You must be logged into the Business Intelligence User Console. Follow the instructions below to create a new dashboard:
1. In the Business Intelligence User Console Home page, click Create New and select Dashboard. Alternatively, you can click File > New > Dashboard. The New Dashboard page appears.
2. In the edit pane (lower portion of the page), click the Properties tab, and enter a title for your dashboard page in the Page Title text box. The name you entered appears on the top of the dashboard. This name helps you identify the page if you want to edit, copy, or delete it later.
3. Click the Templates tab, to select a dashboard layout. A blank dashboard with the layout you selected appears.
4. Click the Themes tab to select a theme for your dashboard. The theme you selected is applied to your dashboard.
You now have the basic framework for a Business Intelligence dashboard.
Working with the Chart Designer
The Chart Designer allows you to create bar, pie, line, dial, and area charts that can be added to a dashboard. Below are the general steps associated with creating a chart:
1. Select a data source.
2. Build a query.
3. Set the data definitions: values, series, and category.
4. Select a chart type and theme.
5. Enter labels for the chart title, and x,y axes.
6. If applicable, adjust scaling and label rotation.
7. Place your chart in the dashboard.
8. Save your dashboard.
If you are new to charting, here are some minimal guidelines that may help you determine what type of chart is best suited for the data you want to present in your dashboard:
Bar Charts
If you want to compare items during a specific time period, consider using a bar chart. Key words to think about when creating a bar chart are compare or rank. For example if you want to compare items sold to show which one made the most profit, you might create a bar chart that ranks the products from the lowest to highest profit. The bar's length determines its ranking; the label identifies the item. Bar chart data can be presented horizontally or vertically depending on your requirements.
Pie Charts
If you are comparing parts of a whole, consider using a pie chart. Key words associated with charts include, portion, share, and percentage. If for example, you want to demonstrate the proportion of the company's budget spent on health insurance, use a pie chart. To make the chart easier to read limit the number of slices to five. Pie charts can also be exploded, which means certain slices are pulled away from the remainder of the chart for emphasis.
Line Charts
Line charts are useful for showing changes over time. Key words associated with data that is best suited for a line chart are trend, growth, and decline. If, for example, you want to show how product sales have changed over five years, use a line chart. The slope of the line helps users quickly identify the direction of the trend.
Dial Charts
Dial charts are often associated with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Dial charts are circular and contain a scale, a needle, and one or more a dial sectors. The dial sector is used to identify a specified area on a dial chart using a particular color. For example, you could have a dial plotting inventory with a minimum dial value of 10000 and a maximum dial value of 50000. There could be a red dial sector for the region between 2000 and 4000 indicating that if the needle is in this area, there is a danger of a supply inventory shortage.
Area Charts
Area charts can be used to show a comparison of the same thing during different points in time. Area charts are not designed to provide exact data but they do give users visual clues of the relative sizes of the items they are representing.
Adding Data to a Chart
Before you can start creating a chart you must select a data source that contains the data you want to use. You must then define the data that will be displayed in the chart.
Note: If you are unsure what chart type is best for displaying your data, see the section above.
Follow the instructions below to add data to your chart:
1. In the Dashboard, choose a dashboard panel and click (Insert content) and select Chart. The Select Data Source dialog appears.
2. Select the data source from the list of available choices. The data source contains the content you want to display in your chart. The Query Editor appears.
3. The Query Editor allows you to retrieve dynamic data from a database for display in a chart. Defining your query is the first step in ensuring that the correct data is selected. In the Query Editor, click (+) next to a category name to display its associated table columns.
4. Click the small green arrow to place the column name under Selected Columns. In the example below, the Entry Point Name column has been selected and moved under Selected Columns. Notice that the column names appear under Selected Columns. Continue adding columns as needed.
5. Now add the Conditions; these are your constraints that filter what you are selecting. You can add multiple conditions. In the example below, the search is limited to time.
Under Combine, you can select your constraint (and, or, and not, or not) from the drop-down list. Under Comparisons you can click the drop-down list to display options for comparisons, =, <, >, and so on. You can also select an aggregation type from the drop-down list for table columns that contain numeric data. The table below contains a definition for each aggregate type:
Aggregate Type
Description
SUM
Sums a column's values
COUNT
Counts a column's values
AVG
Averages a column's values
MIN
Selects the minimum column value
MAX
Selects the maximum column value
Note: Click Preview at any time to view the data associated with your query.
6. Add the columns that you want to Order By. The ordering of the selected data is accomplished by one or more columns in a table. For example, you can sort the data by Customer name and address.
7. Click OK in the Query Editor when you are done. The Chart Designer window appears.
8. Under Data, click the drop-down arrows to display and select the table columns:
Data Definition
Description
Series Column
Series show up as the individual columns on a bar chart and as individual lines in a line chart. Area charts display each series as a point.
Category Column
Categories are displayed as bars or groups of bars on the x-axis (horizontal axis). In line charts, categories are usually associated with time periods. In area charts, the x-axis displays the category labels.
Note: If you do not want to display categories, select None.
Values Column
The value is always numeric. The value determines the height of columns in a bar chart and the height of lines in a line chart. In area charts, the y-axis values determine the heights of the points.
A preview of the chart appears, as you select your options.
9. Under Chart Type, click on a chart type to select it.
Note: By default, pie and dial charts display in "animated" Flash mode. You can turn animation off by disabling the Animated check box in the Chart Designer. Animated charts bring focus to important aspects of your data. For example, animation allows you to bring out a data point if it reaches a critical value, such as high or low sales numbers.
If you selected a pie or dial chart, see the sections below: Working with Pie Charts or Working with Dial Charts, respectively.
10. Under Theme, select a theme from the list. The theme is applied to your chart.
11. Enter the labels for the Chart Title, X Axis Title (horizontal axis), and Y Axis Title (vertical axis). Entries are displayed in the chart preview.
12. Click Apply to see the chart preview.
13. Click OK display your chart in the dashboard panel.
Working with Pie Charts
A pie chart gives dashboard consumers an immediate visual clue of the relative sizes of the shares of a whole. Categories are represented by individual slices. The size of the slice in a pie chart is determined by the value.
You can animate a pie chart if you want its pieces to be exploded, which means that the individual slices of the pie can be pulled away from the rest of the pie.
To animate a pie, enable Animated check box in the Chart Designer window.
Working with Dial Charts
For dial charts to display correctly, you must enter values for your range and the chart title. In the example below, the dial chart preview is displaying ranges associated with sales. Notice that each dial sector is represented by a color, red, yellow, or green. The needle is positioned in the 220796.48 range, indicating that total orders, while not stellar, are not near the danger zone indicated by the red sector in the dial.
Changing Dial Sector Colors
You can change the color of a dial sector by clicking the small down arrow in the color boxes associated with Range. Select a color from the palette so that you can preview it on your dial chart. Click Apply to preview your dial chart. Click Ok to place your dial chart into the dashboard.
Correcting Scaling Issues
Use the scaling feature in instances where numeric values in a chart are so long that they affect the display.
1. Preview your chart in the Chart Designer.
2. Under Scale, click to display the drop-down list of scaling options. In the example below, the scaling option used is "1000." Notice the change in the display of numeric values when scaling is applied. Users of the chart can see actual values when they hover over the bars in the chart.
3. Click OK to display the chart in the dashboard.
Note: The scaling feature is available for all chart types, except pie.
Rotating Chart Axis Labels
If your chart axis labels become unreadable because they are too long, Label Rotation may correct the problem.
1. In the Chart Designer window, display your chart.
2. Under Label Rotation, select Diagonal or Vertical and click Apply. The labels display with the rotation you set.
3. Click OK to display the chart in the dashboard panel.
Editing a Chart
Follow the instructions below to edit a chart.
1. In the Dashboard Designer, select the panel that is displaying the chart you want to edit.
2. In the upper right corner of the panel, click (Edit). The Chart Designer appears.
3. Click Edit Query. The Query Editor opens.
4. Edit the query as needed and click OK. The Chart Designer appears.
5. Select the appropriate data definitions to build the chart.
6. If applicable, change the chart type and theme and click Apply to see a preview of the edited chart.
7. Click OK to display the chart in the dashboard.
Adding a Data Table to a Dashboard
The Data Table feature allows you to display a tabular representation of a database query in a dashboard. It also allows you and consumers of the dashboard to manipulate the display of the data in the data table, while in the dashboard. For example, users can resize, sort, and change the order of columns. Follow the instructions below to add a data table to your dashboard.
1. Select a panel in the Dashboard Designer.
2. Click (Insert) and select Data Table. The Select a Data Source dialog box appears.
3. Select a data source from the list of available data sources and click OK. The Query Editor opens.
4. Begin building your query. Click (+) next to the category name to display its associated table columns. When the column names appear, click to select the column that contains the data you want displayed in your data table.
5. Click the small green arrow to place the column name under Selected Columns.
6. Now add the Conditions; these are your constraints that filter what you are selecting. You can add multiple conditions. Under Combine, you can select your constraint (and, or, and not, or not) from the drop-down list. Under Comparisons you can click the drop-down list to display options for comparisons, =, <, >, and so on; (for example, where the Customer number is equal to 144 or 145). You can also select an aggregation type from the drop-down list for table columns that contain numeric data. The table below contains a definition for each aggregate type:
Aggregate Type
Description
SUM
Sums a column's values
COUNT
Counts a column's values
AVG
Averages a column's values
MIN
Selects the minimum column value
MAX
Selects the maximum column value
Note: Click Preview at any time to view the data associated with your query.
7. Add the columns that you want to Order By. The ordering of the selected data is accomplished by one or more columns in a table. For example, you can sort the data by Customer name and address.
8. Click OK in the Query Editor when you are done. The Data Table appears in the dashboard panel.
Updating the Data Table Display
You can edit the data table display directly in the dashboard panel.
Sorting Column Data
To change the sort order data under a column, click the drop-down arrow in the header and choose Sort Ascending or Sort Descending. You can also hide one or more columns by disabling the appropriate check boxes next to the column names.
Adjusting Column Width
You can adjust the width of a column by clicking the right border of the column header and dragging it to the right or left. Release the mouse button when you are done.
Moving Columns
To move the placement of a column, click and drag the column it to the appropriate location in the Data Table as shown in the example below:
Paginating
The pagination feature allows you to page through a large number of records.
Adding a Report Designer Report to a Dashboard
Follow the instructions below to add a report created with Report Designer.
1. Select a panel in the Dashboard Designer.
2. Click (Insert) and select File. A browser window opens.
3. Locate the appropriate report file.
Click Select to place the report inside the dashboard panel. Pagination control arrows at the top of a report allow you to scroll through long reports. Notice that the report file name, Inventory.prpt, appears under Content: in the dashboard edit pane in the sample below. This sample report contains parameters. You can enter values manually and link them to a dashboard filter in the text boxes under Source. When the report renders again, the parameter value(s) you entered are included in the report.
Important: If you select a Report Designer file to place in a dashboard, but do not supply values for required parameters, the report will show up blank.
Adding an Action Sequence to a Dashboard
Follow the instructions below to display the contents of an .xaction file in a dashboard.
Note: Generally, .xaction files are provided to you by an administrator. An .xaction file may contain a report, a chart, or other type of content.
1. Select a panel in the Dashboard Designer.
2. Click (Insert) and select File. A browser window opens.
3. Locate the appropriate .xaction file.
4. Click Selectto place the contents of the file inside the dashboard panel. Notice that the file name appears under Content: in the dashboard edit pane of the sample below.
5. Save your dashboard.
Adding an Analysis Report to a Dashboard
Follow the instructions below to display an Analysis report in a dashboard.
1. Select a panel in the Dashboard Designer.
2. Click (Insert) and select File. A browser window opens.
3. Locate the appropriate Analysis report and click Select. The Analysis Report appears inside the dashboard panel.
Adding a Web Site to a Dashboard
Follow the instructions below to display contents of a Web site in a dashboard panel. You may need administrator privileges to display Web site content in a dashboard.
1. Select a panel in the Dashboard Designer.
2. Click (Insert) and select URL. The Enter Web site dialog appears.
3. Enter the Web site URL in the text box and click OK.
(Insert content) and select Chart. The Select Data Source dialog appears. 
(Edit). The Chart Designer appears. 
(Insert) and select Data Table. The Select a Data Source dialog box appears. 
