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Design for Viewer Users

Within the Hubble Desktop interface, report designers can create reports that are published to Viewer users, who are then granted read permissions to the appropriate folder and inquiries. This allows them to view the inquiries.

By default, a Viewer user viewing a report does not have access to any of the filters in order to be able to make selections. The report designer decides whether this capability should be given to end users of the report. If the report designer wants to provide full or limited access to certain filters within the report, this can be done through the Explorer Filter Layout dialog. Power users must be assigned a Configurator or Viewer (Console) license to design reports for Viewer users.

Explorer Menu

The options in the Explorer menu are used to design reports for Viewer Users.

  • Explorer Preview: Preview the inquiry in Explorer Mode to see what it would look like for a Viewer user in the Web Interface.
  • Explorer Filter Layout: From within Explorer Preview, you can click Filter Layout to customize the filters for Viewer users.
  • Default Drill Link: The link that will be used as the default, meaning when a Viewer user double- clicks on a value, that link will be used.
  • User Defined Filters: Define and save pre-set filter criteria to be used in inquiries.
  • QBE: Show/hide the Query by Example, or QBE line, for Viewer users or those using Reconciler.
  • Additional Selections: Enable/disable the Make Selections tab in Filter Selections.

Explorer Preview Mode

Once a report has been completed and even as it is being built, a user can preview how the report will look and work, should it be provided to a Viewer user. This is done by clicking on the Explorer Preview button on the Explorer menu. This visually changes the settings for the report so that you now view the report as if you were a Viewer user in the Web Interface.

This is a report in normal inquiry mode:

This is the same report with ExplorerPreview turned on. Notice that all of the filters have been removed and white space has been introduced. Two filter controls have been specified by the Power User. The report is in design mode, yet is interactive and real time.

Each time ExplorerPreview is switched on, it is necessary to re-run the inquiry. At this stage, the report remains completely interactive. It means that all of the toolbar features are still available and changes can be made to the report at any time. Any changes that are made are retained when switching back out of Explorer Preview and are applied in the standard Inquiry Mode, so none of your changes are lost.

Viewing as a Viewer User

To view an inquiry as a Viewer user:

  1. Within Hubble, at any time you can view how the report would look for Viewer users in the Web Interface, also known as being in ExplorerMode.
  2. Open your report.
  3. On the Explorer menu, in the Explorer group, click Explorer Preview.
  4. Optionally, you can go to Explorer Filter Layout from within Explorer Preview in order to change the Filter Layout for a Viewer User.
  5. To exit Publish Explorer Preview, click on Explorer Preview again.

Explorer Filter Layout

Explorer Filter Layout provides a way for Power users to design reports for Viewer users, specifically through the addition/modification of filters within the inquiry.

The Explorer Filter Layout dialog is split into two sections. On the left panel is a list of all the different filters that can be accessed and all of the different controls that can be used. On the right-hand side is a panel that allows you to design the layout of all the filters.

Designing a report within Explorer Filter Layout works the same as it does in standard Filter Layout. Please refer to that section for specific steps on designing inquiries. The only difference is that the Explorer Filter Layout is used for designing inquiries for Viewer users whereas Filter Layout is used for designing inquiries for Power users.

Note: Note that group filters do not display on the web. Therefore in Explorer Filter Layout, in lieu of using any group filters, you can create a separate standard filter for any specific field you wish to have in the layout.

Notes Specific to Designing Reports for Viewer Users

Displaying the Column Description

There are two ways to set the description to display for a column filter. Once these are set by a Power user, they can be viewed by Power and Viewer users.

From within Explorer Filter Layout:

  1. On the Explorer menu, in the Explorer group, click on Explorer Preview and then Explorer Filter Layout.
  2. Add a filter to the Workspace Area.
  3. Right-click on the filter and select Show Descriptions.

From within an inquiry:

  1. Right-click on the filter for which you would like to display the description.
  2. Select Show Descriptions in Filter.
  3. You can also select Show Descriptions in Grid if you would like these descriptions to appear there as well.

*If either the Show Descriptions in Filter or Show Descriptions in Grid options are NOT selected, the code for that column will be displayed.

Null and Non-matching Values

If publishing a filter for Viewer users that you want to have null and include non-matching filter values applied to, you will need to follow these steps:

  1. Within Explorer Preview mode, go into Explorer Filter Layout and enable Always Include Nulls on the filter. (If you don’t do this step, the Viewer user will be able to change this in the filter themselves and therefore change the data results returned.)

  2. Still in Explorer Preview mode, enable Include Non-Matching on the filter.

Viewer Inquiry Options

Please refer to the Inquiry Options section for detailed information on this.

Selectors in Explorer View

Selectors can be used in reports designed for Viewer users. They provide a means of limiting inquiry settings and providing security. This can be done through the use of Fixed Value type selectors, where users are limited to choosing from the available values in the selector.

Once a selector is added to Explorer Filter Layout, Viewer users will only have the ability to change the filter value by the provided Selector control box. Additionally they will be limited to the values chosen within the Fixed Value type selector.

If the selector is a RIO object and RIO Options are set such that the current value is subscribed to RIO, the Viewer user will be presented with a dialog when trying to change the current value. The two options to choose from are the following:

  1. Cancel the changes.
  2. Unsubscribe the object from the Reusable Inquiry Objects and update this inquiry’s version only.

How a Viewer user changes the available value for a selector:

  1. From the Home menu in the Filters group, click Choose Selectors.
  2. If the RIO Options for the selector have been set so that users are able to change the current value in the selector, you will see a drop-down menu to the right of the selector where they can choose a current value.
  3. If the RIO Options for the selector have been set so that users are not able to change the current value in the selector, you will see the value of the selector but not be able to change it.

In the below example, the PDSELECTOR is set so that you can change the current value, however BUSELECTOR is set so that you cannot change the current value.

If the selector is a separate filter in the inquiry, the same principle applies; if RIO Options are set to only subscribe the available values of the selector, the Viewer user can change the current value of the selector.

However, if the inquiry designer has set RIO Options so that both available values and the current value are subscribed to RIO, the Viewer user is prompted to cancel the changes or unsubscribe the selector from RIO and update that inquiry only.

Loading Behavior Explorer Options

When loading an inquiry, Hubble analyzes the security in the ERP system for that user. If there is security that conflicts with a filter’s values, the specific filter value will be removed. Alternatively in the case of there being no other values in the filter post-removal, the filter will default to a wildcard or asterisk (*), indicating all values will be returned.

Report designers set how the loading behavior will work for Viewer users when filter selections contradict that user’s security.

The loading behavior options include:

  1. Don’t warn or deny - the inquiry will load without any warnings. Any values in the filters that are in conflict with the ERP system’s security will be removed. If this was the only value, the filter will be populated with a *.
  2. Warn users when any filter selections have been changed - the user will be prompted with a warning message if there are values in the filters that conflict with the ERP system’s security. The warning message states “Some filters have been changed due to security requirements. The report may look different as a result.”
  3. Deny loading when any filter selection have been changed to a * - the user will not be able to load the report if the removal of a value results in a * in the filter. If this occurs, the user will be prompted with a message that states, “You do not have access to the data required for this report.”
  4. Deny loading on any changed filter selection - the user will not be able to load the inquiry if any filter values conflict with the ERP system’s security. If this occurs, the user will be prompted with a message stating, “You do not have access to some of the data required for this report.”

The default Loading Behavior setting can be defined either of these places:

  1. In Hubble: In the Home menu, in the Output group, click Inquiry Options. In the General tab, use the drop-down under Explorer Options to make your selection.
  2. In Hubble Administrator: In Advanced Capabilities under Options > EC Load Behavior. At whichever group or user level you wish to change this for, set Editable = Yes and change the value to whichever you wish the default option setting to be.

Unit of Measure (UOM) Conversion Solution

JD Edwards provides the ability to process inventory-related transactions in multiple units of measure (UOM). For example, your Purchasing Department purchases a certain inventory item by the case, Inventory stores it in by the each, and Sales sells it by the box. The different UOM transactions make it difficult to compare the transactions in an ‘apples to apples’ manner. Our automated UOM Conversion Solution for JD Edwards ERP users allows transactions in different UOMs to be converted to a common UOM. This allows the transactions to be properly totaled.

There are two requirements for the UOM Conversion Solution:

  1. Item UOM Conversions (F41002) are configured without any conflicts.
  2. No duplicate Standard UOM Conversions exist.

The solution is available in the below listed templates:

  • Inventory:
    • UOM Conversion for Item As Of Balances
    • UOM Conversion for Item Ledger Transactions
    • UOM Conversion for Item Location Balances
  • Purchasing:
    • UOM Conversion for Purchase Order Details
    • UOM Conversion for Purchase Order Receipts
  • Sales:
    • UOM Conversion for Sales Order Detail
    • UOM Conversion for Transportation
  • Master Data:
    • UOM - Item UOM Conversion
    • UOM - Standard UOM Conversion
    • UOM Integrity for Item UOM
    • UOM Integrity for Standard UOM

A unit of measure conversion defines the conversion factor from one unit to another unit. Our UOM Conversion Templates have a UOM Conversion filter that is used to select the common UOM to which transaction quantities or primary UOM quantities will be converted. The filter displays values based from the UOM configuration in UDC 00/UM.

The UOM Conversion filter is a drop-down list so only one UOM can be selected. It is not possible to select multiple units of measure and pivot the UOM Conversion filter.

The UOM Conversion header filter includes a coded option called ‘None’ which does not exist in the UDC 00/UM. When ’None’ is selected, the UOM Conversion functionality does not execute. It also means the following:

  • UOM Conversion Factor will equal 1.0000000.
  • Converted UOM will be the same as the transaction UOM or primary UOM.
  • Converted UOM Quantities will be the same as the transaction or balances quantity.
  • Converted UOM Unit Cost and Unit Price will be the same as the transaction Unit Cost and Unit Price.

Identifying Integrity Issues in JD Edwards

Our integrity templates in the Master Data module only bring back data when there is a UOM conversion conflict in your JD Edwards data.

Note: Any integrity issues found must be fixed in your JD Edwards data in order for a UOM Conversion Factor to be calculated in Hubble.

UOM Integrity for Item UOM

This template provides access to the Item UOM Conversion Integrity Check (F41002) to display conversions that have conflicts converting to the item’s primary UOM. The below example shows 2 items with a conflict in their UOM conversion factor, with the conflicting conversion factor highlighted in orange:

UOM Integrity for Standard UOM

This template provides access to the Standard UOM Conversion Integrity Check (F41003) to display duplicates conversions for unit of measures.

In the example below, we see 1 box=100 eaches, but then 1 each=0.15 box (it should be 0.01 based on the first conversion). On the next line, 1 drum=15 hectoliters, but then 1 hectoliter=7 drums (should be 0.0666667 based on the first conversion).

Including or Excluding the Standard UOM Conversion (F41003)

In our UOM Conversion Templates, you can designate whether to include or exclude the Standard UOM Conversion (F41003) to determine the UOM Conversion Factor.

  1. From the Home menu, in the Options group, click Inquiry Options.
  2. Go to the Advanced tab.
  3. Click the drop-down menu next to the option Include Standard UOM Conversion (F41003) to designate whether or not to include this conversion in that specific inquiry.

Columns Displaying the UOM Conversion Data

You can add Hubble-coded columns to display your UOM conversion data when used with the Item UOM Conversion filter control. These columns are available only in Hubble and not stored in JD Edwards.

Because these are Hubble-created report columns, they are not associated to the table on the database.

Details of each column are listed below. Most are available by going to More Columns (from the Design menu > Columns, Sorting and Grouping), however one is added via the Amounts filter.

UOM Conversion Factor - The UOM Conversion Factor is calculated by reading the Item UOM Conversion table (F41002) and the Standard UOM Conversion table (F41003), and is based on the Transaction UOM or the Primary UOM and the UOM Conversion selected in the header filter.

This grid column is available in More Columns and is associated to the fact table for the template as xxVALN.

Converted UOM

The Converted UOM dynamically displays the same UOM selected in the UOM Conversion header filter for exports to Microsoft Excel and PDF. The grid column is available in More Columns and is associated to the fact table for the template as xxBSTT.

Converted UOM – Fact Table Quantity

The Converted UOM – Fact Table Quantity is the fact table’s converted transaction quantities or the fact table’s converted primary UOM quantities. The grid column is available in the Amounts filter under the UOM Conversion tab as UOMxxxx, where xxxx is the fact table column alias for the quantity. This is the example from the UOM Conversion tab for Item Ledger Transactions template:

This is the example from the UOM Conversion tab for Sales Order Detail template:

Please note that the Purchasing UOM Conversion for Purchase Order Detail and UOM Conversion for Purchase Order Receipts do not have the UOM Conversion tab. In those templates, the UOMxxxx quantities are available under the All tab.

Converted UOM – Unit Cost

The Converted UOM – Unit Cost is the fact table’s converted transaction unit cost (xxUNCS) or the fact table’s converted primary UOM unit cost (F4105.COUNCS).

This grid column is available in More Columns and is associated to the fact table for the template as xxAMTS.

Converted UOM – Unit Price

This UOM Conversion is for Sales Order Detail ONLY

The Converted UOM – Unit Price is the Sales Order Detail converted transaction unit price (SDUPRC). This grid column is available in More Columns and is associated to the fact table for the template as SDFT2.

UOM Conversion Factor Discrepancy

A UOM Conversion Factor of 0.0000000 or 0.00 displays in the report results when UOM Conversion Factors conflict as shown below:

In this example, there is conflicting data set up in JD Edwards and there are actually 2 different conversion factors set for this item. Hubble cannot return the multiple UOM Conversion Factors from JD

Edwards as this would double the fact table line, which would double the fact table amounts. As a result, the UOM Conversion Factor displays as 0.0000000 or 0.00.

UOM Conversion Examples

Sample Report: UOM Conversion for Item Ledger Transactions

Template provides functionality to convert Item Ledger Transactions processed in different UOM to a common UOM (F4111). Transaction UOM = F4111.ILTRUM

In the report shown below, the various transactions for this item are in boxes, cases, and eaches. The UOM Conversion is box, so in the last column, the quantities are all in boxes. The total for this item is 274.29 boxes.

Sample Report: UOM Conversion for Item Location Balances

Template provides functionality to convert the Item Location Balances from the primary UOM to a converted UOM (F41021). Primary UOM = F4101.IMUOM1

In the report shown below, the primary UOM is each, but we are converting the balances into boxes for a total of 274.29 boxes.

Sample Report: UOM Conversion for Item As Of Balances

Template provides functionality to convert the Item As Of Balances from the primary UOM to a converted UOM (F41112). Primary UOM = F4101.IMUOM1

In the report shown below, we see the primary UOM for the item is each. Converted into boxes, the total quantity in the F41112 is 274.29 boxes.

Sample Report: UOM Conversion for Purchase Order Details

Template provides functionality to convert Purchase Order Detail Transactions processed in different UOM to a common UOM (F4311). Transaction UOM = F4311.PRUOM

In the report shown below, the item is in multiple units of measure on the various purchase orders: eaches, boxes, and cases. The total order quantity for all orders, in boxes, is 182.86.

Sample Report: UOM Conversion for Purchase Order Receipts

Template provides functionality to convert Purchase Order Receipt Transactions processed in different UOM to a common UOM (F43121). Transaction UOM = F43121.PRUOM

The below report shows purchase order receipts in various units of measure, boxes, cases and eaches. However when shown in a common unit of measure of box, there are 182.86 boxes in total.

Sample Report: UOM Conversion for Sales Order Detail

Template provides functionality to convert Sales Order Detail Transactions processed in different UOM to a common UOM (F4211 and F42119). Transaction UOM = F4211/F42119.SDUOM

The report below shows sales orders, all done in various units of measures: boxes, cases, eaches. When converted into a common unit of measure of box, there are 182.86 boxes in total.

Sample Report: UOM Conversion for Transportation

Template provides functionality to convert Sales Order Transportation Transactions processed in different UOM to a common UOM (F4942). Transaction UOM = F4211/F42119.SDUOM

The report below shows shipments in boxes, cases and eaches. In the common unit of measure of each, the total quantity shipped is 550. Note that because there is a unit of measure conflict with the first 2 items, there is no UOM Conversion factor and therefore no conversion is being done.

UOM Conversion by Branch Plant

JD Edwards has a system-wide constant that determines if Item UOM Conversions are defined at the item level or at the item/branch plant level. This system constant means that all items are set up the same way in that either the Item UOM conversion is done at the item level OR the item/branch plant level.

Within Administrator, you can set this option to match your JD Edwards Constant. This setting is called UOM Conversion by Branch Plant, and is found in a JD Edwards profile in the Options form within the Options tab:

  • When the setting is disabled, the UOM Conversion Factor will look for an Item UOM Conversion at the item level.
  • When the setting is enabled, the UOM Conversion Factor will look for an Item UOM Conversion at the item/branch plant level.

Item UOM Conversion

Hubble follows the same item hierarchy as JD Edwards; if a conversion for the item is found in the Item UOM Conversion table (F41002), that is what is used in Hubble. If no item-specific conversion is found, the Standard UOM Conversion table (F41003) is used.