This is the next in a series of blogs, part II can be found: http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/weblogs?blog=/cs/junior/search/wlg%3fid_user=251827864
I will attempt to explain the importance of using other controls in your dynamic templates. As a customer, there is a strong business need to ensure the consistency of published reports and input schedules. I speak beyond the needs of using dynamic reporting for analysis. However, the two needs are not exclusive. Dynamic reports can be used for consistent data reporting and data input.
Here are two tips to use to achieve consistent reporting:
Worksheet locks
Once a dynamic workbook is designed, you may control one or more of the dynamic dimension members for the selected worksheet. This option is available in the Report State Action Pane - Dimension Lock Options. When you set dimension locks on a report, the dimension members that are locked are displayed in the action pane as non-editable.
Using this in combination with workbook locking, you can set up multiple reports in a workbook and choice how the user can navigate the application data by worksheet. For example:
Worksheet 1 has an account trend that allows the user to select the time period (or drill down) and the account dimension members but cannot change the category dimension.
Worksheet 2 has a category comparison report that allows the user to select the category and time dimension members but not the account dimension members.
Control panel criteria for expansion
Previously, I spoke about the use of the control panel for creating truly dynamic reports.
All BPC installs provide dynamic report (and schedule) templates with pre-defined formats and matching control panels. The BPC 5.x templates are based on the function evEXP/evNXP. The evDRE function generates a control panel automatically. In future releases the dynamic templates will have evDRE control panels similar to evEXP/evNXP but provide the additional flexibility of evDRE.
These dynamic templates can be used as a basis for creating your own reports. You can change the control panel to meet your needs. For example, each row and column can define the behavior of the template. Below are some of the key options for evEXP/evNXP control panel:
Expansion is Active – turn on or off the expansion allowing you to fix the members of rows or columns if desired.
Expansion Formula – a set of BPC formula to determine how the expansion will be performed. This provides the flexibility to expand either on a hierarchical or non-hierarchical basis such as a property value.
Dimension – a formula that can retrieve one of the application dimensions dynamically using other BPC formulas (example evDIM({application ID},{dimension type}.
Expansion Member – a formula that can retrieve the current view member of the above dimension or use the override dimension member.
All of the details can easily be found in the BPC Office help documentation so I will not spend your time explaining all the options. The primary point is that the report can be design in many formats while remaining dynamic but with controls. The control can be at the workbook or worksheet level. You can hide the criteria using the control panel or use the action pane to lock the dimension and prevent navigation by the user’s current view.
