Click on a category to show or hide its questions and tips. To view the answer for a specific question/tip, click on the question -- the answer will open in a new tab.
This course contains several modules designed to develop basic to advanced SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence query building and reporting skills basic skills. Click here to start.
- What is BI launch pad?
- Setting your Preferences
- Why is there a tilde ( ~ ) in the name of my Web Intelligence folder in Personal Folders? Is that a default folder and if so, what goes into it?
- Can I work in multiple documents at the same time?
- Working with Timeouts
- Returning to Previous Page
- I used my browser's back button instead of Webi's and lost my unsaved changes. How can I recover my work?
- How can I navigate easily between report tabs or query tabs?
General
- Searching for corporate ("canned") reports in the repository
- How can I print when I have multiple tabs in a report but don't want them all printed?
- Is there any way to document in the Webi document what your query is about/doing/etc.?
- How can I copy a specific data value from a table, so I can paste it into something outside BusinessObjects?
- How do I purge the data from a report?
- When I login there's always a report that opens. Is there any way to set it so that just the Documents tab is open when starting?
- I deleted a report! How can I get it back?
Copying, Sharing, Saving, Exporting
- How can I make a copy of or edit a repository/corporate report?
- How do I create a shortcut to a corporate report and why not just copy the report?
- When I download reports (using 'Save to my computer as Excel') and attempt to enter formulas, the formulas appear as text and don't compute. How can I fix this?
- For some reports, when saved as an Excel file, the report begins in row 2 and/or column B. How can I make my report begin at Cell A1?
- How can I export Webi report headers to Excel?
- When I save a report with data as a CSV file, all of the leading zeros are cut off any numbers when I open the file in Excel. How can I keep the zeros?
Page Setup
- Is there a feature to delete trailing blanks?
- How can I change the name of a column?
- Why am I getting a "Table or View does not exist" message?
- How can I see the order of the report sorts or breaks, and how can I change them?
- How do I show all values of a column when I make a break?
- How can I break on multiple columns at once (e.g., Name and Penn ID together)?
- How can I hide a column in a table?
- How can I undo an action that I just took when formatting my report?
- How can I create a pivot table (or crosstab)?
- How can I add a 'date last refreshed' to my report header?
- How can I add a section to a report? I'm dragging the object onto the report pane and it isn't working.
Analysis
- What's the difference between Count and Count ALL?
- I'm using the user response to a date prompt in a variable, but want to see it just as the date, without the time. How can I do this?
- What kind of a date formula can you create to add a specified number of days to a date?
- How can I see and work with all of the filters applied on a report at once?
- Why do some rows show a MULTIVALUE warning for an amount in my table, while others show the actual amount?
- Why doesn't my "in list" work? For example: Divisions in list (COL,NUR,EAS,WH).
- How do I control query options (number of rows, etc.)?
- Can I build a query based on a spreadsheet?
- How do I create a query based on another query?
- How can I create complex conditions (now called 'Query Filters') by nesting or indenting them together, and using AND and OR?
- I have multiple queries in one report. How can I give them different names?
- What character do I use for a "wildcard" and how should I use it?
- Why am I getting a "No data to fetch" message?
- Can I take an existing query and run it against a different universe without having to build it again from scratch?
- How do I create a subquery?
- I just added an object to my query - why doesn't it appear on my report?
- How can I merge on shared dimensions in a report with multiple queries?
- How can I "unmerge" a shared dimension?
- How can I see how many rows of data were returned from my query?
- How can I quickly duplicate a variable?
How Tos
Unsure where to start? You can also check these How Tos for step-by-step guidance for particular features.
- How to Navigate the BI Launchpad (PDF)
- How to Navigate the READING Mode for Simple Exploring and Analyzing of Reports (PDF)
- How to Navigate the DESIGN Mode for Creating and Modifying Reports (PDF)
- How to Navigate the DATA Mode for Creating and Modifying Reports (PDF)
- How to Navigate the STRUCTURE Mode for Presenting All Objects in a Table (PDF)
- How to Navigate the Query Panel (PDF)
- How to Navigate Between Editing a Query and Editing a Report (PDF)
- How to Format Reports by Right Clicking (PDF)
- How to Work with Multiple Documents / Reports Open (PDF)
- How to Copy a Repository/Corporate Report (PDF)
- How to Share a Copy of a Document / Report (PDF)
- How to Save Documents / Reports as Excel, CSV, or PDF (PDF)
- How to Create a New Document / Report (PDF)
- How to Find Basic Report Formatting Tools (PDF)
- How to Add a Report Filter (PDF)
- How to Add a Query Filter (PDF)
- How to Create a Document Using Freehand SQL (PDF)
- How to Create a “Geo Mapped” Chart (PDF)
- How to Create a Reference Cell (PDF)
- SAP BusinessObjects Web Intellegence 4.1 - documentation from SAP
See how to build a query from a simple business question the following PDFs. (The screen shots here will look slightly different than the current version of BI4.x but the concepts are still the same.)
- General Ledger Questions
- How can I review our entertainment costs for last year? (PDF)
- I need to run monthly reports on how we are doing with current expenses. Are we within budget or not? (PDF)
- What ProCard transactions have been posted this month and the previous 2 months from my ORG and to what accounts have they been posted? (PDF)
- How many funds in our school are currently frozen and what are the current encumbrances on those funds? (PDF)
- How do our mail costs this year compare to last year? (PDF)