Prerequisites

Since these types of reports require both a Schema AND a Database as a Source, you will need to:

• Have established a connection to the database which is used for reporting (the Warehouse).
• know the physical location of the Schema which is being used for the report.

• The scripts used for these reports are called "MDX" scripts:
  
  "A Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) script (which) is made up of one or more MDX expressions or statements that populate a cube with calculations. An MDX script defines the calculation process for a cube."

If you want to ...

Perform these steps ...

Generate the MDX script for the Report.

The steps are as follows:

• Using the BI User Console, create an Analytics Report which contains the required data.
• From the Menu, click on the cog-icon ("More Actions and Options"), and select Administration Log.
  
  
  
• From the "Message" column, select and copy the MDX script, which could look like this example:
  
  
  

Start the Report Designer

To access the Report Designer, select:

Start All Programs Pentaho Enterprise Edition Design Tools Report Designer.

To create a new report, select File New

Define the Source of the Data

To select a Data Source, you need to right-click on the Data Sets.

In the Pentaho Report Designer can select from a range of Data Sources. For reports based on Cubes/Schemas, please select:

• OLAP Pentaho Analysis:
  if you intend to use MDX scripts (generated in the Analytics Tool) to generate Data for the Report.

Use Cubes/Schema to retrieve Data

To retrieve data via a Cubes/Schemas, you will need:

• have added a DB Connection: please check here for details.
  This connection can be re-used for all reports which are based on the same database.
  
• In addition, you will also need to define the Schema which is the base for the report. In the Data Source Window
  - Browse for the location of the Schema's XML file, and once selected
  - click Update Schema Name
  
  
  
• Make sure to select the correct Connection.
  
• add a new Query, and Paste the MDX script from the first step:
  
  

Design the format and layout of a report.

Please refer to the information which is accessible from within the Pentaho Report Designer.

Publish Report to SAI360, so that it can be used in the Web Application

Once a report has been defined and is ready for use in the SAI360 Web Application, it needs to be "published" to the BI Server. To do so:

• Open the report in the Report Designer
• Select File Publish
• The first time you do this in the Report Designer, you will need to enter the URL and BI Credentials. Make sure to tick "Remember These Settings":
  
  
  
• Enter the Publish Details for the report:
  - File Name/Title/Report Description: self explanatory
  - Location: select the folder into which the report shall be placed
  - Output Type: select the (default) format in which to render the report.
  - Lock: if you tick this box, the user will NOT be able to select alternative Output Type when the report is being run in SAI360.