Report Conversion Contents Purpose of this Training Guide... 2 Exporting Reports to the Repository... 2 Opening a Remote Desktop Session... 5 Opening the Report Conversion Tool... 7 Converting Reports... 8 Editing and Saving Reports... 12 Viewing Conversion Results Report... 16 Appendix A: Report Conversion Error Messages... 18 Copyright 2013 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
Purpose of this Training Guide The purpose of the document is to provide users with a step by step guide on how to convert their existing Desktop (.rep) reports into (.wid) reports. This Training Guide will prepare Business Objects users to: 1. Export locally stored reports to the Business Objects Repository. 2. Access the Report Conversion tool. 3. Run the Report Conversion tool. 4. Access the Report Conversion Results report. 5. Understand common errors that may be encountered when converting reports. Exporting Reports to the Repository Before any Desktop reports that you have saved locally can be converted to, they must be exported to the Business Objects repository (InfoView). We suggest that you move all reports that you plan to convert to a single folder in your Favorites folder. 1. Open Desktop 2. Enter your User Name and Password 3. Click OK The New Report Wizard is displayed. 2
4. Click Cancel 5. Select File Export to Repository The Export window is displayed: 6. In the Send To box, expand Eddie Favorites 7. Create a new folder by clicking the New button 8. Enter i Conversion in the Folder Name box 9. Click OK 3
10. Select the i Conversion folder 11. In the Document(s) to Send box, click Browse 12. Select all the reports to convert. Hold the Ctrl key to select multiple documents 13. Click Add Note: You may need to select reports from various locations, depending on where you have saved them, including your desktop. If reports are located in multiple folders, you will need to repeat step 12 & 13 for each location. 4
Note: To speed up processing time in the Report Conversion Tool, select Categories to assign a category to the documents you are exporting. 14. Click OK to begin export The Export was Successful message is displayed when export is complete: 15. Click OK 16. Close Desktop. Opening a Remote Desktop Session The Report Conversion Tool is available for use by connecting to a Remote Desktop session. 1. Click on the Start Menu. 2. In the Search Programs and Files box, type Remote Desktop 3. Select Remote Desktop Connection from the list of programs in your search results. 5
The Remote Desktop Connection window is displayed: 4. Click the Show Options drop-down menu In the Computer Name field, enter: UIC, UIUC, and UIS: desktop.uillinois.edu University Administration: uadesktop.uillinois.edu 5. In the User Name field, enter your domain name\netid: Urbana: uofi\<your netid> (example: uofi\trishak) Chicago: ad\<your netid> (example: ad\trishak) Springfield: uisad\<your netid> (example: uisad\trishak) 6
6. Click Connect The Windows Security window is displayed. 7. Enter your Windows password and click OK. The Remote Desktop connection is started. Opening the Report Conversion Tool 1. From your remote desktop session, click on the Start Menu. 2. Select All Programs Business Objects XI 3.1 Report Conversion Tool 3.1 The Business Objects login window is displayed 3. In the System field, enter CHIBOEPROD1 7
4. Enter your Business Objects User Name and Password. 5. Click OK The Report Conversion Tool window is displayed: Converting Reports 1. Expand the folders to locate the reports to convert: User Folders My Folders Favorites i Conversion Note: You may experience a delay when expanding the User Folders. This issue has been reported to SAP and we hope to have this resolved soon. Assigning categories to your reports and using the Category view can speed up this processing time. If you assigned a category to your reports, click the Category radio button to locate your documents. 2. Select the reports to convert 3. Click to add them to the list on the right. 8
4. Click The Conversion Status window displays the current status of each report being converted. While reports are being converted, the status will show Converting. Once each report has gone through the conversion process, the status will show Fully,, or Not. 5. Click The Save Conversion Results window is displayed: 9
6. If you have any partially converted or not converted reports, check the Save conversion results to audit database checkbox. Note: The audit table report will give you more information on what caused a report to not fully convert. The report will show each report converted by your user id. You can enter a comment in the comment field if you want to distinguish multiple attempts to convert the same report. 7. Click This step will take a few minutes, based on the number of reports you are converting. 10
The Publish Documents window is displayed: Note: Disregard the Open Audit Report option at this point. We have created a more useful report for you to see your result details. See View Conversion Results section for view this report. Note: By default, all Fully and documents will be checked to be published to. The Target Folder column shows the location that the reports will be published to, and it defaults to the Conversion folder you created in your favorites in EDDIE/InfoView. 8. Click 11
The publish status window is displayed: 9. Click 10. To exit the Conversion Tool, click 11. Click Yes to exit. 12. Log off Remote Desktop by clicking the Start button and then click Editing and Saving Reports If you want to make changes to your reports, or want to save them locally to your computer, you can import them from InfoView to the Rich Client. 1. Start Rich Client. Start All Programs Business Objects XI3.1 Business Objects Enterprise Client Tools Rich Client 2. Enter your User name and Password when prompted, and then click Log On. 12
The home page is displayed: 3. Select Import a document from the repository 4. Expand My Favorites folder 5. Select the i Conversion folder 6. Select the document(s) to import. Note: It is best to import your documents one at a time, or in small batches (less than 10). The reason for this is that all documents will be opened in at the end of the import so they can be saved locally. Importing a large number of documents at once may cause delays in the import process. 7. Click the Add button 13
8. Click Import The Import Successful message is displayed: 9. Click Click to Continue link 10. Click the Open All button 11. Once you are finished editing each document, click File Save as Document. 14
12. Select the location to save document to. Note: If you want other users to be able to view this report, check the Save for all users and Remove document security checkboxes. 13. Click the Save button. The document is now saved locally and can be run from your desktop using Rich Client. 15
Viewing the Conversion Results Report If you have reports that failed to convert or were only partially converted, the Conversion Results report will provide you with information regarding the conversion failure. This report can be found in the public folders in InfoView. 1. Go to the EDDIE webpage: https://eddie.ds.uillinois.edu/ 2. Click Log in to EDDIE 3. Enter your business objects user name and password and click Log On 4. Select Document List 5. Select Folder View (If not already selected) 6. Locate the report by expanding these folders: Public Folders Report Conversion Tool Report Conversion Tool Documents Report Conversion Audit Documents 7. Open the Conversion Results document. The Conversion Results report is displayed: 16
8. Click the Input Control icon located at the bottom of the left report panel. 9. To view the results for a specific document, select the document from the Document Name drop-down list. 10. To filter the results by Conversion Status, check the desired status box(es). Note: For more information on Error Messages, see Appendix A: Report Conversion Error Messages 17
Appendix A: Report Conversion Error Messages Not all the Desktop documents can be converted with the Report Conversion Tool (RCT). The level of conversion depends on the features that are used in the original report. Desktop features that are not yet available in are not converted which can lead to error messages. Below are some of the error messages you may receive while running the conversion tool. If you are not able to convert the report using the conversion tool, please contact DS and we will help you get the report converted. The other option is to recreate the report manually in. Status Message Next Steps Fully Report Successfully - Please check formatting and verify contents Not Not.wid document could not be generated due to unknown reason null, Universe not found Possible permission issue Make sure the conversion is not running on your desktop. The report should be migrated to a folder within Business Objects. Not Not Unsupported Data Provider Unsupported user object A formula from a Desktop block filter cannot be migrated into a block filter Across options for crosstabs are not available in In DeskI, on the "Format filters" panel, you can drag and drop filters among multiple blocks or make it as global filter. In I, during the conversion, complex block and global filter could be removed in some cases. Regarding the usability, in I, you cannot drag and drop filters among multiple blocks and global, you need to recreate filter for different blocks manually. Another approach is to use input control, which provides flexibility to choose the range of filter. ence+to++ 1) This may be happening because of a footer across the page. Try removing the page footer on the Format -> Table dialog. 2) In the original Deski report, go to the cross tab format and uncheck show footer under across edge display. Then re-convert to i. Open the new i report, bring the properties up, uncheck show footer, then check show footer and then a column will appear on the far side, put your syntax or object back into the column and then it will be the same as the original Deski. 18
Block filters on measures do not have the same behavior in Blocks cannot be folded in Breaks cannot be folded in Breaks in can only be set on objects present in the block Breaks in can only be set on one dimension Conditional or permanent Hide Footer does not exist in DeskI can filter a measure in a block. In I: During conversion the filter is removed. You may add the filter after conversion, or use input control to apply the filter in a different way. Http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/BOBJ/Conversion+from+Desktop+Intellig ence+to++ In DeskI: You may fold/unfold tables, sections and breaks. In I: To fold/unfold vertically is delivered starting from XI3.1 SP2. After conversion, all the report elements are unfolded. In BI4.0, the feature has been enhanced to fold horizontally as well as vertically on Sections, Table and Breaks. Furthermore, you can fold/unfold over the web which is not possible in DeskI. ence+to++ In DeskI: You may fold/unfold tables, sections and breaks. In I: To fold/unfold vertically is delivered starting from XI3.1 SP2. After conversion, all the report elements are unfolded. In BI4.0, the feature has been enhanced to fold horizontally as well as vertically on Sections, Table and Breaks. Furthermore, you can fold/unfold over the web which is not possible in DeskI. ence+to++ In DeskI: You can break a block on a column which is not part of the block. In I: The break is removed during the conversion. In I, a workaround is to create a section with the column which is not part of the block, then remove the section label. ence+to++ In DeskI: When defining a break, you can apply breaks of multiple columns within one single level. In I: During conversion, the setting is removed. In I, this can be done by using formatting options. For examples, you can firstly add two breaks, in the "Manage breaks" window, enable the break header and foot for one break, and disable them for the other. ence+to++ 19
Conditional or Permanent Hide Block not available in Conditional or Permanent Hide Cell does not exist in Conditional or permanent Hide Header not available in Detail variables have no associated dimension in Function not available in Keyword not available in In DeskI: This enables hiding content based on thresholds. In I: On XI3.1, there is workaround that columns can be hidden by using Alerters, when condition true (set always true) then apply formula to swap object in that same column. BI 4.0 release provides the conditional hiding functionality. ence+to++ DeskI has functions which are not corresponding to functions in I, including: ApplicationValue, BlockNumber, CurrentPage, GetProfileNumber, GetProfileString, Hyperlink, OLAPQueryDescription, PageInSection. In I: During conversion, these functions are replaced with RepFormula("original_syntax"). Besides, the function CountAll is changed to I syntex as Count([object_name]; IncludeEmpty; All); and the function "MultiCube" is renamed to "ForceMerge". ence+to++ 20
Objects cannot be hidden in documents In DeskI: This enables hiding content based on thresholds. In I: On XI3.1, there is workaround that columns can be hidden by using Alerters, when condition true (set always true) then apply formula to swap object in that same column. BI 4.0 release provides the conditional hiding functionality. Page break footer before page break does not exist in Page break header after page break is not available in Page setup options are not implemented in (First page number, page order, scale, Fit to N pages) Sorts on query objects are not supported ence+to++ In DeskI: You can define the Page break header/footer. In I: During conversion, the setting is removed. ence+to++ In DeskI: You can define the Page break header/footer. In I: During conversion, the setting is removed. ence+to++ In DeskI: You may setup the page options for each document. In I: During conversion, original page setup options are lost and default page options are applied ence+to++ In DeskI: You can apply sort at the query level. I doesn't apply sort at the query level, during the conversion the sort on query is removed. Anyway, you can apply the sort at the report level. ence+to++ 21
The formula of a global filter in Desktop cannot be migrated into a report filter Unsupported 'Do not regenerate SQL' option Unsupported 'Do not retrieve data' option In DeskI: On the "Format filters" panel, you can drag and drop filters among multiple blocks or make it as global filter. During the conversion, complex block and global filter could be removed in some cases. In I: You cannot drag and drop filters among multiple blocks and globale, you need to recreate filter for different blocks manually. Another approach is to use input control, which provides flexibility to choose the range of filter. ence+to++ In DeskI: This helps you to build the report structure without retrieving the data. The option is lost during conversion. In I: You can accomplish the behavior in a different approach. Beside the "Close" button on the Edit query panel, there is an arrow, click on the arrow, you will find two options: one is "Apply changes and close", the other is "Revert changes and close". If you choose the first one, you go to the edit report mode, and you can build the report structure without retrieving the data. ence+to++ 22