Tip 23 - Using Math Expressions in Formulas
Did you know you can use the .NET Math Functions to further expand the list of calculations you can add to metric set formulas?
This allows you to go beyond the built in functions of Dundas BI and use expressions to get absolute value (i.e. Math.Abs()) or advanced rounding. To learn more and see some examples, click:
Tip 24 - Use Descriptions to Help Power Users Understand Your Definitions
When creating data cubes, it is a good practice to include descriptions under the measures and hierarchies as those are then available on hover from the explore panel. This helps other users to understand the full meaning of the measure/hierarchy
nice tip
This is awesome. Keep it up.
Currently there is a bug with the page break of the reports. A workaround is to set the width of the report. Use the following widths for the different sizes for your report
Letter (Portrait) - 720
Letter (Landscape) - 960
Legal (Portrait) - 720
Legal (Landscape) - 1248
Tabloid (Portrait) - 960
Tabloid (Landscape) - 1536
A3 (Portrait) - 1027
A3 (Landscape) – 1492
A4 (Portrait) - 698
A4 (Landscape) - 1028
A5 (Portrait) - 464
A5 (Landscape) - 699
Jordan - Nice tip! By creating a help overlay, it saves precious space on a dashboard and minimizes distracting text from the data you are trying to present.
Tip 25 - Define the Available Filter Options
Did you know you can open your member filter properties and select the shown members? This is useful when your filter contains combinations you don't want the users to see or to be able to select (i.e. internal codes used for the data management)
Tip 26 - Using the Search Under the Data Analysis Panel
When your data structure (data cube or native connector) contains many fields, you can easily search for the right field to add to your visual when clicking to add elements under the data analysis panel
It's such a simple concept. I was told that help should be part of the Documentation, so I showed the team this help overlay instead. I smiled as a chorus of "coooool" echoed over skype.
Tip 27 - Restricting Users From Viewing Objects They Shouldn't See
We often find ourselves creating specific data cubes to support a certain objective (i.e. a data cube created in order to define a hierarchy). This may be confusing to users when trying to perform their own self-service. By denying the read privilege of the objects, users will no longer be able to see it under their explore tree, but will be able to see the results of underlying structures using it if they are allowed to execute it. This can also be useful in order to hide the cube perspective folder in case you don't have olap cubes or you are not using cube perspectives.
Thanks!
Tip 28 - Improving your Data Visibility on Maps
Often when working with geographical data that should be plotted on a map, we find data issues that makes the task a bit more difficult. For example, some of the data values in your excel file (or any other source) are encoded as 'NYC' but your map expects those values to be names as 'New York City', and as such, are now showing on the map. Instead of having to go back and change your data or add a data cube transform with a case statement to provide it the right name - you can simply add a 'Compatible Name' to your map properties and voila - data is now showing for NYC as well!
http://www.dundas.com/support/learning/documentation/data-visualizations/using-a-map-visualization#h6-5-compatible-names
Thanks
Looks like a great way to learn something new every once in a while.
I'm using it to provide users with info on major changes on-load.
Tip: get the mystery swag bag as a reward!
Tip 29 - Combining 2 Types of Visuals Together
Advanced data visualizations sometimes requires combining different types of visualizations together in order to convey multiple insights under one visual. This allows users to get lots of data from the visual without even interacting with it. One example for this kind of combination is plotting pie charts on top of other visuals - for example Maps or Point Charts. This requires a small script that you can easily copy from our script library:
Maps: http://www.dundas.com/support/developer/script-library/controls/map/drawing-on-an-existing-map
Charts: http://www.dundas.com/support/developer/script-library/controls/chart/drawing-on-an-existing-chart
Tip 30 - Using Dynamic Images in Your Dashboards/Reports
One way to enrich your dashboards/reports in ways that can help users better relate to the data is by using meaningful images. Specifically, dynamic images that change based on the data selection. For example: the image of the relevant sales person for a specific sales order you've filtered on, a customer logo if you filter for a specific customer, an image of a product you sell, or any other relevant image related to the data selection. Seeing the relevant image can help users quickly identify and trust the data, therefore it becomes a great enhancement to your dashboard.
Dundas BI allows you to easily display the appropriate images by reading it from the database or a library of images with no script using the dedicated Data Images visualizations control. Learn more on how to configure it:
Tip 31 - Copying Objects
Did you know you can quickly create a copy of any object (dashboard/report/metric set/data cube/etc.) simply by dragging the item onto the folder of that object type? Sure you can always open the content menu, select copy, select the new folder and paste... but why use 4 clicks for something you can do in a single click ;)
Book marking this! Thank you!!
Great tip.