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Using BusinessObjects Mobile
BusinessObjects Mobile XI 3.1
Windows
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Copyright
© 2008 Business Objects, an SAP company. All rights reserved. Business Objects
owns the following U.S. patents, which may cover products that are offered and
licensed by Business Objects: 5,295,243; 5,339,390; 5,555,403; 5,590,250;
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its logos, BusinessObjects, Business Objects Crystal Vision, Business Process
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Third-party
Contributors
Business Objects products in this release may contain redistributions of software
licensed from third-party contributors. Some of these individual components may
also be available under alternative licenses. A partial listing of third-party
contributors that have requested or permitted acknowledgments, as well as required
notices, can be found at: http://www.businessobjects.com/thirdparty
2008-12-03
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Contents
About the BusinessObjects Mobile User Guide 7Chapter 1
The information in the BusinessObjects Mobile user guide.........................8
Target audience for the BusinessObjects Mobile user guide.......................8
Introducing BusinessObjects Mobile 9Chapter 2
BusinessObjects Mobile overview.............................................................10
BusinessObjects Mobile business intelligence features............................11
Downloading the Application to your Mobile 15Chapter 3
Installing the BusinessObjects Mobile application.....................................16
Restrictions and recommendations for specific mobile devices................18
Supported documents..........................................................................11
Supported business intelligence functionality......................................12
Device prerequisites and device type support.....................................16
Downloading the BusinessObjects Mobile client application from a web
site........................................................................................................17
Accessing BusinessObjects Mobile 19Chapter 4
Launching BusinessObjects Mobile...........................................................20
Configuring your device to access the BusinessObjects Enterprise
server.........................................................................................................20
Logging into BusinessObjects Mobile........................................................21
Accessing local and server documents................................................23
Connecting automatically.....................................................................23
Running BusinessObjects Mobile in the background................................25
Exiting the BusinessObjects Mobile application........................................26
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 3
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Contents
Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents 27Chapter 5
Viewing options and defaults.....................................................................28
Setting your viewing options.................................................................28
Viewing documents in panoramic mode...............................................30
Setting a default folder.........................................................................31
Setting a default document...................................................................32
Unselecting a default document or folder.............................................32
Language support for document viewing...................................................33
Accessing documents................................................................................33
Opening documents.............................................................................33
Supported features in Mobile documents.............................................34
Viewing document properties...............................................................38
Navigation menus and shortcuts...............................................................39
Quick reference to keypad shortcuts....................................................39
Drilling on data to gain insight on results...................................................41
Drilling on a report................................................................................42
Drilling on a graph or chart...................................................................42
Drilling across to related reports...........................................................43
Performing follow-up actions.....................................................................43
Displaying contact details using Lookup..............................................44
Sending an SMS..................................................................................44
Making a call........................................................................................45
Sending an email..................................................................................45
Refreshing results and synchronizing documents.....................................46
Synchronizing documents....................................................................46
Refreshing reports with the latest data.................................................47
Using prompts and parameters............................................................48
Subscribing to alerts..................................................................................50
Quick reference to alerts......................................................................51
Subscribing to an alert..........................................................................52
4 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Contents
Viewing alert properties........................................................................53
Working with documents stored locally on your device.............................54
Working with local documents..............................................................55
Saving documents locally on your device............................................55
Deleting local documents.....................................................................56
Designing Documents for Mobile Users 59Chapter 6
How documents are displayed on mobile devices.....................................60
Best practices for mobile document design...............................................60
Designing Web Intelligence documents for mobile users....................64
Designing analytics for mobile users....................................................68
Designing Crystal reports for mobile users..........................................68
Setting up alerters on documents........................................................70
Embedding actions in report cells..............................................................71
Authoring actions..................................................................................72
Quick reference to embedded actions.................................................73
Syntax for actions.................................................................................73
Linking documents.....................................................................................76
URL Reporting using openDocument .................................................78
Get More Help 103Appendix A
Index 107
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 5
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Contents
6 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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About the BusinessObjects Mobile User Guide
1
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About the BusinessObjects Mobile User Guide
1
The information in the BusinessObjects Mobile user guide
The information in the BusinessObjects
Mobile user guide
This guide explains how to:
• install BusinessObjects Mobile onto a mobile device, such as a
Smartphone or PDA.
• use the BusinessObjects Mobile features to interact remotely with business
intelligence information located on a Business Objects Enterprise server.
• design business intelligence documents for optimum display and
performance when viewed on mobile devices.
Note:
The workflows described here are generic and do not take into account the
differences between supported mobile devices or their operating systems.
Your mobile device, or the operating system it uses, can propose additional
menu options at various stages of the workflows.
Related Topics
• Best practices for mobile document design on page 60
Target audience for the BusinessObjects Mobile user guide
This guide is aimed at business professionals who match one or both of the
following profiles:
• Professionals on the move who use BusinessObjects Mobile to interact
with business intelligence data via a mobile phone or PDA.
• Corporate report designers who want to provide users of BusinessObjects
Mobile with data in a format that is optimized for display and ease-of-use
when viewed via a mobile device.
Related Topics
• Document design recommendations on page 12
8 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Introducing BusinessObjects Mobile
2
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Introducing BusinessObjects Mobile
2
BusinessObjects Mobile overview
BusinessObjects Mobile overview
BusinessObjects Mobile consists of a client-side application for mobile devices
and a Mobile server component that communicates with the BusinessObjects
Enterprise XI server. Using BusinessObjects Mobile, professionals on the
move can access business intelligence information from a mobile device,
such as a smartphone or PDA.
The application is designed specifically to meet the screen size and
interactivity constraints of mobile devices. Business intelligence documents,
reports and analytics are displayed on supported mobile devices with native
rendering, single-click access and device-appropriate user interactivity.
The BusinessObjects Mobile client-side application needs to be downloaded
to each mobile device. This application exists in different versions for the
following device types:
• BlackBerry
• Symbian series-60
• Windows Mobile
Although BusinessObjects Mobile can work on data infrastructures like GPRS,
the best performance is experienced on 3G, 3G+ or EDGE networks.
Related Topics
• BusinessObjects Mobile business intelligence features on page 11
• Device prerequisites and device type support on page 16
10 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Introducing BusinessObjects Mobile
BusinessObjects Mobile business intelligence features
BusinessObjects Mobile business
intelligence features
Using BusinessObjects Mobile, professionals on the move can analyze,
interact, and be alerted about changes to critical data related to their business
interest easily at any time.
Related Topics
• Supported documents on page 11
• Supported business intelligence functionality on page 12
Supported documents
BusinessObjects Mobile provides users of a mobile device with remote access
to the following types of business intelligence document:
• Web Intelligence documents
• Crystal Reports documents
• Some gauge analytics (including speedometers, barometers, and
thermometers)
2
Note:
Gauge analytics cannot be viewed from Windows Mobile compatible
devices.
Depending on the document type, you can view, analyze and interact with
the data it contains in a variety of ways. Detailed information on the supported
document features that can be leveraged using BusinessObjects Mobile is
provided in the Using BusinessObjects Mobile guide: Best practices for
mobile document design section.
Related Topics
• Supported business intelligence functionality on page 12
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 11
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Introducing BusinessObjects Mobile
2
BusinessObjects Mobile business intelligence features
Document design recommendations
The amount of memory available on your mobile device determines the size
of reports you can view using BusinessObjects Mobile. However, it is
recommended that both the size and the complexity of reports designed for
mobile users conform to Business Objects best practice information.
Following some simple design guidelines ensures that reports displayed on
small, mobile devices meet the usability requirements expected by users.
Related Topics
• Best practices for mobile document design on page 60
• Designing Web Intelligence documents for mobile users on page 64
• Designing analytics for mobile users on page 68
• Designing Crystal reports for mobile users on page 68
Supported business intelligence functionality
Using BusinessObjects Mobile, you can leverage a wide range of features
and functionality to manage your Business Intelligence (BI) documents and
data. Key features include the ability to:
• Set up a default document or folder that opens automatically whenever
you log into the application.
• Refresh reports to retrieve the most up-to-date data.
• View results using zoom and navigational shortcuts.
• Navigate to related documents via hyperlinks on reports.
• Change how results are filtered by modifying prompt values.
• Receive alerts when a specific document is modified, a condition is met,
or a schedule is run.
• Take follow-up actions by clicking on report cells to launch an SMS, phone
call or email.
• Save documents locally and consult them offline, to mitigate network
interruptions and minimize communication costs.
When viewing Web Intelligence reports, you can also:
• Drill on results to analyze detailed or summary data.
12 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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• Track data changes via customizable highlighting set up by the document
creator.
Functional limitations
BusinessObjects Mobile presents some functional limitations due to the
technical and design constraints of mobile devices.
Device types
BusinessObjects Mobile is not guaranteed to work on all mobile devices and
operating systems. For the list of supported devices and operating systems,
see: http://service.sap.com.
Report sizing
Documents containing large data sets can saturate available memory on the
mobile device. This issue can be mitigated by designing smaller reports.
Introducing BusinessObjects Mobile
BusinessObjects Mobile business intelligence features
2
Web Intelligence document features
Dynamic or cascading prompts in Web Intelligence documents are not
supported for viewing with BusinessObjects Mobile.
Crystal Reports features
The following features are not supported in Crystal Reports:
• Active-X content
• suppression at view time
• changing filters
• dynamic and cascading parameters
• prompting for database logons
• crosstabs (used to report on data from OLAP data sources)
Note:
The structure of Crystal reports means that when you navigate reports
cell-by-cell via your device, you skip adjacent cells. It is recommended that
you view Crystal reports in Panoramic mode, so you can easily scroll to
specific columns and rows. With a Crystal report open on the device, launch
the device menu and select Enter panoramic mode.
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 13
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Introducing BusinessObjects Mobile
2
BusinessObjects Mobile business intelligence features
Dashboard and Analytics gauge analytics
Gauge analytics (speedometer, thermometer, traffic light) are supported for
viewing with BusinessObjects Mobile. The following functionality is not
supported when you interact with analytics via a mobile device:
• refreshing analytics
• opening analytics set to Refresh on Open
Note:
Analytics cannot be viewed using a Windows Mobile device.
Related Topics
• Device prerequisites and device type support on page 16
• Best practices for mobile document design on page 60
• Designing analytics for mobile users on page 68
14 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Downloading the Application to your Mobile
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Downloading the Application to your Mobile
3
Installing the BusinessObjects Mobile application
Installing the BusinessObjects Mobile
application
Before you proceed to download the BusinessObjects Mobile client application
to your mobile phone or PDA, verify that the brand and model is listed among
the supported mobile devices. You can either contact the appropriate IT
administrator at your organization or consult: http://service.sap.com.
There are three download methods:
• Download the client application from a web site using standard OTA
(Over-The-Air) protocol for the transmission and reception of
application-related information in a wireless communications system.
Contact your IT administrator to obtain the web site URL.
• If you want to download the Mobile client application to a BlackBerry
device registered on your corporate BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES),
your IT administrator can push the BusinessObjects Mobile client
application to your BlackBerry, so that the application is downloaded
automatically.
• Download the client application from your desktop computer using another
data transmission method, like the data cable supplied with your device
or Bluetooth technology, using the Desktop Manager software supplied
by your device manufacturer.
It is recommended that only IT and technical specialists use this method
to download the application. This download option is of interest if
administrators or power users want to test the application on a single
device.
Related Topics
• Downloading the BusinessObjects Mobile client application from a web
site on page 17
• Launching BusinessObjects Mobile on page 20
Device prerequisites and device type support
For the list of supported mobile devices and mobile operating systems see:
http://service.sap.com.
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Downloading the Application to your Mobile
Installing the BusinessObjects Mobile application
Downloading the BusinessObjects Mobile client application from a web site
Before you proceed to download the BusinessObjects Mobile application to
your device:
• verify that your mobile device model is listed among the supported mobile
Smartphones or devices
You can either consult your IT administrator for this information or visit
the Business Objects supported platforms web site page at: http://ser
vice.sap.com.
• obtain the application download web site URL from your IT administrator
To download the BusinessObjects Mobile client application using OTA
(Over-The-Air) protocol:
1. Navigate to the download website in one of the following ways:
• Launch the web browser option on your device, and then type in the
URL of the BusinessObjects Mobile client application download page
provided to you by your IT administrator.
• If your IT administrator sends you the link to the server directly via
email or SMS, click the link in the message to go directly to the
download website.
The website automatically detects your device type and selects the
appropriate version of the client application for you to download.
3
2. If the automatic selection is disabled, you can manually select the
appropriate version from a list.
3. Click Download.
The BusinessObjects Mobile application is downloaded to your device. The
BusinessObjects Mobile icon appears with the other applications icons.
Related Topics
• Configuring your device to access the BusinessObjects Enterprise server
on page 20
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 17
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Downloading the Application to your Mobile
3
Restrictions and recommendations for specific mobile devices
Restrictions and recommendations for
specific mobile devices
Due to design differences between mobile devices and the operating systems
they use, your experience of BusinessObjects Mobile can vary depending
on the phone or device you use.
Menu options and workflows
Most BusinessObjects Mobile menu options and workflows are the same
regardless of which mobile device you use. However, some device-specific
menus and options can alter the display of the BusinessObjects Mobile
menus.
Installation folder name
The installation folder in which the BusinessObjects Mobile application is
installed can differ depending on your phone and mobile operator.
Related Topics
• Device prerequisites and device type support on page 16
18 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Accessing BusinessObjects Mobile
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Accessing BusinessObjects Mobile
4
Launching BusinessObjects Mobile
Launching BusinessObjects Mobile
The BusinessObjects Mobile icon appears with the icons for the other
applications on your mobile device.
• To launch BusinessObjects Mobile, select the BusinessObjects Mobile
application icon, and depending on the type of device you are using:
• Double-click the wheel.
• Click the center button.
• Select the application icon on the device touch screen with a stylus.
The BusinessObjects Mobile splash screen displays for a few seconds.
You are ready to log into the BusinessObjects Enterprise server.
Related Topics
• Logging into BusinessObjects Mobile on page 21
• Running BusinessObjects Mobile in the background on page 25
Configuring your device to access the BusinessObjects Enterprise server
Before you configure your device to connect to the BusinessObjects
Enterprise server, obtain the following details:
• the BusinessObjects Mobile server URL
• the proxy server port
• the CMS name
• the server authentication type
These details can be obtained from your IT administrator.
If your IT administrator pre-configures the BusinessObjects Mobile application
before it is downloaded to your device, connection to the BusinessObjects
Enterprise server is automatic and configuration is not necessary. However,
if the application was not pre-configured, then the first time you connect to
the BusinessObjects Enterprise server, you must enter the connection and
authentication information manually.
To enter the connection and authentication information:
1. Launch the BusinessObjects Mobile application on your mobile device.
20 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Accessing BusinessObjects Mobile
Logging into BusinessObjects Mobile
The Login screen appears.
2. Launch the device menu, and then select Connection settings.
3. On the "Connection Settings" screen,specify the following:
a. In the Mobile Server field, enter the Mobile server URL provided to
you by your IT administrator.
b. In the Port nbr field, enter the proxy server port provided to you by
your IT administrator.
c. In the CMS name field, enter the server name provided to you by your
IT administrator.
d. In the Auth. Method field, select the authentication method set up for
you by your IT administrator. The options are:
• Enterprise
• LDAP
• Windows AD
• SAP R3
4. Launch the menu and select one of the following:
• Select Save to save your changes.
• Select Back to cancel your changes.
4
5. Return to the "Login" screen.
Related Topics
• Logging into BusinessObjects Mobile on page 21
• Connecting automatically on page 23
Logging into BusinessObjects Mobile
Once you have launched the BusinessObjects Mobile application on your
mobile device, enter valid login credentials to access your local documents
and the BusinessObjects Enterprise server to access the business intelligence
documents online.
Note:
The IT administrator must grant you the appropriate rights for you to access
and interact with documents via BusinessObjects Mobile.
To log into BusinessObjects Mobile:
1. On the Login page, enter the appropriate information into the following
mandatory fields:
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Accessing BusinessObjects Mobile
4
Logging into BusinessObjects Mobile
User - the Business Objects user name assigned to you by your IT
a.
administrator
b. Password - the password you or your administrator define in
BusinessObjects InfoView
2. If you want to avoid entering your user name and password each time
you log into BusinessObjects Mobile, select Save password.
Note:
You can set your login options so that each time you launch the
BusinessObjects Mobile application, you are logged into BusinesssObjects
Mobile automatically. This saves you time when you want to consult data
quickly without spending time on the login procedure. Your connection
to your live data on the server is automatic which can pose a security
threat if your device is lost or stolen.
3. If you want to start BusinessObjects Mobile automatically each time you
switch on the device, select Auto-connect.
Note:
If you select this option, the Save password option is automatically
selected and the Work offline option is disabled. Both options are hidden
until you deselect Auto-connect.
4. If you only want to access documents stored locally on your device and
not to access the BusinessObjects Enterprise server online, select Work
offline.
Note:
After your first login, you can work with documents stored locally on your
device without being connected to the BusinessObjects Enterprise server.
This is useful if you are experiencing wireless network issues or simply
want to work on business intelligence data while on the move without
communication cost. Your first login must be to the BusinessObjects
Enterprise server so that you can retrieve server documents and store
them locally on your device. On subsequent logins, select this option to
choose not to connect to the server and work with previously saved
documents.
5. Launch the menu and select Login to access BusinessObjects Mobile.
Related Topics
• Connecting automatically on page 23
• Working with documents stored locally on your device on page 54
22 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Logging into BusinessObjects Mobile
• Setting a default folder on page 31
• Setting a default document on page 32
Accessing local and server documents
Once you have logged into the BusinessObjects Mobile application on your
mobile device, you can choose whether you want to view:
• Local documents
These documents are stored locally on your device. You can synchronize
local documents with the online versions of the same documents as
currently published on the BusinessObjects Enterprise server.
Note:
When you synchronize your mobile device with the BusinessObjects
Enterprise server, any local documents that no longer exist on the server
are automatically deleted from your device. For example, if you save a
copy of a server document called LocDoc1 to your device and the server
version is deleted afterwards, the next time you save a different server
document to your device LocDoc1 is deleted.
Accessing BusinessObjects Mobile
4
• Server documents
These documents are stored on the BusinessObjects Enterprise server
and are therefore only accessible in online mode when you are connected
to the server.
Related Topics
• Logging into BusinessObjects Mobile on page 21
• Working with documents stored locally on your device on page 54
Connecting automatically
You can set your login options to Auto-connect, so that each time you turn
on your device, you are logged into the BusinesssObjects Enterprise server
automatically. This means you can consult BI data quickly without spending
time on the login procedure.
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Accessing BusinessObjects Mobile
4
Logging into BusinessObjects Mobile
Note:
The duration of a session, as defined by your IT administrator, ensures that
BusinessObjects Mobile disconnects from the Business Objects server when
the application is not used on the device after a specified time. However,
when a mobile device has Auto-connect as its default, your password is
saved so that your device connects automatically to the server and logs back
in automatically whenever your session expires. This means that setting your
login to Auto-connect and saving your password on the device can pose a
security issue, if you lose your device.
To set automatic start:
1. From the "Login" screen, select Auto-connect.
Note:
If you select this option, the Save password option is automatically
selected and the Work offline option is disabled. Both options are hidden
until you deselect Auto-connect.
2. Click Login.
You are logged into the application and your automatic login preferences
are saved.
Related Topics
• Removing automatic connection on page 24
Removing automatic connection
Your device is set to launch BusinessObjects Mobile automatically each time
you turn on the device.
When Auto-connect is set on your device, you are connected to the
BusinessObjects Enterprise server automatically as soon as you turn on the
device. You can remove the automatic connection option if you want to launch
the application and/or log in manually. Manual login allows you to modify
your login information, such as the server URL or your password, if necessary.
To deselect automatic connection:
1. After login, from the BusinessObjects Mobile application menu, open the
"Preferences" menu.
2. Deselect the Auto-connect checkbox.
24 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Accessing BusinessObjects Mobile
Running BusinessObjects Mobile in the background
3. Click Save.
The next time you switch on your device, the "Login" screen will prompt you
to log in manually.
Related Topics
• Connecting automatically on page 23
• Logging into BusinessObjects Mobile on page 21
Running BusinessObjects Mobile in the
background
If you want to work with other tools or applications on your mobile device
and remain in contact with the BusinessObjects Enterprise server, you can
opt to log in to BusinessObjects Mobile and run the application in the
background. When you run the BusinessObjects Mobile application in the
background, you are free to interact with other applications and still receive
business intelligence documents and alerts; they are pushed from the server
to your device as long as you are logged in to the server.
4
You can also run BusinessObjects Mobile in the background without logging
into the server. In this case, however, you do not receive alerts on your device
until you log in.
To run BusinessObjects Mobile in the background while you work in another
application on your device:
1. Log in to BusinessObjects Mobile.
2. Launch the device menu from any screen within the Mobile application.
3. Select Hide.
BusinessObjects Mobile is sent to the background so you can continue to
work with other applications on your device.
Note:
If the login session times out while the Mobile client is in the background,
the application automatically initiates the session. If the session cannot be
reinitiated due to an authentication problem, an error message appears. Exit
the application and login again.
Related Topics
• Subscribing to alerts on page 50
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 25
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Accessing BusinessObjects Mobile
4
Exiting the BusinessObjects Mobile application
Exiting the BusinessObjects Mobile
application
Closing the BusinessObjects Mobile application ends your connection with
the BusinessObjects Enterprise server.
To log out of the BusinessObjects Enterprise server:
1. Display the application menu on the device.
2. Select Exit.
Note:
If you are subscribed to any alerts, BusinessObjects Mobile displays a
message that informs you that if you exit the application, you cannot
receive alerts until you next log in. If you want to continue receiving alerts
while using different features or applications on your device, you can opt
to run BusinessObjects Mobile in the background. In this case the
application is no longer visible, but it continues to run behind your other
applications. If you confirm you want to exit the application,
BusinessObjects Mobile closes and logs you out of the BusinessObjects
Enterprise server.
Related Topics
• Logging into BusinessObjects Mobile on page 21
• Accessing documents on page 33
• Running BusinessObjects Mobile in the background on page 25
26 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Viewing options and defaults
Viewing options and defaults
You can select from a range of viewing and navigation options to best suit
how you want to interact with business intelligence reports and graphical
elements, such as graphs and analytics.
You can also define a default folder, so that each time you log into
BusinessObjects Mobile your welcome page lists the folder that you select
as default. Alternatively, if you need to consult the same document repeatedly,
you can define that document as your default document so that it opens
automatically each time you log in.
Related Topics
• The Preferences menu on page 28
• Accessing documents on page 33
• Setting a default document on page 32
• Viewing documents in panoramic mode on page 30
Setting your viewing options
You can set viewing options to suit the way you want to view reports and
charts and your preferred way to navigate documents.
Related Topics
• The Preferences menu on page 28
• Setting a default folder on page 31
• Setting a default document on page 32
The Preferences menu
You set general application options in the "Preferences" menu. You can
access the "Preferences" menu from any menu you can display during your
BusinessObjects Mobile session.
28 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Viewing options and defaults
DescriptionOption
5
Zoom fit to
screen
Zoom (n%)
Scroll step
(screen n%)
Remember default folder
Automatically resizes the current selected block of data
to fit the mobile device screen.
You can set the zoom percentage to a value from 30
through 150 for graphs and charts.
Note:
You cannot zoom on analytics.
Specifies the percentage of the screen used as the increment by which to scroll the display in Panoramic view
mode.
Stores a default folder, so that each time you log into
BusinessObjects Mobile server your welcome page lists
the folder you selected as default.
Note:
This option only appears on the Preferences menu if you
have a default folder specified.
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 29
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Viewing options and defaults
DescriptionOption
Remember default document
Show banner
Auto-connect
Related Topics
• Setting your viewing options on page 28
• Setting a default document on page 32
• Setting a default folder on page 31
• Connecting automatically on page 23
Stores a default document (local or server) that opens
automatically each time you log in.
Note:
This option only appears on the Preferences menu if you
have a default document specified.
Displays the value of the selected cell and current zoom
percentage in a banner at the bottom of the screen.
Saves your login options so that you are connected automatically when you turn on your device. Uncheck this
option to display the manual login screen the next time
you turn on your device.
Viewing documents in panoramic mode
You can pan horizontally through wide reports or graphs, by viewing them
in panoramic mode.
Note:
The structure of Crystal reports means that when you navigate reports
cell-by-cell via a device, it is difficult to navigate to adjacent cells. When you
view Crystal reports in Panoramic mode, however, you can easily scroll to
specific columns and rows.
30 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Note:
When you are in panoramic mode, you cannot activate cell contents. For
example, you cannot drill on values or use embedded actions, such as send
SMS.
To enter or leave panoramic mode:
1. With a document open on your device, launch the device menu.
2. Select Enter Panoramic mode or Leave Panoramic mode.
Related Topics
• The Preferences menu on page 28
• Setting a default folder on page 31
• Setting a default document on page 32
Setting a default folder
When you connect to BusinessObjects Mobile, the application opens the
default folder and displays the list of supported documents and analytics it
contains.
Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Viewing options and defaults
5
To change your preferences so that the application opens to the folder of
your choice:
1. Navigate to the desired folder.
2. Open the menu.
3. Select Set as default.
Once you have set the default folder, BusinessObjects Mobile jumps straight
to this folder at startup. However if you have defined a default document,
BusinessObjects Mobile displays the default document instead.
Note:
You can return to and browse the folder hierarchy from the document display
screen by selecting Go to top folder from the menu.
Related Topics
• Setting a default document on page 32
• Unselecting a default document or folder on page 32
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 31
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Viewing options and defaults
Setting a default document
To consult the same document each time you use BusinessObjects Mobile,
save time by setting that document as your default document. Each time you
log into BusinessObjects Mobile, your default document opens automatically.
Note:
If the default document is stored locally on your mobile device as an offline
document, and you delete that document, BusinessObjects Mobile no longer
opens that document by default when you log into the application.
To set a document as your default document:
1. Open the document you want to set as your default.
2. Select the menu, then select Set as default.
Once you have set a default document, BusinessObjects Mobile automatically
displays that document whenever you log into the BusinessObjects Enterprise
server. To view the list of documents, launch the menu and then select Go
to doc list.
Related Topics
• Setting a default folder on page 31
• Unselecting a default document or folder on page 32
Unselecting a default document or folder
If you have a document set to open by default each time you log into the
BusinessObjects Enterprise server and you no longer want that specific
document to open automatically, unselect it.
To unselect your default document or folder:
1. From within a document or from the "Login" screen, launch the menu and
then select Preferences.
2. To unselect a default document, click Keep report default or to unselect
a default folder, click Keep folder default.
These options only appear in the menu if you have previously set a default
document or folder.
32 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Language support for document viewing
The next time you log into BusinessObjects Mobile, the list of documents in
the top-level folder on the BusinessObjects Enterprise server appears.
Related Topics
• Setting a default folder on page 31
Language support for document viewing
Using BusinessObjects Mobile, you can display documents containing foreign
language characters provided you have the related language fonts installed
on your device.
For example, a Web Intelligence report with Korean text characters displays
correctly on a device on which the Korean language character set is installed.
Accessing documents
There are various starting points to accessing the documents available to
you on the BusinessObjects Enterprise server:
• the Mobile folder under Public Folders or the root folder specified by
your IT administrator
• a folder you set as your default folder
• a document you set as your default document that opens automatically
when you log in to the server
5
Related Topics
• Setting a default folder on page 31
• Setting a default document on page 32
Opening documents
BusinessObjects Mobile supports the following types of business intelligence
documents:
• Web Intelligence Documents
• Crystal reports
• Some gauge analytics (speedometers, barometers, and thermometers)
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 33
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Accessing documents
Note:
It is recommended that you only use your mobile device to interact with
documents designed specifically for mobile users. In most cases, these
documents are grouped within a folder called Mobile on the BusinessObjects
Enterprise server. Your IT or business intelligence administrator can provide
more information on the location of mobile documents, if necessary. You
can access other documents; however, depending on their size and format,
their appearance is limited by the size of your mobile device.
To open a document:
1. After logging into the BusinessObjects Enterprise server, select the type
of documents you want to access:
• Local documents
• Server documents
2. Navigate to the document you want to open and click its title.
3. Click Open.
The document is opened from the server. If the document you want to
open is set to Refresh on open, but you do not have the security right
to refresh documents, a message appears indicating that the document
cannot be opened.
4. Click Next or Back to navigate between pages.
5. Use the navigation features available on your device to navigate between
document cells.
Related Topics
• Web Intelligence document features on page 35
• Crystal reports features on page 37
• Gauge analytics features on page 37
Supported features in Mobile documents
Depending on the type of document you are viewing via your mobile device,
specific features may present some functional limitations.
Related Topics
• Web Intelligence document features on page 35
• Crystal reports features on page 37
34 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
Page 35
• Gauge analytics features on page 37
Web Intelligence document features
As a BusinessObjects Mobile user, you can analyze and interact with
business intelligence information contained in Web Intelligence documents
in some ways.
Note:
There are some navigation, display, and functional differences between Web
Intelligence documents viewed via a mobile device and a desktop computer.
These differences are indicated in the description of each feature.
Drilling to details, aggregate data, and related documents
Values in drillable report cells appear up with a drill up or drill down arrow
next to them or as a hyperlink. Depending on how the report designer has
set up the drill hierarchy, you can drill up or down to view details, aggregates
or alternative dimensions. If the report designer has included links to related
documents, the name of that document appears in a tooltip. Clicking on
document links allows you to view more information related to the data in
the initial report.
Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Accessing documents
5
Using embedded SMS, Phone and email commands
Report cells can contain embedded actions that allow you to send an SMS
or email or to make a call to a pre-defined destinee. For example, a report
row containing results for a specific geographical region can include a cell
that allows you to send an SMS to the Sales Manager for that region that
comments on the results.
Using prompts to filter the values displayed on reports
You use prompts with filters so that when you refresh a Web Intelligence
document, only the results relevant to your analysis are retrieved.
Navigating documents containing multiple reports
A Web Intelligence document can contain one or more reports. If the
document contains more than one report, the list of available reports appears.
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 35
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Accessing documents
To navigate to the various reports:
• Display the menu on your device, then select Reports to display the list
of reports contained in the document.
• Select a report from the list, then select the Open report or click OK.
Note:
Each report within a Web Intelligence document is displayed as specified by
the pagination options set up by the creator of the document. One document
page corresponds to one screen on your device, to make navigating between
pages more efficient.
Tracking data changes
When Track Data changes is activated in a report, you can see how the
data in the current version of the report has changed since the previous
version.
Refreshing reports to see the latest results on the database
When you refresh a web Intelligence document, the latest data is retrieved
from the data source and returned to the reports the document contains.
Refreshing documents means you can see up to the minute results, however,
depending on the size of the document the refresh operation can be time
consuming. One possible workaround to lengthy refreshes is for the report
creator or administrator to schedule a refresh of the document. Scheduling
report refreshes ensures that an updated version is always available for
viewing on a mobile device.
Note:
It is recommended that Web Intelligence documents intended for mobile
users be created and edited using the Web Intelligence Java Report Panel,
because formatting can be tightly controlled using this editor for optimum
results on mobile devices.
Related Topics
• Designing Web Intelligence documents for mobile users on page 64
• Drilling on data to gain insight on results on page 41
• Using prompts and parameters on page 48
• Drilling across to related reports on page 43
• Crystal reports features on page 37
• Gauge analytics features on page 37
36 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
Page 37
Crystal reports features
As a BusinessObjects Mobile user, you can interact with business intelligence
information contained in Crystal reports in some ways. There are, however,
some navigation, display, and functional differences between Crystal reports
viewed via a mobile device and a desktop computer.
Viewing reports
You can view reports containing simple sections and details.
Note:
• The structure of Crystal reports means that when you navigate reports
cell-by-cell via your device, you skip adjacent cells. It is recommended
that you view Crystal reports in Panoramic mode, so you can easily scroll
to specific columns and rows.
• You cannot perform drill actions on Crystal reports using BusinessObjects
Mobile.
Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Accessing documents
5
Viewing charts on reports
You can view all chart types available with Crystal Reports.
Related Topics
• Web Intelligence document features on page 35
• Viewing documents in panoramic mode on page 30
• Gauge analytics features on page 37
• Designing Crystal reports for mobile users on page 68
Gauge analytics features
If your mobile device is Java (JM2E) or Symbian compliant, you can view
gauge analytics to gain a quick, graphical status on key indicators related to
your business interest.
Note:
Windows Mobile devices cannot be used to view gauge analytics.
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 37
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Accessing documents
Viewing gauge analytics
You can view the following gauge analytics using BusinessObjects Mobile:
• speedometers
• barometers
• thermometers
Note:
The Zoom option is not available when viewing gauge analytics, because
these analytics are displayed full screen on mobile devices.
Refreshing gauge analytics
You cannot refresh analytics with BusinessObjects Mobile. This means that
analytics set to Refresh on open cannot be viewed using the
BusinessObjects Mobile application. However, the analytic creator or BI
administrator can schedule analytics for refresh on the BusinessObjects
Enterprise server, so that users of BusinessObjects Mobile can access
updated versions.
Related Topics
• Web Intelligence document features on page 35
• Crystal reports features on page 37
• Designing analytics for mobile users on page 68
Viewing document properties
You can only view document properties for documents stored locally on the
mobile device. By default, locally stored documents are stored in the "Local
documents" folder.
The "Document properties" screen provides the following information for the
selected document:
• the name of the document
• the date when the document was last saved on your mobile
• the estimated size of the document
To view the properties of a local document:
1. Without opening the document, select the document title.
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Navigation menus and shortcuts
2. Launch the device menu, and then select Document properties.
The "Document properties" screen appears with the properties information
for the selected document.
Navigation menus and shortcuts
You can access the viewing options in the Preferences menu from the
"Login" menu or from any menu that you can display on the device while
viewing a document. Viewing options allow you to flip quickly through the
pages in a report or document using the following commands:
• Next page
• Previous page
• First page
• Last page
If you are viewing a Web Intelligence document that contains multiple reports,
you can select the Reports menu to view the list of reports, and then select
the report that interests you.
5
For fast navigation, you can use keypad shortcuts.
Related Topics
• Quick reference to keypad shortcuts on page 39
• The Preferences menu on page 28
Quick reference to keypad shortcuts
Using keypad shortcuts saves you time when you want to navigate through
reports or set viewing options quickly.
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Navigation menus and shortcuts
DescriptionCommandKey
1
2
4
5
Toggle info bar
Full
screen
Previous
page
100% Rendering
Next page6
Toggles on or off the Show Current Cell Value
display line at the bottom of the screen in the status bar.
Hides all titles and menus from the display and
makes the entire device screen available for report
viewing and navigation.
Opens the previous report page.
Note:
This menu item appears only in multi-page reports.
Sets the zoom to be 100%, which means that one
pixel rendered on the mobile device represents
one pixel in the original document.
Opens the next report page.
Note:
This menu item appears only in multi-page reports.
40 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Drilling on data to gain insight on results
DescriptionCommandKey
Incrementally zooms out from the current view.Zoom out7
5
8
Related Topics
• Setting your viewing options on page 28
Fit to
screen
Sets the zoom view so that the currently selected
block fits entirely within the mobile device screen.
Note:
Reports not designed for mobile devices can appear too small when viewed using Fit to screen
and cells that contain numeric data can be replaced by '###'. To view the cell values in the
display line at the bottom of the screen, press key
1.
Incrementally zooms in from the current view.Zoom in9
Drilling on data to gain insight on results
Using drill analysis, you can drill down to a detailed breakdown of values
that makes up the summary result displayed in a cell or drill up to see how
the value in a cell aggregates up. The levels you can drill to depend on how
the report designer has set up the drill hierarchy.
Related Topics
• Drilling on a report on page 42
• Drilling on a graph or chart on page 42
• Drilling on a report on page 42
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 41
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Drilling on data to gain insight on results
Drilling on a report
WebIntelligence reports can be made drillable by the report creator at design
time.
Note:
• When you view a report in Panoramic mode drill is not activated. To
activate drill capability, launch the application menu from the document
and then select Leave panoramic mode.
• You cannot drill on Crystal reports using BusinessObjects Mobile.
When you select the cell, an arrow indicates whether you can drill on the
cell. To drill on a cell value:
• Browse to the cell and do one of the following:
• to see aggregated values, select Drill Up to.
• to see a more detailed breakdown of values, select Drill Down to.
Related Topics
• Drilling on a graph or chart on page 42
• Drilling across to related reports on page 43
Drilling on a graph or chart
Graphs and charts are made drillable by the report creator at design time.
Note:
When you view a graph or chart in Panoramic mode, drill is not activated.
To activate drill capability, open a document and from the application menu,
then select Leave panoramic mode.
Drilling on graphs or charts gives you a quick, graphical representation of
how summary results relate to detailed values. To drill on a graph or chart:
1. Select and open the graph or chart from the list of available documents.
2. Scroll or navigate within the graph or chart to the drillable area.
3. From the device menu, select one of the folowing:
• to see aggregated values, select Drill Up to.
• to see a more detailed breakdown of values, select Drill Down to.
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Related Topics
• Drilling on a report on page 42
• Drilling across to related reports on page 43
Drilling across to related reports
Links from report cells to other documents are set up by the report creator
at design time.
Note:
• BusinessObjects Mobile does not support links to other documents
included in Crystal reports.
• When you view a report in Panoramic mode, links to other documents
are not activated. To activate this capability, select the Preferences menu
on your device menu, and then select Leave panoramic mode.
To drill to a related document from a cell value hyperlink:
1. With a cell selected that contains a hyperlink, launch the device menu.
2. Select Open doc
The target document opens on the device screen. To return to the original
document, use the Back command on the device.
Performing follow-up actions
5
Related Topics
• Linking documents on page 76
• Drilling on a report on page 42
Performing follow-up actions
Actions enable you to leverage the context and data displayed on reports to
make better and timelier business decisions. BusinessObjects Mobile actions
are triggered via hyperlinks embedded within document cells by the report
creator at design time.
Note:
• If the mobile device you are using does not support the actions present
in a report, those actions cannot be used.
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Performing follow-up actions
• When you view a report in Panoramic mode, embedded actions are not
activated. To activate actions, select Leave panoramic mode from the
application menu.
Related Topics
• Displaying contact details using Lookup on page 44
• Sending an SMS on page 44
• Making a call on page 45
• Sending an email on page 45
Displaying contact details using Lookup
Actions are embedded into reports as hyperlinks by the document creator
at design time.
The lookup action allows you to retrieve a phone number from your device's
address book, and then either call or send an SMS to that contact.
To find an address book entry via the embedded lookup action:
1. Select the hyperlinked cell on the document.
2. Launch the device menu, and then click Lookup.
Related Topics
• Performing follow-up actions on page 43
• Embedding actions in report cells on page 71
Sending an SMS
Actions are embedded into reports by the document creator at design time.
The smsto action enables you to send a text message by SMS to a predefined
recipient.
To send an SMS via the embedded smsto action:
1. Select the hyperlinked cell on the document.
2. Launch the device menu, and then click Sms.
The SMS message field appears on the device for you to type your
message.
44 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
Page 45
Related Topics
• Performing follow-up actions on page 43
• Embedding actions in report cells on page 71
Making a call
Actions are embedded into reports by the document creator at design time.
The phoneto action enables you to phone to a predefined recipient. The
phoneto action is typically combined with the lookup action. When this is the
case, the Mobile application locates the appropriate phone number in the
address book stored on the device.
To make a call via the embedded phoneto action:
1. Select the hyperlinked cell on the document.
2. Launch the device menu, and then click Call to execute the phoneto
action on the number you selected.
Related Topics
• Performing follow-up actions on page 43
• Displaying contact details using Lookup on page 44
• Embedding actions in report cells on page 71
Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Performing follow-up actions
5
Sending an email
Actions are embedded into reports by the document creator at design time.
The mailto action enables you to send an email message to a predefined
recipient.
To send an email via the embedded mailto action:
1. Select the hyperlinked cell on the document.
2. Launch the device menu, and then click Send mail.
The Email message field appears on the device for you to type your
message.
Related Topics
• Performing follow-up actions on page 43
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 45
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Refreshing results and synchronizing documents
• Embedding actions in report cells on page 71
Refreshing results and synchronizing
documents
If you have the appropriate security profile allocated to you by your IT
Administrator, you can:
• Refresh online documents, when you are logged into the BusinessObjects
Enterprise server, to retrieve the latest values from the databases.
• Synchronize offline documents, stored locally on your mobile device, with
the online versions of the same documents as currently published on the
BusinessObjects Enterprise server.
When you synchronize an offline document, the new version is saved
back to the offline document store on your mobile device.
Related Topics
• Synchronizing documents on page 46
• Refreshing reports with the latest data on page 47
• Working with documents stored locally on your device on page 54
Synchronizing documents
You can store copies of documents available on the server on your local
device. You can synchronize these local copies, called offline documents,
with their online counterparts published on the Business Objects server.
Synchronizing a document lets you retrieve the latest available document
version onto your device.
When you synchronize a document, a message appears requesting you to
confirm that you want to save the more recent version from the server onto
your device memory and overwrite the previous version.
Because the Mobile client only updates the information that has changed
since the last synchronization, the duration of the synchronization process
depends on network availability and the number of updates to be downloaded
from the server to replace the older version on the device.
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Refreshing results and synchronizing documents
To synchronize an offline document:
1. Navigate to your list of offline documents stored locally on the device.
2. Without opening the document you want to synchronize, select it and
activate the menu.
3. From the menu, select Sync Doc to synchronize the selected document,
or Sync All to synchronize all documents in the local storage.
A message is displayed warning you that synchronization requires
returning to connected mode.
4. Click Yes to switch to connected mode and login to the Business Objects
server to synchronize the local documents.
You can also synchronize a document directly from the document viewing
menu. While viewing a document, select Refresh from the menu to
synchronize the document with its server version.
Related Topics
• Working with documents stored locally on your device on page 54
• Refreshing reports with the latest data on page 47
5
Refreshing reports with the latest data
To refresh a document, the Refresh a report's data security right must be
set to "Granted" in your BusinessObjects Enterprise security profile. Contact
your IT or BI administrator for more information.
Note:
You can only refresh documents when you are connected to the
BusinessObjects Enterprise server. Documents stored locally on your device,
which no longer exist on the server, cannot be refreshed.
Refreshing a document allows you to query the databases behind the
document and retrieve the latest values for its data set. After your refresh
action, the reports in the document display the most up-to-date results.
To refresh a document:
1. While logged into the BusinessObjects Enterprise server, navigate to the
document you want to refresh.
2. Open the document.
3. Launch the device menu, and select Refresh.
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Refreshing results and synchronizing documents
A message is displayed indicating that the document is being refreshed.
If the document contains prompts, you are asked to fill in the prompts
before the document is retrieved from the server.
Related Topics
• Modifying prompts to change report filters on page 49
Using prompts and parameters
Using BusinessObjects Mobile, you can leverage the prompts in Web
Intelligence documents and the parameters in Crystal reports to restrict the
values included in the reports you view to those values that interest you.
Prompts or parameters are dynamic filters that allow you to specify the data
retrieved in a document each time you refresh the document. The document
creator usually specifies default values, so that users do not have to select
values for each prompt before refreshing and viewing the report. For example,
a report creator including a prompt for 'Year' would probably select the current
year as the default value. If you have the appropriate security rights, you can
change the values for the prompts when you refresh the document.
When you refresh a document that contains prompts, BusinessObjects Mobile
displays a prompt screen containing the list of prompts and their current
values. By default, the values are the same as those that you selected when
you last refreshed the document from your mobile device.
To change the values for the prompts you have two options:
• revert to the default values specified by the document creator.
• enter or select different values from among the available values on the
database.
Note:
BusinessObjects Mobile does not support cascading prompts in Web
Intelligence documents or cascading and dynamic parameters in Crystal
reports.
Related Topics
• Modifying prompts to change report filters on page 49
• Refreshing reports with the latest data on page 47
48 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Refreshing results and synchronizing documents
Modifying prompts to change report filters
Prompts and parameters are defined for Web Intelligence documents and
Crystal reports by the document creator at design time.
To modify the values currently specified for prompts:
1. From within a document, launch the menu and then click Refresh.
The list of prompts appears.
2. Select the prompt for which you want to specify a different value.
3. You have the following options:
• To reset the prompt value to the default value specified by the report
creator, launch the device menu, and select Apply default value.
• To reset all the prompt values to the default values specified by the
report creator, launch the device menu, and select Set all to default.
• If some prompts have no values currently selected, and you want to
set those prompts to their default values, launch the device menu and
select Set empty to default.
• If you want to reset the values of all the prompts, launch the device
menu and select Delete all. This option removes values altogether
and leaves the prompts empty.
• If you know the exact syntax of the value you want to specify for the
prompt, type the value into the prompt field.
• If you prefer to view the available values and then select one, select
the value you want from the list.
5
If the List of values not refreshed message appears, press the Enter
or OK key on your device to refresh the list of values. When you refresh
a list of values, all the values currently available on the database for
that selected dimension are retrieved to the list.
4. On the device menu, select OK to return to the main Prompt screen.
5. On the device menu, select Get report.
BusinessObjects Mobile retrieves the data for the selected prompt values
into the reports.
Related Topics
• Refreshing results and synchronizing documents on page 46
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Subscribing to alerts
Subscribing to alerts
Subscribing to alerts enables you to be notified on your mobile as soon as
a specific modification to a specific document has occurred on the
BusinessObjects Enterprise server. For example, a sales report alerter is
activated when the sales results for the current quarter fall under the tolerance
level as defined by the sales directorate. You receive the alert and can contact
members of your team to troubleshoot the problems.
Alert settings are available for documents that have been modified on the
server or have been configured with conditional alerters by the document
creator.
If you want to activate alerts on the document that you receive on your device,
you configure alerters on the document when you create the document.
Document and data alerts can be triggered on both standard and scheduled
documents. All document and data alerts can push new document data into
local device storage, therefore creating a new local document on the device.
You can activate (subscribe) and deactivate (unsubscribe) alerts on your
device.
Note:
• You can only receive alerts on online documents stored on the
BusinessObjects Enterprise server. You have to connect to the server to
receive alerts.
• If you want to use your phone for other tasks than those offered by the
BusinessObjects Mobile application, and still receive alerts related to BI
documents, you can run BusinessObjects Mobile in the background. If
an alert is sent to your device while the application is running in the
background, the alert is displayed in the foreground. Click the alert to
acknowledge it, and open the element that generated the alert.
Related Topics
• Quick reference to alerts on page 51
• Subscribing to an alert on page 52
• Viewing alert properties on page 53
• Working with documents stored locally on your device on page 54
• Running BusinessObjects Mobile in the background on page 25
50 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
Page 51
Quick reference to alerts
You can choose from several different alert types, depending on the type of
report modification that you want to be informed about:
Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Subscribing to alerts
5
This
alert
type...
Document
alert
Conditional
data
alert
Scheduled
document
alert
Scheduled
conditional
data
alert
alerted...
when a specific document is
modified.
when the current report values
activate at least one of the specific alerters in a report.
when you want to be notified
each time a scheduled execution is run.
when the current report values
during a scheduled refresh activate a specific alerter in a report.
For example...is useful when you want to be
Another person has refreshed
the document.
The current report values meet
at least one of the conditions
defined on an alerter on a report, which triggers the alert.
A scheduled refresh or publish
is executed on the document.
The current report values following a schedule refresh meet at
least one of the conditions defined on a report in the alerter.
Related Topics
• Subscribing to alerts on page 50
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Subscribing to alerts
Subscribing to an alert
You can subscribe to specific alerts yourself using the options in
BusinessObjects Mobile via your device. Alternatively, depending on your
corporate IT policy, you can request that your IT or business intelligence
administrator subscribes you to one or more alerts.
Note:
To subscribe to an alert, select a server document available on the
BusinessObjects Enterprise server.
How you subscribe to an alert via your device depends on the alert types
available for the selected document:
Subscription methodAlert type
Document alert
Conditional data alert
Scheduled document alert
Scheduled conditional data
alert
Note:
For information on how to schedule documents, refer to the BusinessObjects
Enterprise InfoView User's Guide.
To subscribe to an alert:
Select the document title (without opening the document)
and activate the alert.
Select the document and on the Alert properties pane,
activate alerts.
Select the document title, view the schedule properties
to select the specific schedule for which you want to receive an alert, then activate alerts.
Select the document and view the schedule properties,
select the recurrence on which you want to select an
alerter, then activate alerts.
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Subscribing to alerts
1. Navigate to and select a document with alert capabilities from the list of
documents (do not open the document).
2. From the menu, select Doc alert settings.
The document name is displayed under " Alert Properties".
3. Select Subscribe to activate the alert subscription.
Select the type of alert to which you want to subscribe from the list of
alerts available for the selected document:
• Document updated
• Conditional all alerters
4. Select Store local copy to save the document associated with this alert
on your device local storage.
5. Launch the application menu and select Subscribe.
If you selected the Store local copy option, a message appears that
indicates the alert is activated and the updated document retrieved.
You are now subscribed to the alerts available for the selected document.
Related Topics
• Subscribing to alerts on page 50
• Quick reference to alerts on page 51
5
Viewing alert properties
You can view the following properties of an alert:
• document name
• alert ID
• alert type
To view the properties of an alert:
1. From the application menu, select Document Alert Properties.
The "Document Alert Properties" screen is displayed.
2. Select the alert for whose properties you want to display.
The following properties are displayed:
• the document name
• the document ID
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Working with documents stored locally on your device
3. To display information on the type of alert available for the selected
document, select Subscribe to activate the alert subscription.
The alert type available for the document is indicated:
• Document updated
• Conditional all alerters
Related Topics
• Subscribing to alerts on page 50
• Subscribing to an alert on page 52
• Quick reference to alerts on page 51
Working with documents stored locally
on your device
Working with documents locally allows you to interact with business
intelligence documents on the move without connecting to the
BusinessObjects Enterprise server. You reduce your communication costs
and mitigate the issues you have with your wireless network connection in
some locations.
When you save a local copy of a document, it is encrypted, compressed,
and stored in the local memory of your device. While devices have different
storage capacities, as a general rule Business Objects recommends that
you limit the number of large documents you store locally on your device for
offline use.
You can open and view local documents in the same way you open and view
server documents. If you want to see the latest version of the document on
server, you can synchronize your local version with the newer version on
the server.
To receive timely information directly on your device, subscribe to alerts that
trigger the server to send documents to your device when the alert conditions,
such as a document update or data modification, are met.
Note:
If you set a local document as your default document and then delete that
document from your offline documents folder, BusinessObjects Mobile no
longer opens that document by default when you log into the application.
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Working with documents stored locally on your device
Related Topics
• Working with local documents on page 55
• Saving documents locally on your device on page 55
Working with local documents
You can work in offline mode when you have saved documents locally to
your device.
You can opt to work online (by connecting to the BusinessObjects Enterprise
server) or offline (by working only with documents stored locally on your
device) each time you log in to BusinessObjects Mobile.
Work with local documents when you want to spend a considerable time
analyzing a document without the cost of remaining connected to the
BusinessObjects Enterprise server. Working online is useful when you want
to view new documents that have been published to the server or view the
latest version of results.
To switch between online and offline modes:
1. From the login screen, select, or unselect Work offline.
2. Launch the application menu and select Login.You are presented with
the choice of accessing local or server documents. If you select server
documents, a message appears warning you that you have to connect
to the server to access server documents:
a. Select No to continue working with local documents only.
b. Select Yes to connect to the BusinessObjects Enterprise server to
access server documents.
You can only access local documents if you have saved them to your
device in a previous session.
5
Related Topics
• Saving documents locally on your device on page 55
Saving documents locally on your device
You can save documents available on the BusinessObjects Enterprise server
onto the local document store on your device. This reduces communication
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
5
Working with documents stored locally on your device
time and cost, because you can save a document from the server before
opening it, and then disconnect from the server before you view and analyze
the document's contents.
To save a server document to your local document store:
1. Navigate to the document you want to save.
2. Without opening the document, select it from the list of available
documents and launch the menu on your device.
3. Select Save doc.
A message appears, warning you that a copy of the document will be
stored locally on your device.
4. Select one of the following:
• Back to cancel the operation and return to the list of available
documents.
• Yes to proceed and save the document locally.
Related Topics
• Working with documents stored locally on your device on page 54
• Working with local documents on page 55
Deleting local documents
You can easily delete offline documents from your local device to ensure
maximum local memory capacity.
Note:
If you set a local document as your default document and then delete that
document from your "Local documents" folder, BusinessObjects Mobile no
longer opens that document by default when you log into the application.
To delete a local document:
1. Navigate to the list of local documents stored on your device.
2. Select, but do not open the document you want to delete from local
storage.
3. Launch the menu and select Delete.
A warning appears, warning that the local document will be deleted.
4. Click OK to confirm the deletion.
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Working with documents stored locally on your device
The document is removed from the device memory, but the instances of
the document on the server are not affected.
Related Topics
• Saving documents locally on your device on page 55
5
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Interacting with Business Intelligence Documents
Working with documents stored locally on your device
5
58 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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Designing Documents for Mobile Users
6
Page 60
Designing Documents for Mobile Users
6
How documents are displayed on mobile devices
How documents are displayed on mobile
devices
BusinessObjects Mobile makes viewing and interacting with business
intelligence content as intuitive as possible on mobile devices. Documents
are natively rendered to take full advantage of the mobile device display
space and capabilities.
The major presentation differences from the typical desktop user experience
are:
• the user interface, which is designed to maximize ease-of-use for mobile
content navigation.
• the ability to set up single-click document access by setting a default
document or folder.
• the conversion of report tabs within Web Intelligence documents, which
appear as a report list on the device menu.
The constraints inherent in mobile devices
There are real limits to the size and complexity of reports that you can display
on a small mobile device while maintaining any semblance of acceptable
usability; due to the small screen size, limited memory, and interaction
capabilities of mobile devices. Documents intended for mobile consumption
must be designed according to best practice design guidelines for mobile
devices.
Related Topics
• Best practices for mobile document design on page 60
Best practices for mobile document design
BusinessObjects Mobile user experience is best when reports are written
specifically for easy reading and navigation on a small screen.
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Designing Documents for Mobile Users
Best practices for mobile document design
Create and use mobile device design templates
Use image backgrounds as the report design template for target mobile
devices. Embed an image of the target device in the report background as
a model of the screen size to help design the report to fit the device
constraints. In Web Intelligence, for example, you can use the Insert Object
feature to place a *.jpg of your targeted mobile device in the background of
a document, giving you an idea how big the document is in relation to the
device. Refer to theWeb Intelligence Rich Client User's Guide for details on
using this feature.
IT Administrators are advised to install these graphics files on the
BusinessObjects Enterprise server at the following location:
\Program Files\Business Objects\BusinessObjects Enterprise
12.0\Images
Business Objects provides two backgrounds for this purpose in the
BusinessObjects Mobile download package. Alternatively, you can create
your own backgrounds for specific mobile devices.
Design for the device screen size
6
BusinessObjects Mobile renders documents using pixel-to-pixel mapping of
your report layout. For the best control, authors can design reports to the
pixel using the Web Intelligence Java Report Panel.
For optimal display on devices, do not allow graphics and data to exceed 2X
the physical screen width of the target devices.
Use a mobile device simulator to test your documents
Use a mobile device simulator on your desktop to simulate the mobile user
experience when you are authoring business intelligence content designed
for mobile users. Install a device simulator on your workstation and download
BusinessObjects Mobile on the simulator to test each report being displayed
inside the simulator. Testing your report ensures that there are no surprises.
Although the report appearance varies between the simulator and the mobile
device, in terms of display and edit controls, you get a good idea of the size
and format your documents.
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6
Best practices for mobile document design
Publish documents in a mobile folder
It is recommended that the IT administrator create a folder in InfoView called
Mobile. If report creators publish all the documents designed specifically for
mobile users to the same location, mobile users know that they are accessing
content designed for mobile consumption via their mobile device.
In addition, mobile users can set this Mobile folder, or a subfolder below it,
as their default start folder on their device. At login, BusinessObjects Mobile
presents the list of documents and folders contained inside the default start
folder, enabling users to reduce the number of clicks required to access
documents at each login. Users can select any folder on the BusinessObjects
Enterprise server as their default folder.
If no start folder is specified, BusinessObjects Mobile shows folders and
documents located either in the Mobile folder under Public folders or in the
root folder, depending on whether a dedicated Mobile folder exists.
Design small reports
Report data sets can be large and can theoretically saturate available device
memory. Large data sets on the server can be mitigated by designing smaller
report views. In Web Intelligence documents, use drill hierarchies in reports
allow users to access to related data in different report views. Drill hierarchies
alleviate the necessity of scrolling through large reports.
Short reports usually work better in mobile situations, because mobile devices
are limited in bandwidth and memory, and large reports are difficult to
navigate in a small screen.
Make tables and graphs fit into the smallest device screen size
When you cannot reduce the size of tables and graphs:
• Design columns and labels to fit the screen of the target mobile devices.
• Do not design reports larger than two screen widths of the device screen.
• In reports that exceed a single screen width, make sure that at least two
columns (and better three or four columns) fit entirely in the physical
screen width.
• Try to adjust the columns sizing so that the grid exactly fits the width of
the mobile screen (or such that at least a fixed number of columns exactly
fits the screen width).
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Best practices for mobile document design
Use shortest significant names for headers and names
• Use codes instead of names for countries and cities.
• Use the short name for people (made up of their first name initials + their
last name) instead of full names.
• Use short labels for dates: FY04 instead of Year 2004, Q104 instead of
1st Quarter 2004.
Create short data display formats
Divide numbers by 1,000 or by 1,000,000 and express the numbers in K or
in M using Web Intelligence Custom format to reduce the number of digits
displayed (to reduce column width). You can also put k or m in the column
title to make columns as small as feasible.
Change universe definitions of dimensions and measures, to enable drills
on shortened text labels. For example, you can convert the date dimension
into two strings: a Text column Year string (four characters) and a Quarter
(two character) string. Then you can build an expression for YearAndQuarter
made of the Quarter string concatenated with the two last characters of Year.
6
To display charts with short numeric format display:
1. Convert the chart to a crosstab.
2. Shorten the number digits as necessary (for example, divide by 1,000 or
by 1,000,000).
3. Convert the crosstab back to a chart.
Use Position controls to maximize screen real estate
Place your elements as close as possible to the left corner of the report (for
example, Charts, Grids, or Tables):
• Place first report element, label, or grid (at position (0, 0)) so that no blank
appears on the mobile screen.
• Remove the border of the page (Left Margin, Top Margin) = (0 px, 0 px).
• Remove the headers of the page (Top Header, Bottom Header) = (0 px,
0 px).
Limit font sizes to small-medium-large
Use Fonts 9, 12 and 15: Report display is limited to three available font sizes:
Small, Medium, and Large. Limiting the font sizes ensures greatest
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6
Best practices for mobile document design
compatibility across the variety of device types available in the marketplace.
Font mapping on BusinessObjects Mobile uses the following fonts:
• Arial 9 to map Small font of the mobile
• Arial 12 to map Medium font of the mobile
• Arial 15 to map Large font of the mobile
Design reports with these font sizes to achieve optimal rendering accuracy
and consistency between the server and client behavior.
Use small fonts for tables. Do not use bold styles for table content (use bold
only for labels).
Design content to fit within available column space
All numbers must display completely within available cell space. Strings must
appear completely, or at least the most significant part of each string must
be visible.
Use short meaningful names for document and report tabs
In BusinessObjects Mobile, report tabs are converted into a user selection
list. Report tabs are also displayed in the report context labels. Choose report
tab names that are short and meaningful to the end user as they become
navigation aids. These name strings can be no longer than 20 characters
long.
Related Topics
• Designing Web Intelligence documents for mobile users on page 64
• Designing Crystal reports for mobile users on page 68
• Designing analytics for mobile users on page 68
Designing Web Intelligence documents for mobile users
Use the Java Report Panel
For maximum formatting accuracy and control, use the Web Intelligence
Java Report Panel to create and edit Web Intelligence documents for mobile
users.
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Designing Documents for Mobile Users
Best practices for mobile document design
Include additional icons to flag on-report alerters
BusinessObjects Mobile users can subscribe to alerts that send a notification
to the mobile device when report values meet the conditions in specific Web
Intelligence document alerters.
It is recommended not to place too many alerts on one document
(recommendation is 2-3 maximum), since device users cannot select only
one of the available alerts.
The BusinessObjects Mobile download package includes trend and status
alerting icons that can be added to Web Intelligence conditional report alerters
for greater visual impact when these reports are viewed on mobile devices.
IT administrators need to install these graphics files on the BusinessObjects
Enterprise server at the following location:
\Program Files\Business Objects\BusinessObjects Enterprise
12.0\images
To insert one of these icons into a report:
• Select the column for the alert and open the Alerters button.
• Select or create the alert you want activated on the selected data, then
select the appropriate icon for each condition of the alerter by selecting
the Format button in the "Alerter Editor".
• In the Background section, select the Image from URL radio button and
enter the following: boimg://<image file name and extension>.
6
For example: boimg://icon_TrendRedDown.gif
Note:
The boimg:// prefix directs Web Intelligence to the images folder.
Integrate a background skin that portrays the screen size of the mobile
device
Business Objects provides two backgrounds for this purpose in the
BusinessObjects Mobile download package, but you can create your own
backgrounds for specific mobile devices, if wished. IT administrators need
to install these graphics files on the BusinessObjects Enterprise server at
the following location:
\Program Files\Business Objects\BusinessObjects Enterprise
12.0\images
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Best practices for mobile document design
To set the background image for a Web Intelligence document creators, go
to the Background Image item in the Properties tab of Web Intelligence
Java Report Panel and then select the Image from URL radio button and
enter the following: boimg://<image file name and extension>.
For example: boimg://skin_nokia.gif
Note:
The boimg:// prefix directs Web Intelligence to the images folder.
Plan for drillable headers
Leave blank cell space for drill icons that BusinessObjects Mobile places on
drillable headers.
Refer to the Web Intelligence documentation for more information on creating
Web Intelligence reports.
Related Topics
• Designing Crystal reports for mobile users on page 68
• Designing analytics for mobile users on page 68
Web Intelligence images for mobile reports
The BusinessObjects Mobile server component includes image files designed
to be used when authoring Web Intelligence documents targeted at mobile
devices. The images include:
• skins -- that provide a model of the screen size of some mobile devices,
so you can design Web Intelligence reports to fit specific device constraints
• icons -- to be used in cells that contain on-report alerters, so that alerters
are easier to view via mobile devices
The file names are:
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Best practices for mobile document design
DescriptionFilename
BlackBerry device skinskin_Blackberry.gif
Nokia device skinskin_Nokia.gif
Fail alerts iconicon_SymbolFail.gif
Pass alerts iconicon_SymbolPass.gif:
Warning alerts iconicon_SymbolWarning.gif
Trend up (green) alerts iconicon_TrendGreenUp.gif
Trend down (red) alerts iconicon_TrendRedDown.gif
6
Trend down (yellow) alerts iconicon_TrendYellowDown.gif
Trend flat (yellow) alerts iconicon_TrendYellowFlat.gif
Trend up (yellow) alerts iconicon_TrendYellowUp.gif
Note:
The image files are automatically installed at the following path, so that they
area easily accessible from within Web Intelligence: <Business
ObjectsInstallDir>\BusinessObjects Enterprise 12\images. If
BusinessObjects Mobile is installed on a dedicated server, as Business
Objects recommends, administrators need to copy these image files from
the Mobile server and paste them onto the BusinessObjects Enterprise server
at: <Business ObjectsInstallDir>\BusinessObjects Enterprise
12\images
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6
Best practices for mobile document design
Designing analytics for mobile users
BusinessObjects Mobile enables users to access and display some gauge
analytics (speedometer, barometer, thermometer) on BlackBerry, Java mobile
and Symbian devices.
Note:
Windows Mobile devices cannot be used to view gauges.
Gauge analytics targetted at mobile devices need to be published as
InfoObjects in the BusinessObjects Enterprise server.
Note:
Mobile users cannot refresh analytics from the device or open gauges set
to Refresh on Open. To ensure that mobile users can view up-to-date data
in analytics, you need to create a schedule in the BusinessObjects Enterprise
CMC to refresh the analytic on an appropriate basis.
The following types of gauges are supported for devices using
BusinessObjects Mobile:
• static analytics without prompts
• basic gauges saved as SVG
• gauges based on goals
• sliced gauges
Note:
Only the slice used to save the analytic is available.
Related Topics
• Designing Web Intelligence documents for mobile users on page 64
• Designing Crystal reports for mobile users on page 68
Designing Crystal reports for mobile users
When designing Crystal reports for mobile users, verify that only the following
elements are included into the reports:
• Charts
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Designing Documents for Mobile Users
Best practices for mobile document design
• Simple sections and details
Font display
Font types, sizes, and formats can display differently on different types of
mobile devices. It is recommended that you test your reports on the popular
devices used by your mobile users before you make the reports available to
users.
Table types
BusinessObjects Mobile does not support crosstabs, used to analyze OLAP
data, in Crystal reports.
Drilling capability
Drilling into data in Crystal reports is not supported on BusinessObjects
Mobile.
Prompts
6
BusinessObjects Mobile only supports static prompts in Crystal Reports.
Linking documents and drill capability
Links to external documents and drill capability are not supported in Crystal
reports when viewed by users via a mobile device.
Parameters and filters
BusinessObjects Mobile supports only simple parameters and static filters
Crystal reports. Dynamic and cascading parameters and the ability to modify
filters are not supported.
ActiveX content
BusinessObjects Mobile does not support ActiveX content in Crystal reports.
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6
Best practices for mobile document design
Database Logons
BusinessObjects Mobile does not support prompting for database logons in
Crystal reports. If a Crystal report includes a database logon, the logon fails
and the report cannot be opened.
Suppression at view time
BusinessObjects Mobile does not support suppression at view time in Crystal
reports. The mobile user cannot suppress sections while viewing a Crystal
report.
Refer to the Crystal Reports documentation for more information on creating
Crystal Reports.
Related Topics
• Designing Web Intelligence documents for mobile users on page 64
• Designing analytics for mobile users on page 68
Setting up alerters on documents
Mobile device members can subscribe to alerts on specific server documents
provided those documents contain alerters. The following types of alerters
are prerequisites for subscribing to alerts on the device:
70 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
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ed on devices
Designing Documents for Mobile Users
Embedding actions in report cells
Required pre-configuration of server documentAlert type support-
The document is modified on the server.Document Alert
6
Scheduled Alert
Condition Data Alert
Scheduled Conditional Data Alert
Documents resulting from alerts and schedules can be saved locally to the
device. The device user selects this option in the "Alert Properties" screen.
For information on how to schedule documents, refer to the BusinessObjects
Enterprise InfoView User's Guide.
Note:
For information on how to include conditional alerters on Web Intelligence
and Crystal reports, refer to the Web Intelligence or Crystal Reports
documentation.
Configure the document with at least one schedule (recurrence) so that the user receives an alert when the
schedule is executed.
Configure the document with a conditional alerter in
Crystal Reports or Web Intelligence. The mobile user receives alerts for all the conditions defined in the report
(the user cannot choose to activate a specific condition).
Configure the document with at least one condition on at
least one of the scheduled recurrences so that the mobile
user can subscribe to receive an alert each time the selected data fulfills at least one condition in the server
document.
Note:
For information on how to schedule documents, refer to the BusinessObjects
Enterprise InfoView User's Guide.
Related Topics
• Subscribing to an alert on page 52
Embedding actions in report cells
BusinessObjects Mobile supports user actions embedded in reports.
Embedded actions, commands defined by the document creator, enable end
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6
Embedding actions in report cells
users to initiate a communication of a predefined type with another application
by clicking the embedded action hyperlink on the report.
For example, a typical business intelligence action requested by mobile users
is the ability to leverage predefined 'phoneto' or 'smsto' commands to contact
quickly a business collaborator who has a relationship with the data content
of the open reports.
Related Topics
• Authoring actions on page 72
• Quick reference to embedded actions on page 73
Authoring actions
Embedding actions in a report means that end users viewing the report can
activate predefined commands that generate actions, such as a phone call
or email to a specific recipient.
Example: Embedding the phoneto action in a report so that a sales
manager can activate a call from her mobile phone to the sales
representative responsible for a specific business deal
As a simple example, imagine a sales manager checks a particular sales
representative pipeline report from her mobile and decides that she wants
to call the representative to discuss details about a particular deal. The
report author who wants to enable this workflow adds a URL cell to the
Web Intelligence document that contains the following syntax:
<a href='action_url' desc='action_description'>[Cell value]</a>
A cell containing a valid action appears as a hyperlink. The BusinessObjects
Mobile client can read this URL and change the displayed menu items and
the Info Display cell, based on what the report author encodes in it.
The new item in the menu is accessible from a cell containing the action,
enabling the user to trigger the action within this context. To invoke the
actions, the user browses to the cell and uses the menu or the Enter key
to execute the action.
Related Topics
• Quick reference to embedded actions on page 73
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Designing Documents for Mobile Users
• Syntax for actions on page 73
• Performing follow-up actions on page 43
Quick reference to embedded actions
Embedding actions in reports enables users to take an action related to the
values they see and implement timely business decisions. The following
actions are supported for BusinessObjects Mobile:
Performs this action...This com-
mand...
automatically dials a predefined phone number.phoneto
Embedding actions in report cells
6
smsto
lookup
mailto
Related Topics
• Syntax for actions on page 73
• Authoring actions on page 72
• Performing follow-up actions on page 43
Syntax for actions
BusinessObjects Mobile supports two types of action that can be embedded
in Web Intelligence reports:
enables you to send a text message to a predefined recipient.
enables you to retrieve a phone number from the device
address book then either call or send a text message to that
contact.
enables you to send an email message to a predefined recipient.
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6
Embedding actions in report cells
• local actions -- processed by the mobile device
• remote actions -- processed by another application
The syntax for local actions is explained here. For information on embedding
remote actions into Web Intelligence reports, contact your Business Objects
Global Services representative.
The syntax for local actions is:
laction://phoneto?num='0123456789'
•
laction://smsto?num='0123456789'
•
laction://lookup?name='jane doe'
•
lmailto://john@address
•
Parameters take the following syntax:
@paramName='Label|type|defaultValue'$
where:
• @ indicates to the device that the user is about to enter data.
• label is the string that displays on the device before the field in which
the user will input data.
• type (optional) is the data type that the user is allowed to enter (the
supported types are numeric, decimal, password, string, url).
• defaultValue (optional) is the value that is entered in the field by default.
Note:
If you entered a default value, indicate the data type that the device can
expect to receive as input.
• $ is a separator that allows you to concatenate two parameters.
Example:
As an example of how this works, here is a URL from a Web Intelligence
report, which uses the report variable '[SalesREPName] ' to invoke the local
device Personal Information Manager application (PIM) for making a phone
call:
="<a
href=\'laction://phoneto?num=laction://lookup?name='"+[SalesREP
Name]+"'$$\'
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Designing Documents for Mobile Users
desc=\'Call
'+[SalesREPName]+'\'>[SalesREPName]</a>"
The formula terms have the following meanings:
DefinitionTerms
Embedding actions in report cells
6
desc=
name=
phoneto=
What appears in the Cell of the Web Intelligence
report (for example, 'Call Jane Doe').
The name to submit to the device PIM (Personal
Information Manager application) for lookup ('Jane
Doe' which is the current report value of
[SalesREPName]).
The function uses the first and last name as separate search parameters, so in the example above
the function would search for 'jane' and 'doe' in the
directory.
The phone call action that is invoked using the resulting phone number that the PIM look up delivers
from the local directory of the phone.
Note:
This feature can only be used if the device has a PIM
package that supports it. The phone directory must
have this name in it to invoke the call successfully.
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6
Linking documents
lookup=
DefinitionTerms
The lookup action passes a value (phone number)
to one of the other two options. This feature can
only be used if the device has a PIM package that
supports it. The lookup action can also take the
@num parameter, as follows: <a href="lac
tion://phoneto?@num='Enter number|numer
ic'$"
The @ argument indicates to the device that the
user can enter the phone number manually. When
the user accesses the report containing this action,
the device displays the message enter number
and expects the user to enter a numeric value, a
phone number.
Related Topics
• Authoring actions on page 72
• Quick reference to embedded actions on page 73
Linking documents
Note:
BusinessObjects Mobile supports document links in Web Intelligence reports,
but not in Crystal reports.
Document links are specific actions that enable navigation from one document
to another. In Web Intelligence, OpenDocument links are created through
URL syntax in a cell that looks like this:
=<a href=\"action_url\"
desc=\"action_description\">"+[Cell
value]+"</a>"
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Linking documents
Specifically, the Business Objects OpenDocument syntax is as follows:
action_url=\' http://<server>:<port>/businessobjects/
enterprise115/desktoplaunch/opendoc/openDocument.jsp?sDoc
Name=<docname>\'
When a link is placed inside a Web Intelligence document, the field containing
the OpenDocument link appears as a hyperlink. Mobile users can move from
the source document to the target document by browsing to the cell that
contains the hyperlink, and then pressing OK or selecting Open from the
menu.
Supported parameters for document linking
BusinessObjects Mobile supports a subset of the Web Intelligence
OpenDocument syntax. Specifically, BusinessObjects Mobile supports the
following parameters:
• sPath
sPath indicates the relative paths to the folder containing the current
document, using the following syntax:
[My+folder],[My+subfolder],
6
If this parameter is omitted, the function calls the document using the
iDocId.
• sDocName
The sDocName parameter can be used without the iDocId when the
document name is unique in the CMS. If two documents in the CMS have
the same name, you must use this parameter in conjunction with sPath
and/or iDocID. If a unique identifier is not specified and two documents
exist in the CMS under the same name, BusinessObjects Mobile displays
the first document it retrieves when it searches the CMS.
• iDocID
iDocID represents the unique document CUID in the CMS.
• sReportName
sReportName indicates which report to open when the target document
contains multiple reports.
• sRefresh
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6
Linking documents
sRefresh determines that a refresh is forced when the target document
or report is opened.
• lsS[NAME]
lsS[NAME] specifies a value for a single prompt. [NAME] represents the
text of the prompt.
• lsM[NAME]
lsM[NAME] specifies multiple values for a prompt. [NAME] represents
the text of the prompt.
Note:
BusinessObjects Mobile is case sensitive, so you need to use the exact
syntax specified above.
Related Topics
• Structuring an openDocument URL on page 78
URL Reporting using openDocument
URL reporting using openDocument provides URL access to multiple
document types by passing a URL string to a BusinessObjects Enterprise
server. openDocument provides commands to control how reports are
generated and displayed.
You can use openDocument in BusinessObjects Enterprise to create
cross-system links to and from the following document types:
• .wid: Web Intelligence documents
• .rep: Desktop Intelligence documents
• .rpt: Crystal reports
• .car: OLAP Intelligence reports
Structuring an openDocument URL
The next sections explain how to use the openDocument function, and how
to construct the URL.
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Linking documents
An openDocument URL is generally structured as follows:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?<parameter1>&<parameter2>&...&<parameterN>
The exact syntax of the <platformSpecific> parameter depends on your
implementation:
• For Java implementations, use openDocument.jsp in place of the
<platformSpecific> parameter.
• For .NET implementations, use opendocument.aspx in place of the
<platformSpecific> parameter.
The URL is constructed using the parameters listed in openDocument
parameter overview on page 82
Joining parameters
Join parameters with the ampersand (&). Do not place spaces around the
ampersand. For example: sType=wid&sDocName=Sales2003
The ampersand is always required between parameters.
6
Spaces and special characters in parameter values
Because some browsers cannot interpret spaces, the parameters of the link
cannot contain spaces or other special characters that require URL encoding.
To avoid the misinterpretation of special characters, you can define a
URLEncoded string in the source database to replace the special character
with an escape sequence. This will allow the database to ignore the special
character and correctly interpret the parameter value. Note that certain
RDBMS have functions that allow you to replace one special character with
another.
By creating an escape sequence for the plus sign (+), you can instruct the
database to interpret the plus sign as a space. In this case, a document title
Sales Report for 2003 would be specified in the DocName parameter as:
&sDocName=Sales+Report+for+2003&
This syntax prevents the database from misinterpreting the spaces in the
title.
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Trailing spaces in parameter values
Trim trailing spaces at the end of parameter values and prompt names. Do
not replace them with a plus sign (+). The viewer may not know whether to
interpret the plus sign (+) as part of the prompt name or as a space. For
example, if the prompt name displays:
Select a City:_
(where _ represents a space), enter the following text in the link:
lsSSelect+a+City:=Paris
where the spaces within the prompt name are replaced with the plus sign,
and the trailing space is trimmed off.
For details on prompt parameters of the link, refer to openDocument
parameter overview on page 82 .
Capitalization
All of the openDocument parameters are case sensitive.
Link length limit
The encoded URL cannot exceed 2083 total characters.
Parameter values in links to sub-reports
You cannot pass parameter values to a sub-report of a target Crystal report.
Using the lsS parameter with OLAP Intelligence reports
If the target document is an OLAP Intelligence report (.car) you can use the
IsS parameter to specify prompts. The parameters are passed in as a
URL-encoded string using the unique name of the parameter set up in the
OLAP Intelligence report.
Example: Opening a report to a specific page
If 23CAA3C1-8DBB-4CF3-BA%2CB8%2CD7%2CF0%2C68%2CEF%2C9C%2C6F is
the URL-encoded unique name for the page parameter in the OLAP
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Intelligence report, you would use the following URL to open the OLAP
Intelligence report to page 2:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/<platformSpecif
ic>?sType=car&sIDType=InfoObject&iDocID=440&lsS23CAA3C1-8DBB4CF3-BA%2CB8%2CD7%2CF0%2C68%2CEF%2C9C%2C6F=2
Example: Opening a cube parameter
If 8401682C-9B1D-4850-8B%2C5E%2CD9%2C1F%2C20%2CF8%2C1%2C62 is
the URL-encoded unique name for the cube parameter opening the
warehouse cube in the catalogue FoodMart 2000 on MSAS, you would use
the following URL to open this cube parameter:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/<platformSpecif
ic>?sType=car&sIDType=InfoObject&lsS8401682C-9B1D-48508B%2C5E%2CD9%2C1F%2C20%2CF8%2C1%2C62=CATALOG%3DFood
Mart%202000,CUBE%3Dwarehouse&iDocID=616
Using the lsM parameter with OLAP Intelligence reports
Linking documents
6
If the target document is an OLAP Intelligence report (.car) you can use the
IsM parameter to specify prompts. The parameters are passed in as a
URL-encoded string using the unique name of the parameter set up in the
OLAP Intelligence report.
As was the case for the lsS parameter, lsM parameters are also passed in
as a URL-encoded string using the unique name of the parameter set up in
the OLAP Intelligence report.
Example: Opening a report
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/<platformSpecif
ic>?sType=car&sIDType=InfoObject&lsMADC216EA-D9A5-42B5AE%2C21%2C84%2CA9%2CF9%2C6E%2C31%2C7=[%5BCustomers%5D.%5BCoun
try%5D.%26%5BMexico%5D],[%5BCustomers%5D.%5BCoun
try%5D.%26%5BCanada%5D]&iDocID=544
This is a memberset parameter opening up a report with Customers >
Country > Mexico and Customers > Country > Canada in the view.
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openDocument parameter overview
This section provides a brief overview of openDocument and includes a list
of available parameters. Details about the available parameters, their specific
uses, and relevant examples are also provided.
Note:
The document containing the openDocument link is called the parent
document, and it resides on the parent system. The document to which the
link points is called the target document, and it resides on the target system.
Table 6-2: Platform Parameters
DescriptionParameter
iDocID on page 85
sDocName on page 86
sIDType on page 86
sKind on page 87
sPath on page 87
sType on page 88
token on page 88
Document identifier.
Document name.
Crystal object type.
The file type of target Desktop Intelligence
document.
The name of the folder and subfolder containing the target document.
The file type of target document or report.
A valid logon token for the current CMS session.
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Table 6-3: Input Parameters
lsC on page 89
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DescriptionParameter
Specifies a contextual prompt if there is an
ambiguity during SQL generation (Business
Objects and Web Intelligence documents only).
6
lsM[NAME] on page 90
lsR[NAME] on page 91
lsS[NAME] on page 92
sInstance on page 93
sPartContext on page 93
sRefresh on page 94
sReportMode on page 95
Specifies multiple values for a prompt, [NAME]
is the text of the prompt
Specifies a range of values for a prompt,
[NAME] is the text of the prompt.
Specifies a value for a single prompt. [NAME]
is the text of the prompt.
Indicates which specific instance of the target
report to open.
In Crystal Reports, a report part is associated
to a data context.
Indicates whether a refresh should be forced
when the target document or report is opened.
For Crystal targets only, indicates whether
the link should open the full target report or
just the report part specified in sReportPart.
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DescriptionParameter
sReportName on page 95
sReportPart on page 96
Table 6-4: Output Parameters
NAII on page 97
sOutputFormat on page 98
sViewer on page 98
Indicates which report to open if target document is multi-report.
Indicates which specific part of the target report to open.
DescriptionParameter
Forces the display of the prompt selection
page.
Indicates the format in which the target document is opened.
Indicates the selected report viewer (CR &
CA only).
sWindow on page 99
openDocument platform parameters
This section details the openDocument platform parameters that are available
and gives examples on how to use the commands.
84 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
Indicates whether the target report will open
in the current browser window or whether a
new window will be launched.
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An openDocument URL is generally structured as follows:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?<parameter1>&<parameter2>&...&<parameterN>
The exact syntax of the <platformSpecific> parameter depends on your
implementation:
• For Java implementations, use openDocument.jsp in place of the
<platformSpecific> parameter.
• For .NET implementations, use opendocument.aspx in place of the
<platformSpecific> parameter.
Note:
Variables are denoted with angle brackets. You must substitute the proper
value for these variables. For example, you must use the name of your server
in place of <servername> where it is contained in the code samples below,
and you must use your port number in place of <port>.
iDocID
6
iDocID
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
Yes*Document identifier.
Note:
*One of sDocName or iDocID is mandatory.
Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sType=wid&sDocName=SalesReport&iDocID=2010
Note:
To obtain the document ID, navigate to the document within the Central
Management Console (CMC). The properties page for the document
contains the document ID and the CUID. Use this value for the iDocID
parameter.
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 85
Document identifier (InfoObjectID).
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sDocName
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
Document name without
extension
sDocName
sIDType
If multiple documents
have the same name,
specify the correct document with iDocID.
Note:
*One of sDocName or iDocID is mandatory.
Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sPath=[Sales+Reports]&sDocName=Sales+in+200
Document name.Yes*
sIDType
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
• CUID
Central Management
Server (CMS) object
identifier type.
Yes*
• GUID
• RUID
• ParentID
• InfoObjectID (de-
fault)
Note:
*Only mandatory if the target is a Crystal report or OLAP Intelligence report
(sType=rpt or sType=car) in an Object Package. Otherwise, use sPath and
sDocName.
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Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?iDocID=2010&sIDType=CUID
sKind
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
6
sKind
sPath
The file type of target
Desktop Intelligence document.
Note:
*Only mandatory if the target is a Desktop Intelligence document. Otherwise,
use sType.
Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sKind=FullClient
Yes*
• FullClient
sPath
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
The name of the folder
and subfolder containing
the target document.
Yes*
Folder and/or subfolder:
[folder],[subfolder]
Note:
*Only mandatory if a value is specified for sDocName and is not unique.
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Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sPath=[Sales+Reports]&sDocName=Sales+in+2005
sType
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
•
wid
sType
token
Note:
The file type of target
document or report.
Yes
•
rpt
•
car
This parameter is ignored for agnostic documents.
Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sType=wid
token
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
The logon token for the
current CMS session.
Example:
A valid logon token for
the current CMS session.
No
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sType=wid&sDocName=Sales+in+2003&token=<logonToken>
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openDocument input parameters
This section details the openDocument input parameters that are available
and gives examples on how to use the commands.
An openDocument URL is generally structured as follows:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?<parameter1>&<parameter2>&...&<parameterN>
The exact syntax of the <platformSpecific> parameter depends on your
implementation:
• For Java implementations, use openDocument.jsp in place of the
<platformSpecific> parameter.
• For .NET implementations, use opendocument.aspx in place of the
<platformSpecific> parameter.
Note:
Variables are denoted with angle brackets. You must substitute the proper
value for these variables. For example, you must use the name of your server
in place of <servername> where it is contained in the code samples below,
and you must use your port number in place of <port>.
Designing Documents for Mobile Users
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6
lsC
lsC
Specifies a contextual
prompt if there is an ambiguity during SQL generation (Business Objects
and Web Intelligence
documents only).
Note:
Not supported by OLAP
Intelligence
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
A prompt value that re-
No
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 89
solves the ambiguity in
the SQL generation.
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Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sType=wid&sDocName=SalesReport&iDocID=2010&lsC=Sales
lsM[NAME]
lsM[NAME]
Specifies multiple values
for a prompt. [NAME] is
the text of the prompt.
No
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
• Multiple prompt val-
ues, separated by a
comma. If the target is
a Crystal report, each
value must be enclosed in square
brackets. If the target
is a OLAP Intelligence
report, use the MDX
WITH clause (refer to
Using the lsS parameter with OLAP Intelligence reports on
page 80 and Using
the lsM parameter
with OLAP Intelligence reports on
page 81).
Note:
You can remove an optional parameter from the prompt by setting it to
no_value in the openDocument query string. If you leave an optional
parameter out of the openDocument query string, a default parameter value
will be applied.
90 Using BusinessObjects Mobile
• no_value (only for
optional parameters)
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lsR[NAME]
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Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sType=rpt&sDocName=SalesReport&lsMSe
lect+Cities=[Paris],[London]
lsR[NAME]
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
• A range of values for
the prompt, separated
by a double period (..).
If the target is a Crys-
Specifies a range of values for a prompt. [NAME]
is the text of the prompt.
Note:
Not supported by OLAP
Intelligence
No
tal report, the range
must be enclosed in
square brackets
and/or parentheses
(use a square bracket
next to a value to include it in the range,
and parentheses to
exclude it).
6
• no_value (only for
optional parameters)
Note:
You can remove an optional parameter from the prompt by setting it to
no_value in the openDocument query string. If you leave an optional
parameter out of the openDocument query string, a default parameter value
will be applied.
Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sType=rpt&sDocName=SalesReport&lsRTime+Peri
od:=[2000..2004)
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lsS[NAME]
lsS[NAME]
Specifies a value for a
single prompt. [NAME] is
the text of the prompt.
No
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
• A single prompt value
(refer to Using the lsS
parameter with OLAP
Intelligence reports on
page 80 and Using
the lsM parameter
with OLAP Intelligence reports on
page 81).
• no_value (only for
optional parameters)
Note:
You can remove an optional parameter from the prompt by setting it to
no_value in the openDocument query string. If you leave an optional
parameter out of the openDocument query string, a default parameter value
will be applied.
Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sType=wid&sDocName=SalesReport&iDocID=2010&lsSSe
lect+a+City=Paris
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sInstance
Designing Documents for Mobile Users
sInstance
Indicates which specific
instance of the target report to open.
Note:
Use this parameter in combination with sDocName.
No
Linking documents
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
•
User (Link to latest in-
stance owned by current user)
•
Last (Link to latest in-
stance for report)
•
Param (Link to latest
instance of report with
matching parameter
values)
6
sPartContext
Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sPath=[Sales+Reports]&sDocName=Sales+in+2003&sReport
Part=Part1&sInstance=User
sPartContext
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
In Crystal Reports, a report part is associated to
a data context.
Note:
*Only mandatory if a value is specified for sReportPart.
Yes*
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 93
Data context of the report
part.
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Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sPath=[Sales+Reports]&sDocName=Sales+in+2005&sReport
Part=Part1&sPartContext=0-4-0
Note:
The sReportPart and sPartContext parameters are supported with the
regular DHML viewer (sViewer=html). Instead of the first page of the report,
the DHTML viewer displays the page and context containing the part with
the part highlighted.
sRefresh
sRefresh
Indicates whether a refresh should be forced
when the target document or report is opened.
No
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
•
Y (forces the docu-
ment’s refresh)
•
N (note that the re-
fresh on open feature
overrides this value)
Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sType=wid&sDocName=SalesReport&iDocID=2010&sRefresh=Y
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sReportMode
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sReportMode
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
For Crystal targets only,
indicates whether the link
should open the full target report or just the report part specified in sRe
portPart.
Note:
Defaults to Full if this parameter is not specified. Only applies if a value is
specified for sReportPart.
Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sPath=[Sales+Reports]&sDocName=Sales+in+2003&sReport
Part=Part1&sReportMode=Part
No
•
Full
•
Part
6
sReportName
sReportName
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
Report name for Web InIndicates which report to
open if target document
is multi-report.
Note:
Defaults to the first report if this parameter is not specified.
No
Using BusinessObjects Mobile 95
telligence documents,
sub-report for Crystal Re-
ports, pages for OLAP
Intelligence reports.
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Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sType=wid&sDocName=Sales+in+2003&sReportName=First+Re
port+Tab
sReportPart
sReportPart
Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sPath=[Sales+Reports]&sDocName=Sales+in+2003&sReport
Part=Part1
Indicates which specific
part of the target report to
open.
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
Name of the report part.No
Note:
The sReportPart and sPartContext parameters are supported with the
regular DHML viewer (sViewer=html). Instead of the first page of the report,
the DHTML viewer displays the page and context containing the part with
the part highlighted.
openDocument output parameters
This section details the openDocument output parameters that are available
and gives examples on how to use the commands.
An openDocument URL is generally structured as follows:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?<parameter1>&<parameter2>&...&<parameterN>
The exact syntax of the <platformSpecific> parameter depends on your
implementation:
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NAII
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• For Java implementations, use openDocument.jsp in place of the
<platformSpecific> parameter.
• For .NET implementations, use opendocument.aspx in place of the
<platformSpecific> parameter.
Note:
Variables are denoted with angle brackets. You must substitute the proper
value for these variables. For example, you must use the name of your server
in place of <servername> where it is contained in the code samples below,
and you must use your port number in place of <port>.
NAII
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
•
Y (all prompts whose
Forces the display of the
prompt selection page.
Note:
Only supported by Web
Intelligence documents.
No
values are passed
with lsS, lsM or lsR
are pre-selected)
•
N (displays only the
prompts whose values
passed with lsS, lsM
or lsR)
6
Example:
http:/<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sType=wid&sDocName=SalesReport&iDocID=2010&NAII=Y
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sOutputFormat
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
sOutputFormat
Note:
Defaults to HTML if this parameter is not specified.
Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sPath=[Sales+Reports]&sDocName=Sales+in+2003&sOutput
Format=E
sViewer
sViewer
Indicates the format in
which the target document is opened.
Indicates the viewer that
is used to view the document.
No
No
• H (HTML)
• P (PDF)
• E (Excel)
• W (Word)
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
• html
• part (Crystal reports
only)
• actx (Crystal reports
only)
• java (Crystal reports
only)
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Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sPath=[Sales+Reports]&sDocName=Sales+in+2003&sView
er=html
Example:
Note:
In order to use parameters in the URL with the ActiveX viewer, :connect must
be appended to the URL, followed by the parameters.
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sPath=[Sales+Reports]&sDocName=Sales+in+2003&sViewer=ac
tx:connect&IsMCountry=[Thailand],[Norway]
sWindow
ValuesMandatory?DescriptionSyntax
6
Indicates whether the
target report will open in
sWindow
the current browser window or whether a new
window will be launched.
Example:
http://<servername>:<port>/OpenDocument/opendoc/<platformSpe
cific>?sType=wid&sDocName=SalesReport&iDocID=2010&sWindow=New
Contextual report linking
The openDocument feature allows you to create contextual links between
Crystal reports, OLAP Intelligence reports and Web Intelligence documents.
To do this, you construct a URL using the openDocument syntax and then
•
Same (current browser
window)
No
•
New (new browser
window is launched)
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insert the URL into a Crystal report, OLAP Intelligence report or Web
Intelligence document.
Contextual report linking allows report designers to specify associations for
documents residing in either a Crystal Reports environment (unmanaged)
or a BusinessObjects Enterprise environment (managed). Once these
associations are created, users follow the resulting navigational paths
embedded in the linked documents.
This feature enables you to invoke Business Objects and Web Intelligence
documents from Crystal Reports and vice versa. This feature relies on
functionality that allows the user to do the following:
• Link Web Intelligence or Business Objects documents within the document
domain.
• Link report objects in Crystal Reports.
Click the appropriate link to jump to that section:
•
To insert a link into a Crystal report on page 100
•
To create a link to another report or document from an OLAP Intelligence
report on page 101
•
Creating links in Web Intelligence documents on page 101
To insert a link into a Crystal report
You can use openDocument to create hyperlinks in Crystal Reports. To
create a link to another report or document, use the Hyperlink Tab of the
field Format Editor.
1. Open the source report in Crystal Reports.
2. Right-click the field in which you want to insert the openDocument link
and select Format from the shortcut menu.
3. In the Format Editor, select the Hyperlink tab.
4. Select A website on the Internet.
5. In the “Hyperlink information? area, leave the Website Address field
empty and click the Format Formula Editor button.
6. Enter the openDocument link in the following format:
"http://[openDocument parameters]"+{Article_lookup.Fami
ly_name}
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