How to add a Return option to a Dashboard Page drill down

Karthi_obiee

Hi All,

I have a question and request you all to suggest a solution. Your responses are appreciated.

In OBIEE when I use an Action Link to drill down an Analysis through Column Properties -> Interaction. I have two options.

Option 1: Create an Action to navigate to an Analysis. In this scenario, I see a "Return" option in the drill down analysis which when clicked will navigate back to the Main analysis with all the prompt values selected earlier.

Option 2: Create an Action to navigate to an Dashboard page. In this scenario, there is no "Return" option.

Is there a way to enable or create a link to navigate back to the Main Analysis and still capture the prompt values selected.

I found this option to add the below code to a Static Text view. However, it is not capturing the prompt values selected earlier.

<SPAN STYLE="position: relative; left:-4.5px;top:16.1px;">

<A href="javascript:history.back()">- Return</A>

</SPAN>

Please suggest.

Thanks,

Karthi

Jerry Casey

If you are always returning to the same Main Analysis page from your drill-down page (and that may not be your situation), you can place an action link on the drill-down that returns the prompt settings to your main analysis.

You'll have to include the prompt columns in your destination query, which means you'd have to have them available in the destination's data model, (which, again, may not be your situation). 

Depending on the complexity of your prompt, it may be worth trying.  Let me know if you want more details.  It's a little flaky, so I don't want to bother if it doesn't fit your situation.

Karthi_obiee

Thanks Jerry, for your response.

Yes, please share the details.

My scenario:

I have an analysis in the home page and 12 dashboard prompts.

When I select some prompts and hit go, I see the report filtered by the prompts. I get navigated to a different page to another report (which always displays one row depending filtering on the value passed to it from the main report and it does not contain the values selected in the main report) by clicking on some values in the report.

To navigate back to my Home Page, I clicked on the RETURN button which I created.
Now I do not see my prompt values which I selected previously, I see the default report.

Thanks,

Karthi

Jerry Casey

My method would be really tedious for a page with 12 prompts. I'd encourage you to seek other methods, but here it is in a nutshell:

Here's my main analysis. Note that in my prompt and in the query filter I have replaced blank spaces with a "_".

This is necessary in order to make the return action link work, and why I don't recommend this for a 12-prompt page.

{1}&Page=@{2}&Action=@{3}&col1=@{4}&val1=@{5}&psa1=@{6}

On the receiving end, my drill query is simply filtered on the PIN (WIN_DOT in this different data model).

Note the first two columns contain same altered versions of the Scope Group and Lead Unit, and the last column simply contains the word "Return".

That's where I've added this action link:

https://XXXXXXXXXX/analytics/saw.dll?Dashboard&PortalPath=@{1}&Page=@{2}&Action=@{3}&col1=@{4}&val1=@{5}&psa1=@{6}&col2=@{7}&val2=@{8}&psa2=@{9}

You'll need a col,val,psa triplet for every value you want to send back to the main page!  Still interested?  Read on...

Here's my target page:

                      

The "Return" button is simply a 3-column table with the "Returning columns" hidden.

When I click it, it returns the two values to the prompt on my Main page:

Not what you want for a 12 column prompt, but this works.

There should be a better way to replace the blanks with "%20", but I couldn't make it work.

Good luck!

Gianni Ceresa

Not having a system in front to check, but doesn't the breadcrumbs at the bottom of the page give you that by default?

Javascript to use browser "back" button is just like if you press the button in the browser itself: not fully compatible with how OBIEE is designed. There is too much javascript doing things to simply go back to the previous page and have it as you expect it.

The breadcrumbs keeps track of what has been done in pages and the various things (in theory).

SonPat99

Karthi,

You can try creating an Action Link on the dashboard directly, which will act as BACK button.

This has to be done on the re-directed dashboard.

Karthi_obiee

This is helpful, I am working on it will update once I implement it successfully

Thanks!

Karthi_obiee

Yes, OBIEE gives it by default in scenario 1.

However, in Scenario 2 there is no RETURN option given by default in OBIEE.

Scenario 1: Create an Action to navigate to an Analysis. In this scenario, I see a "Return" option in the drill down analysis which when clicked will navigate back to the Main analysis with all the prompt values selected earlier.

Scenario 2: Create an Action to navigate to a Dashboard page. In this scenario, there is no "Return" option.

Yes, you are correct the default RETURN button from OBIEE in scenario 1 keeps track of the history.

And the custom RETURN (<A href="javascript:history.back()">- Return</A>) button which I placed will only navigate to the previous page where I came from without tracking the history. (Which is not helping my cause)

Thanks!

Karthi_obiee

Hi,

I am able to go back to the previous report successfully but I am unable to capture the prompts values selected in the main report when navigating back to the main report from the drill down.

Thanks!

Karthi_obiee

Dear Jerry,

I am able to create the RETURN button with the required functionality.

Thanks you very much for the suggestion.

Online resources.

https://gerardnico.com/dat/obiee/obips/url_filter

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I am looking for an alternative solution using the ViewState, I will post it if I could do it.

https://docs.oracle.com/middleware/1221/biee/BIEIT/apiwebintegrate.htm#BIEIT359

ViewState. This controls the state of a report or dashboard in terms of initial values and actions that update the ViewState.

A report or dashboard normally starts with an empty ViewState, and subsequent actions update the ViewState. The ViewState enables you to apply initial values to a report or dashboard, after which you can apply a prompted URL or GO URL on top of the initial ViewState.

When the ViewState has no initial value, a Prompted URL or a GO URL is applied to an empty ViewState.

ViewState is temporary and applies for a specified time during a session. It becomes invalid after the session ends.You can configure the time within the current session during which the ViewState parameter is valid by editing the DiskExpireMinutes value in instanceconfig.xml in the XmlCacheDefaults element as follows:

<XmlCacheDefaults> <DiskExpireMinutes>1440</DiskExpireMinutes></XmlCacheDefaults> 

In Javascript use saw.view.getGlobalViewStateID() to obtain the viewStateID from the current page once the page has finished loading.

The following example enables you to display the view state in a div, by creating a text object in the dashboard editor or a static text view in an analysis, selecting the Contains HTML Markup checkbox, and entering the following script:

<div> <div id="idDisplaySink"/> <script>displayStateID = function() { setTimeout(function() { document.getElementById('idDisplaySink').innerHTML = saw.view.getGlobalViewStateID(); }, 50) }; displayStateID(); </script> </div> 

The following examples use the ViewState when state management is built into the application:

• To display a page with an empty view state:saw.dll?Go&Path=%2fShared%2fTest%2fSB2saw.dll?Go&Path=%2fShared%2fTest%2fSB2&ViewState=
• To display a page with an existing view state:saw.dll?Go&Path=%2fShared%2fTest%2fSB2&ViewState=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
• To print a page with an existing view state:saw.dll?Go&Path=%2fShared%2fTest%2fSB2&ViewState=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx&Action=print
• To display a page with an existing view state and to apply GO URL parameters to the current state:saw.dll?Go&Path=%2fShared%2fTest%2fSB2&ViewState=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx&Action=Navigate&P0=2&P1=cany&P2=Customers.Region&P3=1+e&P4=gt&P5="Sales%20Facts".Dollars&P6=1+20000000

Limitation:

You cannot use Action=Print and Action=Download, and supply GoURL or PURL parameters, when ViewState is also used.

Workaround:

You use Action=Navigate + GoURL or PURL parameters, then obtain the new ViewStateID, and then use Action=Print or Download + ViewState to print or download the desired contents.

Karthi