BO Designer 1

Business Objects Designer
Training
By
BO Competency
BO
BOTechnical
TechnicalTraining
Training 1
DESIGNER MODULE
BO Technical Training
Agenda
•Creation of Universe
•Connecting to Databases
•Selecting Tables and columns
•Creation of classes
•Creation of objects
•Joins
•Data Restriction
What is a Universe
❒ A universe is a semantic layer that maps the data structure

found in databases (tables, columns, etc) in business terms.
❒ A universe can represent any specific business area, process,

or department. For example, a universe can relate to a
department in a company such as marketing or accounting.
Business Objects Designer
A typical universe layout...
Objects
Classes
Universe Pane Structure Pane
Class
• A class is a logical grouping of objects within a universe. In

general, the name of a class reflects a business concept that
conveys the category or type of objects.
• A class can be further divided into subclasses.
• As a designer, you are free to define hierarchies of classes and

subclasses into a model that best reflects the business concepts
of your company.
Objects
❒ An object is the most refined component in a universe. It

maps to data or a derivation of data in the database.
❒ Types of objects -
❒ Dimension Objects -
❒ Focus of analysis in a query.
❒ Maps to one or more columns in a database that are key to a query.
❒ Measure Objects -
❒ Aggregate functions that map to statistics in a database.
❒ Map to “fact attributes” of a star schema.
❒ Detail Objects
❒ Descriptive data about the dimensions.
❒ Always attached to a dimension.
Five stages in universe development process
• User Requirements
– Detailed analysis of the information needs of the users.
• Data Analysis
– Detailed data analysis of the database breaking it down into
functional areas that users can relate to.
• Design
– Information from first 2 phases must be amalgamated to
create the conceptual design of the Universe, its objects
and other components.
• Development and distribution
– Create using the Designer module.
– Test using the User module.
– Distribute to the users via the repository.
• Maintenance
– Designer is responsible for updating and maintaining
Universe and keeping it up to date with any changes in the
User Requirements.
Creation of the Universe
Define the Parameters

Resolve the Loops
Insert Tables
Create Classes and Objects
Make the Joins
Set up Hierarchies
Creating a Universe
• To begin creating a new universe:

Select File, New
• To access the Universe Parameters dialog box

for an existing universe:
Select File, Parameters
or
Click on
Setting up Parameters :
Definition Tab
• A universe is identified with a user name and a connection
to the database
• A detailed description can also be added
What Is a Connection?
• Definition:
 A connection is a link from the universe to the Target

database.
 The link is achieved using middleware (for example
ODBC).
 An existing connection may be used or a new
connection created for a universe.
 There are three different types of connections.
Different Types of Connection
Personal
Can only be used on the client
Shared
Can be used by more than one user to send queries to the target
database from a shared server
Secured
This connection is used when you wish to distribute the completed
universe to the user population via the repository
Creating a New Connection
1. Click on New.
2. Choose the middleware
3. Identify the driver to be

used to access the target
database
Setting up Universe Parameters
• Definition Tab: name, description and

connection to the database
• Summary Tab: author and statistics about
the universe
• Strategies Tab: internal or personal
wizards to make creating a universe
easier
• Controls Tab: manages access and
control of resources
• SQL Tab: queries and SQL parameters
• Links Tab: enables dynamic links with
other universes
Setting up Parameters : Summary Tab
• The Summary tab displays general information about the universe
Setting up Parameters : Strategies Tab
Provides automated
strategies for:
• Creating objects
• Setting joins
• The Table browser listing
Universe Strategies
A strategy is a script that reads structural information from a

database or a flat file.
DESIGNER uses strategies as an aid for creating the

components of the universe - objects, tables and joins.
In DESIGNER, strategies are of 2 types -

 Built-in Strategies
 External Strategies
Built-in Strategies
Built-in strategies are pre-decided strategies that are

available with any installation of Business Objects.
DESIGNER uses the following built-in strategies for creating

the components of universes:
 the Objects Creation strategy, which tells DESIGNER how to define classes
and objects automatically from the database’s tables and columns
 the Joins Creation strategy, which tells DESIGNER how to define joins
automatically from the database’s tables and columns
 the Table Browser strategy, which tells DESIGNER how to read the table
and column structures from the database’s data dictionary
Built-in Strategies
To enable automatic creation, the following must be

checked….
External Strategies
External Strategies enable designers to specify their own

strategy for creating the universe components.
External strategy files are declared in the STG section of .PRM

files and are specific to RDBMSes.
Use of external strategies

 To insert Objects - “Insert --> Candidate Objects”
 To insert Joins - “Tools --> Detect Joins”
 To insert Tables - “Insert --> Tables”
Setting up Parameters : Controls Tab
• These allow you to limit the

size of results and restrict
the time allowed for
executing queries
• The Supervisor can change

these parameters for specific
groups or users
Setting up Parameters : SQL Tab
• SQL parameters are

used to define the limits
of the SQL that may be
generated by the
universe
• The Supervisor can

change these
parameters for specific
groups and users
Setting up Parameters : Links Tab
• Enables dynamic
links with other
universes
Saving a Universe
• Save the universe using a maximum of eight characters with up to three

characters as an extension
• This makes it possible to distribute the universe across different kinds of

computers
• Choose File, Save or click
• By default the universe is saved in the folder:

c:\Program Files\Business Objects\BusinessObjects 5.0\universe
Adding Tables
• Use the Table browser:

 Double-click on the background of the Structure
 Click on
 Choose Insert, Tables from the menu
• The Table browser displays all the tables and

views of the database
• You can select multiple tables using the Shift key

or Ctrl key
BO Technical Training 28
Customizing Table Insertion
• Select Tools, Options then click on the Database tab
• From here you can select and

deselect options related to table
insertion
• You can set internal strategies
to:
 automatically extract joins
 detect cardinalities
 create objects when
inserting tables
Creating classes
Manual Creation
 Use “Insert > class” from the menu. An ‘Edit Properties’ box
appears. Enter class description.
OR
– Use to create a class
Automatic creation
– Select a table in the structure pane.
– Drag it to the universe pane.
– A class is created in the universe pane with the same name as the
table name.
– Objects are also created automatically in the class corresponding
to the fields in the table.
Creating objects
Manual Creation
 Select the class where object is to be created.
 Use “Insert”--> “Object” from the menu. An ‘Edit Properties’ box
appears. Enter object details.
Automatic creation
 Select a column from a table in the structure pane.
 Drag it to the universe pane.
 An object is created under the nearest class to the point where
you drop the column.
 Default object name is column name with underscores replaced
with spaces.
Object Properties
Three property pages
 Definition
- Name
- Data type
- Description
- SELECT statement
- WHERE clause
• Properties
 Qualification
 Associated List
of Values
Aggregate projection
 Applicable only to
measures.
 Defines how the
measure will be
aggregated when
projected from a
micro-cube.
• Advanced
 Security
 User rights on
Objects
 Date Formats
Joins
Joins
WHAT THEY ARE - Relationship between 2 or

more tables that help restrict the result set of a
query run against those tables.
WHY USE - they limit the occurrence of a

Cartesian product, a situation in which all
possible combinations between each row of each
table are retrieved.
Types of Joins
• Equi-Join
 Table 1.Column A = Table 2.Column B
 Resulting data set limited to values common in Column A & B.
• Outer-Join
 Table 1 OUTER JOIN Table 2 on Column A = Column B
 Resulting data set limited to ALL the values in Table 1 and ONLY matching
values in Table 2 based on Column A and Column B.
• Theta-Join
 Table 1.Column A BETWEEN ….. AND ……
 Links tables based on a relationship other than equality between 2 columns.
Creating and Deleting Joins
• A join can be entered manually using two methods:
 Graphically
 With the menu option Insert,

Joins and the Edit Join box
 To delete a join, click on the join line and press Delete
BO Technical Training 40
HANDS ON WORKSHOP
Exercise 1
•Create a universe called “ VACATION ”
•Create a new connection

•Use ODBC Driver.
•Connection Name “ Vacation-Connection ”
•Use “ CLUB ” datasource
•Connection type should be “ Personal ”
•Remove the limits of 5000 rows and 10 minutes for

query time execution.
Identify the windows in the interface...
• Class and the Object or

Universe Window
• Structure Window
• Table Window
Exercise 2
• The universe Vacation should have two Classes Customer & Sales
Details.
• Customer must have 2 objects Customer-Id & Customer-Name

(Full Name)
• Sales Details must have two objects Invoice Date & Invoice-Id.
• Customer (class) must have 2 detailed objects namely Phone

number & Address giving additional info. about Customer Name.
• Create an appropriate join between Customer and Sales tables.
• Save your work in the default location.
Observe the Properties for an Object
For the object Customer Name -

• Definition Tab
• Properties Tab
• Advanced Tab
Exercise 2A
• Query 1 -
 Create a query which gives details about Customer Names and their
Invoice ID
 Run the query
• Query 2
 Find Out the number of customers for which the invoices have not
been created from Vacation Universe.
Exercise 2B
• Customer class has 2 detail objects namely Phone number &

Address giving additional info. about Customer Name.
• Add another detail object called Age Range which specifies age
range for the customer.
Hint :- Use Age Range table ;Use Theta join between age ; max ; min
Exercise 2C
• In the Vacation Universe create third class called “Sales
Measures”.
• In this class create a measure object called revenue.
• Save the universe and test in user module.
• Notice the variation in “Group By” clause.
• Hint :- Revenue = (days) x (nb of guest) x (price)

Use Service & Invoice line table
Exercise 2D
• Create dimension objects City , Region & Country in Class
Customer
• In the user module create a data provider using Customer Name,
Country & Sales Revenue.
• Using Slice and Dice Panel remove Customer name from the
query.
• See the changes in Sales Revenue.
• In Designer Module set Function = None
• Repeat all the above steps
Restricting Data
Types of Restrictions
• Hard Coded / Direct Restrictions
• Indirect Restrictions
• Flexible Conditioning of the Data
• Multiple Prompt
Hard-coded Restriction
• Adding a WHERE condition to an object allows you to give a more

precise definition:
How Data is Restricted
• The Where clause in an SQL statement restricts the number of rows

returned in the result set:
WHERE WHERE
... join definitions ... ... join definitions ...
AND Country=‘United Kingdom’
Indirect Restriction
• Achieved using conditional objects

• In the User Module , user has the option to apply the
restriction.
• Obviously , more flexible than previous type of
restriction.
• Once a conditional objects are included, restriction
becomes hard-coded for the query.
Condition Objects
• Select Condition Object View
• Insert a Condition Object
• Condition object name
• Description
• Where clause
Flexible / @Prompt type Restriction
• Offers maximum flexibility
• Limitation of Indirect type of restriction is overcome by

having flexibility in selecting the where clause.
• Achieved using @Prompt Command.
@Prompt Command Syntax
• Message in the Prompt ‘Any Message’

• Data Type ‘A’ or ‘N’ or ‘D’
• List Of Values
 Hard Coded List of Values {‘Japan’, ‘USA’,’France’}
 Values of existing Objects
• Number of Choices Mono ; Multi
• Type of Choice Free ; Constrained
Multiple Prompt Conditioning
• Extension of @Prompt Conditioning
• More than one where clause can be prompted.
• If the same ‘Message text’ is used in the next prompt, the user is
prompted only once and the same value is substituted for the next prompt
too.
For instance, consider the following where clause -
WHERE column A = @prompt(‘Enter value’,…...)
AND column B = @prompt(‘Enter value’,…..)
This will result in the user being prompted only once and the same value
will be substituted for column B as well.
HANDS ON WORKSHOP
Exercise 3
• Add a dimension object called “ Customer

Name(French)” to class Customer. The new object
should show only French Customers.
• Save the Universe.
• Test in User Module.
Exercise 4
• Add a condition object called “ French Only” to class

Customer.
• Set the conditions for the new object.
• Save the Universe.
• Check things in User Module.
Exercise 5
• Add another condition Object “City-user-prompt” to

class Customer.
• Set the conditions for the new object using @Prompt
Command
• Save the Universe
• Check things in User Module

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Business Objects Designer

•Selecting Tables and columns

❒ A universe is a semantic layer that maps the data structure

❒ A universe can represent any specific business area, process,

Universe Pane Structure Pane

• A class is a logical grouping of objects within a universe. In

• A class can be further divided into subclasses.

• As a designer, you are free to define hierarchies of classes and

❒ An object is the most refined component in a universe. It

Define the Parameters

Create Classes and Objects

Make the Joins

• To begin creating a new universe:

• To access the Universe Parameters dialog box

 A connection is a link from the universe to the Target

2. Choose the middleware

3. Identify the driver to be

• Definition Tab: name, description and

A strategy is a script that reads structural information from a

DESIGNER uses strategies as an aid for creating the

In DESIGNER, strategies are of 2 types -

Built-in strategies are pre-decided strategies that are

DESIGNER uses the following built-in strategies for creating

To enable automatic creation, the following must be

External Strategies enable designers to specify their own

External strategy files are declared in the STG section of .PRM

Use of external strategies

• These allow you to limit the

• The Supervisor can change

• SQL parameters are

• The Supervisor can

• Save the universe using a maximum of eight characters with up to three

• This makes it possible to distribute the universe across different kinds of

• Choose File, Save or click

• By default the universe is saved in the folder:

• Use the Table browser:

 Choose Insert, Tables from the menu

• The Table browser displays all the tables and

• You can select multiple tables using the Shift key

• Select Tools, Options then click on the Database tab

• From here you can select and

– Use to create a class

WHAT THEY ARE - Relationship between 2 or

WHY USE - they limit the occurrence of a

• A join can be entered manually using two methods:

 With the menu option Insert,

 To delete a join, click on the join line and press Delete

•Create a universe called “ VACATION ”

•Create a new connection

•Remove the limits of 5000 rows and 10 minutes for

• Class and the Object or

• Customer must have 2 objects Customer-Id & Customer-Name

• Customer (class) must have 2 detailed objects namely Phone

• Create an appropriate join between Customer and Sales tables.

• Save your work in the default location.

For the object Customer Name -

• Customer class has 2 detail objects namely Phone number &

• Hint :- Revenue = (days) x (nb of guest) x (price)

• Hard Coded / Direct Restrictions

• Flexible Conditioning of the Data

• Adding a WHERE condition to an object allows you to give a more

• The Where clause in an SQL statement restricts the number of rows

• Achieved using conditional objects