Align Elements In WebI Like My Oven Timer

[nscheaffer]

BusinessObjects BI 4.3 was released almost four years ago, but my company upgraded from 4.2 just over a year ago and we are still learning and figuring out the particulars of the new interface. We did a subsequent patch a couple of months ago and are now on 4.3 SP03 Patch 8.

I like to align elements (i.e., tables, charts, cells, etc.) relative to other elements just to keep things tidy and so they export to Excel nicely. The simplest way to do that is using the snap lines (I am not sure of the official name) that appear as you move one element near another. This is a new 4.3 feature although I am not sure what SP and Patch.

That results in what I call "static alignment" where the elements are aligned as they exist at that moment, but not as they may grow with data or be subsequently moved manually.

We have been able to do what I call "dynamic alignment" or what is referred to as Relative Position for quite some time like this...

The new feature in 4.3 that is taking me some time to get used to is the "Instant Apply" check box at the bottom. I like having it on, but when I want to go from 3.81 inches to 0.00 inches it takes too long (especially on a report with a lot of data) to repeatedly click the "-" reducing the number of inches in 0.1 increments.

There are a few alternatives...

• Uncheck the "Instant Apply" check box and adjust with the "-" or "+" button to the desired relative value and check it again.
• Drag the element close to where you want it to be and fine tune the relative value with the "-" or "+" button.
• Double-click the relative value and type whatever you want it to be.

I usually use the last one. However, I recently discovered another method purely by accident.

If you click and hold the "-" or "+" button (even with "Instant Apply" checked) the relative value will change in 0.1 increments without adjusting after each increment and speed up after 4 or 5 increments just like when I set my oven timer or alarm clock. When you release your mouse button the relative position will be applied if you have "Instant Apply" checked, check "Instant Apply", or click the "Apply" button.

While writing this up I discovered I can also affect the relative value with my "˄" or "˅" keyboard keys. Once you have your cursor in the relative value field (mouse click or tab into it) it will change in 0.1 increments for each arrow key press and will speed up with no delay of 4 or 5 increments if I press and hold it as it does when clicking and holding the "-" or "+" button. When you move your cursor out of the relative value field the relative position will be applied if you have "Instant Apply" checked, check "Instant Apply", or click the "Apply" button.

This may seem minor, but for someone who likes to minimize switching from my mouse to keyboard or keyboard to mouse like me I will certainly be using this feature.