Using Multi Drill

How to:

The Multi Drill functionality enables you to create multiple drill down links on a data field in a report or chart. This is useful when you want to define custom links to other reports or websites.

Using the Multi Drill functionality, you can define conditions for drilling down or through the data element that you select. Once drill down information is saved and you run the report or chart, the drill down options display when you click or hover over the defined area of a report or chart, respectively.

You can create drill down links by selecting a field in the Query pane. On the Field tab, in the Links group, click Drill Down to open the Drill Down dialog box. You can also right-click a field in the Query pane, and click Drill Down. The Drill Down dialog box is shown in the following image.

When you access the Drill Down dialog box, the name of the field that you selected displays in the title bar. This enables you to identify the current field and is useful when working with Drill Down parameters.

In the Drill Down dialog box, you can configure a hyperlink or drill-down procedure. When you run the report, you can click the link that is created, which would take you to the specified URL or execute the specified procedure.

You can also create multiple drilldowns for a selected field. The drill down links that you define display as separate entries in the drill down list, also known as the drill menu, at run-time. The display of these entries is based on the naming conventions that you applied when creating the multi-drill scenario.

Once your drilldown options are defined, you must run your report in order to access the drill down links that you have created. For reports, the links display when you click on a hyperlink for the data field that you selected. For charts, they display when you hover over an area of the chart for which the drill down has been defined (that is, the field that you selected when you defined the drill down).

These links enable you to drill directly through to an external procedure or URL.

For example, you can create one drill down link for an existing procedure, and another for a webpage. Both drill downs are stored for the underlying field that you selected. Once you define the first drill down, additional options display on the toolbar, as shown in the following image.

Note: You can rename a drill down using the Description field in the right pane of the Drill Down dialog box.

The following icons are available on the Drill Down dialog box toolbar:

The Drill Down dialog box contains the following options for specifying drill down information for the selected field:

Note: When specifying parameters for your drill down, click Add Parameter to add them to your parameters list.

If you are working with a report that has parameters, the parameter names are automatically retrieved and made available from the Name control in the Parameters section of the Drill Down dialog box, as shown in the following image.

By default, the field is labeled with a value of Name. If there are multiple parameters to choose from, you can use the drop down list to make a selection. You can also manually enter a name to create a new parameter. The parameters that display are populated from the underlying report procedure (.fex) that you selected for your drill down.

The Type field enables you to specify a field or constant value. The options in the Value list are based on the fields that you selected for your report. The item that you select determines the value for the parameter (for example, Discount or Revenue).

Note: If you switch the Type field from Field to Constant or from Constant to Field, the Value field is reset, enabling you to specify a unique value.

Procedure: How to Create a Single Drill Down Link

You can create a single drill down link on a measure field.

  1. Create a report or chart with at least one measure field.
  2. In the Query pane, do one of the following:
    • Right-click the measure field and click Drill Down.
    • Click the measure field and on the Field tab, in the Links group, click Drill Down.

    The Drill Down Dialog box displays, as shown in the following image.

  3. Select one of the following Drill Down options:
    • Report
    • Refresh BI Portal
    • Auto Link Target
    • Web Page
  4. Populate the fields based on the drill down option you selected.

    Note: Descriptions for these fields are provided earlier in this topic.

  5. Optionally, rename the Drill Down using the Description field. This dictates how the Drill Down will appear in the left pane of the Drill Down dialog box.
  6. Click OK.

    The drill down link displays when you hover over the defined area of a report or chart, at run time.

Procedure: How to Create Multi Drill Links

You can create a multiple drill down links on a single dimension field.

  1. Create a report or chart with at least one dimension field.
  2. In the Query pane, do one of the following:
    • Right-click the dimension field and click Drill Down.
    • Click the dimension field and on the Field tab, in the Links group, click Drill Down.

    The Drill Down Dialog box displays, as shown in the following image.

  3. Select one of the following Drill Down options:
    • Report
    • Refresh BI Portal
    • Auto Link Target
    • Web Page
  4. Populate the fields based on the drill down option you selected.

    Note: Descriptions for these fields are provided earlier in this topic.

  5. Optionally, rename the Drill Down using the Description field. This dictates how the Drill Down will appear in the left pane of the Drill Down dialog box.
  6. Repeat steps 3-5 until you have added all of the drill down links required.

    Note: The following image defines three unique drill down links for the selected dimension field.

  7. Click OK.

    The links display when you hover over the defined area of a report or chart, at run time, as shown in the following image.

WebFOCUS

Feedback