Publishing Report Templates And Batches

When you are finished working on a template, you need to make it available to the people in your company. To make a template available for use, you publish it.

Publishing report templates

To make a template available to other users, you need to publish it.

Preparing to publish a report template

Do not rush to publish before a template is complete. If you have to make changes to a template that has already been published, you have to republish it as well, so that the changes are available to users.

Caution: If you publish a template that contains errors or omissions, and your user population starts to use it, logistical issues can result if you have to modify and republish the template at a later time. Before publishing a template, be sure to test it thoroughly to ensure its completeness and accuracy.

Editing dimension and symbol control

When you create a report template, you can specify the level of symbol control that users have in the published version of that report template.

For more information, see Saving a report template - Report Publishers.

You may want to keep tight control of the dimensions and symbols used in the report. Alternatively, you may prefer to give users the ability to make some choices on their own.

The way in which you establish the level of control is by specifying whether dimensions are frozen and drillable:

• A frozen dimension is one in which the Report Publisher selects the symbols that can be used by the Report User.
• A drillable dimension is one in which the Report User has the ability to expand and collapse the symbol hierarchies within it.

Depending on the combination you select, you can specify the choices of the Report User.

Note: To force Report Users to make symbol selections when opening a template, you can leave any of the down, across, and fixed dimensions blank when publishing.

To specify the Report Users’ level of symbol control in a report template, follow these steps.

1. Open the report template. For more information, see Opening a report template - Report Publishers.

   

2. Choose Edit > Frozen Symbols. The Select Frozen Dimensions dialog appears.

   

3. For each dimension you want to change, complete these fields, as per the table in the introduction to this section:

   Field	Description
   Frozen	Select this field to specify that the dimension is frozen.
   Drillable	If Frozen is cleared for this dimension, this field is automatically selected and cannot be cleared. Select this field to specify that the dimension is drillable.
   Available Symbols	This field is available only if Frozen is cleared for this dimension. This field is unavailable for Schedule dimensions. Click the symbol selector button ( ... ) and use the Available Symbol Selection dialog to specify the symbols that are available to Report Users in the Symbol Selections dialog in the template. If you do not specify any symbols for this field, all symbols that Report Users have access to in the dimension are available. Note: The symbols specified for this field should include the symbols selected for the template in Specifying orientation and symbols in a template. If a symbol is selected in the template and is not specified as an available symbol, Report Users cannot reselect it if they remove it in the Symbol Selections dialog.
   Resolution Depth	This field is available only if Frozen is selected for this dimension. Specify the number of levels to go down in the hierarchy until a symbol the Report User has access to is reached. This number is only applicable when a template is set to use a symbol above the Report User’s access in the hierarchy. This number may be entered manually (valid values are from 0 to 99) or can be selected by clicking the cell and selecting the number from the drop-down list. The default value for this field is 99.

4. Click OK. The report template appears.
5. Save the report template.

Publishing a report template

When you are finished working on a report template, you need to make it available to the people in your company. To make a report template available for use, you publish it.

When you publish a report template to the database, any unsaved changes are automatically saved to the local version of the template as well.

From the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog

To publish a template from the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog, follow these steps.

1. Make sure the dimension and symbol control settings are properly defined in the template. For more information, see Editing dimension and symbol control.
2. Open the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog and click the Template stab. A list of templates appears.

   

   Files are listed numerically and alphabetically. If a template has been published, the groups to which it has been published appear in the Published to groups column.

3. To see all of your existing templates, select Any group in the Templates published to field.
4. Select the template you want to publish. You can select more than one by holding down the Ctrl key while making your selections.
5. Choose File > Publish, and do one of the following:
   • If you selected only one template in step 4, or multiple templates that were originally published to exactly the same groups, the Publish Template dialog appears.

     

     Proceed to step 6.

   • If you selected more than one template in step 4, and those templates were originally published to different groups, the Publish Templates dialog appears listing the templates you selected, and the groups to which they were originally published.

     

     If you are happy with these settings, click OK. The templates are published to the groups listed in the Published to groups field, and the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog appears.

     Otherwise, click Cancel. The Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog appears. Return to the beginning of this procedure.

6. In the Do not publish to groups field, select the groups to which you want to publish the template, and move them to the Publish to groups field using the right arrow button. You can select more than one group at a time by holding down the Ctrl key while making your selections.

   Note: The groups that appear in these fields represent all groups to which the Report Publisher belongs (not necessarily all groups on the application database).

7. Click OK. The Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog appears. The groups to which the template has been published appear in the Published to groups column.

   

From the view window

To publish a template from the view window, follow these steps.

1. If you have not already saved the view as a report template, do so now. For more information, see Saving a report template - Report Publishers.
2. Make sure the dimension and symbol control settings are properly defined. For more information, see Editing dimension and symbol control.
3. In the view window, choose File > Publish/Unpublish. The Publish/Unpublish Template dialog appears.

   

4. In the Do not publish to groups field, select the groups to which you want to publish the template, and move them to the Publish to groups field using the right arrow button. You can select more than one group at a time by holding down the Ctrl key while making your selections.

   Note: The groups that appear in these fields represent all groups to which the Publisher belongs (not necessarily all groups on the application database).

5. Click OK. The template is published, and the view reappears.

Unpublishing a report template

The Report Publisher may need to edit a published template from time to time. To edit a published template, you should make it temporarily unavailable for use, so that users do not start to use the incorrect published version. To do so, you unpublish it.

If you want to keep a copy of a template for future use, make sure to open the template first, before unpublishing. When you open the template, you automatically create a copy on your hard drive.

Caution: If you unpublish a report template associated with a workflow process, and users try to access the template through the process, they will see an error message.

To unpublish a published template, follow these steps.

1. Open the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog and click the Template stab. A list of templates appears.

   

   Files are listed numerically and alphabetically. If a template has been published, the groups to which it has been published appear in the Published to groups column.

2. For Templates published to select the group to which you published the report template that you now want to unpublish. A list of report templates published to that group appears. For a list of all your existing report templates, select Any group.
3. Select the template you want to unpublish. You can select more than one by holding down the Ctrl key while making your selections.
4. Choose File > Unpublish, and do one of the following:
   • If you selected only one template in step 3, or multiple templates that were originally published to exactly the same groups, the Unpublish Template dialog appears.

     

     Proceed to step 5.

   • If you selected more than one template in step 3, and those templates were originally published to different groups, the Unpublish Templates dialog appears listing the templates you selected, and the groups to which they were originally published.

     

     If you are happy with these settings, click OK. The templates are unpublished from the groups listed in the Published to groups field, and the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog appears.

     Otherwise, click Cancel. The Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog appears. Return to the beginning of this procedure.

5. In the Publish to groups field, select the groups from which you want to remove access to the template, and move them to the Do not publish to groups field using the left arrow button. You can select more than one group at a time by holding down the Ctrl key while making your selections.

   Note: The groups that appear in these fields represent all groups to which the Report Publisher belongs (not necessarily all groups on the application database).

6. Click OK. The Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog appears.

Assigning report templates to categories

You may have to work with a large number of report templates. In order to better sort and organize report templates, you can assign them to categories.

Creating a category

You must create a category before you can assign a template to that category.

To create a category, follow these steps.

1. Open the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog, and click the Categories tab. A list of categories appears.

   

2. Choose File > New. The Create Category dialog appears.

   

3. Complete the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Name	Enter a name for the category. You can use all characters except for the following: backslash ( \ ), forward slash ( / ), apostrophe ( ’ ), double quotation marks ( “ ), comma ( , ), left brace ( { ), and double brackets ( [[ ) or ( ]] ).
   Description	Enter a description for the category. You can use all characters except for the left brace ( { ). To enter descriptions in alternate languages, click the A icon beside the field. The Alternate Descriptions dialog appears, enabling you to enter descriptions for other languages enabled in your system.

4. Click OK. The new category appears in the list of categories.

Deleting a category

If a category is no longer used, or obsolete, you can delete it.

To delete a category, follow these steps.

1. Open the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog, and click the Categories tab. A list of categories appears.

   

2. Select the category you want to delete.
3. Press the Delete key. A confirmation dialog appears.
4. Click Yes. The category is deleted.

   Note: Deleting a category does not delete the templates that are assigned to that category.

Assigning a template to a category

To assign a report template to a category from the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog, follow these steps.

Note: A report template must be published before it can be assigned to a category. For more information on publishing report templates, see Publishing report templates.

1. In the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog, click the Templates tab. A list of existing report templates appears.

   

2. To see all your existing templates, select Any Group in the Templates published to field.
3. Select the template you want to assign to a category. You can select more than one template by holding down the Ctrl key while making your selections.
4. Choose File > Assign Categories. The Categories dialog appears.

   

5. In the Available Categories field, select the categories to which you want to assign the template, and move them to the Assign to Categories field using the right arrow button. You can select more than one category at a time by holding down the Ctrl key while making your selections.
6. Click OK. The Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog appears. The categories to which the template has been assigned appear in the Assigned Categories column.

Publishing and unpublishing report batches

To make a report batch available to other users, you need to publish it.

Publishing a report batch

Once you have created a report batch, you can publish it to the database so that other users can run the reports contained within it.

Caution: If you publish a report batch that contains errors or omissions, and your user population starts to use it, logistical issues can result if you have to modify and republish the report batch at a later time. Before publishing a report batch, be sure to test it thoroughly to ensure its completeness and accuracy.

The procedure you use differs depending on your starting point.

From the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog

To publish a report batch from the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog, follow these steps.

1. Open the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog, click the Batches tab. A list of batch files appears.

   

   Files are listed numerically and alphabetically. If a batch file has been published, the groups to which it has been published appear in the Published to groups column.

2. To see all your existing batch files, select Any group in the Templates published to field.
3. Select the batch you want to publish. You can select more than one by holding down the Ctrl key while making your selections.
4. Choose File > Publish, and do one of the following:
   • If you selected only one batch file in step 3, or multiple batch files that were originally published to exactly the same groups, the Publish/Unpublish Batch dialog appears.

     

     Proceed to step 5.

   • If you selected more than one batch file in step 3, and those batches were originally published to different groups, the Publish Batches dialog appears listing the batches you selected, and the groups to which they were originally published.

     

     If you are happy with these settings, click OK. The batches are published to the groups listed in the Published to groups field, and the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog appears.

     Otherwise, click Cancel. The Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog appears. Return to the beginning of this procedure.

5. In the Do not publish to groups field, select the groups to which you want to publish the batch, and move them to the Publish to groups field using the right arrow button. You can select more than one group at a time by holding down the Ctrl key while making your selections.

   Note: The groups that appear in these fields represent all groups to which the Report Publisher belongs (not necessarily all groups on the application database).

6. Click OK. The batch files you selected are published, and the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog appears.

From the Edit Report Batch dialog

You can publish a report batch from the Edit Report Batch dialog. This can come in handy when you make changes to a report batch that has been published and want to ensure that those changes are reflected in the published version.

To publish a report batch from the Edit Report Batch dialog, follow these steps.

1. Create or open a report batch that you want to publish and make any necessary changes. Make sure you save the report batch. For more information see Creating a report batch.
2. In the Edit Report Batch dialog, choose File > Publish. The Publish/Unpublish Batch dialog appears.

   

3. In the Do not publish to groups field, select the groups to which you want to publish the batch, and move them to the Publish to groups field using the right arrow button. You can select more than one group at a time by holding down the Ctrl key while making your selections.

   Note: The groups that appear in these fields represent all groups to which the Report Publisher belongs (not necessarily all groups on the application database).

4. Click OK. The batch is published, and the Edit Report Batch dialog appears.

Unpublishing a report batch

You may be able to unpublish a report batch if you need to make a newer version available, or to delete it altogether.

To unpublish a report batch, follow these steps.

1. Open the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog, and click the Batches tab.

   

2. For Templates published to select the group to which you published the batch file that you now want to unpublish. A list of batch files published to that group appears. For a list of all batch files, select Any group.
3. Select the batch file you want to unpublish. You can select more than one by holding down the Ctrl key while making your selections.
4. Choose File > Unpublish, and do one of the following:
   • If you selected only one batch file in step 3, or multiple batch files that were originally published to exactly the same groups, the Unpublish Batch dialog appears.

     

     Proceed to step 5.

   • If you selected more than one batch file in step 3, and those batch files were originally published to different groups, the Unpublish Batches dialog appears listing the templates you selected, and the groups to which they were originally published.

     

     If you are happy with these settings, click OK. The batch files are unpublished from the groups listed in the Published to groups field, and the Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog appears.

     Otherwise, click Cancel. The Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog appears. Return to the beginning of this procedure.

5. In the Publish to groups field, select the groups from which you want to remove access to the batch file, and move them to the Do not publish to groups field using the left arrow button. You can select more than one group at a time by holding down the Ctrl key while making your selections.

   Note: The groups that appear in these fields represent all groups to which the Report Publisher belongs (not necessarily all groups on the application database).

6. Click OK. The Longview Analysis and Reporting dialog appears.