Vivid Overview

Microsoft Excel© just got better—a lot better—with Vivid. This powerful Office add-in extends Excel with new features that emp= ower your organization to collaborate more effectively, while at the same time, greatly simplifying the process of building insightful reports—even against= the most unwieldy cubes (see Figure 1<= ![endif]>). Once you’ve experienc= ed Vivid, you will never again want to use Excel without it.

Figure 1. An E= xcel report using Vivid features.

Vivid provides the following features:

· One-click browsing and publishing of Excel reports to the Vivid server—all from the ribbon

· Threaded rich-text comments with attachments, which allows extensive, multi-level collaboration within the Excel report

· Smart filter technology, which enables the p= ivot table editor to display only the attributes and measures that are currently applicable

· Fast key word searching, which makes even the largest cubes navigable

· Vivid calculations and named sets that act j= ust like SQL Server’s calculations, but reside in the report

· Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) visualization, which presents a view of the actual query that the pivot tab= le is using

· RSS/Atom feed for up-to-the-second notificat= ions of new reports or updates

Installing and Configuring Vivid

Requirements and Compatibility

Vivid requires that the following software be installe= d:

Operating Systems

Microsoft Windows Vista

Microsoft Windows 7

Office

Microsoft Office 2007

Microsoft Office 2010 (currently 32-bit only)

Specific prerequisites depend on the computer where Vivid will be installed.

Installation

Your site administrator will provide the location for = the Vivid setup package. To install Vivid, you simply click on the Setup.exe fi= le and follow the instructions on your screen.

Starting Vivid

After the installation is completed, all you have to d= o to start Vivid is to start Excel. No extra steps are required.

Getting updates of Vivid

Vivid updates are automatic. Each time you start Excel, Vivid checks for updates. If new versions are available, they are installed immediately, and the download dialog notifies you that the update is under = way (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. The = Vivid auto-update dialog.

Configuring Vivid

Configurat= ion Options launcher

Before you use Vivid for the first time, some simple configuration steps are required. Click Settings <= /span>in the Administration area of the Vivid tab (see Figure 3) to open the Vivid Configuration Options Window.

Figure 3. The Settings link in the Vivid tab.

Select the appropriate settings for your installation = of Vivid.

Verify Access to the Vivid Serv= er

Each time Excel starts, Vivid automatically attempts to connect to the Vivid Server. You can view the location and authentication settings for the Vivid Server on the Server tab of the Configuration Options dialog (see Figure 4).

Figure 4. The = Server tab of the Vivid Configuration Options dialog box.

You can also use this page to change the location of t= he Vivid Server. Click the Test Connection button to ensure that the credentials supplied and the URI correspond to a functio= nal Vivid Server.

Failure to Contact the Vivid Server

If the Vivid Server is unavailable due to scheduled maintenance, network outage, or other problems, you will not be able to publish, browse, or download reports during that period; however, Vivid’s o= ther functions will still be available.

Vivid will attempt to re-establish contact with the se= rver whenever you attempt to publish, browse, or load a report from the Vivid Server.

Search Configuration=

Use the Search tab of the Vivid Configuration Options dialog box to set search configuration options (see Figure 5). You can choose to lis= t only items that exactly match the search term(s) you enter. You can also choose = to include or exclude member properties.

Figure 5. The = Search tab of the Configuration Options dialog box.

MDX Configuration

Use the MDX tab of the Configuration Options dialog box to set the MDX configuration options (= see Figure 6). You can adjust the following settings:<= /p>

· In the MDX Query Formatter Options section, = you can specify how the MDX output is formatted in the MDX Query Viewer.

· In the Drillthrough Options area, you can ch= ange the maximum number of rows retrieved during drillthrough before Vivid gener= ates a warning that the drillthrough might take significantly longer to complete. The default value is 10,000.

Figure 6. The MDX tab of the Configuration Options dialog box.

<= span style=3D'mso-bookmark:Video_Display_Configuration'>Video Display Configurat= ion

Use the Video Display tab of the Configuration Options dialog box to enable or disable transparency f= or dialogs that support transparency (see Figure 7). When transparency is enabled, the level of transparency can be set. A transparency level of 10 is almost completely opaque, and a level of 1 is almost completely transparent. There have been some reports of problems with transparency on systems with = ATIÒ graphics cards. If you experience issues with transparency, we recommend that you disable transparency.

Figure 7. The = Video Display tab of the Configuration Options dialog box.

Pivot Table Configuration<= /span>

Use the Pivot Table tab of the Configuration Options d= ialog box to disable or enable the Vivid Pivot Table Editor (see Figure 8). Note that disabling t= he Vivid Pivot Table Editor also disables the following related features:

· Cross Drill

· Hierarchy Descendants

· Drillthrough Detail

· SmartFilter

· MDX Query

Also use this tab to specify which hierarchies will be highlighted as “large” in the pivot table editor and to indicate the default setting for the SmartFilter function.

Figure 8. The Pivot Table tab o the Configuration Opt= ions dialog box.

Using Vivid’s Enhanced Pivot Ta= ble Features

Populating a Pivot Table

When you create or load an OLAP pivot table, the Vivid= Pivot Table Editor (PTE) appears as a context pane, replacing the standard Excel Pivot Table Field List. The Vivid PTE provides a number of tools to facilit= ate cube navigation: quick search boxes that filter the lists as you type, a drop-down list that enables you to display only attributes or measures of a specific type, expand/collapse all buttons that instantly expand the hierar= chy to display all members or collapses it to show only the highest levels, and icons that help you recognize the dimension or measure type of each item listed. You can also enable or disable SmartFilter and the Defer Layout Upd= ate function and display or hide the pivot table overlay (see Figure 9).

Show measure/dimension types drop-down

Pivot Table Overlay toggle

Defer Layo= ut Update toggle

SmartFilte= r toggle

Instant se= arch text box

Expand/col= lapse all

Figure 9. The Vivid Pivot Table Editor (PTE).

Hover the mouse over items in the Measures panel and t= he Dimensions and Named Sets panel to view additional details (see Figure 10).

Figure 10. Displaying an information pop-up.

The Pivot Table Overlay (see Figure 11.) appears when you initi= ate a drag and drop from the PTE or click the Pivot Table Overlay toggle in the bottom right of the PTE.

Rows<= /o:p>

Measures/v= alues

Page filte= rs

Columns

Figure 11. The Pivot Table Overlay.

To populate the pivot table, drag and drop items from = the PTE to the Pivot Table Overlay (see Figure 12). You can drag and drop measures, calculations, KPI elements, attribute hierarchies, user hierarchi= es, named sets, and levels to the overlay. Dimensions and measure groups cannot= be dragged to the overlay.

Figure 12. The drag-and-drop relationship between the pivot table overlay and the pivot table editor.

SmartFilter

In some cubes, not every dimension cuts every measure = group. That is, some measures, when put in the pivot table, are not affected when = sliced by any member from a given dimension. Without detailed knowledge of the cub= e, you might not know which dimensions cut which measure groups.

If you disable the SmartFilter, then the PTE displays = all of the dimensions and measures available, with no filtering applied (see Figur= e 13).

With SmartFilter enabled, the PTE automatically shows = only those measure groups and dimensions that cut the members that have been pla= ced in the pivot table (see Figure 14). The set of dimensions= that is displayed is the intersection of the set of dimensions cut by the measures in the pivot table. Likewise, the= set of measure groups that is displayed is the intersection of the set of measure groups cut by the dimensions in the pivot table).

F= igure 13. Pivot Table with SmartFilter off.

<= o:p>

F= igure 14. Pivot Table with SmartFilter on.

Defer Layout

The Defer Layout Update function enables you to add it= ems to or remove items from the pivot table overlay but defer applying those chang= es to the pivot table itself. This defers any potential system slow-downs until you are ready to apply the changes to the pivot table. To enable Defer Layo= ut Update, click the Defer Layout Update button (see Figure 15). When Defer Layout Upd= ate is enabled, you can add, remove, and move items in the pivot table overlay, but the worksheet that the pivot table resides on becomes protected/read-only. = If you attempt to change a value in the worksheet, a message appears, reminding you that the worksheet is currently protected/read-only.

To apply your changes to the pivot table, click the Defer L= ayout Upda= te button again to disable the function.

Figure 15. The Defer Layout Update button on the Pivot Table Editor.

Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) Que= ry Viewer

To view the underlying MDX query for t= he current pivot table, click the MDX Query = toggle button. The MDX query will be displayed in the MDX Query task pane (see Fig= ure 16).<= /p>

Figure 16. The MDX Query v= iewer.

Date Intelligence

Vivid provi= des new Date Intelligence functions that enhance your ability to use date/time rela= ted dimensions and hierarchies.

Da= te Intelligence Named Sets

Date Intelligence named sets are special named sets th= at you can create using Vivid (see Figure 17). You can then use these sets, with names like “Day” or “Yesterday,” to refer to relative dates in a given hierarchy. One of the great benefits of using these named sets is that Vivid automatically updates them daily so that they always refer to the appropriate new dates as time passes.

Figure 17. Date Intelligence named sets.

For example, if the current date is August 12, 2010, a= nd you map the Today Reference in the Vivid Date Intelligence dialog box to 8/11/2= 010 (the cube is always a day behind), then “Day” will map the member that refe= rs to 8/11/2010. “Yesterday” will refer to the 8/10/2010 member (assuming that= is the previous day in your hierarchy). When you open Excel the following day, August 13, the “Day” set will refer to the 8/12/2010 member, and “Yesterday” will refer to the 8/11/2010 member.

Set Up Date Intelligence Named Sets

To set up date intell= igence, complete these steps:

1.      = In the Dimensions pane of the Vivid Pivot Table Editor, right click a hierarchy from a dimension of type “Date” and then click “Setup Date Intelligence…” in the context menu (see Figure 18).

Figure 18. The Setup = Date Intelligence command on the Dimensions and Named Sets context menu.

The Vivid Date Intelligence= dialog box opens (see Figure 19).

Figure 19. The Vivid Date Intelligence dialog box.

2.&n= bsp;      Select the Today Reference date. This is the date that that will represent the current day. If your cube trails by a day= or a week, select the Today Reference that is appropriate for your system.

3.&n= bsp;      In the Day Member field, enter the member fr= om the hierarchy that represents the date that you entered for the Today Reference. You can use the “…” button to browse the members in the hierarch= y.

4.&n= bsp;      As needed, for Week Level, Month Level, Quar= ter Level, Semester Level, and Year Level, select the levels that you want to m= ap to. Note that you do not have to select a level for each these. Some cubes = do not have levels that correspond to them all.

5.&n= bsp;      Click OK.

Vivid will then attempt to create a set of special nam= ed sets that will map to:

Today, Yesterd= ay, Tomorrow, Last Week, Next Week, Seven Days Ago, Seven Day Forward, Last Mon= th, Next Month, Last Quarter, Next Quarter, Last Semester, Next Semester, Last Year, Next Year.

You can these just as you would any other named set, e= xcept that these named sets are automatically updated for each passing day.

Parallel Periods

To compare results of a current period against the res= ults of a similar period in the past, complete these steps:

1.&n= bsp;      In the pivot table overlay, right click the measure for which you want view parallel period data.

2.&n= bsp;      Select Time Function, and then Parallel Period (Figure AUTONUMLGL \* Arabic \e 20).

Figure 20. The Parallel Period it= em on the pivot table overlay context menu.

        The Vivid Parallel Period dialog b= ox opens (Figure 21).

Figure 21. Specifying details for parallel period comparison.

3.&n= bsp;      Type the name of the new parallel period measure.

4.&n= bsp;      Select a period to lag and enter the number = of periods to lag.

5.&n= bsp;      Click OK.

The new measure = now appears in the overlay (Figure 22), and the corresponding calculation is added to the pivot table editor.

Figure 22. The new parallel proce= ssing measure in the overlay.

Rolling Result

To view the rolling average for a measure over a speci= fied period, complete these steps:

1.      = In the pivot table overlay, right click the measure for which you want to view rolling results.

2.      = Select Time Functions and then Rolling= Result from the context menu (Figure 23).

Figure 23. The Rolling Result ite= m on the pivot table overlay context menu.

The = Vivid Rolling Result dialog box opens (Figure 24).

Figure 24. Specifying details for= a rolling result measure.

3.&n= bsp;      Type the name of the new rolling result measure.

4.&n= bsp;      Select the time hierarchy to lag and enter t= he number of periods to lag.

5.&n= bsp;      Select the aggregation operation.

6.&n= bsp;      Click OK.

The new measure now appears= in the overlay (Figure 25), and the corresponding calculation is added to the pivot table editor.

Figure 25. The new rolling result measure in the overlay.<= /p>
Periods to Date

To view periods to date for a measure, complete these = steps:

1.      = In the pivot table overlay, right click the measure for which you want to view periods to date.

2.      = Select Time Functions and then Periods= to Date on the context menu. Select the period, and= then select All, Fisc= al Year, or F= iscal Week (Figure 26).

Figure 26. The Periods to Date it= em on the pivot table overlay context menu.

The new measure now appears= in the overlay (Figure 27), and the corresponding calculation is added to the pivot table editor.

Figure 27. The new period to date measure in the overlay.

Last N Periods

The Last N Periods feature gives you the ability to generate a named set that contains the las= t N periods from a specific date member.

To set up Last N Periods, complete these steps:

1.      = Right-click a hierarchy in a date dimension and select View Members (see Figure AUTONUMLGL \* Arabic \e 28).

Figure 28. The View Members item in the Vivid Pivot Table Editor context menu.

The View Members dialog box opens for a date hierarchy.

2.      = In the data hiera= rchy, select the member that you want to generate the last N members from (see Fi= gure 29).

Figure 29. How to access the Last N Periods function through the View Members dialog. = The hierarchy being browsed must be from a dimension of Date type.

The Last N Periods dialog opens (see Figure 30).

Figure 30. The Last N Periods dialog box.

3.      = Specify a name for the named set and how many periods to go back. Note that the Last N Periods generated name set will include the member that you selected from the View Members dialog.

You can use the resulting named set just as you would use any other named set. See Figure <= /span>31 for an example of using the named set i= n the previous steps.

Figure 31. Using a Last N Periods generated named set.

Show As

Vivid provides a quick and easy method of viewing data= in different ways. For example, for total product cost, you might want to see = each figure in the column as a percentage of the total product cost instead of a dollar amount.

To view a measure as a percentage or alternative measu= re, complete these steps:

1.      = In the pivot table overlay, right click the measure which you want to view differently.

2.      = Select Show= As and then select the alternate measure from = the context menu (Figure 32).

Figure 32. The Show As item in the pivot table overlay context menu.

The figures in the Total Pr= oduct Cost column are now expressed as percentages of the column total (see Figur= e 33).

Figure 33. Total product cost fig= ures shown as percentages.

View Members

To view members of a hierarchy, right click any hierar= chy in the pivot table editor and select = View Members on the context menu (Figure 34).

Figure 34. The View Members item = on the context menu.

The View Members wind= ow opens, and the members in the hierarchy are displayed (See Figure 35). Attribute members are displayed in a li= st, but user hierarchies are displayed as a tree.

Figure 35. The Vivid Members of Category window.

If the number of members in a hierarchy is large, a sc= roll bar appears in the window. In addition, you can enter search terms to limit= the list. And since the view members window loads the members on demand, you wi= ll be notified if you need to load all of the members in order to get 100% accurate search results.

Because it can take a long time to retrieve the member= s from the server if the hierarchy is large, Vivid runs this request in the backgr= ound so that you can continue to use Excel and Vivid. The Background Task pane s= hows the list of tasks that are currently running in the background.

You can click a member in the list to add it to the pi= vot table filter.

Working with Vivid Transformations

In-Place/Out-of-Place Transformations

Once you have created a pivot table, you can right cli= ck inside the table to select and apply a variety of transformations
(see Figure 36).

Figure 36. Vivid in-place transformations.

By default, these transformations modify the existing = pivot table. To keep the existing pivot table and create a new pivot table that displays the results of the selected transformation, press the CTRL key as = you right click in the pivot table to display the transformations menu. When the menu displays, a symbol appears beside the relevant transformation names (s= ee Figure 37).

Figure 37. Vivid out-of-place transformations.

This symbol indicates that the transformation will not affect the currently displayed table. Instead, a new table will be created,= and the transformation will be applied to the new table in a new worksheet.

Swap Row/Column

To swap the hierarchies on the row and column axes of a pivot table, complete these steps:

1.&n= bsp;      Right click inside the pivot table to display the context menu.

2.&n= bsp;      Select Vivid Swap Row/Column (Figure 38).

Figure 38. The Swap Row/Column command in the context menu.

The rows and col= umns are swapped (Figure 39).

Figure 39. New table with swapped rows and columns.

Isolate Row/Column

To isolate a row or a column, complete these steps:
1.&n= bsp;      Right click the row or column that you want = to isolate.

2.      = On the context menu, select Vivid Isolate Cell (Figure 40).

Figure 40. Selecting a column to isloate.

All of the hierarchy values= in the selected row or column are moved up to the filter, with the specified row or column remaining in the pivot table (Figure 41).

Figure 41. The selected column re= mains in the pivot table.

Isolate Cell

To isolate a single cell in the pivot table, complete = these steps:

1.&n= bsp;      Right click the cell that you want to isolat= e.

2.&n= bsp;      On the context menu, select Vivid Isolate Cell (Figure= 42).

Figure 42. The Isolate Cell command on the context menu.

In this example, the Intern= et gross profit grand total for bikes is the cell that was selected to isolate. All = of the hierarchy values in the row and column axes for the selected cell are m= oved up to the filter, with the specified cell remaining in the pivot table (Fig= ure 43).

Figure 43. Results of the Isolate= Cell function.

Cross Drill

The Cross Drill function enables you to drill into a s= pecified row or column by a specified attribute.

To perform a cross drill:

1.&n= bsp;      Right click a row or column label in the piv= ot table. The selected label is the one that will be cross drilled on.

2.&n= bsp;      In the context menu, select Cross Drill.

3.&n= bsp;      Select the dimension and attribute that you = wish to appear in the new cross-drilled pivot table.

The result is a new sheet containing a new pivot table= . This pivot table is the same as the original pivot table, with the following differences:

·         The axis from the label selected to perform = the cross drill contains only the attribute selected from the context menu.

·         The page filter includes a filter to limit t= he pivot table to the set of data from the row or column that was right clicke= d on to perform the cross drill.

Figure 44 shows a table before cross drilling is applied:

Figure 44. The pivot table before cross drilling.

Figure 45 illustrates the cross drill selection sequence:

Figure 45. Figure 9. Cross drill selection sequence.

And finally, Figure 46 shows the new pivot table that results = from the cross-drill selections:

Figure 46. Cross drill selection sequence.

Clone Pivot Table

To clone a pivot table, complete these steps:

1.&n= bsp;      Right click in the pivot table that you want= to clone.

2.      = On the context menu, click Vivid Clone Pivot Table (Figure 47).

Figure 47. The Clone Pivot Table command in the context menu.

A full copy of the pivot ta= ble is placed on a new worksheet, enabling you to experiment with the data in the cloned table without changing the original.

Hierarchy Descendants

The Hierarchy Descendants feature allows you to naviga= te rapidly through hierarchies in the pivot table. You can select a level for a given hierarchy, and the pivot table automatically expands or collapses to = show the level that you selected.

To perform a Hierarchy Descendants action:

1.&n= bsp;      Right click on a row or column hierarchy lab= el in a pivot table.

2.&n= bsp;      Select Hierarchy Descendants from the context menu.

3.&n= bsp;      Select the level that you want to expand or collapse. The ghosted level in the context menu list of levels is the curre= nt level.

If the level selected from the context menu is lower t= han the current level, then the hierarchy in the pivot table is expanded to the selected level. If the level selec= ted from the context menu is higher than current level, the hierarchy in the pi= vot table is collapsed up to the selected level.

Figure 48 shows a table before the Hierarchy Descendants action is applied:

Figure 48. Pivot table prior to Hierarchy Descendants action.

Figure 49 illustrates the process of selecting a<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Hierarchy Descendants action:

Figure 49. Performing the Hierarchy Descendants action.

Figure 50 shows the appearance of the table the s= elected Hierarchy Descendants action is applied:

Figure 50. Pivot table after the Hierarchy Descendants action.

Drillthrough Detail

The Drillthrough Detail function provides drillthrough information for a specific value in the pivot table. This feature is simila= r to the Drillthrough Detail action that is provided by Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS) to Excel, with some key advantages, as detailed in= the section, “Drillthrough Detail Advantages.”

Performing a Drillthrough

To perform a drillthrough, right click a value in the = pivot table and select Vivid Drillthrough Detail (see Figure 51), or double-click a val= ue in the pivot table.

Figure 51. Performing a Vivid Drillthrough.

The drillthrough creates one new sheet for each measure group for which it is returning drillthrough information (see Figure 52). Multiple sheets can b= e returned when drillthrough is being performed on a calculation that is composed of multiple measure groups.

Figure 52. A results page from a Vivid Drillthrough.

If the process of computing a drillthrough requires retrieving more than 10,000 rows, a warning box is displayed, and you are g= iven the option to end the drillthrough at 10,000 rows or to continue. Note that this 10,000-row warning does not mean that the result will have 10,000 rows= in it. The 10,000 rows may be necessary for intermediate processing.

Drillthrough Detail Advantages

·         Can do drillthrough when there are multiple selections of a member in the page filter.

·         Can do drillthrough on calculations and named sets, minus the limitations detailed in the “Drillthrough Detail Limitation= s” section.

·         The set of returned drillthrough columns can= be defined directly in the report rather than requiring a change to the server-side cube. See the “Drillthrough Column Editor” section for more det= ails about how to specify the columns to be returned by a drillthrough.

Drillthrough Detail Limitations

·         Drillthrough cannot be performed on a key performance indicator (KPI) value.

·         Drillthrough cannot be performed on calculat= ions or named sets that contain MDX queries.

·         Drillthrough performance can be adversely affected by having multiple-selection page filters. See the “Optimizing your Drillthrough Detail Query” section for more information.

Optimizing your Drillthrough Detail Query=

In order to optimize drillthroughs, it is useful to kn= ow a few simple rules.

·         Multiple selections in the page filter do not improve the performance of drillthroughs.

·         Converting a single-select page filter to a multiple selection might decrease the performance of the drillthrough, and,= in some cases, the performance degradation could be significant.

·&nb= sp;       Single-selects on distinct members might imp= rove the performance of the drillthrough. They will never make the performance worse.

Working with Vivid Local Perspectives

Vivid provides you the ability to build local perspect= ives of a cube directly inside of Excel. These perspectives exist only in the report; they are not saved to the OLAP server.

Adding Calculations, Named Sets, and Folders<= /a>

Vivid enables you to add new items to the pivot table editor.

Calculations

To add a calculation, complete these steps:

1.&n= bsp;      Click in the Measures section of the PTE whe= re you want the calculation to reside. This determines which measure group and display folder the calculation is= a part of.

2.&n= bsp;      Right click the measure group, measure, or display folder where you want the calculation to be created, and select Add Cal= culation (see Figure 53).
or
click Add Item on the Vivid tab in the ribbon.

The Vivid Calculations Editor opens.

Figure 53. The context menu with the Add Calculation item.

3.&n= bsp;      Specify the name of the calculation and enter the MDX formula for the calculation. The formula box has MDX auto-completio= n
(see Figure 54), and measures and attr= ibutes from the PTE can also be dragged and dropped onto it.

Figure 54. The Vivid Calculations Editor, showing MDX auto-completion.

4.&n= bsp;      Click OK = to save your calculation into the PTE or <= span style=3D'color:#0070C0'>Cancel to disregard the changes. The calculation will now persist in the report when = the report is saved.

Named Sets

To add a named set, complete these steps:

1.&n= bsp;      Click in the Dimensions and Named Sets secti= on of the PTE where you want the named set to reside. This determines which dimension and display folder the named set is a part of.

2.&n= bsp;      Right click the dimension, member, or display folder where you want the named set to be created, and select Add Nam= ed Set (see Figure 55).
or
click Add Item on the Vivid tab in the ribbon.

Figure 55. The Context menu with the Add Named Set menu item.

The Vivid Named Set Editor opens (see Figure 56).

Figure 56. The Vivid Named Set Editor, showing MDX auto-completion.

3.      = Specify the name of the named set and give the MDX formula for the named set. The formula box has MDX auto-completion, and measures and attributes from the P= TE can also be dragged and dropped onto it.

4.      Click OK to save your named set into the PTE or Cancel<= /span> to discard the changes. The named set will = now persist in the report when the report is saved.

Display Folders

To add a display folder, complete these steps:

1.&n= bsp;      Right click in the PTE where you want the display folder to be created and select Add Folder= (see Figure 57),
or
click in the PTE where you want the display folder to be created, and selec= t Add Ite= m → Add Display Folder on the Vivid tab in the ribbon.

Figure 57. The Context menu with the "Add Folder" menu item.

2.&n= bsp;      In the Add Display Folder dialog box, specify the name of the display folder that you want to create (see Figure 58).

Figure 58. The Add Display Folder dialog box.

The disp= lay folder appears in the PTE in the specified location (see Figure 59).

Figure 59. The new folder, “My Display Folder," in the pivot table editor.

Editing Items in the Pivot Table Editor
All of the items in the pivot table, except levels, ca= n be edited. Which attributes are editable depends on the item type.

·         Measure     =                          Name and formula are editable

·         Attribute   =                           Name and formula are editable

·         Calculation =                          Name and formula are editable

·         Named Set   =                       Name and formula are editable

·         Measure group                 Name is editable

·         Dimension   =                        Name is editable

·         Hierarchy   =                           Name is editable

·         Level       =                               Not editable

To edit an item, complete these steps:

1.&n= bsp;      Right click the item that you want to edit, = and select Edit on the context menu (see Figure 60). (You can also click a= n item to select it and then select Edit Item = on the ribbon.)

Figure 60. The Edit item on the V= ivid Pivot Table context menu.

The related Vivid editor op= ens (Figure 61).

Figure 61. The Vivid Perspective = Editor-one of several editors available from the Vivid Pivot Table context menu.

2.&n= bsp;      Make the desired changes.

3.&n= bsp;      Click OK.

Hiding Items in the Pivot Table Editor
You can hide any individual item in the PTE except lev= els, which are deleted along with their hierarchy.

To hide an item in the PTE, right click the item that = you want to hide, and select Hide on the context menu (see Figure 62). (You can also click a= n item to select it and then select Delete Item on the ribbon.)

Figure 62. The Context menu with the "Hide" menu item.

Restoring Hidden Items to the Pivot Table Edi= tor

To restore an item that was previously hidden in the P= TE, first ensure that the PTE Restore Mode button has been toggled (see Figure = 63). In PTE Restore Mode, previously hidden items appear in the PTE, but they are grayed out. To rest= ore a hidden item, right click the item and select Restore on the context menu, or click the item to select it, and then click = Restore= Item on the Vivid tab in the ribbon. This featur= e also allows you to depress the CTRL button and select multiple items to restore.=

Only items that exist on the server can be restored. N= amed sets, calculations, and display folders that were created in Vivid cannot be restored.

PTE Restor= e Mode toggle button

Figure 63. PTE Restore Mode toggle and context menu with the "Restore" menu item.

Drillthrough Column Edito= r

The Drillthrough Column Editor allows you to specify t= he columns to be returned from a drillthrough to keep these columns in the rep= ort. The drillthrough columns are specified on a per-measure-group basis. Whenev= er there is a drillthrough over a given measure group, the columns that are returned are those that are specified in the Drillthrough Column Editor. If= no columns are specified in the Drillthrough Column Editor, then the default s= et of drillthrough columns is returned for the measure group.

To open the Drillthrough Column Editor, right click on a measure gr= oup in the PTE and select Drillthrough Columns (see Figure 64).

Fig= ure 64. Context menu, with the "Drillthrough Columns" menu item.

The Drillthrough Column Editor opens (see Figure 65).

To specify a column to be returned from a drillthrough, select the attribute or measure in the Drillthrough Column Editor.

Figure 65. The Vivid Drillthrough Editor.

Working with Vivid Background Tasks=

To vie a list of tasks that are currently running in t= he background, click Background Tasks on the Vivid tab (Figure 66).

The Backgr= ound Tasks toggle button

Figure 66. The Background Tasks t= oggle on the Vivid tab.

The Vivid Background Task panel opens (see Figure 67).

Figure 67. The Vivid Background T= ask panel.

Using Server-Side Search

Vivid gives you the ability to perform searches on the server. This is especially useful for occasions when the dimensions or hierarchy of interest are too large to load locally.

To use this search feature, complete these steps:

1.      = In the Search area on the Vivid tab (Figure 68), define the search tha= t you want to perform.

Figure 68. The Search area of the= Vivid tab.

2.&n= bsp;      Select a scope for the search; for example, select Field List to select a measure or dimension, or select Dimensi= on Data to select from actual members.

3.&n= bsp;      Enter search term(s) into the Terms field.

4.&n= bsp;      Click Search to start the search.

5.&n= bsp;      When the search completes, click the down ar= row to the right of # Results Found to view the list of results (Figure 69).

Figure 69. Displaying the search results.

6.&n= bsp;      Click a result to add it to the pivot table.=

Because server searches can be time-consuming, the sea= rch is performed in the background.

By default, member properties are included in the sear= ch. You can change the search options on the Search tab of the Vivid Configurat= ion Options dialog box to turn off the member properties search. See the “Configuring Vivid” section for more details.

Working with Vivid Comments

Vivid’s Comments feature enhances the ability of organizations to apply meaningful comments to various assets in reports, su= ch as cells, pivot tables, and tables.

Adding a Comment

To add a comment, complete these steps:

1.&n= bsp;      Right click a cell in the pivot table and se= lect Add = Vivid Comment from the context me= nu(see Figure 70). You can also click th= e cell and select Add Vivid Comment from the Vivi= d tab on the Excel ribbon.)

Figure 70. The "Add Vivid Comment" menu item.

The Comment Editor opens (= see Figure 71).

Figure 71. The Vivid Comment Editor window.

2.&n= bsp;      Enter a brief description of your comment on= the subject line, and type your comment in the body of the edit window. The Com= ment Editor window supports the use of both text and images. Use the Comment Edi= tor toolbar to select the font, the font size, undo/redo, bold/italic/underline, font color, numbering/bullets, justification, indention, and attachments. S= ee the “Attachments” section for more details.

3.&n= bsp;      Click Post to add your comment to the document, or click the close icon in the upper right co= rner of the Comment Editor window to cancel the comment. The comment is represen= ted with a small glyph in the upper left corner of its associated cell (see Fig= ure 72).

Comment gl= yphs

Figure 72. Comment glyphs.

Attachments

You can add attachments to a comment by selecting the attachment button in the Comment Editor’s toolbar (see Figure 73).

Figure 73. Adding an attachment to a comment.

The following types of attachments can be added to a comment:

Image

An image attachment is an image file (.gif, .jpg, .pan= g, .bmp).

Worksheet Reference

This is a reference to an existing worksheet in the cu= rrent workbook. You will be presented with a list of worksheets to choose from.
Commentary Worksheet Reference

This will create a new worksheet that will exist for t= he sole purpose of being used for a comment. After you add content to the worksheet and commit the worksheet, another user is able to access the worksheet only via the comment attachment. The commentary worksheet will no= t be listed among available worksheets in the workbook.

Named Range Reference

This is a reference to an existing named range in the workbook.

Cell (Range) Reference

This is a reference to a range in the workbook. The Vi= vid Range Selector allows you to input a range manually or by selecting a regio= n in a worksheet. You can select noncontiguous ranges by holding down the CTRL k= ey while you select ranges on the worksheet.

Connection Reference

This is a reference to a connection, for example, an O= LE DB connection. You can choose any connection in the workbook.

Report Reference

This is a reference to reports that are available on t= he Vivid Server that the current instance of Vivid is connected to.

Viewing Comments

There are two options for viewing the comments in a report—viewing from within an individual cell or selecting from a list of a= ll comments. The selected comment is displayed in the Comments task pane.

Viewing a Comment from an Individual Asset/Ce= ll

Click a comment glyph to open the Comments task pane a= nd display the contents of the comment (see Figure 74).

Figure 74. The Vivid Comments task pane.

Viewing All Comments in the Wor= kbook

To view a list of all comments, click the Show All Comments toggle button on t= he Vivid tab in the Excel ribbon. Select a comment to display the contents in = the lower part of the task pane (see Figure 75).

Figure 75. The Comments task pane in "All Comments" mode.

Viewing an Attachment

To view an attachment to a comment, double-click the attachment in the header of the comment. Depending on the attachment type, different behaviors will result (see Figure 76).

Image atta= chment in a comment

Figure 76. A Vivid comment with an attachment.

·         Image: Displays the image in a window.
·         Worksheet: Makes the worksheet active.
·         Commentary Worksheet: Makes the commenta= ry worksheet active.

·         Named Range: Makes the cells in the named range active.

·         Cell Range: Makes the cell range active.=

·         Connection: Displays the connection stri= ng.

·         Report: Downloads and opens the report from the Vivid Server.

Replying to a Comment

To reply to a comment, complete these steps:

1.&n= bsp;      Select the comment in the Comments task pane. The comment text is displayed in the lower half of the task pane.

2.&n= bsp;      Click the Reply button in the middle of the task pane to reply to selected comment (see Figure AUTONUMLGL \* Arabic \e 77). The new comment is ad= ded as a child of the comment that you replied to.

Reply butt= on

Figure 77. The Reply button for comments.

Deleting a Comment=

To delete a comment, complete these steps:

1.&n= bsp;      On the Comments task pane, select the comment that you want to delete. The text of the comment is displayed in the lower = half of the task pane (see Figure 78).

2.&n= bsp;      Click the Delete button in the middle of the task pane to delete the selected comment. A delete confirmation dialog box opens.=

3.&n= bsp;      Click Yes to permanently delete the comment and all of its child comments and subchildre= n. Deleted comments cannot be restored.

Delete Com= ment button

Figure 78. The Delete button in the Vivid Comments pane.

Browsing and Publishing Reports

Publishing Reports to the Vivid Server

If you are using the Vivid Server, you can use Vivid’s Publish function to make your reports available to the audience of your cho= ice. See the “Configuring Vivid” section for information about configuring and testing the Vivid Server.

To publish the current report, complete the following steps:

1.&n= bsp;      Click the Publish button (see Figure 79) in the Vivid tab to op= en the Publish Vivid Report task pane.

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Publish bu= tton

Figure 79. The Publish button on the Vivid tab.

2.&n= bsp;      Complete the fields in the Publish task pane (see Figure 80).

·         Specify the title and description of the rep= ort.

·         Use the Roles and Organizations checkboxes to specify which users can view your report. If you do not specify any roles or organizations, then you will be the only user who can view your published report.

·         Select tags to make your report easier to fi= nd. Selecting tags categorizes the report by those terms in the Quick Browse sub-menu on the Vivid tab. See the “Quick Browse Sub-Menu” section for details).

Tags on th= e report

Organizati= ons access list

Roles acce= ss list

Report des= cription

Report tit= le

Figure 80. The Publish Vivid Report pane.

3.&n= bsp;      Click the Publish button at the bottom of the task pane. This will prompt you to save the document on your local machine. A local copy of the document is a requirement for stori= ng a document on the Vivid Server.

Retrieving Reports from the Vivid Server
From the Vivid tab on the Excel ribbon, you can retrie= ve reports from any Vivid Server that you have permission to access. You can download reports from the Vivid Server from the Quick Browse sub-menu or fr= om the Vivid Server Reports window.

Quick Browse Sub-Menu

Click the arrow at the bottom of the Browse button in the Vivid tab to open the Quick Browse sub-menus (see Figu= re 81).

Figure 81. The Quick-Browse sub-menus.

The following sub-menus are available:

·         My Reports: These are reports that you h= ave authored.

·         My Organization’s Reports: These are rep= orts that have been made available to your organizations. Reports stored under “Everyone” are visible to all users.

·         My Roles’ Reports: These are reports tha= t have been made available to roles that you are a member of.

·         By Tag: This is a list of all the report= s to which you have access, categorized by the tags that have been associated wi= th the reports.

The sub-menus display the following metadata associate= d with each report: the title of the report, a description, the report’s author, a= nd the date and time when the report was published.

Click on the title of a report to download the report.=

Vivid Server Report List Window

To open the Vivid Server Report List window, click the= Browse<= /span> button in the Vivid tab (see Figure 82). From this window, you= can click any report and then click the Load Report button at the bottom of the window to download and open the selected report.

Figure 82. The Vivid Server Report List window.

Sometimes sub-reports= are listed under a report; for example, “My new Report” in Figure 40 has two sub-reports. Those sub-reports are older versions of the root report. You c= an download one of these previous versions of the report if you wish.

Updating Reports on the Vivid Serve= r

After downloading and altering a report, you can publi= sh any changes that you make. When you publish a modified report, you have the opt= ion of uploading the report as a “new” report or as an “update” of the original report.

To publish a new report, ensure that the Create = New Report radio button is sele= cted in the Publish task pane (see Figure 83). To upload the report = as an update, select the Update Report radio button.

If you select Update = Report, you also have the option to Delete older versions of report. Selecti= ng this option removes all of the previous versions of the report from the ser= ver, keeping only the latest version of the report. If you do not select this option, the older versions are retained on the server.

Figure 83. Buttons for creating and updating reports.

Updating a report, like creating a new report, require= s that a local copy of the report exist. Therefore, you may be prompted to save the copy of your report locally before it is uploaded to the server.

Deleting Reports from the Vivid Ser= ver

To delete a report from the Vivid Server, complete the= se steps:

1.&n= bsp;      Click the Browse button in the Vivid tab to open the Vivid Server Report List window (see Figure AUTONUMLGL \e 84).

2.&n= bsp;      Click the report that you want to delete.
Note that deleting a report that has sub-reports does = not delete the sub-reports. It del= etes only the root report. The next most recent version of the report becomes the new root report. If you want to delete the sub-reports, you must select and delete them individually.

Report del= ete button

Figure 84. The Delete buttons on the Vivid Server Report List.

Accessing RSS/Atom Feeds

Vivid can use RSS or Atom feeds to notify users when a report is created or modified. In order to use this feature, you must have access to an RSS/Atom reader, such as those available in Outlook 2007+ or Internet Explorer 7+.

Subscribe to the RSS feed= by going to the RSS/Atom address for your Vivid feed.                                                                         =

The RSS/Atom feed gives you a notification with a direct link every time a report that you are authorized to access is created or modified. Reports that are downloaded via an RSS/Atom feed cannot be used to update the original report, but they can be used to publish a new report.

Search Configuration=

Optimizing your Drillthrough Detail Query=

Image

Worksheet Reference

Commentary Worksheet Reference

Named Range Reference

Cell (Range) Reference

Connection Reference

Report Reference

Retrieving Reports from the Vivid Server From the Vivid tab on the Excel ribbon, you can retrie= ve reports from any Vivid Server that you have permission to access. You can download reports from the Vivid Server from the Quick Browse sub-menu or fr= om the Vivid Server Reports window.

Retrieving Reports from the Vivid Server
From the Vivid tab on the Excel ribbon, you can retrie= ve reports from any Vivid Server that you have permission to access. You can download reports from the Vivid Server from the Quick Browse sub-menu or fr= om the Vivid Server Reports window.