User's Guide

This manual uses Inline Frames (as in Figure 1 below) to preserve image clarity otherwise lost in scaling. The page is formatted to fit 850 pixels and was authored to render on an 1024 x 768 display. When necessary, the inline frame provides both horizontal and vertical scrolling.

Session requirements

The Access link found in Figure 1 Contents frame describes authorization and workstation requirements to run the Web Service, please verify your configuration before proceeding.

Starting an analysis session

In Figure 1 contents frame below are 2 golden cubes, one for each departmental analysis (Sales and Service). Both analysis functions are security protected and will invoke with a valid username and password combination supplied to a login dialog popup (Figure 2).

This Web Service is hosted inside Internet Explorer, which essentially implies the user interacts with a familiar hyperlinked document (web page). The unique features of this solution is the ability to drag-and-drop assignable objects within a document as a mechanism for signaling computational action.

Once the analysis service (Service) is launched, figure 3 below becomes the focal point of all OLAP activity. This document will exhibit Vehicle Service Analysis, the Vehicle Sales Analysis namespace provides similar characteristic behavior.

Starting at the top of the page and extending towards the right end of the display area, the principal geography is occupied by the PivotChart component which essentially encapsulates Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet graphing capabilities. The PivotChart is fixed in size and position on the page.

Directly under the PivotChart and against the left  is the PivotTable component which also encapsulates Excel spreadsheet row-column array capabilities. The PivotChart extends dynamically towards the right and downwards as required by direction and actions of the user.

Scrolling towards the right is the Chart Field List containing two objects called Measures (Totals) and Facts (Also called Dimensions). Totals are pre-aggregated from Facts. Facts may have a hierarchy (as in Continent, Country, State/Province, City) which breaks the fact down into finer levels of detail. Facts and Total are the objects that get dragged-and-dropped onto the PivotChart/Table, more details later.

Between the PivotChart and PivotTable are 5 groups of Push Buttons, the first 3 act upon the chart, the 4th contains Drop-Down Box and 2 buttons and the last (Maps) invokes a popup for selecting maps relevant to the location analysis. More detail follows.

The PivotChart as outlined in Figure 4 will be presented in conjunction with the Push Buttons outlined above.

Drop Field Areas

The PivotChart has 4 Field Drop Areas;

• At the top of the chart below the title is the Drop Filter Fields Here area, Fact(s) are dragged here and they filter the chart presentation by the criteria selected.

• Under the Drop Filter Fields Here area, is an invisible drop zone which comes into focus on a mouse-over. This area is for dropping Totals from the Chart Field List, in Figure 4 the Totals dropped are the Field Work Orders count.

• Under the chart and towards the right is the Drop Category Fields Here area, this area is for dropping Fact(s) which are represented along the X axes of the chart.

• The last drop area is to the far right midway up the chart is designated Drop Series Fields Here and it represents Fact(s) dropped on the Y chart axes.

In the Figure 4 illustration the Day of Week String Fact was dropped onto the categories (X axes). The chart represents Work Orders distribution from Monday through Friday.

Along the top of the PivotChart component is a toolbar;

selects a help popup describing the Chart Component when clicked.

brings the Chart Field List into focus when clicked.

selects Command and Options popup  (below) with chart Type tab when clicked.

this button causes a table refresh.

Other toolbar object instructions may be found in the popup help.

Push Buttons

The first pair of buttons rotate the chart counter clockwise (CCW-left button) and clockwise (CW-right button), Figures 5-7 illustrate.

One more CCW click and the display returns to the Figure 4 position. The CW rotation from Figure 4 would produce a rotation Figure 7, Figure 6, Figure 5 then back to the original Figure 4 position.

The next pair of buttons flip the chart on the horizontal plane and on the vertical plane. Figure 8 illustrates flipH, Figure 9 is a flipV. The chart rotations and flips do not affect the relative location of row and column data in the PivotTable.

This combination of buttons and pull-down list provides for storing and restoring field configurations selected for a particular analysis. There are provisions for 10 chart/table saves-restores. Saved charts may be erased by performing a Clear before a Save.

The Maps button produces a popup map selection window for locating a postal area as defined in the analysis, Figure 10 shows the popup which may be re-sized.

As in the PivotChart, the PivotTable also has 4 Field Drop Areas as illustrated in Figure 11.

• At the top of the table below the title is the Drop Filter Fields Here area, Fact(s) are dragged here and they filter the chart presentation by the criteria selected.

• Under the Filter Fields area, is the Drop  Column Fields Here area where Fact(s) fields are dropped and they are represented on the Y chart axes.

• Towards the far right of the table is the Drop Row Fields Here area, this area is for dropping Fact(s) which are represented along the X axes on the chart.

• The last drop area is in the center of the table labeled Drop Totals or Detail Fields Here, this area is for dropping Totals fields. These Totals are the magnitudes graphed on the chart Y axes.

Along the top of the PivotTable component is the toolbar;

selects a help popup describing the PivotTable Component when clicked.

brings the Chart Field List into focus when clicked.

selects the Command and Options popup  (Figure 12)  when clicked. Options selection provide for configuring the display behavior of the component.

this button causes a table refresh.

selecting this button invokes the Excel spreadsheet program and passes the session pivot data and connection specification to it. This mechanism permits storing the pivot table on the local workstation as an Excel document which may later be restored and connected directly to the OLAP source without requiring the browser

Pivoting

Facts in the PivotTable row and columns may be dragged and dropped arbitrarily effectively reordering the presentation as illustrated in Figures 13 and 14 where the Employee Number 2062 (Salesperson) is dragged from the last to the first column in the PivotTable, changes to the table are also reflected in the chart presentation, hence the term pivot.