Filtering in Oracle Business Intelligence External Reports

This article details how to configure Filters in Oracle Business Intelligence (OBIEE) External Reports.

OBIEE Filters can be added by:

  1. Retrieving Filter Names from OBIEE (auto-retrieval of all Filters/Filter Values from Oracle Business Intelligence)
  2. Loading Filter Values from OBIEE (auto-retrieval of a single Filter and its Values from Oracle Business Intelligence)
  3. Loading Filter Values from a Dataset (auto-loading of Filter Values from a Dataset in Metric Insights)
  4. Mapping to Dimension Values in Metric Insights (auto-mapping of Filter Values in Oracle Business Intelligence to Dimension Values in Metric Insights)
  5. Entering Filter Values Manually 

PREREQUISITES:

Capabilities Matrix for OBIEE Filters

OBIEE Objects Prefiltering  OBIEE Filters passed to Metric Insights Notes
Analyses can be prefiltered  Column Prompts Analyses must have Column Prompts. Only this type of Prompt Filter can be passed to Metric Insights.
Reports can be prefiltered  Parameters
 Reports can be prefiltered in Metric Insights if they are sourced from Data Models with added Parameters.
KPIs not supported not applicable not applicable

Once Filters are added to an Element for the first time, they will automatically be added to all new respective Elements with the same Data Source.

NOTE:

  • External Filters are tied to OBIEE Objects (Analyses and Reports), not Metric Insights' Objects/Elements. This allows Filters to be reused multiple times.
  • Redundant Filters or Filter Values can be set to "ignore".

Filter names automatically fetched from Oracle Business Intelligence (OPTION: Retrieving Filter Names from OBIEE) are passed to Metric Insights in the following format: table.column

In other cases, Users will have to enter OBIEE Filter names manually in the corresponding fields.

  1. Loading Filter Values from OBIEE
  2. Loading Filter Values from a Dataset 
  3. Mapping to Dimension Values in Metric Insights
  4. Entering Filter Values Manually 

To find correct OBIEE filter names, refer to:

How to get Column Prompt names for Analyses?

When mapping OBIEE Column Prompts to Filters in Metric Insights, make sure to use exact Prompt Names. Otherwise, prefiltering will not work.

For more information on Column Prompts, refer to:

  1. OBIEE – Prompts
  2. Prompting in Dashboards and Analyses

PREREQUISITES: Set up your Column Prompts

  • To be able to fetch Prompt Filters to Metric Insights, you must first configure Column Prompts both on the Criteria tab and the Prompts tab.

In the Analysis edit mode:

  1. On the Criteria tab, make sure the required Column Filter is prompted
  2. On the Prompts tab, the prompted Column Filter must be added to the Prompt Label section
  3. Select a Column Prompt whose name you need to copy
  4. Click the Edit icon to open the Edit Prompt pop-up
  5. Copy the Column Prompt name from the corresponding field
    • NOTE: In Metric Insights UI, the Prompt name should be used without the double quotation marks
How to get Parameter names for Reports?

When mapping OBIEE Data Model Parameters to Filters in Metric Insights, make sure to use exact Parameter Names. Otherwise, prefiltering will not work.

PREREQUISITES: Configure Parameters and Lists of Values in the Data Model (Data Model is an OBIEE Report Component used at Report generation. Data Models contain sets of instructions for structured data retrieval).

To verify that Data Model Parameters are configured properly, in the Data Model Editor:

  1. Make sure that Parameters and the associated Lists of Values have been added
  2. Go to Data Model Properties > Data Sets > select Data Set > click the Edit icon:
    • Check that Column Names are mapped to Parameter Values in OBIEE
  3. If all the Parameter settings in the Data Model are correct, go to the Parameters section, select the required Parameter and copy its Name

1. Define a Source Object for an External Report

By specifying an OBIEE source element, Users will be able to fetch Filters applied to that element.

In the External Report Editor > Configuration tab:

  1. Select a Plugin Connection Profile that will be used for data collection
  2. Click [Select View] to access the list of available OBIEE Objects
  3. Click [View Name] for the OBIEE View to be selected as a data source in Metric Insights
  4. If you do not see the required item, use Refresh

2. Add OBIEE Filters to Metric Insights

The Filter Management option allows Users to add Filters and access the related functionality.

To be able to add Filters:

  1. Click [Manage Filters]
  2. For auto-retrieval and complete Filter syncing, activate the toggle (see details in Step 2.1)
  3. For other Filter-adding methods, click [+Filter] (see details in Step 2.2, Step 2.3, Step 2.4 and Step 2.5)
2.1. Retrieve Filter Names from OBIEE

Selecting this option means that all Filters and Filter Values will automatically be fetched from Oracle Business Intelligence.

Filters added automatically cannot be deleted if the "Retrieve Filter Names from Oracle Business Intelligence" option is activated.

To enable auto-retrieval:

  1. Activate the Auto-Retrieval option
  2. The loaded OBIEE Filters will appear in a list below
  3. Refresh the Filters' list as needed
  4. To edit a Filter, use the Edit (Gear) icon
  5. Click [Done] to proceed
2.2. Load Filter Values from OBIEE

This option gives more control over which Filter Values to load to Metric Insights. Filters are added one by one, enabling Users to determine how many Filters will be fetched.

To automatically load a Filter:

  1. Specify the name of the OBIEE Filter (Prompt or Parameter) that needs to be loaded
  2. Optionally, specify a Display Name to override the original Name of an OBIEE Filter
  3. Select the Type of Filter:
    • Single Value allows choosing one Filter Value in the Viewer
    • Multi-Value allows choosing several Filter Values simultaneously and showing visualizations for the selected Values
  4. Optionally, restrict certain Filter Values to specific Users with the "Constrain via User Map" setting
  5. Save your entries
2.3. Load Filter Values from a Dataset

Loading Filter Values from a Dataset involves using a selected Dataset column as a source of Filter Values and mapping it to a specified OBIEE Filter Name.

To use a Dataset as a source of Filter Values:

  1. Input the name of the OBIEE Filter (Prompt or Parameter)
  2. Optionally, specify a Display Name to override the original Name of an OBIEE Filter
  3. Select the Type of Filter:
    1. Single Value allows choosing one Filter Value in Viewer
    2. Multi-Value allows choosing several Filter Values simultaneously and showing visualizations for the selected Values
  4. Choose Dataset as a source of Filter Values
  5. Specify Dataset & View from which Values will be loaded
  6. Select a Dataset Column that will be mapped to the specified Qlik Sense Filter
  7. Save your entries
2.4. Map to Dimension Values in Metric Insights

OBIEE Filters can also be mapped to Dimensions in Metric Insights.

PREREQUISITES:

To map an OBIEE Filter to a preconfigured Metric Insights' Dimension:

  1. Input the name of the OBIEE Filter (Prompt or Parameter)
  2. Optionally, specify a Display Name to override the original Name of an OBIEE Filter
  3. Select the Type of Filter:
    • Single Value allows choosing one Filter Value in Viewer
    • Multi-Value allows choosing several Filter Values simultaneously and showing visualizations for the selected Values
  4. Filter Values: choose "Map to Dimension Values"
  5. Select a Dimension whose Values will automatically be loaded to the Values list
  6. Save your entries
2.5. Enter Filter Values Manually

Using the manual setting, Users have full control over which Filters and Filter Values are added to an Object/Element in Metric Insights.

To enter Filter Values manually:

  1. Input the name of the OBIEE Filter (Prompt or Parameter)
  2. Display Name will allow you to override the original Filter name; this Name will be used in Metric Insights
  3. Select the Type of Filter:
    • Single Value setting will allow you to choose only one Filter Value in Viewer
    • Multi-Value setting enables the display of data in the External Report Viewer for several Filter Values at once
  4. Filter Values: choose "Enter Manually"
  5. Click [+Add Value] to add Values by hand
  6. Save your entries

3. Customize the Filter Order with Sorting

You can specify the order in which the Filters will be displayed in the External Report Viewer.

To set custom order in which the Filters will be displayed in Viewer:

  1. Click [Sort Filters]
  2. Drag & Drop rows to sort

4. Edit Filter Properties

Having added the Filters, Users can make custom changes to their settings.

To edit a Filter:

  1. Click [Manage Filters]
  2. Choose the Filter that needs changing and click the Edit (Gear) icon

5. Set Filter Defaults

While configuring Filters, it is possible to apply default settings that are the same of everyone, or customize them with a User Map.

5.1. Configuring shared Defaults

To set shared Defaults:

  1. Select "Same for everyone"
  2. Click the Filter Edit (Pencil) icon 
  3. In the pop-up, Set Filter Defaults to "yes"
  4. Specify the required defaults
  5. Save your entries
5.2. Personalizing Defaults

To set custom Defaults:

  1. Select "Apply based on User Map"
  2. Select a preconfigured User Map
  3. Map Filters to User Map Columns
  4. Save  

6. Delete Filters

To delete some of the added Filters:

  1. Click [Manage Filters] next to the name of an OBIEE Object (View)
  2. In the pop-up window, use the Trashbin icon in the respective row

7. Verify the display in the Report Viewer

  1. Select the required Values and click [Apply Filters] to see the refined data
  2. Optionally, save your Filter Settings as Bookmarks

What's next?

Setting Personal Bookmarks