Moving From Essbase Spreadsheet Add-In To Oracle® Hyperion Smart View For Office, Fusion Edition

Moving from Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in to Oracle Hyperion Smart View for Office, Fusion Edition
An Oracle White Paper July, 2012
NOTE:
This paper assumes the reader has a basic understanding of Smart View, since this paper focuses on features available in the latest releases of Smart View. Reference to future plan is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for Oracles products remains at the sole discretion of Oracle.
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NOTE: ................................................................................................................ 2 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 5 Smart View Usage Scenarios ........................................................................... 5 Ad Hoc Analysis ........................................................................................... 5 Pre-defined Form Interaction ..................................................................... 6 Pre-created Content Access ........................................................................ 6 Reporting........................................................................................................ 6 Functions........................................................................................................ 6 Reasons to Move to Smart View..................................................................... 6 Statement of Direction Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in ............................... 7 Planning for the Move ...................................................................................... 7 Platform Support .......................................................................................... 7 Essbase and Provider Services .................................................................... 7 Understanding the New Features ............................................................... 8 Re-using Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in Content (without VBA) ............ 8 Converting Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in VBA ........................................ 8 User Training ................................................................................................. 8 Feature Highlights ............................................................................................. 9 POV Toggle ................................................................................................... 9 Formula Preservation ................................................................................. 10 Formula Fill on Zoom Operations .......................................................... 11 Sheet Level Options ................................................................................... 12 Member Name and Alias on Rows .......................................................... 12 Resolve Alias Name.................................................................................... 13 Zoom Options ............................................................................................ 14 Submit without Refresh ............................................................................. 14 Duplicate Member Name .......................................................................... 14 Member Information.................................................................................. 15 Range-Based Operations ........................................................................... 15 Multi-Cell Based Operations ..................................................................... 16 Retain Excel Formatting ............................................................................ 16 Butterfly Report .......................................................................................... 18 Substitution Variable Cell Function ......................................................... 18 Linked Reporting Objects ......................................................................... 19 Cascade ......................................................................................................... 20 Smart Query................................................................................................. 20 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 21
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INTRODUCTION
Oracle Hyperion Smart View for Office, Fusion Edition (Smart View) provides a common Microsoft Office interface for the Oracle Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) suite of products along with Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) data sources. Using Smart View, you can view, import, manipulate, distribute and share data in Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint interfaces. Release 11.1.2.1.102 of Smart View added major features to make it compelling for Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in users to move to Smart View. Smart View, unlike Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in, is an integrated office add-in that works across the Microsoft Office Suite and not just Excel. The usage scenarios below outline the areas of usage for Smart View, which is the strategic Office integration add-in for Oracle EPM and Oracle BI. This paper provides information on the capabilities of Smart View that have been introduced keeping in mind the users of and the functionality that existed in Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in. As such the intent is to provide guidance to users as they move into the world of Smart View. Note: Screenshots in this document are based on Office 2007 although Smart View is supported for other Office versions.
SMART VIEW USAGE SCENARIOS
Smart View provides the promise of Office integration today.
The Office environment is one of the predominant interfaces that power EPM and BI users. Smart View usage can be classified as described below.
Ad Hoc Analysis
Ad hoc analysis lets Excel users interactively investigate the data contained in the source(s), where they slice and dice the data. They may start with templates (such as East > Cola > Sales) or a blank sheet where they begin shaping and altering the grids of data as they work. Typically, users retrieve the data from Oracle EPM sourcessuch as Essbase, Planning, Profitability or Financial Managementusing mouse clicks or drag-and-drop. Free form analysis is a variant of ad hoc analysis where users can type in member names from a dimension directly on a spreadsheet and refresh the data.
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Pre-defined Form Interaction
EPM application users who execute predefined input or reporting forms find Smart View a convenient way of completing tasks within Office. Such users are planners, consolidators and others who want to work in Excel for a consistent experience compared to a web application or to tie other spreadsheet-based models into their process. For example, customers use Smart View for Planning to incorporate data that is still housed in spreadsheet- and workbook-based models.
Pre-created Content Access
Another area of use is for importing pre-created contentfor example, charts or grids from Reporting & Analysis products to PowerPoint, Word, or Excel. The imported content can be refreshed from the Office environment.
Reporting
Reporting is another dimension of Smart View usage which leverages the capabilities of EPM and Oracle BI data retrievals. Once the data is available within Office, you can create reports as needed based on a combination of data sources. For example, Planning and Financial Management data could be used to compare actual to budget. The ability to compare multiple scenarios, for different periods, products, locations, etc., enables more complex reports. The power of Office can be used to create Reports in the Office environment, which can be refreshed as needed.
Functions
When accessing EPM sources, end users like to see the same type and quality of chart across all Office products.
Users can customize and automate common tasks by using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) functions in Smart View. Functions are meant for advanced users who know exactly what they need (for example, Actual profit for month of January for Eastern Region for all products) and want to create custom applications. These users typically build VB Applications and incorporate Smart View functions to get relevant information. Functions also allow combining multiple data sources on a single grid. For example, it is possible to display Essbase and Planning data on the same worksheet using functions. Outlined above were the general capabilities of Smart View. The next few sections specifically focus on various aspects of moving from the Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in to Smart View.
REASONS TO MOVE TO SMART VIEW
The new release of Smart View allows users accessing EPM sources from an Office environment to render the same type and quality of charts across Office products - Excel, Word, or PowerPoint.
Smart View is the Strategic Office Add-in for Oracle EPM and Oracle BI products including Oracle Essbase. Smart View is vastly improved from the Oracle Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in many ways. Here are some reasons to consider for moving from Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in to Smart View: Improved feature functionality over Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in

Single add-in for multiple products as opposed to only Essbase Rich functionality specific to the data source (Essbase, Planning etc.) Support for Word and PowerPoint 64-bit Office support Support for newer versions of Office and Windows O/Ss
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Improved architecture keeping pace with newer trends in Office and Analysis HTTP(s) makes access possible via internet/intranet and is the standard protocol for modern applications
STATEMENT OF DIRECTION ESSBASE SPREADSHEET ADD-IN
Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in will be in maintenance mode starting January, 2013. As such, platform updates for Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in will no longer be done, which means newer versions of Office or Windows will not be supported. New features will only be added to Smart View and not the Essbase Spreadsheet add-in. Releases prior to 1st January, 2013 should be considered terminal releases for the Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in. Official Oracle Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in statement of direction:
https://support.us.oracle.com/oip/faces/secure/km/DocumentDisplay.jspx?id=1466700.1
PLANNING FOR THE MOVE
Moving from Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in to Smart View involves some planning. There are various aspects to consider in order to make this a successful transition. Outlined below are the areas that you will need to be informed about or implement prior to the move.
Platform Support
Smart View is supported for Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010. At the time of writing this paper Release 11.1.2.2.000 of Smart View is available and it supports the 64-bit version of Microsoft Office. For exact version support and related details, please refer to the support matrix. http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/bi-foundation/hyperionsupported-platforms-085957.html
Essbase and Provider Services
In order to take advantage of the new features added to Smart View 11.1.2.1.102 (and higher), it is required that Essbase (Essbase Server) and Oracle Hyperion Provider Services also be release 11.1.2.1.102 (or higher). Please make sure that necessary upgrades to the new version have been completed by the Essbase administrator before trying out the new features using Smart View. While Smart View can connect to older versions of Essbase (9.3.3 and up), most of the features introduced in 11.1.2.1.102 will not be available unless Essbase and Hyperion Provider Services are upgraded as well. Note: Smart View accesses Essbase data sources, via a middle tier. Hyperion Provider Services is commonly referred to as a provider or as APS (Analytic Provider Services).
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Understanding the New Features
Understanding the new features is very important in order to either use Smart View or guide others who are moving from Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in. The new features are explained in the feature highlights section below.
Re-using Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in Content (without VBA)
By and large, workbooks created in Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in should be usable in Smart View without any changes. The spreadsheet needs to be connected to the right data source and refreshed. Thereafter, any Smart View operations should be possible on those workbooks. Remember, the appropriate sheet options should be applied as they will not be applied automatically in Smart View. While there is no way to test all combinations and spread sheets, 99% of spreadsheets (without VBA) can be refreshed in Smart View without any changes on the grid itself. It is possible that the spreadsheet has some grid combinations rarely used (most users are unaware of those), which may have to be re-created in Smart View based on supported features or functionality.
Converting Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in VBA
It is common for Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in users to create and use Visual Basic Applications. This will involve redesign and rewrite of functions or applications to work with Smart View. Prior to going down that path, an evaluation will be needed. This is to identify if the custom code has been replaced with a feature in Smart View, calls that have been deprecated, and more. To help in this process, you can use the Smart View VBA Conversion Tool: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/smart-view-foroffice/downloads/index-088403.html This will assist in the conversion of Legacy (Classic) Add-In VBA code to equivalent Smart View VBA code. Please be aware that Oracle Technology Network (OTN) Developer License Terms apply. You can read the OTN License agreement prior to download. Also, keep in mind that Oracles technical support organization will not provide technical support, phone support, or updates to you for the Smart View VBA Conversion Tool. It is intended for providing guidance to developers who are otherwise adept in building Visual Basic Applications. Useful Link: http://essbaselabs.blogspot.com/2010/07/converting-legacy-add-invba-to-smart.html
User Training
Many parts of the Smart View user interface are self-explanatory; however, there are specific areas where users will need some hand holding to understand the new functionality. For example, establishing a data source connection in Smart View is different from Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in. It is a good idea to give a brief Smart View introduction to users in case they have never used it before. The Smart View Users Guide (in PDF and online help format) will act as additional resources. Note: Oracle University also provides training classes for Smart View.
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FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS
A number of features have been introduced especially keeping in mind the Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in users. Each of the features listed below are explained in the following sections.

POV Toggle Formula Preservation Formula Fill on Zoom Operations Sheet Level Options Member Name and Alias on Rows Resolve Alias Name Zoom Options Submit without Refresh Duplicate Member Name Member Information Range-based Operations Multi-cell-based Operations Retain Excel Formatting Butterfly Report Substitution Variable Cell Function Linked Reporting Objects Cascade Smart Query
POV Toggle
The ability to show the POV Toolbar or bring POV members from the POV Toolbar to the grid is now available in Smart View. It can be accomplished by a single click on the POV icon in the Essbase Ribbon shown below.
When the POV members are on the grid, the POV Toolbar is hidden. This capability allows POV member cells to be formatted like any other member or data cells. Additionally users can show or hide the POV Toolbar. Note: By default, all the POV members are on the grid. Once the POV toggle switch on the Ribbon is used, the row in the grid with POV members is hidden.
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Smart View users who prefer the POV drop-down can invoke that by clicking on the POV toggle on the Ribbon.
Dropdown
Toggle
The latest releases of Smart View, starting with 11.1.2.2.300, support cell-based POV, shown here. Users can directly type in member names or search from the list maintained from previous selections in the grid itself. Users can invoke the member selector if the member they are looking for is not already part of the list.
Formula Preservation If a member has an Excel formula associated with it, it can be retained when ad hoc operations are performed on it. To do this, the option to preserve formulas should be turned on. The exact option is shown in the screen below.
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With the option turned on, the formula on Cell D3 will be preserved for ad hoc operations such as Zoom or Refresh.
Formula Fill on Zoom Operations If a member has a formula associated with it, it can be retained when zoom operations (zoom in or out) are performed on it. For example, when drilling down on Year, Essbase replicates the formula for each child of Year (Qtr1, Qtr2, Qtr3, and Qtr4). It can also be passed on to the descendents if the appropriate Zoom option is chosen for zooming in.
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The option to be selected is highlighted in the screen shot below.
Sheet Level Options

Sheet level settings, once changed, can be stored as default for any newer sheets/workbooks that are created, until they are changed again. Hint: Select Save As Default Options in the OK button drop-down of the Options dialog box.
Sheet options are specific to the sheet where the options were created. Changes to these option settings do not affect any other existing workbooks or worksheets, which have their own sheet options. The sheet level settings are applicable for following Options tabs:

Member Options Data Options Formatting
All remaining options are global and apply to the entire workbook including newer sheets or workbooks created. They are found in the following options tabs:

Advanced Cell Styles Extensions
Member Name and Alias on Rows

Smart View resolves alias tables not associated with the current grid.
Aliases are alternate names for database members. You can create reports that use the database member name, which is often a stock number or product code, and display the member's alias name, which can be more descriptive than the member name, in your worksheet reports. For example, in the Sample Basic database, the alias name for the Product member 100 is Colas. The Smart View user can display the member name and alias together on the rows in the same grid, as shown below.
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To do this, set the Member Name Display option to Member name and Alias prior to retrieving data for a grid.
Resolve Alias Name A dimension can have multiple Alias tables associated with it. Even if a grid is associated with a particular Alias, it is now be possible to resolve a member for any Alias table not currently associated with the grid.
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Zoom Options
Zoom In choices are available on the Ribbon and can be used directly as opposed to changing the Options dialog prior to the operation.
New Zoom options have now been added to Smart View.

Sibling Level Same Level Same Generation Formulas
These are in addition to the existing ones (Next Level, All Levels, Bottom Level). Submit without Refresh
.
When a member name in a grid is modified, it is no longer necessary to refresh before submitting. Users can work on their spreadsheets offline. Once done, the numbers can be submitted easily. Users will be prompted for credentials if not already connected to the data source. In case a user chooses to connect to the data source before submitting the data, then they will not be prompted for credentials. Duplicate Member Name This refers to multiple occurrence of a member name in a database, with each occurrence representing a different member. For example, a database has two members named New York. One member represents New York State and the other member represents New York City. Duplicate member name is also referred to as non-unique member name. Member name display option has been modified in Smart View to accommodate duplicate member names where applicable. Options now available are:

Member Name Only Member Name and Alias Distinct Member Name Only
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Choosing the Distinct Member Name Only option against a database with a duplicate member name outline returns the grid shown below.
Member Information
Member information such as consolidation operator, alias, attributes, formula, and more are now available using the Member Information dialog box.
Range-Based Operations Smart View allows users to create multiple independent grids on one worksheet. These grids, which occupy a range of cells, can be connected to the same data source or to different Essbase data sources. You can also change the connection of a grid from Smart View. Worksheets that support multiple ranges can be created from blank worksheets or by converting existing ad hoc worksheets. These ranges, which correspond to individual grids, can have ad-hoc operations such as Zoom In or Zoom Out. The grids move relative to the operation on the currently active grid. It is possible to refresh selected grids or all grids on the sheet. Formatting can also be retained during operations.
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Multi-Cell Based Operations Smart View now allows multi-cell-based operations; for example, highlight multiple cells and zoom in. You can do other operations such as Keep Only, Remove Only, or Zoom Out. For example, connect to Sample/Basic and create a grid with Quarters 1-4 on the rows; and Profit, Inventory, and Ratios on the columns. Select cells Qtr1 and Qtr2 along with Profit on the column. Below is the output from the zoom in (next level) operation.
Before Retain Excel Formatting Smart View provides an option to enable Excel formatting. When enabled, Excel formatting overrides Smart View Cell Styles. Excel formatting is also retained for all ad hoc operations except for pivoting. We have improved this feature starting with the last few releases so that the formatting applied by users is retained when doing a Refresh or Refresh All. After
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Note: Remember that Excel will retain formatting on individual cells. Users should be aware that Excel will not track Smart View ad hoc operations and hence may end up with unintended number formats in a cell; for example, $ signs for Margin %. However, if used properly, Excel formatting will add value to Smart View ad hoc operations.
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Butterfly Report Typically, Smart View grids are comprised of member names on top rows and columns on the left. Data cells corresponding to the row and column member cell combinations are displayed in the grid. An alternative to this approach is to have member names in rows, in the middle of a grid with data on both sides. This is referred to as a butterfly report since the output resembles the shape of a butterfly with wings spread out. Alternatively, a reverse butterfly is close to a butterfly with wings folded.
Butterfly Substitution Variable Cell Function
Reverse Butterfly
The Essbase application designer uses substitution variables to define global variables to represent values that are specific to Essbase. You can take advantage of the predefined substitution variables in Smart View. For example, say the application designer sets a substitution variable on Essbase server for the current month. The variable is called CurMnth and has a value of August. If you use the substitution variable in the worksheet, a refresh returns values for August, because August is set as the current month on the server. If, at a later date, the application designer changes the value of the CurMnth substitution variable to October, a refresh returns data for October.
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A cell function, hsgetvariable(), has also been added which retains a reference to the variable. As the variable value changes on the server, it is reflected in the grid cells where hsgetvariable()is used. This function was not available in Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in.
Before refresh Linked Reporting Objects
After refresh
A linked reporting object (LRO) is an external file, cell note, or World Wide Web resource that you link to a cell in an Essbase database. The file, note, or URL can then be retrieved by the Smart View users who have access to the database. Additionally, if the Essbase Partitioning option has been implemented, linked partitions can also be accessed from cells using Smart View along with the other linked reporting objects.
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Cascade
Cascade allows data to be displayed for a particular member from a chosen dimension on a single Worksheet. Cascade can be invoked for both ad hoc operations as well as for formatted reports.
This enables end users to create a report in Excel and cascade it to separate sheets based on members of a single dimension not included as part of the report. This has been part of the Smart View prior to Release 11.1.2.1.102, but is important to mention in the context of Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in users. There are some variations that are allowed as well.
Smart Query
Smart Query is a Smart View Extension that allows users to define one or more sets of members and apply composite filters to the member sets created. Using these sets and their filters, you can create a highly complex query by defining unions, complements, and intersections of data from the different sets. Once a Smart Query is created, it can be saved, reused, and shared. Sets and filters can be saved individually for use in other Smart Queries. The ability to deal with multiple sets and filters was not available in Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in.
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CONCLUSION
Historically speaking, many Excel-based add-ins were available to access Oracle EPM and Oracle BI suites of products. Smart View provides a convergence of these technologies into a single client with which Office users can leverage EPM data and is the strategic add-in for Oracle EPM and Oracle BI. Smart View allows for application access (for example, HFM or Planning), ad hoc analysis queries (for example, Essbase or Planning) and existing Reporting & Analysis content import. Unlike Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in, Smart View is not just limited to Excel. Instead it is an Office add-in with functionality in:

Excel Word PowerPoint Outlook (applies to Planning and HFM)
The ability to copy and paste data points across Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) provides an easy mechanism for moving relevant data points from one application to another. Smart View makes Oracle EPM and Oracle BI data available via Microsoft Office in a useful manner. Providing information within the productivity applications, where users spend most of the day, allows everyone in an enterprise to do their jobs better.
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Moving from Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in to Oracle Hyperion Smart View for Office, Fusion Edition Author: Shubhomoy Bhattacharya July, 2012 Oracle Corporation World Headquarters 500 Oracle Parkway Redwood Shores, CA 94065 U.S.A. Worldwide Inquiries: Phone: +1.650.506.7000 Fax: +1.650.506.7200 oracle.com Copyright 2012, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is provided for information purposes only and the contents hereof are subject to change without notice. This document is not warranted to be error-free, nor subject to any other warranties or conditions, whether expressed orally or implied in law, including implied warranties and conditions of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. We specifically disclaim any liability with respect to this document and no contractual obligations are formed either directly or indirectly by this document. This document may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without our prior written permission. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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Moving from Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in to Oracle Hyperion Smart View for Office, Fusion Edition

An Oracle White Paper July, 2012

Smart View provides the promise of Office integration today.

Pre-defined Form Interaction

STATEMENT OF DIRECTION ESSBASE SPREADSHEET ADD-IN

PLANNING FOR THE MOVE

Understanding the New Features

The option to be selected is highlighted in the screen shot below.

Sheet Level Options

Member Options Data Options Formatting

Advanced Cell Styles Extensions

Member Name and Alias on Rows

New Zoom options have now been added to Smart View.

Sibling Level Same Level Same Generation Formulas

Butterfly Substitution Variable Cell Function

Before refresh Linked Reporting Objects

Excel Word PowerPoint Outlook (applies to Planning and HFM)

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