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 Home > Resource Centre > Frequently Asked Questions > Managing Data in Reports
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Q: How do I save my report to an Excel spreadsheet?
A: There are 3 ways to do this - 1. To copy data from one tab of your report, go to Edit in the menu, then Copy All. Open Excel then click the Paste icon. This is the most efficient way to copy data from BusinessObjects into Excel. BusinessObjects formatting is not retained in Excel. However, if you have filtered data in the table, this will be retained in Excel. 2. To copy ALL data returned in a query, go to Data in the menu, then View Data. Click on Export, then select Excel format and navigate to where you want to save the document and rename it. No BusinessObjects formatting is retained. 3. Go to File in the menu then Save As. Change the 'Save as type' to Microsoft Excel Worksheet (*.xls). Keep in mind that all data and all BusinessObjects formatting will be retained including multiple report tabs if you have them, which may cause formatting issues in Excel.
Q: When I try to produce a set of reports by using duplicate report and then applying a different filter to each through the data provider the same filter is applied to each report. How do I avoid this?
A: This is because you are editing the data cube, which lies behind the report. Filters can be applied at both the data cube level and the report level. In this case, you need to apply a filter at the report level. Duplicate the report. Choose FORMAT, FILTERS. Select ADD and click the variable(s) to be filtered. If the variable is not included in the data you originally brought back you can add it by rerunning your query. Although you need the variable in your query, you do not need to have it visible in your report to filter on it.
Q: Can I group a number of objects together? For example, I often want to show a grouping of course levels such as higher degree research, undergraduate etc., rather than the individual levels in each row.
A: Highlight the individual cells you wish to group (remember to hold down the Control key to select more than one cell) and click the Group Values icon on the toolbar. You will then be asked to name each new value (eg Higher Degree Research etc). There is a user guide available for this item.
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Q: Can I use wildcards? For example, I want to select all courses that start with a particular course specialisation eg COMP.
A: In Business Objects the wild card characters are % for a string of any length and _ for a fixed character. For example, M_T will return MAT, MIT, MUT etc., and M%T will return MOOT, MANAGEMENT, MOVEMENT etc. To get all courses starting with COMP set a condition in the query panel based on the course code object. Select the operator MATCHES PATTERN, then select TYPE A CONSTANT. Type COMP%. This will return only courses starting with COMP. If you want more than one specialisation in the query simply repeat this process for each specialisation and remember to change the AND between each condition to OR by double clicking on the AND.
Q: How can I produce a list of students who are studying both Course A and Course B?
A: Because of the way data is structured, if you enter two conditions joined by an 'and' you will return no data. To obtain the correct data, insert the Student ID, Name etc in the query panel. In the conditions section enter a condition to select course A. Click on COMBINE QUERIES. In Query 2 tab enter the condition to select Course B. Select the INTERSECT operator (either from the tool bar in Query 2 or by clicking the Query 2 tab with your right-mouse button). Run the query.
Q: When I run a new query to determine, for example, the number of students enrolled in a particular course, my report returns no rows. I know that there are students enrolled in the course. What is wrong?
A: If you have typed in the course code rather than used the List of Values you may have used the wrong case (eg comp1001 instead of COMP1000). Most of the fields in the universes are case-sensitive.
Q: A saved query which has worked in the past is now returning a "no data to fetch" message. Why?
A: If you are sure that your query has not been modified since the last time you used it, the problem may lie in the 'conditions' panel within your BusinessObjects data provider. It may be that the lists of values have changed since the last time you ran your query. If this has happened, the conditions you specified in your query may no longer be valid. You will need to refresh the list of values. You can choose to refresh all lists of values in the universe (Option 1 below) or specific lists of values (Option 2 below). Option 1 - Refreshing all lists of values in a universe Log on to BusinessObjects. Select TOOLS from the menu bar. Select UNIVERSES from the tools drop down menu. The UNIVERSE DIALOGUE BOX appears. Scroll down within this until you find the universe on which your query was built. Select the required universe (it will be highlighted when selected) and click on the REFRESH button. Go back to your query panel and rebuild your condition(s). The only part of your query that will be affected by refreshing the list of values is the operand. This is the part following the operator (eg Equal to, not in list etc.). Highlight the operand portion of the condition and use SHOW LIST OF VALUES from the operand window. Select your required values from the list of values. Run the query. Option 2 - Refreshing specific list(s) of values in a universe. Choose SHOW LIST OF VALUES from the operand window in your query panel (as explained above). The list of values for the object in your selected condition will appear. Click on the REFRESH button. Select your required values from the list of values. Run the query.
Q: I would like to create reports for my Head of School he/she simply has to type or select a variable such as course code or permanent domicile(s) without having to build the query from scratch. Is there an easy way for me to do this?
A: Yes. For example if your Head of School is interested in producing reports on international students and wishes to be able to select one or more countries you can create a prompt as follows. Go into the query panel and construct your query as normal. Format the report to your liking. Return to the query panel. When inserting your condition, in the operator section choose "in list" (this enables more than one country etc to be chosen) and in the operand section (this is the part following the operator) where you would normally choose show list of values, select TYPE A NEW PROMPT. Type in an appropriate prompt such as "Which country(ies)?" When the Head of school runs the query they will be prompted for the country and can either type it in or select from the list of values by choosing VALUES. (It is a good idea to encourage them always to use the value list). Make sure that they know to hold down the control key if they want to select more than one country.
Q: Can I send a report to another BusinessObjects user?
A: BusinessObjects has an in built feature which allows you to send a report to any other BusinessObjects user or group of users. When the user(s) receiving the report next log into BuisnessObjects, they will receive a message telling them that they have been sent a report that is waiting to be retrieved. There is a user guide available for this item.
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Q: Can I run a BusinessObjects query on a different universe?
A: Yes, provided that the data elements (objects) in your query must be available in both universes. There is a user guide available for this item.
 Link Reference
Q: Is there a way to create an automatic outline system similar to that in Microsoft Excel?
A: If you have a report which includes, for example, both faculty and school fields, then you can organise the report in school within faculty order by clicking on a cell in the faculty column and selecting BREAK' from the INSERT menu. The data is now organised so that Arts, for example, appears once in the faculty column, while each school in the Arts Faculty is shown grouped together in a single section, with an extra row for the Faculty total at the bottom, which you can fill by clicking a cell in the relevant column with a measure value in it and then using the menu commands 'insert' 'calculations' 'sum'.If you now choose OUTLINE from the VIEW menu, a set of outline symbols will appear at the left hand side. By clicking on the small triangles, you can close and open the levels of the outline and the blocks of data will contract and expand.
Q: How do I create automatic subtotal descriptions in my report?
A: When you create a report that's broken up into Master/Detail sections, you can improve the appearance of subtotals by creating automatic subtotal descriptions. For example, if you had a report that has Faculty Name set as a Master heading, it would look good to have our subtotals described as 'Total for Arts', 'Total for Biological and Chem Sciences' etc., instead of the default 'Sum:'. If you edit the text field and replace Sum the new text will show in the sub-total for each Faculty. This is fine if you want the text to be generic - eg "Sub-total". However, if you type "Sub-Total for Faculty of Arts" this will be incorrect since this text will appear under each Faculty. You can get BusinessObjects to show the correct Faculty by using the concatenation function &. Click on the cell next to any one of your subtotals. It should contain the description 'Sum:'. Click on DATA at the top of the page and choose EDIT FORMULA. (Or you can click on the Formula Editor button on the Formula toolbar). The Formula Editor window will now open.Delete 'Sum:' from the Formulas section, type in ="Total for " (or whatever text you require) and then double click on the & in the Operators section. (be careful to leave a space between for and "). In the Variables section, double click on the object that represents your Master heading. In this case, the object is Faculty Name (for Course). Click on OK to finish.Note: You may need to adjust the alignment of the text in the cell to properly view the changes you've made. To do this, simply click on the cell to highlight it. Click on FORMAT and choose CELL. Change the alignment to Left.
Q: How do I create a grand total at the bottom of a Master/Detail report?
A: The quickest way to do this is to scroll to the bottom of your report so that you can see the last section. Holding down the key, click on the cell that contains the word 'Sum' and the cell containing the section total. Click on Edit at the top of the page and choose copy. You can now paste these cells into the bottom section of your report. This will give you a grand total. There is a user guide available for this item.
Link Reference
Q: How do I decide whether to use a current or official student universe to get my data?
A: The choice of universe depends on the end purpose of your report. For example, if it is for a school review, official data is usually the preferred option. However, if you wanted a class list as of the current day, the current universe would be used. Further hints on the most appropriate universe choice is available through the on-line Datawarehouse Guide.
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Q: Can I use the one prompt twice for reports with more than one query?
A: Yes, simply set the prompt up for the first query as normal, then in the second query instead of choosing "Type a New Prompt" use "Show list of Prompts" and select the one you wish to use.
Q: How do I refresh the data in a report that has already been built in order to update my report with the most recent data?
A: Open BusinessObjects. Open the report. Go to the Data Menu and select “Refresh Data”. Click OK to run the report, then File->Save As, as required. You may also click on the Refresh Icon on the toolbar to refresh the data.
Tips & Tricks
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