Showing BW hierarchy nodes by level

[Former Member]

SAP BusinessObjects BI4.x now supports SAP BW classic hierarchy. The expand-collapse method is the standard way to browse through hierarchy levels. But sometimes user requirement asks for something very unusual. In one of our projects, the user wanted to see all nodes from the 3rd level. But soon after his subordinate wanted to see all node from the 5th level. It was not something very common and after a quick chat we found out that this organization has a lot of hierarchies with redundant levels. So the expand-collapse method was not suiting them well.

Thanks to BI4.x, we have found a novel solution. We simply created a Web Intelligence Variable name like below:

Name                 : CC Hier. Level

Qualification        : Attribute

Associated Dimension : [Cost Center]

Formula              : =[Cost Center].Depth()

Now we created an List Box Input Control based on [CC Hier. Level] that applies to the whole report page.

Now created the report with the following objects:

[Cost Center]	[CC Hier. Level]	[Key Figure - Actual '000 USD]	[Key Figure - Budget '000 USD]
Global	0	1000	1200
Asia	1	1000	1200
MY	2	400	450
SG	2	600	750

If we now select "All  Values" in the Input Control, the report will display normally. But if we select 2 in the List Box, the report will show hierarchy nodes from level 3 like below:

[Cost Center]	[CC Hier. Level]	[Key Figure - Actual '000 USD]	[Key Figure - Budget '000 USD]
MY	2	400	450
SG	2	600	750