Database Reference
In-Depth Information
functionality to fit the way your users prefer to use Excel. This chapter will address
the more common automation and customization requests and discuss how they are
implemented, complete with code you can use to help you get started.
10.2 a worD or two aBout the ClassiC aDD-in
When Smart view was originally released in System 9, it was missing many key
capabilities present in the Essbase add-in. (Prior to System 9, there were multiple
hyperion Excel add-ins, each addressing their own tool; System 9's Smart view was the
first unified Excel client.) For many, it was a step backwards. In the following years, the
Smart view team at oracle made it their quest to satisfy both microsoft®
®
office users and
Essbase Excel Add-In users through what they called “parity,” or matched capabilities
of both tools. As of the writing of this topic, the 11.1.2.1.102 patch release of Smart view
(and the 11.1.2.1.103 release that patches the patch) achieves, mostly, that parity. By func-
tion, here are the features that bring the Classic Add-In's functionality to Smart view:
• member name and alias on the same row.
• Cell formula preservation.
• Formula fill/stretch, e.g., if a cell corresponding to a parent has a formula, and
the user drills down, the resulting new rows created by the children also will
have that formula with the correct cell references.
• options that can be set specific to a sheet within a workbook.
• Enhanced zoom (ad hoc) options.
• range-based operations, e.g., select a group of cells and retrieve or submit only
those cells.
• Linked reporting objects.
• A host of new vBA functions, described for you in this chapter.
For many years, the Essbase Classic Add-In was the data analyst's main tool for
interacting with Essbase via Excel. unfortunately, this add-in did not have the ability to
communicate with the relational repositories associated with hyperion Planning and hFm
(hyperion Financial management). The Classic Add-In connected directly to Essbase, and
only Essbase. oracle recognized this limitation and sought to provide a common add-in
across the entire suite of hyperion products. In addition, this new add-in needed to work
with more than just Excel. Smart view was the answer. This chapter will focus on using
Smart view as your reporting and analysis tool for Essbase using Excel.
10.3 tune your reports, Create eFFiCient
smart view spreaDsheets
10.3.1 Hardware: It's Your Laptop
The first thing to understand about Smart view performance is that it is, in large part,
a function of the machine you are currently using, the network you are attached to, and
Excel itself. We will assume that you are not the company It (Information technology)
hardware purchaser who can order for himself (and keep) the most powerful laptop that
is offered. unless you are that lucky soul, like the rest of us, you are using technology
that was “adequate” several years ago. Excel handles some things well and some things
not so well. In terms of performance boundaries, Smart view and Excel are fairly
congruent. What improves performance in Excel usually also improves performance in
