Oracle Discoverer - FAQ
- 1. What edition of Oracle Discoverer do I need?
- 2. What Versions of Oracle Discoverer are available?
- 3. What do the log on options mean when connecting to Plus or Viewer?
- 4. What editing options are available using Viewer?
- 5. What new features are available in Plus (10gr2) that are not in Desktop?
- 6. What is the difference between an EUL and a Business Area?
- 7. Good Further Reading?
1. What edition of Oracle Discoverer do I need?
There are 2 main sections within Oracle Discoverer:
- Administration.
- Report Writing.
The report writing side is just that. Its purpose is for users to write reports.
The Administration edition sets up the environment to enable the users to write the reports. Unless this Administration is done, Oracle Discoverer cannot be used.
The Administrators must create an EUL, followed by Business Areas, and then folders and joins. Also possible are Lists of Values, hierarchies, calculations and conditions. Another main part of the administration job is to grant access to Oracle Discoverer using security and privileges.
The Report writing side is then split further into Web Editions and the Desktop Edition.
The Web editions consist of Oracle Discoverer Plus and Oracle Discoverer Viewer. Oracle Discoverer Plus is a Java applet that, once downloaded, enables the user to write reports. Viewer simply views reports written in Desktop or Plus.
The Desktop version is the same as Plus, but has to be installed locally on individual machines. This version is being phased out and Oracle are only developing Plus in the future. In 10gr2 there is already some functionality available in plus that does not exist in Desktop.
2. What Versions of Oracle Discoverer are available?
Oracle Discoverer version numbers come as:
3, 3.1, 4.1, 9i, 10g, 10gr2
3. What do the log on options mean when connecting to Plus or Viewer?
There are 3 options when logging on to Plus or Viewer:
- Bi Discoverer
- Oracle Applications
- Discoverer OLAP
The "OracleBi Discoverer" option is used to logon on to a standard Oracle database, using a database user. The "Oracle Applications" option is used to Logon to an Apps based EUL (i.e. Financials, HR, CRM etc), using an applications user. This will then give a choice of responsibilities to be used. The "OracleBi Discoverer for OLAP" option is used to logon to a warehouse environment that is created through Oracle Warehouse Builder or Oracle Analytic Workspace Manager.
4. What editing options are available using Viewer?
Very few. The user opens an existing report, and if any parameters are set, they can be chosen here. Once the report is run, there are a few more options. The layout can be changed, formatting can be performed (including conditional formatting) and, if Hierarchies are set up by the administration, the user can drill into the data. However, changes cannot be saved and the actual structure of the report cannot be changed.
5. What new features are available in Plus (10gr2) that are not in Desktop?
- Stoplight Formatting.
This is simply a more advanced style of conditional formatting. This allows the user to put in *acceptable* and *desirable* *bands*, then the data will be displayed in 3 different colours according to the criteria set.
- Create Links
This allows individual columns to have links assigned to them. These could be to a web page or another report.
- Easier editing of reports.
The wizard has changed its look and feel. The same features are available, but they are in more intuitive positions. Nearly every single report creation and manipulation option can be found in the wizard, rather than having to go through various menus. Many of these options are also available from the actual report, allowing "Real Time" editing.
6. What is the difference between an EUL and a Business Area?
An EUL is basically Oracle Discoverer´s access to the database. When Oracle Discoverer is installed, an EUL must be created that will store all of the information required for any edition of Oracle Discoverer to connect to the database.
Business Areas are then created and these are where users access the actual data. The administrator creates them, and then grants them to the relevant users.
7. Good Further Reading?
http://wiki.oracle.com/page/Business+Intelligence
http://learndiscoverer.com/
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/bi/index.html