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SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform

Document Version: 4.2 Service Pack 5 – 2014-04-03

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Online Help

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1 SAP BusinessObjects Explorer overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2 Getting started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.1 Accessing SAP BusinessObjects Explorer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2 Getting started with SAP BusinessObjects Explorer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.3 Start exploring from the Home tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.4 What is an Information Space?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.5 What is an Exploration view?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

3 Exploring data in an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3.1 Searching for information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Searching for information spaces or exploration views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Searching for data within information spaces and exploration views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Search tips and wildcards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.2 Exploring data with information spaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Navigating through an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Working with facets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Working with measures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Exploring local Excel files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Saving exploration results as a bookmark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4 Analyzing data in an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4.1 Analyzing data visually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.2 Finding your way around the visualization pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.3 Selecting dimensions and measures for a chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.4 Working with a chart in an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.5 Choosing the correct chart for your data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Changing the chart type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.6 Visualizing the data in a chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

5 Visualizing data with exploration views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

5.1 Visualizing data with exploration views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.2 Creating an exploration view set and adding views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Creating an exploration view set. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Adding an exploration view to a view set. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.3 Working with charts and tables in an exploration view. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

6 Sharing exploration results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

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6.1 Exporting exploration results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Exporting exploration results to a data (.CSV) file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Exporting exploration results to an Excel file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Exporting exploration results as a Web Intelligence query. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Exporting exploration results as an image. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

7 Setting up information spaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

7.1 Overview guide to creating information spaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
7.2 Creating an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
7.3 Selecting a data source for an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
7.4 Setting information space properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
7.5 Setting information space display preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
7.6 Adding measures to an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
What aggregation methods are applied by measures?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Specifying measure polarity by color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Creating a calculated measure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
7.7 Adding facets to an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Ranking values in the facet display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Defining a geography dimension for a map display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Working with prompts defined in your data sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Using predefined filters in a universe data source. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
7.8 Creating information spaces with Excel files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
7.9 Using object formats defined in a universe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

8 Managing information spaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

8.1 Managing information spaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
8.2 Changing data source for an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
8.3 Personalizing an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
8.4 Indexing information spaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Indexing an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Indexing information spaces on universes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Interpreting indexation status icons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
8.5 Scheduling information spaces for refresh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Scheduling indexing for an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
8.6 Editing an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
8.7 Deleting an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
8.8 Duplicating an information space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

9 Accessibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
9.1 Keyboard Access for Explorer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Online Help

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1 SAP BusinessObjects Explorer overview

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is a data discovery and visualization tool. You use pre-defined datasets called
Information Spaces and associated Exploration view sets to explore, visualize, and analyze corporate data. .

You explore your data using keyword searches for information spaces or exploration view sets that contain the
most relevant data to answer a business question. An information spaces contains data organized in facets, and its
associated exploration view sets allow you to visualize the data using multiple charts optimized for the type of data
being explored.

You can create filters to refine the data and apply measures to analyze data changes. The changes are plotted
automatically in charts, which can be changed at any time for any one in a wide selection of charts to suit many
types of data.

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer can be accessed directly as a separate application in the SAP BusinessObjects
Business Intelligence platform or from the Documents tab in the BI Launch pad.

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is used by the following user groups:

Table 1:
Role Description

Explorer Users who search and explore data in information spaces and exploration views. The explorations are saved,
shared, or exported to other applications.

Creator Users who create information spaces. These users require authorization to the data sources used to build
information spaces.

Administrator IT specialists who set up and manage corporate deployments of SAP BusinessObjects Explorer, including
assigning security rights to end users and scheduling Information Spaces for indexing, so they can be
searched by the Explorer search engine.

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2 Getting started

2.1 Accessing SAP BusinessObjects Explorer

Depending on your license agreement you can access SAP BusinessObjects Explorer as a separate application
installed with the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform, or from the BI launch pad. SAP
BusinessObjects Explorer is also available as an application on the iPad and iPhone.

The iPad and iPhone versions of SAP BusinessObjects Explorer are installed with documentation specific to the
iOS environment.

If you launch SAP BusinessObjects Explorer as application, you can explore, create, and manage information
spaces. You can create exploration view sets containing views that allow explorations to be shared with other
users. The indexing of information spaces can be scheduled which allows information spaces to be updated and
refreshed.

If you access SAP BusinessObjects Explorer from the BI launch pad, you can explore information spaces and
exploration views, however you can not create or manage information spaces.

2.2 Getting started with SAP BusinessObjects Explorer

The following is an overview of one of many ways that you can use SAP BusinessObjects Explorer. The process is
not a linear one, and you can pass from one step back or forward according to your exploration needs.

Table 2:
Steps to explore your data What can you do? Go here for information

Search for relevant infor­ Search for relevant information Searching for information [page 9]
mation

Choose a data source ● Information space ● What is an Information Space? [page 7]

● Exploration view ● What is an Exploration view? [page 7]

Explore and analyze your ● Add values from facets ● Exploring data with information spaces [page
data ● Filter values 13]
● Add and change measures ● Analyzing data visually [page 23]
● Add a second dimension to charts
● Change analysis types

Analyze your data visually ● Save an exploration as an exploration Visualizing data with exploration views [page 31]
view set to allow further analysis
● Add multiple charts
● Add different exploration view sets

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Steps to explore your data What can you do? Go here for information

Share the results of your ● Export information spaces Exporting exploration results [page 34]
exploration and analysis ● Save explorations to different formats

Create, manage and cus­ ● Create and modify information spaces ● Overview guide to creating information spaces
tomize your data sources ● Publish information spaces to the [page 38]
Home page ● Managing information spaces [page 56]
● Personalize the information available
and access to information spaces.
● Schedule publication of information
spaces.

2.3 Start exploring from the Home tab

The Explorer Home tab appears each time you log into Explorer. The Home tab is the starting point for performing
keyword searches, and exploring information spaces and exploration view sets.

The Home tab contains the following components:

Table 3:
Home tab components Description

Search box The search box, located at the top of the tab is the entry point to searching. Start a search by
entering a search phrase in the box and clicking the Search button. Once a search has been
carried out you are taken to the Search results tab.

Information space and Explora­ Central section of the tab that displays the list of available Information spaces and Explora­
tion view set pane tion view sets. Click an information space or exploration view set name to launch the Explora­
tion tab and begin exploring.

Note
You can only see the information spaces and view sets that you have the rights to access.
If the information space or view set is stored within a certain folder with restricted access,
you may not be able to access it.

Show properties button and When clicked, the Properties pane appears to the left of the Home tab. The Properties pane
Properties pane lists general information for a selected information space or view set. Depending on what is
selected you have the following properties shown:

● Information Space: Measures, facets, and view sets defined for the information space.
● Exploration view set: Exploration views defined in the view set.

Upload a spreadsheet to ex­ You browse to a local Excel file for exploration.
plore pane

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2.4 What is an Information Space?

An information space is a collection of objects that map to corporate data for a specific business operation or
activity, for example product sales, employee performance, product inventory, delivery tracking, or player
statistics for a sporting event.

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer users type in key words related to a business question for analysis, to retrieve the
information spaces that contain the relevant data.

The data in information spaces is organized in data sets called facets. A facet is a list of values available for an
object in the information space. For example, a facet called "Vehicle" could include values such as "Car", "Bicycle",
"Motorbike", "Truck", and other types of vehicles. Facets contain the data that you are interested in exploring to
find variance and trends.

Information spaces are created in the Managing Spaces part of Explorer by power users on top of corporate data
providers for example SAP Hana, universes, BWA, and Excel spreadsheets.

2.5 What is an Exploration view?

An exploration view is a saved exploration on an information space. Exploration views are organized thematically
within folders called exploration view sets. An exploration view can be used to show a detailed analysis on a
targeted area of the data; for example, an exploration view set called Rugby World Cup 2011 could contain
exploration views dealing with specific aspects of the tournement such as offensive statistics, defensive statistics,
or player rankings per game.

You access an exploration view from its exploration view set which is listed in the Explorer Home tab. An
exploration view can only have one information space as its data source. Within an exploration view you can edit
charts, tables, and filters exposed by the exploration view set.

An exploration view set is a container for one or more exploration views. It can include exploration views from
different information spaces, so a user can now have quick access to pre-filtered information for a common
information theme over different data sources.

Note
In this guide and in certain parts of the Explorer user interface, the following abbreviations can be used for
exploration views and associated components:

Table 4:
Full name Abbreviated name

Exploration view set View set

Exploration view View

View element Element

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Related Information

Creating an exploration view set and adding views [page 31]

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3 Exploring data in an information space

3.1 Searching for information

You can search for information spaces or exploration views that are the most likely candidates for your data
exploration. You can also search the data within the information spaces and exploration views. The two search
types are described as follows:

Table 5:
Search for By

The correct information space or exploration view Enter search keywords in the Search box on the Home tab ei­
ther for the active Information Spaces or Exploration View Sets
lists.

The search returns results for information space data and

metadata. For exploration view sets the search returns results
for metadata matches.

Data within the information spaces or exploration view Enter search keywords in the Find box for an active informa­
tion space or exploration view. In information spaces the result
data is highlighted in both facets and the visual display. In ex­
ploration views the result data is highlighted in facets only.

Related Information

Searching for information spaces or exploration views [page 9]

Searching for data within information spaces and exploration views [page 11]
Search tips and wildcards [page 12]

3.1.1 Searching for information spaces or exploration views

Context

You search for the correct information space or exploration view by entering key words for the information you
require in the Search box at the top of the Home tab.

The results are shown in a Search Results tab. You have the following search tools to help you find the correct
information:

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Table 6:
Search tools Applies to Description

Matched metadata Information space and ex­ Matched words are highlighted when the searched text matches the meta­
highlighting ploration view sets data defined for an information space or exploration view. These include:

● Words in the title of an object

● Description of an object
● Keywords defined
● Datasource and owner name

Matched data high­ Information spaces only Matched data objects for example, measure and facet names, facet values,
lighting and dimensions on a chart.

On the Search results tab, each possible information space is listed with
data found, for example a dimension or measure name.

Within the Explore tab, the facets, legend, and visualization are highlighted.

Search result rank­ Information space and ex­ On the Search results tab, each object is assigned a score rating ranging
ing ploration view sets from 1 to 5. There is a dependence upon the relevance of an object to the
search input. Each score rating is represented with a set of graphical bars,
for example a score of five bars signifies the object is a strong match. A
score of one signifies a weak match.

Did you mean Information space and ex­ Spelling corrections are suggested for search queries. Explorer suggests,
search assistance ploration view sets and in certain cases, automatically executes alternative queries with spell­
ing corrections on the original query, for metadata and data.

Note
The Did you mean feature applies to metadata, and not data, searches
for SAP HANA and Business Warehouse Accelerator (BWA).

Procedure

1. From the Home tab, type one or more keywords in the Search box.

Note
You can enter a variety of search words to ensure you find the best fit information space, for example if you
enter a measure name, a dimension name, as well as the type of data source, you increase the information
used by the search engine, and increase the probability that the most probably information space is
returned. The search on data from the Home tab is limited however to information spaces. The results for
exploration view sets is based on a keyword search on exploration view metadata.

2. Do one of the following:

○ Click the Information Spaces link to see the results for likely information spaces found
○ Click the Exploration Views Set link to see the results for likely exploration views found.

The Search results tab shows the results with the likely information spaces or exploration views matches
ranked for the most probable matches.

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Related Information

Searching for data within information spaces and exploration views [page 11]
Search tips and wildcards [page 12]

3.1.2 Searching for data within information spaces and

exploration views

Context

You search for information within information spaces and exploration views by entering in key words in the Find
box at the top of the information space or exploration view set tab. Depending on whether you search in an
information space or exploration view set, you can have the following results:

Table 7:
Search for data in a ... Search results are...

Information space Highlighted in facets and in the chart. If a measure is returned as a result, the measure is active.
The facets are reordered based on relevance to the keywords. Facet names are highlighted.

For example, if you search for Product Sales France 2011, the Sales measure becomes
the selected measure. The Product, Country, and Year facets are promoted to be the most rele­
vant facets for exploration, and matching values highlighted.

Exploration view set Highlighted in facets only. Facet names are highlighted.

Note
When searching data in an SAP HANA data source, empty, or null values in the database are displayed as #NA.
This is the notation used to indicate null values, and is not a searchable string.

Procedure

Type one or more keywords into the Find box at the top of either an information space or exploration view set pane.
Search results are highlighted in facets and charts for information spaces, and facets only in exploration views.

Related Information

Searching for information spaces or exploration views [page 9]

Search tips and wildcards [page 12]

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3.1.3 Search tips and wildcards

By including certain operators and wildcards, you can refine your search criteria to extend or limit the search
results. When you perform a search on facet values using wildcards, a maximum of 1024 matches is returned.

Note
Search is not case sensitive. However, you should ensure that the search syntax terms, for example "AND", are
always typed in upper case so that the search isn't performed on "and" rather than using the "AND" as part of
the search definition.

Table 8:
Search Functionality Syntax Example

Retrieve content that Insert quote marks before and after the ● "annual sales growth"
matches a string exactly string. ● "New Orleans"
as it is typed.
Note
This applies to many geographical location
names, for example "New York" returns the
city New York, if the search words were New
York entered without the quote marks, than
other places containing either New or York would
be returned.

Retrieve content that Two options: ● Europe EMEA

matches one or more ● Europe OR EMEA
● insert a space between each word
words contained in a
● type "OR" between each word Returns content that includes Europe or EMEA or
string.
that contains both words.
Note
Insert a space before and after "OR"

Retrieve content that Two options: ● +Europe +EMEA

matches all the words ● Europe AND EMEA
● type "+" before each word
contained in a string.
● type "AND" between each word. Returns content that includes both Europe and
EMEA.
Note
Insert a space before and after "AND"

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 Search Functionality Syntax Example

Do not retrieve content Two options: ● Americas -USA -US

that matches specific ● Americas AND NOT USA AND NOT US
● type "-" before each word you want to ex­
words.
clude from the search
Returns content for Americas that does not in­
● type "AND NOT" before each word you
clude USA and that does not include US.
want to exclude from the search.

Note
Insert a space before and after "AND
NOT"

Retrieve content that in­ Type "*" after a partial string. ● Eur*
cludes words that begin
Returns: Eur, Euro, Europe, Europa,
with a specific string. Note
European etc.
For Japanese, Chinese and Korean lan­
guages , the "*" wild card is not necessary ● 東
because the search is indexed on single
characters. If you search for one charac­ Returns: 東, 東京, 東大阪 etc.
ter, the search returns any content that in­
● 東京
cludes that character.

If you search for a set of characters, the Returns: 東京, 東京支社 etc.

search returns content that includes all of Does not return: 東, 京, 下京 etc.
those characters, but does not return con­
tent that includes only one of those char­
acters.

3.2 Exploring data with information spaces

You explore data using information spaces. Each information space displays data in lists called Facets. The data
can be refined using filters, analyzed by applying different measures, and the information is immediately plotted
on a chart.

An information space contains a single visualization. Once you have obtained an exploration that can serve as a
basis for further visual analysis, you can save it as an Exploration view set, which can then serve as a container to
add multiple visualizations based on the information space called exploration views. Each exploration view set can
be saved and shared on the Home tab.

To add facets or measures not available in the initial exploration view set, you can return to the information space
that serves as the basis for the exploration view to implement the additions, which are immediately available in the
view set.

When you select an information space on the Home tab, the information space opens for exploration on the
Explore tab. If you open multiple information spaces, each appears in a separate tab.

You explore an information space using the following types of viewing modes:

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Table 9:
Explore tab viewing mode Display is organized in panes as follows...

Facets ● Measures to the left

● Facets to the right
● Filters at the bottom

Split ● Measures to the left

● Facets to the right
● Filters in center
● Chart at the bottom

Visualization ● Filters at the top

● Chart in the middle

You change viewing modes by clicking the Facets, Split, or Visualization menu buttons.

You can create filters in any mode by clicking the "+" arrow in the filter pane. This allows you to select a facet, then
one or more values to filter the data.

Related Information

Filtering facet data [page 17]

Navigating through an information space [page 14]

3.2.1 Navigating through an information space

Context

You explore data in an information space by navigating through facets, applying filters and measures to refine and
analyze data changes in the facets:

Table 10:
Explore using Description

Facets A facet is a list of related values. Facets contain data that is stored in columns from a data source,
for example a database table, or a spreadsheet. Facets provide the data for exploration in the infor­
mation space

Filters A filter is a selected facet value that is used to sort the other facet values. Selecting one or more
values in a facet filters the display in a chart, for example, if you click 2009 in a Year facet, you cre­
ate a filter for 2009 which is implemented in the chart to display dimension values for 2009.

Filters appear in the filter bar below the facet panel.

Measures A measure is an aggregation calculation that is applied to facet data. Measures are listed in the
measure panel in the Exploration tab on the left hand side of the facet pane. Measures are the basis
of your exploration as facet members change depending on the measure applied.

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 Note
When exploring facets containing large amounts of data, you may receive a time out message if the loading time
exceeds the default limit. Refer to the Request timeout limit section in the Explorer Administrator's Guide for
information to extend the request time out parameter for large data sets.

Navigate through your data as follows:

● Select one and then multiple measures as a focus for exploration.

● Create one then multiple filters on different facets.

Procedure

1. Select a measure that you want to use as the focus for your exploration.
When you open an information space, one measure is already selected. The selected measure is used in the
facet and in the visualization pane. Select another measure to change the focus. The change is immediately
taken into account. You can select one measure in the facet pane. This main measure is used for all facets. In
the visualization pane, you can add up to three measures. .
2. To select additional measures, press CTRL and click each measure.
Your visualization changes according to your chosen measures and the additional measures are added to the
legend. Use the scrollbar to view facets that are not displayed.
3. Filter facet values using one of the following methods:

To... Do this...

Filter on a single facet value Click a value in a facet to filter on that facet value. For
example, within a facet called Country, select France.

Filter using multiple facet values Press CTRL then click different facet values

Filter on facet values not visible in the list Click Explore more... at the bottom of a facet , then from the
facet value list, select values and click the arrow heads
between the facet and selected list panes to add or remove
values. Click Done to apply the filters.

Change a filter without removing it from the filter bar Click the filter and select another value from the facet list.

Add a filter from a facet list that is not visible Click the + icon on the filter bar, select a facet, then select
values from the values list.

Remove the filter from the filter bar click the X in the right corner on each filter.

Remove all filters Press and hold the shift key before clicking on the + of the
last filter on the bar.

Each facet value appears as a filter in the filter bar. The values in the chart change based on each new filter.

Related Information

Calculating measures [page 19]

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Selecting multiple values [page 18]
Facet pane scrollbar [page 16]

3.2.2 Working with facets

3.2.2.1 Facet pane scrollbar

The scrollbar in the facet pane is used for navigating through the available facets so you can choose certain facet
values for exploration. Since not all facets are displayed at one time, you are able to move through all the facets
with the scrollbar.

To see the facets that are not displayed, navigate with the scrollbar forward or back. During the navigation, the
tooltip shows the facets that will be displayed when releasing the scrollbar. Once you have found the facet values
you are searching for, click the values to select them. The facet becomes selected and the remaining facets are
reordered.

if the facet panel is not visible, you can manually view facets by clicking the + button in the filter pane and selecting
the facets from the list.

3.2.2.2 Sorting facets

To customize your exploration view, you can apply a sort to facet values.

The methods available for sorting are:

● Explorer sort
The default sort method arranges the facet values according to relevancy.
● A to Z sort
Sorts the values in ascending order. For example, a Year facet with values of 2007, 2006, and 2005 is sorted to
show 2005, 2006, and then 2007.

Note
When sorting dimension numeric values, for example if you have a dimension Month that uses numbers 1 to
12 to indicate the months, it is recommended that you place a zero (0) before the numbers 1 - 9 to ensure
that the ascending sort is displayed correctly, for example 01, 02 … 10, 11, 12.

● Z to A sort
Sorts the values in descending order. For example, a Country facet with values of UK, USA, France, Norway,
and Mexico is sorted to show USA, UK, Norway, Mexico, and then France.
● Smallest to Largest (sort on measure)
Sorts the measure values in ascending order. For example, a Year facet representing sales revenue (with values
2007=$100750, 2006=$90500, and 2005=$200444) is sorted to show: 2006=$90500, 2007=$100750, and
then 2005=$200444.
● Largest to Smallest (sort on measure)

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 Sorts the measure values in descending order. For example, a Year facet representing sales revenue (with
values 2007=$100750, 2006=$90500, and 2005=$200444) is sorted to show: 2005=$200444, 2007=
$100750, and then 2006=$90500.

You can apply sorting within the Objects tab while creating an Information Space. The dimension objects within the
Measures and Dimensions pane have an icon indicating their sorting method. By default, objects use default
sorting, click the object you wish to sort, then choose the sorting method you wish to apply. For example, click A to
Z, to change the sorting method. The icon changes to the A to Z sort. To return to the default sort, click Explorer.

When navigating, you can overwrite the facet sorting by using the sorting methods on the facets.

3.2.2.3 Filtering facet data

Context

A filter is a constraint applied to a facet that limits the amount of data available to one or more selected facet
values. For example you may want to only see revenue for certain product lines and not all product lines available in
a facet. You create a filter by selecting the product lines you want to see, so the values displayed in the chart
correspond only to those selected product lines.

Filters are shown as individual arrow heads on the filter pane directly under the facet pane in Facets and Split
modes, and above the chart in Visualize mode.

If you are in Split or Visualize mode the filter applies immediately to the chart values.

Procedure

1. Do one of the following:

○ If the facet is visible, click a value directly in a facet, or press CTRL and click multiple facet values to filter.
The values appear as filter buttons on the filter bar. The chart changes to show data restricted by the filter.
○ If the facet is not visible then go to the next step.

Note
If the Hide this facet pane when opening this information space option is selected in Manage Spaces ,
the facet panel is not shown to optimize opening time. In this case you need to manually select facets to
create filters. This is done in the following steps.

2. Click the "+" button in the filter bar.

A facet list appears. This lists all of the facets available to your information space.
3. Click facet.
The Explore more... box appears. This box lists all of the values in the facet. You select one or more of these
values as filters to apply to your data.
4. Double click a value in the left pane, or click a value and click the right arrowhead. You can select multiple
values by clicking values while holding down CTRL, then clicking the right arrowhead.
The values in the Select values pane are the filters that you want to apply to the data.

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5. Click Done.
The new filter appears as a large arrow in the Filter pane. the data in the chart changes to match the new limit
imposed by the filter.

Note
To remove a filter from the Filter pane, click the cross at the top right of a filter arrow.

Results

You can also create filters on a facet by clicking the Explore more... option at the bottom of a facet. This option is
available in Facet and Split modes only.

Related Information

The Explore more... option for selecting additional values [page 19]

3.2.2.4 Selecting multiple values

Select a value in a facet or a chart is simple by clicking the value. When you click a data table or chart value, the
value is highlighted.

You can select multiple values using the following keyboard keys:

Table 11:
Key Description

Shift By pressing this key and clicking two values you select multiple values in a given range.

Control By pressing this key and clicking different values, you select discontinuous multiple values where
you indicate.

Note
Data value selection is independent from where the values are located. For example, a facet, the data table, a
chart.

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3.2.2.5 The Explore more... option for selecting additional
values

The Explore more... option allows you to access data values that are not currently displayed. For example, a facet
representing color can have numerous values.

To accommodate the other values, the Explore more... option appears below the top ten facet values. The option,
when clicked, displays all values in the Explore more... dialog box.

Click the values you want to use, use multi selection if required, and move them into the Selected Values pane,
using the arrow buttons situated on the right. If there are a lot of values, scroll through them and click the values
you want. Ensure you keep the Shift or Control key pressed when performing multiple selection.

Note
As default a maximum of 100 values can be selected within the Explore more... dialog box.

You can also sort the values to view the top or bottom values by clicking the headers. Use the Refine option to filter
the list of values. When you have chosen your desired values click Done to finish your selection.

Note
When you perform a search on facet values in the Explore more... dialog box, the facet values that match the
search criteria are not highlighted.

Related Information

Selecting multiple values [page 18]

3.2.3 Working with measures

3.2.3.1 Calculating measures

Prerequisites

To calculate a measure, the Information Space needs to contain at least two original measures from a data source.

Context

With this function, you can define measures based on existing measures in the Information Space. You can use the
calculated measures during exploration for each facet and for visualization. You can export the exploration results
to a CSV file or as a WebIntelligence query.

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To define a calculated measure:

Procedure

1. Select Add Calculation in the measure panel.

2. Enter name and description for the new calculation
3. Select the first measure for the calculation
4. Select an operator for the calculation (add, subtract, multiply or divide)
5. Select the second measure for the calculation
6. Select OK

Results

The new defined measure is available in the measure panel. You can use it for exploration as other measures.

To edit or delete calculated measure, use the icons next to the affected measures.

To save calculated measures for other session, bookmark the exploration to your browser. When you call it from
your browser favorite list, the calculated measures are available as before.

You can export the exploration results to a CSV file or as a WebIntelligence query. In a CSV file, the result of the
calculated measure is displayed. In a WebIntelligence query, the calculated measure is displayed as formula.

Related Information

Navigating through an information space [page 14]

3.2.4 Exploring local Excel files

Prerequisites

The Excel file must be available on your computer.

Context

To explore a local Excel file:

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Procedure

1. On the Home tab, go to Upload a spreadsheet to explore and browse for an Excel file (.xls or .xlsx) on your
computer and upload it.
2. Optional: Select Preview and Configure, if you want to configure your data.
You can define for each column in your file, if it should be displayed as dimension or measure. You can also
hide a column.
3. Select Explore Now.

Results

You can explore your file like an Information Space.

Related Information

Creating information spaces with Excel files [page 54]

Navigating through an information space [page 14]

3.2.5 Saving exploration results as a bookmark

Context

You can save an exploration as a bookmark in web browsers.

Procedure

1. In the exploration view within an information space, click the Bookmark button located above the exploration
facets.
Your web browser displays a bookmark dialog box.

Note
If your browser does not have a bookmark button, a message box appears advising you to manually copy
the URL to your browser to create the bookmark or favorite.

2. Save the bookmark and click OK.

Your exploration context is saved as a bookmark. When you load the bookmark, SAP BusinessObjects Explorer
displays the exploration view. If you are logged out, log back into SAP BusinessObjects Explorer.

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Results

Consider the following information for these browsers:

Table 12:
Browser Description

Mozilla When saving an exploration view as a bookmark using the Mozilla Firefox browser, you
need to edit the bookmark properties to ensure the exploration view opens in the main
window and not the side pane. Do this as follows:

1. In the Firefox browser, right click the bookmark and select Properties from the con­
text list.
2. Clear the Load this bookmark in the sidebar check box, and click Save.

You can create bookmarks in SAP BusinessObjects Explorer in Mozilla Firefox versions
prior to Mozilla Firefox 23.

● Google Chrome These browsers do not allow you to use the Bookmark button to create a bookmark. To
● Safari create a bookmark with these browsers, do as follows:

● Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 1. In SAP BusinessObjects Explorer, click the Share this view by email button located
above the navigation facets. An email containing the bookmark URL appears.
2. Copy and paste this URL from the email to the bookmarks of your web browser.

You can create bookmarks in SAP BusinessObjects Explorer in Microsoft Internet Explorer
(IE) versions prior to IE 10.

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4 Analyzing data in an information space

4.1 Analyzing data visually

You analyze data visually when exploring by using charts and tables. When exploring data in an information space,
you create a chart that can contain a lot of information depending on the complexity of your exploration. To allow a
more refined analysis, you can save the exploration as an Exploration view set. Within the view set you can create
multiple exploration views, each view using several charts to illustrate an aspect of the exploration from a different
perspective.

The visual analysis tools that you use in an information space are also common to an exploration view. You can
pass back to an information space from an exploration view to add or modify the data in the exploration, then
return to the view, which is automatically updated with the changes.

You can share an exploration on an information space as a bookmark, or export the exploration to another file
format. However, sharing exploration views is much simpler, as you can share exploration views by saving the
Exploration view set to the Home tab. The views are then available to all users that have access to the Home tab.

Using exploration views to visualize your data explorations is an easy and very efficient way to share your
explorations immediately with other users.

Related Information

Working with a chart in an information space [page 26]

Working with charts and tables in an exploration view [page 33]
Visualizing the data in a chart [page 30]

4.2 Finding your way around the visualization pane

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer automatically creates a chart that corresponds to the facets in your exploration.
The chart displays in the Visualization pane below the facet panel and the filter bar. The chart is an initial
representation of your exploration that you can then qualify and improve working directly on the chart.

The Visualization pane can be used either as a full pane replacing the view of the Data pane, or in split view,
retaining the view of the data and allowing you to build visualizations below while always keeping the data visible.
The Visualization pane has the following components:

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Table 13:
Visualization pane components Description

Analysis types Side panel to the left of the chart. It contains the analysis types that group chart families.
You select your chart type from this panel.

Dimension and measure bar Menu bar at the top of the chart. It contains a drop down list for each dimension and one
for measures available in the information space. You select the dimensions and meas­
ures for the chart from the appropriate drop down list.

Chart The chart that displays the dimensions and measures selected in the bar above.

Legend table Table to the right of the chart. It contains the dimension values in a table form selected in
the chart. It is interactive with the chart, selections and sorts made in the chart are dis­
played in the table, and the same applies to the chart for selections and sorts in the ta­
ble.

Related Information

Choosing the correct chart for your data [page 27]

Working with a chart in an information space [page 26]
Visualizing the data in a chart [page 30]

4.3 Selecting dimensions and measures for a chart

Context

The data in a facet is represented as a dimension in a chart. Depending on the type of chart, you can select up to
two dimensions and three measures for a chart.

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer automatically creates a chart based on an exploration. The dimension and measure
names are displayed in a bar above the chart. Each dimension and measure name contains a drop down list that
allows you to select which dimension and which measure you want to apply to the chart.

By default, SAP BusinessObjects Explorer applies the Best Guess mode to the first dimension name in the bar
above the chart. The Best Guess mode always selects the first facet on the far left of the facet panel and applies it
to the chart. You define the order of the facets in the Objects tab of the information space.

The Best Guess mode also inherits the sorting type of the dimension. If you apply a sort to a facet in the facet
panel, the Best Guess mode applies this sort to the dimension in the chart.

For example, you open an information space that contains two dimensions: City and State. In the facet panel, City
is on the left and State is on the right. If you select "Los Angeles" from the City dimension to add a filter to the
chart, the Best Guess mode applies the State dimension to the chart. In this case, the chart displays "California"
because the value "Los Angeles" corresponds to this state in the State dimension.

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 Note
You can add a second dimension to the following type of charts:

● Trend line chart

● Bar chart

Adding a second dimension to a chart allows you to visualize a second axis of analysis for your data within the
same chart. You can continue to add and change measures as you would for a single dimension analysis, the
operations are affected to both dimensions. If you select a second dimension in a chart, the Best Guess mode
disappears but the first dimension remains the same as before. You can click a dimension name to select
another dimension.

The Best Guess mode is not available in Exploration view sets.

Select dimensions and measures in a chart as follows:

Procedure

1. Click the down arrow in a dimension name on the bar above the chart.
A contextual list shows all the facets available in the information space with the following options:

Table 14:
Facet sort op­ Description
tions

Sort priority What values to you want to be shown by priority for the dimension ? You have the following choices:

Sort All values are displayed to a maximum of 1000 rows.

Top The top ranking values are displayed. . You define the number of rows to include in
the Number of Rows box.
Bottom The bottom ranking values are dis­
played

First The first values in the list are displayed.

Last The last values in the list are displayed

Number of rows How many values for the dimension do you want to appear in the chart?

Sort criteria Based on the sort priority selected, what sort of values for the dimension do you want to prioritize?

Sort Select either dimension or a measure

Top or Bottom Select a measure

First or Last You can only select the current dimension

2. Select a dimension in the list.

3. Select the dimension sort options and Click OK.
The dimension appears as an axis on the chart.
4. Click the down arrow in the measure name on the bar above the chart.
A drop down list appears that shows all of the measures defined in the information space.
5. Select check boxes for one or more measures then click in the chart.
The dimension values plotted update for the measure selected.

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6. To select a second dimension do the following:
a. Ensure that your chart is either a trend line or a bar chart.
b. Click the dimension drop down list box next to the current dimension.
c. Select a dimension and options from the contextual list and click OK.
The second dimension is displayed. For bar charts with a second dimension you have the display options that
appear as radio buttons under the chart. These allow you to change the display as follows:

Table 15:
Bar chart second facet display option Description

Left button Default single color display for all values. The second dimension values
are shown in a grid under the chart for the first facet.

Center button Shows a different color for each second dimension value but all values
are combined on a single bar for the first facet

Right button Shows a different color for each value.

4.4 Working with a chart in an information space

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer builds a chart automatically in an information space based on your facet data as
you add filters, change chart types, remove or add facets, and apply measures to your explored data.

Note
When facet values are represented graphically on a chart they are spread out as a dimension of at least one
measure. The facet name is referred to as a dimension in a chart.

Working with a chart in an information space shares some common actions with charts in an exploration view, but
there are a number of differences. Refer to the section in Related Topics for information on working with charts and
tables in an exploration view.

You can perform the following different actions within your chart:

Table 16:
To perform this action Do this

Use a chart Click the Chart icon to the left of the chart.

The chart is the default visual. It is automatically created when an information

space is created. However, you can also view data as a table. Use this to return
the visual to a chart.

Use a table Click the Table icon to the left of the chart.

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 To perform this action Do this

Filter facet values ● Double click a value in the chart.

Or

● Click a value in the chart and click the icon Filter the facet(s) with the
selection at the bottom right of the chart.

The filter is added to the Filter pane.

Highlight facet values Position the cursor over a value.

Select a value Click a value in the chart. The same value is also highlighted in the facet list.

Multiple selection ● Hold down the Shift key then click and drag your cursor over the facet val­
ues, for example drag over the bars in a bar chart.
● Hold down the CTRL key and click individual facet values.

The facet values in the legend table next to the chart are also selected.

Choose a different type of chart Click the down arrow beside an analysis type in the pane to the left of the chart,
and select a chart type.

An analysis type is a group of charts that can be used for a particular type of
data. See Related Topics for information in using analysis types.

Get tool tip information on part of a chart Hover the mouse cursor over any value plotted on a chart.

Resize ● Click and drag a divider between panes.

● Click the Visualize button at the top of the tab to maximize the chart.

Sort dimension values alphabetically or nu­ Click the arrow head for the dimension or measure name in the legend table to
merically the right of the chart. The up arrow sorts by ascending order or A - Z, down ar­
row sorts by descending order or Z - A.

4.5 Choosing the correct chart for your data

Charts are grouped into families called Analysis types. Analysis types are shown in the analysis bar to the left of
the visualization pane. Each analysis type offers various charts and tables to view and analyze a specific type of
data. Not all charts are suitable for all types of data, so depending on your data, certain analysis types may not be
available.

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer automatically chooses the best chart to use for your information space data and
ranks other charts as follows:

● Charts that are not suited for the provided data cannot be selected.
● Charts that a suitable are enabled.
● Charts that are the most suitable are highlighted with a yellow star.
● The chart that you select appears on the analysis type button. For each analysis type that you haven't
selected, the most suitable chart is highlighted with a yellow star and also appears on the analysis type button.

Note
If you select more than one measure, the enabled chart types change. For example, a vertical bar chart with two
y axes becomes enabled under the comparison analysis type

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There are five analysis types available:

Table 17:
Analysis type Description Available charts

Comparison Use to view the differences between values. It ● vertical bar chart
provides the simple comparison of categorical ● horizontal bar chart
divisions of measures. It is the default analysis
● bar chart with two y axes
type.
● radar chart
For example, you could use a bar chart to com­ ● multiple radar chart
pare the differences in your sales revenue be­ ● surface chart
tween different countries. ● tag cloud chart

Percentage Use to show the percentage of parts to a whole. ● pie

It shows values as ratios to a whole. The legend ● multiple pie chart
shows the percentage and the total values. The
● vertical 100% stacked bar chart
chart types available are:
● horizontal 100% stacked bar
For example, use a pie chart to see who had the chart
highest sales as part of a total sales value di­ ● treemap
rectly:

Total sales = $200, Paul had 10% ($20), David

had 65% ($130), and Susan had 25% ($50).

Correlation Use for viewing the relationship between values. ● scatter chart
It is useful for comparing multiple measure val­ ● bubble chart
ues.
The size of bubbles within the
For example, you can view the correlation of two chart is determined by a third
measures, and understand the impact of the measure.
first measure on the second measure.

Trend Use to show a trend in the data values. This ● line chart
analysis type is particularly useful for dimen­ ● line chart with two y axes
sions that are time based such as Year. It is use­
● Multi-bar chart
ful for seeing progression of your data and pos­
● Multi-line chart (multiple meas­
sible patterns.
ures)
For example, you can use a line chart to view
sales revenue trends of a product throughout a
range of years.

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 Analysis type Description Available charts

Geography Use to show a map of the country object used in Country chart
the analysis. The data for dimensions sorted by
country are shown on the map. This is useful to
see the geographical spread of data for any sin­
gle country.

Note
The Geography analysis type is only available
for dimensions defined as the type Geogra­
phy. Refer to Related Topics for the section
that describes how to set up a Geography
type for dimensions based on a universe or
an Excel spreadsheet data source.

Related Information

Defining a geography dimension for a map display [page 51]

4.5.1 Changing the chart type

Context

You change a chart by selecting a new chart in an Analysis type. Analysis types are grouped in a pane at the bottom
left of the visualization pane. Depending on the type of data in your information space, not all analysis types may
be available.

Procedure

1. Click the Chart button to ensure that the chart view is active.
The visualization changes to the default analysis type.
2. Click the down arrow on an analysis type that contains charts applicable to your data.
A list of available chart icons appears.
3. Click a chart type.
Your data is plotted on the new chart.

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4.6 Visualizing the data in a chart

The data for the dimension values plotted in a chart is shown in a legend table to the right of the chart. The legend
table color codes values when you use a colored chart type.

The legend table changes and updates according to changes or added dimensions in the chart. For example,
changing the dimension from Year to Product Line also updates the legend table with the new dimension.

Any value or multiple values highlighted or selected in the chart are also automatically selected in the legend table.

Note
The average displayed in the chart legend is computed from the filtered dataset, not the initial dataset.

Related Information

Working with a chart in an information space [page 26]

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5 Visualizing data with exploration views

5.1 Visualizing data with exploration views

An exploration view is a saved exploration that can include multiple charts and is available in an exploration view
set from the Home tab.

You use exploration views to visualize your explored data using multiple charts that allow you to analyze data from
different perspectives. An exploration view is useful to give a more detailed view of one part of an information
space.

The main difference between visualizing your exploration in the information space and an exploration view, is that
you can include many different charts in a single exploration view. You can also save exploration views from
different data sources within the same exploration view set. This allows you to include related explorations that are
based on different data sources, within a common view set.

Many of the graphical tools you use to build your charts in an exploration view are the same as those used in
information spaces.

If you need to explore an exploration view further, for example to modify the initial exploration, add measures,
change filters, or add facets, then you can return to the information space, make the modification, and then return
to the exploration view, which is automatically updated with the changes.

Related Information

Creating an exploration view set [page 32]

Adding an exploration view to a view set [page 32]
Working with charts and tables in an exploration view [page 33]

5.2 Creating an exploration view set and adding views

An exploration view set is a saved exploration on an information space. It serves as a container for one or more
visualizations called exploration views that you can add to the view set. You access exploration views from within
its parent exploration view set, available from the Home tab.

Before you create an exploration view, you must have an existing exploration view set to store the view. You can
create an exploration view set either:

● From the properties pane for an information space on the Home tab.
● Directly from an exploration on an information space.

Once you have an exploration view set, you can add exploration views directly from further explorations within the
view set, or add exploration views from different information spaces.

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Related Information

Creating an exploration view set [page 32]

Adding an exploration view to a view set [page 32]

5.2.1 Creating an exploration view set

Prerequisites

You can create an exploration view set directly from an information space exploration, or from the properties pane
for an information space on the Home tab.

Procedure

● From an exploration in an information space, click Create View Set from the menu bar. The exploration is saved
as a view set. You can add exploration views from the Exploration View drop down list on the menu bar.
● From the Home tab, click an information space and click Create View Set from the properties pane for the
information view. An empty exploration view set appears, you can start exploring and save the exploration as
an exploration view set.

Related Information

Adding an exploration view to a view set [page 32]

5.2.2 Adding an exploration view to a view set

Prerequisites

You create an exploration view by adding an exploration to an existing exploration view set. If you do not already
have an exploration view set to store the exploration view, you need to create an exploration view set.

Procedure

1. From an exploration in an information space, or an existing exploration view set, Click Add to View Set.

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 2. Select a view set to store the exploration view.
3. Click OK.
The exploration view appears in the Exploration View drop down list in the menu bar.

Related Information

Creating an exploration view set [page 32]

5.3 Working with charts and tables in an exploration view

You can visualize explorations in an exploration view as follows:

Table 18:
Task Action

Add a chart or table In the Visual elements panel to the left of the visualization pane, select a chart or table type and drag it
onto the visualization pane.

To add or change di­ Click the Explore button for the chart. The chart opens as an information space and you can explore as
mensions, meas­ with any information space. Once you have finished, click Done and the updated chart appears in its ex­
ures, or filters ploration view.

To show only the ex­ Click the Hide/Show Toolbox and the exploration view button to the left of the Exploration View drop
ploration view visu­ down list. You either hide the properties pane and maximize the charts view, or have both the view prop­
alization erties pane and the charts displayed together.

Lock the data filter Available on tool bar at bot­ Click the Lock the data filter icon . The filter defined on the chart is locked
tom of chart. Click the Show/ to the chart. Any other global filters defined in the filter bar to not apply
Hide toolbar icon next to the to the chart.
Explore button to activate or
Change the chart Click the Change the chart type icon and select a different chart from the
hide the chart tool bar.
type drop down list.

Hide/Show legend Click the Hide/Show legend icon. The chart legend appears to the right
side of the chart.

Related Information

Creating an exploration view set [page 32]

Adding an exploration view to a view set [page 32]

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6 Sharing exploration results

6.1 Exporting exploration results

You can export your exploration and analysis results from the Explorer tab, filtered based on your exploration.

Note
Export options depend on the data provider used to construct the information space. For example exporting to
Web Intelligence query is unavailable for an information space based on an Excel data source.

You can send your results to:

● a data file as format CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file which is spreadsheet compatible
● an Excel file
● a Web Intelligence query
● an image file as PNG (Portable Network Graphic) format.

6.1.1 Exporting exploration results to a data (.CSV) file

Procedure

1. Click the Export button located above the navigation facets.

The button expands showing the export methods available to you.
2. Click Data.
3. Choose what data set you want to export.

Option Description

Entire dataset (All Exports the entire dataset filtered by your facet selection.
columns)
For example, if you have selected Texas within the State facet, the data is filtered, and only data re­
lated to Texas is exported.

Partial dataset Exports only the data that the visualization and legend represent.

For example, the visualization and legend are showing the sales revenue from 2004 through 2007 for
stores in Texas. Only this data is exported.

○ Click the entire dataset option to export all of the data filtered by your facet selection.
○ Click the partial dataset option to export the data represented within the visualization and legend.

4. Click OK.
Your browser alerts you that the CSV file is available for download.

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 5. Download the file.

Results

Your current exploration results (the data set) have been saved with the extension of .csv.txt, you can view
them by importing the CSV file within your spreadsheet application.

Note
The export only includes raw data. For example, units (such as currency) are not exported and formatting is not
applied.

6.1.2 Exporting exploration results to an Excel file

Context

You can export your exploration to an Excel spreadsheet. To manage the export of large data sets, limitations can
be placed on the number of rows or cells that can be exported. Refer to the Explorer Administration Guide for
information on setting export limitations for Excel.

Procedure

1. Click the Export button located above the navigation facets.

2. Click Excel
3. Click an export option. You can either export the entire data set filtered by the values selected in the active
exploration or export only the data within the visualization and legend.
4. Click OK.
5. Select a target directory for the Excel file and click Save.

6.1.3 Exporting exploration results as a Web Intelligence query

Procedure

1. Click the Export button located above the navigation facets.

2. Click Web Intelligence .
3. Check Refresh On Open if you want to see the data returned by the query when you open the document, or if
you want to refresh or schedule the WebIntelligence document later.

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 Note
If you do not select Refresh On Open the document is blank when you open it in Web Intelligence. This is
because the query has not been refreshed. To ensure that you can see the data when you open the
document, ensure you select Refresh On Open before exporting.

4. Type a Name to give to the query.

5. Click OK.
The dataset is exported filtered by your facet selection.

For example: if you selected "Texas" within the "State" facet, only data related to Texas is exported.

Results

Your exploration results are saved as a Web Intelligence query within your SAP BusinessObjects BI launch pad
Inbox.

Note
If your information space contains one or more contexts that prompt the user to select a context when the
information space is refreshed, you must select the option Reset contexts on refresh in the Web
IntelligenceQuery properties page for the query.

6.1.4 Exporting exploration results as an image

Prerequisites

Exporting is accomplished within the exploration tab using Actions.

Context

This section describes how you can export your exploration results (the visualization) to a PNG image.

Procedure

1. Click the Export button located above the navigation facets.

The button expands showing the export methods available to you.
2. Click Image within the left pane.
3. Type a chart title within Title:.

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 You can change the chart title by clicking it.
4. Select Show legend if you want the legend exported.
5. Use the Size: text fields to choose the desired dimensions (in pixels) of the chart.
Select Keep ratio to keep the image ratio.

Click Update Preview to refresh the image preview.

6. If the chart resembles what you want, click OK.
7. Using your internet browser, select where you want to save the image, type its name if necessary, and then
click OK.

Results

The chart is saved as an image, which you can now copy into other document formats.

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7 Setting up information spaces

7.1 Overview guide to creating information spaces

An information space is the basis for data exploration in SAP BusinessObjects Explorer.

The following is an overview of the process you use to create an information space. Use this as a way to understand
the process and to go quickly to specific tasks to modify existing information spaces. For a detailed procedure, see
the related topic on creating an information space.

Information space creation overview and guide to specific tasks:

Table 19:
What you do Information is here...

Start Manage Spaces

Select a data source Selecting a data source for an information space [page 41]

Name the information space and enter property infor­ Setting information space properties [page 42]
mation.

Select the dimensions or attributes, and measures. ● Adding facets to an information space [page 49]

Specify properties for the facets and measures ● Adding measures to an information space [page 45]

Specify display properties for the facets. Ranking values in the facet display [page 50]

Validate the information space structure.

Index the information space. Indexing an information space [page 62]

Once you have created an information space that is for end user exploration, once it is indexed it is available in the
Home tab. From the Manage Spaces tab, you manage the information space by scheduling refresh times and
personalize the access to certain parts of the information spaces depending on user profile. Refer to Related
Topics for more information.

Related Information

Creating an information space [page 39]

Scheduling information spaces for refresh [page 64]
Personalizing an information space [page 58]

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7.2 Creating an information space

Prerequisites

To create information spaces you need Space Creator rights. If you don't have the necessary rights, contact your IT
administrator.

Context

You create information spaces from the Manage Spaces tab.

Procedure

1. Click Manage Spaces at the top of the SAP BusinessObjects Explorer window.
The Manage Spaces tab opens. The available data sources are listed in the Source pane to the left of the tab.
For more information on selecting data sources, see the related topic.
2. Expand a data source node and click the data source that you want to use to build an information space.
3. Click New
The Create Information Space dialog box appears. The Properties is the default tab. You specify identifying,
availability, storage, and locale information.
4. Click the Properties tab and type or select information for its properties.
The Name that identifies the information space must be unique in the CMS. For more information on setting
properties, see the related topic.
5. Click the Objects tab.
You build the information space on the Objects tab using the following panes:

Table 20:
Object tab pane Description Refer here for more information

Data source ob­ Pane to the left of the tab that contains dimensions, Changing data source for an information
jects attributes, and measures depending on the data space [page 56]
source.

Measures, facets, Central pane that contains the measures, facets, and ○ Adding facets to an information space
and filters filters in the information space. [page 49]
○ Adding measures to an information space
[page 45]

Details Properties that can be set for measures, and facets Ranking values in the facet display [page 50]
selected in the central pane.

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 Note
The Objects pane is different for Excel data sources. For more information on creating information spaces
with Excel data sources, see the related topic.

6. Expand attribute, dimension, and measure folders, then add objects to the central pane in any of the following
ways:
○ Double click objects
○ Select objects then click the Add arrow between panes. Click the Remove arrow to remove an object from
the central pane.
○ Drag and drop objects into the central pane. Drag and drop objects out of the central pane to remove
them.
The attributes or dimensions are added under the Facets folder in the central pane.

You must select at least one attribute or dimension. The default measure Occurrences is included to ensure
that the information space contains a default measure. You can remove this measure once you add other
measures to the central pane.
7. Click each dimension and measure in the central pane and set the properties for the object in the Details pane
to the right of the central pane.
You can edit the name, description, dimension or measure type, sorting and facet display preferences,
depending on the type of object selected. For more information on facet and measure properties, see the
related topics on adding facets and measures.
8. Optional: Create new facet groups to organize objects that need to be linked together semantically or that
need to be displayed in a specific order in the information space: Click the New button at the top of the central
pane and select Add Facet Group from the drop down list.
9. Click the Preferences node, then in the Details pane to the right, set display preferences for facets in the
information space.
For example, you can specify the display order for facets, or whether to hide the facet panel when opening an
information space to optimize opening time. For more information on setting display preferences, see the
related topic.
10. Click Validate to test the compatibility of objects. If further input is required, you can be prompted as follows:

○ If a context can be applied to the information space, you are prompted to choose the context to use. This
only applies to universe data sources.
○ If you selected any objects that require your input, you are prompted to choose values.

Note
You can do the following other tasks from the Manage Spaces tab at any time:

Other Manage spaces tasks Refer here for information

Schedule the information space to be refreshed at pre- Scheduling information spaces for refresh [page 64]
defined times.

Personalize an information space to make only specific Personalizing an information space [page 58]
data available to defined users

11. Click OK to save the information space. If the information space shares the same name as an existing
information space, you are prompted to change the name.
The new information space is listed on the Information Space pane of the Manage Spaces tab.

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 12. If you want to make the information space available for exploration immediately, click Index Now, in the Action
column of the list.

Note
An information space is only available on the Home tab after indexing. You can schedule an indexation at a
later date, or manually index at any time. For information on indexation, see the related topic.

13. If you indexed the new information space, go to the Home tab and click Refresh list.
14. Click Information Spaces.
The new information space appears in the list.

Related Information

Selecting a data source for an information space [page 41]

Setting information space properties [page 42]
Creating information spaces with Excel files [page 54]
Adding facets to an information space [page 49]
Adding measures to an information space [page 45]
Ranking values in the facet display [page 50]
Indexing information spaces [page 61]

7.3 Selecting a data source for an information space

Context

You can create an information space on any of the following data sources:

Table 21:
Information space data source Description

SAP HANA appliance ● SAP HANA database views

● SAP BW cubes

Universes (*.unv) SAP BusinessObjects universes created with Universe Designer

Excel spreadsheets Excel files published to BI LaunchPad.

Universes (*.unx) SAP BusinessObjects universes created with the Information Design Tool

Source unavailable Deprecated data sources: Sources no longer used by current information spaces, but still
available as data sources.

You can change a data source for an information space. Refer to Related Topics for information.

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 Note
Information spaces built on universes are subject to the accuracy and design robustness of the universe. If an
exploration of data in an information space results in unusual or unexpected results that are not explained by an
analysis of the data, then you can check with your administrator to ensure that the problem is not due to
incorrect universe design.

Procedure

1. Click Manage Spaces at the top of the SAP BusinessObjects Explorer window.
The Manage Spaces tab opens. The available data sources are listed in the Sources pane to the left of the tab.
2. Expand a data source node and click the data source that you want to use to build an information space.
The information spaces already using the selected data source are listed in the Information Spaces pane to the
right of the Sources pane.
3. Do one of the following:

Do one of the following with a selected data source Go here for more information

Click New to create a new information space on the data Creating an information space [page 39]
source.

Click an existing information space to edit its properties. Editing an information space [page 66]

7.4 Setting information space properties

Context

When you create an information space, you must identify it with a name unique in the CMS. You can set a number
of properties to administer the information space, for example facilitate its retrieval by keyword search, specify its
availability or not on the Home tab. You can set the following properties for an information space:

Table 22:
Properties Description

Name Name to identify the information space. It must be unique in a CMS.

Description You can add comments help users to know the contents of the information space. This
comment field appears with the information space name in the Home tab.

Keywords Keywords used by Explorer to search for the information space. Enter words that identify
the content and goal of the information space.

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 Properties Description

Availability When selected, the information space is visible on the Home tab. When not selected the in­
formation space is available in Manage Spaces, but not listed on the Home tab.

Use this option for information spaces that are used for technical reasons, for example an
information space used as the source to personalize an information space for specific user
groups.

Folder Where the information space is saved in the CMS

Regional settings Locale of information space

Use end user settings Use the locale of the current user.

Procedure

1. Click Manage Spaces at the top of the SAP BusinessObjects Explorer window.
The Manage Spaces tab opens. The available data sources are listed in the Sources pane to the left of the tab.
2. Click a data source in the Sources pane.
The information spaces associated with the data source are listed in the Information Spaces pane.
3. Do one of the following:

○ Click an information space name in the list.

○ Click New to create a new information space.

The Manage Spaces page opens to the Properties tab.

4. Enter property information for the information space.
5. Click OK if you are finished.
6. Click other tabs to continue modifying or creating the information space.

7.5 Setting information space display preferences

Context

You have the following options to determine how facets are displayed in an information space:

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Table 23:
Facet display preference Description

Hide the facet panel when opening this in­ SAP BusinessObjects Explorer does not display the facet pane when you open an
formation space information space.

This means that information spaces open quickly, even if they contain many fac­
ets and facet values, because SAP BusinessObjects Explorer does not need to re­
trieve that information before displaying the information space.

To add facet value filters, use the large arrowhead button on the filter bar.

To display the facet pane, click the Facets or Split buttons.

Note
If the Order facets by filtering capacity preference is selected, the facets and
their values are still retrieved for calculation purposes, so the information
space takes longer to open.

Note
If you perform a search from the Home tab and then open an information
space from the Search Results tab, SAP BusinessObjects Explorer ignores this
facet display preference and displays the facet panel.

Note
If the

client.optimizationBehaviorMode=AvoidFacetPanelUse

property is set in the Explorer Application’s Advanced properties pane of the

CMC, the Facets and Split buttons are grayed out and you cannot display the
facet pane. Only users with the appropriate profile can acces the CMC.

Show facets in the defined order Facets and facet groups are presented for exploration in the same order as dis­
played on the Objects tab.

This is the default option.

Show a representative for each group One facet for each facet group is displayed in an initial sort order.

By default the first facet in each group is displayed, but the user can choose
which representative facet is given display priority by clicking the facet group. The
other facets in each group are available, but displayed separately after the initial
single facet display order.

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 Facet display preference Description

Order facets by filtering capacity Facets and facet groups are displayed in an order determined by Explorer.

The order is calculated based on optimizing the number of unique rows available
for each dimension. The facets are prioritized on the ability to return search val­
ues.

Note
When selected, this option is not compatible with Hide the facet panel. Though
the facet panel is hidden during exploration, the optimization is cancelled to
ensure the ordering of facets by their filtering capacity.

Procedure

1. Open Manage Spaces and select an information space to edit.

2. Click the Objects tab.
3. Click the Preferences node at the top of the tree view.
The facet options appear in the Details pane.
4. Select the facet display options described in this section.
Click OK.
5. Re -index the information space to apply the facet preferences.

Results

Related Information

Filtering facet data [page 17]

7.6 Adding measures to an information space

Context

You add measures to an information space as follows:

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Procedure

1. Create a new, or open an existing, information space for editing in Manage Spaces.
2. Click the Objects tab.
3. Expand a node that contains measures in the left hand data source pane.
4. Do one of the following:

○ Double click one or more measures

○ Click and drag one or more measures over to the Measures folder in the Facets, Measure, and Filters pane.
5. Click a measure to set its properties. The following properties are available:

Table 24:
Measure properties Description

Label Measure name

Description Comments defined in the measure definition from the data source.

Type Data type of measure

Trend You can set the color of the measure in a chart based on whether it represents a positive
or negative trend.

Note
The following restrictions exist when you create an information space based on a BusinessObjects universe:
○ Measures that have an aggregation method of 'None' cannot be used in the information space facets,
although the values do appear in the data table.
○ Measures that have an aggregation method of “Database delegated” are not supported.
○ Measures of non-numeric type are not supported. For example: character, long name, and date.
○ Detail objects on universes are not supported.

Related Information

What aggregation methods are applied by measures? [page 46]

Specifying measure polarity by color [page 47]
Creating a calculated measure [page 48]

7.6.1 What aggregation methods are applied by measures?

When defining an information space you choose objects from a data provider, for example an SAP
BusinessObjects universe. You can maintain the measure objects and their values that have been previously
created for the data provider.

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A measure object is often aggregated meaning it has been created using aggregation methods (None, Count, Sum,
Min, Max, and Average) during design time. The aggregation methods determine how measure values are
calculated and displayed. The aggregation methods are described as follows:

Table 25:
Method Description Example

None The measure is never aggregated and there­

fore does not appear in measure facets.

However, values are displayed within the ta­

ble view.

Count The measure is established upon the total Number of Employees: 25

number of records that are based upon a
Departments: Sales, Marketing, and Finance
grouping. For example, the number of em­
ployees within a department. Count of Employees in the Sales Department: 10

Sum The measure is based upon the sum of re­ Country: UK, Sales 2001:20000, Sales 2002: 45000.
cords that match a grouping. For example,
Sum = 65000
the sales revenue for a country throughout
two years.

Min The measure is based upon the minimum Country: UK, Sales 2001:20000, Sales 2002: 45000.
value of a set of records that match a group­
Min = 20000
ing. For example, the minimum sales reve­
nue for a country throughout two years.

Max The measure is based upon the maximum Country: UK, Sales 2001:20000, Sales 2002: 45000.
value of a set of records that match a group­
Max = 45000
ing. For example, the maximum sales reve­
nue for a country throughout two years.

Average The measure is based upon the average Country: UK, Sales 2001:20000, Sales 2002: 45000.
value of a set of records that match a group­
Average = 32500
ing. For example, the average sales revenue
for a country throughout two years.

Note
For further information on aggregation methods, refer to the SAP BusinessObjects Information Design Tool
documentation available at: http://help.sap.com.

You can build an information space using aggregated values and navigate through the corresponding data using
these values.

7.6.2 Specifying measure polarity by color

Context

You can specify whether a measure indicates good or poor performance by setting the trend polarity of the
measure. For example, a measure that calculates carbon emissions from different car models needs to be

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interpreted differently from a measure calculating income or sales; a high result in carbon emission is an indication
of poor performance, so it is more realistic that these values are indicated in red, not green

Measure polarity can be customized for measures and calculated measures in the following charts:

● Geography regional
● Percentage Treemap

Procedure

1. From Manage Spaces, click the Objects tab.

2. Click a measure in the central pane.
3. In the Details pane, select one of the following polarity values for the measure from the Trend is good when
drop down list:

Table 26:
Measure polarity Description

Increasing Values are green when increasing values are considered positive.

Decreasing Values are green when decreasing values are considered good.

Neutral Neutral colors are used that are not necessarily associated with good or poor performance.

4. Click OK.
The change in color is implemented in the geography or percentage treemap charts.

7.6.3 Creating a calculated measure

Context

A calculated measure is a measure that is a combination of two or more calculations. It is saved in the information
space and is always available for exploration.

You create a calculated measure as follows;

Procedure

1. From the Objects tab of Manage Spaces , select Calculated measure from the New drop down list box at the top
of the tab.
The Add Calculate Measure box appears.
2. Enter name and description for the new calculation
3. Select the first measure for the calculation
4. Select an operator for the calculation (add, subtract, multiply or divide)

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 5. Select the second measure for the calculation
6. Select OK
The new calculated measure appears in the Facets, Measures, and Filters pane.

Related Information

Calculating measures [page 19]

7.7 Adding facets to an information space

Context

You add facets to an information space as follows:

Procedure

1. Create a new, or open an existing, information space for editing in Manage Spaces.
2. Click the Objects tab.
3. Expand a node that contains dimensions or attributes in the left hand data source pane.

Note
The following HANA data types objects : BINARY, BLOB, CLOB, NCLOB, TEXT, VARBINARY, are not
supported in SAP BusinessObjects Explorer and will not appear in the Information Space.

4. Do one of the following:

○ Double click one or more dimensions or attributes

○ Click and drag one or more dimensions or attributes over to the Facets folder in the Facets, Measure, and
Filters pane.
5. Click a facet to set its properties. The following properties are available:

Table 27:
Measure properties Description

Label Facet name

Description Comments defined in the facet definition from the data source.

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 Measure properties Description

Dimension Depending on the type of dimension, you can chose how to display the dimension on a
chart:
○ Standard: The dimension is displayed as its actual values.
○ Days: Day data is displayed as successive daily values (Monday to Sunday).
○ Geography: Geographical data is displayed on a map. This dimension must be de­
fined further; Click the ellipsis button to define a Geography analysis type.
○ Months: Month data is displayed as successive monthly values (January to Decem­
ber).

Default sorting How the values are sorted in the facet.

6. Set the properties for each facet.

Related Information

Ranking values in the facet display [page 50]

Defining a geography dimension for a map display [page 51]
Working with prompts defined in your data sources [page 52]
Using predefined filters in a universe data source [page 53]

7.7.1 Ranking values in the facet display

Context

You can specify the order that values appear in a facet.

Procedure

1. From the Objects tab in Manage Spaces, click a facet in the Facets, Measures, and Filters pane.
2. Click the Default Sorting drop down list and select one of the following sort options for the facet values:

Option Description

A to Z Arranges the object values within facets in ascending (A to Z sort) order.

Z to A Arranges the object values within facets in descending (Z to A sort) order.

Smallest to Largest Arranges the object values within facets according to their measure values in ascending order.

Largest to Smallest Arranges the object values within facets according to their measure values in descending order.

Explorer Arranges the object values within facets according to their relevancy (default sort).

The sort order you specify here, determines the order in which the values are displayed in the facets within the
Information Space at exploration time. If you don't select a sort order, the default sorting is applied.

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 3. Click OK to confirm the sort display choice.

Note
Ensure that you index the information space to update the version available on the Home tab.

7.7.2 Defining a geography dimension for a map display

Context

You can add a Geography analysis type in the analysis bar to the left of the visualization pane. You use Geography
to analyze data by geographical distribution directly on a geographical location map. This type of chart can help
visualize differences in cities or regions directly while visualizing the targeted country map.

You can also customize how different locations can be associated with each other by manually associating a
location to a geographical area.

You set up the Geography analysis type in the information space by setting the Geography property for a
dimension based on a universe or column in an Excel data source.

Procedure

1. Click an Information space.

2. Click Manage Spaces.
3. Depending on the data source, click one of the tabs:
○ Objects
○ Configure Excel File
4. Do one of the following:

Table 28:
For this data source Do this...

Universe Click a geography dimension. From the Details pane, select the property Geography from the
Dimension drop down list. Click the button next to the drop down list.

Excel spreadsheet Click a geography column. From the Dimension drop down list, select Geography as a property
for the column.

A geographic parameters box appears. You set the hierarchical level of the geography dimension that you want
to appear on a map.

5. Select one of the following geographical levels from the drop down list:

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 Table 29:
Geographical level Description

Country Country

Level 1 Depending on the administrative organization of a country, this could be state, or region.

Level 2 Depending on the administrative organization of a country, this could be department, or county.

Cities Capitals and cities of 100,000 inhabitants are displayed.

6. Click Load.
A geographic parameters box shows the matching values found for each dimension or row value. Geographical
matches that can not be found with certainty are indicated with colored icons. For uncertain matches you have
proposition options to manually select or specify a matching location, or to hide the unmatched location in the
geography map.
7. If you have uncertain matches, or want to edit the found matches, select one of the following options from the
Proposition column drop down list.

Table 30:
Proposition Description Further action

Select a location A list of suggested location matches is pro­

posed.

Use a nearby location You can specify a location that maps to the When selected, a Nearby location box
geographical location that has not been appears. Type the location and click
matched. For example you specify Samoa to lo­ Find. Explorer presents matches to
cate a zone called Oceania, which may not be your text. Select a match and click OK.
easily located because of its size and diversity.

Hide in Geography chart When selected the selected value does not ap­
pear in the Geography chart in exploration.

8. Click OK.
9. Re-index the information space.
The next time the information space is explored, the Geography analysis type appears as a chart option for the
affected dimension.

Related Information

Creating information spaces with Excel files [page 54]

7.7.3 Working with prompts defined in your data sources

When you create or configure an information space, a prompt might appear when you validate an object in your
data source. For example, if you select the Year dimension you are prompted to select the years that you want to
analyze.

There are several prompt types:

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Table 31:
Prompt types Description

SAP HANA variables A HANA variable is surfaced as a prompt requiring user input.

Context resolution for a BusinessOb­ Asks you to choose the appropriate business context when a universe contains more
jects universe than one path to resolve a query.

Prompt defined in a BusinessObjects Asks you to choose one or more values for a dimension on a universe.
universe object

You are asked to resolve prompts when you validate an information space. If a prompt is not resolved, the
indexation cannot be completed, and the new or updated information space is not available on the Home tab.

Prompt values, after information space validation, are viewed in the Summary tab.

To change or remove any prompt values, configure your information space and validate it again. The prompt dialog
wizard appears allowing you to reconfigure the values.

Note
Prompt values that are persisted within an information space can be different from the values used for indexing.
Refer to the last indexing date and last modified date to determine if the prompt values within a space are
included within the last indexed version.

Note
Virtual Data Models (VDMs) allow you to access data in one component and use it in another, without having to
persist the data a second time. In SAP HANA, for calculation views that use VDMs, SAP BusinessObjects
Explorer is unable to parse the value from one component to the other.

7.7.4 Using predefined filters in a universe data source

If you are creating an information space on a BusinessObjects universe, you can select predefined filters to refine
the data selection. These filters are created at the universe level and cannot be modified using SAP
BusinessObjects Explorer.

Filters enable you to:

● Make data more secure if you do not want certain users to view it.
● Limit the size of an information space as there will not be as much data included.
● Retrieve only the data that will answer your business questions, for example: you can filter the Year dimension
to view only the sales revenue for 2003 or filter the Annual Income dimension to view only customers whose
annual income is equal or greater than $1000000.

Note
You can only edit filters if you have the appropriate security rights.

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7.8 Creating information spaces with Excel files

Prerequisites

The Excel file must be published in a public folder in InfoView. The file formats have to be .XLS or .XLSX.

Note
To ensure that the Excel files can be successfully used for information space creation, it is recommended that
the Excel files are kept as simple as possible, and do not contain complex formatting, images, filters, hyperlinks,
and other additions that could prevent the Excel file being treated as a flat file.

Context

To create an Information Space with an Excel file:

Procedure

1. Select Manage Spaces.

2. Select a file in Excel spreadsheets.
3. Select New.
The Space Creation dialog box appears with the tabs: Properties, Configure Excel File, Scheduling and
Personalization. Specify information in the Properties, Scheduling and Personalization tabs in the same way as
you do for information spaces based on universes.
4. On the tab Configure Excel file, you can define each column to be displayed as a dimension or measure. You
can also hide a column. You also have the following options for certain dimension types:

Table 32:
Column type Available display option

Time You can select the dimension to be displayed with month or day labels.

Geography You can select Geography to display geographical data as a map.

5. Re-index the information space.

The new information space based on an Excel sheet is available in the Home tab for exploration. Ensure you
refresh the Home tab to see the new information space.

Related Information

Defining a geography dimension for a map display [page 51]

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7.9 Using object formats defined in a universe

Information spaces built on SAP BusinessObjects universes can have inbuilt object formatting that is available to
an information space.

Universe object formatting implemented by the SAP BusinessObjects Information Design Tool provides an insight
to your raw data. For example, by applying a dollar sign to a numeric value indicates it is a currency. Universe
object formatting is applied to information spaces and their objects.

Formatting changes the content specifications of the data to make it more readable to you. Data can have
numeric, date, currency, and scientific notation formatting applied to it. This formatting is applied to data via
Information Design Tool, for further information on object formatting, see the SAP BusinessObjects Information
Design Tool documentation available at: http://help.sap.com.

The predefined formatting that is given to objects in universes includes:

● String formatting
● Locale settings - formatting that is specific to a country or region such as number, currency, date/time,
scientific, and percentage.
For example, in the US, dates are: MM/DD/YYYY.

This formatting is retained.

Overriding universe object formatting

You can override universe object formatting by changing the locale settings when creating or editing Information
Spaces. For example, applying a French locale to revenue data with a US locale (format settings of $#,##0.00)
changes the following:

● the format setting to $# ##0,00

● the data to follow the new format setting
for example: $10,000.00 becomes $10 000,00
● regional formatting
such as decimal and thousands separators - date format

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8 Managing information spaces

8.1 Managing information spaces

An Information Space is a collection of objects mapped to data for a specific business operation or activity. For
example, an information space designed to provide information on regional retail outlets could contain objects
mapped to data for Sales Revenue, Region, Store Name, and Year.

Power users with the Space Creator user profile create the information spaces on top of corporate data providers.

Only one data provider can be selected when you create an information space. However, you can create multiple
information spaces on a single data provider. Each information space can contain a sub-set of the total data
available, so that analysts can focus easily on a specific area of interest.

On the Manage Spaces tab, you can:

● View the available data providers and the information spaces created on them.
● Create information spaces on the available data providers.
● Schedule existing information spaces for indexing.
● Edit an existing information space.
● Duplicate an information space, make modifications and save it as a new one.
● Personalize an information space for different users.
● Delete an information space.
● Specify how facets are displayed
● Show or hide the facet panel when an information space is opened. This allows you to optimize the time to
open an information space when there are many facets to load.

8.2 Changing data source for an information space

Context

You can change the data source for an information space. This allows an information space to be connected to
another data source if the original has been moved, changed, or deleted. When you change data source you
manually map objects of the original data source to the target data source. The following data sources can be
changed:

Changed From/To BWA Hana UNV UNX Excel

BWA Yes Yes No No No

Hana No Yes Yes No No

UNX No Yes No Yes No

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 Changed From/To BWA Hana UNV UNX Excel

UNV No Yes Yes Yes No

Excel No No No No No

Note
When you change the data source for an information space, you must ensure that you re-index the information
space after the change to ensure that the data is refreshed for the new data source.

Procedure

1. Open Manage Spaces .

2. Click a data source. This is the current data source for the information space that you want to change to use
another data source.
3. In the Action column to the right of the Manage Spaces tab, select Change Source from the drop down list box.
A message box appears. It explains that you need to map current objects to the equivalent objects in the new
data source. Scheduling information and metadata is conserved, and all other data is reset.
4. Click OK to proceed.
A change data source configuration pane appears. The current data source is listed at the top of the pane. You
have the following options:

Table 33:
Change data source options Description

New Data Source List of available data sources

Measures / Facets tab Measures and facets to be manually mapped are listed on the respective tabs.

Map Current Objects The objects in the current information space that must be mapped to corre­
sponding objects available in the target data source.

Note
If you do not select a corresponding object in the new data source for each
measure and facet, the original measure and facet is removed from the in­
formation space when it changes data source.

To New Objects Measures and facets you have selected in the target data source to replace the
current measures and facets. This column is populated by choices made in the
New data source objects pane to the right.

New data source objects pane Measures and facets available in the selected new data source. These are the
measures and facets that you select to replace the existing ones in the current
information space.

5. Select a new data source from the New Data Source drop down list.
6. Click the Measures tab.
The current measures are listed in the Map Current Objects column. The measures available in the new data
source are listed in the new data source objects pane to the right of the configuration pane.

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7. Click a measure, then do one of the following:

○ Click the new data source measure to replace the current measure, then click the left arrow head.

○ Double click the new data source measure.

The new measure is listed in the To New Objects column.

8. Repeat the previous step for the Facets tab.
Each new measure and facet is listed with the current object that it replaces when the information space is
changed to use the new data source.
9. Do one of the following:

○ Click Save to apply the new data source.

○ Click Save and Configure to apply the new data source and open the Manage Spaces tab to further
configure the information space.
○ Click Cancel to keep the information space 's current data source.
10. Re-index the information that now has a new data source.

8.3 Personalizing an information space

Context

You can personalize an information space to restrict exploration for specified facet values. The personalized
information space references one or more facets in a reference information space that imposes a filter on the facet
values.

Personalizing an information space allows you to control what data can be explored by different users. For
example, if a reference information space contains a facet called Store managers for stores in different countries,
you can set up the personalized information space so that names in the Store Managers facet can only see
information for stores in their own country.

You have the following requirements to create and use a personalized information space:

Table 34:
Information Personalization requirement Description
space type

Reference infor­ User name facet The user facet contains user names. These are the values
mation space used to personalize an information space. You can do this us­
ing an Excel spreadsheet to create the reference information
space.

An Excel spreadsheet that contains columns used to filter val­

ues, for example User name and Country. You can create an
information space with these two facets, and these two are
referenced in the personalized information space, so that a
user name value only explores data related to their country.

Indexed The reference information space must be indexed.

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 Information Personalization requirement Description
space type

Not explorable and searchable (optional) When the Explorable and searchable check box on the Home
tab is cleared, the reference information space is not visible to
users. This can be a preferred option, as the reference infor­
mation space is a technical solution and not necessarily useful
to end users.

Personalized in­ Facets listed in the Personalization tab of You assign the user facet from the referenced information
formation space Manage Spaces. space to the corresponding user name facet in the personal­
ized information space. This is done from the Personalization
tab of Manage Spaces.

Indexed The personalized information space must be indexed.

Checked as Explorable and searchable The Explorable and searchable check box on the Home tab
must be selected.

Note
Ensure that the same data formats are used for columns in the reference and personalized information spaces.
For example the dates in SAP HANA use the Text format. You would need to ensure that the format in the
personalized information space is a Date format.

You create two information spaces:

● Reference information space: This contains a user name facet and all the facets that you require for
exploration. It must be indexed.
● Personalized information space: The information space that contains a user name facet that references the
user name facet in the reference information space. Different users only see the facets that are permitted for
their user name. It is indexed and is made explorable on the Home tab.

Procedure

1. Create the reference information space as follows:

a. Start Manage Spaces, select a data provider and click New.
b. Enter the information space properties. Clear the checkbox Explorable and searchable if you don't want
the reference information space to appear on the Home tab.
c. From the Objects tab, select the user facet that contains the users that you want to personalize in the
information space, then select the facets that contain data you want to be explored.
If the user facet data is one or more columns in an Excel spreadsheet, you must upload the Excel file to the
Folders folder in the CMC, so it is available as a data source to build an information space. You have the
following personalization options when using an Excel file as a reference data source:

Excel option Description

Wildcard (*) By specifying "*" as a parameter of the Explorer

application property
com.businessobjects.explorer.personali

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 Excel option Description

zation.selectall.wildcard= the user can

select all values of a facet during exploration instead of
duplicating lines for that user in the reference
information space.

In the Explorer Application’s Advanced properties pane in

the CMC, set explorer application property to:

com.businessobjects.explorer.persona
lization.selectall.wildcard=’*’

For example, in you reference information space you

have the following:

User Country

William Bush *

The personalized information space will show all

countries for user William Bush during exploration.

Note
If the Explorer application property is omitted, and the
wildcard is specified as a facet value in the reference
information space, then no value is selected for this
facet during exploration.

Wildcard (*) to filter over multiple columns You can use the wildcard to implement a filter over
multiple columns. For example:

User Country Stores

James Waitemata New Zealand *

James Waitemata Australia Koala shoes

William Bush Australia Emu shoes

During exploration of the personalized information

space, James Waitemata can see all stores from New
Zealand and only Koala shoes from Australia. William
Bush can see only Emu Shoes from Australia.

Note
Personalization is case sensitive. For example facet value “France” from a reference information space
mapped to “france” in a personalized information space will not apply the filter on exploration.

d. Click OK then index the information space.

The reference information space is available in Manage Spaces .
e. Index the information space.

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 2. Create a new information space that you want to personalize, or open an existing information space to
personalize by editing. Personalize as follows:
a. Click the Personalization tab.
b. Select Personalize information space exploration
c. From the Select an information space drop down list, select the reference information space that you
created to personalize the current information space.
The facets for the personalized information space appear in the left pane, the facets in the reference
information space in the right pane.
d. Click the User name object in the left pane and select the user name facet in the right pane.
e. Click another facet, for example if your Excel data provider included a column for Country, select the
Country reference facet for the Country in the left pane.
f. Click OK then index the personalized information space.
g. Index the information space.
When the personalized information space is explored, a user can now only explore facets that correspond
to the assigned filter in the reference information space, for example if John.B is a user name facet value,
he can see data for France which is the country assigned to him in the Excel data source.

8.4 Indexing information spaces

Indexation refreshes the data and metadata in information spaces. After indexing, any new data on the corporate
data providers upon which those information spaces are based becomes available for search and exploration.
When you modify an information space you need to index it in order for your modifications to be available to other
users.

You can index an information space as follows:

● Index manually to update it immediately.

● Schedule indexing at a specified time, for example, evenings or weekends when your corporate network is
least used.

Note the following information on the indexation of information spaces:

Table 35:
indexing an information space...

has no effect on navigation. Indexing is a background task so you do not see it in operation and it has no effect
while you navigate through an information space . You can see the progress of in­
dexation from the Information Spaces pane on the Manage Spaces tab.

allows you to see updates ● when indexation is finished

● on the refreshed information space even while another user is still exploring
the old version. This ensures that other users do not block you from explora­
tion.

ensures that you always see the latest ver­ the Search Results tab.
sion on

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Related Information

Indexing an information space [page 62]

Indexing information spaces on universes [page 62]
Scheduling information spaces for refresh [page 64]
Interpreting indexation status icons [page 63]

8.4.1 Indexing an information space

Context

You index an information space to organize and refresh the data. You must index an information space before it can
be made available on the Home tab. Information spaces should be indexed after any editing to ensure that the
modifications are taken into account. If an information space is not re-indexed after reconfiguration, it is not
updated on the Home tab.

Procedure

1. Open Manage Spaces.

2. Click a data source in the left pane.
The information spaces associated with the data source are listed in the Information Spaces pane.
3. In the Actions column, select Index Now from the drop down list for the information space.
When the indexation is successful a green icon appears beside the drop down list box.
4. Go to the Home tab and click the Information Spaces link.
5. Click the Refresh button.
The updated information space is available in the list.

Related Information

Interpreting indexation status icons [page 63]

Indexing information spaces on universes [page 62]

8.4.2 Indexing information spaces on universes

information spaces based on BusinessObjects universes cannot be indexed correctly if partial results are returned
at the query level, because SAP BusinessObjects Explorer lacks sufficient data. Partial results are returned when
the universe has been configured with a row limit that limits the query results.

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To ensure indexing is successful for your information space open the underlying universe within SAP
BusinessObjects Information Design Tool and increase the universe query limits.

8.4.3 Interpreting indexation status icons

Indexing status is available on the Information Spaces pane in the Manage Spaces tab and the Scheduling tab
within Manage Spaces.

The indexing status icons are as follows:

● From the Information Spaces pane in the Manage Spaces tab

Hold the mouse cursor over an icon to see the status in a tooltip. The icons appear in the Status column. This
column shows two icons: the icon on the left is the scheduling state; the icon on the right indicates the last
indexing state.

Table 36:
Icon Description Tooltip example

No icon When there is no icon for the status, then no ac­

tion has occurred. For example, no scheduling.

The last indexing was successful. Latest indexing succeeded

Start date: 2009/05/01 14.56

End date: 2009/05/01 14.56

The latest indexing failed. Latest indexing failed

Start date: 2009/05/01 14:56

End date: 2009/05/01 14:59

Server, myServer.IndexingServer.ddindexing, gener­

ated the following messages: Index creation failed:
the Information Space has no data.

Indexing has started. Indexing Started: 2009/05/01 14:56

The Information Space has been scheduled for Next indexing scheduled for: 2007/05/01 14.56
indexing.

● Scheduling tab within Manage Spaces .

The status is displayed within the Status pane in the Properties tab. It includes information on the start and
end dates of the scheduling and the indexing status.

If the indexation is successful, the start and end date of the indexing is displayed to you. If the indexation failed, the
start date, end date, and the cause of failure is displayed.

Note
You can cancel the indexing of an information space within the Manage Spaces tab. Index Now located beside
the information space changes to Cancel Indexing during indexing. To cancel, click Cancel Indexing.

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8.5 Scheduling information spaces for refresh

Scheduling synchronizes your information spaces by specifying when indexing occurs. Scheduling ensures that
the data is refreshed regularly.

Scheduling is defined on the Manage Spaces tab. It allows you to index information spaces directly in the
information space list with the Index Now button. You can also schedule information spaces to be indexed on a
regular basis:

● Once
● Hourly
● Daily
● Monthly

You can schedule an information space for periodical indexing on the Scheduling tab in the Editing Information
Spaces dialog box.

All indexing runs as a background task but progress can be monitored from the list of information spaces within
the Manage Spaces tab. For example, within the Manage Spaces tab, you can see if the information space is fully
indexed and ready for full exploring, or if the indexing failed because of irretrievable data.

Every time you modify and save an information space by clicking Ok on the Edit Information Space screen of the
Manage Spaces tab, the information space is re-scheduled according to its scheduling settings.

Scheduling settings

The following types of scheduling are available:

Table 37:
Scheduling type Description

Now The indexing runs as a background task immediately. Available via the Index Now button in the Informa­
tion Space list on the Mange Spaces tab.

None There is no indexing, this setting is the default for new Information Spaces.

Once The indexing runs once according to a date and time you specify. It is set via a start time value, and when
the value is in the past scheduling runs immediately.

Periodically You can define below, if the scheduling should run on a by-minute, hourly, daily or weekly basis.

Minutes The indexing runs on a by-minute basis based upon the minutes value you define. You state when you
want the indexing to start and when to end. The first index is created on the start time you have specified.

Hourly The indexing runs on an hourly basis based upon the hour values you define. You state when you want the
indexing to start and when to end. The first index is created on the start time you have specified.

Daily The indexing runs once every N number of days based upon a start time and an end time.

You state when you want the indexing to start and when to end. The first index is created on the start time
you have specified.

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 Scheduling type Description

Weekly The indexing runs on selected days based upon a start time and an end time you have defined. For exam­
ple, you can index every week on Monday, Thursday, and Sunday. The first index is created on the start
time you have specified.

In the Scheduling Details area, enter a user ID in the Account to Run Scheduling field and the corresponding
password. The user needs to have the authorization to schedule indexing.

In the Scheduling Time Range area, you can enter date and time directly or choose dates directly with the calendar.
The calendar is a dialog that allows you to choose a date directly.

Some values that you enter for the start and end times of the indexing, are not valid:

● negative values
● non numeric values
● setting an End Time before the Start Time

Related Information

Indexing information spaces [page 61]

8.5.1 Scheduling indexing for an information space

Context

You can schedule information spaces to be refreshed at specified times. An information space is refreshed when it
is indexed.

Procedure

On the Scheduling tab, choose the index scheduling for the information space:

Option Description

None There is no indexing, this setting is the default for new Information Spaces.

Once Indexing occurs when desired.

Minutes Indexing occurs every N number of minutes.

Hourly Indexing occurs every N number of hours.

Daily Indexing occurs every N number of days.

Weekly Indexing occurs every N number of days during a week.

○ Click None if you do not want scheduling to occur.

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○ Click Once and define when the scheduling occurs.
○ Click Periodically and define if you want indexing to run every N number of minutes, hours, days, or weeks.
Ensure that you define the start date and end date.

Note
You must have Space Creator or Administrator rights to schedule indexing.

Related Information

Scheduling information spaces for refresh [page 64]

Indexing information spaces [page 61]

8.6 Editing an information space

Context

You edit existing information spaces from the Manage Spaces tab. When configuring an information space you
follow the same process as creating one.

Procedure

1. Open the Manage Spaces tab and click a data source in the left pane.
The information spaces available for the data source appear in the right pane.
2. In the Action column, select Configure from the drop down list for the information space that you want to edit.

Note
You must have edit rights for the information space, be the owner of the information space, or be an
administrator before you can perform this step.

The Edit information space dialog box appears containing the tabs: Properties, Objects, Scheduling and
Personalization.
3. Click a tab and edit the information space properties as required.

To modify Refer here for information

Any part of the information space Creating an information space [page 39]

Properties Setting information space properties [page 42]

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 To modify Refer here for information

Display preferences Setting information space display preferences [page 43]

Facets and Measures ○ Adding facets to an information space [page 49]

○ Adding measures to an information space [page 45]

indexation settings Indexing information spaces [page 61]

Personalization Personalizing an information space [page 58]

Scheduling Scheduling information spaces for refresh [page 64]

4. Click OK to register your configuration and to save the information space.

The Manage Spaces tab appears.

Note
For changes to be visible to users accessing the information space, it must be indexed. Either click Index
Now to index the edited information space immediately or wait for the scheduled index to be processed.

8.7 Deleting an information space

Context

You can delete an information space when it is no longer required.

Note
Only Administrators and information space creators can delete information spaces.

Procedure

1. Click Manage Spaces located on the title bar (if you have Manage privileges).
You are taken to the Manage Spaces tab.
2. Click a data source located within the left pane to select it (for example, a universe).

Note
Data sources are organized in a repository and arranged in a folder structure.

Any existing Information Spaces created from the data source appears in the right pane.
3. Locate the Information Space you want to delete within the right pane.
There are several buttons located beside the Information Space including Delete.
4. Click Delete beside the Information Space.

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 A confirmation message appears when you have rights to delete, otherwise you cannot delete the Information
Space.

Note
If the Information Space is being explored, it is not deleted until it is no longer used.

5. Click OK to confirm you want the Information Space to be deleted.

The confirmation message disappears.

Results

The Information Space is deleted and is no longer accessible by you and other users. If you have the Information
Space in your preexisting search results list, you cannot explore it anymore.

8.8 Duplicating an information space

Context

Instead of building a new Information Space from scratch you can duplicate an existing Information Space, make
modifications and then save it with a new name.

To duplicate an Information Space:

Procedure

1. Click the Manage Spaces tab to display the Information Spaces you can modify.
2. Navigate through the available folders to display the link to the Information Space you want to duplicate.
3. In the Action column, click the Duplicate button.
Duplicate Information Space dialog appears.
4. Type a new name into the Name field.
This is the name that will appear on the Home tab once the duplicate Index Space has been indexed.
5. Specify the properties, objects and schedule information as normal.
6. Optional: to test whether the Information Space is configured correctly, click Validate.
The Information Space is validated automatically and an error message appears if you need to change
anything.
7. Click OK.

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Next Steps

The Information Space needs to be indexed before it can appear on the Home tab and be searchable. You can
either index it manually, by clicking Index Now or schedule it for indexing at a specific time.

Related Information

Scheduling information spaces for refresh [page 64]

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9 Accessibility

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer provides an accessible usage for users who use the keyboard to navigate in the
application. The keyboard access is always available in the tool for all user and do not require special installations
or settings.

You can search, select and explore information spaces and Microsoft Excel files.

Related Information

Keyboard Access for Explorer [page 70]

9.1 Keyboard Access for Explorer

The table below lists the most important tasks in Explorer and shows you the actions of each task and the
keyboard commands accosiated with these actions.

A detailed documentation of these tasks is available in the corresponding chapters in the Online Help.

General keyboard commands

Table 38:
Task Action Keyboard Command

General Keyboard Navigation Navigate to next UI element Tab

Navigate to previous UI element Tab + Shift

Focus in complex elements F2

Focus out complex elements Esc

Move to next list element Arrow right / Arrow down

Move to previous list element Arrow left / Arrow up

Move to the top / bottom element of the Home / End

list

Move to the the top / buttom element of Page Down / Page Up

the currently visible list

Select an element Space

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 Task Action Keyboard Command

Navigating between tabs Move to next tab Arrow right

Move to previous tab Arrow left

Switch to tab Space

Close tab Ctrl + Shift + F4

Keyboard commands on the Home tab

Table 39:
Task Action Keyboard Command

Searching an Information Space on the Navigate to search text box Tab / Tab + Shift
Home tab
Enter search text

Navigate to search button Tab / Tab + Shift

Start search Space

Selecting an Information Space on the Navigate to the UI element with the avail­ Tab / Tab + Shift
Home tab able Information Spaces

Focus in Information Space list F2

Focus out Information Space list Esc

Select an Information Space Arrows up / down

Expand / Collapse Information Space Arrows left / right

details

Navigate to Information Space at the Home / End

top / bottom of the list

Navigate to Information Space at the Page Down / Page Up

top / buttom of the currently visible list

Refreshing the Information Space list Navigate to the Refresh button Tab / Tab + Shift

Start refresh Esc

Managing Information Spaces Navigate to the Manage Spaces button Tab / Tab + Shift

Open the Manage Spaces tab Space

Select the Data Source area Tab / Tab + Shift

Navigate to a data source Arrows up + down

Open a folder in the Data Source area Space

You can check the data sources and their

Information Spaces.

Uploading a Microsoft Excel file Navigate to the Browse button Tab / Tab + Shift

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Task Action Keyboard Command

Open the system file dialogue to select a Space

file

Navigate in the system file dialogue Arrows up / down

Select a file in the system file dialogue Enter

Previewing and configuring an Excel file Navigate to the Preview and Configure Tab / Tab + Shift
button

Open the configuration dialogue Space

Exploring an Excel file directly Navigate to the Explore Now button Tab / Tab + Shift

Start the exploration. Space

Keyboard commands on the Explore tab

Table 40:
Task Action Keyboard Command

Selecting an option in the toolbar Navigate to the option button (e.g. visu­ Tab / Tab + Shift
alization or Bookmark)

Select the button Space

Searching in the Explore tab Navigate to the search field Tab / Tab + Shift

Enter the search text

Start the search EnterTab / Tab + Shift

Exploring the measure panel Navigate to the measure panel Tab / Tab + Shift

Move to next / previous measure Arrows up /down

Select a measure Space

Move to next / previous measure without Ctrl + Arrows up / down

selecting it

Select an additional measure. You can Ctrl + Space

select up to 3 measures.

Adding a calculation Navigate to Add Calculation... Tab / Tab + Shift

Open the calculation dialogue box Space

Enter Name and Description

Select the first / second measure Ctrl + Arrow down -> Enter

Select the operand Arrow right /left -> Space

Select OK Space

Exploring the facets Navigate to the facet container Tab / Tab + Shift

Focus in the facet container F2

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 Task Action Keyboard Command

Navigate to the next / previous facet Arrow right /left

Focus in a facet F2

Navigate to the next / previous facet Arrows up /down

value

Select a value for filtering Space

Select multiple values in a given range Shift + Arrows up /down

for filtering

Select single multiple values for filtering Ctrl + Arrows up /down ->
Space

Select Explore more... in a focused facet Tab / Tab + Shift -> Space

Select the sort button in a focused facet Tab / Tab + Shift -> Space

Close a focused element Esc

Modifying filters Navigate to the filter pane Tab / Tab + Shift

Focus in a filter F2

Navigate to next / previous filter Arrow right /left

Open a filter Space

Select another filter value. You can also Arrow right /left -> Space
select multiple values using Shift and Ctr
commands.

Delete the filter Ctrl + Shift + F4

Modifying the visualization Navigate to the Chart or Table button Tab / Tab + Shift

Select the button Arrow right /left -> Space

For charts, open the drop down list for Ctrl + Arrow down
Comparison, Percentage, Correlation or
Trend

Select a list element Tab / Tab + Shift -> Space

Navigate to the chart elements Tab / Tab + Shift

You can modify the values in these ele­

ments with the general keyboard com­
mands.

In the legend table, increase or decrease Shift + Arrow right / left

the column size.

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Keyboard commands on the Exploration views tab

Table 41:
Task Action Keyboard Command

Selecting a button in the EView Navigate to the button/option you want Tab / Tab + Shift
to use.

Select the button Space

Change Exploration View or add new Ex­ Navigate to the Eview List Tab / Tab + Shift
ploration View
Open the drop down list Ctrl + Arrow down

Move up or down in the list Arrows Up / Down

Select the EView or the “Add Exploration Enter

View” option

Exploring the measure panel Navigate to the measure list Tab / Tab + Shift

Open the drop down list Ctrl + Arrow down

Move to next / previous measure Arrows up /down

Select a measure Enter

Filter from an array Element Navigate to the Array element Tab / Tab + Shift

Enter the Array F2

Move up or down in the list Arrows Up / Down

Select one or several rows Ctrl + Arrows Up/Down +

Space ->

Navigate to the Filter element Esc + Esc + Tab ->

Open the filter drop down list Ctrl + Arrow Down

Move to one or another option Arrows Up / Down

Select the option Enter

Filter from a facet filter element Navigate to the facet filter Tab / Tab + Shift

Select one or more values to filter on Ctrl + Arrows Up/Down +

Space

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