WebFOCUS InfoAssist+ Enhancements

Auto Drill, which can be enabled from the Navigation group on the Format tab, allows you to navigate the hierarchy of your data. You can drill down or drill up on a data field, depending on your location in the hierarchy, as shown in the following image.

Note: This new feature is available in Report and Chart modes. Auto Drill is automatic in Visualization mode.

As you are navigating the levels of hierarchy in your data, Auto Drill places a breadcrumb header at the top of the report with identifying information about the current category that displays. This enables you to quickly identify your location in the structure of your data and aids in navigating the hierarchy.

You can add new parameters to your report or chart to create parameter options for selection at run-time. Each parameter that you add becomes a field container into which you can add one or more measures and dimensions. This feature offers on-demand, dynamic report and chart creation at run time.

Note: This new feature is available in Report and Chart mode, but not Visualization mode.

You can add one or more parameters to your report or chart. The parameters that you add and the data fields that you specify determine the parameter and drop-down list contents at run time, as shown in the following image.

You add parameters by right-clicking a field container in the Query pane, as shown in the following image.

You can now use the AutoFit functionality when working with reports. To enable this functionality, on the Layout tab, in the Report group, click AutoFit, and then click Report. This feature enables HTML reports to grow proportionally at design time, as additional fields are added. It automatically resizes the report output at run time to fit into the container in which it is placed. The AutoFit button also allows you to specify Column, which compresses the report columns to the width of the widest data instance. Column is the default, as shown in the following image.

AutoFit functionality is also available in the Size & Arrange group on the Layout tab when working with charts.

Note: This new feature is also available in Chart mode.

When creating a filter using a date field, the Value option is set to Today. You can optionally select Beginning of Month, End of Month, Beginning of Quarter, End of Quarter, Beginning of Year, End of Year, or Custom date using the calendar that displays when you make that selection. These options are shown in the following image.

Note: This new feature applies to all modes, except Visualization mode.

The Additional alignment options icon , which is located in the Page Footer section of the Header & Footer dialog box, provides options for aligning your page footer. You can place the footing that you specify at the bottom of your report relative to the data or to the page.

Narrative charts tell the story of your data. When creating a bar, line, area, or pie chart or visual in chart or visualization mode, respectively, you can bring it to life with words that describe your data, as shown in the following image.

If your administrator has activated this feature for you, you can enable Narrative Charts from the ribbon. On the Format tab, in the Features group, click Narrative. This will add descriptive text for the current chart or visual.

Narrative charts let you communicate about your data, summarizing data values and providing an interpretation of the results. For more information on the syntax behind narrative charts, see the Creating HTML5 Charts With WebFOCUS Language manual.

When working with legends in InfoAssist+, you can now specify how your legend will be docked. This feature controls the display of entries in your legend.

The Docking State is set to Expanded by default, but you can optionally specify Collapsed or None. If your legend is set to Expanded, you can use the grey arrow to expand or collapse it, as needed. If you set the Docking State to Collapsed, InfoAssist+ will show that the legend is available (using the grey arrow). This option saves real estate in your chart by collapsing the categorical text labels in the legend while preserving the legend label colors. This is particularly useful when items in your legend have long labels and you wish to truncate them for the purposes of display. If you specify None, the ability to expand or collapse the legend is removed and the grey arrow no longer displays.

You can also enable and disable scrolling for your legend. The Enable Scrolling check box is selected, by default. The ability to scroll is particularly useful when you have numerous entries in your legend. To disable scrolling in your legend, clear the Enable Scrolling check box. All legend options display in columns and a scroll bar does not display.

The Docking State and Enable Scrolling options are shown in the following image.

Using the Show title option on the Format Axis (Horizontal or Vertical) dialog box, you can show or hide axis titles in your chart. This gives you control over the display of your axis titles, enabling you to show or hide them, as needed. The Show title option, which is located on the Title tab, is shown in the following image.

The ability to scroll across a large dataset has been added for bar, line, area, scatter, bubble, and all matrix charts. When working in visualization mode, scrolling capability automatically engages when the underlying dataset is large enough to warrant scrolling. In all other modes, you must enable the functionality. You can enable or disable this functionality by selecting the Auto Enable X-Axis Scrolling check box in the Interactive Options dialog box, as shown in the following image.

When you place a numeric field in the Color field container when creating a chart, the legend displays as a heat scale. When you place an alphanumeric or a date field (non-measure) in the Color field container, the legend displays as colored markers. To change how the legend displays, right-click the Color field container and click Color BY, as shown in the following image.

For visualization mode, you have access to the standard chart types, as well as a number of chart extensions that can be made available to you by your administrator. By default, a certain number of chart extensions are installed with WebFOCUS. Contact your administrator to access and use these extensions.

Using the Trendline option in the Properties group on the Series tab, you can add a trendline to your chart or visualization. A trendline is a line that is drawn over the plot area of a chart or visual to show the pattern of data points. The pattern reveals a statistical trend, as shown in the following image.

The mathematical equation for the selected trendline option is only available in chart mode. It is not available in visualization mode.

Heatmaps have been added to visualization mode in InfoAssist+. A heatmap is a graphical representation of data where the individual values that comprise a matrix are represented as colors. Using radiant hues, you can track the intensity of a data relationship using the colors defined in the legend.

Heatmaps are useful when you are looking for hot spots in your data, or areas of focus or interest, as shown in the following image.

When working with maps in Visualization mode in InfoAssist+, you can drill up and down through the hierarchy of your data. To do so, use the tooltips that display when you hover over an area of a choropleth or proportional symbol (bubble) map, as shown in the following image.

When working with a Proportional Symbol (Bubble) map, bubbles are sorted by radius. The bubbles are layered on top of one another, with the smallest bubble on top, as shown in the following image.

This layering makes it easy to review tooltip information for the relevant bubble. This applies to a single series or multiple series.

A new global preference has been added for InfoAssist+ in the WebFOCUS Administration Console for Leaflet maps. The option is located in the Chart Types section. The Leaflet Maps option enables the icons required for the use of Leaflet maps in both chart and visualization mode. The two Leaflet map icons enable you to select either a Choropleth or a Proportional Symbol (Bubble) map based on the Leaflet open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps.

In chart mode, these icons are available in the Select a chart dialog box. In visualization mode, these icons are available in the Select a Visual dialog box.

If this setting is not selected in the WebFOCUS Administration Console, the Leaflet map icons do not appear. The Leaflet Maps option is selected, by default.

The Animate field container enables you to animate time progression using a slider control. When you place a data field in this field container, a slider control displays in Live Preview. As you move the control along the slider bar, an animation effect results. The slider control has a Play button that allows you to play and pause the animation. When you click Play, the Pause option is activated, enabling you to pause the progression and analyze your data. Slider controls are limited to one sort field and should be time or sequence related, such as month or year. This field container displays for many different chart types, including pie charts, as shown in the following image.

Note: This new feature is available in Chart mode only.

The tooltip information that displays for streamgraphs, which are HTML5 charts, has been improved. The tooltip now includes more detailed information about the underlying data source, as shown in the following image.

Note: This new feature is available in Chart mode only.

When working with chart types in the Other Chart Types dialog box, the description information for each chart type dynamically changes as you rest your mouse over each unique chart type. This provides you with quick access to a description for each chart, enabling you to quickly identify the relevant chart type. This facilitates the creation of the right type of chart based on your data.

Note: This new feature is available in Chart mode only.

An example of the description information that is available is shown in the following image.

You can now sort values (ascending or descending) in an active dashboard. This option is specified on the Active Dashboard Properties dialog box, as shown in the following image.

When working in document mode, you can insert existing images from your WebFOCUS Content folder or browse to any other directory in the repository that contains the required image files. The Open dialog box is shown in the following image.

Using the powerful features of Auto Linking, you can connect reports and charts in your development environment. Auto Linking enables you to dynamically link HTML reports, active reports, and HTML5 charts with a single report or chart in any format, based on their common sort (BY) fields and parameters references in any filters. You set one report as your Auto Link enabled report. This sets the reports or charts that can be auto-linked. In addition, you must also set reports or charts to be Auto Link targets.

Once your reports and charts are set with the relevant parameters, they display, at run time, in a cascading list, as shown in the following image.

Note: This new feature is available in Report and Chart mode only.

You can create multiple drill-down links on a data field to external procedures or websites using the Drill Down dialog box. This is accessible from the Drill Down option in the Links group on the Field tab. You can also access this functionality by right-clicking on a data field in the Query pane. A configured multi-drill scenario is shown in the following image.

Note: This new feature is available in all modes, except Visualization mode.

When you run the report, the multi-drill links that you defined display when you click on a hyperlinked component of the report, as shown in the following image.

You can replace an existing field in the Query pane by dragging the new field from the Data pane so that it is over the data field in the Query pane. You can also drag fields from other field containers in the Query pane over a field in a different field container. A dotted line displays, indicating that this field will replace the existing field, as shown in the following image.

Release your mouse to confirm placement of the new data field. When replacing data fields, InfoAssist+ displays the field name of the replacement data field in a tooltip.

In the Query Design pane, you can select and delete multiple data fields at one time. Press the Ctrl key, select two or more data fields, right-click, and then click Delete, as shown in the following image.

When working with DEFINEs and COMPUTEs, you can use the Missing Values option to enable or disable the display of missing values for a DEFINE or COMPUTE field. This allows you to accurately display missing values in reports, charts, and visualizations. The Missing Values option, which is accessible through the Additional Options button, is shown in the following image.

When creating a filter, you can use the Search option to locate records in the list of values that displays, as shown in the following image.

Note: This new feature is available in all modes, except Visualization mode.

This functionality supports the ability to type ahead, as well as the use of wildcards, such as asterisks, to identify the values to include.

When working with date fields in the Filter dialog box in InfoAssist+, the Value field is set to Today. You can optionally select Beginning of Month, End of Month, Beginning of Quarter, End of Quarter, Beginning of Year, End of Year, or you can specify a custom date using the calendar that displays when you make that selection. The options in the Value field are shown in the following image.

Note: This new feature is available in all modes, except Visualization mode.

Additionally, if you create a filter on a full date field, the Value field will have a calendar icon adjacent to it, as shown in the following image.

You can use this icon to select a date using a calendar control.

You can define a custom title for a report or chart component in the Query pane by right-clicking on the component and clicking Rename, as shown in the following image.

When navigating folders and content in the Data pane, you can now double-click a folder to expand or collapse its contents. This applies to folders based on the hierarchy of your data source. It does not apply to fields that have additional fields within them.

You can also use the arrow adjacent to the folder name to expand and collapse folders.

In InfoAssist+, there is a new default StyleSheet, Warm.sty. It uses a clean and simple layout and design. You can take advantage of this StyleSheet when working with styling options for your reports and charts. It offers consistent text and color schemes, as well as a common look and feel. The primary difference between Warm.sty and ENWarm.sty, which is the new default StyleSheet for the WebFOCUS toolset, is that the selected font in Warm.sty should be language specific. This StyleSheet is selected, by default, in the Options dialog box, as shown in the following image.

The Warm.sty StyleSheet is stored in the following directory: c:\ibi\WebFOCUS82\IBI_HTML\ibi_themes

In InfoAssist+, the Environment and Styling area provides settings for styling reports and charts through the specification of a Document Theme. Click the Browse button to open the Templates - Browse predefined template files dialog box, in which you can search for an existing WebFOCUS StyleSheet. The default StyleSheet is Warm.sty, but you can select from the other themes that are available (Dark.sty or Flat.sty).

StyleSheets are stored in the following directory of your WebFOCUS installation:

drive:\ibi\WebFOCUS82\IBI_HTML\ibi_themes

In addition, you can access a repository of additional themes by accessing the Legacy Templates, under Libraries, as shown in the following image.

The theme that you select determines the coloring and hues that display within InfoAssist+, as shown in the following image.

The default templates in the Templates section apply to all languages, whereas some of those in the Legacy Templates sections are specific to just one language (for example, EN=English).

The default values for Microsoft Excel include: Excel 2000 format, Excel 2000 Formula, Excel 2007 Format, and Excel 2007 Formula. Enabled by default, you can modify their display by disabling them in the WebFOCUS Administration Console, in the Format tab section.

When saving a read-only, non-writable procedure (.fex) in the Save As dialog box, the first writable folder is selected in the Resources tree, by default.

From within InfoAssist+, you can use the Open option on the Quick Access Toolbar or the Application Main Menu to open one or more dashboards or visualizations at the same time. The Open option on the Application Main Menu is shown in the following image.

InfoAssist+ provides a number of field containers that allow you to control the display of data. Field containers, which are part of the Query pane, hold the data fields that you select for inclusion in your report, chart, or visualization. This can be for an axis of a bar chart or the color of the pie slices in your pie chart. To add a data field to a field container, you can double-click a data field in the Data pane, or drag the data field to the desired field container. You can also rearrange data fields once they have been placed into a field container.

Some field containers are used for developing matrix charts, while others add size, color, and tooltip information to your chart or visualization. For example, the Tooltip field container allows you to specify the display of information in the tooltip for a data field that you place in this field container. Once you have added fields into certain field containers, InfoAssist+ allows you to specify additional options on the Field tab or through the shortcut menu. For a full list of field containers in InfoAssist+, see the InfoAssist+ Online Help.

The field containers that are available for charts are shown in the following image.

RStat Scoring Routines have been added to InfoAssist+. The Define and Compute functionality in InfoAssist+, which is used to create virtual fields, supports the use of functions. These functions can be used to create expressions and calculations for use in your reports and charts.

Predictive models or scoring routines, built with the separately licensed WebFOCUS RStat for Predictive Analytics, allow you to add predictive analytics to your reports and charts in InfoAssist+. In order to access a scoring routine, an administrator or other designated individual must first deploy the scoring routine using App Studio. Once the scoring routine is deployed, it will appear in the RStat Scoring Routines folder and can be used when creating a virtual field. The following image shows RStat Scoring Routines that have been deployed and are ready for use.

The InfoAssist+ splash screen has been updated with the new Build a Visualization option. Selecting this option brings you directly to Visualization mode in InfoAssist+, where you can build visualizations and create storyboards. The updated splash screen is shown in the following image.

From the Quick Access toolbar, you can now seamlessly run a report or chart with default parameter values. If you have parameters defined, the default value is the first data field defined for the parameter. If you do not have parameters defined, the report or chart will run, regardless.

The Run with Default Parameter Values option is shown in the following image.