Release Notes Oracle E-Business Suite Desktop Reporting (Edition 1) & Hubble Suite (Edition 2) Version 2016.1
Document Information..............................................................i Notices..........................................................................i Copyright................................................................... i Version History..................................................................i Customer Support...............................................................i General Information................................................................ 1 Upgrading Information: Repository............................................. 1 Upgrade Information: Budgeting & Planning.................................... 1 Customer Support Assistance.................................................. 1 Other General Notes........................................................... 2 Upgrade Information............................................................... 3 Database Script Update........................................................ 3 Recommendations for all clients............................................... 3 Dynamic Flex Field Utilization in Oracle EBS.................................... 3 Feature Enhancements............................................................. 4 General Enhancements......................................................... 4 Planning Modeling Performance Improvement............................. 4 Apply Multiple.............................................................. 4 Analytics Enhancements (Edition 2 only)........................................ 4 User Data Entry/Editing Facilities.......................................... 4 Funnel Charts.............................................................. 7 Linking to External Documents and Webpages............................ 8 Designer Enhancements.......................................................8 Virtual View Creation....................................................... 8 Hubble LABS Enhancements.................................................. 13 Silhouette Generator (Edition 2 only)...................................... 14 Variables in Virtual Views.................................................. 14 Using Virtual Views as a Lookup Tables................................... 15 Color Logic in Charts (Edition 2 only)...................................... 15 Linking Attachments to Templates (Edition 1 only)......................... 16 Resolved Issues.................................................................... 20 Administrator and Technical Updates........................................ 20 Budgeting and Planning Updates............................................. 20 General Updates............................................................. 20 Module Updates.............................................................. 21 Scheduler Updates............................................................ 21 Analytics - Edition 2 (Web) Updates........................................... 21
Document Information Notices Document Information Notices Copyright Hubble is a brand name of the insightsoftware.com Group. insightsoftware.com is a registered trademark of insightsoftware.com Limited. Hubble is a registered trademark of insightsoftware.com International Unlimited. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. The insightsoftware.com Group is the owner or licensee of all intellectual property rights in this document, which are protected by copyright laws around the world. All such rights are reserved. The information contained in this document represents the current view of insightsoftware.com on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. This document is for informational purposes only. insightsoftware.com makes no representation, guarantee or warranty, expressed or implied, that the content of this document is accurate, complete or up to date. Version History Date Revision Software Version Comments 30th June 2016 1.0 2016.1 20th Jan 2017 1.1 2016.1 Customer Support For more information regarding our products, please contact us at http://gohubble.com/. For product support including Training, Documentation and Customer Support, visit our Hubble Community at https://community.gohubble.com/. Page i
Chapter 1: General Information Edition 1: Desktop Experience for Reporting and Planning Edition 2: Web Experience for Reporting, Analytics and Planning Upgrading Information: Repository If you are upgrading from any version of insightunlimited/hubble, please note that version 2016.1 requires a new license key. You will need to obtain a new License Key from Customer Support. Once this is received, please perform a replace in order to retain your License Assignments. Prior to upgrading, be sure your Object Repository is backed up using your current version s Administrator Application. This backup is essential for all types of installs, whether you are installing this version in parallel with an existing previous version or, alternatively, as a new stand-alone installation. The backup will be used to restore into the newer version of Hubble. A 32-bit Hubble version is available upon request. However, because of its limited memory usage capabilities, we strongly encourage customers to use the 64-bit version. Additionally, 2016.1 requires Microsoft.Net Framework 4.5.2. Download Microsoft.NET Framework 4.5.2: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42642 2016.1 also requires you to have the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package installed on your machine. 32-bit: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5555 64-bit: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=14632 Upgrade Information: Budgeting & Planning For clients with budgeting repositories, get a backup of the budgeting library/database/schema prior to upgrading. All upgrades, if running in parallel with your existing insightunlimited/hubble version, require a new budgeting database to be created. You can restore into the new database from the backup. For more information on upgrading your budgeting database, please contact Customer Support. Customer Support Assistance If you have any questions about upgrading, including installing multiple versions in parallel, please contact our Customer Support Department by creating a case on our Support Portal at the following location: https:/ /community.gohubble.com/support/. For information regarding consultancy services or training, please contact your Customer Success Manager. Page 1
Other General Notes General Information Other General Notes 1. Budgeting Forms, Designer Express reports and Standard Templates created using Designer Express are currently only supported on SQL Server, Oracle or AS/400 DB2 Databases. 2. Any Virtual Views created will only work on the DB type in which they were designed to be used. E.g. A Oracle Virtual View can only work on an Oracle DB. 3. For a full list of Minimum Technical Requirements and Prerequisites, please contact our Customer Support Department. Page 2
Chapter 2: Upgrade Information Database Script Update If you are upgrading your Insightunlimited version (pre-2015.1) to Hubble version 2016.1, you will need to follow a process by which a script is run over your database. This script can be found in the install path. After running the script, you will need to confirm all Profile Connections in the Hubble Administrator application for 2016.1 are using the correct username and password. (The new database script allows a unique username to be used. Please check with your DBA to get the correct username credentials to use in the Data Connections.) You will then have to run through the Profile so it can updated with any new tables and views that 2016.1 uses. Recommendations for all clients It is highly recommended that clients switch to using Built-In Data Provider for their Data Connections. Issues have been reported with the Oracle Client Data Provider and ODBC Data Provider. Dynamic Flex Field Utilization in Oracle EBS If Dynamic Flex Fields are utilized in Oracle EBS, data may not be displayed as expected within Hubble. Please inform Customer Service if using Dynamic Flex Fields and inform them which tables and fields are being utilized. Page 3
Chapter 3: Feature Enhancements General Enhancements Planning Modeling Performance Improvement The budget modeling engine has been enhanced to dramatically increase performance. The most significant gains are when using Wildcard Modeling. Apply Multiple The Apply Multiple feature has been deprecated and is no longer available. This has been replaced with the Modeling Cascade feature. Upgrading customers that were using the Apply Multiple feature will need to use the new feature instead. Analytics Enhancements (Edition 2 only) User Data Entry/Editing Facilities Power users, and Explorer users if given the permissions, can enter in budgeting/planning data into forms that a Power user has already created. In order to add and edit data in a budgeting form, use the buttons in the upper right corner of the view: To start editing data in a form, click the pencil button to access data entry mode:. Page 4
Feature Enhancements Analytics Enhancements (Edition 2 only) Data Entry Ribbon Once you click on the pencil button to access data entry mode, the ribbon displays: If you do not have the permission to edit data in a form, a message will display to inform you of this. Otherwise, use the buttons as follows: Copy - Used to copy the contents of selected cells. Pressing Ctrl+C will also work. You can select multiple cells using the shift key. In the case of copying from multiple cells, they must be in a single row or column. Paste - Used to paste data into selected cells. You can also press Ctrl+V. Multiple cells can be pasted into, but they must be in the same row or column. When pasting into a browser, you will be asked to confirm the data to be pasted. For example: Insert - Used to add a new row for data entry to the form. Clear - Clears the data in a row. If a row is left blank, it will be deleted when changes are saved. Page 5
Feature Enhancements Analytics Enhancements (Edition 2 only) Undo - Used to undo changes back as far as the most recent save. Redo - Used to redo changes that have been undone using the Undo button. Save - Saves changes to the database. It is recommended that changes are saved before you leave your desk, for example, as unsaved changes will be lost sessions time out sessions. Close - Used to close data entry mode. If there are unsaved changes, you will be prompted to save them, as follows: Entering Data into Cells When a form is in data entry mode, data in cells highlighted with a darker blue background can be edited. For example: Entries you make into cells will be validated in the same way as in desktop budgeting. Page 6
Feature Enhancements Analytics Enhancements (Edition 2 only) Finalizing the Cycle Once data entry is complete, you can finalize the cycle by clicking the tick button: cells will be validated in the same way as in desktop budgeting.. Entries you make into Click yes to continue. The following message will then be displayed: If you need to make a change after finalizing, the status must be reset. This is done using the Cycle Status dialog of the desktop budgeting facilities by selecting the cycle and then clicking Status Override. Funnel Charts A new type of chart is now available: the Funnel chart. Funnel charts are often used to represent stages in a sales process, and show the amount of potential revenue for each stage. They can also be useful in identifying potential problem areas in an organization s sales processes. Page 7
Feature Enhancements Designer Enhancements Linking to External Documents and Webpages This functionality, previously available in Hubble Edition 1, has now been added to Hubble Edition 2. It enables you to link to an external document or webpage from within Hubble. After creating a hyperlink to link to the external source object or webpage, you can create a link within Hubble. Then, within the inquiry, you can execute the link to the external document or webpage. For details of this feature, please refer to the Linking to External Document or Webpage topic in the User Guide for Designer and Power Users. Designer Enhancements Virtual View Creation Designer Users can now create virtual views on the fly within Hubble using Designer Express. This new functionality enables you to stay in Hubble when you need to create a view for reporting or planning purposes. It was previously necessary to create any required SQL views in the database, and then import them into Designer Express. A new icon has been added to Template Designer. Click on this to access the virtual view creation facilities: This will open the new Edit Virtual View dialog. Page 8
Feature Enhancements Designer Enhancements Edit Virtual View Dialog The dialog includes the following: 1. Name field used to insert the name of the view. The name can only contain letters, numbers and _. Once saved, this cannot subsequently be edited. 2. Description field used to enter a description for the view. This description is for informative purposes only (e.g. it appears in the Add Table dialog), and need not be completed. 3. Database Vendor field this field displays the Database Vendor the view was created from. It is used to restrict the export/import process to ensure views can only be imported into the same Database Vendor on which it was created. 4. SQL field the main field of the dialog. Used to define the SQL that will be used to create the view. If you add aliases to columns, they will be used as the view s column names. Please refer to Entering SQL Statements - Limitations below. 5. Format SQL button used to format the SQL entered in the SQL field, indenting it and color coding it etc. 6. Verify View button verifies the view to retrieve information about it and to identify any problems. These details will be displayed in the Details / Settings area. 7. Details / Settings area after the view is verified, information about the view is displayed in this area. The Manage Columns tab of this area will also enable you to define column information, i.e. primary keys and column descriptions, as described below. Page 9
Feature Enhancements Designer Enhancements 8. Save button used to save the virtual view. The save will only be successful if the view has no blocking problems. If there are, they will appear in the Problems Encountered tab, as described below. 9. Cancel button cancels the creation of the view and closes the dialog. Entering SQL Statements - Limitations Please note the following when entering SQL in the SQL field: Only a single SQL statement can be entered. No lower case, spaces or non-alphanumeric characters can be used in column names or aliases. Recursive Select is not supported, i.e. SQL beginning with WITH cannot be used unless wrapped in a select statement. Verifying the Virtual View To address security concerns but also to ensure the view information conforms to certain rules so that it can be used throughout Designer Express just like another table would be, a new virtual view must be verified. This is carried out using the tabs in the Details / Settings area, which is populated with data about the view when you click the Verify View button. Manage Columns tab: The tab displays the following metadata: How many columns are in the virtual view. Whether or not each column is a primary key. You must define which columns are primary keys by ticking the Primary Key checkboxes. Each column name, type and size. User-defined column descriptions in the Description Override fields, which override the default descriptions. Whether or not each column allow Nulls. Page 10
Feature Enhancements Designer Enhancements Preview Data tab: The tab displays a preview of the data returned. This lets you check that running their SQL will have the results expected. The Use the Limit returned row to checkbox and field are used limit the number of rows returned in the preview. Without this limit, running the SQL might take a lot of time and resources. This will not limit the rows returned in report that use the view. Tables Used tab: This tab lists the tables used by the view and whether or not they exist in the data connection. Columns Used tab: This tab lists the columns used by the view, the tables they are part of, and whether or not they exist in the data connection. Page 11
Feature Enhancements Designer Enhancements Problems Encountered tab: This tab displays any problems found with the virtual view and how severe they are, i.e.: Blocker These are problems that will stop the view from being saved. You must fix all blockers before the view can be saved. Error These are problems which will cause issues when running the virtual view as part of a report. You can still save the view anyway and choose to fix these problems later. Warning These are minor problems with the virtual view. They may not necessarily prevent reports from running. You can save the view and choose to fix these problems later. Adding Virtual Views to Template Designs Once a virtual view has been saved, it will be added to the list of available tables in the Designer Express Template Designer. You can add it to a report template design using the Add Tables dialog, in the same way as any other table. Virtual view primary keys columns are indicated by a key icon. Unions cannot be created with virtual views. The Unions option is therefore not available from the Settings button menu for views (although the views themselves may include unions within them). Page 12
Feature Enhancements Hubble LABS Enhancements In other respects, facilities for virtual views in the Template Designer are the same as for other tables. For example it can be edited and deleted from the options accessible via the Settings button. Only the user who created a view, and users in the Administrator group, can edit and delete that view. Exporting Views Virtual views may need to be exported alongside reports for various reasons. For example, if you send a report to someone using a different repository, that repository might not have the views which the reports need. The views in question must therefore be exported along with the report. In order for you to import virtual views successfully: You must be have access to the Virtual Views functionality. Virtual views in the report must be based on the same database family as the current data connection Hubble is using. If there are existing virtual reports which have with the same names as those be imported: You must have the rights to overwrite these views. If you do not have the rights to do so, you will be asked to confirm the overwrite. The views cannot have already been to used build saved reports, as this means they cannot be overwritten. Hubble LABS Enhancements Hubble LABS enhancements are experimental features that you may wish to try out. Each of these features is deactivated by default, but may be activated for specific users and groups as required. It is important to know that you do need a license key in order to activate the LABS feature capability. Customers who want to try LABS enhancements should be bear in mind the following: LABS enhancements have not undergone full testing. They are not directly supported. They may change, stop working or become unavailable at any time. Therefore, it cannot be absolutely guaranteed that the use of them will not result in problems. Page 13
Feature Enhancements Hubble LABS Enhancements LABS enhancements which perform well and/or are popular may graduate to fully supported production enhancements in future releases. LABS enhancements are activated for users and groups by Administrators using the Advanced Capabilities dialog in Administrator. The LABS enhancement capabilities are located under the Options > LABS node. Silhouette Generator (Edition 2 only) This enhancement enables a Designer to import an image into the Hubble repository for use as a Silhouette image. Variables in Virtual Views This enhancement enables the report variables to be referenced from a virtual view in order to store dynamic data within such views. These variables can then be modified using filters in order to change the view as required. For example, running the view for a different date range, running the view against an archived table, etc. Text, Numeric and Date variables are supported by the Variables in Virtual Views feature. Before a variable can be added to a virtual view it must be added to the report. For example: It can then be referenced from the view by surrounding it with the character @ in the variable view SQL statement entered in the Edit Virtual View dialog (refer to Virtual View Creation on page 8 for details of this new dialog). Page 14
Feature Enhancements Hubble LABS Enhancements For example, if the variable is named TOP X, then @TOP X@ must be included in the statement in order to substitute it for the data contained within the variable. For example: Using Virtual Views as a Lookup Tables This enhancement enables virtual views to be used as lookup tables in the metadata. Color Logic in Charts (Edition 2 only) This enhancement enables you to select a specific color for each chart legend item. When the report is run this item will always be displayed in the specified color. Page 15
Feature Enhancements Hubble LABS Enhancements Any items in the legend that do not have a set color will use one from the theme pallet instead. Linking Attachments to Templates (Edition 1 only) The new Attachments feature enables Power Users to add text and URL type attachments from the database to reports. You will be able to include any such attachments that can be joined to as additional columns when designing a template, based on the tables and columns that are available within that template. Adding an Attachments Column In the Attachments panel of the Design tab, click the Add Attachments Columns option. The Choose the attachment column data structure dialog is then displayed: Page 16
Feature Enhancements Hubble LABS Enhancements For attachment database object columns to be added to a report template in an attachment column, the equivalent columns must be available on the report template. Therefore, when the dialog is opened, the following are scanned in order: 1. Current report columns 2. Columns that can be added using the Columns, Grouping and Sorting window 3. Columns that can be added using the More columns button on the Columns, Grouping and Sorting window, if available. The progress of the scan is displayed at the bottom of the dialog using a progress bar. Based on the columns found by this scan, the dialog is populated with the compatible attachment objects. The Name fields contains the Media Object Name from the database. The Columns fields displays the columns that are used to retrieve the attachments. To add a column to the report template, select it from window and click Add. There is no need to wait for the scan to finish before doing this. A column can be added as soon as it is displayed in the dialog. The dialog then closes, and an attachment column with the selected column structure is then added to the report template. The header of the new column is based on the object description. For example: To add further attachment data to the column, select additional database objects as described above. Note that: All formatting is stripped from text attachments when displayed in an attachment column. URL attachments, and URLs in text attachments are supported (http and https protocols only). If clicked on, the item the URL points to will open in the default browser. Page 17
Feature Enhancements Hubble LABS Enhancements If there are multiple attachments to be displayed in a row in the attachments column, they are separated in the cell using the symbol. It is possible for multiple columns in the available attachment objects to have the same alias (i.e. MCU - as shown in the example Choose the attachment column data structure dialog above). In this case, the feature will attempt to display attachments for the all possible column combinations. If all the MCU columns (for example) contain the same result for a row, then the attachment is displayed once for that cell. If the results are different in a row then the attachments are shown separated by a. The attachment column is disabled if there are required key columns missing from the report template. For example: The required key columns and the relevant object name are shown in What s this window of the column. For example: Page 18
Feature Enhancements Hubble LABS Enhancements Display Settings You can limit the number of characters displayed in each attachment column row if required. By default, no limit is set. To impose a character limit, in the Attachments panel of the Design tab, click the Display Settings option. The Attachment Display Settings window is then displayed: Check the Limit attachments to checkbox. Select either First or Last from the drop-down, and then enter the maximum number of characters in the characters field. If First is selected, the beginning of attachment text up to the character limit will be displayed. If Last is selected, the end of attachment text up to the character limit will be displayed. Hubble inserts in place of the missing text, i.e. at the start or end of text that has more characters than the set limit. Page 19
Chapter 4: Resolved Issues The list below contains all fixes completed in 2016.1 for both Edition 1 and Edition 2. In addition to the list below, 2016.1 also includes all fixes up to and including 2015.SP4. Administrator and Technical Updates The location of the repository selection file used for configuration can now be stored in a different folder other than the install path. Advanced Oracle database users can now take advantage of database index Force Index Query Hints to assist in increasing query run times. Feature can be activated via an Advanced Capability under Feature Control: Hints. Concatenate String function in calculations better supports numeric columns. Email addresses with a + character in, most notably used by Gmail and Google Apps provided email are now supported. Budgeting and Planning Updates A Budget Administrator can create multiple budgeting repositories in a single database, schema or library. Apply Model performance is improved in most circumstances. Apply Multiple icon has been removed from the Budget Entry ribbon and the Cascade icon is to be used when applying multiple models. Improved performance when going into Enter Budget mode for budget forms that return large data sets. Dramatic increase in the save performance of EBS Planning in certain circumstances. General Updates Dramatic report running performance improvements for reports that use complex calculations where all members are not present on the grid (Hidden Columns). Improvement made on issues with performance due to memory leaks in several instances. Login performance has been improved in several circumstances. Entering the More Columns window is significantly quicker on most systems. The Welcome page can now be disabled from displaying either by deselecting it in the ribbon or via a capability in Administration. Page 20
Module Updates Resolved Issues Module Updates AP: Data showing on the Live Trial Balance R12 template displays correctly and no longer displays values outside of the As Of date. AP: Default code combinations are now correctly populated in AP Trial Balance template. AR: The GL Date is now properly populated if the Transaction Type is blank and there is an unapplied cash amount (or Unapplied Cash Functional amount) on the Aged Debt by GL Segment R12. Template. FA: Added an Inquiry option in Depreciation Details so the amounts are correct based on As of Period or All Periods in FY period selection option. FA: Asset Listing Units Assigned changed to a Value column and now shows all the units correctly. FA: Results returned in Asset NBV Schedule template are displaying the same as in previous versions and run query performance has been enhanced to be quicker. HR: Employee Bank Details added to EBS HR Templates: People Detail Date Tracked, People Detail History and Payroll Run Results. HR: Added Lookup for PAY_EXTERNAL_ACCOUNTS.SEGMENT1 for HR Templates. HR: Added extra numerical amount to IS_PAY_ELEMENT_ENTRY_VALUES_F view to allow pivoting on the Element Name. PAY: Fixed a classification issue with Hours in an EBS view so Hours can be used as a value. PAY: Added Special Transition Item for Selection Date in Payroll Run Balances template so that the Selection Date can be selected to pass to the drilled down report. Scheduler Updates Scheduler has been rebranded to Scheduler 2016.1 to sync with the Hubble release level and includes all previous fixes through 2015.1 SP4. Analytics - Edition 2 (Web) Updates Various bug fixes have been completed & delivered for Hubble Edition 2 customers. Hubble re-lease 2016.1 will be available in its entirety for Edition 2 customers by the end of July 2016. Page 21