Restricting
User Actions within the PivotTable List
While we can design
highly flexible functionality into a PivotTable List, we also have options
within the design environment to disable specific capabilities, should
we deem it in the best interests of information consumers, or from within the
perspective of the organization, its operating units, and so forth. For
example, we might want to provide information in fixed views, or to limit
switching of dimensions within the row and column axes while providing only a
subset of functionality in the areas of drill-down, or modification of member
properties within the PivotTable List. Unlike Excel PivotTable Reports, where a
restricted set of operations might generally be attained with the implementation
of VB macros, other programming, and other "workarounds," the
PivotTable List again provides enhanced opportunities to easily build controls
into the actions made available to targeted users.
Let's return to the
PivotTable List designed in the last exercise to explore some of these options,
and to practice the incorporation of these basic restrictions into the design
environment.
1.
Return to design mode by
clicking the Normal tab.
2.
Click the Sr Manager
drop-down arrow button.
3.
Select All (make sure
it's checked, versus simply "shaded in"), as shown in Illustration
24 below.
Illustration 24: Select
All at the Sr Manager Dropdown Arrow
4.
Click OK to display the
complete set of CEO direct reports/senior managers.
5.
Click either Salary (000)
(previously Employee Salary) label to select the associated columns.
Both
Salary (000) columns should be highlighted.
6.
Right-click the highlighted
area and click Remove Total (as shown in Illustration 25) to
prevent salaries from being included in the view to be made available to
information consumers.
Illustration 25: Select Remove
Total on the Context Menu
We'll now assume for
this exercise that the currently displayed PivotTable List represents exactly
what we want to be made available to its intended audience.
7.
Select the entire PivotTable List
by clicking the Report Title Bar (the blue bar with Microsoft
Office PivotTable 10.0 in white, atop the PivotTable List).
8.
Right-click, and select Commands
and Options on the context menu.
The Commands and
Options dialog appears, defaulting at the Captions tab.
9.
Ensure the Select Caption
selector remains at Report Title Bar.
10.
In the Caption field,
type in Headcount and Salary Data.
11.
Change the Font to Arial
Narrow, with a Color of SkyBlue (the first color swatch in
the fourth line down in the color selection palette.)
The Commands and
Options dialog - Captions tab appears, with our changes, as shown in
Illustration 26.
Illustration 26: The
Commands and Options Dialog - Captions Tab
12.
Click the Behavior tab
in the Commands and Options dialog and make the following selections:
-
Type "22000"
in the Maximum Height box.
-
Type "22000" in
the Maximum Width box.
These setpoints (the
ones above are simply examples) can be used to physically prevent the
PivotTable List from expanding beyond the specified boundaries and from
overrunning PC screens, and other such, well, behavior. If the
PivotTable List grows larger than these parameters (due to AutoFit features
or for other reasons), a scrollbar will appear, so that users can access the
entire report, while visual dimensions are maintained. We can also take advantage
of various Show / Hide capabilities here, as we can see with an
examination of the Behavior tab. The Commands and Options dialog - Behavior
tab appears in Illustration 27 below.
Illustration 27: The
Commands and Options Dialog - Behavior Tab
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