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Build clusters for columns

User_9K8KO

Hello there,

i have a question considering how users can include columns in the report. For one report we have now more than 50 columns (required from the customers). As there are too many columns, we are wondering, how it could be the easiest for the users to find the needed columns. The columns come from different subject areas, one idea of us is to build clusters on the columns, such that when users try to include one columns, they see a structure like:

column A

subject area A -> column B

include columns -> subject area B -> column C

-> column D

like a submenu /cluster of the columns. Is it possbile? Thank you for your reply in advance!

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Gianni Ceresa

What product are asking about?

You talk about report, which means you should be speaking about BI Publisher, but you talk about subject areas, presentation tables and presentation columns, which could mean you meant analysis instead of report.

Knowing exactly the context will make replies more precise.

User_9K8KO

https://community.oracle.com/tech/apps-infra/discussion/comment/16841716#Comment_16841716

Hi Gianni,

sorry for the confusion. I actually meant analysis instead of report.

Could you please kindly help me with this question? Thank you!

Gianni Ceresa

Not possible, the GUI works in just one way.

Presentation tables can be displayed as being in a "folder" (it's an empty presentation table acting as container for the other presentation tables and their columns).

This mean you could visually "help" users by grouping together things that are related, but it would be only inside a single subject area (you can't mix content from 2 subject areas when you build an analysis without using a union, which will work on one or the other subject area), and also only limited in terms of "visual help".

Finding the needed columns means to let your users know what your presentation tables and columns are. You can document them, but in the end the user should either make an effort to learn about it, or keep asking somebody else what is what and where.

Because building an analysis imply a minimum of knowledge of the business content the user is using, showing columns by presentation table actually cover that part because presentation table are meant to make sense in a business way (without any connection to the technical representation of data in the source), and also with name of the columns and their position you can help the users. But they still need to have an understand of the business anyway.

User_9K8KO

https://community.oracle.com/tech/apps-infra/discussion/comment/16841720#Comment_16841720

Hi Gianni,

thanks a lot for your reply and the detailed explanation.

I see, we cannot "mix" columns from different subject areas, but is it then possible, that we cluster the columns from one subject area? For example, i have an analysis with 50 columns from 10 tables in one subject area, and when users include a column, they see a structure like :

Or does your answer "the GUI works in just one way" apply to this qustion as well?

Thank you for your time and patience.

Gianni Ceresa

It does apply as well: you can't change the behavior of the GUI without heavy customization (that you don't want to do). You can try to display those columns somehow "grouped" (or at least one next the others) in the left pane, but there is no formal way to change what happen when you add your column to the criteria tab.

That's also because there isn't a single way to add a column: you can drag & drop from the left pane to the criteria tab (and there your request could fit), you can just double click a column in the left pane and this will add it (and here your request will already fit less because you would display things in a part of screen you don't have your mouse on), but what happen if somebody change the formula of a column to point to another? The column will be just like if another has been added, but displaying your "clustered" columns thing would not fit at all.

Document all subject area, express the relations and correlations between columns there, and if a user can't invest 5 minutes to read a document they maybe also shouldn't be allowed to create an analysis 🙄 (yeah, I know it's easy to say but you can't really tell them that )

User_9K8KO

https://community.oracle.com/tech/apps-infra/discussion/comment/16841927#Comment_16841927

It seems, it leaves us with no other options than telling the users to "learn" 😉

Thank you very much for the replies and have a nice day!

[Deleted User]

Well not really "no other option".

a) You always have the ability to group columns into topical presentation tables which group the columns and present more easily digestible subsets (just as Gianni said)

b) There's always the "Search" option where you can simply use type-ahead to find the column you want

Gianni Ceresa

I personally like the idea to tell users to "learn" : never a bad thing

[Deleted User]

They should, taht's for sure, but just a search field already goes a long way to make them happier while they're doing it.