. 11. Click Finish.
Discoverer Administration Edition displays the Commit Status progress bar and tells you that it is creating a new EUL for the EUL owners user ID. Discoverer Administration Edition asks you if you want to install the tutorial data in the EUL. See Section 5.6, Installing the Tutorial Data for more information.
5.3 Maintaining an End User Layer

As Discoverer administrator, you maintain an EUL using Discoverer Administration Edition. This involves creating business areas, giving meaningful names to objects, choosing items to see or hide from users, creating calculations and summaries, and all of the other things you do to make it easy for your users to view and analyze their data. This chapter specifically describes how to manage access to the different EULs you have in your database.
5.4 Deleting an End User Layer

Only the owner of an EUL has the privilege to delete it. To delete an EUL:
1. 2.
Choose File | Connect. This opens the Connect to Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition dialog box. Log on as the owner of the EUL that you want to delete.
5-8
Deleting an End User Layer
This starts the Load Wizard.

3. 4. 5.
Click Cancel. Choose Tools | EUL Manager. Click Delete an EUL. This opens the Delete EUL dialog box which asks you to verify that you want to delete the current EUL.
6.
Check that the EUL specified in the EUL field is the one you want to delete.
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If the correct EUL name is displayed, click OK. If the EUL name displayed is incorrect, click Cancel and then start at Step 1 with the correct user ID.
When you click OK, Discoverer Administration Edition warns you that this action will delete all EUL tables, all EUL information and workbooks in the database, and all summary data and information.
7.
Decide whether you want to continue. Either:

s
Click Yes to continue or Click No to return to the Delete EUL dialog box without deleting the current EUL or Click Cancel to return to the EUL Manager dialog box without deleting the current EUL.
If you click Yes, Discoverer Administration Edition warns you that this action will close all work areas and disconnect you from the database.
8.

s
Click Yes to continue or Click No to return to the Delete EUL dialog box without deleting the current EUL or Click Cancel to return to the EUL Manager dialog box without deleting the current EUL.
If you click Yes, the current EUL is deleted. Discoverer Administration Edition displays a progress bar. At the end of the deletion, Discoverer Administration Edition confirms that the EUL has been deleted.
9.
Click OK.
Moving End User Layer Elements Between Databases
5.5 Moving End User Layer Elements Between Databases

This section describes how you can use the command line interface to export EUL elements (Business Areas, Workbooks, Folders, items etc.) from one database and import them into another. For example when moving from development to production. To copy EUL elements from one database to another:
1.
Use the Command Line interface to Export EUL elements, (E.g. BAs, Workbooks etc.) to Discoverer export files (.EEX) . The following example illustrates how the command line syntax could export a business area and specified workbooks to an .EEX file.
D:\orant\Discvr4\Disadm.exe /connect eulowner/eulowner@orcl.world /export D:\Vidstr.eex Video Store Tutorial /workbook Vistr4 - Video Tutorial Workbook /workbook Vidaf4 - Analytic Function Examples
See Appendix D.9.21, Exporting EUL elements to an EEX File for further details.
2.
Import the EUL elements into the new EUL owner on the new database. See Section 7.4, Exporting a Business Area to a File, and Section 7.5, Importing EUL elements from a file.
5.6 Installing the Tutorial Data

If you are new to Discoverer Administration Edition, we recommend that you work through Chapter 4, Tutorial. Before a user can complete the tutorial the user ID VIDEO4 must already exist on the database. This can be achieved by installing the tutorial which creates the user ID VIDEO4 and places the tutorial tables with relevant video data in VIDEO4s tablespace in the database. All subsequent users will then be able to complete the tutorial.
NOTE: If you are using a non-Oracle database, you or your database
administrator must create VIDEO4 in your database before installing the tutorial.
When you log in to Discoverer Administration Edition for the very first time, you are asked if you want to create an EUL (see Section 5.2.2, Creating an EUL for an Existing User or
5-10
Installing the Tutorial Data
Section 5.2.3, Creating an EUL for a New User). When this EUL has been successfully created, Discoverer Administration Edition asks if you want to install the tutorial. If you decide not to install the tutorial at that time, you can install it later. Installing the tutorial in the EUL makes it available to all users who have access privileges to that EUL. This section consists of the following topics:
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5.6.1 Required Privileges 5.6.2 Installing the Tutorial Data 5.6.3 Installing the Tutorial Data in several EULs 5.6.4 Reinstalling the Tutorial Data
5.6.1 Required Privileges

To install the tutorial data in the current EUL, you must have the following database privileges (if the Video4 user has not already been created):
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Create User Grant Any Privilege Alter User
If you are running against an Oracle 8.1.6+ database you need the following privileges (granted in the script [ORACLE_HOME]\discvr4\sql\eulasm.sql). The script eulasm.sql sets up the privileges required for summary management and ASM in Discoverer 4.1:
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Analyze any (ASM) Create any materialized view Drop any materialized view Alter any materialized view Global query rewrite
Other privileges required (also granted in eulasm.sql):

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Create table Create view Create procedure
The End User Layer
5-11
5.6.2 Installing the Tutorial Data

If you are installing the tutorial immediately after creating the EUL, start at step 2 of the following procedure. If you are installing the tutorial some time after creating the EUL, ensure that you are logged in as the owner of the EUL that you want to load the tutorial data into and start at step 1.
NOTE: If any warnings or errors occur during the tutorial installation, Dis-
coverer Administration Edition tells you the name of the log file generated by the error. Read that file for more information.
1. 2.
Choose Tools | EUL Manager. This displays the EUL Manager dialog box. Click Install the Tutorial. This opens the Install Tutorial Wizard: Step 1 (see Figure 55).
Figure 55 Install the Tutorial Wizard: Step 1
3.
Ensure that the named EUL is where you want to install the tutorial data.
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If it is, click Next. If it isnt, click Cancel and log in as the owner of the EUL where you want to install the tutorial data.
Clicking Next opens the Install Tutorial Wizard: Step 2.
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Figure 56 Install Tutorial Wizard: Step 2
4.
If the Confirm Password field is unavailable, this means the VIDEO4 user already exists in the database and you are going to create the user.
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Specify the VIDEO4 users password in the Password field and proceed to step 5.
If the Confirm Password field is available, this means the VIDEO4 user does not exist in the database. If you are using an Oracle database:
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Specify a password in the Password field. Repeat the password in the Confirm Password field.
TIP: If you are creating the new user, VIDEO4, make a note of the password; you will need it if you uninstall or reinstall this tutorial.
If you are not using an Oracle database:

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Create the VIDEO4 user in the database. Restart the Install Tutorial Wizard.
5.
Click Next. This displays the Install Tutorial Wizard: Step 3. If you are not creating the new user VIDEO4, Discoverer Administration Edition skips this wizard.
The End User Layer
5-13
Uninstalling the Tutorial Data
6.
Select the default and temporary tablespaces for the VIDEO4 user. For example, USER DATA as the default tablespace and TEMPORARY DATA as the temporary tablespace. Click Finish.
7.
If you installed the tutorial data as part of creating an EUL, you can now connect to that EUL. If you choose not to connect to that EUL, Discoverer Administration Edition returns you to the EUL Manager.
5.6.3 Installing the Tutorial Data in several EULs

You can install the tutorial in more than one EUL. You may want to do this if some of your users dont have access to the EUL containing your original tutorial installation. Each time you install a copy of the tutorial in a different EUL, a copy of the tutorial business area is created in that EUL. However, all copies of the tutorial business area access data in the same set of tables in the database. Only one copy of each table is created in the database (in the VIDEO4 users tablespace). To install the tutorial in a different EUL:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Connect to the EUL in which you want to install the tutorial. Choose Tools | EUL Manager. Click Install the Tutorial. Enter the password you created for the VIDEO4 user. Click Finish.
5.6.4 Reinstalling the Tutorial Data

If you have previously uninstalled the tutorial, you can reinstall it by following the steps in Section 5.6.3, Installing the Tutorial Data in several EULs.
5.7 Uninstalling the Tutorial Data

Uninstalling the tutorial removes the business area from an EUL and the tables from the database. The user ID (VIDEO4) is not removed from the database. If you have installed the tutorial in more than one EUL in this database, the business areas stored in the other EULs remain. However, the tables those business areas point to are gone.
NOTE: Removing copies of the tutorial from multiple EULs can only be
done one at a time.
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To uninstall the tutorial data:

1. 2. 3.
Connect to the EUL in which you installed the tutorial (choose File | Connect). Choose Tools | EUL Manager. This opens the EUL Manager (Figure 51). Click Uninstall the Tutorial. This opens the Uninstall Tutorial Wizard: Step 1 (see Figure 57).
Figure 57 The Uninstall Tutorial Wizard: Step 1
4. 5.
Ensure that the EUL containing the tutorial installation you want to remove is displayed in the EUL field. Click Next. This opens the Uninstall Tutorial Wizard: Step 2 (see Figure 58).
The End User Layer
5-15
Figure 58 The Uninstall Tutorial Wizard: Step 2
6. 7.
Specify the password for the VIDEO4 user you created when you installed the tutorial. Click Finish. Discoverer Administration Edition warns you that uninstalling the tutorial removes the tutorial data and tables from the database, and the tutorial business area from your EUL.
8.

s
Click Yes to continue Or Click No to return to the Uninstall Tutorial Wizard: Step 2 without uninstalling the tutorial data or Click Cancel to return to the EUL Manager dialog box without uninstalling the tutorial data.
You can reinstall the tutorial at any time, using the steps in Section 5.6.3, Installing the Tutorial Data in several EULs.
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Folders
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6.1 Introduction 6.2 Folder Types 6.3 Adding Simple Folders from the Database 6.4 Creating Complex Folders 6.5 Creating Custom Folders 6.6 Editing Folder Properties 6.7 Editing a Custom Folders SQL Statement 6.8 Sharing Folders Across Business Areas 6.9 Validating Folders 6.10 Re-ordering Folders in the Business Area 6.11 Deleting Folders
6.1 Introduction
Folders represent a result set of data, much like a database view. It is useful to think of folders as a SQL statement that returns the result set. In fact the SQL is actually stored in the End User Layer, and is used in SQL generation. When designing folders, think what you want the result set to be. The assignment of a folder to a business area should be considered temporary and changeable. A folder can be used in multiple business areas. In these cases, the folders definition is still unique: it is simply assigned to multiple business areas. Folders can be removed from all business areas, but sustained in the EUL. Such folders are known as orphan folders.
Folders
6-1
Folder Types
6.2 Folder Types

There are three types of folder:
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Simple Folders Complex Folders Custom Folders
Whether a folder is simple, custom, or complex is only important to the administrator. There is no difference to the end user. Even in Discoverer Administration Edition, there is very little difference in the behaviors of these different types of folders. All folders can include calculations, joins, conditions, summaries, item classes, and hierarchies.
6.2.1 Simple Folders

Simple folders are created by loading a folder from the database or Oracle Designer. They map directly onto a single table or view. Items in simple folders represent columns or calculations on other items in the folder.
6.2.2 Complex Folders

6.2.2.1 What is a Complex Folder?
Complex folders consist of items from one or more other folders. Complex folders enable you to create a combined view of data from multiple folders. This can simplify the business area without creating a new database view. For example, you can create a Complex folder called Dept-Emp which has columns from both the DEPT and EMP tables. The user then only has to select from one folder, not two. All concepts of relational joins are hidden to the user. For two Items from different Folders to belong to the same Complex Folder, a Join condition must exist between the two Folders. For more information about Joins, see Chapter 11, Joins.
6.2.2.2 Dependencies and Inheritance

The formula for an Item dragged into Complex Folder references the original Item (in the Simple Folder). The new Item in the Complex Folder is not the same Item as the originalit can have a different name, it is in a different Folder, and it is treated in all respects as a completely separate Item.
6-2
Folder Types
This is different from a copy of an Item, where the copied item is completely separate from the source item. For a referenced item, any change in the formula of the source item is reflected in the referenced item, for a copied item, the change is not reflected. You can view a list of the dependencies for an item on the Dependencies page of the Items Properties dialog box. Always remember that Folders represent result sets. If a mandatory Condition has been applied to a Folder, then its row set has been changed. Any Complex Folder built using this Folder will work from the restricted row set of the source Folder. If you later remove the Condition, the change will be reflected in the Complex Folder. Do not create a Complex Folder if what you want is a copy. Use Edit|Copy instead. Think about whether you want the dependency and inheritance.
6.2.2.3 Complex Folders vs. Database Views

Its true that any complex folders result set could also be produced by a database view. However, there are many advantages to using Complex folders, the main one being that you can create them, without the database privileges required to create a database view. Security is handled through the Folders Business Area. As creating Complex Folders has no effect on the physical schema, they are very safe to use. Views can be complicated to maintain, whereas Complex Folders are managed entirely within Discoverer Administration Edition.
6.2.3 Custom Folders

Custom folders enable you to create Folders based on SQL statements (such as UNION, CONNECT BY, MINUS, INTERSECT) and synonyms. With this feature, you can type the SQL statement that defines the Custom Folder directly into a dialog box.
Note: Discoverers Custom Folder feature supports non-Oracle databases
in most database functions. The exceptions include set operators, aggregates, and the DISTINCT keyword.
You can quickly set up a folder representing a complex result set. Discoverer Administration Edition then creates items for each of the selected list items. In Discoverer Plus, a Custom folder appears like any Simple folder and the end user can use it to build queries in exactly the same way as for other folders. For more information, see Section 6.5, Creating Custom Folders.
Folders
6-3
Adding Simple Folders from the Database
How Custom Folders Behave Custom Folders behave very much like Simple Folders, with the following exceptions:
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Refresh Custom Folders are refreshed by editing and validating the existing SQL. Simple folders are refreshed when the Business Area is refreshed (see Section 7.9, Synchronizing the Business Area with the Database). Items Items generated in a Custom folder do not have an Item Formula property where you can change the SQL expression for the item. Therefore, you cannot edit the formula of an item in a Custom folder, except by editing the SQL for the whole folder. Properties Properties for Custom folders do not include database, owner, and table name, nor do they have component source folders. The Properties dialog box for a Custom folder, displays a field named Custom SQL, which contains the custom SQL statement used to generate the custom folder.
6.3 Adding Simple Folders from the Database

This section describes how to add Simple folders from the database to an existing business area. For more information about Simple folders, see Section 6.2.1, Simple Folders.
1. 2. 3.
On the Data page of the work area, select the business area to which, you want to add one or more folders. Choose Insert | Folder | from Database. This opens Load Wizard: Step 1. Follow the same process you use when creating a new business area. starting at Section 7.2.2.3, Load Wizard: Step 1, Specifying the Metadata Source.
6.4 Creating Complex Folders

This section describes how to create a new Complex folder.
1. 2.
On the Data page of the work area, select the business area to which, you want to add a Complex folder. Choose Insert | Folder | New. This creates a new complex folder.
6-4
Creating Complex Folders
3.
Open the new folders Properties dialog box. There are three ways of doing this:
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Double-click Double-click the folders icon on the Data page. Popup Menu Right-click the folders icon on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Menu Click the folders icon on the Data page and choose Edit | Properties.
4. 5. 6.
(Optional) Give the new folder a more descriptive name (using the Name field). (Optional) Give the new folder a description (using the Description field). Drag items from any folder (in any open business area) to your new folder. Each item that you add to a Complex folder must belong to a table, that is joined to the table of at least one other item in the Complex folder. If this is not the case, Discoverer Administration Edition will display an error dialog box.
You may find it easier to drag items between folders if you have two work areas open. To do this, choose Window | New Window. Remember that an Item dragged and dropped into the Complex Folder references the original, source Item. Therefore any changes you make to the formula of the Item outside of the Complex Folder, is reflected on the Item inside the Complex Folder.
NOTE: If you create a Complex Folder from Items in a Folder that con-
tains a mandatory Condition, the results in the Complex Folder are restricted by the mandatory Condition on the original Folder. You can see any mandatory Conditions that impact a Complex Folder using the Components page of the Complex Folders properties dialog box.
Changes that you might make to the item inside the Complex Folder do not affect the source item, as inheritance works from the source item upwards and not the other way around. In addition, any changes you make, such as editing the item name in the Complex Folder, will not corrupt the items ability to reference its source. Discoverer uses system identifiers for objects so changing an item name in a Complex Folder does not affect the Items formula.
Folders
6-5
Creating Custom Folders
6.5 Creating Custom Folders

This section describes how to create a custom folder:
1. 2.
On the Data page of the work area, select a business area (or any object within a business area). Choose Insert | Folder | Custom. This opens the Custom Folder dialog box (see Figure 61).
Figure 61 Custom Folder Dialog
3.
Specify the SQL statement. See Custom Folder Examples below for more information.
TIP: You can add comments to your SQL statements by beginning the comment line with --.
4. 5. 6.
Specify the name of the folder in the Name field. Click Validate SQL to ensure you have entered valid SQL. Click OK. This validates the SQL statement and saves the custom folder. Note that Discoverer Administration Edition allows you to save the custom folder even if the SQL is invalid. This enables you to insert the SQL before the actual database objects are created or
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made available. However, end users will not be able to query the object until the SQL is valid.
Custom Folders and Joins: Like other folders, custom folders require
joins in order for its data to relate to other data in the business area. See Chapter 11, Joins for more information.
Custom Folder Examples

This section consists of the following examples:
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Example 1: Synonyms Example 2: Set Operator in a Folder Definition Example 3: ODBC-specific SQL Syntax Example 4: Subquery in a Folder Definition Example 5: Optimizer Hint Example 6: CONNECT BY Clauses Example 7: Column Expressions Example 8: Speeding Up Lists of Values
Example 1: Synonyms
SELECT ENAME, JOB, SAL FROM EMP@ORCL
where EMP is a synonym that points to the EMP table on another database. Example 2: Set Operator in a Folder Definition
SELECT "COMPANY1" COMPANY, ENAME, SAL FROM EMP@HQ UNION SELECT "COMPANY2", ENAME, SAL FROM EMP@REGIONA
where HQ and REGIONA are database links for remote databases. The result set is the union of all employees with a column named COMPANY1 to show which company they are from. Example 3: ODBC-specific SQL Syntax
SELECT ENAME, DNAME FROM {EMP LEFT OUTER JOIN DEPT ON EMP.DEPTNO=DEPT.DEPTNO}
This example uses the ODBC outer join syntax.
Folders
6-7
Example 4: Subquery in a Folder Definition

SELECT ENAME, SAL FROM EMP WHERE SAL > (SELECT AVG (SAL) FROM EMP)
NOTE: The user can perform subqueries using the Create Subquery option
in Discoverer Pluss Conditions dialog.
Example 5: Optimizer Hint

SELECT /*+ FULL(scott_emp) PARALLEL (scott_emp, 5) */ ename FROM scott.emp scott_emp;
In this example, the PARALLEL hint overrides the degree of parallelism specified in the emp definition. Example 6: CONNECT BY Clauses
SELECT EMPNO, ENAME, JOB FROM EMP CONNECT BY PRIOR EMPNO=MGR START WITH KING
Example 7: Column Expressions Although a custom folder can contain any valid SQL statement, any column expressions must be aliased in the same way that an SQL view definition would be aliased. For example:
SELECT ENAME, SAL*12+NVL(COMM,0) ANNUAL_SALARY FROM EMP The alias ANNUAL_SALARY is required on the SAL*12+NVL(COMM,0) expression. No alias
is required on simple column expressions like ENAME. In these cases, the alias will be used as the item name. Example 8: Speeding Up Lists of Values A user might run a query using a list of values that is defined against an item in a folder with a larger number of rows than the number of distinct values. Such a query would be inefficient. If you have a small number of values you can use a custom folder to create a local list of values within the End User Layer. For example, if you want a list of values for North, South, East and West, create a custom folder called Region_lov and type in the following SQL:
SELECT "NORTH" REGION FROM sys.dual UNION
6-8
Editing Folder Properties
SELECT "SOUTH" REGION FROM sys.dual UNION SELECT "EAST" REGION FROM sys.dual UNION SELECT "WEST" REGION FROM sys.dual
This creates one item called Region, that can now be used as a list of values and gives rapid performance. For more information about lists of values, see Chapter 10, Items and Item Classes.
6.6 Editing Folder Properties

Folder properties are accessible through Folder Properties dialog boxes. This section shows you how to enhance the users view of the data by editing folder properties. Figure 62 shows an example of the Folder Properties dialog box.
Figure 62 Folder Properties Sheet with General Page Selected
Notes
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Folders can be assigned to and removed from any business area, and can be included in multiple business areas. However, for each folder, there is only one definition, shared across all the business areas that include it. If you modify the folder definition, it changes in all business areas and in the EUL. For more information about sharing folders, see Section 6.8, Sharing Folders Across Business Areas.
Folders
6-9
When using the Folder Properties dialog box, you can have your changes saved as soon as you enter them by ticking Automatically save changes after each edit. With this option ticked, you dont have to click OK or Apply after each edit. You can change folder names at any time without affecting its logical structure, because Discoverer uses an internal way of identifying folders which does not depend on the folder name. Names only affect the appearance of the information in the business area. However, Folder names must be unique within the EUL and Item names must be unique within a particular Folder.
6.6.1 Editing the Properties of a Single Folder

This section describes how to edit a folders properties.
1.
Open the folders Properties dialog box. There are four ways to do this:
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Double-click Double-click the folder on the Data page. Popup Menu Right-click the folder on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the folder on the Data page and click the Properties tool bar icon ( Menu Click the folder on the Data page and choose Edit | Properties. )
2.
Make your changes as required. For more information on the fields on this dialog box, click Help.
3.
Click OK.
6.6.2 Editing the Properties of Multiple Folders

The following steps show you how to set common properties for more than one folder at a time:
1. 2.
Select all of the folders whose properties you want to edit. (Ctrl-clicking enables you to select more than one folder.) Display the Folder Properties dialog box. There are three ways to do this:
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Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected folders on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the Properties tool bar icon ( Menu Choose Edit | Properties. )
All properties that are common to each of the selected folders are displayed. If the data for a field is not common to each of the selected folders, the field is blank.
3.
Make your changes as required. Any changes you make here will be applied to all of the selected folders. For more information on the fields on this dialog box, click Help.
4.
Click OK.
6.6.3 The Owner attribute

The Owner attribute (see Figure 62) displays the user(schema) that owns the currently displayed object (table) for this Folder. A different value can be entered into the Owner field if a different schema is required or the field can be left blank (see Section 6.6.3.2, Leaving the Owner field blank for further details).
6.6.3.1 Entering a value into the Owner field

1. 2.
Open the Folder Properties dialog box. See Section 6.6.1, Editing the Properties of a Single Folder for details Either: Type a value directly into the field (or leave blank, see Section 6.6.3.2) Or Click the button in the Owner field to display the Choose user dialog where you can select a user (and database, if required) for the Owner field.
Folders 6-11
Figure 63 Choose user dialog
3. 4.
Highlight the user you want to own the currently displayed table for this Folder. Click OK to select the user
6.6.3.2 Leaving the Owner field blank

The Owner field can be left blank in the Discoverer Administration Edition so that multiple users in Discoverer Plus can access a commonly named set of tables that exist in their own user (schema). When the Owner field is left blank, SQL generated from a query made in Discoverer Plus (for the same EUL) will not include the owner in front of the table name and so will be able to access the same named tables in whatever the current user (schema) is. For example a SQL select statement may now read as follows: select <column> from <table> rather than select <column> from <owner>.<table> Leaving the Owner field blank enables multiple users (such as Oracle Applications users) each with their own schema in the same EUL, to access their own schema tables when making queries in Discoverer Plus. Another benefit is that you can create/maintain an EUL for which the tables or table owners are not yet available, or to which the EUL administrator does not have access.
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Editing a Custom Folders SQL Statement
1. 2. 3.
Open the folders Properties dialog box. See Section 6.6.1, Editing the Properties of a Single Folder for details Highlight the user schema displayed in the Owner field Delete the user text displayed: The following warning may then be displayed:
Figure 64 Folder now inaccessible warning
This warning is displayed when the current folder contains an object (table) not in your user (schema) and so workbooks using it will be invalid. This will also apply to any other users using this EUL if they do not have this object (table) in their user (schema).
4.
Click OK
For more information about all the fields in the Properties dialog, click Help.
6.7 Editing a Custom Folders SQL Statement

This section describes how to edit a a Custom Folders SQL statement. The SQL statement must be correct for the folder to be functional in Discoverer Plus.
1.
Open the Custom Folder Properties dialog box for the Complex Folder whose SQL statement you want to edit. (See Section 6.6, Editing Folder Properties for more information.) Note that the Custom SQL field contains the SQL statement that defined the folder (see Figure 65). You can resize the Custom Folder Properties dialog box to view the entire statement.
Folders 6-13
Editing a Custom Folders SQL Statement
Figure 65 Custom Folder Properties
2.
Click the Custom SQL field. This opens the Edit Custom Folder dialog box opens, containing the SQL statement.
Figure 66 Edit Custom Folder Dialog
3.
Edit the SQL statement as required. See Custom Folder Examples above for more information.
4.
Click Validate SQL to ensure you have entered valid SQL.
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Sharing Folders Across Business Areas
5.
Click OK. This validates the SQL statement and saves the custom folder. Note that Discoverer Administration Edition allows you to save the custom folder even if the SQL is invalid. This enables you to insert the SQL before the actual database objects are created or made available. However, end users will not be able to query the object until the SQL is valid.
If the changes to the SQL statement have an impact on existing items or creates new items, Discoverer Administration Edition displays an Impact dialog box showing each item that is impacted and the type of impact. Use the Impact dialog box to decide whether to click Yes to continue with the edit, or No or Cancel to abandon it.
6.8 Sharing Folders Across Business Areas

Folders that are created in one business area can be shared with other business areas. Data that is important to one department is often useful to another. For example, a Sales Facts folder that includes columns for Income and Costs, could be included in both the marketing and accounting departments business areas. If you make changes to a folder in one business area, those changes are affected such that folder across all the business areas that use it. You can also assign Orphan Folders to a business area. You use the Manage Folders dialog box to share folders between business areas and to control orphan folders. The Manage Folders dialog box has two pages:
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Business Area -> Folder page See Section 6.8.1, Assigning Multiple Folders to a Business Area. Folder -> Business Area page See Section 6.8.2, Assigning a Folder to Multiple Business Areas.
6.8.1 Assigning Multiple Folders to a Business Area

This section describes how to assign multiple folders to a specific business area.
1. 2.
Choose Tools | Manage Folders. This opens the Manage Folders dialog box. Click the Business Area -> Folder tab. Use this page to assign any number of folders (including orphan folders) to a specific business area. Select the business area, to which, you want to assign one or more folders, from the Business area drop-down list.
3.
Folders 6-15
Sharing Folders Across Business Areas
By default, the Business area drop-down list shows the business area currently selected in the work area.
4.
Move the required folders from the Available folders list to the Current folders list. There are three ways of moving folders from one list to the other:
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Drag & Drop Drag one or more folders from one list to the other. Include / Exclude buttons Select one or more folders in a list and then click either the Include (right arrow) or Exclude (left arrow) button. Double-click Double-click a folder to move it from one list to the other.
To select more than one folder at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the folders.
5.
Click OK. This modifies the selected business area so that it contains the folders in the Current folders list.
6.8.2 Assigning a Folder to Multiple Business Areas

This section describes how to assign a specific folder to multiple business areas.
1. 2.
Choose Tools | Manage Folders. This opens the Manage Folders dialog box. Click the Folder -> Business Area tab. Use this page to assign a specific folder (even an orphan folder) to a multiple business areas. Select the folder that you want to assign to one or more business areas, from the Folder drop-down list. Move the required business areas from the Available business areas list to the Current business areas list. There are three ways of moving business areas from one list to the other:
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3. 4.
Drag & Drop Drag one or more business areas from one list to the other. Include / Exclude buttons Select one or more business areas in a list and then click either the Include (right arrow) or Exclude (left arrow) button.
6-16
Re-ordering Folders in the Business Area
Double-click Double-click a business area to move it from one list to the other.
To select more than one business area at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the business areas.
5.
Click OK. This modifies the business areas in the Current business areas list so that they contain the folder selected in the Folders drop-down list. Business areas not in the Current business areas list will now not contain the selected folder.
6.9 Validating Folders

The Validate Folders facility is useful for diagnosing problems with your Discoverer folders. For example, you may see folders in the Administration Edition that your Discoverer Plus users cannot access. The Validate Folders option will show error messages that will help you diagnose the problem. This section describes how to validate the link between the Folders in a Business Area and the database objects they refer to.
1.
Choose View | Validate Folders. This uses the database parser to check that the relevant tables exist in the database and the user has SELECT access to them.
If you wish to validate the Folders in your Business Area again then you should select the menu option each time this is required.
6.10 Re-ordering Folders in the Business Area

This section describes how to rearrange the order of folders in a business area. Folders are displayed by default in alphabetical order. You may want to do this in order to:
s
logically group folders next to each other, move the most commonly used folders to the top of the list.
The order in which folders are ordered in Discoverer Administration Edition is reflected in Discoverer Plus. To change the order of folders in a business area:
1.
On the Data page of the work area, drag and drop the folder to the position in the hierachy you desire.
Folders 6-17
Deleting Folders
6.11 Deleting Folders

This section describes how to delete folders.
Note: To delete an orphan folder from the EUL, you must assign it to a
business area and then delete it. For more information about assigning folders to a business area, see Section 6.8, Sharing Folders Across Business Areas.
1.
On the Data page of the work area, select the folder(s) you want to delete. To select more than one folder at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the folders.
2.
Delete the folder(s): There are three ways to do this:

s
Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected folders and choose Delete Folder on the popup menu. Menu Choose Edit | Delete. Keyboard Press Delete.
This opens the Confirm Folder Delete dialog box (see Figure 67).
Figure 67 Confirm Folder Delete
3.
Select how you want to delete the folder:

s
Delete from this Business Area This option removes the selected folder from the current business area, but does not delete the folder from the EUL. If the folder is not shared by any other business area, it becomes an orphan folder.
6-18
Deleting Folders
Delete from the End User Layer This option removes the selected folder from all business areas that contain that folder and, in addition, removes its entire definition from the EUL. To determine which business areas a folder may belong to, select the folder and choose Tools | Manage Folders. The Manage Folders dialog box contains a drop-down list of other business areas that hold the selected folder.
4.
Click Impact. This displays the Impact dialog box that shows any other objects that may be affected by the deletion (Figure 68). Deleting a folder deletes all its dependent objects (for example joins, conditions, and calculations). The Impact dialog box helps you to make the right choice.
Figure 68 The Impact Dialog Box
5. 6.
When you have finished reviewing the impact this action will have, click OK. If you still want to delete the selected folder(s), click Yes. This deletes the selected folder(s) based on the choices you have made.
Folders 6-19
Deleting Folders
6-20
Business Areas
s
7.1 Introduction 7.2 Building a New Business Area 7.3 Opening an Existing Business Area 7.4 Exporting a Business Area to a File 7.5 Importing EUL elements from a file 7.6 Copying Business Areas Between EULs 7.7 Editing Business Area Properties 7.8 Deleting a Business Area 7.9 Synchronizing the Business Area with the Database 7.10 Data migration issues (Analytic Functions)
7.1 Introduction
A Business Area is a conceptual grouping of tables and/or views that apply to users specific data requirements. For example, an accounting department may have an accounting Business Area that represents data about budgets and finance, while project leaders in an engineering department would have a business area specifically for projects requiring budget information. A Business Area is represented as a file cabinet on the Data page of the workarea. This can be opened to display Folders, and all the Items in those Folders.
Business Areas
7-1
Building a New Business Area
If youve taken the tutorial in Chapter 4, you are already familiar with Business Area procedures, including Calculations, Joins, Conditions, and Summary Folders. These tasks help in the design of an efficient, useful instrument for business analysis in Discoverer Plus. The tasks that comprise fully managing the Business Area are covered in detail in other chapters in this book. Some of the most important aspects of business area management are its security and the access privileges granted to users. For information about this important feature, read Chapter 8, Access Privileges and Security This chapter covers many aspects of building a new Business Area and some of the features for managing it.
7.2 Building a New Business Area

7.2.1 Preparing to Build a New Business Area
Before you start the Load Wizard, prepare by sketching out the business area design. Keep in mind what will be useful to the users whose purposes the business area will serve. Use the following guidelines:
s
Interview your users for a clear understanding of their requirements. Use the list of questions in Section 1.4.1, Before You Begin, as a guideline for your user interviews. Identify the data source and have a clear understanding of its design. Identify which tables, views, and columns are required. Identify those that are likely to be included in multiple business areas. For example, the Employee folder might need to be in both the Sales and Human Resources business areas. Map out the necessary joins and determine whether they exist in the database or will have to be created by you using Discoverer Administration Edition. Joins might be predefined in the database with primary/foreign key constraints, or column names in different tables may match in ways that trigger sensible join conditions. For more information, see Chapter 11, Joins Identify security issues and access privileges. Include the user names the business area is to serve.
Keep in mind that your sketch is likely to change as you add the objects that will make the business area a useful, efficient analysis tool. The sketch provides a framework for you to modify and build upon.
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7.2.2 Using the Load Wizard to Build a New Business Area

7.2.2.1 What is the Load Wizard?
The Load Wizard provides a user-friendly interface that enables you to quickly:
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Name and describe the business area Load metadata into the business area Automatically create joins from existing relationships between tables Automatically create lists of values for items
7.2.2.2 Starting the Load Wizard

The Load Wizard starts automatically after you click Connect on the Connect to Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition dialog box (see Section 3.2, Connecting to the Database). You can also start the Load Wizard when you are already connected to Discoverer Administration Edition. There are three ways of doing this:
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Toolbar Icon Click the New Business Area tool bar icon (
).
Menu Choose Insert | Business Area | From Database. Popup Menu With nothing selected, right-click the background on the Data page and choose New Business Area on the popup menu.
7.2.2.3 Load Wizard: Step 1, Specifying the Metadata Source

The first page of the Load Wizard enables you to specify the source of the metadata that you want to populate the business area with. Load Wizard: Step 1 gives you the following choice:
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Create a new business area This option enables you to start the process for creating a new business area from scratch. Open an existing business area This option enables you to open an existing business area. For more information about this option, see Section 7.3.1, Using the Load Wizard to Open an Existing Business Area.
Business Areas
7-3
1.
Click Create a new business area. Load Wizard: Step 1 adds the question, Where do you want to load the metadata from? (see Figure 71).
Figure 71
Choosing the Metadata Source
2.
Specify the location of the metadata:

s
On-line dictionary This option enables you to load tables and views from the standard Oracle dictionary. Gateway This option enables you to choose the metadata source from the registered gateways. When you select a gateway from the drop-down list, its description is displayed in the lower panel. This option is only available when you are using Oracle Designer or have a registered EUL Gateway and all its tables are visible. If you are using Oracle Designer, the dropdown list displays the Oracle Designer workareas to which you have access (if you are using a version of Oracle Designer prior to Oracle Designer 6i, the dropdown list simply displays Oracle Designer Repository). To set up an EUL Gateway see the document eulgatw.doc located in the [ORACLE_HOME]\discvr4\kits directory
3.
To proceed to the next page of the Load Wizard, click Next.
7-4
The next page of the Load Wizard looks different depending on the source of the metadata:
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If you chose On-line dictionary, see Section 7.2.2.4.1, Load Wizard: Step 2 (for On-line Dictionary) If you chose Gateway, see Section 7.2.2.4.2, Load Wizard: Step 2 for Gateway
About the Gateway: The EUL Gateway provides a way for Discoverer to populate the business area with metadata from another source, such as Oracle Designer. The Gateway allows metadata defined in another tool or application to be loaded directly into the EUL.
If you are loading data from Oracle Designer 6i (where versioning is switched on) create a workarea containing the set of object versions you want to load. We recommend that the workarea rules are based on a configuration which defines a coherent release set of objects. It is important to make sure that no foreign key definitions within the workarea reference tables/views outside the workarea. To validate the workarea is complete, use the Oracle Designer 'List External Reference' utility. If versioning (Oracle Designer 6i) is not switched on then there will only be one default workarea 'Global Shared Workarea' containing all the objects, and this must be used.
7.2.2.4 Load Wizard: Step 2

Load Wizard: Step 2 will appear differently depending on whether you selected On-line Dictionary or Gateway on Load Wizard: Step 1. 7.2.2.4.1 Load Wizard: Step 2 (for On-line Dictionary) If you chose On-line Dictionary on Load Wizard: Step 1, Load Wizard: Step 2 should look similar to Figure 72. Use this page of the wizard to define the user objects to load into your new business area.
Business Areas
7-5
Figure 72 Select the Database Link and User IDs
1.
Choose the database link from the Select a Database Link drop-down list. By default, the database link is set to <Default Database>. This is the default database for the current user ID. The drop-down list only shows the databases that current user ID can connect to.
Note: A database link sets a connection from one database to another.
Multiple links can be set. As these links are created in the database, see your database administrator for more information.
2.
Select the users, whose objects you want to be loaded into the business area, from the Select the users you want to load list. The users that appear in this list are those that have access to the database selected above.
3.
Specify the pattern that user objects must match in order to be loaded in to the business area (in the Load user objects that match field). By default the % symbol is specified. The % symbol is a wildcard that matches any character or string of characters. If you want to reduce the number of objects that can be loaded from the database, use the wildcard in combination with other characters as follows:
7-6
To load all objects, enter %. To find all objects beginning with D, enter D%. To find all objects ending with AND, enter %AND. To find objects beginning with A and having a four letter name, enter A_ _ _.
TIP: Discoverer provides a way to use synonyms to describe a folder. See Section 13.1, Custom Folders in Chapter 13, Advanced Options.
4.
If you want to specify the type of tables to be loaded (for example, whether public or private, or whether owned by or accessible to the users you select) click Options and go to Section , Online Dictionary Options By default, the Load Wizard will load only:
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Tables owned by the users specified Private tables
5.
Click Next and go to Section 7.2.2.5, Load Wizard: Step 3, Selecting Tables and Views
Online Dictionary Options

Figure 73 Choosing Tables by Owner and Access
This dialog box enables you to specify the type of tables and views (from the user IDs database) that you want to load.
Business Areas
7-7
1.
Under which tables (and views) do you want to see?, specify which tables are to be loaded into the EUL and made available in the business area.
s
Tables owned by user
This option imports all database objects, or a subset of these objects, that belong to the user IDs you specify in Load Wizard: Step 2. Select this option when you have a schema, and you want to load tables or objects based on the schema permissions.
s
Tables accessible by user
This option imports all database objects, or a subset of these objects, to which the user IDs have been granted SELECT access in the database.
NOTE: A user ID can own tables and also grant access to other user IDs.
For example, an application owner, such as FINAPPS, owns all of the data tables used by the Financial Applications system and has granted access rights to other users to view those tables.
2.
Under What types of tables (and views) do you want to see?, specify which types of tables you want to be loaded into the business area:
s
Public Tables
This option imports tables and views in the selected user IDs schema that have been granted public access. Use this option in conjunction with the radio buttons at the top of this dialog box.
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Partially restricted tables
This option imports the tables and views in the selected user IDs schema that have also been granted some access to another user ID. For example, user ID Bob could grant SELECT privileges on Table D in the database to user ID Betty. Table D would be designated as a partial access object. Use this option to display a list of partial access objects that are either owned by a user ID or objects to which the user ID has been given explicit SELECT access.
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Private tables
This option imports the tables and views in the selected user IDs schema that are not accessible by any other user ID.
3.
Click OK. This returns you to Load Wizard: Step 2 (Figure 72).
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4.
Click Next and go to Section 7.2.2.5, Load Wizard: Step 3, Selecting Tables and Views
7.2.2.4.2 Load Wizard: Step 2 for Gateway If you chose Gateway on Load Wizard: Step 1, Load Wizard: Step 2 should look similar to Figure 74. Use this page of the wizard to select the schema objects to load into the new business area.
1.
Verify or change the Database link The database named in the text box is the default database for the current user ID. You can change the database link by selecting another one from the drop-down list, which lists the databases that apply to the current connection.
2.
Select one or more schemas (users) from the list: This list box displays the list of schemas (users) whose tables and views can be loaded from the database link named in the text box. Click the appropriate check boxes.
Figure 74 Selecting the Schemas to be Loaded
3.
The Load schema objects that match text box at the bottom provides a filter. The % symbol is a wildcard. If you want to call up a specific segment of the database, use the wildcard in combination with other characters as follows:
s
To load all schema objects, enter %. To find all schema objects beginning with D, enter D%.
Business Areas
7-9
To find all schema objects beginning with AND, enter AND%. To find schema objects beginning with A and having a four letter name, enter A_ _ _.
4.
Click Next and continue to the next section.
7.2.2.5 Load Wizard: Step 3, Selecting Tables and Views

Load Wizard: Step 3 enables you to select the specific tables and views (schema objects) that you want to load into the business area. The selections you made in Load Wizard: Step 2 determine the tables and views that are available for selection in the Load Wizard: Step 3. If you need to change the selections you made in Load Wizard: Step 2, click Back.
Figure 75 Selecting Schema Objects
The left side of the wizard displays a hierarchical list of users (via the on-line dictionary) or schemas (via gateway) and the tables and views that are available to load into the business area. You can expand and collapse levels of the hierachy using the plus (+) and minus (-) signs in the usual way. The icons in the hierarchical list identify their type. See Chapter 3, Getting Started for a detailed explanation of the icons.
1.
Move the tables or views, that you want to load into the business area, from the Available list to the Selected list. To select more than one table or view at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the tables.
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2.
Click Next. This displays Load Wizard: Step 4.
7.2.2.6 Load Wizard: Step 4, Automatic Attributes

This step is common for both loading from the on-line dictionary and loading from a gateway. This is your opportunity to designate how the objects you have selected are to be loaded into the EUL. Load Wizard: Step 4 (see Figure 76) enables you to:
s
control how the database column names are mapped to Discoverer item names specify how joins are created between items specify that Automated Summary Management (ASM) will recommend and create summaries after the load process, based on the folders that are created. If you select this option Bulk Load may take longer to complete, but users should benefit from improved query performance. Do not select this option if you are going to run ASM later, or if you have limited free space available in your database. See Chapter 16, Automated Summary Management for further details. specify how date hierarchies are generated specify the default aggregate on data points specify which types of items you want Discoverer Administration Edition to generate lists of values for.
Business Areas 7-11
Figure 76 Formatting the Business Area
How Items are loaded (Axis Items or Data Point Items) Items are loaded as data points if they are DECIMALS (that is, a NUMBER data type) and have a non-zero precision. Integer numbers, all keys, and all other data types are loaded as axis items, with a default position of Top. For further information see the section Objects on the Data Page in Chapter 3.3.2.1, Using the Data Page. In Discoverer Plus, whether an item is an axis item or datapoint affects the items default placement on cross tab worksheets, as follows:
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Data points are shown with easy to pick aggregate functions and appear by default in the center of cross tabular reports, because they are usually numbers that users want to analyze. Another term for data points is measures. Axis items can have visible lists of values; data points do not have visible lists of values. Axis items appear on the page, top, or side of cross tab reports by default. Another term for axis items is dimensions.
NOTE: Whether an item is designated as an axis item or a data point
ONLY affects its default position on a new sheet in Discoverer Plus. The position can always be changed by a user and the default position can always be changed by an administrator.
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7.2.2.7 Load Wizard: Step 5, Naming the Business Area

Load Wizard: Step 5 enables you to name and describe the business area (see Figure 77).
Figure 77 Naming the Business Area
1. 2. 3. 4.
Specify a name for the Business Area in the Name field. Specify a description for the Business Area in the Description field. This step is optional. If you want to review or change the settings you have specified on previous pages of the wizard, use the Back button. If you are happy with the settings you have specified, click Finish.
NOTE: If you chose the Summaries based on folders that are created
option in Step 4 of the Load Wizard Discoverer will display the Recommended Summaries dialog where you can select one or more summaries you want ASM to create for you (see Chapter 16.2.5, Recommended summaries dialog for details). Click Create to confirm your choice.
Discoverer Administration Edition displays a progress indicator while it is generating your new Business Area (and summaries, if appropriate). When it is finished, the progress indicator disappears and the new Business Area is displayed on the Data page of the work area.
Business Areas 7-13
Opening an Existing Business Area
NOTE: If you loaded your metadata from Oracle Designer, you must
refresh the business area before it can be used. See Section 7.9.1, Refresh from Gateway for more information.
Important Note: User Access

To start with, a new business area (and the data it contains), can only be accessed by the user ID that was used to create it. See Chapter 8, Access Privileges and Security for more information about how to grant access privileges to other user IDs.
7.3 Opening an Existing Business Area

There are two ways you can open an existing business area:
s
Using the Load Wizard. Using Open Business Area dialog box
These methods are described below.
7.3.1 Using the Load Wizard to Open an Existing Business Area

s
In Load Wizard: Step 1, click Open an Existing Business Area. This opens Load Wizard: Step 2, which lists all the business areas that exist in the EUL of the database to which you are connected (Figure 78).
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Figure 78 Open an Existing Business Area
1. 2.
Select a business area or click Select All to select all the business areas. Click Finish. The work area window opens with the Data tab selected, listing the business areas you selected.
7.3.2 Using the Open Business Area Dialog Box

s
Choose File | Open. This opens the Open Business Area dialog box (see Figure 79).
Business Areas 7-15
Figure 79 Open an Existing Business Area
7-16
Exporting a Business Area to a File
7.4 Exporting a Business Area to a File

Discoverer Administration Edition enables you to export a business area to a file. This can be useful when copying business areas between EULs or when archiving data. For more information about moving copying business areas between EULs, see Section 7.6, Copying Business Areas Between EULs.
NOTE: Discoverer Administration Edition also has a granular export fea-
ture that enables you to export EUL elements (such as Folders, Items, Functions etc.) via the command line to a Discoverer export file (EEX file). See Appendix D.9.21, Exporting EUL elements to an EEX File for details.
IMPORTANT: The Export option exports the definitions for the business area, and any work books specified on the command line. It does not export the database, EUL tables or database objects referenced by the business area definitions.
The following steps show you how to export a business area to a file:
1. 2.
On the Data page of the work area, select the business area that you want to export. Choose File | Export or click the right button of your mouse and select Export from the Pop-up menu This opens the Save As dialog box as shown in Figure 710.
Business Areas 7-17
Importing EUL elements from a file
Figure 710
Exporting the Business Area
The Save as type displays the file format the Business Area is saved in, which is Discoverer EUL(TM) Export File (*.eex)
3.
Specify the location, filename and file format for the exported Business Area. If you choose the Discoverer EUL(TM) Export File format, give the file an EEX extension. For example, Export_file.eex. Click Save.
4.
7.5 Importing EUL elements from a file

Discoverer Administration Edition enables you to import EUL elements (E.g. Business Areas, Folders, Functions etc.) from other EULs. To guide you through the process, Discoverer uses the Import Wizard. See also Section 7.10, Data migration issues (Analytic Functions) for information about importing EUL elements that include Analytic Functions.
7.5.1 About Identifiers

When you are importing elements from another EUL, Discoverer needs to know when an element from another EUL refers to the same business object (known as a Conceptually Identical Object). To do this Discoverer compares either the element Display Name (for example Sales) or the Identifier.
s
Identifiers are unique names used by Discoverer to identify unique EUL elements (and Workbook elements in Discoverer Plus). When you import EUL elements, Discoverer uses Identifiers to locate elements referring to the same business objects. This enables customized (or patched) elements to be preserved. For example, a folder named 'Sales' in EUL A may refer to the same folder
7-18
named 'Sales Figures' in EUL B. Both folders have the same Identifier and can therefore be recognized as referring to the same element.
s
Identifiers are visible in the Discoverer Administration Edition but are hidden from Discoverer Plus users.
7.5.2 Supported File Formats

Discoverer 4.1 supports the following import EUL formats:
s
Discoverer Export Files (*.EEX) exported using Discoverer 3.1 and earlier. Discoverer Export Files created using Discoverer release 4.1 and later, in XML format, (which also have an *.EEX file extension).
7.5.3 Using the Import Wizard to import elements

7.5.3.1 What is the Import Wizard?
The Import Wizard provides a user-friendly interface that enables you to quickly:
s
Select which files you would like to import. Decide how you would like to process elements described as Conceptually Identical Objects (see definition in Section 7.5.1, About Identifiers).
7.5.3.2 Starting the Import Wizard

You can start the Import Wizard at any time during a Discoverer Administration Edition session.
1.
Choose File | Import. This opens the Import Wizard: Step 1, as shown in Figure 7.5.3.3.
Business Areas 7-19
Figure 711 Choosing which files to import
7.5.3.3 Import Wizard: Step 1

Import Wizard: Step 1 enables you to choose which EUL files to import.
1.
Click Add to display the file locate dialog. Locate and select one or more import files - selected files appear in the list.
2.
To proceed to the next page of the Import Wizard, click Next.

Import Wizard: Step 2 enables you to choose how to process Conceptually Identical Objects from another EUL.
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Figure 712
Choosing match options
1.
Specify what action should occur when objects match: The term object also applies to element (E.g. Folders, Items, Functions etc.)
s
Rename the imported object Renames imported elements to differentiate them from your existing elements. For example, if you are importing a matching Folder named Sales, selecting this option would rename the imported Folder to Sales1 leaving you with two Folders, your existing one named Sales plus the imported Folder named Sales1. Rename the existing object Renames your existing elements to differentiate them from imported elements. For example, if you are importing a matching Folder named Sales, selecting this option would rename your existing Folder to Sales1 leaving you with two Folders, your existing one renamed Sales1 plus the imported Folder unchanged as Sales. Do not import the matching object Will not import elements that match your existing elements. For example, if you are importing a matching Folder named Sales, selecting this option would not import the matching Folder Sales leaving you with your existing Folder unchanged as Sales
Business Areas 7-21
Refresh the object Refreshes any matching elements. For example, if you are importing a matching Folder named Sales, selecting this option would update your existing Folder Sales leaving you with one Folder named Sales.
2.
Specify whether to preserve display related properties (only available if the Refresh the object radio button is selected)
s
Preserve display related properties The following item properties will not be refreshed if you select this check box: - Default position - Heading - Format mask - Alignment - Word wrap - Display Case - Replace NULL with - Default Position
3.
Specify how you would like objects to be matched:

s
By Identifier Match objects using element Identifiers. To ensure that Conceptually Identical Objects are matched correctly, use this option instead of the Display Name option. By Display Name Match objects using the element Display Name. This option is included here for backwards compatibility - We recommend matching By Identifier.
4.
Specify whether the current user should take ownership of the imported workbooks
s
Always take ownership of imported workbooks If this radio button is set then any imported workbooks will become owned by the current user. Only take ownership if original owner cannot be found If this radio button is set then any imported workbooks will have their owner changed to the current user only if the original owner cannot be found in the current database.
5.
To proceed to the next page of the Load Wizard, click Next.
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Import Wizard: Step 3 enables you to start the import and monitor its status as each EUL element is processed.
1.
Choose Start to start the import.
The status bar at the top of the wizard shows the percentage of the import that has completed. The Log window displays status messages about the import process.
s
These messages provide information about imported elements. These messages are warnings about potential problems - use the Cancel option to abort the import if required.
Monitoring the import process
Figure 713
Save log... After a completed import, this option enables you to save the status information to a text file. Click Save log... and choose a file name and location. Cancel This option aborts the Import - you may want to use this option if there are warning messages in the Log window.
2.
Choose Finish.
Business Areas 7-23
Copying Business Areas Between EULs
If you perform a complete Import, your Discoverer Data window is updated to reflect the elements imported, according to the matching options that you have chosen
NOTE: During the import of an EEX file where Discoverer cannot find
joined folders a warning message is displayed in the Import Log window (see Appendix D.9.21, Exporting EUL elements to an EEX File for information on exporting EULs)
7.6 Copying Business Areas Between EULs

You may need to copy a business area from one EUL to another, for example, from a test system to a production system. The following steps show you how to do this:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Open the business area(s) you want to move. On the Data page of the work area, select the business area(s) you want to move. Choose File | Export. See Section 7.4, Exporting a Business Area to a File for more information. Choose File | Connect. Connect to the EUL that you want to move the business area into. Choose File | Import. See Section 7.5, Importing EUL elements from a file for more information.
IMPORTANT: The Export option only exports the definitions for the business area. It does not export the database, EUL tables, workbooks, or database objects referenced by the business area definitions.
7.7 Editing Business Area Properties

The following steps show you how to edit a business areas properties:
1.
Open the Business Area Properties dialog box (see Figure 714). There are four ways of doing this:
s
Double-click Double-click the relevant business area icon on the Data page.
7-24
Deleting a Business Area
Popup Menu Right-click the relevant business area icon on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the relevant business area on the Data page and click the Properties tool bar icon ( ) Menu Click the relevant business area icon on the Data page and choose Edit | Properties.
Business Area Properties with General Tab Selected
Figure 714
2.
Set the business area properties as required. For more information on the fields on this dialog box, click Help.
3.
Click OK.
7.8 Deleting a Business Area

This section shows you how to delete a business area:
1.
Open the Confirm Business Area Delete dialog box (see Figure 715). There are two ways of doing this:
Business Areas 7-25
Synchronizing the Business Area with the Database
Popup Menu Right-click the relevant business area icon on the Data page and choose Delete Business Area on the popup menu. Menu Click the relevant business area icon on the Data page and choose Edit | Delete.
Confirm Business Area Delete Prompt
Figure 715
2.
Specify the scope of deletion that you require:

s
Delete this Business Area This option removes the Business Area itself, but does not delete the contents of the Business Area. The folders that are in the Business Area remain in the EUL. Folders that exist in the EUL but do not belong to a Business Area are known as Orphan Folders.
Delete this Business Area and its Folders This option removes the business area and all of the folders contained in that business area. It does not remove folders that are part of any other business area. This is the default option and is usually recommended.
3.
Click Impact (optional). This displays the Impact dialog box which shows the other objects that may be effected by deleting this business area. Click Yes or No.
s
4.
Click Yes to delete the selected business area based on the choices you have made. Click No to close the Confirm Business Area Delete dialog box without deleting the business area.
7.9 Synchronizing the Business Area with the Database

Whenever the database schema is changed you need to use the refresh command (File | Refresh menu option) to synchronize the business area with the source dictionary.
7-26
Synchronizing the Business Area with the Database
Typical database modifications might include:

s
Adding tables Adding Columns Adding Joins Changing a tables ownership
Follow these steps to synchronize the business area with the database:
1. 2. 3.
On the Data page of the work area, select the Business Area that you want to refresh. Choose File | Refresh. This opens the Refresh Wizard. Select the source to refresh the Business Area from: The Refresh Wizard offers the same two choices as the initial Load Wizard.
s
On-line dictionary Gateway
4. 5.
If you are refreshing from an On-line Dictionary, click Finish. If you are refreshing from an EUL Gateway, click Next and see Section 7.9.1, Refresh from Gateway.
Discoverer Administration Edition automatically refreshes the business area. The refresh process identifies the objects that have changed and how they have changed since the last refresh. A dialog box opens citing the differences and what would be the effect of refreshing each object. You can use this dialog to selectively refresh individual objects, as necessary.
7.9.1 Refresh from Gateway

If you choose a gateway in Refresh Wizard: Step 1, a version of Refresh Wizard: Step 2 opens. Use this page of the wizard enables you to define the objects that will be refreshed.
1. 2.
Verify the Database link. Select the schemas you want to refresh from: This list box displays the list of schemas whose objects can be refreshed from the database link named in the text box. Tick the appropriate check boxes.
3.
Click Finish.
Business Areas 7-27
Data migration issues (Analytic Functions)
7.10 Data migration issues (Analytic Functions)

When you migrate EUL data using Discoverers import and export facilities, you need to be aware of the following restrictions that relate to Analytic Functions (see Oracle Discoverer 4i Plus Users Guide for details about Analytic Functions):
s
If a custom folder containing an Analytic Function is imported into a pre-Oracle 8.1.6 database EUL, the Custom Folder SQL is imported and stored in the EUL, but the items are not created. Items or filters containing Analytic Functions will not be imported into a pre-Oracle 8.1.6 database. These exceptions are reported in the Import Log. Where complex folders contain unsupported Analytic Functions, the SQL is re-generated without the Analytic Functions. If a database is downgraded from an Oracle 8.1.6 database to a pre-Oracle 8.1.6 database, you will be able to see Analytic Functions greyed out, but not edit them, (except to delete them).
7-28
Access Privileges and Security

s
8.1 Introduction 8.2 Granting Access Permission for Business Areas 8.3 Granting Task Privileges 8.4 Specifying Query Retrieval Limits 8.5 Specifying Scheduled Workbook Limits
8.1 Introduction
One of your most important tasks, as a Discoverer Administrator, is defining the access permissions and task privileges allowed for each user or role.
s
Access permissions determine who can see and use the data in business areas. Task privileges determine the tasks each user or role is allowed to perform.
When you grant access permissions or task privileges to a role, rather than to an individual user, you automatically give the same permission to all users who are associated with that role. The access permissions and task privileges that you grant in Discoverer Administration Edition apply only to business areas. Data access rights to the application database tables are controlled by the database administrator. Regardless of the access permissions and task privileges that you set in Discoverer Administration Edition, users can still only see folders in Discoverer Plus if they have:
s
ORACLE SELECT access to all the underlying tables used in the folder EXECUTE access to any PL/SQL functions used in the folder.
8-1
Granting Access Permission for Business Areas
You can give a user Administration privileges on one or more business areas. This allows him or her to use Discoverer Administration Edition to edit information in the business area (create folders, calculations, conditions, hierarchies, and summaries etc.). Users with the Administration privilege can also grant that privilege on their business areas to other users, so that administration can be devolved as required. A business area can be administered by multiple users, although control is easier to maintain with just one administrator for each business area. If you have followed Chapter 4, Tutorial, you are already familiar with the procedures for granting access permissions. This chapter consists of the following sections:
s
8.2 Granting Access Permission for Business Areas 8.3 Granting Task Privileges 8.4 Specifying Query Retrieval Limits 8.5 Specifying Scheduled Workbook Limits
8.2 Granting Access Permission for Business Areas

If you are running Discoverer Administration Edition as an Oracle Applications user see Section 17.8, Granting Access Permission for Business Areas for details. This section describes how to grant (or deny) access permission for business areas to specific users or roles. The Security dialog box enables you to set access permission for business areas. To open the Security dialog box, choose Tools | Security (or click the Security icon on the toolbar). The Security dialog box has two pages:
s
The Business Area -> User page shows which users have access to a specific business area. The User -> Business Area page shows which business areas a specific user can access.
The two pages provide two ways of looking at the same information. The page you choose depends on the specific task you want to perform. Before Discoverer Plus displays folders in a business area, Discoverer checks if the user has database access to the tables referenced in the folders. If the user does not have the necessary permissions, Discoverer does not display the folders. You can override this check by changing a registry setting. For more information, see ObjectsAlwaysAccessible in Chapter E.2, Registry Settings.
8-2
8.2.1 Specifying the Users / Roles who can Access a Business Area
This section describes how to specify which users or roles can access a specific business area.
1.
s
).
2.
Click the Business Area->User tab (see Figure 81).
Figure 81 Business Area->User Tab
3. 4. 5.
Select the business area, to which, you want to grant (or deny) access permission for, from the Business area drop-down list. If you want the lists to include users, tick Users (otherwise, clear it). If you want the lists to include roles, tick Roles (otherwise, clear it).
8-3
NOTE: If you are running Discoverer Administration Edition in Applica-
tions Mode, this dialog box will show Applications Responsibilities instead of Roles. For more information about running Discoverer in Applications Mode, see Chapter 17, Using Discoverer with Oracle Applications.
6.
To grant a user or role access to this business area, move it to the Selected users/roles list. There are three ways of moving a user or role from one list to the other:
s
Drag & Drop Drag one or more user/role from one list to the other. Include / Exclude buttons Select one or more user/role in a list and then click either the Include (right arrow) or Exclude (left arrow) button. Double-click Double-click a user/role to move it from one list to the other.
To select more than one user/role at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the users/ roles. The Available User/Role list includes a role called Public. Select this role to view or edit the privileges that Discoverer Administration Edition provides by default for users or roles whose task privileges you have not yet defined.
7.
For each new user or role added to the Selected users/roles list, specify whether they have Administration access to the business area. To do this:
a. b.
Click on the user or role in the Selected users/roles list. Tick or clear Allow Administration as required.
The actual administration tasks a user can perform also depends on their Administration privileges. See Section 8.3, Granting Task Privileges, for more information.
8. 9.
To deny a user or role access to this Business Area, move it to the Available users/roles list. When you have finished, click Apply or OK.
8-4
8.2.2 Specifying the Business Areas a User / Role can Access

This section describes how to specify which business areas a specific user or role can access.
1.
s
).
2.
Click the User->Business Area tab (see Figure 82).
Figure 82 Users-> Business Area
3. 4. 5.
If you want the drop-down list to include users, tick Users (otherwise, clear it). If you want the drop-down list to include roles, tick Roles (otherwise, clear it). Select the user or role whose access permissions you want to change. The drop-down list for user/role includes a role called Public. Select this role to view or edit the privileges that Discoverer Administration Edition provides by default for users or roles whose task privileges you have not yet defined.
6.
To allow the selected user or role to access a business area, move it to the Selected business areas list.
8-5
Granting Task Privileges
There are three ways of moving a user or role from one list to the other:
s
Drag & Drop Drag one or more business area from one list to the other. Include / Exclude buttons Select one or more business area in a list and then click either the Include (right arrow) or Exclude (left arrow) button. Double-click Double-click a business area to move it from one list to the other.
To select more than one business area at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the users/roles.
7.
For each new business area added to the Selected business areas list, specify whether the selected user or role has Administration access. To do this:
1. 2.
Click on the business area in the Selected business area list. Tick or clear Allow Administration as required.
8.
To deny the selected user or role access to a Business Area, move it to the Available users/roles list.
NOTE: You may also want to ensure the user PUBLIC does not have
access to this Business Area.
9.
When you have finished, click Apply or OK.
8.3 Granting Task Privileges

This section describes how to grant (or deny) the privilege to perform certain tasks in Discoverer Administration Edition and Discoverer Plus. If you are running Discoverer Administration Edition as an Oracle Applications user see Section 17.9, Granting Task Privileges for details.
8-6
8.3.1 Available Tasks

The following tasks (granted or denied to Users or Roles via the Privileges dialog) will take effect on re-connection to the Administration Edition or Discoverer Plus. More detailed descriptions are displayed for each task in the Privileges dialog.
8.3.1.1 Administration Edition Tasks

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Format Business Area Create/Edit Business Area Create Summaries Set Privilege Manage Scheduled Workbooks
8.3.1.2 Discoverer Plus Tasks

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Create/Edit Query Collect Query Statistics Item Drill Drill Out Grant Workbook Schedule Workbooks Save Workbooks to database
8.3.2 The Privileges dialog

The Privileges dialog enables you to set the task privileges. To open the Privileges dialog box, choose Tools | Privileges (or click the Privileges icon on the toolbar). The Privileges dialog box has four pages, the first two help you specify task privileges:
s
The Privileges page enables you to specify the tasks a specific user is allowed to perform. The User/Role page enables you to specify the users that can perform a specific task.
These two pages provide two ways of looking at the same information. The page you choose depends on the specific task you want to perform.
8-7
8.3.3 Specifying the Tasks a User / Role can Perform

This section describes how to specify the tasks a specific user or role can perform.
1.
Open the Privileges dialog box. There are two ways of doing this.
s
Toolbar Icon Click the Privileges toolbar icon ( Menu Choose Tools | Privileges.
).
2.
Click the Privileges tab (see Figure 83).
Figure 83 Granting Privileges
3. 4. 5. 6.
If you want the drop-down list to include users, tick Users (otherwise, clear it). If you want the drop-down list to include roles, tick Roles (otherwise, clear it). Select the user or role whose task privileges you want to change (from the drop-down list). Grant or deny specific task privileges as required. These privileges only apply to the selected user or role.
s
To grant a specific privilege, tick the relevant check box in the Privilege list. To deny a specific privilege, clear the relevant check box in the Privilege list.
8-8
To grant a minor privilege (shown indented in the list) you must first grant the corresponding major privilege (the first, non-indented privilege above the minor privilege). Revoking a major privilege automatically revokes all the subordinate, minor privileges (the minor privilege check boxes may remain checked). As you move the mouse over a privilege in the Privilege list, a brief description of the privilege appears on the right-hand side of the dialog box. The drop-down list for user/role includes a role called Public. Select this role to view or edit the privileges that Discoverer Administration Edition provides by default for users or roles whose task privileges you have not yet defined.
NOTE: If you wish to grant Administration privileges to a user or role, you
must also grant that user Administration access to the business area. For more information, see Section 8.2.1, Specifying the Users / Roles who can Access a Business Area.
7.
Choose a system profile to apply to the user or role (from the Select a system profile drop-down list.
NOTE: System profiles are created by the database administrator to con-
trol access to database resources. This field is only available if you are using an Oracle database. To assign profiles within Discoverer Administration Edition you need access to the following database system views:
s
DBA_PROFILES DBA_USERS
8.
Click Apply or OK.
For further information on this topic Click Help
8.3.4 Specifying the Users / Roles who can Perform a Specific Task
This section describes how to specify the users or roles that can perform a specific task.
1.
8-9
).
2.
Click the User/Role tab (see Figure 84).
Figure 84 Maintaining Assigned Privileges
3. 4.
If you want the list to include users, tick Users (otherwise, clear it). If you want the list to include roles, tick Roles (otherwise, clear it). The list is sorted alphabetically, with users at the top and roles next.
5.
Select the task privilege that you want to grant (or deny) to a set of users or roles (from the drop-down list). When you select a privilege from the drop-down list, a brief description of the privilege appears on the right-hand side of the dialog box.
6.
Grant or deny the task privilege as required.

s
To grant a user or role the task privilege, tick the relevant check box in the list.
8-10
Specifying Query Retrieval Limits
To deny a user or role the task privilege, clear the relevant check box in the list.
NOTE: If you wish to grant (or deny) Administration privileges to a user
or role, you must also grant (or deny) that user Administration access to the business area. For more information, see Section 8.2.1, Specifying the Users / Roles who can Access a Business Area.
7.
Click Apply or OK.
For further information on this topic Click Help
8.4 Specifying Query Retrieval Limits

This section describes how to specify query retrieval limits for a user or role.
1.
s
).
2.
Click the Query Governor tab (see Figure 85).
Access Privileges and Security 8-11
Specifying Query Retrieval Limits
Figure 85 Setting Retrieval Limits
3. 4.
If you want the drop-down list to include users, tick Users (otherwise, clear it). If you want the drop-down list to include roles, tick Roles (otherwise, clear it). The Roles check box is only available if you are using an Oracle database.
5.
If you want the user or role to be warned if the estimated time to perform their is greater than a certain limit, tick Warn if predicted time exceeds (otherwise, clear it). If you tick this check box, you can then specify the time limit on the right. This feature is unavailable when using ODBC.
6.
If you want to prevent the user or role from running queries for longer than a certain limit, tick Prevent queries longer than (otherwise, clear it). If you tick this check box, you can then specify the time limit on the right. Any queries performed by this user or role that exceed the time limit will by automatically cancelled.
7.
If you want to limit the number of rows a query, performed by this user, can retrieve, tick Limit retrieved data to (otherwise, clear it). If you tick this check box, you can then specify the row limit on the right.
For detailed information about query prediction, see Appendix C, Query Prediction.
8-12
Specifying Scheduled Workbook Limits
8.5 Specifying Scheduled Workbook Limits

This section describes how to specify scheduled workbook limits for a user or role. For more information about scheduled workbooks, see Chapter 9, Scheduled Workbooks.
1.
s
).
2.
Click the Scheduled Workbooks tab (see Figure 86).
Figure 86 Scheduled Workbooks Page
3. 4.
Select the user who you want to specify scheduling limits for (from the drop-down list). Select the user who you want to own the tables created to contain this users scheduled workbook results. You may decide to have a single repository user for all users scheduled workbook results, or different ones for different users. The advantage of having a single repository is that individual users do not need additional privileges to run scheduled workbooks. The disadvantage is that space quota is shared and so could be exhausted by a single
Access Privileges and Security 8-13
Specifying Scheduled Workbook Limits
user. Having multiple repository users provides a greater degree of control. For more information, see Section 2.1.2, Specifying Result Set Storage.
5.
Decide under what circumstances you want to users to schedule workbooks. Under Require users to schedule workbooks, select:
s
Always to only allow the user to run queries using scheduled workbooks. Never to allow the user to run queries using scheduled workbooks. The user is still allowed to run queries using unscheduled workbooks. If predicted time exceeds to require the user to run their query using a scheduled workbook if the predicted query retrieval time exceeds a certain limit. If you choose this option, specify the time limit on the right.
6.
If you want to limit the number of scheduled workbooks the user can maintain at one time, tick Maximum number of scheduled workbooks (otherwise, clear it). If you tick this check box, you can then specify the limit on the right. This option enables you to control the use of the DBMS_JOB queue and can prevent users from submitting so many scheduled workbooks that no other jobs gets run.
7.
If you want to limit the lifetime of results from this users scheduled workbooks, tick Expire results after (otherwise, clear it). If you tick this check box, you can then specify the time limit on the right. Workbooks due for deletion in this way, are deleted at the end of the Discoverer Plus session.
8.
If you want to specify the number of rows committed to the result table when the scheduled workbook is run, tick Commit size (otherwise, clear it). If you tick this check box, you can then specify the number of rows on the right. On large result sets, some server performance gain can be achieved by setting Commit size higher than the default. Little gain will be achieved by setting Commit size higher than 1000.
9.
If you want to specify the times, between which, this user may schedule workbooks, tick Limit scheduling between (otherwise, clear it). If you tick this check box, you can then specify the time limits (in military time) on the right.
10. Click Apply or OK.
8-14
Scheduled Workbooks
s
9.1 Introduction 9.2 What Happens When a Workbook is Scheduled? 9.3 Enabling Scheduled Workbooks for a User or Role 9.4 Viewing Information About a Scheduled Workbook 9.5 Viewing an Error Message incurred by a Scheduled Workbook 9.6 Editing a Scheduled Workbook 9.7 Deleting a Scheduled Workbooks Result Set from the Database 9.8 Removing a Scheduled Workbook from the Process Queue
9.1 Introduction
Workbook scheduling is useful in the following situations:
s
The user has created a report that could take a long time to run - they can submit the report to run overnight and view the result in the morning. The user wants to create a report that needs to be updated at regular intervals.
To schedule a workbook, there are several prerequisites that must be met. For more information, see Section 9.3, Enabling Scheduled Workbooks for a User or Role. When a Workbook is scheduled, the user selects a particular workbook, sheet, or set of sheets submitted as a report, and requests that the report be processed at a particular date, time, and frequency. The output (or result set) is stored in the database until such time as the user requires it (or until it expires). The user can then load it into the workbook associated with the processing.
Scheduled Workbooks
9-1
What Happens When a Workbook is Scheduled?
Discoverer supports workbook processing from both the client and server sides.
s
Server-side workbook processing enables the user to schedule a workbook, which is then sent to the server and processed there. This enables the user to switch off the client machine and view the results of the scheduled workbook request at any time. Client-side workbook processing enables the user to run a workbook or sheet in the background and print or export results directly. To perform client-side workbook processing, you use the command line interface.
NOTE: Scheduled workbooks are not exported when you export a busi-
ness area.
9.2 What Happens When a Workbook is Scheduled?

When a scheduled workbook is requested, the following actions occur:
1.
Discoverer Plus ensures that scheduling the workbook would not result in the user exceeding their limit on the number of scheduled workbooks. This limit is set by the Discoverer Administrator and restricts the number of scheduled workbooks that can be maintained at any one time. For more information, see Section 8.5, Specifying Scheduled Workbook Limits. This limit is separate from the job_queue_processes value in the Oracle initialization file, which controls the maximum number of jobs that can be run at any one time on the server. If the user exceeds their limit Discoverer Plus displays a message and the workbook is not scheduled.
2. 3.
The scheduled workbook request is stored in the DBMS_JOBS table within the Oracle kernel. The Job Queue process wakes up and submits the next job in the queue. The length of time that the Job Queue process sleeps for is specified using the job_queue_interval value in the Oracle initialization file. For more information, see Section 2.1.3, Setting the Start Time for Workbook Processing. The scheduled workbook is processed entirely on the server.
4.
A result set table is created in the database and the table is populated with the result set of the scheduled workbook.
9-2
Enabling Scheduled Workbooks for a User or Role
The result set is stored under the schema specified by the Discoverer Administrator. For more information, see Section 8.5, Specifying Scheduled Workbook Limits.
5. 6.
When the process is complete, the user views the result set. The user can then delete the result set (if it is no longer required) at which point the table is dropped. The Discoverer Administrator can also specify how long the results of a users scheduled workbook are allowed to exist in the database before they are automatically deleted. For more information, see Section 8.5, Specifying Scheduled Workbook Limits.
NOTE: If the elements of the EUL, used by a scheduled workbook, are
changed between the time when the workbook is scheduled and the time when the display of the result set, the scheduled workbooks status is set to EUL has changed.
9.3 Enabling Scheduled Workbooks for a User or Role

This section describes how to enable a user to schedule workbooks. In order for a user to be able to schedule a workbook, the following prerequisites must be met:
1.
Ensure that the Scheduled Workbooks feature is enabled. For more information, see Section 2.1, Scheduled Workbooks.
2.
Grant the Schedule Workbooks privilege to the user. For more information, see Section 8.5, Specifying Scheduled Workbook Limits.
3.
The schema, that is to own the scheduled workbooks result set, must be granted the following database privileges:
s
For more information, see Section 2.1.2, Specifying Result Set Storage.
Scheduled Workbooks
9-3
Viewing Information About a Scheduled Workbook
9.4 Viewing Information About a Scheduled Workbook

This section describes how to view information about a scheduled workbook. Such information includes:
s
The user ID of the person who scheduled the workbook. The scheduled workbooks status. The date and time of when the workbook was last run. The date and time of when the workbook is next due to run. The length of time the workbook took to run. A description of the workbook.
To view this information:

1.
Choose Tools | Manage Scheduled Workbooks. This opens the Manage Scheduled Workbooks dialog box (see Figure 91).
Figure 91 Manage Scheduled Workbooks
2.
Select the user or role, whose scheduled workbooks you want to display in the list (using the Show workbooks for drop-down list). If you want to show all scheduled workbooks, select All Users from the drop-down list.
3.
To re-sort the list, click the relevant column heading.
9-4
Editing a Scheduled Workbook
4.
If you want to view the description for a specific scheduled workbook, select the relevant scheduled workbook in the list. If the scheduled workbook has a description, it will appear in the Description field.
5. 6.
To refresh the information on this dialog box, click Refresh. When you have finished, click Close.
For more information about this dialog box (including the meanings of each run status) click Help.
9.5 Viewing an Error Message incurred by a Scheduled Workbook

This section describes how to view the error message that describes why a scheduled workbook failed to run.
1.
2.
Select the user or role, whose scheduled workbooks you want to display in the list (using the Show workbooks for drop-down list). If you want to show all scheduled workbooks, select All Users from the drop-down list.
3.
(Optional) Click the Status column heading. This re-sorts the list by status, which makes it easier to find all the scheduled workbooks that have their status set to Error while running query.
4. 5.
Select the scheduled workbook whose error message you want to view. Click View Error. This button is only available for scheduled workbooks with their status set to Error while running query.
Discoverer Administration Edition displays the error message that describes why the scheduled workbook failed to run.
9.6 Editing a Scheduled Workbook

This section describes how to edit a scheduled workbook.
1.
Scheduled Workbooks
9-5
Deleting a Scheduled Workbooks Result Set from the Database
2.
Select the user or role, who owns the scheduled workbook you want to edit (using the Show workbooks for drop-down list). If you want to show all scheduled workbooks, select All Users from the drop-down list.
3. 4.
Select the scheduled workbook that you want to edit. Click Edit. This opens the Schedule Workbook wizard. This wizard works in exactly the same way as the Discoverer Plus wizard of the same name. For more information, see your Users Guide.
9.7 Deleting a Scheduled Workbooks Result Set from the Database

This section describes how to delete a scheduled workbooks result set from the database.
1.
2.
Select the user or role, who owns the scheduled workbook you want to delete (using the Show workbooks for drop-down list). If you want to show all scheduled workbooks, select All Users from the drop-down list.
3. 4.
Select the scheduled workbook that you want to delete. Click Delete This marks the selected workbooks result set for deletion. The workbooks status is changed to Report deleted by administrator. The report is actually deleted when the workbooks owner next exits Discoverer Plus.
9.8 Removing a Scheduled Workbook from the Process Queue

This section describes how to prevent a scheduled workbook from running by removing it from the process queue.
1.
2.
Select the user or role, who owns the scheduled workbook you want to remove (using the Show workbooks for drop-down list).
9-6
Removing a Scheduled Workbook from the Process Queue
If you want to show all scheduled workbooks, select All Users from the drop-down list.
3. 4.
Select the scheduled workbook that you want to remove. Click Unschedule.
Scheduled Workbooks
9-7
Removing a Scheduled Workbook from the Process Queue
9-8
Items and Item Classes

s
10.1 Introduction 10.2 Editing Item Properties 10.4 Creating an Item Class 10.5 Editing an Item Class 10.6 Adding Items to an Item Class 10.7 Viewing the Items that use an Item Class 10.8 Removing Items from an Item Class 10.9 Viewing a List of Values 10.10 Deleting Items & Item Classes
10.1 Introduction
This section describes the concepts of Items and Item Classes.
10.1.1 Items
An Item, is a representation of a database tables column, in the EUL. By presenting columns as Items, Discoverer enables the administrator to make formatting changes, name changes and other similar changes enabling the user to clearly read the data. Items are stored in folders and can be created, deleted, and moved among different folders.
Items and Item Classes 10-1
Introduction
10.1.2 Item Classes

An item class is a group of items that share similar attributes. For example, an item called Product may contain a description of products and be part of the Product folder. A similar item, Product, may also be required in the Sales Revenue folder. For both items to share common attributes, such as a list of values, you create one item class which defines the values, and apply it to both items. Thus, you only have to define the attributes once. Without the item class, it would be necessary to define the attributes individually for each folder. The administrator creates an item class to enable the following features:
s
lists of values alternative sorts drill-to-detail links (hyperdrills)
These features help users build queries more quickly and easily. An item class lets the administrator define properties for the same item once, and then assign the item class to other items that share similar properties. There is no specific link between the three features listed above, but they are all implemented using the item class mechanism. The item class can be created to support these features individually, or in combination. The only exception is that an alternative sort must relate to a list of values.
10.1.2.1 Lists of Values

A list of values is the items set of unique values. The values the item class references correspond to those found in a database column. If the database contained the following items and values:
Table 101 Item Widgets Bolts Fan Belts Gaskets Brackets
Database Items and Values Value 4 28 34 90 90
10-2
Introduction
The item class would produce a list of five distinct values: widgets, bolts, fan belts, gaskets, brackets. Lists of values are used by end users to refer to values in the database and to apply conditions and parameter values. Lists of values are often generated automatically when the business area is first created (in Load Wizard: Step 4). The Item Class Wizard provides a way to extend a list of values to other items. For information on creating a list of values, see Section 10.4, Creating an Item Class.
10.1.2.2 Alternative Sorts

Items are normally sorted in ascending or descending order, according to ASCII sort values. However, end-users may require some data elements to be sorted in an alternative order. For example, a series of sales regions would be sorted alphabetically by default, such as East, North, South, and West. But the end user may need them sorted in this order: North, South, East, and West. To create an alternative sort order, you must link together two items. One item defines the sort order and the other defines the list of values to be sorted. Figure 102 shows an alternative sort order: North=1, South=2, East=3 and West=4. 10.1.2.2.1 Alternative methods
An alternative method is to use SQL to create a new table that has two columns defined - the item name and the sort value. You would then need to populate the columns with values. Table 102 shows an example.
Table 102 Region North South East West
Alternate Sort Table Sort Value 1 2 3 4
You can also use SQL*Plus to create a new table defining the alternative sort order. Then, using the Administration Edition, associate a list of values with the alternative sort column from either the alternative sort table or the existing database tabledepending on the
Introduction
method you use to create the alternative sort order. The values (Region in Figure 102) are then sorted according to the alternative sort column - (Sort Value). Before creating the alternative sort, keep these rules in mind.
s
The item to be assigned the alternative sort order must be contained within the same folder as the item providing the list of values for the item class. An item class containing an alternate sort sequence must also contain a list of values.
For information about creating an Alternative Sort Item Class, see Section 10.4, Creating an Item Class.
10.1.2.3 Drill to Detail

Drill to detail, or hyperdrills, enable users to drill to detail information using the relationships between data, rather than through hierarchical levels. A related item might be an item that was selected from the current source folder but is not currently in the query and not part of an existing item or date hierarchy structure. A drill-to-detail link allows the user to jump directly to related items, without having to drill through hierarchical levels. Although related items can be grouped in a hierarchy, if the Items are in different Folders, there must be Joins between them for the group to be valid. There may be existing Joins between Folders in a drill-to-detail item class, but those Joins are not necessary for the hyperdrill to work. What is necessary is that the items are the same data type. For information about creating a hyperdrill, see Section 10.4, Creating an Item Class.
10-4
Editing Item Properties
10.2 Editing Item Properties

Item properties are accessible through Item Properties dialog boxes. This section shows you how to enhance the users view of the data by editing item properties. Figure 101 shows an example Item Properties dialog box.
Figure 101 Item Properties Dialog Box with the General Tab Selected
10.2.1 Editing the Properties of a Single Item

This section describes how to edit an items properties.
1.
Open the items Properties dialog box. There are four ways to do this:
s
Double-click Double-click the item on the Data page. Popup Menu Right-click the item on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the item on the Data page and click the Properties tool bar icon ( Menu Click the item on the Data page and choose Edit | Properties. )
Editing Item Properties
2.
3.
Click OK.
10.2.2 Editing the Properties of Multiple Items

The following steps show you how to set common properties for more than one item at a time:
1. 2.
Select all of the items whose properties you want to edit. (Ctrl-clicking enables you to select more than one Item.) Display the Item Properties dialog box. There are three ways to do this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected Items on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the Properties tool bar icon ( Menu Choose Edit | Properties. )
All properties that are common to each of the selected Items are displayed. If the data for a field is not common to each of the selected Items, the field is blank.
3.
Make your changes as required. Any changes you make here will be applied to all of the selected Items. For more information on the fields on this dialog box, click Help.
4.
Click OK.
10-6
Item Content Types
10.3 Item Content Types

In the Item Properties dialog, the Content Type setting defines the Items data type. The Content Type field has two possible settings, (see also Chapter 4.10.4, Modifying an Items Content Type):
s
None - the Items data is stored in the EUL database, and is displayed by Discoverer. <File format> - the Items data is not stored in the EUL database, but in an external location or format. For example, HTML, text, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, CLOB, NCLOB, and BFILE format. The data is not displayed directly by Discoverer, but by an external application. For example, the Content Type DOC is displayed by Microsoft Word; the Content Type HTML is displayed by your current browser, (see Table 103 below).
NOTE: For more information about Oracle Content Types, refer to the section Datatypes in the Oracle 8i SQL Reference, Release 2 (8.1.6), Part Number A76989-01.
Table 103 Common Discoverer Content Types Description Display this Item in a Media Player Display this Item in MS Word Display this Item in a Web Browser Display this Item in Lotus Screencam Display this Item in a MS Excel Contains a locator to a large binary file stored outside the database. Enables byte stream I/O access to external LOBs residing on the database server. Maximum size is 4 gigabytes. A binary large object. Maximum size is 4 gigabytes. A character large object containing single-byte characters. Both fixed-width and variable-width character sets are supported, both using the CHAR database character set. Maximum size is 4 gigabytes. A character large object containing multibyte characters. Both fixedwidth and variable-width character sets are supported, both using the NCHAR database character set. Maximum size is 4 gigabytes. Stores national character set data.
Content Type Setting .AVI DOC HTML SCM XLS BFILE
BLOB CLOB
NCLOB
Creating an Item Class
10.4 Creating an Item Class

An item class can define alternative sorts, provide hyperdrills, and / or reference a list of values in the database. This section describes how to create an Item Class using the Item Class Wizard. It consists of the following topics:
s
10.4.1 Starting the Item Class Wizard 10.4.2 Choose the Item Class Attributes 10.4.3 Select the Item that Generates the List of Values 10.4.4 Select the Item that Contains the Alternative Sort Sequence 10.4.5 Select the Items that Use this Item Class
You may not need to follow every step. The choices you make in the wizard determine the exact path you need to take.
10.4.1 Starting the Item Class Wizard

1. 2.
Click the Item Classes tab in the work area. Open the Item Class Wizard (see Figure 102). There are three ways of doing this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click anywhere on the Item Classes page and choose New Item Class on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the New Item Class tool bar icon ( Menu Choose Insert | Item Class. ).
10-8
Figure 102
The Item Class Wizard
10.4.2 Choose the Item Class Attributes

This page of the wizard enables you to specify the attributes for your new Item Class. For more information about these attributes, see Section 10.1.2, Item Classes..
1.
Decide which attributes are needed by your new Item Class. Note, selecting Alternative sort automatically selects List of values.
2.
Click Next. This opens the next page of the Item Class Wizard.
3.
The next step depends on your selections on the first page of the wizard:
s
If you ticked either List of values or Alternative sort, go to Section 10.4.3, Select the Item that Generates the List of Values. If you didnt tick either of these check boxes, go to Section 10.4.5, Select the Items that Use this Item Class.
10.4.3 Select the Item that Generates the List of Values

This page of the wizard (see Figure 103) enables you to select the item that contains the list of values you want for your new Item Class.
Figure 103
Selecting the Item that Generates the List of Values
1. 2.
Select the Business Area, that contains the item that you want to use to generate the list of values. Select the item that you want to use to generate the list of values. Discoverer uses a SELECT DISTINCT query to retrieve a List of Values. If you select an item in a folder with a large number of rows compared to the number of distinct values, then the query can be inefficient. It is much better to select an item from a small dimension table attached to the FACT table rather than using the FACT table itself. If such a table does not exist, it might be worth creating the table to speed up the List of Values process.
Create Custom Folder for list for values

Alternatively if you have a small number of values, use a custom folder to create a local List of Values within the End User Layer. For example, if you want a list of values for North, South, East, and West, create a custom folder called Region_lov and type in the following SQL statements: SELECT UNION SELECT UNION SELECT UNION SELECT NORTH REGION FROM sys.dual SOUTH REGION FROM sys.dual EAST REGION FROM sys.dual WEST REGION FROM sys.dual
10-10 Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide
This query creates one item called Region, that can now be used as a List of Values to optimize performance. For more information about custom folders, see Section 6.5, Creating Custom Folders.
3.
4.
The next step depends on your selections on the first page of the wizard:
s
If you ticked Alternative sort, go to Section 10.4.4, Select the Item that Contains the Alternative Sort Sequence. Otherwise go to Section 10.4.5, Select the Items that Use this Item Class.
10-11
10.4.4 Select the Item that Contains the Alternative Sort Sequence
This page of the wizard (see Figure 104), enables you to select the item that contains the alternative sort sequence for your new Item Class.
Modify Custom Folder to add an Alternative Sort

An alternative method of creating an alternative sort for a list of values (if you have a small number of values to sort) is to use a custom folder. You can modify the Region_lov custom folder (described in previous section) to include an Alternative Sort sequence. For example, if you want the list of values sorted in the following order: West, North, South, East you need to edit the SQL in the Region_lov custom folder so that it appears as follows: SELECT NORTH REGION, 4 ALTERNATIVE_SORT FROM sys.dual, UNION SELECT SOUTH REGION, 2 ALTERNATIVE_SORT FROM sys.dual UNION SELECT EAST REGION, 3 ALTERNATIVE_SORT FROM sys.dual UNION SELECT WEST REGION, 1 ALTERNATIVE_SORT FROM sys.dual This query creates a single item called Region that can be used as a List of Values and an alternative sort sequence.
Figure 104
Selecting the Alternative Sort Sequence
1.
Select the item that contains the alternative sort sequence. This item must:
s
already exist in the database and be in the same folder as the item that generates the list of values.
When you select an item, the items description is displayed at the bottom of the wizard.
2.
3.
Go to Section 10.4.5, Select the Items that Use this Item Class..
10.4.5 Select the Items that Use this Item Class

This page of the wizard (see Figure 105) enables you to select the items that use your new item class. If you selected Drill to detail on the first page of the Item Class wizard, end users will be able to Drill to detail between any of the items that you select on this page.
10-13
Figure 105
Selecting the Items that Use this Item Class
1. 2.
Move the items that use this item class, from the Available items list to the Selected items list. Click Next. This opens the next page of the Item Class Wizard.
3.
Go to Section 10.4.6, Specify the Name and Description for the Item Class.
10.4.6 Specify the Name and Description for the Item Class
This page of the wizard (see Figure 106) enables you to specify a name and description for your new Item Class.
Editing an Item Class
Figure 106
Naming and Describing the Item Class
1. 2. 3.
Specify a name for your new Item Class. (Optional) Specify a description for your new Item Class. Click Finish.
10.5 Editing an Item Class

This section describes how to edit an existing Item Class.
1.
Open the Edit Item Class dialog box. There are two ways of doing this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click on the Item Class that you want to edit (on the Item Classes page) and choose Edit Item Class on the popup menu. Menu Click on the Item Class that you want to edit (on the Item Classes page) and choose Edit | Edit.
The Edit Item Class dialog box consists of four pages. These pages resemble the pages in the Item Class Wizard and enable you to edit the settings you specified when you created the Item Class.
2.
Click the List of Values tab to change the List of Values used in the selected Item Class (Figure 107).
10-15
Figure 107
Edit List of Values Tab
Click the Alternative Sort tab to change the alternative sort sequence assigned to the List of Values for the selected Item Class (Figure 108).
Edit Alternative Sort
Figure 108
Click the Select Items tab to add or remove the items that use the selected Item Class (Figure 109).
Figure 109
Edit Items that Use the Item Class
3.
If you want to enable Drill to detail between the Items that belong to this Item Class, tick Use these items in drill to detail (otherwise, clear it). Click the General tab to change the name and description of the selected Item Class (Figure 1010).
Edit Item Class Name/Description
Figure 1010
4.
Click OK.
10-17
Adding Items to an Item Class
10.6 Adding Items to an Item Class

This section describes how to add an Item to an Item Class. There are three ways of doing this:
s
Drag & Drop Edit Item Class dialog box Item Properties dialog box
Using Drag & Drop

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Display a second work area (choose Window | New Window). Select the Data page in one work area. Select the Item classes page in the other work area. Select the Item(s) that you want to add to an Item Class (on the Data page of the work area). Drag the Items from the Data page to the Item Class (on the Item classes page of the work area). Close one of the work area windows.
Using the Edit Item Class Dialog Box

1.
Display the Edit Item Class dialog box for the Item Class that you want to add items to. There are two ways of doing this:
s
2. 3.
Click the Select Items tab. Move the items, that you want to add to this item class, from the Available items list to the Selected items list. There are three ways of moving items from one list to the other:
Viewing the Items that use an Item Class
To select more than one item at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the items. The Available items drop-down list enables you to select items from any open business area.
4.
Click OK.
For more information, see Section 10.5, Editing an Item Class.
Using the Item Properties Dialog Box

1. 2.
Select the Item(s) that you want to add to an Item Class (on the Data page of the work area). Display the Item Properties dialog box. There are three ways to do this:
s
3. 4.
Specify the Item Class that you want the Item(s) to belong to using the Item class field. Click OK.
For more information, see Section 10.2, Editing Item Properties.
10.7 Viewing the Items that use an Item Class

This section describes how to view the Items that belong to a specific Item Class.
1.
On the Item classes page, expand the Item Class that you are interested in.
10-19
Removing Items from an Item Class
This reveals two objects under the Item Class.

s
List of values Items using this item class (with drill to detail)
2.
Expand the Items using this item class (with drill to detail) object. This displays the a list of Items that belong to this Item Class.
10.8 Removing Items from an Item Class

This section describes how to remove items from an Item Class. There are two ways to do this: There are three ways of doing this:
s
Popup Menu Edit Item Class dialog box Item Properties dialog box
Using a Popup Menu

1. 2. 3. 4.
Click the Item class tab on the work area. Expand the Item Class that you want to remove Items from. Expand the Items using this item class (with drill to detail) object. Select the Items that you want to remove from the Item Class. To select more than one item at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the items.
5.
Right-click one of the selected Items and choose Delete Item from Item Class on the popup menu.
Discoverer Administration Edition displays the Confirm Delete dialog box. This works in the same way as described in Section 10.10, Deleting Items & Item Classes.
Using the Edit Item Class Dialog Box

1.
Display the Edit Item Class dialog box for the Item Class that you want to remove items from. There are two ways of doing this:
Removing Items from an Item Class
2. 3.
Click the Select Items tab. Move the items, that you want to add to this item class, from the Selected items list to the Available items list. There are three ways of moving items from one list to the other:
s
4.
Click OK.
For more information, see Section 10.5, Editing an Item Class.
Using the Item Properties dialog box

1. 2.
Select the Item(s) that you want to remove from an Item Class (on the Data page of the work area). Display the Item Properties dialog box. There are three ways to do this:
s
10-21
Viewing a List of Values
3. 4.
Specify the None in the Item class field. Click OK.
For more information, see Section 10.2, Editing Item Properties.
10.9 Viewing a List of Values

This section describes how to view the List of Values associated with an Item. There are two places where you can view a List of Values:
s
Data page (shows a List of Values for specific items). Item classes page (shows a List of Values for specific Item Classes)
10.9.1 Viewing the List of Values for a Specific Item

1.
Expand the Item whose List of Values you want to view.
You may be warned that retrieving the List of Values may take a long time. When you retrieve a List of Values, Discoverer submits a SELECT DISTINCT query to the database (which selects the distinct set of values for the item). If there is a large number of values in the database, retrieving the list can take some time. The End User Layer has a record of the length of time it takes to retrieve the values. If this length of time is greater than 15 seconds, Discoverer will display a warning. This limit can be changed in Discoverer Plus under Tools | Options | Query Governor.
TIP: If the Item you want to display a List of Values for exists in more than one Folder, choose the Item in the Folder that has the least number of rows. This will return the List of Values in the shortest amount of time.
10.9.2 Viewing the List of Values for an Item Class

To view the List of Values associated with an Item Class:
1.
On the Item classes page, expand the Item Class that you want to display a List of Values for. This reveals two objects under the Item Class.
s
List of values Items using this item class (with drill to detail)
Deleting Items & Item Classes
2.
Expand the List of values object. You may be warned that retrieving the List of Values may take a long time. This displays the List of Values for the Item Class (see Figure 1011).
Figure 1011 Item Classes Tab with List of Values
When you retrieve a List of Values, Discoverer submits a SELECT DISTINCT query to the database (which selects the distinct set of values for the item). If there is a large number of values in the database, retrieving the list can take some time. The End User Layer has a record of the length of time it takes to retrieve the values. If this length of time is greater than 15 seconds, Discoverer will display a warning.
10.10 Deleting Items & Item Classes

This section describes how to delete Items and Item Classes.
1.
Select the Item(s) or Item Class(es) that you want to delete.

s
Items are listed on the Data page of the work area. Item Classes are listed on the Item classes page of the work area.
To select more than one item at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the Items or Item Classes.
10-23
Deleting Items & Item Classes
2.
Delete the Item(s) or Item Class(es): There are three ways to do this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected Item(s) or Item Class(es) and choose Delete Item or Delete Item Class on the popup menu. Menu Choose Edit | Delete. Keyboard Press Delete.
This opens the Confirm Delete dialog box.

3.
Click Impact. This displays the Impact dialog box that shows any other objects that may be affected by the deletion (Figure 1012). The Impact dialog box helps you to make the right choice.
The Impact Dialog Box
Figure 1012
4. 5.
When you have finished reviewing the impact this action will have, click OK. If you still want to delete the selected Item(s) or Item Class(es), click Yes.
Joins
s
11.1 Introduction 11.2 Creating Joins 11.3 Editing Join Properties 11.4 Editing Joins 11.5 Deleting Joins 11.6 Fan Traps
11.1 Introduction
In Discoverer, a Join relates two folders using one or more common items. This is similar to a Join in the database which relates two tables using common columns. The Joins you create in Discoverer Administration Edition affect the combinations of items that can be selected during the following operations:
s
Creating a worksheet in Discoverer Plus. Creating a Complex Folder in Discoverer Administration Edition.
If you select an Item, during either of these operations, you can then only select Items from Folders joined to the Folder containing the selected Item. If one or more Items from these Folders are selected then further joined Folders become available. Joins are defined with a master and detail end. The master end is the folder that has one row, for which there are several detail rows. For example, the relationship of a master row in the Department folder to the many detail rows in the Employee folder.
Joins 11-1
Introduction
It is important to make sure you define the Join with the correct folders at the master and detail ends. If you set up this relationship incorrectly, it adversely affects what combinations of folders a user can combine in a single query, which in cases of queries with three or more folders can, in some circumstances, lead to misleading or incorrect results. It can also affect whether summary tables can be used to speed up queries. Usually joins are one-to-many, where one row in the master folder is joined to multiple rows in the detail folder. Occasionally there are one-to-one and many-to-many joins. Many-to-many joins are not supported directly in Discoverer, or in any relational system, although they can always be worked to be transformed to multiple many-to-one joins. Users of Discoverer Plus cannot set up their own join conditions. However, they can decide which join path to use if more than one join exists.
11-2
Creating Joins
11.2 Creating Joins

This section describes how to create Joins. If you have already created a Join in the tutorial, you are familiar with the Join dialog boxes and have seen how they create Complex Folders from which an end user can access useful combinations of data. Creating a Join starts with either selecting the Item that will be the Master Item, or the Folder it belongs to. If you choose Insert | Join before selecting an Item or Folder, a selection dialog box opens for selecting the Item that will be the Master Item.
1. 2.
On the Data page of the work area, select the Item that you want to be the Master Item. Choose Insert | Join. If you did not select the Master Item in step 1, the first New Join dialog box opens (see Figure 111). Select the Folder that contains the Item that you want to be the Master Item and click OK.
Figure 111 Selecting the Item for the Join
This opens the main New Join dialog box (see Figure 112). The Master Item is displayed in the Master Folder column.
Joins 11-3
Creating Joins
Figure 112 New Join Dialog
3.
Specify the Join type using the Operator field. Operator use the drop-down list to select an operator for the type of join you want to create. Section 11.1, Introduction. describes the different types of Joins. Operators include: = <> < <= >= > equijoin, combining rows that have equivalent values for specified items not equal less than less than or equal greater than or equal greater than
Detail Itemsselect the folder that contains the detail item from the drop-down list. The detail item can be in a folder in either the same business area as the master item, or in a folder in a different business area. The syntax for the value in Detail Items is folder name.item name. Namename the join you are creating. Descriptiontext field for describing the join you are creating. Multi-itemreplaces the New Join dialog with a New Multi-item Join dialog with room for multiple rows of join criteria, which can be added and deleted using the Add and Delete buttons (Figure 114). Optionsdisplays a dialog box for defining outer join conditions (Figure 113).
11-4
Creating Joins
Figure 113 Join Options Dialog
This dialog presents the following options: Outer join on detailcreates an outer join. Returns all master rows that have no corresponding detail items, plus all matching master and detail rows. Outer join on mastercreates an outer join. Returns all detail rows that have no corresponding master, plus all matching detail and master rows.
NOTE: This construct is fairly rare in real schemas. It requires the Detail
foreign key can have null values option, described next.
Detail foreign key can have null valuesthis setting should only be used on rare occasions, and only affects a particular aspect of when summary tables are used to satisfy a query. Foreign keys usually have values and, in most cases, they are mandatory columns in the database. Such joins are sometimes described as lossless joins. This setting is required if you are setting detail rows that have no master, because it implies that the foreign key column will contain some null values. On its own, it has no effect on SQL generation, but is required to determine when Discoverer can use summary tables in some special circumstances. For example,
s
If you have created a summary folder that contains items from both a Master and a Detail folder, and the folders are joined with this option enabled and a user issues a query which uses items only from the detail folder, then the summary table will not be used to satisfy the query, because Discoverer cannot guarantee that the row set is the same in both cases.
Joins 11-5
Creating Joins
If Detail foreign key can have null values is not set, this query uses the summary table. This is this settings only effect. One to one join relationship between master and detailcreates a one-to-one relationship instead of a one-to-many relationship between the master and detail tables. There is no real master and detail in this case, because there is only one row in each. These joins are unusual, but do occur in schemas occasionally. This setting has no effect on the SQL that Discoverer generates, because SQL does not know about the cardinality of joins. It only affects the fan trap detection described in Section 11.6, Fan Traps. Because true one-to-one joins do not result in Cartesian products, it is possible to query a master with multiple detail folders, provided that all but one of the detail folders are joined with one-to-one joins. If these were all one-to-many joins, making it possible for a row in one detail table to join to many rows in another detail table, and vice versa, the result is a Cartesian product. Cartesian products are explicitly disallowed in Discoverer, because they are almost never the desired or expected result.
11.2.1 Using the New Join Dialog

The New Join dialog opens when you do one of the following:
s
Select a folder or item and either click the join toolbar icon, or choose Insert | Join. Click its toolbar icon or choose Insert | Join and then select an folder from the Join dialog box.
Use the New Join dialog as follows:

1.
The Master Item field displays the folder or folder and item you have selected as the master item. The folder name displays with a period followed by the item name. Use the pull-down list if you want to specify a different item in the same folder. Click the item to be used as the master item.
NOTE: If you want to change the folder in the Master Item or Detail Item fields, click more items in the drop-down list. This reopens the Select Item dialog, which you can use to select a different folder and item.
2.
Use the Operator drop-down list to define equi- or non-equi-joins.
11-6
Creating Joins
3.
If the Detail Item field contains no value, or if you want to change the value, click the pull-down arrow. A new dialog opens for selecting the item. In this new dialog, select the folder and the detail item for the join. You can choose a detail item from another open business area.
4.
Click OK. The item dialog closes and you return to the New Join dialog. The folder, followed by a period, and the detail item display in the Detail Item box. If you want to create multi-item joins, click the Multi-item button and go to Section 11.2.2, Creating Multi-item Joins.
5.
Click OK.
The New Join dialog closes and the join is added to the folder, with an icon next to it indicating the join relationship.
s
Master to Detail This icon represents the one-to-many relationship between the two items in different folders in the master to detail join relationship. The master item is on left and the detail item is on the right. Detail to Master This icon represents the many-to-one relationship between the two items in different folders in the detail to master join relationship. The detail item is on the left and the master item is on the right.
For information about editing joins, read Section 11.4, Editing Joins.
Hints and Tips

1.
You can only join between items, you cant directly include functions or literals, such as text strings, numbers or dates. The way to do this is to create calculated items that have the functions or literals you want to use, and then specify these in the join. Items in joins can be hidden later, insulating users from the structural details, but allowing them the use of joined folders.
2.
11.2.2 Creating Multi-item Joins

The join feature includes the option of adding multi-item joins. Click the Multi-item button to open the New Multi-Item Join dialog. Use this dialog to add items to the join between folders. In a multi-item join, all master items must belong to one folder and all detail items must belong to one folder. If you add a master or detail item from a different folder, all items from the previous folder will be deleted from the join.
Joins 11-7
Creating Joins
Figure 114 Multi-Item Join Dialog
1. 2.
Click Add. A new row appears. Notice that the folders named in this row are the same folders as in the previous row. The Add button is dimmed. Use the drop-down lists for Master Items and Detail Items to select a new pair of items. Keep in mind that a single master item can join to many detail item values. When you have completed selecting items in this row, the Add button reactivates, ready to add another row.
3.
Continue to use the Add and Delete buttons to add items to the join, tailoring it to the users requirements. When you are satisfied with the multi-item join, click OK.
11-8
Editing Join Properties
11.3 Editing Join Properties

Join properties are accessible through Join Properties dialog boxes. This section shows you how to edit Join properties. Figure 115 shows an example Join Properties dialog box.
Figure 115 Join Properties Dialog Box with the General Tab Selected
11.3.1 Editing the Properties of a Single Join

This section describes how to edit a Joins properties.
1.
Open the Joins Properties dialog box. There are four ways to do this:
s
Double-click Double-click the Join on the Data page. Popup Menu Right-click the Join on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the Join on the Data page and click the Properties toolbar icon ( Menu Click the Join on the Data page and choose Edit | Properties. )
2.
Make your changes as required.
Joins 11-9
Editing Joins
For more information on the fields on this dialog box, click Help.
3.
Click OK.
11.3.2 Editing the Properties of Multiple Joins

The following steps show you how to set common properties for more than one Join at a time:
1. 2.
Select all of the Joins whose properties you want to edit. (Ctrl-clicking enables you to select more than one Join.) Display the Join Properties dialog box. There are three ways to do this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected Joins on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the Properties toolbar icon ( Menu Choose Edit | Properties. )
All properties that are common to each of the selected Joins are displayed. If the data for a field is not common to each of the selected Joins, the field is blank.
3.
Make your changes as required. Any changes you make here will be applied to all of the selected Joins. For more information on the fields on this dialog box, click Help.
4.
Click OK.
11.4 Editing Joins

This section describes how to edit an existing Join.
1.
Display the Edit Join dialog box (see Figure 116). There are three ways to do this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click the Join on the Data page and choose Edit Join on the popup menu. Menu Click the Join on the Data page and choose Edit | Edit
Deleting Joins
Join Properties Dialog Box Click in the Formula field on the Join Properties dialog box.
Figure 116 Editing an Existing Join
The Edit Join dialog box works in the same way as the New Join dialog box (see Section 11.2.1, Using the New Join Dialog for more information).
2. 3.
Edit the Join as required. Click OK.
11.5 Deleting Joins

This section describes how to delete Joins.
1.
Select the Join(s) that you want to delete. To select more than one Join at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the Joins.
2.
Delete the Join(s): There are three ways to do this:

s
Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected Join(s) and choose Delete Join on the popup menu. Menu Choose Edit | Delete. Keyboard Press Delete.
Joins
11-11
Fan Traps

3.
4. 5.
When you have finished reviewing the impact this action will have, click OK. If you still want to delete the selected Join(s), click Yes.
11.6 Fan Traps

Occasionally you set up joins that include a master with two separately joined detail folders, such as pictured in Figure 118. This situation is referred to as a fan trap.
Fan Traps
Figure 118 An Example of a Fan Trap Schema
Account
Sales
Budget
As an example, the fan trap schema in Figure 118 includes a master folder (ACCOUNT) and two detail folders (SALES and BUDGET). An account can have several sales and several budget figures for each period. In most cases Discoverer can resolve queries involving fan trap schemas to give the correct results. For example, consider the following rows:
ACCOUNT ID 1 2 3 4 Name Account 1 Account 2 Account 3 Account 4
BUDGET Accid Budget 1 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 200 200 100 150 250 350 100 100 Period 1 2 3 2 3 4 1 2
Joins
11-13
Fan Traps
SALES Accid 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 4 Sales 100 100 200 50 80 200 150 50 100 Period 1 2 3 1 2 3 2 3 4
If the user selects ACCOUNT name, sum of SALES and sum of BUDGET in a query they will see the following results:
Account Account 1 Account 2 Account 3 Account 4 Sales 400 130 200 300 Budget 400 100 750 200
However there are situations where Discoverer prevents queries involving fan trap schemas from returning the expected results. In these cases, Discoverer disallows the query and displays an error message. Such situations arise in any of the following circumstances:
s
The detail folders are joined to the master folder using different keys from the master for the join. There is a direct join relationship between any of the detail folders (thereby creating an ambiguous circular relationship). Non-aggregated values are chosen from more than one of the detail folders. More than one detail folder has a separate join relationship to a different master folder.
Fan Traps
11.6.1 Fan Traps inside Complex Folders

If you are setting up a fan trap join configuration inside a Complex Folder, to guarantee that correct results are returned, be sure to specify the aggregates to use for the details by editing the Item properties and setting the formula (for example SUM(Sales Fact.Sales)).
Figure 119 An example of an aggregate formula specified for an item in a complex folder
Joins
11-15
Fan Traps
Calculations
s
12.1 Introduction 12.2 Creating Calculations 12.3 Editing Calculation Properties 12.4 Editing Calculations 12.5 Deleting Calculations 12.6 Registering Custom PL/SQL Functions
12.1 Introduction
12.1.1 What is a Calculated Item?
Typical business calculations include values such as profit margins, average revenues per month, expected sales, and percent of profit by product type. You can represent these business calculations in Discoverer by creating Calculation Items. Once created, Calculation Items behave much like any other Item in a Folder and can be used in Conditions, Summaries, Lists of Values, Joins, and other Calculation Items. You create Calculation Items using expressions that can contain:
s
Existing Items Operators Literals Functions
There are three types of calculations:
Calculations 12-1
Introduction
Derived Items Aggregate Calculations Aggregate Derived Items
Derived items and aggregate calculations appear with different symbols to differentiate them. Aggregate derived items appear with the same symbol as derived items. For more information about the Icons that appear in the work area, see Section 3.3, The Work Area.
12.1.1.1 Derived Items

A derived item is a non-aggregate expression that appears and acts exactly like any other item in the folder. Derived items can be axis items or data points and can be used anywhere one would use an ordinary item. They are static, in that their value depends only on the value of the other items in the same row, and when computed will be the same regardless of what other items are selected in the users query. Examples of Derived Items:
Sal*12+NVL(Comm,0) Initcap(Ename) 1 Sysdate-7
12.1.1.2 Aggregate Calculations

If the formula of a new item contains an aggregate or group function such as SUM, AVG, MAX, MIN, or COUNT, and the items it aggregates are in the current folder, the item is created as an aggregate calculation. Examples of Aggregate Calculations:
SUM(Sal)*12 SUM(Comm)/SUM(Sal) AVG(Monthly Sales)
Aggregate calculations are dynamic, in that their value depends on the other items selected in the Discoverer Plus worksheet in which they are used, because this affects the axis items that are grouped together and hence the number of rows that are aggregated. This is particularly important in the case of calculations that are ratios of two aggregates. For example to calculate Margin, one would use the calculation SUM(Profit)/SUM(Sales) rather than Profit/Sales. Used in a query, the latter would result in SUM(Profit/Sales), which
12-2
Introduction
produces a different result from SUM(Profit)/SUM(Sales). Data points should always be summed before a ratio is computed.
12.1.1.3 Restrictions on Aggregate Calculations

Aggregate Calculations:
s
must be data points must have Default Aggregation set to Detail. must reference items in the current folder. (Aggregates of items in source folders, in the case of a complex folder, will be created as aggregate derived items.) cannot be used in a join. cannot be used in a mandatory condition. cannot be used in a hierarchy. cannot have an item class. cannot be dragged into a complex folder. cannot have further aggregation functions applied to them in Discoverer Plus.
Aggregate calculations do not affect the row set of the folder. Their dynamic nature means that they only affect generated SQL when selected in Discoverer Plus.
12.1.1.4 Aggregate Derived Items

An aggregate derived item is a calculation created in a complex folder that aggregates items in one or more of the source folders. Aggregate derived items behave in all respects like ordinary derived items, and are used where there is a requirement to nest aggregate functions. Aggregate derived items always affect the row set of the folder, because they cause the whole folder to be aggregated by all the other axis items in the folder, even if the axis items are not used in a sheet. Example of an Aggregate Derived Item:
1.
A Complex Folder named Monthly Sales Analysis is built by dragging the following items from the Video Analysis folder:
s
Department Region
Calculations 12-3
Introduction
City Store Name Year Quarter Month
The complex folder Monthly Sales Analysis contains a row for every store, for every month.
2.
An aggregate calculation item Monthly Sales Per Store is created with the formula: SUM(Video Analysis.Sales) This item shows the total sales for a given store in a given month.
3.
An aggregate calculation is defined as: Average Monthly Sales per Store = AVG(Monthly Sales Per Store) This item shows the average monthly sales and can be analyzed over region, quarter, year, etc., to compare trends. This sort of nested aggregate is only possible by creating the aggregate item in a new folder, because this folder now represents monthly sales, not the individual sales that were in the original complex folder. Aggregate derived items cause the folder SQL to contain a GROUP BY and all end-user queries to return one row for each combination of all the other non-aggregated items, regardless of whether the calculation is used in the query. This reduces the number of rows returned by the folder, because they are aggregated at the level of the other items.
12.1.2 Advantages of Calculations

Calculation Items can be a critical part of an end users report. As Discoverer Administrator, you should set up commonly used calculations as predefined Items in a Folder. This makes them available for inclusion in Discoverer Plus worksheets. Creating Calculation Items provides the following benefits:
s
Users do not need to create the calculation themselves, they can simply select the item. New items can be added to a folder that do not exist as columns in the underlying database tables. Complicated formulae can be set up to compute results without the user having to understand the details of the computation involved.
12-4
Introduction
12.1.3 Calculations and Analytic Functions

Analytic Functions behave like Aggregate Calculations except for the following:
s
Analytic Functions do not require aggregation. All other restrictions that apply to Aggregate Functions apply to Analytic Functions, (see Restrictions on Aggregate Calculations). Analytic Function aggregation must be derived from the database server, not the memory cache - this has implications on performance. Analytic Functions are only available in Oracle 8.1.6 or later. Analytic functions are not part of Object SQL.
For further information about Analytic Functions refer to the Discoverer 4i Plus Users Guide.
12.1.4 More information

You can obtain more information about Calculations in Oracle Discoverer from the following sources:
s
For worked examples of Calculations, refer to the Oracle Discoverer Plus User Guide. For information on general Function syntax, refer to your Oracle 8i SQL Reference documentation. For information on Analytic Function syntax, refer to Oracle 8i SQL Reference Release 2 (8.1.6) - Part Number A76989-01.
Calculations 12-5
Creating Calculations
12.2 Creating Calculations

This section describes how to create a new Calculation.
1. 2.
Select the Folder that you want to contain your new Calculation (on the Data page of the work area). Open the New Item dialog box. There are three ways of doing this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click the folder on the Data page and choose New Item on the popup menu. Tabular Icon Click the New Item tabular icon ( Menu Choose Insert | Item. )
The New Item dialog box (see Figure 122) enables you to create a new Calculation Item and add it to the selected Folder.
NOTE: If you didnt select a Folder in step 1, Discoverer Administration
Edition displays the New Item dialog box (see Figure 121). Select the Folder that you want to contain your new Calculation using this dialog box (you can select any Folder from within any open Business Area).
12-6
Figure 121
Selecting a Folder to Contain your new Calculation
Figure 122
New Item Dialog
3. 4.
Specify the Name for your new Calculation. If you already know the calculation syntax, you can type your calculation directly into the Calculation area.
NOTE: Calculations follow the Oracle calculation standard syntax. For a
full description of this syntax, see the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual.
Calculations 12-7
However, the New Item dialog box has the following features to help you construct the Calculation without needing prior knowledge of the syntax:
s
Show Items If you select Items, the Show area displays a list of the Items in the selected Folder (if the selected Folder is a Complex Folder, the source Folders and their Items are also displayed here). You can insert an Item in the list into your Calculation by double-clicking on it (you can also select the Item and click Paste).
Show Functions If you select Functions, the Show area displays a list of the Functions (grouped by type) available for use in your Calculation. If you have registered a custom PL/SQL function, it will appear in the Database group. For more information, see Section 12.6, Registering Custom PL/SQL Functions. You can insert a Function in the list into your Calculation by double-clicking on it (you can also select the Function and click Paste).
Operators You can insert any of the operators (listed along the bottom of the Calculation area) into your Calculation by clicking on them.
Window Size You can resize the New Item dialog box to give you more room to type your Calculation.
For more information see the Oracle Discoverer Plus User Guide.
5.
When you have finished specifying the Calculation formula, click OK.
s
If there are no errors in the formula, the new Item is created. If there are errors in the formula, Discoverer Administration Edition displays the first error and returns you to the New Item dialog box so that you can correct it.
You can now use this new Item to create joins, conditions, and even new calculations.
12-8
Editing Calculation Properties
12.3 Editing Calculation Properties

Item properties are accessible through Item Properties dialog boxes. This section shows you how to enhance the users view of the data by editing item properties. Figure 123 shows an example Item Properties dialog box.
Figure 123 Item Properties Dialog Box with the General Tab Selected
12.3.1 Editing the Properties of a Single Item

This section describes how to edit an items properties.
1.
Open the items Properties dialog box. There are four ways to do this:
s
Double-click Double-click the item on the Data page. Popup Menu Right-click the item on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the item on the Data page and click the Properties toolbar icon ( Menu Click the item on the Data page and choose Edit | Properties. )
Calculations 12-9
Editing Calculations
2.
3.
Click OK.
12.3.2 Editing the Properties of Multiple Items

The following steps show you how to set common properties for more than one item at a time:
1. 2.
Select all of the items whose properties you want to edit. (Ctrl-clicking enables you to select more than one folder.) Display the Item Properties dialog box. There are three ways to do this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected folders on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the Properties toolbar icon ( Menu Choose Edit | Properties. )
All properties that are common to each of the selected folders are displayed. If the data for a field is not common to each of the selected folders, the field is blank.
3.
Make your changes as required. Any changes you make here will be applied to all of the selected folders. For more information on the fields on this dialog box, click Help.
4.
Click OK.
12.4 Editing Calculations

This section describes how to edit an existing Calculation.
1.
Display the Edit Calculation dialog box (see Figure 122). There are three ways to do this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click the Calculation Item on the Data page and choose Edit Item on the popup menu.
Deleting Calculations
Menu Click the Calculation Item on the Data page and choose Edit | Edit Item Properties Dialog Box Click in the Formula field on the Item Properties dialog box.
The Edit Calculation dialog box works in the same way as the New Item dialog box (see Section 12.2, Creating Calculations for more information).
2. 3.
Edit the Calculation as required. Click OK.
12.5 Deleting Calculations

This section describes how to delete Calculation Items.
1.
Select the Calculation Item(s) that you want to delete. To select more than one Item at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the Items.
2.
Delete the Item(s): There are three ways to do this:

s
Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected Item(s) and choose Delete Item on the popup menu. Menu Choose Edit | Delete. Keyboard Press Delete.

3.
Calculations
12-11
Deleting Calculations
Figure 124
4. 5.
When you have finished reviewing the impact this action will have, click OK. If you still want to delete the selected Items(s), click Yes.
Registering Custom PL/SQL Functions
12.6 Registering Custom PL/SQL Functions

In addition to the PL/SQL functions provided by Oracle, you can create custom PL/SQL functions to meet your users requirements. These can be used to provide predefined functions for complicated calculations. User-defined PL/SQL functions become part of the total set of PL/SQL functions available to all database processes.
NOTE: You do not create user-defined PL/SQL functions directly in Dis-
coverer Administration Edition. To create PL/SQL functions, use SQL*Plus, or a procedural editor. Refer to the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual.
To be able to access custom PL/SQL functions using Discoverer, you must have first registered them in the EUL. Once registered, user-defined PL/SQL functions appear in the list of database functions in the Edit Calculation dialog box and can be used in the same way as the Oracle-supplied functions. In Discoverer Plus, folders that contain derived items using PL/SQL functions will not be visible to users who do not have EXECUTE privileges on those functions. To make those functions accessible, ensure that the user has the associated EXECUTE privilege in the database. There are two methods for registering functions:
s
Manual Registration Manual registration requires that you register each function individually by supplying all of the pertinent information about the function. Import Registering PL/SQL functions by importing is preferable, especially if many functions need to be registered. Importing functions imports all of the relevant information about each function, including name, database link, return type, and the list of arguments. Importing ensures correct information about the function, because the information does not have to be manually entered on a function-by-function basis.
Which you choose depends on the version of the Oracle database youre using:
s
Oracle Release 7.3 or later Automatic import is available, but you can also register manually. Oracle Release 7.2 or earlier Manual registration is required.
Calculations
12-13
12.6.1 Registering Custom PL/SQL Manually

This section describes how to manually register a PL/SQL function for use in Discoverer.
1.
Choose Tools | Register PL/SQL Functions. This opens the PL/SQL Functions dialog box on the Functions page (see Figure 125).
Figure 125
Functions Tab in the PL/SQL Functions Dialog Box
2. 3. 4.
Click New. Specify the function attributes. Click Validate. This checks the validity and accuracy of the information you have entered.
5. 6.
If the function is invalid, correct the attributes and click Validate again. Does this function accept arguments?
s
Yes Continue to step 7. No Click OK. The custom PL/SQL function is now registered for use in Discoverer.
7.
Click the Arguments tab (see Figure 126).
Figure 126
Arguments Tab in the PL/SQL Functions Dialog Box
8. 9.
Click New. Specify the argument attributes.
10. When you have finished defining the arguments, click OK.
The custom PL/SQL function is now registered for use in Discoverer.
12.6.2 Registering PL/SQL Functions Automatically

This section describes how to register PL/SQL functions automatically:
1.
Choose Tools | Register PL/SQL Functions. This opens the PL/SQL Functions dialog box on the Functions page (Figure 125).
2.
Click Import. This opens the Import PL/SQL Functions dialog box (see Figure 127), which enables you to select the PL/SQL functions that you want to register.
Calculations
12-15
Figure 127
Import PL/SQL Functions Dialog Box
3. 4.
Select the functions that you want to import Click OK.
All of the pertinent information about the selected functions is imported, and you do not have to manually enter information or validate it.
Conditions
s
13.1 Introduction 13.2 Creating Conditions 13.3 Editing Condition Properties 13.4 Editing Conditions 13.5 Deleting Conditions
13.1 Introduction
13.1.1 What is a Condition?
A condition can be used to selectively filter out data. If you took the tutorial in Chapter 4, you will have created a condition that analyzed the chain of video stores and selected only those departments equal to Video Sales or Video Rentals. End users can use Conditions to restrict the results of their query to the areas they are interested in. This can result in faster queries.
13.1.2 Condition Types

There are two types of Condition:
s
Mandatory A mandatory Condition is always applied to a query that contains one or more items from the folder that contains the Condition. Users of Discoverer Plus are not notified of mandatory Conditions and are unable to turn them off.
Conditions 13-1
Introduction
For example, you may want to assign a mandatory Condition to sales data for regional sales managers, limiting their view of sales to the region for which each manager is responsible.
NOTE: If you create a complex folder from Items in a Folder that contains
a mandatory Condition, the results in the complex Folder are restricted by the mandatory Condition on the original Folder. You can see any mandatory Conditions that impact a Complex Folder using the Components page of the Complex Folders properties dialog box.
Optional An optional Condition can be applied (or not), as required, to their worksheets by users of Discoverer Plus. They can also view the Conditions formula, but they cannot edit it. For example, a Vice President responsible for all sales regions should be able to see all of the sales data, and also be able to apply Conditions to see sales data pertaining to specific sales regions.
You create mandatory and optional conditions in the same way, and although Discoverer Administration Edition enables you to change a condition from optional to mandatory and vice versa, there are some subtle differences between the two types of condition. These differences are shown in Table 131.
Table 131 Difference Between Mandatory and Optional Conditions Optional Conditions Are only applied to the results of a folder if selected in Discoverer Plus. Are provided by an administrator as a shortcut to help users build conditions more easily. Are visible (but not editable) in Discoverer Plus. When created in a complex folder, can only reference items in the complex folder. Do not affect the result set of the folder definition in the EUL (because they are only applied when used in Discoverer Plus).
Mandatory Conditions Are always applied to the results of a folder. Are used by an administrator to permanently restrict the rows returned by a folder. Are invisible in Discoverer Plus. When created in a complex folder, can reference items in the source folders. Affect the result set of the folder definition in the EUL.
13-2
Introduction
Table 131
Difference Between Mandatory and Optional Conditions Optional Conditions When added, changed, or deleted have no affect on summaries based on the folder.
Mandatory Conditions When added, changed, or deleted, cause any summaries based on the folder to become invalid, because their result set no longer matches that of the folder. These summaries are set to Refresh required and must be refreshed to be made available again.
Conditions 13-3
Creating Conditions
13.2 Creating Conditions

This section describes how to create a new Condition.
1.
On the Data page of the work area, either

s
select the Folder that you want to contain your new Condition, or select the Item that you want to form part of your Condition.
2.
Open the New Condition dialog box. There are three ways of doing this:
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Popup Menu Right-click the Folder or Item on the Data page and choose New Condition on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the New condition toolbar icon ( Menu Choose Insert | Condition. )
The New Condition dialog box (see Figure 132) enables you to create a new Condition and add it to the selected Folder.
NOTE: If you didnt select a Folder or Item in step 1, Discoverer Adminis-
tration Edition displays the New Condition dialog box (see Figure 131). Select the Folder or Item for your new Condition using this dialog box (you can select any Folder or Item from within any open Business Area).
13-4
Creating Conditions
Figure 131
Selecting a Folder or Item for your new Condition
Figure 132
New Condition Dialog Box
NOTE: By default, Discoverer Administration Edition chooses a name for your new Condition based on the Condition itself. If you want to specify a name other than the default, clear Generate name automatically and enter the Name.
Conditions 13-5
Creating Conditions
3. 4.
Specify the Description for your new Condition. Set Type to either Required or Optional.
NOTE: When you create a Condition based on an Analytic Function, you
must designate the Condition as optional. If you choose mandatory, a message is displayed informing you that Analytic Functions are not allowed in mandatory conditions.
See Section 13.1.2, Condition Types for more information.

5.
If you want to create a Condition based on:

s
a single Item, proceed to Section 13.2.1, Single Item Conditions multiple Items, proceed to Section 13.2.2, Multiple Item Conditions
13.2.1 Single Item Conditions

This section describes how to finish creating a Condition based on a single Item. For example, Region = East.
1.
Select the Item that you want to base your Condition on (using the Item drop-down list). The Item drop-down list also enables you to create a Condition based on:
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a Calculation (choose Create Calculation), or an existing Condition (choose Select Condition).
For more information on creating Calculations, see Chapter 12.2, Creating Calculations.
2. 3.
Select the type of comparison (using the Condition drop-down list). Select the value(s) that are to be compared with the Item (using the Value(s) drop-down list). You can also type the values directly into the field:
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Surround values consisting of alphabetical characters with single quotes (entry) Do not surround numeric values with quotes.
13-6
Creating Conditions
Separate multiple values with commas.
The Value(s) drop-down list also enables you to create a calculated value to use with this condition (choose Create Calculation).
4. 5.
If you want the Condition to be case sensitive, tick Match Case, otherwise, clear it. Click OK.
For more information about the fields on this dialog box, click Help.
13.2.2 Multiple Item Conditions

This section describes how to finish creating a Condition based on multiple Items. For example, (Department IN 'Video Sale' or 'Video Rental') AND (Region = Central).
1.
Click Advanced >>. This displays the advanced version of the Edit Condition dialog box (see Figure 133).
Figure 133
New Condition Dialog Box with Advanced Selected
Note that the SQL code for the formula is displayed at the bottom of the dialog box.
2.
Click Add. This adds a new row to the Condition.
Conditions 13-7
Creating Conditions
3.
Select the Item that you want to base your Condition on (using the Item drop-down list). The Item drop-down list also enables you to create a Condition based on:
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a Calculation (choose Create Calculation), or an existing Condition (choose Select Condition)
sta tus
the formula of an existing Condition (choose Copy Condition).
For more information on creating Calculations, see Chapter 12.2, Creating Calculations.Select the type of comparison (using the Condition drop-down list).
4.
Select the value(s) that are to be compared with the Item (using the Value(s) drop-down list). You can also type the values directly into the field:
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Surround values consisting of alphabetical characters with single quotes (entry) Do not surround numeric values with quotes. Separate multiple values with commas.
The Value(s) drop-down list also enables you to create a calculated value to use with this condition (choose Create Calculation).
5.
Repeat steps 2 to 5 to add more rows to your Condition formula.
NOTE: You can delete a row from the Condition formula by selecting it
and clicking Delete.
6.
Click in the Group column and choose how the rows in the Condition formula relate to each other:
s
If all of the rows must be true to display the data, click And. If only one of the rows has to be true to display the data, click Or. If all of the rows must be false to display the data, click Not.
7. 8.
If you want the Condition to be case sensitive, tick Match Case, otherwise, clear it. Click OK.
13-8
Editing Condition Properties
For more information about the fields on this dialog box, click Help.
13.3 Editing Condition Properties

Condition properties are accessible through Condition Properties dialog boxes. This section shows you how to enhance the users view of the data by editing Condition properties. Figure 134 shows an example Condition Properties dialog box.
Figure 134 Condition Properties Dialog Box with the General Tab Selected
13.3.1 Editing the Properties of a Single Condition

This section describes how to edit a Conditions properties.
1.
Open the Conditions Properties dialog box. There are four ways to do this:
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Double-click Double-click the Condition on the Data page. Popup Menu Right-click the Condition on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the Condition on the Data page and click the Properties toolbar icon ( )
Conditions 13-9
Editing Conditions
Menu Click the Condition on the Data page and choose Edit | Properties.
2.
3.
Click OK.
13.3.2 Editing the Properties of Multiple Conditions

The following steps show you how to set common properties for more than one Condition at a time:
1. 2.
Select all of the Conditions whose properties you want to edit. (Ctrl-clicking enables you to select more than one Condition.) Display the Condition Properties dialog box. There are three ways to do this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected Conditions on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the Properties toolbar icon ( Menu Choose Edit | Properties. )
All properties that are common to each of the selected Conditions are displayed. If the data for a field is not common to each of the selected Conditions, the field is blank.
3.
Make your changes as required. Any changes you make here will be applied to all of the selected Conditions. For more information on the fields on this dialog box, click Help.
4.
Click OK.
13.4 Editing Conditions

This section describes how to edit an existing Condition.
1.
Display the Edit Condition dialog box (see Figure 132). There are three ways to do this:
Deleting Conditions
Popup Menu Right-click the Condition on the Data page and choose Edit Condition on the popup menu. Menu Click the Condition on the Data page and choose Edit | Edit Condition Properties Dialog Box Click in the Formula field on the Condition Properties dialog box.
The Edit Condition dialog box works in the same way as the New Condition dialog box (see Section 13.2, Creating Conditions for more information).
2. 3.
Edit the Condition as required. Click OK.
13.5 Deleting Conditions

This section describes how to delete Conditions.
1.
Select the Condition(s) that you want to delete. To select more than one Condition at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the Conditions.
2.
Delete the Condition(s): There are three ways to do this:

s
Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected Condition(s) and choose Delete Condition on the popup menu. Menu Choose Edit | Delete. Keyboard Press Delete.

3.
Conditions
13-11
Example Conditions
Figure 135
4. 5.
When you have finished reviewing the impact this action will have, click OK. If you still want to delete the selected Condition(s), click Yes.
13.6 Example Conditions

13.6.1 Sales in the Last Seven Days
This example describes how to create a Condition that only returns the Sales in the Last Seven Days. It uses the Calculation Item, Transaction Age (in Days).
1.
Create a new Condition:

s
Name: Sales in the Last Seven Days Item: Transaction Age (in Days) Condition: < Additional calculations required: Transaction Age = FLOOR (SYSDATE Transaction Date) Value(s): 7
This is sometimes described as a rolling window Condition because the window of rows it returns changes from day to day.
Example Conditions
13.6.2 Shipments in Q3
This example describes how to create a Condition that only returns Shipments made in Q3 (regardless of year). It uses the Calculation Item, Ship Quarter.
1.
Create a new Condition:

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Name: Shipments in Q3 Item: Ship Quarter Condition: = Additional calculations required: Ship Quarter = EUL_DATE_TRUNC(Ship Date, Q) Value: Q3
This Condition will now only return Shipments that were made in Q3 (regardless of year).
13.6.3 Outer Join with Conditions behavior

This example shows how the registry setting DisableAutoOuterJoinsOnFilters can affect the result set when a condition (filter) is applied in Discoverer (see Chapter E.2, Registry Settings). The effect that this registry setting has is best understood by using an example. The table below summarizes the conditions used in the examples that follow: Registry Value 1 or 0 1 0 Condition Applied? No (See example 1) Yes (See example 2) Yes (See example 3)
Example 1 - Shows the rows fetched from a query where an outer join exists between the dept and emp tables (no condition applied):
select dname, ename, job from dept, emp where dept.deptno = emp.deptno (+); DNAME SALES SALES SALES SUPPORT ENAME GRIMES PETERS SCOTT MAJOR JOB DIRECTOR MANAGER CLERK MANAGER
Conditions
13-13
Example Conditions
SUPPORT ADMIN MARKETING DISTRIBUTION
SCOTT
CLERK
Example 2 - User adds a condition to the query in Example 1 and the registry setting is set to 0 (default behavior):
select dname, ename, job from dept, emp where dept.depno = emp.deptno (+) and job (+) = CLERK;. DNAME SALES SUPPORT ADMIN MARKETING DISTRIBUTION Note: Outer joins will not be placed on IN, IS NULL or IS NOT NULL clauses as this is not a supported operation by the database. ENAME SCOTT SCOTT JOB CLERK CLERK
Example 3 - User adds a condition to the query in Example 1 and the registry setting set to 1:
select dname, ename, job from dept, emp where dept.deptno = emp.deptno(+) and job = CLERK; DNAME SALES SUPPORT ENAME SCOTT SCOTT JOB CLERK CLERK
Hierarchies
s
14.1 Introduction 14.2 Creating Hierarchies 14.3 Editing Hierarchies 14.4 Editing Date Hierarchy Templates 14.5 Applying Date Hierarchy Templates to Date Items 14.6 Setting the Default Date Hierarchy Template 14.7 Deleting Hierarchies 14.8 Date Hierarchies and Performance
14.1 Introduction
14.1.1 What is a Hierarchy?
A Hierarchy is a logical linking that you define between Items that enables Discoverer Plus users to:
s
drill up (to a greater level of aggregation) and drill down (to a greater level of detail).
Hierarchical relationships are not defined in the database; you create them in the Business Area. Discoverer Hierarchies mimic data relationships from the end users perspective instead of from the database perspective.
Hierarchies 14-1
Introduction
14.1.2 Types of Hierarchy

There are two types of Hierarchy in Discoverer Administration Edition:
s
Item Hierarchies Date Hierarchies
14.1.2.1 Item Hierarchies

An example Item Hierarchy is: Country > Region > District > Retail Store If you implement this Item Hierarchy in a Business Area, and an end user has a report that looks at sales from a country perspective, they can drill down (using the Item Hierarchy) to get regional details, and so on right down to the retail store level. Figure 141 shows this Item Hierarchy from the end users perspective.
Figure 141 Sample Item HierarchyEnd Users Perspective
Country Region City West Los Angeles San Francisco
USA Central Dallas New York East Boston
Store Name Store 1
Store 2
Store 3 Store 4 Store 5 Store 6
Store 7
Figure 142 shows the same Hierarchy from the database perspective.
14-2
Introduction
Figure 142
Sample Item HierarchyDatabase Perspective
The database table Store STORE_ID COUNTRY REGION CITY STORE_NAME ADDRESS 1 ADDRESS 2 FLOOR_TYPE
The item hierarchy Store.Country Store.Region Store.City Store.store_Name
When an Item Hierarchy is included in a query expressed in units such as Dollar Sales, the units are appropriately aggregated to reflect the value for that level of Hierarchy.
14.1.2.2 Date Hierarchies

An example Date Hierarchy is: Year > Quarter > Month > Week > Day If you implement this Date Hierarchy in a Business Area, and an end user has a report that looks at total sales for each year in their records, they can drill down (using the Date Hierarchy) to get sales per quarter, and so on right down to the sales per day level. You can use Discoverer Administration Editions existing Date Hierarchy templates to define many common Date Hierarchies, or you can create your own customized Date Hierarchies. Figure 143 shows a Date Hierarchy from the end users perspective and how the data could be viewed based on the Sales_Date.
Hierarchies 14-3
Creating Hierarchies
Figure 143
Sample Date HierarchyDatabase Perspective
The database table SalesOrders ORDER_ID PRODUCT_ID STORE_ID SALES_DATE NET_PRICE LIST_PRICE COST
The date hierarchy Sales_Orders.Sales_Date YYYY Sales_Orders.Sales_Date QQ Sales_Orders.Sales_Date MON Sales_Orders.Sales_Date DD
The date column in this sample is Sales_Date.
14.1.3 Date Hierarchy Templates

A Date Hierarchy Template enables you to define a Date Hierarchy which you can apply to Date Items as required. It is much faster to apply a Date Hierarchy Template to Date Items than to redefine the same Date Hierarchy for each Date Item. Discoverer Administration Edition includes a default Date Hierarchy Template for drilling from year to quarter to month to day: YYYY > QQ > MON > DD.
14.2 Creating Hierarchies

This section consists of the following topics:
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14.2.1 Creating Item Hierarchies 14.2.2 Creating Date Hierarchies
14.2.1 Creating Item Hierarchies

This section describes how to create an Item Hierarchy.
14-4
1.
Start the Hierarchy Wizard. There are three ways to do this:

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Toolbar Icon Click the New Hierarchy toolbar icon ( Menu Choose Insert | Hierarchy.
Popup Menu Right-click anywhere on the Hierarchies page of the work area and choose New Hierarchy on the popup menu.
2. 3.
Select Item Hierarchy. Click Next. This opens Hierarchy Wizard: Step 2 (see Figure 144).
Figure 144
Hierarchy Wizard: Step 2
4.
Move the Items that you want to include in this Item Hierarchy from the list on the left to the list on the right. There are three ways of moving Items from one list to the other:
Hierarchies 14-5
Drag & Drop Drag one or more Items from one list to the other. Include / Exclude buttons Select one or more Items in a list and then click either the Include (right arrow) or Exclude (left arrow) button. Double-click Double-click an Item to move it from one list to the other.
To select more than one Item at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the Items. You can select Items from within multiple Folders. However, the Folders must be joined. If the Folders are joined with more than one Join, the Choose Join dialog box opens. Use this dialog box to select the correct Join for the Item Hierarchy. The order of items in the hierarchy list determines the drilldown sequence that the end user will use to analyze the data. By default, the Item Hierarchy is arranged in the order that you include the Items.
5.
If you need to move an Item in the Hierarchy to a different position, select the Item in the right-hand list and:
s
Click Promote to move the Item higher up in the Hierarchy. Click Demote to move the Item lower down in the Hierarchy.
If you want to group two or more Items so that they appear on the same level of the Hierarchy, select the Items (To select more than one Item at once, hold down Ctrl when you click on the Items) and click Group.
Note: To ungroup a group of Items in the Hierarchy, select the group and
click Ungroup.
6.
If you want to rename the Item as it appears in the Item Hierarchy, click on the Item in the right-hand list and specify the new name in the Name field. The name specified here is the label the user sees in Discoverer Plus. By default, each level of the Item Hierarchy uses the Item name.
7.
Click Next. This opens Hierarchy Wizard: Step 3 (see Figure 145).
14-6
Figure 145
8. 9.
Specify a name for the new Item Hierarchy. Specify a description for the new Item Hierarchy.
10. Click Finish.
This creates the Item Hierarchy and lists it on the Hierarchies page.
14.2.2 Creating Date Hierarchies

This section describes how to create a Date Hierarchy. You can only create Date Hierarchies if you are using an Oracle database.
1.
Start the Hierarchy Wizard. There are three ways to do this:

s
Toolbar Icon Click the New Hierarchy toolbar icon ( Menu Choose Insert | Hierarchy.
Hierarchies 14-7
Popup Menu Right-click anywhere on the Hierarchies page of the work area and choose New Hierarchy on the popup menu.
2. 3.
Select Date Hierarchy. Click Next. This opens Hierarchy Wizard: Step 2 (see Figure 144).
Figure 146
4.
Move the Date Formats that you want to include in this Date Hierarchy from the list on the left to the list on the right. There are three ways of moving Date Formats from one list to the other:
s
Drag & Drop Drag one or more Date Format from one list to the other. Include / Exclude buttons Select one or more Date Format in a list and then click either the Include (right arrow) or Exclude (left arrow) button. Double-click Double-click an Date Format to move it from one list to the other.
14-8
To select more than one Date Format at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the Date Formats.
5.
If you need to move a Date Format in the Hierarchy to a different position, select the Date Format in the right-hand list and:
s
Click Promote to move the Date Format higher up in the Hierarchy. Click Demote to move the Date Format lower down in the Hierarchy.
6.
If you want to rename the Date Format as it appears in the Date Hierarchy, click on the Date Format in the right-hand list and specify the new name in the Name field. The name specified here is the label the user sees in Discoverer Plus.
7.
Figure 147
8.
Move the Date Items that you want this Date Hierarchy applied to, from the Available Items list to the Selected Items list. There are three ways of moving Items from one list to the other:
Hierarchies 14-9
Drag & Drop Drag one or more Items from one list to the other. Include / Exclude buttons Select one or more Items in a list and then click either the Include (right arrow) or Exclude (left arrow) button. Double-click Double-click an Item to move it from one list to the other.
To select more than one Date Format at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the Date Formats. If you only want to create a Date Hierarchy Template (without applying it to a Date Item), dont select any Date Items on this page.
9.
Figure 148
10. Specify a name for the new Date Hierarchy. 11. Specify a description for the new Date Hierarchy.
12. If you want this Date Hierarchy Template to be the default, tick Set as default date
hierarchy, otherwise clear it. The default Date Hierarchy Template, appears as the default selection in the Date hierarchies, using: drop-down list under Automatically generate: on Load Wizard: Step 4. For more information, see Section 7.2.2.6, Load Wizard: Step 4, Automatic Attributes.
13. Click Finish.
This creates the Date Hierarchy Template and applies it to the Date Items that you selected on Hierarchy Wizard: Step 4. These Date Hierarchies and the Date Hierarchy Template itself are listed on the Hierarchies page.
14.2.3 Date Format and Date Format Masks

14.2.3.1 Date Format
A Date Format differs from a Date Format Mask in that a Date Format truncates a date into a standard format (whereas a Date Format mask only affects the display characteristics of a date). A truncated date is one that represents a period (E.g. the whole period of the year 2000 will be represented in Discoverer as the date 01-JAN-00). A user can then apply a condition to the truncated date to return all the records within a period. For example, truncating a date item as eul_date_trunc(shipdate, "YY") = 01-JAN-00 will return only the records for the year 2000.
14.2.3.2 Date Format Mask

A date format mask (displayed in the item properties sheet) influences the way that a date is displayed to the user - it has no effect on the way the date is stored. Therefore, if you have a format mask defined as "Q", you will be able to display the quarter, but to apply a condition you would need to also apply a corresponding date format to return the results you expect, for example eul_date_trunc(shipdate, "Q").
Note: A warning is displayed whenever you attempt to change a Date For-
mat Mask (in the Item Properties dialog) of a date item that has an editable formula. This is to reduce the risk of a Date Format Mask being out of synch with its Date Format.
A more subtle aspect of this is that the standard Oracle date format includes time (DDMON-YY:HH24:MI:SS). When Discoverer loads dates in, it gives them a date Format MASK of DD-MON-YY (i.e. without the time). If a user then applies a condition on dates
Hierarchies
14-11
Editing Hierarchies
where time is actually stored in the database then the time component will be included in the condition, even though the Format MASK says it is not. If this is the case, the solution is to change the item definition and truncate the date item itself to just DD-MON-YY.
14.2.3.3 The EUL_DATE_TRUNC function

The function EUL_DATE_TRUNC (used by the Date Format) enables you to truncate a date value to the format specified in the format mask, and keep it as a DATE data type. This has several advantages:
s
It enables you to have formats such as YYYY-QU. It ensures that when you specify a quarter format the item knows which Year the quarter is in. For Example: If you apply Eul_date_trunc(Date,YYYY) to the dates 25-Aug-1934, 11-nov-1934 & 03-feb-1933 we would produce 01-jan-1934,01-jan-1934 & 01-jan-1933 respectively. Hence we have produced the same value for the 1st 2 dates because they were the same in the elements of the date asked for in the format mask.
14.3 Editing Hierarchies

This section describes how to edit an existing Hierarchy.
Note: If you want to change the Date Formats that are included in a Date
Hierarchy, edit the corresponding Date Hierarchy Template not the Date Hierarchy itself. For more information, see Section 14.4, Editing Date Hierarchy Templates.
1.
Display the Edit Hierarchy dialog box (see Figure 149). There are two ways to do this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click the Hierarchy on the Hierarchies page and choose Edit Hierarchy on the popup menu. Menu Click the Hierarchy on the Hierarchies page and choose Edit | Edit
Editing Date Hierarchy Templates
Figure 149
The Edit Hierarchy Dialog Box with the Name Page Selected
2.
Edit the Hierarchy as required. The Edit Hierarchy dialog box is divided in to two pages.
s
Items Use this tab to add or remove the Items that use this Hierarchy. Name Use this page to edit the Hierarchys name and description.
3.
Click OK.
14.4 Editing Date Hierarchy Templates

This section describes how to edit an existing Date Hierarchy Template. When you edit an existing Date Hierarchy Template, all Date Hierarchies that use the Date Hierarchy Template are modified to reflect the changes.
1.
Hierarchies
14-13
Editing Date Hierarchy Templates
Popup Menu Right-click the Date Hierarchy Template on the Hierarchies page and choose Edit Hierarchy on the popup menu. Menu Click the Date Hierarchy Template on the Hierarchies page and choose Edit | Edit
The Edit Hierarchy Dialog Box with the Name Page Selected
Figure 1410
2.
Edit the Hierarchy as required. The Edit Hierarchy dialog box is divided in to two pages.
s
Date formats Use this tab to change the Date Formats and their position in this Date Hierarchy Template. Name Use this page to edit the Date Hierarchy Templates name and description.
3.
Click OK.
Applying Date Hierarchy Templates to Date Items
14.5 Applying Date Hierarchy Templates to Date Items

This section describes how to apply a Date Hierarchy Template to an existing Date Item. When you apply a Date Hierarchy Template to an existing Date Item, Discoverer Administration Edition automatically creates all the Date Items that are required to complete the Date Hierarchy. These new Date Items appear in the same Folder as the original Date Item (and are prefixed with the name of the original Date Item). If you change the Date Hierarchy Template that is applied to a Date Item, all the Date Items that had been created by Discoverer Administration Edition to complete the Date Hierarchy are removed and new ones are created to reflect the new Date Hierarchy Template. To apply a Date Hierarchy Template to a Date Item:
1.
Open the Date Items Properties dialog box. There are four ways to do this:
s
Double-click Double-click the Date Item on the Data page. Popup Menu Right-click the Date Item on the Data page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the Date Item on the Data page and click the Properties toolbar icon ( Menu Click the Date Item on the Data page and choose Edit | Properties. )
2.
Select the Date Hierarchy Template (from the Date hierarchy drop-down list) that you want this Date Item to use. If you want the Date Item to use the default Date Hierarchy Template, select None.
3.
Click OK.
Tip: You can apply a single Date Hierarchy Template to more than one Date Item at a time by selecting all the Date Items before opening the Properties dialog box. For more information, see Section 10.2.2, Editing the Properties of Multiple Items.
Hierarchies
14-15
Setting the Default Date Hierarchy Template
14.6 Setting the Default Date Hierarchy Template

This section describes how to set the Default Date Hierarchy Template. The default Date Hierarchy Template, appears as the default selection in the Date hierarchies, using: drop-down list under Automatically generate: on Load Wizard: Step 4. For more information, see Section 7.2.2.6, Load Wizard: Step 4, Automatic Attributes. This is the only effect of setting To set the Default Date Hierarchy Template:
1.
s
Popup Menu Right-click the Date Hierarchy Template on the Hierarchies page and choose Edit Hierarchy on the popup menu. Menu Click the Date Hierarchy Template on the Hierarchies page and choose Edit | Edit
2. 3.
Tick Set as default date hierarchy on the Name page. Click OK.
14.7 Deleting Hierarchies

This section describes how to delete Hierarchies or Date Hierarchy Templates.
1.
On the Hierarchies page, select the Hierarchy (or Hierarchies) that you want to delete. To select more than one Hierarchy at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the Hierarchies.
2.
Delete the Hierarchy (or Hierarchies): There are three ways to do this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected Hierarchies and choose Delete Hierarchy on the popup menu. Menu Choose Edit | Delete. Keyboard Press Delete.
Date Hierarchies and Performance

3.
4. 5.
When you have finished reviewing the impact this action will have, click OK. If you still want to delete the selected Hierarchies, click Yes.
14.8 Date Hierarchies and Performance

Default date hierarchies can be automatically applied to all date columns when selected in the Load Wizard during bulk load (see Chapter 7.2.2.6, Load Wizard: Step 4, Automatic Attributes). How date hierarchies are applied to date items can affect subsequent performance in Discoverer Plus. For example if you are importing a large fact table (i.e. one containing many rows) that also has a date column in it (e.g. transaction_date), the default date hierarchy can then be applied to the date item during bulk load. If you have applied a date hierarchy to a fact table containing a date, bulk load creates a folder containing date items using the EUL_DATE_TRUNC function (such as Year, Quar-
Hierarchies
14-17
Date Hierarchies and Performance
ter and Month). If these items are subsequently selected in a query using Discoverer Plus, any indexes applied to the fact table that improve performance will not be used. It is therefore recommended that you do not apply date hierarchies to date items in folders based on fact tables as fact tables are likely to have indexes. To overcome this problem apply date hierarchies to a separate dimension table. For example, a transaction_date item in a fact table might join to another dimension table (e.g. Time Period) specifying time periods. Apply date hierarchies to this dimension table on bulk load. You are then able to create a complex folder containing items from both the dimension and fact tables, using the items created by the date hierarchy such as Year. When a Discoverer Plus user queries items using the EUL_DATE_FUNCTION they will not restrict the use of indexes on the fact table. This can considerably improve performance. The general rule is do not apply default date hierarchies to date items on tables that rely on indexes for performance because the indexes will not be used.
Summaries
s
15.1 Introduction 15.2 Good Summary Folder Design 15.3 How to create Summary Folders 15.4 Editing Summary Folder Properties 15.5 Editing Summary Folders 15.6 Refreshing Summary Folders 15.7 Viewing the Status of Managed summary tables 15.8 Deleting Summary Folders 15.9 Editing Database Storage Properties
15.1 Introduction
This chapter explains summaries and how you specify and maintain them yourself. For details about how Discoverer recommends and creates the best summaries for you, see Chapter 16, Automated Summary Management.
15.1.1 What is a summary?

A summary improves query performance in Discoverer Plus or Discoverer Viewer by using pre-aggregated data created through Discoverer Administration Edition. The term summary used throughout this guide refers either to summary tables (with pre8.1.6 databases) or Materialized Views (MVs) ( 8.1.6+ databases). For further details about summary tables and MVs see Section 15.1.1.1, Summary tables or Materialized Views?.
Summaries 15-1
Introduction
A query run in Discoverer Plus can be redirected/rewritten to use an appropriate summary rather than having to query the detail tables. A summary is used only when it satisfies the conditions of the query. Discoverer Plus uses summaries to reduce the time taken to return query results and provides a significant improvement in performance.
15.1.1.1 Summary tables or Materialized Views?

Discoverer uses either summary tables or Materialized Views (MVs) depending on which of the following scenarios is true:
s
Discoverer is running against a pre-Oracle 8.1.6 database Summary tables are created by Discoverer Administration Edition in the database and subsequent queries made in Discoverer Plus are redirected (by Discoverer Plus) to an appropriate summary table. Discoverer is running against an Oracle 8.1.6+ database. Materialized Views (MVs) are created by the Oracle 8.1.6+ database and subsequent queries made in Discoverer Plus are redirected (by the Oracle 8.1.6+ database) to an appropriate MV. For further information on Materialized Views refer to Oracle8i Data Warehousing Guide Release 2 (8.1.6) (Part Number A76994-01)
NOTE:.The SQL generated and the summary table or MV used for a par-
ticular query can be viewed through the SQL Inspector/Explain Plan in Discoverer Plus (see Section 15.1.4.3, Viewing Summary Redirection in Discoverer Plus)
15.1.1.2 What is a Summary Folder?

A Summary Folder is how Discoverer represents the underlying structure of a summary table or MV. Each Summary Folder has one or more Items (i.e.columns from a summary table or MV). You can view Summary Folders from the Summaries tab in Discoverer Administration Edition (see Figure 151, A Summary Folder as displayed in Discoverer).
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Introduction
Figure 151
A Summary Folder as displayed in Discoverer
15.1.1.2.1
What makes up a Summary Folder?
The following elements define a Summary Folder:

s
The Items that are summarized. How the summarized Items are joined. How summarized Items are grouped into Combinations. The physical location of summary tables or MVs. How often summary tables or MVs are refreshed. The Refresh Type (Full or Incremental (MVs only)). Whether refresh is On Demand or On Commit (MVs only) Whether a Summary Folder (representing an underlying summary table/MV) can be used. The time and date when the Summary Folder was last refreshed. The tablespace in which the summary data is placed.
You set up Summary Folders using the Summary Wizard. To understand how the process works, read the following pages before you launch the Summary Wizard. The rest of this section describes these concepts in more detail.
15.1.2 Summary Combinations

A Summary Combination is a single set of axis and measure items in a summary table or MV. Each Combination is a different way of combining two or more of the Items in the Summary Folder. It is very much like a query, in that it defines a specific row and column set. If a user executes a query with the same Items as those specified in a Combination, the query is run against either a summary table or MV instead of the detail data.
Summaries 15-3
Introduction
You can define as many Combinations as you require for each Summary Folder. It is also faster to refresh Summary Folders with multiple Combinations, because the higher level summaries are built from the lower level ones, which is considerably faster than building separate Summary Folders all from the detail data. For information on how to choose the most appropriate Summary Combinations, see Section 15.2, Good Summary Folder Design.
15.1.2.1 Summary Combinations

You can combine items in a summary folder into Summary Combinations. From a Summary Combination, Discoverer creates one of the following depending on the version of the database:
s
Summary table (if using a pre-8.1.6 database) Materialized View (MV) if using an 8.1.6+ database
15.1.3 Summary tables/Materialized Views (MVs)

This section contains the following information about summary tables/Materialized Views:
s
Discoverer summary tables versus server Materialized Views (8.1.6+) Managed versus external summary tables/MVs Registering external summaries against tables and views in Oracle 8.1.6+ Refreshing summary data
15.1.3.1 Discoverer summary tables versus server Materialized Views (8.1.6+)

The following table compares Discoverer summary tables and server MVs.
Table 151 Views Comparison between Discoverer summary tables and server Materialized Server Materialized Views RDBMS version 8.1.6+ only Stored as Materialized View Full or Incremental refresh Refresh On Demand/Commit Refresh outside Discoverer
Discoverer summary tables RDBMS version 7.3 - 8.1.5 Stored as tables Full refresh only Refresh On Demand only Refresh only by Discoverer
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Table 151 Views
Comparison between Discoverer summary tables and server Materialized Server Materialized Views Rewrite by server Defined in terms of tables and columns
Discoverer summary tables Rewrite only by Discoverer Defined in terms of Items and Folders
RDBMS version 8.1.6+ only - When Discoverer Administration Edition is operating against Oracle 8.1.6 (and summaries are needed) it will automatically create server MVs. It will no longer generate and maintain Discoverer summary tables. Stored as Materialized View - The precomputed summary results are stored as a MV. Additional functionality of the MV can be utilized. Full or Incremental Refresh: Full - Refreshes by completely recalculating the result set. Incremental - Refreshes by incrementally adding the new data that has been inserted into the tables. Refresh On Demand/Commit: On Commit - Refresh occurs automatically on the next transaction commit performed against the detail table. On Demand - Refresh occurs when a user manually executes a refresh. Refresh Outside Discoverer - Since MVs are stored in the server, those MVs generated within Discoverer are available for refresh by other client applications. For example, a MV created within Discoverer can be refreshed through SQL*Plus using the supplied DBMS_MVIEW package. Rewrite by Server - The server recognizes when an existing MV can be used to satisfy a given query request and will then transparently rewrite the request to use the MV instead of the detail data. Defined in terms of Tables and Columns - The Materialized View query is defined in terms of database columns and tables. Whereas, Discoverer Summaries are created from EUL elements - items and folders.
15.1.3.2 Managed versus external summary tables/MVs

From a Discoverer Administration Edition viewpoint, there are two types of summary folder:
s
Managed External
Summaries 15-5
Introduction
The main differences between these types of summary table are described in Table 152.
Table 152 Differences Between Managed summary tables/MVs and External summary tables Managed summary tables or MVs Are populated and maintained automatically by Discoverer or Oracle 8.1.6+ server respectively. Are created either through Discoverer Administration Edition or an external application. Can be automatically refreshed at regular intervals (defined in Discoverer Administration Edition) External summary tables Are populated and maintained by another application (for example SQL*Plus). Are created by an external application. Must be refreshed using another application.
In both cases, Discoverer knows where summary tables are located and the Items represented in them and so it can use summary redirection to reduce the time taken to perform a query. With Oracle 8.1.6+ the server carries out a summary rewrite to an appropriate MV. External summary tables are useful:
s
for working with existing warehouse applications that have already generated the summary tables using some other method or when you are using a non-Oracle database.
NOTE to users of non-Oracle databases: If you are using a non-Oracle
database, Discoverer supports external Summary Folders only.
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15.1.3.3 Registering external summaries against tables and views in Oracle 8.1.6+
External summaries can be registered against tables and views (not the detail tables) but in Oracle 8.1.6+ MVs cannot be created against a view, instead summary redirection is used (see Table 153).
Table 153 Registering External Summaries Against A Table Or View in Oracle 8.1.6+ Registering against a view Where an external summary is registered against a view a MV is not created. Summaries behave in the same manner as pre-8.1.6 Discoverer summary management, that is Discoverer redirection is used (see Section 15.1.4, Summary Redirection).
Registering against a table Where an external summary is registered against a table, a MV definition is created. The MV definition is used for the servers SQL rewrite.
15.1.3.4 Refreshing summary data

The data in summary tables and MVs must be maintained to keep all of the summary tables and MVs consistent. If the database changes often, summary tables and MVs need to be refreshed accordingly to keep their data current with the underlying database. With a properly maintained set of summary tables or MVs, query results are accurate, regardless of the table or MV being used.
15.1.4 Summary Redirection

15.1.4.1 Summary redirection or query rewrite in Discoverer Plus?
When you run a query in Discoverer Plus the results will be returned either from the detail tables or from a summary table/MV. The following conditions regarding database versions also apply:
s
Summary redirection With pre-Oracle 8.1.6 databases Discoverer Plus redirects the query to a suitable summary table. Query rewrite With Oracle 8.1.6+ databases Discoverer Plus sends the query to the database and the database decides whether a suitable MV exists for the query. If one does exist, the database rewrites the query to use the MV.
Both summary redirection and query rewrite are transparent to the user. Both provide exactly the same results as queries that run against the detail tables but return the results in far less
Summaries 15-7
Introduction
time. This depends on whether or not you have set the option of whether to use summaries or not in Discoverer Plus or Discoverer 4i Viewer (this setting can be defined in Discoverer Plus and Discoverer 4i Viewer).
15.1.4.2 Overview
Summary Redirection describes the process of redirecting a query to use a summary table or MV rather than the detail data. Discoverer Plus performs this process automatically against pre-8.1.6 databases. The server performs this process against 8.1.6+ databases (by rewriting the query to a MV). A query redirected to a summary table or MV can return results in a few seconds. The same query directed against the detail data tables may require a three-or four-table join and an aggregation over thousands or millions of rows, and thus would take considerably longer. Both queries, however, would produce the same results. The net result is accurate results and quick response times. For further information about the rules regarding 8.1.6 MV server rewrite scenarios refer to the Oracle8i Data Warehousing Guide Release 2 (8.1.6) Part Number A76994-01. Discoverer Plus can only use Summary Redirection if all of the following prerequisites are met. The following prerequisites apply to pre-8.1.6 databases only unless otherwise specified:
1.
All the Items specified in a query must either:

s
exist in a single Summary Combination, or be able to be joined to a summary table via foreign keys that exist in a Summary Combination.
In the case of Derived Items (see Chapter 12.1.1.1, Derived Items for information about Derived Items), it is not sufficient to include the elements used to create the Derived Items in a Summary Combination; you must include the Derived Items themselves. In the case of Items in Complex Folders (see Chapter 6.2.2.1, What is a Complex Folder? for information about Complex Folder), it is not sufficient to include the Items from the source Folders in a Summary Combination; you must include the Items from the Complex Folders themselves.
2.
All the Join paths specified in the query (see Chapter 11, Joins for further details) must match those specified in the same Summary Combination that satisfies the previous prerequisite.
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This ensures that the result set of data in the summary is the same as that in the detail. The exception in this case is that queries can be defined that use fewer Joins than those specified when the summary table was created, provided that you clear Detail foreign keys can have NULL values on the Join Options dialog box (displayed by clicking Options on the New Join or Edit Join dialog boxes).
3.
The Summary Folder has the Available for Queries property set to Yes (applies to pre8.1.6 and 8.1.6+ databases). See Section 15.4, Editing Summary Folder Properties for more information.
4. 5.
The conditions specified on the Query Governor page of the Options dialog box in Discoverer Plus (Tools | Options) are met. The user running the query has database SELECT access to the summary table.
To determine how your database system can benefit from Summary Redirection, use the Summary Wizard (specifying the summaries yourself) to recommend summaries based on previous queries. For a more detailed look at the query statistics option, see the business area named Query Statistics that you received with Discoverer. It includes a workbook for analyzing query usage, the Items most frequently used in queries, the Folders containing the Items, and query execution times (applies to pre-8.1.6 and 8.1.6+ databases).
15.1.4.3 Viewing Summary Redirection in Discoverer Plus

To view the effect of summary redirection, use the SQL Inspector dialog (choose View | SQL Inspector) in Discoverer Plus. The SQL Inspector dialog has two tabs, the SQL tab and the Execution Plan tab. 15.1.4.3.1 SQL tab
The SQL tab displays the SQL that Discoverer sends to the server. 15.1.4.3.2 Execution Plan tab
The Execution Plan tab displays the execution plan chosen by the server for the query request. The execution plan defines the sequence of operations the server performs to execute the statement. 15.1.4.3.3 Viewing the SQL and Execution Plan with an 8.1.6+ database
When running Discoverer against an 8.1.6+ database the server controls redirection by rewriting the SQL to use a MV. If a server rewrite occurs, the server execution plan indicates the MV name.
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Introduction
The SQL that Discoverer sends to the server can be viewed from the SQL tab in the SQL Inspector dialog in Discoverer Plus. The SQL rewritten by the server can be viewed on the Execution Plan tab in the SQL Inspector dialog in Discoverer Plus.
Figure 152 SQL tab displaying the SQL statement
In the above figure the SQL remains unchanged.
Introduction
Figure 153
Execution Plan tab displaying the execution plan (using a MV)
The MV is used by the RDBMS and is identified in the Execution Plan by the table name EUL4_MV{Identifier}
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Introduction
15.1.4.3.4
Viewing the SQL with a pre-8.1.6 database (not using a MV)
When running against a pre-8.1.6 database Discoverer controls redirection to a summary table. The SQL can be viewed at the SQL tab and the server Execution Plan can be viewed on the Execution Plan tab in the SQL Inspector dialog in Discoverer Plus. Figure 154 shows a crosstab worksheet of items from the Video Analysis folder (created as part of the tutorial (see Chapter 4, Tutorial) and the resulting SQL statement in the SQL Inspector dialog. The SQL statement shows that the summary table EUL4_SUM100750 is referenced. The table at the bottom of Figure 154 is taken from the Combinations | Properties | Mappings page of the Edit Summary dialog box in Discoverer Administration Edition and shows the database column mapping in the EUL4_SUM100750 summary table.
Introduction
Figure 154 Progress
Summary Redirection in
Discoverer Plus automatically chooses the most appropriate summary table to process the query efficiently. This action is completely transparent to the user. Figure 155 shows the same worksheet as before after the user has drilled down from Year to Month. Notice Discoverer Plus has redirected the second part of the query to EUL4_SUM100774 instead of EUL4_SUM100750.
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Introduction
Figure 155
Summary Redirection in Progress
Figure 156 shows the same worksheet again, this time the user has drilled down from Region to City. Again, Discoverer Plus automatically chooses the most efficient summary tables for each part of the query.
Introduction
Figure 156
Summary Redirection in Progress
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Introduction
15.1.5 An Example
This example consists of five tables, one of which has almost 70,000 records (see Figure 157). The schema and data are taken from the tutorial.
Figure 157 Example schema and data
Consider a query requiring the following items:

s
Region Department Year SUM (Dollar_Profit)
This would require a five-table join and an aggregation of all matching rows in SALES_FACT (the table with almost 70,000 rows). Producing results to the query could take several minutes depending on the capability of the server. On the other hand, if the query could be redirected to a single table that already contains the data for Region, Department, Year, and SUM (Dollar_Profit) (see Figure 158), then the query would produce an almost instantaneous response.
Good Summary Folder Design
Figure 158
Sample summary table
The sample summary table shown in Figure 158 stores the information needed by the query at the month level, and only has to be aggregated to the year level. Discoverer Plus knows it is faster to aggregate from the single table than from the six-table join and full table scan option.
15.2 Good Summary Folder Design

This section applies specifically to Discoverer summary management with a pre-8.1.6 database. For information about operating against an 8.1.6+ database you may find it useful to refer to the Oracle8i Data Warehousing Guide Release 2 (8.1.6) Part Number A76994-01.
15.2.1 Creating appropriate Summary Combinations

Designing useful Summary Folders involves a trade off between the database space used to store the resulting summary tables and the required performance of queries. The key to good Summary Folder design is creating the most appropriate Summary Combinations for the pattern of system usage. Consider Summary Combinations in two basic ways:
s
Summary Combinations that closely match popular and frequent queries Summary Combinations for popular queries should include all the items and joins used in those queries. Because they may include text items, they may take up considerable database space, but they produce the fastest performance, because no Joins are done.
Summary Combinations that meet ad hoc, less-frequent queries Summary Combinations for the more ad hoc environment (where queries are far less standardized) are typically based on different combinations of keys in the main fact table.
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Good Summary Folder Design
For example, the columns of the two summary tables shown in Figure 159 are mapped to the appropriate Items in the Sales Fact Folder. Although TIME_KEY, PRODUCT_KEY and STORE_KEY are EUL Items hidden from the end user, you can still map the corresponding summary table columns to those Items.
Figure 159 Sample summary tables
Discoverer will join one of these tables to one or more of the dimension tables (STORE, PRODUCT, or FISCAL DATE) to obtain a quick answer. The requirement is that the target dimension table must be joined to the FACT table by Items defined in the EUL, and that the Summary Folder contains the foreign key items in the FACT folder. If the user requests Product Category, Month, SUM(Dollar Profit), Discoverer will join EUL4_SUM200801 to PRODUCT and FISCAL DATE to obtain results. Discoverer knows about the foreign and primary keys between SALES_FACT and the two tables, and can apply them to EUL4_SUM200801.
15.2.2 Hints for setting up Summary Folders

Building Summary Combinations in layers is usually an efficient way to work:
s
For frequent queries, provide a number of Summary Combinations that combine only a few (three or four) axis items. Space is minimized and performance gains maximized. For a wider variety of queries, provide a smaller number of Summary Combinations that combine a medium number of (five to seven) axis items. More space is required, but large performance gains are still realized. The larger number of Items in each Summary Combination serve the wider variety of queries. Provide one Summary Combination that contains all of the Items in the Summary Folder (as long as the total number is less than the number of Items in the source folder). This type of Summary Combination provides a catch-all summary table that works for any combination of Items. Although the speed of the query results are slower than the first two options in this list, performance is still considerably better than if the detailed tables are queried. Discoverer Administration Edition creates this Summary
How to create Summary Folders
Combination automatically when you use the Summary Wizard (specifying the summaries yourself).
s
Include all data points in all of the Summary Combinations. Additional data points take up little extra room in the summary tables. Include aggregates, with the possible exception of STDEV and VARIANCE, which are rarely used. Multiple aggregates dont require much space and can improve performance significantly. Keep in mind that AVG requires the inclusion of SUM and COUNT, which Discoverer uses to calculate the average. It is unnecessary to include Items at all levels in a hierarchy. If you include Items at the bottom level, queries that use Items higher up in the hierarchy can still use the summary table. However, for this to work the Summary Folder must contain a foreign key to the Folder that contains the hierarchy. Creating a Summary Combination for all levels in a hierarchy improves performance, but the gain may be marginal. For example, the hierarchy from Year to Quarter only saves a 4:1 aggregation because quarters are added up to years.
15.2.3 Notes on when an expression will use a summary

s
An expression such as SUM(Salary + Comm) will not use a summary even if SUM(Salary) and SUM(Comm) are available as summarized items. This occurs because SUM(Salary + Comm) is not relationally equal to SUM(Salary) + SUM(Comm). Because the results could be wrong, the expression will not be used. You can query expressions such as SUM(Salary) * 12, and if SUM(Salary) is summarized it will use the summary. Expressions that use SQL functions such as NVL(SUM(Comm),0) will use a summary if SUM(Comm) is available in a summary. An expression such as SUM(NVL(Comm,0)) will not use a summary, because no direct match exists between a part of the expression and the available summarized item, SUM(Comm).
15.3 How to create Summary Folders

This section consists of the following topics:
s
15.3.1 Prerequisites 15.3.2 Creating Summary Folders Based on Items in the EUL 15.3.3 Creating Summary Folders Based on Query Statistics 15.3.4 Creating Summary Folders Based on External summary tables
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15.3.1 Prerequisites
To be able to create summary folders, the following requirements must be met:
s
The database must support PL/SQL. The DBMS_JOB package must be installed for scheduling summary creation and refresh. See Chapter 2.2.1, Confirming that DBMS_JOBS is Installed The User ID that you intend to use to create the Summary Folders must have the following database privileges (see Chapter 2.2.2, Privileges for details about granting these privileges):
s
CREATE TABLE CREATE VIEW CREATE PROCEDURE SELECT ON V_$PARAMETER ANALYZE ANY (ASM) CREATE/DROP/ALTER ANY MATERIALIZED VIEW (8.1.6+) GLOBAL QUERY REWRITE (8.1.6+)
The User ID that you intend to use to create the Summary Folders must have sufficient quota in the tablespace for the summary tables to be created. See Chapter 2.2.3, Determining Tablespace Quotas. For external summaries, Discoverer does not need to create the summary table(s) as the user has already done this. The only prerequisite is that the EUL owner should be granted SELECT privilege on the underlying summary table(s) and this needs to be granted explicitly and not through a role.
15.3.2 Creating Summary Folders Based on Items in the EUL

This section describes how to create managed Summary Folders based on Items in the EUL.
1.
Start the Summary Wizard. There are three ways to do this:

s
Toolbar Icon Click the New Summary toolbar icon ( Menu Choose Insert | Summary.
Popup Menu Right-click an existing Summary Folder on the Summaries page and choose New Summary on the popup menu.
Summary Wizard Step 1 - Specify summaries yourself
Figure 1510
2. 3.
Select the I want to specify the summaries myself option Click Next.
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Figure 1511 Summary Wizard Step 2 - From items in the EUL
4.
Select the From items in the End User Layer option. This option creates a Managed summary table. It is only available if the Summary Management feature is enabled. See Section 2.2, Summary Management, for more information.
5.
Click Next to display Summary Wizard: Step 3 (see Figure 1512).
Figure 1512
Selecting Summary and Axis Items
6.
Move the Items and Measures that you want to be included in the new Summary Folder from the Available items list to the Selected items list. There are three ways of moving Items and Measures from one list to the other:
s
Drag and Drop Drag one or more Items from one list to the other. Include / Exclude buttons Select one or more Items in a list and then click either the Include (right arrow) or Exclude (left arrow) button. Double-click Double-click an Item to move it from one list to the other.
To select more than one Item or Measure at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the Items. Remember to include:
s
All aggregate functions for each data point. See Section 15.2, Good Summary Folder Design for more information.
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Items from Complex Folders (where necessary). See Section 15.1.4, Summary Redirection for more information. Derived Items (where necessary). See Section 15.1.4, Summary Redirection for more information.
You can select any Axis Items and math functions, but if the Items are from different Folders, a Join must exist between the Folders.
7.
Click Next to display Summary Wizard: Step 4 which enables you to define all the Summary Combinations you require for your new Summary Folder (see Figure 1513).
Defining Summary Combinations
Figure 1513
By default, the first Summary Combination (column 0) is a catch all Summary Combination which includes all the Items selected in Summary Wizard: Step 3.
8.
Add more Summary Combinations by clicking Add Combination. Each Summary Combination is listed in its own numbered column.
9.
Define the Items included in each Summary Combination by ticking or clearing the relevant check boxes. For more information, see:
Section 15.1.2, Summary Combinations. Section 15.2, Good Summary Folder Design.
10. Click Estimate Space.
This helps you decide whether the performance gains offered by using the specified Summary Combinations are outweighed by the amount of tablespace they occupy.
11. Click OK.
Note: You can view and edit database storage properties for the selected
Summary Combination by clicking Storage Properties. For more information, see Section 15.9, Editing Database Storage Properties.
12. Remove any unwanted Summary Combinations by selecting the relevant column num-
ber and clicking Remove Combination.

13. Click Next to display the Summary wizard step 5 where you can schedule the refresh
of this summary and specify the interval between subsequent automatic refreshes. (see Figure 1514)
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Figure 1514
Refresh a Summary Folder
14. Select the Automatically refresh this Summary Folder, starting on check box.
This enables you to specify the date, time and frequency of automatic refresh for this summary. Clear this check box if the data is static and will not change, or if you want to refresh the Summary Folder manually. To refresh manually, select the Summary Folder in the Summaries tab
15. Set the Date and Time you want the first refresh to run. 16. Set the Repeat every fields for the refresh interval you want.
The refresh period you specify here is the period of time that will elapse before Discoverer refreshes and updates the data. This refreshment pattern will persist until you change the specification.
17. Click Next to display the last page of the wizard, Summary Wizard: Step 6 (see
Figure 1515).
Figure 1515
Specifying general Summary Folder information
18. Specify a name and description for the Summary Folder. 19. Specify when you want to build this Summary Folder.
s
Click the Build immediately radio button when you have smaller summary tables, or when you need to build the Summary Folder right away, without relying on the scheduling capabilities of the database server. Click the Build at radio button when you have larger summary tables which are best built at off-peak hours, then enter the time and date you want the Summary Folder build to run on the server.
20. Click Finish.
This creates the Summary Folder in the Business Area and the resulting summary tables or MVs (8.1.6+) in the database. The summary data is generated and the Summary Table/MV marked as Ready to use. For a Summary Folder with multiple Summary Combinations, the Summary Tables/MVs are generated in order with the summary tables/MVs with the largest number of Items generated first. When the process is complete the new Summary Folder appears on the Summaries page of the work area.
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15.3.3 Creating Summary Folders Based on Query Statistics

This section describes how to create a new Summary Folder based on query statistics. This saves time and work as you dont have to choose the Items yourself.
1.

s
Figure 1516
2. 3.
Click I want to specify the summaries myself Click Next
Figure 1517
Summary Wizard Step 2 - Using query performance statistics
4.
Click Using query performance statistics. This option creates a managed summary table/MV. It is only available if the Summary Management feature is enabled. See Section 2.2, Summary Management, for more information.
5.
Click Next to display Summary Wizard: Step 3 (see Figure 1518).
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Figure 1518
Selecting a Query to be Summarized Based on Query Performance
This screen (Figure 1518) is divided into three sections:

s
Section 1 enables you to specify search criteria to obtain statistics on query performance. Section 2 shows queries that meet the search criteria. Section 3 shows a selected querys Folders, joins etc.
6. 7.
Specify the values in Section 1 that you want to use to search for previously run queries. Click Search. If the search time is significant, a progress bar is displayed. All the queries that match the threshold values in section 1 are displayed in section 2. You may need to narrow or expand this list further by re-specifying the threshold values. If a query in the list uses items and measures that are already summarized, a cube icon appears against the query in the left-most column.
To sort the list in section 2 on a column, click the relevant column heading.
8.
Select the row that represents the query you want to summarize from the list in section 2. This displays the querys Folders, Joins, and Items in section 3.
9.
Click Next. This displays Summary Wizard: Step 4 (see Figure 1519, Selecting the items to include in the Summary Folder) which enables you to select the Items to include in the Summary Folder. By default, the Selected Items list contains the Items and Measures from the query you selected on the previous page.
Figure 1519
Selecting the items to include in the Summary Folder
10. Move the Items and Measures, that you want to include in the new Summary Folder
from the Available items list to the Selected items list. There are three ways of moving Items and Measures from one list to the other:
s
Drag and Drop Drag one or more Item or Measure from one list to the other.
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Include / Exclude buttons Select one or more Item or Measure in a list and then click either the Include (right arrow) or Exclude (left arrow) button. Double-click Double-click an Item or Measure to move it from one list to the other.
To select more than one Item or Measure at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the Items. Remember to include:
s
All aggregate functions for each data point. See Section 15.2, Good Summary Folder Design for more information. Items from Complex Folders (where necessary). See Section 15.1.4, Summary Redirection for more information. Derived Items (where necessary). See Section 15.1.4, Summary Redirection for more information.
You can select any Axis Items and math functions, but if the Items are from different Folders, a Join must exist between the Folders.
11. Click Next.
This displays Summary Wizard: Step 5 which enables you to define all the Summary Combinations you require for your new Summary Folder (see Figure 1520).
Figure 1520
Defining Summary Combinations
By default, the first Summary Combination (column 0) is a catch all Summary Combination which includes all the Items selected in Summary Wizard: Step 4.
12. Add more Summary Combinations by clicking Add Combination.
Each Summary Combination is listed in its own numbered column.

13. Define the Items included in each Summary Combination by selecting or clearing the
relevant check boxes. For more information, see:

s
Section 15.1.2, Summary Combinations. Section 15.2, Good Summary Folder Design.
14. Click Estimate Space.
This helps you decide whether the performance gains offered by using the specified Summary Combinations are outweighed by the amount of tablespace they occupy.
15. Click OK.
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Note: You can view and edit database storage properties for the selected
Summary Combination by clicking Storage Properties. For more information, see Section 15.9, Editing Database Storage Properties.
16. Remove any unwanted Summary Combinations by selecting the relevant column num-
ber and clicking Remove Combination.

17. Click Next to display the Summary wizard step 6 where you can schedule the first
refresh of this summary and specify the interval between subsequent automatic refreshes. (see Figure 1521).
Figure 1521 Manage the refresh of a Summary Folder
18. Select the Automatically refresh this Summary Folder, starting on check box.
This enables you to specify the date, time and frequency of automatic refresh for this summary. Clear this check box if the data is static and will not change, or if you want to refresh the Summary Folder manually. To refresh manually, select the Summary Folder in the Summaries tab
19. Set the Date and Time when you want the first refresh to begin. 20. Set the Repeat every fields for the refresh interval you want.
The refresh period you specify here is the period of time that will elapse before Discoverer refreshes and updates the data. This refreshment pattern will persist until you change the specification.
Figure 1522).
Figure 1522 Specifying general Summary Folder information
22. Specify a name and description for the Summary Folder. 23. Specify when you want to build this Summary Folder.
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Click the Build immediately radio button when you have smaller summary tables, or when you need to build the Summary Folder right away without relying on the scheduling capabilities of the database server. Click the Build at: radio button when you have larger summary tables which are best built at off-peak hours. Then enter the time and date you want the Summary Folder build to run on the server.
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24. Click Finish.
This creates the Summary Folder in the Business Area and the resulting summary tables in the database. The summary data is generated and the summary table marked as Ready to use. For a Summary Folder with multiple Summary Combinations, the summary tables are generated in order with the summary tables with the largest number of Items generated first. When the process is complete the new Summary Folder appears on the Summaries page of the work area.
15.3.4 Creating Summary Folders Based on External summary tables

This section describes how to create a new Summary Folder based on external summary tables or Views. For the privileges required to create summary folders see Section 15.3.1, Prerequisites.
1.

s
Figure 1523
2. 3.
Click I want to specify the summaries myself Click Next
Summaries
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Figure 1524
Summary Wizard Step 2 - Registering an external summary
4.
Click Registering an external summary table. This registers an existing summary table created by another application. When running against an 8.1.6+ database this also creates a Materializeed View For more information about external summary tables, see Section 15.1.3.2, Managed versus external summary tables/MVs.
5.
Click Next to display the Summary Wizard: Step 3 (see Figure 1525).
Figure 1525
Selecting an External summary table and Mapping Items
6.
Click Select to display the Choose table or view dialog box.

Selecting the database and external summary table
Figure 1526
Summaries
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7.
Select the database (from the drop-down list) that contains the external summary table that you want to register.
Note: When connected to Oracle 8.1.6 or above Oracle prevents a user
from registering an external summary over a database link. This is because the database does not allow a Materialized View (MV) to be created over a database link. However, this may be achieved by creating a view in the database that the EUL is in and referencing the external summary in the view. This view may then be registered within Discoverer as an external summary.
8. 9.
Select the external summary table that you want to register with Discoverer Administration Edition. Click OK. This displays all the database columns found in the external summary table in the Mapped items list.
Figure 1527
Mapping database columns with items in the EUL
10. Map each database column to the corresponding Item in the EUL.
There are three ways to do this:

s
Drag and Drop Drag an Item from the Available Items list onto the corresponding database column in the Mapped Items list.
TIP: If a Folder in the EUL contains more than one Item that corresponds to a database column in the external summary table, you drag and drop the Folder from the Available items list on to one of the corresponding rows in the Mapped items list. Discoverer Administration Edition will attempt to map the correct Items to the database columns by examining the names of the Items in the Folder.
Include button Select a database column in the Mapped items list and the corresponding Item in the Available items list and click the Include (right arrow) button.
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Double-click Select a database column in the Mapped items list and double-click the corresponding Item in the Available Items list.
Note: To remove the mapping between a database column in the external
summary table and an Item in the EUL, select the relevant row in the Mapped items list and click the Exclude button (left arrow).
For more information on the fields on this page of the Summary Wizard, click Help.
11. Click Next to display the Summary Wizard: Step 4 (see Figure 1528). Figure 1528 Setting external summary refresh information
12. Select the Manage the refresh of this summary check box if you want Discoverer to
manage the refresh of this external summary table.

13. Select the Automatically refresh this Summary Folder, starting on: check box to
schedule the refresh of this summary and specify the interval between subsequent automatic refreshes of this external summary.
Editing Summary Folder Properties
Figure 1529).
Figure 1529 Specifying General Summary Folder Information
15. Specify a name and description for the Summary Folder. 16. Click Finish.
This creates the Summary Folder in the Business Area and finishes registering the external summary table. When the process is complete the new Summary Folder appears on the Summaries page of the work area.
15.4 Editing Summary Folder Properties

Summary Folder properties are accessible through Summary Properties dialog boxes. This section shows you how to enhance the users view of the data by editing Summary Folder properties. Figure 1530 shows an example Summary Properties dialog box.
Summaries
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Editing Summary Folder Properties
Figure 1530
Summary Properties Dialog Box with the General Page Selected
15.4.1 Editing the Properties of a Single Summary Folder

This section describes how to edit a Summary Folders properties.
1.
Open the Summary Folders Properties dialog box. There are four ways to do this:
s
Double-click Double-click the Summary Folder on the Summaries page. Popup Menu Right-click the Summary Folder on the Summaries page and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the Summary Folder on the Summaries page and click the Properties toolbar icon ( ) Menu Click the Summary Folder on the Summaries page and choose Edit | Properties.
2.
3.
Click OK.
Editing Summary Folders
15.4.2 Editing the Properties of Multiple Summary Folders

The following steps show you how to set common properties for more than one Summary Folder at a time:
1.
On the Summaries page, select all of the Summary Folders whose properties you want to edit. (To select more than one Summary Folder, hold down the Ctrl button while you click each Summary Folder that you want to select.) Display the Summary Properties dialog box. There are three ways to do this:
s
2.
Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected Summary Folders and choose Properties on the popup menu. Toolbar Icon Click the Properties toolbar icon ( Menu Choose Edit | Properties. )
All properties that are common to each of the selected Summary Folders are displayed. If the data for a field is not common to each of the selected Summary Folders, the field is blank.
3.
Make your changes as required. Any changes you make here will be applied to all of the selected Summary Folders. For more information on the fields on this dialog box, click Help.
4.
Click OK.
15.5 Editing Summary Folders

15.5.1 Editing a Summary Folder
This section describes how to edit an existing Summary Folder. Summary Folders can be edited whether they are valid or broken. A Summary Folder is considered broken when the summary table, MV or detail tables cannot be used. To find out more about why a Summary Folder is broken, use the View | Validate Folders option. You
Summaries
15-45
might want to edit a broken summary to investigate the composition of its Summary Folders and remove any broken folders. Valid managed summaries are represented by a cube with a clock face ( ) valid managed summaries are represented by a cube ( ). Broken summaries are represented by a warning triangle ( ).
1. 2. 3.
Select the Summaries tab. Select the plus symbol ( ( ). ) next to a Business Area to display its available Summaries
Display the Edit Summary dialog box (see Figure 1531). There are two ways to do this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click the Summary Folder on the Summaries page and choose Edit Summary on the popup menu. Menu Click the Summary Folder on the Summaries page and choose Edit | Edit
4.
(Optional) Select the Tools | Options | Validate folders option to provide diagnostics at the folder level if required.
Figure 1531
The Edit Summary Dialog Box with the General Page Selected
5.
Edit the Summary Folder as required. The Edit Summary dialog box is divided into four pages. Each page corresponds to a page of the Summary Wizard:
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Choose Items Use this page to add or delete the Summary and Axis Items. Combinations Use this page to edit, add, or delete Summary Combinations. You can also use this page to alter the names and physical storage properties of summary tables. Refresh Use this page to set the refresh and refresh interval of the summary folder. General Use this page to edit the name, description and view the build time of the Summary Folder.
6.
Click OK. If a summary remains broken (
) following an edit, any modifications made in Dis-
Summaries
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Refreshing Summary Folders
coverer are not written to the summary table or MV. Where a summary is valid ( or ) following an edit, any modifications made in Discoverer are also written to the summary table/MV.
15.6 Refreshing Summary Folders

This section describes what happens when a Summary Folder is refreshed, how to manually refresh one or more Summary Folders and why you need to refresh after you import/export across database versions (i.e. from pre-8.1.6 to 8.1.6+).
15.6.1 What Happens When a Summary Folder is Refreshed?

With an 8.1.6+ database the servers own refresh mechanism is used (this can be an incremental refresh) depending on your refresh settings. Whenever a Summary Folder is refreshed, the following actions are performed by Discoverer:
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The Summary Folder is marked as unavailable. With an 8.1.6+ database the MV associated with summary is reconciled against its EUL metadata and if necessary the definition is updated. All existing summary data that is about to be refreshed is deleted. The summary data is regenerated and inserted into the corresponding summary tables. The Summary Folder is marked as available.
15.6.1.1 Manually Refreshing a Summary Folder

1.
On the Summaries page, select the Summary Folder(s) that you want to refresh. To select more than one Summary Folder, hold down the Ctrl button while you click each Summary Folder that you want to select.)
2.
Refresh the Summary Folder(s). There are two ways to do this:

s
Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected Summary Folders and choose Refresh Summary on the popup menu. Menu Choose Tools | Refresh Summaries.
Refreshing Summary Folders
This opens the Refresh Summaries dialog box (see Figure 1532).
Figure 1532 Refresh summaries
3.
Choose how you want to refresh the selected Summary Folder(s)

s
Select the Refresh the summary immediately radio button This option is useful when you have smaller summary tables, or when you need to refresh the Summary Folder right away, without relying on the scheduling capabilities of the database server. Discoverer Administration Edition displays a progress bar enabling you to monitor the refresh. Select the Schedule the refresh at a later time radio button This option submits a job to the queue using DBMS_JOB and immediately returns you to Discoverer Administration Edition (rather than waiting for the refresh to be complete) enabling you to continue working. This option is useful when you have larger summary tables (which are best built at off-peak hours).
Perform incremental refresh (Oracle 8.1.6+ only) During a summary refresh with pre-Oracle 8.1.6 databases, a full table scan is carried out whereas with Oracle 8.1.6+ the option exists to carry out an incremental refresh (which is faster).
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Select the Perform incremental refresh check box refresh the summary incrementally if allowed. Clear the Perform incremental refresh check box to refresh the summary using a full table scan.
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Viewing the Status of Managed summary tables
For further information on the conditions required for incremental refresh please refer to Oracle8i Data Warehousing Guide Release 2 (8.1.6) Part Number A76994-01.
Note: Sometimes it is useful to refresh a summary after some external
event has completed, such as the loading of data into a warehouse. You can use the Command Line option to refresh a summary from a batch command file to do this. See Appendix D.1 for more information.
15.6.1.2 Refresh following Import/Export across pre-8.1.6 and 8.1.6+ database versions
15.6.1.2.1 From a pre-8.1.6 to an 8.1.6+ database
When you export a Business Area with Summary Folders from a pre-8.1.6 database and then import it into an 8.1.6 database, MVs need to be created for these Summary Folders. For the server to create the MVs, you must refresh the Summary Folders in Discoverer. 15.6.1.2.2 From an 8.1.6+ to a pre-8.1.6 database
When you export a Business Area with Summary Folders from a 8.1.6+ database and then import it into a pre-8.1.6 database, Discoverer needs to be able to convert these Summary Folders to summary tables instead of to MVs. For Discoverer to do this, you must refresh the Summary Folders.
15.7 Viewing the Status of Managed summary tables

This section describes how to display the status of managed summary tables.
1. 2.
Select the Summary Folder (on the Summaries page of the work area) that contains the summary table you are interested in. Display the Edit Summary dialog box (see Figure 1531). There are two ways to do this:
s
Popup Menu Right-click the Summary Folder on the Summaries page and choose Edit Summary on the popup menu. Menu Choose Edit | Edit
Deleting Summary Folders
3. 4.
Click the Combinations tab. Select the numbered column heading for the Summary Combination that corresponds to the summary table you are interested in.
The summary tables status is shown in the Status Bar at the bottom of the dialog box. Additional diagnostic information can be achieved when in the Summaries tab by using the View | Validate Folders option. This will display errors where applicable (see Chapter 6.9, Validating Folders). For more information on the possible status messages, click Help.
15.8 Deleting Summary Folders

This section describes how to delete Summary Folders.
1.
On the Summaries page, select the Summary Folder(s) that you want to delete. To select more than one Summary Folder at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the Summary Folders.
2.
Delete the Summary Folder(s): There are three ways to do this:

s
Popup Menu Right-click one of the selected Summary Folder(s) and choose Delete Summary on the popup menu. Menu Choose Edit | Delete. Keyboard Press Delete.

3.
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Editing Database Storage Properties
Figure 1533
4. 5.
When you have finished reviewing the impact this action will have, click OK. If you still want to delete the selected Summary Folder(s), click Yes.
15.9 Editing Database Storage Properties

This section describes how to edit the various database storage properties associated with Managed summary tables. Editing database storage properties is an advanced topic that gives you control of how Summary Combinations are stored in the database.
1.
Select the Summary Combination whose database storage properties you want to edit. There are two places where you can do this:
s
On the Combinations page of the Summary Wizard when you are creating a new Summary Folder (specifying the summaries yourself). On the Combinations page of the Edit Summary dialog box when you want to edit an existing Summary Combination.
2.
Click Properties This displays the Database Storage Properties dialog box (see Figure 1534). The Database Storage Properties dialog is divided into a number of tabs:
Figure 1534
Database Storage Properties - Properties tab
Properties tab This page enables you to view and set database storage properties and the summary table name.
Summaries
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Figure 1535
Database storage properties dialog - Mappings tab
Mappings tab This page enables you to view the mappings between the Items in the Summary Combination and the columns in the summary table.
Database storage properties dialog - Tablespaces tab
Figure 1536
Tablespaces tab This page enables you to view storage attributes for available tablespaces, includ-
ing the available space in each tablespace. This information can help you to select a tablespace on the Properties page.
Figure 1537 Database storage properties dialog - 8i Properties tab
8i Properties tab (displayed with Oracle 8.1.6 databases and above) This page enables you to view and set database storage properties which are specific to Oracle 8.1.6 and above.
3.
Edit the database storage properties for the selected Summary Combination as required. For information on the fields on this dialog box, click Help.
4.
Click OK.
15.9.0.3 Refresh Options (Oracle 8.1.6+ only)

Oracle 8.1.6+ databases support incremental refresh, when available, enabling you to work with large data warehouses/databases. Parallelism is also supported for the refresh operation. For further information on the conditions required for incremental refresh please refer to Oracle8i Data Warehousing Guide Release 2 (8.1.6) Part Number A76994-01.
s
Refresh Type Incremental - Only rows that have changed in the master tables will be applied to the
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summary tables. Full - The summary is entirely recalculated from the detail tables.
s
Refresh (Mode) On Demand - Refresh is either manually carried out or through scheduled refreshes. On Commit - Refresh occurs every time detail tables are updated. There will be no need to schedule refreshes and the scheduling option of the Summary Wizard will not be enabled. Restrictions apply as to when Refresh On Commit may be performed. Please refer to Oracle8i Data Warehousing Guide Release 2 (8.1.6) Part Number A76994-01 for a complete description. Parallelism Allows a degree of parallelism to be chosen for the refresh option. Incremental Load Read only property that provides you with an indication of the load type required for incremental refresh support.
For further details click Help
Automated Summary Management

This chapter describes how to automatically create and maintain summary folders using Discoverers Automated Summary Management (ASM) feature. To understand summary folders and learn how Discoverer allows you to specify and maintain them yourself see Chapter 15, Summaries. This chapter consists of the following sections:
s
16.1 Introduction
s
16.1.1 What is Automated Summary Management? 16.1.2 How does ASM work? 16.1.3 When to use ASM or create summaries manually? 16.1.4 Running ASM 16.1.5 Running ASM after Bulk Load 16.1.6 The ASM Policy (User Defined Constraints and Options)
16.2 Running ASM using the Summary Wizard

s
16.2.1 Prerequisites 16.2.2 Launch the Summary Wizard - Step 1 16.2.3 Analyze folders - Step 2 16.2.4 Allocate space for summaries - Step 3 16.2.5 Recommended summaries dialog 16.2.6 Change default settings dialog 16.2.7 Refreshing ASM summaries
16-1
Introduction
16.1 Introduction
Discoverer is able to create summaries that improve query performance in Discoverer Plus (formerly known as Discoverer User Edition). Summaries represent combinations of preaggregated data held in summary tables or Materialized Views (see Chapter 15.1.1.1, Summary tables or Materialized Views?). Queries in Discoverer Plus can be redirected to the summary data when that data satisfies the conditions of the query. This means that summary data is quickly accessed without having to perform a new query on the database. By using summaries Discoverer greatly reduces the time taken to display data in Discoverer Plus and provides a significant improvement in query performance. In this chapter the term summary refers to pre-aggregated data held in a summary table or Materialized View (8.1.6+ databases) and is represented in Discoverer as a summary folder.
16.1.1 What is Automated Summary Management?

Automated Summary Management (ASM) delivers fast performing queries while greatly reducing the amount of time spent on administration. ASM simplifies the process of summary creation and maintenance by offering you a fully automated solution to summary management. When run periodically ASM can automatically refine the set of summaries it creates using query statistics gathered by Discoverer from user queries. ASM also provides guidance should you wish to control the specification of default values during summary creation/maintenance. Discoverer provides two ways to create summaries:
s
Define the summary items yourself See Chapter 15, Summaries for further details on how you manually create and maintain summaries in Discoverer Let ASM define summaries for you ASM does this by analyzing your Discoverer EUL and database tables to find the optimum summary configuration.
16.1.2 How does ASM work?

ASM analyzes your tables, uses query statistics (when available) and default values (the summary policy) to determine how summaries are created for you. ASM is able to automatically create and maintain the best set of summaries based on this combination. ASM converts your summary policy into a list of recommended summary folder definitions. You can either implement these recommendations without further intervention (the actual set of summary tables dynamically adjusts with system usage) or execution can be stalled until you have specifically sanctioned one or more of them.
16-2
Introduction
ASM will require some table space to create your summaries but you can adjust how much space is used via the Summary Wizard (see Section 16.2.4, Allocate space for summaries Step 3).
16.1.3 When to use ASM or create summaries manually?

If you want Discoverer to automatically create and maintain your summaries you should select the ASM option: Have Discoverer recommend and create the best summaries from the Summary Wizard. If you want to control the composition of your summaries then you should select the manual option: I want to specify the summaries myself from the Summary Wizard. See Chapter 15, Summaries for further details.
16.1.4 Running ASM

16.1.4.1 How often do I need to run ASM?
ASM should be run periodically as it is an iterative process, though you shouldnt need to alter your ASM policy (see Figure 16.1.6, The ASM Policy (User Defined Constraints and Options)). Running ASM periodically will ensure that ASM dynamically changes the set of summaries it creates or deletes to best fit your query usage patterns.
16.1.4.2 How do I run ASM?

ASM can be run in three ways:
s
Using the command line Enables you to run ASM immediately without Discoverer running Using a batch file and the scheduler (this also employs the command line) Enables you to type an ASM command into a file, then set the scheduler to run the file at pre-determined interval(s). Using the Summary Wizard
16.1.4.3 Using the command line

The advantage of using the command line is that Discoverer does not need to be running at the time. This reduces any intervention required by you to a minimum (see Appendix D.9.15, Running Automated Summary Management (ASM) for further details about how to run ASM via the command line).
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Introduction
16.1.4.4 Using a batch file and the scheduler

You can run ASM through the batch file/scheduler facility provided by your operating system. This way you specify when you want ASM to run including the scheduled intervals when you want to repeat the process. By using the command line within a batch file the process can be run automatically overnight or on a weekends. This allows the system to maintain itself. Before you can run ASM from a batch file you first need to create a file suitable to run in batch mode (e.g. asmsched.bat). You then need to enter the command line details as text into the batch file. To learn how to schedule a batch file refer to your operating system documentation or help. For details of ASM command line syntax see Appendix D.9.15, Running Automated Summary Management (ASM).
16.1.4.5 Using the Summary Wizard

You need to connect to Discoverer as the EUL owner (i.e. the schema owner of the EUL tables) before using the Summary Wizard and ASM option. ASM generates its own list of recommendations, which you can preview. You then accept or decline either all or a subset of these recommendations (see Section 16.2, Running ASM using the Summary Wizard for information on using the wizard).
NOTE: ASM works on the EUL as a whole, not just currently selected
business areas which means it can use the folders from all business areas in the current EUL.
NOTE: In order for ASM to be able to analyze folders, permission must be
granted to the EUL owner (the ASM user) to analyze either specific folders or all folders (see your database administrator for details).
16.1.5 Running ASM after Bulk Load

During the Bulk Load process the Load Wizard gives you the option (a check box) to create summaries (by running ASM) based on the Folders created during Bulk Load (see Chapter 7.2.2.6, Load Wizard: Step 4, Automatic Attributes). If you select this option suitable summaries will be created after Bulk Load.
16-4
Introduction
When ASM is run after a Bulk Load the summaries created are derived from table analysis and summary policy (see Section 16.1.6, The ASM Policy (User Defined Constraints and Options)). Query statistics are not available in this instance.
NOTE: Where Discoverer has been in use for a while, query statistics
(gathered by Discoverer) will be available. ASM is usually run through using the Summary Wizard or the Command Line and will use the available query statistics to create more suitable summaries.
You do not need to make any changes to summary policy settings for a Bulk Load ASM process; default settings are used if no changes are made to the ASM policy. Once changes are made, these settings then become the defaults. The minimum required information for an ASM policy is a tablespace name and an allocated amount of disc space. The table space is the users given tablespace, and a standard/default amount of disc space is used.
16.1.6 The ASM Policy (User Defined Constraints and Options)

16.1.6.1 Overview
You can control how ASM behaves and what summaries it produces through a range of user defined constraints and options known as the ASM policy. The ASM policy is divided into space options and advanced settings. In many cases you will only need to set the space options. You may never need to customize a policy at all as the default settings are designed to provide a balanced range of values to ensure that suitable summaries are created and maintained without your intervention.
16.1.6.2 Space options

These determine the amount of system resources set aside for ASM. (see Section 16.2.4, Allocate space for summaries - Step 3) 16.1.6.2.1 Allocate space This defines the maximum estimated space that can be used for the automatic generation of summary data and is specified in terms of a Tablespace and then further qualified as an allotted quota within the Tablespace.
s
Total Kbytes Space is limited to a specific number of bytes in the specified table space.
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Introduction
Default values The default value is set as half of the remaining space within the default tablespace for the current user
Performance benefit is displayed, for the allocated space selected, in the form of a chart showing space verses performance gain.
16.1.6.3 Advanced settings

The preset default values found within Advanced Settings enable ASM to create and maintain the best set of summaries for your needs. If you want you can further refine the default setting to alter how ASM creates and maintains your summaries. The Advanced Settings define which objects in the database to consider for inclusion in the ASM process and influence what ASM produces (see Section 16.2.6, Change default settings dialog). The Advanced Settings consist of the following areas:
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Analysis Folders and users Query usage Deletion
16.1.6.3.1 Analysis Enables you to modify some of the settings related to table analysis, which is a requirement for ASM (see Section 16.2.6.1, Analyze tab). 16.1.6.3.2 Folders and users Enables the following EUL objects to be filtered for inclusion in the ASM process. Selections can be based on:
s
folders (see Section 16.2.6.2, Folders tab) users (see Section 16.2.6.3, Query User tab) the user who issued the query
The default selects all folders and all users for the current EUL to be available for the ASM process. 16.1.6.3.3 Query usage This enables filtering of sets of previously run queries which can help determine previous system performance. These are based on characteristics of the workload statistics: Options available (see Section 16.2.6.4, Query Usage tab):
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Introduction
All queries Queries run since last execution of ASM Specific queries, meeting one or more of the following conditions:
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Queries that are less than x days old When you want to create summaries based on recently run queries Queries that have a number of executions greater than x per day/month When you want to create summaries based on frequently run queries. Queries that have an average elapsed timer greater than x seconds. When you want to create summaries for slow queries Deletion This enables Summary Folders to be deleted based on specified cri-
16.1.6.3.4 teria.
16.1.6.4 Performance versus coverage

(see Section 16.2.6.4, Query Usage tab) During folder analysis (see Section 16.2.3, Analyze folders - Step 2) this control influences whether the constructed summary data favors predetermined (performance) or ad hoc (coverage) queries. For a performance based approach ASM would for example, recommend a list of exact match summaries, corresponding one-to-one with previously run queries (where ASM determines there is a benefit). For example, this could result in a list of say, five summaries. For a coverage based approach ASM might combine the five exact-match summaries to form fewer but more general summaries. These would provide benefit not only for the five previously run queries but also for a greater number of other potential queries (i.e. there would be a gain in overall coverage).
Performance (Predetermined)
Default
Coverage (ad hoc)
If the setting is predetermined, the summaries maintained by ASM will be optimized to reflect historical queries, that is, the summaries will give great performance improvements where queries stay much the same over time. On the other hand if the setting is ad hoc then combining summaries, as described above, will increase the coverage of a summary. This will give a potential performance gain for
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Running ASM using the Summary Wizard
queries that have never been run before, but are closely related to previous system usage. However, the cost of this is that the individual performance gain for the previously run queries may not be as high. The setting of this constraint should therefore be left to your own discretion. The ASM wizard (see Section 16.2.6.4, Query Usage tab) represents the above control as a sliding bar, with a choice between Predetermined and Ad hoc query usage. Moving the slider to the Ad hoc end of the bar means that most of your users perform principally ad hoc queries (as with coverage above), and moving the slider to the Predetermined end means that most of your users perform principally predetermined queries (as with performance above). The default value used for analysis will balance performance with coverage.
16.2 Running ASM using the Summary Wizard

This section describes how you use ASM to create Summary Folders. The summaries created by the ASM process will be exactly the same as other summaries.
16.2.1 Prerequisites
To create summary folders in Discoverer you need certain privileges (see Chapter 15.3.1, Prerequisites for the privileges required to create summary folders).
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In addition to the privileges referenced above, the user ID that you intend to use to create the summary folders must also have the following database privileges (see Chapter 2.2.2, Privileges for details about granting privileges):
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ANALYZE ANY
See Section 16.2.3.1, When some folders cannot be analyzed for the reasons why some folders cannot be analyzed).
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You must connect as the EUL owner. If you are using an Oracle 8.1.6 database, your folders must not contain SET operators, such as UNION, UNION ALL, MINUS, INTERSECT etc. If ASM finds a folder that contains a SET operator, the following message is displayed: Database Error ORA30370- set operators are not supported in this context. Summaries will not be created for that folder.
NOTE: For more information about Oracle Set Operators, refer to refer to the section Set Operators in the Oracle 8i SQL Reference, Release 2 (8.1.6), Part Number A7698901.
16-8
16.2.2 Launch the Summary Wizard - Step 1

1.

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The following dialog is displayed:

Figure 161 creation Summary Wizard Step 1 - Choose between ASM and manual summary
The above dialog gives you two choices: Have Discoverer recommend and create the best summaries for you This displays the ASM wizard (see Figure 162, Summary Wizard Step 2 - Analyze Folders)
16-9
I want to specify the summaries myself This displays the Summary Wizard step 2 for building new summary folders, where three ways of creating summaries are displayed (see Chapter 15.3, How to create Summary Folders).
2. 3.
Click Have Discoverer recommend and create the best summaries. Click Next.
16.2.3 Analyze folders - Step 2

In order for Discoverer to work out the best summaries to create, it needs to analyze every folder that is to be involved in the summary process. Discoverer uses available query statistics (gathered by Discoverer), table structure information and summary policy details to create suitable summaries. Depending on the number and size of folders to be analyzed this could take a little time to complete. Discoverer allows you to start and stop this process at your own pace.
Figure 162 Summary Wizard Step 2 - Analyze Folders
Your progress will be displayed during the analyze process.

1.
s
Click the Start button to begin the analysis: For further information on advanced settings see Section 16.2.6, Change default settings dialog
To pause the analysis, click the Stop button You might want to pause the analysis to make changes to the default settings To resume the analysis, click the Continue button The analysis always resumes from exactly the same point in the process at which the Stop button was clicked.
Folder analysis comprises four steps:

s
Step one checks the folders in the policy to see if they have already been analyzed:
Checking folders
Figure 163
Step two indicates that the folders are being analyzed:
Automated Summary Management 16-11
Figure 164
Analyzing folders
Step three indicates that the advice is being set up:

Setting up advice
Figure 165
Step four indicates that the analysis is complete:
Figure 166
Analysis complete
2.
When analysis is complete click Next to allocate space for summaries.
16.2.3.1 When some folders cannot be analyzed

If at the end of the Setting up advice step some folders cannot be analyzed then a dialog box appears (Figure 167, Not Analyzed) asking if you would like the offending folders to be removed from the policy. Reasons why folders cannot be analyzed are listed below: 16.2.3.1.1 You do not have ANALYZE privileges for a given object/table
In order to ANALYZE a table, you need one of the following:

a. b.
to be the owner of that table to have general ANALYZE privileges for the database (e.g. via grant ANALYZE any to me)
Where one of the underlying tables that make up a folder does not fit the above rules, that folder will not be analyzed. This means that if one or more tables within a folder cannot be analyzed, the whole folder cannot be analyzed. 16.2.3.1.2 Where a folder is Invalid
How you fix this depends on why a folder is marked as invalid. To display the error message associated with an invalid folder go to View | Validate Folders. 16.2.3.1.3 You are trying to ANALYZE over a DB-Link
If a folder refers to a table that resides on a database accessed over a DB-Link then ANALYZE will fail. This operation is not supported in the Oracle Server. 16.2.3.1.4 When Discoverer cannot determine or access the full list of tables that constitute a folder. A Discoverer folder can contain more than one underlying database table and/or view. Getting a full set of the underlying tables may be impossible. For example:
s
where a view is based upon a view and the ASM user has access to the top level view, but not to the referenced view underneath. This makes it impossible for the ASM user to see which database tables are actually used to make that view. Where folders do not fully resolve to tables
16.2.3.1.5
This only applies to the server dynamic tables (e.g. the V$ tables, and many DBA_tables). Not all these views and tables resolve to physical tables; some of them are stored in memory, thus they cannot be analyzed. For example: V$_LOCKS Although you may run queries on this kind of table/view, in practice it makes more sense not to have summaries built on them as the summarized data would soon be out of date.
Figure 167 Not Analyzed
Click Yes to exclude the folders that could not be analyzed
Click No to include them.
16.2.4 Allocate space for summaries - Step 3

The next step of the wizard requires you to allocate space for summaries by specifying:
s
the tablespace in which to store summary data the amount of space to allocate for summary data
Allocate space for summaries - space not yet selected
Figure 168
The graph plots the expected performance gain from allocating a certain amount of space for summaries. The information is calculated and displayed here as a result of the folder analysis carried out in the previous step. Changes you make in the Advanced Settings dialog might cause Discoverer to recalculate the graph.
1.
Select the tablespace in which to store summary data in the Tablespace to use for summaries list box
We recommend you place summaries in a separate tablespace specifically intended for summary data. If such a tablespace does not exist, we strongly recommend you do not use the SYSTEM or TEMP tablespaces.
2.
Specify the amount of space to allocate for summary data in one of the following ways:
s
click the graph area and drag the pointer/red line to select the space you want to allocate for summaries by specifying a figure in the Create summaries to fill field
NOTE: If there is insufficient available space displayed below the
Tablespace to use for summaries field, this does not matter if you have set your tablespace to autoextend. With your tablespace set to autoextend the extra space needed will be added automatically to the database.
Figure 169
Allocated space for summaries - space selected
3.
(Optional) To view the summaries that ASM will create/remove for you click the Recommended Summaries button (see Section 16.2.5, Recommended summaries dialog for details). (Optional) To display the Advanced Settings dialog click the Advanced Settings button (see Section 16.2.6, Change default settings dialog for details)
4.
5.
Click Finish if you want to generate summary folders based on the current settings. This includes those in the Recommended summaries and/or Advanced settings dialogs.
16.2.5 Recommended summaries dialog

This dialog lists the summaries which Discoverer recommends will be created for optimum performance gain given the space currently allocated. Should you not wish to display this page but instead click the Finish button in one of the previous dialogs, the selected summaries will be created/removed as determined by the current ASM policy. The Recommended summaries dialog gives you a chance to view which summaries Discoverer intends to create/delete and change the included list by selecting some and deselecting others. Discoverer may mark existing summaries for deletion when they fall outside the threshold values of the current ASM policy.
Figure 1610 Recommended summaries
Summaries recommended by Discoverer are displayed in Figure 1610, Recommended summaries. When you first display this dialog, the summaries that Discoverer recommends for the allocated space are ticked. This means that should you click the Finish button in the main wizard the summaries which are ticked will be either be created or deleted depending on whether Create or Delete is displayed in the Action column. You can change which summaries are created/deleted by selecting or clearing check boxes from the list of recommended summaries.
The right hand pane lists the currently selected summarys components. In Figure 1610, Recommended summaries the first summary in the list is based on a number of folders; details of these folders are displayed in the right hand pane. The total space required for the selected summaries is displayed underneath. The method used to derive the figure for the Total space required (in Figure 1610, Recommended summaries) from the list of recommended summaries is as follows:
s
The amount of space required is totalled and displayed in the Total space required field Where summaries are to be deleted, the space displayed (in kb) will be returned (i.e. made available) to be used by one of the other summaries listed. This will effectively reduce the Total space required by the sum of the kb of any summaries to be deleted.
16.2.6 Change default settings dialog

16.2.6.1 Analyze tab
Where there are many hundreds of folders to analyze, the analysis process can take some time. This tab gives you the ability to optimize the analysis.
Figure 1611 Change default settings - Analyze
How do you wish to analyze the selected folders? The default for this is Only analyze folders that have not already been analyzed. If you choose Analyze all folders regardless then every time you click Start/Continue in the Analyze dialog, all folders will be analyzed. When would you like a folders analysis to expire? The default for this is 30 days. If you set this field to 30 days then any folder which was analyzed over 30 days ago will be treated as if it had not been analyzed. How would you like the analysis to be optimized? The default for this is Max Accuracy giving 100% analysis and enabling the broadest range of suitable summaries to be created by ASM. If you are using a very large data warehouse then this setting may cause analysis to take longer. Reducing the Accuracy/Speed measure above in no way affects the accuracy of a summary, it just reduces the range of summaries created by ASM. If set to Max Speed then around 10% analysis will occur (this reduces the range of summaries created by ASM) but speed of analysis will improve.
16.2.6.2 Folders tab

In this tab you can select which folders to include in the ASM process. By default all folders are included, so if your system has thousands of folders then it may take some time for
them all to be analyzed. If so you can use this dialog to choose just the most important folders (for instance the fact tables) which will improve the analysis time (due to having less folders to analyze).
Figure 1612 Change default settings - Folders
The available folders are listed in the left hand list box, the included folders are in the right hand list box. To include a folder you can drag and drop between list boxes or you can use the buttons.
s
The > button will move the selected folder from Available into Included. The < button will move the selected folder from Included into Available.
Folders that have already been analyzed are shown with a green tick in the folder icon.
16.2.6.3 Query User tab

This tab enables you to select one or more users, for the current EUL, to be available for the ASM process. If a single user is selected then the queries made by that user can be included with ASM only using the Query Performance Prediction statistics (QPP) generated for that user. This means that ASM can be set up to create summaries from the queries of a restricted list of users cutting down the amount of QPP that feeds into the ASM process. The default is for all users to be selected. To exclude a user drag the user from the Included column into the Available column, or highlight one or more users and use the buttons.
Figure 1613
Change default settings - Query User
16.2.6.4 Query Usage tab

This tab enables you to select which queries are made available to be considered for summary recommendation.
Figure 1614 Change default settings - Query Usage - All Queries/Queries run since last execution
Include
s
All Queries - Considers recommendations for summaries based upon all queries previously run. Queries run since last execution to - Considers recommendations for summaries based upon those queries run since the last execution of ASM. Specific queries - Displays additional controls (see Figure 1615, Change default settings - Query Usage - Specific queries) that allow you to refine the conditions under which queries will be included in the ASM process (see Section 16.1.6.3.3, Query usage for further details).
Move the slider to the position that best reflects the nature of your users queries
s
Predetermined - Gives performance gain where queries stay the same over time. There is usually a significant gain in performance using ASM, the trade off is that the performance gain for ad hoc queries is reduced slightly.
Mixed - A balance between predetermined and ad hoc. Adhoc - Gives potential performance gain for queries never run before. There is usually a significant gain in performance using ASM, the trade off is that performance gain for more frequently run queries is reduced slightly.
Change default settings - Query Usage - Specific queries
Figure 1615
16.2.6.5 Deletion tab

This tab enables you to purge summary data that is not being used. This is a significant requirement for a system that automatically manages summary data. At some point the summaries will need to be cleaned up and this dialog allows you to determine what is removed. Removing unused summaries means that the space they occupied can be re-used by alternative (more appropriate) summaries.
Figure 1616
Change default settings - Delete summaries
Delete specific summary folders if: These settings define the circumstances where summaries will be deleted. The default setting is to allow all summaries to be deleted except summaries created via existing non-ASM methods. Such summaries are automatically placed on to the exclusion list (the Selected column) (see Section 16.2.6.5.1, External summary deletion message). Summaries in the Available column will be deleted subject to the settings made above This means that those summaries you want to create yourself, without the recommendations of ASM, will be placed on the exclusion list and not deleted by ASM, unless explicitly removed from that list. Always retain the following summaries: If you select this check box summaries in the Selected column will be retained. If you clear this check box summaries may be deleted subject to entries made in the Delete specific summary folders if: section (see Figure 1616, Change default settings - Delete summaries above).
16.2.6.5.1 External summary deletion message Discoverer does not delete external summary data as it does not own it, also deleting the meta data associated with external summaries would not yield any great space gain which is why it is not done.
Figure 1617 External summary deletion
If you try to move an external summary from the Selected to the Available column a warning message appears and the summary remains in the Selected column.
16.2.7 Refreshing ASM summaries

ASM summaries are the same as any other summaries and need to be refreshed at regular intervals (see Section 15.6, Refreshing Summary Folders). This is also achieved when ASM ia run via the command line (see Section 16.1.4.3, Using the command line for further details). If you are using an Oracle 8.1.6 database you can employ the dba facilities to carry out a refresh.
Using Discoverer with Oracle Applications

This chapter explains how Discoverer supports access to Oracle Applications databases using Oracle Applications security. This chapter consists of the following sections:
s
17.1 Supported Features 17.2 Prerequisites 17.3 Configuring the Connect dialog for Administration Edition and Discoverer Plus (for Windows) 17.4 Configuring the Connect dialog for Discoverer 4i Plus and Discoverer 4i Viewer 17.5 How to use Discoverer Administration Edition in Applications Mode 17.6 Create an Applications Mode EUL 17.7 Connect to an Applications Mode EUL 17.8 Granting Access Permission for Business Areas 17.9 Granting Task Privileges
17.1 Supported Features

The following Oracle Applications features are supported by Discoverer:
s
Access to Oracle Applications databases using Applications user names, passwords and responsibilities Oracle Applications Multiple Organizations
These features are only available when Discoverer is running in Applications mode against an Oracle Applications mode EUL against an Oracle Applications database (Applications Mode).
Using Discoverer with Oracle Applications 17-1
Prerequisites
17.2 Prerequisites
The following need to be satisfied for Discoverer to function when connecting as an Oracle Applications user (Applications Mode):
17.2.1 Oracle Applications installed

s
Oracle Applications must be installed before Discoverer can be used in Applications Mode.
17.2.2 Oracle Applications versions supported by Discoverer

The following Oracle Applications versions are supported by Discoverer:
s
Release 10.7 (SmartClient and Character mode) Release 11 Release 11i
17.2.3 For Oracle Applications users to launch Discoverer 4i Plus via a link on an Oracle Applications page.
Oracle Applications users can launch Discoverer 4i Plus and view Discoverer worksheets directly through a link on an Oracle Applications page. The following prerequisites apply:
s
JInitiator must be installed. With Solaris installations, the plugin must be installed. If the language is to be set other than English (usually selected in the start pages) it can be done on the URL.
17-2
Configuring the Connect dialog for Administration Edition and Discoverer Plus (for Windows)
17.3 Configuring the Connect dialog for Administration Edition and Discoverer Plus (for Windows)
This section explains how to configure the Connect dialog for Oracle Applications users of Discoverer Administration Edition and Discoverer Plus (for Windows). Before you connect to Oracle Discoverer as an Oracle Applications User, you can configure the Oracle Discoverer Connect dialog to expect Oracle Applications users, as follows:
1.
Select Tools | Options from the main menu to display the following dialog:
Figure 171 The Options dialog
2.
Select one of the following radio buttons:

s
Connect to standard EULs The Oracle Applications User check box is not displayed in the Connect dialog and Discoverer expects standard database users. Connect to applications EULs The Oracle Applications User check box is not displayed in the Connect dialog but Discoverer expects users to connect using an Applications user id/password and Oracle Applications database connect string.
Configuring the Connect dialog for Administration Edition and Discoverer Plus (for Windows)
Connect to both standard and applications EULs The Oracle Applications User check box is displayed in the Connect dialog and (depending on whether the check box is cleared or selected) you can connect to either standard or Oracle Applications database EULs.
17.3.1 Entering Details into the fields GWYUID/Password and FNDNAM

If you select either the Connect to applications EULs or Connect to both standard and applications EULs radio button, further details can be entered into the following fields:
s
Gateway User ID (GWYUID)/Password This field enables you to record your Gateway User ID and Password (the default value applsyspub/pub will be used if nothing is entered here). Foundation Name (FNDNAM) This field enables you to enter the Foundation Name (Default value apps will be used if nothing is entered here).
If you do not know what the above values are contact your Oracle Applications system administrator.
17-4
Configuring the Connect dialog for Discoverer 4i Plus and Discoverer 4i Viewer
17.4 Configuring the Connect dialog for Discoverer 4i Plus and Discoverer 4i Viewer
This section explains how to configure the Connect dialog for Oracle Applications users of Discoverer 4i Plus and Discoverer 4i Viewer. Oracle Discoverer 4i Plus and Oracle Discoverer 4i Viewer can be configured to validate Oracle Applications usernames and passwords during the connect process. For further details please refer to Oracle Discoverer 4i Configuration Guide for Oracle 9i Application Server.
How to use Discoverer Administration Edition in Applications Mode
17.5 How to use Discoverer Administration Edition in Applications Mode

17.5.1 Enable Discoverer Applications Mode
In order to run Discoverer in Applications mode you first need to start Discoverer Administration Edition in Applications mode then create an Applications mode EUL. This section describes the how you start Discoverer Administration Edition in Applications Mode.
1.
Create an Applications Mode EUL. This EUL has special features that provide support for use with Oracle Applications. For more information, see Section 17.6, Create an Applications Mode EUL.
2.
Connect to Discoverer Administration Edition using an Applications User Name and Responsibility. For more information, see Section 17.7, Connect to an Applications Mode EUL.
17.5.2 Enable Multiple Organizations Support in Discoverer

This section describes the prerequisites required for you to use Discoverer in conjunction with the Oracle Applications Multiple Organizations Support feature. Using Discoverer with Oracle Applications Multiple Organizations Support enables you to to work with data from more than one Organization. Users can query and analyze data from a set of Organizations to which they have been granted access. To use Discoverer Administration Edition in conjunction with the Oracle Applications Multiple Organizations Support feature the following prerequisites must be met:
s
Discoverer Administration Edition must be running in Applications mode. The Folders in the EUL you are connecting to must be based on Oracle Business Views (available in Oracle Applications 11i). You must have an Applications mode EUL
17.5.3 Changes in Behavior

This section describes the noticeable changes in behavior that occur when Discoverer Administration Edition is running in Applications mode.
17-6
How to use Discoverer Administration Edition in Applications Mode
17.5.3.1 Privileges and security

The Privileges and Security dialogs display Oracle Applications user names and responsibilities instead of native Oracle Users and database Roles. Privileges and security are assigned to Oracle Applications Usernames and Responsibilities. To learn more about granting privileges via the Public user see Section 17.7.1.1.1, Grant Task privileges to all Oracle Applications users via the Public user. For more general information about Discoverer Access Privileges and Security see Chapter 8, Access Privileges and Security.
17.5.3.2 Managed Summaries

Some Applications Database Views contain row level security and return differing result sets depending upon the currently active responsibility. This means that the Summary Table or Materialized View (MV) (8.1.6+ databases) would contain different data depending on the responsibility of the user that refreshed the table. If a user performs a query against the detail data associated with such a Managed Summary Folder, and Summary Redirection is performed, the user will be told that no rows satisfy this criteria (this ensures that the user does not see data they should not have access to). As an administrator, you should ensure that Summary Folders that are based on Applications Secure Views or Applications Business Views are created as External (rather than Managed). Managed Summaries Folders on data without Applications row level security are completely unaffected. Users can continue to use External Summary Tables. If the External Summary Table is registered against an object with Applications row level security, it is the responsibility of the administrator to make sure the External Summary Table provides secure access. Some views with row-level security, support "public" rows (particularly the Apps Human Resources). So sometimes Managed Summary Tables or MVs contain small amounts of data.
17.5.3.3 Secure Views and Language Settings

When Discoverer Plus or Discoverer 4i users access Workbooks accessing Secure Views, they may get different results on different machines, even when using the same Connect details. A possible cause is that the machines have different local language (NLS) settings. When using Secure Views, machines local language settings affect the data retrieved by Discoverer. To change a machines local language setting, on Windows NT, choose Start\Settings\Control Panel\Regional Settings and change the language value. Discoverer will then display data consistently across machines with the same language setting.
Create an Applications Mode EUL
For more information on Secure Views refer to Chapter C.4, Running queries against Secure Views and making Query Prediction faster. You can also define a language setting (NLS) for a User/Responsibility/Application/Site using the Profiles setting in Oracle APPS application. Refer to your Oracle Applications documentation for more information.
17.6 Create an Applications Mode EUL

This section describes how you create an Applications Mode EUL (including and new Oracle Applications user) using the Create EUL dialog. An Applications Mode EUL can also be created via the command line (see Section D.9.6, Creating an Applications Mode EUL for details). The only native-Oracle user that can connect to an Applications Mode EUL is the EUL owner.
1. 2.
Start Discoverer Administration Edition Connect as the dba entering the username/password and database connect string in order to create an Oracle Applications user. For example, dba/dbapassword@oracleappsdb The EUL owner must be a database user and not an Oracle Applications user.
Connect to an Oracle Applications database as dba
Figure 172
17-8
play the Oracle Applications user check box. For further details see Section 17.3, Configuring the Connect dialog for Administration Edition and Discoverer Plus (for Windows).
3. 4.
If the Oracle Applications User check box is displayed beneath the Connect dialog, make sure that you select the Oracle Applications User option. Click Connect to display the following dialog:
Choose whether to create an EUL now
Figure 173
5.
Click Yes to display the EUL Manager dialog:

EUL Manager (create EUL)
Figure 174
6.
Click Create an EUL to start the Create EUL Wizard where you create a new database schema/user and Oracle Applications EUL:
Create EUL Wizard (Create Apps user and Apps EUL)
Figure 175
7.
Select the Create a new user radio button. This enables you to create a new Oracle Applications EUL user/schema. (If there is an existing user/schema select the Select an existing user radio button you can choose that user as the owner of the new Oracle Applications EUL). Select the Grant access to PUBLIC check box. We recommend that you select this check box, however if you wish to explicitly give access to your EUL then do not check this box. But you will need to grant access to your EUL tables manually. Select the New EUL is for Oracle Applications users ONLY check box. This creates an Oracle Applications EUL in the users Oracle schema (displayed in the User field). Or Select the previously created user as the owner of the new Oracle Applications EUL.
8.
9.
10. Either enter a name and password for the new Oracle Applications user.
11. Click Next to display the Create EUL Wizard Step 2 where you select the Oracle
Applications schema and enter the schema password:
Figure 176
Create EUL Wizard Step 2 (select Apps schema)
12. Use the drop down list to select the Oracle Applications schema containing the Oracle
Applications FND tables.

13. Enter the password for the Oracle Applications schema. 14. Click Next to display Step 3 of the wizard where you select the Default and Tempo-
rary Tablespaces for the new database user/schema:
17-11
Figure 177 Create EUL Wizard Step 3 (Select default and Temporary Tablespace for new Apps user)
15. Highlight the required Default and Temporary Tablespaces you want to use for the
new Oracle Applications user.

16. Click Finish
This creates the tables and views for the new Oracle Applications EUL and populates them with default data. The following message is displayed:
Figure 178 Create EUL wizard - Success (create Oracle Applications EUL/user)
17. Click OK to display the following dialog:
Figure 179
Install tutorial data into new EUL?
18. Click No unless you want to install the tutorial data
The following dialog is displayed:

Figure 1710 Do you want to connect as the owner of the EUL you have just created?
19. Click Yes to connect as the owner of the EUL you have just created
Or click No to remain connected as the dba using the current database connection. If you clicked Yes at the previous step, you are now connected to the Oracle Applications EUL just created (as the EUL owner). You can now grant Task Privileges to an Oracle Applications user so that they can now administer this Oracle Applications EUL. See Section 17.9, Granting Task Privileges. You could also create a new Business Area using the Oracle Applications tables. See Chapter 7, Business Areas for further information on creating Business Areas.
Note: When creating a new Applications Business Area, the schema
objects you load into the BA need to be based on Secure Views. This retains the row-level security associated with a specific Oracle Applications Responsibility. See your Applications database administrator for further information
17-13
Connect to an Applications Mode EUL
17.7 Connect to an Applications Mode EUL

This section describes how you connect to an Applications Mode EUL using Discoverer Administration Edition and includes the following sections:
s
Connect as the EUL Owner to grant permissions and task privileges to other Oracle Applications users Connect as an Applications user Oracle Applications Responsibilities
17.7.1 Connect as the EUL Owner to grant permissions and task privileges to other Oracle Applications users
17.7.1.1 Grant permissions to Oracle Applications users
The only native-Oracle user that can connect to an Applications Mode EUL is the EUL owner. However the EUL owner can grant administration privileges to Oracle Applications users. The authorized Oracle Applications users can then connect to the Applications Mode EUL using Discoverer Administration Edition. See Section 8.2, Granting Access Permission for Business Areas for details. 17.7.1.1.1 lic user Grant Task privileges to all Oracle Applications users via the Pub-
You can grant task privileges to all users in one action by using the Public user in the following way: If you access the Tools | Privileges option (when connected to Discoverer as an Oracle Applications user), you will see a user called Public. The user Public is not an Oracle Applications user but represents every Oracle Applications user. By giving one or more privileges to the Public user you are in fact giving the privileges to all Oracle Applications users. You can subsequently modify users privileges by removing them (the privileges) on a per-user basis.
17.7.2 Connect as an Applications user

Once you have been granted Discoverer Plus task privileges (see Section 17.7.1.1, Grant permissions to Oracle Applications users) you can connect to Discoverer as an Oracle Applications user:
17.7.2.1 Before you start

If Discoverer is not configured to use Oracle Applications EULs, you need to re-configure your Connect dialog, (see Section 17.3, Configuring the Connect dialog for Administration Edition and Discoverer Plus (for Windows)).
Figure 1711 An Oracle Discoverer Connect dialog for Applications Users
When you connect to Discoverer as an Oracle Applications User, the Connect dialog prompts you to enter your Oracle Applications connect details (see Status area in Figure 1711).
17.7.2.2 Connect
Once you have configured Discoverer to use Oracle Applications EULs, (see Section 17.3, Configuring the Connect dialog for Administration Edition and Discoverer Plus (for Windows)), connect to Discoverer as follows:
1.
Select the Oracle Applications User check box (if displayed) in the Connect dialog.
17-15
Figure 1712 Oracle Discoverer Connect dialog for Applications Users with check box
play the Oracle Applications user check box. For further details see Section 17.3, Configuring the Connect dialog for Administration Edition and Discoverer Plus (for Windows).
2. 3.
Enter your Oracle Applications username, password and Oracle Applications database connect string Click Connect. If you have more than one responsibility the Choose Responsibilities dialog is displayed (if you have only one responsibility, you will automatically be connected as that user):
Figure 1713
Responsibilities dialog
Once you have chosen a responsibility, Discoverer connects to the applications database and displays the first screen of the Load Wizard (see Figure 32, Using Load Wizard to Open a Business Area). The above dialog can display two columns if security groups are present (Oracle Applications v11i only). Discoverer Administration Edition is now running and connected to your applications database, the next step is to either open a business area or create a new one.
17.7.3 Oracle Applications Responsibilities

Oracle Applications users can connect with just one of a number of potential Responsibilities and each Responsibility can have a number of Privileges granted to it. This means that an Oracle Applications user can decide the Responsibility with which to connect, and by default will assume the Privileges granted to that Responsibility (see Section 17.9, Granting Task Privileges for further details). Native Oracle database users (on the other hand) have Roles rather than Responsibilities and can only decide the user with which they want to connect, not the Role. Any Role(s) associated with a native Oracle database user are not selectable at connect time.
17-17
17.8 Granting Access Permission for Business Areas

This section describes how to grant (or deny) access permission for business areas to specific users or responsibilities. The Security dialog box enables you to set access permission for business areas. To open the Security dialog box, choose Tools | Security (or click the Security icon on the toolbar). The Security dialog box has two pages:
s
The Business Area -> User page shows which users have access to a specific business area. The Users -> Business Area page shows which business areas a specific user can access.
The two pages provide two ways of looking at the same information. The page you choose depends on the specific task you want to perform. Before displaying the folders in a business area, Discoverer checks if the user has database access to the tables referenced in the folders. If they dont have the necessary permission, Discoverer does not display the folders. You can override this check by changing a registry setting. For more information, see ObjectsAlwaysAccessible in Chapter E.2, Registry Settings.
17.8.1 Specifying the Users/Responsibilities who can access a Business Area

This section describes how to specify which users or responsibilities can access a specific business area.
1.
s
).
2.
Click the Business Area->User tab (see Figure 1714).
Figure 1714
Business Area->User Tab
3. 4. 5. 6.
Select the business area, to which, you want to grant (or deny) access permission for, from the Business area drop-down list. If you want the lists to include users, tick Users (otherwise, clear it). If you want the lists to include responsibilities, tick Responsibilities (otherwise, clear it). To grant a user or role access to this business area, move it to the Selected users/responsibilities list. To select more than one user/responsibility at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the users/responsibilities. The Available User/Responsibility list includes a role called Public. Select this role to view or edit the privileges that Discoverer Administration Edition provides by default for users or roles/responsibilities whose task privileges you have not yet defined.
7.
For each new user or responsibility added to the Selected users/responsibilities list, specify whether they have Administration access to the business area. To do this:
1. 2.
Click on the user or responsibility in the Selected users/responsibilities list. Tick or clear Allow Administration as required.
17-19
8.
To deny a user or responsibility access to this Business Area, move it to the Available users/responsibilities list.
9.
17.8.2 Specifying the Business Areas a User/Responsibility can Access

This section describes how to specify which business areas a specific user or responsibility can access.
1.
s
).
2.
Click the User->Business Area tab (see Figure 1715).
Figure 1715
Users-> Business Area
3. 4. 5.
If you want the drop-down list to include users, tick Users (otherwise, clear it). If you want the drop-down list to include responsibilities, tick Responsibilities (otherwise, clear it). Select the user or responsibility whose access permissions you want to change. The drop-down list for user/responsibility includes a role called Public. Select this role to view or edit the privileges that Discoverer Administration Edition provides by default for users or roles/responsibilities whose task privileges you have not yet defined.
6.
To allow the selected user or responsibility to access a business area, move it to the Selected business areas list. To select more than one business area at once, hold down Ctrl while you click on the users/roles.
7.
For each new business area added to the Selected business areas list, specify whether the selected user or role has Administration access. To do this:
a. b.
Click on the business area in the Selected business area list. Tick or clear Allow Administration as required.
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8.
To deny the selected user or responsibility access to a Business Area, move it to the Available users/roles list.
9.
17.9 Granting Task Privileges

This section describes how to grant (or deny) the privilege to perform certain tasks as an Oracle Applications user. The Privileges dialog box enables you to set task privileges. To open the Privileges dialog box, choose Tools | Privileges (or click the Privileges icon on the toolbar). The Privileges dialog box has four pages, we will focus on the first two which help you specify task privileges:
s
The Privileges page enables you to specify the task privileges granted to a responsibility or user. The User/Responsibilities page enables you to grant task privileges to a user or responsibility.
These two pages provide two ways of looking at the same information. The page you choose depends on the specific task you want to perform.
17.9.1 Specifying the Tasks a User/Responsibility can Perform

This section describes how to specify the tasks a specific user or responsibility can perform. See Section 17.7.3, Oracle Applications Responsibilities for further information about Responsibilities.
1.
s
).
2.
Click the Privileges tab (see Figure 1716).

Granting Privileges
Figure 1716
3. 4. 5. 6.
If you want the drop-down list to include Oracle Applications users, tick Users (otherwise, clear it). If you want the drop-down list to include Responsibilities, tick Responsibilities (otherwise, clear it). Select the user or responsibility whose task privileges you want to change (from the drop-down list). Grant or deny specific task privileges as required. These privileges only apply to the selected user or responsibility.
s
To grant a specific privilege, select the relevant check box in the Privilege list. To deny a specific privilege, clear the relevant check box in the Privilege list.
To grant a minor privilege (shown indented in the list) you must first grant the corresponding major privilege (the first, non-indented privilege above the minor privilege). Deselecting (revoking) a major privilege revokes the subordinate, minor privileges for the selected user/responsibility only. This means that if a major privilege is revoked from an Oracle Applications user alone, subordinate minor privileges may not necessar-
17-23
ily be revoked if the users current responsibility (chosen during login) also has this major privilege. The minor privilege check boxes may remain checked. As you move the mouse over a privilege in the Privilege list, a brief description of the privilege appears on the right-hand side of the dialog box. The drop-down list for the Privileges tab (on the right hand side of this dialog) includes a responsibility called PUBLIC. Select this Responsibility to view or edit the privileges that Discoverer Administration Edition provides by default for users or responsibility whose task privileges you have not yet defined.
NOTE: If you wish to grant Administration privileges to a user or respon-
sibility, you must also grant that user Administration access to the business area. For more information, see Section 8.2.1, Specifying the Users / Roles who can Access a Business Area.
7. 8.
Choose a system profile to apply to the user or responsibility (from the Select a system profile drop-down list. Click Apply or OK.
17.9.2 Specifying the Users / Responsibilities who can Perform a Specific Task
This section describes how to specify the users or responsibilities that can perform a specific task.
1.
s
).
2.
Click the User/Responsibility tab (see Figure 1717).
Figure 1717
Maintaining Assigned Privileges
3. 4.
If you want the list to include Oracle Applications users, select the Users check box (otherwise, clear it). If you want the list to include Oracle Applications Responsibilities, select the Responsibility check box (otherwise, clear it). The list is sorted alphabetically, with users at the top and responsibilities next.
5.
Select the task privilege that you want to grant (or deny) to a set of users or responsibilities (from the drop-down list). When you select a privilege from the drop-down list, a brief description of the privilege appears on the right-hand side of the dialog box.
6.
Grant or deny the task privilege as required.

s
To grant a user or responsibility the task privilege, tick the relevant check box in the list.
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To deny a user or responsibility the task privilege, clear the relevant check box in the list.
NOTE: If you wish to grant (or deny) Administration privileges to a user
or responsibility, you must also grant (or deny) that user Administration access to the business area. For more information, see Section 8.2.1, Specifying the Users / Roles who can Access a Business Area.
7.
Click Apply or OK.
Error Messages
This appendix consists of the following sections:
s
A.1 Introduction A.2 Discoverer Administration Edition Errors
A.1 Introduction
This appendix lists the errors that may be encountered when using Discoverer. For each error, there is a probable cause and a suggested corrective action. Many errors listed in this appendix are client errors produced by Discoverer Administration Edition. You may also encounter server or database errors produced by the Oracle database itself. These errors will be received from the database when an error condition exists in the database and not in Discoverer Administration Edition. They are identified by the prefix ORA-num:. For a complete description of all Oracle errors, see the Oracle SQL Server Manual. Because Discoverer Administration Edition is part of a client/server system, some errors that may be displayed will not pertain to Discoverer Administration Edition (which is the client). The cause of the error in this case is often incidental to the current operation you are attempting. For example, there may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or with the Oracle database. In these instances, use the normal troubleshooting procedures to determine that the network, server, and Oracle database are operating normally before proceeding.
A.2 Discoverer Administration Edition Errors

A database role exists which conflicts with this username Cause: An attempt was made to use a database user that has the same name as an existing database role. Roles and users cannot conflict.
Error Messages A-1
Discoverer Administration Edition Errors
Action: Log onto the database using a user ID that is not the same as a role. A detail folder must be selected Cause: You have attempted to create a join that does not have a detail folder selected. Action: Select a detail folder and item on the right side of the equation and retry. A join must contain at least one predicate Cause: An error occurred when attempting to create or edit a join. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. A master folder must be selected Cause: You have attempted to create a join that does not have a master folder selected. Action: Select a master folder and item on the left side of the equation and retry. Alternative Sort Items must come from the same folder as the LOV Item Cause: When specifying the item to sort by, it must be in the same folder as the item that you used to identify the list of values for this item class. This is so that the folder can be joined into the query at run time in order to correctly sort your data using the alternative sort item. Action: Choose an item to sort by from the same folder as the item you used to identify the list of values for this item class and retry. Ambiguous joins detected Cause: You are creating a condition between two folders that have more than one join between them. Discoverer Administration Edition does not know which join to use for the condition. Action: Discoverer Administration Edition displays a dialog box which lists all of the joins between the folders. Select one join. An error occurred. Please refer to the release notes Cause: An error has occurred which has not been documented in this manual. Action: See the release notes supplied with Discoverer Administration Edition and take the appropriate action. Another condition named [condition-name] already exists. Please type in a different name
A-2 Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide
Cause: You have entered a condition name that already exists in the folder. Action: Re-enter a unique condition name and retry. Each condition name in the folder must be unique. Another join named join-name already exists. Please enter a different name. Cause: You have entered a name for a join which already exists. Action: Re-enter a unique name and retry. The name for a join must be unique to the End User Layer. Argument must be named Cause: You have attempted to specify an argument without a name during the creation or editing of a PL/SQL function. Action: Enter a valid argument name in the name field and retry. Each argument in a PL/SQL function must be named. Argument name is too long Cause: You have entered an argument name which is longer than the maximum allowed length. Action: Re-enter an argument name which is no longer than the maximum length allowed for an argument name in the database you are connected to. The maximum length of an argument name may vary with Oracle versions. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for package name conventions. Business area must be named Cause: You have attempted to create or edit a business area without entering a name. Action: Enter a unique name in the name field and retry. Each business area must be named. Changing Identifier Cause: An attempt was made to click into the Identifier field. Action: Click Help for further information before attempting to make any changes. Select the Dont show this warning again during this session to not display this error message again during the current session. Click Yes to proceed with the change in this Identifier. Click No to abandon the attempt to alter this Identifier. Column data type does not match item data type Cause: An attempt was made to use a database column for an item that has a different data type. This message is sometimes a warning and sometimes prevents the attempted
Error Messages A-3
action, where such a mismatch would be invalid. This depends on the operation attempted. Action: Change the data type of the item, perhaps by modifying the formula with a function such as TO_CHAR, TO_DATE or TO_NUMBER, or by creating a derived item of the appropriate type, or use a different database column. Column is not large enough Cause: An attempt was made to use a database column that is not as large as the item. Action: Increase the size of the database column, or reduce the size of the item (for example, by using a function such as SUBSTR). Combinations are not fully mapped Cause: The combination of all the items in a query that use the summary have not been mapped to existing table columns, or you have accidentally deleted combination maps if you have chosen to automatically generate summary tables. Action: Map each item in the query to existing table columns and retry. Combinations are not uniquely mapped Cause: When you are creating or editing an external summary, you have assigned a column to an item that has been previously been assigned to another item. Action: Re-assign an unused column to the item and retry. Condition is not complete Cause: You have entered a condition which is not complete or does not follow the correct syntax. Action: Re-enter the condition following proper syntax. For example, you may not have entered matching quotes or you may not have entered a value to the right of the operator. Condition is not valid Cause: You have entered a condition which does not follow the correct syntax. Action: Re-enter the condition following proper syntax. For example, you may not have entered matching quotes or you may not have entered a value to the right of the operator. Condition mixes different levels of aggregation Cause: You have created a condition which attempts to compare an aggregated measure with a non-aggregated measure. For example, in the condition AVG(SAL) > COMM if SAL is non-aggregated and COMM is aggregated, the condition mixes differ-
ent levels of aggregation. Action: You must compare group functions, such as SUM(Salary), with other group functions, or compare non-group functions with other non-group calculations. You cannot mix group functions with non-group functions in a calculation or condition. Modify the condition and retry. Condition must be named Cause: You have attempted to create or edit a condition without entering a name. Action: Enter a unique condition name in the name field and retry. Each condition must be named. Connected to a database that does not support this functionality Cause: The database or version of the database that you are connected to does not support the functionality required to complete the operation attempted. Action: Upgrade your database to a later version to use this functionality. Ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Could not create new condition Cause: The condition has been entered correctly; however, an error was detected when attempting to save the new condition in the End User Layer. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Could not create new join Cause: An error occurred when attempting to save the join you have just created, but the join has been validated. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Could not modify condition Cause: The condition has been edited correctly; however, an error was detected when attempting to save the modified condition in the End User Layer. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself.
Error Messages A-5
Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Could not modify join Cause: An error occurred when attempting to save a modified join in the End User Layer. The join is valid; however, it cannot be saved. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Cyclic Hierarchy - This hierarchy node, or its items are already used in the hierarchy Cause: You attempted to add an item into a hierarchy twice. Action: Do not add an item to a hierarchy twice. Data type not valid for summaries Cause: You cannot use an item of this data type in a summary. Action: Use a different item or change the data type of the item. Database Error Cause: A database error has occurred. Action: Note the database error number and the message and ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Database timed_statistics parameter is set to FALSE Cause: Timed_statistics is a parameter in the database init.ora configuration file that affects the ability of Discoverer to perform Query Performance Prediction. Action: Determine if the database server has timed statistics turned on. To turn on timed statistics, execute the following query in SQL*Plus:
select value from v$parameter where name = timed_statistics;
The query should return the value TRUE. If it returns FALSE, change the init.ora parameter timed_statistics to TRUE, shutdown, and restart the server. Date hierarchy must be named Cause: You have attempted to create or edit a date hierarchy without entering a name. Each date hierarchy must be named.
Action: Enter a unique name in the name field and retry. Description is too long. Max length is num bytes Cause: You have entered a description which is longer than the maximum allowed length. The maximum length of a description is 240 bytes. Action: Re-enter a description which is 240 bytes long or less. Oracle Designer not available Cause: There are no accessible Oracle Designer database repository tables. Action: Check that Oracle Designer is installed on the database you are using. Set up the user ID you are using as an Oracle Designer user and retry. If you are still unable to access the Oracle Designer database repository tables, check that the user ID you are logged in as has SELECT access to the Oracle Designer tables, and that they have valid synonyms that point to the Oracle Designer tables and retry. Duplicate business area name Cause: You have attempted to create a business area with the same name as one that already exists. Choose a different name, or rename the existing one. Action: Business areas in an End User Layer must be named uniquely. Duplicate Server database link, owner and object name Cause: You have attempted to use a duplicate database link, owner, and object name. Database links, owner, and object names must be unique. Action: Choose a different name. Duplicate summary table name and owner Cause: You have attempted to use a duplicate summary table name and owner. Summary table and owner names must be unique. Action: Choose a different name. End User Layer tables version n requires End User Layer DLL of at least version n Cause: You are attempting to connect to a database that has a set of End User Layer database tables that are incompatible with the version of Discoverer Administration Edition that you are using. Action: Upgrade the End User Layer tables, install the latest release of Discoverer or connect to a different database. End User Layer transaction found object changed in the database Cause: Another Discoverer Administration Edition user has changed the End User
Error Messages A-7
Layer element you are modifying. Action: Exit from Discoverer Administration Edition, reconnect, and retry. Error adding combination Cause: An error was detected when attempting to add a new combination when you are creating or editing a summary. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error adding summary table Cause: An error was detected when attempting to create a summary table used by a managed summary. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error applying date template to this item Cause: An error was detected when attempting to use the date template with this item. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error checking combination Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set combinations when you are creating or editing a summary. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error creating business area Cause: An error occurred when attempting to create a business area. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error creating new business area
Cause: An error occurred when attempting to create a new business area. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error creating new condition Cause: An error occurred when attempting to create a condition. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error creating new folder Cause: An error occurred when attempting to create a new folder. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error creating new function Cause: An error occurred when attempting to create a new PL/SQL function. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error creating new function argument Cause: An error occurred when specifying an argument during the creation or editing of a PL/SQL function. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error creating new item Cause: An error occurred when attempting to create an item. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself.
Error Messages A-9
Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error creating new join Cause: Discoverer Administration Edition was unable to save the join you have just created. However, the join has been validated. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error creating summary Cause: An error was detected when attempting to create a summary. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error creating summary refresh set Cause: An error was detected when creating the summary refresh set. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error creating summary set Cause: An error was detected when attempting to create a new summary. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error exporting End User Layer objects Cause: An error occurred when attempting to export the End User Layer. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error deleting function argument Cause: An error occurred when deleting an argument during the creation or editing of a PL/SQL function. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond
A-10
the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error deleting registered function Cause: An error occurred when attempting to delete a PL/SQL function. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error found parsing SQL statement Cause: An unspecified error was detected when parsing an SQL statement. There may be an error in the SQL statement, or the SQL is of a type of query which is not currently supported by the Discoverer import parser. See the Release Notes for more information. Action: Check the SQL statement for errors. Correct the error and retry. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for SQL syntax conventions. Error granting admin option Cause: An error was detected when attempting to make security modifications in the Security dialog with the Admin option checked. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error granting privileges Cause: An error was detected when attempting to grant or revoke a users privilege. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error granting/revoking business area Cause: An error occurred when attempting to grant or revoke business area privileges to a user or role. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself.
Error Messages A-11
Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error importing End User Layer objects Cause: An error occurred when attempting to import an End User Layer. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of the Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error in condition description Cause: You may have entered an invalid character. Action: You may have entered a character that is not acceptable. Re-enter and retry. Error in condition name Cause: You may have entered an invalid character. Action: You may have entered a character that is not acceptable. Re-enter and retry. Error in database Cause: Discoverer Administration Edition has detected an error associated with the Oracle database; however, the specific error cannot be determined. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error in End User Layer import file - InvalidClass Cause: The End User Layer import file is corrupted or is not a valid import file. Action: Export the business area into an new file and import it again. Retry the operation that failed. Error in End User Layer import file - NoTypeFound Cause: The End User Layer import file is corrupted or is not a valid import file. Action: Export the business area into an new file and import it again. Retry the operation that failed. Error in End User Layer import file - ParseError Cause: The End User Layer import file is corrupted or is not a valid import file.
A-12
Action: Export the business area into an new file and import it again. Retry the operation that failed. Error in formula Cause: The formula you have entered does not follow the SQL expression syntax. Action: Re-enter the formula following SQL syntax conventions. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for a description. Error in formula - ambiguous or duplicate item names Cause: The formula contains unqualified item names which appear in multiple folders. Action: Qualify item names with the folder name (for example, Employee.Name). Error in formula - circular recursive expression detected Cause: The formula contains a reference to an item whose formula references this formula. Action: Modify the formula to remove the circular reference and retry. Error in formula - invalid item name or unrecognized item Cause: The formula contains some text that is not recognized as an item name. Action: Change the item name to a valid item name and retry. Error in formula - item is not in scope of the folders available for this formula Cause: The formula contains an item that is not in the folders that this formula can reference. In Discoverer Administration Edition you can create derived items in complex folders that reference items in either the component folders or the complex folder itself. In simple folders you can only reference items in the folder itself. Action: Correct the item name and retry. Error in formula - mismatched ( ) (parentheses) Cause: There are mismatched parentheses in the formula. Action: Edit the formula for matching parentheses and retry. Error in formula - Nested aggregate functions are not allowed Cause: Discoverer does not directly support the use of nested aggregates, such as AVG(SUM(SAL)). Action: Remove the nested aggregate. You can achieve the same result shown in the example by using the first aggregate SUM(SAL) called, for example, SumOfSalary, and then creating a new folder. Drag over the items you need (excluding the aggregate), and
Error Messages
A-13
create a new item with the formula AVG(SumOfSalary). Error in formula - uncategorized error Cause: An unspecified error was found in the formula. Action: Check the formula and correct the error. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for formula syntax conventions. Error in formula - unexpected end of formula Cause: The formula is unfinished, possibly ending in an operator or function name. Action: Check the end of the formula and correct the error. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for formula syntax conventions. Error in Formula - unknown function name Cause: The formula contains a function that is not registered in the End User Layer. Action: Check the formula to determine if the function name is wrong and correct it. If the function named in the formula is the correct function, then choose Register PL/ SQL Function in the Tools menu to register the function in the End User Layer. Retry the formula with the registered function name. Error in join description Cause: You may have entered an invalid character. Action: You may have entered a character that is not acceptable. Re-enter and retry. Error in join name Cause: You may have entered an invalid character. Action: You may have entered a character that is not acceptable. Re-enter and retry. Error loading database link Cause: An error occurred when attempting to retrieve all of the database links to obtain a list of users for that database. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error loading Oracle Designer application Cause: An error was detected when attempting to import information from Oracle Designer. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the
A-14
server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error loading users for database link Cause: An error occurred when attempting to obtain a list of users for database link you have selected. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error mapping column Cause: An error occurred when attempting to map an item in the summary table to an existing column in the database. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error modifying function argument Cause: An error occurred when changing an argument during the editing of a PL/SQL function. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error modifying item class Cause: An error occurred when attempting to modify an item class. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error modifying join Cause: An error occurred when attempting to save a join that you have modified. However, the join itself has been validated. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error modifying PL/SQL functions
Error Messages
A-15
Cause: An error occurred when attempting to modify a PL/SQL function. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error refreshing the definition of End User Layer Cause: An error occurred when attempting to refresh the End User Layer. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error registering PL/SQL functions Cause: An error occurred when attempting to register a PL/SQL function. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting business area property Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set a business area property. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting case storage of item Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set the case storage attribute for this item. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting condition property Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set a condition property. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself.
A-16
Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting content type of item Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set the content type attribute for this item.The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting default placement of item Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set the default placement (top, left, right, page) attribute for this item. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting default width of item Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set the default width attribute for this item. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting display case of item Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set the display case attribute for this item. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting folder property Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set a folder property. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting heading style of item Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set the heading style attribute for this item.
Error Messages
A-17
Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting item property Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set an item property. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting join property Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set a join property. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting maximum characters fetched for item Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set the maximum character fetch value for this item.The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting name Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set a name property. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting show null as character of item Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set the show null as attribute for this item. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting show/hidden of item Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set the Visible to User attribute for this item. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself.
A-18
Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Error setting style of item Cause: An error was detected when attempting to set the style attribute for this item. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. EUL File Invalid, DQ4Admin.dll needs updating, please check in the README file for further information. Cause: You attempted to import an End User Layer export file produced by an older version of Data Query where the file format is not compatible with Discoverer. Action: Check the release notes to see how to upgrade your release of Data Query. This normally requires replacing a DLL. Produce the export file again. EUL_PLAN_TABLE not accessible Cause: You do not have write access to one of the End User Layer database tables. Action: Check the log files created when the End User Layer database tables were installed, rebuild the End User Layer tables, or grant explicit access on the table EUL_PLAN_TABLE. EUL_PLAN_TABLE not modifiable Cause: You do not have access to one of the End User Layer database tables. Action: Check the log files created when the End User Layer database tables were installed, rebuild the End User Layer tables, or grant explicit access on the table EUL_PLAN_TABLE. EUL_QPP_STATISTICS not accessible Cause: You do not have write access to one of the End User Layer database tables. Action: Check the log files created when the End User Layer database tables were installed, rebuild the End User Layer tables, or grant explicit access on the table EUL_QPP_STATISTICS. EUL_QPP_STATISTICS not modifiable Cause: You do not have access to one of the End User Layer database tables.
Error Messages
A-19
Action: Check the log files created when the End User Layer database tables were installed, rebuild the End User Layer tables, or grant explicit access on the table EUL_QPP_STATISTICS. Failed to add filter to folder Cause: An error occurred creating a condition on a folder. Action: Check the expression used in the condition, correct any errors and retry. If the error occurs again, save your work and exit from Discoverer Administration Edition. Launch Discoverer Administration Edition again and retry. Failed to connect to database Cause: You did not supply a valid user name, password or database in the login dialog. Action: Correct the user name, password and database and retry connecting to the database. Ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Failed to open file Cause: Unable to open a specified file. The file may be unreachable on the network or have the wrong properties. Action: Verify that you have access to the file from your computer independent of Discoverer Administration Edition. Check network connections and file access permissions or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Failed to write to output file Cause: Unable to write to a specified file. You may not be able to access the file on the network, or file access properties may be set incorrectly. Action: Verify that you have write access to the file from your computer independent of Discoverer Administration Edition. Check network connections and file access permission or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Floating point numbers not allowed here Cause: You attempted to use a floating-point number where an integer is required. Action: Change the number to an integer and retry. Folder [name] not imported - already exists in business area Cause: The End User Layer import failed because a folder in the import file already exists in the End User Layer.
A-20
Action: Rename the folder or choose one of the import options to have the renaming performed automatically when you import the business area. Folder [name] referenced in the export was not found in this End User Layer Cause: A folder was referenced in the End User Layer import file that does not exist in the End User Layer. Action: Include this folder when you export the business area or import the folder separately. Folder [name] was not loaded because its related folders have not been created during this import Cause: A folder was referenced in the End User Layer import file that does not exist in the End User Layer. Action: Include this folder when you export the business area, or import the folder separately. Folder [name] was not loaded because of a missing dependency Cause: A folder was referenced in the End User Layer import file that has dependencies on other elements that are not in the End User Layer. Action: Include the dependencies required when you export the business area. Folder [name] was not loaded due to name clash Cause: The End User Layer import failed because a folder in the import file already exists in the End User Layer. Action: Rename the folder or choose one of the import options to have the renaming performed automatically when you import the business area. Folder must be named Cause: You have attempted to create or edit a folder without entering a name. Action: Enter a unique name in the name field and retry. Each folder must be uniquely named. Format mask is too long. Max length is num bytes Cause: You have entered a format mask which is longer than the maximum (100 bytes). Action: Re-enter a format mask which is 100 bytes or less. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for a description of the format mask definition. Formula is too long. Max length is num bytes
Error Messages
A-21
Cause: You have entered a formula which is longer than the maximum (2,000 bytes). Action: Re-enter a formula which is 2,000 bytes or less. Function display name is too long Cause: You have entered a name for the PL/SQL function which is longer than the maximum (100 bytes). Action: Re-enter a name which is 100 bytes or less. Function is invalid Cause: You are attempting to register a PL/SQL function in a condition which is invalid. Action: Enter a valid function and retry. Function is used in one or more items or filters. Deletion not allowed. Cause: This function is referenced in the formula of other items or conditions. Action: Delete the items and conditions that use this function or edit them to remove the reference to the function and retry. Function must have a display name Cause: You have attempted to create or edit a PL/SQL function without a name. Action: Enter a name in the name field and retry. Each PL/SQL function must be uniquely named. Function name is too long Cause: You have entered a function name which is longer than the maximum allowed length. Action: Re-enter a function name which is no longer than the maximum length allowed for function name in the Oracle database you are connected to. The maximum length of function name may vary with Oracle versions. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for package name conventions. Function name must be specified Cause: You have attempted to create or edit a PL/SQL function without a function name. Action: Enter a valid function name in the name field and retry. Each PL/SQL function must have a valid name. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for function name conventions. Heading is too long. Max length is num bytes
A-22
Cause: You have entered a heading which is longer than the maximum (240 bytes). Action: Re-enter a heading which is 240 bytes or less. Identifier must be unique Cause: Changes made to an Identifier mean that it is no longer unique in the current EUL. Action: Re-enter the Identifier details ensuring that it is unique in the current EUL. Inconsistent or invalid data types used in arithmetic operation Cause: The data types of items used in this formula or condition are mismatched. Action: Check the formula to correct the error or change the data type of the items by using TO_CHAR, TO_DATE or TO_NUMBER functions. Insufficient End User Layer privilege to change summaries Cause: You do not have the privilege required to edit summaries in the End User Layer. Action: Ask your system administrator to grant you the Create Summaries privilege using Privileges in the Tools menu in Discoverer Administration Edition. Insufficient privilege for attempted operation Cause: You do not have the End User Layer privilege required to perform the requested operation. You also get this message if you have insufficient database privileges. Action: Ask your system administrator to grant you the relevant privileges using Privileges in the Tools menu in Discoverer Administration Edition or to grant you the relevant database privileges. Insufficient privilege to run Discoverer Cause: You do not have the privilege required to use the Discoverer. Action: Ask your system administrator to grant you the Administration privilege using Privileges in the Tools menu in Discoverer Administration Edition. Insufficient server privilege to change summaries Cause: You do not have the database privileges required to create or edit summaries in the server. Action: Ask your system administrator to grant you the server Create Table privilege using SQL*Plus and to ensure that you have quota and privileges to be able to create
Error Messages
A-23
tables in a tablespace. See the Oracle Database Administration documentation for more details. Internal EUL Error: DataError = Invalid function type Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: ExportIdAlreadyExists - Object has already reserved this id Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: ExportInvalidCType Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: ExprInvNumArgs - Invalid number of arguments for expression node Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: ExprParseBracketErr - No bracket found in canonical formula Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: ExprParseNodeType - Invalid type in canonical formula Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly.
A-24
Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: Failed to get summary status from the server Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: HierarchyNodeNotConnected - the nodes in hierarchy are not the same as those in the segments Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: HierarchyNodeNotConnected - this hierarchy node is not connected Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: HierarchySegNotConnected - the segments in hierarchy are not the same as those in the nodes Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: InvalidConstructOpt - Invalid handle constructor option Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: InvalidDQ4Query - error importing DQ4 query Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly.
Error Messages
A-25
Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: InvalidDrillOption - Invalid drill option requested Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: InvalidId - Failed to find EUL element by id Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: InvalidItem - Item is not valid in this context Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: InvalidNode - Invalid Hierarchy Node Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: InvalidRefreshSetType - Invalid summary refresh set type Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have succeeded correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: InvalidRollupOnQR - Rollup item is not in the Query Request Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly.
A-26
Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: InvalidSegInHierarchy - Invalid segment found in hierarchy Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: InvalidString - String or string length is not valid Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: InvalidStringLength - String length is not valid Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: InvalidSummaryTableDef - The specified server table is invalid Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: ItemNotInNode - The item to be removed is not in this hierarchy node Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: ItemNotInServerObject - Column specified does not exist Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly.
Error Messages
A-27
Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: LXInitializationFailure- lxlinit failed to allocate memory Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: MapInsertFailed - insert failed in PrivateAddObjectToMap Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: NoTransaction - there is no current transaction Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: NotSimpleFilter - complex element found in simple filter Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: ObjectNotFound - Cant find EUL element Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: PrivilegeNotFound - No privilege record found for this user Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly.
A-28
Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: RollupValueMismatch - filter does not contain rollup value Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: TokenStreamError - Error tokenizing input stream Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: TransError - Unexpected transaction error Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: UniqueKeyViolation - internal id is used by another EUL element Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Internal EUL Error: ValidateFailure - data integrity error during transaction Cause: An internal error has occurred in Discoverer. You might be able to continue working, but the current operation may not have been performed correctly. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Invalid argument name Cause: You have attempted to enter an argument without a valid name.
Error Messages
A-29
Action: Enter a name for the argument which conforms to the argument naming convention. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for argument name conventions. Invalid character used in identifier Cause: You have attempted to use one or more invalid characters in an identifier. Action: Either remove the invalid character or replace with any of the following valid characters: a-z, A-Z, 0-9, -_!~*() Invalid Combination of Joins involving Outer Joins Cause: An attempt was made to join folders using a combination of outer joins that is not supported in the database you are connected to. You cannot outer join the same folder to more than one other folder at the same time. Action: Create a complex folder that joins two of the folders with one outer join, then join this to the third folder. Invalid data type Cause: An error occurred when specifying the data type of an argument during the creation or editing of a PL/SQL function. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Invalid database link Cause: You have entered an invalid database link. Action: Enter a valid database link and retry. Invalid date display format Cause: The date format used is invalid. Action: Edit the date format to conform to the proper format. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for information on valid date formats. Invalid date format Cause: You have entered a date which does not comply with Oracles date format. Action: Re-enter a date. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for a description of the date format. Invalid date/time entered Cause: You have entered an invalid date or time to use when refreshing the summary.
A-30
Action: Re-enter a date or time which complies with the date format MM/DD/YY and the time format HH:MM. Invalid description Cause: You may have entered an invalid character in the description. Action: Remove the invalid character(s) and retry. For information, see the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual. Invalid display name Cause: You may have entered an invalid character as the display name. Action: Remove the invalid character(s) and retry. For information, see the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual. Invalid End User Layer import file Cause: The End User Layer export file that you are trying to import is corrupt or is not valid. Action: Recreate the export file and try importing it again. Invalid Format Mask Cause: The date, number, or character format used is invalid. Action: Edit the format to comply with the proper format. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for information on valid formats. Invalid formula Cause: You may have entered a formula which violates the syntax. Action: Follow the syntax found in the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual. Re-enter and retry. Invalid formula or filter Cause: An unspecified error was found in the formula or filter. Action: Correct the error in the formula or filter and retry. Invalid Function Cause: The formula contains a function that is not registered in the End User Layer. Action: Check the formula to determine if the function name is wrong and correct it. If the function named in the formula is the correct function, then choose Register PL/
Error Messages
A-31
SQL Function in the Tools menu to register the function in the End User Layer. Retry the formula with the registered function name. Invalid function name Cause: You have attempted to enter a PL/SQL function without a valid name. Action: Enter a name for the function which conforms to the function naming convention. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for function name conventions. Invalid function owner Cause: You have entered a user ID as the PL/SQL function owner which does not exist in the database. Each PL/SQL function must be owned by a valid user. Action: Enter a valid user ID in the owner field and retry. Invalid heading Cause: You may have entered an invalid character. Action: Remove the invalid character(s) and retry. For information, see the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual. Invalid join configuration - includes a master with two separately joined detail folders Cause: You have attempted to join a master folder with two detail folders at the same time. This would result in a Cartesian product being generated which would give potentially confusing or incorrect results from the database. This combination of joins is not allowed within Discoverer. Action: Construct the join so that the folder specified as the master actually contains the master key and the folders specified as detail actually contain the detail keys. If the join you are creating is necessary, create a complex folder to hide one of the joins. This is normally only the case where the relationship between the folders is one-to-one, and there is no actual master folder. Invalid name Cause: You may have entered an invalid character. Action: Remove the invalid character(s) and retry. For information, see the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual. Invalid number Cause: The number you have entered is invalid. Action: Enter a valid number and retry. Invalid number format
A-32
Cause: You have entered a format mask which does not comply with the format mask syntax. Action: Select a valid format mask from the drop-down list in the Item Properties sheet. Invalid operator in formula Cause: A symbol was found in the formula that is the position of an operator, but is not a valid operator. Valid operators are +, , * / and ||. Action: Change the operator to one of the valid operators and retry. Invalid return type Cause: An error occurred when specifying a return type in a PL/SQL function. The error is probably incidental to the current operation and beyond the scope of Discoverer Administration Edition. There may be a problem with the network, the server, SQL*Net, or the Oracle database itself. Action: Retry or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Item class must be named Cause: You have attempted to create or edit an item class without entering a name. Action: Enter a name in the name field and retry. Each item class must be uniquely named. Item hierarchy must be named Cause: You have attempted to create or edit an item hierarchy without entering a name. Action: Enter a name in the name field and retry. Each item hierarchy must be uniquely named. Item is used in one or more summaries. Deletion not allowed. Cause: An attempt was made to delete an item or folder which contains items that are used in one or more summaries. Action: Delete the summary folder using the item and retry. Item must be named Cause: You have attempted to create or edit an item without entering a name. Action: Enter a name in the name field and retry. Each item must be uniquely named. Item [old name] referenced in the export was not found in this End User Layer Cause: An item in the End User Layer export file was not found in the End User Layer during import.
Error Messages
A-33
Action: Include the item in the export file and import the EUL again or define the item in the End User Layer. Item [old name] was not loaded because of a missing dependency Cause: An item was referenced in the End User Layer import file that does not exist in the End User Layer. Action: Include this item when you export the business area or import the item separately. Item [old name] was not loaded due to name clash Cause: The End User Layer import failed because an item in the import file already exists in the End User Layer. Action: Rename the item or choose the import option to rename items and folders automatically. Join fan trap detected Cause: You are creating a complex folder and attempting to place an item in the folder which would create a master-detail join that will produce an invalid result set. Action: Select another item to place in the complex folder and retry. Join is used in one or more summaries. Deletion not allowed. Cause: An attempt was made to delete a join that is used in one or more summaries. Action: Delete the summary folder using the join and retry. Join must be named Cause: You have attempted to create or edit a join without entering a name. Action: Enter a name in the name field and retry. Each join must be uniquely named. Join [old name] referenced in the export was not found in this End User Layer Cause: A join in the End User Layer export file was not found in the End User Layer during import. Action: Include the joined folders in the export file and import the file again or define the join in the End User Layer. Join [old name] was not loaded because of a missing dependency Cause: A join was referenced in the End User Layer import file that does not exist in the End User Layer.
A-34
Action: Include this join when you export the business area and retry. Join [old name] was not loaded due to name clash Cause: The End User Layer import failed because a join in the import file already exists in the End User Layer. Action: Rename the join or choose the import option to rename items and folders automatically. Message text not found for this error Cause: An error occurred for which there is no message. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Missing parameter value Cause: A parameter was found that has no associated value. Action: Make sure that all referenced parameters have values entered and retry. Name is too long. Max length is num bytes Cause: You have entered a name which is longer than the maximum (100 bytes). Action: Re-enter a name which is 100 bytes or less. Name must be unique Cause: You have entered a name for a business area, folder, or item that already exists. Action: Re-enter a unique name and retry. The name for a business area or folder must be unique to the End User Layer. The name for a calculation or item must be unique to the folder it is located in. New item is in a different folder to other items in the hierarchy Cause: Attempt was made to add an item into a hierarchy node which already contains an item from another folder. Action: Use an item in the same folder as the existing item and retry. No joins detected. Join relationships must exist Cause: You are creating an item hierarchy and linking items from different folders which do not have joins between them. Alternatively, you are placing items into a complex folder from different simple folders that do not have joins between them.
Error Messages
A-35
Action: Create joins between the folders that contain items you want to link in an item hierarchy or place in the same complex folder and retry. No joins detected between these objects: foldera, folderb. Cause: You are creating an item hierarchy and linking items from different folders which do not have joins between them. Alternatively, you are placing items into a complex folder from different simple folders that do not have joins between them. Action: Create joins between the folders that contain items you want to link in an item hierarchy or place in the same complex folder and retry. No joins found where required Cause: An operation was attempted where a join is required to another folder, and no join was found. Action: Determining which joins are required to support the operation you are performing and enter the joins first. No table specified for this summary combination Cause: An attempt was made to create a summary combination with no database table specified. Action: Enter a table name in the Summary Combination dialog and retry. Null can only be used with Is Null or Is Not Null Comparisons Cause: An attempt was made to use a null value in a condition with an operator other than IS NULL or IS NOT NULL. Action: Use IS NULL or IS NOT NULL to refer to null values in conditions.
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Number cannot be greater than n Cause: A number was entered that is greater than the maximum allowed. Action: Enter a smaller number and retry. Number cannot be less than n Cause: A number was entered that is less than the minimum allowed. Action: Enter a larger number and retry. Number outside maximum range Cause: A number was entered that is greater than the maximum allowed. Action: Enter a smaller number and retry. One or more items are mapped to the same column Cause: When mapping columns in the Summary Wizard, you can only use one column to map to one item. Action: Map the item to another column or change the summary definition. One or more items is not mapped to a column Cause: When mapping columns in the Summary Wizard, you must map all the items. Action: Map all items in the summary or change the summary definition and retry. Only folders with an OWNER attribute may be summarized Cause: You cannot use folder items in a summary (pre 8.1.6 databases only) that do not have an Owner attribute set. Action: Click on the Data tab, select the appropriate Folder, view the Properties for the Folder and update the Owner value (see Chapter 6.6.3.1, Entering a value into the Owner field for more information). Only the Owner of an Internal Summary may refresh the data. Cause: You cannot refresh a summary created by a different user. Action: Log on as the owner of the summary in order to refresh the data. ORA-num: Cause: Discoverer Administration Edition is displaying an error that has been found by the Oracle database. Action: Take appropriate action for Oracle error number. See Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual. Owner name is too long
Error Messages
A-37
Cause: You have entered a name which is longer than the maximum allowed length. Action: Re-enter a name which is no longer than the maximum length allowed for in the Oracle database you are connected to. The maximum length may vary with Oracle versions. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for owner name conventions. Owner of function must be specified Cause: You have attempted to create or edit a PL/SQL function without a valid user ID. Action: Enter a valid user ID in the owner field and retry. Each PL/SQL function must be owned by a valid user. Package name is invalid Cause: You have attempted to create or edit a PL/SQL function without a valid package name. Action: Enter a package name which conforms to the package naming convention. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for package name conventions. Package name is too long Cause: You have entered a package name which is longer than the maximum allowed length. Action: Re-enter a package name which is no longer than the maximum length allowed for package name in the Oracle database you are connected to. The maximum length of package name may vary with Oracle versions. See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for package name conventions. Performing EUL Upgrade Cause: Your EUL tables use an older version of Discoverer. The tables and metadata definitions are now being automatically upgraded in order to use this latest version of the software. Action: Do not interrupt this process. Wait until the message has been dismissed before continuing with Discoverer. If you have a large EUL with many folders, this can take a few minutes. Server package DBMS_JOB has not been installed or is not available Cause: You cannot use the Summary Management feature of Discoverer because the DBMS_JOB package is not installed on the server.
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Action: See the Release Notes for information on installing the DBMS_JOB package. Space estimate unavailable Cause: The system was unable to estimate the space required for this summary. Action: Set up an item class for each item in a summary in order to be able calculate a space estimate and retry. Summary must be named Cause: You have attempted to create or edit a summary without entering a name. Action: Enter a unique name in the name field and retry. Each summary must be named. Summary refresh job_queue_interval parameter is n seconds Cause: The init.ora parameter job_queue_interval is set to the specified value. This period determines how often DBMS_JOB processes summary refresh operations. You cannot refresh summaries at an interval less than that specified by job_queue_interval. Action: This message is informational only. You may want to make job_queue_interval smaller to accommodate more frequent summary refresh operations. SYS.V$SESSION not accessible Cause: Query performance prediction feature requires that you have access to this SYS owned object. Action: See Section 2.3, Query Prediction to determine how to get access to this object. SYS.V$SESSTAT not accessible Cause: Query performance prediction feature requires that you have access to this SYS owned object. Action: See Section 2.3, Query Prediction to determine how to get access to this object. The detail folder must be different than the master folder Cause: You have selected the same folder on both sides of the join. Action: You must select items from different folders. A Join condition which tests for Items in the same Folder is not allowed. The End User Layer table EUL_VERSIONS is invalid Cause: The End User Layer tables have been modified in an unsupported way.
Error Messages
A-39
Action: Contact your system administrator for assistance. The folder for this item class is either not accessible or is Invalid Cause: An attempt was made to use an item class where the folder required is not currently accessible to the logged on user. Action: Check database permissions on the tables used by folders in the item class and that the folders are in accessible business areas. The join attributes are not valid Cause: During the creation or editing of a join, one of the attributes of the join is null and has not been set. Action: Enter an attribute on each side of the join and retry. There are multiple join paths between these folders Cause: More than one join exists between the folders, creating multiple ways of joining them. This ambiguous situation must be resolved before the query can be executed. Action: Delete the joins which you do not want to use and retry. There are no items in this hierarchy node Cause: An attempt was made to remove the last item from a hierarchy node. Action: If you want to remove the hierarchy node, delete it. There is no accessible Oracle Designer repository Cause: You do not have access to an Oracle Designer repository in the database. Action: Determine that Oracle Designer is installed on this database, and verify in Oracle Designer that this user has been granted access to, or owns one or more applications. Finally, determine that the user has a set of synonyms which point to the Oracle Designer repository tables. This folder is used in summaries. An owner value must be specified. Cause: You cannot delete the details in the Folder Properties Owner field (pre 8.1.6 databases only) where a summary uses that Folder. Action: Either alter or remove the summary that uses the Folder so that the summary no longer uses the Folder. This foreign key defines a self-join Cause: The current version of Discoverer does not support self joins.
A-40
Action: Load the database table twice, creating two Folders and join the Folders together. The folders should be renamed to reflect their status in the join (for example, Manager and Employee). This item hierarchy node has multiple parents Cause: The current release of Discoverer does not support multi-parent hierarchies. Action: Define a separate hierarchy that connects to the same items to define the alternative parent and retry. This item is already included in the summary Cause: An attempt was made to include an item in a summary twice. Action: Use items only once in each summary. This item is already used in this hierarchy Cause: An attempt was made to include an item in a hierarchy twice. Action: Use items only once in each hierarchy. This item is contained in a hierarchy and cannot be hidden Cause: You cannot hide items used in item hierarchies. Action: Remove the item from the hierarchy. This item is not a date data type Cause: An attempt was made to use an item where only an item with the data type of DATE is expected. Action: Use the items Properties sheet to determine its data type and either change the item being used, or convert the item to a DATE data type by using the TO_DATE function in a calculation. This item is used in a hierarchy and cannot be hidden Cause: You cannot hide items used in item hierarchies. Action: Remove the item from the hierarchy. This operation requires DBMS_JOB package to be configured. Please notify your DBA. Cause: You cannot use the Summary Management feature of Discoverer because the DBMS_JOB package is not installed on the server.
Error Messages
A-41
Action: See the release notes for information on installing the DBMS_JOB package. This operation will cause some summaries to be disabled Cause: An attempt was made to edit a join, a formula, or a folder that will cause the result set of the owning folder to change. As a result, all summaries that use items in this folder will be set to invalid. Action: If the summaries are managed summaries, display the Refresh dialog and refresh the summaries. This will cause new summary data to be generated and the summaries will be made valid again. If the summaries are external registered summaries, display the Edit Summary dialog and set the summary to be valid, once you have ensured that your summary data still matches the definition of the folder. This user does not have access to user profiles Cause: An attempt was made to set the user profile by a user who does not have the ALTER USER database privilege. Action: Use SQL*Plus to grant the ALTER USER privilege to the user. This user does not have sufficient privileges to create a procedure Cause: In order to use the Summary Management feature of Discoverer you must have the CREATE PROCEDURE database privilege. Action: Use SQL*Plus to grant the CREATE PROCEDURE privilege to the user. This user does not have sufficient privileges to create a table Cause: You do not have the database privileges required to create or edit summaries in the server. Action: Ask your system administrator to grant you the CREATE TABLE privilege using SQL*Plus and to ensure that you have quota and privileges to be able to create tables in a tablespace. See the Oracle Database Administration documentation for more details. This user does not have sufficient privileges to create a view Cause: You do not have the database privileges required to create or edit summaries in the server. Action: Ask your system administrator to grant you the CREATE VIEW privilege using SQL*Plus and to ensure that you have quota and privileges to be able to create tables in a tablespace. See the Oracle Database Administration documentation for more details. This user does not have sufficient privileges to delete from specified table Cause: You do not have the database privileges required to create or refresh summa-
A-42
ries in the server. Action: You must have SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE privileges on the server summary table. This user does not have sufficient privileges to insert into specified table Cause: You do not have the database privileges required to create or refresh summaries in the server. Action: You must have SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE privileges on the server summary table. This user does not have sufficient privileges to select from specified table Cause: You do not have the database privileges required to create or refresh summaries in the server. Action: You must have SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE privileges on the server summary table. This user does not have sufficient privileges to update specified table Cause: You do not have the database privileges required to create or refresh summaries in the server. Action: You must have SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE privileges on the server summary table. This user is unable to create a procedure in current schema Cause: You do not have the database privileges required to create or edit summaries in the server. Action: Ask your system administrator to grant you the privileges and quotas necessary to create a procedure in the schema you are using. This user is unable to create a table in current schema Cause: You do not have the database privileges required to create or edit summaries in the server. Action: Ask your system administrator to grant you the privileges and quotas necessary to create a table in the schema you are using. This user is unable to create a view in current schema Cause: You do not have the database privileges required to create or edit summaries in the server.
Error Messages
A-43
Action: Ask your system administrator to grant you the privileges and quotas necessary to create a table in the schema you are using. Unable to find error text for this exception Cause: An error occurred for which there is no message. Action: Note the information and error numbers displayed, and the actions immediately preceding this error, then contact your customer support representative. Unable to load invalid database view Cause: An attempt was made to load a view in the server which is marked as invalid. This may be because tables used in the view no longer exist, or synonyms used are invalid. Action: Check the view definition in the server and make sure it is valid and retry. Unable to obtain lock in End User Layer transaction - element is already locked Cause: Someone else is changing the End User Layer element you are modifying. Action: Wait for a while, then try the transaction again. If the error is still reported, exit from Discoverer, reconnect, and repeat the transaction. Unable to resolve synonym which spans multiple database links Cause: At attempt was made to translate a synonym when loading a table across a database link, where the synonym points to a further database link. Action: Load the object directly from the database link in which the object is physically stored. Unknown error (in summary creation) Cause: An unspecified error occurred when creating a summary. Action: Record the steps and actions taken immediately before this error was reported and contact your customer support representative with the details. Unknown Version Cause: When you have displayed the About Discoverer dialog, no valid version number is found. The application has either been installed incorrectly or may be corrupted. Action: Reinstall the Discoverer software, or ask your systems administrator or Oracle representative for assistance. Unrecognized token found in import file - name = Cause: The End User Layer import file is corrupted or is not a valid import file.
A-44
Action: Export the business area into a new file and import it again. Unsupported date arithmetic requested Cause: An attempt was made to use DATE type items in a formula in an invalid combination. Typically this is caused by trying by add, subtract, multiply, or divide two dates. Action: See the Oracle SQL Language Reference Manual for information on date arithmetic syntax. User-defined PL/SQL function import not available - requires Oracle 7.3 and access to ALL_ARGUMENTS database view Cause: Although you can define PL/SQL functions and arguments in Discoverer using any version of Oracle 7, only version 7.3 and above supports the facility that enables Discoverer to automatically find the function name and arguments. Action: Type in the function name and arguments directly, checking that they are the correct ones and retry. User specified summary tables can only contain a single summary Cause: An attempt was made to map the same external summary table to multiple summary combinations. Action: Use a different summary table for each summary combination. Version number of DCE.DLL is not compatible with version number of the EUL tables Cause: You are attempting to connect to a database that has an incompatible set of End User Layer database tables. Action: Upgrade the End User Layer tables, install the latest release of Discoverer or connect to a different database. You do not have access to any business areas Cause: This user has access to an End User Layer, but has not been granted access to any business areas. Action: Use the Security dialog in Discoverer Administration Edition to grant access to business areas. The user will also require Oracle SELECT access to any database tables used in the business areas. You do not have access to any End User Layer tables Cause: There are no End User Layer tables set up or this user does not have access to them.
Error Messages
A-45
Action: See the release notes for information on setting up the End User Layer tables. You do not have access to this business area Cause: This user has access to an End User Layer, but has not been granted access to this business area. Action: Use the Security dialog in Discoverer Administration Edition to grant access to business areas. The user will also require Oracle SELECT access to any database tables used in the business areas. You have connected to an Applications EUL but the required Applications tables cannot be found. Check your value of FNDNAM Cause: The value of the FNDNAM variable may not have been set. Action: The value can be set via the Tools | Options | Connection tab or on the command line or the registry. Cause: An unsupported version of Oracle Applications is being used. Action: The Applications security features will only work with Oracle Applications releases 10.7 and 11.0 and 11i. Cause: The EUL owner has insufficient privileges. Action: The EUL owner needs to have SELECT privileges on the following Applications tables. Connect to the database using the account specified in the FNDNAM variable and execute the following statements.
grant grant grant grant grant grant select select select select select select on on on on on on FND_USER to &EULOWNER FND_APPLICATION to &EULOWNER FND_USER_RESPONSIBILITY to &EULOWNER FND_RESPONSIBILITY_VL to &EULOWNER FND_ORACLE_USERID to &EULOWNER FND_DATA_GROUP_UNITS to &EULOWNER
A-46
The EUL Status Workbooks

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B.1 Introduction B.2 Installation B.3 EUL Data Definition B.4 Query Statistics B.5 Creating Your Own Workbooks
B.1 Introduction
The EUL Status workbooks provide some useful reports for managing and documenting EULs. For information on enabling these workbooks see Section B.2, Installation. Although you can provide any user with access to these Workbooks, they are intended primarily for administrative purposes. The EUL Status Workbooks (found in the {ORACLE_HOME}\discvr4 directory) are:
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EUL Data Definition Query Statistics
Each Workbook describes how to use the individual Worksheets.
The EUL Status Workbooks B-1
Installation
B.2 Installation
There are two types of installation depending on whether you are running against a standard EUL or an Oracle Applications EUL.
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Standard EUL Status workbooks install steps Oracle Applications EUL Status workbooks install steps
B.2.1 Standard EUL Status workbooks install steps

B.2.1.1 Prerequisites
You must have an EUL installed (see Chapter 5.2, Creating an End User Layer for further information).
B.2.1.2 Install the workbooks

1.
Run the SQL file 'EUL4.sql' as the EUL Owner For example:
SQL> connect <eul owner>/<eul owner password> SQL> Start d:\{ORACLE HOME}\discvr4\sql\EUL4.sql
This creates some custom PL/SQL functions required by the Discoverer V4 EUL business area.
2. 3. 4.
Exit the SQL session. Start Discoverer Admin. Edition. Import the file 'EUL4.eex' For example: From the menu choose - File | Import | Add Select the file d:<ORACLE_HOME>\discvr4\EUL4.eex. Click Open Click Next Leave the defaults. Click Next Click Start You should then see an Import Successful message This completes the import.
5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
10. Click Finish
B-2 Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide
Installation
11. Start Discoverer Plus
You will be able to open the Eul Data Definition or Query Statistics workbooks.
B.2.1.3 Delete Business Area/remove PL/SQL files

If you have the Business area EUL for Discoverer V3.1 included in your EUL, upgraded from your V3.1 EUL, then you can delete it, as it is no longer required. You can then remove the associated PL/SQL files: EUL_GET_ANALYZED EUL_GET_COMPLEX_FOLDER EUL_GET_HEIRLVL EUL_GET_HIERORD EUL_GET_ITEM EUL_GET_ITEM_NAME EUL_GET_OBJECT EUL_GET_OBJECT_NAME EUL_GET_SIMPLE_FOLDER
B.2.2 Oracle Applications EUL Status workbooks install steps

B.2.2.1 Prerequisites
You must have an Oracle Applications EUL installed (see Chapter 17.6, Create an Applications Mode EUL for further information).
B.2.2.2 Install the workbooks

1.
Run the SQL file 'EUL4.sql' as the EUL Owner For example:
SQL> connect <eul owner>/<eul owner password> SQL> Start d:\{ORACLE HOME}\discvr4\sql\EUL4.sql
This registers some custom PL/SQL functions required by the Discoverer V4 EUL business area.
2.
Run the SQL file 'EUL4_APPS.sql' as the EUL Owner You will be prompted for the username of the Oracle Applications FNDNAM For example:
SQL> connect <eul owner>/<eul owner password> SQL> Start d:\{ORACLE HOME}\discvr4\sql\EUL4_APPS.sql
Installation
3.
You will see the following prompt: Please enter the 'FNDNAM' used in your apps connection Do not include any passwords (e.g. APPS) Enter value for fndnam: A warning message is displayed: Check the FNDNAM you entered here --> apps_appdemo <-- very carefully. If incorrect rerun the script Start Discoverer Admin. Edition. Import the file 'EUL4.eex' For example: From the menu choose - File | Import | Add then select the file d:<ORACLE_HOME>\discvr4\EUL4.eex. Click Open Leave the defaults.
4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
9.
10. Click Next 11. Click Next 12. Click Start 13. Start Discoverer Plus*
You will be able to open the Eul Data Definition or Query Statistics workbooks.
B.2.2.3 Enable workbooks to run in Discoverer Plus for Oracle Applications EUL
To run these workbooks with an Oracle Applications EUL in Discoverer Plus you must connect as an Oracle Applications User. You will not be able to run them as the EULOWNER. You must first connect to the Administration Edition as the EULOWNER and then grant (either an Oracle Applications User or Responsibility) access to the EUL4 Business Area. You can then connect to Discoverer Plus as that User and run the workbooks. These workbooks have been shared with the PUBLIC user and are owned by the EULOWNER. This means that all users who are able to access the Discoverer V4 EUL Business Area will be able to successfully run both the EUL Data Definition and Query Statistics workbooks.
Installation
B.2.3 Un-installing Discoverer V4 EUL Business Area

This section describes how to un-install the Discoverer V4 EUL Business Area.
1.
Connect to Discoverer Administration Edition as the owner of the EUL that you want to uninstall the Business Area from. The Load Wizard opens.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Click Open an Existing Business Area. Highlight the Discoverer V4 EUL Business Area Click Finish This loads the Discoverer V4 EUL Business Area. Highlight the Discoverer V4 EUL Business Area in the work area. Choose Edit | Delete from the menu. Select Delete this Business Area and its Folders Click Yes This deletes the Discoverer V4 EUL Business Area and its Folders. Choose Tools| Register PL/SQL Functions to remove the associated PLSQL functions
10. Highlight the following Functions:
EUL4_GET_ANALYZED EUL4_GET_APPS_USERRESP EUL4_GET_COMPLEX_FOLDER EUL4_GET_HEIRLVL EUL4_GET_HIERORD EUL4_GET_ISITAPPS_EUL EUL4_GET_ITEM EUL4_GET_ITEM_NAME EUL4_GET_OBJECT EUL4_GET_OBJECT_NAME EUL4_GET_SIMPLE_FOLDER
11. Click Delete for each of the functions in turn.
This deletes the Custom PL/SQL Functions that were required for the Discoverer V4 EUL Business Area.
12. Connect to Discoverer Plus as the EUL Owner and delete the following workbooks:
- EUL Data Definition - Query Statistics
EUL Data Definition
Removal is now complete.
B.3 EUL Data Definition

This Workbook provides reports on the objects contained in the EUL. It consists of the following Worksheets:
Worksheet EUL Version Business Areas and Folders Folders and Items Joins Conditions Hierarchies Item Classes - LOVs Security Privileges Summary Mappings Workbook Management Description The version of the Discoverer EUL you are currently using. Folders, by Business Area. Items, by Folder by Business Area. Joins defined, by Business area. Conditions defined, by Business Area. Hierarchies defined, by Business Area. List of Values Defined, by Business Area. Access to Business Areas, by Users/Roles/Responsibilities. Access Privileges, by Users/Roles/Responsibilities. Mapping of Folders to Summaries, by Business Area. List of workbooks saved to the database and who can access them.
B.4 Query Statistics

This Workbook displays statistical information about the queries that have been run by end users. It consists of the following Worksheets:
Worksheet Query Statistics Workbooks Queried by User Workbook Query Statistics Workbooks that have used summaries. Ad-hoc Queries by User Ad-hoc Queries by Workbook Description The version of the Discoverer EUL you are currently connected. Workbooks queried by user. Query statistics about each workbook. Which workbooks have used summaries. Shows the User and the Folders and Items queried but not saved to the database. Shows the workbooks queried but not saved to the database.
Creating Your Own Workbooks
Worksheet Ad-hoc Queries that used a Summary
Description Shows the queries not saved to the database that used a summary.
B.5 Creating Your Own Workbooks

The EUL Status Workbooks can only be run against Oracle databases. They can be run against standard or Oracle Applications EULs. The EUL Status Workbooks analyses the main areas held in the EUL. You can edit the Workbooks or the Discoverer V4 EUL Business Area to suit your requirements. You can also create your own EUL Status Workbooks. The Discoverer V4 EUL Business Area is a standard business area, like others you may have created. It consists of many folders such as:
Folder BA & Folders Folders & Items Joins Hierarchies Item Classes Summary Mappings Security Privileges Workbook Management Description Business Areas & folders defined in the EUL Folders & Items defined in the EUL The structures of Joins defined in the EUL The structure of Hierarchies The structure of Item Classes or LOVs Mapping of Summary Tables to Folders Users access to Business Areas Users Discoverer privileges List of workbooks saved to the database and who can access them.
You can use these folders, plus the others provided, to build your own Workbooks which analyze and document the structure of your Discoverer Business Areas. If you modify the supplied EUL Status Workbooks, we recommend that you save them under a different name, as the original filenames are upgraded (overwritten) automatically with each new release of Discoverer.
B.5.1 Grant SELECT on dba_jobs_running

If your Folder EUL4_DBA_JOBS_RUNNING reports the error (ORA01031 insufficient privileges) you will need to carry out the following steps:
Creating Your Own Workbooks
1.
Either:
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Use Server Manager and "connect internal", or Log into SQL*Plus as the user SYS:<PASSWORD>
2.
Grant SELECT access on dba_jobs_running to your End User Layer Owner <EULOWNER>.
For example:
SQL> connect sys/<sys password> SQL> Grant select on DBA_JOBS_RUNNING to <EUL OWNER>; SQL> Commit;
Certain folders in the Discoverer V4 EUL business area require access to the items in this table.
3.
(Optional) To check whether this has worked, log into SQL*Plus as the EUL owner and describe the table SYS.DBA_JOBS_RUNNING
For example:
SQL> connect <eul owner>/<eul owner password> SQL> desc SYS.DBA_JOBS_RUNNING
You should see the following results:

Name Null? Type
SID JOB FAILURES LAST_DATE LAST_SEC THIS_DATE THIS_SEC INSTANCE
NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER DATE VARCHAR2(8) DATE VARCHAR2(8) NUMBER (if it is an 8.1.6+ database)
Query Prediction
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C.1 What is Query Prediction? C.3 Improving the Accuracy of Query Prediction C.4 Running queries against Secure Views and making Query Prediction faster C.5 Deleting Old Query Prediction Statistics
C.1 What is Query Prediction?

Query Prediction provides an estimate of the time required to retrieve the information in a query. The Query Prediction appears before the query begins, so you can decide whether or not to run the query. Query Prediction uses the Cost-Based Optimizer (CBO) in Oracle RDBMS Release 7.2 or later.
C.2 Enabling and Configuring Query Prediction

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Section 2.3, Query Prediction, contains information on enabling and optimizing Query Prediction. Section E.2, Registry Settings, includes Registry Settings that you can use to configure various Query Prediction options.
C.3 Improving the Accuracy of Query Prediction

Improving the Query Prediction accuracy enables users to make better decisions on whether to run their queries immediately or schedule them for later. Quite often, this results in reduced server load, and therefore improved query performance.
Query Prediction C-1
Running queries against Secure Views and making Query Prediction faster
To implement Query Performance Prediction effectively, you should analyze the tables you intend to query using the ANALYZE TABLE command. e the Business Areas and Folders Worksheet of the EUL Data Definition Workbook to display when the Folders in the EUL were last analyzed (see Section B.3, EUL Data Definition) for more information. Query Prediction uses the cost-based optimizer in Oracle RDBMS Release 7.2 or later. Creating histogram statistics by performing column level analysis will lead to more accurate query predictions, reducing the server load and improving query performance. For Oracle 7.2 databases issue the following SQL statement using SQL*Plus (logged in as the data table owner):
SQL> analyze table <username.tablename> compute statistics;
For Oracle databases (v7.3 upwards), issue the following SQL statement using SQL*Plus (logged in as the data table owner):
SQL> analyze table <username.tablename> compute statistics for all columns; SQL> analyze table <username.tablename> compute statistics;
NOTE: If you expect the table contents to change significantly over time, your analysis should be reapplied at regular intervals.
C.4 Running queries against Secure Views and making Query Prediction faster
Query Prediction uses the EXPLAIN PLAN statement in order to analyze queries which Discoverer Plus runs. Unfortunately, EXPLAIN PLAN does not work against secure views, and therefore, Query Prediction is not normally able to work in these environments. With Discoverer, it is possible to workaround this by granting your users access to the system view V$SQL. In fact, it is generally recommended to do this as it usually has the added benefit of making Query Prediction faster. To do this log into SQL*DBA (Oracle7 7.2) or SVRMGRL (Oracle7 7.3) on the database (UNIX) server as the user INTERNAL. Note: SVRMGR on Personal Oracle7 7.3, SVRMGR23 or SVRMGR30 on WindowsNT Server. Grant the select by issuing the following command: NB: 'v$xxxxxx' is a public synonym to a view called 'v_$xxxxxx', so the grant statements would read as follows:
C-2 Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide
Deleting Old Query Prediction Statistics
SQL> grant select on v_$sql to public;
NB. You can do this by running the script {oracle_home}\discvr4\sql\eulsuqpp.sql in sqlplus. You must know the SYS password to use this script.
C.5 Deleting Old Query Prediction Statistics

This section describes how to delete old Query Prediction statistics from the database.
1.
Either use Server Manager or SQL*Plus to connect to the database as the EUL owner. For example:
SQL> connect <eul owner>/<eul owner password>
2.
Run eulstdel.sql. For example:

SQL> Start d:\{ORACLE HOME}\discvr4\sql\eulstdel.sql
This displays a summary of the query statistics stored in the database. And offers to delete query statistics older than a specified number of days.
3.
Enter the number of days (or leave it blank if you dont want to delete any statistics).
Query Prediction C-3
Deleting Old Query Prediction Statistics
C-4 Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide
Command-line Interface
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D.1 Introduction D.5 Restrictions D.3 Required Privileges D.4 Using Commands D.6 Command Syntax D.8 Using Command Files D.9 Command Reference D.10 Command Modifier Reference
D.1 Introduction
Discoverer Administration Edition provides a command-line interface for a simple and efficient means of performing repetitive administrative tasks, such as:
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Importing EUL elements Exporting EUL elements Refreshing EUL elements
Using the Discoverer Command Line Interface, you can perform administrative tasks without having to launch the Discoverer Administration Edition graphical user interface. In addition, you can write command files (much like MS-DOS batch files or Unix script files) to perform groups of administrative tasks automatically.
Command-line Interface D-1
How to use the Discoverer Command Line Interface
D.2 How to use the Discoverer Command Line Interface

You can run Discoverer commands in the following ways:
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Enter a command directly at the Windows Start\Run dialog, (see screen shot below).
Open an MSDOS window, and enter a command directly at the command prompt, (see screen shot below).
Store commands in a text file and run the text file as a single parameter to the Discoverer executable file, for example Dis4adm.exe /cmdfile Import.txt, (see screen shot below).
D-2 Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide
Using Commands
D.3 Required Privileges

To run Discoverer commands, you need the appropriate security privileges. If you write a command line referring to a particular EUL, you must have sufficient privileges in that EUL for the operation to succeed. The same restriction applies for an EUL name in the Windows system registry. If you do not have administration privileges for the selected EUL (whether it be a command line named EUL or the registry entry), or if none is selected due to the absence of a registry entry, the option to bypass the Connect dialog is ignored, and no status message is generated from the operation. If you wish to run a batch of commands, make sure that you bypass the Connect dialog by including the appropriate /connect commands in your command file.
D.4 Using Commands

When using commands, the following rules apply:
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Commands are not case-sensitive - you can use either upper-case or lower-case characters interchangeably. Commands can appear in any order as long as their arguments immediately follow them in the order defined. Command modifiers can appear in any order as long as their arguments immediately follow them in the order defined. After each command is executed, Discoverer Administration Edition writes a status message indicating whether the command was successful. You can override the name and location of the log file using the /log modifier. If you do not specify an object name where one is required, (such as an EUL or Business Area), Discoverer defaults to the administrator-owned object. When specifying Discoverer EUL elements, you can use either a Display Name or an Identifier. For example, if a Discoverer folder called Sales has the Identifier SALES_132388, you can specify this folder in a command as either of the following arguments:
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/refresh_folder Sales (Where Sales is the Display Name of the folder element.)
/refresh_folder SALES_132388 /identifier (Where SALES_132388 is the Identifier for the folder element.)
Restrictions
For more information on Identifiers, refer to Section 7.5.1, About Identifiers.

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When specifying an element Display Name or Identifier that contains one or more spaces, enclose the entire name in double quotation marks, ( ). For example, the folder element Sales Figures should be entered as /folder Sales Figures.
D.5 Restrictions
When using commands, you should be aware of the following restrictions:
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The /REFRESH_SUMMARY command-line option only works in conjunction with Oracle databases. When using the command line interface, execute commands one at a time. If you try to run more that one command at a time, you may cause errors, (see Appendix A.1, Introduction).
If you are using command files, you can run more than one command file at once - this is because batch files contain single commands that run in sequence.
D.6 Command Syntax

Use this syntax for the command-line interface:
dis31adm.exe [/connect <userid>/<passwd>[@[ODBC:]<dbname>]] /<command> [/<argument(s)>] [/<modifier(s)> [/<argument(s)>]]
Where:
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dis4adm.exe - is the name of the Discoverer executable file. [/connect <userid>/<passwd>[@[ODBC:]<dbname>]] - this optional command argument enables you to bypass the Connect to Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition security dialog box. /<command> [/<argument(s)>] - a valid Discoverer command name followed by any required arguments. [/<modifier(s)> [/<argument(s)>]] - one or more valid Discoverer modifiers followed by any required arguments.
Using Command Files
D.7 Syntax Conventions

The following command syntax conventions are used in this guide:
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Discoverer commands are shown in plain type. Mandatory command parameters are enclosed in single brackets < >. Optional command parameters are enclosed in square brackets [ ]. Where command parameters are separated by a pipe character, enter one from the list. For example, for the command parameter /refresh | /rename, enter either /refresh or /rename. If you are connecting to a non-Oracle database, use the optional @[ODBC:]<dbname>]argument. If you use the /connect argument to bypass the Connect to Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition security dialog box, remember that arguments that begin with a slash must be enclosed in double-quotes. For example, /connect "/[@[ODBC:]<dbname>]"
An example using the \connect command syntax:

Figure D1 Command An example Discoverer command Mandatory arguments Optional arguments
/connect <user>/<password> [@[ODBC:]<host>]
D.8 Using Command Files

Command files are text files containing Discoverer commands that can be run automatically from the command line. Command files work in a similar way to MS-DOS batch files and Unix script files. To run command files, start the Discoverer Administration Edition executable (dis4adm.exe) with the name of the command file as an argument to the /cmdfile command. For example, to run commands stored in the text file Import.txt, type: Dis4adm.exe /cmdfile Import.txt
Using Command Files
You can also run more than one command file by repeating the /cmdfile command. For example, to run commands stored in the text file Login.txt, then commands in Import.txt, type: Dis4adm.exe /cmdfile Login.txt /cmdfile Import.txt The commands in a command file are treated as though they were entered directly on the command line in all respects, except that the command file can contain any number of carriage returns embedded within the text. A command file may in turn invoke other command files. This provides a convenient work around for the Microsoft Windows imposed limitation of restricting a command line to not more than 255 characters in length. Command files are a convenient way to store modular commands, which can then be used in different combinations. For example, the following three command files contain the following commands:
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connect.cmd contains the line /connect me/mypassword@mydatabase create.cmd contains the line /create eul /log create.log delete.cmd contains the line /delete eul /log delete.log
These three files can then be run from the command line in any of the following three combinations:
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dis4adm.exe /cmdfile connect.cmd This would be a simple connect from the command line. dis4adm.exe /cmdfile connect.cmd /cmdfile create.cmd This would connect and create an EUL for the connected user, storing all output into a log file named create.log. dis4adm.exe /cmdfile connect.cmd /cmdfile delete.cmd This would connect and delete the EUL owned by the connected user, storing all output into a log file named delete.log.
Command Reference
D.9 Command Reference

This section provides comprehensive reference information on the Discoverer Administration Edition command-line interface. (For information on using command modifiers, see also: Section D.10, Command Modifier Reference.)
D.9.1 Quick Guide to commands

This sections contain an alphabetical list of commands.
Table D1 Alphabetical summary of commands Command Description
/? /ASM <modifier(s)> /CONNECT <user-name>/<password> [@<database>] /CREATE_EUL /DELETE <modifier(s)> /DELETE_BUS_AREA <business area> /DELETE_EUL /EXPORT <export file> <modifier(s)> /IMPORT <import file(s)> <modifier(s)> /LOAD <business_area> /REFRESH_BUS_AREA <bus area name(s)> /REFRESH_FOLDER <folder name(s)> /REFRESH_SUMMARY <summary name(s)> <bus area name>
Display on-line help. Run ASM. Connect to an EUL. Create an EUL. Delete EUL elements. Delete a Business Area. Delete an EUL. Export EUL elements. Import EUL elements. Load a Business Area. Refresh Business Areas. Refresh Folders. Refresh Summaries.
Command Reference
D.9.2 How the Command Reference section is arranged

This section uses common administrative tasks to describe the Discoverer Administration Edition command-line interface. These tasks are arranged into the following sections:
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Displaying Command-line Help Running Command Files Connecting to an EUL Creating an Applications Mode EUL Setting connection options for Oracle Applications users Change an existing standard database user to an Oracle Applications user. Connect as an Oracle Applications user Creating an EUL Bulk Loading Data into an EUL Deleting a Business Area Deleting an EUL Deleting an EUL element Running Automated Summary Management (ASM) Refreshing a Business Area Refreshing a Folder Refreshing a Summary Import a Business Area Importing EUL elements from an EEX File Exporting EUL elements to an EEX File
Command Reference
D.9.3 Displaying Command-line Help

The /? option displays a list of Discoverer commands and their arguments.
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Syntax: Modifiers: Notes: Restrictions: Example:
/? None None None Dis4adm.exe /?
Command Reference
D.9.4 Running Command Files

The /cmdfile command enables you to run Discoverer commands stored in a text file automatically.
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Syntax: Modifiers: Restrictions: Notes:
/cmdfile <file name>
None None To create a command file, create a text file containing one or more Discoverer commands using a standard text editor. To run the command(s) in the text file, at the command line enter: dis4adm.exe /cmdfile <file name> For more information, see Section D.8, Using Command Files.
Example:
To run command(s) stored in the text file myFile, type the following command at the command line: dis4adm.exe /connect me/mypassword /cmdfile myFile
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Command Reference
D.9.5 Connecting to an EUL

This option enables you to connect to an EUL without having to enter a user ID and password at the Connect to Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition dialog box.
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Syntax: Modifiers:
[/connect <userid>/<passwd>[@[ODBC:]<dbname>]] [/eul <eul>] [/apps_user] [/apps_responsibility <responsibility>] [/apps_gwuid <gwuid>] [/apps_fndnam <fndnam>] [/apps_security_group <security_group>]
Notes:
See also Section D.9.7, Setting connection options for Oracle Applications users and Section D.9.9, Connect as an Oracle Applications user. None
/connect user/password@datatbase
Restrictions: Example:
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Command Reference
D.9.6 Creating an Applications Mode EUL

This option enables you to create an Applications Mode EUL using the Command Line. This starts Discoverer Administration Edition (in Applications Mode), creates the Applications Mode EUL in the database, and connects you to it. The example also includes the specification of schema/password.
Syntax: Modifiers: Example
/create_eul /apps_mode /apps_grant_details dis4adm.exe /connect eul_owner:appsresp/appspwd /create_eul /apps_mode /apps_grant_details apps/apps
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Command Reference
D.9.7 Setting connection options for Oracle Applications users

This option overrides the values for both the fields GWYUID (including Gateway User ID password) and FNDNAM in the Tools | Options | Connection tab dialog.
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Syntax: Syntax: Example:
/apps_fndnam <foundation name> /apps_gwyuid <gateway user id>/<password> dis4adm.exe /connect appsuser:appsresp/appspwd /apps_fndnam apps /apps_gwyuid applsyspub/pub
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Command Reference
D.9.8 Change an existing standard database user to an Oracle Applications user.

This option (now deprecated by both the Oracle Applications User check-box and the Tools | Options | Connection dialog) tells Discoverer that the user (a database user) is now an Oracle Applications user. The /apps_user command displays the Discoverer login dialog assuming that the user is an Oracle Applications user.
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Syntax: Example
/apps_user <apps user name> dis4adm.exe /connect /apps_user
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Command Reference
D.9.9 Connect as an Oracle Applications user

This option enables you to connect to Discoverer as an Oracle Applications user.
Syntax: Modifiers Example
/apps_user <apps user name> /apps_responsibility /apps_security_group dis4adm.exe /connect appsuser/appspwd /apps_user /apps_responsibility UK_Purchasing /apps_security_group UK_Managers Or dis4adm.exe /connect appsuser:UK_Purchasing/appspwd /apps_user /apps_security_group UK_Managers
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Command Reference
D.9.10 Creating an EUL

The /create_eul option enables you to create a Discoverer EUL.
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Syntax: Modifiers:
/create_eul /apps_mode /apps_grant_details /default_tablespace /log /overwrite /password /private /show_progress /temporary tablespace /user
Notes:
Use the following guidelines: Specify a user name and password for the owner of the new EUL. Not specifying a user name and password causes the ownership to default to your user ID Specify whether to overwrite any existing EUL owned by the intended owner of the new EUL. Specify whether the new EUL should be public(default) or private. For more information regarding the creation and deletion of End User Layers, see Chapter 5, The End User Layer.
Example:
To create a private EUL for a user named, Bob, whose password is welcome, overwriting any existing EUL and recording all log entries in a file named create.log, enter: dis4adm.exe /connect me/mypassword /create_eul /overwrite /user bob /password welcome /private /log create.log
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Command Reference
D.9.11 Bulk Loading Data into an EUL

The /load option enables you to bulk-load data from a database into a Discoverer Business Area.
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Syntax: Modifiers:
/load <bus_area> /aggregate /capitalize /date_hierarchy /db_link /description /eul /join /log /lov /object /remove_prefix /replace_blanks /source /user /show_user
Notes:
Specify the source of the data. The current database server is the default. If you are loading data from an EUL Gateway, the source name must exactly match the EUL Gateway name. Specify an EUL in which to load the objects. The administrators own EUL is the default. If you specify the EUL, you must have access privileges to the named EUL in order for the operation to succeed. Specify an alternative database link from which to fetch the data. The current connection is the default. Filter the load by schema name (/user). By default, no filter is used. Filter the load by object name. By default, no filter is used. Specify pre-formatting of the data with respect to capitalization, prefixes and blank spaces. By default, no pre-formatting is done. Specify a date hierarchy. The default is the Discoverer default date hierarchy. Specify which types should have an associated list of values. By default, no types have an associated list of values. Specify the default aggregate to be used on data points. The SUM aggregate is the default.Provide a description for the new Business Area, (default is NULL). Specify the join policy, (default is primary key), and a log file.
D-17
Command Reference
Bulk Loading Data into an EUL continued.

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/db_link & /source can not be used in conjunction with an ODBC database To bulk load into an EUL named eul31 from an Oracle Designer source on the current connection, creating a new Business Area named Test BA that: contains tables matching the pattern test% owned by user Bob pre-formats columns to remove prefixes, remove blanks, and capitalize them contains no date hierarchy contains lists of values for CHAR, INTEGER, and DECIMAL, using AVG as the aggregate writes to a log file named load.log, enter: dis4adm.exe /connect me/mypassword /load "Test BA" /source "Designer 6i - bobsworkarea" /eul eul31 /user bob /object test% /capitalize /remove_prefix /replace_blanks /date_hierarchy "" /lov "CHAR, INTEGER, DECIMAL" /aggregate AVG /log load.log /description "Test BA" /join
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Command Reference
D.9.12 Deleting a Business Area

The /delete_bus_area option enables you to remove a Discoverer Business Area from the database. See also Section D.9.13, Deleting an EUL and Section D.9.14, Deleting an EUL element.
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Syntax: Modifiers:
/delete_bus_area <business area>
Modifiers for configuring the deletion:

/keep_folder /log <log file name> [log_only] /show_progress
Notes:
This command has been superseded by the /delete command, and is included for backwards compatibility. (For more information on the /delete command, refer to Section D.9.14, Deleting an EUL element.) To delete the Business Areas named Test BA and Final BA, and write to a log file named delba.log, enter: dis4adm.exe /connect me/mypassword /delete_bus_area "Test BA, Final BA" /log delba.log
Example:
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Command Reference
D.9.13 Deleting an EUL

The /delete_eul option enables you to delete a Discoverer EUL. You can also selectively remove individual EUL elements using the /delete command, (see Section D.9.14, Deleting an EUL element,).
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Syntax: Modifiers: Notes: Restrictions: Example:
/delete_eul /log /show_progress
None You can only delete EULs for which you are the registered owner. dis4adm.exe /connect me/mypassword /delete_eul /log "c:\my log dir\delete_eul.log"
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Command Reference
D.9.14 Deleting an EUL element

The /delete option enables you to remove EUL elements from the database. You can also remove an entire EUL using the /delete_eul command, (see Section D.9.13, Deleting an EUL,).
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Syntax: Modifiers:
/delete <modifier(s)> [/identifier]

/log <log file name> [log_only] /show_progress
Modifiers for defining which EUL element(s) to delete:

/business_area <business area> /ba_link <business area> <folder> /condition <folder>.<condition> /folder <folder> /function <PL/SQL function> /hierarchy <hierarchy> /hier_node <hierarchy>.<hierarchy_node> /identifier /item <folder>.<item> /item_class <item class> /join <join name> /parameter <folder>.<parameter> /summary <summary> /workbook <workbook>
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Notes:
You can delete one or more EUL elements at a time, (see examples below). Wildcards are not allowed for parameters (E.g. Business Areas, Folders etc.) these must be named explicitly. To delete two Business Areas named Test BA and Final BA, residing in an EUL named eul31, and write to a log file named delba.log, enter: dis4adm.exe /connect me/mypassword /delete /business_area "Test BA, Final BA" /eul eul31 /log delba.log To delete a Folder named "Sales", and a Summary named "Sum1", residing in an EUL named eul31, and write to a log file named del.log, enter: dis4adm.exe /connect me/mypassword /delete /folder "Sales" /summary "Sum1" /eul eul31 /log del.log
Example:
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Command Reference
D.9.15 Running Automated Summary Management (ASM)

The /asm command enables you to execute Discoverers Automated Summary Management facility (ASM)
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Syntax: Modifiers: Restrictions: Example:
/asm [/asm_space <bytes> | /asm_space <bytes> /asm_tablespace <tablespace name>] /asmspace /asm_tablespace
If you specify an /asm_tablespace argument, you must specify an asm_space argument. dis4adm.exe /connect me/mypassword /asm /asm_space 2182 /asm_tablespace user_data
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Command Reference
D.9.16 Refreshing a Business Area

The /refresh_bus_area option enables you to refresh one or more Discoverer Business Areas, by retrieving an up-to-date EUL structure from the database.
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Syntax: Modifiers:
/refresh_bus_area <bus_area> /db_link /eul /log /schema /source /show_progress
Notes:
When using the /refresh_bus_area, use the following guidelines: Specify the data source from which to refresh the named Business Area(s). Specify an EUL in which to find the Business Area(s) to refresh. The administrators own EUL is the default. If you specify the EUL, you must have access privileges to the named EUL in order for the operation to succeed. Filter the refresh by schema name. By default, no filter is used. Specify a log file.
/db_link & /source can not be used in conjunction with an ODBC database. To refresh two Business Areas named Test BA and Final BA that reside in an EUL named eul31, from an Oracle Designer source on the current connection that contains tables matching the pattern test% owned by user Bob, and summarize information in a log file named refba.log, enter: dis4adm.exe /connect me/mypassword /refresh_bus_area "Test BA, Final BA" /source "Designer 6i - bobsworkarea" /eul eul31 /user bob /log refba.log
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Command Reference
D.9.17 Refreshing a Folder

The /refresh_folder option enables you to refresh one or more Discoverer Folders. The query on which the folder is based is re-run in order to retrieve up-to-date data.
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Syntax: Modifiers:
/refresh_folder <folder> <bus_area> /log /show_progress /source /user <username>
Notes:
When using the /refresh_folder option, use the following guidelines: The administrators own EUL is the default EUL for the search. Specify a log file path (optional). A status message indicating the success or failure of the operation will be output to the specified log file path, or the default log file if one is not specified.
This option can not be used in conjunction with an ODBC database. To refresh two folders named Sales1 and Sales2, residing in a Business Area named Test BA, found in an EUL named eul31, and write to a log file named refsum.log, enter: dis4adm.exe /connect me/mypassword /refresh_folder "Sales1, Sales2" "Test BA" /log refsum.log
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Command Reference
D.9.18 Refreshing a Summary

The /refresh_summary option enables you to refresh one or more Discoverer Summaries. The query on which the summary is based is re-run in order to retrieve up-to-date data.
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Syntax: Modifiers: Notes:
/refresh_summary <summary> <bus_area> /log /show_progress
When using the /refresh_summary option, use the following guidelines: Specify in which EUL the Business Area can be found. The administrators own EUL is the default EUL for the search. If you specify the EUL, you must have access privileges to the named EUL in order for the operation to succeed. It is necessary to name at least one Business Area summary folder and explicitly name the Business Area in which the summary resides. Specify a log file path (optional). A status message indicating the success or failure of the operation will be output to the specified log file path, or the default log file if one was not specified.
This option is not valid in conjunction with an ODBC database. To refresh two summaries named Summary1 and Summary2, residing in a Business Area named Test BA, found in an EUL named eul31, and write to a log file named refsum.log, enter: dis4adm.exe /connect me/mypassword /refresh_summary "Summary1, Summary2" "Test BA" /log refsum.log
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Command Reference
D.9.19 Import a Business Area

The /import option enables you to import a Discoverer Business Area from the database. For information on selectively importing Discoverer EUL elements, see also Section D.9.20, Importing EUL elements from an EEX File.
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Syntax: Modifiers:
/import <business area>

/log <log file name> [log_only] /rename <rename-policy> /show_progress
Notes:
This command has been superseded by the /import <source filename(s)> <modifier(s)> command, and is included for backwards compatibility. (For more information on the /import command, refer to Section D.9.20, Importing EUL elements from an EEX File.)
Example:
To import the Business Areas named Test BA and Final BA, and write to a log file named delba.log, enter: dis4adm.exe /connect me/mypassword /import "Test BA, Final BA" /log delba.log
D-26
Command Reference
D.9.20 Importing EUL elements from an EEX File

The /import option enables you to import EUL elements from one or more Discoverer export files (EEX file). Discoverer export files are created using the /export command, and contain EUL elements, (for example Folders, Business Areas, Functions, or an entire EUL).
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Syntax: Modifiers:
/import <source filename(s)> <modifier(s)> [/identifier] /eul <EUL> /identifier /keep_format_properties /log <log file name> [log_only] /multi_commit /refresh | /rename /show_progress
Notes:
<source filename(s)> - the name(s) of the source *.EEX file(s). You must specify the full path name for the file, for example c:\data\sales.eex, (the directory path must be an absolute path, not a relative path). Wildcards are not allowed for parameters (E.g. Business Areas, Folders etc.) these must be named explicitly.
D-27
Command Reference
D.9.21 Exporting EUL elements to an EEX File

The /export option enables you to export EUL elements to a Discoverer export file (EEX file). You can selectively export individual EUL elements, (for example Folders, Business Areas, and Functions), or entire EULs (using the /all modifier). When you import multiple files references between the files are resolved automatically. For example you can export the Emp folder in fileA.eex and the Dept folder in fileB.eex. If Emp and Dept are joined, the join information will actually be in both files, but neither file contains the information for both folders. By importing both files the join will be recreated at the time the second file is processed.
Syntax:
/export <filename> [<bus_area_name>] Or /export <filename> <modifier(s)> [/identifier] /all /audit_info <audit details> /business_area <business area> /folder <folder> /function <function> /hierarchy <hierarchy> /identifier /item_class <item_class> /log <log file name> [log_only] /summary <summary> /workbook <workbook>
Modifiers:
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Command Reference
Exporting EUL elements to an EEX file continued.

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Notes:
<filename> - the name of the target *.EEX file. If a directory path is not specified, the target file is created in the default Discoverer folder. To override the default target directory setting, specify a directory path for the file, for example c:\data\sales.eex, (the directory path must be an absolute path, not a relative path). Wildcards are not allowed for parameters (E.g. Business Areas, Folders etc.) these must be named explicitly. [<bus_area_name>] - use this option to export an entire Business Area and contents. If you only want to export the Business Area definition and metadata for the contents, use the /business_area modifier. If you specify a Business Area to export using the /business_area modifier it does not export all the folders in that Business Area, these have to specified by name. Also the workbooks are not exported either. Exporting the Business Area using this command exports the Business Area definition and links to Folders that are in it, but not the Folders themselves. <modifiers> - When specifiying elements, you can use either their Display Name or Identifier. To maintain data relationships, you must also export linked (or joined) elements.
Example:
To export two Business Areas named Test BA and Final BA, residing in an EUL named eul31, into a file named export.eex, and to write to a log file named export.log, enter: dis4adm.exe /connect me/mypassword /export export.eex "Test BA, Final BA" /eul eul31 /log import.log
D-29
Command Modifier Reference
D.10 Command Modifier Reference

D.10.1 Introduction
This section defines optional modifiers that can be used to refine the commands described in Section D.9, Command Reference,.
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Where a modifier has a finite set of values, these appear in a Values section below the modifier syntax.
D.10.2 How the Command Modifier Reference section is arranged

This section lists command modifiers in alphabetical order.
D.10.3 /aggregate
The /aggregate modifier enables you to specify the default aggregate to be used by a command.
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Syntax: Values:
/aggregate <aggregate> SUM MAX MIN COUNT AVG DETAIL
D.10.4 /all
The /all modifier enables you to select every element in an EUL for import, export, or deletion.
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Syntax:
/all
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D.10.5 /apps_grant_details
The optional modifier /apps_grant_details enables you to specify an Oracle Applications schema and password when creating an Oracle Applications mode EUL.
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Syntax:
/apps_grant_details <schema>/<password>
D.10.6 /apps_responsibility
The modifier /apps_responsibility enables you to specify an Oracle Applications responsibility when connecting as an Oracle Applications database user. This can also be included immediately following a colon (:) placed after the Oracle Applications user name but before the password.
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Syntax:
/apps_responsibility <Oracle Applications responsibility name>
D.10.7 /apps_security_group
The modifier /apps_security_group enables you to specify an Oracle Applications security group when connecting as an Oracle Applications database user.
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Syntax:
/apps_security_group <Oracle Applications security group name>
D.10.8 /asm_space, /asm_tablespace

The /asm_tablespace modifier ignores any tablespace value set in the ASM policy and uses this tablespace constraint instead. The /asm_space modifier ignores any space value set in the ASM policy and uses this space constraint instead. The following are valid combinations of tablespace and space values:
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No command line modifiers - The EUL policy tablespace and space will be used /asm_space - The EUL policy tablespace will be used with the specified value of space /asm_tablespace /asm_space - The specified values of tablespace and space will be used. An exception will be raised if you specify an invalid tablespace.
D-31
Syntax:
/asm [/asm_space <bytes> | /asm_space <bytes> /asm_tablespace <tablespace name>] /asm_tablespace <tablespace name>
Values: /asm_space <bytes>
D.10.9 /audit_info
The /audit_info modifier enables you to export audit fields with every element, (Created By, Created Date, Updated By, Updated Date). You can override the Created By and Updated By fields using the additional modifiers :/set_created_by and :/set_updated_by.
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Syntax: Values:
/audit_info [:/set_created_by] [:/set_updated_by] :/set_created_by <name of creator> :/set_updated_by <name of updater>
D.10.10 /ba_link
The /ba_link modifier enables you to specify a Business Area and folder for deletion.
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Syntax:
/ba_link <business area>.<folder>
D.10.11 /business_area
The /business_area modifier enables you to specify a Business Area for import, export, or deletion.
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Syntax:
/business_area <business area>
D.10.12 /capitalize
The /capitalize modifier enables you to request that folder names use initial capital letters when they are generated from their respective column names during a bulk load.
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Syntax:
/capitalize
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D.10.13 /condition
The /condition modifier enables you to specify a condition for deletion.
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Syntax:
/condition <condition>
D.10.14 /date_hierarchy
The /date_hierachy modifier enables you to specify the date hierarchy to be used during a bulk load.
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Syntax: Values:
/date_hierachy <date_hier>
Any valid date hierarchy name or . If you set <date_hier> to "", Discoverer Administration Edition will not create a hierarchy for dates during bulk load.
D.10.15 /db_link
The /db_link modifier enables you to specify the database link to be used by a command.
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Syntax: Values: Restrictions:
/db_link <db_link>
Any valid database link. This modifier is not valid in conjunction with an ODBC database.
D.10.16 /description
The /description modifier enables you to specify a description for an object.
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Syntax: Values:
/description <description>
Any string.
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D.10.17 /eul
The /eul modifier enables you to specify an EUL on which to run a command. You must have access privileges to a specified EUL. If not specified, the default is the administrators EUL.
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Syntax: Values:
/eul <EUL>
The name of a valid EUL.
Note that this does not change the default EUL for the user.
D.10.18 /folder
The /folder modifier enables you to specify a folder for import, export, or deletion.
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Syntax:
/folder <folder>
D.10.19 /function
The /function modifier enables you to specify an function for import, export, or deletion.
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Syntax:
/function <PL/SQL function>
D.10.20 /hier_node
The /hier_node modifier enables you to specify a node in a hierarchy for deletion.
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Syntax:
/hier_node <hierarchy>.<hierarchy node>
D.10.21 /hierarchy
The /hierarchy modifier enables you to specify an function for import, export, or deletion.
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Syntax:
/hierarchy <hierarchy>
D-34
D.10.22 /identifier
The /identifier modifier enables you to specify EUL elements by Identifier, rather than by Display Name. If not specified, the element is identified by Display Name by default (see also Section 7.5.1, About Identifiers).
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Syntax:
/identifier
D.10.23 /insert_blanks
The /insert_blanks modifier enables you to request that folder names use spaces instead of underscore characters when they are generated from their respective column names during a bulk load.
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Syntax: Values:
/insert_blanks
Any string.
D.10.24 /item
The /item modifier enables you to specify an item for deletion.
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Syntax:
/item <item>
D.10.25 /item_class
The /item_class modifier enables you to specify an item class for import, export, or deletion.
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Syntax:
/item_class <item class>
D.10.26 /join
The /join modifier has two applications depending on which command you use it with:
D-35
Used with the /load command, it enables you to specify how Discoverer Administration Edition should create joins during a bulk load. Used with the /delete command, it enables you to remove a specific join. Syntax:
Used with the /load command: /join <NONE|COLUMN NAME|PRIMARY KEY> Used with the /delete command: /join <join name>
D.10.27 /keep_folder
The /keep_folder modifier enables you to leave the folders in place when deleting a Business Area. If not specified, the folders are removed along with the Business Area.
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Syntax:
/keep_folder
D.10.28 /keep_format_properties
The /keep_format_properties modifier enables you to keep existing element format properties. For example, display names, descriptions etc, and Item element, format, word-wrap, display case, default width, and show NULL as settings). The default is to change element format properties on refresh.
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Syntax:
/keep_format_properties
D.10.29 /log
The /log modifier enables you to specify a log filename used for storing command status messages.
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Syntax: Values:
/log <filename>
Any valid filename (dependent on the operating system).
D-36
D.10.30 /log_only
The /log_only modifier enables you to simulate an command and generate a log, without changing your data. This option enables you to check for errors and exceptions before changing your data.
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Syntax: Values:
/log <filename> [/log_only]
Any valid filename (dependent on the operating system). The optional log_only argument enables you to simulate an import and generate a log, without importing the data. This option enables you to check for import errors before changing your data
D.10.31 /lov
The /lov modifier enables you to specify the data types for which a list of values should be generated during a bulk load.
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Syntax:
/lov [CHAR|DATE|DECIMAL|INTEGER|KEY]
D.10.32 /multi_commit
The /multi_commit modifier enables you to perform a database commit after each type of element has been imported, (for example, Business Areas, objects, items etc).
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Syntax:
/multi_commit
D.10.33 /object
The /object modifier enables you to specify an object (or folder) for import, export, or deletion.
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Syntax: Values:
/object <mask>
Any valid object name. You can use wildcard characters.
D-37
D.10.34 /overwrite
The /refresh modifier enables you to overwrite an existing EUL owned by the intended owner. If omitted, the default is to not overwrite an existing EUL.
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Syntax:
/overwrite
D.10.35 /parameter
The /parameter modifier enables you to specify a parameter for deletion. When specifiying elements, you can use either their Display Name or Identifier.
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Syntax:
/parameter <folder>.<parameter>
D.10.36 /password
The /password modifier enables you to specify the password to be used by the operation.
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Syntax: Values:
/password <password>
Any valid password.
D.10.37 /private
When you create an EUL, the /refresh modifier enables you to define its status as private to the administrator. If committed, the status defaults to public.
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Syntax:
/private
D.10.38 /refresh
The /refresh modifier enables you to merge imported elements with existing elements. By default, merged elements are matched on Display name. Use the /identifier modifier to
D-38
match on Identifier. For more information on Identifiers, see Section 7.5.1, About Identifiers.
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Syntax:
/refresh
D.10.39 /remove_prefix
The /remove_prefix modifier enables you to request that folder names do not include the column name prefix when they are generated from their respective column names during a bulk load.
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Syntax:
/remove_prefix
D.10.40 /rename
The /rename modifier enables you to specify which objects are renamed when you import elements that match your existing elements.
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Syntax: Values:
/rename <style>
NEW - rename the imported objects to match the existing objects. OLD - rename the existing objects to match the imported objects. NONE - abort the operation without importing the objects.
D.10.41 /schema
The /schema modifier enables you to specify a schema for the operation.
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Syntax:
/schema
D.10.42 /show_progress
The /show_progress modifier enables you to monitor a command in operation.
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Syntax:
/show_progress
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D.10.43 /source
The /source modifier enables you to specify the source for the operation.
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Syntax: Notes:
/source <server|gateway> <server> is the name of a native Oracle database <gateway> is the name of an Oracle Designer object or other gateway.
The gateway name must exactly match the gateway name displayed in the Load Wizard. In the case of Oracle Designer, specify "Designer 6i - <workarea name>" (if you are using a version of Oracle Designer prior to Oracle Designer 6i, simply specify "Oracle Designer Repository").
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Restrictions:
This modifier is not valid in conjunction with an ODBC database.
D.10.44 /summary
The /summary modifier enables you to specify a summary for import, export, or deletion.
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Syntax:
/summary <summary>
D.10.45 /user
The /user modifier enables you to specify the user ID to be used for the operation.
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Syntax: Values:
/user <user_id>
Any valid user ID.
D-40
D.10.46 /workbook
The /workbook modifier enables you to specify a workbook for import, export, or deletion.
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Syntax:
/workbook <workbook>
D-41
D-42
Registry Settings
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E.1 Introduction E.2 Registry Settings
E.1 Introduction
Discoverer uses Windows Registry Settings to store some internal values options. By default, each setting is set to the most commonly required setting. In some cases you may want to change some of the settings. This appendix describes some of these settings. All Discoverer 3.1 registry settings are stored under: \\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Oracle\Discoverer 3.1\ All Discoverer 4.1 registry settings are stored under: \\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Oracle\Discoverer 4\ Use extreme caution when editing the Windows Registry. If in doubt, contact your system administrator.
Registry Settings E-1
Registry Settings
E.2 Registry Settings

Many of the Discoverer Windows Registry settings are in the following table:
Table E1 Table of Discoverer Windows Registry settings. Item Key Name AppsFNDNAM Description Used on an Oracle Applications EUL and defines the schema that owns the core Applications tables and views Used on an Oracle Applications EUL and defines the Username and Password of the public Gateway used in the Applications Login. Separate the username and password using a slash (/) character. Controls the interval between EUL cache flushes during Export and Import of .eex files. Used to avoid excessive memory usage during the Exp or Imp of a very large archive Default/Values "APPS"
AppsGWYUID
"APPLSYSPUB/PUB"
ArchiveCacheFlushInterval
1000 >0 = The number of elements that are processed between EUL cache flushes when importing and exporting .eex files 1 Possible values are: 0 - No Fast Fetch 1 - Fast Fetch the objects within each business area 2 - Fast Fetch objects within each business area and items in user mode only 3 - Fast Fetch objects within each business area and items in admin mode only 4 - Fast Fetch objects and items within each business area
BusinessAreaFastFetchLevel
Controls the amount of pre-caching that occurs for components and items whenever a Business Area is fetched. In general terms, the lower the value, the less folders and items are immediately fetched into the Navigator dialog.
E-2 Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide
Registry Settings
Table E1 Table of Discoverer Windows Registry settings. Item Key Name CreateJoinInOtherBAs Description This setting enables you to control the extent to which Discoverer Administration Edition generates joins when you load or refresh a folder. By default, joins are only generated automatically between folders within the same business area. However, you can specify that joins are created automatically across business areas as well This setting controls that option: DisableAutoOuterJoinsOnFilters This setting toggles the behaviour of Discoverer when running queries involving an outer join with a condition (or conditions) applied. The effect of this setting is explained in an example in Chapter 13.6.3, Outer Join with Conditions behavior This affects the commit processing and hence Rollback space usage during the upgrade of a previous version EUL. If you are having problems upgrading an EUL due to limited Rollback space, it is possible to commit more frequently using this setting. 0 (0 = Do not disable outer joins on filters, 1=disable outer joins on filters) default 0 Default/Values 0 (0 - Do not generate/check joins to folders outside the current business area. >0 - Generate/check joins to folders outside the current business area).
EULUpgradeForceCommitForAllSteps
EULUpgradeRollbackSegment
If this setting is defined then it should be the type - string, default "" name of the rollback segment that you want to be used for the duration of the Upgrade. I.E. If set to "Large_RB1" then a "SET TRANSACTION USE ROLLBACK SEGMENT Large_RB1" statement would be issued Set the value to 1 if you want the XML export file to include spaces that make the file more readable, but larger. If the value is 0 or the entry is not present, the export file will not use indentation thus reducing file size. 0, 1
FormatXML
Registry Settings
E-3
Registry Settings
Table E1 Table of Discoverer Windows Registry settings. Item Key Name MaterializedViewRedirectionBehaviour Description This controls (For 8.1.6+ databases) when a Discoverer query will be rewritten to go against materialized view. Default/Values 0 = always redirect the query to a materialized view when available 1 = always redirect the query to a materialized view when summary data not stale 2 = never redirect the query to a materialized view MaxNumberJoinPredicates type dword, default 20 During bulk load you have an option to create an automatic join based on column names (rather than primary/foreign keys). If you have the same table already loaded (for example) then a join will be created that matches every column in the table. You can stop these being created by specifying the maximum number of predicates in 1 join using matching column names in bulk load. ObjectsAlwaysAccessible By default, when Discoverer Plus displays folders and items in the Item Navigator, it validates that the tables/views they refer to exist and that the user has access to them. You can enable or disable this validation using this setting. Disabling this validation speeds up the display of folders & items in the Item Navigator. When a user executes a query, if the database objects dont exist or the user does not have access to them and this setting is set to 1, Discoverer Plus displays an error (for example, 942 Table or View does not exist) 0 (0 = Enable object accessibility validation 1 = Disable object accessibility validation) type dword, default 20
Registry Settings
Table E1 Table of Discoverer Windows Registry settings. Item Key Name QPPCBOEnforced Description Will use cost-based optimizer if set to 1. Will use default optimizer if set to 0. Default/Values 1
(0 = use the default query optiQuery Prediction needs to parse statements mizer, in order to obtain their cost. The cost is only 1 = use the cost based optiavailable when parsing with the cost based mizer) optimizer (it is not produced if parsing with the rule based optimizer). The default behavior in Discoverer is to force the use of the cost based optimizer when parsing these statements. If this registry setting is set to 0 then Discoverer will use the default optimizer for the database and for the tables involved in the query, (i.e. if the default optimizer is rule-based and the tables have not been analyzed then query prediction will not be available.) QPPCreateNewStats Records new statistics if set to 1. These statistics are used by Query Prediction If you set this to zero, Discoverer doesnt create any new statistics for query prediction. QPPEnable This setting enables you to turn Query Prediction on or off. Uses query prediction/performance (QPP) if set to 1 RdbFastSQLOff This only applies to Discoverer against RDB. If set to 1 then it turns off "fast sql" on the RDB server. This registry setting should only be used if errors are encountered against RDB and may help avoid some types of problems. See Appendix F.1 for further information about support for rdb. 0 (0, 1) 1 (0 = false, 1 = true) 1 (0 = false, 1 = true)
Registry Settings
E-5
Registry Settings
Table E1 Table of Discoverer Windows Registry settings. Item Key Name ShowReadOnlyPrompt Description Default/Values
You can set the operating system privilege 0 (0, 1) for a file-based workbook to read-only. In this instance, when a user opens the workbook they get a warning message informing them that the workbook cannot be opened read/write and to save any changes to another workbook. In release 3.1.26, a new registry setting is available that enables you to switch this warning off. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ORAC LE\Discoverer 3.1\Application\ShowReadOnlyPrompt
SQLType
This entry determines how SQL is displayed 0 in the SQL-dialog. The valid values for this entry are 0, 1 and 2: 0 = flattened SQL, (i.e standard Oracle format - the default) 1 = odbc SQL, 2 = native SQL. (i.e Discoverer SQL sent to the kernel, with Inline Views)
TablespaceForMVS
Controls which tablespace a user points to on DB2. This registry setting would typically be used by the administrator when installing the End User Layer. The registry setting is: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Oracle \Discoverer 3.1\Administrator\TablespaceForMVS
No default.
RDB Support
Discoverer release 4.1 works against RDB directly without using ODBC. This appendix consists of the following sections:
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F.1 Software requirements F.2 Features not supported using RDB
F.1 Software requirements

To use Oracle Discoverer directly with Oracle Rdb you need:
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Oracle Discoverer 4.1 or later Oracle Rdb Release 7.0.1.3 or later SQL*Net for Rdb7 Release 1.0.2. or later A special image for SQL*Net for Rdb7 with bug fixes specifically for Discoverer 3 is also required --supported customers can obtain by contacting their Oracle Support Representative.
SQL*Net for Rdb7 enables an Rdb7 server to appear as an Oracle7 server to the client. You need to install SQL*Net for Rdb7 software only once on each server system. You also need to prepare each Rdb7 database environment by defining the Oracle7 functions and the emulated Oracle7 data dictionary to serve with SQL*Net for Rdb7. If you need further information about SQL*Net for Rdb7, refer to the following documentation:
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Guide to SQL*Net for Rdb7 This guide helps you set up and use SQL*Net for Rdb7 software to configure and develop useful connections between SQL*Net clients and Oracle Rdb7 databases.
RDB Support F-1
Features not supported using RDB
Oracle SQL/Services Release Notes Release 7.1.2 This manual contains Oracle SQL/Services release notes that are specific to SQL*Net for Rdb7 Release 1.0.2. The notes describe changed and enhanced features; upgrade and compatibility information; new and existing software problems and restrictions; and other software documentation. Comparison of SQL Dialects for Oracle and Oracle Rdb The principal purpose of this manual is to help users of the SQL*Net for Rdb software understand differences in the Oracle7 and Rdb7 SQL dialects. This manual identifies where differences in the SQL dialects might occur, and provide additional information to help you achieve the desired functions.
F.2 Features not supported using RDB

The following features are not supported in Discoverer 4.1 when using RDB:
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Query Prediction. Oracle Specific - Uses Oracles Cost Based Optimizer. The Discoverer4 EUL - eul4.eex. This uses Oracles PLSQL. Register PLSQL functions. Internally Managed Summaries. Uses Oracles PLSQL. Database Roles. Later versions of SQL*NET for RDB may support this. Parser Hints on Folders. Oracle Specific. Server side Batch / Scheduled Reporting. Uses Oracles PLSQL. Security - Roles and Users. This can be done outside the tool. Later versions of SQL*NET may support this. Oracle Specific Functions. i.e. INSTR, INSTRB ,VSIZE, UID, DUMP, TRANSLATE , SOUNDEX, STDDEV, VARIANCE, STDDEV_DISTINCT, VARIANCE_DISTINCT.
F-2
Glossary
A access rights and privileges Specific functionality such as update and delete privileges which are granted to a specific user ID by a database administrator, or by the user ID which "owns" the tables for which the authority is being granted. aggregate Summarized data. For example, unit sales of a particular product could be aggregated by day, month, quarter and yearly sales. alignment The way in which data is positioned in a field. It may be positioned to the left, right, center, flush/left, flush/right, or flush/center of the defined width of a field. automated summary management (ASM) A Discoverer feature to simplify the process of summary creation and maintenance. ASM enables you to set a range of input parameters known as a summary policy for Discoverer to operate within. Discoverer will automatically create and maintain the best set of summaries according to the summary policy. axis One of the three directions of a sheet. Items that you choose for a query appear in the axes. See: top axis, side axis, page axis, axis item.
Glossary-1
axis item An item appearing in either the top axis, side axis, or page axis of a sheet. In a table, items can appear only in the top axis or page axis; in a crosstab, items can appear in any axis. See: axis, data item. B business area A conceptual grouping of tables and/or views that apply to users specific data requirements. For example, an accounting department may have an accounting Business Area that represents data about budgets and finance, while project leaders in an engineering department would have a business area specifically for projects requiring budget information. Although some of the items may be the same, the exact combination of tables and views for each department may be different. A Business Area is represented as a file cabinet in Discoverer. This can be opened to display folders, and all the items in those folders.
C cache (memory) A temporary storage place for database data that is currently being accessed or changed by users, or for data that Oracle Server requires to support users. The terms are often used interchangeably. calculation A mathematical formula performed on one or more items. Oracle Discoverer enables you to build complex calculations clipboard A memory buffer. An object remains on the Clipboard until you cut or copy another object, or until you quit the application. collapse To remove all levels of related items from below a selected item. In effect, to undo a drilldown. See: drill down. color palette Contains all the colors available to the windowing system, the drawing surface, or a window and its views.
Glossary-2
column A vertical space in a database table that represents a particular domain of data. A column has a column name (e.g., ENAME) and a specific data type (e.g., CHAR). For example, in a table of employee information, all of the employees names would constitute one column. A record group column represents a database column. In Discoverer, the particular type of data is displayed vertically in your worksheet. command line An operating-system command line. Most Oracle products can be invoked from a command line using a number of executable arguments. complex folder A folder created in Administration Edition that contains items from more than one folder (or database table). conceptually identical object Conceptually Identical Objects are elements in different EULs that refer to the same business objects, (e.g, folders, item-classes, hierarchies). When identifying Conceptually Identical Objects, Discoverer uses either Display Names or Identifiers to match elements. condition A filter created on an item to restrict which values return. It contains a column and some qualifying data used to specify the volume of data. Conditions created in the Administration Edition can be optional or mandatory as business conditions dictate. Conditions can also be created while defining a query in Discoverer Plus. For example, if you request all cities in the East Region you are using a condition (show East Region only) to limit the cities you get in your result set. connect To log on to a database. You must connect if you want to create or modify queries or access an application stored in a database. connect string The set of parameters, including a protocol, that SQL*Net uses to connect to a specific Oracle instance on the network. copy To store a replica of a selected object on the Clipboard, so that it may be pasted elsewhere in an editor if desired.
Glossary-3
crosstab A sheet layout that arranges items in a matrix of rows and columns. Items appear in both the top and side axes. Use a crosstab to display summary information and show how one item relates to another, such as sales by region by month. A crosstab is sometimes called a matrix. See: table. cursor A small icon representing the position of the mouse. The shape of the cursor varies, depending on the selected tool. cut To delete one or more objects and store them in the Clipboard, so that they may be pasted elsewhere in an editor, if desired.
D data item The item expressing the relationship between a top axis item and a side axis item. Only items which have a data item in common can appear opposite each other in the top and side axes. Applies only to crosstab-layout sheets. A data item is sometimes called a measure. See: axis item, data point. data model A relational model that defines what data should be fetched from the database, what values should be computed, and how data should be ordered in a report. Report Builder objects that define the data model are queries, groups, columns, parameters, and links. data point The value of a data item, as displayed in a cell of a sheet. A data point reflects the relationship between intersecting axis items in a crosstab. See: data item. data type A standard form of data. Some common Oracle data types are CHAR, VARCHAR2, DATE, NUMBER, LONG, RAW, and LONG RAW. database A set of dictionary tables and user tables that are treated as a unit.
Glossary-4
DATE An Oracle Server data type. A date column may contain a date and time between January 1, 4712 BC and December 31, 4712 AD. date hierarchy Date hierarchies possess an inherent structure based on year, quarter, month, week, day, hour, minute, and second. The Administration Edition uses date hierarchy templates to define many common formats for date hierarchies. You can create customized date hierarchies or use the default date hierarchy. date hierarchy template A predefined hierarchy of date levels including display format. Date hierarchy templates are applied to a date item to create a date hierarchy specific for that date item. For example, apply a generic date hierarchy temple of Year (YYYY), Month (Mon-YY), Day (DD-Mon_YY) to sales_date to allow users to drill down from Year to month level and to Day level (from 1996 to June, 1996 to 2-June-96). Use the date hierarchy template to define which time/date levels and which display format to use. default A value supplied by the system when a user does not specify a required command parameter or attribute. detail to master join A detail-to-master join icon represents a many-to-one relationship between two items in different folders. The foreign key is on left (Detail), the primary key is on right (Master). See: master to detail join, join. dialog box A partial screen or window that prompts you to enter information necessary to complete an operation. disabled An interface element state that means a menu item, button, etc., cannot be used in the current context; i.e., it does not respond to keyboard or mouse input. drag Press and hold down a mouse button while you slide the mouse pointer to a particular location in a window.
Glossary-5
drill To expand an item to include items related to it. Oracle Discoverer may requery the database. See: drill down, drill up. drill down To expand an item to include related items lower than it in the hierarchy. Oracle Discoverer may requery the database. See: drill, drill up, collapse. drill up To expand an item to include the next related item above it in the hierarchy. Oracle Discoverer may requery the database. See: drill, drill down, collapse. duplicate An option that allows you to copy objects directly on the layout without affecting the contents of the Clipboard.
E enabled An interface element state that means that a menu item, button, etc., can be used in the current context, that is, it responds to keyboard or cursor/mouse input. End User Layer (EUL) A number of database tables and views that reside (conceptually) between the database dictionary/table definitions and client applications, such as Discoverer Plus. The End User Layer is a "meta-layer" that shields end users from the complexity of the database by providing meaningful, business-like terminology for database objects. The EUL controls several elements such as hierarchy templates, formatting information, summary table management and aggregate information. The EUL also controls the SQL generated to extract the information from the database. environment The users computer-based workplace, including the tools typically used and their configurations. For Project Builder, this refers to the subset of tools that are used to complete various tasks related to developing Developer/2000 applications.
Glossary-6
equijoin A join of two columns with the equal operator, dictating that only those rows that have identical data in the defined columns on opposite sides of the operator will be joined. exception Data in your result set which falls outside of a set of criteria set by you. execute See run. export To store a copy of an object, module, selected text or image to a file or database. In Project Builder, the process of writing out a file containing project, type, action, and/or macro definitions in a portable format for distribution to others who may work on heterogeneous platforms. See also: export file, import. export file A shareable, portable file created by exporting a project. external query An ANSI-standard SQL SELECT statement that can be referenced by other Oracle products. eulins.sql The script the database administrator runs to install a Discoverer End User Layer. Use this script to create both public and private End User Layers.
F field An interface element in which you enter, edit, or delete data. foreign key Key that links a row or column of data in a table to a table in another business area. See: primary key.
Glossary-7
focus The state of an entity that is able to respond to input from the user or the client. If an entity has the keyboard focus, it can receive events when the user presses a key. If a drawn view has the drawing focus, it can respond to client routines that affect drawing. folders A representation of a database table in the EUL. Presenting tables as folders is another way to shield the end user from the complexities of the database.
G grant To give a user access to a module. Only a modules creator can grant its access to other users. GUI Acronym for graphical user interface. The use of pictures rather than just words to represent the input and output of a program. Programs with GUIs run under a windowing system (such as X Windows, Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, and so on). GUI programs display icons, buttons, and so on, in windows on the screen; users control the GUI programs mainly by moving a pointer on the screen (typically controlled by a mouse). Also known as a bitmapped interface.
H hierarchy Natural relationships among items, defined in the Administration Edition and stored in the End User Layer. Hierarchies enable users to drill up and down through the data to see different levels of detail. There are two types of hierarchies: Item and Date. Use the hierarchy wizard to create new hierarchies, and to edit existing hierarchies. hierarchy wizard A predefined set of steps in the Administration Edition that ask the user for the information and choices needed to create a hierarchy for use in Discoverer Plus.
Glossary-8
HTML Acronym for Hypertext Markup Language. A tag-based ASCII language used to specify the content and hypertext links to other documents on WWW servers on the Internet. End users with Web browsers view HTML documents and follow links to display other documents. HTTP Acronym for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The protocol used to carry WWW traffic between a WWW browser computer and the WWW server being accessed. hyperdrill A way of establishing a link across the system to allow users to drill to details in another worksheet. Requires an existing join between the items or categories in each worksheet. hyperlink A reference (link) from some point in one hypertext document to (some point in) another document or another place in the same document. A Web browser usually displays a hyperlink in some distinguishing way (in a different color, font or style). When users activate hyperlinks (by clicking on them with a mouse) the browser displays the target of the link. hypertext A collection of documents containing cross-references which, with the aid of a browser, (such as a Web browser or Acrobat Reader, allow readers to move easily from one document to another. I icon A graphic representation of a window or tool. identifier Identifiers are unique names that Discoverer uses to identify workbooks. When matching elements common to different EULs, Discoverer uses Identifiers to locate elements in different EULs that refer to the same business objects (also known as Conceptually Identical Objects). For example, a folder named 'Sales' in EUL A may refer to the same folder named 'Sales Figures' in EUL B. Both folders have the same Identifier and can therefore be identified as referring to the same element.
Glossary-9
image A bitmapped object that can be stored and loaded into an application. The client cannot modify an imported image. import To read a module from the file system or database, and incorporate it into an application. independent data A piece of data that does not depend on other data for its value. For example, an employees name may have the value Jones, which is independent of the values of other employees names or associated data. Also called category data. index An optional structure associated with a table that is used by Oracle Server to locate rows of the table quickly, and (optionally) to guarantee that every row is unique. internet A worldwide TCP/IP-based network of computers. IP (Internet Protocol) Address A four-part number with no more than three digits in each part that uniquely identifies a computer on the Internet. item classes A grouping of items that database values. An item class is used to define a list of values that may be used by more than one item, an alternative sort order for these items, and/or to define a summary-to-detail capability between items. For example, an item called Product may contain a description of products, and may be part of the Product folder. The same item, Product, may also be required in the Sales Revenue folder. To have both items use the same list of values, you create one item class which defines the values, and apply it to both items. Thus, you only have to define the list of values once. If you did not create an item class, you would have to define a list of values for Product in the Product folder, and for Product in the Sales Revenue folder. item class wizard A predefined set of steps in the Administration Edition that ask the user for the information and choices needed to create an item class.
Glossary-10
item hierarchy Used to define the hierarchical relationship between items to allow end users to drill down to different levels of detail. For example form Country to Region to State. items A representation of database tables column in the EUL. Presenting columns as items allows the administrator to make formatting changes, name changes and other similar changes enabling the user to clearly read the data. Items are stored in folders and can be created, deleted, and moved among different folders.
J join A logical pairing of tables in a database, based on matching data in a specific column(s). Creating joins in Administration Edition is critical for identifying the folders available to the user in Discoverer Plus. When the user selects an item or folder to create a worksheet, only those folders having joins with the selected folder are available. Thus, if a join does not exist between two folders, neither the unselected folder nor its items are available for the worksheet. Joins are derived from matching columns or primary or foreign keys in the database. justification See alignment.
K keyword 1. Part of a command line syntax that must be supplied with a corresponding argument. 2. A required part of a PL/SQL construct.
L label Text identifying the values or meaning of an applications visual objects.
Glossary-11
list of values A set of the unique values that exist in an item. The values are from the items found in the database column. For example, if a database contained 4 occurrences of widgets, 28 occurrences of bolts, 34 occurrences of fan belts, 90 occurrences of gaskets and 49 occurrences of brackets, list of values would produce the following list of five distinct values: [widget, bolt, fan belt, gasket, bracket]. Lists of values are used when creating and assigning conditions. The list of values is generated automatically at run time. load wizard A predefined set of steps in Administration Edition that ask the user for the information and choices needed load tables into the End User Layer and create a new business area. local database 1. The database on the computer running the application. 2. The database to which an application is connected. This database parses and executes all SQL statements generated by the application. M master folder Used in a join, the master folder identifies the table which has a one-to-many relationship with the detail folder. For example, for each video title (identified by a row with a unique key) in a Video Product folder, there may be many entries (rows) in the Sales Details folder for each time a customer has rented the video. master to detail join A master-to-detail join icon represents a one-to-many relationship between two items in different folders. The primary key is on left (Master), the foreign key is on right (Detail). Create joins while using the Load Wizard to create a business area or by choosing Join from the Insert menu. See: detail to master join, join. materialized view A Materialized View is a summary mechanism used by the Oracle 8.1.6+ server. Materialized Views pre-compute and store aggregated data for use in SQL queries.
Glossary-12
megabyte (Mb) A unit of memory equal to 1,048,576 bytes (1024 x 1024). Often rounded to one million bytes. message box A modal window that notifies you of a condition that occurred because of your last action. You must respond to a message box. meta data Data about data. The data contained in the EUL is meta data because it is information describing the data in the actual database tables. Creating meta data allows the administrator to translate the database terminology into business terminology. modal window A window that elicits a response from the operator before the application can continue. N NOCACHE A data type indicating that the data will be fetched when the page on which it appears is formatted (instead of fetched and cached until formatted). non-caching column A report column that references a database column of data type NOCACHE. NULL value The absence of a value.
O object An item that can be placed on the layout. The following are examples of objects: rectangle, line, ellipse, arc, polygon, polyline, rounded rectangle, freehand, chart, text, symbol, and text field.
Glossary-13
ODBC Acronym for Open Database Connectivity. A standard for accessing different database systems. An application can submit statements to ODBC using the ODBC flavor of SQL. ODBC then translates these to whatever flavor the database understands. Using the Oracle Open Client Adapter (OCA), an application can access different database management systems in one consistent manner. This allows an application developer to develop, compile, and ship an application without targeting a specific DBMS. OLE Object Linking and Embedding. OLE container An application that can store and display OLE objects. OLE Server An application that creates OLE objects. one-to-many relationship A relationship where there is one uniquely identified row in one table relating to one or more rows in another table. The relationship is based on the unique key found in the first table. For example, for each video title (identified by a row with a unique key) in a Video Product table, there may be many entries (rows) in the Sales Details table for each time a customer has rented the video. one-to-one relationship A relationship where there is one and only one match for a unique row in two tables. For example, for each video title (identified by a row with a unique key) in a Video Product table, there is one and only one row in the VIdeo Details table that contains the description. Since there is only one description for each product, it could be located directly in the Video Product table; however it could be placed in another table for other processing reasons. In the latter case, the two rows would be uniquely identified by a common key joining them together. ORACLE_HOME An environment variable that indicates the root directory of Oracle products.
Glossary-14
Oracle Designer An Oracle Corporation tool for system analysis and designing, generating, and maintaining applications. Oracle Designer uses an enhanced Oracle dictionary for application system designs and model information. orphan folder A folder which does not exist in any business area. An orphan folder cannot be viewed in the work area because it is not located inside any business area; therefore it is unusable. A folder can only be created (and saved in the End User Layer) inside a business area and potentially used repetitively in several business areas. However, if it is subsequently removed from its last business area without being deleted from the End User Layer, it becomes an "orphan folder". You can view orphaned folders by choosing Manage | Folders from the Tools menu. own A term defining proprietorship of a specific element in Discoverer. For example, a user owns an EUL if its tables reside in the users database account. A user may have permission to access the tables in another users account, but the permitted user does not own the EUL.
P page axis The axis that displays a page item. The page axis appears above the top axis. page item An item that enables you to view data from a particular perspective. Page items apply to a whole sheet. When you create a page item from an axis item or data item, one value appears at a time, such as 1997 for Year. You change the value of the page itemsuch as 1997, 1998, or 1999by choosing from the list of available values in the Page item box. items can be dragged to the Page item box from either the top axis or the side axis. parameter 1. A PL/SQL construct used to pass information to a subprogram. For example, in the subprogram call MYPROC (x),x is a parameter.
Glossary-15
partially restricted tables Tables you own and have granted access to for other user IDs. Or, tables you dont own but their owner has granted you access. paste To place the contents of the Clipboard (cut or copied objects) at the current cursor location. pattern A graphical property you can apply to the edge or fill of most objects. PDF Acronym for Portable Document Format. A file format (native for Adobe Acrobat) for representing documents in a manner that is independent of the original application software, hardware, and operating system used to create the documents. A PDF file can describe documents containing any combination of text, graphics, and images in a device-independent and resolution independent format. physical page The size of a page that is output by your printer. pivot To drag an item from one axis to the other (crosstabs only), or from an axis to the Page item box. A side axis item becomes a top axis item or a page item or vice versa. Pivoting enables you to display the data more compactly and show relationships between items more clearly. PL/SQL Oracle's proprietary extension to the SQL language. Adds procedural and other constructs to SQL that make it suitable for writing applications. pop-up list A list that pops up when the user performs a particular action. port A number that TCP uses to route transmitted data to and from a particular program.
Glossary-16
pre-defined action An action shipped with Project Builder and automatically available to the user via a menu item and/or a toolbar button. Pre-defined actions include Build, Deliver, and several source control options. When a pre-defined action is defined for a supported file type, the action is invoked for any selected item of that type when the user calls the action from Project Builder. See also: action, user-defined action. preference A setting that affects the behavior of the applications interface. primary key A column in a database table whose members consist of unique values that can be used to identify a row in a table. Private End User Layer An End User layer only available to specific user IDs. Access is explicitly granted by the owner of the End User Layer. A database can have one or more Private End User Layers. private tables Tables in a database accessible only by those user IDs granted access by the user ID who "owns" the table. A user ID "owns" a table if that user ID has created the table. Properties A characteristic of an object that determines the behavior or appearance of that object. public tables Tables in a database accessible by all user IDs.
Q query 1. A search that retrieves information from a database according to criteria you specify. The criteria include items, layout, formatting, conditions, and calculations. Results of a query are displayed in a sheet. 2. A SQL SELECT statement that specifies the data you wish to retrieve from one or more tables or views of a database.
Glossary-17
Query Prediction A Oracle Discoverer feature that gives an estimate of the time required to retrieve the information in a query. The Query Prediction appears before the query begins, so you can cancel the query. quit An option that terminates the current session and returns the user to the operating system. On some systems, Quit is Exit.
R radio button A control (similar to a check box), appearing in sets of two or more, only one of which may be either "on" or "off" at any given time. radio group A set of two or more radio buttons, only one of which may be either "on" or "off" at any given time. RDBMS Acronym for Relational Database Management System. A database that allows the definition of data structures, storage and retrieval operations, and integrity constraints. In such a database, data and relations between them are organized in tables. record One row fetched by a SQL SELECT statement. remote database A database on a computer other than the local database. Usually a computer on the same network, but at a different node (i.e., a database that you use through a database link). Role A set of privileges. A Role is assigned to a user ID to grant all of the privileges defined in that Role. A role is useful for a DBA assigning the same privileges to large numbers of people.
Glossary-18
For example, the database administrator for a staff of airline reservation employees defines the role reservationist containing all of the necessary privileges for a reservationist. Then the DBA assigns every reservationist that role (reservationist), instead of having to define all of the privileges for each reservationist. row One set of field values in a table; for example, the fields representing one employee in the example table EMP. run To execute a runtime version of an application or program unit.
S scheduled workbook A workbook that has been programmed to run automatically at a scheduled date, time, and frequency. You can schedule a workbook by choosing File | Schedule. schema A collection of related database objects, usually grouped by database user ID. Schema objects includes tables, views, sequences, stored program units, synonyms, indexes, clusters, and database links. scope The level at, or range in which, an object operates. For Project Builder: 1. Describes the range of files affected by Compile and Compile All commands invoked against compilable project items. 2: Describes the range of files influenced by inheritable definitions. SELECT statement A SQL statement that specifies which rows and columns to fetch from one or more tables or views. send In Discoverer you can mail a workbook (or part of a workbook) in an email. The data you send can be in the text of the mail message or an attachment. In Discoverer Plus, choose File | Send to send a workbook. session The period between invoking and quitting the executable.
Glossary-19
sheet A tab in the workbook window. A sheet displays the results of one or more queries. side axis The axis of a sheet that runs vertically along the left side of the sheet. Applies only to a crosstab. See: axis, axis item. sort To specify how data in an item should be ordered. For example, you can sort an item from low to high (AZ) or from high to low (ZA). SQL Acronym for Structured Query Language, the language used to define and manipulate data in a database. You can view the current SQL code for a particular sheet by choosing SQL Inspector from the View menu.sql file SQL script A file containing SQL statements that you can run to perform database administration quickly and easily. Several SQL scripts are shipped with Oracle products. SQL statement A SQL instruction to Oracle. A SELECT statement is one type of SQL statement. statement A PL/SQL construct used for conditional, iterative, and sequential control, and for error handling. A semi-colon (;) must terminate every PL/SQL statement. summary redirection The process that Discoverer Plus uses to redirect a query to use a summary table rather than the detail data. summary folder The folder for storing information about summary tables, and the EUL items that can use them. Summary folders improve performance by directing queries to run against the summary tables' pre-aggregated and pre-joined data which, nevertheless, still satisfies the query requests. The process is automatic from the user's view-that is, to the user it isn't apparent that the query is being handled by the summary folder, instead of the base data tables. The net result is quick response times for queries and accurate results.
Glossary-20
summary table Results from a query, listing information in table format. summary wizard A predefined set of steps in Administration Edition that query the user for the information and choices needed to create a summary folder fro summary redirection of end user queries. syntax The orderly system by which commands, qualifiers, and parameters are combined to form valid command strings.
T table 1. A named collection of related information, stored in a relational database or server, in a two-dimensional grid that is made up of rows and columns. 2. A sheet layout that arranges items in columns. Items appear in the top axis. Use a table to list all information that fits the query criteria, such as sales transactions for the last month. See: crosstab. tabular A default layout displaying labels at the top of the page and rows of data underneath the labels. task list A window in Administration Edition that lists each task for creating a comprehensive business area in logical order. It is helpful in keeping track of the tasks to complete. Click on a task to invoke its respective wizard to help you complete the task. TCP Acronym for Transmission Control Protocol. The underlying communication protocol for exchanging HTTP requests between clients and Web servers. tear-off menu A submenu that the user can remove from its source using a mouse or other pointing device and drag to another part of the display screen.
Glossary-21
text item In Form Builder, an item that displays a character string value. title bar The horizontal area at the top of a window that displays the name of the application or interface element in that window. toggle To turn a setting alternately on or off. For example, you can hide or show the Toolbar. tool An iconic button used to create and manipulate objects in an application. toolbar Collection of iconic buttons that perform product commands. Usually aligned horizontally along the top, or vertically down the side of a window. tool palette A collection of tools total The result of a calculation that summarizes data in a sheet. Examples of totals are minimum, maximum, average, and sum. trailer A optional report region that can contain closing material for the report, including text, graphics, data, and computations. The report trailer appears last, following the header and body. transaction A sequence of SQL statements treated as a single unit. trigger A PL/SQL procedure that is executed, or "fired," upon a specific event.
Glossary-22
type A description of a file type, such as a form, a document, etc., containing such information as type name and description. Each description applies to a single file type. In addition, there are four meta-types: "updtext", which applies to all text files, updproj which applies to all project files, updlink, which applies to all project links, and "all" which applies to any file type. Types are the foundation for defining actions and macros.
U user exit A way in which to pass control (and possibly arguments) from Developer/2000 to another Oracle product or 3GL, and then return control (and possibly arguments) back to Developer/ 2000. user ID a unique character string used to access a database. A user ID always has an associated password. When logging onto an Oracle database, a person must have an authorized user ID and password.
V variable A named object that can be assigned a value and whose assigned value may change over time. W wildcard A character used to mean 'any one character' or 'a contiguous set of characters' within a word or phase. window A rectangular area of the desktop that contains an application. Each window has an area where you can interact with the application. Windows can be opened, resized, moved, reduced to an icon, or enlarged to fill the entire desktop.
Glossary-23
work area A window in Administration Edition which is the view into the End User Layer. Use the work area window to work with each business areas in the End User Layer. It is where you can create new business areas and folders, move items from one folder to another, and create and edit items. Essentially, everything you do that affects the End User Layer is done in the work area. workbook A collection of worksheets in Discoverer Plus. Workbooks are essentially documents containing query definitions, which can be stored in database tables, network file server and shared with other Discoverer Plus users over a network. They can also be stored on your PC. worksheet The way Discoverer displays the results of your query. The Worksheet also contains the query to be executed against the End User Layer. Multiple worksheets are stored in a Workbook.
Z zoom To expand an object to allow more room for editing the contents of the field.
Glossary-24
Index
Symbols
% wildcard, 7-6, 7-9 /apps_fndnam, D-13 /apps_grant_details, D-31 /apps_gwyuid, D-13 /apps_responsibility, D-31 /apps_security_group, D-31 /apps_user, D-14, D-15 /asm, D-22 /asm_tablespace, D-31 /audit_info, D-32 /cmdfile, D-10 /create_eul, D-16 < > operator, 11-4 < operator, 11-4 <= operator, 11-4 = operator, 11-4 > operator, 11-4 >= operator, 11-4 items to complex folders, 4-60, 4-63 items to folders, 3-10 items to hierarchies, 4-66, 4-68, 4-75 items to joins, 11-3, 11-7 objects to business areas, 7-5 tables and views to business areas, 7-10 address records, 4-56 Administration Edition, 1-2 access rights and privileges, 8-1 insufficient, A-23 client errors, A-1 described, 1-5 main window, 3-6, 4-16 Administration privilege, 8-2 administrators, xxi maintaining assigned privileges, 8-10, 17-25 maintaining EUL, 5-8 predefining items, 12-4 role defined, 1-1, 1-9 setting up EUL, 1-10 tasks summarized, 1-9 aggregate calculations, 12-2 to 12-3 defined, 12-2 restrictions, 12-3 aggregate derived items, 12-2 defined, 12-3 aggregate functions examples, 12-2 mixing levels, A-4 nesting, 12-3, A-13 aggregate icon, 3-11 aggregated detail items, 4-82 aggregated items examples, 4-57
A
access rights, 5-2, 8-1 and external summaries, 15-20 creating summaries and, 2-6, 15-20 tutorial, 4-17 to 4-24 accessing business areas, 8-1 data, 1-5, 8-1 online help, 3-20 PL/SQL functions, 12-13 adding folders to business areas, 3-10, 6-9
Index-1
summary tables and, 15-19 viewing, 3-11 aliases, 6-8 alphabetical listing of errors, A-1 Alternative Sort tab, 10-16 alternative sorts, 1-8, 10-3 changing sort sequences, 10-16 tutorial, 4-49 viewing attributes, 3-16 analysis, 1-9, 4-37 item hierarchies and, 14-6 simplifying, 4-60, 4-85 ANALYZE TABLE command, C-2 applications Discoverer components and, 1-4 launching external, 4-79, 4-80 workbook scheduling and, 9-2 Applications Mode EUL, D-12 Apply button, 4-26 Arguments tab (PL/SQL), 12-15 arithmetic operations, 3-11 invalid types in, A-23 ASM about, 16-2 advanced settings, 16-18 after loading a business area, 7-11 allocate space for summaries, 16-15 analyze, 16-18 analyze folders, 16-10 ASM policy, 16-5 bulk load, 16-4 creating summary folders, 16-8 deletion, 16-23 executing, 16-2 external summary deletion, 16-25 folders, 16-19 launch summary wizard, 16-9 performance verses coverage, 16-7 permission to analyze folders, 16-4 policy advanced settings, 16-6 space options, 16-5 query usage, 16-22 query user, 16-20 recommended summaries, 16-17
works on EUL as a whole, 16-4 assigning items to date hierarchies, 4-76 rights and privileges End User Layer, 5-2 tutorial, 4-17 to 4-24 user IDs to databases, 7-6 attributes, 3-17 assigning to business areas, 7-11 viewing, 3-16 auto-load options, 4-12 automated summary management asm, 16-1 auto-starting with tasklist, 3-6 AVG function, 12-2, 12-4 axis item icon, 3-11 axis items, 7-12 aggregates and, 12-2, 12-3 in reports, 4-89 selecting, 3-11 setting display sequence, 4-42 summary tables and, 15-18 axis position options, 3-11
B
batchusr.sql, 2-3 BFILE - Content Type, 10-7 bulk load asm, 16-4 running ASM after, 16-4 bulk loads, 4-14 business area icon, 3-9 business areas, 3-5, 7-2 accessing, 8-1 tutorial, 4-17 to 4-24 adding folders, 3-10, 6-9, 6-15 bulk loading, 4-14 changing tutorial, 4-25 to 4-31 closing, 3-10 creating, 3-10, 7-3 prerequisites, 7-2 tutorial, 4-7 to 4-15 with tasklist, 3-6
Index-2
creation errors, A-8 defined, 1-6 designing, 7-2 formatting defaults, 7-11 hiding items, 4-41, 4-42 inaccessible, A-45, A-46 loading objects, 7-5 loading tables and views, 4-10 to 4-11, 7-10 naming, 7-13 opening, 3-10, 7-3, 7-14 overview, 1-6 to 1-7 removing folders, 6-18 reordering folders, 6-17 terms defined, 1-7 viewing structure and content, 3-8 business example, 4-1 buttons (toolbar), 3-19
C
calculated items, 12-4 creating tutorial, 4-55 to 4-57 creating joins with, 11-7 calculations, 6-2, 12-1 creating tutorial, 4-55 examples, 4-56 aggregates, 12-2, 12-3 derived items, 12-2, 12-3 restrictions for aggregate, 12-3 syntactical reference, 12-7 types described, 12-1 calculations, getting more information, 12-5 Cartesian products, 11-6 case storage attribute, A-16 catch-all summaries, 15-18 changing business areas tutorial, 4-25 to 4-31 condition type, 13-2 content types, 4-79 item names in complex folders, 6-5 options in dialogs, 4-26 property settings, 6-10
characters, 4-68 invalid, A-12 choosing data sources, 7-3, 7-14 items for item classes, 4-46 for summary reports, 4-88, 4-89 from list of values, 4-48 in hierarchies, 4-68, 4-75 menu commands, 3-19 circular references, A-13 client errors, A-1 client/server applications Discoverer components and, 1-4 workbook scheduling and, 9-2 closing business areas, 3-10 dialog boxes, 4-26 tasklist, 3-6 columns, 1-6, 1-7, 4-29, 4-79, 6-2 aliasing expressions in, 6-8 analyzing details, 2-11 mapping to summary tables example, 15-18 tutorial, 4-89 resizing, A-4 command line interface /aggregate, D-30 /all, D-30, D-31 /asm, D-32 /audit_info, D-32 /ba_link, D-32 /business_area, D-32 /capitalize, D-32 /cmdfile, D-10 /condition, D-33 /connect, D-11 /create_eul, D-16 /date_hierachy, D-33 /db_link, D-18, D-33 /delete, D-19, D-21, D-26 /delete_eul, D-20 /description, D-33 /developer_key, D-35 /eul, D-34
Index-3
/export, D-28 /folder, D-34 /function, D-34 /hier_node, D-34 /hierarchy, D-34 /import, D-27 /insert_blanks, D-35 /item, D-35 /item_class, D-35 /join, D-36 /keep_folder, D-36 /keep_format_properties, D-36 /load, D-17 /log, D-36, D-37 /lov, D-37 /multi_commit, D-37 /object, D-37 /overwrite, D-38 /password, D-38 /private, D-38 /refresh_bus_area, D-23 /refresh_summary, D-22, D-24, D-25 /remove_prefix, D-39 /rename, D-39 /source, D-39, D-40 /summary, D-40 /user, D-40 /workbook, D-41 case-sensitivity, D-3 change existing standard database user to an Oracle Applications user, D-14 command rules, D-3 connect as an Oracle Applications user, D-15 command-line interface, D-1 command-line options, D-1 syntax, D-4 commits, 8-14 complex folder icon, 3-10 complex folders, 6-1 to 6-5 adding items, 3-10, 4-60, 4-63 creating, 4-60 to 4-65 mandatory conditions and, 6-5, 13-2 Conceptually Identical Objects, 7-19 condition icon, 3-11 conditions, 3-17
adding multiple join, 11-4 aggregates and, 12-3 calculated items and, 12-8 changing type, 13-2 creating tutorial, 4-63 to 4-65 creation errors, A-9, A-20, A-39 displaying existing, 3-11 duplicate names, A-2 invalid, A-4 mandatory, 6-3 types described, 13-2 Confirm Folder Delete dialog, 6-18, 10-24, 11-12, 1211, 13-11, 14-17, 15-51 CONNECT BY clauses (SQL), 6-8 Connect dialog box, 3-2 connect.cmd, D-6 connection errors, A-20, A-45 connections, D-6 getting information about, 3-20 Content Type avi, 10-7 BFILE, 10-7 BLOB, 10-7 CLOB, 10-7 LCLOB, 10-7 Content Type property usage tutorial, 4-79 copied items, 4-60, 6-3 Copy command, 6-3 copying folders, 6-3 corrupted files, fixing, A-12, A-31 Cost optimizer, 2-11 Create EUL Wizard, 5-5, 5-6 Create Procedure privilege, 2-3 Create Subquery option, 6-8 Create Table privilege, 2-3 Create View privilege, 2-3 create.cmd, D-6 creating business areas, 3-10, 7-3 prerequisites, 7-2 tutorial, 4-7 to 4-15 with tasklist, 3-6 custom folders, 6-6
Index-4
folders for summary reports, 4-85 tutorial for complex, 4-60 to 4-65 hierarchies, 3-12 tutorial, 4-66 item classes, 3-14, 3-17, 10-2 tutorial, 4-45 to 4-48 joins, 11-7 from multiple items, 11-7 to 11-8 tutorial, 4-37 to 4-40 with calculated items, 11-7 list of values, 3-17 for item classes, 10-9 tutorial, 4-44 to 4-49 sort tables, 10-3 summary reports tutorial, 4-85 to 4-92 worksheets, 4-40 cross tab worksheets placing items, 7-12 Custom Folder dialog, 4-33, 6-6 custom folder icon, 3-11 Custom Folder Properties dialog, 6-14 Custom Folder Properties dialog box, 4-35 custom folders aliasing expressions in, 6-8 creating, 6-6 editing SQL statements, 6-13 queries and, 6-8 setting properties, 6-4 tutorial for creating, 4-31 to 4-36 customizing items tutorial, 4-41 to 4-59 cyclic hierarchies, A-6
D
data accessing, 1-5, 8-1 analyzing, 1-9, 4-37, 4-60, 4-85 item hierarchies and, 14-6 in external applications, 4-79, 4-80 retrieving, 6-8 setting character limits, 8-12 with conditions, 4-63 sorting, 1-8, 4-49, 10-3 changing alternate sort sequences,
10-16
viewing alternative attributes, 3-16 storage limits, 2-2 summary tables and, 15-7 viewing, 1-5, 4-16 data integrity, 1-5 data point item icon, 3-11 data point items, 7-12 data points creating, 3-11 data sources, 7-3 Oracle Designer and, 7-14 Data tab, 3-8 to 3-9 data types axis items and, 7-12 incompatible, A-3 invalid, A-6, A-20, A-23, A-30, A-41, A-45 database administrators, xxi Database Information command, 2-9, 3-20 database links, 7-6 database servers connection errors, A-20, A-45 reducing load, C-1 testing operational parameters, 2-10 databases, 1-2, 1-5 access rights and privileges, 8-1 connecting to, 3-2 defining hierarchical relationships, 14-1 duplicate links, A-7 generated values and, 1-8 invalid links, A-30 loading tables, 7-7 non-Oracle, 1-9 calculations and, 6-3 creating EULs, 5-4 workbook scheduling and, 2-1 row retrieval limits, 8-12 setting data limits, 2-2 date hierarchies, 4-68 associating with items, 4-76 automating creation of, 4-74 creating tutorial, 4-74 to 4-77 invalid date formats, A-30 moving through, 4-78 selecting items, 4-75
Index-5
viewing, 3-13 Date Hierarchy changing a Template, 14-15 items removed, 14-15 Date Hierarchy Template - applying to a Date Item, 1415 date hierarchy template folder icon, 3-14 date hierarchy templates, 4-74 viewing, 3-14 Date Items - applying Date Hierarchy Templates, 14-15 date template icon, 3-14 date templates, 14-3 dates invalid types, A-41, A-45 DBMS_JOB package, 2-1, 15-20 installing, 2-1, 2-5 not installed, A-38, A-41 DBMS_JOB queue, 2-4 controlling, 8-14 pending jobs, 2-4 DECIMALS, 7-12 defaults axes display, 4-42 date hierarchies, 14-4 formatting, 7-11 privileges, 8-4, 8-5, 8-9, 17-19, 17-21, 17-24 properties, 1-8 delete.cmd, D-6 deleting End User Layers, 5-8 folders from business areas, 6-18 demonstration database, 4-1 dependencies, missing, A-21 derived items, 12-2 aggregate, 12-2, 12-3 defined, 12-2 PL/SQL functions and, 12-13 descriptions business areas, 7-13 tutorial for adding, 4-25 folders tutorial for adding, 4-26 item classes changing, 10-17 items
tutorial for adding, 4-29 joins, 11-4 maximum length, A-7 detail folders changing items, 11-6 detail items adding to joins, 11-4 creating, 4-38 drilling to, 10-4 tutorial, 4-82 joins and, 11-2, 11-7 null values and, 11-5 reassigning, 11-6 with no master, 11-5 Detail to Master icon, 11-7 detail-to-master join icon, 3-11 detail-to-master joins, 3-11 viewing primary/foreign keys, 3-11 dialog boxes, 4-26 selecting options, 4-26 dictionary, 7-4, 7-5 options, 7-7 dis4adm.exe, D-6 Discoverer components, 1-2 to 1-4 getting help, 1-11 internal errors, A-24 overview, 1-1 to 1-7 Discoverer 4i Plus, 1-5 Discoverer 4i Viewer, 1-5 Discoverer Plus, 1-2 described, 1-5 enabling query prediction, 2-9 selecting values in list, 4-48 viewing conditions, 4-65 displaying default privileges, 8-4, 8-5, 8-9, 17-19, 17-21, 17-24 documentation typographical conventions, xxi drilling, 1-8 setting drilldown sequence, 14-6 through hierarchies, 3-12 tutorial, 4-66, 4-72, 4-74 through summary reports, 4-82 to detail items, 10-4
Index-6
tutorial, 4-82 drill-to-detail item classes, 4-82, 10-4 tutorial for creating, 4-82 duplicate database links, A-7 duplicate names conditions, A-2 formulas, A-13 joins, A-3 summary tables, A-7 duplicating items, 4-60
E
Edit Calculation dialog, 4-56 Edit Custom Folder dialog, 4-35, 6-14 Edit Item Class dialog, 4-83 edit items in the business area, 8-2 editing SQL statements, 4-34 to 4-36, 6-4, 6-13 EEX file format, 7-19 equality, 11-4 equi-joins, 4-39, 11-4 equivalent values, 4-39 error messages, A-1 errors, A-1 found by database, A-37 undocumented, A-2 with no messages, A-35, A-44 EUL, 1-2, 5-1 corrupted files, A-12, A-31 creating for existing users, 5-4 deleting, 5-8 described, 1-5 granting access rights, 5-2 installing tutorial, 5-6, 5-8, 5-11, 5-12 multiple copies, 5-14 insufficient access privileges, A-23 internal errors, A-24 maintaining, 5-8 ownership, 5-2 PL/SQL functions and, 12-13 prerequisites for setting up, 1-10 removing folders, 6-19 removing tutorial, 5-14 to 5-16
retrieving list of values, 4-47 tables inaccessible, A-19, A-45 tables incompatible, A-45 tables invalid, A-39 unable to obtain lock, A-44 unrecognized token, A-44 EUL Gateway, 7-5 how to set up an EUL Gateway, 7-4 EUL Manager, 5-3 creating EULs, 5-5 installing tutorial, 5-14 opening, 5-4 uninstalling tutorial, 5-15 EUL Manager command, 5-4 EUL_DATE_TRUNC function, 14-12 example database, 4-1 EXECUTE access, 8-1 Export EUL Elements, 5-10 export workbooks, 5-10 expressions, 15-19 aliases in column, 6-8 circular references, A-13 creating for joins, 11-4 external application icons, 4-80 external applications, 4-79, 4-80
F
fan trap detection, 11-6, 11-12 fetching data, 6-8 setting retrieval limits, 8-12 with conditions, 4-63 files fixing corrupted, A-12, A-31 inaccessible system, A-39 unable to save, A-20 unabled to open, A-20 filing cabinet, 3-9 filter icon, 4-65 filters, 4-63 invalid, A-31 folder icons, 3-10, 3-14 Folder Properties sheet, 4-28
Index-7
folders, 1-7, 3-5 adding items, 3-10, 4-60, 4-63 adding to business areas, 3-10, 6-9 copying, 6-3 creating for summary reports, 4-85 tutorial for complex, 4-60 to 4-65 creation errors, A-9 customizing, 6-6 tutorial, 4-31 to 4-36 hierarchies and multiple, 14-6 inaccessible, A-40 linking, 4-37 mandatory conditions and, 6-3 orphan, 6-1 removing from business areas, 6-18 renaming, 4-26 to 4-29 reordering, 6-17 reordering items, 3-10 sharing across business areas, 6-15 types described, 6-1 types in work area, 3-10 viewing, 3-10 viewing existing conditions, 3-11 foreign keys null values and, 11-5 viewing, 3-11 format masks invalid, A-31, A-32 maximum length, A-21 formatting defaults, 7-11 formulas adding to conditions, 13-2 aggregates and, 12-2 circular references, A-13 duplicate names, A-13 editing in custom folders, 6-4 invalid, A-31 invalid operators, A-33 maximum length, A-21 mismatched parentheses, A-13 uncategorized errors, A-14 unfinished, A-14 unknown functions, A-14 unqualified names, A-13
unrecognized items, A-13 functions EUL_DATE_TRUNC, 14-12 invalid, A-22, A-31 joins and, 11-7 nesting, A-13 predefined, 12-13 Functions tab (PL/SQL), 12-14, 12-15
G
Gateway User ID, D-13 gateways, 7-4 refreshing from, 7-27 General tab item classes, 10-17 granting rights and privileges End User Layer, 5-2 tutorial, 4-17 to 4-24 graphs, 4-42 grouping users, 4-18 GWYUID, D-13
H
help, 1-8, 1-11, 4-2 Help Topics command, 3-20 hiding items, 4-41, 4-42 hierarchical relationships, 14-1 hierarchies, 1-8 adding items, 4-66, 4-68, 4-75 changing item content type, 4-79 creating, 3-12 tutorial, 4-66 cyclic, A-6 display options, 3-13 displaying nodes, 3-12 drilling through, 3-12 tutorial, 4-66, 4-72, 4-74 duplicate items, A-41 grouping items, 4-73 moving through, 4-71, 4-78 multi-parent, A-41 multiple folders and, 14-6 node creation errors, A-35
Index-8
node deletion errors, A-40 queries and, 14-3 setting drilldown sequence, 14-6 summary reports and, 15-19 viewing definitions, 3-12 Hierarchies tab, 3-12 to 3-13 hierarchy icon, 3-14 hierarchy templates, 3-14, 4-74 viewing, 3-12 Hierarchy Wizard selecting items from multiple folders, 14-6 tutorial, 4-66 hints, 6-8 HTML documents, 4-79 hyperdrilling, 1-8, 10-4 See also drill-to-detail item classes
I
icons, 3-5 external applications, 4-80 toolbar, 3-19 work area, 3-9 Identifiers, 7-18 using to match objects, 7-22 Impact dialog box opening, 6-19, 7-26, 10-24, 11-12, 12-11, 13-11, 1417, 15-51 Import Business Area dialog, 7-19 Import command, 7-19 Import PL/SQL Functions dialog, 12-16 Import Wizard element match actions, 7-21 element match options, 7-21 error messages, 7-23 Import log, 7-23 starting, 7-19 Step 1, 7-20 Step 2, 7-20 Step 3, 7-23 using, 7-19 importing EUL elements, 7-18 importing PL/SQL functions, 12-13, 12-15 inaccessible folders, A-40
incompatible data types, A-3 inequality, 11-4 INIT<SID>.ORA file, 2-4 job_queue_interval parameter, 2-4 optimizer_mode parameter, 2-11 timed_statistics parameter, 2-10 initialization file, 2-4 INITORCL.ORA, 2-5 Inline Views, E-6 input, 1-8 Install the Tutorial Wizard, 5-12 to 5-14 installation DBMS_JOB package, 2-1, 2-5 tutorial, 5-6, 5-8, 5-11 errors during, 5-12 multiple copies, 5-14 integers, 7-12 internal errors, A-24 invalid argument names, A-29 invalid characters, A-12 invalid conditions, A-4 invalid data types, A-6, A-20, A-23, A-30, A-41, A-45 invalid formulas, A-31 invalid functions, A-22, A-31 item class icon, 3-17 Item Class Wizard tutorial for creating classes, 4-45 to 4-48 tutorial for drilling, 4-82 item classes alternative sorts and, 4-49, 10-4 creating, 3-14, 3-17, 10-2 for list of values, 10-9 tutorial, 4-45 to 4-48 defined, 10-2 display options, 3-15 displaying associated items, 3-15, 3-17 folders inaccessible, A-40 overview, 10-2 to 10-4 renaming, 10-17 selecting items, 4-46 viewing values, 3-17 Item Classes tab, 3-14 to 3-17 Item Formula property, 6-4 item group icon, 3-17 item hierarchies, 4-68
Index-9
creating complex, 4-72 tutorial, 4-66 to 4-74 selecting items, 4-68 viewing, 3-13 Item Properties sheet, 4-30 items, 1-7 adding to complex folders, 4-60, 4-63 adding to folders, 3-10 adding to hierarchies, 4-66, 4-68, 4-75 adding to joins, 11-3, 11-7 alternative sorts and, 10-4 assigning to date hierarchies, 4-76 calculations and predefined, 12-4 case storage attribute, A-16 changing content type, 4-79 creation errors, A-9 custom folders and, 6-4 customizing tutorial, 4-41 to 4-59 displaying associated class, 3-15 displaying in folders, 3-10 hiding, 4-41, 4-42 naming, 3-10 PL/SQL functions and, 12-13 placing on cross tabs, 7-12 renaming, 4-29, 6-5 reordering, 3-10 selecting for item classes, 4-46 for summary reports, 4-88, 4-89 from list of values, 4-48 setting display axes, 4-42 setting properties, 10-2 sharing similar attributes, 10-2 style attribute, troubleshooting, A-19
aggregate calculations and, 12-3 available operators, 11-4 calculated items and, 12-8 combining equivalent values, 4-39 complex folders and, 6-2 conditions adding multiple, 11-4 creating, 11-7 multi-item, 11-7 to 11-8 tutorial, 4-37 to 4-40 with calculated items, 11-7 creation errors, A-10, A-32 custom folders and, 6-7 defining outer, 11-4, 11-5 duplicate names, A-3 invalid attributes, A-40 multiple paths, A-40 naming, 11-4 null values and, 11-5 selecting primary items, 11-3
L
language setting - Oracle Applications, 17-8 launching external applications, 4-79, 4-80 links database to user, 7-6 duplicate database, A-7 invalid database, A-30 list of values, 10-2 creating, 3-17 for item classes, 10-9 tutorial, 4-44 to 4-49 displaying attributes, 3-16 getting from EUL, 4-47 querying, 6-8 selecting, 10-15 selecting items, 4-48 list of values icon, 3-17 List of Values tab, 10-15 literals, 11-7 load options, 4-7, 4-12 Load Wizard, 3-4 tutorial, 4-7 to 4-15 loading tables, 7-7
J
job_queue_interval parameter, 2-4 job_queue_processes parameter, 2-4 Join command, 11-3 join icons, 3-11, 11-7 Join Options dialog, 11-5 joins adding detail items, 11-4
Index-10
tutorial, 4-10 to 4-11 lossless joins, 11-5
M
main window, 3-6, 4-16 Manage Folders dialog, 6-15, 6-16 mandatory conditions, 6-3 changing status, 13-2 optional condition vs., 13-2 manual registration (PL/SQL), 12-13 Manuals command, 3-20 many-to-many joins, 11-2 many-to-one joins, 11-7 many-to-one relationships, 3-11 mapping columns example, 15-18 tutorial, 4-89 master folders adding items, 11-3 changing items, 11-6 master items in multi-item joins, 11-7 reassigning, 11-6 selecting, 11-3 Master to Detail icon, 11-7 master-detail relationships, 11-2 master-to-detail join icon, 3-11 master-to-detail joins, 3-11 viewing primary/foreign keys, 3-11 mathematical operations, 3-11 invalid types in, A-23 measure items, 4-89 menus, 3-7 shortcuts for choosing, 3-19 metadata, 1-5, 4-79 choosing source, 7-3 Oracle Designer and, 7-14 metalayer, 1-5 mismatched data types, A-3 mismatched parentheses, A-13 missing dependencies, A-21 moving through hierarchical structures, 4-78 moving through hierarchies, 4-71 Multi-item button, 11-7
multi-item joins, 11-7 to 11-8 multi-parent hierarchies, A-41 multiple folders creating item hierarchies, 14-6 multiple work area views, 4-61
N
name conflicts, A-1, A-21, A-34 names (maximum length), A-35 names with numeric suffixes, 4-60 naming business areas, 7-13 items, 3-10 joins, 11-4 PL/SQL functions, A-22 navigating hierarchies, 4-71, 4-78 nested aggregates, 12-3 New Condition dialog box Advanced options, 13-7 New Join dialog, 4-37, 11-3 to 11-7 opening, 11-6 New Multi-Item Join dialog, 11-7, 11-8 New Multi-item Join dialog, 11-4 New Window command, 4-61 NLS, 17-8 non-Oracle databases, 1-9 calculations and, 6-3 creating EULs, 5-4 workbook scheduling and, 2-1 non-standard sorts, 4-49 null values detail items and, 11-5 troubleshooting, A-36, A-40 NUMBER data types, 7-12 numeric items, 4-68 comparing, 13-6, 13-8 range errors, A-37 numeric suffixes, 4-60 numeric values, 3-11
O
objects, 3-5, 3-10 adding to business areas, 7-5
Index-11
assigning attributes, 7-11 renaming, 6-10 ODBC, 3-3 ODBC-specific SQL statements, 6-7 OK button, 4-26 one-to-many joins displaying, 11-7 one-to-many relationships, 3-11 one-to-one joins, 11-2 creating, 11-6 on-line dictionary, 7-4, 7-5 options, 7-7 online help, 1-8, 1-11, 4-2 accessing, 3-20 Open Business Area dialog, 7-15, 7-16 opening business areas, 3-10, 7-3, 7-14 multiple work areas, 4-61 tasklist, 3-6 operators, 4-31, 4-56, 11-4 invalid, A-33 set, 6-7 optimizer, C-1 enabling, 2-11 optimizer hints, 6-8 optimizer_mode parameter, 2-11 optional conditions changing status, 13-2 mandatory condition vs., 13-2 Oracle Applications Applications table cannot be found, A-46 configuring the Connect dialog, 17-3 Connect dialog, 17-15 connect to Discoverer, 17-15 Profiles, 17-8 Oracle Applications User change existing standard database user to, D-14 connect as, D-15 connection options, D-13 Oracle Designer error when loading, A-14 inaccessible repository, A-40 loading metadata from, 7-14 tables unavailable, A-7 orphan folders
defined, 6-1 outer joins, 11-4, 11-5 owners End User Layer, 5-2 name too long, A-37 not specified, A-38
P
package names, troubleshooting, A-38 page axis, 4-42 parameters scheduled workbooks, 2-4 timed statistics, 2-10 with no associated values, A-35 Partially Restricted Tables option, 7-8 pending jobs, 2-4 percentages, 4-55, 4-59 periodic refresh intervals, 4-91 personnel records, 4-57 PL/SQL functions creation errors, A-9 importing, 12-13, 12-15 invalid argument names, A-29 invalid package names, A-38 naming, A-22 naming arguments, A-3 registering, 12-13 automatically, 12-15 return type invalid, A-33 unknown, A-14 PL/SQL support, 15-20, A-45 pop-up menus, 3-7 predefined functions, 12-13 primary keys viewing, 3-11 printing reports, 9-2 private EULs, 4-2 Private Tables option, 7-8 privileges complex folders and, 6-3 creating external summaries, 15-20 creating summaries and, 2-6, 15-20 displaying default, 8-4, 8-5, 8-9, 17-19, 17-21, 17-24 End User Layer, 5-2
Index-12
insufficient, A-23, A-42 tutorial, 4-17 to 4-24 Privileges dialog, 4-17 Privileges tab, 8-7 usage tutorial, 4-17 to 4-22 profiles, A-42 properties complex folders and, 4-63 custom folders, 6-4 default, 1-8 items, 10-2 saving changes automatically, 6-10 PUBLIC responsibility, 17-24 Public role, 8-4, 8-5, 8-9, 17-19, 17-21 Public Tables option, 7-8
Q
queries, 1-5, 5-2, 15-17 against scheduled workbooks, 8-14 aggregates and, 12-3, 12-4 analyzing usage, 15-9 canceling, 8-12 conditions and, 13-1 expressions and, 15-19 fan trap detection, 11-6 folder definitions and subqueries, 6-8 frequently run, 15-18 hierarchies and, 14-3 misleading or incorrect results returned, optimizing, 4-85, 6-8, C-1 performance predictions, C-1 enabling, 2-9 unavailable, 2-9 summary tables and, 11-5 Query Governor tab usage tutorial, 4-21 Query Statistics Business Area, 15-9
11-2
R
range errors, A-37 ratio, computing, 12-3 rdb features not supported,
F-2
software requirements, F-1 RDBMS directory, 2-2, 2-6 referenced items, 6-3, 6-5 refresh intervals creation errors, A-30, A-37 tutorial for setting, 4-91 refresh sets, 3-18 Register PL/SQL Functions command, 12-14, 12-15 registering PL/SQL functions, 12-13 automatically, 12-15 reinstalling tutorial, 5-13, 5-14 relational databases, 1-2 relationships, 3-14 joins, 11-2 renaming folders, 4-26 to 4-29 item classes, 10-17 items, 4-29, 6-5 objects, 6-10 reordering folder items, 3-10 reports, 1-8, 4-55, 12-4, 14-2, 14-3 creating from hierarchies, 4-71 printing, 9-2 processing requests, 2-4 running setting start time, 2-4 repository, 2-3 inaccessible, A-40 specifying users, 2-4, 8-13 tables unavailable warning, A-7 Repository User property, 2-3 requests, 2-4 resizing columns, A-4 restricted tables, 7-8 result sets, 4-31, 9-1 complex folders and, 6-3 custom folders and, 6-3 storing, 2-2 right-click menus, 3-7 roles, 4-18 granting rights and privileges, 8-1 tutorial, 4-18 rows, 1-7 setting retrieval limits, 8-12 Rule optimizer, 2-11
Index-13
running scheduled workbooks, 2-1 process described, 9-2 setting start time, 2-4
S
sample database, 4-1 scheduled workbooks output, 9-1 Scheduled Workbooks tab usage tutorial, 4-22 scheduling workbooks process described, 9-2 setting parameters, 2-4 timed intervals for, 2-4 schemas, 6-3 defined, 7-9 owners, 7-9 workbook scheduling and, 2-2, 2-3 scripts (workbook scheduling), 2-3 Secure Views, 17-7 security, 1-9 complex folders and, 6-3 Security dialog, 4-17 usage tutorial, 4-23 to 4-24 SELECT access, 8-1 SELECT ANY TABLE access, 2-4 Select Items tab, 10-16 SELECT statements, 6-7, 6-8 selecting data sources, 7-3, 7-14 items for item classes, 4-46 for summary reports, 4-88, 4-89 from list of values, 4-48 in hierarchies, 4-68, 4-75 menu commands, 3-19 servers connection errors, A-20, A-45 reducing load, C-1 testing operational parameters, 2-10 set operators, 4-31 example, 6-7 setting properties complex folders and, 4-63
custom folders, 6-4 items, 10-2 Show menu hierarchies, 3-13 item classes, 3-15 side axis, 4-42 similar values, 3-17 simple folder icon, 3-10 simple folders, 6-2 adding to business areas, 3-10 sort tables, 10-3 sorting data, 1-8 changing alternate sort sequences, 10-16 defining alternate sorts, 10-3 tutorial, 4-49 viewing alternative attributes, 3-16 spreadsheets, 4-42 SQL commands ANALYZE TABLE, C-2 CONNECT BY, 6-8 SELECT, 6-7, 6-8 SQL functions, 15-19 naming arguments, A-3 SQL scripts, 2-3 SQL statements, 1-5, 4-31, 5-2 aggregates and, 12-3, 12-4 conditions and, 13-1, 13-7 custom folders and, 6-4, 6-8 editing, 6-4, 6-13 joins and, 11-6 ODBC-specific, 6-7 optimizing, C-1 parsing, A-11 tutorial for editing, 4-34 to 4-36 SQL*Net, 1-5, 5-2 SQL*Plus, 10-3 starting external applications, 4-79, 4-80 static values, 12-2 statistics, 2-11 storing data, 2-2 storing result sets, 2-2 subqueries, 6-8 SUM function, 12-2, 12-4 summaries refresh following import/export to and from pre-8.1.6/
Index-14
8.1.6+ databases, 15-50 Summaries tab, 3-18 summary combinations building, 4-89, 15-18 creation errors, A-36 frequently run queries and, 15-18 mapping errors, A-4 summary folder icon, 3-18 summary folders, 15-3 creating tutorial, 4-85 to 4-92 setting up, 15-19, 15-20 summary items, 3-18 Summary Management feature, 15-20 summary reports creation errors, A-10 drilling through, 4-82 hierarchies and, 15-19 periodic refresh intervals, 4-91 selecting items, 4-88, 4-89 tutorial for creating, 4-85 to 4-92 summary tables, 15-17 displaying refresh sets, 3-18 duplicate names, A-7 mapping columns to example, 15-18 tutorial, 4-89 required privileges, 2-6, 15-20 running queries against, 11-5 updating, 4-91, 15-7 Summary Wizard, 15-3 tutorial, 4-85 to 4-92 summary wizard automated summary management(asm), 16-4 need to connect as the EUL owner, 16-4 synonyms, 4-31, 6-7 unresolved, A-44 system administrators, xxi system files, inaccessible, A-39 System Generated command, 3-13, 3-16 system-generated hierarchies, 3-13 system-generated item classes, 3-16
T
tables, 1-6, 3-10 access rights and privileges, 8-1 analyzing content, 2-11 creating joins from multiple items, 11-7 to 11-8 with calculated items, 11-7 creation errors, A-42 inaccessible, A-19, A-45 invalid, A-39 loading, 7-7 tutorial, 4-10 to 4-11 setting row retrieval limits, 8-12 tables and views adding to business areas, 7-10 tablespaces, 5-8, 5-14 tasklist, 3-6 templates, 4-74, 14-3 text items, 3-11, 4-68 timed intervals for scheduled workbooks, 2-4 timed_statistics parameter, 2-10 tokens (unrecognized), A-44 toolbar, 3-19 top axis, 4-42 transactions, 1-2 tutorial, 4-1 installing, 5-6, 5-8, 5-11 errors during, 5-12 multiple copies, 5-14 installing the tutorial data, 5-10 make note of password, 5-13 reusing, 4-93 uninstalling, 5-13, 5-14 to 5-16
U
unavailable messages, 2-9 uncategorized errors, A-14 undocumented errors, A-2 Uninstall the Tutorial Wizard, 5-15 uninstalling tutorial, 5-13, 5-14 to 5-16 unique values, 3-17 unknown Discoverer version, A-44 unmatched data types, A-3 unrecognized tokens, A-44
Index-15
unresolved synonyms, A-44 updating summary tables, 15-7 User Defined command, 3-13, 3-16 user IDs, 4-18, 7-8 attaching to databases, 7-6 maximum length, A-37 tutorial, 5-10 user profiles, A-42 user requirements, 1-10 User/Role tab usage tutorial, 4-20 user-defined hierarchies, 3-13 user-defined item classes, 3-16 user-defined PL/SQL functions, 12-13 users, 4-18 creating tablespaces for new, 5-8 granting rights and privileges to multiple, 8-1 tutorial, 4-18 grouping, 4-18 insufficient privileges, A-23, A-42 problems getting current, A-15 specifying repository for, 2-4 Using Help command, 3-20
invalid, A-44 multiple work area, 4-61
W
warnings, A-1 Web pages, 4-79 wildcards, 7-6, 7-9 wizards, 1-8 invoking from tasklist, 3-6 work area, 3-5 icons described, 3-9 overview, 3-5 tabs described, 3-8 usage tutorial, 4-16 working with multiple views, 4-61 workbooks, 1-9 adding calculated items, 12-4 creating worksheets, 4-40 invalid formats, A-31, A-32 processing requests, 2-4 scheduling process described, 9-2 setting parameters, 2-4 timed intervals for, 2-4 storing result sets, 2-2
V
Validate SQL button, 4-33 values, 1-8 derived items and, 12-2 equivalent, 4-39 foreign keys with null, 11-5 similar, 3-17 unique, 3-17 VIDEO4 user, 5-10 viewing conditions, 3-11 data, 1-5, 4-16 default privileges, 8-4, 8-5, 8-9, 17-19, 17-21, 17-24 EUL objects, 3-10 hierarchy templates, 3-12 tasklist, 3-6 views, 1-6, 3-10, 4-16 creation errors, A-42
X
XML import format, 7-19
Index-16

Oracle Discoverer Administrator&#39;s Guide

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Oracle DiscovererTM Administration Edition

Release 4.1 For Windows

December 2000 Part No. A86730-01

2 Setting Up the Database

5 The End User Layer

7.5.3.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 7.9.1 7.10

7-23 7-24 7-24 7-25 7-26 7-27 7-28

8 Access Privileges and Security

10 Items and Item Classes

11-10 11-11 11-12 11-15

16 Automated Summary Management

17 Using Discoverer with Oracle Applications

B The EUL Status Workbooks

Send Us Your Comments

1.1 New Discoverer Features

Discoverer Overview 1-1

Why do you need Discoverer?

1.2 Why do you need Discoverer?

1.2.1 Discoverers Components

Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide

Why do you need Discoverer?

Discoverer Overview 1-3

Why do you need Discoverer?

Figure 11 Discoverer Components

Discoverer for Windows

Discoverer for the Web

Discoverer 4i Viewer Users view data via web browser. HTTP

Discoverer Services SQL*Net

End User Layer

Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide

Why do you need Discoverer?

1.2.2 Discoverer Plus

1.2.3 Discoverer 4i Plus

1.2.4 Discoverer 4i Viewer

1.2.5 Administration Edition

1.2.6 End User Layer (EUL)

Discoverer Overview 1-5

Why do you need Discoverer?

1.2.7 What is a Business Area?

Account Manager Account Analyst 1 Account Analyst 2

Budgets & Finance Business Area

2000 Projects Folder

Project Analysis Business Area

Project Manager Project Leader Assistant Project Leader

Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide

Why do you need Discoverer?

1.2.7.1 Business Area Terminology

DATABASE VIEW OR TABLE

A column becomes an item.

Discoverer Overview 1-7

Discoverer Features and Benefits

1.3 Discoverer Features and Benefits

Define hierarchies between items Define hyperdrills

Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide

Your Role as Discoverer Administrator

Table 11 Administration Edition Features and Benefits Feature Benefits

1.4 Your Role as Discoverer Administrator

Discoverer Overview 1-9

Your Role as Discoverer Administrator

1.4.1 Before You Begin

1.4.2 Next Steps

Oracle Discoverer Administration Edition Administration Guide

Your Role as Discoverer Administrator

Oracle Discoverer Administrator's Guide

Oracle Discoverer Administrator's Guide