insightunlimited Designer Express User Guide January 2015

Transcription

1 insightunlimited Designer Express User Guide January 2015 insightunlimited Version: and above Document Version: 1.8 Last Updated: March 3, 2015

2 Table of Contents Introduction... 4 Overview... 4 insightunlimited User Types... 4 Knowledge Required for Designer Express Users... 5 Available Features... 5 Setup in Administrator... 8 Licensing... 8 Data Source Profile Backup and Restore Functionality Importing and Exporting in Administrator Technical Requirements/Recommendations Performance Database Views Requirements for Tables or Database Views to be used in a DX Template Incorporating a New Database View into DX Primary Keys Support Template Design Considerations Defining the Reporting Requirement Know Your Data Building Your Template/Report Creating a New Template Overview of the Required Steps Adding Tables to a Template Defining the Suggested Master Table Joins Page 2 of 59

3 Defining Table Joins Joining to the Same Table Table Options Setting Report Options Double Counting Resolver Define Amount and Quantity Columns Review and Edit the Table and Join Selections Report Layout Publish Security Appendix Appendix: Amount Columns and JDE Decimal Shifting Rules Further Information Contacts Customer Support Notices and Disclaimer Page 3 of 59

4 Introduction Overview insightsoftware.com is an enterprise information company, providing software for Reporting, Planning and Business Performance Management. Our solutions cover: Enterprise Reporting/Inquiry, Analytics (Understand the Business) Financial Consolidation, Management Reporting, Dashboards, KPIs (Manage the Business) Forecasting, Planning, Budgeting, Strategy Management (Predict the Business) insightunlimited Designer is a customizable content creator for JD Edwards and Oracle E-Business Suite users. insightunlimited Designer Express, also referred to as DX, is the Express Edition that enables insightunlimited Designer users to create new templates, through a simple user interface, over standard and custom ERP tables and database views. In these templates, multiple joins can be created to multiple tables. Once a new template is created, users can create reports from the template using standard insightunlimited functionality. It is essential that users who are developing reports using Designer Express are advanced users with an in-depth knowledge of ERP tables, fields and table joins. insightunlimited User Types Reporting Users - Can create ad hoc inquiries and reports using all features related to the report build process; can publish reports to Console Users. Console Users - Have access to published reports through a controlled interface; can drill down through the data and can make selections as published by a Reporting User. Minimal training required. Administrator - Responsible for managing user accounts, database connections, and inquiry permissions. Unlike other types of users, an Administrator may not need to run inquiries, and so does not need a corresponding account with JD Edwards. Designers - Have ability to create custom templates and have in-depth knowledge of JDE table structures, table joins and data plus advanced knowledge of insightunlimited. Designer Express users are licensed to users to access templates created by the designer. Page 4 of 59

5 Knowledge Required for Designer Express Users Designer Express User Designer Power User Use of Designer Express Create custom templates Create reports from custom templates ERP Knowledge Required In-depth knowledge of ERP table structures, table joins, and ERP data required Helpful but not required Console User Run reports No No insightunlimited Knowledge Required Yes advanced knowledge Yes anywhere from basic to advanced knowledge Available Features Designer Express offers many features, including the following: Users can create new templates based on multiple fact tables or database views. There is no double-counting of rows in calculated totals. Several join types can be used: inner, left outer, and right outer. Ability to create unions between tables that have identical fields Option to select either inline or outline views Can combine data regardless of the table relationship: one: one, one: many, many: one or many: many Formatting options are used to define how to display repeating rows. Automatically resolving joins between numeric columns and string columns Can join to the same table multiple times. This can be done only if the table has no amounts defined, for example: o PER_PEOPLE_F Oracle EBS o F0101 Address Book - JDE Suggested Master Table joins are given based on the tables that being chosen, such as the F0006, F0101 and F4101 JDE only There is full language support, except for amount columns JDE only Currency-based decimal shifting is supported JDE only There is automatic language support Oracle EBS only Ability to leverage standard reporting capabilities once a template has been saved: o Descriptions o Hierarchies created manually (not imported) o Default Calculations o User-Defined Captions o Show SQL o Export to Excel/PDF o QBE, or Query by Example (other than for value columns if subtotaling is enabled) o Fixed value selectors o RIO, or Reusable Inquiry Objects (DX objects can be shared between DX reports and templates) Page 5 of 59

6 Ability to use segment definitions such as the chart of account flex fields - Oracle EBS Organization Security is applied automatically in DX reports for those tables that insightunlimited already maps to in our Standard Templates - Oracle EBS DXD users have the ability to set column definitions as a report override or a customer default, the latter being applied to all DX reports. Also within the Column Definitions, DXD users have the ability to manually define a table or fixed list lookup in order provide filter validation, Query Assist support, and Code & Description feature support to end users - Oracle EBS When joining to the same table multiple times, DXD users can re-label the tables so that the end user can easily distinguish them. Ability to define a primary (unique) key in the CustomerPK file located in the install directory DXD users can choose which table in DX report is the 'first' table in the query to which all other tables are joined. The below figure shows the features available in our standard templates and DX Templates. If you are tasked with creating an inquiry, and are unsure whether to use DX or the standard modules, this chart may help you decide. Many custom reporting tools require specialized technical skills like a background in coding or SQL. Designer Express takes the technical complexity out of the process with a simple point-and-click experience. Ultimately, it enables you to create a report/template in minutes, not days. Page 6 of 59

7 Standard Templates: DX Templates: Shipped with the product. Contain a fixed set of tables. Cannot add new tables. Cannot access custom tables. Often include business logic: o Predefined period grouping (ITD, YTD, etc.). o Alternate Joins. o Reconciliation style templates that union tables and show orphan. o Joins that require adjustments to a field for joining (PO Number in AP to PO number in Purchasing). Not shipped with the product. Created at your site. Can access any ERP tables. Can access custom tables and tables outside ERP. Do not include built in logic to handle module specific situations. Best Practice: When first creating DX inquiries, we recommend a DX training workshop where one of our Product Specialists can take you through the process of using DX effectively and help you build your first templates. Page 7 of 59

8 Setup in Administrator Licensing The license key being used must include a license for the Designer Express feature. Then the appropriate license(s) must be assigned to the users who will be using this feature via License Assignments: There are three types of license keys related to Designer Express: 1) Designer Express (DX) - This license is for users who can access and create inquiries based off of the templates created by users with a DXD license. When creating a new inquiry, users with this license will see the Designer Express category under New Inquiry within the Backstage view. All templates created by DX are listed here. Page 8 of 59

9 2) Designer Express Designer (DXD) - This license is for advanced users who create new templates using Designer Express. Users with this license must also have a DX license as well as a Configurator license (CFG) in order to be able to create new templates. With these 3 licenses, users will see the Designer Express category under New Inquiry within the Backstage view. All templates created by DX are listed here, as well as New Template, which is used to create a template from scratch. 3) Designer Express Data Entry (DXE) - This license is for users of Strategic Planning in insightunlimited. This functionality enables end users to design a budget or forecasting input form using any table in JD Edwards incorporated with user-defined data collection columns that hold key driver information for robust modeling. Notes on licensing: Designer Express and insightunlimited Console - Console users do not need a Designer Express (DX) license to view and run reports created in Designer Express. Designer Express and insightunlimited Scheduler - Reports that are created in Designer Express can be run automatically using Scheduler. o Scheduler Admin/User: The person creating the task in Scheduler needs an SCH license but does not need any other license unless they are also going to be set as the Run-As user. o Run-As User: If this user is a Reporting user, then they would need a DX license as well as the appropriate module license in order to run the report. If this user is a Console user, then they would only need a CON license, and can be set up as a Run-As user in insightunlimited release and above. Page 9 of 59

10 Data Source Profile Existing insightunlimited Profiles in Administrator must be updated to incorporate additional information for Designer Express. The first addition is in the Module Selection step as shown below, where Designer Express must be selected if this feature is to be available in this profile. To update the profile: 1) Expand the Data Sources node in the left panel in Administrator. 2) Select the Profiles node under Data Sources. 3) Right-click on the specific Profile and select Edit to launch the profile wizard. 4) In the Module Selection screen, select the Designer Express (DX) and/or DX Data Entry (DXE) feature, depending on which you are using: 5) In the Select Additional Tables to Configure screen, define the specific information needed for this feature. [If using a JDE Profile, the Object Librarian Master Table (F9860)/(F9801 for JDE World) is where all objects are stored.] Page 10 of 59

11 a. Connection (displays only for JDE Profile) Set how to connect to the F9860 table, whether it is the same insightunlimited Connection as that being used to connect to your ERP data, or whether it is a different Connection. b. Object Library (displays only for JDE Profile) Define where the Object Library Master Table (F9801 in World, F9860 in E1) resides. DX uses this table as a master list of all available tables in your JDE system. This table must be accessible in order to use DX. c. Choose Tables Define any tables or views you want to have access to with DX. For tables, you only need to add those that are not currently within the standard templates. i. All available tables are listed in the left panel. To select tables, move them to the right panel either by using the arrows or double-clicking on the specific table in the left panel. Optionally, use the QBE to find any table in order to move it to the right panel. All tables in the right panel will be available within Designer Express. ii. Click OK once all selections have been made. Best Practice: It is strongly recommended to only add the tables you need and not to add in all tables. 6) Click Next. 7) Once the tables are chosen, define the table locations in the profile in the Prefixes column. (Note that DX is added to the module list for each table previously selected for use in DX.) Page 11 of 59

12 8) Click Next. 9) Click Run Test to verify the chosen database and options: 10) Once the status comes back as Success, click Next and then Finish. Another way to access the Designer Express Setup within the Profile wizard is to right-click on the appropriate profile and select Configure Additional Tables. Backup and Restore Functionality When using the backup and restore functions in Administrator, this does include the Designer Express reports/templates and their associated designer objects. Importing and Exporting in Administrator Designer Express reports can be imported and exported in Administrator in the same way that standard reports are imported and exported in Administrator. The measures (amounts or quantities) defined for custom tables are stored at the report level, so when you import/export the report, the Amount Metadata is within the rdf file for the measures the user has changed when the DX template was created. (For the measures defined in the insightunlimited Default or Customer Common libraries, those are retained in those libraries, not in the rdf file.) Page 12 of 59

13 Technical Requirements/Recommendations Performance It is highly recommended that any table configured to be used in Designer Express should have the proper indexes created according to your ERP requirements. If indexing is not performed, performance issues may result. It is the responsibility of the Designer Express Designer to ensure that proper indexing has been established for each table configured for Designer Express. Best Practice: We recommend the below steps. 1. Capture the report s SQL in insightunlimited. 2. Have your IT Department run the SQL through a query analyzer tool to verify all the proper indexes have been set up on your database to maximize the report s performance. 3. If an index needs to be built: a. Run the report with limited data selection over a static environment, such as Test or PY. b. Build your index(es). c. Re-run the same report over the static environment with the new index(es) to verify and test performance. d. Duplicate the process in Production. Database Views Designer Express (DX) allows you to build inquiries using any JDE or Oracle EBS standard or custom tables on your data connection. It is also possible to use DX to incorporate database views, as well as ERP database tables, in the same inquiry. Using database views creates significant additional flexibility. See the following examples: All tables and views used by insightunlimited must be accessible using the same database connection that the product uses to query the ERP data. Views can be used to provide indirect access to data tables in other database connections, such as other ERP instances or tables (e.g. Security or UDC tables - JDE only.) Views can include complex business logic including database functions and subqueries. The tables and views must have uppercase or case-insensitive names. Within the columns of those tables and views, insightunlimited will only support data types that it already supports for EBS: character types, number types and dates. There are some additional limits within those categories. Binary object and XML data types, for example, are not supported. o create table Foo will actually create a table called FOO. This will work. o create table Foo will create a table called Foo note the double quotes around the name. This won t work with EBS DX. o create table FOO will create FOO which will work. Page 13 of 59

14 All tables and views used in DX, whether they are being incorporated via a database view or not, must comply with the requirements, which are discussed below, as far as naming conventions, columns, location, and unique rows. Accessing the JDE UDC Tables in DX - To gain access to the JDE UDC tables (F0004 and F0005) from Designer Express, in your JDE Data Database you can create a database view over these tables and incorporate these views in your DX template. Why is this needed? Database views are used to provide indirect access to data tables on other database connections. The UDC tables are generally located in a different database, such as the Control Table database; by creating a view over them, you are gaining access to them when creating a template based on data from your JDE Data database. Best Practices: 1) When a view is being created to resolve a function or join issue, then only the required fields and tables should be included with the required IDs to complete the join. The remaining tables should be added in DX. 2) insightunlimited is very good at aggregating data so the view should be at the lowest level of detail. This will make it easier to add further tables in DX while still getting the benefit from drill down and summary information. Requirements for Tables or Database Views to be used in a DX Template In order to be included in a DX template, the table or view must comply with the below requirements. (These requirements apply whether you are accessing a table or database view.) For JDE System Users Naming Conventions for DX tables or views The name must not be dtproperties or start with DWTEMP. Use the same prefix for all the columns in the table/view. The name must not contain the "/" or "_" characters. The name must not be longer than 10 characters. The name must be either all uppercase or case-insensitive. The name must start with a letter (A-Z) and be followed by letters and numbers (0-9). Column Naming Convention and Type All column names in the same table must start with the same two-character prefix. The two characters should both be uppercase letters, e.g. DX. The remainder of the column name (all except the first two letters) must exist within the FRDTAI column of the F9210 table (e.g. "MCU" or "AN01"). There is no need for the table or view itself to be stored in the Object Library Master File (F9860 or F9801). The column name must be either all uppercase or case-insensitive. The data type of the column must correspond with the correct type for the column extension used. (For example, a column called "DXMCU" will be treated as a JDE business unit type and should be a 12 character string.) Page 14 of 59

15 Location The table or view must be accessible from the JDE Data Connection as specified in insightunlimited Administrator in the Profile. Lookup Tables Where a column contains a data type that is known to JDE but does not exist in the JDE Master Table (for example a company code from another JDE instance), a custom lookup table should be included with the main data table to allow for the use of the "Visual Assist" and "Code & Description" features within the DX inquiry. For EBS System Users Database Account Permission The insightunlimited database account must be granted permission to query the tables and views. View Name The name must be in uppercase. A view name should begin with 2 letters to identify it as custom, normally XX_ or IS_ : XX_<name>. A view name should end with _V : <name>_v. The name must not start with DWTemp. The name must not be longer than 30 characters. Names can contain only alphanumeric characters from your database character set and the underscore (_), dollar sign ($), and pound sign (#). Oracle strongly discourages you from using $ and #. The name must not contain a space character. Column Name Location The name must be in uppercase The name must not be longer than 30 characters. Names can contain only alphanumeric characters from your database character set and the underscore (_), dollar sign ($), and pound sign (#). Oracle strongly discourages you from using $ and #. The name must not contain a space character. The view must be accessible from the EBS data connection (as specified in the insightunlimited EBS profile). It is best practice to store views under the APPS schema although not essential. If a view is saved in the insightunlimited schema, it will need to be recreated when upgrading to a new schema. If the views are stored in the insightunlimited schema, this schema will need to be given the appropriate grants in order to be able to read the relevant tables and views, e.g. GRANT SELECT ON APPS.FND_RESPONSIBILITIY_VL to <INSIGHT_SCHEMA>. The creation of new views and granting access to the underlying objects is normally done with the assistance of a DBA. Lookup Tables Lookups can be added using fixed list or can be picked up from a table or view. Page 15 of 59

16 SQL Examples for Oracle Databases You can find detailed information on specific syntaxes by going to the websites listed below. Grant/Revoke Syntax: View Create/Drop Syntax: All System Users: Primary Keys insightunlimited must be able to identify those columns that together uniquely identify a single row. During the configuration process, it will attempt to do this automatically by looking for unique indexes or primary keys on each table or view. Where unique indexes or primary keys are not present, it is possible to manually specify the columns that uniquely identify a single row by specifying them in the insightunlimited configuration file CustomerPK.xml. This is required to allow the Double Counter Resolver (DCR) to function. This feature automatically ensures a value is not added multiple times when a many-to-one join causes a value to be duplicated. More information on Primary Keys is listed below. Incorporating a New Database View into DX Once you have created a new database view, you need to incorporate it into Designer Express. Say, for example, you have created a database view named CRP4111. The following steps show you how to incorporate it into Designer Express. 1) Expand the Data Sources node in the left panel in Administrator. 2) Select the Profiles node under Data Sources. 3) Right-click on the profile in which the view was created. Select Configure Additional Tables: 4) Search for your newly-created view under Available Tables and include it as a Selected Table: Page 16 of 59

17 5) In the Table Locations screen, ensure that the new view has the proper prefix defined: 6) Run through the profile and complete it as normal. 7) You must have a DXD license assigned to your insightunlimited user to develop Designer Express templates. Once logged into insightunlimited Reporting, generate a new template by going to the Backstage view, clicking on New, clicking on Designer Express, and selecting New Template. 8) You may now add the newly created view in Designer Express and build joins and define amounts, etc. as you normally would. Primary Keys Primary (unique) keys are required for tables being used in Designer Express reports. Primary key indexes must be defined according to your ERP requirements for each table in your ERP Data Database if you plan to configure them for use in Designer Express. Primary keys are used to identify duplicated values as well as understand the data relationship between tables. In Inline view, primary keys are used to create a unique identifier for each table in the join in order to avoid double counting. In Outline view, primary keys are used for determining data relationships. When a Primary Key is not defined for a table - Primary keys are defined and stored in the database. If a primary key has not been defined for a table, insightunlimited uses an XML import step (called Missing Primary Keys ) in the Profile Wizard to define what the primary keys are and then stores this information in the repository. This import step is a routine that automatically runs at the end of the Profile Wizard for all the tables to which insightunlimited maps. There is a second xml file called CustomerPK.xml which you can use to define your own primary keys (e.g. F55... tables). This file, located within the install directory, includes instructions so that administrators understand how to use it. (To edit this file, we recommend opening it with an XML Editor like Microsoft Visual Studio or XML Notepad 2007 in order to ensure the syntax is correct.) Page 17 of 59

18 A line can be added to this file such as in these examples: 1) JDE System: <PKDef Table="F12345" Cols="XXCol1,XXCol2" />. (This line will set the primary keys of F12345 to XXCol1 and XXCol2 if the database cannot automatically detect the primary keys of F12345.) 2) Oracle EBS System: <PKDef Table="AP_INVOICES_ALL" Cols="INVOICE_ID" />. (This line will set the primary keys of AP_INVOICES_ALL to INVOICE_ID if the database cannot automatically detect the primary keys of AP_INVOICES_ALL.) There are several version tags in the CustomerPk.xml. The PKDef tags must be placed within the tag corresponding to the ERP version or in the AllVersion tag to affect all versions of the ERP. Important Note: When manually defining the primary keys in the CustomerPK.xml file, be sure to use the same upper case/lower case letters as they are in the Importing Missing Primary Keys message as shown below. In other words, if the Table or View is listed in upper case, then key in the Column Name(s) in upper case. Page 18 of 59

19 Viewing the Primary Keys associated with a table - When choosing the tables upon which you are building your Designer Express template, you can view the primary keys associated with each table. 1) Within Template Designer, click Add Table. 2) Scroll to the right to see the Primary Keys column for each table: Note that you can only see the primary keys in the New Table dialog. You cannot see them in the Table dialog after the table has been added to the report. Support What s supported by insightsoftware.com: We will provide support for the DX toolset and insightunlimited features. Our Professional Services team can be contracted to assist in the development of custom templates, and these templates will be supported. What s not supported by insightsoftware.com: We are unable to provide support on which tables, views, columns and joins should be incuded in your views/dx to deliver your requirement. This should be provided by your inhouse ERP system expert or associated partner. Maintaining Primary Key information contained within your CustomerPK file during an upgrade - When upgrading to a higher release level of insightunlimited, it is best to always copy the CustomerPK file from the current install directory into the upgraded version s install directory. Case of a new insightunlimited repository: If you are creating a new insightunlimited repository for the upgrade, then the CustomerPK file located in the current install directory needs to be copied into the install directory for the new insightunlimited version install directory. When you go through the Profile Wizard for the upgraded version, it will read the contents of the CustomerPK file and it will be incorporated into the information collected by the Profile Wizard for use in Designer Express. Page 19 of 59

20 Case of using the existing insightunlimited repository: If you are not creating a new repository for the upgrade (for example if you are upgrading to a Service Pack and a new repository is not required), then technically you do not have to copy the CustomerPK file into the upgraded insightunlimited version install directory. The current information stored within that file is still stored in the repository. If, however, the Administrator edits the Profile Wizard, all information related to the older CustomerPK file version is lost and new information is read from the CustomerPK file that is stored in the install directory of the upgraded insightunlimited version. This is why we still recommend copying the CustomerPK file into the upgraded version install directory, even in the case of using the existing insightunlimited repository. Changes to the CustomerPK file - If you make changes to your CustomerPK file, you do NOT need to copy that amended file to each workstation where insightunlimited is installed. It does, however, need to be copied to the workstation for each person who has access to Administrator and has privileges to edit the Profile Wizard. The CustomerPK file is only read during the setup tasks at the end of the Profile Wizard. The information on primary keys is then stored in the repository, against that profile, and the workstations where insightunlimited is installed read it from there when they start up. If the CustomerPK file on a workstation with access to Administrator does not contain updated information on the primary (unique) keys in the database tables and/or views and the user edits the Profile Wizard, then any database table or view that does not have a primary key defined at the database level will not be available for use within Designer Express. The reason for this is that the Importing Missing Primary Keys task reruns at the end of the Profile Wizard and stores the information contained within the CustomerPK file within the repository. If the CustomerPK file is out of date or is empty, those database tables or views that have no primary (unique) keys defined cannot be used by Designer Express. Page 20 of 59

21 Template Design Considerations Defining the Reporting Requirement Before beginning to build your custom template/report, it s a good idea to clearly understand and define why you are building it. Use the list of questions below as a guide to help you define the content and purpose of the template/report. What is the business requirement? o What decisions do I need to be able to make to run my department/business better? o What information do I need to make these decisions? o What business or reporting need will this report satisfy? What will a single row on the report represent? What is the business requirement? Who will be using the report? o What skill level is required to use and understand it? o What is the possibility that users will misinterpret the results? When sharing the template/report: o What type of users will be using the report/template (Reporting and Console)? o What file formats will be needed/used (online, Excel, PDF, Word)? Define your report specification: o What tables are needed? o What fields do you need to join on? o What are the label columns? o What are the amount columns? o How is the data being sorted and aggregated? Best Practice: Before building your custom template/report, verify that your business/reporting requirement cannot be met with one of the standard templates. Whenever possible, we recommend building new reports from the standard templates to leverage the existing business logic and advanced functionality that cannot be duplicated within Designer Express. If you have verified that a standard template cannot be used to meet your business requirement, determine if a similar custom template/report already exists. If one does exist, clarify the differences to avoid duplication of effort. Page 21 of 59

22 Know Your Data An important step in any report development process is data validation and knowing the correct data in which to compare your test data to as you are creating a new report. We recommend that you use insightunlimited standard templates, ad hoc inquiries and reports to validate your data, field names/columns, and joins as you build your report. There are several methods available for identifying fields and tables in Oracle e-business Suite for use in templates. It is best to work with an Oracle user who is familiar with the fields and tables and the methodologies for finding the correct ones. Oracle s Electronic Technical Reference Manuals (ETRM) are an excellent source of information (Oracle EBS Only). Test Driven Development is a methodology commonly used in software development whereby a software specification is converted into a set of tests with known inputs and expected outputs, before any actual coding begins. The output from any development is repeatedly verified against the test cases until the results match the expected output. If you want to build an inquiry that joins several tables together, it can be helpful to create a set of supporting inquiries first, each based on an individual table from the main inquiry. These supporting inquiries will provide a clear view of the data that you may wish to use in your main inquiry and alert you to any problems because of unpopulated columns, unexpected data in the tables, or joining issues. When creating your test cases, use your individual inquiries to pick some example input data and work through the joins by hand to see what data you would expect to see from the different tables in each case. If your inquiry includes a 1:M, M:M or M:1 join, then you should expect to see several rows in one table corresponding to a single row in another. When you are confident that you have the data from the different tables correct, you can use a spreadsheet to replicate any calculations that would occur in the inquiry. Once you have a spreadsheet with expected results, it can be a good idea to show this to the end user just to verify that what they re expecting and what you re expecting agree. Page 22 of 59

23 Each iteration around the cycle of build test, find the fault, rebuild takes time. The amount of time required per iteration goes up exponentially as the number of items being tested in one go increases. For this reason it s important to test as frequently as possible, so that as few components as possible are tested in one go. When creating your inquiry, we recommend you run the inquiry and test what you ve done so far at frequent intervals such as every time you add a new column or calculation. If you then find a problem, it is comparatively simple to work out where the problem lies and then determine what can be done to fix it. Building Your Template/Report The Strategic... What makes a good report or inquiry? How much data should a report contain? Is more always better? Should you create a data dump of everything just because you can? A big problem we all face today is information overload. If we create a report with 10,000 rows and 50 columns of data, there is no way that someone can take in and mentally process it in a meaningful way. If an inquiry contains more than just a very small number of rows, people stop looking at the individual rows and start looking at the totals instead. If there are more than just a small number of subtotal rows, then even they can start to become meaningless. The most useful inquires and reports are those that contain no more information than is necessary. Less can actually be more! Showing less information on a report is fine, but what if you need access to all that information? We suggest instead of trying to jam more and more information into the same report, you instead create several reports, each of which highlights a different aspect of the data. With insightunlimited, you can link reports together so that you can move from one to another, narrowing down your selection as you go. Each report will run faster as you re bringing back fewer columns and by filtering out the data you don t need at each stage, you keep each report clean and easy to understand, and you are returning data quickly. In the end, a report can be viewed as a list of items with various pieces of information presented about each item. To understand the report, we must be able to understand what a single row in the report is referring to. If we have overly complex inquiries, and particularly if we have inquiries that bring in data from several tables with a variety of joins, it is easy to lose sight of what it is that a single row represents. If you re designing a report, either for yourself or someone else, try asking yourself what it is that a single row of that report represents. Is it a customer? A document? An order line? If the answer is tough to explain then that s a pretty clear signal that the report may be too complex. Page 23 of 59

24 Creating a New Template Overview of the Required Steps 1) From the Backstage view, click New > Designer Express > New Template. 2) Add tables to the template. 3) Define suggested Master Table joins. 4) Define the joins between the tables. 5) Optionally, set Table Options. 6) Set the Report Options (Mode Type and First Table). 7) Verify the amount and quantity fields being used in the template. 8) Design the report layout. Adding Tables to a Template Once you have created a new template, immediately the Add Tables to View dialog appears where you add the tables needed for your report. 1) You can use the QBE line to narrow down your table selection and then move selected tables to the right panel under Selected Tables. (Note for JDE ERP System users: at this time, you do not need to add any Master Tables, such as Address Book, Business Unit Master or Company Master, in which to join. You will have an option later to add suggested Master Tables if needed. Master tables are not applicable for Oracle EBS ERP System users.) 2) Click OK after you have selected the tables you would like to join. Best Practice: When building your template, we recommend that you add one table at a time through the Template Designer and validate the results with each change or addition. Page 24 of 59

25 Understanding joins what does it mean to join 2 tables? Let s say you have customer data you wish to include in your report: You also have sales order data you wish to include: Joining these 2 tables, you can show both customer data AND sales order data in 1 report: Page 25 of 59

26 Defining the Suggested Master Table Joins For JDE ERP users, once you have defined the joins to the tables being used in your Designer Express template or inquiry, the next step is to define any Master Table joins you would like to include in the template if they have not been defined already. 1) From within Template Designer, select Manage Suggested Master Table Joins: 2) To start defining your joins to each table, select the appropriate To Table from the column using the drop-down provided: 3) Depending on the To Table, you may need to select the To Field you wish to use in the join. In the below example, we have selected Table F03B11 and can choose to join to either RPCO or PRKCO: And continuing in the same example, when joining to the F4101 Item Master, you are prompted with a choice of fields to join with: ITM Item Number Short LITM 2 nd Item Number AITM 3 rd Item Number Page 26 of 59

27 Defining Table Joins Within the Template Designer dialog, you can define more fields to join as well as the join type to be used between the two tables. Your options of join types are listed below. You can hover over each join type to get a description of what each join type accomplishes: Inner Join Includes only records where both tables meet the criteria. Left Outer Join Include all rows from Table A and just those rows from Table B which meet the criteria. Right Outer Join Include all rows from Table B and just those rows from Table A which meet the criteria. Changing the join type changes the rows that are returned in the inquiry. When we join tables, insightunlimited refers to the two tables as the left and right table. This has nothing to do with the relative position of the tables in the Template Designer dialog, but instead refers to the relative position in the underlying SQL statement that creates the join. When you use the Template Designer and drag fields from one table to another to create the join: The table you drag from becomes the left table The table you drag to becomes the right table Best Practice: When determining which fields to join between tables, start with the primary keys and join as many as possible. Page 27 of 59

28 To set or change the type of join: 1) Once you see the fields you want to join in each table, you simply connect the fields by dragging your mouse from one table to the other. Once you do this, you see an equals sign between the two tables: 2) Once the first join has been defined, you will see the join definition listed in the panel on the right. You can edit the join by either clicking on the = sign between the tables or highlighting the join from the right side panel and selecting the Edit Join button located at the bottom of the panel. This launches the Join Properties dialog. When using Designer Express over your JD Edwards ERP System, you can create a union between tables that have identical fields. (Unions are not applicable with Oracle EBS.) Unions are discussed below. For JDE ERP system users, there is a Padding button. (Oracle E-Business Suite does not use padding/alignment, so this feature is not needed for these users.) Through the Padding button, you can perform field formatting/transformation for table joins. With this function you can change the format of fields so you can pass certain fields to another table where the same field has different formatting, such as passing the Subledger field from the F0911, GL Transactions Table, to the F0101, Address Book Table. (insightunlimited gets padding information from the JDE Data Dictionary, but this padding feature lets you override that for a given join in DX.) So if your Data Dictionary says the field is right aligned, prefixed with zeros, but the data in your table is actually left aligned and without zeros, then you can tell insightunlimited to ignore what the Data Dictionary says, for this join only.) Page 28 of 59

29 The default value in the Comparison field is equals; however you can choose other comparison operators (does not equal, greater than, greater than or equal to, less than, less than or equal to) for the column join if desired. You can also choose to define Literal Values if you choose. When this box is checked, you can define a specific field value in the join, such as the option to only join when the Business Unit = 30 in the Customer Ledger (F03B11), RPMCU field, as in the example below: Effective Date conditions can be set on a join as well. More details can be found in that section below. EBS Examples: 1) This example shows an inner join between the PO_REQUISITION_HEADERS_ALL and the PO_REQUISITION_LINES_ALL tables. These tables are joined by HEADER_ID: Page 29 of 59

30 2) This example shows 3 tables that are joined: PO_REQUISITION_HEADERS_ALL, PO_REQUISITION_LINES_ALL, and PER_ALL_PEOPLE_F tables. There is 1 inner join between the first 2 tables, and a left outer join between the last 2 tables: Page 30 of 59

31 Joining to the Same Table One significant benefit of using Designer Express is that you can join to the same table multiple times. For customers using JDE ERP data, this feature is particularly useful for joining to the same master table multiple times. For example, if you are joining the Sales Order Detail (F4211) to the Address Book Master (F0101), you may want to base the join on Sold To, Ship To and Parent: When joining a table more than once, in order to make the different instances of the same table distinguishable, insightunlimited will give subsequent table instance an alias. This alias then becomes the primary identifier of the aliased table, both internally and at the user interface level. In DX Designer, when a user adds a table more than once, the table will be assigned an alias automatically: EBS (e.g. AP_INVOICES_ALL and AP_INVOICES_ALL_1) JDE (e.g. F0006_1 when adding the F0006 for the 2 nd time and F0006_2 when adding F0006 for the 3 rd time) Page 31 of 59

32 The table alias (not the physical table) will be shown throughout the system, including when displaying columns/tables in dialogs, in internal data structures, and the SQL generated by the system. The system ensures that aliases are unique and are valid as table names. Note that you can set a label for the table in the general UI in order to make the name more meaningful. This will change the name in certain dialogs but not in any background SQL. Labelling is done in Template Designer by going to Table Options and selecting Label: Table Options In Template Designer, there are several types of options you can set once you have added a table to the template. Table Options are accessed by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right corner of the table: Unions Label Optional Effective Date Balances Functionality Page 32 of 59

33 Unions When using Designer Express over your JD Edwards ERP System, you can create a union between tables that have identical fields. (Unions are not applicable with Oracle EBS.) In Template Designer, once a table has been selected, click Table Options to view any tables available to union to the original table. If one is available, it can be selected. An example of tables that can be unioned is the F4211 (Sales Order) Table and the F42119 (Sales Order History) Table; these tables have identical fields within them. When unioned, these tables would show both historical and current sales data. An icon identifies that a table is unioned with another one: Page 33 of 59

34 Label You can set a label for the table in the general user interface. This will change the name in certain dialogs but not in any background SQL. Optional You can make a table optional so that it is not a required table for the report to work. (An example of when this would be particularly helpful is if you needed to create a template that would suit all users, regardless of the version of their ERP system. So if you had users on both JD Edwards World and E1, sometimes the user would not have a specific table in their environment; therefore if it is not a table that filters and or columns have been defined for in the report, it should be identified as optional and if the table is not mapped, the report will still load for all users.) In Template Designer, once a table has been selected, click Table Options and select Optional. If you go back into Table Options now, you see that Optional has a checkmark next to it and the table name has parenthesis around it, indicating that it is optional. Effective Date You can set an effective date condition on a join so that effective date logic is applied to the date that an event took place (the event date) and is used to look up some state for that event at a particular effective date. For example a financial analyst wants to see what exchange rate was in effect for a group of GL Transaction records in a particular currency, based on the record s GL Date. In other words, the analyst wants to see the exchange rate in another currency that was in effect on the date the transaction occurred, and then have the amount converted using the effective exchange rate. In this example the state is the exchange rate, the event is the GL Transaction in the F0911 and the effective date is the Effective Date in the Currency Exchange Rate table F0015. Defining an Effective Date Condition on a Join - When effective dates are used to specify a join, the event and event date are stored in a table and the facts about the event and the effective dates of those facts are stored in another table. In explaining how this is defined, we will use a specific example in joining the F0911, GL Transactions table, to the F0015, Currency Exchange Rates table. Page 34 of 59

35 1) To define the effective date join, go to Template Designer and either click on the Join button (the = button) or double-click the actual join in the Joins Panel. Note that a join has to have been defined before an effective date condition is applied. In this example, we have joined on CRCD (Currency Code): 2) Clicking on the = sign or the actual join brings up the Join Properties dialog where you can see the detail of the join that was already set up. Click on Effective Date: 3) Within the Effective Date dialog, you define which table contains the historical information that is based on a date. In other words, you want to select the table that has the effective date ranges defined for the data you are interested in seeing. In this example we select the Currency Exchange Rate Table, F0015, since that table contains the exchange rates we want to see based on the effective date. Page 35 of 59

36 Depending on which table is selected, all the date columns from the selected table are available to select from the Start Date Column drop-down. In this example we will select the Date Effective CXEFT from the F0015: 4) If the table also has an End Date Column, you can define that here as well. In our example, the Currency Exchange Rate, F0015 table, does not contain an End Effective Date, so we leave this blank (undefined). If no End Date is defined, it is implied. If a record in the F0015 has a greater Start Date, then the previous record has ended. 5) Lastly, the Event Date Column will define the event that we are using to compare to the Start Date Column. In our example, we are using the Currency Exchange Rate Effective Date in F0015 to compare to the GL Date GLDGJ in the F0911: Page 36 of 59

37 Important Notes: A zero, blank or null start date is interpreted as from the beginning of time and a zero, blank or null end date is interpreted as to the end of time. The start and end dates are interpreted as inclusive. Setting up an Effective Date Condition that Does Not Use a Join - There is a way for a user to see all the effective records in a table based on Today s Date. The below explanation includes an example using the Address Book by Date Table, F0116. This table stores all the addresses that have existed for a customer. We will use Today s Date to compare to the Beginning Effective Date in each record to only return those records that are currently valid. 1) From Template Designer, go to Table Options and select Effective Date. This is where you will define which date in a table is to be compared to Today s date. 2) You can define a Start Date and/or End Date here based on the table selected. Once defined, you will see the date selected being compared to Today s Date. 3) If this Effective Date logic is not used in a Designer Express Template, you will return ALL rows from the Address Book by Date Table, F0116. The screen below is showing 2 rows for the same address, of which the row with the BLANK Beginning Effective Date is no longer active. Before Date Effective Logic is defined: If the Date Effective logic is used, you would only return 1 row: Page 37 of 59

38 Important Notes: In some scenarios this Effective Date Condition enhancement may not appear to be functioning. If you experience this, you need to evaluate the primary keys for the table used. This enhancement will perform a MAX function for the effective date and return the effective date less than or equal to today. If a Unique Key ID is defined as a primary key, then the MAX function will be applied to each record, therefore returning all records. In this scenario you will need to re-define the primary keys in the CustomerPK file so that the effective date condition returns the Max Date. Table F00092 falls into this scenario. A zero, blank or null start date is interpreted as from the beginning of time and a zero, blank or null end date is interpreted as to the end of time. Any time component stored with the date is ignored. The start and end dates are interpreted as inclusive. The current date (today) is taken from the machine running insightunlimited. EBS Example This example has 2 tables in the template: AP_SUPPLIER_SITES_ALL and HR_ALL_ORGANIZATION_UNITS_TL. 1) Using effective date with join A join first has to be defined before an effective date condition is applied. This feature is accessed from Edit Joins. 2) Effective date condition not using a join This logic strips away the time component from the date when used to compare to today s date: Page 38 of 59

39 Balances Functionality (JDE System Users) Creating a Balances report over an F0902 or F0902-like table can be challenging due to the unique structure of JDE and the amount of hard-coded logic, such as selectors and cumulative periods, which have already been done in the standard JDE GL Balances template. There is a feature you can set to restore some of the functionality present in the standard GL Balances template when you are creating a template based off of the F0902 or F0902-like table. In order to use this feature, a DX Designer must activate it. Setup/Example - This example shows a basic inquiry built in DX over the F0902. To set this up initially, create a simple DX template which has just the F0902 in it. From within Template Designer, designate it as the Balances table which is done by going to Table Options and selecting Balances Functionality. Now continue setting up the template how you normally would. Usage - When you go to the Values query assist, you will see additional fields such as the following, which closely mirror options you would have had in a standard GL Balances template: CE01_F0902 Cumulative Period 01 CE02_F0902 Cumulative Period 02 CE03_F0902 Cumulative Period 03 In addition, if you set up a selector on Values, you ll be given the ability to import some items from JDE: You can now create a current period selector in the DX Balances report. Page 39 of 59

40 Report Options In Report Options, which are accessed in Template Designer, you set the Mode Type (Inline versus Outline View) as well as designate the first table in the report. Mode Type The Mode Type must be set when initially creating the report; after exiting Template Designer, it cannot be changed. (The reason why it cannot be changed at a later time is that there are certain features which are only supported in one mode and not the other, such as using a QBE on a value column, or using average in a calculated column.) Inline One row can contain values from more than one table. This view displays the first child row on the same row as its parent. For example, an invoice parent record with two child payment records would display on two total rows with the first payment row on the same row as the parent invoice. Any duplicate values are grayed out when using Inline View. A total of four lines display; amounts from Table A and Table B display on the 1 st line: In Inline view, the Grand Total is based on separate SQL query. Page 40 of 59

41 Outline Each record from each table gets its own row. This view displays the first child row on the row below its parent. For example, an invoice parent record with two child payment records would display on three total rows with the first payment row under the invoice parent row. In Outline View, the Grand Total is based on the grid result set. Performance is better using Outline View since the system is not using a duplicate counting resolver. A total of five lines display; amounts from Table A display in lines 1-4 and the amount from Table B displays in line 5: Note that DX Outline view omits rows for tables which have no amount columns on the report, unless Zero Balances (Design menu > Options group) is enabled. First Table In Report Options, Designer users can also choose which table in the report is the first table in the query to which all other tables are joined The first table is always part of the SQL; the impact is a possible performance hit if the first table is one that you don t always actually need to see, so you want to be sure the correct table is selected as the first table. Page 41 of 59

42 Double Counting Resolver The Double Counting Resolver is an algorithm that modifies a given SQL statement to prevent double counting. The algorithm only gets invoked when more than one table is joined, the relationship between the tables in something other than one-to-one, and subtotal/grand Total aggregations are used. insightunlimited will use unique keys to determine how to detect duplicate rows if they are on the grid. If keys are not on the grid, then hash totalling or row ID processing will be done to determine duplicate rows. JDE Example: In the example below, the JDE Accounts Payable Ledger (F0411) is joined to the Accounts Payable Matching Document Detail (F0414) table and forms a many-to-many relationship. The Accounts Payable Matching Document Detail (F0414) table is joined to the ERP Accounts Payable Matching Document (F0413) file and forms a many-to-one relationship. Notice that Payment 5004 is paying multiple invoices. To avoid counting the amount -138, times, the duplicate counter resolver has been evoked. We see the payment header amount being grayed out in all but the first row. As a result, the subtotal for Digger Enterprises and the Grand Total for our Payment Amount F0413 column are displaying the correct total of -138, Page 42 of 59

43 EBS Example: In the example below, The AP_INVOICES_ALL table has been joined to the AP_HOLDS_ALL, AP_INVOICE_LINES_ALL and AP_PAYMENT_SCHEDULES_ALL tables. The invoice number has multiple invoice lines and multiple holds which could result in double counting. To avoid counting the amount invoice lines amounts twice, e.g and , the double counter resolver has been evoked. We see the invoice lines amounts are grayed out for the second invoice hold. As a result, the subtotals for invoice number are correct in all columns. Page 43 of 59

44 Define Amount and Quantity Columns Once tables and joins have been defined, measure columns need to be defined as either an amount or quantity for subtotaling and totaling purposes. With insightunlimited Default Metadata, the quantity and amount columns for all tables that we currently map to are pre-defined and will automatically default into the template. If you have set any overrides, these will take precedence. When looking for a definition for an amount or quantity, insightunlimited looks at 3 libraries in the below listed order. The first library with a definition wins. 1) Report Level Library (measures defined for a specific report) 2) Customer Common Library (customer-specific table definitions that have been upgraded from a release prior to ) 3) insightunlimited Default Library (insightunlimited Default Metadata that holds the measures that are defined for all standard ERP tables) Best Practice: Value columns should be changed in DX to be a value (amount) when the value has to be used to aggregate or in calculations. This section is specific to customers using an Oracle EBS ERP System. Examples of columns are as follows: Numeric (Label) - These are columns that are numeric, but the numeric value represents a code number rather than a real amount, e.g. Person ID. Unit costs are normally treated as Numeric Labels, since although they represent real amounts, it does not make sense to subtotal them. Numeric (Amount) These are amount columns and can include non-currency amounts, e.g. Amount and Currency Amount. To verify how these fields are defined or to override any of them, go to Column Definitions, where the various column attributes are defined. 1) From the Configurator menu, click Template Designer. 2) Click the Column Definitions button, which is located in the top left portion of your screen: Each table you have defined a join to will display with its available numeric fields to define. You can sort the list by using the QBE for any displayed column in order to narrow down your selection. Once a field is manually defined as either Numeric (Label) or Numeric (Amount) for a specific table, it does not need to be defined again when creating a new template or inquiry using the same table. All amount columns are designated as such with a # sign to the left of it as shown below. Page 44 of 59

45 To change an amount column setting: 1) In the Source column, set the default setting for this column: a. Report Override (setting will only apply to the report you are currently in) b. Customer Default (setting will apply to all your DX reports using this column) c. Product Default (the default setting that comes from insightunlimited Default Metadata) 2) In the Category column, define what type of amount column it is: a. Numeric (Label) b. Numeric (Amount) 3) In the Lookup column, you can optionally define a table or fixed list lookup in order to provide filter validation, Query Assist support, and Code & Description feature support to end users. a. Table Lookup - Define a lookup table for a column, which provides the valid codes and their associated descriptions, as displayed in a Visual Assist and in the inquiry results. (This does not have to be a table being used in your template/report.) b. Fixed List - Define a fixed list of valid codes and their associated descriptions for a column. These will display in a Visual Assist and in the inquiry results. This section is specific to customers using a JD Edwards ERP System. Examples of columns are as follows: Numeric (Label) These are columns that are numeric, but the numeric value represents a code number rather than a real amount, e.g. Object Account or Business Unit. Unit costs are normally treated as Numeric Labels, since although they represent real amounts, it does not make sense to subtotal them. Amount (Domestic) These are amount columns in the base company currency. e.g. F0411 (RPAG - Amount Gross). You will be prompted for which company field to use. Decimal shifting will be based on the company base currency. Amount (Foreign) These are foreign currency amounts, e.g. F0414 (RNCDSA - Amount - Foreign Discount Taken). Decimal shifting will be based on the foreign currency specified. Amount (Non-currency) These are non-currency amounts, e.g. F43121 (PRUORG - Units - Order/Transaction Quantity) To verify how these fields are defined or to override any of them: 1) From the Configurator menu, click Template Designer. 2) Click the Column Definitions button, which is located in the top left portion of your screen: Page 45 of 59

46 Each table you have defined a join to will display with its available numeric fields to define. You can sort the list by using the QBE for any displayed column in order to narrow down your selection. Once a field is manually defined as either an amount or amount non-currency (quantity) for a specific table, it does not need to be defined again when creating a new template or inquiry using the same table. All amount columns are designated as such with a # sign to the left of it as shown below. To change an amount column setting: 1) In the Source column, set the default setting for this column: a. Report Override (setting will only apply to the report you are currently in) b. Customer Default (setting will apply to all your DX reports using this column) c. Product Default (the default setting that comes from insightunlimited Default Metadata) 2) In the Category column, define what type of amount column it is: a. Amount (Domestic) b. Amount (Foreign) c. Amount (Non-currency) 3) In the Company/Currency column, select the option from the drop-down menu. If Domestic or Foreign Amount is selected, this determines how currency decimal shifting is performed. a. Amount (Non-currency): As described by the name, this setting is for fields that are non-currency amounts such as those shown below in the F42119: b. Domestic Currency Shifting: If you define a field as an Amount (Domestic), you are prompted to select the company on which the currency is based: Page 46 of 59

47 For example, if you set the RPAG field from the F03B11 as Amount (Domestic), you can choose from the following options: RPCO Company RPKCO Document Company RPOKCO Document Company (Original Order) RPPKCO Document Company (Purchase Order) c. Foreign Currency Shifting: If you define a field as an Amount (Foreign), you then select the field on which to base the currency code: For example, if you set the GLACR field from the F0911 as Amount (Foreign), you can choose from the following options: GLBCRC Currency Code Base GLCRCD Currency Code From It is important to know that the selected option may or may not be used depending on the Ledger Type Override Setting in the Foreign Currency Columns dialog, as well as various lookup tables in JD Edwards. The Foreign Currency Columns dialog is accessed by clicking on the next to the Currency drop-down menu: See the Ledger Type Override setting in the lower left corner of the dialog. If this is checked, lookup tables may be used to find the currency instead of the selected columns in the right panel of this dialog. Note that the ledger type override setting is grayed out when there is no Ledger Type column in that table. Page 47 of 59

48 4) In the Lookup column, you can optionally define a table or fixed list lookup in order to provide filter validation, Query Assist support, and Code & Description feature support to end users: a. Table Lookup - Define a lookup table for a column, which provides the valid codes and their associated descriptions, as displayed in a Visual Assist and in the inquiry results. (This does not have to be a table being used in your template/report.) b. Fixed List - Define a fixed list of valid codes and their associated descriptions for a column. These will display in a Visual Assist and in the inquiry results. DX accommodates decimal shifting in JD Edwards using various rules that are described in the appendix. Page 48 of 59

49 Review and Edit the Table and Join Selections Once you have completed defining all your amount and quantity fields, you can select the Table and Joins tab to review your table and joins selections. If you have defined multiple tables, you may need to scroll to view all tables selected from either the main workspace or the right join panel to review all your defined joins: Once you are satisfied with your selections, click OK to exit Designer Express Designer (DXD) to begin defining your filters and columns using Configurator. Once you leave the Designer Express Designer, you can always go back to refine or review your selection by clicking on the Configurator tab and selecting Template Designer. View which tables have Quantity or Amount Overrides - To see which tables have these overrides, go to Administrator. Under the Designer Objects node, you will see Designer Dictionary. Beneath that is a Common folder, and beneath that are folders for each table that have overrides. These are definitions that are specific for a customer; they define OR override insightunlimited s default settings. Page 49 of 59

50 To get a complete overview of measures defined for a particular table, you would need to start to define a template on that table in Designer Express and go to Column Definitions from within Template Designer. (It is not possible to see report-specific settings from within Administrator.) Report Layout Filters: Add the desired filters. Add table names to the filter names for easy validation and reference. Label Columns: Add the desired label columns. Add the table names to any additional label columns that you are not using as filters for easy validation and reference. Amount Columns: Add the desired amount columns. Add the table names to the column names for easy validation and reference. If you include any label column where the label column is not part of the join, and where you already have label columns from the other table that are themselves not part of the join, then you may find you have an inquiry that takes a long time to return results. If you are in this situation, consider the following: Removing one or more label columns so that this is no longer the case. Adding links so that the extra data is displayed by linked inquires instead (value columns can still be included). Save the inquiry with filters preselected so that an end user is less likely to open it and run it without thinking. Hide the inquiry so it is only accessible to end users via a drill-down from another inquiry. Sorting: Verify your report is sorting as desired. Totaling: Verify your report subtotals and grand total. Numeric columns that are set up as labels typically must have the totaling turned on manually. Headers: Verify your report headers on turned on and displaying in the desired column. Formatting: Format your report for a finished look and feel. Page 50 of 59

51 Console: Be sure to think about your Console users as you design your template/report. What filters will they need? Did you incorporate selectors or drop-down lists? Table Names: Remove the table names from the columns and filters if you do not want your users to see that information. Importing a Hierarchy and/or FSGs: You can create a hierarchy within a DX report however you cannot import one from your ERP data. Linking: You can link from a DX report to a standard report and vice versa, as well as between DX reports. Saving: Save the template/report as a report in your inquiries until you have it completed. Once complete, save it as a template and delete the report. Repeated or Duplicated Rows: In inquiries that have been created in Designer Express, rows (or parts of rows) can be repeated. This happens when the report contains multiple fact tables joined on a one-to-many or many-to-many relationship. insightunlimited detects the multiple rows, and by default formats them differently to differentiate them from the other rows. Repeated rows are not included in the Grand Total amounts. There is a design option used to designate whether to display all row combinations or not; this option is called All Row Combinations and is found in the Design menu in the Options group. Selecting this option means that all rows will be displayed, even if they are being repeated. This option is off by default, however because it can be difficult to understand the results when only a selected set of rows displays, you may want to leave this on. Best Practice: While developing your report, we recommend turning on All Row Combinations so all rows are displayed. Toggle this functionality on and off to determine how you want to display the data for end users. EBS Example: AP_INVOICES_ALL, AP_INVOICE_LINES_ALL, AP_PAYMENT_SCHEDULES and AP_HOLDS_ALL are all used to create the report and create a many to many relationship. Multiple related rows occur on both sides of the join, resulting in an exponential multiplying of rows in the display when All Row Combinations is turned on. In the example below, invoice number has 2 holds and 2 invoice lines. Page 51 of 59

52 All Row Combinations turned off: All Row Combinations turned on: JDE Example: GL Transaction (F0911) is joined to AP Transactions (F0411) and forms a many-tomany relationship. Multiple related rows occur on both sides of the join, resulting in an exponential multiplying of rows in the display when All Row Combinations is turned on. In the example below, there are three records in the F0911 and three records in the F0411 where DOC = F0411 records for Document 1577: Page 52 of 59

53 F0911 records for Document 1577: All Row Combinations turned on (9 rows display for only 3 records in each table): All Row Combinations turned off: Page 53 of 59

54 Formatting of Duplicate Rows In Formatting Defaults, there are two items related to duplicate rows: Duplicate Row Formatting for the label columns in duplicate rows Duplicate Row (Numbers) Formatting for the values in duplicate rows When you edit the Duplicate Row (Numbers) item, you see that the font color is gray: If you changed this to Suppress Data, the result would look like this: Publish Once you have completed the template/report, you will need to assign permissions and licenses as needed. Permissions work exactly the same for DX templates/reports as they do for any other template/report within the software. Licenses can only be assigned through Administrator. Page 54 of 59