Keep in mind that, as many new users of PPWIN soon find
out, while it is simple enough to shift from Explorer to Reporter,
switching back can cause unexpected results. The reason for this is that the
flexibility we have just discovered (with the deletion we performed a perfect
example) can cause problems in Explorer, which wants to display all
members at a given "level" of a browse. My experience has been that
it is often efficient to get the report as close as possible to
complete, before making the switch to Reporter, for this reason, but
many strategies exist, and some are certainly better than others are for
specific reporting scenarios.
3. Click Category(s)
to remove the WA line item from the report.
We note that the report appears as shown in Illustration 32.
Illustration 32: Our
Report - sans the WA Category
While we have removed the WA row entirely, the total (or USA) row has remained the
same, meaning that we have not experienced automatic update; this is another
attribute of the Reporter mode that it is important to remember, despite
its flexibility for reporting purposes.
Say we need a total, at this point, for the report in general, and
that total, not too surprisingly, needs to be accurate. There are a couple of
ways to approach this, but let's go about it in a manner that will afford us
exposure to other attributes of the Reporter mode.
4. Click the USA block of the bottom
row to highlight it.
5. Press the Delete
key (another way to delete a category).
We have removed the total (or USA) row. We will now create a total row
to replace it, through the creation of a calculation that accurately
adds the totals of the two remaining state rows.
6. Highlight both the CA
and OR rows, beginning with the CA row. ([CTRL]-Click is
used to highlight non-adjacent objects, as it is in many Windows applications,
and can be employed here.)
7. From the top menu,
click Calculate -> Add.
The Add dialog appears.
8. Type the word "Totals"
into the Label box.
The Add dialog appears as shown in Illustration 33.
Illustration 33: The
Completed Add Dialog Box
9. Click OK to
close the Add dialog.
The new Totals row appears, as shown in Illustration 34.
Illustration 34: The New
Totals Row
(If the order of the highlighted rows has somehow gone
astray, and the new total appears between the CA and OR rows,
simply drag the new row below the OR row and drop at the bottom of the
report. You can also delete and re-create (within Reporter) to achieve
the same effect.
10. Highlight the Time column
that appears in the report (it carries na throughout, at this
point).
11. Press Delete to
remove the column.
The column disappears from our report. We would not have been
able to perform this action in Explorer mode, as we discussed earlier.
12. Highlight the 1997 and
1998 columns, in that order.
13. Click Calculate -> Subtract from the top menu.
The Subtract dialog box appears.
14. Select the 1998 -
1997 radio button.
15. Type "Change"
into the Label box.
The Subtract dialog box appears as depicted in Illustration
35.
Illustration 35: The
Completed Subtract Dialog
The new Change column appears.
17. Click the 1997
column.
18. [CTRL]-Click the new Change
column.
The idea here is to highlight both columns simultaneously,
as shown in Illustration 36.
Illustration 36: The
Properly Highlighted Column Selection
19. Click Calculate -> Percent from the top menu.
The Percent dialog box appears.
20. Select the Percent
(Change, 1997) radio button.
21. Type "% Change"
into the Label box.
The Percent dialog box appears as shown in Illustration
37.
Illustration 37: The
Completed Percent Dialog
The new % Change column appears, as shown in Illustration
38.
Illustration 38: The %
Change Column Appears
We might have added divers other features to this report, or to
its Explorer forebear, such as exception highlighting, various
formatting schemes, additional calculations, and so forth. However, let's move
on, for now, after saving our new report.
23. Click File -> Save As from the top menu.
24. Save the file as %
Change.ppr in a convenient location.
25. Select File -> Exit to close PowerPlay
for Windows.
We will conclude our brief overview of PowerPlay for Windows
reporting for an Analysis Services cube at this point. Much of the body of
functionality that is available can be reviewed within the online documentation
and other sources, just as it might be for a natively generated PowerCube.
Now, let's take a look at the other main option for PowerPlay
analysis and reporting, PowerPlay Web.
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