Our second post on the new features of OBIEE 11.1.1.9 focuses on enhancements to print and export options, accessing table properties from the Compound Layout, global variables and treemap views. The first post touched on the Subject Area search and sort options, saved calculated items in the catalog, horizontal layout of dashboard prompts, and new preview styles.
Enhancements to Print and Export Options
New features include custom orientation settings for both PPT and PDF formats, ability to include charts, images and formatting, as well as new column options, such as wrapping text and limiting column width.
Table View Properties Available from the Compound Layout
In prior versions of OBIEE table properties could only be accessed after entering into edit mode. With 11.1.1.9 the Table View Properties can be accessed direct from the Compound Layout.
Global Variables
Global variables are useful for saving intermediate calculations that can be re-used in other analyses, which is very similar to a saved calculated item. The difference however, is that a Global Variable can be referenced from inside another formula, which you’ll see in the example below.
To create a global variable, select the Edit Formula for the required column. With the Edit Column Formula dialog box open, click the Variable drop down and select the Global option.
The Insert Global Variable dialog box appears. From here you can select an existing global variable or you can create a new one by selecting the green plus icon. This will open the New Global Variable dialog box and you will be prompted to enter a name, type and value.
Notice that the previous column formula was replaced with @{global.variables.test}. This is how the variable will be called for future use.
To reference the global variable in another column formula make sure to use the fully qualified name. The syntax is as follows @{global.variables.variablename}
Treemap View
This view groups the dimensional data in the analysis into tiles. By default the title size is based on the first measure and the color is based on the second measure.
The view can be altered to change the group by information, the measures that determine the size and color of the tiles, as well as the style (Continuous Color Fill or Percentile Binning).
