Design : what Layout for just a Key Value to restitute ?

[Previous Member]

Hi, 

 

I have a simple question about design on Board 11.

 

I'm trying to duplicate one of my BI app to test the tool (reporting + scorecarding). 

Unfortunately, I can't find a simple Layout: the label (or idk its name in Board). 

Actually, I would have liked to restitute only an entity value (for example, I have an Entity "Age", I just want to show the Age when I select an employee).

 

Let me explain what I mean. I want a page of summary with key information : 

Like this. 

 

But in Board, apart from Dataveiw, charts etc. I can't find a simple object which would lead me to report my information like this. 

 

Thank you by advance, 

Paul Wyatt

Hey C Tnu

 

I'm not sure I fully understand your requirements as you've shown only the measure image and not the screen to put everything into context.  That said, I use several methods to 'reveal' data.  I do appreciate that you will already know and use the under-mentioned techniques individually but I hope I can demonstrate their use in a more'creative' manner to meet your need.  Also, I have an interest in being able to 'pop-out' info in this way, working around some BOARD design issues - I would love to have FLOATING DYNAMIC POP-OUT 'MEASURES' AND 'SPARKLINES' over the top of the screen layout level. 

 

If any of the below techniques interest you, let me know and we can discuss how to achieve what you're after and we could both learn something.  I do realise that you're trying to display a single fact/measure/kpi value but maybe these methods will include a suitable solution you can use, and I was just leaving for the weekend when I saw your post and wanted to provide you with a response?

 

The methods I use are:

• MASTER Selection (Image 1) - Used with multiple hierarchies where I might show PROPERTY with several LEASE records so that the user can select any of the LEASE records to reveal details.  A screen containing PROPERTY details is presented and a dataview is used to present all LEASE records; the underlying cube contains the entities PROPERTY and LEASE.  A LABEL is used which 'hides' the underlying LEASE detail dataviews if there is more than one LEASE record.  The label instructs the user to select a lease to reveal the details of it and allowing for another lease to be selected as required.
• Drillthrough (Image 2) - SQL Script pulling data directly from db.  I don't use this much as it has a few limitations.
• Drilldown (Image 3) - Horizontal to Vertical record display. I use this the most as it allows the user to go on a journey and 'tell the story'.

 

IMAGE 1: MASTER SELECT - Different Hierarchies .  Showing four lease records available to view which are associated to the selected PROPERTY.  FYI: This method is also used to integrate with our external 'Leverton' documents repository for the selected lease - Nice bit of BOARD versatility permitting users to access and upload docs which are not accessible to the developer and allowing for GDPR compliance where required.

 

 

IMAGE 2: DRILLTHROUGH - Used to POP-OUT additional information of a selected entity.  Useful for creating simple pop-outs or inistant datadumps.  One drawback is that the data cannot be pivoted vertically (NB: data can be presented vertically but only with a dedicated SQL script to create such a view.  This brings witht it an additional liability to maintenance and data acuracy checking when expanding or amending the bases structures.)

  

IMAGE 3: DRILLDOWN (multiple) from record > Horizontal > Vertical.  This is my Best Practice Drill and allows for some block formatting.  You must ensure a horizontal and vertical entity is set for this to work - a common developer oversight.

 

Look forward to discussing.

 

Regards,

 

Paul Wyatt

Dietmar Jeschkeit

Hi C Tun,

 

if I understand you right you are searching for an object to show only one specific value ? You can do this with a label. A label can also have a layout and show the value of it.

Just mark the label and on the top roght of your browser you find "configure layout".

 

After Setting the layout you see the value in the label and you can customize the look.

 

Hope it helps

Dietmar

[Previous Member]

Hi !

 

Yes Dietmar Jeschkeit, I'm looking for something like this but I need to have a dynamic object ! 

I want to put an entity and showing data in function of selection. 

For example : the number of employees each months. 

 

It is really simple on all BI softwares but here, this seems to be complicated.. 

Dietmar Jeschkeit

Hi,

 

the value is dynamic. Because it is a layout it depends on the selections on the screen. All you can do in a "normal" layout in a dataview can be done in a label. So build up your layout in a dataview and copy it in the layout of a label.

By the way: Number of employees per month is more a cube value then an entity !

 

BR

Dietmar

Paul Wyatt

Hi C Tnu,

Can I ask, were you aware that you can place layouts into labels and control the output, as Dietmar Jeschkeit has suggested?  The reason I ask is that by understanding your level of experience, the community can provide more appropriate responses; you previously informed me that you were learning BOARD 11 and converting your previous models to it.  I have therefore assumed that you are familiar with common BOARD features, functions and modelling techniques and my responses are of a more technical nature.

 

So, assuming you are familiar with BOARD modelling, what you want to achieve is also easily achievable in BOARD but requrires the correct approach.  From what you've written, I am assuming that you want to display adhoc measures, selected by the user, or influenced by user selections?  If this is the case, My own approach is to create a 'report' layer.  Usually this is a single entity to control the output and a layout containing all relevant measures + the MASTER algorithm which displays the measure relating to the entity member selected.  The method of selection can either be manual from a selector or logically driven.

 

Image 1 below shows a single chart object.  The measure displayed is controlled by a selector [Chart Selection].  In this way, the x axis can will also be relevant to the measure. Whilst my example below is for a chart, it is easy to adapt for a label measure as you've outlined - I just don'ty have time to create a dedicated example, but also think that the principle is easily understood from the example below.

 

Using this method, a SORT on the highest to lowest is always active.  The master algorithm in the layout is used to display whatever measure has been selected.  Image 2 shows the makeup of the layout and the MASTER Algorithm used to select thte relevant metric.

 

IMAGE 1: Single chart object which can show any number of measures.  Note that the x axis is not fixed but is relative to the measure being displayed.  Also note that the SORT order is always High to low (or low to high is preferred).

 

 

 

IMAGE 2: Layout containing all measures and a MASTER algorithm block to display the selected measure.

 

If, on the other hand, this makes no sense or is irrelevant, I'll move along as these are clearly not the methods you're looking for...

 

 

Regards,

 

Paul 

[Previous Member]

Hi Paul Wyatt - Avison Young UK !! Yours answers are always so great and smart. 

First of all, I plead guilty, I am a complete beginner on Board ! I never used Board before. Actually, I had a training on this software but on an older version so I'm lost. 

 

My question was really simple : I don't want any chart or something, I want to show a value which is in my entity (I don't want a sector or anything).  U know, in a lot of BI applications, we just put some remainders with "key figures".  

Really really simple : I have a name and a number of employee. I select a number, I just want to see my employee's name. Nothing else.

 

I will check your answer and try, thnak you again.  

I'm used to work with other BI tools and I'm a bit confused with Board. 

 

 

 

Thks

Paul Wyatt

HI C Tnu,

Thanks for your reply.  Dietmar Jeschkeit has provided you with precisely what you need to achieve your outcome as you described it; a label containing a layout.  I will add that if you were to include an image of your screen in future queries, providing solutions would be very much easier as we can see them in context.  As would any associated images of your layout consstructions and cube structures.

 

As for BOARD vs other BI tools.  BOARD is...special :-).  It took me a period of orientation to understand how to get the best out of it.  I am experienced on a number of industry platforms and struggled in the early days to get satisfactory results from BOARD.  However, I can now build models and features not possible in any other single package.  NEXEL is one of BOARD's secret weapons as it allows new users to carry out complex processes, using their common experience of EXCEL, whilst they are learning how to use BOARD more effectively.

 

I do not know for how long you will be using BOARD but I strongly recommend pushing your organisation to purchase an eLearning licence.  No other BI software provides such a comprehensive video learning platform (over 24hours of real 'start to finish' building and practical examples; Once complete, it genuinely takes the developer from beginner to expert modeller, not just an overview of functions.  The payback is that you will be able to model whole solutions in days instead of weeks and months. 

 

Take it easy C Tnu,

 

Regards.

 

Paul

Dietmar Jeschkeit

Hi,

 

what you want you can get without any Layouts (employee is your entity, code is the number and name is the description - right ?). 

 

Just pick a pager or selector and set it to your entity employee - in settings you can choose seeing code, desc, code and description. So you can see number and name in the pager.

Alternatively you can do it with a selector and set it to Code. Then you create a label with the following text: @Selection_Ex(Entity="employee", Display="Desc") and you will get the name in the label.

 

Have a look at boardmanual: layout_enhancements. @Entityname gives you the members of the selected entity.

 

BR

Dietmar

[Previous Member]

THANK YOU Dietmar Jeschkeit

 

I needed this formula to put in the label, I didn't find it. Perfect ! 

Paul Wyatt - Avison Young UK I didn't know we could add formulas in Layout. You seem to be an expert on Board ! Since how long do you work on it ? , Sorry for my "simple" questions but you're really helping me, I appreciate that ! I'm working on it since a month, a few hours per week, I got other projects..  . Actually we have the eLearning license but the examples are on the older version so I wasn't so motivated but I'll follow your advice and focus on it.

Paul Wyatt

HI C Tnu

Thanks for that but I should say that there are far greater developers than I, as it was from them I learnt what I now know.  I hope my responses have indicated to you how powerful BOARD can be when you understand it.  I've been using this software for about three years but things really started to make sense after I attended the BOARDville 2017 event in Italy.  On my return, I re-built all of the consultant developed models, allowing me to implement a structure which reduced the size of the models by about 75% and enhanced their speed and efficiency immensely. 

 

BOARD released the community website in Feb 2018 and the eLearning package later that year.  I appreciate that the eLearning pack is on a previous version but the principles and techniques are easily transferable.   However, the lessons show you just what can be achieved and would allow you to ask focused questions as alot of the community is either still using it or are proficient in it. 

 

Incidentally, a couple of my personal favourite lessons are:

 

BC03 - BOM: How to use the [R] Entity.   The use of duplicated entities allows me to implement a powerful security layer and produce some really efficient MASTER selections across multiple hierarchies.

 

PR03 (vid 1-3): Roll up, break down and all together.   This technique allows for the creation of objects/reports containing values and text from multiple hierarchies and so allows for the creation of tables that can be sorted on any column as thtere is only one row axis required. 

 

You do not need to fully understand these lessons.  If you can first see what can be done, you can then ask specific questions on the community and its members will be able to help by offering advise at the level you asked for it. 

 

Before long, you will have learnt some core principles and BOARD will just...'pop' open to you.  It's all chedder after that...

 (...I actually have no idea what this means)

 

Regards,

 

Paul

[Previous Member]

I like your cheese expression ! 

 

Ok right, I begin to watch some videos and indeed, they're really interesting and I can see what can be done on Board. 

Thank you, I like when people share experiences ,it's very rewarding.