Synchronizing Data from Multiple Data Providers


As of Business Objects XI Release 2, merged dimensions are available and used to combine data from multiple data sources and synchronize the data for display in a single report block. This feature enables you to further analyze data stored within different databases, and possibly even different database management systems, within one report without replicating the data. The blocks of data have to have common dimensions allowing the synchronization; however, the data can be stored and retrieved at differing levels of granularity.

When analyzing sales figures per salesperson, it would be beneficial to have an understanding of the number of hours each salesperson worked. In this example, snippets of data are required from different databases within one report. The "hours worked" data is from the HR database per salesperson, per week. The sales data is from the enterprise data warehouse at varying levels of granularity. Combining the figures in one report makes it possible to calculate the average hourly sales per salesperson within the report.

Tip

Business Objects, by default, displays only dimension values for which data has been returned. For example, if a yearly report is run in March, only data for January through March is returned and displayed. If the data is displayed in a cross-tab report with the date across the top, columns are displayed for only January through March. Using merged dimensions, it is possible to display all months regardless of whether the main data provider returns data for the month.

The following steps can be followed to accomplish this. After the main data provider has been created, add a query that returns all the values to be displayed for the dimensions, in this example Month and Year as displayed in Figure 20.27. Merge the Month Objects and Year Objects and display the common dimension on the report. Figure 20.28 displays the completed report; in this example, we restricted the main data provider to return data for only January through March. However, the report will always display columns for January through December, regardless of whether there was revenue. The same steps can be followed for multiple dimensions on a single report.


Figure 20.27. The main data provider was created, and a second data provider, returning only the dimensions for which we would like to have all values displayed, was added. Note that if restrictions were placed on the dimension on the main query, these should generally be placed on the dimension in the second query. This example returns data for only 1999.


Figure 20.28. The report after the dimensions are synchronized and displayed in the report. All months are displayed, regardless of whether there was revenue. Note: If the document Auto-merge Dimensions property is set, Web Intelligence automatically merges dimensions from the same universe, with the same name and with the same data type, when you create a report. Alternatively, dimensions can be merged manually or removed from the merged dimension.





Crystal Reports XI(c) Official Guide
Crystal Reports XI Official Guide
ISBN: 0672329174
EAN: 2147483647
Year: N/A
Pages: 365

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