BUSINESS INSIGHTS EXPLORER Data at Your Fingertips

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1 How Do I BUSINESS INSIGHTS EXPLORER Data at Your Fingertips Access Business Insights Explorer Find Information in Business Insights Explorer Drill Into Additional Information Filter, Sort, Group, or Summarize Data Rearrange Columns in a View Save View Setting for Reuse Export Data / Create a Report Get Data to Load Faster ACCESS BUSINESS INSIGHTS EXPLORER There are a number of ways to access Business Insights Explorer. You can access a view from: THE DESKTOP

2 WITHIN A MODULE RIGHT-CLICK IN SOME FORMS Page 2 of 24

3 FROM WITHIN BIE MOVE TO ANOTHER VIEW FIND INFORMATION IN BUSINESS INSIGHTS EXPLORER The Business Insights Explorer view is divided into zones containing different types of data and tools. Menu Bar Toolbars Navigation Pane Filter Pane Data Preview Page 3 of 24

4 MENU BAR The Menu Bar consists of various drop-down lists including tasks or operations. FILE MENU Option Business Insights Reporter Print Preview Reset Setting Save Setting Save Setting As Delete Setting My Settings All Settings Export Options Exit Description Opens the Crystal Reports Wizard to allow you to create a custom report from the data in the Explorer view Opens a Print Preview window of the current view Resets the view to the factory standard view or to the view as originally saved Saves changes to a custom view Allows you to save the current settings under a new name Allows you to delete the current setting. Available only for custom settings. Lists the settings created by the current user Lists all custom settings Lists all possible options for exporting data from the current view Closes the window EDIT MENU Option Copy xxxxx (where xxxxx represents the name of the view) Select All Show Filter Clear Filter Description Copies the current view Selects all data in the current view Displays or Hides the Filter Panel Clears the current filter VIEW MENU Option Navigation Pane View xxxxx (where xxxxx represents the name of the preview panel) Status Bar Toolbars Back Forward Drill Into Refresh Stop Data Retrieval Description Displays or hides the Navigation Pane Displays or hides the Preview Panel Displays or hides the locator, login and company information in the lower right-hand corner of the view Select which toolbars you want to see Scroll back to the previous view Scroll forward to the next view Moves the current preview line to the Data pane and displays the next level down if applicable. Refreshes the data in the view based on the current filters, groupings, etc. Stops the data retrieval process when the initial load takes longer than anticipated Page 4 of 24

5 PREVIEW MENU This menu will vary depending on the data in the view. It displays the same options as those displayed in the Navigation Pane under Preview. DRILL INTO This menu will vary depending on the data in the view. It displays the same options as those displayed in the Navigation Pane under Drill Into. ANALYZE This menu will vary depending on the data in the view. It displays the same options as those displayed in the Navigation Pane under Analyze. MANAGE This menu will vary depending on the data in the view. It displays the same options as those displayed in the Navigation Pane under Manage. INSIGHTS This menu allows you to move to other BIE views from within the current view. TOOLS MENU Option Setting Options Options Edit Columns Enable/Disable Grouping Enable/Disable Summarization Find Use Large Icons Toolbars Locked Description Create a New Setting, Export the current settings, Import settings from another source, or view all settings Determine whether Options will be displayed on the Toolbar; Set these settings as the Default; Should data be loaded at startup Add, remove, resize, or reorganize the columns displayed in the view Enable or Disable the ability to group data by column Enable or Disable the ability to summarize data by columns containing numeric data Search for a given record in a view using keywords and matching logic Change the size of the icons on the Toolbar Lock or unlock toolbars to prevent or allow reconfiguration of the toolbar layout WINDOW MENU Switch between windows or views. HELP MENU Access Help topics for Business Insights Explorer or Using the Business Insights Grids. Page 5 of 24

6 TOOLBARS Business Insights Explorer includes three toolbars, each with distinct buttons that open or perform unique tasks: Data Tools Explorer Settings DATA TOOLS Icon Name Description Edit Columns Enable Grouping Enable Summarization Show Splitter Add, remove, resize, or reorganize the columns displayed in the view Enable grouping by columns. When enabled you can create groups and sub groups by dragging the column header to the grouping area in the grid. Enable summarization by columns with numeric values. Summarization is by any group or groups created. Show or Hide Splitter in main data panel Preview Show or Hide the Preview panel as selected in the Navigation Pane Find Help Search for a given record in a view using keywords and matching logic Access Help topics for Business Insights Explorer or Business Insights Grids EXPLORER Icon Name Description Back Move to the previous view Forward Drill Into Stop Data Retrieval Refresh Move to the next view Moves the current Preview pane to the Data pane and exposes the next level down if available Stops data retrieval on initial load or refresh Refreshes data in the view based on changes to the settings Show Controls which toolbars are displayed Filter Displays or hides the Filter pane Clear Filter Clears all filters Page 6 of 24

7 Export Options Displays options to export data from the view to Excel, Word, PDF or HTML Reporter Launches the Crystal Reports Wizard to create a custom report Copy Copies data in the view Print Preview Options Exit Generates a preview of what the data in the view would look like if printed Options include Display on Explorer Bar, Set as Default, and Load Data at Start Closes and Exits Business Insights Explorer About Explorer Opens help files SETTINGS Icon Name Description Setting Options Create, export, or import settings. Or, show all settings. Reset Reset the setting the default or originally loaded setting prior to any unsaved changes. Save Save changes to the current setting. Save As Delete Save the current settings under a new name for reuse at a later time. Delete the current setting. NAVIGATION PANE Use the Navigation Pane, also referred to as the Actions panel, to: Preview data Drill Into data Analyze data Manage data PREVIEW Preview lists the related views available for display in the Preview pane. The listing changes based on the data displayed in the Data pane. Select the option by clicking the radio button next to the description, or right click in the pane and click on the name in the listing. Page 7 of 24

8 DRILL INTO Click on the Drill Into button to display a list of related views related to the highlighted record in the Data pane. For instance, from the Invoices view you can drill into Sales Orders, Shipments, Customers, Customer Addresses, or Salespersons related to the specific Invoice highlighted. Invoice 1034-IN Drills Into Shipments related to that invoice Page 8 of 24

9 ANALYZE Click the Analyze button to see analysis options related to the record currently viewed in the data panel. In this instance, the options available include Sales History, Customer Sales History, and Salesperson History as these are related to Invoices. The analysis displayed will be contextually based on the data from the selected invoice. Invoice 1034-IN Analyzed Customer Sales History for Alicia Garage Doors Page 9 of 24

10 Analysis information can be viewed in a pivot table. Chart representations are also available. Page 10 of 24

11 MANAGE Click the Manage button to view tasks related to the data displayed in the view. In this example the tasks are related in some way to the data contained on an invoice. I use Manage to update credit limits in Customer Maintenance after reviewing outstanding invoices and aged balances. Page 11 of 24

12 FILTER PANE The Filter Pane allows you to filter the records to just the ones you want to view. The grid includes several columns with unique functions: Insert And/Or Column Operator Value INSERT The Insert column includes options to Insert, Delete, Clear or Clear All rows from the filter. AND/OR Use this column to set the condition between each filter condition. A filter where the Customer is equal to Alicia Garage Doors And the Salesperson is equal to Vincent returns a very different set of data from a filter where the Customer is equal to Alicia Garage Doors Or the Salesperson is equal to Vincent. In the first case, we would only see records for Alicia Garage Doors as those are the only records that meet both conditions. In the second case, we would see records for Alicia Garage Doors and records for all other customers whose Salesperson is Vincent as the filter only check to see if a record meets either condition. COLUMN Use the drop-down to select any column available to the view. Alternatively, you can add a column to a filter by right-clicking on the column header. Page 12 of 24

13 OPERATOR Use the drop-down to select the filtering method for records to include in the view. Available operators include: Operator All Is equal to Is not equal to Is between Is not between Is greater than Is less than Is greater than or equal to Is less than or equal to Begins with Does not begin with Ends with Does not end with Contains Does not contain Values Returned / Required Includes all records for the column Returns all records that are an exact match to the value entered in the value column. Text values are not case sensitive, but must match character for character to return the record. Returns all records that are NOT an exact match to the value entered in the value column. Text values are not case sensitive, but will be included unless they match character for character the value entered. Returns all records between the values entered in the value columns. The values are read right to left to define a range. Returns all records outside the range defined by the values entered in the value columns. Values are read right to left to define the range. Returns all records with a value greater than the value entered in the value column. Works best for numeric columns. Returns all records with a value less than the value entered in the value column. Works best for numeric columns. Returns records that match the value entered and all records with a value greater than said value. Works best for numeric columns. Returns records that match the value entered and all records with a value less than said value. Works best for numeric columns. Returns records with the initial characters matching the value entered. Must be an exact match. Returns records NOT matching the initial characters entered. Only exact matches will be excluded. Returns records ending in the exact characters entered. Returns records ending characters that are NOT an exact match to those entered. Returns records containing the sequence of characters entered if they appear anywhere in the record. Must be an exact match of characters and sequence. Returns records that do NOT contain the sequence of characters entered anywhere in the record. Only records with an exact match of characters and sequence will be excluded. VALUE Enter the value or values used to evaluate records for inclusion or exclusion from the view based on the filter. The first Value column is understood to be the beginning value in a range, while the second Value column represents the ending value. Page 13 of 24

14 DATA The Data pane contains the primary data in the view. See the following topics for additional information on how to customize or utilize the data in this pane: Drill Into Additional Information Filter, Sort, Group, or Summarize Data Rearrange Columns in a view Save View Setting for Reuse Export Data PREVIEW The Preview pane display data related to the record selected in the Data pane, as determined by the selection in the Navigation Pane. In the example below, Invoice lines are displayed for the selected Invoice. Page 14 of 24

15 DRILL INTO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The term Drill Into refers to moving from one set of data to another. In Business Insights Explorer, there are two separate and distinct Drill Into operations. The first Drill Into operation we will refer to as the Drill Into icon. The Drill Into icon pictured here can be accessed from the: View Menu Toolbars Right-Click on a record in the Data pane Using any of these methods, drills down from the record in the Data pane, moving the information from the Preview pane up to the Data pane. In the example below, the Invoice Lines are moved up to the Data pane. Page 15 of 24

16 The second Drill Into operation we will refer to as the Drill Into button. The Drill Into button pictured here can be accessed from the: Navigation Pane > Drill Into Drill Into Menu Right-click in Preview Pane Using any of these methods allows you to drill around to related information. In the example below, based on the record selected in the Data pane, we can drill around to Sales Orders, Shipments, Customers, Customer Addresses, or Salespersons. Invoice 983-IN was generated from Sales Order 151. Page 16 of 24

17 FILTER, SORT, GROUP, OR SUMMARIZE DATA In order to view just the data you want you can limit and arrange the data using the following tools: Filter Sort Group Summarize FILTER The Filter Pane described elsewhere, allows you to select just the records you want to display. Detailed here are the steps needed to: Display or Hide the Filter Pane Add or Remove Columns from the Filter Refresh the Data Clear the Filter DISPLAY OR HIDE THE FILTER PANE You can display or hide the Filter Pane using the Edit Menu or the Filter Icon from the Toolbars. From the Edit Menu, select Show Filter. From the Toolbars, select the Filter Icon. Page 17 of 24

18 ADD OR REMOVE COLUMNS FROM THE FILTER You can add or remove columns from the filter using the drop-down window in the grid or by right-clicking on any column header in the Data Pane. REFRESH THE DATA Changes to the filter will not take effect until the data is refreshed. To refresh the data click the Refresh icon. The Refresh icon is available from the: View Menu Toolbars CLEAR THE FILTER Clear the filter to remove all filter criteria and allow all records to be returned. The records will not be returned until you Refresh the Data. To clear the filter, use the Clear Filter icon. 1. Click the icon. 2. The filter criteria are removed from the grid. 3. Refresh the Data The Clear Filter icon is available from the: Edit Menu Toolbars SORT You can sort the data in either the Data or Preview panes by clicking on any column header. The initial click sorts the data in ascending order. A second click reverses the sort order to descending. If you wish to remove the sort altogether from a column in the Data pane, right-click on the column header containing the sort and select, Cancel Sort. Page 18 of 24

19 GROUP You can also group data to make it easier to view like data together using two easy steps: 1. Enable Grouping 2. Create Groupings ENABLE GROUPING To enable grouping, click the Enable Grouping icon pictured here from either the: Tools Menu Toolbars CREATE GROUPINGS Once grouping is enabled a new Grouping Pane appears on the Explore grid. To create groupings, drag the desired column headers to the Grouping Pane. Groups can be arranged in sub-groups and hierarchies if desired based on the positioning of the column headers in the grouping pane. In the example below, invoices are grouped by Salesperson and then by customer. The groups and sub-groups can be sorted in ascending or descending order by clicking on the column header in the Grouping Pane. Grouping Pane Page 19 of 24

20 SUMMARIZE Data can also be summarized, with or without grouping. To Enable or Disable Summarization use the Summarization icons pictured here. These icons are available from the: Tools Menu Toolbars Enable Disable Summarization is limited to columns including numeric values. Available types of summarization include: Average Count Maximum Minimum Sum Once summarization is enabled, right-click on the Σ in the column header to display the summary options. Select the summaries desired. Summaries appear in the grid similar to the example below. Page 20 of 24

21 REARRANGE COLUMNS IN A VIEW You can also rearrange columns in a view such that they are in the order you want and that you see only those that are important for your purposes. There are two ways to arrange columns: 1. Drag and Drop 2. Edit Columns DRAG AND DROP To rearrange columns using drag and drop, simply click on a column header and drag it to the desired location. To hide a column, simply right-click on the column header and select Hide EDIT COLUMNS Select Edit Columns from the Toolbars or from the Tools Menu to add, delete, or move columns from the view. Columns native to the table are listed in the panel to the left of the window. Columns selected with a checkmark are those currently displayed. To display additional columns, simply add a checkmark. To hide a column, uncheck the box next to the column name. To rearrange the columns, use the Move Up and Move Down buttons on the right. Click the Add Column button to add a user-defined column to the Data View grid. Click the Edit Column button to edit the user-defined column. Click the Delete Column button to delete the userdefined column. Use the Column Properties fields to modify the name or format of column headers for existing columns. Use the Column Properties fields to define the properties of user-defined fields. Page 21 of 24

22 SAVE VIEW SETTING FOR REUSE Once you ve defined the view as you want it, you can save it for reuse using the Save Setting As option from the File Menu or the Toolbars. Custom views can be saved with any name except Standard. Custom views can be set to Use as Default and/or Display on the Explorer Bar. With the correct security, custom views can be set as the System Default. Custom views can be modified and overwritten using the Save option from the File Menu or Toolbars. EXPORT DATA / CREATE A REPORT Many users find the need to export data from a view for further analysis, merge with outside date, or to create a report for distribution. There are a number of options for doing so. DATA EXPORT OPTIONS Data Export options can be accessed from the File Menu and from the Toolbars. Export format options include: Excel Excel Template Word Mail Merge Word Mail Merge Template PDF XML Additionally, for Excel, PDF and XML, you can choose whether to include All Data or only the Data in the Grid. When exporting only the Data in the Grid, all filters, groups, and totals are included. Page 22 of 24

23 REPORTING OPTIONS Data exported to Excel, PDF, or XML can be distributed as reports. However, there are additional reporting options as well. From the File Menu and the Toolbars, you can access either: Print Preview Business Insights Reporter PRINT PREVIEW Print Preview uses the default printer setting to generate a preview of data from the current view. Data from the Data Pane is included. You can select to print a range of pages or all pages as desired. Filters and column settings are respected. BUSINESS INSIGHTS REPORTER The Business Insights Reporter button launches the Crystal Report Wizard to walk you through creating a presentation quality report from the data fields available. GET DATA TO LOAD FASTER There are three main ways to get the data in a view to load faster. 1. Stop Data Retrieval 2. Clear Load Data at Start 3. Maintain Business Insights Views / Context Menus > Maximum Rows Page 23 of 24

24 STOP DATA RETRIEVAL If the data is taking a long time to load, you can use the Stop Data Retrieval button from the Toolbars. Then, set the appropriate Filter to load only the data you need in the view. Stop Data Retrieval Button Filters CLEAR LOAD DATA AT START For any saved setting, you can also clear the option to Load Data at Start, from the Tools Menu or the Toolbars, under Options. MAINTAIN BUSINESS INSIGHTS VIEWS / CONTEXT MENUS > MAXIMUM ROWS If you are using Version 7.4 or later there is also a new option in the System Manager module under the Maintenance Menu, Maintain Business Insights Views / Context Menus called Maximum Rows. This new option allows your system manager to define, by view, the number of rows returned on initial startup. With this option, the initial load time is shortened and a quick view of top performers in a given view is returned. Page 24 of 24