micro strategy 9 advanced reporting guide

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Advanced Reporting GuideEnhancing Your Business Intelligence Application

Version: 9.4Document Number: 09450940


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Twenty-seventh Edition, version 9.4To ensure that you are using the documentation that corresponds to the software you are licensed to use, compare this version number with the softwareversion shown in “About MicroStrategy...” in the Help menu of your software.

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© 2013 MicroStrategy, Inc. v

CONTENTS

Book Overview and

Additional Resources

Description of this guide.......................................................... xix

About this book............................................................................xxi Additional formats ................................................................. xxiiHow to find business scenarios and examples.....................xxiiWhat’s new in this guide ....................................................... xxiiPrerequisites........................................................................ xxiiiWho should use this guide................................................... xxiii

Resources.................................................................................. xxivDocumentation..................................................................... xxivEducation............................................................................xxxiiiConsulting...........................................................................xxxiiiInternational support ...........................................................xxxiiiTechnical Support .............................................................. xxxiv

Feedback ................................................................................. xxxix

1. Introduction toAdvanced Reporting

Introduction.................................................................................. 1

Before you begin............................................................................ 2Basic MicroStrategy terminology ............................................. 2

Moving to advanced reporting ....................................................... 5

Importing data from different data sources .................................... 6

2. Advanced MetricsReport Data and Calculations Introduction.................................................................................. 9

Before you begin.......................................................................... 10


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Level metrics: Modifying the context of data calculations............ 12Elements of a metric level...................................................... 14Metric level property symbols: Defining expression syntax ... 15Level metrics: A practical overview........................................ 16Target: The context of a calculation....................................... 20

Grouping: How aggregation is performed.............................. 21Filtering: Interaction with report filters.................................... 28Report level: Interaction with the context of reports............... 32Level metrics review: Standard grouping............................... 34Level metrics review: No grouping......................................... 40Using a hierarchy as the target of a metric level.................... 45Level metrics: Applying the metric condition to the metriccalculation.............................................................................. 51Level metrics accepting dimensionality units to emulateMicroStrategy 6.x behavior .................................................... 57

Nested metrics............................................................................. 58Creating a nested metric........................................................ 59

Conditional metrics ...................................................................... 61Conditional metric example.................................................... 62Conditional metrics with multiple qualifications...................... 63Example of a conditional metric with a level .......................... 63Creating a conditional metric ................................................. 65Conditional metric and report filter interactions...................... 68

Advanced options for metric filter and report filterinteraction .............................................................................. 87

Transformation metrics: Time-based and other comparisons ..... 88Year-to-date transformation example .................................... 91Transformation metrics in the Metric Editor ........................... 92

Compound metrics....................................................................... 93Compound metric example.................................................... 94Smart subtotals...................................................................... 96Formula join type for compound metrics................................ 97

Creating metrics by combining metrics, filters, andtransformations............................................................................ 97

Metric subtotals.......................................................................... 100Displaying subtotals on reports............................................ 101Defining subtotal defaults .................................................... 101Disabling subtotals............................................................... 110

Metric functions.......................................................................... 111Rank .................................................................................... 111Count ................................................................................... 113Running and moving sums and averages............................ 114


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N-tile .................................................................................... 116First and Last ....................................................................... 118Creating your own plug-in functions..................................... 118Integrating R analytics into MicroStrategy ........................... 119

Apply functions: Using database-specific functions in

metrics ................................................................................. 119Join specifications...................................................................... 120

Inner joins versus outer joins ............................................... 120Joins between metrics ......................................................... 121

Metric-specific VLDB properties: SQL and analyticalcustomization............................................................................. 122

Metric column aliases: SQL identifiers and data types.............. 122

3. Advanced FiltersFiltering Data on Reports Introduction.............................................................................. 125

Before you begin........................................................................ 126Types of qualifications ......................................................... 127

Advanced filter topics........................................................... 128

Attribute-to-attribute qualification............................................... 130Creating attribute-to-attribute qualification filters ................. 130Example: Customers who live in the same city as callcenters ................................................................................. 131Example: Filtering on an income bracket............................. 133

Dynamic dates: Filtering by offsetting the current date.............. 135

Dynamic date example ........................................................ 136Dynamic date based on a prompt answer ........................... 139

Importing and exporting elements for attribute qualifications .... 143

The attribute level of set qualifications: Output level ................. 146The output level of relationship qualifications ...................... 147The output level of metric qualifications............................... 148

Resetting rank and percent metric qualifications: The breakby property................................................................................. 149

Metric-to-metric comparisons .................................................... 150

Merging attribute qualifications.................................................. 151 Applying qualifications independently of relationship filters....... 153

Custom expressions and database-specific functions............... 154Custom expressions ............................................................ 154

Apply functions in metrics: Using database-specificfunctions .............................................................................. 164


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Joint element lists: Grouping elements from multipleattributes .................................................................................... 172

Prompted filters: Asking for user input for filter conditions......... 174Prompted attribute qualifications.......................................... 175Prompted metric qualifications............................................. 175

Report object prompts ......................................................... 176Filter object prompts ............................................................ 176

Shortcut vs. embedded filters .................................................... 177 Adding a stand-alone filter to a report.................................. 178Saving a report with a shortcut to a stand-alone filter.......... 179

4. Custom Groups andConsolidationsGrouping Attribute Elements Introduction.............................................................................. 181

About custom groups: Grouping attribute elements withbanding and filtering .................................................................. 182

About custom group elements ............................................. 183Custom group examples ...................................................... 185Custom group effects on SQL generation............................ 186Benefits of using a custom group ........................................ 187Custom group structure on reports ...................................... 191

Creating a custom group ........................................................... 193

Editing and formatting a custom group...................................... 194Changing the position of element headers .......................... 195

Enabling subtotals for custom groups.................................. 195Sorting custom groups ......................................................... 196Determining custom group interaction with the report filter.. 200Prompted custom groups..................................................... 201Editing custom group elements............................................ 201Editing the conditions in a custom group element ............... 203

Deleting a custom group, element, or condition ........................ 205

Consolidations: Grouping attribute elements with arithmeticand logical operators ................................................................. 206

Create a virtual attribute ...................................................... 207

Perform row level math ........................................................ 208Consolidation elements ....................................................... 209Evaluation order................................................................... 212Consolidations and SQL...................................................... 213Consolidations and subtotals............................................... 214Consolidation example ........................................................ 220


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Custom group and consolidation comparison............................ 221 Arithmetic operations support (row level math).................... 222Where and how data is calculated ....................................... 222SQL efficiency...................................................................... 223Re-using consolidation elements ......................................... 223

Hierarchical display support................................................. 223Subtotal support................................................................... 223

5. Drill MapsCustomizing Drill Paths Introduction.............................................................................. 225

What is drilling? ......................................................................... 225Drill maps and drill paths...................................................... 226Default drill paths: System hierarchy drill paths................... 227Filters and drilling................................................................. 227

Creating custom drill maps and paths ....................................... 228The destination of the drill .................................................... 229Drill path types: Drilling up, down, across, or to atemplate ............................................................................... 229Drill path properties.............................................................. 230

Drill map association: Objects containing the drill map ............. 238Order of precedence of drill maps: Levels ........................... 239Removing associations ........................................................ 240

6. Advanced PromptsEnabling User Input Introduction.............................................................................. 241

What is a prompt?...................................................................... 242

Prompts in scheduled reports.................................................... 242

Types of prompts ....................................................................... 243Filtering data on attributes, attribute forms, attributeelements, or metrics: Filter definition prompts .................... 244Filtering data based on metrics, attributes, or otherobjects: Object prompts ....................................................... 246Value prompts...................................................................... 249Defining the dimensionality of metrics: Level prompts......... 251

Prompting for a user’s login name: System prompts................. 258

Defining how a prompt is displayed in MicroStrategy Web........ 258Display styles for prompts in MicroStrategy Web ................ 259Configuring how the qualification can be defined inMicroStrategy Web prompts: Expression properties............ 265


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7. Designing ReportsUnderstanding dataevaluation order anddeploying reports to users

Introduction.............................................................................. 271

Before you begin........................................................................ 272Report design versus report creation................................... 272

Accessing the Basic Report: Foundation of examples .............. 273

Filters and order of calculation on reports ................................. 274 About filters.......................................................................... 274The difference between report filters and report limits......... 276

About metric qualifications................................................... 280 About the report-as-filter ...................................................... 283Defining a filter for a drilled-to report.................................... 284

The basics of report execution................................................... 286Data definition and view definition objects: Data versusdisplay.................................................................................. 287Intelligent Cubes .................................................................. 288

Totaling and subtotaling data on reports ................................... 288 About subtotals .................................................................... 289Custom report subtotals....................................................... 294Subtotals and memory usage .............................................. 297

Sorting data on reports .............................................................. 298

Formatting a report .................................................................... 309Formatting report cell data................................................... 310Understanding how formatting impacts report display ......... 317Order of layers ..................................................................... 322

Autostyles: Report formatting styles .................................... 328Find and replace report, template, and metric formatting .... 329Displaying attribute and attribute form headers in a grid ..... 330

Determining which attribute elements are displayed: Attribute joins ........................................................................................... 334

Understanding attribute join types ....................................... 335Selecting an attribute join type............................................. 339

Evaluation order of objects on reports....................................... 342Default evaluation order ....................................................... 343Defining an evaluation order................................................ 343Evaluation order in data definition and view definition......... 344

Adding features for users........................................................... 351

Deploying reports to a user community ..................................... 352User task progression for analyzing and creating reports.... 352Predesigned reports ............................................................ 356Deploying predesigned reports............................................ 358Shortcut to a filter ................................................................. 360


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Shortcut to a template.......................................................... 361Object templates.................................................................. 366

Exporting large reports as delimited text files ............................ 372

8. Graphing Introduction.............................................................................. 375Graphing best practices and troubleshooting ............................ 376

Viewing graph reports................................................................ 379

Adding an object to a graph report ............................................ 380

Choosing an appropriate graph style......................................... 382Minimum object requirements for each graph style ............. 382Placement of report objects and choice of graph styles ...... 384

Moving objects on a graph report .............................................. 386Displaying graph data without scrollbars ............................. 388

Graph style usage and examples .............................................. 389 Area ..................................................................................... 390Bar ....................................................................................... 392Line ...................................................................................... 400Pie chart............................................................................... 403Scatter plot........................................................................... 406Polar chart ........................................................................... 408Radar chart .......................................................................... 410Bubble chart......................................................................... 413Combination......................................................................... 415

Custom ................................................................................ 416 Advanced graph style usage and examples ............................. 416

Stock.................................................................................... 417Histogram ............................................................................ 4223D Surface........................................................................... 424Gauge .................................................................................. 426Funnel .................................................................................. 429Pareto chart ......................................................................... 432Boxplot ................................................................................. 435Gantt chart ........................................................................... 438

Formatting a graph report .......................................................... 442Controlling how a graph report appears............................... 443Formatting a graph using colors, shading, and effects ........ 443Manually formatting graph series and objects ..................... 459Creating and formatting titles............................................... 462Formatting the axes on a graph ........................................... 469Formatting numeric values on a graph ................................ 476


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Displaying and formatting data labels.................................. 482Displaying and formatting a graph legend ........................... 484Formatting the labels on a graph’s axes.............................. 488Creating tooltips in a graph .................................................. 489

Adjusting the layout, size, and scale of a graph................... 492

Saving and applying a custom graph style .......................... 507Choosing a graph image format for HTML documents andWeb ........................................................................................... 511

Exporting and sharing graphs .................................................... 512Exporting graphs.................................................................. 512Copying graphs into third-party applications........................ 513

Using interactive graph visualizations in documents: Widgets .. 515

9. Displaying

Information aboutReports: ReportDetails

Introduction.............................................................................. 517

Displaying report details ............................................................ 518Enabling and disabling report details................................... 519

Levels of report details configuration ......................................... 519Interaction of report details preferences and report detailsfor reports ............................................................................ 520

Configuring report details properties.......................................... 521Configuring the display of object name delimiters forreport details ........................................................................ 522Configuring report details..................................................... 524

Configuring the template details ................................................ 528Including objects from the base or view report .................... 529Displaying the base template name..................................... 531Interaction of report details preferences and templatedetails for reports ................................................................. 534

Configuring the prompt details .................................................. 537Prompt details: Examples .................................................... 538Interaction of report details preferences and promptdetails for reports ................................................................. 540

Configuring the filter details ....................................................... 543

Interaction of report details preferences and filter detailsfor reports ............................................................................ 544Configuring the content of the filter details........................... 544Configuring how attribute element list qualifications aredisplayed.............................................................................. 550Configuring how attribute form and set qualifications aredisplayed.............................................................................. 552Configuring how logical operators are displayed ................. 554


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Configuring whether to use aliases in the filter details ........ 557Configuring the filter details: Procedure............................... 558

Enabling and customizing report details preferences................ 560

10. Linking Reports andDocuments Introduction.............................................................................. 565Linking reports and documents.................................................. 565Prerequisites for working with links...................................... 568

About links ................................................................................. 569Components of a link ........................................................... 570Specifying how prompts are answered in the target............ 573

Creating links ............................................................................. 589Copying links to other objects in the report.......................... 593

Creating linked reports............................................................... 595Creating linked reports that answer prompts with the selectedobjects ................................................................................. 595Creating linked reports that answer prompts using metricconditions............................................................................. 598

11. Custom SQL Queries:Freeform SQL andQuery Builder

Introduction.............................................................................. 609

Customize your SQL statements: Freeform SQL ...................... 610Usage scenarios and SQL standards .................................. 611

Access and analyze multiple data sources with FreeformSQL...................................................................................... 619

Reporting analysis features ................................................. 629Security for data access ..................................................... 638

Reporting on third-party web services with XQuery................... 644 Allowing connections to web services in a project............... 645Using XQuery to retrieve data from a web service .............. 647Creating a report to analyze web service data..................... 665Supporting Grid/Graph filtering for document datasetsbased on large XQuery reports............................................ 667

Retrieving web folder resources with XQuery............................ 670Creating an external mobile folder to allow web folder

browsing .............................................................................. 673Creating XQuery reports to retrieve web folder resources... 674

Updating data with Transaction Services .................................. 681Creating a Transaction Services report ............................... 682

Customize your SQL queries: Query Builder............................. 700Usage scenarios .................................................................. 702


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UNION Multiple INSERT...................................................... 880Drop Temp Table Method.................................................... 880FallBack Table Type ............................................................ 881Intermediate Table Type...................................................... 881Table Option and Table Space properties ........................... 882

VLDB properties at the database instance level........................ 884Maximum SQL/MDX Size .................................................... 884SQL Date Format................................................................. 885

A. Logical andMathematicalOperators for Filtering

Introduction.............................................................................. 887

What is an operator? ................................................................. 887Logical operators ................................................................. 888Comparison operators ......................................................... 891Rank and percent operators ................................................ 892

Pattern operators ................................................................. 893

B. Formatting DefaultValues

Introduction.............................................................................. 895

Default values ............................................................................ 896Number ................................................................................ 896

Alignment ............................................................................. 896Font...................................................................................... 897Border .................................................................................. 897Patterns ............................................................................... 897Banding................................................................................ 898

C. Desktop Commands Introduction.............................................................................. 901

Basics ........................................................................................ 902

Enabling the Desktop homepage............................................... 902

Viewing the Desktop commands ............................................... 904

Commands ................................................................................ 904ChangeView ........................................................................ 905Editor ................................................................................... 906

Execute................................................................................ 906ExecuteDocument ............................................................... 907ExecuteReport ..................................................................... 908Open .................................................................................... 908Reset ................................................................................... 909Shortcut ............................................................................... 910


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© 2013 MicroStrategy, Inc. xix

BOOK OVERVIEW AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Description of this guide

Thank you for using MicroStrategy 9—Platform for Mobile Intelligence.

The MicroStrategy Advanced Reporting Guide provides comprehensiveinformation on advanced topics for using the MicroStrategy query andreporting products. This guide builds on a basic understanding ofinformation provided in the MicroStrategy Basic Reporting Guide . Advanced topics include the following:

• Chapter 1, Introduction to Advanced Reporting , reviews the tasks andobjects to create a basic report and previews advanced reportingconcepts.

• Chapter 2, Advanced Metrics , explains level metrics, conditional metrics,

transformation metrics, and compound metrics, which provide complex business measures and key performance indicators. Numerous examplesprovide real-life context for the explanations.

• Chapter 3, Advanced Filters , describes how to create complex filters andhow to apply them to reports.

• Chapter 4, Custom Groups and Consolidations , introduces and comparescustom groups and consolidations and why to use each.


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Advanced Reporting Guide Book Overview and Additional Resources

© 2013 MicroStrategy, Inc. About this book xxiii

all the data at once. This can be supported for dataset reports createdusing Freeform SQL and XQuery, as described in Supporting Grid/ Graph filtering of document datasets based on Freeform SQL reports, page 634 and Supporting Grid/Graph filtering for document datasetsbased on large XQuery reports, page 667 respectively.

Prerequisites

Before working with this document, you should be familiar with theinformation in the Basic Reporting Guide , including:

• MicroStrategy Desktop

• Projects, attributes, and facts (covered in the Project Design Guide )

• Simple metric and report creation• Report manipulation such as formatting, drilling, and subtotals

• Prompts and filters

• SQL statements (basic understanding)

Who should use this guide

This document is designed for:

• Report designers who create advanced reports and advanced reportingobjects such as metrics, filters, custom groups, consolidations, and drillmaps.

• Analysts who use advanced report manipulations such as data marts,Freeform SQL reports, MDX cube reports, and data mining.


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© 2013 MicroStrategy, Inc. Resources xxv

your search to MicroStrategy books, on Google’s main page you can clickMore , then select Books .

Manuals for MicroStrategy overview and evaluation

• Introduction to MicroStrategy: Evaluation Guide

Instructions for installing, configuring, and using the MicroStrategyEvaluation Edition of the software. This guide also includes a detailed,step-by-step evaluation process of MicroStrategy features, where youperform reporting with the MicroStrategy Tutorial project and its sample business data.

• MicroStrategy Evaluation Edition Quick Start Guide

Overview of the installation and evaluation process, and additional

resources.• MicroStrategy Suite: Quick Start Guide

Evaluate MicroStrategy as a departmental solution. Provides detailedinformation to download, install, configure, and use the MicroStrategySuite.

Resources for Identity and Loyalty

• Alert Commerce Management System (CMS) Guide and Alert API Reference

Content resources providing steps to deliver and manage marketing andcommerce content through the Alert mobile applications.

• Usher Administration Guide

Steps to perform mobile identity validation using the Usher mobileidentity network to issue electronic badges for identifying users.

Manuals for query, reporting, and analysis• MicroStrategy Installation and Configuration Guide

Information to install and configure MicroStrategy products on Windows, UNIX, Linux, and HP platforms, as well as basic maintenanceguidelines.


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Book Overview and Additional Resources Advanced Reporting Guide

xxviii Resources © 2013 MicroStrategy, Inc.

• MicroStrategy MDX Cube Reporting Guide

Information to integrate MicroStrategy with MDX cube sources. You canintegrate data from MDX cube sources into your MicroStrategy projectsand applications.

Manuals for Analytics Modules

• Analytics Modules Installation and Porting Guide

• Customer Analysis Module Reference

• Sales Force Analysis Module Reference

• Financial Reporting Analysis Module Reference

• Sales and Distribution Analysis Module Reference

• Human Resources Analysis Module Reference

Manuals for Narrowcast Services products

• MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server Getting Started Guide

Instructions to work with the tutorial to learn Narrowcast Serverinterfaces and features.

• MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server Installation and Configuration GuideInformation to install and configure Narrowcast Server.

• MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server Application Designer Guide

Fundamentals of designing Narrowcast Server applications.

• MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server System Administrator Guide

Concepts and high-level steps to implement, maintain, tune, andtroubleshoot Narrowcast Server.

• MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server Upgrade GuideInstructions to upgrade an existing Narrowcast Server.


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© 2013 MicroStrategy, Inc. Resources xxix

Software Development Kits

• MicroStrategy Developer Library (MSDL)

Information to understand the MicroStrategy SDK, including detailsabout architecture, object models, customization scenarios, codesamples, and so on.

• MicroStrategy Web SDK

The Web SDK is available in the MicroStrategy Developer Library, which is part of the MicroStrategy SDK.

• Narrowcast Server SDK Guide

Instructions to customize Narrowcast Server functionality, integrateNarrowcast Server with other systems, and embed Narrowcast Serverfunctionality within other applications. Documents the NarrowcastServer Delivery Engine and Subscription Portal APIs, and the NarrowcastServer SPI.

Documentation for MicroStrategy Portlets

• Enterprise Portal Integration Help

Information to help you implement and deploy MicroStrategy BI within your enterprise portal, including instructions for installing andconfiguring out-of-the-box MicroStrategy Portlets for several major

enterprise portal servers.This resource can be accessed from the MicroStrategy Product Manualspage, as described in Accessing manuals and other documentationsources, page xxx .

Documentation for MicroStrategy GIS Connectors

• GIS Integration Help

Information to help you integrate MicroStrategy with GeospatialInformation Systems (GIS), including specific examples for integrating with various third-party mapping services.

This resource can be accessed from the MicroStrategy Product Manualspage, as described in Accessing manuals and other documentationsources, page xxx .


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Help

Each MicroStrategy product includes an integrated help system tocomplement the various interfaces of the product as well as the tasks that can be accomplished using the product.

Some of the MicroStrategy help systems require a web browser to be viewed.For supported web browsers, see the MicroStrategy Readme.

MicroStrategy provides several ways to access help:

• Help button: Use the Help button or ? (question mark) icon on mostsoftware windows to see help for that window.

• Help menu: From the Help menu or link at the top of any screen, selectMicroStrategy Help to see the table of contents, the Search field, and theindex for the help system.

• F1 key: Press F1 to see context-sensitive help that describes each option inthe software window you are currently viewing.

For MicroStrategy Web, MicroStrategy Web Administrator, andMicroStrategy Mobile Server, pressing the F1 key opens thecontext-sensitive help for the web browser you are using to accessthese MicroStrategy interfaces. Use the Help menu or ? (questionmark) icon to access help for these MicroStrategy interfaces.

Accessing manuals and other documentation sources

The manuals are available from http://www.microstrategy.com/ producthelp , as well as from your MicroStrategy disk or the machine whereMicroStrategy was installed.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view these manuals. If you do nothave Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, you can download itfrom http://get.adobe.com/reader/ .

The best place for all users to begin is with the MicroStrategy Basic

Reporting Guide .

To access the installed manuals and other documentation sources, see thefollowing procedures:

• To access documentation resources from any location, page xxxi

• To access documentation resources on Windows, page xxxi

http://www.microstrategy.com/producthelphttp://www.microstrategy.com/producthelphttp://get.adobe.com/reader/http://get.adobe.com/reader/http://www.microstrategy.com/producthelphttp://www.microstrategy.com/producthelp


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• To access documentation resources on UNIX and Linux, page xxxi

To access documentation resources from any location

1 Visit http://www.microstrategy.com/producthelp .

To access documentation resources on Windows

1 From the Windows Start menu, choose Programs (or All Programs ),MicroStrategy Documentation , then Product Manuals . A page opensin your browser showing a list of available manuals in PDF format andother documentation sources.

2 Click the link for the desired manual or other documentation source.

3 If you click the link for the Narrowcast Services SDK Guide, a FileDownload dialog box opens. This documentation resource must bedownloaded. Select Open this file from its current location , and clickOK.

If bookmarks are not visible on the left side of an Acrobat (PDF)manual, from the View menu click Bookmarks and Page . This step varies slightly depending on your version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

To access documentation resources on UNIX and Linux

1 Within your UNIX or Linux machine, navigate to the directory where youinstalled MicroStrategy. The default location is /opt/MicroStrategy ,or $HOME/MicroStrategy/install if you do not have write access to/opt/MicroStrategy .

2 From the MicroStrategy installation directory, open the Help folder.

3 Open the Product_Manuals.htm file in a web browser. A page opens in your browser showing a list of available manuals in PDF format and otherdocumentation sources.

4 Click the link for the desired manual or other documentation source.

5 If you click the link for the Narrowcast Services SDK Guide, a FileDownload dialog box opens. This documentation resource must be

http://www.microstrategy.com/producthelphttp://www.microstrategy.com/producthelp


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downloaded. Select Open this file from its current location , and clickOK.

If bookmarks are not visible on the left side of an Acrobat (PDF)manual, from the View menu click Bookmarks and Page . This step varies slightly depending on your version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Documentation standards

MicroStrategy online help and PDF manuals (available both online and inprinted format) use standards to help you identify certain types of content.The following table lists these standards.

These standards may differ depending on the language of this manual;some languages have rules that supersede the table below.

Type Indicates

bold • Button names, check boxes, options, lists, and menus that are the focus of actions orpart of a list of such GUI elements and their definitions

Example: Click Select Warehouse .

italic • Names of other product manuals and documentation resources• When part of a command syntax, indicates variable information to be replaced by the

user Example: The aggregation level is the level of calculation for the metric.Example: Type copy c:\ filename d:\ foldername \ filename

Courierfont

• Calculations• Code samples• Registry keys• Path and file names• URLs• Messages displayed in the screen• Text to be entered by the user Example: Sum(revenue)/number of months .Example: Type cmdmgr -f scriptfile.scp and press Enter .

+ A keyboard command that calls for the use of more than one key (for example,SHIFT+F1).

A note icon indicates helpful information for specific situations. A warning icon alerts you to important information such as potential security risks; theseshould be read before continuing.


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Education

MicroStrategy Education Services provides a comprehensive curriculum andhighly skilled education consultants. Many customers and partners fromover 800 different organizations have benefited from MicroStrategyinstruction.

Courses that can help you prepare for using this manual or that address someof the information in this manual include:

• MicroStrategy Desktop: Reporting Essentials

• MicroStrategy Desktop: Advanced Reporting

• MicroStrategy Web for Reporters and Analysts

• MicroStrategy Web for Professionals

• MicroStrategy Freeform SQL Essentials

For the most up-to-date and detailed description of education offerings andcourse curricula, visit http://www.microstrategy.com/Education .

Consulting

MicroStrategy Consulting Services provides proven methods for delivering

leading-edge technology solutions. Offerings include complex securityarchitecture designs, performance and tuning, project and testing strategiesand recommendations, strategic planning, and more. For a detaileddescription of consulting offerings, visit http://www.microstrategy.com/ Services .

International support

MicroStrategy supports several locales. Support for a locale typically includesnative database and operating system support, support for date formats,numeric formats, currency symbols, and availability of translated interfacesand certain documentation.

MicroStrategy is certified in homogeneous configurations (where all thecomponents lie in the same locale) in the following languages—English (US),French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish,Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, and Swedish. A

http://www.microstrategy.com/Educationhttp://www.microstrategy.com/Education


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projects and has access to potentially sensitive project data such as securityfilter definitions.

Ensure issues are resolved quickly

Before logging a case with MicroStrategy Technical Support, the SupportLiaison may follow the steps below to ensure that issues are resolved quickly:

1 Verify that the issue is with MicroStrategy software and not a third partysoftware.

2 Verify that the system is using a currently supported version ofMicroStrategy software by checking the Product Support ExpirationSchedule at http://www.microstrategy.com/Support/Expiration.asp .

3 Attempt to reproduce the issue and determine whether it occursconsistently.

4 Minimize the complexity of the system or project object definition toisolate the cause.

5 Determine whether the issue occurs on a local machine or on multiplemachines in the customer environment.

6 Discuss the issue with other users by posting a question about the issueon the MicroStrategy Customer Forum at https:// resource.microstrategy.com/forum/ .

The following table shows where, when, and how to contact MicroStrategyTechnical Support. If your Support Liaison is unable to reach MicroStrategyTechnical Support by phone during the hours of operation, they can leave a voicemail message, send email or fax, or log a case using the Online Support

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Interface. The individual Technical Support Centers are closed on certainpublic holidays.

North America Email: [email protected] Web: https://resource.microstrategy.com/support Fax: (703) 842–8709

Phone: (703) 848–8700 Hours: 9:00 A.M.–7:00 P.M. Eastern Time, Monday–Friday except holidays

EMEA:EuropeThe Middle East

Africa

Email: [email protected] Web: https://resource.microstrategy.com/support Fax: +44 (0) 208 711 2525 The European Technical Support Centre is closed on national public holidays in each country.Phone:• Belgium: + 32 2792 0436• France: +33 17 099 4737• Germany: +49 22 16501 0609• Ireland: +353 1436 0916• Italy: +39 023626 9668• Poland: +48 22 459 52 52

• Scandinavia & Finland: +46 8505 20421• Spain: +34 91788 9852• The Netherlands: +31 20 794 8425• UK: +44 (0) 208 080 2182• International distributors: +44 (0) 208 080 2183Hours:• United Kingdom: 9:00 A.M.–6:00 P.M. GMT, Monday-Friday except holidays• EMEA (except UK): 9:00 A.M.–6:00 P.M. CET, Monday-Friday except holidays

Asia Pacific Email: [email protected] Web: https://resource.microstrategy.com/support Phone:• Australia: +61 2 9333 6499• Korea: +82 2 560 6565 Fax: +82 2 560 6555

• Japan: +81 3 3511 6720 Fax: +81 3 3511 6740• Singapore: +65 6303 8969 Fax: +65 6303 8999• Asia Pacific (except Australia, Japan, Korea, and Singapore): +86 571 8526 8067 Fax: +86

571 8848 0977Hours:• Japan and Korea: 9:00 A.M.–6:00 P.M. JST (Tokyo), Monday-Friday except holidays• Asia Pacific (except Japan and Korea): 7 A.M.-6 P.M. (Singapore) Monday-Friday except

holidays

Latin America Email: [email protected] Web: https://resource.microstrategy.com/support Phone:• LATAM (except Brazil and Argentina): +54 11 5222 9360 Fax: +54 11 5222 9355• Argentina: 0 800 444 MSTR Fax: +54 11 5222 9355

• Brazil: +55 11 3054 1010 Fax: +55 11 3044 4088Hours:• Latin America (except Brazil): 9:00 A.M.–7:00 P.M. (Buenos Aires), Monday-Friday except

holidays• Brazil: 9 A.M. - 6 P.M. (São Paulo), Monday–Friday except holidays

https://resource.microstrategy.com/supporthttps://resource.microstrategy.com/supporthttps://resource.microstrategy.com/supporthttps://resource.microstrategy.com/supporthttps://resource.microstrategy.com/supporthttps://resource.microstrategy.com/support


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Support Liaisons should contact the Technical Support Center from whichthey obtained their MicroStrategy software licenses or the Technical SupportCenter to which they have been designated.

Required information when calling When contacting MicroStrategy Technical Support, please provide thefollowing information:

• Personal information:

Name (first and last)

Company and customer site (if different from company)

Contact information (phone and fax numbers, e-mail addresses)

• Case details:

Configuration information, including MicroStrategy softwareproduct(s) and versions

Full description of the case including symptoms, error messages(s),and steps taken to troubleshoot the case thus far

• Business/system impact

If this is the Support Liaison’s first call, they should also be prepared to

provide the following:• Street address

• Phone number

• Fax number

• Email address

To help the Technical Support representative resolve the problem promptlyand effectively, be prepared to provide the following additional information:

• Case number: Please keep a record of the number assigned to each caselogged with MicroStrategy Technical Support, and be ready to provide it when inquiring about an existing case

• Software version and product registration numbers of the MicroStrategysoftware products you are using


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• Case description:

What causes the condition to occur?

Does the condition occur sporadically or each time a certain action isperformed?

Does the condition occur on all machines or just on one?

When did the condition first occur?

What events took place immediately prior to the first occurrence ofthe condition (for example, a major database load, a database move,or a software upgrade)?

If there was an error message, what was its exact wording?

What steps have you taken to isolate and resolve the issue? What were

the results?• System configuration (the information needed depends on the nature of

the problem; not all items listed below may be necessary):

Computer hardware specifications (processor speed, RAM, disk space,and so on)

Network protocol used

ODBC driver manufacturer and version

Database gateway software version

(For MicroStrategy Web-related problems) browser manufacturerand version

(For MicroStrategy Web-related problems) Web server manufacturerand version

If the issue requires additional investigation or testing, the Support Liaisonand the MicroStrategy Technical Support representative should agree oncertain action items to be performed. The Support Liaison should performany agreed-upon actions before contacting MicroStrategy Technical Support

again regarding the issue. If the Technical Support representative isresponsible for an action item, the Support Liaison may call MicroStrategyTechnical Support at any time to inquire about the status of the issue.


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FeedbackPlease send any comments or suggestions about user documentation forMicroStrategy products to:

[email protected]

Send suggestions for product enhancements to:

[email protected]

When you provide feedback to us, please include the name and version of theproducts you are currently using. Your feedback is important to us as weprepare for future releases.


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© 2013 MicroStrategy, Inc. 1

11.INTRODUCTION TO ADVANCED REPORTING

Introduction

Advanced reporting allows you to create more sophisticated reports usingadvanced report functionality such as data marting and Freeform SQL, andadvanced objects such as level metrics, conditional metrics, prompted filters,custom groups, and drill maps. Examples of advanced reporting in actioninclude:

• The contribution to revenue and profit of products bought by your topcustomers

• The quarterly revenue, split by regions

• The inventory for time periods you select at report run-time

• A comparison of new customers this year to last year

• The revenue for electronics in the first quarter of 2003 and music in thethird quarter of 2003, or other attribute combinations you can select atreport runtime

• Allowing users to drill only to the call center level, not the employee level,for a salary report


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Introduction to Advanced Reporting Advanced Reporting Guide1

2 Before you begin © 2013 MicroStrategy, Inc.

An overview of the advanced reporting features is provided in Moving toadvanced reporting, page 5 . By the end of this chapter, you shouldunderstand what is involved in creating a basic report and have an idea of what advanced reporting can do for you.

Warehouse data in the sample MicroStrategy projects is updatedregularly, and these changes are reflected in the documentation whenever possible. However, the sample reports, documents, objects,and images in this guide may display warehouse data that no longerappears in the software.

Before you beginBefore you start reading this guide, you should be familiar with the reportconcepts and processes described in the Basic Reporting Guide .

The Basic Reporting Guide contains fundamental information you need tounderstand before you can begin building reports. Advanced reportingfeatures build on the concepts and procedures presented there by providingmore technical details and advanced options for report design. Therefore, you should be familiar with the information from that book related to suchconcepts as a report grid, a report filter, and a general working knowledge ofthe Report Editor and its functions. A summary of some of these topics isprovided below. If you need more details, review the Basic Reporting Guide .

The Project Design Guide also contains useful reference material, focused onschema objects such as facts and attributes. Some of its basic terms are alsoincluded in the following section.

Basic MicroStrategy terminology

Facts

Facts are the MicroStrategy objects on which metrics are based. A fact hastwo characteristics: it is numerical and aggregatable. Examples of factsinclude revenue, inventory, and account balances.

There are some cases where a fact is not numerical or aggregatable, but these are rare.


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© 2013 MicroStrategy, Inc. Before you begin 3

Facts are stored in tables in the data warehouse. These fact tables comprisedifferent columns, each cell representing a specific piece of information. You build facts in a MicroStrategy project that point to the columns. Metrics, which are business measures, are then created from the facts.

SQL aggregations, such asSUM

andAVG

, are performed on the facts in thedatabase tables. For example, in the following SQL statement, theORDER_AMT column in the warehouse might correspond to the Order Amount fact in the MicroStrategy environment:

SELECTsum(a21.ORDER_AMT) REGIONFROM ORDER_FACTa21JOIN LU_EMPLOYEEa22ON (a21.EMP_ID = a22.EMP_ID)WHERE a22.CALL_CTR_ID in (5, 9, 12)

In this example, ORDER_AMT is the fact, whereas sum(a21.ORDER_AMT)

represents a metric.For background information on facts, such as instructions to create them, seethe Project Design Guide .

Attributes

Attributes act as holders of information, allowing you to add context to yourfacts in a report. For example, if you had $10,000 in revenue, that numberdoes not mean anything in a business sense unless you know the context,such as which region, the designated time frame for the sales, and the laborinvolved in the transaction. Simply put, attributes provide categories for thesummarization of data.

For background information on attributes, such as procedures to createthem, see the Project Design Guide .

Attribute elements

Attribute elements are the data shown on the report. Think of them as asub-level of the attribute. For example, if City is the attribute, attributeelements can include London, Milan, and New York.


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In the data warehouse, attributes are usually represented by columns in atable, and attribute elements are represented by the rows.

Metrics

Metrics are analytical calculations performed against stored data (facts) to

produce results that can then either be read as status material or analyzed fordecision-making purposes. They are similar to formulas in spreadsheetsoftware. Metrics represent business measures and key performanceindicators. A metric can calculate revenue, inventory levels, employeecounts, or visits to a Web page.

Advanced metrics are discussed in Chapter 2, Advanced Metrics .

Prompts

A prompt is used to dynamically modify the contents of a report. Withprompts, you can determine, during report execution, the objects to retrievefor the report and report filtering conditions. In addition, you can makedifferent prompt selections each time you run the report.

For example, you can create a prompt for filtering criteria that qualifies onthe Year attribute. When you run a report with this prompt in its report filter, you are prompted to select the year for which you want the report results. You can run the report the first time by selecting 2003 and then a secondtime by selecting 2004.

Advanced prompts are discussed in Chapter 6, Advanced Prompts .

Reports

A report is a MicroStrategy object that represents a request for a specific setof formatted data from the data warehouse. Reports are the focus and goal of


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business intelligence. They allow users to gather business insight throughdata analysis.

The different parts of a report include:

• Facts and attributes from the warehouse

• Filters that determine how much data is used to generate the report

• Metrics to perform calculations on the facts

Advanced report objects such as level metrics, transformation metrics,consolidations, custom groups, and drill maps, among others, allow you tocreate more functional and informative reports. You can also use your owncustomized SQL statements to generate reports from operational systemsincluded in a MicroStrategy project. This is known as Freeform SQL. You cancreate predictive models based on existing and historical data to project

potential outcomes for business activities and transactions. MicroStrategyData Mining Services facilitates the development and deployment of thesepredictive models. All this advanced functionality is described in detail inthis guide.

Moving to advanced reportingBefore you begin working with advanced reporting functionality, you must

have a working project containing schema objects such as attributes andfacts. For information on creating projects, facts, and attributes, refer to the Project Design Guide .

The Project Design Guide also contains a step-by-step example of designinga project for financial reporting and analysis. This includes standardreporting such as profit and loss reporting that provides analysis of acompany’s profits compared to its losses.

You can also use the MicroStrategy Tutorial that contains predesigned reportobjects and reports as a simulated project to familiarize yourself with

MicroStrategy. Many of the facts, attributes, and other objects used in theexamples in this guide are available in the MicroStrategy Tutorial project.Other examples use objects from the various MicroStrategy AnalyticsModules.


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You can now create reports with more sophisticated analyses, using theconcepts described in this guide. You will learn how to:

• Define level metrics, conditional metrics, transformation metrics, andcompound metrics, and know when to use each type

• Create advanced filters such as attribute-to-attribute qualifications,relationship filters, joint element lists, and prompted filters, amongothers

• Set up custom groups to create relationships between attributes and to band, or slice, attribute elements using the values of a metric

• Create virtual attributes and perform row level math using consolidations

• Create prompts to save time by using one report to produce differentresults

• Define custom drill maps to set the drill paths for reports• Customize SQL statements

• Create and use MDX Cube Reports to integrate with SAP BI, Essbase, andMicrosoft Analysis Services

• Create and use data mart reports to establish relational tables that can beused like tables in a project schema

Once you have understood and practiced these concepts, you will be able tochoose, manipulate, and format advanced reports that best answer your business questions.

Importing data from different data sources You can use MicroStrategy Web to import data from data sources, such as anExcel file, a table in a database, a Freeform SQL query, or a Salesforce.comreport, into MicroStrategy metadata with minimum project designrequirements.

You can import the data directly into a Visual Insight (VI) dashboard or adocument, or import the data into the project. You can link the data to defineattributes and metrics, and save it as an Intelligent Cube. An Intelligent Cubeis a multi-dimensional cube (set of data) that allows you to use OLAPServices features on reports, as well as share sets of data among multiple


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reports. For information on Intelligent Cubes and the OLAP Servicesfeatures that they support, see the OLAP Services Guide .

If you import data into a VI dashboard or a document, the imported data can be used immediately in the VI dashboard or the document. You can use theIntelligent Cube from the data import process, whether imported into a VIdashboard, a document, or a project, to create:

• A report that runs against the Intelligent Cube.

• A document that uses the Intelligent Cube as a dataset. A document isused to format data from multiple reports in a single display ofpresentation quality; for general information on working withdocuments, see the Document and Dashboard Analysis Guide ; forgeneral information on creating documents, see the Report Services Document Creation Guide .

• A VI dashboard using the imported data. A VI dashboard is a visually-striking, interactive display that takes a minimal amount of timeto set up and use. You can add text, interactive data visualizations, datafiltering, and multiple layers of organization to your VI dashboard, thentake advantage of Visual Insight's formatting options to customize yourdisplay. For background information on VI dashboards, see the MicroStrategy Web Help .

Some common uses for importing data include:

• Combining and analyzing personalized data with your project data

• Quickly integrating data into MicroStrategy as part of a proof-of-concept

• Importing and reporting on personalized data from various data sources

• Immediately building reports, documents, and VI dashboards withouthaving to "model" the data source

• Modifying the data in your data source, then republishing the IntelligentCube to quickly update the data in your reports, documents, and VIdashboards

You can import data from the following data sources:

• A file on your computer, network, or from a specified URL or UNC path

• A table in a database

• The results of a Freeform SQL query on a database

• A Salesforce.com report


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For instructions to import data, as well as steps to link the imported data toproject attributes, see the MicroStrategy Web Help .

You can add multiple datasets to a single VI dashboard or a document,including datasets from the Import Data process and project datasets. Anattribute that is used in multiple datasets in a VI dashboard or document isdisplayed with a blue indicator. For more information on includingsupplemental data in a project using the Data Import feature, see theCreating and Configuring a Project chapter in the Project Design Guide . Formore information on creating VI dashboards with multiple datasets, see the MicroStrategy Web Help . For more information on creating documents withmultiple datasets, see the Report Services Document Creation Guide .

You can manage Intelligent Cubes using the Intelligent Cube Monitor, whichprovides usage statistics and other information about Intelligent Cubes. Foran introduction to the Intelligent Cube Monitor, as well as steps to improve

performance, see the Managing Intelligent Cubes chapter of the System Administration Guide .


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Advanced Metrics Advanced Reporting Guide2


• Metric column aliases: SQL identifiers and data types, page 122

This chapter does not include Data Mining functions or predictivemetrics. Refer to Chapter 13, Data Mining Services for informationon these topics.

Before you beginThis section reviews basic concepts covered in the Basic Reporting Guide . If you need to brush up on metrics basics, this section is designed to help you.If you need a broader refresher on metrics, facts, attributes, prompts, andfilters, see the Basic Reporting Guide .

Metrics are MicroStrategy objects that represent business measures and keyperformance indicators. They are calculations to be performed on datastored in the database and are similar to formulas in spreadsheet software.Questions such as “What were the sales for the eastern region during thefourth quarter?”, “Are inventory levels being consistently replenished at the beginning of each week?”, or “How many employees are currently workingfor our company?” can easily be answered by creating metrics.

A metric definition must contain a formula , which determines the data to beused and the calculations to be performed on the data. A metric iscategorized as one of the following types based on the functions used in itsformula:

• Simple metric : The formula of a simple metric is a mathematicalexpression based on at least one group function, such as sum or average, which is applied to facts, attributes, or other metrics. It can also containnon-group functions or arithmetic operators, in addition to the requiredgroup function.

An example of the formula of a simple metric is

Sum(Profit)

where Cost and Profit are facts. The formula contains two groupfunctions, Avg (which stands for average) and Sum.

Another example is

Avg((Cost + Profit))


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© 2013 MicroStrategy, Inc. Before you begin 11

where Cost and Profit are metrics instead of facts. The formulacontains a group function, so it is still a simple metric.

The term simple only refers to a metric’s structure; it does notrestrict you to simple calculations.

• Compound metric : The formula of a compound metric is based onarithmetic operators and non-group functions. Arithmetic operators are+, -, *, and /; non-group functions are OLAP and scalar functions such asrunning sum or rank. The operators and functions can be applied to facts,attributes, or metrics.

An example of the formula of a compound metric is

RunningAvg( Cost )

where Cost is a metric. The formula contains a non-group function,RunningAvg (which stands for running average). Another example is

Sum( Cost ) + Sum( Profit )

where Cost and Profit are metrics. The addition expression, denoted bythe + operator, makes this a compound metric.

For more background on the difference between simple andcompound metrics, refer to the Building Query Objects and Queries chapter of the Basic Reporting Guide. For syntax and examples of allthe functions that MicroStrategy supplies, see the Functions Reference .

In addition to a formula, a simple metric can contain the followingcomponents:

• The level , or dimensionality, determines the attribute level of calculationfor the metric. For example, you can choose to calculate profit at themonth level or the region level. By default, a metric is calculated at thereport level, that is, at the level of the attributes of the report in which themetric is placed. For a more detailed description, including thecomponents of level metrics, examples, and procedures see Levelmetrics: Modifying the context of data calculations, page 12 .

• Conditionality associates a filter to the metric calculation. This is anoptional component. For a more detailed description, including examplesand procedures, see Conditional metrics, page 61 .

• A transformation applies offset values, such as “one month ago” or “last year”, to the selected attributes. This allows you to perform time-seriesanalysis, such as a comparison of revenue between this year and last year. A transformation is an optional component. For a more detailed


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12 Level metrics: Modifying the context of data calculations © 2013 MicroStrategy, Inc.

description, including examples, see Transformation metrics:Time-based and other comparisons, page 88 .

None of these components can be set on the compound metric as a whole,although they can be applied separately on the metric or metrics that makeup a compound metric. This explains why metrics are divided into thedifferent types—so you know whether you can adjust the components of ametric. You can also create a metric that contains levels, a condition, andtransformations, or any combination of these components. For an example,see Example of a conditional metric with a level, page 63 .

This chapter focuses on compound metrics and on simple metrics that uselevel, condition, and transformation components. For examples of andprocedures to create simple metrics that do not use any of these components,see the Building Query Objects and Queries, for Designers chapter in the Basic Reporting Guide .

All examples in this chapter are created with data from theMicroStrategy Tutorial project unless otherwise indicated.

In this chapter, the Metric Editor in Desktop is used to work with metrics. You can also use MicroStrategy Command Manager to work with metrics.Command Manager manipulates MicroStrategy objects by means ofuser-created scripts rather than a graphical user interface. This can behelpful if you have a large number of metrics to create or edit. For background information about Command Manager and how