Some Queations

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- Given a report to look and asked to identify why it was not pulling in the correct data, in this
Case it was the joins they had to implement security.
- Ask you describe a fan and chasm trap how would you resolve it.
- Explain calculation contexts when to use them.
- Explain about contexts generally and when to use them.
- Common problems to look out for.

1. How can you suppress the 'No data to fetch' messages in Reports?
There are a number of ways. VBA can be used to set Application.Interactive to Off. But
this will also prevent the user from responding to any prompts. You can also adjust your
query so that every data provider is a union to a table that returns at least one row,
thereby eliminating the possibility of returning no rows. That "special row" should be
designed so that it doesn't change (impact) the actual results should they be returned.

Cannot be done in BO. (vba will suppress all msgs)

2. How can you create a graph with horisontal bars?

BO doesn't support this future.

3. When getting 'No data to fetch' msg, how can you make the report to display at least
one record?
Again, a union can be used to combine an extra row to a data provider, thereby
eliminating the "no data to fetch" message. Or you can have two blocks, one hidden
behind the other, where one block is displayed when there is data, and the other block
(with a hard-coded text message) displayed only when there is no data in the "real" data
provider.

4. How can you import a single-tab report into another multi-table report so the single-tab
report will keep its formatting?
Without VBA, use a template. You'll have to recreate the data provider from scratch.
With VBA, you can move (copy) the data provider to the multi-tabbed document, then
either via VBA or manually use a template to move the formatting. Bottom line is that you
use a template to move the formatting, but have to use VBA or manually move the data
provider as there is no feature within the product to do this.

Cannot be done.

5. Can you link the 'universe based' query to one based on RDBMS stored procedure?
We had a dataprovider based on the universe and one that used VBA to retrieve data
from a stored procedure.

6. How can you display 5 top records only?

Do you want the top 5 records based on some other value? Or the "pure" top 5 based on
the query? You have a number of choices... use the "rank" feature in BusinessObjects, use
"partial results" and limit the rows returned to 5 (using a descending sort to get the right
order), or use a Rank() feature of your RDBMS, assuming one is available. But since we're
talking about report solutions, that last one probably should not be considered.

Issues with the reporter rank function include the fact that all data is returned, resulting in
a (potentially) large cube. But it will handle tied results. And by including a break on some
other dimension object, you can determine the top 5 per X, or some other value.
Issues with the partial results include the fact that ties are not handled properly, and you
can only get the "overall" top 5, not the top 5 per some item.

7. What's the Detail object used for?

any non-defining attribute should be a detail object. So while customer ID would be a
dimension, customer name, address, phone, and so on should be details. They are used
primarily in an environment where lots of report linking is done. If you don't use the
linking technique, then details are less of an issue. Since details are associated with a
dimension, once their associated dimension is linked to some other dimension, then the
detail object is available (and valid) in a block with combined data.

Some objects (date objects come to mine) could be defined in a universe as both
dimensions and details. For example, Order Date could be a detail for Order Number. The
Order Number only has one Order Date. By setting Order Date to be a detail, you can link
on Order Number to some other data provider and continue to use Order Date in the block
without the famous "Variables are not compatible" message. Yet you may want to drill on
a hierarchy of Order Year, Order Quarter, Order Month, Order Date. In that case, it would
have to be a dimension.