Designer Express

Introduction

Hubble® is an integrated suite of performance management apps. It offers reporting, analytics and planning in a single, real-time solution that fully understands your ERP. Hubble is built on a simple idea - that things should be easy. Hubble integrates your critical business systems so end users at all levels of the organization have access to live data - extraordinarily fast. With this type of visibility, everyone can easily understand, manage and predict the business. Redundant processes disappear, and a high- performance business can emerge.

Designer users can create customizable content using JD Edwards and Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) data. Designer Express, also referred to as DX, enables Designer users to create new templates, through a simple user interface, over standard and custom ERP tables, virtual views and database views. In these templates, multiple joins can be created to multiple tables. Once a custom template is created, users can create reports from the template using standard Hubble functionality.

Note:
It is essential that Designer users who are developing custom reports are advanced users with an in- depth knowledge of ERP tables, fields and table joins.

Templates created by Designer users will be referred to as either custom templates, or simply as templates, throughout this document.

Hubble User Types

• Power Users - Can create ad hoc inquiries and reports using all features related to the report build process; can publish reports to Viewer users.
• Viewer Users - Have access to published reports through a controlled interface; can drill down through the data and can make selections as published by a Power user. Minimal training required.
• Designer Users - Have ability to create custom templates and have in-depth knowledge of ERP structures, table joins and data, plus advanced knowledge of Hubble. Power and Viewer users are then able to access these custom templates.

In addition to the above users, you will need to have an Administrator who is responsible for managing user accounts, database connections, and inquiry permissions. Unlike the user types listed above, an Administrator may not need to run inquiries, and so does not need a corresponding account with your ERP system.

Knowledge Required for Designer Users

The table below shows the knowledge required for Designer Users.

Available Features

Designer Users have many options in Designer Express, including the following:

• Users can create new templates based on multiple fact tables, virtual views or database views.
• There is no ‘double-counting’ of rows in calculated totals.
• Several join types can be used: inner, left outer, and right outer.
• Ability to create unions between tables that have identical fields.
• Option to select either inline or outline views.
• Can combine data regardless of the table relationship: one: one, one: many, many: one or many: many.
• Formatting options are used to define how to display repeating rows.
• Automatically resolving joins between numeric columns and string columns.
• Can join to the same table multiple times. This can be done only if the table has no amounts defined, for example:
  • PER_PEOPLE_F – EBS
  • F0101 – Address Book – JD Edwards
• Suggested Master Table joins are given based on the tables that being chosen, such as the F0006, F0101 and F4101 – JD Edwards only.
• There is full language support, except for amount columns – JD Edwards only.
• Currency-based decimal shifting is supported – JD Edwards only.
• There is automatic language support – EBS only.
• Ability to leverage standard reporting capabilities once a template has been saved, i.e.:
  • Descriptions
  • Hierarchies created manually (not imported)
  • Default Calculations
  • User-Defined Captions
  • Show SQL
  • Export to Excel/PDF
  • QBE, or Query by Example (other than for value columns if subtotaling is enabled)
  • Fixed value selectors
  • RIO, or Reusable Inquiry Objects (objects can be shared between custom reports and templates)
• Ability to use segment definitions such as the chart of account flex fields - EBS.
• Organization Security is applied automatically in custom reports for those tables that Hubble already maps to in our Standard Templates - EBS.
• Designer users have the ability to set column definitions as a report override or a customer default, the latter being applied to all custom reports.
• Also within the Column Definitions, Designers have the ability to manually define a table or fixed list lookup in order provide filter validation, Query Assist support, and Code & Description feature support to end users - EBS.
• When joining to the same table multiple times, Designers can re-label the tables so that the end user can easily distinguish them.
• Ability to define a primary (unique) key in the CustomerPK file located in the install directory.
• Designers can choose which table in a custom report is the 'first' table in the query to which all other tables are joined.
• The figure below shows the features available in our standard templates and Designer-created templates. If you are tasked with creating an inquiry, and are unsure whether a custom or standard inquiry is more appropriate, this chart may help you decide.

Many other custom reporting tools require specialized technical skills like a background in coding or SQL. Designer Express takes the technical complexity out of the process with a simple point-and-click experience. Ultimately, it enables you to create a report/template in minutes, not days.

Standard Templates are:

• Shipped with the product.
• Contain a fixed set of tables.
• Cannot add new tables.
• Cannot access custom tables.
• Often include business logic, i.e.:
  • Predefined period grouping (ITD, YTD, etc.)
  • Alternate Joins.
  • Reconciliation style templates that union tables and show orphan.
  • Joins that require adjustments to a field for joining (PO Number in AP to PO number in Purchasing).
  • Custom Templates are:
• Not shipped with the product.
• Created at your site.
• Can access any ERP tables.
• Can access custom tables and tables outside ERP.

Tip: Do not include ‘built in’ logic to handle module specific situations.

When first creating custom inquiries, we recommend a training workshop where one of our Product Specialists can take you through the process of building your first templates.

Setup in Administrator

Licensing

The license key being used must include a license for the Designer Express module. Then the appropriate license(s) must be assigned to the Designer users who will be using this feature via License Assignments.

There are three types of license keys related to Designer Express:

1. Designer Express (DX) - This license is for users who can access and create inquiries based on the templates created by users with a DXD license. When creating a new inquiry, users with this license will see the Designer Express category under New Inquiry within the Backstage view. All Designer-created templates are listed here.

   

2. Designer Express Designer (DXD) - This license is for advanced users who create new templates using Designer Express. Users with this license must also have a DX license as well as a Configurator license (CFG) in order to be able to create new templates. With these 3 licenses, users will see the Designer Express category under New Inquiry within the Backstage view. All Designer-created templates are listed here, as well as New Template, which is used to create a template from scratch.

   

3. Designer Express Data Entry (DXE) - This license is for users of Strategic Planning. This functionality enables end users to design a budget or forecasting input form using any table in JD Edwards incorporated with user-defined data collection columns that hold key driver information for robust modeling.

Designer Express and Scheduler

Reports that are created in Designer Express can be run automatically using Scheduler.

• Scheduler Admin/User: The person creating the task in Scheduler needs an SCH license but does not need any other license unless they are also going to be set as the Run-As user.
• Run-As User: If this user is a Power user, then they would need a DX license as well as the appropriate module license in order to run the report. If this user is an Viewer user, then they would only need a CON license, and can be set up as a Run-As user in release 2013.1 and above.

Data Source Profile

Existing Profiles in Administrator must be updated to incorporate additional information for creating custom templates. The first addition is in the Module Selection step as shown below, where Designer Express must be selected if this feature is to be available in this profile.

To update the profile:

1. Expand the Data Sources node in the left panel in Administrator.
2. Select the Profiles node under Data Sources.
3. Right-click on the specific Profile and select Edit to launch the profile wizard.
4. In the Module Selection screen, select the Designer Express (DX) and/or DX Data Entry (DXE) feature, depending on which you are using:

   

5. In the Select Additional Tables to Configure screen, define the specific information needed for this feature. (If using a JD Edwards Profile, the Object Librarian Master Table (F9860)/(F9801 for JD Edwards World) is where all objects are stored.)

   

   1. Connection (displays only for JD Edwards Profile) – Set how to connect to the F9860 table, whether it is the same Hubble Connection as that being used to connect to your ERP data, or whether it is a different Connection.
   2. Object Library (displays only for JD Edwards Profile) – Define where the Object Library Master Table (F9801 in World, F9860 in E1) resides. This table is used as a master list of all available tables in your ERP system. This table must be accessible in order to use create custom templates.
   3. Choose Tables – Define any tables or views you want to use in order to create custom templates. For tables, you only need to add those that are not currently within the standard templates.
      1. All available tables are listed in the left panel. To select tables, move them to the right panel either by using the arrows or double-clicking on the specific table in the left panel. Optionally, use the QBE to find any table in order to move it to the right panel. All tables in the right panel will be available within Designer Express.
      2. Click OK once all selections have been made.

         

         Tip: It is strongly recommended to only add the tables you need and not to add in all tables.

6. Click Next.
7. Once the tables are chosen, define the table locations in the profile in the Prefixes column.

   

   Note: DX is added to the module list for each table previously selected for use in DX.

8. Click Next.
9. Click Run Test to verify the chosen database and options:

   

10. Once the status comes back as “Success”, click Next and then Finish.

Another way to access the setup within the Profile wizard is to right-click on the appropriate profile and select Configure Additional Tables.

Capabilities

Capabilities are used to manage users’ access to functionality within Hubble such as being able to export data, build Hierarchies and Time Series, and other functional elements where you may wish to restrict capabilities to trained or authorized users. Some of these capabilities are relevant to Designer Express, for the example the Designer Express (DX) column properties, Enable Virtual Views, and Enable Variables in Virtual Views Advanced Capabilities.

Refer to the Administration & Configuration Guide for information on how to configure capabilities.

Backup and Restore Functionality

When using the backup and restore functions in Administrator, this does include the custom reports/ templates and their associated designer objects.

Importing and Exporting in Administrator

Designer-created reports can be imported and exported in Administrator in the same way that standard reports are imported and exported in Administrator. The measures (amounts or quantities) defined for custom tables are stored at the report level, so when you import/export the report, the Amount Metadata is within the rdf file for the measures the user has changed when the custom template was created. (For the measures defined in the Hubble Default or Customer Common libraries, those are retained in those libraries, not in the rdf file.)